MONDAY, FOURTH WEEK OF EASTER
Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker
Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42,43; Jn 10:11-18 or Mt 13: 54-58
ALWAYS AT WORK FOR CHRIST
It’s May Day. The memorial of St Joseph, the Worker was established by Pope Pius XII. Before and after him several Popes have convincingly spoken of St Joseph as the model, protector and patron of all the workers. St Joseph worked as a carpenter, worked hard, with patience, dedication and joy and earned his daily bread. No doubt Jesus himself learnt work from him. We also are all workers and that’s why it’s our day. We are all called to be at the service of the Lord’s Kingdom. Our Father is ‘always at work’ according to Jesus. Imitating his Father, Jesus ‘went on doing good.’ And the Holy Spirit is busy completing here and now the work our Lord Jesus had started.
Cultural norms develop naturally, developing influenced by regional, language, caste, and religious norms. Strict attachment to culture without sensitivity to the norms of other societies can cause serious misunderstandings, divisions and even enmity in society. The first reading describes the cultural struggles in the early Church. We have similar dissensions in our communities, we still fall prey by accepting any flimsy excuses to cause division: language, caste or whatever, born of pride. Christians are challenged to overcome this temptation and to love as our heavenly Father loves us. Therefore, we need to be like Peter who was moved by the holy spirit.
Peter’s confrontation with the Holy Spirit forces him to rethink everything he learned. Peter relates his vision which divinely revealed that there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile: in Christ all are set free. He transgresses kosher food laws, rejects the exclusion of Gentiles from table fellowship, and spurns the central idea that traditional Judaism is unique as the only way to approach and follow the will and way of God. Today, the Church seeks people who could guide the faithful in the path of Christ. Being members of the Church, we need to be another Peter, another Joseph to lead the Church forward.
Response: My soul is thirsting for you, the living God.
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