Daily Reflection, 13 October 2014 - Promises and Disappointments

By Jean Nathalia

13 Oct

______________

Galatians 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1

The Law says, if you remember, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his free-born wife. The child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two covenants. The first who comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are slaves, is Hagar – The Jerusalem above, however, is free and is our mother, since scripture says: Shout for joy, you barren women who bore no children! Break into shouts of joy and gladness, you who were never in labour. For there are more sons of the forsaken one than sons of the wedded wife. So, my brothers, we are the children, not of the slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.

When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

________________

Luke 11:29-32

The crowds got even bigger and Jesus addressed them, ‘This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here.’

________________

The child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise

I take promises seriously. If someone promises me something but fails to fulfill his/her promise, I remember it and am careful to trust in that person’s “promises” again. After all, what is the point of a “promise” if it is not kept?

The memory of broken promises, however, has made it hard for me to trust anybody who makes a promise to me. I feel I am bound to be disappointed at some point, and so I am constantly on the lookout to prove that people will disappoint me. This has undoubtedly caused others and I a huge degree of wound and pain. Others constantly disappoint me – it makes me angry, sad, and hopeless about people and even life. Others feel they constantly disappoint me – it makes them feel inadequate and like a failure around me.

I know that I am too absolute about this matter. I know that I have undoubtedly high standards that only hurt others and myself. But the child in me cries out, “What is a promise if it is not kept?! Am I really wrong for upholding the meaning of a promise?”

As the child in me cries out, I feel God holding me. I am not wrong about my understanding and expectations of what a promise means, He assures me. But I must also hold the meaning of a promise in context of other truths. The other truth I must consider is that human beings are imperfect and even to the best of our intentions, we will disappoint each other at some point (if not, many) in our lives. I must be able to integrate various truths together, rather than choose one truth over all others.

What does it mean to hold various truths together? It means that I must continue to strive to keep to my promises and to remind others of the meaning of a promise. It means that I will expect wounds to arise because there are times when promises will be broken. It means, also, that I must strive to be gentle and forgiving on myself and on others at times when these promises are broken.

To integrate these two truths in one sentence: Promises are meant to be kept and compassion is needed in relationships.

There is, however, one whom we can expect perfection of: God. We can expect Him to fulfill any promises He makes to us, and we should expect Him to fulfill them for He is perfect. When I think back on my life, I realize that human beings have all disappointed me at some point or another, but God has never disappointed me. If I give Him enough time, He delivers every single time. Let us therefore hold onto the promises of human beings while holding onto the truth of compassion. Let us also hold onto the promise of God and expect that He will always deliver.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Jean Nathalia)

________________

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me to cast all expectations I have of others back onto you – where such absolute expectations not only belongs, but is desired.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to God for believing in the value of promises, just as the child in us does.

Daily Reflection, 12 October 2014 - Meeting God on Judgement Day

by Jean Nathalia

12 Oct – Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Lord’s Wedding Feast

In Christ Jesus, God fulfils all our needs, as lavishly as only God can. All of us, no matter how unworthy we may be, are invited to the wedding feast of his Son. We have only to enter.

- Sunday Missal

________________

Isaiah 25:6-10

On this mountain,
the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich food.
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever.
The Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek;
he will take away his people’s shame
everywhere on earth,
for the Lord has said so.
That day, it will be said: See, this is our God
in whom we hoped for salvation;
the Lord is the one in whom we hoped.
We exult and we rejoice
that he has saved us.

_______________

Philippians 4:12-14,19-20

I know how to be poor and I know how to be rich too. I have been through my initiation and now I am ready for anything anywhere: full stomach or empty stomach, poverty or plenty. There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength. All the same, it was good of you to share with me in my hardships. In return my God will fulfil all your needs, in Christ Jesus, as lavishly as only God can. Glory to God, our Father, for ever and ever. Amen.

________________

Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. “Tell those who have been invited” he said “that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding.” But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, “The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding.” So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?” And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, “Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” For many are called, but few are chosen.’

________________

The king said to him, ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?’ But he was reduced to silence

My first reaction to today’s Gospel was anger. How could God send a man who was not dressed appropriately to such a harsh and condemning punishment? Isn’t God supposed to be merciful and compassionate? How could He be so cruel? Underlying my anger, however, is fear. What if one day He sends me out and punishes me for eternity? What if in His eyes, my “dressing” (in the form of how well I love others, how compassionate I am, etc) is not enough for Him?

