DEADLY COMBINATION

We sometimes put all the blame in God without realizing that it is our own doing that has brought us misery. The things that are written in the bible do not require a brilliant and intelligent mind in order to understand them. They are all very sound and logical advice and information being conveyed to us by God as a loving parent would to a child that he cares about. All we have to do is listen to what God tells us and act on them. I had this experience several years ago when I was so sleepy that I forgot to remove the rubber band stuck in my hand. I woke up with a terrible pain on it and found that half of my hand's blood supply was cut off, it looked so pale. Come to think of it but this same thing could happen to our spiritual blood supply if we are negligent and continue to be tied to the bondage of sin that cuts off the life giving grace of God. The road to righteousness is very long and the path that leads to it is very narrow. Sometimes we are tempted to the point of giving up but we must never lose our way. Today's 1st reading makes perfect sense. We better make sense ourselves and follow what it tells us to do. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ezekiel 18:21-28
...When a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. 27 But if a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life;...

We continue to believe that God is merciful despite the many sins we have committed. Though hard, there is a need to turn away from our wicked ways by always keeping the word of God before us and conducting ourselves in accordance to it. We all have our faults, failures and shortcomings. No one can deny the fact that we all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard. It is to our advantage if we take everything that comes to us most especially the trials and difficulties as a form of offering to God for His greater glory. Just like what the song says:

All that I am, all that I have I lay them down before you, oh Lord
All my regrets, all my acclaims the joy and the pain, I'm making them yours
[Chorus:]
Lord, I offer my life to you. Everything I've been through. Use it for your glory
Lord I offer my days to you. Lifting my praise to you as a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer you my life
[Verse 2:]
Things in the past, things yet unseen, wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my heart, all of my praise, my heart and my hands are lifted to you

We sing this song with all our heart with a hope in joyful waiting for His redemption. There is no use in denying, covering up, pretending or doing whatever other defense mechanisms we have before the Lord. We can not hide anything from the Lord. Sometimes we miss the point when we do things so that we look pleasing before the eyes of others, but what about in the eyes of the Lord? We don't have to bother about hiding because the Lord is able to find us. We might as well get our acts together so that when He finds us He'll like what He'll see. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7, 7-8
R: If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD; Lord, hear my voice! 2 Let your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication. (R) 3 If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? 4 But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. (R) 5 I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in his word. 6 My soul waits for the LORD more than sentinels wait for the dawn. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, 7 let Israel wait for the LORD. (R) For with the LORD is kindness and with him is plenteous redemption; 8 and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

It is not God who will condemn us on that final day but as the 1st reading already told us, "...it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die..." and also added in today's gospel, "... your opponent will hand you over to the judge..." We really have to be attentive to all these things and details and not take them for granted. We know how things can fall apart when we fail to attend to the seemingly insignificant matters in our life. Remember God is on our side but He is also a just and fair God. Though, Jesus has already won the battle and paid the price and having known of this truth, it is: #1 the iniquities that we continue to commit and #2 our opponent which both create a deadly combination that can bring us to hell. It could ban us from the kingdom of heaven and what could be worse than that? We really ought to realize the impact and importance of this knowing that it is not just a lifetime that is at stake here but eternity. Our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. They may be observing all the rules and precepts but only because they want to be pleasing in the eyes of others but what about in the eyes of God. God can see through us and dig deep into us. It’s time to do something not just with our outward appearances but with our hearts. Just think of farmers at work. They have to plow the field and dig deep into the soil so that new life can be planted and grow. It’s quite the same with us. We need to remove the dirt in our hearts so that the Holy Spirit can plant new life in us. We need some work to be done. It involves pain, suffering and recovery but it is all worth it. Our fidelity is not with God if we keep up and hold on to our defenses, justifications, gripes and complaints. We may not be aware of it but it becomes our false idols. We have to throw it away and stop worshipping a false God. It’s time we recognize who really is Lord of our lives. . Let us trust that God who sees through our hearts and knows all things will find us worthy as we strive to do our best to be part of His kingdom. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 5:20-26
20 Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”