I am reminded of the time when I was able to connect with a
friend and brother in Christ whom I haven't seen and talked to for a long time
already. It was very timely indeed that he is residing in Singapore since
my son was scheduled to go there at that time. He gave his number so that my
son was able to contact him while he was in Singapore . Every time I encounter
him I am always blessed especially by his devotion and dedication to the Lord.
Bro. Hendrie is a good man with a strong faith in God. He is always ready to
lend a helping hand to those in need and would never hesitate to go out of his
way even to the point of inconvenience. I could never forget how he had helped
me several times with problems regarding my computer which has brought me to
the point of calling him Mattathias. Mattathias is a bible character in the Old
Testament who fought hard for his faith during that severe time of trial and
hardship for the people of God. He eliminated the enemy of his faith with such
zeal and bravery. At that time when my computer was bugged down I was
definitely in serious trouble. This computer is not just what it may generally
seem to be. I consider it as my key to heaven. This has reference to the story
I heard about a tailor who is about to die. This tailor was asking his loved
ones to bring before him his key to heaven. At first they were confused as to
what key he is referring to but later on find out being a tailor that it was
his needle that he considers his key to heaven. This made me say that I
consider my laptop as my key to heaven. This computer is what 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. When it was assailed with very
harmful viruses that rendered it unserviceable, it was Hendrie who fixed it.
This is the reason why I considered Hendrie as the fixer of my key to heaven
and called him Mattathias who eliminated and tore down all threats and viruses
of my key to heaven. I am sure that he
is a source of inspiration not only for me but also to a lot of people who know
him in the same way that Paul feels for the Thessalonians in today's 1st
reading. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 7 We have been reassured about you,
brothers, in our every distress and affliction, through your faith. 8 For we
now live, if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 What thanksgiving, then, can we
render to God for you, for all the joy we feel on your account before our God?
10 Night and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person and to remedy the
deficiencies of your faith. 11 Now may God himself, our Father, and our Lord
Jesus direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound
in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, 13 so as to
strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father
at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.
We are destined for much greater things that we can see
right now. Thus we should set our goals higher than what people normally aim
for in this life. Let us not reach the end of our lives regretting what we
should have done or not and do what we have to do right now. We marvel at the
capability of the human mind to function the way it was made to be but how much
more can we not be amazed at how the mind of the Lord works from whom all
things come. As humans we can not even go past a hundred years old and too
lucky to be able to make it to that age nowadays. Everything passes away but
what we can depend on to last for a lifetime through eternity is to fortify our
soul with wisdom of heart. Time will come when there is no more room for
sadness once we've decided for happiness for we have a God who prospers those
who offers all his/her work for the Lord. God is Almighty and Powerful. He is
the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. He has the final say on all
things. Nothing is beyond His power and might. Isn't it a very nice thing to
know that this very same God has also been our refuge and strength in every
age. Learning of this story about an atheist who fasts for the destruction of
the world should make us realize that we should not take things sitting down. The
enemy does not rest until it snatches away our inheritance. We should keep our
banners raised on high and never lose heart or be discouraged as the battle
rages on we can be assured that we have a God whom we can always rely on and
take refuge. We’ve got to be firm in our beliefs but things will always be
easier said than done. Spiritual integrity is hard work but it surely is worth
all of it. Today's psalm tells us how short our life here on earth can be
compared to a life of eternity with God our Creator, refuge and strength. It is
always never easy to picture matters of the faith and life after death. It is
through the people who continue to be a source of inspiration and blessing for
the community of God that we can gather the strength and courage to keep on
fighting a good fight of the faith. Today’s psalm reading somehow captures the
essence if not its entirety. Nothing else in this world matters more than this
truth. God gave us life and to Him we all must return. The problem lies in the
fact that we don’t really know when will that day be. We’ve got to be prepared
at all times. What’s at stake here is eternity and is nothing compared to 100
years life span of happiness and prosperity, the most for healthy and active
individuals. We can’t allow ourselves to live life carelessly and just cram at
the last minute. I’ve seen quite a number of elderly people who have fallen
into senility. Although nothing is too late, I still think that we are able to
prepare as best as we could if we are still in our prime and high functioning
mind and body than with such a condition. Let’s not wait long enough and keep
procrastinating. May we all realize the importance of numbering our days aright. Our first parents
were the original sinners and we are just the copy cats. In a way we are better
off than Adam & Eve in the sense that we have their example of disobedience
set before us. We can choose to follow their lead or footsteps by giving in to
deception which we know is a bad idea or we can learn the moral lesson of this
story and gain wisdom of heart. The wisdom of heart can make us truly see and
appreciate the things the Lord has done for us that bring prosperity, joy and
gladness. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M Psalm 90:3-4a. 12-13. 14 and 17
R: Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of
men.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is
past, or as a watch of the night. (R) 12 Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your
servants! R. Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy
and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be
ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! R.
