Friday Gospel Recharge: A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 1: 26-38

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 1: 26-38 

(1st Friday in Advent, Year B of the Liturgical Calander, 2023)

Trusting in God's Plan for Our Lives

As a second-year university student majoring in Environmental Science, I used to contemplate the idea of graduating and what that future might hold: a fulfilling job, a loving and beautiful spouse, all the material luxuries life could offer. However, none of these dreams ever materialized. Even if I had pursued them, I might have only ended up with an ordinary job at best.

During these moments of daydreaming about post-graduate life, I vividly remember feeling a gentle yet persistent call from God, urging me to consider a religious vocation. Whenever I allowed my thoughts to wander toward worldly pleasures, the word "PRIESTHOOD" would suddenly disrupt my fantasies. It was as if God were trying to redirect my path. Instead of embracing this calling, I panicked and concocted a plan to silence it, determined to pursue my own ambitions.

In today's Gospel, we encounter the story of the Virgin Mary and her divine vocation as the Mother of God. What sets her vocation apart from mine is that not only did she have the incredible honour of being Jesus's mother, but she also conceived Him while remaining a virgin, a seemingly impossible feat from a natural perspective. However, as the Gospel emphasizes, nothing is impossible with God, as all creation finds its origin in Him. Mary, with her unwavering devotion to the one true God, willingly surrendered her will to Him, trusting that He could help her achieve the impossible.

As members of the human race, God calls each one of us to respond to His divine plan. In answering this call, He desires that we place our trust in what He has in store for us. Trusting God can be challenging. Some may struggle with the abstract nature of God's presence, doubting His existence or questioning their faith in His inspired Word and the teachings of the Church. Others may find it difficult to believe that what God is calling them to do is not only possible but that He won’t fulfil His part in realising those plans.

One way we can learn to develop a trusting relationship with God is by reflecting on the countless times we have failed ourselves through our own shortcomings or how those we've loved and trusted the most have let us down repeatedly. If we've experienced disappointment from ourselves or others, it begs the question: can we be so sure that God would follow suit if we don't allow some space for God to guide us where He intends us to be? In my own journey, I eventually answered God's call. While I didn’t, at least not yet, achieve ordination, I found God closing certain doors and opening new ones, making the impossible pursuit of a religious vocation possible. All my initial concerns and worries were gradually addressed by God as I progressed in formation and earnestly lived out the evangelical counsels.

If doubt in God's providence remains a stumbling block, this Gospel featuring Mary serves as a reminder that God's assurance is unwavering. Throughout the conception, birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God was steadfastly by her side. Let us turn to her example whenever we feel God calling us to undertake an incredible task. By seeking inspiration from her, we may discover the courage and faith needed to respond with the same resounding YES that she offered. Saying yes to God always opens the door to more possibilities. At Christmas, we are reminded that God's ultimate gift to us is a share in His life—a promise we receive as a precious gift.

During this Advent season, as we prepare to welcome the Christ child at Christmas, let us strive for greater faithfulness in living our lives according to God's plan. Our fidelity to God's ways can only be achieved when we first place our trust in Him.

Friday Gospel Recharge: A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 17: 26-37

 

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 17: 26-37 

(32nd Friday in Ordinary Time, Year A of the Liturgical Calendar, 2023)

Preparing ourselves for Christ's second coming

As a child the first-time death confronted me, I was playing Marble Madness on the 16-bit Sega Mega Drive console, a very popular gaming console of my time; I was about 7 or 8 years-old. I remember the incident that sparked the curiosity and fears of death in me. It did not register at first, however overtime, as the marble kept falling from the course, due to my amateur gaming skills, I realised that life had an end. I put the console controller down, ran to my father and told him that I did not want to die. From memory, he provided little assurance on the life that awaits us with Christ after death, but to be fair my father was gentle and kind about the situation reassuring me not to worry about it.

We all have loved ones who have died in the past too. Some we have no memory of who might be a grandparent we have never come to know; others have been closer relations. A school friend of mine died in a car crash in the first year out of high school, he was only 18. In the last year or so, politicians and cricket stars have left this world unexpectedly due to heart failure. Not all people die unexpectedly since some live to their final moments, prepared as they were before their soul separates from their broken bodies and go to God. Nevertheless, life for some takes an unexpected turn, leaving us confronted and worried about our own mortalities.

