A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back!

Matthew 8:28-34

28 They landed in the country of the Gadarenes and were met by two madmen, victims of demons, coming out of the cemetery. The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore. 29 Seeing Jesus, the madmen screamed out, "What business do you have giving us a hard time? You're the Son of God! You weren't supposed to show up here yet!" 30 Off in the distance a herd of pigs was browsing and rooting. 31 The evil spirits begged Jesus, "If you kick us out of these men, let us live in the pigs." 32 Jesus said, "Go ahead, but get out of here!" Crazed, the pigs stampeded over a cliff into the sea and drowned. 33 Scared to death, the swineherds bolted. They told everyone back in town what had happened to the madmen and the pigs. 34 Those who heard about it were angry about the drowned pigs. A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back.

Food for thought!

Jesus has many ways of teaching us, very many ways, indeed. What is it that Jesus is teaching us this time? He is teaching us that there's nothing he cannot do to save us; that there's nothing to compare in value to our souls; that we could never compare the value of a herd of swine with the value of a man's soul. Now we understand why Jesus did not spare himself to save us. He knows our value, and unfortunately we don't.

Do you know of someone in a helplessness or hopelessness situations, or even yourself? Do you know someone who has given up on life and living? Well, today Jesus proves to you and me that for him there's no hopeless or helpless people or human situation. The gospel says: "The men had terrorized the region for so long that no one considered it safe to walk down that stretch of road anymore." These two men were a danger to everybody including themselves; they had given up on themselves, just as had the people of the region. This is why they lived in a limbo; living people living among the dead!

Jesus performed that miracle thinking of such people like you and me. If you believe in Jesus, as I think you do, why give in to despair? Let Jesus restore your sanity, your holiness, your humanity, your relationship, your life as he did the two men. He will transform your hopelessness and helplessness into hopefulness and helpfulness; he will transform you from a madman or madwoman to a mademan or madewoman.

The supreme tragedy of this story lies in its conclusion. Those who were herding the pigs ran back to the town and told the story; and the result was that the people of the town forced Jesus to leave their territory at once: "A mob formed and demanded that Jesus get out and not come back."

Here is human selfishness at its worst. It did not matter to these people that two men had been given back their sanity, their wholeness, their life. All that mattered to the villagers were their pigs that had perished. It is so often the case that we say in effect, "I don't care what happens to anyone else, if my profits and my comfort and my ease and my interests and my business are preserved. I don't care what happens to you as long as I am fine. I don't care what happens to others as long as my business thrives, as long as I make money." We may condemn the villagers for their insensibility, but we must be careful that we too do not put profit over people.

Tues 30 June You of little faith, why are you so afraid?

Matthew 8:23-27

Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

Food for thought!

In the Bible nothing happened without a purpose; and nothing was written by chance. Everything in the Bible has a message. This miracle is full of messages. The first message is that the disciples of Jesus were not exempt from a test of faith and neither are we. Many of us think: I’m too loving, too giving, too faithful, too loyal, too obedient , too prayerful, too dedicated to God. Besides, I go to church on Sunday! But despite all of this, we find ourselves in the midst of storms of life; we find ourselves dazed and confused, wondering how we got there and how to get out.

We look at the storms of our lives and too often, ask, “If God is so loving, why does He allow pain and suffering in my life? What have I done to deserve being a victim in this circumstance? Why do I need to go through this storm? Why can’t He just take me around it? I want out and NOW!”

God’s incredible love for us does not eliminate the pain, suffering, and heartache that we might go through. However, God's Promises assure us that He is with us, and He is using it all for good (Romans 8:28). Through it all, we learn to trust that no matter how devastating the storm might be… God is with us. And if we trust and obey Him, He will strengthen us and fill us with hope in the midst of the storm.

Just think about the fact that the Disciples were in a boat, with who they supposedly believed was the Son of God; yet, even they failed to acknowledge Him, until it was almost too late. They were about to die! Why didn’t it occur to them to ask for Jesus’ help sooner? The answer seems so obvious. In our own storms of life, it’s often difficult to see the “obvious.” Our vision becomes clouded with debilitating doubt and paralyzing fear.

The Disciples were truly the closest men to the Son of God; yet, at the end of this miracle we see that even they had doubts in their heart about who Jesus really was. They saw with their own eyes all of the miracles He performed, but they still asked, “Who is this man?” A little surprising… don’t you think?

It should be comforting to know that although God allows the storm, Jesus is in the boat with you, with me. Yes, He is with you, right now, in the boat where you sit in the midst of your storm . The difference is: He is in the stern resting because He wants you and me to learn to rest in our storms.

The purpose of our storms, simply put, is all about our relationship with Jesus. It’s all about our faith in God.

Mon 29 June Saints Peter & Paul help us to know who Jesus is!

Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say he is John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he said ‘who do you say I am?’ Then Simon Peter spoke up, ‘You are the Christ,’ he said ‘the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Simon son of Jonah, you are a happy man! Because it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.’

