2 June, Tuesday — Focusing on God

Tuesday of Week 9 in Ordinary Time

2 Pt 3:11-15,17-18
Mk 12:13-17

“Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar — and to God what belongs to God.”

The modern world today has blurred all boundaries between work and leisure. There is often talk about ‘work-life balance’ or ‘work-life harmony’, but there is always that element of work ever present in the consideration. The Gospel of today reminds us that our lives are not meant to be totally subsumed by work; but rather, work is supposed to be a manifestation of our belief in Jesus to the rest of the world.

There is a general disdain for work amongst some people; some treat it as a means to earn money to pay the bills. Others see it as a way to distract themselves from the demands of work but, as Christians, we are called to extend our lives as Christians in the vineyard of the Lord; which, for some of us, will be the workplaces we occupy. St Peter reminds us in the first reading that “while you are waitng, do your best to live lives without spot or stain..” This is an exhortation for us to live our lives in a manner which reminds others of our belief in Jesus. In order to do this, we need to spend time with Jesus during the week.

There is a temptation to be dogmatic in our belief that there should not be any free time in our lives, but, brothers and sisters in Christ, I would like to remind us that our lives in this world are too short for them to be spent merely in the office. In fact, our lives in this world are meant to show the people around us the love which Jesus has shown to each one of us. We can gain a deeper understanding of Jesus through worthy reception of the Sacraments and also the nourishment from the Scriptures. In doing so, we deepen our relationship with Jesus and thus, allow others to discover what it means to be a Christian.

Work will never end and the demands of the kingdom of God are even more compelling — it requires us to constantly evangelise to others. We are only capable of sharing what we have and thus, may we continue to take time to re-orientate our lives to Jesus so that our actions and words may show to others the depth of our relationship.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)

Prayer: Jesus, help us to remember to proclaim your message to the people all around us.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who spread the faith to others.