Happy Australia day

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they had a good chat. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.” “Why do you say that?” asked the customer. “Well, you just have to go out in the street to realise that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.” The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barbershop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.” “How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!” No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.” Ah, but barbers do exist! That’s what happens when people do not come to me.” “Exactly!” affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, does exist! That’s what happens when people do not go to Him and don’t look to Him for help. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

On this Australia day let us reflect on how we might be able to live out our mission of showing to all the world that God is the meaning of our lives? We are grateful that each one of us is called to follow Jesus and our mission is to live as a people of faith and as a people with God in our lives. This is quite a challenge because we’ve got everything we need here, or everything we want is just right there within our reach. This easy accessibility to things sometimes leads us to believe we don’t need God and we don’t need faith anymore. But we do need God.....!

​As we celebrate Australia Day this weekend, let us ask ourselves ‘How grateful are we to God for giving us this beautiful country?’

Blessings,
Fr. Dantus Thottathil

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