Beware of Hypocrisy; it is Self-Destruction.

Homily for June 1, 2018.

“And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And he said to it, ‘May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’” Mark 11:13-14.

Given that it was not the season for figs, what crime did this fig tree commit to deserve such a curse from Jesus Christ? Did Jesus say this simply out of annoyance or is there something deeper than what we see on the surface here?

Of course, Mark tells us that Jesus was hungry. This statement is not one to be glossed over because it reflects the great truth that God actually took our human flesh. Jesus wasn’t a ghost, he was a real human being; he felt every possible human emotion that we feel. Hence, he perfectly understands the human condition and this should be the basis of our faith.

The second point to note here was that this tree was attractive. From a distance, Jesus caught sight of it and decided to go close. Ordinarily, one would think Jesus went there to pluck fruits to eat but this was not the case because Jesus clearly knew that was not the season for fruits. However, when Jesus went to the tree, he was expecting to see the tree’s potentials; Jesus wanted to see its fruits even though unripe. And this is precisely where this story relates to our lives.

The tree was attractive from a distance but upon close examination, it was useless. For those who know about fig trees, the external appearance of leaves (that it was so full of foliage) is a sign that it has started developing fruits. Such an attractive tree ought to have had figs. Like this tree, many of us Christians are externally attractive yet empty within. This is called Hypocrisy. We give the world the impression of holiness and closeness to God, we draw people to ourselves, (we are crowd-pullers) yet deep down within us, we not only lack fruits, we even lack the potential of bearing fruits.

Jesus cursed the tree not out of hunger but because there was already something intrinsically wrong with the tree. For it to have had leaves without a single unripe fig shows that this tree was only there for show. It had lost the purpose of its existence. It was now good for firewood. As Jesus would say: “if salt has lost its taste, of what good is it anymore other than to be thrown down and trodden under foot by men?” Cf. Matthew 5:13, Luke 14:34.

Hypocrisy is living a lie. It is perfecting the art of showmanship (that people may see) whereas no single effort is being made by the person to grow, to improve, to change bad habits, to start bearing fruits. It is better for us to cease to exist than to be alive and yet dead deep inside. Just like the temple that appeared good externally but had become an extension of the market; a den of robbers, hypocrisy makes us look good, (makes us believe in our false sense of goodness) yet we become blinded to evils in our own life. We look at the outward decoration and we are happy but we cannot see that these decorations are coverings for un-repented sin.

In a sense, the curse Jesus placed on the fig tree prophetically became the fate of that Temple that was eventually brought down to nothing in 70 AD and has remained to this day a Wailing Wall.  May this not become our fate too for failing to bear fruits. Amen.

The disciples of Jesus were surprised the following day to see the fig tree withered. Obviously, they didn’t expect Jesus’ words to come to pass so quickly. They didn’t realize that made in the image and likeness of God who created the whole world simply by speaking, we humans enormous power in our mouths. Jesus had to explain this great power noting that there are two things that prevent it from working; doubt and unforgiveness.

Words simply spoken are powerful. Words spoken to oneself are even more powerful. Words spoken to others determine the extent we get in life because every day, people respond to us based on the words we use in communicating with them. However, the words we speak to God are the most powerful, so much so that we can even command mountains and hills to move as God himself did on creation. But we must be careful to ensure that doubt and hatred do not contradict our words.

In summary, avoid hypocrisy. Christianity shouldn’t be about attractiveness, we must walk the talk, we must bear fruits, we must use our gifts and talents to the fullest, we must serve others as St. Peter admonishes in today’s first reading: “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another,… whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies; in order that in everything God may be glorified.” 1 Peter 4:10-11.

We remember St. Justin today who was killed for his defence of the faith. We pray for his intercession as we continue to live out our Faith in these troubled times. The persecution of Christians never seems to end.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, free me from hypocrisy. Amen.

Happy New Month. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 8^th Week in Ordinary Time. Memorial of St. Justin, the Martyr. Bible Study: 1^st Peter 4:7-13 and Mark 11:11-25).

The Dignity of Slavery (Servitude).

Homily for May 29, 2018.

 

“Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.” Mark 10:43-44.

When asked to choose between being a king in control of a very large and wealthy palace or being the least of the servants with no entitlements whatsoever, which option would you take?

Which option will I take?

