Monday, April 23, 2018
TODAY'S REFLECTION-MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER
St. George, martyr and St. Adalbert, bishop, martyr
Acts 11:1-18 / Psalm 41:2-3;42:3-4 / John 10:1-10
PASS THROUGH THE RIGHT WAY
Beloved, in our today's first reading, Peter, the one Jesus entrusted the leadership of the Church, has been accused of eating with the Gentiles/ uncircumcised ( Acts 11:3). He had to take the pain to explain. In the early Church, it was taken for granted that Christianity was for only the Jews. When some of the Christians heard that the Gentiles too had accepted to follow Christ, they objected. When will the racial, ethnic, tribal segregation end? When will colonialism and neocolonialism end? There should be no selective or sectional worshippers. We have no right to compartmentalise religion. It is not our portion to decide who is clean or unclean, when it comes to religion. We often hear some people say, "the Church is ours", and try to look down on others ( superiority and inferiority complex). When some of us have a problem with one leader or the other, we would say, " You have your Church, I won't attend your Church any longer ". Let us reexamine the way we relate or treat one another as members of the same religion and or the way we relate with people from different cultures, background or religious denominations.
Friends, Jesus, in our today's Gospel reading, says we should enter the sheepfold through the gate. If we pass through any other way, then we are thieves. If anybody comes to our house and stands by the window or any other place besides the gate or door, we should suspect something. People who enter a house through any other way, enter there to steal and kill and destroy, but Jesus comes that we may have life, and have it abundantly. Jesus invites us to enter God's kingdom through him, because he is the Way and the Truth and the Life ( Jn 14:6). He is the Gate for the Sheep ( Jn 10:7-9). When will we stop passing through back doors? When will we stop putting the wrong people in the right places and the vice versa? When will people in responsible positions or offices do their duties as expected and process peoples' documents instead of demanding for bribes? When will we stop saying, "do something before"? "That is the order of the day"? When will the abnormal become normal and the vice versa? Let us be reminded that whatever we get through the wrong way will not last. If we steal any food and eat, we will be more hungry in no time.
Let us pray for the grace to be more welcoming to people no matter our differences. We also pray for the grace to do what is objectively right and what is expected of all of us. BE BLESSED.
Fr. Gaa (0206854323/ 0240308878)