Bible
Study: Ephesians 2, 19 to 22. And Luke 6,
12 to 16.
As we
celebrate the Feast of two out of the twelve great apostles, Simon and Jude
today, our readings challenge us to reflect on the concept of our election and
choice before God. First and foremost, we must understand that nothing happens
to us by chance. There is no such thing as mere luck or what scientists refer
to as “random selection’”
Dear
friends, we are products of a God who is purposeful, a God who prepares things
before hand, a God of whom Jeremiah spoke about as saying: “For I know the
plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to
give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29, 11.
Jesus did
not simply do guess work in his choice of the apostles. He didn’t select them
according to their good looks or merely according to their line of trade. He spent
a whole night in prayer, consulting with God who has plans, before making his
choice.
Like every
good parent, God has plans for us his children. No responsible parent brings a
child into the world without first making certain plans on how to ensure the
future of that child, in fact, parents already have ideas of what they want
their children to become even before they are born. It is in this light that
St. Paul tell us in today’s first reading that we are not just strangers or foreigners
to God, we are his children; citizens of God’s household.
As long as
we continue to pray the lines of the “Our Father,” which states, “thy will be
done on earth as it is in heaven,” we continue to remind both God and ourselves
that we are not strangers, we are his children and we want his plans for us to
come to pass in our lives.
God wills
the best for us, but, there are times when our own will, runs contrary to the
will of God. There are also times, we tell God out rightly, “I know what you
want for me, but God, let my own will be done instead.” Every sin is a
deliberate attempt on our part to reject the will of God for us. And you know
what? God does not force his way on us.
That is
why we should not be surprised that having spent a whole night in prayer,
having asked for discernment over the choice of the twelve men who would carry
on the message of salvation to the rest of the world, Jesus, being God, in all
his wisdom still chose Judas Iscariot, the very guy who would betray him. As
much as the twelve were equally tempted, only Judas gave in to it. He had a
chance like Simon and Jude to fulfil God’s will in his life as well.
So we
celebrate Simon and Jude today because they COOPERATED with God. They were
chosen, but they also worked hard, they strove to live above temptations, they
carried out Jesus’ instructions and they proclaimed the Gospel to millions.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, help me to fulfil your plans for my life. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu
No comments:
Post a Comment