Whenever we decide to do something we always have to ask
ourselves the pros and cons of our action. It is always wise to weigh things
very carefully first before we come up with anything. In doing so it is best
that we consult God in everything or take in consideration the values and
principles that reflect the goodness of God. If we do this constantly we will
eventually develop in ourselves a consciousness or inclination to act in
accordance to God's will and commands as if we are being led right into it. I
could never forget the longest time and most difficult I've experienced in
waiting for a bus several years ago. It was unusually cold that day. I was
standing in an unsheltered and out in the open bus stop all by myself. It was
very early that morning and not a very good idea to be out there. I was feeling
very chilly and my teeth started to clatter. What's worst was that I can't even
ask anybody because people were just coming and going in a jiffy and it looked
like I was the only one there who was waiting long enough. There was this one
person who seemed to have waited as long as I did and could be the right person
to ask but turned out to be Spanish speaking and can't communicate in English.
We barely managed with our sign languages and my very few and broken Spanish. I
doubted if I ever got any information right especially when he said something
in effect that the bus I was waiting for comes only every hour. I was so
disheartened since the bus I was waiting for already came at the exact time it
was expected to come since I was there 15 minutes beforehand. The problem was
that it was not in service and it just meant that I would have to wait for
another hour for the next bus to come if what I gathered from the Spanish
speaking man was true. I was hoping against all hope that what he said to me
wasn't true at all and if ever that was true I hoped that a bus in lieu of the
one that was not in service would come. Just imagine having to wait for an hour
in that very cold and windy bus stop. But something in me felt that I should just
wait and see first what will happen and hoped and prayed that a bus would come
any minute since I was still in doubt whether it is possible that an express
bus has an hourly interval on a weekday during the early hours in the morning.
Something did happen, a Filipina came and although I didn't get any valuable
information from her with regards to the bus I was waiting for, the long wait
was not unbearable after all, especially with a fellow Filipino whom I was able
to talk to with our native language. But
it did happen too, that she had to leave ahead of me because her bus came
already and I was once again left all by myself. The long wait became uncertain
again when the 1 hour mark passed by and still the bus did not come. I decided
to ask another lady who seemed nice just in case she might be waiting for the
same bus but she said she had never ridden that bus before and not familiar
with the schedule. When she asked me what the time was, that was when I
realized that another half hour had passed after that 1 hour mark that the bus
was supposed to come. I felt that I could not wait any longer because it was
way past the schedule and could be waiting for nothing. I was already thinking
aloud as I voiced out my fears to the lady, that maybe the bus is not coming
anymore because there is only a specified period of time that it passes there
and changes its route after such time or it is not coming at all since there is
a cut off time for some bus operation hours since there was a man whom I
overheard was also waiting for the same bus but realized that he was not around
anymore, did not wait any longer and left already. The lady whom I was talking
to could not come up with any sure answers just like myself. All these things
were all coming to my mind and felt that I should just leave and go back. I was
about to leave already when the lady suddenly called, waved and shouted to me
that the bus I was waiting for was coming. I wondered how she was able to see
and knew right away and from afar that
the bus was coming. Anyway, I finally was able to get on the bus and
reach my destination, it felt really good. Sometimes we go through life in the
same manner like what I had experienced when we are uncertain, undecided,
easily give up, question whether we are doing the right thing or not and ask
why we have to go through hardships that seem unnecessary. These difficult
experiences that we encounter teach us a lot about life. Especially when we
have been waiting long enough already for something we've been praying for and
nothing seems to be happening and come to a point when we want to give up and
just turn our backs and leave it all behind. This is how we usually feel at times
after waiting for a long time for what we have been praying for but such
situations should give us a new found strength and hope because God always make
a way. Whatever situation we are in right now we should never doubt that God
can always make things right and consider it as God's way of teaching and
leading us to the right path and exactly what the 1st reading is telling us. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Isaiah 48:17-19
17 Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel
I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way
you should go. 18 If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity
would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; 19 your
descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its
grains, their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence.
Today’s psalm brought back memories of what I witnessed on
television in 2010 when miners in Chile had to be rescued in a mine.
