Kingdom Truth

Today’s Gospel Text:  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.  10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven. 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. Matt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14

Reflection: If you thought there was no hierarchy in the kingdom of heaven then you are sadly mistaken.

From this passage of Scripture it is clearly evident that there are people in positions of power and there will be people under them in the Kingdom of heaven too.

Jesus, if he wanted to, could have corrected his dedicated disciples and told them that there are no great and no small people in the kingdom of heaven, the issue exists only here:

In the family, in the place of work, in organizations, in governments and institutions and in the armed forces, etc. 

Further, he could have even told them that even those who talk about equality in a corrupt way, and want to either equate themselves with positions and power or would want to bring down every form of dominance, will also be inducting a new form of hierarchy.

Can the world function without a hierarchy, even Satan’s kingdom functions on the basis of hierarchy, with no equality at all; where all are equal and yet with an insidious hierarchy.

Not so with God’s Kingdom, even though there is a hierarchy in God’s kingdom, yet all stand equal before the throne of God.  

And if this talk about hierarchy and power and positions sends shivers down anyone’s spine and people now begin to think of God as a greater dictator than the Pope then it is better that they fully go the way of Satan now itself rather than hide themselves under his dark shadows.

It is only the humble, who will be exalted unto eternity because they are the ones who will be able to accept the dominance and submit to power and positions which are in keeping with God’s justice; a place of true joy, peace and happiness.

Prayer:  Lord, give us a humble and contrite heart so that we are prepared to enter your kingdom which you have prepared for those who accept your ways.

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

Signs

Today’s Gospel Text:  So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." 34 They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:30-35

Reflection: God speaks to us through signs and wonders

If God speaks to us through signs and wonders then what was wrong when the disciples asked him for signs in order to believe in Jesus?

So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform?”  (vs. 30)

I am confident that if there was a survey done then there would be quite a few who would expect a sign or a wonder in order to believe in God or increase their level of their faith.

Yet he who sits in the highest heaven knows the secret of men’s heart: he knows what even we may not know about ourselves unless it is pointed out to us and even here some will acknowledge and the many may not:

What we think we will do or accomplish is not always the fact of human life and thinking. One thinks that they will believe after seeing a sign but may still harden their hearts because the heart is still a seat of evil.

One does not really require a sign, as in a miracle, in order to believe, there is a greater quality in humans in which if they are sincere, humble and honest with themselves and with others then it does not take much to believe in the truth of faith.

Belief is an assertion of a heart that wants to trust and the sincere words of Jesus, his life style are more than enough for any honest seeker to believe in him and be saved.

Hence the cross of Christ is the greatest sign for generations to come and the church that was born from his side, burst open on the cross, is the sign for the world and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The primary way in which the church accomplishes this mission of being a sign to the world is through the Proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, to which men respond and believe.

Prayer:  Lord, make me an instrument of your power, so that men may believe that you are God in heaven and on earth.

   

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

Humbly Least

Today’s Gospel Text: At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; 10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.                  Matt 18:1-5, 10 

Reflection: From this gospel text we realize that there is a difference between the poor and the really poor in the Christian sense of the term.

There are those who are poor in the material sense and who have nothing and yet have everything and wouldn’t care a less when it comes to serving his neighbor or reaching out to him when in need, even though this could be a rare thing about them.

Whereas there are those who may have all the riches of the world at their disposal and they could have opted for that path of self sufficiency and yet may have chosen to be nothing.

These are the ones who have turned and become like little children, who do not have self-centered goals and ambitions in life and hence would not do evil in order to achieve their own goals or visions in life.

These children would rather prefer to be cared for by their heavenly Father and look to him for sustenance and protection.

Their food would be to do the will of their Father who is in heaven (Jn. 4:34)  and since the Father cares for all his children, they in seeking to do the will of the Father reach out to the world, even in the isolated world in which they may opt to live in.

These are the least in the Christian community who men may want to despise most willingly as ones without talent; for what is talent without a relationship with God. 

Here we do not speak about the greatness of St. Peter or St. Paul but rather about the greatness of the lesser known saints, who were without fame or positions in their lifetime.

Here we are speaking about Mary too who although was the mother of our Savior and God and yet lived a humble simple and lesser known life.

The Lord indeed has looked upon the low esteem of his servant and surely henceforth all generation shall call her blessed. (cfr. Lk. 1:48)

Prayer: Lord, you who cast away the mighty from their thrones and raises up the lowly, grant that I may serve you with a humble spirit and a contrite heart. (cfr. Lk. 1:52)

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

Pathway to Salvation

Scripture/Bible: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, 15 as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:11-16

Reflection:  If you were the King or the boss or a master what would you compare yourself, in order to get across to your subjects or subordinates, in your work place or in office.  I am sure you would rather speak about yourself without comparison or if there be need, if any, then to some historical figure.

Which boss would compare himself to the goodness that his least ordinary servant exudes or any such servants? You would rather compare yourself to a historical figure or a prominent personality.  Some would even not mind putting up a popular personalities photograph as their profile picture on social networking sites.

In the Gospel the Lord of the universe, the Lord of heaven and earth compares himself to the Shepherd just so that even the least and more so the least and humble may recognize him.

It is a choice that God has made and keeps making in order to reach to the humble and contrite in spirit.  

St. Paul talking about this humility of Jesus even asserts that the coming of Jesus as Man and as least among us was for our sake and for our salvation: “Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Phil 2:5-8

The options before us are vast and unending to grow and seek that humility which is in Christ Jesus our Lord and even grow in it. The humble will find him easily accessible like Mary; “He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble.”  Luke 1:52 Douay-Rheims

Prayer:  Lord I believe in your word, that in humbling myself you will exalt me, help to walk this treacherous and difficult path of salvation.

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