In this Gospel, Jesus confronts us with the reality of his second coming. He tells us that he will return without any warning: as Noah went into the ark and the people were eating and marrying and having a good time, the flood came and destroyed them all. In fact, when the second coming takes place, Jesus warns us that it will be too late for us to do anything else to warrant salvation. Not even our material wealth will sway God to save us: “when that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either.” However, it is not doom and gloom for all. Again, Jesus tells us that “anyone who preserves his life will lose it, and anyone who loses it will keep it safe.”

Preservation of this life, in Jesus’s point-of-view, is realised in those who seek security in this world. A man pursues not only a good career which secures him money, health insurance and material wealth; he invests his security only in created goods, and not God. Not only does the man place his security in created goods, but he also looks inwardly and sees himself as the only good worth preserving. He spends all that was given and gained on himself. He only eats, drinks, and enjoys life. When one is completely focused on himself, he forgets God and those around him in need. In other words, he forgets to love.

As human beings, we are called to love the people around us. The Church reminds us that God is love and that we were created out of God’s love so that we could love him and each other in return. In our own existence we feel a call to love even if we are ignorant of what the Church teaches. When we are confronted with evil our heart melts for those who suffer. Sometimes, we even respond to the evil to alleviate the pain of another. This kind of response requires self-sacrifice because we forsake something of ourselves so that someone else might find life again.

When Jesus says “those who lose it will keep it safe” he means that those who invest in God first and not themselves will find security after his second return.  To invest in God requires nothing more than trusting in his plan for us and living it out completely each and every day. It involves living a life of love out of love for God. We do this by first honouring him which consists of upholding The Commandments, praying regularly and every day, and most importantly showing people the same affection, which God has shown us - in other words: loving others as God has loved us.

For two reasons the last commandment should be considered seriously. Firstly, when we love we grow as individuals, realising our best potential. It is in sacrifice in which we discover our real selves, not in hoarding material and wealth for ourselves, nor in drinking and eating. Those who live only for material and pleasurable things not only become unhappier they also lack a story to tell; they are in fact boring people. We all would like our life’s story told by others however that story can be told only if we have something good to share with others. Think of what Jesus did for us on the cross: he died for us so that we might find life and that story remains to be told today. While life is all about getting to heaven where Jesus now reigns, our heavenly journey comes with a story, and it is one which must involve a personal cross. Lastly, we want to love because of this gospel message. A time will come when death or Jesus will come unexpectedly, and when that day arrives, we want to be prepared so that Jesus might take us with him where we will live happily forever.

Do not settle for comfort and pleasure like in the days of Noah and Lot. Indeed, comfort and pleasure are still pursued in our modern day. Instead, put God first and live for heaven’s sake.

Friday Gospel Recharge: A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 16: 1-8

 

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 16: 1-8 

(31st Friday in Ordinary Time, Year A of the Liturgical Calendar, 2023)

Approaching Times of Crises with Intelligence and Truth

In this parable, Jesus conveys a message that has long puzzled not only me, but many in the congregation and numerous commentators throughout history. Frankly, when I first encountered this passage, I deliberated again and again the decision to reflect on it. The narrative portrays a dishonest manager who, confronting the threat of unemployment, reduces the debts owed to his master. His motive is clear: to ensure that these debtors would support him post-employment. Fascinatingly, at the parable’s conclusion, the master commends the steward for his shrewdness in navigating this critical juncture.

 

This passage presents a perplexing scenario: a master incurs a loss through his steward's actions, yet he commends the steward for reducing debts owed to him. To grasp its meaning, one must see the master as representing Jesus. Therefore, I propose the crux of the message lies in the dishonest manager's response to crisis. Jesus highlights that the manager doesn't dwell on his impending unemployment or wallow in self-pity for his mistakes. Rather, he evaluates his predicament and devises a strategy to regain control over his life.

 

Crisis is an inevitable part of life, sparing no one. For the single person, it often takes the shape of loneliness, possibly due to a lack of confidantes. This solitude can lead to coping mechanisms like binge eating, alcohol consumption, or pornography, culminating in depression. Financial burdens, too, weigh heavily, as single incomes struggle to provide security. In marriage, crises evolve differently. The demands of love, partnership, and parenting can be overwhelming, leading some to seek comfort outside their marriage, tragically breaching their vows and impacting children, in-laws, and the wider family network. For priests and consecrated people, crises might manifest as doubts in their vocation or the burden of false accusations, which they must endure. Diocesan priests face the additional challenge of financial stewardship for their parish and themselves. Meanwhile for consecrated religious, community life can be strained by personality clashes or projection issues among members.

 

Every crisis requires an intelligent response. Indeed, while emotions are a natural part of our response, it's essential to tame them. This control ensures that we are not entirely swayed or blinded by our feelings, as they aren’t concerned with rational decision-making. In any crisis you face, it's important to take a step back and read the situation intelligently. I’m no clinical psychologist but every crisis provides an opportunity for sin, and this makes us vulnerable to the devil even more.

 

Our human nature, flawed as it is, often leads us to make self-centred decisions in times of crisis, much like the dishonest manager in the parable. His shrewdness was acknowledged, but it's worth considering whether he was commended more for his initiative than for the moral judgment of his actions, given that his choices ultimately disadvantaged his master. To navigate a crisis responsibly, it’s important to have a game plan ready. The most effective plan we could adopt is to immediately seek God’s counsel. In our efforts, it's God who orchestrates order from chaos, being the mastermind of all things and who knows the best route for rescuing. However, turning to God in these trying times can be a challenge.

 

As mentioned earlier, emotions heavily influence our decisions during a crisis, often leading us to act out of pride or folly rather than from a place of truth. This is where humility becomes essential — acknowledging our limitations and seeking help from God. Our faith teaches us to turn to God, who is holy, faultless, and whose love is everlasting. This truth is affirmed by His ultimate sacrifice for us on the Cross, even while we were still sinners.

 

Crisis often involves others, as seen in the parable of the dishonest manager whose actions financially and emotionally harmed his master, leading to severe repercussions. The steward's introspective approach to problem-solving disregarded his master's needs. As Christians, we're called to a life of service to others, which demands creative thinking that is outward-looking, in both good and challenging times. This principle especially resonates with married people, who take vows to honour each other regardless of circumstances. Therefore, when a crisis knocks on our door, we should, with God's assistance, remain composed and discern a wise path out of the troubles that may invade our lives. Rather than wallowing in our problems, we're encouraged to seek ways to serve others. It's through this service, even in hard times, that we find peace.

 

Let us love God wholeheartedly, in good times and in times of crises.

Friday Gospel Recharge: A Reflection on the Gospel of Luke 14: 1-6

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 14: 1-6 

(30th Friday in Ordinary Time, Year A of the Liturgical Calendar, 2023)

Approaching the Sabbath with common sense

In today’s Gospel, Jesus introduced us to the dilemma revolved around observing the sabbath. His contemporary Pharisees and Scribes contended a harsh observation of the law, which often neglected the concerns for a fellow human being in the time of his need. We get an insight to the rigidity of the sabbath by the attention that is paid on Christ by the Pharisees: “and they watched him closely.”

Jesus, however, knowing their inward thoughts, puts the dilemma of the sabbath on those leaders in the room with him: “is it against the law… to cure a man on the sabbath or not?” and again: “which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on the sabbath without hesitation?” So, it is very hard to oversee this problem which was so real in and the years leading up to Jesus’s time.

The sabbath is extremely important for human flourishing. We simulate this since the call to rest on the sabbath is the third divine commandment of the Decalogue. It should be noted that the Commandments have a different numbering system for the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments for Catholics and Protestant Christians. Whatever is issued here has been primarily for our good and upbuilding, and nothing less. However, keeping the sabbath is not approached with stiffness as the leaders in Jesus’s time would have us observe. Instead, Jesus reminds us that the bases of the sabbath is found on love. Our business on this day is not merely static or an isolated action; other people who rest and who are meant to and don’t but should rest are also drawn into this weekly solemn divine calling. Since others participate in the sabbath then our response to this commandment is governed by love.

When we rest on this holy day, we do so along with other people, since all are called to honour God with their life. We are also social beings which means we relate with one another, and more importantly: can learn how to love each other. A sign of our love for one another is seen in our response to the immediate needs of those God puts before us. Keep in mind that on the sabbath, it’s a time of worship, rest and leisure. When a fellow neighbour is in a state of physical, emotional or spiritual discombobulation in anyway, it normally causes distress and unrest in our very existence. Think about the unrest in Ukraine 🇺🇦 or the struggle between Israel and Hamas in more recent times, we often respond with sadness when war and conflict affects those there. The news on these conflicts are reported every day, we don’t become indifferent on the sabbath to these events, so we often wonder in helplessness when peace will be establish in those places. So, whenever a fellow human being is in need on a sabbath and is left unattended, our rest is disturbed, and we fail to love truly.

