To hear the Audio Reflections of Monday, June 25, 2018 click HERE
Translate
Sunday, 24 June 2018
Monday, June 25, 2018 - 2 Kings 17:5-8,13-15,18; Mt 7:1-5
Monday, Hune 25, 2018 - 2 Kings 17,5-8.13-15.18; Mt 7,1-5
Monday, July 25, 2018 - Do you know that when you point a finger at someone there are three fingers pointing back at you?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Kings 17:5-8,13-15,18; Mt 7:1-5
The absolute prohibition of judgement found in 7:1 is unparalleled in Jewish tradition. When the individual comes to stand before God for
judgement, he/she will be judged according to the measure that he/she has used
for others. Those who have been merciful will receive mercy. One must be aware
that one is not in any superior position, which gives one the right to judge
others. If one is aware of one’s own weakness and frailty then one will be
careful of pointing out the faults of others.
Judging others comes too easily to some and often we judge only
by externals. It is important to realise that it is possible that we might not
be aware of all the reasons why a person behaves in a particular manner and so
mistaken in our judgement. If we can give the benefit of the doubt to the
person concerned and find reasons for his/her behaviour we will have done well.
Sunday, June 24, 2018 - The Birth of St. John the Baptist - Will you speak God’s word to at least one person today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 49:1-6; Acts 13:22-26; Lk 1:57-66,80
The
Birth of Saint John the Baptist is celebrated on June 24 each year. The reason
for this is the mention in the Gospel of Luke that Elizabeth was in her sixth
month when the Announcement was made to Mary (Lk 1:36) about the birth of
Jesus. Thus if Christmas is celebrated on December 25 each year, John the
Baptist who was the son of Elizabeth and Zechariah had to have been born six
months before Jesus.
According
to some, John is born when the days are longest (June 24), and from his birth
on they grow steadily shorter. Jesus is born when the days are shortest
(December 25), and from his birth on they grow steadily longer. John speaks
truly when he says of Jesus, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
(Jn 3:30).
The
Gospel text of today is from the Gospel of Luke. Luke does not give us too many
details about the birth of John, and he narrates it with a short sentence. He
focuses more on the events that follow the birth and, through them, show that
God’s word spoken through the angel, Gabriel, is being fulfilled. Elizabeth
does bear a son and the people rejoice at the birth because of the great mercy
shown by God.
Circumcision
of the child on the eight day was in accord with Gen 17:9-14 where God makes
circumcision on the eight day a sign of the covenant with Abraham. It was the
father who normally named the child and, in doing so, recognized the child as
his own. Sometimes, the child was named after the father, especially if the
father was a person who was highly esteemed. Objections were raised to the name
“John” (“God had been gracious”), chosen by Elizabeth. That the people made
signs to Zechariah to ask him what he wanted to name the child indicates that,
besides being dumb, he was also deaf. The moment Zechariah writes the name
“John” on a writing tablet, Zechariah regains his speech. Once again, God’s
word comes to pass. The fear and amazement with which the people respond to
these happenings is an indication that they experienced God’s awesome power.
The question that the people ask, about what the child would turn out to be, is
answered in summary form by Luke when he ends this narrative by stating that
“the hand of the Lord was with him.”
God’s
word is a word of power and will come to pass, no matter how many obstacles we
may put in its way. It is a word that enhances and builds up, a word that gives
life. To be sure, we may not always be able to understand and accept it for
what it is, but in the final analysis, it is always a word that is for our good
and for his glory.
Saturday, 23 June 2018
Sunday, June 24, 2018 - Believing even in the storm that Jesus is with us
To read the texts click on the texts: Job 38:1,8-11; 2 Cor5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41
A Sunday
school teacher was trying to get her class to dramatize the story of the
Stilling of the Storm. She explained to the children how they should dramatize
the roles the disciples, the wind, and even the boat itself. Next she asked
each child which character they wanted to be in the play. Each child in turn
spoke up. One wanted to be Jesus, another wanted to be Peer, and others wanted
to be the disciples. The teacher was taken aback when she came to a small
stammering girl at the back of the class, who said, “I would like to be the
cushion holding up the head of Jesus.”
While at
first we might wonder at the choice of this “passive” role, a deeper reflection
will enable us to see that there is a profound wisdom in the choice that this
girl made. In the story of the calming of the storm, which is the Gospel text
of today, the cushion beside Jesus comes out best. The disciples are agitated,
the waves are violent, and the boat is being tossed about. It is Jesus and with
him, the cushion on which he rests, that is most serene, calm, and at peace.
