Good morning good people,
May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is on 12th June 2024. Are we condoning or condemning?
We reflect on 1 Kings 18:20-39 and Matthew 5:17-19.
In a world of cutthroat competition in everything, religion and religious leaders are not spared.
One wants to swallow the other is the trend of the day.
Someone wants to prove that God exists forgetting the existence of the suffering humanity.
A group of people walk on the foot of the others without realizing the hurt they inflict.
God exists even if the humanity fails to display the proofs of God’s love.
Beauty of a flower does not reduce or shrink in the absence of onlookers.
We have a scenario of uprooting false prophets by the prophet of God at the mount Carmel in the first reading.
Challenging the evil is inherent in every God-fearing and selfless person.
Truth stands alone and it does not require a group to prove its worth.
Prophet Elijah stood firm against the 450 priests of Baal who infused idolatry in hearts of Israel.
It is not a competition between God and Baal rather than between truth and lies; one God and deities; one faithful and God-fearing prophet and many false prophets.
God exhumes and eliminates the unwanted in us to establish something good, new, and lasting in our lives. God does not undermine the prayer of a faithful person.
There is an unknown god or goddess we all worship secretly in our life ignoring God who saved us.
Time has come to destroy the evil and the secret idol we all have be hiding.
By bringing rain, God brought the end of drought in land and heart in worshiping God alone. By acknowledging and being faithful to one God, we are deigned to be blessed.
When our hearts and lives do not notice the unfaithfulness and going after many petty gods, we invite droughts and inflicts pain to our lives. The struggles to be faithful to one God continues even today without adequate faithfulness and prayer.
It is time to work on our double standards in worshiping God and loving people. Who do we want to serve? God or gods?
“But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15)
The responsorial Psalm pleads, “Save me, Lord, I take refuge in you.” (Ps. 16:1).
The Gospel explains what the disciple of Christ needs to act. Having explained the qualities of a disciple in the Beatitude, Jesus encourages us to abide by law.
Life of Jesus added its colour to the interpretation of the law.
Our interpretations of the law are to be seen in our reputed life.
“Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 5:19).
Our reputation before God and people grows in following the commandments of God.
To preserve we need to practice and to love we need to lean on.
God bless you.