Acts 6:1-7 / 1 Peter 2:4-9 / John 14:1-12
One of the deepest desires in life is to be happy.
To be happy may mean that we don't have any anxieties and worries.
It may also mean that we don’t have to face the struggles and troubles of life.
So, if there are no anxieties and worries, no struggles and troubles in life, then we would be happy in life.
But happiness in life seems to be so elusive. The moments of happiness are short and few.
Whereas, anxieties and worries, struggles and troubles, seemed to come one after another.
All these forms the burdens in our hearts and make us drag our feet along in life.
We are anxious and worried about our health, our future, our financial security, our work stress, our children, our parents.
Our hearts are troubled when relationships with family members, relatives and friends become tensed due to some misunderstanding or quarrels.
That is enough to say what we already know, and that is, life is difficult.
Sure, life is difficult, but that is not the end of the statement; it is just a pause.
Because in the gospel, Jesus said this to His disciples:
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, in trust in me.
Jesus made a promise to us that there are many rooms in His Father’s house, and He has prepared a place for us there.
That promise is our greatest assurance and consolation from Jesus.
In short, Jesus is telling us that He has already saved us and that He will bring us to heaven.
So, it means that while we walk in the struggles and troubles of life, our minds and our hearts should be on the promise of above.
But we get distracted by the anxieties and worries of life.
And with that, our hearts become disturbed, and we forget about the promise of that place in heaven.
Yes, we forget because we get distracted.
We get distracted by the anxieties and worries, about the struggles and troubles, and our hearts become disturbed.
And when we look at the distraction, and reflect upon the disturbance, what is the cause of it?
Well, the question is not about what, but about who is the cause of it.
Needless to say, the devil is the cause of it; he is the cause of our disturbance and distraction.
He wants to distract and disturb us so that we will forget about the promise of Jesus.
He wants to bring our minds and hearts down to the things of earth and forget about the promise of above.
We see that in the 1st reading when there was a problem in the early Church about the distribution of food.
But, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles chose seven men to look into the task of the distribution of food.
As the apostles pointed out: It is not right for us to neglect the Word of God so as to give out food.
So, when we don't do what is right, our hearts will be troubled.
And when we neglect we will also forget.
So, we need to look at our anxieties and worries, and also our struggles and troubles.
It is like looking at our reflection in a basin of water.
We will not be able to see a good reflection when the water is boiling.
Only when the water is still and calm, then can we see our reflection clearly.
May the consoling and assuring promise of Jesus put out the sharp flames of distraction and disturbance in our hearts.
May Jesus our Saviour, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, lead us towards that place in heaven which He has promised us.