ALPHA AND OMEGA SERIES, DAY 5: GENESIS 4:17-26

The text for today’s journey is an attempt by the biblical author to describe the expansion and civilization of the human race. It presupposes the existence of other human beings apart from Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel of whom we heard in our previous text.

REFLECTION

• From the text, the first question we can ask ourselves, as has been done by many others, is: where did Cain’s wife come from? The struggle in identifying when Cain’s wife was created indicates that the Bible, as the written Word of God, is not merely an accurate History Textbook. Rather, it is the inspired Word of God aimed at communicating divine truths. 

• The Bible seeks to demonstrate God’s constant presence in human history. Its ultimate concern therefore is not to present an accurate account of human history. So, any historical inconsistencies in the Scriptures must not be seen as negating the divine truths they reveal.

• Do we argue on events in the Bible, as if those events were recorded as and when they were happening, and even end up denying the saving truths they reveal? Let us note that the Bible is not a History Textbook. It conveys a spiritual message deeper than the writings themselves.

• In today’s text, the sin of Cain (murder) is again repeated by one of his descendants, Lamech; his reason being that of revenge. How do we react to the wrongs done against us by others? Do we pay back with even greater evils? Let’s always remember that we pray: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us?”

• No child is an accident. God has a purpose for every human being. The wife of Adam praised God for the gift of another child, because the child was seen as a replacement for Abel. What about us? Have we discovered the purpose for our existence? Let us ask God to enlighten us through his Spirit.

May the Lord bless and keep all of us, Amen.

ALPHA AND OMEGA (DAY 4): TEXT: GENESIS 4:1-6

Today, the text for our consideration describes the life of the human family after the fall and punishment of our first parents. It throws light on the awareness of human beings concerning God’s abounding love and goodness, and the ripple effects of sin.

REFLECTION

• The acknowledgment of God’s help by the woman in the gift of the new child shows that motherhood/fatherhood is a blessing bestowed by God. It is, therefore, not surprising to see how some couples, especially the women pray ceaselessly to God for a child. Let us remember to pray for those seeking the fruit of the womb.

• Also, if motherhood/fatherhood is a divine privilege, why do some people abort innocent children, all in the name of human rights? Let’s pray as well for those who promote abortion and those who practice it, that God will enlighten them.

• The text makes it clear that both Cain and Abel worked, and out of what they were blessed with, they offered something in appreciation to God. Are we people who love to do something to support ourselves, or do we act lazily, counting on others to do everything for us? Do we give collection, harvest contributions and tithes with a willing heart or we grumble?

• God looked with favour on Abel and his offering, even though Cain was the eldest of the two. Divine favour has no respect for age, or any other human standards. God blesses those he wants: those who do his will. Are you expecting a divine favour? Take a clue: do what is pleasing to God, and he will bless you.

• We must guard against envy; it is a deadly sin which can kill both the one being envied and the one who envies another. As presented in the text, Cain’s envy led him to physically kill his own brother, Abel. Meanwhile, Cain himself also suffered spiritual death: he lost the sense of brotherhood, and he was also punished by God.

• Sin begets sin. Once we encounter an occasion of sin, we must do our best to avoid it otherwise we’ll end up in greater sins, and their consequences. From being angry, Cain became envious and ended up killing his brother. We have power over sin because we can always choose to listen to the voice of God rather than the voice of the evil one.

• Again, we must realize that no matter the gravity of our sins, God is always a loving and merciful God. He had compassion on Cain, and he is always ready to welcome us back into his friendship.

May the Lord bless and keep all of us, Amen.

ALPHA AND OMEGA SERIES (DAY 3): GENESIS 3

The text for our reflection today gives us a picture of the fall of our first parents into sin, and the consequences that came with it. It must be noted that even though the text is rich in imagery, the various images must not be given literal interpretation. The imagery conveys a spiritual meaning which is deeper and more enriching than the images in themselves.

REFLECTION

• The imagery of the snake immediately brings to mind the devil. Are we to deny the existence of the devil/evil one, as some people do? Well, we must realize that there is enough evidence from Scripture to support the existence of the devil/evil one, cf. Acts 13:10, Eph 6:11, James 4:7, 1Jn 3:8.

• In fact, from the text, we can deduce that the basic and greatest sin of humanity isn’t fornication as most of us think. Rather, it is pride; i.e. the uncontrollable desire to be independent apart from God. Are we always submissive to God’s guidance?

• With the sin of our first parents, concupiscence, i.e. the inclination to act against the will of God has become part and parcel of human existence. We’re tempted when God’s commandments appear false and unprofitable to us, whereas disobedience of God’s commandments seem appealing to us. Nevertheless, such an attraction to disobey God would not be considered as a sin until we have actually disobeyed and acted against God.

• If faithfulness to a loving and merciful God isn’t reason enough for us to obey God, at least, the fear of the consequences associated with sin must guide us to choose to obey rather than disobey God. Do we realize what sin does to us?