Dear friends, having been created by God, made in the image and likeness of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega, the President of Presidents, I think it is only fair to say that it is in our human nature to desire for kingship, to aspire for leadership, to rule rather than be ruled.

Deep down within everyone you know, there is a craving for some lofty position. Of course, this is assuming that you know yourself too. In all honesty, we are James and John; we want to sit at the right and left of Jesus and we are prepared to drink wine to stupor if that is what it will take.

What about the other disciples, aren’t they better than James and John? They just didn’t have the courage to voice out their aspirations. One may ask if they were not also interested, how come they couldn’t hold themselves? Why did they suddenly become indignant (resentful, hostile, envious) with the brothers?

By the way, today’s Gospel passage comes from Mark 10, do you remember that a few days ago, we read in Mark 9 how the disciples were arguing among themselves who was the greatest? Do you remember Jesus setting a child before them to teach them a lesson? Can’t you see now that James and John simply decided to “up” their game?

None human being likes to be second-in-command, talk less of servant or slave. Hence, to do what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel passage, to choose to serve rather than be served, to become the slave (the unknown, the used, the unnecessary) is the noblest aspiration any true follower of Christ can have.

One thing I have noticed that keeps me unsettled is the fact that people who have risen to such great heights of power or influence, people whose mere appearance elicits fear among many are most of the time, very humble, simple, down to earth and ordinary in their own eyes. When you get close to them, you are shocked to discover they aren’t monsters yet their bodyguards, their servants, would make you regret the day you were born for attempting to come near.

I have seen young lawyers who would not get up in an occasion simply because the master of ceremony forgot to mention proper titles or did not pronounce their names correctly. Yet, I have seen judges, senior advocates who are so simple; they do not even like to be identified in the midst of people not to mention being introduced as such. Why this is the case, I do not know. I may go on citing examples, but the point is made already.

Dear friends, the choice is yours to make; to be a servant or to be the king? It is nobler to serve, it is better to be nothing than to praised and worshipped by men. What is the point fighting to rule over people when I am just grass? As St. Peter sums up in today’s first reading: “All flesh is grass and its glory like wildflowers. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” 1^st Peter 1:24 and Isaiah 40:6.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to serve just like you. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 8^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 1^st Peter 1:18-25 and Mark 10:32-45).

Fear Not, Great Rewards Awaits those who Forsake Riches to Follow God.

Homily for May 29, 2018.

“Peter began to say to him, ‘Lo, we have left everything and followed you.’” Mark 10:28.

The essence of discipleship is detachment. To be a follower of God, one must first make a fundamental decision to make God one’s highest priority. To be a follower of God and a pursuer of riches is truly a contradiction in terms. This is the bane of Christianity in our society today.

Peter said to Jesus: “We have left everything and followed you.” Can I say this about myself today? As a Christian, what have I left behind for the sake of God? What makes me different from the rest of the world? Is God my sole priority?

Unlike the rich young man who walked away sad in yesterday’s Gospel passage, the true disciple is one who places his total trust in God. When faced with temptation, the true disciple is one who would rather obey God and lose riches than disobey God.

A true disciple as Peter himself acknowledges in today’s first reading is one who is committed to personal holiness; one who is not conformed to the passions of his former ignorance. The true disciple does not engage in any form of competition or bragging over material possessions.

Placing one’s total trust in God rather than in earthly riches is what Jesus Christ admonishes us to do when he said: “Happy are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Mathew 5:3. In Luke’s translation of this verse, we hear Jesus saying: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke 6:20.

As the psalmist says: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’ For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings, you will find refuge.” Psalm 91:1-4.

To one who is faithless, abandoning oneself to God, leaving everything behind for God’s sake, making God one’s priority appears like a death sentence. But as Jesus assures us today:

“there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30.

Are we then to pursue the Christian life solely for the sake of these rewards? No. indeed to understand what Jesus is saying clearly, Matthew 6:33 immediately comes to mind: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” Think of it as the act of catching a butterfly. If you go frantically in search of it, it flies away but when you let it be, it settles on you.

Aspire for sainthood. Place your trust in God. Be detached from worldly goods. God surely knows how to take care of his own. So long as it is not material possessions you seek, God who knows what you need even before you ask will not leave you empty.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to re-order my priorities, to work not only for worldly wealth but more importantly for eternal life. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday of the 8^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 1^st Peter 1:10-16 and Mark 10:28-31).

Don’t Let Greed Become Your Religion.

