It’s Pay back Time.

Everyone wants to love and be loved. Many people love human beings, others love things while a good many others love animals, pets, like dogs, cats, snakes, pigs, lion, you name it. Many people have their hearts broken when the object of their love may not even know that they are loved. Others are devastated when their love is not reciprocated. Even God is devastated, anthropomorphically speaking, when his love is not reciprocated.

When we return people’s love, we pay it back in kind, but when we do not, we are perceived as being ungrateful. Parents spend a lot of money to train and bring their children up, not necessarily so that they may pay them back in return, though there is nothing wrong with children taking care of their parents in their old age, but so that they may be productive in future and be self sufficient. Every parent rejoices at the success of his/her children. One of the things that parents have taught their children is to be able to say ‘thank you’ when a good deed is done and to give back to others when the time is ripe.

Christmas season is a pay back time for all Christians. We pay back by being grateful to God for the incarnation of Jesus Christ his son who left the comfort of heaven and come down to earth so that we may have life everlasting. It is pay back time, as we remain ever grateful to the mother of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, because she said ‘yes’ to God.  Let us be grateful to God for the gift of life. We must say ‘thank you’ for the blessings received. This is paying back to God. Though God has no need of our praise, the desire to praise him is his gift to us. Merry Christmas!

Advent

Advent means ‘coming or arrival’. It is used to denote the coming or the arrival of someone very important or an ostentatious event. For the Jews it was the period of waiting expectantly for the coming of the Messiah. For Christians it is not different. At Advent, we await the coming of the messiah, no less, but much more, we also await the second coming of Christ at the end of time. Now let us apply life’s lesson to Advent and see how it fits into our life.

Remember when you had to wait for the weather to clear before you traveled? You may have bought your ticket to fly out to meet with friends for ‘Thanksgiving’ or any other important holiday that is best celebrated with friends and family far away. You are all packed and your friends are excited about your coming so they wait eagerly for you. Then there was this announcement that a bad snowstorm has broken and that all airports are closed till further notice. You must, no doubt, wait; there is nothing else to do. Your friends will have to wait and pray with you till the storm clears for you to travel. There you have it. That is Advent! Waiting for the Lord. In spite of the seeming hopelessness, sadness and darkness there is always something lurking in both your mind and theirs; you still expect to see and celebrate with them. What kept you going is called hope. Advent is all about hope!

Eugene H. Maly in ‘Word Alive’, said in his reflection on the first Sunday of Advent, Year B, “One of the distinctive characteristics of biblical religion is its insistence on hope in the future. Hope pervades both the Old and New Testaments. It is why we celebrate a season of Advent in our liturgical year; for Advent is essentially hope in the future coming of the saving God. In him is our hope, as the New Testament Scriptures make abundantly clear.” We dare to hope in the face of crisis, frustrations, and disappointment because not to hope is disastrous. We hope because we believe, we believe because God saw us through in the past and we believe that he will be there for us in future, though we may have no clue how that future will be. One thing we do know though is that this future is not without Christ. So we wait patiently in hope for the birth of Christ even as we await his second coming. “Thus, in Advent hope and faith are expressed equally; we can hope because we believe.”

The conflict with this season though is the commercialization of Christmas. Sometimes we may allow this to get in the way of Advent and we may even forget that Christ is the reason for this season. As Christians, we should know where to draw the line. Though we may think of the material preparation for Christmas let us remember that it is ultimately all about Christ. How would you feel if everyone prepares for your birthday and forgets to invite you to the celebration? Let us remember this warning given us by Christ himself on the need to be prepared: “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’” Mark 13:32-37.

Is Christ your King?

The last Sunday of the year in any cycle of the Church’s year is the Solemnity of Christ the king. The idea of a king is no doubt, funny for those who have no idea of who a king is, especially when one thinks of the Lording it over them as seen the world over. In designating Christ as the king of the universe, the Church was certainly looking for a good role model in the world that had lost all sense of decency in governance and administration. The feast is relatively new in the Church. Pope Pius XI declared it on December 11, 1925, barley 86 years ago. The world was coming out of a terrible World War 1, and Communism was sweeping across Russia while fascism controlled Italy, and the Nazi party was on the rise in Germany.

When Pope Pius XI inaugurated this feast he felt that “it is necessary that the royal dignity of Our Lord be recognized and accepted” if the Church was to stem the tide of cynicism and apathy that was felt across the globe. As Father Edward Steiner stressed, “Each year, by celebrating the feast of Christ the king, we are reminded afresh of the kingdom of God and its ruler and of the truth that all nations should form themselves in the image of God’s kingdom. Knowing that the completion of God’s kingdom has not yet been realized, we celebrate the event that has not yet occurred: the coming of Christ in glory at the end of time.”

