Favor

Today’s Gospel Text: He was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." 2 And he said to them, "When you pray, say:"Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread; 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation."

5 And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; 7 and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything'? 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him whatever he needs. 9 And I tell you, Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:1-13

Reflection:  Why should I go to church or to a pilgrim centre?

Why do you go to such places and flock to such places; isn’t God everywhere and anywhere? Isn’t it better to pray from home?

Or why go anywhere and anyplace to pray?

We have an example in Jesus, the very reason of our prayer, about it: The scripture text reminds us that he was praying in a certain place (vs.1)

Place, time and situation make a difference while praying and God himself desires of us and invites us to do so.

Certain places and situations carry the favor of God; even though the true worshipers of the Father shall worship him in Spirit and truth.

Hence, when we talk about ideal places and situation it doesn’t mean that we should ignore the other element in Jesus' exhortation to the Samaritan woman at the well.

Instead we must pray in spirit and in truth always and everywhere and anywhere but there are moments, places and situations and times too in which we need to honor God.

We could be eating anywhere in life but yet we chose a particular place and situation or an auspicious moment.

A certain place and situation helps lift the spirit and God’s grace may rest in a particular place in a special place because of the honor that God wants to do a place on account of his beloved servants or on account of his promise or love for his people. 

The collective praise of God is a great act of worship. 

Just as he favors certain people who have been faithful to him so too the Lord is faithful to a certain place and situation.

Prayer: But thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever; thy name endures to all generations. Thou wilt arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come. Ps 102:12-13

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Privileged Children

Today’s Gospel Text:  For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward. 42 "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 49 For every one will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if the salt has lost its saltness, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." Mark 9:41-50

Reflection: The whole issue of Salvation only in Christ Jesus has often confounded theologians and many find it difficult to gulp the Church’s stand or the scriptural truth.

This Salvation in Christ Jesus also accomplished in the world in many ways thorough his holy saints and faithful is another area of contention for those who have rebelled against the Catholic foundation.

In the gospel passage of today we are given an hint in the possible working of the Salvific grace at work in and through the church of God; which is an instrument of salvation to the whole world and also the sacrament of grace:

“Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.” (vs. 41) 

Christians have a privileged place in society, not because it is the society that gives them the privilege but God who gives it to us on account of our belief in Jesus or because we bear the name of Jesus and this privilege has to be lived in the same way acknowledging God as the giver and one the who deserves all glory. 

If anyone is uncomfortable with this privileged place and instead would like to look at all humanity in the equality sense of the term then they are definitely thieves and robbers among his followers and not expert theologians.

Their crime is to enjoy the privilege of Christianity and the church and whatever they do in his name they do it to promote their own self glory, thus robbing Christ Jesus and stealing his glory from him.

Jesus identifies himself with every individual who bears his name, including the least and the miserably poor among his followers.

Thus Christians are light of the world and also the salt of the earth and in keeping with their special privilege no one can steal that privilege which they enjoy because their privileged position comes from God and their lives entrusted to him.

Jesus always identifies himself with his own and no one can separate them from his love.  (cfr. Rom. 8:39; Jn. 13:1, 10: 3-4; Acts 9: 4; 22: 7; 26: 14)

Prayer:  Father we thank you for the privilege you have given us to call you Father and also to be called to bear the name of your Son Jesus.

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

Custom

Today’s Gospel Text: And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; 17 and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." ²⁰ And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22 And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23 And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal yourself; what we have heard you did at Caper'na-um, do here also in your own country.'" 24 And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Eli'jah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; 26 and Eli'jah was sent to none of them but only to Zar'ephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Eli'sha; and none of them was cleansed, but only Na'aman the Syrian." 28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw him down headlong. 30 But passing through the midst of them he went away. Luke 4:16-30

Reflection: It is good to have certain fixed customs in life, it can be a great help for us to organize our lives or enjoy peace in the midst of crisis or a load of work.

In vs. 16, of the above Gospel text, we have the example of Jesus who has been brought up in a certain custom and continues to maintain that custom even after being anointed by the Holy Spirit:

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the Sabbath day.”

The scripture text could have told us that he went to the synagogue because he was directed by the Holy Spirit, as it does in an earlier instance, when it reveals to us in Lk. 4: 1, that how the Holy Spirit directed him into the wilderness. 

Thus in a way showing us that there are certain things which may not have its immediate relationship with the action of the Holy Spirit but they do have their roots in the action of the Holy Spirit.

We shouldn’t always expect the Holy Spirit to work afresh and give up on every custom and traditions. By rejecting these we are rejecting the permanency which the Holy Spirit seeks to establish in our midst.

If the earth and all its elements will be destroyed, then it doesn’t mean that we too will be destroyed permanently or the work that Christ has established in our midst.

The Catholic Church and the sacraments are permanent features established by Christ, when he established the new and everlasting covenant, to be often repeated in remembrance of him. 

They are a foretaste  of the eternity that God seeks to establish, the unity centered around his Son Jesus Christ, the eternal lamb sacrificed to bring us eternal peace and life.

Prayer: Lord, help me to adhere to the legitimate customs and traditions which you have established through the church which you have established here on earth.

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

Word is not Enough

Scripture/Bible: Jesus then said to the Jews who had believed in him, "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." 33 They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham, and have never been in bondage to any one. How is it that you say, 'You will be made free'?"

34 Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, every one who commits sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not continue in the house for ever; the son continues for ever. 36 So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father." John 8:31-38

Reflection:  If you thought that the written word of God alone will save you then you are sadly mistaken.  You are like the many fundamentalist who trod a dangerous path. 

It is like sugar, which is sweet tasting and or salt which is nice to taste by itself.  Yet, it is not just the beauty of food that is enhanced by these additions but also the tastes of sweetness or saltiness receives a variation, a combined taste and also health inducing properties on account of it.

Likewise, the Word of God, if read in isolation has its own beauty, yet in crude form it could act like a venom.  Hence Jesus had to reject Satan who came with the word of God. We think we can be led to the truth yet in reality we could be far from the truth. We may have knowledge about the word and yet we may never know the master who gives us his word.

Just as solid food, however healthy it may be, can act like poison to a new born. But a lactating mother can have the solid food and pass the riches and nourishment to her child through her milk.

Similarly the word of God has to be digested, especially the solid elements in it by Holy mother the church before it is given to her children.  The church does it primarily through the dispensation of the sacraments.

If the word of God is all that was required to save us then God had spoken enough and we had the Old Testament or in other words the Law and the prophets. Jesus need not have come to fulfill the law and the prophets. 

Through his constant guidance and the help of the Holy Spirit and the support of the Church and the sacred Sacraments which are his ordinary gifts to us we are constantly nourished by a Word which has been made palatable. But the danger exists when sinful men, trusting themselves, make their own additions without reference to sacred Tradition and Magisterium, to a more perfect recipe given to us through the Church.

Thus it is not just the word but Christ the eternal word made man who saves us and we value the word all the more because we love him who gave himself for us and still speaks to us through his word once spoken.

"If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples (you will be part of his church, a disciple of Jesus can’t be a lone ranger), and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."He, who continues in the word, will also know from the word that Christ established the Church on the foundation of Peter’s confession and faith.

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for the help you give me through the Catholic Church and its Sacrament.

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