Catholic Readings: 18th
Sunday of Ordinary Time C
“Give my share of the family inheritance!” Whose share of the Christian
inheritance are you holding? When you &I became Christian, we were clothed
with Jesus Christ and imbued with the Charismatic Spirit for the growth of the
Church and the transformation of human society towards an existence that is
truly mutually happy. You & I inherited faith to pass on; gifts to serve
others; for some, great success and riches for the common good; for others,
travel and exposure to bring others out of ignorance; to some, abilities to
flourish your spouse; to others children in whom to multiply talents of
generosity and bear fruits of goodness and mercy; What did you do with our
common Christian inheritance? Hoard it? Deprive others? Or share it and build
others?
I choose to interpret the gospel today that, Jesus refused to
intervene civilly and become a judge but He called to the conscience of the
man’s brother who was probably in the crowd, warning him that coveting all the
family property and leaving his sibling with nothing will only lead to his
ruin. Jewish law prescribed that the elder son take two shares while the rest was
shared equally among all the other children Dt 21:17 Beloved we cannot continue
to claim the name Christian or say we are followers of Jesus and then speak and
live in ways that ruin others. We cannot shut our ears to the cry of those who
are hurting, sit in the comfort of our homes and pretend it does not concern
us.
Solomon says if what concerns us is labour for our own
comfort only, it ends in vanity. Each
time we ignore or cause the suffering of another, we refuse to acknowledge
their being in the image and likeness of Godde.
We may pretend to hide behind defending divine laws and divine ways. We
may even pretend that we punish others in love so that they should change their
ways and join our own way, but that attitude will only lead to death. Who set
you as the Judge? Jesus says.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta says when we judge people we have
no time to love them. Only love fulfils the law. It is possible to worship our interpretation
of “Godde’s law” rather than worship Godde. Even good things can be turned into
idols because we fear losing our security should it be otherwise.
Beloved there is no lasting security in being a firstborn, no
lasting security in being male, no lasting security in being rich, no lasting
security in being heterosexual, no lasting security in being married, no
lasting security in being educated, there is no lasting security in being
chosen by Godde. The only lasting security is Christ and the new self of being
a person for others, every other, no distinction.
Jesus is Godde who turns us back from sin and mortality to
happiness and immortality; Jesus is our dwelling place, Godde who has proved a
sure refuge from generation to generation, Jesus is the one in whom the work of
our hands bears fruit for eternity, Jesus is the one who justifies, glorifies
and sanctifies every person who trusts in Him irrespective of who or what they
are.
Beloved the Christian who still covets the human dignity, the
peace, or the inheritance of another is headed for eternal death. May the Lord
this day reveal to us the shortness of our life that we may be wise and set our
priorities right; May the Lord this day remove our veil of ignorance that we
may know what really pleases Godde; May the Lord increase our faith that we may
have no fear to share the good things of the earth with one another; that our
lives may testify that in every age the Lord is our refuge. Be blessed as you
make the necessary changes that the Holy Spirit inspires within you. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment