We may have known a lot of things already about the Lord God
but the limited capacity of our mind or brain to hold and process this
information is only able to do this much. We need to totally surrender our
will, mind and memory, all for the greater glory of God. Only then can we
acquire knowledge which unfolds before us every step of the way. For quite
sometime we have been planning to go on a trip but just couldn't get our number
right. At first there were 5 of us then it appeared that 2 people would be
joining us but it didn't work out then we were back to 5 but one of us backed out
and then we were only 4. A few days ago, the 4th person begged off and
requested for another date. After so much talking and deliberation we finally got
our number right or so we thought. Recently there have been some developments
and what was planned ahead of time may still be subject to change. This
incident makes me think again of the song, "...how I love to be in that
number when the saints go marching in..." We really couldn't be too sure
of anything at all. But come to think of a place with endless joy and singing
as in today's 1st reading where there is perfect peace and harmony then it
should make all the difference. Instead of having second thoughts or backing
out we surely have to be in that number. Amen. Hallelujah!
Revelation 15:1-4
...They were holding God’s harps, 3 and they sang the song
of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful
are your works, Lord God almighty. Just and true are your ways, O king of the
nations. 4 Who will not fear you, Lord, or glorify your name? For you alone are
holy. All the nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts
have been revealed.”
Are we in or out? This is the big question that we have all
been dealing with lately with regards to the trip we have planned. It's just a
simple question that we've got to have a straight answer for. Sometimes we just
can't make up our minds about something that we tend to delay, ignore or put it
off as long as we could without realizing that the more we do this the more we
miss out on some things. Let me change the question. Is there any other place
we would like to be other than in the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we
can and should have a straight answer without delay. No one should ever claim
that they haven't heard or known about God since it is our prime duty to spread
and make it known throughout the whole world. There is no denying to the truth
that all of us are given the chance to know who our God is and it is also our
duty and responsibility to take part in this mission of spreading the good news
and make known to everyone to the best of our ability the saving power of God.
We should consider each day as an opportunity to know and learn more about our
God. Whether it be an ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be
amiss and should be spent in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can
never ever deny the greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest
part of God’s creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in
the world. As in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the
sand as limit to the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves
may toss but not prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask
ourselves how in the world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the
ocean in the same way we know that we have a God whose saving power is known
throughout the earth. It is our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good
which is the will of God in our lives. This is not something that we still have
to search and look for. It is already programmed in us and made known to us by
the Lord. If by any chance this is not the case especially for those people who
have not heard or known about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself
knows how to deal with them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For
us who have been blessed and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing
about Jesus, this is coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those
who have been given much, much is also expected definitely applies to it. We
have a responsibility in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this
vital truth that could spell the difference between life and death. It is
always for our good to attend activities that nourish our soul. We are
enlightened and inspired because of the many good things we can learn from it.
Whenever we hear words of wisdom it could always help us make sense of the
things happening around us even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy
and gladness in every person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles
of God then we will come to know that there is no truth in the saying that
faith is against reason. We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as
explained by Pope John Paul II that true faith come together with true reason.
It is the same thing as saying that Theology tells us that God created the
world while Science tells us how God created the world. The problem is that
there is a great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun,
excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and
unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God
created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and
use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know
how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a
feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation
and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because
pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are
God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure. But God commands them to be used so that it
leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to follow
God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just
give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like
machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us
who we are. The actions we engage, the
words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making
ourselves all the time. We, Catholics believe that God gave human beings reason
although it sometimes gets darkened by sin but still human reason can figure
out some things. One of the things that human beings figure out without God
having to reveal it, is that human beings need to meet 4 qualities to be deemed
a human being. The philosopher, before even Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, had
this figured out. We find it mentioned in Wisdom 8:7, the 4 virtues or
qualities are also called the hinge virtues because it is where all the other
virtues or qualities of good people would hinge. The word cardinal means hinge.
