Tuesday of 15th week, Year II: reflection

Theme: What we should do after receiving God’s blessings

Reading: Mt 11:20–24

Dear friends in Christ, our Lord Jesus speaks to our hearts through the gospel reading of today. He reminds us that there is a purpose for the miracles that we receive from God everyday of our lives. He also reminds us that every word that comes from his mouth should be reciprocated with appropriate positive action from us. He went further to tell us that there is a prize to pay for any failure to respond positively to his miracles and calls.

The catechism of the church teaches us that God created us to know Him, to love Him, to worship Him in this world, and then be with Him in heaven. In the same way, the miracles from God are meant to bring us closer to God, to appreciate God, and to change our old and sinful ways of lives. They are meant to show us how much our God loves us and desires to draw us closer to Him. They are not meant to satisfy our quest for fantasy.

The Gospel reading of today tells us that Christ looked at the cities of Chorazìn, Bethsaida, and Capernaum where He performed most of His miracles, and when He saw their inability to respond positively to his mighty works among them, he was filled with anger. Possibly, these cities failed to understand that those miracles were meant to draw them closer to God. Instead of responding positively to the miracles of Christ, they rather continued living in their old sinful lives.

My dearest people, our God has done many miracles in our lives. That we are alive today is a miracle from God because we are not holier than the dead. Every new day is a miracle from God. That we recover any time we fell sick is a miracle from God. That we can see, walk, talk, and have other good features of our body are indications of the love of God for us. Are we really grateful to God for all these? Today’s gospel challenges us to return praises to God for all these miracles by living a holy life and helping the needy.

Secondly, the gospel reminds us that Christ expects His words to bear the fruit of repentance in our lives. In the passage we read, Christ expected His words preached to the three cities of Chorazìn, Bethsaida, and Capernaum to lead them out of their sins, but they stayed comfortable in their sins even after hearing the words that called them to repentance. My dearest people, Jesus looks at us every day to check if we are responding positively to His words. He moves around us every day to check if His words are bearing fruits of love, forgiveness, repentance, charity, and peace in us. Let us not remain comfortable in our old sinful ways of life. Let us not get used to sin as the cities in the gospel reading of today did.

Finally, Jesus reminds us that there is a prize for every failure to put His words into practice. There is a price to pay when we refuse to respond to His miracles in our lives with living a holy life. In the gospel, he proclaimed woes on the cities of Chorazìn, Bethsaida, and Capernaum; He condemned them for their hardness of heart, and for their insensitivity.

May God give us the grace to respond positively to the miracles and words of Christ. Amen

Fr Isaac Chima