If only we will realize that complaining is almost
considered as a crime then maybe we can decide against it even before doing so.
Thus we need to take heed of what today’s 1st reading tells us.
Amen. Hallelujah!
James 5:9-12
9 Do not complain, brothers, about one another, that you may
not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing before the gates. 10 Take as an
example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name
of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered.
We can never fathom the wisdom of God but we can always
remain confident in the truth that His kindness is perfect and everlasting. He
makes all things work for good. When we feel so helpless, miserable and alone,
never ever doubt that He can't help but be the loving God that He is. God loves
us so much that he will adjust to our needs and make things work for good.
There is no reason for us to even doubt and hold back anything from the Lord
for nothing is too difficult for Him. If we are confident of God's Providence
in our lives then nothing should even make us doubt that God is able to redeem
us and take us out of misery. God has made known His kindness, mercy and
secures justice for all. He knows exactly what we need at the precise moment
and brings forth everything in its appointed time. Furthermore, God wanted to
take our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. How far is the
east from the west? Only God knows. We know that the distance is unfathomable,
that’s what the Lord does with our sins. How much does He loves us? We know
that His love and mercy is immeasurable. There is really none like our God. And
reading part of the psalm reading made me remember the song "Loving and
Forgiving". He is our best bet for always and there is no one or nothing
else that could or should take first place in our lives more than the Lord.
Whenever we receive goodness and kindness from people we meet we are very much
delighted and pleased with it. How much more would we feel if we have God's
favor resting upon us. There is nothing else better compared to this. We may
search long and hard but we can never really find true satisfaction and remain
restless unless we have God in our life. We only have to believe in God's
kindness and mercy and we will surely see it happen in our life before our very
eyes. He is our refuge and strength. To whom can we go but to God alone. The
world’s point of view is very contradictory to the message that God wanted us
to live by. We need to pray hard for the
desire to always follow what is pleasing before the Lord and not forget that it
is what really matters first and foremost. We are so blessed that we did not
live during the time when Christians were being persecuted and martyred and
what we are enjoying right now are already the benefits of God's marvelous work
wrought by His mighty hand. This is why we should stop complaining and just
keep our hope if we truly believe that we have a God and Father who is full of
kindness and goodness. This reminds me of the prophet Amos. He is a prosperous
herdsman/farmer, well educated and traveled. His time (746-786) was an age of
prosperity but severely marked with moral decay and spiritual bankruptcy. He
experienced a luxurious life, lived in the garrison city a place dominated by
people of power and had all the time to study the scriptures. He lived in
affluence, belonged and embraced the "clan system/wisdom" which is a
guild or crusade to maintain the purity of the tradition of the temple of
Jerusalem which houses the "Ark of the Covenant". He saw the evil of
excess in Tekoa, he witnessed the "left" (poverty) and the
"right" (wealth and affluence) side. Being himself a dresser of the
sycamore tree who worked with his people, he also saw the plight and injustice
that is existent during that time. His prophetic mission emerged as an offshoot
of his kingly and priestly status and was able to go through all these stages
making him a good "nabi" hebrew word for prophet. We, too as
followers of Jesus should also go through certain stages and fulfill our call
or mission to be king, priest and prophet in our own personal lives. What I
learned in the bible study about the very relevant and essential Hebrew word
"pescher" which means repetitious study, reading and pronunciation of
the word of God is a tool to achieve this goal and always be reminded about the
goodness and benefits of being a genuine, equipped and well fulfilled follower
of Jesus. The God of yesterday, today and forevermore. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8-9, 11-12
R: The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy
name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. R/ He pardons
all your iniquities, heals all your ills. He redeems your life from
destruction, crowns you with kindness and compassion. R/ Merciful and gracious
is the LORD, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. Not according to our sins
does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. R/ As far
as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us. As
a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those
who fear him. R/
God's laws and commands are always perfect. There is no
doubt about it. We just have to follow what He tells us to do and we will see
as we go about with our lives that there is no other way we would rather have
it. There are times when we question and wanted to have things our way but
there is no other way. We'll just have to trust God no matter how difficult
things may seem to be for in the end we will see that only Jesus can make all
things beautiful. We should trust not ourselves but rather trust Him for He is
most able to do it. If God said so then we should know better than to disobey.
Actually this kind of thinking and belief has a tendency to make us react
negatively. It's not because obeying God entails a lot of hardships and trials
but in truth our human nature is inclined to rebel whenever we are being told
by someone of what to do. We sometimes assert our independence in the wrong way.
It would help us if we first assess the situation before we react. If somebody
not trustworthy or not knowledgeable tells us something it would really benefit
us if we just ignore and let the words that our left ear heard just pass
through our right ear. We should be careful in dealing with other people and
could really help if we lessen our interactions with them. But if our God
speaks to us about something then we can never question the credibility of His
words because He is a God who knows best. And if we are hoping and looking
forward to a life of peace and joy we just better have to take His word for it
and be like the children. Children have the gift to just receive and let their
minds go to a place where adults don’t. They have the ability to animate things
and have joy. They are always intently listening and receiving. This is the key
to having access to the continuous existence of the flow of grace. If we look
at the world around us and hear the news of what’s happening then we could lose
hope if we listen to everything that’s going on around us. Unless we’re
grounded in faith we could not survive it. We should pray that we continue to
mature as Christians. We have always come to mass and witness in the altar what
priests are doing all over the world. We have to come into touch with the
reality that the Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament is what’s redeeming
the world. The world is fragile and unstable. We need to be around this table
in the altar for constant infusion of God’s life and grace. This is our life,
destiny and future. We need to be grounded in this truth and be able to say
that we are stable in our relationship with God. We need to have a conviction
in this world that the Lord is present to us in the altars of sacrifice. The
Lord Himself established this act of worship that contains incredible power. We
need to be grounded to our faith in the Eucharist and truly enter completely
for us to be nourished and strengthened. It should not become just an act of
routine. If this happens then this could be very sad and empty of its true
meaning. Being grounded to the truth of the Eucharist could really change our
faith and belief and therefore bring forth change in our lives. We always go to
mass but our act of worship in the Eucharist table should change us for the
better. We have to believe that the Lord is working in our lives whenever we
come to receive the Eucharist. This should be firmly based on the stability of
the truth that God is really present for us. It is like when we run in the sand
and mud, we become unsteady because it is unstable, our feet can sink. We need
stability in order to stand. We need a firm ground to walk on and find
something to anchor ourselves to. We look at a child's heart that is fully
grounded. We need to follow its example so that no matter what we see in our
experiences, the trials and the tests, if we’re grounded and stable we can
always surrender our life to God and live in peace. We have to be firmly
grounded on the truth of the Lord's presence in the Eucharist in order for a
fountain of joy and excitement to burst forth from us. This is in the knowledge
that something new is going to happen each time we receive Him in the
Eucharist. Let us pray that we be like children and utilize our inventive
hearts so as to enter into an act of worship and believe. We are always confronted with the greatest
temptation of not entering into the act of worship and know in our hearts and
minds that God is present completely in this Most Blessed Sacrament. We have to develop this attitude that the
Eucharist is indispensable and what’s most real and powerful for us. We need to
be able to say that this is what matters most to us. In doing so we can make
decisions that needs to be done and say, "Here I am Lord here is what I’ve
done help me to be better tomorrow." Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 10:1-12
...“Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and
dismiss her.” 5 But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he
wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made
them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are
no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human
being must separate.” …
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