WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS IN JESUS
Blessed 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time to one & all. And a special shout out to all our Level 3 children, their parents & their families on this special day – First Holy Communion Day! I must admit – I’m facing a big challenge to reflect on today’s readings in relation to First Holy Communion. The images of Prophet Jeremiah’s persecution (1st Reading), Jesus’ suffering & death on the cross (2nd Reading) & Jesus coming to bring fire to the earth (Gospel) stand in sharp contrast to the heart-felt emotions of love, joy & gladness of the children receiving Jesus in Holy Communion for the 1st time. So, I’ll just trust the leading & guidance of the Holy Spirit as I write to make it a meaningful reflection for all, including the children & their families.
The overall theme for this weekend as set forth in the Sunday Missal is ‘Victory with Christ”. In our 1st reading from Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10, while we see persecution & the threat of death (sinking into the mud of the well) forced upon the Prophet Jeremiah, we find that the Lord intervened & saved him through the intervention of Ebed-melech. In our 2nd Reading from Hebrews 12:1-4, we see too that Jesus our Lord is not spared the pain, suffering & humiliation of the cross, but endured it for the sake of the joy of the future – His resurrection & the salvation of all men from sin & death! The crucifixion is the distressful baptism that Jesus speaks about in today’s Gospel from Luke 12:49-53. In all of our readings today, we are invited to look beyond the current circumstances of pain, dismay, shame, hopelessness, expected defeat & even death, to see & claim the future victory with Jesus.
Are you, like me, familiar with trials, disappointments, setbacks & failures? How do we handle it? Perhaps avoidance, denial or simply just surrendering & giving up? Or perhaps digging deep into your heart & soul to find that extra ounce of strength, staying close to Jesus & persist in ‘fighting the good fight, running the race & keeping the faith’ (cf 2 Timothy 4:7)?
In all honesty, I’ve done both in the past. The ‘Give Up’ part is just terrible – all it does is it plummets me into a deeper hole of despair, frustration & anger. But the ‘Step Up’ part helps me become more hopeful, trusting & resilient. I find that in such moments of trial, when I step up with Jesus, I grow closer to Christ, gain more endurance, strength, humility & patience, learn new skills & become a better person. And in this fight, I am victorious with Jesus!
I have a ‘Go-To’ bible verse when I face trials & difficulties & I’ve conditioned myself to go to this at the soonest time possible when trials strike. By repeated disciplined practice (& a huge dollop of prayer), the Lord has always led my mind away from the ‘gutter’ of despair & defeat to the gateway of triumph & victory in Christ. What’s the verse? It’s Romans 8:35, 37, & it goes like this: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
So, how does this apply to our little friends who receive First Holy Communion today? I find the Spirit telling me that the most important message to them is: “Jesus loves you! You are His beloved, His joy & delight! He is always with you to help you! Continue to receive Jesus in Holy Communion & stay close to Jesus!”
My prayer for all of us here is that we will always experience the fullness of life in Jesus (cf John 10:10) & find the victory of Christ who loves us & died to save us (cf Galatians 2:20).
The First Holy Communion children & congregation will be singing this song as a Post-Communion hymn at the First Holy Communion mass & it expresses our praises & thanks to Jesus the Lord, who is our strength, our treasure, our precious jewel, our All in all! Enjoy this song & sing out to Jesus!
https://youtu.be/ingDiAbsbT4?si=egdmr0noLFgNHOlx
Article by Damian Boon, HFC Blog Team Lead