It is 9th February 2018. The readings are from1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19 and the Gospel from Mark 7:31-37. We all pass by here on earth only one time; let us build and unite people around us not to destroy communities for our selfish motives. Some of us are given responsibilities and influential positions to help those less fortunate in our communities. At times most of us forget where we were before the present position which was given by God and therefore we tend to abuse the position for our personal betterment. Forgetting the poor is forgetting God in our lives. Insulting the poor and making the marginalized go hungry is a war waged against God himself by the evil humanity. God does not tolerate such evil perpetrators against the poor for long. During the time of Solomon, people were forced to work for the good of the government and for the happiness of the king. People were discontented against Solomon and wanted the king to go. It is during that political and economical turmoil, Jeroboam, one of the cabinet members in charge of forced labour system incited revolt against the Northern and Southern tribes. He destroyed the unity of Israel and fled to Egypt. It is during that time, today’s first reading as a prophecy was given to Jeroboam that would rule the ten tribes while two other tribes will not join him. The responsorial Psalm instructs, “I am the Lord your God; listen to my warning.” (Ps.80:11). The Gospel teaches us that a healthy soul is the one that listens to the voice of God integrally. Jesus opens the ears of person who had the challenge in listening. Listening to the feeble voice of the poor we must have the ears of love and mercy. Some of us are biased, prejudiced, selective, phony and have decided to be deaf in listening to the cries of the suffering humanity. Very few of us are born with the challenge of listening; most of us have chosen to be deaf to ourselves and the people around. Jesus is very much interested in opening our deaf ears to heed the voice of God. Unless someone leads us to Jesus, we might be even deaf to hear the voice of the Lord. Just like Jesus, we need to be sensitive to the needs of the others otherwise we might end up dividing communities. May God help us building and rebuilding communities by being open and creatively involved in every fibre of our living. May you have a good day. May God bless you.

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