What we know kills what we should know!

Matthew 13:53-58

53 When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, 54 returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" 55 But in the next breath they were cutting him down: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. 56 All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?" 57 They got their noses all out of joint. 58 But Jesus said, "A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family." He didn't do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.

Food for thought

It is said that the weight of what we know, especially what we collectively know, kills all innovation. What we know of other people is many times lethal to what we can know about them. Our former education, our former experiences, our past, our memories is many times our greatest enemy. This is what happened in today's gospel reading.


Everything was going on well, until past knowledge came in. The people were getting impressed, "We had no idea he was this good!" they said. "How did he get so wise, get such ability?" Then, they remembered the past about Jesus: "We've known him since he was a kid; he's the carpenter's son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?"
Many of us are victims of our memories, our past experiences. Our past experiences can be completely at odds with our present experience; our yesterday can be lethal to our todays. This is why the more we grow old the harder we learn. Or as they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Indeed, familiarity breeds contempt. Some of us have grown too old, not in years, but in the mind. When did you last read a book on anything?


What happened to Jesus in today's gospel is a lesson to us not to judge a man by his background and his family connections, but by what he is now. Many a message has been killed stone dead, not because there was anything wrong with it; but because the minds of the hearers were so prejudiced against the messenger that it never had a chance. When we meet together to listen to the word of God, we must come with eager expectancy, and must think, not of the man who speaks, but of what he speaks to us.

Do you understand Jesus?

Matthew 13:47-57

“Or, God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That’s how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won’t do any good.”
“Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them. They answered, “Yes.” He said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.”
When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He made a real hit, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise, get such ability?” But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “We’ve known him since he was a kid; he’s the carpenter’s son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?” They got their noses all out of joint.

Food for thought

When Jesus had finished speaking about the Kingdom, he asked his disciples if they had understood. And they had understood, at least in part. Then Jesus goes on to speak about the student, instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven, bringing out of his treasure-house things old and new. What Jesus is in effect saying is this: "You are able to understand, because you came to me with a fine heritage. You came with all the teaching of old things. You came to me with a lifetime of study. That background helps you to understand. But after you have been instructed by me, you have better knowledge, not only of the things you used to know, but of things you never knew before, and even the knowledge which you had before is illuminated by what I have told to you."
There is something very suggestive here. For it means that Jesus never desired or intended that any man should forget all he knew when he came to him; but that he should see his knowledge in a new light and use it in a new service. When he does that, what he knew before becomes a greater treasure than ever it was. It means that the familiar or old ideas that we have acquired are what we must use in understanding the new. The old modifies the new, and the new enlarges the old; we know by what we have known; whoever has (understood) will be given more (understanding). Who has not, even the little he has will be taken away from him.
Everybody comes to Jesus Christ with some gift and with some ability, some knowledge, something. Jesus does not ask that we should give up our gifts, ability, knowledge. So many people think that when they come to Christ they must erase in themselves all they've and are, and concentrate upon the so-called religious things. But a scholar has not to give up his learning when he becomes a Christian; rather he uses it for Christ. A business man need not give up his business; rather he should run it as a Christian would. One who can sing, or dance, or act, or paint need not give up his art, but must use his art as a Christian would. The sportsman need not give up his sport, but must play as a Christian would. In other words, USE WHAT HE TEACHES YOU TO DO BETTER WHAT HE GAVE YOU.
Jesus did not come to empty life but to fill it, not to impoverish life but to enrich it. Today, Jesus tells us, not to abandon our gifts, but to use them even more wonderfully in the light of the teaching which he has given us.

It was the most natural thing in the world that Jesus should use illustrations from fishing when he was speaking to fishermen. It was as if he said to them: "Look how your daily work speaks to you of the things of heaven." It is true, that what we do for a living can and does speak heavens to us. God speaks to each one of us according to what we are and we do. Jesus' question is therefore relevant: "Do you understand all this?" From your point of view, from your job experience, from your living, do you understand Jesus?

Both Mary & Martha!

Luke 10:38-42

As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. 39 She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word Jesus said. 40 But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand." 41 The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. 42 One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it--it's the main course, and won't be taken from her."

Food for thought!

Do you have Marthas in your life? I mean people like the woman of the gospel called Martha? People who are not happy with your devotion of Jesus? People who see your life of faith as waste of time? They are normally people that are too busy for the Lord, too busy for prayer, too busy for quite moments or anything spiritual. People who interrupt you whenever you try sit down for Jesus.


Or you are the Martha, always pulled away by all you have to do in your life? Like Martha, do you often interrupt someone or some people in their prayers or their meditation or their devotions? Jesus has a word for both Martha and Mary.



Or you are both Mary and Martha? You have a part of you that is like Mary that wants to sit down for prayer and meditation and reflection? And another part of you that is always busy, always dynamic, always in action, always on the move like of Martha.



Do you sometimes feel a clash in you or a fight within you, whereby whenever you sit for Jesus you feel guilty, as if you are wasting time? Do you sometimes feel guilty when you don't find time for prayer because of your busy schedule at work? Do you sometimes feel that you are not praying nor playing enough?



Be it as it may, Mary and Martha are sisters. In other words, the two are not supposed to be rivals nor enemies but sisters and friends. The two can and do live in the same house. A balanced life is lived with both Mary and Martha together, in the same house, in the same body. We cannot all be Martha all day and all days. We cannot all be Mary all day and all days. We need to pray but also to work. We need prayers but also workers. A good home is a place where Marthas and Marys live in peace and harmony. It is this kind of home that Jesus visits.



Some people are naturally dynamos of activity; others are naturally quiet. It is hard for the active person to understand the person who sits and contemplates. And the person who is devoted to quiet times and meditation is apt to look down on the person who would rather be active. This is not supposed to be so, because God did not make everyone alike.



Both Mary and Martha are serving God. God needs his Marys and his Marthas. That's why He made them as sisters. "A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word Jesus said."

Jesus, Explain to us!

Matthew 13:36-43 Explain to us

34 All Jesus did that day was tell stories-- a long storytelling afternoon. 35 His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy: I will open my mouth and tell stories; I will bring out into the open things hidden since the world's first day. 36 Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." 37 So he explained. "The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels. 40" The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, 42 pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. 43 At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?

Food for thought!

The gospel notes, that when Jesus had dismissed the congregation and went into the house, his disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." So he explained. This is extremely important. When everybody was gone, when the disciples were all alone by themselves, they came to Jesus, and asked him to explain something they had not and they could not understand during the day. Explain to us, they said.