Food for thought

Jesus also wants to know what we know about him. This is what he did in today's gospel reading. He began by asking what people were saying about him, and who they took him to be. Some said that he was John the Baptist. Others said that he was Elijah. In doing so, they were saying two things about Jesus. They were saying that he was as great as the greatest of the prophets, for Elijah had always been looked on as the summit and the prince of the prophetic line.
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, for these people 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 you, who do you say I am?" At that question there may well have been a moment of silence, during which into the minds of Peter came thought from heaven about both Jesus and himself.
Like Jesus, we all want to know who we are. We want to know what others think of us. One thing is certain, NO ONE KNOWS WHO WE ARE EXCEPT JESUS. 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 are except the Lord.
But to know who you are, you have to know who Jesus is. This is what happened. When Peter came to know who Jesus is, when Peter told Jesus, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," Jesus told Peter who he is: "I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church."
This means that the road to ourselves goes through Jesus; he is the key that opens us. Peter never knew himself nor his career until Jesus told him in all details. And Jesus never told Peter who he is until Peter knew who Jesus is. So, you too, to know yourself, you will have to know who Jesus is. The more you know Jesus the better you know yourself, the less you know Jesus the less you know yourself.
If you don't know yourself well, it is because you don't know quite well who Jesus is. Ignorance of Jesus is ignorance of ourselves. Today, as we commemorate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, let us remember the words of St. Paul: “everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).

Sun 28 June Do not be afraid. Only have faith!

Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had gone across by boat to the other side of the lake, a vast crowd gathered around him on the shore. The leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him, pleading with him to heal his little daughter. “She is at the point of death,” he said in desperation. “Please come and place your hands on her and make her live.” Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind. In the crowd was a woman who had been sick for twelve years with a hemorrhage. She had suffered much from many doctors through the years and had become poor from paying them, and was no better but, in fact, was worse. She had heard all about the wonderful miracles Jesus did, and that is why she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his clothes. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed.” And sure enough, as soon as she had touched him, the bleeding stopped and she knew she was well! Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” His disciples said to him, “All this crowd pressing around you, and you ask who touched you?” But he kept on looking around to see who it was who had done it. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, healed of your disease.” While he was still talking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus’s home with the news that it was too late—his daughter was dead and there was no point in Jesus’ coming now. But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” Then Jesus halted the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go on with him to Jairus’s home except Peter and James and John. When they arrived, Jesus saw that all was in great confusion, with unrestrained weeping and wailing. He went inside and spoke to the people. “Why all this weeping and commotion?” he asked. “The child isn’t dead; she is only asleep!” They laughed at him in bitter derision, but he told them all to leave, and taking the little girl’s father and mother and his three disciples, he went into the room where she was lying. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Get up, little girl!” (She was twelve years old.) And she jumped up and walked around! Her parents just couldn’t get over it. Jesus instructed them very earnestly not to tell what had happened and told them to give her something to eat.


Food for thought!


A desperate father, named Jairus came to Jesus and fell to his knees, beside himself as he begged, "My dear daughter is at death's door. Come and lay hands on her so she will get well and live." This man was helpless and he came to Jesus for help. And got it. Jesus agreed to go with him. But even as he was going with Jesus, tragedy struck; his daughter died. Lesson: tragedy hits everybody including those walking and working with Jesus. So don't ever think that because you pray every day, because you go to Mass every Sunday or even everyday, that tragedies will not come your way. Even followers of Jesus get tragedies.

Jesus told this man what he tells all those people in hopeless situations: DO NOT BE AFRAID. ONLY HAVE FAITH! This is the only thing Jesus asks of us, only one, just this one: only have faith. The rest is his. Jesters is telling a father whose daughter had just passed away not to be afraid but to hold on to faith. Strange. What can faith do to a mourning father? What can faith do to a dead girl. And Jesus knows it. He told it to the hemorrhaging woman, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, healed of your disease.”

Great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation. It wasn’t logic that caused Moses to raise his staff on the bank of the Red Sea. It wasn’t medical research that convinced Naaman to dip seven times in the river. It wasn’t common sense that caused Paul to abandon the Law and embrace grace. And it wasn’t a confident committee that prayed in a small room in Jerusalem for Peter’s release from prison. It was a fear and despair.

Faith begins when you see God on the mountain and you are in the valley and you know that you’re too weak to make the climb. You see what you need . . . you see what you have . . . and that you have not enough to accomplish anything. Peter had given it his best. But his best wasn’t enough. Moses had a sea in front and an enemy behind. The Israelites could swim or they could fight. But neither option was enough. Naaman had tried the cures and consulted the soothsayers. Traveling a long distance to plunge into a muddy river made little sense when there were clean ones in his backyard. But what option did he have? Paul had mastered the Law. He had mastered the system. But one glimpse of God convinced him that sacrifices and symbols were not enough. Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman were no exception. They had no way out than coming to Jesus. Life has a way of bringing us to places where there’s nowhere to run except to Jesus.

If you’re facing insurmountable circumstances, surrounded by impossibilities, remember that God can do ANYTHING and that prayer changes EVERYTHING. Today's gospel reading wasn’t written for Jairus and the hemorraging woman, it was written for you and me. In the very situation you’re in . . . if you can apply faith, you’ll find a miracle within it, and your life will never be the same. It’s realizing that whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever you’re going through, God will deliver you. But it takes faith.


Psalm 34:4
I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 18:6
In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

Sat 27 June I know from experience and from the Lord!

