THURSDAY HOMILY: BEFORE THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY, YEAR B

THURSDAY HOMILY: BEFORE THE FEAST OF EPIPHANY, YEAR B

THEME: SIN IS BAD FOR US.

BY: FR. KARABARI PAUL

“He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.”

In the First Reading of today (1John 3:7-10), we are reminded that sin is of the devil. It is a reminder to our ultimate call to righteousness. We are made by God for His glory.

When you knowingly sin, it puts your body under stress. There is actually no such thing as a ‘lie detector test’. The fact is, the test cannot determine if someone is lying. It simply measures how a person’s response to certain questions impacts their nervous system. God designed our system to glorify Him (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So when you sin, it negatively impacts your body. Even if you have never taken a polygraph test, you can agree that when you have lied, you probably experienced an increase in your heart rate. So when God tells you not to sin, He is not trying to steal your joy but preserve it. Sin robs you of three things:

1) Comfort. ‘“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord’ (Isaiah 48:22). When you knowingly violate your values, you become uneasy in your own skin.

2) Character. Your reputation is how others see you, but your character is what you see when you look at yourself in the mirror each day. Your thoughts determine your deeds, your deeds determine your habits, your habits determine your character, and your character determines your destiny.

3) Confidence. Nothing in life is more important than to be able to approach God with confidence. ‘If we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him’ (1 John 3:21-22).

So the next time Satan tempts you to sin, stop and do the maths. By looking at the bottom-line result, you will be able to make the right choice every time. And to avoid sin, we must stay with Jesus, the Lamb of God, like the disciples of John the Baptist in the Gospel of today (John 1:35-42). GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. God bless you and your household always through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.

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