Divine Lessons!

Luke 9:51 When it came close to the time for Jesus to go back to heaven, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. 53 But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. 54 When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, "Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?" 55 Jesus turned on them: "Of course not!" And they travelled on to another village.

Food for thought!

When the time came, Jesus could no longer stay away from it, he had to go to Jerusalem. And going to Jerusalem meant certain death. Jesus knew it, and the people in the Samaritan village not only knew it but didn't want to be part of it. So they refused to cooperate; they refused hospitality to Jesus. The disciples James and John didn't like the villagers' reaction either. Solution? Call down fire from heaven to burn them alive.

In both instances, Jesus shows us how to deal with our enemies, or better with our adversaries, or those who disagree with us. In the first instance, the Samaritan villagers refused him welcome. And what did Jesus do? He just switched  course. Instead of forcing his way thru the village, he just went thru another village. He clearly avoided confrontation. THEY ARE SOME FIGHTS THAT ARE NOT WORTH FIGHTING.

Another lesson from Jesus, is refraining from misusing our powers. James and John wanted to use their powers to call down fire on the village. They thought Jesus would praise them for that; he did not. ''Of course not'', he said. In other words, of course evil is not fought with evil; of course rejection is not resolved with ejection; of course eye for eye only augments the situation.

So what are we to do when rejected? Just go to another village. Remember Deuterenomy 32:35, which says, ''I'm in charge of vengeance and payback.'' In other words, vengeance lies not with us but with the Lord. He knows best when and how to retribute on our behalf.

57 On the road someone asked Jesus if he could go along. "I'll go with you, wherever," he said. 58 Jesus was curt: "Are you ready to rough it? We're not staying in the best inns, you know." 59 Jesus said to another, "Follow me." He said, "Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father's funeral." 60 Jesus refused. "First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God's kingdom!" 61 Then another said, "I'm ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home." 62 Jesus said, "No procrastination. No backward looks. You can't put God's kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day." 

Here we have the words of Jesus to three would-be followers.

(i) To the first man, his advice was, "Count on difficulties." There is nothing like a problem free life. There is no road to victory without struggle; no crown without cross; no win without a fight.

(ii) Jesus' words to the second man sound harsh, but they need not be so. In all probability the man's father was not dead, and not even near death. His saying most likely meant, "I will follow you after my father has died." The point Jesus was making is that in everything there is a crucial moment; if that moment is missed the thing most likely will never be done at all. The psychologists tell us that every time we have a fine feeling, and do not act on it, the less likely we are to act on it at all. The emotion becomes a substitute for the action. Take one example, sometimes we feel that we would like to make a call, perhaps of sympathy, perhaps of thanks, perhaps of congratulations, perhaps for a business deal. If we put it off until tomorrow, it will in all likelihood never be. Jesus urges us to act at once when our hearts are stirred, to seize the opportunity.

(iii) His words to the third man state a truth which no one can deny. No ploughman ever ploughed a straight furrow looking back over his shoulder. There are some people whose hearts are in the past. They walk forever looking backwards and thinking wistfully of the good old days. If you drive the car with your eyes continually looking into the rearview, you crash. The Christian marches on, not to the past, but to the future; not to sunset, but to the sunrise. The watchword of the kingdom is not, "Backward!" but, "Forward!" To the third man Jesus did not say either, "Follow!" or, "Return!" he said, "I accept no lukewarm service," and left the man to make his own decision.

We are Peter and Pauls

Second Letter to Timothy 4:6-8.17-18.

For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Saint Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, «Who do people say that the Son of Man is?» They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Food for thought

Today, we celebrate two great men, Peter and Paul. The Church celebrates these two men together because they're the two sides of a coin, known as the Church; you can't have one without the other. If Peter discovered that Jesus is the Christ, Paul announced that discovery to all the world, especially to non Jews. If Peter was a champion of announcing Christ to the Jews, Paul is the champion of announcing Christ to the non Jews: "the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it."

So today we are celebrating unity in diversity. That is the main thought on our minds as we celebrate these two men, Peter and Paul. In their lifetime Peter and Paul did not work so closely together. Peter was called directly by Jesus and given “the keys of the kingdom,” as the gospel says. Btw, this is why in images and photos, Peter is portrayed as holding keys.

Paul, on the other hand, probably never met Jesus face to face. Once a persecutor of the church, his conversion came about through a vision on the road to Damascus. His inspiration and his style of presenting the gospel came from visions and charismatic experiences. In images and photos, Paul is portrayed as carrying either a sword or a book.