Matthew 8:5-17

When Jesus arrived in Capernaum, a Roman army captain came and pleaded with him to come to his home and heal his servant boy who was in bed paralyzed and racked with pain. “Yes,” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” Then the officer said, “Sir, I am not worthy to have you in my home; and it isn’t necessary for you to come. If you will only stand here and say, ‘Be healed,’ my servant will get well! I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave boy, ‘Do this or that,’ and he does it. And I know you have authority to tell his sickness to go—and it will go!”
Jesus stood there amazed! Turning to the crowd he said, “I haven’t seen faith like this in all the land of Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles like this Roman officer, shall come from all over the world and sit down in the Kingdom of Heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And many an Israelite—those for whom the Kingdom was prepared—shall be cast into outer darkness, into the place of weeping and torment.”
Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go on home. What you have believed has happened!” And the boy was healed that same hour!
When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever. But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her; and she got up and prepared a meal for them!
That evening several demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus; and when he spoke a single word, all the demons fled; and all the sick were healed. This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, “He took our sicknesses and bore our diseases.”

Food for thought!
Twice the Roman captain said the words, "I know". First he said that he knows from his experience; then he said that he knows that Jesus...
Two knows, one from experience, the other from Jesus. What has experience taught you, and what do you know about Jesus? The Bible (Deut. 11: 2) reminds us – "Remember today what you have learned about the LORD through your experiences with him" – it is very important to remember what the Lord has done for us in life. Every challenge, large or small, does equip us for a future opportunity.
Remember David as he confronted Goliath. He used his past experience to confront this giant. He said:
When I am taking care of my father’s sheep, and a lion or a bear comes and grabs a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and take the lamb from its mouth. If it turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this heathen Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who saved me from the claws and teeth of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!”
Is this not what the captain in the Gospel is doing? "I know, because I am under the authority of my superior officers and I have authority over my soldiers, and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave boy, ‘Do this or that,’ and he does it."
You, what do you know from your experience? What has it taught you about the Lord, and about life and living? Like David, like the captain, let us confront the present challenges inspired by what we went through in the past. In other words, whatever we went through in the past was an ingredient for the present moment; our past prepared us for our present. Don’t see your struggle as an interruption to life but as preparation for life.

Fri 26 June 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."

(ii) 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.

(iii) 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.

Thurs 25 June Build your life on the foundation of the word!

Matthew 7:21-29

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?” Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, you evil men! ‘Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!’ Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes.

Food for thought!

Jesus has been teaching us since Mt. 5:1 (When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them). Today, as Jesus concludes his sermon (Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say), the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard a teaching like this. This was the best teaching they had ever heard. The people applauded Jesus because, though many of his teaching was hard, no one is like him and no teaching is like of Jesus. He is a divine teacher; he deserves all our listening.

And Jesus knows how important are his words, that's why he says that the words he speaks to us are not incidental additions to our life, homeowner improvements to our 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. But if you just use his 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.

Let's look at the two houses, two lives, two kinds of Christians. Each house was subjected to the same kinds of abuse. A storm came. Rains fell, winds blew and savage floods wrapped themselves around these houses. One house fell in the storm, but when the storm was over, one house was still standing, the other was not.

The two houses were built by two men. These men were pretty much alike. They both wanted houses and they both built them. Both watched as the house they had built was attacked by the same vicious storm. One watched in horror as the house he had built succumbed to the storm and fell in the raging flood waters. The other watched in satisfaction as his house stood firm in the storm. Jesus looked at these men and proclaimed one a fool, but the other he called wise or smart.

We are one of these men; we are either one or the other. Each one of us and all of us are builders of our own lives. Your life is like a house. It looks pretty much like all the other houses around it. It is made from the same materials. It is also attacked by the very same storms. Storms of economy, storms of sickness, storms of sin, storms of temptation and storms of problems. But as the two houses some houses, some people, do survive quite easily the challenges of life while others do not. What makes the difference? It is the Word of God. Jesus is teaching us that if our life is built upon anything that is not Jesus' word, WE'RE IN TROUBLE! There is nothing in all creation that can bring us victory in whatever it is we are facing than putting our faith in the Word of God. We must learn to run to God’s Word when we are in the midst of a crisis or attack.

Wed 24 June And everyone rejoiced with her!

Luke 1:57-66

By now Elizabeth’s waiting was over, for the time had come for the baby to be born—and it was a boy. The word spread quickly to her neighbors and relatives of how kind the Lord had been to her, and everyone rejoiced with her. When the baby was eight days old, all the relatives and friends came for the circumcision ceremony. They all assumed the baby’s name would be Zacharias, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! He must be named John!” “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they asked the baby’s father, talking to him by gestures. He motioned for a piece of paper and to everyone’s surprise wrote, “His name is John!” Instantly Zacharias could speak again, and he began praising God. Wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread through the Judean hills. And everyone who heard about it thought long thoughts and asked, “I wonder what this child will turn out to be? For the hand of the Lord is surely upon him in some special way.”

Food for thought!

When the word had spread around that Elizabeth had given finally given birth, “everyone rejoiced with her.” These words are very important. Very few people rejoice at others' success; very few celebrate others' achievements; very few see and say any good about others. Instead, people envy each other; gossip about each other. But not so with those people in the gospel reading: they openly shared her joy.
We shouldn't envy those who succeed in life or whom God has blessed. We should instead celebrate, because God blesses everybody, at different moments, of course. We only have to wait our turn. Wait for your turn. In the meantime, don't envy others but rather celebrate their success and achievement.
Remember that benevolent people have a distinct advantage over the envious. People who get caught up in envy are tormented, not only by various ills that befalls them, but by the good that happens to others. Those who are joyous with life and in life are better prepared to handle any situation because of the inner serenity they have acquired by watching for the beauty and abundance that is around them.

