DAILY HOMILIES #Blessing

Peter’s failure that night was God’s way of telling Peter that he is called to be a fisher of men (not of fish). It was also God’s way of teaching him about divine providence. Are you experiencing failure in some aspect of your life? It is time to ask: “Am I doing what God wants of me?” If God has given you an assignment, it will be hard to succeed in something else if you abandon God’s call.

Having been created in God’s image and likeness, only God knows how best we ought to live. Hence, He gave us the manual of life, the commandments. These instructions are not restrictions on our freedom but the key to enjoying life to the fullest. We must, therefore, trust God and follow his commandments rather than mere human traditions. God cannot be deceived; He knows when we pay lip service to His commandments.

What is my attitude to the sick and the old? When was the last time I visited my aged parents or relatives? Am I the type who only helps people when asked, or do I put myself in the shoes of those in need like Mary? During this season of Christmas, one virtue we must learn to cultivate is kindness. God was so kind to us in sending us His Son, Jesus Christ; Mary was kind to Elizabeth by going to visit and help her. Your Christmas will not be complete if you fail to be kind to your fellow brothers and sisters, especially the sick, the old and the needy.

As much as we must respect the house of God, we must never forget that our very bodies are also dedicated temples of God. Today, we are called to cleanse our minds and hearts. We are called to make a whip of cords and search through our lives for any sinful inclination or vice that pollutes the temple of our bodies.

We often dismiss events as coincidence due to our inability to read the handwriting of God in our lives. It wasn’t just a coincidence; God used this experience to remind Peter that he had been ordained to catch men and no longer to catch fish.

While David opted to build a house for God, Mary agreed to become a living tabernacle for God. Humility is not necessarily thinking less of ourselves but giving God His due.

Jesus did not only prove that He is God, He also taught us that our bodies are temples. If a water of blessing issues from God’s sanctuary (as Ezekiel describes) and I am a temple of God, what kind of water issues from my sanctuary? Am I a blessing to the world? Have I abused my temple as the chief priests did to the Jerusalem temple?

Dear friend, do you constantly complain about others? Or are you a Jacob who knows how best to take advantage of whatever may be their situation? When did you last ask for a blessing from your parents or an older person?

You cannot claim to be a Christian with a bad attitude. You risk losing your Christian Faith and even your very life itself. Again, you cannot be a Christian and still live a life of pretence or show-off, as the case may be. Otherwise, one day your “skin” will burst, and the whole world know you have just been deceiving yourself.

Our Gospel passage today contains a lot of names; these are the ancestral line of Judah. Not every person in this genealogy was outstanding, in fact, some of them were terrible sinners who did unthinkable things. What does this tell us? That God can work through anybody. Stop looking down on yourself. Every saint had a past and every sinner has a future. Say Yes to God today and let your past pass.

In any church, be sure to find the good, the bad, the very bad, and the satanic. And just as you cannot easily distinguish the wheat from weeds, Christians are not easily distinguishable today. We all dress alike, talk alike and pretend very well but it is when we get to the privacy of our homes that our true religion plays out.

When you seek first God’s Kingdom and prioritize righteousness, you may not become rich and famous in the eyes of the world but Jesus says you will find true inner satisfaction and peace. When you mourn over the sinfulness and evil pervading our world and refuse to be indifferent, Jesus says you will find true comfort.