Beware (Friday, Week 28, Year 2)

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Everyone wants to have a certain sense or feeling of belonging in a group he or she finds himself or herself. And once people realize that they really belong, they will be more confident to immerse themselves into the life of the group. They will seek to promote the ideals of the group, to work with others towards actualizing the objectives of the group, and to defend the group against attacks, and so on. In his letter to the Ephesians (which we have begun to read), St Paul draws the attention of the Christian people of Ephesus to the fact that they have received a special mark of ownership, that they have been sealed with the Holy Spirit; and thus have now been chosen in Christ as God’s heritage. The Psalmist sings that happy or blessed are those the Lord has chosen as His heritage, as His own (cf. Psa. 33:12). The people of Ephesus, just like us, were really blessed. But it seemed they were not aware of that. Now, it is important that St Paul made it very clear to them so that they wouldn’t have double minds or ever think of cross-carpeting to the camps of other gods or false teachers, for Ephesus at the time of St Paul was a city of many gods and heresies (false teachings). A lot of things were done in other religions; a lot of ideas were propagated by certain individuals and groups that could have easily lured people away from the Christian faith. The temptation of abandoning the faith was very strong.

St Paul reminded them that in Christ, they have heard the word of truth and have received the gospel of salvation, and have certainly believed in Christ (cf. Eph. 1:13). By this then, he was calling them to stay strong and not to be swayed away from the truth and the gospel which they have received. Having the same feeling of people drifting away from His teachings, Jesus begged the crowd that gathered around Him to beware of the “yeast” or “leaven” of the Pharisees (cf. Luke 12:1-7). By “yeast” or “leaven”, He was referring to the false teachings of the Pharisees. Beware, even though they threaten you with excommunications and the rest, do not succumb to their teachings. The keyword is BEWARE. In other expressions, it can be understood as BE ON YOUR GUARD; BE WATCHFUL; GUARD AGAINST; and so on. Some groups and persons may even come forward very violently to bend you to their own camp, beware and do not be afraid of them.

We need to hear such words of warning and caution again and again in our time when many things are trying to capture our attention and draw us away from the truth and the faith. Beware! People who sow seeds of falsehood use certain methods to catch people's attention. They will introduce very mouthwatering programmes and initiatives: some have buses that convey their members from wherever they are to their churches. Some even promise free lunch after church services; and so many other things done to draw and lure away. Beware of such gifts and packages! You may feel drawn to such places because of those mouthwatering services. Beware! Many of those things are Trojan gifts: they may appear well-wrapped and packaged; but within there is a concoction of false teachings, diabolical practices, unbiblical and faith-destroying ideas. Beware!    


  

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