Joy makes for a long life and makes it worth living. Enjoy yourself and be happy; don't worry all the time. Worry never did anybody any good, and it has destroyed many people. It will make you old before your time. Envy and anger will shorten your life. (Eccl. 30:22-24)

Tues 23 June 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?

Mon 22 June Judge not!

Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus said: “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use will be the measure used to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

Food for thought!

Let's pay attention to the words of Jesus: the measure you use on others is the measure that will be used on you! Jesus is saying in other words that the way we treat others is the way we are treated; that the amount (of love, of hate, etc) we use for others is the same amount (of love, of hate, etc) that is used for us; that the bias we hold for others is the bias we suffer ourselves.

If we are rough with others, we must expect roughness ourselves; if we are good, kind and loving to others, God will be good, kind and loving towards us. For that reason, Jesus advices us, "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce on other is the same judgement that is pronounced on us.

Whether we admit it or not, we all engage in judging from time to time. Some people have even made it their lifestyle to judge others by their standards. The word “judge” means “to criticize, condemn, judge, censor.” It is a fault-finding attitude; it is being picky; it is the habit of carping criticism; it is a mean, critical spirit that sees only the bad in others.
Jesus is talking about looking at people and judge their motives based on what we see in their lives. The idea here is that the judge presumes to know the condition of another person’s heart. He sets himself up as judge and jury and proclaims the guilt and innocence of all those around him. This is the attitude that Jesus condemns because only God knows all the facts about us all.

Don’t criticize because you don’t know all the facts surrounding the other person's action. I read about an owner of a manufacturing plant who decided to make a surprise tour of the shop. Walking through the warehouse he noticed a young man just lazily leaning up against some packing crates with his hands in his pocket doing nothing. The boss walked up to him and angrily said, “Just how much are you paid a week?” Well, the young man’s eyes got rather big, and he said, “Three hundred bucks.” The boss pulled out his wallet, pealed off three one hundred bills, gave it to him, and said, “Here’s a week’s pay. Now get out of here and don’t ever come back!”

Well, without a word the young man stuffed the money into his pocket and took off. The warehouse manager was standing nearby staring in amazement. The boss walked over to him and said, “Tell me, how long has that guy been working for us?” The manager said, “He didn’t work here, he was just delivering a package.

Another one. There was a lady in an airport who bought a book to read and a package of cookies to eat while she waited for her plane. Well, after she had taken her seat in the terminal and began to read the book, she noticed that the man sitting one seat away from her was fumbling to open up the package of cookies on the seat between them. Well, she could hardly believe her eyes that a stranger would just open her bag of cookies and eat them. He took one and ate it. She was so hot and steamed. She reached into the bag and took one and ate it. Well, the man didn’t say anything. He just reached over and took another cookie. This woman thought to herself that she wasn’t going to let him eat all of her cookies, so she took another cookie. When they finally got down to one cookie, the man reached into the bottom of the bag, broke the cookie in half, ate it, glared at the woman, got up and left. This lady couldn’t believe this man’s nerve. She was thinking to herself how fresh and arrogant he was. Soon the announcement came to board the plane. This lady got on the plane, still hot and bothered at the audacity of this man, sat down, buckled her seat belt, reached into her purse for a tissue, and there was her bag of cookies. She got mad at the man for nothing; she was wrong and the man right.

I think you got the point. Have a nice week!

Luke 6:37

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven...!

Sat 20 June So do not worry!

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.
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.

Sun 21 June: Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?

Mark 4: 35-41

As evening fell, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took him just as he was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?” Then he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Quiet down!” And the wind fell, and there was a great calm! And he asked them, “Why were you so fearful? Don’t you even yet have confidence in me?” And they were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?”

Food for thought!

Our storms of life bring us to the point where we realize that we have nowhere to go, but to God. In a moment of overwhelming desperation, the disciples after laying on their own located the storm, finally called out to Jesus: “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to drown?” We’ve all been there, at one time or another. If you haven’t experienced a storm in your life, then praise God; but, get ready because Jesus assured us, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16: 33)

If you aren’t currently in a storm, be on the lookout. The enemy is looking for an opportunity to send the perfect storm into your life. He is well aware of our deepest desires and our innermost struggles. Satan not only attacks us where we are weakest; more often, he attacks in those areas where we feel we are strongest. He knows exactly where pride exists. How many times have we judged others and said, “I’d never do that. That could never happen to me… I’m too loving, too giving, too faithful, too loyal, too obedient, too prayerful, too dedicated to God. Besides, I go to church on Sunday!” Before we know it, we find ourselves in the midst of that very storm; we’re dazed and confused, wondering how we got there and how to get out.

This miracle is for you and me to understand the purpose of the storms in our life and how to persevere through them. By applying this miracle to our life, we will find out that God can calm all of our storms . . . if we will just call on Jesus IN FAITH. The miracle in the storm on the Sea of Galilee revealed the Disciples’ lack of faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Although they had witnessed Jesus perform many miracles, they still had doubt about who He really was. It was through this miracle that their faith was truly put to the test.

