The Lord appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Monday of the 5th week of Easter, May 3, 2021. Feast of saints James and Philip, the apostles. Reading is delivered by Theresia Inggrid and meditation delivered by Conchita, they are from Saint Peter’s School in Jakarta, Indonesia. 1Corinthians 15: 1-8; Rs psalm 19: 2-3.4-5; John 14: 6-14.
THE CONFIDENT AND THE CONFUSED LIVING TOGETHER
The theme for our meditation today is: The Confident and the Confused Living Together. These two characters: the confident and the confused may be changed into two different persons. Neither of them were perfect human beings. The confident person is a husband with his main character, namely his confidence is notable and a type that can be trusted. But he also has shortcomings, namely he is not sensitive to the situation and the people around him with whom he must be aware of, and because of that he often lies to or plays without control.
On the contrary the Confused one: she is the wife whose main character is that she confuses in many ways. For example in deciding to cook certain types of food for the family, she needs more times to ask questions and discuss the things. It was difficult for her to decide on her own. However, she has strong loyalty to the sacredness of their marriage, and she is very sensitive to their surroundings which can serve to give some useful inputs for her husband and the family.
Although each of them is sharply different: the Confident and the Confused, they firmly hold on to the agreement to form a whole, healthy, and strong life together in the family. The shortcomings of the Confident are met by the qualities of the Confused, and the shortcomings of the Confused are complemented by the qualities of the Confused. That is a balance of life to be a useful strategy for everyone in a life together where they can complement each other. In the early Church the figures of the two apostles whose feast days we celebrate today also gave a very distinct types.
The apostle James was known as a person who was strong in his stance and belief regarding his life principles. He proved to be the leader of the early Church in Jerusalem. His stance was firm and profound, so that he together with the apostle Peter were the pillars of the Church in its early days. Meanwhile, the apostle Philip, as proclaimed by the Gospel today, was a person who, although he had followed Christ for quite a time, still struggled with his confusion. He may be better included to the slow learners type, or may be he was naturally conditioned as a confused person.
But the Lord Jesus did call each of them with all their shortcomings to form His Church and build His Kingdom. It doesn’t matter if we are different but we like to be determined to live together. We do not hate and even hostile to differences. Every weakness and deficiency of each person will be complemented by another person. God will be pleased to bless and complete everything, because He had proven it by using the apostles James and Philip to build His Church. You and I also certainly in the same line with them, that’s why God calls us here and now. Let’s pray. In the name of the Father …Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us with all the differences in every one of us, so that we become good instruments to strengthen our lives together on earth. Hail Mary full of grace … In the name of the Father …