The sick man in today’s passage suffered from dropsy, a disease caused by heart, lung and kidney failure. Its symptoms cause general swelling in the extremities, leaving one stiff in the joints, limiting movement. In the time of Jesus, dropsy was fatal, whereas nowadays there are some medications that can be helpful. However, the real disease ascertained from this passage isn’t so much the dropsy of the man, but the stiffness of the thinking of the leaders. They would, in their hypocrisy, rescue their own animal over a human being, would allow him to be dead yet pull out their own ox from the well instead. In other words, they put their own interests over the interest of others. Jesus finds this attitude of thinking problematic because in the divine scheme of things, love looks outwardly and not selfish interiorly. The interest of the other should always precede that of our own every day.

As a take home, we should have a healthy attitude toward the sabbath and be flexible in our thinking and actions when responding to the concerns of human beings on this sacred day. Let’s ask God therefore to equip us with the right thinking so not to be so stiff like the religious leaders of Jesus’s day and those of our own with respect to our religious duties on the Sabbath.

Friday Gospel Recharge: A reflection on the Gospel of Luke 12: 54-59

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 12: 54-59 

(29th Friday in Ordinary Time, Year A of the Liturgical Calendar, 2023)

Mercy: one of the many wonders of God

In this Gospel, Jesus wants to teach us about the blindness of the crowd: they know how to recognize natural phenomenon around them such as changing weather patterns yet they could not fathom the phenomenon of God’s works in the person of Christ before them. God’s action is not found in revenge, as the audience of Jesus time would welcome, to overthrow their Roman occupants; it’s not found in an arduous adherence to the written law, as the Jewish authority would expect from their Jewish population. Instead, God’s business is one of mercy. This is what Jesus teaches us here in this Gospel.

Now mercy is not easy business; it conjures muscle to say sorry or to accept one’s apology. If we are hurt our emotions are involved, and when we allow them to guide our will and not our intellect, the chances of exercising forgiveness becomes more arduous - and I’m convinced this is why Jesus implores us not to judge others unless we be judged. However, Jesus extolls us to repent, to not let our emotions run havoc preventing every chance of reconciliation. It’s important for many reasons, one thing reconciliation does is bring peace and healing into peoples lives, perhaps even the restoration of a broken relationship, two noble reasons to settle any dispute we have with our neighbour.

While repentance can be difficult, Jesus nevertheless encourages us to try giving activity to forgiveness, to exploit the opportunity while time is on our side. His exhortation comes with a grave warning: anyone who does not try and instead holds grudges by continuing to live unrepentant lives, the day of reckoning will devastate them. The measure they have shown will be the measure they will receive; God will not let us get away with the pain and misery we cause others. So, when Jesus tells us that we will have paid the very last penny, he reminds us that God keeps a tab on our lives, and on the last day will issue a non-negotiable infringement and have us pay the debt of sin back, in full. God’s mercy shouldn’t be presumed. God is just and will always do what is right by us, and sometimes that means allowing us to undergo a just punishment.

 The church in our modern world has lost a sense of sin, and forgotten the beauty of and the need for the sacrament of confession. Confession is a wonderful sacrament. Its effects restore our relationship with God. If you read scripture, you will discover that throughout human history it is wrought with sin and God’s efforts to restoring people’s relationship with him. Today, the story remains the same: people continue to abuse their freedom choosing sin instead of good choices, upsetting their relationship with the Lord. When we break relationship with God the only right choice, we can do is settle the matter with him, just as Jesus tells us in this Gospel.

If you haven’t been to confession in a while, consider yourself lucky, for the opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness is still on offer. The offer remains so long we are alive. Take a moment therefore to reflect on your lives, noting down your faults and taking them to confession, before it’s too late and the Lord your judge, hands you over to the bailiff who in turn throws you into that place devoid of the presence of our loving God.

 

 

Friday Gospel Recharge: A reflection on the Gospel of Luke 11: 15-26

 

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 11: 15-26 

(27th Friday in Ordinary Time, Year A of the Liturgical Calander, 2023)

Keeping the Devil out: Live the Good Life

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is caught casting out demons and is accused of performing such wonders in the name of the Devil. In their ignorance, Jesus rebukes the people drawing to their attention that no kingdom goes to war with itself - otherwise it heads for ruin. As a result, Jesus casts out demons not in the name of the devil but by his own authority as God.

