Persecutions are the signs of growth of Righteousness.

Monday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
July 12, 2021
Today’s Readings:

Exodus 1:8-14, 22
Ps 124:1b-6, 7-8
Matthew 10:34 — 11:1
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071221.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2021-07-12

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

The Kingdom of God is in under cover in today’s World. Many people who live a righteous life live in this Kingdom of God. Righteous life is opposite to Hypocrisy or self righteousness. Self righteousness makes oneself master and King of his own life and develops Pride and Materialism. Today’s World Ninety Nine percent of people choose SELF RIGHTEOUS life on this Earth.Hypocrisy or double standard people are Wolves in Sheep Clothes , there are many in today’s World. They act like an Angel and in the pretext of Charity, but they loot and kill the righteous.

Gospel truths reveal or expose or separate the righteous and Self Righteous people. I know an Alcoholic met Jesus in one of the Jesus encounter programme and left Alcohol and returned back to his Work place very next Week , all his alcoholic friends suddenly became his enemies and started troubling him in his Work place. This what happens when truth is revealed in ones life , the materialistic and selfish World do not accept Gospel truths or righteous person but rejects him and persecutes him. Righteousness is the ultimate stage in the beatitudes of Jesus a step before the sainthood or being in the Company of Jesus.

Persecution and possibly death is the ultimate step to sainthood, sometime it may not happen at a time in life time but through out the life time. Persecutions are signs of growth in righteousness. Many call these persecutions as afflictions from Evil , it is certainly afflictions from the Evil one but not directly but through other human beings. Evil tried to afflict the Creator of this World through Hypocrites and self righteous people but at the end got bound hand foot for ever and ever. Perseverance and trusting on the Salvation brings ultimate Victory in our life. This kind of life may be foolishness to the World but in truth there is no righteous life without persecutions and suffering.

The reward of a righteous person is the Kingdom of God and it starts right over here on Earth. The righteousness of this World must be stretched out every day and this stretch extends the Kingdom of God and at the end Whole World is going to turn in to a new Heaven and New Earth. The people who are lovers of this World can not follow the Gospel because the Gospel truth is opposite to the Prosperity of this World which teaches to love the World and be the lord of this World. All humans running in this race one way or the other miss the point of love and Charity. Jesus tells us to deny ourselves take up our Cross and follow him , it means renounce the Worldly materialistic desires and take up the cross of love by sacrificing our life for the Gospel truths and follow Jesus by becoming one of his disciple in Gospel discipline and in Gospel values.

Prayer : Lord discipline me to be your Disciple Amen.

Gospel truth is bitter to the sick people of this World. By: Ivan Rodrigues-Bangalore-India

4th July 2021

14th Sunday of the Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070421.cfm

But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD GOD! 
And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—
    they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

We see in the History of church , the Gospel preaching was not a Cake walk or a celebrity event but it was adventurous and very risky act because the preachers had to preach the love of God among the rebels of this World. Even today I have noticed if we preach the Gospel of love and forgiveness to the hard heart people who do not believe in love and forgiveness and existence of the love of God in this World , they retaliate in anger and Violence. Violence , insults, persecution, murder is noticed through out the History of Christian Evangelisation.

God’s love is thousand times more than the envy of material man and Evil. God prepares people like Prophets,Rulers, Priests, Preachers, Laity thousand times more Compassionate and more Zealous to the Word of God and to his work. I remember a story of deity who tried to save a Scorpion which had fallen in a Water and was trying to come out of the Water to save its life. Each time the deity tried to save the Scorpion out of the water, the Scorpion bit him . The onlookers called the Deity stupid and insane but the deity said biting is the natural instinct of a Scorpion but love, Charity, Sacrifice is the instinct of a Human being.

God works in the Weakness of Man , weakness does not mean temptations and Sins alone but Worldly defeat and Worldly disappointments. A preacher well said ” a disappointment in this Worldly life is an appointment with God”. God’s ways are beyond our imagination , we may be disappointed and stressed due to the Pandemic due to loss of Job, Finances, death so on but each loss is the driver to the God’s love the Holy spirit. People in this Pandemic are purified and a new meaning to life has been defined in a new way of life. God uses every opportunity to proclaim his love whether it is good or Evil , Happiness or sadness, Prosperous or in poverty.

Gospel preaching in the Contemporary World is not from the Pulpit or from the TV screen but in life of witness, persecution and forgiveness. A real Gospel is not I scratch your back and You scratch my back but proclaimed in truth, boldness and Courage. The persecutions , objections and Violence are the real positive signs that the Gospel truths are working in peoples life, they are good and leads them to the Whole truth of love. The Prophets, Apostles and our Lord Jesus were not accepted by people who believed the false teachings of this World but persecuted repeatedly in Violence and death. Ezekiel was thrown in the Prison against every Prophesy he uttered against Kings and People but he did not stop Prophesying , the more they were persecuted the more they preached and finally put to death. A preacher loses the fear of Human death but fears the eternal death.

Prayer : Lord make us real Witnesses of Christ on this Earth.Amen.