Weather forecasts and disaster and calamity preparedness
efforts have always been helpful. The Japanese are very well known for these.
When I was there in 2000 my sensei (professor) told me to bring my umbrella
when we go on a trip because he saw on the weather forecast that it will rain
on the day we'll go sightseeing in Kyoto .
He even told me what color of the maple tree leaves to expect on specific days
while we're there. And he was right, it did rain on that day that he predicted
it to rain and the maple tree leaves really turned into the color he said it
would become. Very impressing considering that it was a week in advance when he
said this. The same is true with our Christian life. We should always be ready
to listen and discern God's warnings and advice. Nothing could be more precise
and without fail than God's word.
Amos 3: 1-8; 4: 11-12
...7Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his
plan to his servants, the prophets. 8 The lion roars — who will not be afraid!
The Lord GOD speaks — who will not prophesy...
We look to God in all the things that come our way and offer
it in prayers. We should not take matters into our hands but rather entrust it
to God who leads us in His justice. We should always be vigilant and be aware
of how we conduct ourselves before God. Get rid of hindrances and disturbances
that get in the way for us to receive all signals coming from the Lord, so that
we can get His message loud and clear. Let us always work toward the goal of
becoming a pleasing sacrifice before God because He is faithful so we should be
faithful and remain steadfast too. When things do not go the way we wanted and
expected it, we must never lose hope and continue to focus on the truth of
God's goodness and mercy. No matter how dark and menacing the clouds in the sky
may seem it doesn't change the fact that behind it the sun continues to shine
and never dim for a moment. If we call on to the Lord in our distress He will
surely hear and answer us. This we should know and believe for sure because God
can not be any other but goodness, mercy and compassion. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 5:4b-6a, 6b-7, 8
R: Lead me in your justice, Lord.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you. 4 [5] For
you, O God, delight not in wickedness; no evil man remains with you; 5 [6] the
arrogant may not stand in your sight. (R) You hate all evildoers. 6 [7] You
destroy all who speak falsehood; the bloodthirsty and the deceitful the LORD
abhors.
The gospel for today is another scene at the Sea of Galilee which should made us think and recall once
again all the unforgettable, awe inspiring and amazing events whether in our
own life or in the life of the apostles during that time that were related to
it. We may have heard of this story of a mountain climber who fell and was
hanging on a rope and prayed to God for help. He heard a voice telling him to
let go of the rope. It was dark and could not see what’s below him and so did
not follow the voice. It was already morning when he found out that he was just
one foot above the ground. How attached are we to our own rope? Examples of
most common attachments are the following. Belief that they were born poor and
lowly with a low self worth. They forget
that they are children of God and become weak. God wants to bless the poor to
have a rich and comfortable life. We have some unpleasant character and
attitude that we find hard to handle but we must believe it can still be
changed. By the grace of God everybody can change. We have to overcome bad
practices like being habitually late, TV addiction and gossiping. Vices and
sins like smoking, drinking, drugs, gambling, fornication and illicit sexual
relationships. Old ways or bad habits can be attributed to “homing instinct”
This happens when we keep on going back to the same old same environment where
we came from despite bitter memories and pain in the past. This may sound
unimaginable but we feel comfortable with the old ways, beliefs and
environment. Will we let go of our attachments? It is written in Isaiah 41:13 For
I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; It is I who say to you, Do
not fear, I will help you. How will we counter these attachments? First we need
to admit it and open the door of change. Then we act on it and rebuild.
Whenever we are tempted we have to do the opposite. We have to pray constantly
for change, improvement and growth. In the gospel we are reminded to take
courage. Here are some guidelines that can help us overcome our attachments.
Identify our common attachments hindering growth of our Christian life.
Explain. How real is “homing instinct” in our life? Knowing our present
attachments, what are our steps to counteract them and grow? There is no doubt really to the amazing power
of God that could make all things possible. But what was impressed to me today
was the fact that we have to be sure that we are riding on the same boat where
Jesus is. If we are caught in a violent storm at sea and we have Jesus on board
then there is really nothing to worry about. What should make us worry is that
if we know that we did not get into same boat where Jesus is. We have to look
back and recall or even go back to the shore of the Sea of
Galilee in our lives when Jesus was calling us if we indeed obeyed
and followed Him and boarded on the same boat where He got into. Sometimes in
our lives when Jesus calls us to do something we end up making decisions for
ourselves that are not in accordance to His will so when a great storm comes we
become shipwrecked since we were not on the same boat where Jesus was. How many
times in our lives have we encountered the most violent storms in our lives but
we remained steadfast and unmoved by it and still emerged peaceful and calm?
And how many times have we encountered much less violent storms and we ended up
terrified and at a loss? In both occasions we can all benefit from it if we
look closely at our own lives during these trying times and figure out what
could have caused the shipwreck. Or even recall what happened to Lot 's wife in the Old Testament when she failed to follow
instructions and turned into a pillar of salt. I am sure that we can all find
that if and only if we obey and follow Jesus and go on board in the boat of our
lives where He is leading us then we can truly be at peace no matter how
violent the raging storm is around us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 8:23-27
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