 

If we follow this passage systematically, we can postulate a hierarchy of power. On the bottom of the scale are the power of human beings. Although we are very capable of many things, from innovation to security, we are pestered by the influence of the devil, whose power is out of our control. Pest is a suitable description for this foe of ours, he never leaves us alone, perpetually seeking a way to offer us distortions of the truth which makes for misery when accepted and pursued as an end itself; the devil is also referred to as the Lord of the Flies, and we are all to familiar with this creature who is often met with the swatter, the ordinary fly itself. The devil is, therefore, an irritant creature like the fly we find buzzing in our homes, only that his temptation, which are his lies, tantamount to dung, is more powerful than the microscopic dirt we find on our bench tops, left by brother insect fly.

 

The devil sits in second place on that hierarchy of power. We can deduce this from today’s Gospel passage as it reads that this creature can wield a force strong enough to influence us and allow him to enter through the gates of our temples, our hearts. The devil can’t be seen, but this does not rule out his own existence. Just as the motives of our hearts has an interior disposition belonging to the unseen and intangible principle of life, the soul, the devil is intangible and unseen too, tempting the soul to motion in the direction of evil, rather than the good. After all, Jesus who is truth itself makes reference to the Devil and does so not in the abstract, but as a matter of reality. In fact, according to today’s Gospel Jesus is seen casting that prick out of people’s lives in whom he has made a home. 

 

Lastly and at the top on that hierarchy of power, we find God there. God, through the power of his finger, and as we read it, with very little effort, puts the devil in his place, for the psychic evil he causes on man.

 

So, as we read it, we are no match for the devil, a very strong power whom Jesus does not underestimate: “So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undisturbed;” the devil is no match for God, a stronger power, and God can’t be matched by any of his creatures in power and influence, the source in which all powers flow from.

 

This Gospel passage is frightening and enlightening at the same time. Since Jesus is seen at work casting out devils from people, it is worrisome to think that we are vulnerable to an external power such as the devil who can trouble our own existence. However, because God is good, we remain hopeful that he has the strength to relieve us from this force who can plague us.

 

The devil doesn’t have some free travel pass which he can then use to either infest, oppress, obsess, or possess us - and remember these four ways are the four degrees of diabolical possessions in which the devil can trouble our existence. If he gets a stronghold on us in one of these four ways, it’s because we permit him that access. The degree in which he possesses us will be subject to the degree of vice we live by. The darker our motives, the greater access we give Satan to enter and dwell in our hearts, making us feel dispirited, discombobulated, empty and miserable, devoid of happiness and peace.

 

If you don’t want to be pestered by the devil, Jesus reminds us that we should live good lives by filling it with good things. When it’s filled with goodness, the “unclean spirit leaves a clean man” otherwise if your life is empty and sinful you invite the devil, a strong power who has enough force and influence to pest and perhaps possess you. Sin is preceded by temptation and we only sin because we give in to the temptations the devil offers us in our times of vulnerability. The key here is to master temptations so that we don’t allow the devil to gain influence in our lives.

 

Temptation will never leave you even if you live good and holy lives. If you are someone who finds temptation hard to combat, often falling to sin, I think it’s time to offer some practical suggestions for you to live and master the good life. When temptations hits you, make the sign of the cross each time but do it with an act of faith, because it is in faith that Jesus responds to our requests; consider even saying the sign of the cross aloud, invoking the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, because when you say it aloud you remind yourself who you are aligned with: a child of God; at this the devil will jump - but again saying it in faith in Jesus Christ and not from a position of fear will cause the devil to shudder and flee, it’s in response to faith that Jesus will minister to us - this is no magic. Secondly, call on your guardian angel who is given responsibility to watch over you, he will open his wings and descend next to you; he will bless you and the devil will have no choice except to flee.