These days, we often label ourselves as either conservatives or liberals. Conservatives, who often identify with the institutional authority of Peter, wage war against liberals; and liberals, who identify with the charismatic vision of Paul, wage war against conservatives. By combining the feasts of the apostles Peter and Paul, the church is inviting all her children to look beyond the conservative-liberal divide and discover a deeper level of unity in Christ.

The church of Christ needs the rock of Peter’s institutional leadership as well as the vitality of Paul’s charismatic vision. Christian unity, like the unity of Peter and Paul, is not a unity in uniformity but a unity in diversity. Today the church reminds us that, even though as individuals and local communities some will prefer the style of Peter and others that of Paul, we should not let that divide us since we are all, first and foremost, followers of the one Lord Jesus Christ; we belong to the same coin that has two sides, two great saints, two complementing gifts. We do well not to fist each other but to feast with each other, be it in our homes, in our communities, in our church and in the world.

If you want to ...!

Matthew 8:1-4

After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’

Food for thought!

This gospel says a lot. It is talks of the leper's approach and Jesus' response. In the leper's approach there were three elements.

(i) The leper came with confidence. He had no doubt that, if Jesus willed, Jesus could make him clean. No leper would ever have come near an orthodox scribe or Rabbi; he knew too well that he would be stoned away; but this man came to Jesus. He had perfect confidence in Jesus' willingness to welcome the man anyone else would have driven away. No man need ever feel himself too unclean to come to Jesus Christ. Indeed, the more sinful we become, the more we deserve Jesus. He said, "I came not for the well but for the sick."

He had perfect confidence in Jesus' power. Leprosy was the one disease for which there was no remedy. But this man was sure that Jesus could do what no one else could do. No man need ever feel himself incurable in body or unforgivable in soul while Jesus Christ exists.

The leper came with humility. He did not demand healing; he only said, "If you want, you can cure me." It was as if he said, "I know I don't matter; I know that other men will flee from me and will have nothing to do with me; I know that I have no claim on you; but perhaps in your divine condescension you will give your power even to such as I am:" It is the humble heart which is conscious of nothing but its need that finds its way to Christ.

The gospel says a lot about Jesus too. According to Law, Jesus had to avoid this man, but Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. For Jesus there was only one obligation in life, and that was to help. There was only one law, and that law was love. The obligation of love took precedence over all other rules and laws and regulations; it made him defy all physical risks.

Jesus told this man not to tell anyone but go and show himself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses. There is lesson for us here. Jesus was telling that man not to neglect the treatment that was available for him in those days. We do not receive miracles by neglecting the medical and scientific treatment open to us. Man must do all man can do before God's power may cooperate with our efforts. A miracle does not come by a lazy waiting upon God to do it all; it comes from the cooperation of the faith-filled effort of man with the illimitable grace of God.

By ordering the man to keep silence, and not to publish abroad what he had done for him, Jesus was teaching us too that not everything he does for us it for public consumption. There are things the Lord does for us, or tells us, that we must never tell anybody. 

From words of Jesus to works of!

Matthew 7:21.24-27

"Knowing the correct password, saying 'Master, Master,' for instance, isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience, doing what my Father wills. "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit, but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. 26" But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. 27 When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards. "

Food for thought!

Jesus was in a double sense an expert. He was an expert in scripture. He is referring to Proverbs 10:25. "When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more, but the righteous is established for ever" (Prov.10:25). But Jesus was also an expert in life. He was the craftsman who knew all about the building of houses, and when he spoke about the foundations of a house he knew what he was talking about. He was a son of a carpenter.

There are two great permanent truths within this passage. There is only one way in which a man's sincerity can be proved, and that is by his practice. Fine words can never be a substitute for fine deeds. So often we confess God with our lips and deny him with our lives. It is not difficult to recite the creed, to say the prayers, even to go to church or to Bible study meetings.

So as we go to church, go to Mass, kneel down to pray, as we read the Bible, we should remember that it is not enough; it is just the beginning. The second part is to act as the Lord has told us in the prayer. But the intriguing question is, why don't we take Jesus'  words that much serious? Why don't we build our whole life on Jesus' words? I can only think of a few reasons.

The first, and may be the only reason why we don't take him serious, is that we think that his words are only good for the soul, not for the body too; we think that what Jesus tells us serves only for our spiritual life and not our whole life; we think that his words don't serve for our business life, our social life, our family life; we think that his words serve only inside churches not in the market place, not on the Main Street.

But this is not true. Jesus says very clearly that "If you work these words into your life" he does not say your spiritual life, he says your LIFE, all of life, whole life. In other words, Jesus' words serve not just for the soul, not just for a part of us, but for the whole of us, both body and soul. What Jesus tells us is as good in our private lives as in our public lives; they are as good inside the church as outside the church, on the Main Street. In other words, we can and must build our whole life on the words of Jesus. 

