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.