We Have Done Only Our Duty

It is our duty to put the needs of others especially our very young children before our own.  It is the duty of the father to provide for his family, and often he may have to do this in very trying and difficult circumstances.  It is the primary duty of  the mother to nurture and raise her children especially when they are very young.  It is our duty to look after aged and ailing parents.  It is our duty to give generously to the Church and to the poor.  To offer our services to our Parish cheerfully wherever and whenever required.  To use whatever talents God has given us for His glory.  And when we have done all this we must say, “We have only done our duty.”  If duty is impelled by love then we will look at all duty as a labor of love.

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Luke 17:10

So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, you say I have only done my duty.

It is clear that God is very demanding.  He  has given us life and along with it, its accompanying blessings and guides and supports us.  We must know that we are completely dependent on Him.  Therefore, we can never really say, “I have done enough.”  As St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:16 For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion.”  This compulsion is the compulsion of love.

When we exhaust ourselves working for those we love to support them as well as the Church, we have done no more than our duty.

For more in-depth commentary go here:

http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/francisjamieson/hardsayings/doneourduty.asp

THE UNPARDONABLE SIN

In the Chronicles of Avonlea, the writer L.M. Montogomery, makes this remark in the short story, ‘Each in His Own Tongue,’ the old man Abel Blair says this, when he discovers that the grandfather of the young boy has forbidden his grandchild to ever play the violin although the boy has an extraordinary talent,

“Felix Moore will live," he said positively, "You can't kill that kind until their work is done. He's got a work to do–if the minister'll let him do it. And–if the minister don't let him do it, then I wouldn't be in that minister's shoes when he comes to the judgment–no, I'd rather be in my own. It's an awful thing to cross the purposes of the Almighty, either in your own life or anybody else's. Sometimes I think it's what's meant by the unpardonable sin–ay, that I do!"

How often we have seen the hand of God at work in the miracles that take place in our lives and yet there are many who refuse to give God the credit.  They will thank their luck, their stars, the  people who helped them – everybody else but the true Giver of all good things.

Let us see what Jesus meant when He spoke of the unpardonable sin in the Gospel of Mark 3:28-29 and in Luke 12:10.

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Mark 3:28-29

28 Truly, I say to you, every sin will be forgiven humankind, even insults to God, how­­ever numerous. 29 But who­ever slanders the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven: he carries the guilt of his sin forever.”

Luke 12:10

10 There will be pardon for the one who criticizes the Son of Man, but there will be no pardon for the one who slanders the Holy Spirit.

Fr. F, asks us to look at the context and the setting in which Jesus spoke and this will help us to better understand what He meant.  The Pharisees refused to give God the glory for the various healings that accompanied the work of Jesus wherever He preached.  They did not doubt the validity of the healings but attributed it to Satan, accusing Jesus of being an agent of the devil.  If they believed this, they had  closed their eyes to the truth and light.

In  the Gospel of Mark, the sin against the Holy Spirit is deliberately shutting one’s eyes to the light and calling good evil.

In  Luke it is the final apostasy – turning away from God’s salvation.


For more in-depth commentary go here:

http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/francisjamieson/hardsayings/unforgivablesin.asp

Mystification

Quite often we are approached for advise when people find themselves in a moral quandary.  After we have exhausted all the reasons we know why a decision must be taken based on moral, scriptural and spiritual truths, we find that we have just wasted our time.  These persons almost always know  what is the right, moral and noble thing to do, but they were hoping to hear us encouraging them to do what they secretly desire to do and they will almost always do what they had made up their mind to do all along. 

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Mark 4:11-12

¹¹And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;  ¹²in order that  ‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”

Isaiah 6:9-10

⁹And he said, “Go and say to this people: ‘Keep listening, but do not comprehend; keep looking, but do not understand.’ ¹⁰Make the mind of this people dull, and stop their ears, and shut their eyes, so that they may not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed.”

It is an exaggerated way of saying, “They will not listen.”  There are some people who are just not interested in what Jesus has to say.

For more in-depth commentary go here
http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/francisjamieson/hardsayings/mystification.aspystification.asp

Marriage and Divorce

The definition of marriage has always been understood to mean the union between one man and one woman until death.  Once the contraceptive mentality crept into the Christian culture marriage was doomed to collapse.  As Pope  Paul VI rightly predicted in Humanae Vitae, once contraception was accepted as a legitimate form of birth control then every evil would slink into the  backdoor.  Today we see the effects of contraception in the number of babies aborted, euthanasia has become acceptable by law in many countries, same sex unions are now considered normal and new laws are legislated to facilitate such unions acceptable. 

The seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” is relegated to antiquity, however it does not change the words of Jesus who said that if a man even looks at a woman with lust in his eyes he has already committed the sin of adultery in his heart.

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 Mark 10:2-12

²Some Pharisees came, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.” ⁵But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ⁷‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”  ¹⁰Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” 

This is a hard saying even today, as marriages are breaking down with increasing frequency.

There were two schools of thought in Jesus’ time where divorce was concerned.  One group was far more free in their interpretation of this law of divorce and they used flimsy excuses to obtain a divorce.

The Church today is firm in its view that if a marriage has truly taken place, no law on earth can dissolve it.

For I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel. (Malachi 2:16)

This is why a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24)

For more in-depth commentary go here
http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/columns/francisjamieson/hardsayings/marriageanddivorce.asp

Let the Dead Bury the Dead

It is often the case that when God calls us to follow Him, we dream up excuses to either delay the time of decision, or refuse the call altogether.  Although our reasons may seem legitimate and reasonable, our conscience will tell us whether we are being honest or not.  When God calls us to a deeper commitment of our life to His service then we must act promptly, joyfully and generously.  He will accept nothing less than our wholehearted yes.  Because He gave the Father nothing less that His wholehearted yes for our sakes.