Many territories observe this feast differently. In some areas, it is celebrated with pomp and pageantry as the Blessed Sacrament is carried in procession with Bishops, priests and the people of God amidst singing, praying and jubilation, demonstrating the kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ over their lives.

The celebration of Christ the King this year has a different connotation to it. This Sunday ends our use of the second edition of the Roman Missal. Next Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we welcome the third edition of the Roman Missal. Fr. Steiner noted “the new translation of the Roman Missal gives us the opportunity to experience the faith of the Church and the presence of Christ in a deeper way. New words give us the opportunity to hear familiar ideas in more accurate language.” For instance when the priest says “The Lord be with you” our answer will be, “And with your Spirit”. We are given a new lease of spiritual life, as it were, to see Christ and his kingship over us differently. We are called to give ourselves over to Christ, our King who is visible as we celebrate the Mass on the altar, and as we receive him in Holy Communion. We are to show to people around us that Christ is our King by the way we relate with them in the streets and as we interact with the poor and the needy of our community. “As we exercise authority, whether it is the authority as parents, teachers, manger or in government, we are to do so in the understanding that all authority comes from Christ.” Let us remember most especially that we demonstrate his kingship over us by our love one for another. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” Jn. 13:35.

How much time do we really have?

On his reflection on the thirty-second Sunday of the year in the Priest magazine, Fr. Edward Steiner started with this very interesting story: “Satan was frustrated. The number of souls gained for hell was lower than the year before. He laid out the problem at the annual convention of devils and demons, describing how the number of souls gained for hell had decreased over the past year. Humans had been catching on to the methods that were being used to lure them into hell. Another approach was needed. Study groups, focus groups and other groups had been formed, and they had done hard work. The groups’ reports were given at a plenary session of the convention. One group after another reported on new ways to recruit new souls for hell, but Satan dismissed all of them, saying, “We’ve tried that.” “We’re doing that now, and it’s not working.” “That’s too obvious.” Finally, as all the devils and demons were growing weary, one of the oldest of the devils slowly rose from his chair, making sounds like fingernails on a blackboard as he stood. All heads turned in his direction. “Yes, Old Devil,” said Satan, “do you have something to offer?” “This is an easy problem to solve,” replied the Old Devil. “Yes, it is easy to gain more souls for hell. Just tell the human souls that they have plenty of time to change their lives.” What an interesting story!

In a few weeks we will enter into the season of Advent. This season puts us in a constant state of preparedness for our Lord and master both at his birth and at his second coming. During this period the Church reminds us of the four last things, namely: death, judgment, heaven or hell. These are non-negotiable. I have written many posts in this blog, reminding us of how imminent death is. Yet many times we live as if we will not die. So the questions for this week are; ‘How much time do we really have?’ How should we live so that we may be admitted into the presence of the Master if he should call us today?

Matthew’s Gospel warns us in the 25^th chapter with three parables to help us think of the end of our lives on earth and the need to prepare for it. These are: the parable of the ten virgins, (five were wise and five were foolish); the parable of the three servants and the final judgment story; all keep us on our toes and make us think of what really matters in life. In verse 13 of the chapter Jesus warns: “Watch out then, because you do not know the day or the hour.” Verse 30 on the other hand states, “As for this useless servant – throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and gnash his teeth”, while verses 45 and 46 conclude the chapter with: “The king will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.’ These then, will be sent off to eternal punishment, but the righteous will go to eternal life.” Here we are faced with judgment day and our final destination- heaven or hell.

The simple truth and life’s lesson here is that we do not have much time to procrastinate doing what is right. We do not know when the Master will come, therefore, whatever good we have to do should be done now. Whoever we need to forgive should be forgiven today. Putting it off till tomorrow may be too late and we do not want to hear the Master say to us, “I do not know you!”

It is the devil’s desire to make us believe that we have enough time to play around with. If you look around you would notice that the Devil has succeeded in confusing and derailing most of our plans under the false pretext that there is no rush in life. There are too many people who feel guilty today because they missed the opportunity to make peace with their parents before they were called home to be with God. Do not be caught in this web. If today you would listen to his voice harden not your heart.

