May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit. It is 17th July 2023.We reflect on Exodus 1:8-14, 22 and Matthew 10:34-11:1.
Whom do we love first? God or gods?
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”
Someone or something always attempt to enslave us over and over. We may change place and friendship yet slavery to sinfulness and selfishness is indeed a challenge for us all daily. Either someone wants to invade us, or we want to encroach the intimate space of the other. This struggle continues all spheres of our life.
A forceful and extremely attractive power wants to suppress our aspirations around us. However unimportant and insignificant we can feel, God wants to choose us as God’s people as others attempt to claim our dignity, identity, and our very life.
After the death Joseph and his brothers, a new Pharaoh who had no knowledge of the history of Israelites began to enslave, illtreat, dehumanize and become indifferent to them. When we do not value our history and its riches, we become so insecure, and suspicious and of the present. There is no history without the presence and participation of God in the lives of people. A history devoid of God is not history at all. God involves in the struggles of our past and what is going now in our life.
In the Gospel, Jesus instructs His disciples through the mission discourse that they need to prioritize God over everything. Peace cannot be achieved by antagonism and atrocities but losing and sacrificing. By welcoming and respecting everyone in our life, we experience the spark of God’s love and inner peace which is given by the Lord alone. The messenger of Christ is the message of Christ through one’s priority to God, and the poor.
By prioritizing God in our life, we enjoy peace in our life. But there is a temptation to choose gods at the cost of sacrificing and suppressing the need to be faithful to One God and the Church. God bless you.