VISIT OF LOVE

It is very encouraging to have brothers and sister in the community who look out for each other and reflect and perpetrate the love of Jesus Christ. Just like in today's 1st reading in the 1st book of Timothy where Paul hopes to give his fellow Christians a visit of love and his concern of a possible delay. Their devotion to each other is very heart warming and inspiring. We as faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ should also strive to develop this kind of relationship with our fellow brothers and sisters in the community. I am sure that we get very touched by the gesture of relatives and friends who really go out of their way to help us out in the same sincere way the first Christians were to each other. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Timothy 3:14-16

14 Beloved: I am writing you about these matters, although I hope to visit you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. 16 Undeniably great is the mystery of devotion, Who was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.

An anchor is a great image for faith because it doesn’t move about, held down fast and makes firm our position. Hope with faith does not simply mean a subjective feeling of hope that depends on our own personal feelings. What are the things that we hope for? Our hope should be something objective. We should hope for what God has promised. It should be our hope that we’ll go to heaven. This is the hope that we should have in our mind, our motivation to keep and stir up our faith. It is an extremely important goal for us. We do not simply have hope in seeking for the pleasures of this world. This pleasure is tangible and something that we can get a hold of immediately. The idea of postponing the pleasure, like not resorting to drugs, pre marital sex, alcohol and not depend on what seems to be the sole pleasure in life like possessions and all sorts of material things and focus on a hope in the future. We postpone the pleasures in this life and have the hope that there is a pleasure that surpasses these pleasures of this world. We have to develop virtue or the strength on the inside. The word virtue means strength. Our interior strength comes from the fact that we lose heaven if we seek those pleasures and make them the goal in our lives. It is such a pity if it will be where the anchor of our hope lies. Our hope in the promises of God may seem to be veiled at the moment. We have to reach beyond the veil just like the veil in front of the holy tabernacle or the Holy of Holies. Essentially, it was shielding a holy God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the very presence of God. In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement. The picture of the veil was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13). The veil was a barrier to make sure that man could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins.

“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)

So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a thick curtain during the history of Israel. However, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn in half, from the top to the bottom. Only God could have carried out such an incredible feat because the veil was too high for human hands to have reached it, and too thick to have torn it. Jesus a forerunner, high priest through His death and resurrection entered heaven. Thus we too are given this free access to enter heaven. If we know that we are standing on a firm and steady ground then we are confident that we are safe and secure. There is no doubt that the will of God will never take us where the grace of God will not protect us and will surely see us through for He is a truly reliable God. We have a God whom we can surely rely on. We've got to focus more on the bright and good side of life at all times because we have a great God who always works wonders in our lives. We can always rely on God at all times and be assured that the wisest thing that we can do for ourselves is to follow His precepts which are all truth and equity. There is nothing more we ought to do but live by it. In this movie about Moses it struck me how many times he kept on reminding the people of God's covenant. Every time God shows His signs, wonders and miracles the people are filled with faith but it doesn't last for each time they easily forget and not remember. Let us always remind ourselves of these signs, wonders and miracles that happened a long time ago even up to the present time for it remains true forever and ever. We have been declared through Jesus as God's own for He has made a covenant with us, the work of His hands. Let us not set this aside or neglect and put ourselves in our rightful place as His people.  God is always true and faithful to his covenant. We can count on Him to carry out and fulfill His part. It is our part of the covenant that we need to be concerned about. We've got to respond to God and fulfill our part of the bargain for our own good. This we need to be aware of and keep in mind always. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 111:1-2. 3-4. 5-6

R: How great are the works of the Lord!

1 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the company and assembly of the just. 2 Great are the works of the LORD, exquisite in all their delights. (R) Majesty and glory are his work, and his justice endures forever. He has won renown for his wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the LORD. (R) He has given food to those who fear him;

he will forever be mindful of his covenant. He has made known to his people the power of his works, giving them the inheritance of the nations. (R)

Everything we intend to do must be laid down before Him to seek His approval. He will never deprive us nor withhold from us the answers that we seek if we strive to do what is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. If we sometimes forget these and tend to stray away from the right path then we should always be aware that everything that we say, think and do must always have reference to God our Creator. It doesn't matter that much how we think and feel but what matters most is how to feel and think just like God. For we can always rely and depend on it, 100%, fail proof and success guaranteed. God's power is beyond our full comprehension. He is Holy, Mighty, Immortal and Infinitely Great. Did it ever occur to you how all these things that surround us, from the skies, to the mountains, plains, the seas, the wind, all the heavenly bodies above, the things down below, all the creatures of the earth especially us, human beings came to be. Not a single theory about creation could suffice and would ever satisfy the wonders and marvelous things that God has done. Just thinking about all these things should make us always put our hope in Him, feel confident and assured that we are safe under His care, to help us from all our problems and shield us from all harm. We should not give room to any doubt, fear, anxiety, impatience, irritability, hatred, sadness, iniquity, unfaithfulness, disloyalty, pride and loss of self control. Let us not choose to give in to these. They are all characteristics that should not be found in a people the Lord has chosen to be His own. Let us never lose sight of this wonderful plan that God has for all of us. We may not be seeing it right now, having doubts about it, not paying attention to it or unable to commit to it. Whatever it may be, these are all hindrances that prevent us from gaining access to the goodness of the Lord. Never allow ourselves to miss out on this privilege that is accorded to all of us as the children of God. God chose us first and it is only right and fitting that we choose Him too. If we always focus on the Lord and put His words in our presence at all times then we can be assured that we have a lamp unto our feet that is lighting our path. We have to entrust all our cares and worries to the Lord for He can do better things for our lives than all our works combined. Let us not end up to be an unfeeling generation. Let us not lose the awe in the loving feeling that God has shown and given us through His ultimate sacrifice of His own Son on the Cross. I got this reflection from Companion and it captures the essence of the message of today's gospel. It says, "Jesus is more than a little frustrated with the superficial nature of the faith of the people, and challenges them to look beyond the appearances of faith and into the depths of faith, where truth is embraced and righteousness is lived. We live in a world that embraces superficial values to the nth degree. There is always the danger that we transpose this attitude to our faith. This would potentially have disastrous consequences for us. We must not allow the world to trivialize our faith and maintain our belief no matter what the cost to us may be in the eyes of the world." Nothing is hidden from God and everything is known to Him. It pays to always consult our plans to God in prayers. Prayer is very important in maintaining a good relationship with the Lord. There are different forms of prayer and the kind of prayer that God wants from us is the prayer of our very own life. The kind of life we live if lived in accordance to God's will is the best kind of prayer we can offer to God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Luke 7:31-35

31 Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ 35 But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”