The letter of St Paul to Philemon

Remember I told you that there are many books in the bible you may not have heard of before or even read? What about the letter to Philemon? Philemon was a wealthy man. He had a slave named Onesimus. Well,Onesimus ran away from his master Philemon. He may have even stolen from him. As you would have expected, our dear Philemon was upset with his runaway slave. But then Philemon was a Christian who also knew Paul. Onesimus also met Paul while he was on the run from his master and became converted. You would have thought that Paul would not send him back to his master, right? Well you are wrong. Paul did just that but not before writing a very passionate letter to Philemon concerning Onesimus - the short letter I want you to spend some quality time with. This letter has only 25 verses. Here Paul is pleading, "...if you regard me as a partner, welcome him as you would me." Please read this short letter and pray for the courage and strength to do what Paul is asking Philemon to do, forgive those who hurt you. Good luck!

Growing strong in broken places.

This post borrows its title from a book of the same name by Paula Ripple. Many people have written articles on the same title, but I guess their focus, even that of Paula would be different from mine. My major concern here is to state simply that our brokenness, instead of keeping us down, should rather propel us to greater heights. The truth of the matter, as attested to by the lesson of life, is that we all have been broken in the past, or some of us are going through our brokenness even as we speak. What makes us who we are is not that we have been broken, but that we have been able stand up and walk tall in spite of our brokenness.

In order to get rid of hatred, un-forgiveness, anger and frustration that come from our brokenness, it is good to trace and understand the cause of it all. Most of the time, we are broken due to unnecessary and an undue attachment to things and people. These attachments stem from distorted worldview that makes us believe that we would not be happy without certain things or people in our life. This belief and perception is, of course, completely flawed and realistically false. There is no single moment in our life when we do not have everything that we need to be happy. The real reason why we are not happy, most of the time, is that we focus our attention on what we do not have rather than on what we have.

Many of us are broken due to a mistaken type of love and affection. How right was Rilke, when he observed that young people often grievously go wrong in their false notion of love. They throw themselves into each other, as it is their nature, without patience and often find themselves in utter confusion. With confusion comes disappointment. What once brought them joy has now turned to sadness, hatred, brokenness and hurt. When we expect too much from people and our expectations are not met, we are broken, our feelings are hurt; we are disappointed, and frustrated and at times become depressed. Deep down in our hearts, we know that there is only one being that will not disappoint us - God, yet we put our trust in people. Ps. 146:3 exhorts us thus: “Don’t put your trust in human leaders; no human being can save you”. Micah the prophet warns us: “Don’t believe your neighbor or trust your friend. Be careful what you say even to your husband or wife. In these times sons treat their fathers like fools, daughters oppose their mothers, and young women quarrel with their mothers-in-law; your enemies are the members of your own family. But I will watch for the Lord; I will wait confidently for God, who will save me. My God will hear me” (7:5).

 If you have been broken in the past or if you are going through your brokenness now, know that you are not alone; scores of your brothers and sisters are going through the same thing as you. This is a reminder for you to watch your attachments, your worldview and how you perceive people. Forgive yourself and those who have hurt you if you are to begin a new life. Always embrace the world as a lover, expecting appreciation and rejection. Whichever one comes your way, you would be ready for it. Do not forget that time is the greatest healer. Give yourself some time to mourn and grieve your loss and brokenness. Recognize it for what it is and believe that brighter days are ahead of you. No matter what situation you find yourself in, always know that your tomorrow will always be better than your today. Waste no time on yesterday; that is past and gone and will never come back again. Give it all to God and ask him to assist you so that you may see better days ahead of you. If relationships let you down, thank God that you have been able to see it for what it is worth before you let your life be buried in it. May be God has spared you from boredom in marriage that would have ended in divorce, death or deep depression. In every situation you find yourself, give thanks. Always trust in God and he will never let your brokenness be in vain.

Let’s talk about Prophet Malachi

The book of prophet Malachi talks about the kind of sacrifices offered to God by the priests. What kind of sacrifice is acceptable to our God? What kind of sacrifice are you prepared to give to your God? Malachi reminds us that when we give to God, we acknowledge that our blessing comes from God and in giving back to God we share in his generosity. He attributes our misfortune to the fact that we are not offering God his due. Once we freely give to God, Malachi opined, he would open up the treasure of his blessing on us.

He stressed the obligation to pay tithe thus: “Surely I, the Lord, do not change, nor do you cease to be sons of Jacob. Since the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Yet you say, “How must we return?” Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, “How do we rob you?” In tithes and in offerings! You are indeed accursed, for you, the whole nation; rob me. Bring the whole tithe into the store house, that there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure” (Malachi 3:6-10).

