Bible
Study: 1st Corinthians 4, 1 to 5 and Luke 5, 33 to 39.
One of the
fruits of being in the Spirit is the ability to live an authentic Christian
life. That is, living in such a manner that one does what is right regardless
of what people are thinking or saying. The Scribes and Pharisees were very good
people who were making efforts to live out the demands of their religion yet
Jesus had a problem with them. Apart from their hypocrisy, they were people
pleasers. They reason for fasting was simply because others were fasting.
They came
to Jesus saying: “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do
the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” Authentic
Spirituality does not begin on a template of what people are doing, it is not
about copying others; it is not show-business. Authentic Spirituality is
allowing oneself to be led by the Spirit from deep within.
In today’s
first reading, St. Paul gives us an insight into the meaning of authentic
spirituality when he says: “It does not concern me in the least that I be
judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself, I
am not conscious of anything against me.” He does not stop at that, he goes
further to add that despite the fact that he is not judging himself, he is not
calling himself a saint either. He says: “I am not aware of anything against
myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.”
In other
words, Paul was never concerned about what people were saying about him or
whether he was following the standards of other people’s spirituality. He
wasn’t a people pleaser, he wasn’t going about trying by all means to win the
admiration of the people. He did not care about whether the people were saying
good things about him or bad. He would not even judge himself because he knew
only God was the capable judge.
As we
struggle to live out our Christian life, there are bound to be moments when our
actions are misunderstood and misinterpreted by others. No matter how hard we
try, we cannot stop people from running their mouths. For the Scribes and
Pharisees, the essence of holiness was to be seen fasting so they accused the
disciples of Jesus of not being in the right because no one saw them fasting.
Where they
judging Jesus and his disciples correctly? Of course No.! They called Jesus a
glutton, a man who had no control of his appetite, a man who could not even
fast. They wondered how such a man who eats freely in the open view of others
claim to be the Son of God. You see, if
Jesus was so misjudged by the people of the time, who are we not to be
misjudged even worse?!!! In the end, St. Paul was absolutely right when he said
still in today’s first reading: “Therefore, do not make any judgment before the
appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden
in darkness”
Stop
judging other people and stop being so concerned about what people say about
you because they may not be true. No human judgement is absolutely correct.
Please God
rather than men. Become an authentic Christian; that is, an authentic
God-pleaser. Allow people the freedom to say or think whatever they like so
long as you know you are perfectly at peace with God. Be real. Be good and let
your goodness flow from inside out and the other way round.
Let Us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, fill me daily with your Spirit. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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