This is what we must always do: at the end of the day, sit down for Jesus, and ask him to explain to us the many things we failed, during our day, to understand, to do, to have. Yes, Jesus continues to use parables with us too, and many of our parables are just too difficult to understand. We have many things that we don't and can't understand in our lives, in the lives of our relatives and friends. Who of us understands everything in his or her life? Who does understand his or her story? We too need to sit for Jesus and ask him to do some private explanation.



Some of us meet Jesus only in the public, on Sundays, in the Mass. Many of us never come to Jesus in the private, alone, away from the crowds. We miss a lot because there are things that Jesus do tell us only in the private, in solitude. That is why when Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house, his disciples came in and said, "Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field." So he explained to them. Wouldn't you like Jesus to explain somethings to you, in private? I do.

Small beginnings, great endings!

Matthew 13:31-35

Here is another of the illustrations of Jesus: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a tiny mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds but becomes the largest of plants, and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter." He also used this example: "The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a woman making bread. She takes a measure of flour and mixes in the yeast until it permeates every part of the dough." Jesus constantly used these illustrations when speaking to the crowds. In fact, because the prophets said that he would use so many, he never spoke to them without at least one illustration. For it had been prophesied, "I will talk in parables; I will explain mysteries hidden since the beginning of time."

Food for thought!

Jesus wants his listeners to understand the kingdom of God. For him, the kingdom of God is like, that is, is similar to the mustard seed. The kingdom of God is not the mustard seed, and the mustard seed is not the kingdom of God. But the dynamics of the kingdom of God are like those of a mustard seed; although the two realities are different, they are similar. When Jesus began to speak, He didn't compare the Kingdom of God to a high mountain, a mighty river or even a majestic oak. Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a tiny mustard seed! Jesus uses the image of something small to teach us about something larger than we can comprehend.
The grain of mustard seed, which is very small, grows up and becomes formidable tree, putting forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. Though very small, when the mustard seed is sown into the ground, grows into something very big indeed, which welcomes and accommodates other creatures. Jesus is saying that from its small beginnings comes great endings. Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to that little seed. Jesus is talking of himself. In truth, most people believed that nothing would come of the Lord Jesus and His ministry.

• Jesus was born in the tiny town of Bethlehem in abject poverty.
• He was reared in Galilee, and no one believed that a man of God could come from there, John 7:52.
• He was raised in a Nazareth. The inhabitants of that city were considered to be wicked and worldly by the Jews.
• He had no family connections. He had no money. He had no support from the religious leaders of the day.
• His parentage was questioned, John 8:41 by His enemies
• His own people rejected Him.
• He was despised and rejected by men.
• The Romans eventually nailed Him to a cross and buried Him in a tomb.

As Obama reminded all Kenyan youths this week, there is no limit to what we can achieve. From small and humble beginning, Obama grew up to become President of the greatest country on earth. By creating us in his image and likeness, each one of us is a small mustard seed. We can all grow into greatness. God can take someone who seems insignificant and make something great out of them! He can take a little red-headed boy nobody wanted on their team and make him a great leader of men. He did that with Winston Churchill. He can take a backward, stuttering man and use him to bring the Law of God to humanity, He did that with Moses. He can take a son of a Kenyan and make him into the President of the United States of America. He did that with Obama. What could He do with your life?

With Jesus expect the unexpected!

John 6:1-15

After this, Jesus crossed over the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. And a huge crowd, many of them pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the annual Passover celebration, were following him wherever he went, to watch him heal the sick. So when Jesus went up into the hills and sat down with his disciples around him, he soon saw a great multitude of people climbing the hill, looking for him. Turning to Philip he asked, “Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” (He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.) Philip replied, “It would take a fortune to begin to do it!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a youngster here with five barley loaves and a couple of fish! But what good is that with all this mob?” “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus ordered. And all of them—the approximate count of the men only was five thousand—sat down on the grassy slopes. Then Jesus took the loaves and gave thanks to God and passed them out to the people. Afterwards he did the same with the fish. And everyone ate until full! “Now gather the scraps,” Jesus told his disciples, “so that nothing is wasted.” And twelve baskets were filled with the leftovers! When the people realized what a great miracle had happened, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him their king, so he went higher into the mountains alone.

Food for thought!

Life is a series of highs and lows. We face valleys and mountains and sometimes it seems that we are not able to go one step farther. Our obstacle, whatever name we attach to it, is totally overwhelming in our eyes. When this happens, the general tendency is to just quit, to give up on the Lord. But, we forget just who God is! He is the Creator, the Master of the Sea, the Lily of the Valley, the Bright and Morning Star. He is the One Who was, Who is and Who is to come! He is still God and we need to remember this very important fact.

Like Phillip and Andrew we often are faced with what is absolutely impossible in the eyes of man, but to God, it is merely an opportunity to display His awesome power. It is an opportunity for Him to showcase His ability to overcome any and all situations, without exception!



Today, I want you to take whatever burden you carry, whether it be personal, health, work or church related: I want you to first look at this burden, then look at the greatness and power of our God and finally realize that Jesus can handle it, he knows exactly what to do; Jesus knows how to handle your kind of problem. Consider each of your challenges as Jesus challenging you, as he did that day to Phillip:



“Philip, where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” (He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.)



Don't panic as Phillip did. Be like that little boy; give all you have to the Lord; do your small part, and let the Lord do his part. Don't say like Andrew that it is too little. Remember little with Jesus is much. With Jesus expect the unexpectable.

No Gain Without Pain!

Matthew 20:20-28

20 It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons (James and John) and knelt before Jesus with a request. 21 "What do you want?" Jesus asked. She said, "Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand." 22 Jesus responded, "You have no idea what you're asking." And he said to James and John, "Are you capable of drinking the cup that I'm about to drink?" They said, "Sure, why not?" 23 Jesus said, "Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that's not my business. My Father is taking care of that." 24 When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. 25 So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, "You've observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. 26 It's not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. 27 Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. 28 That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served-- and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

Food for thought!

