NOT EVERY BAPTISED PERSON GETS INTO HEAVEN
This Sunday’s theme is teaching us not to take God for granted. Adam and Eve (Gen 3:9-15) showed their contempt for God by allowing their pride to develop a sense of entitlement and ownership for everything that God had given them – including eternal life. They rejected God’s divine will. They were given the opportunity to acknowledge their sins before God, who would have forgiven them, but they stubbornly failed to admit their fault by passing on the blame. The end of the Gospel today (Mk 3:20-35) is distinguishing those people who are related to Jesus by faith rather than those who are related by blood. We all become spiritual brothers and sisters and mothers of Christ through baptism. We are given the gift of eternal life, but we can only claim it, beyond the grave, if we obey the divine will of God on earth. His will must be done on earth as it is in heaven. The sin of blasphemy is to dismiss God and one’s faith here on earth. Blasphemy is to reject the Holy Spirit within us and ridicule and take the Holy Name of Jesus Christ in vain and not go to Mass.
Many departed and unfaithful souls, beyond the grave, will find themselves standing outside the gates of heaven someday. They will claim to be related to Jesus because they were baptism. Jesus will not recognise or acknowledge them, because they were unfaithful to His teachings when they lived by their own freewill on earth, and did not live by the divine will of the Father. Many reading this will think it sounds harsh, thinking that, ‘regardless how I live my life, surely I will still get into heaven’. Again, this is showing contempt towards God and what he has taught us. It is that sense of entitlement raising its ugly head again], as it did with Adam and Eve. If we cannot live by the divine will of God here on earth, then one will rebel against in heaven, so no entry. Don’t let the devil fool you by thinking otherwise. Change our sinful ways now by repenting.
WHO IS THE CENTRE OF YOUR LIFE HERE ON EARTH?
Notice that the people in the Gospel are sitting in a circle about Jesus, in other words, He is the centre of their lives in heaven, because He was the centre of their lives when they lived on earth. Jesus never tires of preaching, in order to give us knowledge of our salvation, by acknowledging and seeking the forgiveness of our sins. We see again, that some other ‘relatives’ set out to take charge of Him, convinced He was out of his mind. In one sense, these ‘relatives’ were attempting to take Him away from the mission. Many baptised people in today’s world try to take charge of Jesus and His Church, by redirecting the mission to suit their agenda, but they sadly will also find themselves standing outside the gates of heaven someday, if they do not surrender and live by the divine will. Jesus’ reference to the burglar entering a person’s house and allowing themselves to be tied up, while the thief ransacks their property, refers to people who allow Satan (Beelzebul) into their lives and be tied up in sin. They are blind to the evil present in themselves and then project that evil towards Jesus and the Church today. They reject the Church’s uncompromising preaching of the Truth. Lets’ not fight Christ but willingly listen to Him, in order to get too heaven. God bless, Fr. Brendan.