“Offer God a sacrifice of Praise”, today’s response of the responsorial Psalm reminds us of a great way to win the Heart of God. How does praise become a sacrifice? How can we praise God which ends up pleasing to the Eye of God? We are presented in the first reading today with how Cain and Abel made their offering to the Lord. Abel offered “best firstlings of his flock” Gen 4:4 while “Cain brought an offering to the LORD” Gen 4:3. What is important to notice here is how humankind starts widening the gap between the creation and the creator. God had no second thoughts of creating the best of you and me for his purpose. What is it that we can offer him in return as an offering?

There are many times where we fall short of giving the best in return to God. As an example, how is our quiet time with the Lord? Are we giving that time the significance that it deserves or is it just another time of the day? Choosing our options between offering “best vs any” to God could result in disengagement from the purpose of our lives while becoming slaves to our comfort zones without even realising the difference between the two. We may end up giving something to God but the best of ourselves. The scripture confirms that we are wonderfully made in his image. He took so much care to design Adam & Eve, yet they rejected the creator and fell from His presence to their own flesh. That same fall continues through Cain to the next generation. Isn’t it the same struggle we go through in our day to day life? This fall continues even today though God gave up divinity to teach us through humankind by becoming one of us to help our journey to eternity. Are we also seeking for external signs from heaven instead of internal transformation that is expected from us? We may expect a miracle to convince ourselves about the power of God without realising that God’s plan in our life continues to unfold every moment. We are naturally driven by what we see and feel in our senses. But the Lord Jesus speaks to our hearts as he spoke to St. Thomas through the words “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29.

Prayer: Abba Father, I humbly pray that you transform me from my desire to see signs and wonders rather than have an internal transformation of my heart. Transform me so that I may become a child of your Kingdom. Amen