Bible
Study: 1ST Corinthians 7, 25 to 31 and Luke 6, 20 to 26.
There is
one hymn in the Office of the Readings which I consider appropriate to open
today’s meditation. It goes thus:
Blest are
the pure in heart.
For they
shall see our God;
The secret
of the Lord is theirs.
Their soul
is Christ’s abode.
To be pure
in heart is to live in such a manner as not to be over attached to the things
of this world. It is seeking one’s meaning in life not in things or in people
but rather in a close relationship with God. St. Paul tells us in today’s first
reading: “So this is what I think best because of the present distress: that it
is a good thing for a person to remain as he is.” That is, it is okay to be
celibate so as to have more time for the things of God.
On the
other hand, St. Paul goes on to say that it is not a crime to be married. “If
you marry, however, you do not sin, nor does an unmarried woman sin if she
marries; but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life, and
I would like to spare you that.” By affliction, St. Paul is referring to those
obstacles arising from the fact that one is married that sometimes prevent us
from giving God the whole of our lives.
There is
happiness that comes to us when we seek God first in our lives. There is joy
that we experience when we choose to be rich in the things of God even if it
means accepting earthly poverty. Some years back, a woman called on the radio
show, ‘Sharing life’s issues with Chaz B on Rhythm FM and spoke of how she was
going to make 6.5 million naira profit from an Estate Management deal in a
single day. As at that day, she didn’t even have up to 50 thousand Naira in her
account. However, given that she wasn’t willing to break her marital vows, she
lost the entire deal. Just because she had the fear of God, she summoned
courage to say “NO” to the evil of going to bed with the man who was going to
make the deal come through.
This true
life experience touched me and got me reflecting. I thank God that people like
this still exist in a society where money has become a god and I pray many
Nigerians who were listening would be inspired by that experience. I know that
some people would say the woman was foolish but to such, I like to leave you
with the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel passage “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for
you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.”
Let Us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, teach me to live according to the beatitudes. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
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