Such thinking reflects my fears that underneath the veneer of God being a kind and compassionate Father, He is actually calculating, not willing to dialogue or listen, and tyrannical in His ways. But is He really like this or am I projecting my own experiences of limitations in human love onto Him?

Notice how in the Gospel, the King addressed the man as, “my friend”. There was equality in his address of the man, despite his status as King. He was not quick to judge, but ready to listen with compassion, when he asked the man why he was not dressed appropriately. It was, however, the man himself who knew that he had no good reason. He could have said that he did not know the dress code and the King would probably have taken pity on him and asked his servants to dress this man. But the man was silent. He knew the dress code.

The man could have said that he did not have the money to adorn himself with the appropriate robes and, again, the King would likely take pity on him. But he was silent, revealing that it was his personal choice to disrespect the King’s request. Perhaps if he had rebelled out of anger at the King, the King would have even taken pity on his anger. But this man had nothing. No personal anger¬–simply a desire to be his own god and set his own rules.

For those of us who are striving to walk in God’s ways and are afraid that we may still inevitably make mistakes because of our ignorance or struggles, take comfort that God will patiently and compassionately listen to us in our struggles. For those of us who are angry with God and therefore disobey Him, take comfort that He will listen when we cry out in our wounds and anger. But for those of us who sin simply because we want to be our own gods and set our own rules, let this be a reminder that there will come a day when all of us will face the one true God–whether or not we like it–and then we will realize that we are no longer the dictator of our own home but a guest in another’s house.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Jean Nathalia)

_______________

Prayer: We pray for the faith to hold onto the truth that there is a God who has created the world in order, justice, mercy, compassion, intimacy, and love. We pray to live in accordance with this truth.

Thanksgiving: Thank you, Jesus, for constantly challenging me not to base my understanding of who you are on my limited experiences of human relationships, but always inviting me to dare to hope in a new world, a new love, a new home in You.

Reflection on Acts (Chapters 17-20)

by Elizabeth Etta

Acts 17-20:

Paul and his companions continue to travel, preaching and spreading the good news throughout Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth and Athens. Surprisingly, there are still people who do not believe this good news message.

This is still the same in our world today where some people might hear about the bible, about Jesus and to them it is a fairytale. But as for those of us who believe the truth of Jesus, we are assured salvation.

Acts 17:11 mentions that the Bereans were of noble character for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

This passage stood out to me as to why it is mentioned in the bible. You see a lot of people today are where they are due to ignorance and when it comes to our eternal life, there is no excuse for ignorance. Some of us as Catholics have walked in ignorance for so long, myself included, that reading this verse was like a lightbulb moment in my brain. We have traditions, when someone asks us about them, we don't know why we follow them, we just go with the motions? When someone asks us something about our faith, we don't have reference from scriptures to back it up, to explain Why? Or worst still, not every message we hear or receive into our spirits is true. We must test this according to the bible and this is what the Bereans did. They did not just accept Paul's message, it was wise of them to stay guarded. And once they realized that Paul's preaching was in line with the scriptures, did they believe.

While reading this verse, I thought about our brothers and sisters who have not yet known Christ Jesus as their saviour, e.g. The Hindus, The Muslims, what about them? Acts 4:12 says Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. They do not believe in Jesus, does this mean they are not saved? I struggled with these thoughts, because they are some of the nicest, genuine people I know. I have had interesting conversations with my Muslim friends about My God, Your God, My Jesus, Their Prophet. This often is interesting but yet at the end of the day we all still believe what we believe, because especially when you are raised a certain way, it leads you to believe that is the right way.

Anyway my point here is that we cannot wait for the truth to come to us, we have to actively search for truth as is the case of the Bereans. Our eternal life depends on the seeking of who God is, who Christ really is. What is amazing is that God's grace is sufficient, He wants us to know who He is. He wants us to have that relationship with Him, but you cannot stay comfortable where you are, because to be a follower of Christ comes with a risk and perhaps that is a risk most people are not willing to take and so they prefer to stay where they are. This is why especially in our Christian walk we must actively want to know the truth, which has been revealed to us through the bible and through prayer which is an amazing gift for God to be able to reveal Himself to us. As long as we want to pursue righteousness, our God who is full of Grace and Mercy will reveal Himself to us, for He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Reflection on Acts (Chapters 15 & 16)

by Elizabeth Etta

Acts 15:

This chapter stood out to me because of the disagreements. The Christian walk is not without disagreements. We disagree on many issues like even within our Catholic faith most people might disagree on certain things such as use of contraceptives, homosexualism, pre-marital sex, living together without marriage, whatever it may be.