Please spend some time reading this short book, 3 chapters only, and pray that your sacrifice may be acceptable.  And while you read and pray this book of Malachi pay your tithe. It is better to give than to receive, and when you give to God he opens the treasure of his love and blessing on you.

The Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth contains a beautiful example of filial piety, pleasing to the Hebrews and especially because of its connection with King David, and useful both to Hebrews and to Gentiles. Its aim is to demonstrate the divine reward for such piety even when practiced by a stranger. Please read this very interesting book of four chapters and reflect on your own piety. 

The Book of Judges

God has not called any of us to be judges but to be witnesses. But most of the time we have neglected to witness and have chosen to be judges. We judge people at all times except ourselves. We forget the injunction of Christ in the Holy Book: “Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged; and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to you brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first, then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye” Mt. 7:1-5.

Ever stop to think about all terrible things we say about one another? I am saddened by all the names calling that go on both in our TV and radio. Imagine the terrible names that our president is called day in day out or the names we call our leaders both spiritual and temporal. May God forgive us!

However, there is a book of Judges in the Bible that has a different connotation from the observation made above. This book derives its title or name from the twelve heroes of Israel whose deeds it records. They were not magistrates, as one may be tempted to think. No, they were military leaders selected by God to aid and to relieve his people in times of external danger. One of them was a man named Sampson. Why not read the extraordinary life and deeds of this great man and see how God used the weak to defeat the strong. This story could be found in Judges chapters 13, 14, 15, 16. Have fund as you read this story.  

How many Books of the Bible do you know?

Some books of the bible have funny names indeed. Many of us Christians may never have opened some of these books; some do not even know how to open them even if they know they exist. Aha, the biggest problem at times is to know whether the books are in the Old or New Testament. Have you ever heard of the book of Habakkuk? Yea, it is one of the books of the bible and that is the one I want you to spend some time with today. In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet questions God and the way things have turned out for the children of Israel. Why should God allow them to be taken into captivity in Babylon? Verse one of the first chapter opens with the question: “How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen!”  

It seems that whenever things do not work out as we anticipated, we blame it on God. But when things are working out okay with us, we at times say good-bye to God and his ways. Please read the 3 short chapters of this book and pray that God may be merciful to us his children and protect and guide us from the hands of our enemies.

Do you hate?

I know that I have not written anything the whole of this month. That is okay, better late than never. I have been so busy that certain things were left undone. I will improve. Remember, God is not done with me yet. I am still in the process of becoming a better person. Talking of being a better person reminds me of the first letter of St. John. The purpose of this letter was to combat certain false ideas, especially about Jesus, and to deepen the spiritual and social awareness of the Christian community. Please spend some time with our brother John this week as you read and pray the five chapters of the First Letter of St. John. As you read please take note of this powerful line from the 15^th verse of the third chapter, “Everyone who hates his bother is a murder, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining him”. This sounds very strong but is there a better way of saying the obvious? 

Johnnie’s Drumstick!

One day I went to visit a friend with his family. My friend has two kids, a girl 8 and a boy 4. We were in the living room chatting while his wife and daughter were fixing dinner in the kitchen. Our discussion was interrupted with an outburst of sobbing and inconsolable cacophony coming from Johnnie’s playroom. We ran in, afraid that Johnnie had come to some harm. It was not easy for Johnnie to tell us what had gone wrong, so great was his distress and so deep his sorrow. Johnnie’s dad began to examine his son carefully. Thank goodness, there was no blood anywhere. Finally Johnnie was calm enough to tell us what had happened. He had lost one of his drumsticks. You see Johnnie had a mini band set bought for him by his dad. Johnnie just loved to play his set, especially the drums. Just sitting there in his playroom and hitting those drums gave him as much joy as getting soaked in a pool on a hot afternoon. The sense of fulfillment and pleasure on his little face as he plays his drums could only be equated with someone winning a lottery. Johnnie’s drums brought him so much joy that he would just sleep in his playroom or with his drum sticks resting peacefully and comfortably on his chest as he sleeps in his room. You can imagine the agony, the distress and sheer loss that enveloped Johnnie as he searched everywhere for his drumstick. Jesus Christ had the best way to describe Johnnie’s world: Where your treasure is there is your heart.

We had to help search for Johnnie’s drumstick. Luckily, the missing drumstick was right there under the drums. As soon as Johnnie got his drumstick back peace returned to the house but then the actual noise began with Johnnie demonstrating his playing skills. He was a happy man again.

