God’s Children

Today’s Gospel Text:  And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; and they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, 33 saying, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him to the Gentiles; 34 and they will mock him, and spit upon him, and scourge him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise."

35 And James and John, the sons of Zeb'edee, came forward to him, and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 36 And he said to them, "What do you want me to do for you?" 37 And they said to him, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." 38 But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 39 And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink; and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; 40 but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." 41 And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. 42 And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Mark 10:32-45

Reflection: The human ambition to achieve and to attain greatness and power can be never ceasing.

God knows this human desire, which when first manifested led the first parent to sin against God.

They sought equality with God without God and thus rebelled against his creator; the sinful nature still evident in the many actions of humans, not just when relating with one another but also in one's relationship with God.

In other words, humans adopt the ways of Satan and his qualities in order to achieve the higher goals of life.  No matter how good our actions may seem to us and how noble our thoughts but our actions if it doesn’t flow from God and in the end doesn’t lead to God then it will only lead to one's mortal self.

Hence the desire of the sons of Zebedee to sit on the right and left of Jesus in his kingdom was a desire to attain the one of the greatest position one could ever dream of. 

Jesus does not disappoint us in our desire, even if it is a wrong one but he does disappoint us by not granting us according to our worldly ambitions and ways.

Therefore he had to correct the Sons of Zebedee and remind them of a responsibility that they will have to undertake in order to reach somewhere close to their goal.

What if God doesn’t grant us the higher goals and ambitions of life as seen from our human perspective but he definitely grants us the power and authority to be his sons and daughters in Christ Jesus.(cfr. Jn. 1:12)

What goal can be greater than this; that each one who believes and accepts Jesus as their Lord and master and follow in his commands and ways will be authorized to be sons of God or children of God?

    

But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13

Prayer: God our Father, we thank you for giving us the privilege to be your children and to address you as our Father. (Cfr. 1 Jn. 3: 1-2)

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

The best Wine

Today’s Gospel Text:  On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; 2 Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. 3 When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come." 5 His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." 6 Now six stone jars were standing there, for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, "Now draw some out, and take it to the steward of the feast." So they took it. 9 When the steward of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now." 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory; and his disciples believed in him. John 2:1-11

Reflection: Some really play their trump card first or if they were to make a speech then they would prefer to start with a bang and put forward the punch line first.

Yes that is how we must operate in order to be successful: When you sit for your exams you answer what is high scoring and better known first and then go for the rest of the questions.

You go for an important date or interview you will put on the best clothes for the occasion.

A grocer may sell what is best first in order to attract customers or if he sells what is best last then too it is for a reason; so that he can get a better price for quality.

But when in it comes to certain things of life, for eg. wine and alcohol people behave differently, they give what is best last. Why?

We are here, many a times, with our sinful self, only to impress and deceive. 

The worst is that we even deceive ourselves without realizing it, we do not give ourselves the best that we can actually have. In other words the best that we actually avail ourselves of, even though we may be convinced about it, is not in reality the best that we give ourselves.

The wedding feast story is a reminder that God always wants to give us the best and that the best wine that humans help themselves with, even if it is first, is not the best.

Jesus came precisely for this reason, so that we may have the best wine; the wine that defeats every human standards of joy, happiness and pleasures of life. 

What is more, it surpasses it to an extent that even if we are not in a state of right judgment due to our inebriated condition we will be able to say: "Every man serves the good wine first; and when men have drunk freely, then the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."

To those who have eyes to see and believe; the best wine comes to us through the mediation of Mary! Alleluia! 

Prayer: Lord, we need a constant taste of your wine to keep us on the path of righteousness, so as not to walk in self-deception.

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

Power Corrupts

Today’s Gospel Text:  Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.'"

7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him." 9 When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. Matt 2:1-12

Reflection: Was not Herod an evil king who wanted to kill Jesus, who was born as king of Israel? 

In order to achieve his plan, he first makes sure that what he has heard from the wise men is true, otherwise he would not have wanted to kill Jesus.

We find that it was not only Herod who seemed trouble but the whole of Jerusalem who were also troubled along with him.

Why do people in power, who have all the luxuries and wealth of life, feel troubled and also the many others associated with them? 

When one is so attached to power and looks at power as a privilege to indulge in the accolades of peoples along with the praise and attention given by people, the security and the comfort of such a life and the eternal perspective in every human being to make a name for themselves for posterity, and continue to enjoy the privileges of such power and wealth are some of the reasons why one would feel troubled.

The others around also feel troubled, even though they were not directly under the threat, unlike Herod the king. This was so because they were comfortable with the “known devil rather than work with an unknown devil’besides the other benefits of being associated with such men in power. 

Such is the nature of insecurity that one would not want to see the others rise and even do better? 

Why such jealousy, envy and competitive spirit by those who boss?

This is only a manifestation of the sinful nature of man without the living God to animate his life. 

If only people who have others working under them were to recognize that there is a God above who watches over all things and what is more, he, the righteous, also needs to be given that authority over ourselves as the real Lord and master then such things would never happen.

To be Christian in name is not enough but what is required of us is to be a Christian attuned to the Lord and Master; He, the shepherd, wants to lead us and he never leads us into wrong paths.

Prayer: Lead me lord, besides still waters so that my soul shall be secure only in your presence and your power manifest in my life.  

                                                                                                                                            

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