DAILY HOMILIES #idols

Many of us (preachers) attempt to deceive people by pretending to be holy, but we are not. We are like David, who was quick to condemn the man in Nathan’s fable, or like the men who brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus. We assume the moral high ground and we quickly pick stones against government officials, tax collectors, so-called sinners, but as Jesus would say, “Let him who has not sinned be the first to cast a stone.” When we honestly look inwards, we realise that even though we stand on the pulpit to preach, we are worse than our audience.

If you were Jesus and you knew that people were planning to kill you for healing people on a Sabbath, would you continue? Let us be honest. Only Jesus can do this. Only Jesus can take such a risk. This is the nature of God’s love, as the Prophet Isaiah presents in today’s First Reading. It is a love deeper than that of a mother for her nursing child.

Cherish your integrity; stop trying to be two-faced or diplomatic with evil. It is not enough to denounce evil with our lips; we must denounce it with our actions. We must never give anyone the wrong impression. Are you a leader in any capacity? Do you have people looking up to you as their mentor? Then, stop trying to be hot and cold simultaneously. To such persons, God says: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.” (Revelation 3:14-17)

Just as Nebuchadnezzar succeeded in making the people worship the idols out of fear of losing their lives, many today are “worshipping” all kinds of idols just to make ends meet. They have become slaves to sin because they think they have no other means of putting food on the table.

In a moment of temptation, don’t negotiate with the devil; act immediately. Secondly, be prepared. No one engages in a battle with bare hands. Like Mattathias who gathered an army in preparation for King Antiochus, we must prepare our spiritual arsenal through daily prayers and meditation and the practice of holiness.

“No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven.” (John 3:27). How often do we remember this? How often do we ministers of God remember that we must decrease and allow God to increase in the hearts of our flock? How easy it is to hear terms such as: “My ministry, my altar, my church”, “I am in charge here.” etc.