Sunday reflection,21 October 2012

Being great in the eyes of God

Last Sunday's Gospel reading ( Mark 10:35-45 ) impressed me a great deal that I feel compelled to share my thoughts with others who care to read and appreciate the words of Jesus.

.

Jesus in no uncertain terms describes what a leader or for that matter what we all must be, “Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”. 

We are all ambitious as we all want become somebody great in our lives, to be the best in what we do. Often our ambitions are selfish as they are all for the betterment of ourselves or our families. The aim to achieve excellence may be noble especially when it is to help others but often it is ego-driven to gain recognition and fame. Will we strive so hard to achieve something if it does not bring power, wealth or fame to us or to our loved ones?

As a young man my ambition was to be a doctor and when I achieved that I wanted to excel in my job to become the best doctor around. However after some time I realized that was not God’s description of greatness. He will only accept me as great if I become the servant of the sick under my care. It was easy to become a great doctor and surgeon and carry out fantastic life-saving surgeries which brought me a lot of praise in my early days but it was more difficult to become the servant to my patients, to be always there unconditionally when they needed me most. After over 30 years being a doctor, I have achieved a great deal and treated many but I am still struggling to become great in the eyes of God, which is totally different from greatness in the eyes of men.

The words of Jesus in the Gospel, “Anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all”, is a reminder that we in our own life must be the servants of those whom we claim to lead or serve; members of our families, our colleagues,  our subordinates and our employees. Unless we can do that we cannot be great in the eyes of God. Therefore let us reflect to see how we can become the first among those we deal with daily in our lives, being not their masters but their servants and slaves?

The Gospel reading for the Sunday

Gospel, Mark 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. 'Master,' they said to him, 'We want you to do us a favour.'

He said to them, 'What is it you want me to do for you?'

They said to him, 'Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.'

But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I shall drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?'

They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised,

but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.'

When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John,so Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt.

Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant,and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all.

For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

Sunday Reflections 7 October 2012

 

Marriage,divorce and adultery

 "Will be true to you in sickness,good and bad times ... till death do us apart"  

 

Last  Sunday’s Gospel reading concerns a very relevant issue today – divorce, which is becoming so rampant these days among the people of all cultures and faith, even among Catholics. It is also the greatest evil that is tearing apart the family unit and is directly or indirectly the cause of many of our social and moral problems in the world.

I like to share some thoughts as put to me by the priest at the sermon last Sunday.

Jesus was very clearly against divorce as can be seen from his words, “What God has united, human beings must not divide. … Whoever divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her.  And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.” We all know that adultery was a very serious and shameful act punishable by stoning to death at that time.

Knowing Christ’s strong words against divorce, why do Christians, his followers, still condone divorce? The Catholic Church’s teaching is very clear and it has definite guidelines on divorce and remarriage. But dos did waver when those involved are powerful personalities?

Our parents and grandparents did not have any option when their marriage got into problems as divorce was not acceptable to them. Therefore they stood by their marriage wows till death did them apart, thereby saving their marriage and the family unit and peace.

Today things are totally different. We have divorce as a solution for our marital problems and unfortunately it has become the first and most easily available option to us even for the most trivial reasons.

With the increasing rate of divorce the family unit and the moral values of society is rapidly disintegrating so fast that the basic human values are at risk of being totally lost in the near future. Despite we becoming apparently more religious, our morals and values have all deteriorated to the extent that it has become irreversible. Where have we gone wrong?  Is there a way to correct the situation?  

As Christians who are married or intending to do so, let’s take seriously the teachings of Jesus on marriage, divorce and adultery. Let’s do our utmost and exhaust all means available to us before resorting to divorce. We must remember that God had sanctioned our marriage and our wows we made in front Him. If we truly love Jesus as we claim then we should not divide whom He had united.

Gospel, Mark 10:2-16

 Some Pharisees approached him and asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' They were putting him to the test.

 He answered them, 'What did Moses command you?'

 They replied, 'Moses allowed us to draw up a writ of dismissal in cases of divorce.'

 Then Jesus said to them, 'It was because you were so hard hearted that he wrote this commandment for you.

 But from the beginning of creation he made them male and female.

 This is why a man leaves his father and mother,

  and the two become one flesh. They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh.

 So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.'

  Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this,

 and he said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her.

 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.'

  People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples scolded them,

 but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.

  In truth I tell you, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'

  Then he embraced them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.