7th Sunday of Easter Year C - 8/5/2016 - Gospel: Jn 17:20-26
Being drowned
Being drowned and being drought are two states of life that a forest life would experience from time to time caused by the unstable pattern of annual rainfall each year. There is no exception for even plants on the pots around the house; they too experience drought and flood. Last Christmas my friend gave me a beautiful bonsai. Before going on for a holiday I entrusted it to my cousin to take care of the bonsai with the instruction to water it only once a week. It was well looked after. Because of his absent- minded he watered it and gave it more water later while his wife thought he forgot to water the bonsai so she gave it some more water. After a couple of weeks the bonsai was drowning and slowly died beginning from the roots. It died from inside out and that was too late to revive it. Water is essential nutrition for all living things but when they have too much they would die by drowning.
Our planet has the capacity to provide both clean water and good food for everyone to share but it is not always the case. In reality essential things for the living is always in the hand of a minority who somehow have the power to control the resources of life. They made rules to protect what they own and made the rest of the population to labour for them. The reason for having a gap widen between the minority rich and the majority poor causes not by the force of nature but by the exploitation of talents who lack of faith in Jesus and lack of love for humanity. People who accumulate enormous amount of wealth and power don't know that they are being drowned in their own wealth. They are like dying trees starting from within their own hearts. Their wealth truly empowers them in life with many privileges but it certainly will not save their lives and their souls. We all acquire basic things for our physical needs and for our spiritual body; the former is needed for survival of the body and the latter is for better spiritual advancement and the peace of mind.
Everyone knows that earthly power is important but forget to know that it has a deadly side affect and it will destroy life. People who own much wealth believe that if they can make it then they have the capacity to control it. Controlling wealth is very similar to control an underground leaking pipe; when the water pressure is imbalance it will burst and what you have gathered for a long time would disappear in a few minutes. The faithful accumulate another kind of power which has never put pressure on us. This kind spiritual power comes from Jesus and it is invisible to our eyes because it depends not on world's materials but from on high- The Spirit of God. This power offers peace of mind and lightens life's burden. It is the power that Jesus has promised to give to those who have faith in Him. Those who submerge themselves on this spiritual sea will not be drowned but truly alive and active. Those who are inundated themselves with God's power are drown in God's love and mercy. They are people who are being clothed with power from on high. God's power has never destroyed life but instead it sustains and generates life on this life and offers the everlasting life to come.
Our planet has the capacity to provide both clean water and good food for everyone to share but it is not always the case. In reality essential things for the living is always in the hand of a minority who somehow have the power to control the resources of life. They made rules to protect what they own and made the rest of the population to labour for them. The reason for having a gap widen between the minority rich and the majority poor causes not by the force of nature but by the exploitation of talents who lack of faith in Jesus and lack of love for humanity. People who accumulate enormous amount of wealth and power don't know that they are being drowned in their own wealth. They are like dying trees starting from within their own hearts. Their wealth truly empowers them in life with many privileges but it certainly will not save their lives and their souls. We all acquire basic things for our physical needs and for our spiritual body; the former is needed for survival of the body and the latter is for better spiritual advancement and the peace of mind.
Everyone knows that earthly power is important but forget to know that it has a deadly side affect and it will destroy life. People who own much wealth believe that if they can make it then they have the capacity to control it. Controlling wealth is very similar to control an underground leaking pipe; when the water pressure is imbalance it will burst and what you have gathered for a long time would disappear in a few minutes. The faithful accumulate another kind of power which has never put pressure on us. This kind spiritual power comes from Jesus and it is invisible to our eyes because it depends not on world's materials but from on high- The Spirit of God. This power offers peace of mind and lightens life's burden. It is the power that Jesus has promised to give to those who have faith in Him. Those who submerge themselves on this spiritual sea will not be drowned but truly alive and active. Those who are inundated themselves with God's power are drown in God's love and mercy. They are people who are being clothed with power from on high. God's power has never destroyed life but instead it sustains and generates life on this life and offers the everlasting life to come.
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