TLC (Tender Loving Care)

God longs for our embrace and wants us to love Him back so that we can be the people He calls His own. Just think of how parents used to say all the nice things to their children as if no one else compares and what this famous saying implies “the face only a mother could love” or if not yet a parent then think of a student who is an alma mater of a school and this famous cliché, “love your own”.   This is the kind of affection which could probably describe how God feels for us, no matter how imperfect we are. Amen. Hallelujah!

Jeremiah 13: 1-11

...I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the LORD; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty...

We should never take God for granted and start to think of all the good things He has done for us.  Let us not become like Israel and Judah who turned their backs on God. Today's psalm reading is taken from Deuteronomy and could have been written thousand of years ago even before the time of Jesus Christ. But its message still resounds to this very day. People nowadays are acting as if there is no God with the way they go about with their lives. It is sad to see how they put their loyalty in fame, honor, power and riches without realizing that everything comes from God and He should be first. We have unforgettable experiences in life which remains etched in our memories no matter how long it may have been. These experiences whenever we remember them may cause us to recall too, the emotions and feelings that go with it and elicit from us a smile, laughter or tears. If we are to dwell on the truth that God the Father suffered His only Son to serve as ransom for our deliverance, Jesus who is God the Son suffered even death on the cross for our sake and God the Holy Spirit descended from Heaven, dwelt in us and always with us then we will never forget and will always remember. Amen. Hallelujah!

Deuteronomy 32:18-19, 20, 21

R: You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

18 You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, You forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing and anger toward his sons and daughters...What a fickle race they are, sons with no loyalty in them!” (R) 21 “Since they have provoked me with their ‘no-god’ and angered me with their vain idols, I will provoke them with a ‘no-people’; with a foolish nation I will anger them.”

God can do a lot of wonderful and amazing things in our lives if we just open our hearts to the kingdom of heaven and all that it represents. We must cultivate, nurture and nourish it in our hearts, minds and souls until it reaches its full maturity. I can still remember when I was still in Japan, I together with the other Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) participants were given during the Summer Fair in the Science Complex in Hiroshima, beautiful and small plants. It wasn't that difficult to take care during the summer. All I had to do was water it everyday and leave it outside the terrace of my room. It just kept on blooming with beautiful flowers. But when winter time came that was when I started to have a problem. My co-participant from Columbia told me that her plant was already dead because she found it frozen and dried up. I decided to bring my plant inside the room during nighttime and leave it outside the terrace only in the morning whenever the sun was shining brightly. But I was able to commit to it only for a short period of time because my work in the laboratory did not allow me to go back early to HIC (Hiroshima Intl. Center) where I was staying or sometimes I was just too tired that I've completely forgotten about it. Then one day I just found out that my plant was also dead. I felt bad about it and realized that if only I had paid more attention to it and became diligent in taking care of it then it would have survived winter and lived up to Spring. In today's gospel unlike the plants in Japan that we cared for Jesus is telling us that no matter how little or insignificant we feel we are and how difficult our situations are we must liken ourselves to the mustard seed and yeast which in due time has grown and risen to its full capacity. If only we would always entrust ourselves to the TLC (Tender Loving Care) of a trustworthy God who always pays attention, not forgetful and is diligent in giving us the perfect care. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 13:31-35

31 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” 33 He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”