18th Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 5, 2018

To follow Christ, we have to turn from our past sins and let Him show us the way to go

Reflections on the readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  (August 5, 2018): EX 16:2-4,12-15; PS 78:3-4,23-24,25,54; EPH 4:17,20-24; JN 6:24-35  

MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.

Any one of us who is baptized in Christ will never be the same.

We now have a bond with Him as adopted children. Yet, as St. Paul warned the Christian community in Ephesus, if we still think and act like non-believers, we will never grow spiritually. “As truth is in Jesus…you should put away the old self of your former way of life…and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth” (Ephesians 4:21-24). 

It is not enough to say we are Catholics, followers of Jesus Christ. We must turn our souls over to Him, allowing God’s grace to inspire us and His will, to guide us. We must act on His words of life and love in order to develop our personal relationship with Him. Everyone who embraces Christ needs to turn away from sin.  That’s because sin is not only wrong in itself, but it also creates a barrier between our Lord and us, as well as between other people and us. Each new day offers us a fresh opportunity to open ourselves to our gracious Redeemer and become more and more like Him in our thoughts, words and actions. 

Suggested missionary action: We can resolve to consider our current way of life seriously and to turn away from our “old self.”  We need to welcome God’s grace, especially through the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist.