33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C - 13/11/2016 - Gospel: Lk 21:5-19
Indestructible
No matter how solid built and how beautiful things are their lives on earth are limited because there are hands to build and there are hands to knock it down. The book of Qoheleth says that there is a time for everything: a time to build and a time to demolish Qo. 3,3. Jesus used the image of the holy temple which will be destroyed to talk about the process of spiritual destruction of a person. The physical destruction of the grandeur of the temple is visible and everyone can see it; but the destruction of the spiritual temple is invisible because it is attacked from within, hidden from our eyes. The temple of God is built in our heart at the time of Baptism. Some of them have been damaged beyond recognition; some have been disfigured and again others have been destroyed. The people of God are the Church and when a part of the Church, no matter how small, is being attacked the whole Church gets hurt. We need to pray for one another, for healing and for God's protection.
Every Church built on historical sites or Cathedral becomes a tourist attraction more than a place of worship the Almighty God. People come to take photos and admire of its beauty and forget to say thanks to God. It seems that the public have a high regard for the handmade things and less for the Creator. It should be the other way round, worship the Creator who creates creations and through the creations we recognize the Creator who created it.
Life is an internal struggle between good and evil and the evil spirit appears to win the battle. Jesus tells us that those who have firm faith in Him certainly will win the final battle. What counts is the final one. The false teachers and their supporters are more vocal and more convince in their arguments since their argument is based on material proof which is visible to our eyes. Some false teachers present themselves to be good but their teaching is toxic to the Christian faith and they are able to deceive some. This kind of internal struggle is real and we need to stay awake in prayers for not being mislead.
We are challenged to discern in our daily lives to be faithful to the true faith and keep our internal temple healthy and shine because it is our inner eye that helps us to follow Jesus. Through constant prayers we are be able to listen to the movements of the Spirit who is quietly active working in us and that would help us to discern between which one is true and which one is a false teacher. We all have moments of misery and insecurity but Jesus made clear that we Christians will be hated and persecuted for being faithful to Him. We have experience in our ministry that there are resistants and harsh judgments and even persecution. We are able to continue to go on in our ministry because we know that we serve God and place our faith and hope in God. We are not alone but God's Spirit will journey with and protect us from the evil ones. It is only through prayers and firm relationships with Jesus we can stand firm in time of trouble and know of what we live for. Our God can turn our failures into successes, tragedies into triumphs and pain into grace.
Every Church built on historical sites or Cathedral becomes a tourist attraction more than a place of worship the Almighty God. People come to take photos and admire of its beauty and forget to say thanks to God. It seems that the public have a high regard for the handmade things and less for the Creator. It should be the other way round, worship the Creator who creates creations and through the creations we recognize the Creator who created it.
Life is an internal struggle between good and evil and the evil spirit appears to win the battle. Jesus tells us that those who have firm faith in Him certainly will win the final battle. What counts is the final one. The false teachers and their supporters are more vocal and more convince in their arguments since their argument is based on material proof which is visible to our eyes. Some false teachers present themselves to be good but their teaching is toxic to the Christian faith and they are able to deceive some. This kind of internal struggle is real and we need to stay awake in prayers for not being mislead.
We are challenged to discern in our daily lives to be faithful to the true faith and keep our internal temple healthy and shine because it is our inner eye that helps us to follow Jesus. Through constant prayers we are be able to listen to the movements of the Spirit who is quietly active working in us and that would help us to discern between which one is true and which one is a false teacher. We all have moments of misery and insecurity but Jesus made clear that we Christians will be hated and persecuted for being faithful to Him. We have experience in our ministry that there are resistants and harsh judgments and even persecution. We are able to continue to go on in our ministry because we know that we serve God and place our faith and hope in God. We are not alone but God's Spirit will journey with and protect us from the evil ones. It is only through prayers and firm relationships with Jesus we can stand firm in time of trouble and know of what we live for. Our God can turn our failures into successes, tragedies into triumphs and pain into grace.
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