Clothe yourself with Love Col. 3:14

What/ how we think, eat or do, can get us sick. I prefer to prevent it. Sad to know that we can contribute to it. I am afraid this was not a choice for the lady in our Gospel today. Her condition that could be best described partly as Osteoporosis, Arthritis or Scoliosis which cause sideways curvature of the spine through spinal instability, vertebral collapse, or joint degeneration. The Bible describes this condition differently from our modern view. It says it was a spirit that had caused it! Not what your typical doctor is likely to say. Now this ancient understanding may sound odd to us, but verse 16 actually emphasizes that it was a bondage to Satan (Spir. Lense.) Jesus came to give us abundant life. He healed/freed her from such Satanic bondage. Jesus saw her pain, bearing this unclean spirit for 18 years! So, being ‘bent over’ is like when carrying burdens so heavy that we can’t stand upright in our inner life. Be in her shoes! You see the ground, no eye contact, no social cues...

You probably know people in your life who were instrumental in helping you become a Christian believer. Mine was Pastor Mitachi. He was Pentecostal (half Congolese & half Tanzanian). He had a wife and six kids and yet welcomed 7 of us in our family. We shared every meal in the evenings. They didn’t have enough for themselves and yet shared what they had. It was the best witnessing of Christian life I had ever been exposed to. It changed me & brought me back to base camp, to regroup & remember God’s goodness. This brings me to ask: How have you experienced the reality of God’s Kingdom? For Abram, the birth of an heir was a big concern, and for Jesus’ disciples, his presence signaled a huge upcoming change that they had yet to understand fully. How about us in our modern world? What is the highest of concerns in our lives? Is it one that consist in making our lives more comfortable? Most likely! The thing is, that’s not actually what the Gospel is advocating for: Our Father’...

On January 2nd 2024, a Japan Airlines jet collided with a coast guard dash 8 aircraft resulting in 5 fatalities. 1 (from the dash 8) survived and everyone else 379 people survived, partly because the passengers listened to crew instructions, resulting in a smooth, efficient emergency evacuation before the whole aircraft was engulfed with flames. I learned something: They did not retrieve their belongings. I would have gone for the overhead bin to retrieve some stuff! It would have wasted precious seconds to let everyone out. This story connected with today’s Gospel for me: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” We love our stuff a lot! So much that we think we are doomed without them. It’s a lesson for all of us that true life and worth are not found in material wealth no matter how our culture insists, but it’s in spiritual values and one’s relationship with God. This leads to seeking a life of purpos...