Tuesday, February 5, 2019

4th Week, Ordinary Time, Wednesday, 06-02-19

Hebrews 12:4-7, 11-15 / Mark 6:1-6

One of the difficult things in life to understand is discipline.

For discipline to be instilled, it has to be come along with punishment. To try to have discipline without punishment can only be left to imagination.

But the question with discipline is about its objective, and the purpose of the punishment that is used to attain it.

The 1st reading gives us a direction and the balance between discipline and punishment.

It says: When the Lord corrects you, do not take it lightly, but do not get discouraged when He reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that He loves and He punishes all those that He acknowledges as His son. Suffering is part of your training. God is treating you as His sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him?

So when parents discipline their children, some sort of punishment will be necessary, be it corporal punishment or whatever.

And when God wants to instil and build up our discipline, He will correct us and even reprimand us through His chosen instruments.

On the other hand, when we face rejection and opposition, we also need to see it as a means to train us in discipline and obedience to the Lord.

Jesus, in the gospel, had to face rejection and opposition, but He showed how disciplined He was in carrying out the mission from God.

As disciples of Jesus, let us accept hardships and suffering, rejection and opposition. Let us look at these as means to strengthen us to do God's will.