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February 12, 2012
“Do everything for the glory of God,” Paul tells the Corinthians in today’s second reading.
Indeed, we are all charged with that same task. As Christian disciples, we are called to live in such a way that all we do and say gives glory to the Lord. We recognize that He is the one who has given us the many good gifts we enjoy – our time, our talents, and our treasure. Even our very lives come by way of gift from God, and it is our duty as His disciples to use the many gifts He has given us in such a way that we bear witness to Him.
It is not an easy task, particularly in the world in which we live. We are surrounded by so much relativistic thinking, and engulfed in a culture of selfishness. The secular society tells us that what “I” want to do and when “I” want to do it is all that matters. Yet, we know that there is so much beyond our “here and now” life on Earth. There is so much beyond the “feel-good” mentality of our culture. We are here to know, love, and to serve God, and when we do so, all who come in contact with us will see Christ.
It is a difficult task to be in the world but not of it, and to live for one person and one person only: the Lord. But we know that, when we do, we are richly rewarded. The life of a Christian disciple isn’t an easy one. In fact, just as the Corinthians to whom Paul writes this letter, we are sure to confront constant opposition, but when we live for Christ, giving Him glory in all we do – at home, at work, at school, and elsewhere, we are richly blessed. |
Previous Reflections
January 15, 2012
In all three of this Sunday’s readings, we hear about discipleship. God reveals Himself to man, and man responds to God’s revelation by following Him – giving up His old life and living for the Lord.
In the first reading from First Samuel, we hear God calling out to Samuel, who “was not familiar with the Lord, because the Lord had not revealed anything to Him as yet.” So, Samuel ran to Eli, believing the voice he heard calling him to be Eli’s. Finally, upon the second calling, Eli realized what was happening, and told Samuel that the Lord’s call required a response. “…If you are called, reply, ‘Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.’ ”
Samuel did just that, and the writer tells us, “Samuel grew up and the Lord was with him always, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.” Samuel gave his life to the Lord, and the Lord guided his steps and ultimately used Samuel to proclaim Him to the nations.
In the Gospel reading from John, we hear a similar story. Here, we see Christ calling His disciples, and, like the Lord used Eli to reveal Himself to Samuel, Jesus reveals Himself to two disciples using John the Baptist.
John proclaims, “Behold the Lamb of God,” and at that moment, the two disciples see who Jesus is and they begin to follow Him.
What’s more, the Gospel tells us that Andrew found his brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah.” Then, he brought him to Jesus, garnering yet another disciple for Christ. Simon responded to that revelation in the same way His brother and the other disciple had – he began to follow the Lord and change his life accordingly.
Christ calls each one of us to be His disciples. Just like He called Samuel and Andrew and Simon, He calls us today. Sure, most of us will not hear His voice audibly calling or will see Him walking down the road beckoning to us, but He calls us just the same. Tugging on our hearts, He calls us to Himself. We were made to live for Him, so, even though we don’t see him or hear Him in the traditional way, we are drawn to Him just the same.
Truly, like St. Augustine of Hippo proclaimed in His professions, “Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in thee.”
In addition, the Lord reveals Himself to us in a multitude of ways. He shows forth His goodness and His beauty in nature. He reveals Himself to us through the goodness of others, and, in much the same way as He did with Samuel and the first Christian disciples, the Lord uses others as His instruments to call us to Himself. It is our duty to respond to His call, to give Him our lives, and, like Samuel, Andrew, Simon and he disciple who is unnamed in this gospel passage do, to choose to live our lives for Him. We offer Him ourselves, our time, our talents and our treasure, and, through the way we live our lives “avoiding immorality,” and “glorifying God in our bodies, as Paul exhorts the Corinthians to do, really by committing to live for God, to glorify Him in all we do – at home, at church, at work and elsewhere – we serve as His instruments, calling others to follow Him, just like Eli and John the Baptist have done.
Let us all take ownership of our responsibilities as Christian disciples, and devote ourselves to live for Christ, to follow Him and glorify Him in all we do, bearing witness to others of the wonderful God we serve and calling others to live for Him as well.
October 30, 2011
In today’s Gospel, Christ says the religious leaders of the day, the Scribes and the Pharisees, do not practice what they preach. They seem to be using their positions of power for their own glory. Christ uses this example to teach a lesson — “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
In the second reading, St. Paul and his companions are in Thessalonica doing the Lord’s work – proclaiming the Gospel, and, for the ability to do so, Paul says, “We give thanks to God unceasingly.” They are there to serve the Lord, to show the people the truth of the Gospel and to rejoice with them as they convert to Christ. Talk about stewardship in action!
There’s nothing wrong with being appreciated for our talents. But as Christian disciples and stewards of God’s many gifts, we must always remember that all good things come from Him, and we must live our lives in humble service and in gratitude for all He has given us.
September 25, 2011
One of the freedoms God has given us is the freedom to change our minds. The two sons in Jesus' parable exercised that freedom when their father asked them to work in his vineyard one day.
The first son refused, but then changed his mind and went. The second agreed to work but never showed up. In the same way, the sinners who responded to the preaching of St. John the Baptist obeyed God when those religious leaders who seemed to be holy refused to actually do so, and so the repentant sinners were the ones who entered the Kingdom of God.
We Christians know we should do the will of God the Father, but we tend to be fickle and not follow through on our intention to obey God's will.
We need God's grace to be constant and to help us develop "the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus," as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians.
As Christ gave up the glory of heaven to die on our behalf, so we have a challenge: "Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vain glory: rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves."
If we accept that challenge, and change our minds from serving ourselves first, it will inevitably change the way we use the time, the talent, and the treasure entrusted to us.
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