With a Mission

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent!

7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 [a]Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. 9 Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; 10 no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. 11 Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. 12 As you enter a house, wish it peace. 13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you.[b] 14 [c]Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. 15 Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.-Matthew10:7-15

The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent! Let's mend our ways. It is not such a difficult thing to do when one is open to change. But if one resists, there the problem enters. So many despise religious men and women for doing their jobs. So many blame the missionaries for the spread of HIV-AIDS in Africa because the latter is teaching against the use of condoms. The scientific and medical communities hail themselves as the real helpers in solving the problem by providing condoms and other ways to stop the virus. Really? Just really? But I say, let's not just focus on HIV-AIDS but the deeper root of the problem - lack of self-control and lack of discipline. If one chooses to say No to premarital sex or fornication, then s/he preserves herself/himself. You don't worry about sexually transmitted disease, or malicious videos. You respect your very self as a holy temple. The Church is never against having a happy life. But how do you define happiness?

Image courtesy: God's Not Dead

Foolishness and Wisdom

The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom.

13 [a]Since the Passover[b] of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 [c]He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,[d] as well as the money-changers seated there. 15 He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16 and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” 17 [e]His disciples recalled the words of scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” 18 At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” 19 Jesus answered and said to them,[f] “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,[g] and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.23 While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing. 24 But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 25 and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He himself understood it well.-John2:13-25

Perhaps it may seem absurd for some to hear, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." A fallen house cannot be rebuilt in just 3 days, how much more a temple. But who can possibly understand or know that Jesus was referring to His body as the true Temple? With our knowledge, wisdom and advancement, it is is still not enough to match even the foolishness of God. For God's foolishness is still wisdom. Our life may seem to be topsy turvy, or full of misfortunes, or full of tragedies. But God can make it straight, and He will do it at the right time and place.

Image courtesy: Dreamstime

The New Renaissance

Renaissance!

13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. 15 So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” 17 His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”[a]

18 The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”

19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.-John2:13-22

The Gospel reading spoke of how Jesus cleared the Temple. Because it was time for the Jewish Passover, it was expected that many people would go to Jerusalem to participate in the feast, make offerings and sacrifices, and to pray. To make things more convenient, cattle, sheep and doves were just around the corner for the people to buy, and money-changers were there, too, to make exchanges easy. Instead of a house of prayer, it became a marketplace where business was the main priority.

How are we inside the Church? Is the Church a house of prayer, or is it a good place to gossip? Is the Church a house of prayer, or is it a good place to meet with friends, boyfriends/girlfriends? Is the Church a house of prayer, or is it a picnic place for the children?

Yes. If Jesus cleared the Temple, the Church is in need of clearing as well. But don't get me wrong because it is not the structure that needed clearing and cleansing but the people on it from the Mass celebrant down to each and every people inside the Church. How is our life? How is our heart? Are there things or sins that needed to be cleared? Jesus is inviting us to join the Renaissance. And it begins in our hearts and minds through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Image courtesy: El Greco (Clearing of the Temple); artist