DAILY HOMILIES #mercy

Like the servant whose debts were forgiven, we pray for God’s mercy every day yet we continue to nurse the hurts of others in our hearts seeking, waiting, and hoping for opportunities to strike them down. The next time you feel like dealing with someone, think about how much God has forgiven you in the past.

As we say in the Stations of the Cross, “no matter what my past has been, I can begin anew.” God is inviting us today to rise from where we have fallen, to pick up our Cross again, to say with the Prodigal Son, “I will arise and go to my Father.” Perhaps you haven’t been to the sacrament of confession for a very long time, today is another opportunity. Examine your heart, make a firm purpose of amendment, and return to God.

The truth is: We are the brothers and sisters of the rich man. The fact that we are privileged to hear this parable of Jesus means we have been warned. Remember the corporal works of mercy, they would form the basis of our judgment on the last day.

Fasting is not merely a deprivation from food or other pleasurable things; it is a spiritual exercise that involves our whole being. If we fast and engage in quarreling, fighting, or acts of wickedness, Isaiah says these things will prevent our fasting from reaching heaven. If you must fast, let not your hunger become an occasion for anger, fighting, or bitterness. It is better to eat well and control your temper than to allow your hunger to push you into sin.

Consider yourself blest when you suffer injustice for God’s sake, when people insult you and maltreat you for choosing to stand by what is right, God is on your side. Do you remember Joseph? When he was tempted by Potiphar’s wife and refused to give in to her sexual advances, it seemed as though his world had ended. There is always a bitter price to pay for goodness. However, in the midst of all that may come your way, bear in mind that God never sleeps. The same Joseph that was so unfairly treated would eventually become Prime Minister of Egypt.

It is not enough that we hang decorations, lights and pictures of Jesus this season, let us hang the virtues of Christ, chief among which are forgiveness and mercy. Putting up fancy lights is very expensive, not many can afford these beautiful lights but there is another light that cost nothing and is available for all; it is the light of good deeds.

Since there are no perfect humans, and Jesus is saying that divorce is not an option, how are couples to find joy in marriage? The answer is forgiveness. Forgive quickly. St. Paul would say: “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27). If couples learn to forgive each other seventy times seven times, marriages would be blissful. Forgiveness sustains marriage.

Unforgiveness is like holding hot coals in your bare hands hoping to throw them at your offenders. Once a snake brushed a saw in the farmer’s tool shed and in anger the snake rolled itself around the saw hoping to crush it but the snake ended up committing suicide. Unforgiveness is suicidal. On the other hand, forgiveness is self-healing. It is releasing a prisoner only to discover you are the prisoner.

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.

Our failure to forgive people puts a big question mark on our baptismal certificate. Our failure to be merciful to people as God was merciful to Ahab makes us no better than Jezebel. It is horrible for someone to kill another person (because of land or anything whatsoever) but it is even more horrible for a Christian to partake in jungle justice which has now become the order of the day today.

When we go for confession, God so forgives our sins and washes us that we can confidently say we become new creatures. God does not remember our sins because the moment we offload them at the confessional, our old self dies and we leave as newborn babies. Just as you cannot accuse a newborn baby of sin, God no longer accuses us of the sins that we have dropped at the confessional. Never be too shy to go to confession; it is not the priest who forgives us but Jesus Christ himself who gave the priest the power to retain or absolve sins in His name.

Each of us has a past. You may see yourself as a desert, God is saying, I will make rivers flow from you. You may have gone deep in sin, yet God is saying: “my child, you can still be a Saint.” The God who called a murderer and changed his name from Saul to Paul is the same God we serve.