Daily Reflections Feb 17, 2018

Isaiah 58: 9 - 14; Luke 5: 27 - 32.

“I Bless Thy Name and thank Thee, my Lord. Thou have picked me up from the by-lanes and fed me Thy grace. I was but a sinner, engulfed in my habits and my sinful trade. I knew no other way than living in sin. But Thou offered me Thy hand and entered my unworthy home. Thou sat at my table and fed my spirit with Heavenly Joy. How can I ever turn back then, when Thou has made me such glorious promises? How can I not follow Thee to the ends of the earth?”

We need only take one voluntary step to following the Lord and He will support us like crutches until we can walk like righteous people. We all know our difficulties and the lure of the world. We all know that the worldly pleasures that lure us are but temporary. And even if our joy remains incomplete, we lack the strength to build discipline within our hearts and do what is pleasing to God. There was a man once who despite his mother’s upbringing and constant tutoring in the Gospel of the Lord, was ambitious to learn a worldly trade and make a great name for himself. He embarked on his mission to accomplish his dreams by studying, learning, working and serving highly regarded barristers who would twist and pervert the laws of men and obtain their crooked means. He too wanted to be a famous barrister and he did grow in fame to the level of being summoned to serve the Emperor against Christians. Nevertheless, through his mother’s persistent, humble and earnest prayers, God touched his heart and he gave up on that blasphemous trade. Jesus came to the aid of this sinner inviting him to Redemption. The once famous barrister struggled in Conflict with his knowledge of the world and the grace of his newfound wisdom, he let his reputation as a brilliant barrister break down, as his career dwindled, and his fame faded away. He embraced Christ at His feet, seeking forgiveness with a repentant heart. Later, using God’s wisdom and all his talent in literature and debating, this Christian convert proclaimed Christ full heartedly. Now, known as a doctor of the Church and an expert theologian, St. Augustine of Hippo has been lifted to the honour of the Altar of the Catholic Church.God blessed Him greatly after his redemption with Wisdom, the responsibility as Archbishop of Hippo and eternal glory in Heaven and on earth.

God always rewards us for our effort to give up all sinfulness, follow his lead, suffer rejection in the world to grow in His graces and His wisdom. But we need to develop discipline, put all our faith in Him, be ready to serve, suffer when the need arises and fine tune our priorities such that no matter what we are working on, pleasing the Lord is our first objective. We cannot be ashamed of serving and embracing the Lord’s Word. But once the Spirit of the Lord has tested us and found us worthy of God’s Wisdom, then God will reward us abundantly as prophesied in the book of Isaiah 58: 9 - 14. God demands that we give Him priority. There are seven days in the week when we can work, enjoy and seek our own pleasure. He commands that we keep only one day of the week to devote ourselves to Him and His “Mission of Love&Mercy”. The Lord commands that we devote the Sabbath to worship Him in Spirit and through our activities of the day. The Catholic Church has through divine inspiration fixed the day of Sunday as the Catholic Sabbath since Christ was Raised from death on the day after the Jewish Sabbath. For centuries the Church held command in government policy and hence the Catholic Church declared Sunday as a weekly holiday. We spell it differently today as ‘holiday’, but it originally meant “Holy day” and hence the Catholic Church has for centuries professed Sunday as a Holy Day dedicated to prayer, worship, penance, community service, and a weekly renewal of our Faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and the Heavenly Father. It is on this day that the Lord expects us to open our homes to the downtrodden, welcome the starving and poor to our tables, share our wealth with the homeless-naked. God wants us to spend the Sabbath in serving the sick, the suffering and the less privileged with our enchanting company and our helping hands. And while we do all this, we can partake in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and give Glory to God; thank Him for the blessings bestowed upon us and thank Him for His Gift of Mercy and Salvation; because these gifts came at the price of Jesus Christ’s suffering and excruciating death on the cross.

For obeying His word and prioritising our lifestyle to do as the Lord commands, He will bless us with great rewards that will truly bring us joy and satisfaction. After all, good health has far greater value than all the wealth we may possess. Peace of mind, peace in our home, our families, among friends and acquaintances is of far greater value than luxuries and vanity. Self-satisfaction and the satisfaction of our children is far greater than tasty food and the luxuries we possess in our homes. We know that a walk with a loved one in a peaceful neighbourhood gives more pleasure than a drive in a luxury car with people we can’t trust on a dangerous road or in a country at war. We know what is precious and what we would rather have, but can we trade wealth for these simple treasures? The saints who have served the Lord, all lived happy, contented and satisfied lives with their hearts leaping in Joy no matter the civil strife and the unruly world around them. They suffered for Christ with joy in their hearts. They all lived with great joy in their hearts after giving their lives to Jesus Christ and God blessed them with every blessing mentioned in the book of Isaiah 58: 9 - 14.

The tax collector heard when Jesus spoke. He listened intently and received the words of Christ in His heart. The Lord perceived that. Jesus saw repentance and faith in Levi’s heart; He knew Levi was ready and He called him. Levi had no idea of what to do with what he felt and understood. But when Jesus called him saying “Follow Me”, suddenly everything became clear to him. Inspired by what he heard and felt, Levi left everything he had in its place and followed Jesus. In the Gospel of Luke 5: 27 - 32, Jesus teaches us that He is not ashamed of our sinfulness. He can only feel compassion seeing our misery as we struggle with sin. He does not despise a repentant heart and His mercy reaches out to those whose hearts have Faith in Him. The Lord is willing to step down from His Glorious Throne to reach out to us and to share a meal with us in our humble homes. He is not a God who is concerned with worldly glory. Our God is a healer in search of a human heart willing to be healed. If we can open our hearts to accept His message, His methods and discipline ourselves to walk the path that Christ has designed for our redemption, we are surely to attain heavenly Salvation and be in His companionship Eternally.
- By Bro Maryo