Seeking something?

You cannot serve two masters.

24 [a]“No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
[b] 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? 27 Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?[c] 28 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. 29 But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 30 [d]If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ 32 All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,[e] and all these things will be given you besides. 34 Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.-Matthew6:24-34

It is very true - we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve God and mammon; we cannot give 100% to two jobs; we cannot give our heart - our complete love - to two persons. There has to be one only. Jesus today is not saying we must not work or we do not need money. Remember, we need money to pay our bills, to pay our taxes, to buy some things at the house. Jesus is teaching and helping us remember that He is the Great Provider; He knows and provides speedily for our needs. We need not worry because He will help us, but we have to give our best and we have to help ourselves too. Our focus must be God only. As Jesus said, "...seek first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness,[e] and all these things [material needs] will be given you besides."

Image courtesy: God's Not Dead

The Living Bread

True Bread.

44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets:‘They shall all be taught by God.’Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”-John6:44-51

Some Christian groups say that the 'bread' that Jesus mentioned here is metaphorical or symbolic only. However, the last line in today's Gospel clearly states that the 'bread' Jesus speaks of is His flesh. But Jesus never said cannibalism here. In fact, if there is one or two who probed deeper and asked Jesus what He truly meant, His Majesty might just have mentioned transubstantiation here. Later on, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist in the Last Supper making His body and blood true bread and wine. Not only are we doing it in memory of Jesus, but it is through this Holy Meal that we become truly alive because Jesus lives in our own life.

Image courtesy: Always Catholic

Spirit + Body

Where did we come from?

31 The one who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of earthly things. But the one who comes from heaven [is above all]. 32 He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33 Whoever does accept his testimony certifies that God is trustworthy. 34 For the one whom God sent speaks the words of God. He does not ration his gift[a] of the Spirit. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.-John3:31-36

Some say that each person is gifted with a body and a spirit. The wisdom evolved. They say we have a spirited body, meaning - a body with a spirit. Then the wisdom still evolved. They say we have a bodied spirit, meaning - a spirit with a body. With these premises, we acknowledge that before we are born, a Mighty Hand was behind our creation. Whether we were created as a spirit first or a body first, one thing is certain, God has given us both body and spirit. Therefore, we are never created primarily to be earthly beings. Rather, beings on a pilgrimage here on earth. It is so sad that the path to our true Home - Jesus Himself - is so taken for granted or twisted to satisfy our earthly needs. But all is not lost for Jesus never gives up to search and find His sheep.

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