It is tempting for some of us to come up with our own opinion or interpretation about what a particular passage in the bible means. Sometimes our opinion or interpretation could be coloured or influenced by our background, attitude towards certain persons or places, or some other criteria. When we begin to interpret passages in the bible on our own, without a definitive authority, then we risk interpreting such passages according to what suits us, or what suits our agenda. This could lead others to follow what we say, instead of what the bible is really telling us, or what Jesus is really teaching us.
This is where Jesus reminds us in today's Gospel: "For what I have spoken does not come from myself; no, what I was to say, what I had to speak, was commanded by the Father who sent me, and I know that his commands mean eternal life. And therefore what the Father has told me is what I speak." Jesus is showing us what we are to say or teach should not be at our whims and fancies, since what we are teaching is not our own stuff, but what Jesus taught us. Are we trying to build God's Kingdom by teaching what Jesus is really teaching? Or are we ending up building our own kingdom, by teaching what we think Jesus is teaching, but in reality, is our own stuff instead?
No comments:
Post a Comment