Differences of views can often bring arguments which are not healthy for the church and can discourage people, result in loss of souls rather than salvation.

Reading this chapter, it is my believe that as Christians we should not make it difficult for people who do not conform to the laws (for eg being homosexual) At the end of the day, we are all trying to seek God and rather than pass judgment, we need to instead preach love, repentance, forgiveness and salvation. This must also be shown through our actions, how we act towards others, what we say. Our job is to encourage rather than discourage and when we do this, we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work on our hearts and minds.

Acts 16:

Timothy is introduced here as the man who joins Paul and Silas on mission. Timothy was half Jewish and half Greek (Well, he must have been good looking as all mixed kids I know are :) ). Anyway it is obvious that Paul must have taken a liking to him. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. This can only mean that he was a fervent follower of Christ. Paul on meeting Timothy would have recognized that zeal in him and because of Timothy's Jewish and Greek heritage, it is easy to see that he would have a great influence leading people to Christ.

This chapter asks the question... In life what do you want to be recognized for? Most importantly on the last day, what would you want God to recognize you for?

Chapter 16 is another proof that God's salvation is indeed for all.

Paul and Silas are imprisoned but when they start singing hymns to God, an earthquake happens and everyone's chains are loosed. No doubt, this would have led to conversion of the prisoners there. Also, had Paul and Silas not been put in prison, then the jailer would not have been saved along with his whole family.

Whatever situation you find yourself, good or bad, it is an opportunity that God can use to the glory of His name and for our salvation..

Reflection on Acts (Chapters 9-14)

by Elizabeth Etta

Acts 9:

Saul's conversion is a true testimony of God's grace. Saul was a persecuter of the church at the time. His encounter with the Lord, forever changed him. This chapter got me thinking about how we should not judge people, many of them are awaiting an encounter with Christ to transform them and when this happens, we should be ready to welcome them into God's family.

An encounter with Christ is truly life changing. Saul recognizes that he has been saved by the grace of Jesus and so filled with the Holy Spirit, he begins his mission by joining the other disciples and spreading the good news of Christ

Acts 10:

What stood out for me was Acts 10:34.

God shows no partiality but in every nation, anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him.

Acts 12:

Pride comes before a fall.

Herod was a powerful king who was persecuting the Christians at the time. The bible said he did not give glory to God when the people were praising him calling him a God. He was struck down and in a humiliating fashion, was eaten by worms and died. A true attribute of every Christian is humility. We should try to outdo each other in service and give God all the glory for each and every one of our accomplishments.

Acts 14:

Paul and Barnabas continue spreading the good news. They performed miraculous signs but still some people refused to believe. At this time, Paul continued to perform miracles using the name of Jesus and here he healed a cripple. The people started to consider Paul and Barnabas as Gods.

In this chapter I am reminded about humility. The disciples did not take credit for the miracles but gave glory to God and used this as a way to witness to the people. Also this chapter brings to mind the fickleness of human nature and how important it is to stay guarded.

The same people who hero-worshipped Paul and Barnabas after seeing the miracle on influence by the Jews turned around and dragged Paul outside the city and stoned him to death.

This is a strong reminder that if we become proud in our successes in life, and work hard to gain recognition, money or whatever the reason for our success it is all pointless because people change. They are those that will be there to take over your position, other factors can come into play like illness, old age, accidents and if you don't have Christ? What do you have, what you measured as success will come to mean nothing. However if you boast, you can boast in Christ Jesus because that is constant.

Reflections

So far the Acts of the Apostles is about the exemplary lives of the early Christians. Like Fr. Vic says Church is not a building but it is the people that make up the church. We as members of the church must continue in the ways of the early church, building one another in faith. We are blessed to have StAY, a gathering where we can come together in prayer and fellowship like the apostles. We need to keep rejoicing and strengthening and praying for one another as we walk with God. This is so that God's spirit can move us to draw more people to Christ who is the only way and hope of our salvation.