May the Lord give you peace in the Holy Spirit. It is 02nd July 2023. We celebrate the thirteenth week in ordinary time. We reflect on 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-15; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 and Matthew 10:37-42
Who do we serve? The Master or the Money?
Every one of us is running behind someone or something in our life. Some run behind a celebrity, sportsperson, political leader, or spiritual leader. How many of us going after Jesus, the Shepherd of our souls and lives?
Charity never runs dry in our life. Charity may not be obligatory for some but the opportunity to meet God for all who are charitable.
Christ cannot be encountered ordinarily without a charitable mindset. The Christian identity is completely lost in the absence of charity. The surest way of personal holiness is in our charitable living and giving. Charity is not about verbal affirmation and motivational accompaniment but the action that changes the life of the other instantly and makes others feel intimacy with God.
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Lk.6:38). “The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:6,7). “The jar of meal shall not be spent, and the cruse of oil shall not fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” (1 Kgs.17:16) “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Mt.10:39). “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them; and those who are ill-treated, since you also are in the body.” (Heb.10:1,2)
Are you a good person? The criteria for being good depends on the way respond to the message of the Cross. A good person takes up his/her cross daily and follows the Lord without complaining, murmuring, or comparing with others. “He who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Mt.10:38).
The tone of Jesus in the Gospel surprises many today as He lays down His conditions and expectations for a missionary disciple. To follow Jesus means to subscribe to the vision of Jesus, navigate the path of the Lord, embrace a new family of Jesus other than the family of origin, prioritize the needs of others over mine, and match the measures of Jesus without adhering the voices of hatred, crimes, and abuse of all kinds right within us and the associates.
The demands of Jesus might look far-fetched, yet He invites us to provide for missionary disciples to be active participants in the mission of Christ. “Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he/she is a disciple, he/she will surely not lose his/her reward.” (Mt. 10:42). By welcoming the least members of our community, we entertain God in our encounter with the humanity. This is another way of being a missionary disciple and loving Jesus.
Let us purify our hearts and intentions of our service to humanity to serve the Lord in humility. May you have a good day. God bless you.