DAILY HOMILIES

Let us ask ourselves: “Am I one of Jesus’ brothers and sisters? Or am I a devil-worshipper who just happens to go to church?” The prophet Micah describes God as an ever-merciful father who does not retain His anger but delights in steadfast love. He treads our iniquities under foot and casts our sins into the depths of the sea. This is what happens to us when we repent. If today, you hear God’s word, know that there is no sin that He cannot forgive. Take advantage of the fact that you are still alive at this moment and return to God. Don’t wait till tomorrow.

When we receive miracles, we are happy but when we repent from sin, God is happy. If after receiving miracles, we fail to repent from our sinfulness, God is not happy with us. God would never stop loving us but if we seek happiness from God, let us also behave in a way that would make God happy with us.

There are countless blessings that come to us from being kind to strangers. Many have lost golden opportunities in life just because they refused to help when they came across people with genuine needs. Our help, however, must not be forced, pretentious, nor come from a bitter heart. The story of Mary and Martha has often been explained in terms of the two types of spirituality (the active versus the contemplative) but beyond that, Jesus used this occasion to highlight the dangers of distraction and anxiety. Only one thing is needed: Seek first the Kingdom of God!

the truth is that there is always a time limit for the wicked. They may reign for a while, but they cannot reign forever. The Pharisees may have succeeded in making Jesus withdraw for a while. They seemed to have succeeded when Jesus was eventually killed, but in the end, who has the last laugh? You see, we only see the wickedness of others, we never see our own wickedness. We may be suffering the pains of other people’s wickedness but most often, we too are not immune from inflicting pain on others. Just as we are praying to God to fight those who make us cry, there are many people praying hard against us.

God keeps us alive despite our sinfulness not because He condones sin but just so that we may have the opportunity to repent. We serve a merciful God – let us extend this mercy to our brothers and sisters; especially those who offend us or are still living in the darkness of sin.

When Jesus says we should carry his yoke, he speaks figuratively referring to those things we must do as his followers. Like a farmer ties a yoke on oxen in order to use them to work on the farm, Jesus wants us to carry His Yoke; be controlled by his teaching; to work in promoting God’s kingdom. Moreover, Jesus went further to add that this yoke is easy and the burden (sacrifices, pains, commitments) that come with carrying the yoke is very light.

The Prophet Isaiah asks in our first reading today, “can the ax exult itself over the one who uses it?” or “will the saw consider itself greater than the man who cuts with it?” Indeed, pride goes before a fall. We are nothing but mere instruments in the hands of God. Without humility, we cannot understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.

Are you scared of terrorists hiding in every nook and cranny of our nation? Have you lost all confidence in our security architecture? There is a silent war going on in our land and like Ahaz, we are poorly equipped in terms of weapons and ammunition. While we defend ourselves, let us not forget that we serve a powerful God who knows how to fight for his children. Let us increase our prayers and repent from any sin that may become a hindrance to our prayer or attract God’s wrath.

Jesus calls us to put him first even if it means losing a relationship as close as that between a mother and daughter. To be a Christian is not easy. No wonder there are so many persons who claim to be Christian only by mouth but are not true to what they call themselves.

Whatever may have caused the priest and the Levite to pass this man by, Jesus did not tell us but Jesus only mentioned that they failed to help the man. When it comes to helping the needy, no excuse is valid. Think of this, that person you see in need of your help today may just be your last chance. He or she may have been sent your way to test you. Do not keep on till tomorrow what you can do today. One thing that tends to prevent us from helping others is bitterness. You may have been hurt in the past, perhaps in your attempt to be kind to others, they repaid your good with evil, and so on. Remember, that person may just be you and you too would expect someone to help you. As Moses tells us in our first reading, we don’t need somebody to go to heaven to bring down God’s commandments, they are right in our hearts. Listen to your heart. Follow your conscience. Help, don’t hinder. Go and do like the Samaritan.

Know that as a labourer, you have become very precious and valuable to God. Jesus says: “You are of more value than sparrows.” God will always be there for you. Even if you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, because you mean a lot to God, no evil shall overcome you.

Just as the prophet Hosea calls on the House of Israel to repent and return back to God, we too are called to accept the difficult task of going out to call people to repentance. It is not easy to tell a person his mouth is smelling, he may hate you for it or attack you, yet, that is precisely what the mission is all about. Preaching that does not “offend” people – cause them to search inwards and change their lives is not preaching.