The All Powerful Name

Today’s Gospel Text:  The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" 18 And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. 22 All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." 23 Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." Luke 10:17-24

Reflection: The all powerful name of Jesus vanquishes every evil and even brings them to submission to us who have that name and value it:

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

Yet this truth could hold very little value to the many who do not understand the full significance of such an action of God by sending his Son Jesus into the world.

In the sin of our first parents we were subjected to the power of evil, sin and decay. Death was an inevitable consequence of that first sin and hence we all are under the power of death.

These evil to which are subjected to are further taken advantage of by the devil by either tempting us or oppressing us by various means into various kinds of bondages of life; of lethargy and sin pleasures.

Thus we are made slaves to the evil one in long as we are slaves to these sinful tendencies at work: ‘”… but I am carnal, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Rom 7:14b-15

  

The extreme form such evil takes makes us slaves to him in such a way that we are unable to relate with others in peace and joy and or even if we do relate then it is only in constant conflict.  The worst is when we led on by such oppresses forces to drastic measures of either seeking the destruction of the other or self either through immediate suicide or over indulgence.

We are often bewildered by these destructive tendencies, especially manifested in the prime of youth and wonder where as parents they have faltered.

They have faltered in not keeping the flame of faith alive in their own hearts and subsequently in the hearts of these children entrusted to them as stewards by God.

Prayer: Lord, help me not to depart from thy holy presence and ever to lose hope in your all powerful name to set us free from every evil.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

The Word of the Lord

Today’s Gospel Text: While the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennes'aret. 2 And he saw two boats by the lake; but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4 And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." 5 And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a great shoal of fish; and as their nets were breaking, 7 they beckoned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the catch of fish which they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zeb'edee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; henceforth you will be catching men." 11 And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11

Reflection: The letter to the Hebrews defines faith thus; “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Heb 11:1

Maybe modern fishing methods, with sophisticated trawlers, equipped with modern gadgets and GPRS have changed the way they fish but the primitive fishing business, still practiced in most parts of the world, is like working with the same mystery as faith. You do not see what you are about to receive and yet you step out in faith.  

You drop your nets in the water and may either get a great catch or in extreme situations absolutely nothing. It is in faith that the net is dropped into the water, sometimes taking into consideration the favorable factors and yet a fisherman may catch nothing at all.

The only thing that the fisherman knows is that there maybe seasons when he will, with all the trying will get his rich haul of fish.

Here in the gospel faith meets superior faith, faith in the fishing nets to faith in the Word of the master: “"Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." Vs. 5

To trust in the Lord’s word is like looking at the blank waters and casting your net and lo and behold, there is a great catch.

But do not forget to wait and wait for his word!

Prayer: I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning. Ps 130:5-6

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us

The Struggle

Today’s Gospel Text: "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise replied, 'Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he replied, 'Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matt 25:1-13

Reflection:  How often we sit to pray and fall asleep? We could be criticized for it or we ourselves could wake up with guilt for not having spent quality time in prayer.

Similar could be our guilt in our fight against the temptations of daily life and we could suddenly find ourselves fallen from grace and end up with guilt and shame, sometimes depending on the public embarrassment it can bring us.

There is difference between a person deliberately walking in sin and the one’s struggling to overcome the daily temptation of life.

The parable tells us that we could be caught napping, but there could be hope for the struggler, because they, like the wise virgins, could be carrying some oil in their lamps through all their years of sincere struggle, so as to enable them to enter the bridegrooms presence.

A man who has struggled at the waters to swim, may fail many times but has a better hope if in troubled waters than a man who has never taken advantage of an opportunity that has come their way.

Oil is the outcome of the great effort due to the crushing of the seed. Likewise, each one has to be crushed in the oil press of the Lord and need to have enough of the oil, through their sincere struggle than the no struggle of a miserable sinner or a self-righteous man.

                                                                                                                        

Prayer: Lead me Lord, not into temptation but deliver me from every evil, each day as I labor in your holy presence and seek to do your will.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us