Ad manducandum | To eat

For when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk (1 Cor 11:21).

Dear friends in Christ Jesus, the early Christian community shared everything in common. We read about it in the Acts of the Apostles 4:32 –"And the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any one of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common." At the same time, we can not say that they were perfect. They, too, had their shortcomings. In today's passage, St. Paul is reminding the Corinthians about their division, selfishness and indifference. It is true that they gathered together as one community to celebrate the Lord's Supper. Which is a really wonderful time of prayer, worship and communion.

The people used to bring along food and drinks from their home. When the time came to eat they ate alone without sharing it with others. There were also poor people who had no food. It was a very humiliating and painful experience for the poor who had nothing. The indifference and selfishness caused division among them rather than communion.

Dear friends, in our lives too, God is blessing us with a lot. Are we grateful to God and are we willing to share it with others? We all know that everything that we have is a gift from God. As long as we have them, let us be generous. It can be our time, energy, health, materials, money, knowledge, experiences etc. Let us not expect anything in return other than God's blessings. May God bless each one of you.

 

Bible Reflection on 1 Corinthians 11: 17-26 by Fr. George Joseph SVD.

(Listen to podcast here)

Paenitentia | Repent

"…I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too." - Luke 13:5  (NLT)

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Have you ever been grateful for your arms and legs? Recently, I saw a video in my YouTube profile. It's about a community of handicapped people who help one another. One has no arms but capable of using his legs as a substitute, one has one leg and one arm, and the other has no arms but is able to use his mouth to help him survive. I was stunned seeing how they manage to deal with everyday life including cooking delicious food but also their struggle to do what we consider as simple things. These people have sort of bad destiny while others seem not. But the way they smile and conquer life makes me praise the Lord, and ashamed of how I often fail to be grateful over so many blessings in my life.

The passage today warns us about our perspective on seeing sufferings other people go through. We tend to think that sufferings come to the sinners, not us. Because we are good people. Some people came with bad news of those who were murdered by Pilate when they were offering sacrifices in the temple. Jesus reminded everyone not to think that those who died were worse sinners compared to others. "Is that why they suffered? Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God," said Jesus (v.2-3). He insisted that the same attitude should also be applied for the case where some people died because the tower of Siloam fell on them. It was not because they sinned more than other people.

Let's think of our lives, start counting our blessings and have a deep self-assessment. We need to repent from any rebellions we might have towards God and other people such as our close family etc. Why? Because maybe God has given us chances after chances. Lord Jesus told a story of a fig tree owner who could not find any fruit from the tree despite many years it had taken some space in his garden. He wanted to cut it down. But the gardener pleaded with the owner to give the tree one more chance. He said he would take care of it more and give it more fertilizer. If that also didn't work, then the owner was allowed to cut it as his wish.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Gardener is our Lord Jesus Christ. He does everything for us even died to redeem our souls from the wrath of God, and right now He is the Mediator on behalf of us to God the Father (Hebrew 7:25). He keeps working on us. Are we growing more and more in Christ? Or are we just comfortable being served at church without any significant changes of our bad behaviours, and yet no intention to know God in more personal way? 

We have read the very strong warning about repentance. It is actually an invitation to protect us. Let's use the chance we have carefully to be more fruitful for the glory of God. Amen.

Reflection on Luke 13:1-9 by Desire Litaay

(Listen to podcast here)

Avaritia | Greed

And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." – Lk 12:15

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Dear friends in Christ Jesus, we all know that when we live our lives we always are in need of something. We try one or the other way to take care of our needs. This is something normal in our day to day life. Jesus is making us aware that our needs should not be turned into greed. 

When Jesus says be aware of all kinds of greed he does not only mean about wealth or money but all kinds of greed for example greed of food, power etc. Nothing in itself is bad. Sometimes it is our attitude towards things that matter. It is good to have wealth and to be rich. God blesses our lives with richness in all aspects like family, friends, health, money, spirituality etc. We need to be grateful to God and thank him constantly for all his blessings and care. We can also help Jesus in building up his kingdom by sharing our resources and wealth.

We read in Matthew 6:21 – "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." We need to ask ourselves these questions : what are we running up to? Are we running towards only earning money and storing up? Are we looking for names and fame? Am I worried only about me and my life? Am I just looking up to my earthly life? Jesus is happy to bless us abundantly with whatever we need and in fact he knows better what we need than we know ourselves. Jesus wants us to trust in him and not to place our confidence in things that we have or in ourselves. The attitude of relax, eat, drink and be merry destroys our soul.  

Jesus is making us aware today that the earthly treasures that we store up are not rich for him. He is not so pleased with them and our lives do not only consist of them. He wants us to store up treasures in heaven which no one can steal.

Reflection on Luke 12: 13-21 by Fr. George Joseph SVD

(Listen to podcast here)

Gratias agens (Lk. 17:16).

 

When we were little, our parents often taught us manners and ethics. The one good attitude that was always taught and emphasized for us was don't forget to say “thank you” when we received something. This attitude of expressing gratitude is reflected in today's Gospel when ten lepers came to Jesus to be cleansed, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" But when they were cleansed, only one person came back to express his gratitude to God.  The others did not realize what God had done for them and they seemingly forgot the blessing that they had received.

Being grateful is sometimes so easily forgotten. Maybe we are so excited that we forget the One who had helped us and gave everything to us. Therefore, in the Gospel, God reminds us to behave in a balanced way when asking, give thanks. God has given us many things for free, granting our wishes, and meeting the needs of our lives.  So, balancing these two things becomes the goal of everyday life in our words and deeds. Amen.

By Fr. Risco Batbual, SVD.