A longe | Distance

"Peter had followed him from a distance, until he came into the court of the high priest" - Mark 14: 54

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Jesus's Passion, Death, and Resurrection are beautiful facts of how humanity was reconciled to God. Creator God loved us so much that He sent his only beloved Son to be offered as a sacrifice (Jn 3:16). When I reflect on war situations around the world today, I understand how difficult it must have been for God to send His beloved Son to die a horrible death for our sake. For our reflection today we have Mark 14:53-72 which narrates a part of the Passion of Christ, which is Jesus before the Sanhedrin, and Peter disowning His master. All four Gospels give these accounts.

Jesus being innocent, was now before the High Priest and this was his second trial. The process was not done in accordance with the Law of the Jews and thus the trial itself was illegal. Justice and truth are important pillars in establishing the Kingdom of God. When these are wrongly justified and not practiced, pride, ego, and corruption can twist us just as it had twisted the Pharisees, the Sadducees and others who brought Jesus before the High Priest. 

Jesus being the victim teaches us how one must endure trails and false trials that come our way every now and then. When we are wrong, or even when we are blamed falsely, we must conduct ourselves like Jesus to give way for Justice and truth to be established. That makes us graceful in our Christian lives and helps us bear true witness to Christ before others. Let us examine our conduct when we become part of trials. Most importantly, let us examine if I initiate trials and ask others also to be a part of them while condemning those who may have done wrong to us or of whom we are jealous.

At the end of the trial, they all condemned Jesus for blasphemy and then comes another blow to Jesus. Peter denies His master and leaves Him to fend for Himself. Peter first and foremost followed Jesus from a distance. When we follow Jesus from a distance, we too cannot make a proper stand for ourselves with Jesus in important times. Secondly, Peter associated himself with the servants leaving behind the companionship of Jesus. He then denies Jesus three times before them.

The point of reflection for us is:  how many times do we deny Jesus in our day-to-day lives by not living honest Christian lives? People are important and at the same time, the teachings of Christ come first for us. Justice, truth, accompanying those who are wronged, bearing true witness to our beliefs, and staying in touch with the teachings of Christ by reading the Word of God every single day are ways where we follow Christ closely and not from a distance. 

Let us ask the Lord to bless us with the grace to work as agents of the Kingdom of God by living as He did and bearing witness to Him in every way. When we are wrong, like Peter, we can always repent and then lead a holy life.

 Reflection on Mark 14:53-72 by Fr Hanson D'Souza SVD

(Listen to podcast here)

 

Lapis | Cornerstone

"The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" - Mark 12:10 (NIV)

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In these verses of the Scripture (Mark 12:1-17), the Word of God teaches us about honor, justice and righteousness through both a parable and a regular daily life event.

In the parable of the tenants, we learn about the caring and tender love of our good Father in the figure of a farmer who planted a vineyard (figure of us, his people, his beloved church). We also learn how diligently he worked in this field, how he took very good care of it during sowing time, and also ensured each and every detail to make the field ready for harvest. He also wanted his field to be very well protected and guarded. After long invested time and effort, as a symbol of unselfish sacrifice and love, he rented the farm to foreign farmers (figure of the Pharisees, priests, teachers of the law and elders). The only condition was to take good care of his beloved field and to collect 'some', not even 'all', of the delicious fruit at harvest time.

These wicked and ungrateful tenants had other plans instead, keeping the field that wasn't theirs. They beat, treated shamefully and even killed any messenger that was sent to them to collect the fruit. They didn't even respect the one and only very loved owner's son. They caught and killed him! What a way to pay someone's mercy, favor and grace bestowed upon them.

The life experience teaches us to distinguish the honor and praise God deserves versus the honor and respect we must give to our earthy authorities. Our Lord gently and respectfully asks to collect some of the sweet fruit of all that he has plant in our hearts all this time, to honor and praise him with our life as he has invested unselfishly in ours. Why not honoring him with the fruit of our hands and hard work as good stewards of what has been given to us? Let's not forget that the Lord is the owner of all gold and silver on this earth, all visible and invisible.

Let us reflect on the way how we, as tenants in this earth, are paying back to the vineyard owner. He has take good care of us. He wants us to mature, grow and bear much fruit so when harvest time arrives, He can search for that sweet and delicious fruit in us. May His heart be filled with happiness when he finds what He is looking for in us! 

Remember, our good Father, the vineyard owner, takes care of what is His. He watches over every aspect of what He owns. We, my brothers and sisters, belong to Him, God called us by name. He has put His name on us.  Honor to the One who deserves it.

Reflection on Mark 12:1-17 by Nydia Flores

Regnum caelorum (Mt. 4:17)

The Kingdom of God was always in the mind of Jesus. We are given three parables in our Gospel today (Mt. 13:44-52). These parables are about the hidden treasure, the pearl, and the dragnet. When we talk about parables, Biblical scholars would say that they talk about the Kingdom of God, what it is all about, and how it comes about.

In the Old Testament, the Kingdom of God refers to the provident and protective kingship of God over the chosen people. The fruit of this Kingdom is a whole moral order of peace, justice, and mercy.

In the New Testament, Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is near at hand (Mt. 4:17). So he called for conversion and repentance and for watchfulness. He also said that the Kingdom of God was for everyone.

If you ask me what my own definition of the Kingdom of God is, I would admit to you that I would refer to the teachings of the Church. It is when we accept and do God’s will  and promote the values of God’s Kingdom: truth, justice, love, and peace. If these values rule our lives, it means that God’s Kingdom is reigning in our hearts, in our community and society.

But take a look around us. Can we say that God’s Kingdom reigns in the hearts and minds of people? We can say ‘ Yes and No.’ How can we realize this Kingdom in our lives?

For me, it is very simple. I will give you some practical guidelines for a Christian: share your Time, Talent and Treasure to the needy, Love more simply, offer hospitality, support the bereaved, admonish the sinner, spread the Good News of the Kingdom of God, counsel the doubtful, comfort the lonely, bear wrongs patiently, forgive all injuries, free your heart from hatred, free your mind from worry, expect less and live simply, and pray for the living and the dead.

These are very simple and very practical things.

These deeds are not impossible to practice and let us do them joyfully.

By Fr. Rajesh Minz, UK.