Homily for May 28, 2018.

“By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and to an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” 1 Peter 1:3-4.

We might not all agree about this but the truth is that we live in a world where money is a god; we live in a world where the only value people still believe in is riches. As one musician puts it, the Creed of today’s world is: *“If it is not making money, it is not making sense.”* So, whatever does not make me richer, make me drive that nice car or wear those designer clothes is not worth it.

Sadly, the only reason why religion still appeals to many today is that people still believe that religion holds the key to satisfying that greed. I saw a short video on social media: a pastor having received a tithe donation from one of his female church members gave his wedding invitation card to her and introduced the girl he was about to marry. The female church member became extremely furious as to why he decided to pick a girl who wasn’t even a member of the church after all the “investment” he had been receiving from the congregation.

She even went on to say that she was pregnant with the pastor. He asked: “How? By the spirit?” She answered: “through my seeds, I have been sowing, through the gifts, I have been giving, I put food on your table, I ensure you get everything you need. Instead of you to notice me, you have brought another person to come and reap what I have suffered to sow… don’t allow your ministry to fall oh, you went to bring Jezebel that you don’t know and left us; we that you know.”

Although the video was funny, I couldn’t help asking myself questions afterwards. Do people still go to church to worship God or is it the case that we now see the church as some investment centre? Something like a bank?

As I was reflecting on this, I came across another video, a social experiment conducted by the Joey Salads group. Four guys set up surveillance cameras to find out if people valued money more than human life. The results were quite shocking. Those who are well to do by society standards chose money over the life of a baby but those who were by all standards poor and had nothing to live on saw the money but preferred to save the life of baby than enrich themselves.

Dear friends, the questions I want to ask myself now is: “Is making money important to me?” “Has money become my god?” “Do I nurse this belief or fear that if I lose money, it would reduce my chances of survival?” “Do I find it difficult to give money away because I feel what I have will not be enough for me?”

In today’s Gospel passage, a young man walked away from Jesus sad because he could not bring himself to the point of selling all he had and giving that to the poor in other to follow Jesus. This young man had come to Jesus seeking for the key to inheriting eternal life. Why did he come to Jesus when up until that moment he had lived a rather good life keeping all God’s commandments? The young man came to Jesus because deep within him, he knew something was lacking, but could not place it; he sure felt a sense of emptiness within him but he didn’t know why.

Jesus knew what he lacked and sensed his deepest insecurities and fears. Jesus could see that this young man worshipped his riches, he believed in his riches, he placed all his trust in his riches and his greatest fear was losing even a dime. Jesus then gave him a very had pill, one that was going to make the young man transfer his trust in riches to a solid trust in God, one that was going to cure him of his inner emptiness, one that was going to puncture the wall he had built around himself keeping him away from the cries of the hungry, homeless and less privileged.

The young man walked away sad. He couldn’t let go. He didn’t realize that that for those who put their trust in God, there are great riches, true riches awaiting them in heaven. These are the riches St. Peter speaks about in today’s first reading, these riches are imperishable, undefiled and unfading. Dear friends, be prepared to lose everything you have now knowing that true wealth awaits you in heaven. Let not your pursuit of worldly riches prevent you from that which is kept for you in heaven.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to re-order my priorities, to work not only for worldly wealth but more importantly for eternal life. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Monday of the 8^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: 1^st Peter 1:3-9 and Mark 10:17-27).

God is Trinity; God is Love, God is Family.

Homily for May 27, 2018.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20.

What comes to your mind immediately you hear the word “God”? For most people, their image of God is that which we all formed as little kids; an image of a white old man with long white beards who does nothing other than sitting on a golden throne with Angels surrounding him. If you are one of such persons with this one-sided image of God, then today’s liturgy is for you.

Dear friends, to think of God as an old man with long white bears is to completely misunderstand God. In fact, God is not simply one person (an old man), God is three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. To think of God as an old man is to assume that Jesus Christ is somewhat less than God whereas both God the Father and God the Son are one and the same. Again, to think of God as an old man is to assume God is far away in heaven when in fact, God is right here, right now as Holy Spirit.

As much as we cannot completely dismiss our childhood images of God, our liturgy today brings to fore the fact that God is much more than what we can imagine or comprehend. God is in heaven but at the same time, he is not confined to any one place at any time. Speaking to the Israelites, Moses in today’s first reading says: “Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire? ... Know therefore this day, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth beneath; there is no other.” Deuteronomy 4:33-39.

