We should actually feel the grace of God moving in our lives
before we can become effective in convincing our fellowmen to build and take
part in the kingdom
of God
Acts 11:21b-26; 12: 1-3
...While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the
holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I
have called them.” 3 Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands
on them and sent them off.
Is there any other place we would like to be other than in
the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we can and should have a straight
answer without delay. No one should ever claim that they haven't heard or known
about God since it is our prime duty to spread and make it known throughout the
whole world. There is no denying to the truth that all of us are given the
chance to know who our God is and it is also our duty and responsibility to
take part in this mission of spreading the good news and make known to everyone
to the best of our ability the saving power of God. We should consider each day
as an opportunity to know and learn more about our God. Whether it be an
ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be amiss and should be spent
in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can never ever deny the
greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest part of God’s
creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in the world. As
in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the sand as limit to
the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves may toss but not
prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask ourselves how in the
world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the ocean in the same way we
know that we have a God whose saving power is known throughout the earth. It is
our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good which is the will of God in
our lives. This is not something that we still have to search and look for. It
is already programmed in us and made known to us by the Lord. If by any chance
this is not the case especially for those people who have not heard or known
about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself knows how to deal with
them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For us who have been blessed
and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing about Jesus, this is
coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those who have been given
much, much is also expected definitely applies to it. We have a responsibility
in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this vital truth that
could spell the difference between life and death. It is always for our good to
attend activities that nourish our soul. We are enlightened and inspired
because of the many good things we can learn from it. Whenever we hear words of
wisdom it could always help us make sense of the things happening around us
even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy and gladness in every
person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles of God then we will
come to know that there is no truth in the saying that faith is against reason.
We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as explained by Pope John
Paul II that true faith come together with true reason. It is the same thing as
saying that Theology tells us that God created the world while Science tells us
how God created the world. The problem is that there is a great propaganda out
there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and glamour. It makes
virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the truth of the matter
is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world are enjoyed the most
by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food
most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges all the time or a
person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the
most. The person who uses creation and all things according to God’s plan
enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things
in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit
of pleasure. But God commands them to be
used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life
is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God
did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to
obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also
makes us who we are. The actions we
engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us.
We are making ourselves all the time. We, Catholics believe that God gave human
beings reason although it sometimes gets darkened by sin but still human reason
can figure out some things. One of the things that human beings figure out
without God having to reveal it, is that human beings need to meet 4 qualities
to be deemed a human being. The philosopher, before even Plato, Aristotle and
Socrates, had this figured out. We find it mentioned in Wisdom 8:7, the 4
virtues or qualities are also called the hinge virtues because it is where all
the other virtues or qualities of good people would hinge. The word cardinal
means hinge. The Cardinals who surround the Pope are the doorway to the Pope. They
are also the ones whom he rely the most for advice. Everything else depends on
the cardinal virtues. (Prudence or wisdom, justice, temperance and courage or
fortitude) We can also find all the cardinal virtues, like justice which means
giving each person his or her due in the Book of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes
and all the wisdom literature in scriptures. We all know even as kids
instinctively how important justice is. The first thing that a kid cries out as
soon as he learns how to talk if he has brothers and sisters is “Not fair, he
got more than I did” or “You ask me to do more than what that person is doing.”
This is because we have instinctively or natively offensive justice. Each
person has rights and ought to get their due. There’s also another part of
justice that we forget, that is, we have obligations and duties to everyone. A
person who is unjust is not a good person. To be just, we need to control our
passions. Temperance is a virtue that balances and controls our passions. It is
like controlling our desire for that last piece of cake if we know that it
belongs to our sister. In order to be just, we’ve got to control our appetites.
Make our appetites come into line with justice, truth and goodness. We’ve got
to have that balance in our life in order to be a good and effective person.
Temperance makes this happen. We also have to be courageous. If we are not
courageous then every time a difficulty arises we’re going to shrink back. If
there’s any danger involved in doing the right, just and wise thing then we’re
just going to crack out and find an excuse because we’re afraid. Courage or
fortitude helps us to master fear and not let fear keep us from doing what’s
right. In the same way that we want justice to prevail always since it is very
frustrating when we encounter situations that are very unjust. We are reminded
in today's psalm that we can all be assured of the truth that the Lord rules
the earth and He rules with justice there is no doubt. We've got to take hold
of the marvelous things that God has done. Nothing else matters than the truth
that we are all loved by God and given the privilege of taking part in His
great kingdom in heaven. God revealed to us Himself in various different ways.
In the gospel of Mark: "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God"
(Mk 1:1) is summarized by the phrase - The person of Jesus, and the gospel of
Luke:"The gospel of glory to God in high heaven and peace on earth to
those on whom his favor rest (Lk 2:14) is summarized by the phrase - Joy to the
world, while the gospel of John:"the gospel of the Word that became flesh
and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is
summarized by the phrase - Eternal life then the gospel of Matthew is where all
this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (Mt 1:22)
and is written almost 55x in this gospel and summarized by the phrase - The
Coming of the Kingdom. God's saving power is manifested in this treasury of
books that have been preserved and handed to us from generation to generation.