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Luke 9:23

²³Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

We cannot be so caught up with family ties that we have no time or interest for matters of greater importance family must take second place to the Kingdom of God.

Luke 9:59-62

⁵⁹To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” ⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Family ties are placed in a wider context.

Jesus was neither hard, harsh, callous or unsympathetic – but the call to discipleship demands our complete loyalty.

“Leave the spiritually dead to bury the physically dead.”  Those who are serious about being Jesus’ followers must realize that God’s work is most important.  Working for God’s Kingdom is more important than burying the dead.

Those who want to follow Jesus totally and radically must be prepared to give up everything for His sake that is why the challenge cannot be diluted.

There are no half measures in Christ’s call to discipleship one gives Him one’s whole life and heart.

Revelations 3:16

¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

FOR MORE IN-DEPTH COMMENTARY GO HERE
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Hating

It is possible to love those nearest and dearest to  us so much that we are unable to give God His rightful place in our life.  Inordinate love for family could place shackles on us rendering us unable to make the sacrifices necessary to put God over and above all else. If we are constantly concerned about  pleasing family members, we will be unable to give God the place of primacy in our lives.  Every human love must be dispassionate and disinterested,  we must neither cling nor  permit others to cling to us, rather  from our love for God must flow our love for others.  Only such a love fulfills God's first commandment to love Him with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole might and our whole being.  Putting anything else before our love for Him becomes an idol.

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Luke  14:26 If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brother and sister and yes even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Matthew 10:37,  He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

  

The cost of discipleship requires a whole hearted not half hearted response.  If anyone stands in the way of complete commitment to God even our closest, nearest and dearest, it must be renounced.  Our response to God’s call must be radical.

Reading the above verses from the Gospel of Luke and Matthew one may get the impression that God is calling us to renounce all family ties but that is not true at all.  How could a God of Love demand that we  not love our family when He Himself commands us to honor our father and mother?  

What God calls us to is radical love - the same kind of love that sent His beloved Son to the Cross in order to redeem us.  We too must be prepared to lay down our lives in love and service first to God and then to our neighbor.

FOR MORE IN-DEPTH COMMENTARY GO HERE
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The Problem With Money

The problem with money is that it can become an addiction and once that happens the priority shifts from God to possessions.  It makes a terrible bedfellow because love for money leads to greed, greed to envy, envy to hatred and hatred kills love.  It robs you of your peace of mind and peace of soul.  It is difficult to  have inordinate wealth and give God His rightful place in your life.

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Mark 10:17-26

17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  18  Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?  No one is good but God alone.  19  You know the commandments: 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.'"  20  He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."  21  Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."  22  At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.  23   Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"  24  The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!  25  It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."  26  They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?"  Mark 10:21 You lack one thing: go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.

The rich young man had everything and yet he hungered for more.  He knew that there was still something he lacked and when he ran up to Jesus to make his need known to Christ, he was certain that He would give him that something that his heart yearned for.  On finding out though the means to complete fulfillment he discovered that  he was prepared to settle for the mediocre rather than give up all he had and follow the Lord.  He was prepared to sacrifice eternal bliss for present pleasure.

He gave his wealth priority.  Wealth makes it difficult for us to have a right relationship with God.  Sit lightly on money neither hoarding it or throwing it away.  Our entry to the Kingdom of God depends on whether we give some of our money away.

Matthew 6:33

Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness.

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Flesh and Blood

Every faith filled Catholic knows that once the Priest speaks the words of Consecration in Persona Christi, the bread and wine become transubstantiated into the Body and Blood of our Lord.  This is not rocket science, this is faith – Jesus said so and we believe.  It cannot be less complicated than this simple truth.

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John 6:51

51 I am the living bread which has come from heaven; whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The bread I shall give is my flesh and I will give it for the life of the world.”

John 6:52

52 The Jews were arguing among themselves, “How can this man give us flesh to eat?”

John 6:53

53 So Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

Many of Jesus’ disciples left Him because they said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" and so they did not follow Him anymore.

Although this is  neither scandalous  nor a stumbling block to  Catholics, it was a scandal and a stumbling block to His followers. 

The truths of our faith cannot be watered in order to make it more palatable.  Peace  will not and cannot be achieved at the cost of compromising God’s word.

John 6:63

It is the spirit that gives life the flesh is of no avail.

To feed on Christ by faith is to eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood.

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FIRE AND DIVISION

There are some sayings of Jesus that can perplex and probably make you scratch your head wondering, what on earth could He mean?  I hope that both explanations Fr. F’s crisp one and Fr. Francis Jamieson more detailed version will throw light on what Jesus meant when He made difficult and sometimes downright controversial statements.

I think that one must take several points into consideration when understanding a difficult or  hard statement made by Christ. 

1. Read the preceding and following verses or even the whole chapter if it is the same theme.
2. Find out the context in which it is written
3. Who is Jesus addressing
4. Read similar texts written by the other Gospel writers to get a better understanding or insight. 

• Fire and Division
• Flesh and Blood
• The Problem with Money
• Hating
• Let the Dead Bury the Dead
• Marriage and Divorce
• Mystification
• Using Money to Make Friends
• The Unpardonable Sin
• We Have Done Only Our Duty

FIRE AND DIVISION

Luke 12:51-53  

Do you think I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

Luke 12: 13-15

13 Someone in the crowd spoke to Je­sus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” 14 He replied, “My friend, who

has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?”

Mark 3:21

21 Knowing what was happening his relatives came to take charge of him: “He is out of his mind,” they said.

John   7:5