The Cardinals who surround the Pope are the doorway to the Pope. They are also
the ones whom he rely the most for advice. Everything else depends on the cardinal
virtues. (Prudence or wisdom, justice, temperance and courage or fortitude) We
can also find all the cardinal virtues, like justice which means giving each
person his or her due in the Book of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the
wisdom literature in scriptures. We all know even as kids instinctively how
important justice is. The first thing that a kid cries out as soon as he learns
how to talk if he has brothers and sisters is “Not fair, he got more than I
did” or “You ask me to do more than what that person is doing.” This is because
we have instinctively or natively offensive justice. Each person has rights and
ought to get their due. There’s also another part of justice that we forget,
that is, we have obligations and duties to everyone. A person who is unjust is
not a good person. To be just, we need to control our passions. Temperance is a
virtue that balances and controls our passions. It is like controlling our
desire for that last piece of cake if we know that it belongs to our sister. In
order to be just, we’ve got to control our appetites. Make our appetites come
into line with justice, truth and goodness. We’ve got to have that balance in
our life in order to be a good and effective person. Temperance makes this
happen. We also have to be courageous. If we are not courageous then every time
a difficulty arises we’re going to shrink back. If there’s any danger involved
in doing the right, just and wise thing then we’re just going to crack out and
find an excuse because we’re afraid. Courage or fortitude helps us to master
fear and not let fear keep us from doing what’s right. In the same way that we
want justice to prevail always since it is very frustrating when we encounter
situations that are very unjust. We are reminded in today's psalm that we can
all be assured of the truth that the Lord rules the earth and He rules with
justice there is no doubt. We've got to take hold of the marvelous things that
God has done. Nothing else matters than the truth that we are all loved by God
and given the privilege of taking part in His great kingdom in heaven. God
revealed to us Himself in various different ways. In the gospel of Mark:
"the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God" (Mk 1:1) is summarized
by the phrase - The person of Jesus, and the gospel of Luke:"The gospel of
glory to God in high heaven and peace on earth to those on whom his favor rest
(Lk 2:14) is summarized by the phrase - Joy to the world, while the gospel of
John:"the gospel of the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among
us and we have seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is summarized by the phrase -
Eternal life then the gospel of Matthew is where all this happened to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet (Mt 1:22) and is written almost 55x
in this gospel and summarized by the phrase - The Coming of the Kingdom. God's
saving power is manifested in this treasury of books that have been preserved
and handed to us from generation to generation. No one can deny the fact that
to all God has been gracious and loving with no exception at all. God's
faithful love should compel us to do the best we could ever do. There was a
time when my computer got bugged down and happened to be the same time that I
heard and was touched by the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong in the healing mass
at St. Christopher where Hendrie who fixed my computer was serving as singer in
the choir. It had been 3 years since I heard about this story of a tailor and
his needle but I would never forget and always remember it especially the
perfect timing and situation when I heard it. This tailor who was about to die spoke
his last and they were these words, "Give me my key to heaven." At
first those people who were there and heard him did not understand what he was talking
about until they realized that he was asking for his needle. In the same way we
must have our own keys in heaven as we try to examine ourselves and find out
what is it in our life that can be compared to that needle in a tailor's life
or our special talents that we can offer to God. I could still very well
remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing that because I
immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread the word of God
through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write and share to
others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my heart for all
the amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that this computer
which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect condition since that
time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call to each one of us to
become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed in us. Today’s psalm
also tells us that we ought to sing with all our hearts for the Lord no matter
what our situations may be. There is a special joy and gladness felt when we
sing with all of our heart. We can even imagine choirs of angels and saints gathered
all around and singing. God doesn't just want us to look on but instead join
the singing for it has always been said that we pray twice when we sing. Singing
belongs to a heart that loves. This hymn of joy is a reflection of the praise
for the goodness and beauty of God. It is the glory of God from which all
beauty and goodness is derived. We join the singing that unite angels and men
to praise God and be a people of peace. Anyone who catches a glimpse of the
glory of God breaks out into song with joy as today’s psalm tells us. We will
just run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor and praise to
God. There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would have to realize
not sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to trust, hope and
rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes rely too much
on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot of things when
sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of anxiety.
Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest obstacles to
holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust in God's Grace
and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even momentarily. Life
on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot of things can
bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We have to
exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the one whom
we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about the daily
revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround us which
points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our hands once
we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know that God's
grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond our strength.
Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's promises. Today's
psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise man from the East in
the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and served an evil and
wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel but from his mouth came
forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18 that there shall come a
Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel
who will dispossess Edom .
A star and a scepter signifies kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise
men in the New Testament (NT) during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were
looking for a star that would direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus.
He is truly our King and the fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to
respond with gratitude to the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us.
There is no doubt that the God of the house of Israel is still the same one true
God of today. The same privilege is handed over to us as the chosen people of God , Israel
Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 7-8, 9
R: Great and wonderful are all your works, Lord, mighty God!
1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous
deeds; His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. R. The LORD has
made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He
has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel . R. Let
the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it; Let the rivers clap
their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy. R. Before the LORD, for he
comes, for he comes to rule the earth; He will rule the world with justice and
the peoples with equity.
It doesn't mean that if we have surrendered everything to
God then we can be rest assured that all things will work out well for us. We
must always be prepared for the worst since our faithfulness to God will always
be put to the test. As the bible says, gold is tested through fire and so is
our faith. No matter what happens, we have God's assurance that if we persevere
then not a hair on our heads will be destroyed. I have a thick hair and it has
become very long already because I haven't had a haircut for a long time
already. I guess this is one of the things that distinguish me from other
people. I am suddenly reminded of someone who told me that when she was looking
for me from a multitude of people, it was my hair that set me apart and helped
her recognize me from the others. You can already imagine how long and thick it
is, it has become so distinct. This is why every time I encounter a bible
reading that says something about the hair, I've always considered it very
personal and especially meant for me. This hair thing is very personal to me.
Every time I encounter a bible passage about hair it really strikes me owing to
the soft spot it holds in my heart. Some
people may find it very strange when we make certain decisions in life that may
not conform to their own personal beliefs. Life is like that, we encounter
circumstances that tend to pull our spirits down and we can only hope that
things will get better. There are times when we get bombarded by criticisms
left and right for certain decisions that we make to the point of feeling
insulted. We can not blame these people since they may be voicing out their
opinion from a different point of view and do not understand specifically from
where we are coming from. There are times when we think of one thing and
thought it to be the right thing but turned out to be the other. These things
that come our way, that could be related or in confirmation to it or could be
other things, sometimes we can never really tell or have no way of knowing at
all. Today's gospel assures us that whatever comes our way, for as long as we
try our very best to our utmost ability to persevere in the Lord then we will
surely be secured. As we aim to be great before God, trials and difficulties
may come our way, the way people in trial are experiencing right now, that none
could ever imagine. Let us continue to hold on to God's promise that if we are
faithful to Him then He is also faithful to us amidst all the difficulties we
are facing as written in today’s gospel, “.... but not a hair on your head will
be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives...” The word
perseverance is defined in the dictionary as - steadfast, faithful 1 a: firmly
fixed in place : immovable b: not
subject to change 2: firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal. When
we decide to always be in the loving presence of God it means we stay away from
sin. This is not an easy thing to do in fact it is written in Mt. 18:21-22,
"Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against
me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus answered,
"I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. Our faith demands
a great deal from us even to the point of being hated by all. Our focus should
not be on what seems to be the downside of it because God assures us that not a
hair will be destroyed and our perseverance will secure our lives. This, we
could definitely count on. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 21:12-19
12 Jesus said to the crowd: “They will seize and persecute
you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will
have you led before kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will lead to
your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense
beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your
adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed
over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of
you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair
on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your
lives.”
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