God is both in heaven and on earth at the same time. The same one God created the world and all that is in it as Father and at the same time, came to be born as a man; Jesus Christ, and at the same time, descended from heaven upon the disciples gathered in worship on Pentecost Day. God is a mover, He moved at creation as Father, He moved on earth to save mankind as Son and He continues to move amongst us today as Spirit yet God is not separated but totally united and indivisible.

Wherever God is, the three persons are present and when any of the three acts, the other two are part of the action. Hence, at creation, God said: “Let us make man…” Genesis 1:26, indicating the presence of the Son and the Spirit at creation. In all that Jesus, God the Son, did in his work of saving the world, right from his incarnation to his ascension, we see the active participation of God the Father and God the Spirit. In God, there is no quarrel, no competition; no division.

Matthew ends his Gospel with the scene of Jesus’ apparition to his disciples after his resurrection when he told them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19. From one angle, it looks as if Jesus was teaching them how to do baptism but what is really happening here is that Jesus is basically teaching us about God.

In one statement, Jesus sums up everything we need to know about God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. By saying that the three of them would be invoked for baptism, Jesus was indirectly telling us of their perfect equality. None of the three persons is greater or more important than the other.

Finally, Jesus says “I am with you always to the close of the age.” Does this mean if we travel to Jerusalem, we can see Jesus Christ in flesh and blood? No, it means that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is here with us right now and is always with us and this presence is what we celebrated last Sunday as the coming of the Holy Spirit.

At this point, I sincerely hope that I have not simply succeeded in confusing you. Forgive me if that is the case. So, to avoid having to go home empty, let us draw out some lessons to learn from today’s entire celebration:

1. The existence of three persons in one God teaches us that God is not alone and having been made in his image, we are not designed to be lone rangers. We need communion with others for our full potentials and gifts to be materialized. We must, therefore, avoid selfishness, self-centeredness, individualism (me-myself-and-I syndrome).

2. The perfect unity that exists in the Trinity is a great lesson in love. What keeps the three persons together is love. We are called to learn such perfect love and unity from God. Since we cannot survive as loners, since we must live with others, we cannot afford not to give love. Love is the magic that makes living with others possible. Take love away and every one becomes an enemy, without love, the world would cease to exist in a matter of minutes. When we say God is Love, we mean God is three persons living in one perfect union of Love.

3. Thirdly, God is Family. This is where our second reading today comes in. To say God is Father, Son and Spirit at the same time is to say God understands perfectly what it means to be a Father to us, his children. We are not slaves of God, we are children of God; we are not orphans. Yes, we have a Father who is in charge of the universe and we are heirs with Christ. We may suffer now for our faith but GLORY awaits us when we get back home (heaven).

Let us pray: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teach me to love, to live and act according to your will and promptings. Amen.

Happy Sunday. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Solemnity of Holy Trinity. Year B. Bible Study: Deuteronomy 4:32-40, Romans 8:14-17 and Matthew 28:16-20).

The Prayer of the Righteous Man is Powerful.

Homily for May 26, 2018.

“Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.” James 5:16.

Once upon a time in this city, a primary school teacher was kidnapped by unknown persons. It was so devastating to the school children when they came to school the following morning and behold their classroom teacher was not there. When they learnt what had happened to their teacher, these young soldiers decided to pray vehemently for their teacher.

It was quite funny at the beginning but after two hours, the children would not just stop. They prayed they cried, they sang and behold they shook heaven. That same day, their teacher was released by her kidnappers in a rather strange manner; instead of demanding for ransom, they went down on their knees and asked the woman to pray for them and forgive them.

In today’s Gospel passage, people were bringing children to Jesus and the disciples tried to stop them. But when Jesus saw it, he rebuked the disciples for their ignorance. Children are often considered a nuisance when they are around but even though they are so easily distracted, there is something they possess which is precious and powerful; it is their inner purity or innocence so to say. This is so powerful, so much so that Jesus warned us a few days ago that those who destroy the innocence of children are better off drowned in the sea with a millstone around their necks.

When a person with a clean heart prays, his prayer is very loud. Yes, God listens even to the prayers of the worst sinners on earth because he is a Father of all. But as James puts it, “the prayer of the righteous man has great power in its effects.” God listens to all but that of a righteous man, that of an innocent child, that of a pure heart is different! In fact, as Jesus said: “whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” This means we all are encouraged to have a child-like (innocent, uncontaminated, humble, simple, joyful) hearts.

