Gospel: John 20: 19-31
29 Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."
Sunday
By Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, SDB, DD
Sunday is the day the whole Christendom believes Jesus resurrected from the dead. This day therefore has become for many believers a day of worship for the Lord and of thanking Him for the grace of salvation. It has also become a day of rest for many workers, and an occasion to spend quality time with their families or friends. Those who spend their Sundays this way could feel the presence of the Risen Lord among them and have believed in His resurrection even if they “have not seen” it miraculously happening in history. They certainly would be “blessed” as Jesus declared.
Unfortunately, there are many, who may also be believers of the Easter event but, who could not make their Sundays a day of the Lord by participating in liturgical worship or religious activities because of work, particularly that in the service sector, in food and entertainment business, in supermarkets and malls, and in places where the Sunday crowd would go for rest and recreation. By spending their Sundays in work mostly because of necessity—and life in these modern times seems to make it more a necessity—would they then not be blessed by the Lord? Would their work, even that which is done to serve people, for the good of people, not be considered by the Lord as done to and for Him?
If from the Lord’s words we understand and believe that works done with love and sacrifice for people are done for Him because He is present in them, then our works could be a way of worshipping Him, albeit in spirit. Our works (by necessity) on Sundays or those on any day for that matter, would then be blessed; and, everyday would then be a day of the Lord—a joyful and saving experience of the Risen Lord in our life.
A dead Christ?
By Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
They may come few and far between but severe tests of one’s beliefs do come at the workplace. For instance, when you are in crisis, say, in danger of losing your job because you are accused of a serious offense. Also, when you are tempted to take things too easy because you always exceed your boss’ expectations without trying anyway. Another one is when you cling to a position that gives you so much material rewards even when you know you are no longer effective there. Whatever the situation, your conviction and your conscience come into play.
When the need to make a difficult moral or ethical choice confronts us, the initial human reaction is denial: “It’s really not my problem but the secretary’s!” When we can no longer deny that we are accountable, our next position is postponement: “I’ll evaluate the situation further and decide next week—this thing will pass in due time.” And so we hope the problem solves itself but it doesn’t; instead it gets worse.
All our choices and decisions are guided by the ethical standards we uphold which are in turn founded on our core beliefs. These core beliefs would be what our religion or life philosophy instills in us and we need these as the ultimate yardstick of the moral soundness of our actions, particularly in the workplace where the corporate ethics may sometimes clash with our core beliefs. When we who claim to be Christians must make crucial decisions at work, our ultimate master is the Christ, and if we believe truly and wholeheartedly that He is risen and alive even when we do not see Him, He will bless us with the courage to do what He teaches us to do—to “walk our talk.” Inability or unwillingness to do this could mean we’re worshipping a dead Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment