Monday of the 4^th week of Easter

Acts 11: 1-18     John 10: 11-18

Theme: We are all children of God

In the 1^st reading of today from the Acts of the Apostles, we are presented with a very important issue that will help to strengthen our faith in God. It was the issue of circumcision and seeing those not circumcised as not good enough to be part of the Christian fold. The vision of Peter from heaven gave a solid reason why the issue of circumcision should not disqualify anyone who truly desire to be a follower of Christ. In view of this, we must be mindful of the things we push into public space, that tend to place some people or an individual in a disadvantaged position. Let us try to emphasize the things that truly matter in our journey of faith, not those created by us to place some people or individuals in a disadvantaged position. We are all called to build bridges that will propagate the faith, and not division.

Dearly beloved in Christ, let us always try to put things in perspective when we make judgements about things that are related to God, lest we make a mistake that is avoidable. There was an incident I was present went it happened sometime ago. On a Sunday, a woman who came to the church without covering her hair, was refused entrance into the church. The reason was that in that locality, the women cover their hair when they go to church, but the woman in question was a visitor to that parish and she was coming from a place were covering of hair by women was optional. If not my timely intervention, the woman would have missed mass on that day. At the end she got a white handkerchief and went into the church. My question is, would it be proper to have denied her mass because of that mistake? Given this situation, what do you think Jesus would have done? Something to reflect on.

Dear friends in Christ, let us be mindful of the things we do in the name of God. Just like Jesus emphasized the spirit of the law which is driven by love as against the letters of the law. As Christians, we have right to stand for key issues of our faith at any point in time, for instance issues about our doctrine and faith; issues that are important to us as Christians. A good example is the issue of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, issues about the Eucharist and so many other important issues in our life as children of God. However, we must also go by the practices that are obtainable in our locality but be patient enough to listen when you find a person breaking the generally practiced laws. With patience, a solution can be found to that situation, and no one is denied mass at the end. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.