SPIRITUAL GROWTH
(Luke 19:1-10)
The Gospel of today presents to
us the effort made by Zacchaeus to see the Lord. He climbed the sycamore tree.
He didn't allow his stature to be a hindrance for him. He didn't allow the many
things that made him fall short of the glory of God to keep him down
perpetually. He made up for all he lost by climbing.
This is interesting. In our
today's world of make-up where makeup artists are really making it big by
adding beauty into the lives of some persons through enhancement, we have a
lesson to learn from them. Spiritual makeup is necessary. Whatever we have lost
should be regained by sincere effort. We have to take the decision not to lower
our worth before God. We've got to boost our confidence in God once again.
Our sins may attempt to give us
the feeling that God will not accept us again. We may look at the various
persons who are better than us and think that we are too far away from God.
Lazarus felt this way for long
and kept working behind. He kept lagging behind spiritually. All he was able to see were his shortcomings.
But he took a step of growth.
That step gave him an edge over his fears. He was able to see Jesus and
experience Him personally. Jesus made
him promises that he could not believe. Jesus came to his life, entered his
home and brought salvation there.
To grow spiritually therefore, we
must like Zacchaeus long to see Jesus. We have to rise above the forces pulling
us down; the forces of the crowd condemning us, the forces of our conscience
accusing us and the force of uncertainty about the mercy of God.
To grow spiritually we must
present ourselves as we are to God. Expose ourselves to God and allow Him to
address us. To grow we must listen to the word of God, pay attention to his
assuring word calling us to come to Him.
To grow spiritually we must say
bye to our old evil ways. Let us climb the tree of the cross of our Lord Jesus
to receive the salvation He gave mankind by His death thereon. Let us kneel at
the tree of the confessional and receive forgiveness and never be lost.
Let us pray
Dearest Lord Jesus Christ, we
want to grow. We really want to see you at work in our lives. We would like to
behold you face to face after our earthly sojourn. Look and see the crowds
blocking our view. We can no longer see clearly because of shortness in grace.
Speak grace into our lives. Nourish us graciously through your word and the
sacraments. May we grow into mature Christians and no longer be attached to the
passing things of this world through Christ our Lord. Amen
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, pray
for us.
God bless your Tuesday (33rd
Week, Ordinary Time)
Rev Fr Julian O Ekeh
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