Wednesday of the 24th week in ordinary time
1 Cor. 12: 31.13-15 Luke 7: 31-35
Theme: The higher gifts
In the 1st reading of today, from the 1st letter of saint Paul to the Corinthians, we are presented with some of the wonderful gifts that God has given to his people, and faith, hope and love are presented as a higher gift, but the greatest of them all is love. What a wonderful way to invite us to embrace a life of love. St. Paul in this letter is reiterating what Jesus told us when he summed all the commandments into love of God and neighbours. The place of love in our lives as children of God, cannot be over emphasized. This is because it started from the very beginning when God out of love for sinful humanity sent his only Begotten son Jesus Christ to come and die for us. So, it is proper to say that love is part of our identity as Christians and children of God. The question today is, are you conscious of this fact in your life, and how well are you practicing it in your daily life? We are all encouraged today in a very special way, to give love a chance in our life.
The practice of love in our individual lives and in our families, is a necessity in our world today. This stems from the fact that if we all give love a chance in our lives, our society will become a better place, and there will be love, peace, unity, growth and so forth. These are some of the things that are currently lacking in our lives as individuals, in our families and in the society at large. In view of this, we are all encouraged today to let go and let God. When God leads, then love will have his way, and we will be better of for it. There will be no place anymore for hatred, wars, bitterness, evil against one another and so many other things and ways in which people are hurt in our world today. Let us accept this wonderful invitation today and contribute our quota towards making our world a better place.
Let us embrace this invitation today in our lives, lest we belong to the group of people that Jesus is referring to in today’s gospel. A people you do not really know where they belong, they don’t really know what they want. This is because John the Baptist came, and they condemned him, and Jesus came eating and drinking unlike John the Baptist and they still condemned him. Let the language of love guide you in all that you do, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, Amen. Peace be with you.