The Disciples were not exempt from a test of faith and neither are we. Faith isn’t faith, unless it requires taking a step into the unseen. It doesn’t take faith at all to cling to what you see. The faith that God is after is a faith that clings to Him and isn’t threatened or destroyed by adversity and uncertainty. You know that you have genuine faith when common sense tells you to stop believing, to stop praying, to stop forgiving or loving, but you continue to trust God anyway, you continue praying, you continue forgiving or loving.

Did you notice that it was Jesus that deliberately drove his disciples into the storm? He said to them: “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” And after getting into the boat he slept! What Jesus teaches us here is that it is him who leads us into storms or problems of our life; that those our problems are not only known by the Lord, they are also permitted by him.

The storm on the Sea of Galilee was a test. Jesus knew there would be a storm. He knows about every storm in your life, too. As you know, God doesn't tempt us but he tests us, in order to grow us. You see, sometimes we bring storms on ourselves through sin, poor judgment, or just a lack of experience; some storms may come by the wrongdoing of other people to us. No matter how the storm is brought about, God will use it for good. Remember Romans 8:28, "God uses everything for good for those who love him!"

It is in and through our storms that He desires to do something awesome in and through us. He uses the storms to get our attention, like He did with the disciples. At the end of today's gospel reading the disciples were filled with awe and said among themselves, “Who is this man, that even the winds and seas obey him?” Yes, in every storm and problem of our life there is something good that we get; in every storm stands Jesus.

Rest assured, in every storm, God is bringing you to your knees, so that you can witness His hand lifting you up. The message that God needed the Disciples to understand was that it was by faith alone that they could be saved. It’s the message He wants you to know, as well. People are declared righteous because of their faith, not because of their work (Romans 4: 5).

Fri 19 June What and Where is your treasure?

Matthew 6:19-23

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Food for thought!

In today's gospel Jesus makes a statement that deserves our utmost attention. He says, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." It is as if he said, where your heart is, is where your treasure is! In other words, our treasure is where our heart always is. It means that if you want to know what your treasure is or where your treasure is, observe carefully your heart. Where's your heart? What do you spend most of your time thinking of? What do you think of most? That's is your treasure.
Do you think most of someone? If so, he or she is your treasure. Do you think most of your job, your money, yourself...? Whatever you think of most, that's your treasure. If it is earthly, your treasure is earthly. If it spiritual, your treasure is spiritual. If it is your business, your treasure is business. If it is your family, your treasure is family. Where your heart is, is where your treasure is also.
Whatever your treasure is, you do well to consider this divine advice: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal."
In other words, let not your treasure be things of God, but the God of things; not the things God made, but the God that made the things; not the creatures but the Creator.
"Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse." (Phil. 4:8).

Thurs 18 June He is our Father!

Matthew 6:7-15

And in your prayer do not make use of the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do: for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words. So be not like them; because your Father has knowledge of your needs even before you make your requests to him. Let this then be your prayer:

Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Let your kingdom come. Let your pleasure be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day bread for our needs. And make us free of our debts, as we have made those free who are in debt to us. And let us not be put to the test, but keep us safe from the Evil One. For if you let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will have forgiveness from your Father in heaven. But if you do not let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will not have forgiveness from your Father for your sins.

Food for thought!

Jesus teaches us something very important: "And make us free of our debts, as we have made those free who are in debt to us. ... For if you let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will have forgiveness from your Father in heaven. But if you do not let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will not have forgiveness from your Father for your sins."

Why did Jesus teach us this? Because he knows us all; Jesus knows what is in man. Sin. Many of us resent being treated as sinners. The trouble is that most people have a wrong conception of sin. They would readily agree that the burglar, the drunkard, the murderer, the adulterer, the suicide bomber is a sinner. And since many people are not guilty of none of these sins, since many people live decent, ordinary, respectable lives, and have never even been in danger of appearing in court, or going to prison, or getting some notoriety in the newspapers, they therefore feel that sin has nothing to do with them. Many Christians don't know their sins. It is always the others who sin, not ourselves. So we think.

So, we do well to consider sin. What is sin, according to the Bible? The Bible uses different words for sin. It uses the word sin to mean a missing of the target. To fail to hit the target is according to the Bible sin. Therefore sin is the failure to be what we might have been and could have been; when we fail to be what God made us to be, we sin.
Are we as good husbands or wives as we could be? Are we as good sons or daughters as we could be? Are we as good workmen or workwomen or employers as we could be? Is there anyone who will dare to claim that he is all he might have been, and has done all he could have done? When we realize that sin means the failure to hit the target, the failure to be all that we might have been and could have been, then it is clear that many of us are sinners without knowing it.

The Bible uses sin to mean a debt. It means a failure to pay that which is due, a failure in duty. There can be no man or woman who will ever dare to claim that he has perfectly fulfilled his duty to man and to God. So, then, when we come to see what sin really is, we come to see that it is a universal disease in which everybody is involved. Outward respectability in the sight of man, and inward sinfulness in the sight of God may well go hand in hand for most of us. For that reason, this is a petition of the Lord's Prayer which every one of us needs to pray regularly.

