Reflection 23_The Will to Fulfill Your Higher Destiny_Nation Life
“I say to you, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Be not deceived by their show of much learning and by their profound loyalty to the forms of religion. Be only concerned with the spirit of living truth and the power of true religion. It is not the fear of a dead religion that will save you but rather your faith in a living experience in the spiritual realities of the kingdom. Do not allow yourselves to become blinded by prejudice and paralyzed by fear. Neither permit reverence for the traditions so to pervert your understanding that your eyes see not and your ears hear not.
“It is not the purpose of true religion merely to bring peace, but rather to insure progress. And there can be no peace in the heart or progress in the mind unless you fall wholeheartedly in love with truth, the ideals of eternal realities. The issues of life and death are being set before you. The sinful pleasures of time against the righteous realities of eternity. Even now you should begin to find deliverance from the bondage of fear and doubt as you enter upon the living of the new life of faith and hope. And when the feelings of service for your fellow men arise within your soul, do not stifle them; when the emotions of love for your neighbor well up within your heart, give expression to such urges of affection and intelligent ministry to the real needs of your fellows.”
Jesus and his apostles had been joined by eleven disciples for their work in Phoenicia, and he paired each of the eleven with an apostle, sending them out two by two to spread the gospel far and wide. He oversaw their work and kept a low profile, mainly teaching in Tyre and Sidon. His focus was on training them all in the deeper spiritual meanings contained in the gospel so they’d know how to teach once he was gone. The men were surprised at how receptive the Gentiles were compared to the Jews. But as Jews themselves, they struggled to overcome their prejudices and project the same tolerant and loving spirit that Jesus showed toward everyone, Jew or Gentile.
After six weeks, they journeyed carefully back toward the Sea of Galilee, and then back north to Caesarea Phillipi, under Roman rule. Jesus would wait until he was ready to confront the authorities in Jerusalem again. Along the way, they reconnected with his remaining followers and felt encouraged by the quality of those who had survived the great “sifting out” from the half-hearted and miracle seeking crowds of the past.
Being out of Palestine had brought greater clarity to their perception of their homeland. They loved their people and had strong identities as Jews. Jesus especially had longed to bring his people a deeper revelation of the nature of God and reward them for being faithful stewards of monotheism for over 1,500 years.
But the Jewish vision of what their role was to be in the world had become hardened and embittered by all that they’d endured through centuries of persecutions and exiles. That they were once again subject to Pagan rulers to be diminished, taxed and prejudiced against for remaining true to God, made the Jews themselves feel passionately that God would reward them by setting them free.
But they’d been sent many prophets in the past to give them deeper and truer understandings of the God they loved, and their priesthood had often rejected these messengers, narrowing their vision of the Jewish nation to one that would wed its religious destiny to earthly political power. Given their current suffering under Rome, they felt there must have been collective sins that had hardened God’s heart against them. Perhaps if they kept all the strictures and rules of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem firmly in place, their dominance as a power would finally come to be. Jesus felt that they’d lost the deeper thread of what they were meant to do and though it was heartbreaking to him, he would take his message outside of Palestine if it meant getting it into the larger world. His gospel was meant for everyone.
Reflection
Word has come back that they’d traveled north to the coast of Phoenicia. The only thing you’ve ever heard about Gentiles apart from Jesus is that they’re Pagan unbelievers who engage in disgusting rituals and worship many Gods. You wonder how his apostles are doing there?
It felt like it had been weeks since they’d been gone and then one of his disciples came by, saying there’d been a meeting at Bethsaida-Julius, outside of Galilee, and that one of the apostles said they were going north to Caesarea Philippi. He shoved a small blueish pebble into your hand that he said was given to him by Jesus by the seaside at Sidon. Jesus said to tell you that he missed his friends back home and seeing this pebble brought memories of all your old times together with his brothers on the Sea of Galilee. And then he said you would see him very soon--but how could that be when he was traveling away from you and going even further away?
CHILDREN RESPONSE AFTER REFLECTON
The children gathered for our weekly reflection on “The Will to Fulfill Your Higher Destiny
Nation Life.” We began by reading the reflection together and taking time to understand what Jesus was teaching about living truth, overcoming prejudice and fear, loving our neighbours, and choosing spiritual progress rather than simply following traditions.
I encouraged each child not just to repeat what they had heard, but to quietly ask themselves: “What is this teaching saying to me personally, and how can I live it in my family, school, community and country
Each child shared
Desilanta
She reflected that sometimes we judge people because of where they come from, their family, tribe, appearance before knowing who they really are.its good to learn to look at people with a more open heart and treat everyone with kindness.
ErizethI understand true religion as something that should change the way we live, not simply something we talk about.
Shalom
sometimes children are afraid to try new things because they fear failing or being laughed at. I think faith should give us courage to keep moving forward even when we are uncertain.
Mark
Iam particularly interested in the part about Jesus teaching his followers so they could continue the work after he was gone. I want to become someone who can share what i know instead of keeping knowledge to myself.
Jeremiah
the story about the Jewish disciples struggling with prejudice made me think about how people sometimes carry ideas about others without giving them a chance. I want to learn to respect people even when they have different backgrounds or beliefs from my own.
Christopher
peace should not mean remaining the same or avoiding difficult things. Sometimes we need to challenge ourselves, learn from our mistakes and become better people. I want to make progress in my character as well as in school.
Shalom
Me i feel some small acts can make love real.
Victor
Traditions can be valuable, but we should also be willing to learn and understand why we believe what we believe. I want to develop a mind that can listen, ask questions respectfully and continue learning.
Francis
A good message should not be kept for only one group. whatever good we have knowledge, food, opportunities or skills we should be willing to share it with others, especially those who may have less.
Salima
Some children, someone can easily be left out because they are different, come from a poor family or behave differently. I want to become more welcoming and make sure that nobody around me feels unwanted.
Rihana
It is easy to say that we love God, but our treatment of other people shows whether that love is truly growing in us and me i want to practice patience, forgiveness and kindness more deliberately at home and with my friends.
Flowrence
For me, this means being honest even when nobody is watching, admitting mistakes instead of hiding them, and doing what is right even when it is difficult. I personally wants
My actions to speak louder than his words.
Kyatwike
Jesus did not want people to be trapped by fear, prejudice or empty religious habits, but wanted them to grow in love, truth and service. as children growing up in Uganda, we can begin building a better community now through how we treat one another.and me i want to be part of that change rather than waiting until iam older.
The reflection reminded us that spiritual growth begins with small decisions made every day, right where we are in our homes, at school, among our friends and within our communities .
