Great Commandment

Today’s Gospel Text:  But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sad'ducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, to test him. 36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" 37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." Matt 22:34-40

Reflection: What do you call this gathering together of the Pharisees as soon as Jesus silenced the Sadducees?

Isn't it this coming together of people against an injustice, apparently, perpetuated by Jesus a great sign of unity and love among these and that too for a cause?

Yes, it can be possible that Jesus was an unjust man, a false teacher according to these highly learned intellectuals, of whom one was a lawyer: which means a man well versed in the scriptures and the law of Moses.

And who will normally challenge known intellectuals and more so if they are in power?

In a way they were the democratic majority against the individual minority of the sacred Word of God; Jesus Christ.  

May be they looked at Jesus as that trickster who deceives the people and indeed they seem to have that special knowledge of the truth but they were not clear about its application.

What a question to ask? Only the intellectual and wise could answer the question?

It was like asking a spiritual question in a science class: what gives life to the body and if you answer it by your knowledge of science, because you are in a science class, you would fail the test, because the answer is never directly in the plane of ordinary thinking.

Similarly, the answer to the lawyers question was never directly in the Ten Commandments which God had given to the Israelites.

Though the Pharisees knew the answer or at least had an inkling of it, yet they did not seem to measure up to it.

This mystery of history keeps repeating itself and we could likewise have modern day Pharisees too, who could be well versed with doctorates and licentiates but may never measure up to the truth of the Gospel. 

Let’s be practical and seek to live out the commandment and not just know the commandment. 

Also let us never be deceived by those who would not like to know the commandment or faith and want to be purely practical and want to live the faith of Christ without knowing it.

Prayer:  Lord, even your foolishness far surpasses human wisdom; teach us to be wise in your ways. (cfr. 1 Cor. 1:25) 

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Sign of God

Today’s Gospel Text: Now he was casting out a demon that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons"; 16 while others, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; 22 but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil. 23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. Luke 11:14-23

Reflection: A person who does not easily believe could always ask for a sign to believe.  Even the intellectuals would look for a sign but their rational mind betrays them.        

Extraordinary signs or miracles can influence our way of thinking yet in the midst of these signs we could always have people who could rationalize with what they have seen.

One could see a dead man being raised to life and yet not believe but instead rationalize about it either by asserting that the person was never dead or that it was staged managed or the person by chance came back to life.

These are all rational arguments and don’t take long for any mind who hears it to doubt the veracity of a miracle.

On the other hand there could be situations where subtle magic tricks could be used in order to lay claim to a miracle and thus making many who understand these crooked ways doubt the existence of God through generalization. 

In today’s Gospel Jesus perform a mighty sign of delivering a demon possessed man and some of them seek a sign from him after seeing one of those signs in their presence.

Hence miracle are not always a safe bet for us to believe in God and in his intervention in creation, even though God does work miracles in our midst even in our days for the benefit of the simple of heart who would not believe him otherwise.

But still it is no excuse for anyone not to believe in God. If one is earnest with ones rational mind then one has hope but to the one who is dishonest they will never arrive at the doorstep of legitimate faith.

When a sincere heart seeks God in all earnestness, then God reveals himself to them through his many types of leading and even solves the puzzles of the human mind according to the category that they hold on to.

To have such a sincere mind, and giving God a chance to prove his existence and power doesn’t make a person a looser, but not doing could cost them their eternity.  Humbly give God a chance!

Prayer:  O God who reigns in the highest heaven, reveal your presence to those who seek you with an earnest and sincere heart.

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

Right Instructions

Today’s Gospel Text: And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Be-el'zebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." 23 And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house.

28 "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" -  30 for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit." Mark 3:22-30

Reflection: The scribes from Jerusalem must have been looked upon as the elite, well versed with the scriptures and knew scriptures through their many years of service and discussions at such an elite place. Here intellectual Jews and even pagans, who came to worship here, may have gathered here to discuss the intricacies of spirituality..  

How then men of such proficiency could make such irresponsible statements: "He is possessed by Be-el'zebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." (vs. 22)

Possibly in their experience of life they may have reflected and had experiences of exorcism and deliverance and may have heard of people holding on to other forms of religion and black magic also doing something about cases of possession and knew that they did arrive at some solutions.

I wonder how they understood the deep deception of these evil spirits at work through these human medium of other religions.

They may have thus interpreted all of these as cunningness of Satan and him working to set people free.

They now seem to apply this knowledge to Jesus, a Nazarene Galilean, meaning to say, the most backward among the Jewish people: A phenomenon common to our times, when many a times, people think that just because they roam around in intellectual circles they have all the wisdom and knowledge.

Fortunately, these scribes seemed humble enough to respond to Jesus’ invitation to listen to his counter argument and instruction of what is right and wrong and what is the ultimate role and power of the Holy Spirit in all this work.

What would happen if they, with their elite background, would have carried their swollen head on their shoulders? 

It is an invitation for each one of us to look at ourselves too, especially when we are much in the service of God. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to depend on the Holy Spirit whom you have given us to lead us into all truth and set us free from the darkness of Satan, Sin and death.

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