I should like you to be free of anxieties. – 1 Corinthians 7:32

       Many years ago, when I had zero financial literacy, a friend asked for help. He was working for a credit organization and wanted me to invest there so that he could earn a little commission from my investment. I liked the interest rates he offered so I dumped half of my life savings in his company.

       One morning, I learned that his company collapsed. All my money — half of my net worth — was zapped into oblivion. But I was amazed at my reaction. I said, “Oh well, that’s just money anyway. I’ll earn it back.” I then prayed, “Lord, can you return to me the same amount sevenfold?”

       I could have reacted differently. I could have blown up, focused on the negative, and gone into depression. But I chose not to because there were still so many things to be thankful for! 

       Has someone criticized you unfairly? Is the office air conditioner conking out again? Did your husband forget to fix the faucet? Did the washing machine rip your favorite shirt?

       You could decide to make a big issue out of it, let it destroy your day, and allow it to complicate your life. Or you could choose the simple path. The choice is really yours. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

Reflection: Think of a current problem and then look at the bigger picture of life. Ask yourself: Will this problem matter 20 years from now?

Lord, I entrust to You all my concerns. Grant me the grace to look at them with Your eyes.

St. Ansgar, bishop, pray for us.

15 Moses spoke to all the people saying: “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kin; to him you shall listen. 16 This is exactly what you requested of the Lord, your God, at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let us not again hear the voice of the Lord, our God, nor see this great fire any more, lest we die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘This was well said. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kin, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. 19 Whoever will not listen to my words, which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. 20 But if a prophet presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.’”

R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

1 Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalm to him. (R) 6 Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. (R)  Oh, that today you would hear his voice: 8 “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert, 9 where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” (R)

To be torn between two good things is a terrible thing. If one thing is good and the other is bad, then the decision is easy. However, if the options are all good, it can be very difficult to know what to do. It is important that we reflect daily on our lives so that we will know our priorities and not just chase after good things that are passing us by. We need to know where the focus of our life is and fix our attention on that.

32 Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he mayplease the Lord. 33 But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

Jesus taught with authority because He always speaks the truth. This is a challenge to us, as we are often tempted to water down the truth in our discussions with others. We cannot afford to give in to this temptation or else, we will divert from the true path that God wants us to walk in.

The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.

21 Then they came to Capernaum, and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. 22 The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee.

think: We need to listen to the voice of God and His wisdom by soaking our minds and hearts in the Word of God and the teachings of the Church.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Romans 9-12

WELL DONE!

Let me share with you two words: orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Ortho is Greek for straight, upright, right or correct. Doxa is Greek for knowledge or teaching. So orthodoxy can be translated as correct or right teaching. Praxis can be rendered as action or living out. So orthopraxy is right living.

       Today in the Gospel, Jesus meets a man possessed by an unclean spirit that shrieks. He shouts, “Jesus of Nazareth… I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” Jesus rebukes the evil spirit into silence. He would not hear anything from it. Notice that the devil, speaking through the man, knows who Jesus is. The devil is orthodox, so to speak. He has right knowledge and teaching. But while the devil has orthodoxy, he has no orthopraxy.

       Before the episode with the unclean spirit, Jesus taught in the synagogue. People were spellbound by His teaching because He taught “with authority and not like the scribes.” The scribes were teachers who knew the law like the palm of their hands. As their name connotes, they write, transcribe and interpret the meaning of the Mosaic Law. Without a doubt, they had orthodoxy. But their teaching, orthodox as it may be, lacked an essential partner — orthopraxy. Their right teaching was estranged from right living. That was why their teaching had no authority.

       Jesus, on the other hand, amazed people. They looked at each other and asked, “What does this mean? A completely new teaching in a spirit of authority?” What authority did Jesus have? The authority of the marriage between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. By definition, orthodoxy and orthopraxy are different. By vocation, they are meant to be spouses.

       Ever heard of the maxim, “What is better than well said? Well done!”? Jesus was the incarnation of that maxim. The scribes would do well to remember that. It will do us well to remember it, too. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: Is there a divorce between orthodoxy and orthopraxy in your life? Submit it to the healing power of regular confession, holy communion and daily perseverance.

Jesus, You are patient with my inconsistencies. Keep me in the path of the call to perfection.