When I was just new in the charismatic I always hear people
pray for the blood of Jesus to cover and protect us. Today's 1st reading is a
foreshadowing of the sacrificial blood of Jesus poured in Mt. Calvary
Exodus 11:10–12:14
...The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You
may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the
fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel
present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. 7 They shall take
some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every
house in which they partake of the lamb. 8 That same night they shall eat its
roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs...13 But the blood will
mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus,
when I strike the land
of Egypt
When we hear of amazing stories we can not contain our
excitement. May we be always mindful of it at all times and filled with this
kind of emotion in all circumstances. We all have sinned and bore the guilt in
us. We have all been destined to die but Jesus took upon Himself all our sins
and paid it in full. He made an offering of Himself for our sake. The least we
could do is to give honor to this Holy Sacrifice. Let us cloth ourselves with
the blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount
Calvary
1. nominal- when we deny to identify a person as a real person. Example is
abortion, when doctors deny the fact that at the moment of conception a person
already exists. 2. real but limited - We do not deny but identify them as persons but with lesser worth like the sick and terminally ill. Just because they are old, weak and sick they deserve to die as in the case of euthanasia.
3. full and real but limited - Kills people as in the Holocaust.
The whole principle involved here is discovery and deciding. When our approach is discovery then we are being led to the events in our life with a sense of total surrender, trust and faith in the Lord's
We should ascribe to the real definition of personhood. It
answers the question what, how and what is it meant to be. Our approach in life
to achieve faith and righteousness is by discovery and through an authentic
Christian life. Discovery can be best defined in the sense that we are open to
the intention and purpose of God for us. With a seeking and expectant faith we
should allow God to lead us in discovering what is ahead of us and prepared by God.
The approach should be in a manner of discovering what God's intention is and
respecting it. We've heard of several occasions when people are spared from
death or any tragic or unpleasant event because they missed the bus, woke up
late, got stuck in traffic and something just came up which delayed them. I
guess, it has happened to us too, somehow. After feeling annoyed and impatient
because of that incident, we just found out that what appeared to be a nuisance
and a problem turned out to be a blessing. It will always be good to undergo
trials and hardships in life and remain steadfast in the Lord for everything
will pay off in the end. Not a single thing that we've been through for the
glory of God will ever be in vain. It is only right that we give all glory,
honor and praise to God. We need not wait and see any longer for it is in our
very own lives that God wants us to start paying attention to in order to make
a return for all the good he has done. What Jesus has done for all of us is the
ultimate sacrifice of love ever known in the entire history of mankind. It is
impossible for us to repay what He has done but with hearts full of gratitude
we can follow what the psalm reading today is telling us. It is only right and
fitting that we honor our vows and promises.
This shows how grateful, confident and assured we are of the Lord’s
goodness. It is only right and fitting that we give 100% loyalty to God who
deserves more than all the praises we can give. No amount of thank you will
ever suffice to what God has done for all of us. This and only this should we
always have in mind, the least we could do is to always put God first in
everything we do. Let Him become our motivation and inspiration knowing that He
shed His blood for our sake. We may look different, strange and queer for some
because of our intense desire to please God in return for all the good that He
has done for us. It may still be imperfect or could be unbecoming if based on
the standards of some but we must continuously strive to do our best to pay
reverence, homage and loyalty to the one and only Supreme Lord of all in the
presence of all his people at all cost in the best way we can. We have to feel the
abounding joy and peace in our heart as we remind ourselves of the many
promises of God that we have been patiently waiting for to be fulfilled. God is
going to fulfill all His promises. It should give us renewed strength and
courage to confidently stand up and remain steadfast in His love against all
odds. We can be a people radiating with goodness that others can see the
contrast. We can choose modesty, chastity and purity over the values that the
world tries to influence us with. We should be able to know our definition of
happiness and love and be the person God has made us to be before the world
defines it for us. In doing so we can face God on that day with faith and enter
the ark of salvation into His heavenly kingdom. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 116:12-13. 15 and 16bc. 17-18
R: I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of
the Lord.
12 How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he
has done for me?... 15 Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his
faithful ones. 16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your
handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17 To you will I offer sacrifice of
thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 My vows to the LORD
I will pay in the presence of all his people.
