Bible
Study: Isaiah 45, 6 to 25. And Luke 7, 19 to 23.
If you
recall, yesterday’s topic was “Don’t just say it, let your actions speak.”
Jesus gave us a parable of two brothers who were asked to go and work in their
father’s vineyard, the first said “I will not go” but later on changed his mind
and went. The second said “I will go” but did not go eventually. Then Jesus emphasized that it is not what we say that matter before God but what we do.
Today we
see Jesus putting this very teaching into practice. John the Baptist who was
now perhaps in prison sent people to Jesus to ask “Are you the one who is to
come, or shall we look for another?” Jesus did not give a straight response, he
allowed his actions speak. Just as that very moment, Jesus was curing many
people of their diseases and plagues and evil spirits and restoring sight to
many who were blind. By his actions, Jesus was practically fulfilling the
ancient prophecy of Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the
LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to
bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to
the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favour…” Isaiah 61, verses 1
and 2.
If Jesus
was not the expected one, he would not have been able to work these miracles.
So he didn’t need to tell John “I am he” or “I am not he.” All he said was “Go
and report my works, the blind can see again, the deaf can hear, the lame can
walk, lepers are cleansed, dead are raised up, the poor have good news
proclaimed to them.”
Dear
friends, if actions speak louder than words, we are called to examine for
ourselves today what sort of things our actions are proclaiming about us?
Today we
remember St. John of the Cross. Born in Spain in 1542, John learned the
importance of self-sacrificing love from his parents. His father gave up
wealth, status, and comfort when he married a weaver's daughter and was
disowned by his noble family. After his father died, his mother kept the
destitute family together as they wandered homeless in search of work. These
were the examples of sacrifice that John followed with his own great love --
God.
When the
family finally found work, John still went hungry in the middle of the
wealthiest city in Spain. At fourteen, John took a job caring for hospital
patients who suffered from incurable diseases and madness. It was out of this
poverty and suffering, that John learned to search for beauty and happiness not
in the world, but in God.
After John
joined the Carmelite order, Saint Teresa of Avila asked him to help her reform
movement. John supported her belief that the order should return to its life of
prayer. But many Carmelites felt threatened by this reform, and some members of
John's own order kidnapped him. He was locked in a cell six feet by ten feet
and beaten three times a week by the monks. There was only one tiny window high
up near the ceiling. Yet in that unbearable dark, cold, and desolation, his
love and faith were like fire and light. He had nothing left but God -- and God
brought John his greatest joys in that tiny cell.
After nine
months, John escaped by unscrewing the lock on his door and creeping past the
guard. Taking only the mystical poetry he had written in his cell, he climbed
out a window using a rope made of strips of blankets. With no idea where he
was, he followed a dog to civilization. He hid from pursuers in a convent
infirmary where he read his poetry to the nuns. From then on his life was
devoted to sharing and explaining his experience of God's love.
His life
of poverty and persecution could have produced a bitter cynic. Instead it gave
birth to a compassionate mystic, who lived by the beliefs that "Who has
ever seen people persuaded to love God by harshness?" and "Where
there is no love, put love -- and you will find love."
John left
us many books of practical advice on spiritual growth and prayer that are just
as relevant today as they were then. These books include: Ascent of Mount Carmel, Dark Night of the Soul
and A Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ
Since joy
comes only from God, John believed that someone who seeks happiness in the
world is like "a famished person who opens his mouth to satisfy himself
with air." He taught that only by breaking the rope of our desires could
we fly up to God. Above all, he was concerned for those who suffered dryness or
depression in their spiritual life and offered encouragement that God loved
them and was leading them deeper into faith.
Let us
Pray: Lord Jesus, may my life be worthy of the name I bear as a Christian.
Amen.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith.
It is well with you. God bless you.
Fr. Abu.
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