Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves!

Luke 6:39-42

39 Jesus quoted a proverb: "'Can a blind man guide a blind man?' Wouldn't they both end up in the ditch? 40 An apprentice doesn't lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher. 41" It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbour's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. 42 Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this I- know- better- than- you mentality again, playing a holier- than- thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbour.

Food for thought!

Jesus warned that no teacher can lead his scholars beyond the stage which he himself has reached. It means that we cannot beat Christ in goodness, in forgiveness, in love, in holiness. What Christ seeks to make each one of us is to make us as himself, that is, be as good as Christ is. 

And that is what Jesus is doing everyday. He teaches us what he himself does and practices. This is what sets Jesus apart from other preachers. He preaches what he lives, and he lives what he preaches. There is nothing that Jesus tells us to do that he did not do. Nothing! The best example is yesterday's Gospel reading. If you read it with Christ in mind, everything is fine. If you read it with you and me in mind, it is next to impossible. 

This said, today Jesus is telling us something else. He is teaching us that we have no right to criticize others unless we ourselves are free of faults. That simply means that we have no right at all to criticise, because as, Edward Wallis Hoch put it, "There's so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it hardly behooves any of us, to talk about the rest of us."

John M. Templeton said, "Any of us may experience stressful times at home, at school, or in our work. When things are not going well, it is often tempting to criticize others. We may think finding fault with someone else can help us feel better about ourselves or our condition. Or maybe it could be simply that misery loves company!

"In those 'down' moments that each of us has experienced, it may be best to remain silent if we cannot say things that are helpful and kind. Destructive language tends to produce destructive results. Besides causing unnecessary pain and suffering for those around us, our negative words frequently compound our own problems."

Do to others as you would like them do to you!

Luke 6:27-38

"To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. 28 When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. 29 If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. 30 If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit- for- tat stuff. Live generously. 31" Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them! 32 If you only love the lovable, do you expect a pat on the back? Run- of- the- mill sinners do that. 33 If you only help those who help you, do you expect a medal? Garden- variety sinners do that. 34 If you only give for what you hope to get out of it, do you think that's charity? The stingiest of pawnbrokers does that. 35 "I tell you, love your enemies. Help and give without expecting a return. You'll never-- I promise-- regret it. Live out this God- created identity the way our Father lives toward us, generously and graciously, even when we're at our worst. 36 Our Father is kind; you be kind. 37" Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults-- unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don't condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you'll find life a lot easier. 38 Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back-- given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity."

Food for thought!

In this passage, Jesus teaches us some great facts about the Christian life.

(i) Christian life is positive. Christ summarises it in the maxim, do to others as you would have them do to you (Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them). Non of us wants bad things to be done to him or her; we all want good things for ourselves. That is why Christian life consists of doing good to others as we would have them do to us.

It does not consist in not doing bad things only; it consists especially in doing good things; it consists, not in refraining from bad things, but in actively doing good things. It is not enough not to do evil, it important to actively do good. Many of us can avoid doing evil; but do we do good to others? We shall be judged not just for doing evil, but also for not doing good to others when we could.

(ii) The Christian life is based on the extra thing. Jesus described the common ways of sensible conduct and then dismissed them with the question, "What special grace is in that?" So often people claim to be just as good as their neighbours. Very likely they are. But the question of Jesus is, "How much better are you than the ordinary person?" It is not our neighbour with whom we must compare ourselves; we may well stand that comparison very adequately; it is God with whom we must compare ourselves; and in that comparison we are all in default.

(iii) What is the reason for all this Christian conduct? The reason is that it makes us like God, for that is the way God acts. God sends his rain on the just and the unjust; his sun shines on all, the good and the bad. God's love embraces saint and sinner alike. It is that love we must copy; if we, too, seek even our enemy's highest good we will in truth be the children of God.

Your task is to be true, not popular!

Luke 6:20-26

Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke:

You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all. God’s kingdom is there for the finding.

You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry. Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.

You’re blessed when the tears flow freely. Joy comes with the morning.

“Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made. What you have is all you’ll ever get.

And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself. Your self will not satisfy you for long.

And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games. There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.

“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

Food for thought!

We all like to be liked. We all love to be loved. But Jesus is saying that that is dangerous. Our task, he says, is to be true, not popular. Our task on earth is not to be liked or loved by men but by God. What does this mean? What does it mean to be true but not popular? It means that if our goal is to be popular or be liked or loved, we will sacrifice the truth; we will seek to please people; we will seek the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. 

Jesus had no doubt which way in the end brings happiness; it is the way of the truth. If by saying the truth we suffer, if by leaving the truth we are despised, then that is good. This is what Peter says in his letter: "It's better to suffer for doing good, if that's what God wants, than to be punished for doing bad." (1Pt 3:17). What does this mean?

It means that sometimes we must stand for what is right even if by so doing we might experience a loss of friends. It means not  giving in to evil schemes even if by so doing we might experience a loss of ill-gotten gain. Suffering for wrong is puishment, suffering for good is glory. Remember, our task is not to be popular but true and genuine and authentic.

Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.

Of her was born Jesus!

Matthew 1:1-16.18-23.

The Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother Bathsheba had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile. After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah. Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit. Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means "God is with us."

Food for thought

As we celebrate today the birth of Mary, the mother of Jesus, we cannot fail to notice the role of women in the life of Jesus and in ours.  Today's gospel is about the women and the woman that brought us the saviour. The gospel reading about the pedigree of Jesus contains women, besides men. Jesus came from both men and women. 

And when we look at who these women were, and look at what they did, the matter becomes even more amazing. Rachab, or as the Old Testament calls her, Rahab, was a harlot of Jericho (Josh.2:1-7). Ruth was not even a Jewess; she was a Moabitess (Ru.1:4), and Moabites were a curse to the Jews. The law itself lay it down, "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none belonging to them shall enter the assembly of the Lord for ever" (Deut.23:3)? Ruth belonged to an alien and a hated people. Tamar was another case: she seduced and slept with her father-in-law, for refusing to give her his son for husband (Gen.38). Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon, was the woman whom David seduced from Uriah, her husband, (2Sam.11-12). And Mary? Well, she was the wife of Joseph.

Be it as it may, there is something very lovely in all of this. Here, with these women, we see the essence of the good news of God in Jesus Christ, for here we see the barriers going down.

(i) The barrier between Jew and Gentile is down. Rahab, the woman of Jericho, and Ruth, the woman of Moab, find their place within the pedigree of Jesus Christ. Already the great truth is there that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. Here, at the very beginning, there is the universalism of the gospel and of the love of God. We shouldn't label anyone as foreigner. We are all children of God.

(ii) The barriers between male and female are down. In no ordinary pedigree would the name of any woman be found among names of men; but such names are found in Jesus' pedigree. The old contempt is gone; and men and women stand equally dear to God, and equally important to his purposes. We must stop all kind of discrimination towards women.

(iii) The barrier between saint and sinner is down. Somehow God can use for his purposes, and fit into his scheme of things, those who have sinned greatly. "I came" said Jesus, "not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matt. 9:13). In Jesus' pedigree we find both saints and sinners! Here at the very beginning of the gospel we are given a hint of the all-embracing width of the love of God. God can find his servants amongst those from whom the respectable orthodox would shudder away in horror.

The gospel leaves it clear that in Christ, there's neither Jew nor Greek; there's neither male nor female; in Jesus God can use both the good and not so good.  God can use us all, men and women. He used the man Jesus to save us, and he used the woman Mary to get Jesus born. "Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah."

Matthew 18:15-20

“If your brother or sister in God’s family does something wrong, go and tell them what they did wrong. Do this when you are alone with them. If they listen to you, then you have helped them to be your brother or sister again. But if they refuse to listen, go to them again and take one or two people with you. Then there will be two or three people who will be able to tell all that happened. If they refuse to listen to them, tell the church. And if they refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would treat someone who does not know God or who is a tax collector. “I can assure you that when you speak judgment here on earth, it will be God’s judgment. And when you promise forgiveness here on earth, it will be God’s forgiveness. To say it another way, if two of you on earth agree on anything you pray for, my Father in heaven will do what you ask. Yes, if two or three people are together believing in me, I am there with them.”