The reason why Jesus is serene and calm is because he has supreme authority
over all of creation including the sea.
This
supreme authority of God over all of his creation and especially the sea is
brought out magnificently in the first reading of today with the series of
questions that God asks Job. The answer to the question about who is really in
control might seem obvious to us: God alone. However, it is not as obvious to
Job. The reason for this is that everything in Job’s life seems to be going
awry. It is not easy for him to understand how God is in control when a lot of
things in his life are totally beyond control. He cannot make sense of what is
happening to him. He can find no rational explanation for it. In such a
situation, how is Job expected to believe that God is still in control? In such
a situation, how can Job know that it is God “who shut in the sea with doors”
and “prescribed bounds for it”? How can Job be expected to believe that God is
still the master of the sea with the ability to stop the waves?
These are
also the questions in the minds and hearts of the disciples of Jesus who are in
their boat on the Sea of Galilee. The storm rages and threatens. The waters
lash the boat. Their lives are in danger. Will Jesus be able to save them? Can
he stop the waves? Does he have control over the sea? If he does, why is he
asleep? Why does he not do something?
When things
in our lives go awry, when nothing seems to go the way we plan, when the road
ahead is steep and the going is difficult, and when the boats of our lives are
being rocked by the waves of uncertainty and insecurity, then it is not easy to
continue to believe that God is on our side. It is not easy to trust and to
hope. It is not easy to have faith. We, too, continue to ask questions.
Sometimes, like the disciples, we even accuse God and Jesus of lack of concern
over our plight. We accuse God of not caring enough about us.
Job was
able to realize, much later, that God was always in control. Just so, the
disciples come to realize that, though Jesus appears to be asleep, apparently
doing nothing, he is in fact very active and doing everything. Though he does
not seem to them to be concerned over their plight, the truth is that he is
very much concerned. The difference, however, is that whereas the disciples
given in to agitation, anxiety and fear, Jesus does not.
This
concern of the Lord for the whole of humanity was shown in the most perfect of
ways on the Cross. This is what Paul speaks about in the second reading of
today. Christ’s death is the transformative event for all of life. Nothing is
the same after that. The first radical change brought about by the death of
Christ is that now those who believe will live no longer for themselves but for
others, in and through Christ. However, this is not all. The death of Christ is
an event that encompasses and transforms the whole universe.
This is why
believers will look at themselves, at others, and at the universe in a new way.
The old ways of looking, the doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, insecurity, the lack
of faith and, above all, fear, is replaced by the new way. This new way is a
way of confidence, surety, faith, and love. No matter how rough the sea, no
matter how high the waves, no matter how much the boat is rocked and, no matter
how dangerous the way ahead might seem, those who believe in Christ know that
he is in the boat and, with a word, he will calm the storm.
Friday, 22 June 2018
Audio Reflections of Saturday, June 23, 2018
To hear the Audio Reflections of Saturday, June 23, 2018 click HERE
Saturday, June 23, 2018 - How often do I try to be in two places at the same time or at two times in the same place?
To read the texts click on the texts: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25; Mt 6:24-34
The text of today begins by stating a general rule that
undivided attention can be given to one person alone at a time. If there is
more than one, then the disciple’s loyalty is certainly split. One must decide
whether one will allow oneself to be controlled by wealth and the things of
this world, or whether one will realise that they cannot bring true happiness.
The prohibition, “Do not worry” dominates the rest of this pericope and is used
six times in it. The call to look at nature (the birds of the air and the
lilies of the field) is a call to learn how God in his providence provides for
them. This does not mean that human beings do not have to work for their
living, rather it means that even after working as hard as they can, humans
must realise the life is much more than simply work and earning a living. It
has also to do with being.
There are indeed many distractions in life, which sometimes can
take us away from where we ought to look and focus. While planning is good and
desirable, what is undesirable is useless worry or anxiety. When we stir the
sugar in our coffee or tea every morning we are already thinking of drinking
it. When we are drinking our coffee or tea, we are already thinking of washing
the cup. When we are washing our cup, we are already thinking or drying it When
we are drying it, we are already thinking of placing it on the rack and when we
are placing it on the rack we are already thinking of what we have to do
next. We have not stirred the sugar, nor have we have drunk the coffee,
nor have we washed it nor placed it on the rack. If one takes one moment of one
day at a time and gives of one’s best to that moment, life will be well lived.
Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 2 Chronicles 24:17-25; Mt 6:24-34
Saturday, June 23, 2018 - 2 Chronicles 24:17-25; Mt 6:24-34
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)