Nobody would ever want to be trapped in a dark mine that is 2000 feet below.
What caught my attention was the fact that although some of them had been
rescued and brought up to the light they were still prevented from exposing
their eyes to the light and were given dark shades to wear to protect them.
This is what happens when we dare to step into the darkness and stay there too
long we adapt to it and wanting to go back to the light instantly could be
harmful. Let us not be led into the dark and imbibe it for too long that we
find it difficult to adapt to light. Until now, we have no idea who we are and
still in a conflict. Look at the things we do and engage in. This is because we
don’t understand who we are. We will be judged by God according to our behavior.
We should have God in the core of our identity. What builds our confidence?
Think about it. This same reason should apply in our relationship with God. If we
know and are aware of how we look right before God, then we should have the
confidence of a beloved child of the God most high. How can we not be, knowing
that we are covered by the Most precious blood of His Son Jesus who took all
our sins and died on the cross for our sake then we should be the most
confident person of all. Remember, we have the composure of a child of
God. Nothing should stop us from
behaving in the way He has meant us to be, lifted up on a pedestal as His very
dear children. Today's psalm tells us that if we follow the Lord we will not be
in darkness and will have the light of life. God is true to His word and we can
always hold on to it more than we can hold to our life. Just like any person
striving to maintain a good standing in any aspect of life there are some rules
to be followed. People nowadays have become increasingly divided, there are the
poor and the wealthy and sometimes we see the not so good, arrogant, bad people
cheat in order to get money and get away with it. We must always have this hope
in God and not be tempted by the evildoers of their taunting that despite the
goodness we do we are not getting anything out of our sacrifices. God knows the
private conversations and thoughts and He exposes them and records everything.
The idea that we can get away with anything we do is not a good idea. God knows
our words, thoughts and deeds. Fear of the Lord in a positive way is one of the
greatest virtues as in the book of Wisdom. It is stated that it is the beginning
of wisdom if it is paralleled with trust that we will not be put to shame.
Those wicked people who think that they have a lot of money, power, disobey God
and don't use their resources in accordance to God's will can be compared to
chaff that can easily be burned. If we have the right relationship with God
then we too can be exposed to the heat of God's love like the sun that can make
things go on fire but instead of burning becomes a source of healing like the
rays of light shown in a monstrance which symbolizes being in God's presence.
We should never lose hope nor fall into despair. Whenever we sin, we must not
just acknowledge it. The lesson we always have to remember is to have humility
to approach Christ as we acknowledge our sins. This should remind us of Peter
and Judas, they both sinned and acknowledged it. Peter wept bitterly after
denying Jesus 3x while Judas threw away the silver coins that were paid to him.
The difference lies in the fact that Peter as the scriptures say, when he wept,
looked at Jesus with a heart, humble and contrite, which God would not despise
and ran to Mary. While Judas, fell into despair and hanged himself. Thus we
remember these things and always run to God with humility and also to Mary, the
mother of Christ who will obtain for us true contrition. There is really a need
for God's people to always be connected to Him in order to survive whatever is
going on at present and what is to come. We've got to always keep ourselves
motivated to do all in our power for the glory of God. All other things fade in
the background and should not get our attentions any more than we ought to
believe that God is our only hope. We may have started at the peak but as time
goes by we may have started to lag or worse go on a downward path. Or could
have started off but never worked our way up then it's time we get things
straight and be focused so as not to lose sight of the unsurpassed and unfading
trophy and blessing that await those who are victorious in the Lord. Today’s
psalm continues to give us the guidelines we need to live by to truly prosper
in the Lord. God assures us that even though life may bring us so many
heartaches and pains we can still stand firm and hope that we will have the
light of life if we will persevere, not waver nor falter in following the Lord.
