Cheers everyone! It's Sophia here. Cyril's away on a trip and he asked whether I could "take care" of the Ministry's blog in the meanwhile. Naturally, it was my pleasure. Tomorrow will be the last day of the liturgical calendar; Christ the King. The last Bible Sharing on Wednesday was taken from the Gospel of Luke 23: 35- 43 and that night's sharing has been coming back to me a lot since.

This is from the Good News Bible:

35 The people stood there watching while the Jewish leaders made fun of him: "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah whom God has chosen!"
36 The soldiers also made fun of him: they came up to him and offered him cheap wine, 37 and said, "Save yourself if you are the king of the Jews!"
38 Above him were written these words: "This is the King of the Jews."
39 One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"
40 The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, "Don't you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. 41 Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong."
42 And he said to Jesus, "Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!"
43 Jesus said to him, "I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me."

I quote something from one of us sharing that night. Not precise, but something like this.

Jesus was silent throughout all the insults; four times. First by the Jewish leaders, the soldiers, the inscription and lastly the criminal. The only time he actually spoke was to assure the other criminal that he will be with him in Paradise.

Right now, for personal reasons, these words are exactly what I need. If Jesus, so powerful and almighty had bore pains without proclaiming to the whole world, who are we to do just that? God is awesome and knows everything so thoroughly. I had no idea actually, still haven't, with what to do with this post. I don't even have a title. But we have been told to make up our minds ahead of time not to worry, because God will give us such words and wisdom that none of the enemies can contradict. In Sirach 30: 23 God says, "Enjoy yourself and be happy; don't worry all the time. Worry never did anybody any good and it has destroyed many people."
And to prove that, God gave Jesus, so that we will be happy.

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King. I hope everyone, especially all those lost and still seeking, knows that although just like one of the criminals, sinful, we still belong somewhere. Together, let us reflect on the readings and Gospel. I hope it has meant as much to you as it had me.