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June 11, 2014

Jesus Christ is the summary of the Old and New Testament. He came to perfect the law, and his new perfect law is love. The purpose of life is to complete the plan of salvation of God for man. Man was created in the image of God and in his innermost being, God engraved the need to love. All the laws and commandments in fact has been summarized into two commandments: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

Today’s Gospel reading is taken from the Sermon on the Mount which is like the constitution of the Christian to be a good citizen of heaven. It describes what a Christian is, what kind of person merits being called a disciple of Christ. It goes even further that a Christian not only follows the commandments, not only lives the commandments, but also as important, teaches the commandments. This is made possible with the arrival of Jesus Christ who resurrected from the dead and sent his Holy Spirit to give us sanctifying grace that will help fulfill the commandments of God. By sheer human effort, we cannot fulfill even one commandment. We need the grace of God to be able to do it. This is important for us to realize, that even with the best intentions, without the Holy Spirit, nothing is possible. That is why faith and the Holy Spirit are precisely gift and not reward. We cannot say we deserve grace, nor merit this gift of faith in our Baptism, but it has been given to us free, out of pure love of God for man.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 4

<< Thursday, June 12, 2014 >>

1 Kings 18:41-46
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Psalm 65:10-13

Matthew 5:20-26
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SOMETHING FOR NOTHING

"Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, crouched down to the earth, and put his head between his knees." —1 Kings 18:42

Elijah prophesied that three-and-a-half years of drought would soon end, although there was not a cloud in the sky (1 Kgs 18:41). He told his servant seven times to look for a cloud. "Seven" probably refers to an indefinite number of times. Time after time, the servant reported: "There is nothing" (1 Kgs 18:43). Finally, the servant sighted a very small cloud which presented little possibility of rain. However, immediately "the sky grew dark with clouds and wind, and a heavy rain fell" (1 Kgs 18:45).

This pattern is very common in our life with the Lord. Like Elijah and his servant, we watch and pray, and pray and watch, but see nothing again and again. We wonder if God is even there. We think: "Why pray?" Finally, we see something which is so small it isn't much different than nothing. Nevertheless, the Lord amazes us again by using a little something to make a big difference.

Where in your life are you praying for something and seeing nothing? Persevere; a small cloud is rising in the west.

Prayer: Father, give me faith to move mountains (Mt 17:20) and clouds.

Promise: "I tell you, unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God." —Mt 5:20

Praise: Stan kept witnessing to Holly, a hard-hearted teen, although she showed no sign of repentance. Holly is now in full-time ministry for Jesus.