He is to be Believed

Today’s Gospel Text: Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe."

26 Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." John 20:24-29

Reflection: This statement of Thomas the Apostle should gladden the cockles of the hearts of the rationalists and the atheist and the scientist who give much precedence to reason.

"Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." (vs. 25c)

Not that we are against reason but we hold that reason is necessary and but it has its limitations and that through faith reason is lifted to a higher level because faith fills up the gaps which our leaves behind while believing.

Hence here too, we make not a statement of faith but argue on reason so that the world may the value of believing in Christ Jesus in order to grow wise. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." (vs. 29b)

Jesus, who knew the truth of the limitations of human reason, gives all men of all ages a message of hope through faith in him when he proclaims:

Ultimately speaking; why should we not believe even though we don’t see him?

Even the little things of life, such as eating and drinking we do by mere faith that it is safe and good for us and those who supply them to us are hygienic in their ways and those who present them to us do so with good intention.

Ask them and even the evil one may tell us that the food presented to us is of a good quality and meeting the standards of quality.  Sometimes with the passing of time a different story could be revealed or we may never know the truth.

If we as human being believe in the many things of creation and life without seeing then why can’t we believe in Jesus and be blessed.

If not, then at least give Jesus a try and see for yourself.  It is worth to have given him a try; for you will never regret and what is more you will realize that he is more to be relied upon, in all his words then even our own selves.

Prayer: Lord, you are more to be trusted then any men; for we cannot trust ourselves completely apart from you.  

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

Will of God

Today’s Gospel Text:  "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' 23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' 24 "Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; 25 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; 27 and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it." 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. Matt 7:21-29

Reflection: Wish it was that easy to know and do the will of the Father.

How easy it really is to know the will of the Father that we can live as good Christians? People often struggle to know it. 

You ask a man on the street and you will have some attempts made to answer it; either they will talk about doing good or loving one another and loving their neighbor, or talk about kindness, etc.

Does these kind of activities fit in with God’s will or is God’s will something more than these things?

These activities may fit in with God’s will but they are not primarily his will.

If we miss out on the primary aspect of God’s will then we could miss out on all the other aspect of God’s will and may even go astray, some even earnestly out of goodwill.

The primary aspect of doing God’s will is to do the work of God and this is brought out by John’s gospel as thus, when the people asked him; “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" John 6:28

And Jesus’ reply was:"This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." John 6:29

This above explicit will of God is not just a Johanine revelation but is well brought out by the synoptic too and it is well attested with the voice of the Father saying: “ "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" Luke 9:35 (also Mt. 17:5; Mk. 9: 7)

From the above text it is evident that once the primary aspect of God’s will is accepted then we are moving on the secondary path of truth, otherwise  we are moving on the path falsity.

From this primary truth we need to move on to the secondary and so on, with the divine grace and gifts to assist us, whether these gifts be the church or the sacraments or the sacramental’s they are there for our salvation. 

Prayer:  Lord, I believe that you send Jesus your son as our savior and redeemer so that we may listen to his word and live by it, even unto eternity.

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

Save Cities

Today’s Gospel Text: Then he began to upbraid the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 "Woe to you, Chora'zin! woe to you, Beth-sa'ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Caper'na-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." Matt 11:20-24

Reflection: What reason has anyone of our flourishingly famous and modern cities to last?

If those cities, where Jesus performed mighty signs and wonders, had to face the axe of condemnation of his curse, then how much more these our modern cities?

Why did those cities come under the wrath of Jesus? 

The human quality; in the process of caring much for ourselves, cares less for the self. This involves our preference to remain in the darkness of our sinfulness. 

Is it that we go by the majority, as if following like a band wagon?

We do not know how many in these cities have really seen the miracle which Christ Jesus would preform but nevertheless they were performed.

If there may have been the majority that have not seen the wonders then how could they be blamed and come under the judgment and wrath of God's destruction.

There could be two possible reasons; the first could be that of fellow citizens witnessing the wonders and then preferring to gossip and slander about Jesus and others rather than believe and share what they have seen and heard with their  neighbors who could be possibly indifferent. 

