NO "IN BETWEEN"

There should be no biases or indifferences among the community of God. Today's 1st reading presents to us a problem among the disciples at the time of Jesus and even up to the present time. We should avoid taking sides and engaging in actions that instead of uniting, create factions. We should closely guard ourselves against these things. We have to be very careful in conducting our affairs. We might not be aware of it but there are times when we are inclined to do certain things without realizing that it does not do any good to us and others. No matter how noble and religious this activity we are engaged in or people we identify and work with, it could not mask, hide or camouflage any flaw if it's just for human or personal glory. What's worse is that we are no longer reflecting our Lord Jesus Christ in doing so and in the process is actually doing more harm than we ever come to know. Why is this so? It is just like the fact that there are only 2 sides on a coin, it's just head or tail and no in between, we too, have to be conscious that whatever our actions are, they only mean one thing or the other, to picture God in it or not. Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 3:18-23
...the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: “He catches the wise in their own ruses,” 20 and again: “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.” 21 So let no one boast about human beings, for everything belongs to you, 22 Paul or Apollos or Kephas, or the world or life or death, or the present or the future: all belong to you, 23 and you to Christ, and Christ to God.


Let us no longer be deceived by the false and misleading truths and principles that this world presents to us every single day. We have to be grounded at all times on this truth that today's psalm is telling us. The other day, Tita Neds is complaining that something is wrong with the television. She said that somebody fixed it already but it didn't stay fixed for long. It wasn't the manufacturer who repaired it. I told them to bring it to its manufacturer because they would definitely know what to do with it. We've got to be conscious of this reality and apply it to ourselves. When something goes wrong we should know where to go, to whom we really belong, the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!


Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R: To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it.
...For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (R) 3 Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? Or who may stand in his holy place? 4 He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. (R) 5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD, a reward from God his savior...

Today's gospel is just a confirmation of yesterday's. We are all called by the Lord for a mission and we ought to follow no matter how daunting the task may seem to be. We must not be dissuaded, discouraged or deluded by our situation. If things do not look very encouraging and convincing just like the way it was when Jesus summoned Simon Peter to "put out into deep water" then all the more should we "press on". We are not to rely on outward appearances and other factors. The circumstances surrounding Peter at that time in today's gospel point to a logical response which is not to follow. He and his companions according to him had been working hard all night and caught nothing. This passage is not only a matter of logic and reasoning but a case of who commanded it. God gave us the 10 commandments and there are instances when we come up with various excuses and justifications just to get away with what we've done. If we are truly aware of who Jesus really is then we've got to have the conviction in ourselves that what the Lord commands is the most logical thing to do. Amen. Hallelujah!


Luke 5:1-11
...“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.