At first it was difficult to imagine that the loss of a drumstick could bring so much sadness to the usually boisterously happy four year old. His world had almost come to an end without his drumstick. To me it was just a drumstick, but to Johnnie it was a treasure. He had to find it if we were to have peace.

What is your drumstick? Everyone has misplaced something of great value in the past or even now. How miserable we have been while we searched for our missing item. When we have found our missing item, it brought us a great joy that we felt like celebrating it. This reminds us of the parables of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son as recorded in Luke’s Gospel chapter 15.

I know some other person who is very particular about his drumsticks. His name is God, his son is Jesus Christ and his assistant is the Holy Spirit. He sees all of us as his drumsticks. He reminds us of how much he loves us and how sad he would be if one of us were lost.  His Son tells us “ And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise it on the last day”, Jn. 6:39. In verse in 37 he tells us, “all that the Father gives me will come to me, I will never turn away anyone who comes to me.” In Isaiah 49:15-16 God demonstrates his love for us even more. He asks, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name.” Jeremiah 31:3 reiterates how much we mean to God, “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” Yes we are the drumsticks of God and his plans for us are to lead us to greener pastures. He says to us through the mouth of Jeremiah 29:11-14, “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the Lord, and I will change your lot; I will gather you together from all the nations and all the places to which I have banished you, says the Lord, and bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you.”

Just like Johnnie was happy and contented after he had found his drumstick so is God. When we have sinned and found our way back to God our father, and repented of our sins, God rejoices over us just as Johnnie rejoiced over his drumstick that was lost but then found. Listen to Jesus as he talks about one of his father’s drumsticks that was lost but found: “I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance” Lk. 15:7. 

Still on the Books of the Bible

Was anyone able to read any portion of the book of James? May be no one tried. Not to worry. Let us look at the book of Prophet Malachi as it describes the kind of sacrifice that is acceptable to God. This book also talks about giving tithe to God as one of the acceptable sacrifices that we must offer our God. What is your sacrifice? What if God is not happy with what we offer Him? Then we must change the way we present ourselves to our Heavenly Father. Please read this short book, with only three chapters and pray that your sacrifice may be pleasing to God. 

Follow me through some Books of the Bible:

We often wonder how we could ever have the time to read through the books of the Bible. This is not a very difficult task if you take it one day at a time. For those who like reading my blog post I want to make it easy for you to achieve this simple task. So pick up your bible and be prepared to open it up and read. Remember what the acronym BIBLE stands for: It means Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth.

Now let us start with the simple book of them all – the book of James. The letter of James is fondly called the Universal Epistle. This means that James did not target any one person in particular; he has something for everyone. There are only five chapters in this book. You can read it as a novel or as one of the books of the bible. Please spend some time with our brother James and you will be glad you did. Pay particular attention to chapters 2 & 3. Have a happy read!

My House shall be called a house of prayer!

Thinking about where we have been, where we are now and where we are heading can provide a somber period of reflection for us vis-a-vis our relationship with God. The popular saying, ‘If it aint broke don’t fix it’ rings true for those us who find fault with everything and want to fix it all including the way we behave in the house of God. In this post I want to reflect briefly on our way of being in God’s house.

In Isaiah 56:1 we read these sacred words: “Thus says the Lord: observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed.” The prophet, speaking for God, called the children of Israel to do the one thing that is seemingly easy, observe, and see the right thing and do just that. He also exhorts them to do what is just. Here is where the problem lies with us. We know from observation what should be done in our Church and in our community to make sure that everyone enjoys the enormous wealth that God our heavenly father has blessed the universe with. But do we do it? Oh no!

Let us observe for a while our way of being in God’s house. When I was young, I was taught that when I entered a Church and observed the sanctuary lamp burning, that meant that Christ was present in the tabernacle, that I should genuflect, that is go down on one knee. I was also told to bow my head in prayer and to be quiet. On passing the church, I was taught that I should bow my head and bless myself. This, I was told was because God was always present in his house. I was also taught that it was a good practice to stop by in Church during the day for a short visit to the Blessed Sacrament. On Sundays I had to wake up and get ready for Mass, I was to eat nothing till I returned from Mass. My Sunday best was to have been washed and ironed on Saturday so that I would look neat and tidy in Church. This too was a good practice. Now can you imagine what is happening in our church? Sometimes when I enter some of our Churches I often have the feeling that I am at a theater waiting to watch a film. There is so much noise that it makes praying difficult if not impossible. And yet we read in the same chapter quoted above, in verses 4-7 these eternal words: “For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name. Better than sons and daughters; and eternal, imperishable name will I give them. And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, ministering to him, Loving the name of the Lord, and becoming his servants - all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, they, I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Now that is the Word of God, powerful and invincible.

