Christ Should Suffer

Today’s Gospel Text: Jesus said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high." 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God. Luke 24:46-53

Reflection: The key words in the first 2 verses speak of the necessity of Christ to suffer, his rising from the dead, offer of repentance and forgiveness in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Jesus presents this necessity of suffering as a fulfillment of the Old Testament requirement.

It is also a clear message for generations that Christ's suffering was never going to be an option to chose from. It was a covenantal assurance by God through the Old Testament prophets, who felt it necessary that his Son had to suffer to prove his love for us, sealed with his precious blood.

This was not something that God planned just a few days or few years before in the Old Testament but it was a plan set forth at the beginning of creation and assured to us at the fall of the first man Adam.

The consequence of that sin of Adam is a tremendous evil whose repercussion and effect we still see in our world and manifest in every aspect of our life.

Our ignorance, our confusion, our constant search for meaning and truth are only preliminary fallouts of the effect of sin.

The deeper is manifested by the suffering and pain that we experience and see in a world that is caught up in lofty ideologies and visions for our liberation.

Christ Jesus and his suffering is a proof for all eternity of the terrible effects of sin and how it blinds us to the truth of God and his wonderful saving plan for humanity.

Just as they rejected him and what is worse, tortured him with the most miserable death in the history of mankind, similarly we too reject him even in our day each time we reject to listen to him or acknowledge him.

Prayer:  Lord in your suffering and death we see wisdom manifested, help us to meditate on your sufferings that we may grow wise in your ways.

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

Power Corrupts

Today’s Gospel Text:  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Matt 2:1-12

Reflection: Was not Herod an evil king who wanted to kill Jesus, who was born as king of Israel? 

In order to achieve his plan, he first makes sure that what he has heard from the wise men is true, otherwise he would not have wanted to kill Jesus.

We find that it was not only Herod who seemed trouble but the whole of Jerusalem who were also troubled along with him.

Why do people in power, who have all the luxuries and wealth of life, feel troubled and also the many others associated with them? 

When one is so attached to power and looks at power as a privilege to indulge in the accolades of peoples along with the praise and attention given by people, the security and the comfort of such a life and the eternal perspective in every human being to make a name for themselves for posterity, and continue to enjoy the privileges of such power and wealth are some of the reasons why one would feel troubled.

The others around also feel troubled, even though they were not directly under the threat, unlike Herod the king. This was so because they were comfortable with the “known devil rather than work with an unknown devil’besides the other benefits of being associated with such men in power. 

Such is the nature of insecurity that one would not want to see the others rise and even do better? 

Why such jealousy, envy and competitive spirit by those who boss?

This is only a manifestation of the sinful nature of man without the living God to animate his life. 

If only people who have others working under them were to recognize that there is a God above who watches over all things and what is more, he, the righteous, also needs to be given that authority over ourselves as the real Lord and master then such things would never happen.

To be Christian in name is not enough but what is required of us is to be a Christian attuned to the Lord and Master; He, the shepherd, wants to lead us and he never leads us into wrong paths.

Prayer: Lead me lord, besides still waters so that my soul shall be secure only in your presence and your power manifest in my life.  

                                                                                                                                            

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

ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS

Today’s Gospel Text: "And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12:8-12

Reflection: Christ Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him (Jn. 14: 6)

The above is a revelation of love by Jesus to the world. He loves us and hence he died for us on the cross while revealing to us the necessity of believing in him.

If we do not believe in him then we are believing in the many falsities that exist and are constantly proclaimed in and around us by our education, media and the people we interact with in daily lives. 

Besides these factors we are also inspired by the dark world of the evil one and hence create our philosophies and world view with the assistance of the evil one.

No one who denies Jesus can claim that they are free from the evil influences of the evil one and yet be true to their word; that they are independent and do not believe in him.(cfr. 1 Jn. 2: 22-23)

Such is the nature of the belief system which clearly shows that not to believe in Jesus is to believe in either self or others, which ultimately includes believing in the lies of the evil one.

When we believe in Jesus, we primarily believe in the truth of God as revealed by Jesus and this truth is able to save us.

Hence, he who believes in Jesus or claims to believe in Jesus cannot deny Jesus and his salvific mission of love to mankind.

Not to acknowledge him before men means not to participate in this mission of love of Jesus. At the same time it means to promote the mission of the devil and his lies. It means a failure to tell our human enemy that God still loves them and he can save them only through his Son Jesus.

No saints or angels can be an instrument of this Salvation which Jesus offers if they have not acknowledged Jesus before men. They are saints because of this role they have played in acknowledging him before men.

Prayer: Lord, help me realize that not to acknowledge you before men means to promote and proclaim a lie that leads to eternal damnation.

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

Justice

Scripture/Bible: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; 40 and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; 41 and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.  Matt 5:38-42

Reflection:  I can’t accept this logic: “do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you.”

What sort of a world we will be creating if we put into practice what Jesus has to teach. 

Can Christians then be called the greatest promoters of evil by not fighting for a cause which is evil nor resisting it?  And what if Jesus has taken away the burden of the Law and prophets, has he not placed a greater burden on us by asking us not to resist one who is evil.

We tend to look at situation from the angle of what has been accomplished and not from the angle of what could have been accomplished apart from that particular situation.

Let’s look at history, where men and women have resisted that which is evil to usher in an era of peace, brotherhood and equality. How successful have they been in their agenda?

Ultimately, it is not the historical or collective angle that Jesus is looking at, though that too may be included but the individual angle which comes across strongly through this passage.

For why would one resist evil as an individual, if not for selfish desires, pride and greed? The human sinful desires are the key factor for resistance to evil rather than evil in itself.

Hence, the strongest message that comes through from the teaching of Jesus is this; vanquishing evil by human strength and intellect is not the end of all things. Nor are defeat, humiliation, ill-treatment, public shame brought about through false allegation and finally ignoble death, the end of all.

There is the hope of the judgment in this life and the eternal life which is in store for those who believe; “For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Heb 10:30-31

Prayer: “Arise, O Lord, in thy anger, lift thyself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; thou hast appointed a judgment. Ps 7:6

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