By Most Reverend Prakash Mallavarapu,
Archbishop of Visakhapatnam –
There is one teaching of the Lord that demands a lot of courage and strength from anyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
“If you remember that your brother or sister has something against leave your offering there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother or sister… (Mathew 5: 23).
Jesus teaches about true worship not a formal routine type of worship, “Worship in spirit and in truth.” This is one area of our life, which is rather radical and demanding from us who are and who want to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Our worship and all that we do as expressions of our faith and devotion have to be evaluated with the values of our Master and Lord who teaches us about how we should live in relation to others.
To Forgive is Divine
Forgiveness is the generosity of one’s heart and it does not come without deliberate considerations of others who are like us frail and fallible. Others do indulge in speaking, in doing things, or in their behaviour that offends us and hurts us, and even does damage to our personal life.
Sometimes we too indulge in such ways of speaking or behaving towards others, very negative and judgmental, condemning, and even destroying their peace of mind. What the Lord is asking of us his disciples that we show generosity in forgiving others and in making sincere efforts to reconcile and relate to them in spite of their offences against you.
Our love relationship with our God of love will be deficient and incomplete without this forgiveness and reconciliation. It is at times rather difficult, humanly speaking, to reconcile and relate with some persons, as we cannot easily forget what they have said or done. But, Our Lord is saying, as his disciples we cannot be an unforgiving person but should be one who is able to “forgive seventy times seven.” It does not come naturally, it has to be cultivated! Not easy but not impossible, “go and reconcile… then come and offer your gifts…”
Seek the Kingdom of God
In the Lenten season shall we not look into ourselves and see where and how we are in this regard!
Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you…” (Mt 6: 33).
Our Lord is speaking about our dependence on God who provides what we need. Worry and anxiety are in the lives of every average human being and most often the worry and anxiety are about the daily needs, “how best can I satisfy my needs?”
Trusting in His Providence
In searching for ways and means to meet our needs we realize that there is uncertainty about achieving the goal of meeting my needs. When we do not get what want and as we want, in spite of all the efforts and hard work, worry and anxiety will be there. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are asked to trust Divine Providence and entrust our life into His hands, believing that He will take care of my needs. “Cast your cares upon the Lord,” says the psalmist.
In this Lenten Season as disciples of Jesus Christ, we have to see how calm and tranquil we are because of our faith and hope in the Divine Providence. Seeking God’s reign and His righteousness should be the main goal and about what we need. God will show the ways and means.
Trusting in the Providence of God does not mean to stop making efforts. It is about the attitude of saying, “I want to be sure and certain” about getting what I want what i need! 5.
“When you do to one of these least brothers of mine, you did to me…. when you did not do to one of the least of these ones, you did not do to me” (Mt 25: 40, 45).
One of the important aspects of our life is that we live with other human beings. It is in our relationship with other brothers and sisters, especially with the poor and the needy, our discipleship of Jesus Christ is manifested.
One can be indifferent and least bothered about those that are in need like the “rich man” in the parable who did not care to see Lazarus and one can also be generous and compassionate like the Samaritan who stopped and saw the wounded man whom he helped!
Time to Win Back Humanity
None of us will be fully like the “rich man in the parable” nor can we any one of us totally be like the “Good Samaritan”, who out of the way to assist and care for the neighbour. This is because we have the inbuilt capacity and disposition “to love, to be concerned, to be merciful, to empathize with fellow human beings and have the instinct to respond to those in need!”
But, in this digital age and in the global culture that prevails everywhere, individualism is one of the consequences which is leading to indifference to fellow human beings, especially the poor, the sick and suffering. Overly concerned with one’s progress and development, makes people blind and deaf to the suffering humanity.
This teaching of our Lord is indicating that there is the “sin by omission” which equally deserves condemnation and punishment as in the case of “sin by commission.” In this Lenten season, it is good to see as disciples of Jesus Christ if we are responding to those in need. Of course, it is within our possibilities but that should not be the excuse for not “seeing” and “hearing” the poor and the needy!
Concluding with the words taken from the gospel according to Matthew 7:13-14.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy [a] that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”