In Matthew 21:12-13, we read of how Christ went into the temple and “drove out all those engaged in selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money- changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And he said to them, “it is written: ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a den of thieves.” With the amount of buying and selling that goes on in our churches how do you think Christ would feel if he were to come in to worship with us today? I am sure he will repeat what he did many years ago, overturn our tables and drive us out of his church.

The Church is the one place designated for the exclusive use for praising God and his name. If our president or governor were to visit us, we would do everything in our power to be available and I am sure we would comport ourselves appropriately in their presence. Why can’t we do the same for God who is above and beyond any earthly king and queen? Why do we turn our Churches into social gathering places instead of places for prayer and worship? Matthew once again warns us, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.” ‘Familiarity’, they say, ‘breeds contempt’, this should not be so with things pertaining to God. If we are to receive blessings from God, we must conduct ourselves accordingly and give him the homage, adoration and honor due him in his house. That is not too much to ask. I think.

Hell Exists and You May go there!

In the last post the discussion was ‘who can separate us from the love Christ.’ The reflection was simple we are the only ones who can separate us from the love of Christ, due to our choices. The other day I was visiting with a priest friend in his parish and as he showed me around the rectory, my attention was directed to one of the books on the reception table. On opening the book, my eye captured the title of one of the chapters in the book. Yes, the title was: Hell Exists and you may go there. This is interesting because most pastors no longer preach hell these days. I remember a story I heard once about a young boy who sat by his mother in Church listening to the pastor preach on how difficult it was to go to heaven. The boy was so exasperated with the pastor. He then whispered to his mother and asked if there was an alternative to going to heaven? A very interesting question I would admit! If there was an alternative, what might it be? Hell? I suppose so. Now if hell were to be the alternative, wouldn’t it be an interesting one? After all, the road to hell is decorated and paved with good intentions.

When I was a young lad I heard the pastors preach about hell and how hot the fire of hell would be very regularly. Now-a-days one would hardly hear any preaching that mentions hell. But how do we know that there is hell? A simple question to answer: Jesus tells us time and time again that there will be judgment at the end time and that there will be hell. Let us listen attentively to the word of the Master as he talks about judgment and hell in Matthew 25: 31- 46: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I   was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me. Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minster to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ “And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” There you hear it. From the aforementioned, it seems to me that the problem is simple: it is the sin of neglecting to do what we should have done to ease the burden of others that may likely send us to hell. Isn’t it true that whatever God has given us is not meant for us to keep for ourselves alone but that we should share with those who are not as blessed as we are? We will be punished precisely for not sharing our gifts, our blessings and our talents with others.

Now consider the case of the Rich Man and Lazarus as recorded in Luke 16:19-31. Here the Rich Man was sent to hell not because of what he did wrong but for what he omitted. In Matthew 25 quoted above, the sin of the people who did not care was the sin of commission while the sin of the Rich Man was the sin of omission. The rich man did not take notice of Lazarus; he went about his business as if Lazarus did not exist. He was more concerned with his sumptuous feasting and merrymaking.  Again to our question, how do we know that hell exists, hear what the Rich Man said to Abraham in verse 24: “Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.” Abraham did not hesitate in reminding the Rich Man of why he was suffering in hell. In verse 25 Abraham replied the Rich Man, “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.” This is what we call rubbing it in. Anyone who thought that hell did not exit should think twice. Hell, like I said in the previous post, is ultimately a life without God. Once we live our lives with God, it would be easy to notice our brothers and sisters, created in the image and likeness of God, hence, whatever blessing we received from God should be equally shared with all.

If we are to avoid going to hell, then we are to live as if we are citizens of Heaven. We are not to necessarily think that we must be rich before we begin to share, if we reason this way, we will never share anything with anyone. Sharing means reciprocating the generosity of God. It seems to me that we will be judged on the last day on how much we loved God and others. Since we know that hell exits let us do whatever is in our power to void making a journey towards there. We are citizens of Heaven; hence, let our journey be heaven bound. Please if you want to go to heaven, notice the people God has put on the journey with you. Do not ignore them, do not neglect them; do not forget them. Plan with them in mind, share with them your blessings, care for them in their needs and be rest assured that the place prepared for you since the beginning of the world will be yours when the time comes to take possession of it. Good luck!