Which Master

Today’s Gospel Text:  "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. Matt 6:24-34

Reflection: In the daily struggle of life we know of people who serve not only two but even more masters.

Today itself I came across a person who goes from house to house to perform the daily household chores in order to survive.

How long can this person go on? All of us who labor to feed themselves and survive, one day we may have to hang our boots and seek to lead a life of retirement or relaxation.

But in that ultimate struggle of life which includes all our activities, with the ultimate goal in mind, we cannot serve two masters.

Yet, many of our struggles in life is serving either the two masters or the many masters or even if it is only the one master we serve then it is not the master who can lead us to eternity but the master that can lead us hell; whether it means serving our selves or serving the devil, it means the same.  

In other words, whatever the number of masters we may serve in the ultimate count we are making a choice for either one of the two.

These words of Jesus are a caution for each one of us. He would not have given us these words if it was not a reality among men to serve two masters.

Hence life is a constant choice and every choice we make effects our choice for either one of the masters.

There are no fence sitters in this choice, no neutral parties, and no non-aligned individuals: you either leaning on Jesus’ side or you are leaning on the side of the devil.

What if you do not know the master; Jesus Christ?

It still means the same: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Matt 12:30

Even in the Old Testament it was the same and no in-betweens:    

"Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods which you have not known. Deut 11:26-28

Prayer:  Lord it is at times difficult to make a choice but not impossible because of what you have achieved for us on the cross; your perfect love for us makes all things possible.

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

You are not to be Called

Today’s Gospel Text:  Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. 4 They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, 7 and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. 8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. 11 He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; 12 whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matt 23:1-12

Reflection: “O, please stop calling people father and Rabbi and by other endearing titles, I am sure Jesus never wanted it that way.”  This could be the rant of the many who read this text of the gospel in a literal way. 

Jesus also seems very clear about it by qualifying his injunction with a statement which suggests the primacy of God as Father, master and teacher.

Could Jesus have really meant what is apparently understood of the passage at a preliminary glance?

A close look at the passage, especially at the emphasis it lays, conveys a message otherwise.

If we were to apply this message to Jesus, then it would fail him too and we would then be compelled to not address him as Lord and master, as the apostles continued to do so.

If the concept of brotherhood and learning things only from God was primary, then there would have been no hierarchy in the early church, with the apostles as head of the lot and Simon Peter leading them all.

Then one need not look upon one's parents as elders but as mere brothers and sisters.

In fact St. Paul himself lays claim to the title of fatherhood and in the process reveals something very interesting to us:    

“For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” 1 Cor 4:15

Thus we also learn that the early Christians did just have the Holy Spirit as guide but also had mature humans to guide them in their walk as Christians and it is well acknowledged by St. Paul without passing a judgment about them.

But in all this there is definitely an important message for each one of us who have these titles or seek it; for it is a grave message which cannot be taken lightly:

Those who exercise authority should exercise it in a way wherein they recognize the ultimate authority of God as our true teacher and they are not to teach people according to their whims and fancies or according to what they feel as right and correct but rather as stewards of the holy mysteries.

Prayer:  Lord, may all those who hold offices in the church may realize their stewardship and thus serve your people with responsibility and with a sense of dedication.

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

IDENTIFY THE ENEMY

Today’s Gospel Text: Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' 28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?' 29 But he said, 'No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

31 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Matt 13:24-32

Reflection:  Surely every good worker of the kingdom will be surprised at the weed among the wheat. They would not know who has put them there, hence they have to ask the master, how the weeds came about.

There are those, in our days, who have heard the masters injunction to his servants and may even plead that the weed remains there because the master has ordered thus to his beloved servants.

Surely, the seeds of false teachings from false prophets, who are the enemies in our midst, will always exist. This doesn’t mean that the enemy who has sown the seed should remain for long and openly with the master and work to burn the bundles of wheat rather than the bundles of weed.

The apostles who had understood this parable did not take life casually, as shepherds to whom Christ had entrusted his flocks to. They made it a point to help the servants identify those are from the enemy and those who were from the master.

I often see some of the enemies hiding behind this scripture with their tails, pleading that they be spared just as the master have spared the weeds to. They assert that if the weed be removed then the wheat would get harmed.

This should never happen in the church of God, which is the bulwark of truth.

   

The Apostles as masters and shepherds always made it a point to warn the church and never failed to act:  “Any one who goes ahead and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has both the Father and the Son. If any one comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into the house or give him any greeting; for he who greets him shares his wicked work. 2 John 9-11

(Rom. 16: 17; Eph. 5: 6-7; 1 Cor. 5: 9-11 are some of the scripture passages where you see the apostles seeking to expose or correct the enemies of the gospel of Christ)

In our days when the enemy has infiltrated the shepherd class, there is an urgent need to be alert against the enemy and expose them if need be.

Prayer: “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou who leadest Joseph like a flock! Thou who art enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh! Stir up thy might, and come to save us!  Restore us, O God; let thy face shine, that we may be saved! Ps 80:1-3

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

Faithful Servant

Scripture: "Will any one of you, who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep, say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down at table'? 8 Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and gird yourself and serve me, till I eat and drink; and afterward you shall eat and drink'? 9 Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that is commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Luke 17:7-10

Reflection:  In our service in God’s vineyard there are often times when we go through painful doubts of hurt and rejection. Often wondering whether the master cares for us or not, whether he loves us or not, whether his presence is with us or not?

There is no room for such feelings for a good servant who has entered into a contract with the master. If the servant has entered into a contract of faithful service to his master and is happy doing his job then nothing should come in between his duty to the master and himself that should disturb his peace.  In human terms the master may seem demanding and exploitative but he eternally cares for his servant whom he provides and feed;” afterward you shall eat and drink”.

Yet when we faithfully follow the Gospel, and experience all sorts of rejections then we forget our contract with the Lord and even get into a form of self pity; poor me, why am I suffering or why me Lord? We tend to get enclosed in on ourselves and forget the promise we made to him and the acceptance of the daily cross of life.

Prayer:  Lord, make me a servant dedicated and committed to you.

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