All of us have dreams. All of us have desires. All of us have wishes. However, many of us don't know that these dreams and desires and wishes have price tags; we don't know what it takes to realize those dreams and desires and wishes; we don't know the cost. This is what the two brothers, James and John, are doing in the gospel reading. All they could see was their dream, their desire, their wish, their crown. They wanted the crown without knowing the cross. They wanted the gain without knowing the pain. They wanted the reward without knowing that there is a price to pay. The problem with these disciples is the same problem many of us have today. We want good life without a struggle.
Jesus responds by telling James and John that they have no idea what they are asking for. In other words, they want the end without knowing the cost. They do not know what it takes to have what they want. It is like a boy who wants to pass the class but does not know that to do so he has to sacrifice some things, like watching T.V. and playing games and going around.
To all of us who want good life, Jesus is saying: "You have no idea what you're aspiring for. Are you capable of drinking the cup?" We do well to learn that good life comes at a price, that true greatness lies, not in dominance, but in service; and that in every sphere the price of greatness must be paid. So next time you kneel down to pray for something, remember these words of Jesus, "You have no idea what you're asking. Are you capable of drinking the cup that comes with what you are asking?" If you are ready, tell the Lord. Don't be like a woman who prayed for a child, but without birth pains and all the risks that come with child bearing.

This is what happened with James and John. Jesus asked them, "Are you capable of drinking the kind of cup that I'm about to drink?" Without a thought, they said they can. And they did. James was the first of the apostles to die, martyred (Ac.12:2) and his brother John was the last of the apostles to die, in exile, persecuted. The two got what they prayed for; the two drunk the cup; the two sat one at one end of Jesus (was the first apostle to die) and the other sat at the other end (was the last apostle to die), and in between them, sat and sits Jesus, who paid with his life the cost of our salvation. To him be praise and glory and honour. Amen.

Listen to the word of God and cling to it!

Matthew 13:18-23

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

Food for thought!

This parable reminds us that the fate of the word of God depends on the head into which it is sown. The hard path represents the shut head, which refuses to take it in. The shallow ground represents the head that accepts the word but never thinks it out and never realizes its consequences. The thorny ground stands for the head that is so busy to think of the things of God. The good ground stands for the good head. The good head does three things. First, it listens attentively. Second, it thinks over it until it discovers its meaning. Third, it acts upon the findings.

There is an old saying that God put on our heads two ears and one mouth so we may listen more and talk less. It means that God expects us to listen, think and act out the word. As Moreland noted: "Many people today, including many Christians, simply do not read or think deeply at all. And when believers do read, they tend to browse self-help books or other literature that is not intellectually engaging."

Jill Ammon-Wexler once said that our mind is like a muscle. If it is not exercised regularly and strenuously, it loses some of its capacities and strength. Did you know that PEOPLE WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL in their personal and business lives all share one common secret – they’ve learned to use their brain to focus on a desired goal regardless of what’s going on around them. They have developed a refined ability to single-task, rather than multi-task. This is what Jesus is saying in the Gospel reading of today: They listen to God’s words and cling to them.

Any positive life change must begin with an improvement in our ability to cling to the Word of God. As Jesus said, those who score 100% are the people that cling to the Word of God by engaging in thinking. So, everyday, find time to think, just as you have already time to eat, sleep, watch TV, etc. You can use the daily "Food for thought" to jump start your daily thinking.
Let’s face it – our brain is our ultimate success tool. Literally everything we are, dream, say and do all starts in the same place – our head. All creativity, personal power, and success starts there. And WE alone make the choice to develop, or overlook, our brain’s staggering potential. We can all use our head to LISTEN. THINK. ACT!

For to him who has will more be given!

Matthew 13:10-17

His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you always use these hard-to-understand illustrations?” Then he explained to them that only they were permitted to understand about the Kingdom of Heaven, and others were not. “For to him who has will more be given,” he told them, “and he will have great plenty; but from him who has not, even the little he has will be taken away. That is why I use these illustrations, so people will hear and see but not understand. “This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah:

‘They hear, but don’t understand; they look, but don’t see! For their hearts are fat and heavy, and their ears are dull, and they have closed their eyes in sleep, so they won’t see and hear and understand and turn to God again, and let me heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. Many a prophet and godly man has longed to see what you have seen and hear what you have heard, but couldn’t.

Food for thought!

"For to him who has will more be given,” he told them, “and he will have great plenty; but from him who has not, even the little he has will be taken away." At first sight this seems nothing less than injustice; but it is not, because it simply states a truth about life and living.

In the school the student who labours more is capable of acquiring more knowledge. On the other hand, the student who is lazy and refuses to work inevitably loses even the little knowledge he has.

If you have some skill for a game or business, develop it, otherwise you will lose it. The diligent and hard-working person is in a position to be given more and more; the lazy person always loses even what he has. Any gift can be developed; and, since nothing in life stands still, if a gift is not developed, it is lost. By the way, this is why the rich tend to get richer and the poor tend to get poorer!

It is so with goodness. Every hardship or challenge we conquer makes us more able to conquer the next hardship or challenge. Every challenge we fail, makes us prone to fail the next one. Every good thing we do, every act of self-discipline and of service and of love, makes us better able for the next; and every time we fail to use such an opportunity we make ourselves less able to seize the next when it comes.

Life is always a process of gaining more or losing more; in life there's no standing still; or we are gaining ground or we are losing ground. Jesus is laying down the truth that the nearer we live to him, the more we develop our potential. And the more we drift away from him, the less we are able to reach our full potential. More to more, less from less!

Mary of Magdala came!

John 20:1-2,11-18

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb’ she said ‘and we don’t know where they have put him.’ Meanwhile Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ ‘They have taken my Lord away’ she replied ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognise him. Jesus said, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?’ Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.’ Jesus said, ‘Mary!’ She knew him then and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbuni!’ – which means Master. Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

Food for thought!

The story of the resurrection of Jesus is the story of the triumph of falsity over truth, of injustice over justice, of evil over goodness. It is the story of love. Although Jesus was falsely charged of crimes he did not commit, and unjustly sentenced to a death he did not deserve, and had his good friend betray him, his trusted companions desert him and his number one man deny him, although Jesus suffered all of this, someone always believed in him. It was Mary of Magdala.

Although the people Jesus loved demanded his crucifixion and chose to have the bandit Barabbas released in his place, Mary Magdalene always stayed faithful to Jesus. The story of betrayal and lies, dishonesty and meanness, unfaithfulness and wicked violence directed against an innocent and apparently helpless victim, didn't discourage Mary Magdalene. Even when Good Friday came around and Jesus was scourged, mocked, led on the death march, nailed to the cross where he died after a few hours and hastily buried in a tomb, Mary Magdalene did not give up on love of Jesus.

The gospel says, "It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb.’ Notice that she is not referring to Jesus as dead, but as alive. "They have taken the Lord [not the body of Jesus] out of the tomb." For her Jesus never died and never dies; he is alive!