True and False Religion and Teaching!

Matt. 7:15-20

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but who within are rapacious wolves. You will recognize them from their fruits. Surely men do not gather grapes from thorns, and figs from thistles? So every good tree produces fine fruit; but every rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Every tree which does not produce fine fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then you will recognize them from their fruits.

Food for thought!

In today's gospel, Jesus is reminding us of false teachers and teaching. Teaching is false if it produces a religion which consists solely or mainly in the observance of externals. That is what was wrong with  the people of Jesus' time called Scribes and Pharisees. To these people religion consisted in the observance of laws, rules and regulations. If a man went through the correct procedures of religions,  then he was a good man.

It is easy to confuse religion with religious practices. It is possible, and indeed not uncommon, to teach others that religion consists in going to Church, observing the Lord's Day, fulfilling one's financial obligations to the Church, reading one's Bible. A man might do all these things and be far off from being a Christian, for Christianity is an attitude of the heart to God and to neighbour.

Teaching is false if it produces a religion which consists in prohibitions. Any religion which is based on a series of "thou shalt not's" is a false religion. A teacher who teaches things like, "thou shalt never go to the cinema, or dance or use make-up or read a novel or enter a theatre," is teaching a false religion. The real test of any teaching is: Does it strengthen you to bear the burdens of life, and to walk and work with Jesus? If not, that is a false teaching.

If becoming a Christian simply meant abstaining from doing things, then Christianity would be a much easier religion than it is. But the whole essence of Christianity is that it does not consist in not doing things; it consists in doing things. It is not enough to avoid evil; it necessary to do good to others. 

Teaching is false if it divorces religion and life. Any teaching which removes the Christian from the life and activity of life on the Main Street is false. That is the mistake we commonly make. Jesus said, and he prayed for his disciples, "I do not pray that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one" (Jn.17:15).

No man can be a good soldier by running away from the battle, and the Christian is the soldier of Christ. How shall the leaven ever work if the leaven refuses to be inserted into the mass? What is witness worth unless it is witness to those who do not believe? The Christian is not a spectator from the balcony; he is involved in the warfare of life.

Teaching is false if it produces a religion which is arrogant and separatist. Any teaching which encourages anyone to withdraw into a narrow sect, and to regard the rest of the world as sinners, is false teaching. The function of religion is not to erect middle walls of partition but to tear them down. It is the dream of Jesus Christ that there shall be one flock and one shepherd (Jn.10:16). Exclusiveness is not a religious quality; it is an irreligious quality. Religion is meant to bring us closer together, not to drive us apart. Religion is meant to gather us into one family, not to split us up into hostile groups. The teaching which declares that any Church or any sect has a monopoly of the grace of God is false teaching, for Christ is not the Christ who divides, he is the Christ who unites.

The golden rule!

Matthew 7:6,12-14

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces.

‘So always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that is the meaning of the Law and the Prophets.

‘Enter by the narrow gate, since the road that leads to perdition is wide and spacious, and many take it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.’

Food for thought!

Have you ever had of the golden rule? The summary of all the Bible? The one thing that is the foundation and summit of all teaching and sermons? This is it, Do to others what you want them do to you. Or as the gospel of today put it, "always treat others as you would like them to treat you." Ask yourself what you want people to do for you in your case, then grab the initiative and do it for them. How would you like others to treat you when you're wrong, when you're sick, when you have sinned, when you're broke, when you don't know, etc.? Treat them likewise. This is simple, rule-of-thumb guide for holiness and sanctity. Let us explain.

We all often want to know what is right. Even in a single day, we come across situations whereby we have to make decisions. And you agree with me that there are gray situations that are difficult to know whether they are right or wrong. So, the question Jesus answers for us is, Where can you find a standard that will work in every situation, or a guide that will help us to sleep well at night, that will help us prosper in business, that will help in marriage, in friendships and in every kind of situations?

Such a rule that works all the time is called golden rule. Why is it golden? Well, because it applies to all situations. You can use it all the time, under all circumstances whatsoever. In your private life, your family life, your professional life; everywhere, every time, every day. Just ask yourself, How would I like to be treated in this situation? Just imagine yourself in the place of the other person. And by other person I mean your spouse, your client, your boss, your house girl.

As you will find out, only a few people use this rule. Indeed, the golden rule is a narrow gate that is small; only a few people follow it. Do you?

His name is John!

Luke 1:5-17

In the days of King Herod of Judaea there lived a priest called Zechariah who belonged to the Abijah section of the priesthood, and he had a wife, Elizabeth by name, who was a descendant of Aaron. Both were worthy in the sight of God, and scrupulously observed all the commandments and observances of the Lord. But they were childless: Elizabeth was barren and they were both getting on in years.