Let us choose to live in the light rather than stay in the dark. God gave us the freedom to choose let us hope
and pray that we are always inclined to do the will of God in our lives to
carry out His plan of prosperity in our life. It has been impressed to me that
God has already given us the gift, all we have to do is open it and use it as
intended to serve its purpose. Sometimes we remain stubborn in our old ways we
don't realize that everything is just within our reach, it's just a matter of
committing and deciding what is right before God. We all know that life becomes
difficult when it comes to commitments and making decisions but it will always
be worth it after all the hard work as implied in the psalm reading. It doesn't
matter who or what we are, whether young or grown up, God will always find a
way to bless us in various ways. We just have to open ourselves to Him and
always draw near to Him and never stray away from His side. The scriptures say
it all. We need not hesitate, stall, delay nor look for anything else further
but just follow what the scriptures tell us to do. In fact the bible has an
acronym which stands for (B) Basic (I) Instructions (B) Before (L) Leaving (E)
Earth. Another thing I am reminded of is my son Jude when he was just a little
boy aged 6. When my mother was hospitalized I was the one taking care of her during
the day and my brother who is the eldest is the one who slept in the hospital at
night and stayed by her bedside. When she died we were both not by her side or
no one for that matter because she was brought to a different room for removal
of water in her lungs and also the time when my brother and I had changed
shift. I just arrived home coming from the hospital and had no thought whatsoever
that my mother already passed away. I was in complete denial of the fact that
she would be leaving us soon during that time, I had always hoped for a miracle
and extension of her life although my mother kept on telling us back then that
she is ready to go anytime. I could never forget when I was just entering our
home, my son Jude suddenly came up to me while holding a bible in his hand and
opened a page in front of me with a picture of a tree beside a river and
animals grazing on the land. What my son told me was this, "Nanay (Mother)
let’s do a bible study." Since I was so tired, I got the bible from him
closed it and told him that we'll do it later. But he was persistent he opened
the bible again and lo and behold saw the same picture and page that he showed
me a few seconds ago. He did it again for the 3rd time and the same page in the
bible was showing up. Because of that I was prompted to finally give in to his
persistence and read the bible passage underneath the picture. It was exactly
the same message in today's psalm reading. After reading it something in me
prompted me to say to him that her grandmother is already healed and will soon
be coming home to us from the hospital. This is without knowing yet that it was
the same time too when she passed away. Later on I realized that it was God's
way of telling us that indeed my mother is healed and has gone home although
not to our earthly house but to a place of eternal rest and perpetual light, in
paradise. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6
R: Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
1 Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked
nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 2 but
delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night. (R) 3
He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due
season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. (R) 4 Not so
the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 6 For the
LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.
Please all and you please none. This is something I used to
hear my mother say and she is right. Today's gospel is a classic example of how
people can never be totally pleased at all no matter what we do. You know why?
It is because even Jesus and John the Baptist was unable to please all. In our
efforts to please people somewhere and somehow things do not work out well. We
should keep in mind that it will never go as well as we wanted it to be and
might end up disappointed and discouraged. We should only strive to please God.
In all relationships it is also best not to expect from each other. This is because we are imperfect. We should
not expect anything from people but from God alone. We just have to do things
for the glory of God and expect Him to make everything perfect in the light of
His goodness and love. With all humility, we should all seek the guidance and
direction of our Lord in all that we do that everything will bring glory to God
alone. We have a great responsibility in our hands. We must do our best so that
the Lord find our generation, fitting and worthy of His blessings. May our work
become a testimony of God's grace. There is a danger that if we do not pay
attention to what God is telling us and be too preoccupied by the cares of this
world we might end up ignoring the wave, call and shout of the Lord to us when
we are not focused on God but rather on the anxieties of life. It happens that
we sometimes become totally oblivious of what's going on around us that we are
caught by surprise of what is right before us and what has passed by. This
reminds me again of my bus experience since it was almost like the way it
happened in the gospel today when they called to one another but didn't seem to
understand what they were saying to each other. If I did not mind and listen to
the wave, call and shout of that lady I
should have missed the bus and end up throwing away the worth and wasting the
time I have waited there for so long just for nothing. God, just like that lady
who was able to see and know even from afar and right away the bus that was
coming, is able to see what we are unable to see and know at the moment with
our limited sight and point of view and what is about to come. We have a God
who will not put us through something for nothing. Although we have been waiting
long and hard for our prayers to be answered we are assured that it is all
worth it. For the Lord our God does not disappoint. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 11:16-19
16 Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this
generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one
another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a
dirge but you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and
they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and
drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax
collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”
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