It is good news to know that truth is immortal. We can suppress Truth, accuse it of being a lie, condemn it, torture it, kill it, bury it in the grave but on the third day Truth will rise again. Remember this and do not give up on Truth even when everybody seems to give up on it. Do not give up on Truth; do not give up on Justice. Do not give up on doing what is right. Remember this: "The reward that outdoes all others is the peace of knowing that you did right." (Jay Hyles)

Truth will always be true. Justice will always be just. Right will always be right even when the world around us would have it otherwise. We must learn to believe in the sun even when it is not shining, knowing that it will shine again.

It is the end of the story that counts; the most important chapter in a book is the last chapter. Even when we are going through very difficult times: through betrayal, unjust discrimination, lies, misrepresentations; even when the enemy seems to be winning the battle in our lives; yes, even when those we know speak evil against us, and give us in to our enemies. Don't give in to lies. Be truthful. Like Mary Magdalene, let's be good to Jesus up to the end. To him be praise and honour and power and glory. Amen.

The ties that bind us are the ties that blind us!

Matthew 12:46-50

As Jesus was speaking in a crowded house, his mother and brothers were outside, wanting to talk with him. When someone told him they were there, he remarked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” He pointed to his disciples. “Look!” he said, “these are my mother and brothers.” Then he added, “Anyone who obeys my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother!”
Food for thought!
I want you to get this scene in your head. Jesus is teaching in the city of Capernaum. He is surrounded by a vast multitude of people. As Jesus is teaching His family shows up. Their arrival creates a moments of tension for everyone there. Jesus is teaching and His family is on the outside of the crowd. They can’t get to Him because of the multitude, so they send word through the crowd to tell Jesus to come to where they are. His family wants Him to stop His teaching, leave the multitude, and go to meet his family. They want Jesus to stop what he is doing and attend to them. And will not be the last time. You remember this other incident in Mark 3:20-21?



"Then Jesus went to a house [probably Peter’s], but a throng came together again, so that He and His disciples could not even take food. And when those who belonged to Him ( His family) heard it, they went out to take Him by force, for they kept saying, He is out of His mind!"


The lessons. Sometimes it is our dear ones like mother, father, husband, wife, relatives and friends that stand in between us and God, that stand in between us and our opportunities. Of course they don't do it out of evil intentions; Mary and the others weren't acting out evil intentions; they were trying to help Jesus, so they thought. This was a misguided help of good intentioned people. Jesus, however used the occasion to teach us all that OBEDIENCE TO GOD, DOING GOD'S WILL, FOLLOWING GOD IS ABOVE EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY.



Yes, many times, our greatest distraction in doing God's will, and in embracing new opportunities are our relations, our friends. The tendency not to offset our dearest people or our dear past experiences many times make us forsake God-sent opportunities. This is why the burden of what we know already limits us in embracing new opportunities. The old is the enemy of the new. THE TIES THAT BIND US ARE THE TIES THAT BLIND US. (Andrew Hargadon).


Another lesson. There is in this passage a great and practical truth. It is very common to have your closest people to be not your blood family but others not related to you by blood. The deepest relationship of life is not always the blood relationship; it is the relationship of mind to mind and heart to heart. It is when people have common aims, common principles, common interests, a common goal that they become really and truly friends. And in case of Jesus, it is the people who obey his Father in heaven that are indeed his brothers, sisters and mothers.

Jesus moved on

Matthew 12:14-21

14 The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus. 15 Jesus, knowing they were out to get him, moved on. A lot of people followed him, and he healed them all 16. He also cautioned them to keep it quiet, 17 following guidelines set down by Isaiah: 18 Look well at my handpicked servant; I love him so much, take such delight in him. I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations.19 But he won't yell, won't raise his voice; there will be no commotion in the streets. 20 He won't walk over anyone's feelings, won't push you into a corner. Before you know it, his justice will triumph; 21 the mere sound of his name will signal hope, even among far-off unbelievers.

Food for soul!

Did you know that by fighting your enemy you make him or her hero? The more you hate someone the more s/he will become famous, because all the time you will be thinking of her or him. This makes him all the time present in your mind and life. In a sense, the highest compliment you can pay a person is to persecute him or her. This is what the religious leaders (the Pharisees and Scribes) of the time of Jesus did. They cannot stop hating Jesus, even as they follow him from place to place. And as they do so, "a lot of people followed him."



All of this reminds us of two things. One, that when it comes to Jesus, even religious leaders can get him wrong. Two, that when it comes to Jesus everyone must make up their mind to follow him or not, regardless of what religious leaders do or say. Today's gospel shows this very well: while "The Pharisees walked out furious, sputtering about how they were going to ruin Jesus... A lot of people followed him." Following Jesus is indeed a personal decision.



Did you notice that when his enemies decided to ruin him, Jesus just moved on? He did not fight them. He did not argue with them. He just moved on with his life. Jesus never confused recklessness with courage. First, for the time being, he withdrew. The time for the head-on clash had not yet come. He had work to do before the Cross took him to its arms. For time being, "Jesus, knowing they were out to ruin him and his mission, moved on."



What does Jesus want to teach us by his retrieval, by moving on? He is saying that weakness is no sin, and can even become strength if you learn how and when to do it. Why lower yourself to the level of your enemies by arguing with them? Why let your enemies ruin your life?



Yes, it is always our first instinct to react, to meet aggression with aggression; to fight back. But the next time someone pushes you and you find yourself starting to react, remember to not lower yourself to the level of your opponent by arguments. In such moments, do as Jesus did, MOVE ON, think of something else, or literally go away before the enemy ruins your day. By so doing, you appear to bend. But you are not, since you only appear to surrender like the animal that plays dead to save its skin. This is the essence of the surrender tactic: inwardly you stay firm, but outwardly you move on.

Jesus, knowing they were out to get him, moved on!

The son of man, not us, is in charge!

Matthew 12:1-8

One Sabbath, Jesus was strolling with his disciples through a field of ripe grain. Hungry, the disciples were pulling off the heads of grain and munching on them. 2 Some Pharisees reported them to Jesus: "Your disciples are breaking the Sabbath rules!" 3 Jesus said, "Really? Didn't you ever read what David and his companions did when they were hungry, 4 how they entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? 5 And didn't you ever read in God's Law that priests carrying out their Temple duties break Sabbath rules all the time and it's not held against them? 6" There is far more at stake here than religion. 7 If you had any idea what this Scripture meant-- 'I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual'-- you wouldn't be nitpicking like this. 8 The Son of Man is no lackey to the Sabbath; he's in charge. "

Food for soul!