Food for thought!

Sometimes in the Bible we come across certain passages that are as relevant and practical in our lives today as they were thousands of years ago when they were first written. Today's readings are good examples of such passages. Together they remind us that as faithful Christians it is our responsibility to reach out to our not-so-faithful brothers and sisters and bring them back. They even go on to recommend practical steps on how to go about doing this.

A young woman, Lydia, strayed from the church as a teenager. After nine years of experimenting with atheism, spiritism, and new age, she found her way back again to the church, by the grace of God. Relating her story, Lydia said that what hurt her the most in all her nine years of spiritual exile is that nobody in the church missed her. Nobody ever phoned or visited to find out what was wrong. "I got the impression that nobody misses me," she said. 

Sounds familiar? There are many men and women in her situation. People we used to rub shoulders with; people we knew quite well; people who even were of our circle. Today's readings invite us to review our I-don't-care attitude towards people like Lydia, reminding us that, yes, it should be our business to reach out to them.

Reaching out to one another is not an option; it is an obligation. In fact, if and when we don't reach out to one another, we face serious consequences before God. Today's First Reading is about this: 

“Now, son of man, I am choosing you to be a watchman for [...]. If you hear a message from my mouth, you must warn the people for me. I might say to you, ‘These evil people will die.’ Then you must go warn them for me. If you don’t warn them and tell them to change their lives, those evil people will die because they sinned. But I will make you responsible for their deaths. But if you do warn the evil people to change their lives and stop sinning, and if they refuse to stop, they will die because they sinned. But you have saved your life. (Ezekiel 33:7-9).

In the gospel reading, Jesus spells out a clear procedure composed of three stages: (1) Approach the defaulting brother or sister person-to-person. (2) Go a second time accompanied by one or two trusted companions. (3) Bring the case before the local church. This may sound like a daunting procedure, but the good news is that in nine cases out of ten, we may never need to go beyond the first stage. A troublesome brother or sister approached in a personal and courteous manner is happy to come back without much argument. 

Bible study is a necessity, not an optional luxury!

Luke 6:1-5

On a certain Sabbath Jesus was walking through a field of ripe grain. His disciples were pulling off heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands to get rid of the chaff, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing that, breaking a Sabbath rule?” But Jesus stood up for them. “Have you never read what David and those with him did when they were hungry? How he entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? He also handed it out to his companions.” Then he said, “The Son of Man is no slave to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.”

Food for thought!

In Corinthians 4:6 Paul advises us to “Follow what the Scriptures say.” He is telling us to read the Bible. Why? Because one day Jesus will ask us, as he did with the Pharisees in today's gospel, if we ever read the Bible. In fact, Jesus likes to ask men this same question. For instance:

• In Mark 12:10 Jesus asked: "Have you not read this Scripture: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone';"
• In Matthew 19:4 Jesus asked: "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female;"
• In Matthew 12:3 Jesus asked: "Have you not read what David did…"
• In Matthew 12:5 Jesus asked: "Or have you not read in the law…" 
• In Matthew 21:16 Jesus asked: "Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes'…" 
• In Matthew 21:42 Jesus asked: "Did you never read in the scriptures, 'The stone…" 
• In Matthew 22:29 Jesus said: "Your error is caused by your ignorance of the Scriptures and of God’s power!"
• In Matthew 22:31 Jesus asked: "But now, as to whether there is a resurrection of the dead, don’t you ever read the Scriptures?"
• In John 5:39 Jesus said: "You search the Scriptures, for you believe they give you eternal life. And the Scriptures point to me!"

Jesus held and holds people responsible for reading and knowing the Scriptures. Why? Because in John 17:17 He prays to the Father: "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth." So, we are sanctified by God's Word. This is why Peter exhorts us too: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby" (1 Peter 2:2). So, we grow by God's Word.