 

Now it was the turn of Zechariah’s section to serve, and he was exercising his priestly office before God when it fell to him by lot, as the ritual custom was, to enter the Lord’s sanctuary and burn incense there. And at the hour of incense the whole congregation was outside, praying.

 

Then there appeared to him the angel of the Lord, standing on the right of the altar of incense. The sight disturbed Zechariah and he was overcome with fear. But the angel said to him, ‘Zechariah, do not be afraid, your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth is to bear you a son and you must name him John. He will be your joy and delight and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord; he must drink no wine, no strong drink. Even from his mother’s womb he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him.’

Food for thought!

"Among those born of women no one is greater than John" (Luke 7:28). These words which our Lord said about John the Baptist explain why we celebrate this man's birthday. As a rule, the church does not celebrate birthdays but the anniversary of the saint’s death. In the case of John the Baptist we celebrate his death as well as his birth. John is the only saint after Christ whose birth we celebrate with a solemn feast. This is the church’s way of saying with Jesus that “among those born of women no one is greater than John.”

The gospel of today focuses on the name of John. Why does the gospel show such an interest in the name of the child? What’s in a name? In the Bible, just as in many cultures, names function the way business names do, that is, they aim to convey what the bearer of the name stands for.

The name John means “God is gracious.” His birth signals the beginning of a new era in God-human relationship, an era to be characterised by grace and not by law. God himself gave John that name and it was revealed to his father Zachary in a vision, as today's gospels put it. That this name was given to the child already before his birth shows that God has a purpose and plan not only to this child but to all of us. Yes, God had and still has a purpose for each one of us.

The words of Jeremiah in today's first reading apply equally to John, to you, to me, and to everybody. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I have appointed you as prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4-10)

God has a purpose for His children before they come into this world, and so the challenge of life is for each one of us to discover this purpose and to be faithful to its demands.

The purpose for which God created you may require that you walk to a different drum beat than other people. For John it required that he must drink no wine, no strong drink.

John was born for a purpose: "he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he will bring back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. With the spirit and power of Elijah, he will go before him to turn the hearts of fathers towards their children and the disobedient back to the wisdom that the virtuous have, preparing for the Lord a people fit for him."

What is God's purpose for you? Why were you born? What are you here on earth for? Do you know your purpose? Are you faithful to it? As we saw yesterday, you are not what people call you; you are what God called you and calls you to do and to be. And, to be faithful to the call of God, we need the courage and discipline to stay on track all the time, all life. John is great today not only because God called him to a special vocation but because he walked faithfully in the path that leads to the goal that God had set for him.

As we celebrate the birth of John the Baptist, let us ask ourselves: what on earth am I here for? If you do not know your God-given name, the name which represents all that God sent you into the world to be and to accomplish, then it is time to find out by listening in private prayer (yesterday's Food for thought). This is because our greatness as children of God, like the greatness of John the Baptist, consists in discovering and being what God has created us to be and do.

If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God, not with yourself. You won't discover your life's meaning by looking at yourself. You didn't create yourself, so there's no way you can tell yourself what you were created for. YOU WERE MADE BY GOD AND FOR GOD, AND UNTIL YOU UNDERSTAND THAT, LIFE WILL NEVER MAKE SENSE TO YOU.

Who do you say I am?

Luke 9: 18-22

18 Once when Jesus was praying by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 19 They answered, “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.” 20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” 21 But he forcefully commanded them not to tell this to anyone, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Food for thought!

Do you ever do it? I mean PRIVATE prayer? Do you ever pray alone? Do you know how to pray alone, without the help of anyone or anything? And when you do pray alone, what do you pray? What are your prayers about? In today's gospel, Jesus replies to all these questions.

Today's gospel says that Jesus was praying by himself. It means that Jesus prayed by himself, that is, in private ! And as I always say, whatever Jesus did whatever Jesus said, and whatever Jesus was, was intended to teach us. All was done and said because of us. Jesus prayed by himself to teach us to pray by ourselves.

And he prayed when his disciples were closely! This time Jesus did not go to the hills to pray. It  means that we can pray both in the public and in the private; both in solitude and in the public. Both in the church and in the home. Yes, you too can pray even when you are on the Main Street, when you are in the Boardroom or classroom, or in the shop or in the office, or in the public transport or in the sitting room. That Jesus prayed is unquestionable. Look at these instances: Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28 - 29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34 , 46.

