7th AUGUST. FRIDAY, WEEK 18

1.Dt 4:32-40

2.Matthew 16:24-28

MEDITATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

Fidelity

Today begins a series of reading from the book of Deuteronomy, a fidelity book to be treasured. The book seems to have been one of the favourite parts of the Bible for Jesus who quoted it freely during the temptation in the desert (Matthew4:4/ Deut 8:3/Deut6:5). Deuteronomy stands a line from Moses through the earliest settlement in the land and later to the great religious renewal called the “Deuteronomic reform.”( 2Kings22-23). Its characteristics style, is that it does much more than repeat the law of Moses; it exhorts and reasons from the spirit of compassion and love. Some of its memorable lines have become the daily prayer of every Israelite and will be repeated in tomorrow’s liturgy: Hear ,O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart ( Deut 6:4-5).

The book of Deuteronomy, in its homiletic style keeps on emphasizing the word “today.” Each day is the new day, a new opportunity to profess loyal and grateful obedience to the Lord. Then you will “have a long life in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you forever.” By obediently following Jesus to death, we will not experience the ultimate death described by the prophet. Ours will be the new, abundant life of Deuteronomy. That rich and peaceful existence begins in ourselves and reaches outward. Each act of obedience can seem restrictive and even destructive of life. Yet if obedience is from a religious faith, in response to the will of God, and loving concern, if it lays before us the immense possibilities of the “ promised land,” if obedience surrounds us with peace in our homes and neighbourhoods, then it opens up for us a whole new field of energetic activity and creative ingenuity.

“The Conditions of Discipleship"

In today’s gospel Jesus says: “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”(v.24). In these words of Jesus, therefore following him is a serious commitment. It is because this gospel passage speaks about God’s plan for us which is to live our life fully for Him. But how do we live our life fully?

How to live our life fully? First, to live fully means, being heroic. It means being ready to go to the extra mile even if the law does not require it. Every Christian is called to be a hero. Every Christian is called to be generous. Every Christian is called to go all the way without hesitation all the time. That is the key to heroism.

Second, to live life fully, means to love deeply.  When the Lord says to us that we must love deeply, the Lord is telling us to go deeper than the heart, to go deeper than the feelings. Third we must let our daily crosses in life go cheerfully. We are invited to be always happy all the time even in the times of trials.

Jesus in today’s gospel tells us that if we look to ourselves alone and our own needs and preferences, we risk losing ourselves, whereas if we look towards the Lord, which will always mean looking towards others,  we will find life in this World and eternal life in the next. It is in giving that we receive. From our daily life experience this teaching of Jesus teaches us the lesson that we should develop an attitude of giving to others without conditions.