Thursday, February 4, 2010

Familiarity breeds Contempt

This was a statement made during his sermon at the evening mass at SFX by our parish priest, Fr John Bosco. It was based on the Gospel of yesterday, Mark 1:1-6. It was a passage that spoke about how the people of the town from where Jesus was, just couldn't accept that Jesus was so wise and could do such amazing miracles. And Fr John Bosco spoke about how his own friends found it so difficult to accept his desire to become a priest when he spoke to them about it before entering the Seminary. And he shared about how so many of his friends laughed at him, as they knew the bad sides of him.

But as I too reflect on the passage, there are a few testimonies that Faith becomes the key to everything that is from God. In verse 5 of the passage, it says that Jesus could not do any miracles in his hometown and that he could only lay hands on a few sick people and healed them. But for me, this verse speaks volumes about how important faith is when it comes to miracles. For so many of us, we stifle our minds to see people working miracles as the great ones and neglect the actual reasons for these people to be able to do such wonders. Simply, we fail to see the Sources of miracles, God!

And as I reflect on the statement made by Fr John Bosco, there seems to be such an extreme truth in this statement. Familiarity breeds Contempt in ways that we ourselves underestimate to a very large extent. And of late, I was listening to a friend who've been struggling with peers who aren't able to accept the more Christ-centered person my friend is becoming. And in the midst of these struggles, feelings of jealousy arose in the hearts of the peers. It becomes an extremely sad truth of the kind of world we live in. But in many ways this is exactly what happened in time of Jesus!

And as I go deeper into this reflect, I see that there are a few choices we have as we take the place of the peers. We have the choice of allowing our hearts to embrace the person that we see in front of us and get jealous of who this person is becoming. But to these choices, many would head forward to ask, "Aren't we all human to feel this way?" And the next point would help us realise that it isn't the feelings that make us become someone not of Christ, but rather, its our response towards these feelings. Temptation isn't a sin! But when we choose to act upon the temptation & conform to what the evil one wants, then that leads us into sin.

And as I reflect upon the way friendships are based in today's world. I realise that it is possible to choose that first option to allow our hearts to embrace the person that God is forming in front of us! I am so blessed that God has granted me such a friendship where I am able to not only embrace, but also affirm and praise the person that is reaching greatness founded in Jesus Christ! And I am thankful that they can do the same for me! But the real reason for this wonder is that this friendship is rooted in the very Unconditional Love of Jesus & Prayer! And if we actually take this guide to build our friendships on the Unconditional Love of Jesus & Prayer, after awhile, it becomes an impulse & something so natural for all of us to embrace the greatness within our friends! And soon feelings of jealousy will be minimized to such a large extent! Even if feelings that aren't from God are present, we have the perfect solution! Start praying for the grace to embrace instead of being jealous!

And as I enter my last point of reflection, I look to the ever so famous St. Paul for the perfect example as the one that rose so high and became so great! But the best part is that he knew that his greatness was founded in Christ Jesus and we all know how he never stopped praising the name of Jesus! And if you find yourself being ridiculed for who our Lord Jesus is forming you to become, look to St. Paul for inspiration! Don't allow this world or your peers or anyone stifle the person Jesus DESIRES you to become! Greater things are still to be done in you!

Lastly, the best way to define if one's greatness is founded in Christ Jesus, start by paying very close attention to how much praise this person gives to Jesus Christ and whether he/she claims any credit for himself/herself! If this person gives all praise unto God and never takes anything for himself/herself, embrace this greatness you see in this person! You may also see the weaknesses in this person, but just wait because God will turn those weaknesses into strengths!

May we start embracing the beautiful people God blesses us with and also starting humbling ourselves to learn from this people! These are the ones that have been chosen by God to be set apart for his glory and for this world to learn from! I'm sure there are many many St. Pauls (male & female) amongst us and it could be one of our friends!

Let's allow, "Familiarity to breed Admiration & Love" instead!

Praise God!

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