Opposing Forces?

"...be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves..."

16 “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. 17 [a]But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. 20 For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 [b]Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end[c] will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.[d]-Matthew10:16-23

"...be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves..." Is it possible? Can we be shrewd as serpents, yet remaining simple as doves? Yes, we can! Jesus is not saying we embrace our wickedness along with goodness at the same time. Shrewdness is not a bad attitude, on the contrary, it can complement and boost goodness to far far places. I actually remembered Harry Potter and Voldemort. Both are great wizards, but each is in a different path. One is great but evil. The other is great and good. If greatness is given to us, which path are we going to choose? Jesus today is inviting us to be strong and firm in times of difficulty especially if our faith is put to the test. And, to appreciate the greatest gift of freely practicing our faith.

Image courtesy: artist

 

Been Made Perfect

Love and tradition must go hand in hand.

1 Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, 2 they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands,[b] keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders[c] but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 6 He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me;

7 In vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines human precepts.’

8 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” 9 He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’ 11 Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’[d] (meaning, dedicated to God), 12 you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. 13 You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”-Mark7:1-13

Traditions are not wrong. Jesus did not say explicitly that it is wrong. But perhaps the invitation of Jesus for us is to have a self-reflection of why exactly we are doing some of the traditions and practices we have now. "Why are we doing it? What is its purpose? What happens to us when we are doing it? Is it done as an act of love for God? Is it done as an act of love for our neighbors? Is it making us charitable and kind to others?" One example of tradition is Christmas. It was not written in the Bible that we should celebrate it, but we do, because it is the Savior's birthday and the day when Salvation story began. As time goes on, "Merry Christmas" was omitted in favor of "Happy Holiday." As time goes on, so many think that Christmas is a time for bonuses, fat paychecks, winter, snow, sales, bargains, food, drink, party, fashion, charity works. Well, where is Jesus in the list? It's His day, His season, His celebration and yet it seems He was not present on some people's list. Jesus is inviting us to make all our actions - may it be tradition, practice, habit, custom, work, etc. - paired with love of God and neighbor so that it will produce the perfect man and woman according to the will of God.

Image courtesy: artist

Faith in Action

Jesus is my sure foundation.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”-Matthew7:21,23-27

Q: What is the will of the Father?

A: Those who heard the Words of Jesus and acted on them.

Q: Why is it that there are some who said, "Lord, Lord," and yet are not accepted in the kingdom of heaven?

A: Either they did not wish to hear the Words of Jesus, or they did hear the Words of Jesus but did not put it to practice.

Q: How come they heard the Words of Jesus but not put it into practice?

A: For many reasons like selfishness, unwilling to change, does not care for one's neighbor, and so on. Remember, "Anyone who knows what is good but does not do it, sins" [James4:17].

Q: How can we put Jesus' Words into action?

A: Many reasons like good acts on others, being a Good Samaritan, a helper to those who are hungry and thirsty, a comforter to the stranger and naked, a friend to the imprisoned and sick, and so on. Sometimes all that it takes is a small act of goodness and kindness to others like helping an old lady cross the street, or saying "Thank You."

Image courtesy: various artists