Faith

Saturday, 11the week in ordinary time – 20th June 2026 – Matthew 6:24-34

This text must be read as a composite unit. While it may seem to be two issues at hand verse 24 serves to state the issue while verses 25- 34 serve as the solution. Sadly, the titles to these scripture texts as they appear in our Bibles create an artificial and fallacious impression that these are two teaching; in reality they are one.

Society has changed a great deal since the time of Jesus. Definitions of poverty, wealth, and the good life are much different today than they were then. Yet even today, many of us may not fall in the category of affluence and wealth. Perhaps many of us have grown out of poverty into a growing middle class. The reality is often seen in our parents who lived through hard times and who continue to live in the ‘fear’ of an impending financial tragedy.

This fear is often seen in the poor. The poor who wander our streets, have no cupboards or refrigerators. The dirty hand bag they carry often serves as both. In it they store all kinds and all sorts out of fear of not getting another meal. Take this example to another level and apply it to ourselves. Most of us, like the poor on our streets, live in fear. The security we enjoy could disappear in a flash; a job loss, the death of a bread winner and so on. It is understandable why many of us would cling to our bank balances rather than to the word of God. Wealth competes with God for the human heart.

We often try to solve next year’s or next week’s problems with today’s energy. Jesus reminds us that God distributes grace daily. Jesus wants us to cling to him especially if our fear and insecurity of the future should turn into an obsession or even worse a crazed desire to hoard more, buy more and possess more. In doing that, we ‘despise’ the Lord, while being ‘devoted’ to our financial portfolios. It is in this light that verse 25 flows.

Of all Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, this is one of the more difficult sections to understand. Jesus’ words seem out of step with our society and on the surface, they lack coherence with the lives we are living. The Lord’s solution which seems simplistic is reflected in the ever-popular song of Bobby Mcferrin which dominated the 1980’s called “don’t worry be happy.”

 Five times in this text we are told to stop worrying about tomorrow as the troubles we have today are burdensome itself. It seems to suggest that one does not need to work or prepare for the future at all; we can simply relax knowing that God will take care of our needs.

Yet, ironically this is not just good practical advice but also sage spiritual advice. The attitude of dependence on the Lord must shine forth in our lives or else our needs become wants and our wants drive us to greed, driving our souls into the hands of satan. Materialism acts like an addiction; it promises that the next milestone of wealth will bring rest, but it only increases the fear of losing what you have. Remember, God doesn’t promise luxury; He promises sufficiency

Jesus does not condemn responsible planning; He condemns taking on the burdens of the future before they arrive. Anxiety exhausts tomorrow’s grace today. Jesus exposes worry not just as a bad habit, but as a spiritual identity crisis. When we obsess over security, we act like orphans rather than children of a loving Heavenly Father. Say to yourself today, ‘anxiety will not sit on my thoughts today; I am already approved, so I have nothing to prove.’

“Do not worry about what you will eat” in verse 6:25 does not mean that food is unimportant. Remember that the Lord himself asked that his followers to pray for “daily bread” (6:11). The issue is not what we eat or drink or wear but our trust in God to provide it. Jesus is addressing the basis for excessive worry and anxiety that can result from a life separated from God and this is the point being made.

In the text of today, Jesus treats money not as a neutral tool, but as a rival master or deity. In the ancient world, a slave could not divide their time between two owners; absolute allegiance was required. You either live for the accumulation of material things (seeking security in the temporal) or for God’s kingdom (seeking security in the eternal). Seek the King, and He will take care of the kingdom because the size of your bank account cannot buy the peace of your soul.

The life of discipleship is characterized by a life that is singular in its pursuit of God. It does not mean that we will not (or should not) acquire possessions, wealth, or need food, clothing and other necessities. Rather, once one is devoted to God, one adopts the values, behaviors and priorities that God affirms.

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Tuesday, 11th week in ordinary time – 16th June 2026 – Matthew 5:43-48

The last of the hyper theses really tests the endurance of a disciple, for the challenge it poses is felt in our everyday life. “Love your enemies” seems like a winning statement for the Nobel Peace prize and yet those who have advocated it have been assassinated and put to death; Christ, Martin Luther and Gandhi to name a few.

Yet, it is interesting to note that world leaders winning the Nobel Peace prize call for peace, never for love! Peace without love is a truce ready to crumble. If peace is the canvas, then love is the paint. Without the color of affection, the picture is just a blank, grey slate.

