DAILY HOMILIES #isaiah

When we receive miracles, we are happy, but when we repent of sin, God is happy. If after receiving miracles, we fail to repent of 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.

God’s kingdom appears mysterious, yet children can easily understand it. To the “wise”, God’s kingdom is hidden, but to infants, God’s kingdom is clear and simple. This is because God’s kingdom goes beyond logic. To make sense of God’s kingdom, you must be able to think like a child. No wonder Jesus said: “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17).

Do you want your prayers to be heard? God says, “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:16-17). There is no point moving from Church to Church or subjecting yourself to abuse in the hands of so-called powerful miracle workers; repent of the evil around you, and God will grant your prayers. “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

It is instructive to note that even among those who bore fruit, not all were the same. Some were thirty, others sixty and others a hundred. We may not all have the same gifts and abilities, but we are called to give our best. We may not all bear the same number of fruits, but God demands that we be fruitful.

God is not looking for proud people who think they are better than others. God wants to work with humble people who know how much they need help. God does not call the perfect but perfects those He calls – He sent an Angel to touch Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal and absolve his sins. When was the last time you sincerely and thoroughly confessed your sins? Do you consider it too humiliating to tell a priest your secret sins?

Letting your light shine in a world that loves darkness is like swimming against the tide. Embrace the difficult choice of doing what is right, even if it is unpopular. If you are threatened for doing what is right, trust in God as Hezekiah did. God knows how to fight for his children.

This is the night when God led our forebears, Israel’s children, from slavery in Egypt and made them pass dry-shod through the Red Sea. This is the night that God banished the darkness of sin with a pillar of fire. This is the night that, even now, throughout the world, sets Christian believers apart from worldly vices and the gloom of sin, leading them to grace and joining them with his holy ones. This is the night Christ broke the prison bars of death and rose victorious from the underworld…

The key to being ‘the salt of the earth’ and ‘the light of the world’ is showing love to those who need it most: the hungry, the homeless, the naked, the sick, the prisoners and so on. Although Isaiah’s list is not exhaustive, he basically draws our attention to the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy, which are: Feeding the Hungry, Giving Drink to the Thirsty, Sheltering the Homeless, Clothing the Naked, Visiting the Sick, Visiting the Prisoners, and Burying the Dead.

As soon as John the Baptist baptised Jesus, it became clear that Jesus did not come to be cleansed from sin. Instead, Jesus came to reveal (to manifest, to make known – epiphany) Himself to the world as God and as the second person of the Trinity. The heavens opened, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and a voice from heaven said: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.” Those who witnessed this event quickly recalled the passage from Isaiah (where our first reading today comes from), and it dawned on them powerfully that Jesus is not just anybody but God among men; the promised Son of God; the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.

By choosing to come as a baby (not a warrior with an army), by choosing to be born to poor people under humble circumstances (not in a palace of gold), and by making Himself so vulnerable (such that Joseph had to flee at night with the baby Jesus for safety from Herod), I believe God was clearly showing mankind: “Love me, don’t be so frightened about me, I am close to you.”

As Abraham’s faith was demonstrated in action, Joseph, through his obedience, showed great faith in God. We cannot claim to have faith when we refuse to obey God’s instructions. Trust goes with obedience. Joseph said nothing to the Angel, but his actions spoke louder than anything he might have said. Some of us are vocal in professing our faith but remain silent when it comes to obeying God’s commands.

Like Jesus Christ, we all have two names: one that appears on our certificates and one that defines who we are. Although the names we bear may vary, the kind of life we live must reflect our real identity—Christlike, children of God. People should not only call us Christians; they must also see Christ in us.