Sincere Jesus

Today’s Gospel Text:  Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. 37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Luke 6:36-38

Reflection: The foundation of God’s working is based on truth.

As humans we sometimes do feel that God may be playing the game with us and with humanity.  Instead he is honest to the core and if we feel the way we do then it is more an interpretation and analysis performed by our mind, which seeks to judge God.

It is like a child who sits in judgment over his father’s action, with his limited knowledge of the circumstances and situation, in which his father may have acted.

How can we sit in judgment over God with our limited understanding of the multi-dimensional working of the immortal being?

Here in the Gospel text we see the sincerity of God working when Jesus without beating around the bush voices out that which first needs to be voiced out, on priority. 

He does it because that is the order of truth. He operates on the basis of a principle and law which he will not easily budge from. 

Whereas when humans look at it then they tend to see things from their petty narrow angle.

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” – that is the first and the most important statement that Jesus makes and it is, in the order of priority, first.

The rest of the statement he makes, whether it is judging, forgiveness or giving, they are all extensions of a merciful action and qualify for mercifulness.

In other words, if we want to be merciful then we shouldn’t be judging easily, in order to condemn, forgive people no matter what the odds, and give freely.

What is more this action affirms our son ship as God’s children.

Prayer:  Lord, strengthen me to be merciful as I seek to imitate your character.

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

The Lord’s Prayer

Today’s Gospel Text: "And in praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors;  13 And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matt 6:7-15

Reflection: Who could reveal such secrets about God to us and look how ordinary he is made to look by Jesus to the extent of we having a close relationship with God as our dear Father.  

When we approach our God in liturgical worship he is rightly projected as a God who is Holy, at a distance to be honored and feared; approach him with a great reverence as we offer him his the sacrifice of his Son as a thanksgiving. 

The liturgical moment is a different moment and it has to be a sacred moment, where in we are encountering a God who was appeased by the blood of the Lamb, who took away that sin that separates us from God.

Thanks to that moment when Jesus through his death reconciled us to him on the cross that we “.. in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Eph 3:11-12 Douay-Rheims

Thanks to the work of Jesus, God is now no longer a far distance, angry God, spitting fire when demanding justly the worship of him.

He is now an accessible God,  a dear Father through Christ Jesus. He is not my Father but our Father, which means in union with all who call upon him as Father, we have the right to be children of him.

Jesus reveals to us that he is a Father who though holy and reigning in the highest heaven is willing to establish his kingdom in our midst, in our hearts and willing to work out his perfect will for the humbly disposed.

He is the provident God who provides for our needs and cares for us and expects us to be perfect as he is perfect by being instrument of forgiveness.

In other words we are called to imitate and be like God himself and live with him for all eternity.  He will equip us against the evil one who is a force constantly at work in our midst.

Prayer:  Our Father who art in heaven ……………..

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

Merciful Father

Scripture/Bible: Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.37 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Luke 6:36-38

Reflection:  Why does Jesus have to compare and call us to be merciful as our Father? Was it necessary?  Can’t we be just merciful as we are supposed to be? 

On the other hand we all should be having the experience of God’s mercy in order to be merciful like our Father or else such comparison don’t make sense at all. 

But the crux of the problem is this; we are all beneficiaries of the mercy of God and yet may never recognize this mercy showered on us constantly in his great benevolence. 

Then there are the many that have experienced the Father’s mercy, recognize some bit of it; for it is difficult to fully comprehend what love and tender mercy which the Father always shows us.  Having recognized a bit of it, there are some who may never reflect and thank the heavenly Father with a grateful heart. 

It is such gratitude that in a great measure completes the whole cycle of human comprehension of the tender mercy of God.  Once we have comprehended this mercy, we can then be instrument of this mercy towards others.

Only after having been schooled in the school of God’s mercy can we be instrument of God’s mercy towards others.  If not we will be showing mercy to the wrong person, in the wrong circumstances and situations, and bring about a corrupt fruit; for it is possible to be merciful like the humans are and not like our heavenly Father. 

Prayer:  Lord, help me to be an imitator of your mercy. 

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