Even when done in public, prayer is a personal affair. Why? Because there are things that need to be said in prayer that do not need to be said within earshot of others, including of the devil. When we pray in private, we can have liberty to declare our hearts to the Lord. We can pray about personal, private matters that would embarrass us if others heard. We can call out the names of people that burden us in our private time of prayer. We can be honest with the Lord. We can humble ourselves before Him. We can be who we really are, for in private prayer there is no one to impress. It is our time with God! Do you keep a regular time of private prayer with the Lord?

This said, we must note that there is nothing wrong with praying as a group. Notice that the other day, Jesus taught us to say “Our Father.” This implies corporate prayer. Jesus himself often went to the Synagogue to pray. In private prayer, we have time to say "My Father."

This literally means that God is everywhere, including within us. It means that in prayer we have direct access to this God who is so near us that He is within us. WE have within us a power that is greater than anything that we shall ever contact in the outer world, a power that can overcome every obstacle in our life and set us safe, satisfied and at peace, even in the midst of noise.

If we pray and when we pray like Jesus, we should be able to know who we are; with prayer we dare to ask and to face the reality about ourselves. Empowered by prayer, Jesus dared to ask: "Who do the crowds say I am?" When the people identified Jesus with Elijah and with Jeremiah and with John the Baptist they were paying him a great compliment and setting him in a high place, for Jeremiah and Elijah and John the Baptist were none other than the expected forerunners of the Anointed One of God. In other words, Jesus was good but not good enough, was great but not great enough.

When Jesus had heard the verdicts of the crowd, he asked the all-important question: "But who do you say I am?" At that question there may well have been a moment of silence, while into the minds of the disciples came thoughts which they were almost afraid to express in words; and then Peter dared to say: "‘The Christ of God." All this means, that never content yourself with what people say about you, even when they say good things. You are more than what they say.

Like Jesus, we all want to know who we are. We must ask Jesus: But you Jesus who do you say I am? All the others call us many things, many names; I am many things for many people, you're many things to many people. If you asked your friends who you're, like Jesus did, you would here all kinds of answers, good and not so good; it is all guesswork because no one can tell you who you really are except the Lord. 

Possessions!

Matthew 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.

‘That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing! Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are we not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you men of little faith? So do not worry; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed?” It is the pagans who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’

Food for thought!

This gospel makes us turn our thoughts to the place which material possessions should have in life. At the basis of Jesus' teaching about possessions there are three great principles.

(i) All things belong to God, as the Bible puts it: "The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein" (Ps.24:1). "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.... If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world and all that is in it is mine" (Ps.50:10,12).

In Jesus' teaching it is the master who gives his servants the talents (Matt. 25:15), and the owner who gives the husbandmen the vineyard (Matt. 21:33). This principle has far-reaching consequences. We can buy and sell things; we can to some extent alter and rearrange things; but we cannot create things. The ultimate ownership of all things belongs to God. There is nothing in this world of which we can say, "This is mine." Of all things we can only say, "This belongs to God, and God has given me the use of it."

(ii) The second basic principle is that people are always more important than things. If possessions have to be acquired, if money has to be amassed, if wealth has to be accumulated at the expense of treating people as things, then all such riches are wrong. Whenever and wherever that principle is forgotten, or neglected, or defied, far-reaching disaster is certain to follow.

(iii) The third principle is that wealth is always a subordinate good. The Bible does not say that, "Money is the root of all evil," it says that "The love of money is the root of all evils" (1Tim.6:10). It is quite possible to find in material things what someone has called "a rival salvation."

A man may think that, because he is wealthy, he can buy anything, that he can buy his way out of any situation. Wealth can become his measuring-rod; wealth can become his one desire; wealth can become the one weapon with which he faces life.

If a man desires material things for an honourable motive, like helping his family and like doing something for his fellow-men, that is good; but if he desires it simply to heap pleasure upon pleasure, and to add luxury upon luxury, if wealth has become the thing he lives for and lives by, then wealth has ceased to be a subordinate good, and has usurped the place in life which only God should occupy (yesterday's Food for thought).

One thing emerges from all this: the possession of wealth, money, material things is not a sin, but it is a grave responsibility. If you own many material things it is not so much a matter for congratulation as it is a matter for prayer, that you may use them as God would have you to do.

He is our Father!

Mat 6:7-15

7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread,

12 and Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Food for thought!

Jesus is giving us rules for prayer, the first of which is that God is a Father. Jesus insists that we must always remember that the God to whom we pray is a Father. If we believe that God is Father, it settles our relationship to our fellow-men. If God is Father, he is Father of all men. The Lord's Prayer does not teach us to pray My Father; it teaches us to pray Our Father.

