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Sections The Daily B.R.E.A.D. Dec 14, 2009 - Monday Meditation (Jesus - THE WAY, Our Guide!)
Sections The Daily B.R.E.A.D. Dec 14, 2009 - Monday Meditation (Jesus - THE WAY, Our Guide!)
| Dec 14, 2009 - Monday Meditation (Jesus - THE WAY, Our Guide!) |
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| Sections - The Daily B.R.E.A.D. | |||||||
| Written by Bobot Apit | |||||||
| Friday, 11 December 2009 16:53 | |||||||
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We ask God to guide us in his path and make his ways known to us. But that way is not always easy. Those paths are sometimes difficult, and sometimes hard to see. Will we doubt his way when it gets difficult? Will we ask for that guidance, and then doubt the answer? Memorial of Saint John of the Cross Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9 M atthew 21:23-27 and when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?" (24) Jesus answered them, "I also will ask you a question; and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. (25) The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, `From heaven,' he will say to us, `Why then did you not believe him?' (26) But if we say, `From men,' we are afraid of the multitude; for all hold that John was a prophet." (27) So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. Meditation by Tamora Whitney (Creighton) At first glance, the Psalm and the Gospel seem incongruous. But how many people are living that incongruity? We pray the psalm, God teach me your ways. But when it comes down to it, we doubt our faith and doubt the authority of those teachings. The priests ask on whose authority Jesus is teaching. When he insinuates that he is teaching by God’s authority, they are more concerned with politics and appearances than they are with the true teaching. The psalm says, “Teach me your ways, Lord.” People say they want to be on the right path. They want to know and understand the ways of the Lord, but are we like those priests? They were in the presence of the Lord who was teaching his ways, but they doubted his authority. They were concerned about their own position and power. They caged their answer. They would not commit. But if we do not commit to God’s way, we will never understand the teachings. We ask God to guide us in his path and make his ways known to us. But that way is not always easy. Those paths are sometimes difficult, and sometimes hard to see. Will we doubt his way when it gets difficult? Will we ask for that guidance, and then doubt the answer? When we ask the Lord to teach us his ways, we need to commit to that curriculum in faith, and trust his authority and his goodness. Supplementary Reading HAPPy GIVER
Come after me and I will make you fishers of men. – Matthew 4:19
You see, that Christmas of 2007, I had a bit of extra money. So I didn’t have to worry as much about my Christmas gift budget. I bought gifts for friends and loved ones without constantly worrying about the tag price, as I would have usually done. I felt so happy afterwards that it led me to think that that must be how God feels — He has so much and He happily gives everything away. No wonder they say “It is better to give than to receive.” As we enter into the merry month of giving, let us follow the example of our Heavenly Father who gave us everything we need, even His only Son, and continues to give us everything else. --- Joy Sosoban REFLECTION: Have I looked at giving the way Scrooge did — unwillingly and unhappily? Change my heart, O Lord. Make me a happy and generous giver — just like You.
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| Last Updated on Sunday, 13 December 2009 09:59 |
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PURITY OF HEART
The purity of heart that Christmas calls us to. The fruits of this virtue. Internal acts.
Christmas is a light in the darkness, a light that will never go out. Everyone who looks towards Bethlehem can contemplate the baby Jesus, with Mary and Joseph; that is to say, everyone who looks with a pure heart, because God shows himself only to the pure in heart (Matt 5:8).
Christmas is a summons to purity of heart. Perhaps many men see nothing wonderful when this feast comes around because they are blind to what is truly important: their hearts are full of material things, or of filth and misery. Uncleanness of heart produces insensitivity to the things of God, and to much that is humanly good as well, including compassion for the unhappiness of other people. But from a pure heart spring joy, the ability to see the divine, trust in God, sincere repentance, recognition of ourselves and our sins, true humility, and a great love for God and for other people.
Some scribes and Pharisees once asked Jesus: Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat. Our Lord took the opportunity to show them that they were disregarding more important precepts. Hypocrites! he said to them. Well did Isaiah prophesy of you when he said: This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me (Matt 15:2, 7-8). Then Jesus called the people together, because he was going to say something important. It was not to be a question of yet another interpretation of a point in the Law, but something fundamental. Our Lord was about to explain what really makes someone pure or impure in God’s eyes.
And he called the people to him and said to them, Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a man (Matt 15:10). And a little later he explained to his disciples on their own: What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man (Matt 15:18-20). What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart. The whole man is defiled by what happens in his heart - evil desires and intentions, envy, spite ... These external sins which Our Lord enumerates, before ever they are committed externally, have already been committed interiorly in the sinner’s heart. This is where God is loved or offended.
It is true that sometimes the external action increases the goodness or the sinfulness of the interior act, through a greater intensity of determination, of the harm caused to other people, and so on. But it is the heart which must be kept healthy and clean, and then all the rest will be pure and pleasing to God.
With permission from Scepter UK. Short excerpt from IN CONVERSATION WITH GOD by Francis Fernandez. Available at SinagTala or Totus Bookstore 723-4326 or at www.totusbookstore.com ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
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