FIT FOR THE KINGDOM

Today's 1st reading impressed in my heart the words requests and favoring. This made me remember the many works of charity and mercy that I have witnessed in the community of God. We have all been to a point in our lives when we have experienced that our requests are granted and are given favors. It feels good when we encounter brothers and sisters in Christ, who have in one way or another shown their dependability and being an accommodating friend to us. We must not forget and always remember that these are all coming from the Lord and as we appreciate them we are also giving glory to God whose favoring hand is upon us. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Nehemiah 2:1-8

...The king granted my requests, for the favoring hand of my God was upon me. 

The psalm reading reminded me of my co-participant in a training that I attended in Japan. He is from Korea. The duration of the training is almost one year so it is important to have a good rapport among the participants. Unfortunately, our personalities do not go well together. I sensed something different about him and was confirmed when I found out that he didn't believe that there is a God. He claimed to be an atheist. At first, I was trying to be really extra careful and nice to him and was even injecting discreetly some Christian values and ideas to him whenever we are engaged in a conversation. I should say that next to the challenge of my research work there in Japan, he posed to me a difficulty that I never thought I would be able to handle and surpass. Everyday especially during our 1st few months in Japan, I would pray hard for strength in order to withstand whatever challenges that lie ahead of me during the day. This involves putting up with his manners and attitude on top of the fact that we are from different countries with very diverse cultural background and beliefs. After several weeks of constantly praying and putting on hold my temper and practicing patience, gentleness and courtesy to the best of my ability, I finally succumbed to the pressures I've been experiencing then and blurted out all my repressed and bottled up anger. Whew! You could just imagine what I did by how everybody who saw me reacted. They had the impression that I am the Filipina who can pulverize people with an iron fist like Pacquiao. Although it worked since he stopped bothering me from then on, I also regretted what I did for I know that getting back at someone in that manner is not pleasing before the Lord. I am a professed believer of God and should embody this faith. Just like what the 1^st reading tells us, I am sure that what I did is not a reflection of a person who believes in God. It is imperative that we act what we believe in our thoughts and words. God arranged for something else to happen. Another participant got very sick and was hospitalized and we ended up visiting her together. On our way to the hospital, I started a conversation with him which unexpectedly led to his unbelief in God and the theory of the evolution. Judging from where it was going I thought it would end up in disaster that is why I am still in awe at how things happened the way it did. I could never understand or figure out up to this time how I was able to speak those words that I spoke to him. It was as if someone else was speaking in my behalf. Instead of opposing his ideas I just found myself even agreeing with him. This is what I said, “Let us say the evolution theory is true, but consider even for a moment the hardship with my research work wherein I needed to transform the microorganism or simply put it as, improve the strain. I need not change the microorganism which was a fungus to another microbe like a bacterium but just introduce a tiny bit (DNA) of characteristic to improve it. Just the thought of changing fungi into bacteria is already an impossibility that I could never even think about since the transformation alone and the maintenance in itself is already hard work. I told him I've been putting all my efforts and whatever intelligence left in my brains after slaving myself to work beyond midnight just to succeed in my experiments and there was no room for mistake or even a short period of neglect for timing and strict maintenance is a must or else everything I worked for will be gone. I asked him in the light of his being a science researcher himself, that if he believes that humans evolved from a single cell to a very complicated human body like we have right now, a genius must have sustained, maintained and watched over our evolution to our present condition, wonderfully made and crafted by none other than the greatest Genius, Researcher and Scientist of all time.

Today's psalm encourages us to be firm in our beliefs in God. This is especially true during times when terrible things happen and causes us so much sorrow. We can not help but be full of grief. In spite of all of these we can always look to God and not forget that He never forsakes nor abandon. There are times when we forget or simply keep silent about the goodness done to us by other people and the Lord. Though, it doesn't mean that we don't appreciate or have gratitude to them. What's most important is that every good thing done whether in secret or public can not escape the notice or attention of God who will definitely act according to what an All Knowing, Almighty, Holy and Immortal God deem fit and proper. We have our own personal reasons for not making it known or just simply forgetting about it and making it known. The psalm reading encourages us to always give praise to God in words, thoughts and deeds. It is indeed very unfortunate if we are not aware of how great our God is. There is no greater joy and treasure than having the full knowledge about God. Which makes me think of Tita Neds right now. We both have the computer and the internet connection but Tita Neds doesn't know how to use it. There was a time when my 2 sons were not home for our chat time. Though, they gave her already the instructions to just accept my call to their Yahoo Messenger but she was not able to do it. She's been texting me in my cellphone that she doesn't know how to accept the call so I gave up and forgo of our chat that day. There ere times when everything is already within our reach and right before us, what's keeping us from doing the right thing although we're taught how to do it, is that we forget and do not remember.

Amen. Hallelujah! 

P S A L M 

Psalm 137:1-2. 3. 4-5. 6

R: Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. On the aspens of that land we hung up our harps. R. Though there our captors asked of us the lyrics of our songs, And our despoilers urged us to be joyous: “Sing for us the songs of Zion!” R. How could we sing a song of the LORD in a foreign land? If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be forgotten! R. May my tongue cleave to my palate if I remember you not, If I place not Jerusalem ahead of my joy. R.

“I have decided to follow Jesus no turning back. Though no one follows, still I will follow.” This is part of the lyrics of a song that contains the message of what God wants to convey in today's gospel. We may want to ask ourselves, who is fit for the kingdom of God? Do you know how many times the word heaven or the kingdom of God is mentioned in the bible? 832 times. That's how many it is. There are so many images and symbols used to describe heaven. God obviously wants us to know about it so that we can be with Him there. God the Father, Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Most Blessed Trinity is in heaven. Jesus the 2nd Person in the Trinity has gone before us to prepare a place for us. He said that He will come back again so that where He is we can also be. Jesus teaches about heaven in so many ways. Sometimes it is easier to picture something in stories and words. When Jesus taught, He liked to take examples of everyday life of the people and teach us about the kingdom of heaven a place of joy and happiness beyond our imagination. There are many images of heaven that are presented to us by Jesus in the bible. Everything that we suffered for the kingdom of God will be rewarded a hundredfold in heaven. God invites us to join Him and enjoy heaven that was prepared for us before the foundation of the world. It is not easy to always do the right thing. Sometimes we fail to respond in the best manner possible. Today's gospel gives a tip on how to do it according to the way of Jesus. Life of detachment, this is the pathway to a simple life. Also in Luke 12:32-34- store treasures in heaven, let go of possessions in Luke 14:25-35 and Luke 16:13 which is about God and mammon. Money is not evil in itself but the love of money. Resources not shared is greed and talents not shared is lust.

We should always do things for the greater glory of God without any hesitation or doubt. Every single day we are always confronted with a lot of decisions that demonstrate where our loyalty lies. We may have decided on something but as we go along the way we find things that do not suit our comfort and expectations. This may cause us to have 2nd thoughts and doubts whether we really made the right decision or worse whether we still maintain the same conviction that we have before encountering a discouraging situation. For as long as we honestly and sincerely know in our hearts and minds that we intended to follow Jesus and acted on it then we should make a decision to really stick to it and never back out for to be fit for the kingdom of God is all worth it. Amen. Hallelujah! 

Luke 9: 57-62

57 As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” 59 And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” 60 But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.” 61 And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” 62 Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”