Strange words we hear form St Paul in the second reading: “Those who have wives should live as though they had none, those who mourn as though they had nothing to mourn for.”
The words are very strange indeed but they are strange not because of what they propose but because of how we look at them. Let’s look at each sentence separately now:
“Those who have wives should live as though they had none.” It is hard to imagine St Paul changing what Jesus said about the marriage: “What God has joined no one must divide.” The Word of God we receive this Sunday doesn’t dissolve marriage but invites husbands and wives to remember that their heaven is Jesus not each other; that the affection for another human being mustn’t overshadow the love for God. Just think about a man and woman falling in love with each other. If they only looked into each other’s eyes they wouldn’t get far. They need to see what is around them; otherwise they would trip over after a few steps. There is no excuse for an affection that pushes Jesus away. We just lie to ourselves if we say that in our relationships we can be loved and we can love enough. Without God it will never be enough. If you expect somebody else to love you like God only can love you, you expect of the person an impossible thing. Or if you think that you can love the way God loves you live the life of lie. Even the best relationship will never replace what Jesus has to offer. That’s why today’s message is: ”Don’t pretend that you can substitute God or that somebody can substitute God for you.
How close to this first sentence about marriages is the second one: “Those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for.”
If I say that with the death of my dear one my world has ended it means that I have built my world on this person not on God. Can I expect to last? If I am lucky it will do for a while, but not forever.
Don’t wait for death to teach you the lesson but build your today on Jesus and your faith in him. Look at the first disciples from the Gospel. They left everything not because they despised their families, friends and properties but because they came to believe that Jesus was to give them the life eternal and the fulfilment of what nobody else could do for them and they could not do for others.
We meet people in our life in order to amaze them with God not with us. That’s why where faith in God dies the self-esteem needs to be fed with the affections of others or for others. However this feeding doesn’t stop the spiritual starvation.
“Your time is growing short” says the Bible. If you were given 30 minutes at Woollies to shop in order to survive next six months, what would you put in you trolley? I guess you would go for essentials. The essential thing to get you to life eternal cannot be put in the trolley as it is not a thing; it is your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. How to take him? You may ask. “BY FOLLOWING HIM” the answer is. By saying: “Yes” to him, “Your will be done” when you make big and small decisions every day.
The words are very strange indeed but they are strange not because of what they propose but because of how we look at them. Let’s look at each sentence separately now:
“Those who have wives should live as though they had none.” It is hard to imagine St Paul changing what Jesus said about the marriage: “What God has joined no one must divide.” The Word of God we receive this Sunday doesn’t dissolve marriage but invites husbands and wives to remember that their heaven is Jesus not each other; that the affection for another human being mustn’t overshadow the love for God. Just think about a man and woman falling in love with each other. If they only looked into each other’s eyes they wouldn’t get far. They need to see what is around them; otherwise they would trip over after a few steps. There is no excuse for an affection that pushes Jesus away. We just lie to ourselves if we say that in our relationships we can be loved and we can love enough. Without God it will never be enough. If you expect somebody else to love you like God only can love you, you expect of the person an impossible thing. Or if you think that you can love the way God loves you live the life of lie. Even the best relationship will never replace what Jesus has to offer. That’s why today’s message is: ”Don’t pretend that you can substitute God or that somebody can substitute God for you.
How close to this first sentence about marriages is the second one: “Those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for.”
If I say that with the death of my dear one my world has ended it means that I have built my world on this person not on God. Can I expect to last? If I am lucky it will do for a while, but not forever.
Don’t wait for death to teach you the lesson but build your today on Jesus and your faith in him. Look at the first disciples from the Gospel. They left everything not because they despised their families, friends and properties but because they came to believe that Jesus was to give them the life eternal and the fulfilment of what nobody else could do for them and they could not do for others.
We meet people in our life in order to amaze them with God not with us. That’s why where faith in God dies the self-esteem needs to be fed with the affections of others or for others. However this feeding doesn’t stop the spiritual starvation.
“Your time is growing short” says the Bible. If you were given 30 minutes at Woollies to shop in order to survive next six months, what would you put in you trolley? I guess you would go for essentials. The essential thing to get you to life eternal cannot be put in the trolley as it is not a thing; it is your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. How to take him? You may ask. “BY FOLLOWING HIM” the answer is. By saying: “Yes” to him, “Your will be done” when you make big and small decisions every day.
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