Bible Study: Acts 15, 22 to 31 and John
15, 12 to 17.
Finally, the question of circumcision was settled as we read in
today’s first reading. The Gentiles who were not part of the old covenant do
not need to bear the mark of that covenant in their bodies for accepting to be
Christians. Now it had become clear that circumcision itself contributes
nothing to salvation. Rather, it is because of what Christ did for us on the
cross that we have the privilege of going to heaven.
In some cultures in the world, the practice of circumcision still
holds sway but then, their explanation for doing this is nothing more than the maintenance
of some ancient culture. Some cultures even hold certain myths regarding the
practice. For instance, I have heard that females who are circumcised are more
likely to be well-behaved and less immoral than those who are not. Again, there
is no solid proof of this.
It is not by mutilating one’s genitals that he or she would be
holy rather as Moses himself said, what is more important is to: “circumcise the
foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.” Deuteronomy 10, 16. It is
the heart itself that needs mutilation; that tendency in us to live according
to our flesh as though we are ordinary animals – that is what we must cut off.
And we mutilate our hearts not just for the fun it but because
we are friends of Jesus. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus calls us his friends
but as we can see, only very few people living on this planet today realize
this and concretize it in their lives. As the saying goes, “Show me your
friends, and I will tell you who you are.” By the way we live, it shows that
Jesus is not our friend.
The first guarantee of our friendship with Jesus is our ability
to love others just as Jesus himself loved us. Jesus says quite plainly: “YOU
ARE MY FRIENDS ‘IF’ YOU DO WHAT I COMMAND YOU.” And what has he commanded us?
To love. And what kind of love? To lay down our lives for our enemies, to not
resist when we are attacked, to refuse to hate even those who are taught to
hate us.
In the wake of the Fulani herdsmen menace, there is a growing
tendency among Christians to hate and treat with suspicion all those from the
North as well as our gatemen, our shoe-makers, our okada-riders. But then, this
attitude of hate is not Christlike. Christ never thought us to hate but to
love. It is our love, not our hatred that will succeed in converting the lost
sheep in the end.
Today, also we remember a great saint and doctor of the church,
St. Catherine of Siena. Her life was one of deep piety and love for Jesus as a best
friend. When she was still very young, she was favoured with celestial visions
and began to practice severe austerities. At 16, she became a Dominican
tertiary and undertook the care of lepers even from her own home. At times, she
would go on for days without eating anything other than the Holy Eucharist. She
prayed incessantly and suffered especially for sinners who refused to pray for
themselves. Many came to her to seek her advice and some received miraculous
healing when she prayed for them. Although she, like Padre Pio suffered the
Stigmata, she radiated so much joy that one would hardly realise how much
suffering she was passing though. Catherine died on the 29th of April
1380 aged barely 33. Her famous writing is titled “Dialogue.” And for this and
other spiritual writings, she was proclaimed a doctor of the church by Pope
Paul VI in 1970.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, may my friendship with you teach me to
circumcise my heart from immorality and hate. Amen.
St. Catherine of Siena, pray for us.
God bless you. Good morning. Be
Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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