Thursday, August 16, 2018

19th Week, Ordinary Time, Friday, 17-08-18

Ezekiel 16:1-15, 60, 63 / Matthew 19:3-12

We are familiar with the proverb "Great oaks grow from little acorns". Indeed, everything has a humble beginning.

Great cathedrals were once started from a single block of stone. If Rome wasn't build in a day, then everything will have to grow and be built day by day.

Humble beginnings must always be remembered, so that however glorious or whatever greatness is achieved, one won't get too proud or conceited.

In fact, as nature would show us, the taller the tree, the deeper the roots. The greater we become, the more we must remember how we began.

In the 1st reading, we read how God favoured His people and blessed them with abundance. But as the 1st reading tells us, they became infatuated with their own beauty. Their vanity made them think that it was all their own achievement and that also made them turn away from God and turn to the other nations for more wealth and fame.

They forgot that it was God who provided for them and it was His blessings that made them famous and prosperous.

Because they forgot their humble beginnings, God treated them as they deserved - they were covered with shame and reduced to silence. They were humbled so that they can remember the covenant that God made with them and turn back to Him.

Similarly for us, in whatever state of life, we must remember our humble beginnings and remember that it is God who brought us to this blessed moment.

So whether in marriage, or as a single, or as a religious or priest, minor or governor, peasant or president, let us continue to turn to the Lord our God for His blessings and guidance in life.

It is God who will make us great and prosperous; we just need to be humble and remember our humble beginnings.