Instruments for Special Purposes
The 2 readings on today’s liturgical calendar are deeply interconnected.
In his 2nd letter to Timothy, St. Paul describes our human condition through the analogy of household articles; some made with gold and silver and others made with wood and clay. Similarly, each one of us has parts of our character that we are proud of and others that we are ashamed of. We may have some habits that reflect our maturity and other habits that expose our inner conflicts and struggles. St. Paul exhorts his disciple Timothy and all Christians to engage in the act of self-cleansing to become “instruments for special purposes”.
Self-cleansing to St. Paul consists of fleeing the evil desires of youth and pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Not engaging in foolish and stupid arguments and quarrels and not being resentful. In other words, self-discipline is the first step towards change. Self-transformation happens when we identify the bad clusters of our being and replace them with healthy alternatives.
The second and most important step is through receiving divine grace. We read the words of Christ in today’s 2nd reading from the Gospel of St. John, where Jesus gives Himself to us as the Bread of Life adding “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you”.
The practice of these 2 steps is the paradigm of the life of the Church. We are invited to reflect on our thoughts, words, and behavior in the sacrament of confession and strive to stay away from everything that is bad and sinful and let God heal the wounds of our soul through His Divine Grace in the Sacrament of Communion.
Remember, we are called to be “instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work”.
Yours,
Fr. Nareg Terterian
It's educational and to form the exemplary Christian.
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