In our bible study in San Lorenzo
we learned from Fr. Tony that the book of Jonah was written in the post exilic
period and was greatly influenced by the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah right after
the period of Exile which are almost considered historical books. He elaborated
on the role of the prophets not merely to foretell rather to forth tell and to
witness as called for by the present and prevailing situation. During that
time, prophets before the period of exile were giving the people a warning. The
people are being called to change and mend their evil ways but they refused to
listen until they were eventually brought into the period of exile. Father Tony
emphasized that the period of exile is a time marked with great despair and
hardship and the prophets during this period of exile speaks of hope and
proclaims that God has not abandoned. It was followed by the period of the
prophets Ezra and Nehemiah, they are the ministers after the exile who
proclaimed a time of purification and a strict form of nationalistic tendency.
They said that there was a need to learn from the lessons of being in exile
since they did not follow and obey God. It was mandated that there should be no
intermarriages and no mixture with other people. They concluded that every time
they mix with other people they become an adulterous nation. This thinking had
greatly influenced Jonah since he came into this time right after the period of
Ezra and Nehemiah. When he was called by God to prophesy to the people of Nineveh he did not obey
because he believed that they are a people who do not belong to their race. He
ran away and as most of us know, he was swallowed by a big fish and eventually
followed God. The lesson of Jonah is about the universal love of God even for
Gentiles. It shows the control of God over all of nature and peoples as
evidenced when Jonah tried to ran away and went on board a ship and a big storm
came and he was thrown out to the sea which calmed the storm (Jonah 1:8-16). It
ridicules narrow nationalism in Judah
just like the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah. Salvation is for all and it does not
restrict anybody from taking part in it. It shows that God is not merely just
but also merciful. Repentance as well as salvation is not a monopoly. God acts
sometimes in strange and humorous ways. We can not figure God out in our
desires. We can not put God in a box. The importance of the book of Jonah is
mainly about God's great mercy and man's repentance. The bible verses in the
books in the bible citing Jonah are in 2 Kings 14:25, Mt. 12:38-42, Mt. 16:4,
Lk 11:29-32 for several times also in the passages it read that "there is
something greater than Jonah here..." Jonah ushers the love of God in the
New Testament as in last verse in the book of Jonah which foreshadows the 2
thieves in the left and right of Jesus crucified in Mt. Calvary and His
immeasurable mercy when He said, "Forgive them for they know not what they
do." We can respond to God's mercy in the manner that we choose. Another
significant thing that was mentioned was in Jonah 3:5 which refers to the 40
days before destruction of Nineveh
and can be consistently associated with how the
# 40 is related to preparation. It is associated with life and death, in
the practices and beliefs of the people nowadays. How they refer to life
beginning at 40 and the 40 days prayer for the dead. For the Israelites, when
they were in exile for 40 years. We also know that Jesus fasted for 40 days in
the desert and also His ascension to heaven.
Mercy is freely bestowed to anyone and was generously given to the
Ninevites because God relented in His punishment and continues to relent and
convey His mercy for He is a loving God. After the exile for 40 years, the
Israelites got preoccupied with restoration of the temple. In the same way, our
life needs restoration and constant connection with the Lord but we should go
beyond the dictates of tradition and practices and focus more on the Spirit of
God of mercy which is the ultimate lesson in Jonah and is the same message in
today's gospel. There is always a commitment to any relationship and what God
desires of us most of all, is our genuine love and concern above anything else.
It goes beyond what is seen and spoken from the heart. We are the present day
Jonah and as such we must believe that being merciful and offering a sacrifice
goes hand in hand, it is very important that we renew ourselves constantly as
we grow in virtue. It comes in stages, and we'll just have to work on it one
day at a time. We have to be conscious of our motives and intentions. The
bottom line is always think that whatever we do, imagine God watching and honestly
feel in your heart if it can elicit a smile on His face. Today's gospel has
always been a very controversial issue for most people of all kinds of
religion. A lot of people makes a big deal out of the Sabbath Day and sometimes
fail to see what's most essential. We sometimes become very legalistic and
scrupulous of a lot of things with regards to the faith that we end up
defeating the purpose for what it is really meant for. Jesus tells us in
today's gospel that although David and their companions violated the Sabbath
they were justified. He emphasize that more than anything else it is mercy that
pleases God more than sacrifice. We may be fulfilling all the dictates of the
Sabbath but if we forget to have compassion and mercy to our fellowmen then we
are not at all justified before God. The Sabbath is considered the rest day and
is obviously made to serve its purpose which is for man's welfare. We need to
fulfill the Sabbath, there is no doubt but we must not forget that the Sabbath
is made for man and not the other way around. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 12:1-8
...“Have you not read what David did when he and his
companions were hungry, 4 how he went into the house of God and ate the bread
of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could
lawfully eat? 5 Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests
serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? 6 I say to you,
something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you knew what this meant, ‘I
desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men.
8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”
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