“Seek the Lord,
all you humble of the land,
who have observed his law;
Seek justice,
seek humility;
Perhaps you will be sheltered
on the day of the Lord’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3)

In today’s first reading Zephaniah warns the people to seek God, to seek humility, to seek righteousness and to do his commands in the ‘hope’ that this ‘may’ save the people from the wrath of God. This reading concludes by God himself saying that he will not wipe out the ‘Remnant of Israel’ who are a small group of people with humility, integrity, not of high stature, seeking refuge in God’s name, who do no wrong, nor lie, nor have deceitful speech. They will journey through life, not being afraid of anything. If we were living in Old Testament times, I wonder if we would qualify to be the ‘Remnant of Israel’?

In today’s second reading Paul sheds light on the undeniable imperfection of humans. A calling is made to examine our own imperfections, an awareness of how insignificant we are when compared to the perfection that is in Christ Jesus.

The world system and its warped thinking says that success in the material world equals to human success. Thankfully this is not how God sees it. In the eyes of God we are all his beloved. There is no partiality, nor distinction among God’s children. All this thanks to our Blessed Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus uses the words of the Psalmist to build on one of the most paradoxical sermons ever given: the Beatitudes. What hope this sermon exudes to the hearer! What excitement it evokes in our hearts, to accept challenges as blessings!

Jesus assures those who are – hopeless, depressed, who have lost a loved one, who are submissive, who thirst for good and integrity, those who overlook the offenses of others, those with clean hearts, sincere encouragers of peace, those persecuted for pursuing righteousness and those falsely accused for honouring the name of Jesus, that our reward will be great in heaven. If we fall into any of the above categories, let us rejoice. In God’s eyes we are all his beloved and glory awaits in heaven. Let us journey in faith.

Prayer: Abba Father, may our spiritual eyes remain open to see the good in every situation in life. Amen.