THE FOLD

Everything pales in comparison to knowing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Whoever we are and whatever we may have become is nothing compared to the full realization of who and what Jesus our God is to us most especially on the personal level. Once we've reached this point in our life like Paul in his letter to the Philippians then we can confidently say without a trace of hesitation and doubt these very words in today's 1st reading. Jesus is everything and without Him we are nothing. Amen. Hallelujah!

Philippians 3:3-8a

...But whatever gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of Christ. 8 More than that, I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

We don't expect a mango fruit if we planted a banana tree. It is pretty much the same with our lives. If we strive to live up to the expectations of a child of the Lord by giving Him honor and praise then we will surely be not disappointed with the outcome. For God inhabits the praises of His people. Although we have a tendency to forget or become out of focus since we are surrounded in this world we are in by elements most especially the physical ones that make us more inclined to pursue worldly things. We become sidetracked or worse completely off track of the path where God is leading us. Let us live every single day of our life conscious of the wonderful truth that we are God's people and He has made a covenant with us. Almost everybody knows this famous Christian song from kindergarten, “Father Abraham has many children, some of them are small, some of them are tall, all of them are beautiful...” We remain beautiful as long as we keep God's covenant and remain obedient and faithful to God. He is the reason for everything and the source of all good things. It is indeed good advice to always look intently on God and find all the joys waiting for us. Jesus' name is undeniably powerful and beyond measure. Its worth is more than all the riches you can gain in this world. There is indeed great power in the name of Jesus. He is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving. Every single day we are confronted with so many challenges in life and we have to be always hopeful that the fulfillment of everything that we have been praying for has come. We should believe that whatever delays or setbacks we are encountering serve as lessons to be learned that benefit our spiritual journey with Jesus. There is a need to go through the different seasons throughout the year for there is indeed a time and a season for everything. Thus, we all go through different situations and circumstances in life. Some of them do not make any sense if we fail to acknowledge the power of God moving in it. There are numerous things that we can think, focus and decide on but there’s only one thing I am sure of. We’ve got to acknowledge that despite of it all God’s power remains to be above all things no matter what it may seem to be. We should always keep in mind all the wonderful things He has done for us. The Lord will never forsake nor abandon us. In the midst of all the turmoil we inevitably face in our daily lives may we remain hopeful in the Lord who is Almighty, provides for all means and prevails now and forever. We just need to always remember the marvels the Lord has done and always hold on to it. If we live by the word of God which is perfect and remains forever then nothing could go wrong. Our hearts will abound with joy and gladness as we further explore, know and understand about our faith. In doing so we have to constantly look to the Lord, seek Him, recall His goodness, keep our spirits up and make our hearts rejoice like what today's psalm is telling us about. There is really nothing we can find even if we search far and wide, high and low more than what the Lord can offer. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R: Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord.

2 Sing to him, sing his praise, proclaim all his wondrous deeds. 3 Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD! (R) 4 Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. (R) 5 Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. 6 You descendants of Abraham, his servants, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones! 7 He, the LORD, is our God; throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

Luke is known as the gospel of women, infancy and Jesus’ youth. Today’s gospel speaks of the parable that is the most consoling, inspiring and beautiful of all. The heart of God is revealed to us by Jesus Christ our brother. It never changes although we can never fully understand because we are finite and limited. Thus, we owe so much to St. Luke especially since this parable in Chapter 15 reminds us when the day is dark, discouraged and rejected, God never gets tired of looking for us. The God of love is our shepherd. God treasures each one of us with great affection that He tries to convey this message to us in today's gospel through the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus wanted to emphasize that each one of us is important to Him and would go to such great lengths just to bring us back to Him. What a shame just realizing how insignificant we are compared to His greatness and yet the God of the Universe, Master Creator, King of Kings and Lord of Lords consider us as His top priority even though we don't deserve it. Especially at times when we are dissuaded by our other priorities, tend to be swayed over and get lost in the process. He will never leave us nor forsake us to the point of running after us.  It is indeed a relief to find out from Fr. Rudy Horst's sharing in Sabbath that God does not turn His back on us no matter what we do. It is always us who turn away from God. When we turn away from God and get lost we can be assured that He is going to look for us and bring us back to the fold that is if we allow Him to. God will never force Himself on us but we can always count on Him to go looking for us just as in today's parable of the lost sheep. Let us not stray any further and try searching for greener pastures as we know it. We ought to settle down and stop breaking free from the fold where we belong for there is no other place better than being in God's loving embrace. Let us just allow God to set us on His shoulders and rejoice with Him together with all the angels and saints in heaven. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 15:1-10

...So Jesus addressed this parable to them. 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.