FROM THE SERVANT GENERAL
OUR THEME FOR 2022
(Part 3)
THE LORD IS GOOD TO ALL
September 7, 2021
Today’s readings:
Colossians 2:6-15
Psalm 145:1-11
Luke 6:12-19
What does God do for us? When Jesus walked the earth, many “came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.” (Lk 6:18). It is the same today. God speaks to us, teaching and guiding us. God brings healing to us. God keeps us safe from the attacks of evil spirits. Indeed, “the Lord is good to all” (Ps 145:9a).
How are we to respond to God’s boundless blessings? We are to rejoice always. “They celebrate your abounding goodness and joyfully sing of your justice.” (Ps 145:7). We are to pray without ceasing. “Every day I will bless you; I will praise your name forever and ever.” (Ps 145:2). We are to give thanks in all circumstances. In fact, we must be “abounding in thanksgiving.” (Col 2:7c). “All your works give you thanks, Lord, and your faithful bless you.” (Ps 145:10).
So our focus is always on Jesus. Our lives are centered on Jesus. We are to “walk in him, rooted in him and built upon him” (Col 2:6-7a). We are to remain “established in the faith as you were taught” (Col 2:7b). Now this latter aspect is important during these times of modernism that has infected our Church. We need to heed Paul’s warning against false teachers: “See to it that no one captivate you with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to the elemental powers of the world and not according to Christ.” (Col 2:8).
Modernist teachings in our Church can be seductive and have captivated many, including clerics. There is a focus on the well-being of man, which seems very Christian, but oftentimes it is at the expense of the righteousness of God. Thus you have Christians declaring abortion as healthcare and as a human right. Thus you have Christians accepting LGBT and same-sex unions because it is about love and equality. Such philosophy is empty, according to human but not divine inspiration, and ultimately is worldly and diabolical.
And so only in Jesus are we blessed. “For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him” (Col 2:9). Only in Jesus are we forgiven our sins and restored to fellowship with God, as “he brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses” (Col 2:13b). Only in Jesus are we protected from the evil powers in the world, as he has “despoiled the principalities and the powers” (Col 2:15a).
Besides all the bountiful blessings, Jesus has also commissioned us to continue with his divine work, just as “he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles.” (Lk 6:13b). We too are to be his apostles, that is, those who are sent. This is our privilege. Thank God for it. Pray always that you will be guided. And rejoice, no matter how the mission turns out. Just make sure you do not turn out to be a “Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” (Lk 6:16b).
