Tuesday, August 25, 2020

In medio filiorum (Ez. 43:7)

 

Our hearts are the temple for God to dwell. God came to Ezekiel in His Glory and said that He should live among the sons of Israel forever. This statement is God’s promise for Israel that God always is with them. Israel would never walk alone during their journey to the promised land. God would protect them from their enemies and guide them to enter eternal peace.

What Jesus promises to Israel is a promise for us as a new Israel. God lives among those people who believe in Him and we are the people who believe in the same God, namely God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, let God live in our hearts forever and guide us in every situation that we face. May God keep our hearts clean from sin in our words and deeds. Let Lord’s grace enter our life and strengthen the relationship with God, with others and with nature.

People who accept God in their hearts are the people who receive and bring God’s glory in their lives. Similarly, we are invited not only to keep the faith for ourselves but also to radiate the glory of God by our faith. How can we radiate the glory of God? The answer is God is love. We should love one another. Our faith is showed by what we say and what we do.

In the gospel, Jesus is warning us not to be like Pharisees because their preaching is not the same as their actions. They talked about the law and love but they oppressed and marginalized the poor and the widow. What they say was not the same as what they did.

We often ignore God who dwells in our hearts. We do not realize that God abides in our hearts. Consequently, we do not glorify God but ourselves. We talk about love but we do not love enough. Let us pray God to strengthen our faith so we could more love Jesus and each other.

By Fr. Aris Mada, SVD.

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