I know some persons who can afford to pay millions as school fees for their infants less than three-year-old yet they would cringe when told to pay a thousand naira monthly for neighbourhood security. Why? Their children mean the whole world to them. That is exactly how God sees us. God is ready to do anything for us but we have to also do our part, we have to ensure that we remain childlike, righteous and holy. We cannot continue giving God excuses every day such as “the body is not a piece of firewood.”

James gives us the example of Elijah saying he was a man like us yet his prayer affected the entire cosmos. We actually have no excuse for remaining in our sinfulness. Human nature is not bad in itself, human nature is what you make of it; it is extremely flexible and can adapt to any situation. You can either become an angel or a demon. It is up to you.

On the other hand, one may interpret James’ statement regarding the righteous man as referring to the elders (presbyters) of the church. As a church leader, a priest, a pastor, an evangelist, a father, a mother, a boss, a teacher, God has put you in charge of people and has also put his power in your hands such that as James says, if those under your care are sick, you have the power to lay hands on them and God will work through you. Take note, if you provide food on the table for your children, you also have spiritual power over your children. So pray for them, pray for your employees, pray for your congregation and remember that your prayers carry more weight if you add righteousness to it.

Is it the case that God only answers the righteous? No. But note that in Ephesians 6, Paul mentions righteousness as one of the weapons of our warfare. Make efforts to be righteous, make efforts to be childlike in your approach to the things of God. Do not despise God or act as though you don’t need him.

Above all, St. James today talks about two sacraments of the church; anointing of the sick and confession. These are two sacraments of healing and it takes faith on our part to enjoy their benefits. Believe that when a priest anoints you with oil, his prayer will heal you. Believe that when you tell a priest your sins, you are telling them to Jesus Christ himself and God who alone has the power to forgive, will forgive you and heal you of the wounds your sins have inflicted on your original innocence.

You can always tell God your sins directly but it is not the same as telling them to a priest. When you do it with faith, God gives you the grace of the sacrament. In the same way, you can always ask God to bless you but when you kneel before your father for a blessing, you agree with me that it is a different thing altogether. Do not despise confession.

 

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, make me a child again and determined to grow in righteousness. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: James 5:13-16 and Mark 10:13-16).

Say “Yes” Only When You Actually Mean “Yes.”

Homily for May 25, 2018.

“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath, but let your yes be yes and your no be no, that you may not fall under condemnation.” James 5:12. 

Just before I went through today’s readings, I coincidentally stumbled upon a video clip someone sent to me on Whatsapp. It was a clip by Bishop T. D. Jakes on “Commitment.” After watching the clip, I couldn’t agree less with what he said. Here is a transcript of the clip:

“Your first commitment is to God, your second commitment is to family and it is a very important commitment. You better be committed or you are not going to make it. If you can only love me when you like me, we are not going to make it. The sooner or later, I am going to pluck your last nerve. If you are not committed, you are not going to make it.

“You come to the Altar and you raise your hands and say ‘Lord, I give myself to you but you don’t.’ You walk down here and join the church and you said ‘Now I am a member of the church’ but you are not. You marry somebody and say you can count on me, I’ll be there through the thick and thin for better for worse for richer and poor in sickness or in health… you didn’t mean it. You have to be committed to the storm and the rain and the heartache and the pain and the disappointment. You have to believe in the ‘we and the us’ and not the ‘me and the you’ or you are not going to make it.

“It’s a commitment, it’s not a feeling. You gonna come home when you are in love and you gonna come home when you are not in love, or, you are not going to make it. And stay there till the love comes back. It’s a commitment, it’s a commitment, it’s a commitment, it’s a commitment. Commitment does not have to do with your feelings. You do it because you are supposed to. And stop expecting to be rewarded for what you are supposed to do anyway….

“That’s why they said ‘for better for worse, in sickness and in health, the preacher knew that at least one of us was going to be crazy, he was warning you from the beginning! It’s a commitment. You picked out that crazy man, you chose that crazy woman. Shut up, nobody put her on you; you wouldn’t rest till you got her, now shut up. You wouldn’t listen to nobody, now you got her….

