Homily for Friday of the First Week of Advent

Homily for Friday of the First Week of Advent MT 9:27-31

In today’s Gospel, we witness Jesus healing two blind men. However, two questions come to mind: Why does Jesus ask them not to tell anyone about their healing? And why do they disobey and tell everyone anyway?

Jesus asks them to remain silent because He doesn’t want people to misunderstand His mission. The title “Son of David” might lead people to think He came as a political leader to restore the kingdom of Israel, but Jesus came for a much greater purpose. He came to reveal God's glory and to bring salvation to the world, not to seek praise or glory for Himself.

St. Chrysostom helps us understand that although Jesus asked them to be quiet, they couldn’t help but share the good news. Why? Because they had experienced God’s healing power, and once you experience something so life-changing, you want to tell others, they immediately became preachers and evangelists. Jesus Himself, in Luke 8:39, told a healed man, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” This teaches us an important lesson: we should not seek personal glory but instead share the good things God has done in our lives, always giving the glory to Him.

Today, as we reflect on the life of St. Nicholas, we are reminded of his generosity and humility. He is known for his acts of charity, which he performed in secret, always motivated by his love for God and his desire to help others without seeking recognition. One famous story involves St. Nicholas secretly providing dowries for a poor man’s daughters, saving them from a life of hardship. In another story, he saved three innocent men from wrongful execution, all without drawing attention to himself.

St. Nicholas teaches us that we should not seek personal glory, but instead, we are called to share what God has done for us, always giving glory to Him. This Advent season is a time of preparation for Christ’s coming, and it reminds us to focus on glorifying God rather than drawing attention to ourselves. It is good to share how God has worked in our lives, but we must do so humbly, pointing others to God, not to ourselves.

Let us follow the example of Jesus and St. Nicholas: avoid self-promotion and, instead, seek to make God's glory known. Like the healed blind men, let us become witnesses of God’s goodness, always remembering that it is God who deserves all the praise.