DAILY CELEBRATION OF CHRIST, Thursday, October 23, 2014 First Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 33:1-2. 4-5. 11-12. 18-19 (R.v. 5) Gospel Acclamation: Philip 3:8-9 Gospel Reading: Luke 12:49-53 Celebration of Christ: Jesus, the sign of contradiction Message: Birds of the same feather flock together Was Jesus a rebel? Was he really a trouble maker? Was He the One responsible for the problems in most families? Who is this man, Jesus? Our Lord Jesus Christ said in today’s gospel from Luke 12:49-53 that he has come to cast fire upon the earth.” He went as far as asking, “Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three.” What exactly does he mean by this? Ironically most families in the world are facing such challenges. There are broken homes here and there. Is Jesus actually responsible for these problems? During the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple Simeon prophesied concerning the child Jesus and the kind of person he was destined to be: “behold this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against and a sword will pierce through your own soul; That thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35). Why did Simeon describe Jesus as a sign that must be spoken against? Even Jesus himself said, “The light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Jesus came into the world as light to destroy darkness and deliver people from the dominion of darkness but people rejected him. They preferred their darkness, because they were used to darkness. They now see darkness as a way of life. In a home where some people decide to choose the light rather than darkness their life style will certainly contradict that of others who are still living in darkness. That is the fire Jesus is talking about. Ordinarily in a family where you have some Catholics and other Pentecostal when you see the kind of arguments that goes in such homes, you will agree with fact that it is the reign of fire in that home. This fire not withstanding today’s psalm from psalm 33:5 says “The Lord’s merciful love fills the earth.” And St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians wrote that we should be rooted and grounded in love. This is the only remedy to the problem in our society. if we are rooted in love no matter our religion or denominations we can still live together. The mission of Jesus is not to scatter but to gather people in love and in light. If we all embrace love and light there will be no room for hatred and division. May God bring peace where there are no peace and may God’s name be glorified, through Jesus Christ our Lord – Amen!
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 11:03:52 +0000
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