The message advocated by Jesus to Christians is not some hopeless idealism. Remember that the hyper theses taught by Jesus, were a way to challenge the disciple towards being more and giving more as well as a strategy for overcoming the persecutor. Forgiveness doesn’t excuse their behavior; it prevents their poison from changing your character.

In presenting the last of these six hyper theses, Jesus is also contesting the false and twisted teaching of the Pharisees and Scribes. It is for this reason that He begins by saying, “you have heard it was said.”   The Pharisees and Scribes had conveniently twisted the law of God. Leviticus 19:18 says, “you shall love your neighbour as yourself,” it never said you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. This was clearly a misrepresentation of the teachings of Moses. Clearly the blasphemers were the ‘teachers’ of the law themselves.

Jesus corrects this teaching when He asks us to ‘love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.’  For the Jews at the time of Jesus, the concept of a neighbour was another Jewish brother or sister. To love a Jew who was your brother or your sister was considered mandatory. Teaching one to hate everyone else was tantamount to nothing short of religious sponsored racial and ethnic discrimination; one that even chose to exterminate the other physically.

It is for this reason that when Jesus was asked by the young man, “who is my neighbour?” He launches into what was to become a parable told across faiths. The parable of the ‘Good Samaritan’ is more than a ‘feel- good story.’ The Samaritan was viewed by the Jews as an outsider and an enemy. Strangely, it is he who proves to be a neighbour and friend to a Jew, who perhaps, with his sanctioned religious hate, may not have been as kind should the roles be reversed.

Jesus also realises the frailty of human nature when it comes to loving our enemy and that’s why his next word after “forgive” is, “pray.”  It is human folly, if not arrogance, to believe that we have the power to forgive if that grace does not come through prayer. Praying for your persecutors changes the atmosphere around the conflict, starting with your own heart.

It is prayer that warms the heart and cools the sting. No wonder then, that the prayer given to us by Our Lord Jesus, as a pattern for all prayer has in it the words, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Loving those who love you is just an echo. Loving your enemy is a brand-new conversation.

These words spoken on the ‘Mount of Beatitudes’ are lived by Jesus on the ‘Mount of Calvary’, when nailed to a cross; Jesus utters the prayer, “Father forgive them”. Jesus is not merely offering forgiveness in words he is offering it in prayer to the Father.  Forgiveness must be accompanied by prayer, then progress is made, then ‘perfection is experienced’.

The truth is that Jesus did not see those who put him to death as ‘enemies’. He never stopped loving them and because he loved them, he saw and considered them friends who were misguided. “Father,” he said, “forgive them for they know not what they do.” Don’t let the bitterness of your enemies dictate the boundaries of your heart. Remember, we reach spiritual completeness not when we stop making mistakes, but when we stop withholding grace

If you want to get someone off your hit list, then place them in your prayer list.

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Memorial of the Immaculate heart of Mary – Luke 2: 41-51

Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and today we celebrate the memorial of the Immaculate heart of Mary. Liturgically, where Jesus is, Mary follows. Yet the two celebrations are clear in their theology. The celebration of the Sacred Heart is righty granted the rank of Solemnity or Latria, the highest form of worship; to His mother is granted a memorial or hyperdulia, an elevated honour and veneration. The two are clearly different in liturgical rank.

The main difference between these two celebrations is that that while the devotion to the Heart of Jesus emphasizes a heart that is unconditional in its love for mankind, the devotion to Mary’s heart is focused on the love that she has for Jesus, her Son, and through him, for the Eternal Father. It is a symbol of a soul looking inward to align completely with God’s will.

Scripturally, the devotion to the Immaculate heart of Mary stems from the Gospel taken from Luke2:41-51. The end of the text, Luke 2:51 is the primary biblical foundation and structural anchor for the entire devotion. “His mother treasured all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51).  

What does Mary’s immaculate heart teach us?

1. Her heart teaches us to move away from shallow, reactive living. Mary was uniquely chosen by God and uniquely holy, yet this passage reveals that she did not always have immediate clarity. Holiness does not require instant clarity or perfect comprehension. When faced with a situation that was confusing and deeply distressing, Mary did not demand instant answers, nor did she grow bitter. Instead, she holds the mystery silently inside her heart, she “treasured” (dieteirei—kept safely, guarded through time) these events. She created an interior sanctuary for things that didn’t yet make sense.

