The Gift of our Time.

_(Homily for Tuesday 7^th January 2020. Read 1st John 4:7-10, Psalm 72 and Mark 6:34-44)_

_“And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a lonely place, and the hour is now late; send them away, to go into the country and villages round about and buy themselves something to eat.’ But he answered them, ‘You give them something to eat’.” *(Mark 6:35-37)*_ 

They say time is money but in truth, time is life. Our life is a summary of what we do with our time. We cannot waste time since it is infinite (unlimited) but we can waste our life since it is finite. Jesus said: “where your treasure is, there your heart would be” meaning, whatever you consider to be valuable takes your attention and subsequently your time.

In our Gospel passage today, a great throng of about five thousand men (not counting women and children) spent a whole day with Jesus in a deserted place. They left every other pressing concern behind because they considered Jesus worthy of their time. As we continue to reflect on the visit of the Magi this week, one gift that we can present to the newborn king is the gift of our time.

Time is a quality of love. When you love someone, you discover that you suddenly have time for that person. You are never too busy to answer their call and you do not mind spending hours together. Do I love Jesus so much as to spend even one hour daily in prayer and meditation?

In today’s first reading, St. John defines love: “This is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins.” (1st John 4:10). God took flesh in the womb of Mary to live among us, God came to spend time with humanity because He so loved the world. If we love God, we should never consider the time spent in His presence as wasted.

The more time we spend in prayer, the better we are. There is always an inner transformation that happens in our spirit when we pray which eventually metamorphoses into physical healing. Jesus had compassion on them and with five loaves and two fish, He worked a great miracle that fed them all. “All ate and were satisfied.” (Mark 6:42)

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, grant that I may revive my prayer life this new year. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Tuesday after the Epiphany of Jesus. Bible Study: 1st John 4:7-10, Psalm 72 and Mark 6:34-44).