Bible Study: 1 John 4, 7 to 10. And Mark 6, 34 to 44.
Time is life, it is the most precious treasure that we have. Whatever takes
our time takes our life as well and we know this. That is why we tend to naturally
select what we spend time on. We always have a list of priorities and even unconsciously,
we like to spend more time on things we consider more important, things that
benefit us more in the long run, things that promote the quality and beauty of
our life itself.
As we continue to reflect on the visit of the Magi this week, we can see
that one great gift that we can present to the new born king is the gift of our
time. And honestly, time is the most important gift we can give to Jesus. When
we give him our time, we are also giving him our life and the time we spend
with him in prayer is quality time. It is like going to heaven while still on
earth.
In our Gospel passage this morning, we read about how a great throng of
about five thousand men (that is, five thousand families since women and
children were not counted), spend a whole day with Jesus in a deserted place. These
people gave to Jesus the gift of their time. They left every other pressing concern
behind, they left their jobs, their school, their pursuits, everything, they
came to spend quality time just listening to Jesus.
Time is a quality of love. When you love someone or something, you
discover that you suddenly have time for that person or that time. When he or
she calls, you are never too busy to answer and you do not mind spending hours
chatting, talking or just being there with that person or thing. In fact, I can
say with certainty that one way you would know what you love most is by asking
yourself those things that occupy most of your time.
By the mere fact that Jesus left the glory of heaven to come and spend
time with humanity shows how much love he has for us. He came to be born as a
man to save us and he did this out of love for us even though we did not
deserve it. In today’s first reading, St. John defines what love truly means
saying: “This is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the expiation for our sins.” 1st John 4, 10.
If God so loved us by spending time with us, we too ought to love one
another by spending time with our neighbour. We reflect God’s love by visiting
the sick, visiting the prisoners, spending time with the less privileged,
taking care of the poor and needy, those who do not seem to deserve our time,
those who cannot repay us back.
Like the Gift of repentance which we considered yesterday, there is also
a great reward we get from God when we give him the gift of our time. We never
come back hungry! When Jesus saw how the five thousand families spent the whole
day with them, he had compassion on them and with five loaves and two fish,
worked a great miracle that fed them all. When we too give God our time, he
feeds us in ways that no earthly food can do and we always come back satisfied,
content and happy. As the scriptures say: “All ate and were satisfied.” Mark 6,
42.
Why spend time on things that do not bring satisfaction? Why go about
pursuing earthly things which are perishable, why draw water from wells that
leave you thirsty again after drinking? Why not give Jesus some more time in
your life and let his words feed you deeply, let him give you water that would
become a spring inside of you!
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. John Neumann. John Neumann was
born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to
New York at 25 and was ordained a priest. He did missionary work in New York
until he was 29, when he joined the Redemptorists and became its first member
to profess vows in the United States. He continued missionary work in Maryland,
Virginia and Ohio, where he became popular with the Germans. At 41, as bishop
of Philadelphia, he organized the parochial school system into a diocesan one,
increasing the number of pupils almost twentyfold within a short time. Gifted
with outstanding organizing ability, he drew into the city many teaching
communities of sisters and the Christian Brothers. During his brief assignment
as vice provincial for the Redemptorists, he placed them in the forefront of
the parochial movement. Well-known for his holiness and learning, spiritual
writing and preaching, on October 13, 1963, John Neumann became the first
American bishop to be beatified. Canonized in 1977, he is buried in St. Peter
the Apostle Church in Philadelphia.
Let us Pray:
Lord Jesus, from this day, I will give you more of my time and more of
my life. Amen.
St. John Newman, pray for us.
God bless you. Good morning. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is
well with you.
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