No one can deny the fact that to all God has been gracious and loving with no
exception at all. God's faithful love should compel us to do the best we could
ever do. There was a time when my computer got bugged down and happened to be
the same time that I heard and was touched by the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong
in the healing mass at St. Christopher where Hendrie who fixed my computer was
serving as a member of the choir. It had been 3 years since I heard about this
story of a tailor and his needle but I would never forget and always remember
it especially the perfect timing and situation when I heard it. This tailor who
was about to die spoke his last and they were these words, "Give me my key
to heaven." At first those people who were there and heard him did not
understand what he was talking about until they realized that he was asking for
his needle. In the same way we must have our own keys in heaven as we try to
examine ourselves and find out what is it in our life that can be compared to
that needle in a tailor's life or our special talents that we can offer to God.
I could still very well remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing
that because I immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread
the word of God through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write
and share to others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my
heart for all the amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that
this computer which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect
condition since that time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call
to each one of us to become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed
in us. We will just run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor
and praise to God. There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would
have to realize not sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to
trust, hope and rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes
rely too much on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot
of things when sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of
anxiety. Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest
obstacles to holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust
in God's Grace and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even
momentarily. Life on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot
of things can bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We
have to exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the
one whom we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about
the daily revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround
us which points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our
hands once we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know
that God's grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond
our strength. Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's
promises. Today's psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise
man from the East in the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and
served an evil and wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel
but from his mouth came forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18
that there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel who will dispossess Edom . A star and a scepter signifies
kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise men in the New Testament (NT)
during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were looking for a star that would
direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus. He is truly our King and the
fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to respond with gratitude to
the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us. There is no doubt that the
God of the house of Israel
is still the same one true God of today. The same privilege is handed over to
us as the chosen people of God ,
Israel
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous
deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The Lord has
made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his
justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house
of Israel .
(R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing
joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R)
Jesus is very clear in today’s gospel that He has come not
to abolish but to fulfill the law. He comes in obedience to the Father and
lives it perfectly. We fall into this vicious cycle of believing in Jesus and
still continue to sin. He did not come
to overturn but to fulfill the law. We
are to avoid sin and do good. We trust ourselves to the mercy of God. Though,
we still grow as we struggle with sin. We must humble and renew ourselves in
charity. Now is the time for conversion of our life to goodness. We should
assess ourselves. Are we become holier as we struggle against sins? Are we
moving away from sins of our predominant fall? What sins do we usually repeat
in our confession? Are we struggling and fighting against it? What do our
friends and families remind us of? How do we worship? How is our moral life? Is
it lived in the whole pillar dedicated to the commandments? Our personal sin is
the enemy that we’re fighting. Our pitfall is that we’re trying to change the
external all the time. The other people around us and the situation instead of
looking at the battle we have to find in ourselves. The usual loophole is our
covetousness towards our neighbor’s goods. It comes up in different forms,
these desires that is not in harmony with reason. It is the concupiscence and
lust of the flesh. Lust is a huge epidemic and problem to live the 6th &
9th commandment. We need help and God’s grace. We need chastity and must appeal
to Him for that grace. We should avoid near occasions that cause us to sin.
It’s in the heart so we have to make the radical approach not to let it enter
our heart. We need to work on the purity of heart in order to see God face to
face when our time comes. We are called to be like Him and see our brothers and
sisters as children of God. We also have to fight our desires to have more and
more. The more we have the more secured we are. There is this deep tendency in
us to place our security in things and people.
We are always confronted with the temptation to do predominant work in
our life and pull us away from God. It scatters our energies and focus to do
something to build up our esteem, pride and ego. We tend to desire to control
others, call the shots and not to submit to God. We need to seek His direction and
His will. It should be the trajectory of our life, to prefer God over
everything else. When we lack security then we should cling to God. Whatever
sin it is that defeat us, we should make a firm and conscious effort to get out
of our selfishness, go to others, fight sin and appeal to God for grace.
Today's gospel holds the key to excel and be great in the kingdom of heaven.
Let us not have second thoughts or falter when it comes to deciding for the
Lord. Whatever it is we decide to do, let us make sure that God is always our
main reason. In doing so, we can be sure that we are not taking the wrong side
and are clearly not supporting the cause of the evil one. It is very sad that
nowadays people no longer give much care about this. We sometimes fall into the
trap of complacency and tend to conform to the alluring and tempting
materialism that this world offers. We always set God aside and place Him in a
corner treating Him like a nobody. We always end up calling the shots while we
continue to ignore and take for granted what should clearly be taken first
place and seriously. If we truly are grateful to the one true God whom we
should love, respect and honor above any other gods that try to win our loyalty
and praise then we should try to start by following His commandments in heart,
body and soul. For only when we do the right thing before God can we find true
freedom. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 5:17-19
17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have
come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to
fulfill. 18 Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the
smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until
all things have taken place. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of
these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be
called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
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