Homily for December 18, 2017.
“When
Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the Angel of the Lord had commanded him.”
Matthew 1:24.
If there
is one homily I posted that attracted the highest number of negative remarks,
it was that which I titled “Dreams, Visions and the Future.” No doubt, I actually
“goofed” by reaching a conclusion that dreams are not to be taken too seriously
and we should not be so concerned about the future.
I held
this position for two reasons; one my personal experience of always seeing the
opposite of my dreams and secondly, the fact that a lot of persons who are not genuine
ministers of God are now taking undue advantage of people’s belief in dreams
and their desire to know the future. For instance, a person comes to tell you
he saw you in the dream or had a revelation about you so therefore you should
pay so and so amount of money for special prayers or that he or she would have
to bath you at 12midnight… bla, blab la.
Let’s face
the fact; amongst Nigerian men and women of God today are many who are not only
fake but through their quest for money have tactically destroyed the face of
Christianity. Corruption has eaten deep into our moral fabric as a nation and
even the church, the house of God which should be the last bus stop, the holy
of holies; the last conscience of society is also affected.
So, my
dear friends, it is true that God speaks to us through dreams. God sent an
Angel to Joseph in his dreams twice, first to brief him about the nature of
Mary’s pregnancy and the role he would play as a foster father to Jesus and
secondly to warn him to flee with the child Jesus at night. Joseph’s dreams
were direct and the messages were very straight forward. However, that God
speaks through dreams does not guarantee that every single dream we have is a
prophecy and it shouldn’t give us ground to start moving from church to church looking
for interpretation.
Nonetheless
the message we should go home with this morning is this; that for every Jesus,
there is a Joseph. For every successful person in life, there are many or at
least one person who had to sacrifice his or her dreams and aspirations. I can
only imagine how Joseph felt knowing that his dream bride was to be the Mother
of God; not only would he proceed with the marriage, he would have to just
accept celibacy for the rest of his life for the sake of Jesus. Joseph had a
choice to obey the Angel or not to but he was not so concerned about himself;
he knew that he was just a pilgrim on earth and that no enjoyment here equals
that which we would find in heaven.
Am I being
called to be a Joseph to somebody? Could it be that I have failed to be Joseph
to my Jesus as a result of my self-centeredness? Do I consider the interests of
others? Is my life driven by pleasure such that I even disobey the voice
(commands) of God regarding purity and morality?
The life
of Joseph teaches us that our best choices are not only those that tend to
favour us personally but those that actually put God first. Joseph teaches us
the value and importance of sacrifice especially for others.
Do not be self-centred.
Perhaps your true calling in life is not to be a star but to be the coach
behind many stars. Our society is so individualistic (all man for himself; OYO –
On Your Own) that so many persons are “finished” assuming that success in life
is to become a star when in fact, God called them to raise stars.
Let us pray:
Lord Jesus, help me identify my ‘Jesus’ and give me grace to be a good ‘Joseph’
to him or her. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. (Monday of the Third week of Advent. Bible Study: Jeremiah 23:5-8
and Matthew 1:18-24).
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