The Bible uses the word sin to mean a stepping across. Sin is the stepping across the line which is drawn between right and wrong. Do we always stay on the right side of the line which divides honesty and dishonesty? Do we always stay on the right side of the line which divides truth and falsehood? Do we never, by word or by silence, twist or evade or distort the truth? When we think of it in this way, there can be none of us who can claim always to have remained on the right side of the dividing line. For this reason, Jesus taught the Our Father, not to some people but to all of us; to you and me.

Wed 17 June Don't parade your goodness!

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. Many of us are wanting in many things because we are none givers.

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 e not. As St Paul urges us: "Pray without ceasing." (1Thessalonians 5:17). St Theresa of Avila, 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.

Tues 16 June 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? Is there anything we do different? Is there any difference between you, a Christian, and your neighbour, a non-believer? This is real food for thought.
Why does Jesus demand that we be different? The reason is very simple and tremendous: 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 your enemy's home?
Jesus says that we must have this same love of our Father in heaven. The language in which the Bible was written is not rich in adjectives; it often uses the expression “son of...” with an abstract noun where we would normally use an adjective. For instance a son of peace is a peaceful man; a son of consolation is a consoling man. So, the expression “Son of God” means a godly man. The reason why we must be godly is because of our God; and godly people can only become nothing less than sons of God.
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.

Don't hit back at all!

Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus said: "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 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 forbade 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 drunkard;  was called the friend of tax-gatherers and prostitutes, with the implication that he was like the company he kept. Jesus was even acused of being an agent of Belzebub,  the devil.

The true Christian has learned from his Master to receive insults and never to retaliate; to offer the wicked man no resistance. 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 God's right and duty. Those who wrong us will pay for it in due time from the Lord.

What story shall I use to illustrate the kingdom of God?

Mark 4:26-34


“Here is another story illustrating what the Kingdom of God is like: “A farmer sowed his field and went away, and as the days went by, the seeds grew and grew without his help. For the soil made the seeds grow. First a leaf blade pushed through, and later the heads of wheat formed, and finally the grain ripened, and then the farmer came at once with his sickle and harvested it.” Jesus asked, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story shall I use to illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed! Though this is one of the smallest of seeds, yet it grows to become one of the largest of plants, with long branches where birds can build their nests and be sheltered.” He used many such illustrations to teach the people as much as they were ready to understand. In fact, he taught only by illustrations in his public teaching, but afterwards, when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain his meaning to them.

Food for thought!

Wow! Are we that helpless? Jesus today is both revealing our helplessness and our hopefulness. We are helpless in that there are things we don't know and we can't know; there are things we have no idea how they happen. Look at the farmer in the gospel reading: de does not make the seed grow, he does not even understand how it grows. This knowledge is hidden from the farmer. It is the secret of life. Nobody has ever possessed the secret of life; no one has ever created anything in the full sense of the term "create". We can discover things; we can rearrange them; we can develop them; but creating them we cannot. This is how helpless we are.

I want you to look at the Book of Revelation, chapter 5 to see our helplessness. «I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One Seated on the Throne. It was written on both sides, fastened with seven seals. I also saw a powerful Angel, calling out in a voice like thunder, «Is there anyone who can open the scroll, who can break its seals?» There was no one—no one in Heaven, no one on earth, no one from the underworld—able to break open the scroll and read it. I wept and wept and wept that no one was found able to open the scroll, able to read it. One of the Elders said, «Do not cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll.»

This is why today's gospel reading says that Jesus «taught only by illustrations in his public teaching, but afterwards, when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain his meaning to them.» It means that each one of us is a story, he is a parable, a difficult parable, that only Jesus can explain to us. We are a sealed book that no one can unseal, not even ourselves; only Jesus. All our ups and downs, all our victories, all our failures, all our sins, all that happens in OUR life, is a parable waiting to be revealed by Jesus. Yes, like he did long ago to his disciples,  Jesus can explain everything to us, in private. Yes, it is in private that he will tell you. Imagine if the Lord told in public what each of us is and has ever done in our life! Thank God that he only tells us in private, so that no one else come to know us except the Lord. To him be our praise and honor and thanksgiving and glory, for ever.

Joseph, the silent man

Luke 2:41-51!

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere. Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have, you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’ ‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant. He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority.

Food for thought!

Today, let's remember and celebrate St. Joseph, the patron of silence and silent people. In all the Gospels we don't find any word ever spoken by Joseph; he speaks by his silence. St. Joseph reminds us of the gift of silence, the importance of silence, the use of silence. Yes, even silent people can talk to us, not by mouth and words but by their silence.

In today's Gospel reading, who does the talking is the woman, Mary. The gospel says, "When his parents saw him, they were astonished." Both Joseph and Mary were astonished; both wondered, but only Mary spoke out. Yes, Mary was an outspoken lady. Women, don't be afraid to talk; men, don't be afraid not to talk. Let your Mary do the talking because many times she knows better. Jesus' mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." Your father and I! Isn't this amazing? That Mary talks in the name and on behalf of Joseph!

Back to silence and silent people. Joseph should remind us that sometimes the best response is silence; that sometimes we do well to stay silent; that we don't have to open our mouth all the time. In fact, the lesss you say, the more profound and mysterious you appear. You have more power when you shut up.

By saying less than necessary you create the appearance of meaning and power. Also, the less you say, the less risk you run of saying something foolish, even dangerous. Learn the lesson: once the words are out, you cannot take them back. So like Joseph, keep your words under control.

