Father Csaba’s reflection on the gospel Tuesday 20 March 2018
"the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’ John 8,30
Does God delight in the way how I think, act ,do things ? Good question , it is worthwhile to sit down in the silence of Lent and think about all the rushing about , meddling that we do day after day , how pleasing is that to God?
This time of the year in the spring the vineyard , the fruit trees , the rose bushes , everything has to be neatly trimmed , the sick, dried up branches have to be removed , but the same way all the superfluous , barren shoots, wild offshoots have to be cut off precisely ! An orchard, a garden looks totally different after a thorough springtime, refreshing pruning ?! How many branches, offcuts are removed from our gardens during such a work filled day !
In our lives as well many barren shoots are sapping away our life-force ! During the years so many plans, goals were formulated that were good for a draft but from some a masterpiece was created, or perhaps it will not amount to anything , that is why such dry branches we should dare to prune!These barren branches , that never bear fruit , should be cut off from the tree of our life up to the hilt, with a definite decision so that cleansed, nice and fresh we can get underway to a fertile summer , to the fruit crop, to that task that God also finds pleasing ! He quite certainly will reward all our work if indeed He also asked us to accomplish it! If we are devoting our efforts that are not according to the will of God but for our own delight, glory the Lord of Life will never thanks us for it, rather call us to count, why we neglected the tasks entrusted to us for unnecessary things , why did not we bear lasting fruit during the course of our lives ?!
Lovingly I wish you good pruning in the real sense of the word but also in a figurative sense ! The silence of Lent is meant for this, lets dare to take in our hand the pruning scissors and lets free ourselves from all unnecessary , sick, selfish, barren relationship, task !
With love,
Father Csaba
translated by dr k.e.
Picture: Lets lift our eyes upon Christ !
Again he said to them, ‘I am going away, and you will search for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ Then the Jews said, ‘Is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ He said to them, ‘You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for you will die in your sins unless you believe that I am he.’ They said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Why do I speak to you at all? I have much to say about you and much to condemn; but the one who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ They did not understand that he was speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me. And the one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
John 8:21-30
Father Csaba’s reflection on the gospel Tuesday 20 March 2018