In Palestine in the time of Jesus the cornfields and the cultivated lands were laid out in long narrow strips; and the ground between the strips was always a right of passage. It was on one of these strips between the cornfields that the disciples and Jesus were walking when this incident happened. The gospel says that they were hungry. So stood before them two things, human need and human law.

There is no suggestion that the disciples were stealing. The Law expressly laid it down that the hungry traveller was entitled to do just what the disciples were doing, so long as he only used his hands to pluck the ears of corn, and did not use a sickle: "When you go into your neighbours standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbours standing grain" (Deut.23:25).

In the eyes of the Scribes and Pharisees, the fault of the disciples was not that they had plucked and eaten the grains of corn, but that they had done so on the Sabbath, a day of rest. To meet the criticism of the Scribes and Pharisees Jesus put forward three arguments.

(i) He quoted the action of David (1Sam.21:1-6) on the occasion when David and his young men were so hungry that they went into the tabernacle, and in their hunger, took and ate those sacred loaves without committing sin.



(ii) He quoted the Sabbath work of the Temple. The Temple ritual always involved work, and the priests worked on Sabbath without committing sin.




(iii) He quoted God's word to Hosea the prophet: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice" (Hos.6:6). What God desires far more than ritual sacrifice is kindness, the spirit which knows no law other than that it must answer the call of human need.



In this incident Jesus lays it down that the claim of human need must take precedence of all other claims. The claims of worship, the claims of ritual, the claims of liturgy are important but prior to any of them is the claim of human need. Jesus insisted that the greatest ritual service is the service of human need.



It is an odd thing to think that, with the possible exception of that day in the synagogue at Nazareth, we have no evidence that Jesus ever conducted a temple service in all his life on earth, but we have abundant evidence in all the gospels that he fed the hungry and comforted the sad and cared for the sick.



Christian service is not the service of any liturgy or ritual; it is the service of man; service of human need. If in your life, your business, your profession, you are not serving some human need, I am afraid you are missing the point. The claims of human need take precedence over any ritual custom or law. All our laws in the Church and society are just that, our laws! We are more important than any of them. The son of man is lord over them all. God will reward us not for keeping laws but for serving humans in their real need.

Learn from Jesus!

Matthew 11:28-30

Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me-- watch how I do it. Learn from me. I won't lay anything heavy or ill- fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Food for soul

Do you ever get tired, worn out, weary? Do you ever feel a need for rest? Are you like me, a weary person always rushing from one activity to the other? With long hours of work? With our calendars always filled up with too many obligations. I find this invitation from Jesus so very appealing.



Most people are weary today. Many are troubled and agitated in our souls, and we try to find rest in all the wrong places. Some look to a mate, to a bottle, to a pill, to friends, to pleasure, to entertainment, to money. We look everywhere and try everything in the effort to find rest for our souls. No thing and no one in this world can give you and me the peace and rest we seek. That is the bad news.



The good news is that while we run here and there trying to find peace, Jesus says, so simply and so calmly, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” In other words, there is a place of rest; a place of quietness; a place of peace called Jesus. He invites you and me to come to Him to find the rest our soul seeks. We are looking, running, seeking, struggling, striving, fighting, loving, rushing, searching all in an effort to find what only Jesus Christ can give.



The words of Jesus are very consoling, especially to those of us struggling with whatever burdens. I don't know your burdens; I only know mine. Jesus is saying, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out?" He does not say of what? In other words, what matters is your kind of burden; any burden we may have makes us welcome to Jesus. Financial? Professional? Family problem? Private life? You name it. To all of us Jesus says, "Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me; watch how I do it. Learn from me."



Learn from me. See how I lived, and you too live accordingly; see how I loved and you too love accordingly; see how I suffered, how I lived with my enemies, how I took life's challenges, and do likewise. Imitate me. Take me for your role model.



Jesus guarantees us that if and when we live as he lived, that if we imitate him in everything we face in life, if we walk and work with Jesus every single day, we will get three things: he will show us how to take a real rest; we will learn to live freely and lightly; and we will recover our life. In other words, if we take Jesus serious, he will make us live life abundantly. This is why he came: I came that you may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). (John 10:10).

The heart, not the head, is the home of the gospel!

Matthew 11:25-27

Then Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. I am thankful that you have hidden these things from those who are so wise and so smart. But you have shown them to people who are like little children. Yes, Father, you did this because it’s what you really wanted to do. “My Father has given me everything. No one knows the Son—only the Father knows the Son. And no one knows the Father—only the Son knows the Father. And the only people who will know about the Father are those the Son chooses to tell.

Food for soul!

Today, just as always, Jesus is speaking out of experience, the experience that the Rabbis and the wise men rejected him, and the simple people accepted him. The intellectuals had no use for him; but the humble welcomed him.



This said, we must be careful to see clearly what Jesus meant here. He is very far from condemning intellectual power; what he is condemning is intellectual pride. As Plummer has it, "The heart, not the head, is the home of the gospel." It is not cleverness which shuts out; it is pride. It is not stupidity which admits; it is humility. A man may be as wise as Solomon, but if he has not the simplicity, the trust, the innocence of the childlike heart, he shuts himself out.



This passage closes with the greatest claim that Jesus ever made, the claim which is the centre of the Christian faith, that he alone can reveal God to men. All of us may be sons and daughters of God; he alone is the SON. This is what Jesus meant when he said, "He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn.14:9).



What Jesus says is this: If you want to see what God is like, if you want to see the mind of God, the heart of God, the nature of God, if you want to see God's whole attitude to men and women and sinners and saints and the good and the bad, just look at me and how I deal with each one of these people! What this means is that God speaks, loves, forgives and treats us the way Jesus spoke, loved, forgave and treated people.



It is the Christian conviction that in Jesus Christ alone we see what God is like; and it is also the Christian conviction that Jesus can give that knowledge to anyone who is humble enough and trustful enough to receive it.

The sin of doing nothing!

Matthew 11:20-24



20 Next Jesus let fly on the cities where he had worked the hardest but whose people had responded the least, shrugging their shoulders and going their own way. 21 "Doom to you, Chorazin! Doom, Bethsaida! If Tyre and Sidon had seen half of the powerful miracles you have seen, they would have been on their knees in a minute. 22 At Judgment Day they'll get off easy compared to you. 23 And Capernaum! With all your peacock strutting, you are going to end up in the abyss. If the people of Sodom had had your chances, the city would still be around. 24 At Judgment Day they'll get off easy compared to you."



