We are not Alone in the Struggle!

 

30th Week Thursday in Ordinary Time

Year One

Rom 8:31-39

Meditation

We are not Alone in the Struggle!

St. Paul is not saying that life will be free of opposition or pain. Rather, he reminds us that no opposition can overpower the one who stands in God’s love. If the Creator of the universe is for us, no created power can ultimately defeat us. “He who did not spare His own Son” shows that God’s generosity has no limit. If He gave His very Son for our salvation, we can trust Him with every other part of our lives. This truth silences doubt and fear.

St Paul shows a stunning picture of Jesus, not only risen, but interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. We are not alone in our struggles. Every prayer, every sigh, every act of faith is joined to Christ’s ongoing prayer for us. Hardship, persecution, suffering, all these are real. Yet none of them can sever the bond between us and Christ.

St Paul lists every imaginable power, death, life, angels, rulers, time, space, even all of creation, and concludes that nothing is greater than God’s love. In Christ, love has conquered death. That means even in loss, loneliness, or pain, we remain held by a love that cannot be broken. We do not just survive our trials; through Christ’s love, we overcome them. His love transforms suffering into strength, weakness into faith, and death into life. Being “more than conquerors” means that love wins, not by avoiding suffering, but by transforming it.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

Year Two

Eph 6:10-20

Be Strong in the Lord!

St Paul exhorts the community at Ephesus to be strong in the Lord and put on the armor of God. We are asked to defeat the plans of the devil. We are not against the flesh and blood but against the cosmic powers of evil. He tells us to put on the breastplate of righteousness, take up the shield of faith, helmet of salvation and sword of the Spirit. To live in this world against the forces of evil is to be ready for battle against evil.

St Paul says that he speaks of himself as an ambassador in chains. There were pressures on St Paul from within and without, seen and unseen both external and internal. It is the experience of any genuine minister of God. His hands were tied down but he does not keep idle; he continues to work hard in that condition for the spread of the gospel. Let us work for the Kingdom of God.

Do we speak of the gospel even though there are pressures all around us?

Lk 13:31-35

 I am Bold for Christ!

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.  Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ (Lk 13:31-33).

Jesus calls Herod a fox. Jesus was bold to call the king a fox. Jesus was not afraid, He knew that Herod got John the Baptist beheaded, still Jesus was able to call the king a fox. He was a bold Person. We need to learn from Jesus to be bold.  Jesus was ready to lay down His life for the redemption of people. His way of redeeming is to tell the people facts and truth to enlighten them. The truth is very hard to speak but it has to be spoken for the good of the people and individuals. It could cost our life but for the good of larger good, we need to be bold as time and place needs.

Am I bold enough for the sake of the Kingdom of God?

Fr. Putti Anthaiah, sdb