JESUS MAKES THE DIFFERENCE!

⏰Friday of the Twenty-Second Week of Ordinary Time 2 (07 September 2018)

📕1 Cor 4:1-5; Ps 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40 (R.v.39a); Luke 5:33-39

May the peace and love of Christ in all its fullness abide with you. Amen.

Reading through Luke 5:33-39, it might not be so right to say that the fasting of the disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees was not right. They were fulfilling one of the essential requirements of the Law. The problem is that they did not realize that someone greater than Moses was in their midst (cf. Heb 3:3).

In Rev 21:5, the Lamb that is seated on the throne declared, “Behold, I make all things new.” Jesus is the Lamb (cf. John 1:36) and “anyone who is in Christ is a new creature. For him, old things have passed away; a new world has come” (1Cor 5:17). Can you see the reason Jesus compares the new wine in old wine skin?

There are two important lessons that we must learn from the above:

👉The first is that we cannot follow Jesus with a divided heart. Religious syncretism must be shoved aside by any serious follower of Christ.

👉The second is that Christ is the one who gives us the identity as new creatures. A river that forgets its source dries away. Without Christ, we are nothing. What must therefore be found in us is our intent desire to remain “Servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God” (1Cor 4:1).

Since Christ is the one who makes the difference, it is of very little relevance, the judgement that men pass about us. Let us work harder to be found trustworthy in our service to Christ (see 1Cor 4:2) because our commendation shall come from God, not man (cf. 1Cor 4:5).

Remember, it is not an easy road to follow Christ faithfully but let us be encouraged like St Paul in saying, “I can do all things in him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).

May Jesus never allow you to grow weary of following him and may he find you worthy of being part of that marriage feast of the Lamb in the new Jerusalem (Rev 19:9). Amen.

Have a beautiful day filled with fresh strength and new zeal to follow Christ in faithfulness. Peace be with you.