Instead of venting, overthinking, or demanding instant answers when life gets confusing, we are called to create an interior sanctuary. True spiritual maturity means sitting quietly with holy mysteries and letting God reveal their meaning over time. True faith is the capacity to sit with unresolved questions while remaining obediently committed to the ordinary duties of daily life.

This is a blueprint for our own moments of spiritual darkness or confusion. When God’s plan feels disruptive or agonizingly quiet, the temptation is to force an interpretation or walk away. This text invites us to practice the virtue of holy patience, holding our unanswered questions gently in our hearts, trusting that clarity is a fruit of time and faithfulness. The Immaculate Heart of Mary serves as a spiritual mirror, showing us how to receive God’s will, handle suffering, and maintain peace in a chaotic world. The Immaculate Heart isn’t a heart that has all the answers, it’s a heart that trusts the One who does.

2. In Luke 2:48, Mary says to Jesus “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” (Luke 2:48). This reflection centres on the sheer, relatable humanity of Mary and Joseph. For three days, they experienced every parent’s worst nightmare. The word used for their search (odynōmenoi) points to a tormenting, crushing grief. Here lies a lesson for all of us, that even the mother of God spent three days searching in the dark. Keep looking; Jesus is right where He belongs. Finding Jesus always starts with realizing you’ve been traveling without Him.

When they finally find Him, Mary’s response is raw and honest, exposing her vulnerability. Jesus’ response “Did you not know I must be in my Father’s house?” marks a painful but necessary moment of differentiation. He loves His earthly parents, but He belongs to the Father.  

 Every relationship, whether between parents and children, spouses, or mentors, eventually encounters a moment of letting go. Loving someone means accepting that they ultimately belong to God, not to us. This reflection challenges us to examine where we might be holding onto people or expectations too tightly and asks if we can love them enough to let them fulfil God’s purpose, even when it causes us anxiety.

3. The Immaculate Heart is traditionally depicted as pierced by a sword, representing the intense grief she suffered from Simeon’s prophecy to the Crucifixion. Mary does not close her heart or become cynical when faced with deep emotional pain. She teaches us that holiness does not mean an absence of suffering, but rather the grace to keep our hearts open, vulnerable, and loving, even when they are breaking. When life doesn’t make sense, don’t force an explanation. Store it in your heart and let God write the rest.

4. After the dramatic events in the Temple, Mary returned to the obscurity of Nazareth, spending decades cooking, cleaning, and caring for her family. She teaches us that extraordinary holiness is hidden inside ordinary duties. We do not need a spotlight or a stage to serve God; the routine, quiet tasks of our daily lives are the exact places where our hearts are refined.

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The most sacred heart of Jesus – Deuteronomy 7:6-11/ Matthew 11:25-30

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus calls us to reflect on the heart of God. The readings of the day allow us to gaze into the tender heart of God; a heart that speaks of love but not one devoid of a just relationship with Him.

In Deuteronomy 7:6-11, Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab just before they cross the Jordan River to conquer and settle in Canaan. This was the land that God promised them. He reminds them they are God’s “treasured possession”.

It is easy to read “treasure people” and slip into arrogance. However, in the biblical narrative, being treasured or chosen (election) is never about superior worth; it is about a superior weight of responsibility. Your value isn’t based on your size, your status, or your strength, it is based on His Sovereign choice.   

Moses destroys any notion of Israelite superiority.  He points out that they were the smallest of all nations. God did not choose them because they were impressive, numerous, or righteous. Instead, their election was based solely on God’s hesed (unfailing, covenantal love) and His oath to the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob). This completely dismantles human pride. It reminds us that God’s love is a gift, not a wage for good behavior.

The Israelites are instructed to be a “holy people” (v. 6), meaning they are set apart exclusively for God’s purposes. This required separating themselves from the religious and moral practices of the surrounding pagan nations. You cannot be a treasured possession if you are trying to look like everyone else.

God commands total separation from Canaanite culture because human hearts are highly drift-prone. We easily absorb the values, idols, and ethics of our surrounding culture. To be “holy” (set apart) requires intentional boundaries. Without boundaries, identity is lost. Holiness isn’t isolation from people; it’s consecration for purpose. God calls us to be distinct, not distant.”

Yet this covenantal relationship has two sides. While God is love and has faithfully kept his promises to a thousand generations of those who love and obey him, His faithfulness includes active justice against those who hate Him. God is fiercely loyal to those who love Him, and fiercely honest with those who oppose Him.

