{"id":5829,"date":"2016-09-17T16:01:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-17T23:01:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lubukhati.org\/?p=5829"},"modified":"2016-09-17T16:01:18","modified_gmt":"2016-09-17T23:01:18","slug":"becoming-whole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/?p=5829","title":{"rendered":"Becoming Whole"},"content":{"rendered":"
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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. September 18, 2016 [Luke 16:1-13]<\/div>\n
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\u201cMake friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings (Luk 16:9).\u201d<\/div>\n
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We were created in the image of God. Thus, our true happiness is only in God. As St. Augustine would say, \u201cYou have created us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.\u201d St. Teresa of the Avilla would echo the same truth when she simply said, \u201cGod alone suffices.\u201d But, we were also born into the real human body within a complex and concrete world. As we journey toward God, we cannot totally separate our soul from the various mundane concerns. Even the monks and nuns living in monasteries will still work hard to fulfill their daily and basic needs.<\/div>\n
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Our humanity and temporal aspects of our life are integral part of who we are. They are blessing and gift of God. We must not be enslaved by money, wealth and other material possessions. Certainly, easier said than done. Who among us are concerned with the latest version of our cellular phone? Who among us spending hours just to choose most fashionable dress? In a bigger scale, corruption, injustice and exploitation are the offshoots of this attachment to this temporal aspect of our lives. Thus, the proper and prudent thing to do is to place the gift of our body and temporal dimension of our life in the service of God and others. I do believe that in order to preach well, it is imperative for the preachers to take care of their health. As an ancient Latin proverbs goes, \u2018Mens sana in corpore sano\u2019 (healthy mind in healthy body).<\/div>\n
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Learning from the parable of the dishonest steward, Jesus taught us to be like the steward in dealing with worldly things. In ancient Israel, for a master entrusting the business to his steward was a common practice. Some stewards would manipulate their position and raise wealth by practice of usury. They charged the borrowers of his masters\u2019 property with high interest. Unfortunately, the steward was caught with this usurious practice as well as squandering his master\u2019s wealth. To save his life, he chose to be smart. He met the debtors and to ask them to rewrite the debt\u2019s notes. He decided to erase the interest that would go to him and let them pay the original amount. The borrowers would be indebted to him, and he might save himself. Like the steward, we need to know what truly matters for our happiness and salvation, as well as well aware of the place of worldly goods in the totality of our lives.<\/div>\n
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Jesus becomes a splendid example for all us. He is divine and spiritual being. He controlled the forces of nature, He overpowered the evil spirits, and He forgave sins. Though, He was divine, He did not disregard his humanity as useless. He, in fact, was humanly practical and respectful of His own Jewish culture. He observed Jewish traditions and customs, He worshipped God in the synagogues and He taught using the language that His original listeners would understand. Thus, He is truly God and truly man. \u00a0Indeed, our salvation rest in this balance and unity of this spiritual and bodily aspects of our humanity.<\/div>\n
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25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. September 18, 2016 [Luke 16:1-13] \u201cMake friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings (Luk 16:9).\u201d We were created in the image of God. Thus, our true happiness is only in God. As St. Augustine would say, \u201cYou have created us for Yourself, O God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.\u201d St. Teresa of the Avilla would echo the same truth…<\/p>\n

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