• Guilt/shame always accompanies the state of sin. As the text shows, after rejecting God’s love and guidance (after sinning), we realize our nakedness, i.e. our nothingness without God.

• The text assures us that even in our sinfulness God still continues to show us his loving care. No sin of ours is greater than God’s mercy. We must therefore always seek to be reconciled with God when we realize our sins. Let us never be comfortable with sin. It is deadly!

May the Lord bless and keep all of us, Amen.

“ALPHA AND OMEGA” (DAY 2): TEXT: Genesis 2:5-25

Our text for reflection today presents us with another account of the creation, different from that of Genesis 1:1-2:4. However, we must not be led into thinking that Scripture is contradictory in this regard, since the two accounts are not the same. What we must note is that different authors were inspired by God to reveal divine truths to us, and in this case, the truth that God is the Creator and Sustainer of the world and all it contains.

REFLECTION

• From the text, we realize that without the breath of life (God’s Spirit), we are merely empty clayey vessels. We are truly alive when we are filled and moved by the Holy Spirit, cf. Jn 6:63, Ps 104:29-30. Do we pray to be filled and moved by the Holy Spirit? 

• God made provision for the man He created. He is Jehovah Jireh (God, our provider). He knows our needs even before we ask them, cf. Mt 6:8. Caring so much about our material needs is therefore a sign of faithlessness. Do we trust God for our needs?

• Again, in this text as in the former, human beings are entrusted with the care of God’s creation. How responsible are we in the duties entrusted to us at home, school, church, the work place, etc.? God created us to be responsible people; people of integrity.

• In the text, two specific trees are mentioned: the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life could be seen to be symbolic of the divine privilege of immortality. God not forbidding human beings to eat of the tree of life indicates that He created us to partake of His immortal nature.

• God, however, prevented human beings from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil means that what is good or evil is not determined by our individual thinking. God is the source of all goodness; He is goodness itself. To know the good and do it, we must take instruction from Him alone. We must therefore accept to be good what God teaches us to be good, and evil, what he prohibits (His commandments). Do we always seek God’s will or we do things according to our own feelings?

• God created a woman for the man and established a bond of companionship between them, by bringing the woman to the man. Friendship is therefore a gift from God, and must be utilized well. We must enter into friendship with a clear conscience and there will never be guilt or shame on our part. The ultimate expression of companionship is marriage; the union between a man and a woman. Let’s pray for those seeking marital partners, and mutual love for those already married.

“ALPHA AND OMEGA” SERIES. TEXT: Genesis 1:1-2:4 (DAY 1)

In today’s text, the author of Genesis presents us with an account of the creation of the world. Even though he presents God as creating day after day, it must be noted that with God there is no yesterday or tomorrow; to Him, our concept of past, present and future are all NOW. 
REFLECTION
• After an initial instance of chaos, God brought order into what he created and made it good. What do we do to improve situations at places that we find ourselves?

• After creating heaven and earth, God filled them with other wonderful things. He did not create the waters before creating the land; neither did He create the fishes before creating the seas. How systematic are we in our aspirations/ambitions?

• Every created thing/creature has a purpose for being created. Have we asked ourselves what the purpose of our existence is?

• Do we realize how special we are among God’s creatures; created in His image and likeness?

• How responsible are we towards our environment? God entrusted the care of the world and all it contains to us. How faithful have we been in this duty? Are we one of those who cut plants anyhow and litter everywhere without any shame?

• The author of Genesis presents God as resting. Rest is a divine recommendation for our own good. Workaholism contradicts our nature as people created in the image and likeness of God. After all, it is the Lord who blesses our work, cf. Ps 127:2

• God blessed the day of rest. We must have time to be with the Lord in worship in order to be made holy by Him. 

Twenty Third Sunday of the Year: Hating Those We Love (Luke 14:25-33)

We know the old commandment, “Honour your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). We know the new commandment of Jesus, “Love one another; even as I have loved you” (John 13:34). And we come here today and we hear these words of Jesus: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). How can we reconcile these seemingly contradictory demands? How can we “hate” those we are supposed to love? And, more importantly, why?

The paradox of hating those we love was dramatized in a most fascinating way on Saturday, September 8, 2001 in the women’s finals of the US Open tennis tournament in Flushing, New York. For the first time in the history of the tournament, the world watched a sportive and emotional roller-coaster as two sisters who love themselves so much that they live in the same house and share the same hotel room fought each other. Could you imagine what was going on in the minds of Venus and Serena Williams as they battled and slugged it out against each other, suspending their love for each other and at least temporarily “hating” each other? They had to “hate” each other because the one was standing in the way of the other becoming the world champion. The one was an obstacle to the realization of the other’s dream to wear the world crown. And so they had to hate and fight each other.

