PREACHING OUT OF LOVE – 01/30/22 (Sunday)

Mark 4:38-40

24 And He said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his own country.

28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and put him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down headlong.

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Blessed Third Sunday in Ordinary Time! God is Love. As such, the center of the proclamation of Christ is love. However, He was not accepted by His own people in Nazareth where He grew up. After proclaiming that the Scriptures were fulfilled in His coming, He also said that people, especially from His place, would reject His teachings. When the people heard this, they were angry with Him, and they put Him out of the city. There are at least two lessons we can learn from Christ. First, He preached the Scriptures to the people whom He knew would reject Him. Second, He still loved them, and He bore their faults. Jesus did all of these things because of His love and mercy. 

Our purpose in life is to love God and make Him loved. As such, our preaching of the gospel or evangelization should begin and end with love. There are two extremes we should avoid in fulfilling the mission that God entrusts to us. First, some of us may be afraid to tell the truth to our family members, friends, and others because we think they may be offended. Although it's true that we should be charitable with our way of speaking, we should imitate Jesus who did not not seek the approval of other people as He preached to them. He is telling us that our intention should be to seek the approval of God who is always with us even amidst the oppositions and criticisms of other people. Second, there is a tendency for us to lack charity and patience in speaking the truth. Others may brag about their knowledge and use harsh words to everyone that will push them away from the faith. The truth is that the talents and gifts that God has given us should have the goal and intention of glorifying God, not ourselves. Our knowledge will be purified by God's wisdom if it's centered on humility and love, not pride and hatred. We should learn to discern God's will when it's time to speak and when it's time to be silent and pray. 

May we always discern God's will as to how and when we can speak the truth to people, especially our loved ones. We do not have wisdom on our own to preach or strength on our own to endure the oppositions we receive. Let's also be bear with patience the imperfections of many people rather than force the truth to them. Our prayers and love are what they really need if they are not yet ready to accept the truth. God is our strength, so let's entrust our work and the conversion of sinners to our Lord. We can only be effective instruments of Jesus if we open our hearts fully to His will and voice. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic