MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT (Year II)
First Reading: Is 2:1-5
Psalm: 122. R. v. 1a
Gospel: Mt 8:5-11
The faith of this centurion is amazing but his person is love exemplified. He has shown us that what makes one a superior or a master above others is becoming a hand protecting a wavering flame. We can easily imagine what a curved palm does to a wavering candle flame. It is very wrong to think that what makes us in charge or superior over others is dishing out orders and shouting down on people. We become greater than others when we are their source of strength in their weaknesses.
The sick servant of this Roman army was practically a slave who is under the mercy of his master. In the Roman Empire, slaves did not matter. A slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave. But this centurion proved to be a master by being a helping hand rescuing a sick brother. He considered his servant not as a tool but as a brother.
One of the easiest ways to see the sheer wickedness of man is to give him enormous power or place him in charge of others. This is when our true self is revealed. We see this in our churches, homes, schools, and clearly in our political life. We see the suppression of others as being in charge. And we take pleasure in the suffering and pain of our fellow men. We have seen and read of masters and mistresses heartlessly inflicting injuries on their maid servants and subjecting them to a life of slavery. We picked them from their homes promising to be their guardian but suddenly become monsters towards them. What a betrayal of trust.
When we choose love over hatred, we choose good over evil, right over wrong and God over Satan. And to stand with God is the absolute; for one with God is majority. As leaders, we should learn to carry our subjects as a nursing mother carries her child. And if we must give orders, it should be done in charity. Let us never fail to always be a hand protecting a wavering flame.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord God, continue to mould us into the image of your beloved Son so that we may love as he loved. Amen.
FR VALENTINE EGBUONU, MSP
First Reading: Is 2:1-5
Psalm: 122. R. v. 1a
Gospel: Mt 8:5-11
The faith of this centurion is amazing but his person is love exemplified. He has shown us that what makes one a superior or a master above others is becoming a hand protecting a wavering flame. We can easily imagine what a curved palm does to a wavering candle flame. It is very wrong to think that what makes us in charge or superior over others is dishing out orders and shouting down on people. We become greater than others when we are their source of strength in their weaknesses.
The sick servant of this Roman army was practically a slave who is under the mercy of his master. In the Roman Empire, slaves did not matter. A slave is a living tool, just as a tool is an inanimate slave. But this centurion proved to be a master by being a helping hand rescuing a sick brother. He considered his servant not as a tool but as a brother.
One of the easiest ways to see the sheer wickedness of man is to give him enormous power or place him in charge of others. This is when our true self is revealed. We see this in our churches, homes, schools, and clearly in our political life. We see the suppression of others as being in charge. And we take pleasure in the suffering and pain of our fellow men. We have seen and read of masters and mistresses heartlessly inflicting injuries on their maid servants and subjecting them to a life of slavery. We picked them from their homes promising to be their guardian but suddenly become monsters towards them. What a betrayal of trust.
When we choose love over hatred, we choose good over evil, right over wrong and God over Satan. And to stand with God is the absolute; for one with God is majority. As leaders, we should learn to carry our subjects as a nursing mother carries her child. And if we must give orders, it should be done in charity. Let us never fail to always be a hand protecting a wavering flame.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord God, continue to mould us into the image of your beloved Son so that we may love as he loved. Amen.
FR VALENTINE EGBUONU, MSP
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