Cursed Life

Today’s Gospel Text: Then he began to upbraid the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 "Woe to you, Chora'zin! woe to you, Beth-sa'ida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Caper'na-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it shall be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you." Matt 11:20-24

Reflection:  Were the woe’s that he was proclaiming, against those cities, were really a one sided act of cursing by God or was it much more than that? 

Why did Jesus have to show his indignation again these cities?

This mystery is no mystery, if one understands the mission of Jesus, his purpose of coming to us as the incarnate Son of God.

He indeed came to save us and not curse us to doom and he has already assured us: “For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost." Luke 19:10

Then where is the problem?

The problem was with the people who did not accept him or his saving message; the gospel of salvation.

Nor did they repent of their ways of listening to their deceptive, self-centered, sinful self, instead of listening to the truth of the gospel.

It is like a heart that can still know the truth but by sheer habit, due to many years of hardening fails to respond to the truth. 

May be right now we need to pause and ask ourselves prayerfully; “whether I have been sincere and if Jesus were to reveal himself as the truth how will I respond? Will I be sincere enough to say yes to his calling?

Indeed, even the sincere ones go through a tremendous turmoil in order to respond to the constant voice of God but nevertheless we need to take that first step and promise to continue to say yes to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Then our lives, irrespective whether Jesus curses us or not, will never be accursed and there is no need for Christ to state a woe on us. 

Prayer:  Lord, may I respond to every prompting of your Holy Spirit at work in me both to will and to work for your good pleasure. (cfr. Phil. 2:13)

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

Lack of Faith

Today’s Gospel Text:  And when they came to the disciples, they saw a great crowd about them, and scribes arguing with them. 15 And immediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and ran up to him and greeted him. 16 And he asked them, "What are you discussing with them?" 17 And one of the crowd answered him, "Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; 18 and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able." 19 And he answered them, "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." 20 And they brought the boy to him; and when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. 21 And Jesus asked his father, "How long has he had this?" And he said, "From childhood. 22 And it has often cast him into the fire and into the water, to destroy him; but if you can do anything, have pity on us and help us." 23 And Jesus said to him, "If you can! All things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You dumb and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him, and never enter him again." 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse; so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. 28 And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." Mark 9:14-29

Reflection: Whom do you pray to? Is it right to pray to the saints when we have Jesus as our Lord and master who always lives to intercede for us?

These are questions about which many strayed ones would always make us doubt about?

They may sometimes back their arguments with selective scripture passages which suits their arguments.

Here in the gospel we have an instance in which one from among the crowd that brought his son, who was assailed by dumb spirit, to be ministered to by none other than Jesus. 

But his only immediate option was the dedicated Disciples of Christ Jesus, who couldn't handle the case and in the process Jesus had to face the battering from the crowd that had gathered to see the moment.

To join the crowds in the arguments were the more instructed scribes who may have questioned them to no ends.

When Jesus arrives on the scene he has to face the indignant crowd on account of the ineffectiveness of the disciples.

At this Jesus could have rebuked the disciples for interfering with his work and ministry and told them that to him only belongs the authority and power to save people from their sins and from the evil one.

Instead he rebukes the disciples for their inability to handle a situation on account of their lack of faith: "O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me."

The statement of Jesus is a clear indication of his desire that his dedicated disciples stand equal to the task and mission that he came to accomplish in their midst.    

Prayer:  Lord, help us to live our call of disciples in the faith which you have delivered to us through your holy apostles.

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

Discern His Voice

Today’s Gospel Text: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; 2 but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." 6 This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. 7 So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not heed them. 9 I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. John 10:1-10

Reflection: One needs only to sit quietly for a few moments to realize how unquiet the mind is amidst even the greatest of silence.

Yet the human mind seeks for peace in the quieter atmosphere and then realizes that it is not able to sustain that peace, which then begins to haunt them or bore them to death.

In finding peace is our happiness but the greater peace and happiness is in accomplishing the mission which God has sent us into the world with:

This mission cannot be established with our good intentions or plans, guided by an in tranquil and disturbed mind, which is self seeking in the good it does.

It is even short on the overall vision and plan that the God, who still works in creation, has for humanity as a whole:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”  Isa 55:8-9

Hence God’s plan gains precedence over every human plan and thus we arrive at the basis of Christian life:  Discernment!

A Christian is one who constantly seeks to discern the will of God, thus seeking to listen to the voice of the Shepherd among the many clutter of voices that speaks to our mind in the world in which we live in.

Prayer:  “Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears." 1 Sam 3:9

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

Mission of Jesus

Today’s Gospel Text:  He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them. 14 And as he passed on, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.