Those who are attentive enough, like Mary was attentive to Joseph, can understand our words of silence and our silent words and our silent suffering and our silent anxiety. St. Joseph, patron of silence and of silent people, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death. St. Joseph is also the patron of the dying!

He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins!

John 19:31-37

Since it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a very important day) the Jews asked Pilate to break their limbs, and to have the bodies removed. So the soldiers came, and they broke the limbs of the first criminal, and of the other who had been crucified with him. When they came to Jesus, and when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his limbs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately water and blood came forth. And he who saw it is a witness to this, and his word is true. And he knows that he is speaking the truth, that you also may believe. These things happened that the passage of scripture which says: &His bone shall not be broken,& should be fulfilled. And again another passage says: "They shall see him whom they have pierced."

Food for thought!


In one thing the Jews were more merciful than the Romans. When the Romans carried out crucifixion under their own customs, the victim was simply left to die on the cross. He might hang for days in the heat of the midday sun and the cold of the night, tortured by thirst and tortured also by the gnats and the flies crawling in the weals on his torn back. Often men died raving mad on their crosses. Nor did the Romans bury the bodies of crucified criminals. They simply took them down and let the vultures and the crows and the dogs feed upon them.

A grim method was used to despatch criminals who lingered on. Their limbs were smashed with a mallet. That was done to the criminals who were crucified with Jesus, but mercifully he was spared that, for he was already dead. The sparing of Jesus is a fulfillment of an Old Testament passage. It was laid down of the Passover lamb that not a bone of it should be broken (Num.9:12). Jesus was indeed our Passover Lamb who delivers his people from death.

There is something that happened with Jesus at death. When the soldiers saw that Jesus was already dead they did not break his limbs with the mallet; but one of them, it must have been to make doubly sure that Jesus was dead, thrust a spear into his side. And there flowed out water and blood. This too was in fulfilment of the prophecy in Zech.12:10: "They look on him whom they have pierced."

We cannot be sure why blood and water flowed together out of Jesus' heart. It may well be that Jesus died literally of a broken heart. Normally, of course, the body of a dead man will not bleed. It is possible that what happened was that Jesus' experiences, physical and emotional, were so terrible that his heart was ruptured. When that happened the blood of the heart mingled with the fluid of the pericardium which surrounds the heart. The spear of the soldier pierced the pericardium and the mingled fluid and blood came forth. It is quite possible that Jesus, in the literal sense of the term, died of a broken heart. And if so, it was the final, unanswerable proof that Jesus was a real man with a real body. Here was proof that Jesus was bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

So, today as we mark today the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,  let us be thankful of Jesus and his sacrifice for us. For as Isaiah 53:4-6 says,

"It was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all."

You have learnt but Jesus says...!

Matthew 5:20-26



*Jesus said to his disciples, If your virtue goes no deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. ‘You have learnt how it was said to our ancestors: You must not kill; and if anyone does kill he must answer for it before the court. But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, "You fool!" shall be liable to the hell of fire. So then, if you are bringing your offering to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, go and be reconciled with your brother first, and then come back and present your offering. Come to terms with your opponent in good time while you are still on the way to the court with him, or he may hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I tell you solemnly, you will not get out till you have paid the last penny.’*

Food for thought!

"You have learnt … But I say to you."

In these few words, Jesus shows us that he knows that we have other teachers, other instructors, besides him. He says, "You have learnt!" This means that indeed, there are other teachers in this world, besides Jesus. He knows it. This is not the point, however. The point is that notwithstanding what we have learnt from whoever has taught us, Jesus wants us to drop that teaching and adopt his teaching. That is why he says:
"You gave learnt... But I say to you."

This saying means that regardles of what we have learnt, regardles of what the world says…Jesus teaches us something else. Yes, Jesus sometimes contradicts us in what we know, in what we do. For instance, Jesus is saying that it is not enough not to commit murder, not to still, not to speak evil of others; it is equally important not to think of murder, not to think of stealing, not to think evil of others. It may be that we have never struck another person; but who can say that he never wished to strike another person? 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 sin in the first place.

It is Jesus' teaching that we are not judged only by our deeds; we are judged even more by our thoughts which never translate into deeds. By the world's standards a man is a good man, if he never does a forbidden thing. By Jesus' standards, goodness and evil start not with our deeds but with our thoughts. **Jesus is intensely concerned with our thoughts, with what goes on in our mind. **

Pause to examine your thought patterns from time to time. As Henry H. Buckley said, “Keep your thoughts right—for as you think, so you are. Thoughts are things, therefore, think only the things that will make the world better and you unashamed.” The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). And a proverb from the Buddhist Tripitaka reminds us, “All that we are is the result of what we have thought: it is founded on our thoughts and is made up of our thoughts.”

Almost everything that we use and come in contact with each day was originally a thought. For example, the pens, chewing gum, magazines, textbooks, candy, ice cream, telephones, television, radios and computers, houses and schools, churches, and so much more, were once thoughts, ideas, theories, and dreams; they all came into being as thoughts in someone’s mind.

Philippians (4:8), *“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”*

Remember by Telling!

Matthew 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’ Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, tell it to others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.
 

