Thursday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time
1 Kgs 2:1-4,10-12
Mk 6:7-13
“Observe the injunctions of the Lord your God, following his laws, his commandments, his customs and his decrees… so you may be successful in all you do and undertake, so that the Lord may fulfil the promise he made me…”
The verse above is David’s dying exhortation to his son and successor, Solomon. Will these be our dying words as well, knowing that we have led a life as an obedient and faithful child of God? Can we safely say all that with confidence, without a single doubt?
What does it mean to follow God’s laws and his commandments? Rather than Moses’ 10 commandments, there are just two commandments we need to do. The first is to ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-49) Sounds simple enough. Put God first and everything else after. To love our neighbour is to love everyone we know and meet. But honestly, they are not so simple.
To put God first means we need to literally consult him in every single thing we do, say and think. Yet, we often take things into our own hands. We try to solve our own problems, we rely on our own strength, we don’t want to be dependent. As I continue to practice putting God first, I also learnt that I have to trust in his timing and divine plan for each of us. Take for example, that I recently moved house. The initial best-laid plan was to move in before Christmas last year. What better way to celebrate and welcome Jesus than in our new home right? Wrong. Month after month, we met with obstacles along the way, hindering us from achieving our target. By December, when renovations finally started, we had to relent and accept (with much disappointment) that we could only move in after the New Year. As they say, God’s plan is always perfect – even though we may not comprehend it completely. But as we reflected, we realised that even in the throes of great mess and carton boxes, rather than festive lights and all things Christmassy, we were able to appreciate and focus on the real joy of Christmas — which is Jesus himself. Only he can bring us true joy, not in the presents we receive.
The second commandment is the one that most will struggle with. To love your neighbour is to love even your enemy, including the people who irritate, annoy, frustrate and hurt us the most. How can we? It takes a lot of love. We need to flush our hearts with the love of Jesus. It is only in receiving his mercy and love that I’ve slowly learnt to let go a lot of things, not hold or judge people so much, be more patient and understanding, and generally be a much more compassionate person.
It’s not so much about the laws, like attending mass on Sundays and holy days, going for confession at least once a year, observing certain feasts, receiving sacraments including the holy eucharist, observing fasts, and fulfilling our duties as a Christian. Until we can be successful in being this kind, caring, compassionate, forgiving and life-giving person (think St Teresa of Calcutta), we can safely say we are being obedient to God’s law. To be a true Christian is to be a Jesus to others.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Cynthia Chew)
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, show us your love, help us understand and follow your commandments so that we can bring this love to others. Amen
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Abba Father, for giving us the most precious gift — Jesus. Thank you for your love which we often find hard to understand and to return to others. Above all, thank you for choosing us, for the gift of faith.
OXYGEN 
Leave a comment