Peter told Jesus that He had "the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). These words are now in the Bible, and they are more precious than any earthly treasure. Don't ignore God's gracious gift of His Word, because as St. Jerome taught "ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Jesus himself."  Indeed, serious Bible study is a necessity, not an optional luxury.

Be open minded!

Luke 5:33-39 

Some people said to Jesus, “The disciples of John fast frequently and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same; but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you think you can make the guests at a wedding party go without food as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! 35 But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” 36 Jesus also told them this parable: “You don't tear a piece off a new coat to patch up an old coat. If you do, you will have torn the new coat, and the piece of new cloth will not match the old. 37 Nor do you pour new wine into used wineskins, because the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. 38 Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins! 39 And you don't want new wine after drinking old wine. ‘The old is better,’ you say.”

Food for thought! 

There is in religious people a kind of passion for the old. Nothing moves more slowly than the religious. The trouble with the Pharisees was that the whole religious outlook of Jesus was so startlingly new they simply could not adjust to it. 

Jesus used two illustrations to make his point. ''You don't tear a piece off a new coat to patch up an old coat,'' he said, "If you do, you will have torn the new coat, and the piece of new cloth will not match the old." Bottles in Palestine were made of skin. When new wine was put into them it fermented and gave off gas. If the bottle was new, there was a certain elasticity in the skin and it survived the pressure; but if it was old, the skin was dry and hard and it would burst. "Don't," says Jesus, "let your mind become like an old wineskin. Be elastic, be open to new ideas, be open to Good News. As yesterday Jesus told us: ''Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.'' 

Jesus does not tolerate the shut mind that is allergic to new ideas. In other words, we should never be afraid of adventurous ideas. Yesterday, Jesus challenged Peter with new way of fishing (by day & by going deep). Because Peter was receptive to Jesus' new ideas, he and his friends ''netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.''

This said, the road for science of scientific progress has not been a smooth one. Religious intolerance has been common, with George Bernard Shaw famously saying, “All great truths begin as blasphemies” (from his play Annajanska, 1919).  As Arthur Schopenhauer noticed, an important idea or truth must ‘endure a hostile reception before it is accepted’ when he said “…First,  it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” Let us have a care that when we resent new ideas we are not simply demonstrating that our minds have grown old and inelastic.

We should never be afraid of new methods, new ways of dong things. That a thing has always been done in a certain way may very well be the best reason for stopping doing it. That a thing has never been done may very well be the best reason for trying it. Be open minded!

Doing business in unusual way!

Luke 5:1-11

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

Food for thought!

Jesus knows how to challenge us; to pull our legs. He challenged Peter and his companions. Night is the time for fishing and the proper place to cast the net is near the shore. This is what Peter knew; but if Jesus wished to fish by day light in the middle of the Lake, Simon was not too weary to try. Jesus sometimes tells us to do the contrary, to do what's against the common practice, to go against expectations, to do business not as usual.

When we follow the guidance of the Lord in our lives, we achieve results that will blow our minds. This is what we see in Peter's miraculous catch of fish. He and his men toiled all night long and caught nothing; they were following traditional and time worn methods. They were following their tradition, their common practice, their own minds as to where and how to throw the net. The result, in one word, was failure. But when they followed the Lord's guidance which, humanly speaking, did not make much sense (fishermen do not set the net in broad daylight), the result was a resounding success.

Even for Jesus it is business unusual. Up to now Jesus has been preaching in synagogues; now he is at the lakeside. Jesus is now conducting his business in unusual way. His church is now the lakeside and the open road, and his pulpit a boat. Jesus would go anywhere where men would listen to him. When the synagogue was shut Jesus took to the open road. It is business unusual.

Simon got the lesson right: "Put out into the deep waters." All along Peter was fishing in swallow waters, just like many of us do. We are afraid to go further into deep waters; we want to stay where we have always been, doing what we always did. It is to people like these that Jesus challenges to risk going further, to go deeper, to leave the usual for the unusual. Whatever your profession, whatever your job, if you go deeper enough into it, living aside the usual, you'll catch a living. Dare to be and do things differently.

