Dear people of God, May the Lord give you peace and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is 30th August 2021.
We reflect on 1 Thess. 6:13-18 and the Gospel of Luke 6:16-30.
We celebrate the memorial of St. Jeanne Jugan, Religious and founder, whose work is seen today in the selfless service of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who offer themselves looking after the abandoned elderly around the world with meagre resources.
When will the Lord return? It is the question that comes to all of us like those who lived during the time of St. Paul. This generates hope in us. Death is not an end indeed. It is another level of the journey towards God. Death evokes a tsunamic wave of emotions that pulls us down on every level yet having hope of seeing them again in the Lord is possible as we all believe in the resurrection of the body. For “we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and, in the same way, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus” So, we do not grieve over them, “like the other people who have no hope.”
Grieving is necessary for integral health. Grieving does not mean losing hope. It is the process of moving forward with the hope of meeting them in the Lord. In no way, St. Paul suggests not having a healthy grieving process instead inviting us to be hopeful people in the Risen Lord Jesus. The new life is offered to all those who believe in the Risen Christ. Hence, even if someone goes before us to the abyss of darkness and emptiness through the tunnel of death before the Second Coming of the Lord happens, we are taught that the deceased go before the Lord or Heaven as they are in the intermediate state, just because of the immortality of the soul. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so, we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thess. 6:18).
In the Gospel, we are presented with the manifesto of Jesus as He began preaching. The listeners of the Word of God from the hometown of Jesus found it extremely hard to accept His teaching and they wanted to get rid of Him by all means. “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.” Truth is bitter to taste and hard to digest yet it is the antidote of our being. Jesus is the Truth; we all need to encounter now as we live on earth. If we fail or refuse to, we will have to face the truth without any choices left over. Have a peaceful day. God bless you.