Reflections Towards Inner Peace

Christianity does not dwell in an exclusivity,
That thrives on its limitation,
For God allowed his son Jesus,
To die for the entire world - Jn 3:16,
Christians however,
Do have the sole responsibility,
Through a life of repentance, love and justice,
To make known to this world,
The presence of God’s kingdom,
Here on earth.

To be a leaper in the Old Testament meant that, you were abandoned and ostracized from the community – Lev. 13: 1-2, 44-46. To be an outcast was not to belong to any other human. You were transformed into a state of desolation. No one would have touched a leaper.
Jesus radically changes this concept in the Gospel – Mk. 1: 40-45. After the leaper, considered unclean, acknowledges his state of abandonment in his words; “ If you want to you can heal me”, Jesus was moved to compassion. He reached out and did what no one would have ever done in his time. He touched the sick man and said, “I will; be clean!”

REFLECTION

Who are the leapers of today who are rejected by us? Won’t we allow Jesus to touch us in our heart allowing us to embrace our brothers and sisters? We touch each other through our words, actions and thoughts. Of course it is difficult! This is why we find strength in his touch to embrace all of humanity; restoring God’s dignity to all. An appropriate song we can sing today is :

Shacked by a heavy burden,
Neath a load of guilt and shame,
Then the hands of Jesus touch me,
And now I am no longer the same,

He touched me, oh he touched me,
And oh the joy that fills my soul,
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole,

When Jesus restores our health, he can still use us to heal others.

God speaks to us in the most mundane and simple things of life!

When God was about to destroy the town of Nineveh that was riddled with sin, he called the prophet Jonah and sent him to preach repentance! Jonah preached and the people repented and God relented. God changed his mind. He no longer wanted to destroy the people who were great sinners for they had changed their lives. However, there was something strange and interesting about the whole experience. God really changed his mind, when he saw the “efforts” made by the people to change from their lives of sin. It seems that God was more impressed with the “Efforts” they made at changing, than the change itself- Jonah 10:10. Of course God was happy with the true conversion that took place in Nineveh; but nothing pleased God as much as the “efforts” made by the people to change.  Let us make that “effort” to come back to Jesus, and allow his unconditional love to be the source that guides us into relationships. Action is important! Let us allow our actions to bring a smile on the face of God and that of our families, friends, neighbours and enemies! Be blessed for we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us! (Phil. 4:13)

It is always worth making the effort to forgive someone,
For everytime we stop and re-start the process,
We never begin at the same level,
The Continuation is always at a higher or more profound level,
We progress through the experience.

To expect the unexpected,
Is a sign of wisdom.