Food for thought!



When John came to the end of his gospel, he wrote a sentence in which he indicated how impossible it was ever to write a complete account of the life of Jesus: "But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (Jn.21:25). Todayºs gospel is one of the proofs of that saying.



There is no record in the gospels of the work that Jesus did, and of the wonders he performed, in Chorazin and Bethsaida, and yet they must have been amongst his greatest. A passage like this shows us how little we know of Jesus; it shows us, and we must always remember it, that in the gospels we have only the barest selection of Jesus' works. The things we do not know about Jesus far outnumber the things we do know.

What then was the sin of Chorazin, of Bethsaida, of Capernaum, the sin which was worse than the sin of Tyre and Sidon, and of Sodom and Gomorrah? It must have been very serious for again and again Tyre and Sidon are denounced for their wickedness (Isa.23; Jer.25:22; Jer.47:4; Eze.26:3-7; Eze.28:12-22), and Sodom and Gomorrah were and are a byword for iniquity.


 It was the sin of indifference. These cities did not attack Jesus Christ; they did not drive him from their gates; they did not seek to crucify him; they simply disregarded him. Neglect can kill as much as persecution can.
 Here we have the modern situation in so many countries, families and lives today. In many parts of the world, there is no hostility to Christianity; there is no desire to destroy it; there is blank indifference. Christ is relegated to the ranks of those who do not matter much. Indifference, too, is a sin, and the worst of all, for indifference kills. It does not burn a religion to death; it freezes it to death. It does not behead it; it slowly suffocates the life out of it.



It is also a sin to do nothing. There are sins of action, sins of deed; but there is also a sin of inaction, as we say in Mass when we confess our sins ... sins of omission. Sin is not only doing evil; sin is also not doing good, when we could. Many of us will be condemned, not for doing bad things, but for not doing good things to others. The sin of Chorazin, of Bethsaida, and of Capernaum was the sin of doing nothing. Whenever we stay indifferent, whenever we refrain from doing good to others, when we can, we sin.



This gospel further reminds us that to have heard God's word is a great responsibility. Everyone will be judged according to what he has had the chance to know; the little or the more we know is always enough to either save us or condemn us. We allow things in a child we condemn in an adult; we forgive things in a mad person we punish in a normal man. Responsibility is the other side of privilege. And privilege is the other side of responsibility.



Whatever we have been given in this life, both spiritual and material, is both a gift and a responsibility. In other words, God has equipped each one of us for a task; we are custom-built for something. We are what we are, we are where we are for a purpose. If someone else had been given half the chances given us, " they'd have been on their knees long ago, repenting and crying for mercy."

Following Christ is not easy!

Matthew 10:34-11:1

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows:

“Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don’t deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don’t deserve me. “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me. “We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.” When Jesus finished placing this charge before his twelve disciples, he went on to teach and preach in their villages.

Food for thought!

These words are by all ways a shock. Jesus sometimes shocks and shakes us. In order to drive home an important point, Jesus sometimes uses hard talk. And this is hard talk by all standards. Jesus is teaching us a lesson. What is the lesson?

First of all, Jesus talks of FIRE. In the Bible fire is almost always the symbol of judgment, of purification. So when Jesus says, I have come to start a fire on this earth, he means, I have come to judge all. When we stand before Jesus, we stand in judgement. When Jesus came into this world, time was divided into BEFORE CHRIST (B.C.) and AFTER CHRIST (A.D). Our years are counted as before or after Christ came.

Before Christ comes to our life and living, before he comes to our family, we are living in BC, and after he has come, we live in AD. His coming inevitably means division, not only of time and history, but also sometimes of families and individuals. Over and over again we have to decide whether we love better our ways or Christ's ways; our traditions or Christ's teaching; our thoughts or Christ's thinking.

Following Christ's (hard) way is a choice we have to make. This choice many times implies that things will get worse before they get better. Following Christ is not easy. And he knows it: ''If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.''

Mothers do understand better what Jesus is teaching us today. They know that in order to give birth to new life, they have to risk loosing their life. Every child birth is a risk of life and death. If our mothers had not risked their life, if they had not embraced the possibility of death, we would not be born, we would not live.

If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you live it according to Jesus, you will save it

And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you...!

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.

Food for thought!

This is the first time that Jesus sends out his disciples. It is like sending them for an internship after training them. Jesus is here acting many things: he is acting like a teacher, a manager, a leader, a trainer or coach. Everything Jesus does in this reading is worth noting: he sends the Twelve in pairs, he gives them authority, he instructs them on dos and don'ts, and finally he prepares them for both success and failure. Let us look at each one of these.

Sends them in pairs. The lesson is clear. We never realize great things alone; we may dream alone, but we cannot realize our dreams alone; we need others. We need a friend, a good friend, who walks not in front of us (for us to follow), who walks not behind us (for us to lead), but who walks beside us, as a friend. Do you have someone like this?

Gives them authority. Jesus never sends us to do anything without equipping us for it. He always equips us for whatever he sends us to do; he gives authority. What is authority? The word authority comes from Latin "augere" to augment, to increase, to multiply. The first time we were given authority was in Old Testament: "God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply (increase), and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Gen. 1:28). Jesus came to recreate us; to make us increase; to make us do more and be more.

Instructed them: take nothing but the staff. What does this mean? Well, remember Moses' staff in the OT. He carried a stick (staff) by his side throughout the desert and used it in all the important milestones in the desert, like to divide and close the Red Sea, to produce water from a rock, to invoke plagues on the Egyptians, and on several occasion was transformed into a snake and back. The staff stands therefore for the power of God. Jesus empowers his own. That is why he told them never to trust in anything, except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. What we all need is the power of God, Symbolized by the staff; the rest is rest.

Success & Failure. Jesus warns us to expect both success and failure in our endeavours. Whatever comes, and whenever it comes take it. If success comes your way, take it; if it is failure take it and move on; don't hold on your past successes or failures; keep going forward. Jesus is teaching us that problems and failures are inevitable in the life of anyone who seeks to make a difference in life. Even with all instructions from Jesus, even with all academic degrees, even with all experience, we are bound to fail sometimes. And Jesus knows it. That's why he teaches his disciples not only how to win but also how to loose.