15 And as he sat at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were sitting with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. 16 And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 17 And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:13-17

Reflection: Jesus’ action to sit with tax collectors and sinners went against the norms of the day. These were known offenders whom people of spiritual stature would love to disdain and keep away from.

Probably the custom may have been so strong that these Scribes of the Pharisees did not care for their wealth because those who carried the tag of spirituality already had the abundance on account of the strict laws on tithing and what is more they did carry a honorable place in society too.

So what was the big deal for the scribes of the Pharisees to reject these? But was it not a inhuman act to do so?

On the other hand, even though Jesus’ action was a great and noble act, we have many in our days who may score better when it comes to non-discriminatory attitude towards others.

A good and kind politician may do it better still and so too a man on the street yet the truth is that no one does it without some motive or the other. Even beneath the pure motive is a motive which is always allured with human sinfulness. 

Jesus too had his motives to reach out to these: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (vs. 17) His motive was the very purpose for which he came, the goal and vision, to do good, which he passes on to all those who follow him.

To judge their motives and to condemn it belongs to the ones who have a purer motive than those whose motives are not aligned to Christ as the goal of their lives.

It is the goal of Jesus which we all must strive, no matter what judgment and condemnation may be issued against his followers for seeking to proselytize but the dedicated disciple must stay at it.

Prayer:  Lord teach me to be true and faithful to your calling and never let me be parted from it.

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

ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS

Today’s Gospel Text: "And I tell you, every one who acknowledges me before men, the Son of man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9 but he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And every one who speaks a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious how or what you are to answer or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." Luke 12:8-12

Reflection: Christ Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him (Jn. 14: 6)

The above is a revelation of love by Jesus to the world. He loves us and hence he died for us on the cross while revealing to us the necessity of believing in him.

If we do not believe in him then we are believing in the many falsities that exist and are constantly proclaimed in and around us by our education, media and the people we interact with in daily lives. 

Besides these factors we are also inspired by the dark world of the evil one and hence create our philosophies and world view with the assistance of the evil one.

No one who denies Jesus can claim that they are free from the evil influences of the evil one and yet be true to their word; that they are independent and do not believe in him.(cfr. 1 Jn. 2: 22-23)

Such is the nature of the belief system which clearly shows that not to believe in Jesus is to believe in either self or others, which ultimately includes believing in the lies of the evil one.

When we believe in Jesus, we primarily believe in the truth of God as revealed by Jesus and this truth is able to save us.

Hence, he who believes in Jesus or claims to believe in Jesus cannot deny Jesus and his salvific mission of love to mankind.

Not to acknowledge him before men means not to participate in this mission of love of Jesus. At the same time it means to promote the mission of the devil and his lies. It means a failure to tell our human enemy that God still loves them and he can save them only through his Son Jesus.

No saints or angels can be an instrument of this Salvation which Jesus offers if they have not acknowledged Jesus before men. They are saints because of this role they have played in acknowledging him before men.

Prayer: Lord, help me realize that not to acknowledge you before men means to promote and proclaim a lie that leads to eternal damnation.

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

Equipped for Mission

Today’s Gospel Text:  And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, "Where you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they refuse to hear you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them. Mark 6:7-13

Reflection: If someone sends you on a mission, then that person is not bothered with any ordinary trivial matters.  You will normally send people on a mission, with the key matter in question and with everything related to the mission.  So also you will equip a person delegated, according to your mission.

If in case you send a person to a famine ravaged place and your mission is to reach out to the famished people with food then you would equip the one sent, with food and water. If it is clothing and shelter, then you would equip them accordingly and if it is medical aid then you will help them carry the necessary emergency treatments. 

Likewise Jesus sends his disciples on an important mission and one of the key areas of dealings are the evil unclean spirits. 

For this very purpose Jesus came into the world and for this purpose he offered himself so that kingdom of Satan may be vanquished from our lives: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”  1 John 3:8

The Christian world view clearly reveals to us that, apart from Christ, we are already in the kingdom of darkness, irrespective of our personal choice. (Col. 1:13; Eph. 5:8; 1 Pt. 2:9; 1Jn. 2:9; Rm. 13:2; 2Cor.4:6) If we do not make a choice for Jesus, then we continue to remain in darkness.  Therefore, he who does not believe is already condemned already.  (Jn. 3:18)

Every disciple of Christ cannot go on field with a mere knowledge of theology, degrees, certificates and sound character. They have to be equipped with the faculty to cast out the forces of darkness and to war against it. 

“For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Eph 6:12

Prayer:  Lord, equip me with the weapons of righteousness and grace, with authority and power so as to be your instrument against the forces of darkness.

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