OXYGEN

30 Aug
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1 Thessalonians 5:1-6.9-11

You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’, since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night. It is when people are saying, ‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens, as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman; and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.

But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief. No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day: we do not belong to the night or to darkness, so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober. God never meant us to experience the Retribution, but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him. So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.
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Luke 4:31-37

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.
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You are all sons of light and sons of the day

No historical world explorer would have succeeded in discovering new lands if they had decided to stay at port waiting for the right time and weather conditions to set sail. There needs to come a time where the captain of the ship decides to make the call to go ahead and set sail given the knowledge that he has at that point in time.

We sometimes refuse to admit our own failures and shortcomings because it is a painful process. Furthermore, we may have become defensive about the issue and go ballistic whenever anybody tries to raise this topic up. In some ways, it is almost like the devil shrieking at Jesus in today’s Gospel. We refuse to allow the love and spirit of God to enter our lives to break down the walls that are preventing us from experiencing the love of God.

Carrying hurts and pains in our heart is not an easy task and is something that we cannot be doing for a prolonged period of time. The effort to do so is tremendous and furthermore, it is like a slow poison that will slowly destroy our very being. Hatred is a terrible thing to bear in our hearts and is not a feeling that a Christian should have. We should strive to live our lives as children of the light and decide to share this with others whom we have encountered.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
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Prayer: Lord, we pray for the strength that you have given us on the day of our Baptism

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who are able to heal us in our wounded condition.

Upcoming Readings:
Thu, 01 Sep – Colossians 1:9-14; Luke 5:1-11
Fri, 02 Sep – Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 5:33-39
Sat, 03 Sep – Colossians 1:21-23; Luke 6:1-5; Memorial for St Gregory the Great, Pope & Doctor of the Church
Sun, 04 Sep – Ezekiel 33:7-9; Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 18:15-20; Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time