Jesus is saying to us, when we loose, not to dwell too long on the loss and allow it to rob our lives of enthusiasm and joy. So we must learn to shake off the dust of yesterday’s failure from our feet, otherwise it will cling to us and accumulate and weigh us down. The result is depression and despair and giving up. We quit instead of going on to a new village, to a new project, to new opportunities. But Jesus does not want us to be quitters. He wants us to be women and men who move on, despite losses and disappointments. Move on!

Don't outshine your boss!

Matthew 10:24-33

Matthew 10:24-33 -
24 "A student doesn't get a better desk than her teacher. A laborer doesn't make more money than his boss. 25 Be content-- pleased, even-- when you, my students, my harvest hands, get the same treatment I get. If they call me, the Master, 'Beelzebul,' what can the workers expect? 26" Don't be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are. 27 So don't hesitate to go public now. 28 "Don't be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There's nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life-- body and soul-- in his hands. 29" What's the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. 30 He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail-- even numbering the hairs on your head! 31 So don't be intimidated by all this bully talk. You're worth more than a million canaries. 32 "Stand up for me against world opinion and I'll stand up for you before my Father in heaven. 33 If you turn tail and run, do you think I'll cover for you?

Food for thought!

Jesus is a realist. And he is frank with us. This week he has taught us eternal principles of life and living. Consider this one, for instance: a student doesn't get a better desk than her teacher; an employee doesn't make more money than his employer. Jesus is teaching us what we have heard elsewhere that "Never outshine your master."

What this means is that there can only be one sun at a time. So don't ever obscure the sunlight, or rival the sun's brilliance; rather, content yourself to being a star shining in the dark, not in the day because no one will see you. If your ideas are more brilliant than your Master's, ascribe them to him, in as public a manner as possible. Make it clear that your advice is merely an echo of his advice.

But Jesus is also saying that he expects us to be as good as he is, as loved as he is, as hated as he is. We cannot expect anything different. What happened to Jesus will happen to us. We will be misunderstood, we will be misrepresented just as Jesus was. A Christian is Christ living again. This is our honour and burden.
For that reason, we do not fear because we are protected as Jesus was by his Father. A Christian is not unknown by God. On the contrary, he is known in every way. Jesus uses the image of sparrows. That two sparrows are sold for a penny and yet not one of them falls to the ground without the knowledge of God. Luke gives us that saying of Jesus in a slightly different form: "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God?" (Lk.12:6).

The point is this, two sparrows were sold for one penny. But if the purchaser was prepared to spend two pennies, he got, not four sparrows, but five. The extra one was thrown into the bargain as having no value at all. God cares even for the sparrow which is thrown into the bargain, and which on man's counting has no value at all. If the forgotten sparrow is dear to God, what will be the man that God made in his image and likeness?


Whatever happens to us, we cannot drift beyond the love of God. We should know that our times are for ever in God's hands; that God will not leave us or forsake us because we are surrounded for ever by God's care.

But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end!

Matthew 10:16-23

16 "Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. 17 "Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation-- just because you believe in me. 18 Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you-- and me-- a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! 19 And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; 20 the Spirit of your Father will supply the words. 21" When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. 22 There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. 23 It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.

Food for the soul!

What is it that you get from this Jesus' training? What is it that Jesus is telling his chosen people of yesterday and today, you and me, if not that life is not meant to be easy? That life and living is hard even for those that Jesus has chosen.


Jesus is training his people for THE WAY LIFE IS. Jesus is saying that life is just as insecure as sheep running through a wolf pack.


In his training Jesus is also saying that GOD IS IN CHARGE. However, God being in charge does not mean a suspension of THE WAY LIFE IS. The lion or crocodile will always eat meat, even of humans. God will not change that. Women will always feel pain in child birth. God will not change that. We will always feel sad when our dear ones die. God will not change that because this is THE WAY LIFE IS, the way God made life to be.


God's care is not to be seen as rescue FROM the way life is. It is rather guidance THROUGH the way life is. God does not save us from getting into trouble, He empowers us to go through trouble: "Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you and me a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words."


For that reason, continues Jesus, we can't be naive nor take things for granted. We have to stay alert 24/7, like sheep running through a wolf pack. Such sheep can't call attention to themselves, other wise they are eaten; imagine yourself going through a park of lions or crocodiles... you would not call attention to yourself, but would have to be as cunning (discreet) as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. This is how Jesus wants us to live this life, 24/7.
  

The way human life is!

Matthew 10:16-23

16 "Stay alert. This is hazardous work I'm assigning you. You're going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don't call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. 17 "Don't be naive. Some people will impugn your motives, others will smear your reputation-- just because you believe in me. 18 Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you-- and me-- a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! 19 And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; 20 the Spirit of your Father will supply the words. 21" When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. 22 There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. 23 It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived.

Food for the soul!

What is it that you get from this Jesus' training? What is it that Jesus is telling his chosen people of yesterday and today, you and me, if not that life is not meant to be easy? That life and living is hard even for those that Jesus has chosen.
Jesus is training his people for THE WAY LIFE IS. Jesus is saying that life is just as insecure as sheep running through a wolf pack.
In his training Jesus is also saying that GOD IS IN CHARGE. However, God being in charge does not mean a suspension of THE WAY LIFE IS. The lion or crocodile will always eat meat, even of humans. God will not change that. Women will always feel pain in child birth. God will not change that. We will always feel sad when our dear ones die. God will not change that because this is THE WAY LIFE IS, the way God made life to be.
God's care is not to be seen as rescue FROM the way life is. It is rather guidance THROUGH the way life is. God does not save us from getting into trouble, He empowers us to go through trouble: "Don't be upset when they haul you before the civil authorities. Without knowing it, they've done you and me a favor, given you a platform for preaching the kingdom news! And don't worry about what you'll say or how you'll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words."
For that reason, continues Jesus, we can't be naive nor take things for granted. We have to stay alert 24/7, like sheep running through a wolf pack. Such sheep can't call attention to themselves, other wise they are eaten; imagine yourself going through a park of lions or crocodiles... you would not call attention to yourself, but would have to be as cunning (discreet) as a snake, inoffensive as a dove. This is how Jesus wants us to live this life, 24/7.

Be different and you'll make difference!

