DAILY HOMILIES #pray

Jesus teaches that if your faith is as small as a mustard seed (if you have the tiniest atom of expectation), all you need to do is to speak, and mountains will begin to move for your sake. Our tongues have power, but only those who recognise it can use it. Be careful of your choice of words. You may have several challenges and difficulties, but always talk as a person of faith. Avoid the mistake of the Israelites, who, while on their journey to the Promised Land, rebelled against God by their choice of words.

Prayer is not one-way traffic. We ask God because we are His children, and by asking Him, we also declare that we live according to His instructions. Sin destroys our relationship with God. When we pray, we should have complete confidence in God. At the same time, our prayer must affect the kind of life we live. If we beg from God, we must not forget that others are begging from us; others who need our charity; others who need our forgiveness; and others who need us to intercede for them, just as Abraham did for Sodom and Gomorrah.

In our Gospel passage, Jesus admonishes us not to engage in physical battles: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also….” (Matthew 5:38-39).

As Christians, we are constantly the subject of hatred by wolves who pretend to love us. Jesus does not pray that we should be taken out of the world. Jesus prays that we should be protected from the evil one. Even though we wrestle against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6:12), we are assured of God’s protection. We do not wrestle as victims but as victors, because Jesus has already overcome the world (John 16:33).

Today, we celebrate Mary’s intercession for Africa. When Herod sought to kill the baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph took shelter in Africa. At a time when our continent is facing turmoil and suffering under the yoke of neocolonialism, we need Mother Mary’s intercession more than ever.

Peter addressed them: “Men of Israel, why do you stare as though we had made him walk by our power or piety?” Never worship God’s ministers; even the devil can heal in the name of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, never assume you are too small (or too sinful) to invoke the name of Jesus Christ. You don’t have to be ordained to be a healer.

Do not be discouraged by the weight of the crosses you carry in your Christian journey. Consider the Transfiguration as an encouragement from above. God is watching you. Moses, Elijah and all the prophets and saints who have walked this path are watching you. We prayed in the Stations of the Cross: “Difficulties remain difficult Lord, but I will not run away from them.” In the words of St. Paul “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing to the glory that is to be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).

Esther’s prayer teaches us the difference between asking and complaining. While asking is done with a disposition of love and humility toward God, complaining expresses our bitterness toward God without faith in His ability to grant our requests. Prayer is always optimistic, but complaining is highly pessimistic.

When praying, our faith carries more weight than words. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Cf. Hebrews 11:6). Whenever we pray, we must remind ourselves of what the prophet Isaiah says: “As the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water, the earth making it bring forth fruit, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

It is better to pray than to command. The disciples asked Jesus in private why they could not cast out the demon, and Jesus responded: “This type can only be driven out by prayer.” We all have authority over evil spirits and demons. St. John says: “Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4). However, even with our authority, we must never neglect the discipline of prayer and fasting.

God inspired both creation accounts; they are not journalists’ reports of creation. Far from revealing the details of “how” the world was made, they both seek to tell “why” the world was created. Some questions answered by the second creation account include: “Why are males sexually attracted to females? Why does marriage exist in all human societies? Why does the human family exist? Why do parents have such strong love for their children?”

Like falling in love, the beginning is usually very sweet; you think about the person all day, and you are ready to do anything for them, but as time passes, familiarity creeps in, the fire goes out. Upon conversion to the faith, the Ephesians must have begun many devout practices pleasing to God, but over time, these practices faded away.