May the Lord bless you with peace and health in the Holy Spirit.
It is 17th August 2021.
We reflect on Judges 6:11-24 and the Gospel from Matthew 19:23-30.
All of us are gifted and blessed by God, yet our fear of the future and undermining the power of God in ourselves, we do not want to confront the issue or person or situation in front. At times we imagine that the other people have all the power to bring us down while God is looking up to us to exercise the power that is invested in us.
Why do all these things happen if the Lord is with us? This is not the question of Gideon alone and ourselves too. “The Lord is peace.” (Jud.6:24). The Lord assures to all of us who are listening to different voices other than the Voice of the master: “Peace be to you; do not fear.” (Jud.6:23). The responsorial Psalm confirms the intention of the Lord: “The Lord Speaks of peace to his people.”
Whatever is the impossibility in front of us, we can make it possible when we are willing to trust the Lord totally. “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” (Mt.19:26). The things that are unfolding in us, around us and in the world do not give us the courage we need yet, the Lord promises us that the Lord will stand by us to achieve anything if we believe it. None of us can blame the Lord for our inability to use all we have. It is not the power outside ourselves to lose the battle, but the war within ourselves does not allow us to face it as we all have spiritually gone into a lock-down.
Self-reliance is the echo we hear everywhere. “But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” (Mt.19:30). Our attitude and adherence to the Lord make us worthy to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus overturns the assumption that the rich are blessed by telling ““Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt.19:30). Money and wealth cannot help us to come closer to God and we cannot buy God with the help of riches. It is the charity and love we show to fellow human being alone can attract God to come and dine with us.
May we truly trust the Lord more than anything under the Sun. God bless you.