It is just very sad that despite the many times God tries to
convey His love to us, we still sometimes back away. We've got to stand firm,
hold our ground and not give in to the world's pressures. Let us not end up
like Herod who came as close to knowing what is righteousness and holiness but
never really got to the doing and acting part. In the Philippines we have a habit of
calling people names. For someone to be called Herod or Herodes means being
really naughty and bad. We may all claim to know what is right but we have to
realize that we may never be able to come to a point where we can claim to be a
better person than Herod. We may have this impression that we are far better
Christians than any of the others we know but we may be wrong. For all we know
we are not far from being like Herod or much worse. Let us hope not. For there
is really more to being a Christian than what we actually know. As what have
been mentioned in the 1st reading about the sanctity of marriage, it is now
being emphasized once more in today's gospel. John the Baptist paid a great
price for this truth. We sometimes don't realize it, but we may also be guilty
just like Herodias. We may not be committing adultery like her but we too
succumb to the temptation of eliminating the people and circumstances around us
that is a source of inconvenience or simply not conformed to our personal
statement and views. We also make use of other people to camouflage or hide our
true intentions in order for us to carry out our plans without the guilt of
having participated in it. We resort to all kinds of disguise without knowing
that in the process of doing so we are headed for the worst kind of
situation. Let us not further aggravate
it and know in our heart, mind and soul that all areas of our life needs to be
totally surrendered to God not just a part, half but our entire being. In doing so with the gift of free will we
allow ourselves to enjoy life at its fullness because we are not bound or tied
and can exercise this gift as much as we want and never run out. We should not
be too carried away though and forget that it is also because of this free will
that we are also presented with horrible things as in today's gospel that are
products of the wrong use of this gift. It is of prime importance that we
exercise, use and handle this gift with much care. This is the reflection
question and prayer that I read in Didache: What do you do when you are under
pressure? Do you stand up for what is right or you just go with the crowd
because everyone else is doing it? Lord, grant me the wisdom and the courage to
do what is pleasing in Your sight even if the world laughs at me. And in
Companion, Fr. Martin Macasaet said the following words. "Yes, we, too,
are called and challenged to imitate John the Baptist’s courageous act of
witnessing —not necessarily in the form of a bloody beheading, of course.
Today’s Christian martyrdoms are certainly more of a subtle and sophisticated
kind. But perhaps, they are just as compelling and exigent — as when our moral
principles are tested in our workplaces, or when our senses are bombarded by
sexually suggestive images, or when we are scandalized by the bad examples of
our leaders and celebrities, and so on." We all have our own personal
Herod, Salome and worst our Herodias tendencies in life. Only we ourselves know
these and what specific aspect it is in our lives. Unless we acknowledge them,
firmly reject and stand up against it instead of yielding to it then we are no
better than any of them. In today's gospel we are also reminded of our
stubbornness when we insist on doing things our way. We could somehow relate
this to those who insist on wearing something even if it doesn't fit them just
because it is the "in" thing. The same way with our life we end up
looking foolish when we insist on keeping up with the latest trend and fashion
that this world offers when the only thing that is well fitted to us is to
always wear the clothes of Jesus which is fashioned in the passion of the cross
in order to be the best dressed Christian. People may not be able to know it by
just looking at us and we can easily get away with our wrong doings which we
have kept in secret or hidden in our thoughts and feelings which no human
person can see but God does. We’ve got to believe that there is really somebody
watching us as the song says. Sometimes we forget that God can see through us
and knows exactly what's inside our hearts and minds. Let us not wait for the
time when we like the scribes and Pharisees will be spoken to by God in this
manner. Let us choose to hear words of commendation from the Lord rather than
be called a hypocrite. Let us truly be the person that God wants us to be,
whether there are people who can see our goodness or not. Amen. Hallelujah!
...John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to
have your brother's wife."
Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill
him... “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the
Baptist.”26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the
guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 So he promptly dispatched
an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him
in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.
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