“Give to Ceasar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God”
Being Good Christians and Honest Citizens
In many aspects of his public life Jesus seems to be a rebel. He blatantly disobeys the Sabbath law (Jn 5:1-19; Lk 13:10-16; Mk 3:1-6). Not only did he break the law but allowed his disciples to do the same (Mt 12:1-14). Jesus questioned the rationale of the Law of Moses and offered a new interpretation (Mt 5:1-7:29), even though he claimed, “I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them” (Mt 5:17). Jesus challenged the powers-that-be: the priests, the lawyers, the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And yet, in the gospel reading of today Jesus tells the Pharisees and the Herodians to continue ‘to pay taxes’ to the Romans. […]
Author: selvam
Well-being and religious commitment amongst South African and Kenyan students.
Fadiji, A.W., Khumalo, I., & Selvam, S.G. (2023). The well-being correlates of religious commitment amongst South African and Kenyan students. South African Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463231199960
Religious commitment is a prominent feature in the lives of many students in Africa. The present study investigated the well-being correlates (emotional well-being, social contribution, and depression) of religious commitment, and compared them across sex. A cross-sectional sample of 471 students from South Africa and Kenya (men = 244; women = 227; with an average age of 22.8 years) completed the Religious Commitment Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire, Social Well-being Scale, and Mental Health Continuum Short-Form. Structural equation modelling in Mplus was used to estimate direct effects of religious commitment on emotional well-being, social contribution and depression, and comparison across sex. The results showed significant direct effects, attesting to the association of […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 28th Sunday Homily: Celebrate Life
C’mon and Celebrate!
(Is 25:6-10; Phil 4:12-14,19-20; Mt 22:1-14)
Speaking about food and cultures: an African lady, who used to work for an ethnic Indian family in East Africa, once told me: “You Indians take so much time to cook, but you eat it all so quickly.” As an Indian, I had never thought of that! Come to think of it, it seems so true. Our women spend most of their day cooking – despite the grinding machines and ‘mixies’ these days! Traditionally and even now, in most Indian families, people squatted on the floor while eating, and used their fingers. Both these factors could be accelerating the speed of eating. In a sense, while eating Indians don’t ‘sit at table’, which is the expression used in most Western cultures, implying the connotation that […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 27th Sunday Homily: Avoiding Spiritual Redundancy
Are you protected against Spiritual Redundancy?
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
(Isaiah 5: 1-7; Psalm 79; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43)
Down-sizing, Redundancy, and laying off are common in the capitalistic world. Often, it is a painful experience for individuals. One danger is for people to take it too personally when they are laid off. In most cases redundancy is not a statement on our self-worth as individuals. Redundancy might have nothing to do with an individual’s talents and skills. Simply, the game of Monopoly that is being played by the corporate world should not make us feel that we are worthless. To the people who have been made redundant, it might seem insensitive to repeat the words of the 2nd reading of today: “There is no need to […]
Sermon for Cycle A – 26th Sunday Homily: First Impression
First Impression is not good enough in the Kingdom of God
In your social interactions, have you come across individuals who make a very good first impression on you? After a few minutes of conversation with you, they address you by your first name; they talk as if you have known each other for years; and they look at you as if you are the only one who matters to them. And then, after a few months you come across this person and you approach them with the same spirit of familiarity that they exhibited to you in your last meeting, but alas, they don’t know you from Adam! And to add to your disappointment, they are embarrassed, or even show some annoyance that you want a favour from them!
On the other hand, there are others who might look grumpy, aloof […]