Saturday, October 16, 2010

THINGS PEOPLE SHOULD FEAR – OCTOBER 15TH FRIDAY (Lk 12: 1-7)


1. Hidden things: Does God hide? The answer is yes, truly, “thou art a God that hidest thyself.” He hides his own glory, that we may not be dazzled thereby; he hides the bliss of the beatified, that we may not be discontented thereby. Like as a father hides from his children many things which they will better learn a little later on, or had better make out for themselves, so God hides many things from us for the very same reasons. But he has so hidden treasures of truth and wisdom from us, that we have every possible inducement to search for them, and full capacity to find them.


2. Everything that hypocrisy tries to hide and cover up shall be exposed with absolute certainty. In this life the secret of hypocrisies are not always exposed; but the day is coming when God shall judge ‘the secrets of people’ before the whole universe.


3. Crowds pushed, shoved, kicked and trampled to get near Jesus. Ignoring them and thus illustrating his independence from them, Jesus turned to teach his disciples. They must make up their minds. Did they want to please the prominent religious authorities of their day, or would they display their trust in God? To please the Pharisee, a person had to pretend to please God while living a self sufficient life of pride in self and contempt for others. This was hypocrisy – a dangerous hypocrisy. Like yeast it gradually worked its way through all a person’s life and relationships.


4. Think not of the most powerful force on earth. Think of the weakest thing on earth. Can anything be weaker or less significant than a few birds worth may be two cents? Literally they are worth two small coins, each of which is not worth one sixteenth of a denarius. A denarius was the ordinary wage for a full day’s work by a day labourer. Look at God, He knows every one of the sparrows and cares for the daily needs of each one. He cares for us in this world and the world to come.


5. Life on this earth is not what is important. Eternity should be our focus. Anything or anyone whose power is limited to this world deserves no attention. The one with power to determine your eternal destination deserves your focus. That is very limiting. God alone has authority over eternity. So fear God and ignore everyone else.


Today a lot of courses are given on event management. We call an event successful only when the minutest details are taken care. The people who attend such events go contented because they feel that they were given sufficient importance. When Jesus tells us that even our hairs are counted, it makes us feel how important we are in the eyes of God. Our existence on this earth has not happened by chance but by careful planning of God. Should we not feel ashamed when we begin to worry on the negativities of life?

Courtesy
Holman New testament Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary
The Anchor Bible Commentary
Interpretation on St. Luke

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