PUTTING ON CHRIST : 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time : 28th September, 2014 : Ezek 18: 25-28; Phil 2: 1-5; Mt 21: 28-32 Putting on Christ, involves... doing good, being good, and remaining good! Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus! That is the invitation, the liturgy today offers us! In short it can be understood, in Pauls own terms: to put on the mind of Christ. The readings also offer the graded way of putting on Christ, putting on the New Man, to have the mind of Christ! The first way of putting on Christ is doing good: to do good is easy, though one has to choose to do it. What one does is noticed, appreciated or criticised, analysed and evaluated. In receiving those appreciations,Jesus would conclude that you have already received your reward. According to the mind of Christ, doing something externally is good, but not good enough. External signs were considered by Jesus as hypocrisy! The second level of putting on Christ is being good: doing good alone is not enough according to the mind of Christ. An excessive insistence on doing things, can easily lead to hypocrisy, legalism and ritualism. We are called to be good, that our actions flow out of the person that we are; that from our internal goodness people experience a goodness that brings them to experience the goodness of God. Ezekiel points out in the first reading today that God does not see ones actions but the inner disposition from which those actions proceed. We may be doing the best of things at a given time, but a wrong intention or a imperfect motivation behind can make the whole affair totally unchristian. That is why, though doing good is so important, being good becomes something very crucial. The third level of putting on Christ requires not only that we are good, but we remain good. It is a reminder that our goodness has to be something that is sustained and not sporadic, constant and not conditioned! To remain good, is a challenge. At times we can be good and do good; but to remain good always is a demanding task; but putting on Christ means precisely that. Here we are dealing with the grace of perseverance. It is hard to persevere in being good. Saying yes to his father, the son fails to do what he accepted to do: it is like the seeds that fell among the thorny bushes or those which fell on the shallow rock. The initial fervour dies and soon every thing becomes so monotonous and meaningless. Instead, with the grace of perseverance, every new day is a renewed challenge to remain with the Lord, to remain good, to really put on Christ. Putting on Christ is a matter of doing good, but more than that it is being good, being good all our life and every moment. Are we ready to take up the task? We would do the right thing to pay heed to the life task that God gives through St. Paul today: Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus! ( Rev. Father: Antony Christy SDB ) thots-n-lots.blogspot.in/2014/09/putting-on-christ.html
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 05:25:01 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015