Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 11: 14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, 
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Auto-immune diseases, such as type-1 diabetes or arthritis, confuse the body’s natural defense system so that the body can no longer tell the difference between a healthy or an unhealthy cell.

Mysteriously, normal cells are mistaken for a threat, causing the body to attack itself.

As a result, an otherwise healthy human being becomes like a “house divided,” as Jesus describes in today’s Gospel, causing unnecessary pain – sometimes to an excruciating level.

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When we gaze across the world of politics and religion, we can see a similar phenomenon unfolding, even in our own country.

At times, a baptized person is not seen as a fellow Christian (or even as an American), but as “pro-this” or “anti-that.” As a result, we fight amongst ourselves, destroying the unity of Christ’s body here on earth.

Yet the Lord prayed during his final night, “That they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:21).

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While we may have our differences, there’s one thing that should transcend it all – our love for Jesus, demonstrated by how we treat Him in our neighbor.

In what ways can I strive for greater unity – at home, at work, in the Church, online?

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“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste,” Jesus warns. 

May we do our part to retain the unity Christ desires, seeking common ground, praying for and listening to each other, always remembering – “that” person is not an enemy, rather a brother or sister in Christ.

Come, Holy Spirit, make us one in Jesus.

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Image credits: (1)WVBS – World Video Bible School (2) News-Medical (3) Zarephath Christian Church, YouTube

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Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
“Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?”
Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
‘Pay back what you owe.’
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’
But he refused.
Instead, he had him put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master
and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?’
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Scholars have tried to calculate just how much debt these two characters owed. In dollars and cents, you might say one owed millions while the other owed a few pennies.

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The parable begins with the multi-million-dollar debt being forgiven by the king. Relieved, the man returns home, only to begin strangling his servant who owes him a few pennies.

How can someone who’s just received forgiveness for such a massive debt be so petty? Certainly, he’s lost his perspective.

Are we ever like him?

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Asking God to forgive us our trespasses is like asking to have a debt we cannot repay be forgiven. Yet the Lord forgives us every single time.

With such an incredible gift freely given, how could we be petty with our neighbor?

A colleague gets underneath our skin; a person cuts us off on the road; we don’t get our way; a family member does something that leaves us nursing a grudge for days, or longer.

The petty things begin to fester…

Yet, “If your heavenly Father forgives you, then you also should forgive one another,” the Lord says.

“How many times?” Peter wonders. “As many as seven times?”

“No, seventy-seven times.”

Meaning, without limit.

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May we set the “pennies” aside and learn to love one another like Christ, who has loved us and given himself for us.

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Image credits: (1) Ministry to Youth (2) The Manila Times (3) Bible.com

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2 Kings 5: 1-15

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.
“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”
she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
“Go,” said the king of Aram.
“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
“Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
“Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.
The prophet sent him the message:
“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel? 
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”
With this, he turned about in anger and left.

But his servants came up and reasoned with him.
“My father,” they said,
“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel.”

The Word of the Lord.

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In our first reading, Israel is being attacked by the Syrian army, led by one of its most respected commanders, Namaan. Though victorious in battle, Namaan has contracted leprosy – not only a threat to his status, but also to his life.

Desperate for a cure, he’s told by a captured Jewish girl that her God is the one true God and that the prophet, Elisha, can cure him.

Somewhat surprisingly, Namaan listens.

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So, he gathers a cadre of horses and chariots, six thousand pieces of gold, and elaborately weaved garments as gifts.

When he arrives at Elisha’s tent, however, the prophet will not let him in; Elisha doesn’t want all of Namaan’s “stuff.” He simply instructs him to wash seven times in the Jordan.

At first, Namaan struggles to accept such a simple task; he believes that he has to do something extraordinary to “earn” his cure. 

But all God is asking for is faith.

Humbled, Namaan bathes seven times in the Jordan and is healed. “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel,” he says.

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What might this story say to us?

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Sometimes when we want something from the Lord like Namaan, we complicate our ask with all kinds of “stuff,” as if we can earn God’s favor.

Maybe we make a laundry list of promises, recite a bundle of prayers, or fast until we feel a twinge in our stomach.

While the Lord might appreciate the effort, all God asks for is: faith.

As it’s written in the Book of Proverbs: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, be mindful of him, and he will make straight your path.”

Turn to God with childlike faith, then he will listen.

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Image credits: (1) Word For Life Says (2) JW.org (3) Redbubble