LENT DAY 12: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. (Homily for February 23, 2016. Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent)


Bible Study:  Isaiah 1, 10 and 16 to 20. Matthew 23, 1 to 12).


In our first reading this morning, the prophet Isaiah summarizes what exactly should be our goal for Lent:

-          Repentance from sin, especially the sins of the flesh which characterized Sodom and Gomorrah.

-          Love for goodness and hatred of evil.

-          The practice of mercy.

-          Providing justice to the poor, especially to victims of oppression such as orphans and widows.

Isaiah assures us that when we do these things, God would thoroughly wipe away our past record of sins, no matter the extent of sins we may have committed, we would become like new born babies again.

It is very easy to preach to others with words but not so easy to practice what we preach. Jesus, in our Gospel passage is so disappointed with the religious leaders of his time because they were simply hypocrites. Jesus said: “practice whatever they tell you, but not what they do.”

There is no point being a signboard to heaven if all you do is to point people there but never move into heaven yourself. Yes, people may respect you and you may enjoy some earthly glory but all that would not matter the moment you stop breathing. True glory lies in the actual practice of God’s word; that is how we grow into perfection.

Above all, we must never forget that without God, we are nothing! So we must never see ourselves as greater than anyone else or try to make ourselves gods before others. Whether or not people greet us according to our titles does not matter. What matters is that we are living as children of the light before God who sees everything and before whom, nothing can ever be hidden.

Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, free me from the tendency to preach with my lips alone rather than by the very content of my life. Amen.

God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.


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