Friday Gospel Recharge: A reflection on the Gospel of Luke 10: 13-16

 

Friday Gospel Recharge Series

Friday Gospel Recharge

A Reflection on Luke 10: 13-16 

(26th Friday of Ordinary Time, Year A of the Liturgical Calendar, 2023)

Upholding the Fatherhood of God

In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us something about himself: like many of us, he knows what it means to be rejected. In fact, in this passage he forewarns of the rejection he will face in those who continue his work as disciples. The word rejection appears three(?) times in his discourse. In another Gospel we learn that Jesus is in fact rejected by his own kinsman for being a man of wonder while of a low social class; obviously his death cross culminates the rejection he faced by his own people. 😢

As disciples of Jesus, rejection is an integral part of the ministry. Part of our work requires to uphold Jesus’s message by word and the way we live. The crux of the message we share with others is that Jesus is truly God, the Son of the Father, he died for us out of love, he wants us to have a change of heart and repent of former ways.

When we are rejected for Jesus’s message, we are not rejected personally though the experience itself is a personal one. Where is Jesus to be spat on when we are yelled at, have the doors shut in our face, or experience physical and emotional abuse for what we stand for? Since we suffer the experience, we associate the rejection we face as a personal one. On top of whatever else we are rejected for, that might be that people find us too ugly, we’re not smart enough, we lack material wealth, nor are gifted in areas that makes for popularity etc., we are rejected also for believing in Jesus. 😯

While we are rejected for Jesus’s sake, Jesus tells us that it’s not us who are rejected: it’s God whom we represent. People reject God when they reject us because God our creator and redeemer and sanctifier has a particular vision for man. Sometimes his vision does not align with our own intentions. When God’s vision doesn’t match with our own ambitions, we say thanks but no thanks to God, and show him the finger. 🖕As his representatives, we are a reminder to people in the flesh that God has another plan for them, a plan bigger than theirs, one that is opposite and questions the nature of their motives. Each time we stand up to the world for the Lord, offering the Good News, we the middle men of God take those blows each time hostility faces us.

Notice also in this Gospel, Jesus criticises Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum. The significance of these three places is that they are Judaean towns where Jesus had ministered, preaching the Good News. Here, Jesus is frustrated with the townsmen of these three places and criticises them not exactly for their ungodly ways, but for rejecting him instead. He had performed all kinds of wonders there, such as curing the blind, the deaf and the lame, raised the dead, healed even lepers. He also fed the hungry and people possessed by demons he exercised.

The people, through the works of Jesus, personally witnessed the power of God, and yet they still rejected him, wanting to stone him, even mocked him. What on earth is wrong with them?  No doubt this is a question asked by Jesus too, hence the frustration.

God who is all powerful exercise his power for the good of others. This is seen in Jesus’s own ministry. God who exercises this power through Jesus tells us that he is a caring and loving God. His care and love isn’t lacking personality either: he loves us with a father’s love.

While we are not townsmen of Capernaum, nor of Chorazin, nor Bethsaida, we are capable of rejecting the fatherhood of God too. Indeed, we can reject God by the way we live; we might intoxicate ourselves in alcohol, take drugs such as cannabis which impedes us from thinking rationally, gossip, fornicate or even avariciously accur wealth at the expense of others; however, we can reject God by saying to hell with the Father’s love for me, I’ll do what I want.

This is the essence of today’s Gospel. God’s fatherhood is questioned and sidelined by the people. As Christians, it’s our first duty to recognise that God is more than some intangible force that puts into motion the material world, and distance himself from us watching all that takes place from afar. Instead, he is a God who not only causes things to exists but who is also close to us and is loveable. 🥰 God should be loved not because he gives us gifts but for his own sake, the fact he loves us and desires our flourishment and as a result always gives recklessly.

There are fringes in society that deny the reality of God’s fatherhood. Sceptics have their doubts: if he is a God who loves us, why all the evil in the world? Wouldn’t a loving Father figure God do something about the injustices in the world? On the surface of it all it may look as though God is indifferent to the evil that exists however if we look deeply, we find God is working to bring about peace in the world: he uses us as his hands, to do all he can, to limit the hurt we witness in the world today. Then there are our Muslim friends who militantly deny Jesus’s divinity and Sonship in the Father. Since they deny the Sonship of Jesus, they deny also the Father who sent him too.

As disciples our duty is to witness to the Sonship of Jesus in the Father. As history has shown, this will come at a cost and if we’re not too familiar with history, Jesus warns of rejection for us who love him. On that note, why don’t we spend some time in prayer examining our lives and reflect on our relationship with God the Father? If we’ve prioritised and idolised material goods, and experiences as our first love instead of God, now is the time to ask for the grace to repent and change our ways and dedicate our entire lives to his cause which is to make us as adopted sons and daughters of the kingdom.