“Somebody has to arrest this generation that wants to take everything and give back nothing. You take a half-committed man and a half committed woman and put them together and there you will have some half committed trifling kids and the whole house will be half committed because children will be what they see. Stop fusing at your kids. They are a reflection of you.”

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, responding to a question he was asked about divorce said: “From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” Mark 10:6-9.

Coincidentally, James admonishes us in today’s first reading: “Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” In other words, when you say “yes” ensure that you actually meant it and be committed to it. Don’t say “yes” today and suddenly turn around to say “no” tomorrow. That is to say, once you have said “yes” you must keep saying “yes” forever.

This applies not only to married couples but to everyone. As a priest or a religious, if I have said “Yes” to God on the day of my ordination (consecration), I must remain committed to it no matter how I feel tomorrow. It is a commitment, not a feeling. I have to stay here for better and for worse, in sickness and in health, in riches and in poverty, in obedience, in sad times and in happy moments. There is no going back!

Like Job who was steadfast; who refused to curse God when he lost everything, let us remain steadfast no matter how tough things become.

 

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to renew my vows and commitments I made in your presence every day. Amen

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: James 5:9-12 and Mark 10:1-12).

The Danger of Scandal.

Homily for May 24, 2018.

 

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42.

As a little child, I still remember being taken to church on Sundays and then looking at the Altar to wonder if the priest was actually a human being. When I saw the way priests and altar servers were dressed, I convinced myself that God sends Angels from heaven to perform. At this time, however, I still couldn’t even comprehend a single word said during mass. I just remember looking around in amazement, getting bored now and then and playing around or even outside the church.

When Jesus talked about leading the little ones astray, he was referring to those who are innocent, those who still have such pristine ideas of holiness, those whose faith has not been defiled by bad example and sinful behaviours. The first thing we must do to avoid becoming guilty of scandalizing anyone is to remind ourselves constantly that innocent minds and hearts still exist.

One way the devil lures us into scandal is by making us believe “everybody is bad, corrupt, immoral or compromised.” By making us believe in such a lie, we become relaxed in sin and without knowing it, we destroy the hearts of the innocents as well. Does this mean we should live in pretence? Not at all. The point is living in such a manner that is sincere and honest while making extra effort to ensure that no one gets a bad example or the impression of a bad example.

St. Paul would tell us: “’All things are lawful,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful,’ but not all things build up.” 1 Corinthians 10:23. It is not enough that you are doing the right thing, that you are not committing sin. You must ensure that even in doing what your conscience considers as good, your action is helpful to the growth and development of the innocent ones.

When Jesus talks about giving a little one a cup of water, I believe part of that cup of water is showing good examples; avoiding scandal and more importantly teaching the little one sound moral values.

How else can we avoid scandal without necessarily living a life of pretence? (Without being hypocrites; whitewashed tombs; double-personality; etc.) The solution is GET USED TO DOING THE RIGHT THING. When your “normal” way of life is one does not give room to sinfulness, you will do what is right regardless of who is watching or whether there is anyone watching at all. Like one used to wearing his/her seat belt upon entering a car, there will never be a time that he would be stopped by the Police for not wearing his seat-belt.

To get used to doing the right thing always, Jesus proposes that we cut off all links to sin in our lives. Jesus wants us to understand that we (our very bodies, our senses, our passions) are the principal sources of sin. Notice that Jesus did not say: “if the devil causes you sin, cut him off…” neither did Jesus say: “if your boyfriend or sugar mummy causes you to sin…” No. Jesus simple hit the nail on the head by identifying the true causes of sin; the hand, the foot, the eye or better put: the human being; the self.

The battle against sin is the battle against the self. No wonder Jesus said: “Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?... What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” Mark 7:18-22.

Nobody can lead me into sin. I am always the root cause and architect of my own sins and I alone have to battle within my very self to stop sinning. If it so happens that I am forced or compelled by some external power or by someone else, then it is no longer a sin because it lacks the consent of my will.

Finally, St. James admonishes us in very hard and straightforward manner in today’s first reading with regards giving others their due. The worst form of armed robbery is to get someone to work for you and then you refuse to pay him or her. If this is your idea of becoming rich, St. James says such wealth will rot away. Whatever we do to trample the rights and privileges of those who cannot even challenge us always comes with a reward; a boomerang effect.

 

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, help me to always show good example by getting used to living above sin and soften my heart to care for those who work for me. Amen

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Thursday of the 7^th Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: James 5:1-6 and Mark 9:41-50).