My reflection for 2014-09-10: St. Paul is reminding us that wherever we are now and whatever state of life we find ourselves in, we should be content. But the contentment should be In the context of our relationship with God and Jesus, remembering that Jesus is coming soon and that time is too short for us to try to make drastic changes in our lives without considering the bigger picture, the effect of the change we seek on our relationship with God and Jesus. For example: we look forward to a big pay raise believing we deserve it for the efforts we put in. But then we dont get it. This can push us to resentment which may push us to rash action of looking for another job without clearly thinking what job we should look for and the real reasons we are looking for a new job. We give in to the complaints we have in our head as well as the complaints of others around us. So, even if we do change jobs, it would be for the wrong reasons and the chances that we end up with a truly better job and workplace become close to impossible. This is what St. Paul was referring to when he said but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life, and I would like to spare you that. The better course of action to take when faced with the temptation of disappointment is exactly what the Gospel is talking about. Jesus teaches about the Beatitudes which is what we can consider as be attitudes. The attitudes we must develop in ourselves. The Beatitudes reflect Jesus Himself and being Christians (Catholic), He is our model in life. We aspire to be like Him. The Gospel captures the realities we have where we are today. Our life is a set of two extremes. We are surrounded by people who dislike us and cant accept us but we are also surrounded by people who adore us and want us to never change the way we are. We have the tendency to want everybody to be the 2nd group, those who adore us. But the Gospel warns that not all who adore us care for us. It is because of what they can get from us and how they can use us that hey like us so much and never want us to change. These people are actually pretentious and we are their slaves. The 1st group of people are actually better because they do not pretend. They are WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) people. And these people challenge us everyday. Yes, they make life difficult but they also give us the reasons to become better versions of ourselves. They push us to prove them wrong through action. They help us put our faith in action and live out our faith in our lives. That is why they are the people at the beginning of the Beatitudes and Jesus emphasizes that people who suffer form the 1st group of people are Blessed! Lifes hardship are indeed difficult, but if we follow Jesus and live the Beatitudes, then we will have a more joyful and peaceful life wherein we become truly Blessed. Let us pray for the grace of courage and strength to live the Beatitudes no matter the cost and difficulty that life throws our way.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 12:54:12 +0000
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