In the Old Testament, we find this reading from Deuteronomy 4:1,5-9

Moses said to the people: Now listen, Israel, listen carefully to the rules and regulations that I am teaching you to follow so that you may live and enter and take possession of the land that God, the God-of-Your-Fathers, is giving to you. 5-6 Pay attention: I'm teaching you the rules and regulations that God commanded me, so that you may live by them in the land you are entering to take up ownership. Keep them. Practice them. You'll become wise and understanding. When people hear and see what's going on, they'll say, "What a great nation! So wise, so understanding! We've never seen anything like it."

9 Just make sure you stay alert. Keep close watch over yourselves. Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.

Food for thought!

I am sure many people are like me: they forget the readings moments after listening to them; research shows that most people do forget the reading of the day shortly after listening, and by noon many people do forget the things they even asked the Lord in the morning. If you are like me, the readings of toady are about not forgeting the things the Lord does for us or tells us.

And the best way is by telling others what the Lord has done for us or has told us. As the gospel put it, it is by telling that we remember: «But take it seriously, tell it to others, and you will find honor in the kingdom.»

«Don't forget anything of what you've seen. Don't let your heart wander off. Stay vigilant as long as you live. Teach what you've seen and heard to your children and grandchildren.»

In other words, the best way to remember the things the Lord tells us is by sharing them with the others. Or better, REMEMBER BY TELLING!

You're salt & light!

Matthew 5:13-16

Jesus told his disciples,  "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Food for thought!

In the Bible Jesus calls himself various names like, I am the Goodshepherd, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, I am the Vine, I am the Gate, and many others. But other times Jesus calls us names, like today he is referring to us as "salt" and "light". What is Jesus telling us about us?

Jesus calls us salt because of our preserving ability; we preserve society from going rotten; from going bad; from getting destroyed. Do you remember the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19? Those people could have been saved if there had been just 10 righteous men or Christians in Sodom and Gomorrah; but there were nobody, and the whole city was destroyed. So please don't go bad if and when everybody around you goes or does evil. If at your workplace you see everybody cutting the corners, please, don't follow suit; the presence and the prayers of "salty" Christians preserves and saves the rest from catastrophe.

Do you remember the message of Genesis 50: 20 and the heart of Joseph’s story? Joseph told his brother,   "As for you , you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." His brothers hated him and could not speak peaceably to him . . . they hated him even more . . . they hated him . . . his brothers envied him” (37: 4– 5, 8, 11). "They stripped Joseph of his tunic . . . they took him and cast him into a pit” (vv. 23– 24).

To cut a long story short, Joseph never gave up. Bitterness never staked its claim. Anger never metastasized into hatred. His heart never hardened; his resolve never vanished. He not only survived; he thrived. He ascended like a helium balloon. An Egyptian official promoted him to chief servant. The prison warden placed him over the inmates. And Pharaoh, the highest ruler on the planet, shoulder-tapped Joseph to serve as his prime minister. By the end of his life, Joseph was the second most powerful man of his generation. It is not hyperbole to state that he saved the world from starvation.

This is what means being salt of the earth; it means being the Joseph of today, the Joseph in your place of living; the Joseph that saves the world from starvation and death.

Happiness according to Jesus!

Matthew 5:1-12


One day as the crowds were gathering, Jesus went up the hillside with his disciples and sat down and taught them there. “Humble men are very fortunate!” he told them, “for the Kingdom of Heaven is given to them. Those who mourn are fortunate! for they shall be comforted. The meek and lowly are fortunate! for the whole wide world belongs to them. “Happy are those who long to be just and good, for they shall be completely satisfied. Happy are the kind and merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God. Happy are those who strive for peace—they shall be called the sons of God. Happy are those who are persecuted because they are good, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. “When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers—wonderful! Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.


Food for thought


The gospel reading begins by saying, "One day as the crowds were gathering, Jesus went up the hillside with his disciples and sat down and taught them there." It all started by seeing the crowds gathering up around Jesus.  When we come to Jesus, Jesus comes to us; he is not indifferent to those who come to him. What did Jesus tell those people who gathered around Him? 

Many people think that those who go to Jesus or to the church to pray are the poor, the cursed or the sick. Jesus thinks the opposite. What Jesus sees is a blessing, a happiness, a joy that is beyond all suffering and poverty. Jesus sees happiness even in the suffering, in the poor. In us there is something special; yes, in all of us there is a happiness buried under problems and worry and suffering. We need to learn to see through the eyes of Jesus in order to see happiness.

We normally judge people according to what they have and own. For us, the happy people are the rich; the rich people are the happy. But this is not always true; happiness is not tangible, it is not material, it is not visible. Happiness is spiritual because it is in the spirit. And since God created us in his own image and likeness, so the likeness of man is in his being spiritual. That is why it is possible to be happy and poor, to be happy despite suffering, to be happy in gentleness, to be happy in the hardships of life.

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to be happy no matter what is taking place in their lives? There is a buoyancy to their spirit and a sparkle to their personalities. A kind of glowing field of energy seems to radiate from their faces, their words, and from their works. There are others who seem to be predisposed to gloomy, negative thoughts. They seem to live in a perpetual shower of unhappiness.

The happiest people are those who are working to give happiness to others. Happiness is not found by seeking it; it is a by-product of trying to help others. "Happiness is by-product of an effort to make someone else happy." (Getter Palmer).