Homily for March 10, 2018.
“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather
than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles
himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:14.
There is a widespread disease affecting many of us today. I call it a
disease not because it is a medical condition but because it is a dis-ease;
that is, it is something that takes away our inner peace and happiness; it
often leaves us restless, unable to sleep and worried. This disease is called
“comparing ourselves with others.”
The symptoms of this disease include: using other people to measure
one’s progress in life, trying all means to appear better than others, doing
everything in one’s power to put people down, make them look small and unequal
to us, talking about people in a bad light out of jealousy, complexes such as
inferiority complex, superiority complex and praying against rather than
praying for others.
When this disease strikes a person, he or she becomes perpetually
unhappy because of the unending competitions he or she has to engage in with
virtually all other human beings in this world. Also, a person sick of the
disease is never fully alive, everything he or she does from dawn to dusk is
solely aimed at making impressions to others. Perfection becomes a mask he or
she has to wear constantly like a lady with very heavy make-up.
In my country, there is a type of generator called “I beta pass my
neighbour.” This philosophy of “beta pass neighbour” is so entrenched in our
psyches that we never appreciate anything we have unless we are sure it is
bigger, better, more sophisticated or more expensive than that of others. Until
we learn to complement rather than compete with people, the world would forever
remain a place of enmity; a jungle of some sort; an animal kingdom where the
strongest survive at the expense of the weak.
There is a feeling of excitement we get when we hear the sins and
failings of others. It makes us feel good just to know that we are ahead of
people whether by intelligence, spirituality or even wealth. What we don’t
understand is that each time we put someone down, talk about or laugh at their
weakness, we are doing same to ourselves; we are making our listeners
understand that we are smaller than those we are gossiping about since our
happiness depend on their downfall.
It takes real humility on our part to accept the fact that we are not
better than anyone else; that we cannot even be better than anyone else because
each one of us has his own race to run and the worst mistake we can make is to
leave our tracks and join others in their tracks. In the end, we only succeed
in helping others get faster to their finish point while our own race is yet to
be run.
It takes humility on our part to accept that no matter how holy we may
be in our eyes, we are still sinners constantly in need of God’s mercy. The
second man in the parable of Jesus came before God to pray and without raising
his eyes to heaven simply said: “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” As the
Prophet Hosea makes us understand: “God desires mercy and not sacrifice.”
Examination of conscience does a lot of good for us; not only does it
draw us closer to God (who loves the sinner but hates the sin), it also helps
us forgive those who hurt us. Are you finding it very difficult to forgive
someone? Do a thorough examination of your heart and you will discover that you
have done worse things in the past than what that person has done against you;
that if God treats you according to the way you want to treat your offender,
you will not survive.
Stop comparing yourself with others. Step out of your
competitive zone. No one has got it all. God gave each person on earth unique
gifts so that we can provide for what is lacking in each other not so that we
can fight ourselves. Acknowledge your sins and each day strive to be a better
you than what you were the previous day.
Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to be content with all I have, help me
examine my heart diligently and root out my own demons rather than become
possessed with those of others. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent.
Bible Study: Hosea 6:1-6 and Luke 18:9-14).
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