Venus won. But she did not do her usual victory leap and celebratory display. Instead she ran to the net, put an arm around her defeated junior sister’s shoulder and said, “I love you.” Why did she say that? Because the game is over now and her sister is no longer an obstacle in the way of her victory. She said, in other words, “I am sorry, but I had to do it: I had to fight you so hard, I had to “hate” you because you were standing in my way. But I still love you.” That was a rare example of hating those we love, and from it we can learn much about the injunction to “hate” our loved ones.

Ordinarily Venus loves Serena, except when Serena becomes an obstacle that could prevent her from realising her ambition to win the crown. Similarly we are lo love our parents and siblings and spouses, and indeed everyone else, except when they become obstacles in our bid to win the crown of eternal life. The crown of heavenly glory that the Father gives us is worth much more than the ephemeral crown that Venus won on that day. So we should be prepared to wage an uncompromising war to see that no person or thing stands in our way to make us lose the crown. Possessions constitute a formidable obstacle in many people’s bid for the crown of salvation. That is why Jesus concludes today’s gospel with these words: “So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (v. 33).

Jesus implies that to be his disciple is to relativize every other thing in life: family or wealth, prosperity or health, pleasure or fame. He means that on the list of our goals and priorities in life, attaining the kingdom of God must come first and then everything else will follow. It is a matter of life and death. And the examples he gives to illustrate the seriousness of his teaching come from the field of war.

The first illustration is that of the man who intends to build a tower. The tower in the ancient world was basically a strategic structure for the defence of the city in time of war. The second illustration is that of the king marching out to war. Notice that the king has only 10,000 troops whereas the enemy has 20,000. Identifying ourselves with the king in the parable, we can see that the enemy outnumbers us two to one. “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). We are bound to fail unless we appeal to a stronger king to come to our assistance. And that powerful king, the King of kings, is none other than God Himself.

Today’s gospel, therefore, shows us how absolute and how radical are the demands of discipleship. Following Jesus is much harder than winning the US Open. The good news is that Jesus recognises our human weaknesses: we are 10,000 strong and the enemy is 20,000. It is, therefore, an invitation for us to have recourse to God, for without God we can do nothing.

Twenty Third Sunday of the Year: No Longer Slave but Brother (Philemon 9-10, 12-17)

In the days of institutionalized slavery in the United States of America, the slaves devised an intricate network of roads, pathways and secret contacts for escaping known as the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was an arduous and very risky venture, but it took successful runaway slaves to freedom in the Free States and Canada. Can you imagine slaves risking their lives in a daring escape to freedom in Canada only to be sent back to their former slave owners from whom they had just escaped? And yet this is apparently what Paul is doing to the runaway slave Onesimus in the second reading. Paul has been criticised for condoning slavery. He teaches that people should remain in the same social condition in which God called them and that slaves should not seek their freedom (1 Corinthians 7:20-21). Yet the same Paul says that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). What can we make of Paul’s teaching on slavery?

Our first observation is that Paul is not interested in human or social values for their own sake. For him the only thing that matters is to be in Christ. You remember the story of the slaves being loaded off the slave ship, naked and in chains, and a Christian minister sprinkling them with holy water and baptizing them as they disembark. For this minister, being in chains does not really matter, what matters is being baptized and saving one’s soul. We have come a long way from that position. Today we know that freedom and human rights are of value in themselves, whether the people affected are Christians or not. Today we are aware of human rights and values which should be defended for everyone irrespective of their religious affiliation. Today the church has a social gospel in addition to the traditional spiritual gospel.

Paul’s gospel, however, was a spiritual gospel. It is good news addressed not to the whole of humanity but to those who are in Christ Jesus. In Christ, social status does not matter, it does not count. In Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, since in Christ everybody is equal. Those outside of Christ do not share in this equality. Paul appeals to Philemon to receive Onesimus back “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother” (verse 16) not because slavery is morally wrong, not because a Christian should not keep slaves, but because a Christian cannot keep a fellow Christian, a brother or sister of equal standing before God, as a slave. Later, as Christians began to realise that what is good for the goose is good for the gander, that what is good for Christians is also good for non-Christians, they would begin the campaign to abolish slavery from the face of the earth.

As Christians in the 21^st century reading a personal letter that Paul wrote 2,000 years ago, what good news do we find in it? How does it challenge us?

Paul’s Letter to Philemon reminds us that as Christians we need to have higher standards of moral behaviour among us than what obtains in the society at large. If it is true that among us “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28), then we need to have more egalitarian structures in Christian communities and churches than what obtains in the wider society. Our oneness in Christ should come before our differences of age, race, gender, and social status in such a way that non-Christians seeing the way we live can say, “See how much they love one another.

Secondly, Paul’s Letter to Philemon is a sad reminder to us that even Paul did not have all the answers. As a church, Jesus promised us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all the truth (John 16:13). The Spirit has led us to see that the gospel of Christ is for the total liberation of the whole person, body and soul, social and spiritual. Let us pray today that we may be more keenly aware of the abuses of human rights that are going on in our homes, in our communities and in our world.