God’s love is unearned! However, maintaining the blessings of the covenant requires obedience (verse 11). You don’t obey to get God to love you; you obey because He already does. Moses commands the Israelites respond to this love by strictly keeping the laws and decrees they have been given. It is true that Grace is free, but it is not cheap.

 Do not let this Solemnity mask the reality of truth. The same hand that holds a thousand generations in mercy, handles rebellion with ultimate justice. Verse 10 states, God “repays those who hate him.” It serves as a reminder that God’s love is not a permissive or a ‘look-the-other-way ‘sentimentality. He is fiercely opposed to evil and injustice, and human choices carry real consequences.

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Thursday, 10th week in ordinary – Matthew 5:20-26

The text is part of the Sermon on the Mount which encompasses chapters five to seven of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is making a shift from mere external obedience to the law of Moses to the internal conditions of the heart. He will do this by presenting his disciples with what have been come to be known as ‘hyper thesis’. Today we look at the first of these six hyper theses.

Jesus is pointed when he emphasizes that reconciliation with others is a prerequisite for a right relationship with God. Yet he begins by raising the baseline of righteousness to what seemed a superlative level. He says that the disciple’s righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. If not, they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

This was a hard ask! For the masses, the scribes and the Pharisees were known for their strict external adherence to the law. They represented the pinnacle of religious devotion. On the surface, it seemed an impossible ask from simple peasants, uneducated in the Torah. But Jesus was demanding a righteousness that was not merely external but internal; he wanted his disciples to have a heart level purity that goes far beyond ticking the box of liturgical rubrics.

In today’s text, Jesus addresses a spiritual failing that we are all culpable of; anger. While the commandment was emphatic that one cannot kill, Jesus wants us to us to trace the root of murder to its emotional source. For Jesus, harbouring anger, insults or contempt against a brother or sister, violates the spirit of the commandment.

For Jesus, God prioritizes human reconciliation over ritual sacrifice and hence it is important that any ritual action of bringing a gift to the altar to seek God’s favour would be met with indifference from God. God refuses to let us use religious activity to escape the hard, messy work of apologizing and making things right with the people around us.

The Pharisees used religious perfectionism as a shield to hide their lack of love. A clean reputation means nothing if our resentment is dirty. It is terrifyingly easy to use good habits; theological knowledge, strict ethics, volunteer work etc. to camouflage a cold judgmental heart. We cannot lift clean hands to God in worship if those same hands are actively choking a neighbour through malice or silent treatment.

God reads our internal motivation not just our external restrain of not physically killing someone. Jesus is not looking for a spotless external checklist. This begs the question; am I actually a truly loving person, or am I just skilled at hiding my bitterness so that I look good to others? True righteousness is not the absence of bad behaviours but the presence of holy love.

Jesus wants us to focus on the little things that might eventually lead us to grave and sinful actions. From careless gossip to internet trolling, such verbal assassination are serious offences in the eyes for God as any physical violence. Today, the world does not recognize the spiritual crisis that exists, when we diminish the dignity of another human being who is made in the image and likeness of God. Verbal assassinations are just as lethal to the soul as violence is to the body.

Unresolved anger is a ticking clock on the way to the debtor’s prison because resentment has a compounding nature. Anger is a terrible tenant; it eats away at the mind that houses it. Hence conflict must be dealt with quickly or it hardens into malice and paralyzes our spiritual life. We become prisoners of our own making. Do not let today’s irritation become tomorrow’s prison.

In verse 23, Jesus says, “if your brother has something against you..” Notice that Jesus does not say, ‘wait until you have a grudge.’ He demands that you move even if someone else is harbouring hurt. Jesus removes the passive excuse of, “well they have not come to talk to me about it.” We cannot claim to be peaceful just because our rage stays locked inside our mind.

Jesus’ advice for dealing with anger is urgent; do it on the way to court. He understands that anger hardens with time. What is simply a misunderstanding today can become a concrete wall of hatred by next week. The longer we wait to address our rage, the harder it becomes to break out of its prison.

Anger is also incredibly addictive because it makes us feel instantly superior to the person who wronged us. When we nurse a grudge, we cast ourselves as the innocent judge and the other person as the villain. Nursing a grudge makes you a crooked judge in a court of your own making. All that resentment does is to crown you as judge while crucifying your character.

If anger equals murder, then we are all guilty. While this may feel incredibly heavy, we recognize the need for a Saviour. We must then focus on the grace of God for our salvation.

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