July 9, 2014 Wednesday CHRISTOPHERS: Noteworthy, the call of the apostles recalls the truth that God does not call great people with big and attractive names rather, God calls simple people, with sometimes unattractive names to proclaim His Great Name. Today’s Gospel has many examples. We have Simon Peter the fisherman who is always remembered for his threefold betrayal of his master. There were James and John the ambitious social climbers who quarreled for better position of authority. There was Bartholomew the skeptic who struggled to overcome his bias against the Rural Nazareth, epitomizing Urban hype. There was Thomas the doubter. Mathew was notorious sinner by amassing wealth and winning favor of the foreign tyrant at the expense of his fellow citizens. There was Simon the zealot, a rebel who was disposed to do violence in the service of his countrymen. Then there was Judas Iscariot the worst name ever equated with a traitor. The scriptures are indeed reliable source of information about the identity of the Apostles. Had it not been so, we would have certainly known the apostles in their magnified names and it would have made the scriptures unreliable, if not at all credible, since what we find here are merely propaganda of the heroes of faith and not a revelation of the Word of God. The apostles’ identities remain for what they were as recorded in the Scriptures for they served as authentic witnesses to God’s power at work in their lives. Another point for reflection is the truth that God does not change us by changing our names. God changes us by calling us to carry His name. The Apostles are sent, its namesake, to be Christoporoi or Christ bearers. Christ’s Name brings power, it heals, it casts out demons . It is the Name of Jesus that carries power and it alone can ward off all kinds of personal and societal evils. True change to happen requires this power of God’s name to destroy personal ambitions and interests lurking in all the seeming good present in every individual and in society. I do wish I am an optimist through and through, that the reign of God has already come true. But for as long it is our names with all its adjectives and magnifiers hang over our walls which greet the lost, the least and last which by chance pay us visit in our homes and offices; for as long it is our presence we promote and our performance we proclaim; for us along as it is our personal ambitions and interests we work so best and for so hard, then, the REIGN OF GOD IS STILL VERY FAR IN BETWEEN OUR OWN NAMES! Indeed the whole creation is in agony until God’s Name, His presence, His power is truly proclaimed to all creation. Prayer: My dear Jesus, may your name with all its power melt all that is evil in me and in society. May I do my best to bring your name, your presence to all that I meet. Come Lord Jesus, reign!
Posted on: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:46:49 +0000
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