DAILY HOMILIES #parable

This parable teaches us to repent of vices such as using others to measure one’s progress in life, making others look small and unimportant, speaking ill of others, and praying against them. Repent from the philosophy of “I beta pass my neighbour.” Compare yourself only with who you were yesterday. Seek to improve, not to impress.

No matter what your past has been, as Micah says today, God will forgive your sin (Cf. Micah 7:18-20). The only time God will not forgive is when we refuse to ask for forgiveness. This is known as despair (the belief that God cannot forgive).

The rich man did not go to hell because he was rich; neither did Lazarus enter heaven solely based on his poverty. Just as there are many wealthy people in heaven, there are many who died wretched and are in hell. I may be poor materially, but if my heart is corrupt and evil (turned away from God), I cannot enter heaven.

From this parable, we learn one fact: people are different! Never expect everybody to react the same way or behave the same way. In other words, everybody is not like you. While it may seem effortless for you, some people will have to struggle to accomplish what you take for granted.

Faith will keep you going despite the failures you encounter. Edison believed in his vision, and even when he failed repeatedly, he wouldn’t stop. This is the kind of faith we need in God – a faith that continues to believe regardless of our failures or disappointments. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus uses the parable of the woman and the unjust judge to teach us the need for persistence in prayer.

Child of God, “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning.” In a few hundred years from today, the only thing that would matter is where we are spending eternity. Whether we made the Forbes List of the world’s richest people or barely managed to eat one meal daily would not matter.

Why did Jesus tell this parable to the man who had come to ask for Jesus’s intervention over an inheritance dispute? To assure him that even though he had been cheated, he could still live a very long and happy life. Meanwhile, his greedy brother is like the rich man whose lands yielded abundantly but refused to consider others in his enjoyment plan. If God calls this greedy brother tonight, what becomes of the inheritance he has gathered?

To be wise spiritually is to trust little in your wealth, current status, education, connections, and devotional practices. To be wise is to have a backup, something extra, to hold on to should everything else fail. To be wise, you have to have some extra oil.

The man who came in without a wedding garment symbolises many Christians who take God for granted today: Christians who abuse the sacrament of penance, Christians who do not believe that God has a say in what they do with their bodies, Christians who are wolves in sheep clothing; Christians who try to eat their cake and still have it at the same time. Salvation is free but not cheap.

Another way of understanding this parable is to think of the various soils as symbols of the time we devote to studying God’s Word daily. While the seed that fell on the path represents those who do not spend up to five minutes daily meditating on God’s Word, the seed that fell on good soil represents those who spend hours on God’s Word daily.

Whenever we call on God, He is always ready to forgive. Nevertheless, are we ready to extend His forgiveness to others? Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel passage teaches us what becomes of us when we refuse to extend God’s mercy to those who hurt us.

Just as the Father was merciful to the prodigal son, he showed mercy to the elder brother by stepping out of the banquet to reason with him. What kind of a parent am I? Do I pitch my children against themselves by indirectly (or directly) showing preference?