The second reason could be that those who heard about the mighty Jesus, never really bothered to come to the banquets of God’s abundant signs and wonders. They must have been busy with the affairs and pleasures of the world; the human priorities.

The question one then need to ask, especially amidst the daily miracle of life, the daily Eucharistic miracle and the daily miracle which we see in the lives of those who believe in God: Do we give these miracles and wonders a thought, raise our hearts in thanksgiving to him, share these wonders with our neighbors and if necessary give God an additional chance to prove himself to us?

Prayer:  Lord, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24) and use me as your instrument to proclaim your faith to others. 

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

Meaning through Belief

Scripture/Bible:  And Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And he who sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If any one hears my sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings has a judge; the word that I have spoken will be his judge on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has bidden me." John 12:44-50

Reflection:  What is it and what does he mean when he says; "He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me”?

It means that Jesus has closely identified himself with the mission the Father has sent him to or in other words he is no different from his Father.  You are not going to commit any sacrilege when you believe in Jesus and give him equal status as the Father.

The word believe means; to accept as true, to have a firm faith or to trust and have complete confidence.

Can one imagine a God who leaves humans to believe in what is not true, and more so seeks to confuse them further, either completely or partially, and that we have to seek the fullness in other philosophies, ideas or religions. Can we believe in a God who leaves us as confused as our perplexed state of mind?  And that he sends someone to us who only preaches a gospel of confusion?  

Of course, there are many who can be still confused with the gospel of Jesus Christ and can remain so not because Christ is confusing but rather because they read his word from their stand point, trusting either in themselves or some so called 'experts' but not in Christ Jesus.

Christ Jesus will not leave you confused, except at the beginning, till you learn to listen to him from among the many confusing voices in your head; if your acknowledge them to be confusing.  This is so, not because Jesus is confusing but rather because the stain of confusion in us takes time to be washed away. It depends on how much we cooperate with God’s gracious gift of cleansing and his special guidance offered to us through his written word and through the working of the Holy Spirit received with reverence and love.

Just as a bar of soap cannot cleanse us, but can even make us dirty unless we learn to use it for its intended purpose and with the help of water, similarly God’s word can only cleanse us if we allow it to do so in the right way with the help of God’s Holy Spirit and the various help given us through magisterium of the Church and through its tradition. .

Prayer:  Lord I want to first realize my state of constant confusion and then turn to you and your word so as to find the true meaning of life.

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

Effects of the venom of Sin

Scripture/Bible:  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. 18 He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God. John 3:14-21

Reflection:  Some parables and texts have a valid literal meaning as well as a spiritual meaning which has equal or even more depth and verve.

In the case of the serpent (made of bronze) which Moses was asked to lift in the desert, in order that the people may be saved from the venomous bite of the desert reptiles, they had to believe first the words of Moses and then only to see.

Whereas here Jesus is calling for an ongoing belief, a living expression of trust in him, in order that we may be saved. 

We are in a way the victims of the venomous bite of the serpent; Satan. The manifestation of this poison is revealed to us in the Scriptures "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one." Rom 3:10-12

We therefore carry in our being a sickness in which we often make every attempt to overcome the evil pulls we experience in our being; a push and pull, a struggle, which ultimately leads to death.   

Hence every one and all mortals are victims of the venomous bite of the serpent that first deceived our first parents.  They believed in the words of the serpent and subsequently disobeyed the voice of God which is life.

Though it was no perfect solution, yet the solution that God offered to them was to put in every effort and struggle with the law to help them to be on course; “for no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law.” Rom 3:20

There was no perfect solution offered by God in those days or at any time in the history of mankind except in the Cross, whereby the son of man must be lifted up on it.  Not a bronze or an image but a living victim who himself had to go through the pangs of death and enter the resurrection for our sakes.

  

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." Acts 16:31

Prayer:  Lord, may I believe in you and all that you have given me, especially through the Church which you have founded, in order that I may enter the resurrection freed from the poison of sin.

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