Matthew 10:7-15

 7 And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand! 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give. 9 Take no gold nor silver nor [even] copper money in your purses (belts); 10 And do not take a provision bag or a wallet for a collection bag for your journey, nor two undergarments, nor sandals, nor a staff; for the workman deserves his support (his living, his food). 11 And into whatever town or village you go, inquire who in it is deserving, and stay there [at his house] until you leave [that vicinity]. 12 As you go into the house, give your greetings and wish it well. 13 Then if indeed that house is deserving, let come upon it your peace [that is, freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin]. But if it is not deserving, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever will not receive and accept and welcome you nor listen to your message, as you leave that house or town, shake the dust [of it] from your feet. 15 Truly I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Food for thought!

Yesterday, Jesus chose his team. He is the team leader, he guides it, he gives them instructions. Under him, the team of ordinary people became a team of extraordinary people. As we said yesterday, Jesus chose these men, not only for what they were, but also for what they were capable of becoming under his influence and in his power. Yes, under Jesus you and I can become different and can make a difference in the world. The question is, do you see yourself different, and are you making any difference around you?
You can't change yourself and you can't change anybody without the Lord. Many of us are lead by bottom-line pressures. We wrestle with challenging issues, trying to make sense out of situations that have no simple solutions. We truly want to be different and to make a difference in others lives but don't know how.
Today's gospel reading shows us how very ordinary people like the twelve apostles became different and made difference in the world. Their secret was in their instructor; their secret was Jesus. Before they succeeded in the world, they first succeeded in listening to the instructions of Jesus.
I want to invite you to make a change that will change you. Consider making Jesus make you. Consider making Jesus your CEO (chief executive officer), your leader. Let us let Jesus lead us as he lead the twelve apostles, let him be our instructor, not only on Sundays, but also in the week, not only during the few moments we are in the church, but also when we are Down Town on the Main Street.

Jesus gave and gives clear instructions on what to do where: heal the sick and raise the dead. He even told them what to wear and whom to talk to, and even how to behave in the face of defeat or rejection. Jesus did not just send them out without a clear plan. It was these instructions that made ordinary men perform extraordinary work. Jesus' instructions can do the same with you and me. (Heb 13:8) For Jesus doesn't change, yesterday, today, tomorrow. What he did yesterday he does today and forever. Amen.

Jesus can use us too!

Matthew 10:1-7

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of sickness and disease. Here are the names of his twelve disciples: Simon (also called Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James (Zebedee’s son), John (James’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew (the tax collector), James (Alphaeus’s son), Thaddaeus, Simon (a member of “The Zealots,” a subversive political party), Judas Iscariot (the one who betrayed him). Jesus sent them out with these instructions: “Don’t go to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but only to the people of Israel—God’s lost sheep. Go and announce to them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

Food for thought!

This passage is special because when we look at the kind of men Jesus chose and used in those days it gives us hope in these days. If Jesus can use men like these in the manner that he did, then surely he can use people like you and me in these days. With the Twelve, Jesus set a precedent, that we all have a place in his service.

There are two facts about these men which are bound to strike us at once.

(i) They were very ordinary men. They had no wealth; they had no academic background; they had no social position. They were chosen from the common people, men who did the ordinary things, men who had no special education, men who had no social advantages.

With these men, Jesus set a precedent, of looking, not so much for extraordinary people, as for ordinary people who can do ordinary things extraordinarily well. Jesus sees in everybody, not only what that man or woman is, but also what he can make him or her. Jesus chose these men, not only for what they were, but also for what they were capable of becoming under his influence and in his power. Yes, under Jesus you and I can become different and can make a difference in the world.

(ii) They were the most extraordinary mixture. There was, for instance, Matthew, the tax-gatherer. All men would regard Matthew as a traitor that had sold himself into the hands of his country's masters for gain, the very reverse of a patriot and a lover of his country. And with Matthew there was Simon the Cananaean. Luke (Lk.6:16) calls him Simon Zealote. Zealots were the opposite of Matthew; zealots were fanatic, comparable to today's suicide bombers. If Simon the Zealot had met Matthew the tax-gatherer anywhere else than in the company of Jesus, he would have thrown a bomb at him. Here is the tremendous truth that people who hate each other can learn to live in peace and love each other when they both love Jesus. Jesus not only brings us together, he also keeps us together.

The fact that Jesus was able to use these men with all their weaknesses and failures lets me know that he can use us too. These men lacked spiritual understanding. They lacked humility. They lacked faith. They lacked commitment. They lacked power. These men were always getting into trouble; missing the point or Christ’s teachings; they were always saying the wrong thing; walking away from their commitment to Jesus; among other failures and problems. Despite their weaknesses, the Lord used these men to turn the world upside down for His glory. If he can use them, surely he can use us too! That ought to give us hope today!

Let us forget and forgive injuries!

Matthew 9:32-37

When they left, a demon-possessed man who couldn’t speak was brought to Jesus. So Jesus cast out the demon, and then the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed. “Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!” they exclaimed. But the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.” Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few.

Food for thought!

Have you ever been misrepresented? Has anyone ever taken your words and works and twisted them around and used them against you? Have you ever done something good, with good intentions, which was misinterpreted as bad? Have you ever been attacked, slandered and envied for doing good? This is what is happening to Jesus. He has done something good, he has healed a man, and his enemies are not happy; because they were helpless to oppose him by fair means, they resort to slander and to character assassination.

This said, Jesus does something that is a real food for thought. Immediately after being slandered, Jesus moved on. The gospel says: the Pharisees said, “He can cast out demons because he is empowered by the prince of demons.” Jesus did not nurse the insert; he rather moved on as if nothing had happened. And this is the best way to deal with insult; it is the best way to respond to slander.

Yes, it hurts to be wronged. It can be maddening, infuriating, and unfair. But repeatedly reliving what happened a day, week, month, or even years ago is not healing but “rehearsing.” It becomes a process of practicing old routines, rather than learning new responses or thinking in fresh channels. When we continue to pick at emotional scars, we are indulging in useless, unnecessary suffering instead of getting on with our life.

On occasion, it can be a healing experience to recall and face traumatic experiences. This type of remembering can enable us to see past events for what they were and release them, instead of dreading some future time when there may be hurting or embarrassing revelations. Forgiveness can be a powerful healing agent. Forgiveness is a process of giving up the false for the true, erasing error from mind and body and life. Forgive yourself. Forgive others. Forgive everything!

An old African proverb says, “he who forgives ends the quarrel.” Are you willing to end your quarrels? “Only the brave know how to forgive…. A coward never forgave; it is not his nature.” (Laurence Sterne). Are you prepared and willing to get on with your life as Jesus did in today's gospel reading and “let go and let God” handle everything else? Yes, you can!