Thursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
November 9, 2017
Today’s Readings:
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Ps 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110917.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/17_11_09.mp3
Do you not know that you are the temple of God,
and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
If anyone destroys God’s temple,
God will destroy that person;
for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.
Today’s readings remind us our Vocation and very purpose of our existence in this World. We can see our life in following areas
- Vocation: To build the Kingdom of love on this Earth
- Inspiration: Jesus as the Corner stone of the Kingdom of the God
- Pledge: To be holy
- Threat: God disciplines the unholy.
- Vocation: To Build the Kingdom of God on this Earth. Every human is created to carry on the Work of God on this Earth as good steward. He has been empowered with spirit of God to rule and govern the Earth with his Wisdom and intelligence. The very purpose of creating human is to create the Kingdom of God on this Earth. God wanted a Summer house in his business and probably he must have created Earth and Human and put his spirit so that he can have a little Heaven on this Earth so that he can have fellowship with the Human. Human were created little lower than Angels on this Earth and given power over the Earth to manage the earth through God’s Wisdom and knowledge. But man was attracted towards the creation and disowned God and lost his fellowship and Spirit and became a slave of the Creation.
- Inspiration: Jesus becomes the Corner Stone to rebuild the Kingdom of God. God comes to this Earth in the form of a Human called Jesus and reconciles the entire Human race with God and starts new fellowship and pours out the lost Spirit on the day of Pentecost to the Entire human race, tongues and nationalities. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and through the apostles rebuilds the People of God and again starts the Work of rebuilding his summer Heaven on this earth. He expects every human to receive his Spirit and have fellowship with him and again be the Stewards of this Earth to carry on the Divine plan of God.
- Pledge : To be Holy. To build the kingdom of God, we must possess the Spirit of God and have fellowship with him and each other. The first responsibility of every human who have the Spirit of God to be Holy. The holiness automatically gives access to God and his Work of building the Kingdom of God on this Earth. Once we receive the Spirit of God , the love of God draws us towards him and zeal for his kingdom becomes first priority in our lives. The rest of the worldly affairs remain in our life but they become like just objects of material with no life. Baptism is the Pledge to possess the Spirit of God. Every Baptised person possess the Spirit of God and called to live a life of holiness.
- Threat: God disciplines the unholy. All people who have taken a Pledge of Baptism to possess the Spirit of God are called to live in Holiness. If someone takes the pledge and lives a Worldly life, defiles his life or betrays God or lies to God. Jesus in the Gospel Whips all those people who were acting like Holy and doing all kind Worldly business in the pretext of Holiness. If any person calls himself as Christian and does not live in holiness is liable for the discipline from God. The first step of the Discipline is God chases away them away from his place of Worship or from his presence, just like Adam and Eve were thrown out of Garden of Eden because God is Holy and only holy people can remain in the presence of God. The second step of Discipline is the Spirit of God leaves them because the Spirit of God can live with only holy People. Third step of Discipline is they cannot have fellowship with God. Fourth step of Discipline is they cannot communicate with each other because it is the spirit of God which binds the People of God with each other. Fifth discipline is they cannot rule the Earth or fruits of the earth become sour because the Creation was made in God’s Wisdom and Spirit and if there is no Spirit of God in their life, the Creation does not obey them. In short without the Spirit of God, the Human becomes like any other animal on this Earth. All their cravings and emotions slowly transform in to the animal instinct. We see in the stone age and among the Gentiles, a small fit of anger resulted to murder. The human Sacrifices and all other animal tendencies were seen in these people. This is the reason we see people who believe in Violence act like animals.
PRAYER REFLECTIONS 