THE BEST DEAL

Oppression is not a nice word to hear. Whenever we encounter this word the first thing that comes to mind is misery and defeat. Yet in today's 1st reading it has produced a different effect on the Israelites although they were being treated unjustly and cruelly to the point of killing all the male boys born during that time it still did not wipe them out but instead they continued to multiply and spread. If God's hand is upon us we should continue to believe that no form of oppression can keep us down. For the God who started a good work in us is faithful to complete it. Amen. Hallelujah!

Exodus 1:8-14. 22
...Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians, then, dreaded the Israelites ...

Time and again, history has always displayed the undeniable mighty power of God in each and every generation from the time of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and up to the present time. We should be able to see how God is working in us in the same way that He did for our ancestors. The life of the patriarchs and the prophets should serve as a constant reminder that God is faithful and always come to our rescue. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M
Psalm 124:1b-3. 4-6. 7-8
R: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
...Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us a prey to their teeth. (R) 7 We were rescued like a bird from the fowlers’ snare; broken was the snare, and we were freed.

There are several kinds of figure of speech and one of them that can really catch our attention and will surely bring our focus to something is hyperbole for it uses exaggeration in order to emphasize a point or put a stress into the message that we want to convey. In today's gospel, Jesus was trying to use this strategy in order to catch our attentions and really make a point. Our love for God should come first place in everything not because God is selfish and wants to be the priority for the sake of His ego. Of course Jesus doesn't want us to turn our backs on our families and abandon the things that we hold dear. He didn't mean it that way but instead wanted us to realize that the love for God is encompassing and is sure to bring about all other things. All we have to do is make a decision and stand by it believing that if we put God first in our life everything will follow. Sometimes trials and difficulties tend to affect our disposition in life or it could be the very people who are dear to us that affects our conviction and stand in life or sometimes we go on with life without realizing that we do not have anything that we are willing to make a stand for or even live for. We have to first be clear on this important area of our life so it is in consonance to our thoughts, words and actions. An example is what's going on nowadays with the economy, people really want to get what their money is worth and are very wise when choosing a particular commodity over the other. Some sales agent would even go as far as offering a bundle or package where everything goes with it over something that is of less worth in order to sound more convincing. The same with Jesus if we choose Him above all things for He is the best deal ever. So whatever major or minor things we are confronted with, before we make a decision and really stick to it we've got to be sure that Jesus is in the center so that it will be all worth it. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 10:34–11:1
...“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it...