Reflection Thursday Week 4 Year C- Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo
Readings: Hebrews 12:18-19,21-24; Ps
48:2-3ab,3cd-4,9,10-11 and Mark 6:7-13
Through Christ we belong to a Spiritual Kingdom
In the readings of today we see
the contrast between Mount Sinai and Mount
Zion., between the old covenant and the new covenant. We learn that
through Christ we belong to a spiritual and eternal kingdom, a kingdom of the new covenant. And this could be
challenging in a materialistic and individualistic age that we live in.
Jesus in the Gospel summoning the
Twelve sent them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirit. It
makes sense to work as a group, in company with others. He did not send them out one by one, but two by two-
unity, community. They were to travel light no sandals, food, sacks, no money,
but a walking stick, a symbol of Christ’s authority and his love. You can
imagine it would not be quite easy to leave one’s home without sufficient money
and other material things.
Similar picture is painted in the
community of the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Everything surrounding
Judaism: Mount Sinai, Moses and the law, the
temple, the furnishing of the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, the sacrifices, vengeance,
retribution, the trumpet, the image of the voice of the Lord and the
unapproachability of the divine presence.
These would have to be
reassessed. It was not easy for these early Jewish Christian community to
abandoned this religion to follow a new
way of Christ of grace and pardon, detachment, “turn the other cheek”, peace,
love, forgiveness, no matter how many times you are being offended, welcome
everyone , men women and children around the same table. These are the
qualities of the citizens of the eternal kingdom, the city of the living God.
As children of the Spiritual
kingdom, what prevents us today from making it to this kingdom, or keeping our
citizenship intact- money, power, material wealth, and clothing, 'second tunics" cars, houses, lack of
communal spirit and forgiveness, the longing for vengeance always, or selfishness?
