Lk 17:20-25
The gospel reading today reminds me not to judge as I am capable of that. When I judge, I have this wooden beam in my eyes that I do not see Christ is in others when in fact, Jesus had mentioned in the gospel reading today ‘For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.’ I also realize that ‘The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ can be alluded in the modern context of how some Christians treat different groups of people differently. For example, they may treat the priests very well seeing them as faces of Christ, supporting and loving them in many ways. However, this same group of people may condemn and gossip about their brothers and sisters who have sinned as if they, themselves, have never sinned and may even go all out to get them out of ministries or even the church instead of looking for ways to help or pray for these brothers and sisters who may be crying for help and chances to change.
What I have learnt from the gospel reading today is ‘For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.’ It never mentions that it is only among the priests, the Archbishop or Pope or other clergy men. It is ‘among you.’ It means it can be among everyone. What I am reminded of is I should love all my brothers and sisters in Christ way, regardless of their identities and status as even for Jesus, as a Son of Man, ‘first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation’. This gives me the hope that no matter how unworthy or sinful or dirty I feel I may be, I am part of this Kingdom of God. It gives me the hope that I can go back to God again and again as long as I am willing to repent. I also have Christ in me. I just need my faith to grow this seed of Love in me through God’s living water which may come in the forms of God’s word, quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament, involvement with other sacraments, especially the Eucharistic celebration, love from the others. I must also be aware that I am just capable of sins as anyone. Therefore, before I judge or condemn anyone, I must ask myself if I am sure I have never sinned or wronged anyone before in my life. If I am given opportunities from others and mercy from God to change, why can’t I give the other people opportunities and extend such infinite mercy from God to them for them to change and be more Christ-like? If not, I am a sinner who hinder the Kingdom of God from expanding by getting rid or condemning people who have sinned or wronged me depriving these people of the opportunities to change or grow in faith to be more and more like the image of God, resulting in divisions and fights in the community. Today’s meditation to me is ‘For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you’.
With Love,
Elena
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