Do you notice that in the Lord's Prayer the words I, me, and mine never occur; it is true to say that Jesus came to take these words out of life and to put in their place we, us, and ours. God is not any one's exclusive possession. The very phrase Our Father involves the elimination of self. The fatherhood of God is the only possible basis of the brotherhood of man. If we all knew that God is our Father, people would not kill one another in the name of God. Because he is our Father, we are brothers; we are brothers because he is our Father.

Let us note the order of the petitions in the Lord's Prayer. The first three petitions have to do with God and with the glory of God; the second three petitions have to do with our needs and our necessities. That is to say, God is first given his supreme place, and then, and only then, we turn to ourselves and our needs and desires. It is only when God is given his proper place that all other things fall into their proper places.

The second part of the prayer, the part which deals with our needs and our necessities, is a marvellously wrought unity. It deals with the three essential needs of man, and the three spheres of time within which man moves. First, it asks for BREAD, for that which is necessary for the maintenance of life, and thereby brings the needs of the PRESENT to the throne of God.

Second, it asks for FORGIVENESS and thereby brings the PAST into the presence of God (our sins have always got to do with our past; we never sin in the future; sin is always a past act).

Third, it asks for HELP in temptation and thereby commits all the FUTURE into the hands of God (we always need help for what is yet to be not for what is already; help is about the future).

In these three brief petitions, we are taught to lay the present, the past, and the future before our Father; our prayer should always deal with our past, our present and our future. Our prayer should be about ALL OF LIFE, about what we did in the past, what we are doing and being in the present, and what we want to be and do in the future. This a prayer which brings the whole of life to the presence of God, it is also a prayer which brings the whole of God to our lives. When we ask for bread to sustain our earthly lives, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Father, the Creator and the Sustainer of all life. When we ask for forgiveness, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Son, Jesus Christ our Saviour and Redeemer. When we ask for help for future temptation, that request immediately directs our thoughts to God the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Strengthener, the Illuminator, the Guide and the Guardian of our way. In the most amazing way this brief second part of the Lord's Prayer takes the present, the past, and the future (the whole of our life) and presents them to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit (the whoke of God).

In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus teaches us to bring the whole of our life to the whole of our God, and to bring all God into all life. There is no province in our life, no matters, no issues whatsoever, that is no material for prayer. All in all of us can be told God in prayer. 

Give, Pray and Fast!

Matthew 6:1-6,16-18 

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

‘And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them; I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.

‘When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.’

Food for thought!

After a series of teachings, Jesus is now turning to a numbers of dos and don'ts. Jesus groups them into three areas: giving to others (charity); giving to God (prayer); and giving to ourselves (fast).

Jesus says, "when you give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you." What does he mean by this? Firstly, Jesus says, WHEN YOU GIVE, not, IF YOU GIVE. It means that for a Christian, giving is not a might but a must; we are expected to give, to share with others. Giving is not optional (it is not "If you give" but mandatory: "when you give"). Giving is vital, because it is by giving that we get. In order to get we must give. That is the rule. And it works in every sphere of life, business, social, relationships, spiritual. You get in as much you give, as St. Francis so well taught us:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

And then Jesus says, "when you pray," not, "if you pray." It means that for a Christian prayer is not a might but a must. This is why we must ALWAYS pray, when we are in the mood, when we are not. As St Paul urges us: "Pray without ceasing." (1Thessalonians 5:17). St Theresa of Avila, a Doctor of the Church, makes it potently clear: "He who neglects mental prayer needs not a devil to carry him to hell, but he brings himself there with his own hands."

And again Jesus says, "When you fast"; he does not say, "if you fast." So fasting too is a must for a Christian. When you fast, "put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.’" Fast is not necessarily of food; it is anything that, by abstaining from it, gives both our bodies and spirit more life. When did you last fast?

What are you doing exceptional?

Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

Food for thought!

What are you doing exceptional? This is the question that Jesus made then and makes now to all those, like you and me, who claim to be his followers. What more than others are we doing? Is there any difference between other people and we, Christians? Are we different in any way or in any thing? Is there anything we do differently? Is there any difference between you, a Christian, and your neighbour, who is a non-believer? This is real food for thought.

Why does Jesus demand that we be different? The reason is very simple: it is that our role model is not just human but divine; we cannot compare ourselves to other humans, but to our Father in heaven. Our heavenly Father makes his sun to rise on the good and the bad; he sends his rain on the just and the unjust. Have you ever noticed that the rain fell on the field of A, who was righteous, and not on the field of B, who was wicked? Or that the sun rose and shone on your home and not upon the neighbour's home?

