Place of Refuge: Reflection

Showing posts with label Reflection. Show all posts

Saturday, August 14, 2021

Reflection 2021-08-15 Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

Revelation 11:19, 12:1-6, 10; Psalm 45; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; Luke 1:39-56

Reflection 2021-08-05 Dedication of Mary Major

Numbers 20:1-13; Psalm 95; Matthew 16:13-23

Reflection 2021-06-11 Friday 10th Week in Ordinary Time – Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9; Isaiah 12; Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19; John 19:31-37

Reflection 2021-06-10 Thursday Week 10 in Ordinary Time

2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1, 3-6; Psalm 85; Matthew 5:20-26

In the First Reading, St Paul says Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. This is God’s will for us: to be transformed from one degree of glory to another, because he wants us to eventually join him for eternity. This transformation will require a life time on earth. We are not transformed immediately, but our transformation comes slowly, which is why St Paul said one degree of glory to another. This transformation comes from the Lord.

We cannot be impatient with ourselves. Even when we have turned our lives to Christ, we will continue to sin, to fall back. And that is ok, as long as we know where we fail and strive to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us back. God transforms us through our sufferings. God does not want us to suffer, but he uses our sufferings to purge us and transform us. This transformation includes the way we perceive our relationship with Jesus. As he said in the Gospel today, For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus then proceeds to give the right interpretation of the commandments: he goes to the cause of the sin.

We are not transformed because we change our actions. We are transformed because we change our hearts. A person murders another because of anger. And Jesus goes to the heart of it. Address the anger and you will nor murder.

One thing to mention is many misinterpret what Jesus meant: come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on your way to court. This does not mean we compromise our integrity just to have peace. St Augustine comments, we cannot come to terms with our accuser if the accuser is the devil. Taking this, we also cannot come to terms if we are accused unjustly.

Jesus said in John 12:47-48 And if any man hears my words, and keep them not, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that despises me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. The word of Jesus will condemn us in the last day if we reject his words. This is a call to look into ourselves and see which of the words of Jesus we have rejected. Some have the impression that they can pick and choose what words of Jesus they want to obey.

Notice what Jesus said:

Hear my words. The term word in Greek means utterances, or something said.
Receives not my words. The term word in Greek is the same as the first one.
The word that I have spoken. The term word in Greek means Word or logos. It is the thought, the idea or the essence of the word spoken. This is the same Greek word John used to describe Jesus as the Word of God.

We can translate these two verses as: And if any man hears my utterances, and keep them not, I do not judge him: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that despises me, and receives not my utterance, has one that judges him; the Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. There is only one Word of Jesus and we cannot break it up. We cannot pick and choose what we want. Instead, we need to accept everything Jesus said, because they form one Word.

This is perhaps a good time to reflect on our life, and see which of the utterances of Jesus we have not kept, where have I owed Jesus. We need to reconcile with Jesus, otherwise, his words will condemn us. This is something that is scary.

Lord, teach me to obey your Word. Show me where I have broken your commandments, and let me repent of them so you can transform me.