February 11, 2013

Last Sunday's message.

 We Are All Members Of The Body Of Christ.

So I am back with the first Sunday's message in weeks.

Mass yesterday was beautiful and the message couldn't be more timely for the times that we are facing right now.

The first reading came from Nehemiah 8:2-4a,5-6,8-10, the second reading was from 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 and the Gospel was from Luke 1:1-4,4:14-21.

The first reading talked about The Law. The law were a series of rules that Ezra the priest read to men, women and children who could understand and it consisted of the things that God expected from us. The things that we could not do as Christians and all who were present at the reading of the law payed reverence to God by prostrating on the floor with their faces down, and rejoicing in the words He had given to them through the priest Ezra.

The second reading talked about the Body of Christ and its parts. Christ is the head of that body and we are the parts and every single part is important in its own way and none is less honorable than the other, because they all perform different functions that contribute to the well being of the whole.

The Gospel talked about Jesus returning to Galilee and going to Nazareth in the synagogue where He read the words that were inscribed on a scroll by Prophet Isaiah as follows
 'The spirit of the Lord is upon me,
  because he has anointed me
  to bring glad tidings to the poor.
 He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives 
  and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord'.
And Jesus after reading those words said to the people in the synagogue 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing'.

There were two poignant messages that were delivered to us in the liturgy yesterday which are: that we are all members of Christ body and that God's spirit through Jesus would free us from any bindings.

What does it mean in today's world to be members of Christ body?  St Teresa of Avila in one of her writings, writes that Christ has no body on earth but ours, He has no hands on earth but ours and has no feet on earth but ours. He remains the head of that body and we are the different parts.

We all have different talents and are unique in our own abilities. Some are writers, some are preachers, some are doctors,some are chefs,some are lawyers, some are volunteers and so on. We all have been called in one way or the other by God to our various careers, hobbies,vocations and professions. We all cannot be lawyers, neither can we all be doctors. But we exist in these different arenas so that we can collaborate and work as one people, a people made by God, a people joined together in the body of Christ.

So we need to use our different talents, vocations and professions to do the service and work of God. This would be especially helpful to the needy, the orphaned and the widows. Because by lending our services and volunteering our time to those in need, we are sending a bigger message of Faith and of a God than we would by mere talk. Not one of us is less honorable than the other just as every single part of our body contributes to the whole function of ourselves.

Jesus was filled with the Spirit of God when he went into the synagogue and read the words of Prophet Isaiah on the scroll, and after reading it, He declared that the scripture was fulfilled to our hearing. He meant that the scripture is fulfilled in our lives as we believe in it.

Jesus was sent to bring glad tidings to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, sight recovery to the blind, set the oppressed free and proclaim the year acceptable to God.

In our lives, we have been held captive in one way or another, we are blind in certain aspects of our lives and we have been enslaved by different problems. The message of yesterday is to free us from all that has hold over our lives, be it sickness, financial troubles, spirituality, family issues and all.
Jesus is the Son of God who was filled with that Spirit and who declared us free from all bondage. God's Spirit empowers Jesus to proclaim God's presence and release us from whatever kind of prisons we might be held in our  lives.

So as we begin the new week and go about our days, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we are Christ's hands, feet and body of which He is the head, and carry out our duties as members of that Sacred body. Where ever we find ourselves in life, there is a reason why God put us there and we have to make the whole body honorable by first, honoring the part or role we have been given to play in society as members of Christ element.

And Christ is telling us that He has freed from whatever burden we are carrying in life but we need to take it to Him in prayers first, then believe it and it shall be ours. So what do you need Jesus to free you from today? Just ask Him and it will be done.

Have a happy and blessed week people.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for the wonderful message vicky
    i have recently stumbled across your blog & i can tell i'm gonna be a regular, i like your style of writing.

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    1. Thank Vuyo for stopping by and i appreciate your compliment though it is God doing His work in me.I sure hope that you are transformed every single time you read on the blog and that you leave inspired, with a new perspective. Thanks again for stopping by and I sure hope you become a regular. remain blessed.

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