Jesus says that we must have this same love as our Father in heaven. The language in which the Bible was written is not rich in adjectives; it often uses son of... with an abstract noun, where we would use an adjective. For instance a son of peace is a peaceful man; a son of consolation is a consoling man. So, then, a son of God is a godlike man. The reason why we must have this unconquerable benevolence and goodwill is that God has it; and, if we have it, we become nothing less than sons of God, we become godly.

What more than others are you doing? This same question can be applied to all other forms of life, even to our professional life, even our social life. If you run your business just like anybody else does, your business will be like anybody's business. If your life is like anybody's life, you will be like anybody. Ordinary actions get ordinary results. Most people are by definition, ordinary, they are just like anybody else. If you continue to be ordinary and act ordinarily, you will continue to get ordinary results. If you want extraordinary results in your life, your family or your business, you must act extraordinarily in that area.

Vengeance belongs to the Lord not to us!

Matthew 5:38-42

38 "Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.'39 Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all. 'If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. 40 If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. 41 And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. 42 No more tit- for- tat stuff. Live generously.

Food for thought!

RESIST not evil and it will decrease. Fight it and it will increase!

Here is a statement of one of the great laws of our being. When we resist we make a mental image of the thing we are fighting, and that tends to have it created for us. When we fight our enemies we make them into heroes. When we learn to look only at what we want and never at what we do not want, we will no longer resist anything.

This is a statement of eternal truth. It means that whatever man sets in motion in mind will be returned to him, even as he has conceived within himself and brought forth into manifestation. If we wish to transcend old thoughts and feelings we must rise above them and think higher things. When we desire only the good the evil slips from us and returns no more.

Jesus obliterated the tit for tat law because retaliation has no place in the Christian life. He gives examples.

He says that if anyone smites us on the right cheek we must turn to him the other cheek also. There is far more here than meets the eye, far more than a mere matter of blows on the face. Suppose a right-handed man is standing in front of another man, and suppose he wants to slap the other man on the right cheek, how must he do it? Unless he goes through the most complicated contortions, and unless he empties the blow of all force, he can hit the other man's cheek only in one way--with the back of his hand. Now according to Jews (Jesus' people) to hit a man with the back of the hand was very insulting. So, then, what Jesus is saying is this: "Even if a man should direct at you the most deadly and calculated insult, like slapping you with the back of the hand, you must on no account retaliate, and you must on no account resent it."

It will not happen very often, if at all, that anyone will slap us on the face, but time and time again life brings to us insults either great or small; and Jesus is here saying that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and not to seek retaliation at all. Jesus himself was called a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber. He was called the friend of tax-gatherers and harlots, with the implication that he was like the company he kept.

The true Christian has forgotten what it is to be insulted; he has learned from his Master to accept any insult and never to resent it, and never to seek to retaliate.

Now you may ask: are our enemies going to go away with it? No. Remember what the Lord says in Deuteronomy 32:35, "Vengeance is mine. I will repay."

So let us not take vengeance into our hands; it is the God's right and duty.

There were also some women in their company!

Luke 7:36-8:3

36-39 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.” 40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Oh? Tell me.”

41-42 “Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker cancelled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”

43-48 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.” “That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” 48 Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.” 49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!” 50 He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

8 1-3 He continued according to plan, travelled to town after town, village after village, preaching God’s kingdom, spreading the Message. The Twelve were with him. There were also some women in their company who had been healed of various evil afflictions and illnesses: Mary, the one called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; Joanna, wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager; and Susanna—along with many others who used their considerable means to provide for the company.

Food for Thought!

"The Twelve were with him. There were also some women in their company." These words open our reflection for this Sunday. They are a very strong statement to us all who are in the company of Jesus called the Church. The Gospel says that the twelve were with Jesus, but also there were some women in their company. It means that Jesus was and is not served by only men but also by women. It means that when we talk of the disciples of Jesus, we do well to include not only the twelve, but also the little group of women who served him out of their resources. Yes, women worked and walked with Jesus.

In the first part of the Gospel, we find another woman. The gospel says that she was a harlot, a famous prostitute of her town. This woman came and touched Jesus: "she came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume."

In don't know what comes to your mind when you read this incident in the life of Jesus. Why was such a thing like this one included in the Bible? The same Bible tells us, "Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises to be fulfilled." (Rom. 15:4). Again, "Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way." (2Tim 3:16).

What is it that today's Gospel teaches us? The first teaching is that, as we said above, Jesus worked and walked with both and women. Any practice or mentality that contradicts this is wrong.