Jesus knows the value of people!

Luke 4:38-44

Leaving the synagogue Jesus went to Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her. And she immediately got up and began to wait on them.

  

At sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them. Devils too came out of many people, howling, ‘You are the Son of God.’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

  

When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place. The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered, ‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.’ And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.

Food for thought!

Jesus's attitude to the people is worth our attention. He was always ready to serve the people. He had just left the synagogue. But no sooner had Jesus left the synagogue and entered Peter's house than the insistent cry of human need was at him. He did not claim that he was tired and must rest; he answered it without complaint. 

The question is: what did Jesus know about people that enabled him to be and do what he was and did with the people? Even when he was tired, even when he wanted to have rest, even when he went off to be by himself in prayer, and the people came over to him, he did not send them away. The gospel says, "he continued his preaching." So what is it that made Jesus be so receptive to the people? 

The answer is obvious. Jesus knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because he did, people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy. He knew that He had to proclaim to the people the Good News, "because that is what I was sent to do," He said. Jesus' love for people overcame his need for rest. 

All of us, regardless of our profession and job, are working with people. Do we know the value of the people we are serving? Do we see people as problems, as cases, as nuisance, as what? How do you see the people you serve? 

Please, notice that there is no word of complaint or resentment when Jesus' privacy and prayer were invaded by the crowds. Prayer is great but in the last analysis the people's need is greater. Pray we must; but prayer must never be an escape from reality; going to church should never be an escape from going to market place. Prayer cannot preserve us from the insistent cry of the people's need. It must prepare us for it; and sometimes we will need to rise from our knees too soon and get to attend to the people's need.

As you know, we shall be judged by our attention to the people's needs: "I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me into your home. 36 I needed clothes, and you gave me something to wear. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me" (Mt 25,35-36). Be caring and careful to the people you serve.

No creature can hide from him!

Luke 4:31-37

31 He went down to Capernaum, a village in Galilee. He was teaching the people on the Sabbath. 32 They were surprised and impressed-- his teaching was so forthright, so confident, so authoritative, not the quibbling and quoting they were used to. 33 In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed. He screamed, 34 "Ho! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to. You're the Holy One of God and you've come to destroy us!" 35 Jesus shut him up: "Quiet! Get out of him!" The demonic spirit threw the man down in front of them all and left. The demon didn't hurt him. 36 That set everyone back on their heels, whispering and wondering, "What's going on here? Someone whose words make things happen? Someone who orders demonic spirits to get out and they go?" 37 Jesus was the talk of the town.

Food for thought!

In the meeting place that day there was a man demonically disturbed! This is strange. Someone in the prayer meeting was possessed! Why would a possessed man go to a prayer meeting? And why could the other people stay in tranquillity with a demon possessed man? Were they not aware that one of them was under the gripe of the devil? Or it was that the possessed man pretended to be ok.

Be it as it may, there are things in us that escape us. There are things that we cannot know by our own; we need the Lord to know ourselves. Only with Jesus can we discover what's hidden in us and among us. Without Jesus we really don't know ourselves, we don't know one another. Many times we live with people at home, at our communities, at work that are struggling with heavy burdens. The gospel says that as soon as Jesus showed up, the devil showed himself and screamed aloud "Ho! What business do you have here with us, Jesus? Nazarene! I know what you're up to. You're the Holy One of God and you've come to destroy us!"

The devil did not and could not hide anymore when Jesus came. This means that while the devil can manage to hide among us, it cannot do so with Jesus around. It means that the best way to fight devils and all evil spirits is by staying close to Jesus. Staying away from Jesus is staying close to the evil one. 

''No creature can hide from him, but everyone is exposed and helpless before the eyes of the one to whom we must give a word of explanation.'' (Heb. 4:13)

''Come near to God and he will come near to you.'' (James 4:8)