19th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - 7/8/2016 - Gospel: Lk 12:32-48
Imperishable
The concept of lasting and permanent for earthly things is a wishful concept for those who have no faith in Jesus. The Australia continent moves a few centimetres every year. Think about erosions change in the rocky- mountains. The value of diamond and gold is changed when they are on sale or discounted. It is rather hard to name anything unchanged of the material world. What is formed by corruptible materials is corruptible.
A human life is composed by the visible and the invisible elements. The first one belongs to the natural world and everyone recognizes it. The second component belongs to the supernatural world and is hung in balance. Because of its unseeable and untouchable people argue that they don't exist. They may not exist to some people's minds but it doesn't mean that they cease to exist in real life. We Christians believe that we are made after the image and likeness of the loving God. We each have a soul and we are called to live a life of love and compassion and mercy. These qualities of a human life last forever. Everlasting, incorruptible or imperishable is the language of a soul and its deeds. When we have finished our earthly journey on earth, our soul will return to God, in the hope of enjoying eternal and everlasting life in heaven. Eternal life is a perpetual gift God rewards for those who have served others in God's name. It is not something we human power can earn for ourselves but it is a free gift from God; given to those who faithfully followed not our will but God's and is given to those whose life exercised self control. It is given for those who clothed themselves with what is righteous and right and for those who become God's agents of love and mercy.
Jesus gained eternal life for us by self- sacrificing Himself on the cross. Jesus has left forever His earthly place of burial and the cross. The empty tomb and the cross now exist in the mind and heart of all believers. The world could find His body in the tomb no more because He had risen from the dead. They might find the actual location of the tomb but certainly not Jesus' body. Jesus has transformed the deadly meaning of the cross to be the sign of forgiveness and salvation. The cross is no more the sign of death but it is the symbol of God's love for mankind. They last forever simply because Jesus has transformed them and they become the icons relating to the Christian faith. Anything that has been transformed by God will last forever. Through His death and resurrection Jesus has transformed earthly corruptible elements, pain and suffering and betrayal and disobedience into the everlasting gifts. Whether we like it or not the reality is that there is no room for corruptible things in God's kingdom.
Anything that comes from above will exist and any part of our lives is being transformed by Christ will last forever.
A human life is composed by the visible and the invisible elements. The first one belongs to the natural world and everyone recognizes it. The second component belongs to the supernatural world and is hung in balance. Because of its unseeable and untouchable people argue that they don't exist. They may not exist to some people's minds but it doesn't mean that they cease to exist in real life. We Christians believe that we are made after the image and likeness of the loving God. We each have a soul and we are called to live a life of love and compassion and mercy. These qualities of a human life last forever. Everlasting, incorruptible or imperishable is the language of a soul and its deeds. When we have finished our earthly journey on earth, our soul will return to God, in the hope of enjoying eternal and everlasting life in heaven. Eternal life is a perpetual gift God rewards for those who have served others in God's name. It is not something we human power can earn for ourselves but it is a free gift from God; given to those who faithfully followed not our will but God's and is given to those whose life exercised self control. It is given for those who clothed themselves with what is righteous and right and for those who become God's agents of love and mercy.
Jesus gained eternal life for us by self- sacrificing Himself on the cross. Jesus has left forever His earthly place of burial and the cross. The empty tomb and the cross now exist in the mind and heart of all believers. The world could find His body in the tomb no more because He had risen from the dead. They might find the actual location of the tomb but certainly not Jesus' body. Jesus has transformed the deadly meaning of the cross to be the sign of forgiveness and salvation. The cross is no more the sign of death but it is the symbol of God's love for mankind. They last forever simply because Jesus has transformed them and they become the icons relating to the Christian faith. Anything that has been transformed by God will last forever. Through His death and resurrection Jesus has transformed earthly corruptible elements, pain and suffering and betrayal and disobedience into the everlasting gifts. Whether we like it or not the reality is that there is no room for corruptible things in God's kingdom.
Anything that comes from above will exist and any part of our lives is being transformed by Christ will last forever.
Written by Fr Vũđình Tường
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia
St Francis Xavier Catholic Parish
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane Australia