Path of Perfection

Today’s Gospel Text: "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matt 5:43-48

Reflection: Again and again we come across people who ask: If there is a God then why does he allow evil; murder, killing, mass destruction, terrorism, rape, incest, robbing the poor, corruption, etc.,

On the other hand you have hunger, disease, sickness, and untoward deaths; the pain of separation, someone losing their near and dear ones.

The hardness of human hearts towards their neighbor further adds to the complicated scenario.

Further, to add to the complications, there are the self-styled god-bashers who never lose an opportunity to bash-up God or even if they would want to acknowledge one then they prefer to create their own gods; a religion of humanism which ultimately is destructive of humanity.

Some even think that they can do better than God and historically speaking there is nothing new in these human assertions, based on pride.   

Jesus the revelation of God, who came to reveal to us the truth about God, gives us an understanding about God both in himself and his action and also in this passage of scripture above.

If God were what Jesus reveals then evil is bound to flourish and may even increase to a level which God can endure because his love tolerates and respects the freewill given to man. 

His endurance is seen at Calvary, when he endured the blasphemies of men, the physical and verbal tortures the wicked men subjected him to.

Yet, he put into practice what he also taught his beloved and dedicated disciples;

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”  (vss. 44-45)

And he did put into practice what he taught, even at that moment when the greatest ever evil perpetuated by men, when they crucified the most innocent man in the history of humanity:

   

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34

Prayer: Help me Lord to walk the path of perfection which you have taught through your own example.

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

The Lord Sustains

Today’s Gospel Text:  And Jesus went on from there and passed along the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and sat down there. 30 And great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind, the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, 31 so that the throng wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel. 32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." 33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to feed so great a crowd?" 34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish." 35 And commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate and were satisfied; and they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. Matt 15:29-37

Reflection: So goes the oracle of Isaiah the prophet: “He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isa 40:29-31

Then how could that crowd that was with Jesus for three days go hungry and become faint?

The Lord himself will provide for them, since they put their trust in the person of Christ Jesus and his teachings.

They did not hold food dear to them nor their many attachments and relationships but decided to be with Jesus and listen to his teachings and see him perform the many signs and wonders so as to increase their faith.

The same God whether of the Old testament or of the new or of our day: Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever, will never disappoint us if we learn to wait on him with faith for an answer to our prayers. Exception to the rule; unless we are asking what is sinful and contrary to his revealed will. 

He will see that we do not go hungry if we come to him with the poverty of spirit and humility, like these who did not come with their packets of food or the fruit of their toil and labor.

God’s concern for each one of us is a sure one and he doesn't test us beyond our capacity and measure as seen here; though Jesus could have fed the crowd on the first day itself but he instead chooses to do so on the last day, just that final moment.

Let this Gospel passage inspire each one of us to give of ourselves to the Lord in total surrender, without fear or anxiety, who in that ultimate moment will rescue us and come to our aid.

Prayer:  Lord, help us to rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  and hope does not disappoint us; for you will sustain us. (cfr. Rom 5:3-5)

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

Lord you are more Precious

Today’s Gospel: Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 15 And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matt 9:14-15

Reflection:  Some fast for health, some fast for wealth and some fast for power. There are some who fast for youth and some who seek to slim down, there are some who fast under a medical advice and then there are some who may be compelled by circumstances, such as a death or an ill health or lack of food and famine. 

Whatever the reason for fasting, for those who have abundance it is good for them to get into the discipline of fasting so as to understand the birth pangs of hunger and poverty. 

One of the compelling reasons for people to fast has been the going away of the beloved, either on account of death or separation. One automatically enters into a fast mode as if to say the lost will come back. The situation automatically brings about a trauma and a lack of appetite for food.

I am sure this cannot happen to us vis-a- vis our relationship with Christ in comparison to the disciples of Jesus.  But at the same time Jesus does suggest a need to fast and compares it to a situation of separation of a bridegroom from the beloved. “The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.” Vs. 15

Therefore, the only way this can happen is to grow in the love of Jesus who is not visibly with us so that we are able to experience him in the depths of our being.  It is like a seed that is just cast away on a soil and it grows but yet better still if the seed is sown in an atmosphere created to bring about life and growth.  This will only be done if one knows the value of the seed to be sown and nurtured.

Prayer:  Lord, Let my fasting this season of lent help in grow in hunger for you and your word.

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