Thursday, October 8, 2020

Daily faithfulness and Constant Commitment

WORD 2day: Friday, 27th week in Ordinary time

October 09, 2020: Galatians 3:7-14; Luke 11:15-26

One who is righteous, by faith shall he or she live, says the first reading! Being God's or belonging to God means a life full of daily choices. It is not a change that happens once and remains for ever, but it is a daily faithfulness on our part to remain in the same state of grace. Great celebrations and solemn occasions are not enough to manifest our faith - it needs the strength of will at moments of boredom and monotony, to stay put with our convictions of good and bad, worthy and unworthy of our calling. 

Faith, therefore, is not a set of truths that are proposed or discussed; but it is a personal commitment lived, a relationship that is established, a rapport that is built between me and my God! It is God who begins - that is totally understandable. For it is God who created us, called us, chose us and keeps guiding our lives. But our part is crucial - much more crucial because it is variable, unlike God who alone is constant and unchanging. In the changing and challenging scenario, what is my rate of endurance - that is the key question I need to study. 

God did not stop with just beginning the process. Because God loved me so much, Christ stoops down to such an extent to initiate that relationship between me and God... Christ became a curse for my sake, reminds St.Paul. Am I really worthy of this great big sacrifice on the part of the Lord? Fortunately, my Saviour never raised that question! 

It is not enough that such a relationship is initiated by God, a gratuitous gift given to me. It is essential that I keep that relationship going, on a daily basis, filling my life with God and all that pertains to God. If not, there are myriads of other things that are waiting to take possession of my heart. As St. Peter warns, 'your enemy the devil, is prowling round like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour' (cf. 1 Pet 5:8). Hence, the key is: daily faithfulness and constant commitment.