Another teaching is that, as with the twelve disciples, so with these women; we cannot fail to see how mixed a company they were. There was Mary Magdalene, that is Mary from the town of Magdala, out of whom he had cast seven devils. Clearly she had a past that was a dark and terrible thing. There was Joanna. She was the wife of Chuza, Herod's Finance Minister, who looked after the king's financial interests. It is an amazing thing to find Mary Magdalene, with a dark past, and Joanna, the lady of the court, in the same company. It is one of the supreme achievements of Jesus that he can enable the most diverse people to live together without in the least losing their own personalities or qualities. Indeed, Jesus is our peace.

Another teaching. The Gospel says that the woman was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. This is the verdict that Jesus made of the woman! GRATEFULNESS! I wonder how grateful you are. Do you awaken every morning with a song of praise on your lips? Do you feel full of appreciation for life as you live it every day? Or, do you have to think long and hard before finding something to be grateful for?

Someone once said, “A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things.” An old adage states that “where your attention goes, your energy flows.” This means we tend to attract that to which we give our attention. The more good you can see and praise, the more you direct creative energy to positive results. Even in situations that at first appear difficult or unpleasant, see all the good you can and bless the good you can see! Focus on the good and watch it multiply.

It is God's world!

Matthew 5:33-37

You have heard that it was said by the people of the old days: You shall not take an oath falsely, but you shall pay your oath in full to the Lord. But I say to you: Do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King, nor by your head, for you cannot make one hair black or white. When you say, Yes, let it be yes; and when you say, No, let it be no. Anything which goes beyond that has its source in evil.

Food for thought!

Jesus is warning us not to abuse the name of God. Far too often we use the most sacred language in the most meaningless way. We take the sacred name of God upon our lips in the most thoughtless and irreverent way. The sacred names should be kept for sacred things. Period.

Why do we use God's name? Well, it is because we want to involve God; we want to make God a partner in what we say or do. The truth that Jesus is teaching us is this: so far from having to make God a partner in any matter, no man can keep God out of any matter. God is already there.

The heaven is the throne of God; the earth is the footstool of God; Jerusalem is the city of God; a man's head does not belong to him; he cannot even make a hair white or black; his life is God's; there is nothing in the world which does not belong to God; and, therefore, whether God is actually named in so many words or not, does not matter. God is there already.

Here is a great eternal truth. Life cannot be divided into compartments in some of which God is involved and in others of which he is not involved; there cannot be one kind of language in the Church and another kind of language in the shipyard or the factory or the office or on the Main Street; there cannot be one kind of standard of conduct in the Church and another kind of standard in the business world.

The fact is that God does not need to be invited into certain departments of life, and kept out of others. He is everywhere, all through life and every activity of life. He hears not only the words which are spoken in his name; he hears all words; and there cannot be any such thing as a form of words which evades bringing God into a transaction. We will regard all promises as sacred, if we remember that all promises are made in the presence of God.

Rule your mind and you will rule your world!

Matthew 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell. ‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’

Food for thought!

Jesus continues to teach us new things. He says, "You have learnt how it was said... But I say this to you." Jesus is setting a new standard of teaching and living. The Old Testament Law laid it down: "You shall not commit adultery" (Exo.20:14). So serious was this law of adultery that the guilty parties could be punished by nothing less than death (Lev.20:10). Once again Jesus lays it down that not only the forbidden action, but also the forbidden thought is guilty in the sight of God.

It is necessary that we should understand what Jesus is saying here. He is not speaking of the natural, normal desire, which is part of human instinct and human nature. The wo/man who is condemned is the wo/man who looks at a wo/man with the deliberate intention of lusting after her or him. The wo/man who is condemned is the wo/man who deliberately uses the eyes to awaken lust. Such Such a person who looks in such a way that passion is awakened and desire deliberately stimulated.

In a tempting world there are many things which are deliberately designed to excite desire, books, pictures, plays, even advertisements. The person whom Jesus here condemns is the man or woman who deliberately uses the eyes to stimulate the desire. To the pure all things are pure; to the sick all things are sick. The person whose heart is defiled can look at any scene and find something in it to titillate and excite the wrong desire. This is what Jesus is condemning.

Like we said yesterday: "It was Jesus' teaching that thoughts are just as important as deeds, and that it is not enough not to commit a sin; the only thing that is enough is not to wish to commit it. It was Jesus' teaching that a man is not judged only by his deeds, but is judged even more by the desires which never emerged in deeds."

And talking of thoughts, you know that if you can rule your thoughts you can rule your world. Thought—the act or process of thinking—is one of the greatest powers we possess, and like most powers it can be used positively or negatively, as we choose. A great majority of people have never been taught how to use thought, the master power of the mind. It is just as essential to know how to think correctly as it is to know how to speak or act correctly. Ernest Holmes, founder of Science of Mind, offers why he believes this is so; he said, “Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it."