To hear the Audio reflections of Sunday, March 11, 2018 click HERE
Saturday, 10 March 2018
Friday, 9 March 2018
Audio Reflections of Saturday, March 10, 2018
To hear the Audio Reflections of Saturday, March 10, 2018 click HERE
Saturday, March 10, 2018 - Hosea 5:15 – 6:6; Lk 18:9-14
Saturday, March 10, 2018 - Hosea 5:15 – 6:6; Lk 18:9-14
Saturday, March 10, 2018 - Does the content of your prayer include despising or condemning others? Has pride prevented you from encountering God? What will you do about it today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Hosea 5:15 – 6:6; Lk 18:9-14
The parable that forms the text today is knows as
the Parable of the Pharisee and tax Collector but is not so much about these
persons as it is about the disposition for prayer in any person. It is
exclusive to Luke. The parable is addressed not to the Pharisees, but to those
who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with
contempt”. This could be a description of any self righteous person.
The two men who went up to the temple to pray are
introduced as a Pharisee and a tax collector. Pharisee means “separated one”
and the Pharisee in the parable takes this prayer position. He stands apart or
by himself. Though he begins his prayer with thanksgiving, it is soon clear
that it is not genuine thanks, but self centered. He is aware of the presence
of the tax collector in the temple and regards him with contempt even as he
prays. The Pharisee makes clear that he follows the law perfectly and obeys
even the injunctions to fast and give tithes. He asks nothing of God probably
because he thinks he is self sufficient.
By contrast the tax collector will not dare to come
near but stands “far off”. This indicates his position before God. He does not
consider himself worthy. While the commonly accepted posture of prayer was with
hands folded and looking up to God, this tax collector stands with his head
bowed and “would not even look up to heaven”. Instead he beats his breast in
acknowledgement of the fact that he is unworthy and a sinner. His prayer is God
centered. He cedes all power to God. He has nothing to boast about.
The comment at the end of the parable makes clear
its intent. The Pharisee returned to his home without having been made
righteous, but the tax collector was accepted before God.
Those who trust in their own righteousness will
regard others with contempt, and those who regard others with contempt cannot
then bring themselves to rely on God’s grace. Therefore, persons who exalt
themselves over others and boast of their virtue before God will discover that
they have cut themselves off from both, and persons who are aware of their need
for grace and forgiveness will not be able to despise other people.
The nature of grace is paradoxical: It can be
received only by those who have learned empathy for others. In that regard,
grace partakes of the nature of mercy and forgiveness. Only the merciful can
receive mercy, and only those who forgive will be forgiven. The Pharisee had
enough religion to be virtuous, but not enough to be humble. As a result, his
religion drove him away from the tax collector rather than toward him.
Thursday, 8 March 2018
Friday, March 9, 2018 - Will your love for God show in your love for at least one person today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Hos 14:2-10; Mk 12:28-34
In Matthew 22:35, the lawyer asks the question about the great
commandment in order to test Jesus; in Mark he is not hostile and does not
intend to test Jesus. As a matter of fact Mark mentions at the beginning of the
incident that the lawyer thought that Jesus had answered the Sadducees well and
at the end of that response, he commends Jesus for his answer.
Jesus responds
to the lawyer’s question in the words of the “Shema”, which speaks of love of
God (Deut 6:5-6), but adds also the love of neighbour (Lev 19:18 ).
The scribe’s response to this is to
acknowledge Jesus’ answer as correct and to add that following these
commandments is greater than sacrifices and burnt offerings. Jesus concludes the
dialogue by stating that because the scribe has recognized what his priorities
are, he is not far from the kingdom
of God
Love of God cannot really be separated from love of neighbour. The two
go together. Our love for God is made manifest and tangible only when we reach
out in love to someone else. While Paul
gives a beautiful description of what love is and what it is not in 1
Corinthians 13, my own definition of love is that in love there is no “I”.
Audio reflections of Friday, March 9, 2018
To hear the Audio reflections of Friday, March 9, 2018 click HERE
Wednesday, 7 March 2018
Audio reflections of Thursday, March 8, 2018
To hear the Audio reflections of Thursday, March 8, 2018 click HERE
Thursday, March 8, 2018 - Which is the demon that has possessed you and does not leave you free? Will you attempt to get rid of that demon today?
To read the texts click on the texts: Jer7:23-28;Lk 11:14-23
The onlookers respond to the exorcism of a
demon that made a man mute, in different ways. While there are some who are
amazed, others attribute Jesus’ power to cast out demons to Beelzebul and still
others ask for a sign from heaven. This is an indication that no one doubted
Jesus’ power to exorcise and heal. They attributed it to different sources. In
his response to this charge and test, Jesus says that since exorcisms
represented a direct assault on Satan’ power and kingdom, it is clear that he
cannot be on Satan’s side. Also, if Jesus’ exorcisms’ were performed by the
power of Satan, the same would have to be said of other exorcists belonging to
their community. Instead Jesus’ works indicate that the kingdom of God
In the simile of the strong man and his castle, Jesus explicates that he is the stronger one who overpowers Satan who had guarded his kingdom well till this time. Finally Jesus invites his listeners to take a stand for him. The saying here is strong. If one does not positively opt for Jesus, one has opted against him. The time now is for decision and choice.
In the simile of the strong man and his castle, Jesus explicates that he is the stronger one who overpowers Satan who had guarded his kingdom well till this time. Finally Jesus invites his listeners to take a stand for him. The saying here is strong. If one does not positively opt for Jesus, one has opted against him. The time now is for decision and choice.
Once he has answered his critics (11:17-23), Jesus
moves on to exhort his listeners to fill their lives with the kingdom of God,
because it is possible that despite the exorcism, if a person persists in his
old ways, he will be possessed once again and this will be ever worse than
before.
While there is no doubt that Jesus did exorcise
people who were possessed by demons, we must avoid getting caught up with
exorcisms ourselves. Rather, today there are many subtle forms of “possession”
which are more dangerous than “external possession”. Some of these are
consumerism, selfishness, ignorance and a better than thou attitude. We need to
ask the Lord to exorcise these demons from our lives.
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