God knows the intentions of the heart (Friday, Week 22, Year 2)

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It is often the case that when you hit people hard with the truth, some mischievous individuals will begin to examine you more closely and may even go to the extent of digging up your past in order to have something against you and then make the public have a certain negative opinion of you. 

This may be the reason why St Paul, in the first reading (cf. 1 Cor. 4:1-5), is talking about not being afraid of being judged by the Corinthians to whom he wrote a very powerful and strong-worded letter on how they should conduct themselves. It could be possible that he might have thought of people digging up his past in order to form an opinion of him (to judge him) and then present a very bad image of him. He is not afraid because he knows that it is God who can disclose the purposes of the heart. 

Maybe, a similar thing is happening in the gospel reading (cf. Luke 5:33-39): the Pharisees and the Scribes who have been hit hard by the words of Jesus now resorted to petty issues such as fasting: trying to know why the disciples of John fast and those of Jesus do not fast. By the way, how did they even get to the point of knowing that Jesus’ disciples do not fast? Because they must have been trying to dig up something or have something with which they can accuse Jesus, “judge” him or present him in a negative light. Jesus drew their attention to the fact that it is the intention that really matters: why do people even fast? Generally, during that time, people fast in order to diffuse the wrath of God because of their sins. Fasting was a sorrowful act. But there was an intention of trying to call God’s attention to oneself when one fasted; to attract the sympathy and mercy of God when one fasted. But Jesus is God: why should the disciples fast or be sorrowful or even try to attract the mercy and sympathy of God when they had Jesus, who is God, with them? Why should they fast when there was no need for them to do so? In whatever we do, it is the intention that really matters.

Whenever we try to dig out something in order to publicly roast or crucify someone who may have become a thorn in our flesh, it will be good for us to also know that it is God who knows the intentions of the heart; it is He who can disclose the purposes of the heart. Let us not put ourselves in the position of a judge for malicious reasons: trying to score some moral points and present other people in a very negative light. God knows their intentions more than you do.



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