Today’s Gospel Text:
Immediately
he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to
Beth-sa'ida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of
them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat
was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were
making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth
watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by
them, 49 but when they saw him walking
on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw him, and were
terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is
I; have no fear." 51 And he got into the boat with
them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand
about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. Mark
6:45-52
Reflection: What’s
so big about this problem of a hardened heart and is it in relationship to only
understanding the way of God, as in the case of the disciples?
“For they did not
understand about the loaves, but their hearts were HARDENED.” (vs. 52)
Suppose a situation
when there is major crime committed and all the new paper come out with
headlines flashing and likewise on T.V. and other media sources flashing it all along with
no respite. They keep appealing to the
consciences of people about such a crime besides seeking to find solution.
In such a situation you
have many becoming wise so as to come out with solutions to match the
situation but what happens after some days have passed, things are back to normal.
In their hardness everyone has forgotten
the situation and life goes on as usual till a next major crime occurs in
public or unless the same media rakes it up.
What I am referring
here is one of the worst forms of hardening, the consciences are alive for a
moment because the media has made it sensational and has raked up
emotions. Otherwise there may be plenty of
other crimes which may be much more serious in nature but where the media may be least
bothered.
Hardening of the heart is a serious issue
which all must reflect on and check if they have such a heart which is not
in keeping with what God will. The
worst part of this hardening is that, for a while, we get so involved in the process and then after a while forget the whole issue.
When scripture refers
to hardened heart it means a heart that is not attuned to God and his ways and
thus is not able to be God's instrument of true love.
It is not possible to
change this heart on our own but if we acknowledge our problem then we can turn to
God for help to transform it and in keeping with his new covenantal promise he
will do it:
“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within
you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart
of flesh. And I will put my
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to
observe my ordinances.” Ezek 36:26-27
Prayer: Lord
I surrender my hardened heart to you so that I may have a new one.
DD = Dedicated
Discipleship: Come grow
in the Lord with us
