DAILY HOMILIES #Jesus

Why worry when you have Jesus as your friend? You may ask: “I prayed in the past, but things have not changed?” Continue to pray. Jesus says, pray at all times. Pray not because you have problems; pray in obedience to Jesus’s command – at all times, regardless of how things may be for you.

Do not be so concerned about knowing the future that you forget the present. Jesus says, “Yes, the world will end, but for now, just get busy.” Make full use of the gifts and talents God has bestowed upon you. Spread the kingdom of God so that upon His return, the Master may find you doing what He commanded and that your talents would have yielded abundant fruits.

Today’s first reading describes Jesus as the shepherd who seeks out His sheep. The Psalmist sings of Jesus as the shepherd who provides our needs. The second reading hints at Jesus as the priest who sacrificed Himself for our sake. Finally, our Gospel passage depicts Jesus as the King who reigns over, before whom we shall be judged at the end of the world.

If you are not fired up like Eleazer, the seven brothers and their mother, Matatthaias, or Judas and his brothers or even like Jesus (who cleansed the temple), then there is something seriously wrong somewhere. Fight for morality, fight for truth, fight for justice, fight for the Christian faith.

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)

Deliberately thank God always so you can confidently ask God when you are in need. Ten lepers were cured, but only one was made well. Being cured of our problems is one thing: gratitude makes us whole, complete, and well.

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?

Why did Jesus insist we should invite the poor? They cannot repay us. If we invite our friends and relatives to our parties, they will pay us back by either giving us money or inviting us to their parties. Jesus wants us to invite those who cannot pay us back so that our reward will come from God. “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.”

The moment we see ourselves as better than others, we start going down. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, having put the Pharisees to shame by healing a man with dropsy, taught us a lesson in humility. Jesus described pride as taking a seat at the high table (when invited for a ceremony) only for the host to politely ask you to step down for a more important guest.

St. Paul tells us today: “Do not yield your members to sin as an instrument, but yield yourselves to God.” There is an extent to which a slave would give trouble that the master will have no choice but to let the slave go. You only become a slave when you stop resisting and give up the struggle.

When your life proclaims God, you have nothing to fear, as Jesus promises us: “When they bring you before synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12). God lives with and in those whose lives proclaim His existence.

Why would tenants be bold enough to kill the servants sent to collect their rent? Why would guests turn around to kill the servants sent to remind them of the banquet? These parables highlight injustice and wickedness in people's hearts, yet Jesus is speaking directly to us in them because we are those tenants; we are the guests. This brings us to our lessons for today.