Believe it or not, we still have brothers and sisters in the
faith who think that God punishes and wants to see us suffer. This may not be
directly implied but just the same we have the tendency to think this way. We
must not forget that we are in a constant battle in this world that could be
compared to a tug of war between good and evil. Sad things are not willed by
God, He wills only the good things. Let us ask the Lord that we see these
things with understanding and ask Him to preserve us from evil and the father
of lies, promising peace when there is no peace. This is a reality that we have
to keep in mind always but the greater truth lies in the fact that Jesus has
won this battle. Once again we should ask ourselves the same question over and
over. Will we allow Jesus to have power over us and defeat the role of evil in
our life? We have our worries, fears and insecurities for a future that is
planned which may never come. We must not forget what we are destined for.
There is a place in heaven already waiting for us with our names on it. God
loves us so much that He intended everything for us to be with radiant
love. There was a time when I decided to
stay away from eating meat as much as possible and just eat fruits and
vegetables obviously due to reasons known to many of us already. We need to
commit to a good healthy diet and exercise. The 1st reading for today says
something almost similar to abstinence from meat. God is affirming a decision
to really be serious about eating more healthy and nutritious foods and watch our
weight. It is God's will for us to take care also of our physical bodies in
order to live a longer life dedicated to serve Him. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 15:22-31
...we are sending Judas and Silas who will also convey this
same message by word of mouth: 28 ‘It is the decision of the holy Spirit and of
us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities, 29 namely, to
abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from meats of strangled
animals, and from unlawful marriage. If you keep free of these, you will be
doing what is right. Farewell.’ ”...
Psalm 57:8-9, 10, 12
R: I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Lord.
7 [8] My heart is steadfast, O God; my heart is steadfast; I
will sing and chant praise. 8 [9] Awake, O my soul; awake, lyre and harp! I
will wake the dawn. 9 [10] I will give thanks to you among the peoples, O Lord.
I will chant your praise among the nations, 11 [12] Be exalted above the
heavens, O God; above all the earth be your glory!
It is noteworthy that in the gospel of John, it is very rare
that Jesus gives a commandment. In today's gospel in John, He gives us this
commandment, "Remain in my love..." This love is fully given to us
but if we look carefully enough we will find that we don't deserve it. It's not
because of something good we have done and get in return. It is not based on
some kind of contract but more of a relationship. The love of the Father is the
kind of love that exists even before the world came to be. The Father loves the
world despite of its imperfection being under the power of the evil one. Thus
He sent His Son to redeem the world. The death of Jesus on the cross is what
draws the people to Him. We have to remain in God’s love which is the source
that we should constantly come to. If we keep this commandment then God will
remain in us. As we enter into the process of remaining in Jesus and move away
from sin then we'll have a joy that lasts forever. There is a temptation for us
not to follow the Lord's words and commandments. It is understandable that we
sometimes fall into the trap of sin. The temptations make us remember the nice
but fake stuff and overlook the real thing. It makes us go with opinions that
are widespread. We have to realize that God is offering us something infinitely
great. God invites us to offer ourselves to Him wholeheartedly. God is not
solitary. Jesus and the Father are one in union with the Holy Spirit. We need
to believe this with a childlike faith. What is it to be a child? It is to
believe in love and its loveliness and to believe in belief. It is to hold
infinity and eternity in the palm of our hands. A child places its hand in
yours and just follow wherever you lead. We have our fears, insecurities and
worries for a future that is planned but may never come. We must not lose sight
of the truth that we have our guardian angels always praying for us that we
must not forget what we are destined for. He sees to it that the Lord rules
over us so that God's light and life may penetrate every nook in our lives.
God's will be on earth as it is in heaven for it is no longer us who live but
Christ who lives in us. This commandment of love is repeatedly mentioned by
Jesus in Chapter 14 of John’s gospel. This is not the kind of love that the
world tries to show that is driven by passion. What the world tries to get
across is this love that is shown through the media which is commonly passions
of romance and violence. Thus people become poor in understanding this agape
love of God. The people in the world follow the passions of our desires as we
look into our history we see that these passions end up destroyed. What
survived is the passion of the love of God. The kind of Christian love that
Jesus gives us. It somehow depicts the aspect of the Blessed Trinity that we
are made in the image and likeness of God so we imitate the life of the
Trinity. When Jesus speaks and almost always He will say this, "I came not
to speak on my own words but the Father's." We are all desirous of self
expression. It is good to express one's self, whether it is right or wrong,
though, self expression is not the ultimate good. As we come to know this, we
must keep in mind that our Lord's word is one of the means of keeping the
commandment. In order for us to remain in Him as we maintain our branches
attached to Him, we must recognize the need to focus on Jesus, listen to Him as
a response to this commandment and call of love. To love Him is keeping
ourselves attached to Him. Sometimes we ask, "What about myself?"
Many times we react negatively. We sometimes have trepidations and doubt
whether we can be able to live out His commands. There is always the temptation
not to follow the Lord's words in scriptures. We misinterpret happiness that
the world offers. We give in to it and
get drunk by what it has to offer. Only to find ourselves with a hangover and
regret of what we have done. When we give in to temptation and start to sin we
ought to remember too that only the nice stuff are being presented to us at
that time of temptation. We ought to realize that what it offers to us is just
a spur of the moment and fleeting joy but would never last. If we respond to
Jesus' commandment and enter into the process of moving away from sin then we
will have a joy that lasts and a peace that surpasses understanding as St. Paul says in
Corinthians. We are no longer kids who want to play with an empty decorated box
rather than own a diamond. God wants us to have the diamond which lasts
forever. God is an awesome God that all His faithful followers are blessed with
His tremendous and unfailing power and grace. This is the reality of the joy
that lasts and is complete. The gospel reminded me of the commercial about the
vitamins in the Philippines .
It claims to be the best vitamins for the body because it is complete. If we
remain in God's love then we find complete joy in our hearts. Just imagine
being truly, deeply and totally in love with a person to the point of doing
everything you can to please that person. Sometimes we still end up
disappointed but in the light of God's love we will always feel complete for He
is perfect. The reality that Jesus rose
from the dead is at the heart of the reality of the gospel. It is because of
the Resurrection that we have the certainty that we are not doomed to eternal
damnation and death. We are justified and made righteous because of his
resurrection. In our life's struggles and difficulties it is always good to
know that we have a friend in Jesus who will never disappoint us. Just like any
other relationships, true friendship is put to the test and one thing I am sure
of, in Jesus we've found the perfect and loyal friend. We always have a choice.
We can be a friend or an enemy to someone whenever we choose to. But think
about it, no matter how difficult life situations may be we always have a better
choice and it is always wise to settle for the best choice. That is to listen
and follow the advice of our one true and loyal bestfriend, Jesus. God is
offering us something great and beyond our comprehensions. As in, "no eye
has seen nor ear has heard" what God has ready for those who accept this
invitation and obey this commandment of Jesus in today's gospel. God has the
right to command us because He was the one who chose us first. When God gave up
His only Son to die on the cross and Jesus obeyed unto death, even the angels
and saints could not take this incredible sacrifice of a God. Jesus, the only
Begotten Son of God, stripped Himself of this royalty and was subjected to the
most humiliating and excruciating pain. It was through this that Jesus showed
us the power of powerlessness. When we ourselves are confronted with such
situations we might as well take it as a privilege and invitation to throw our
powerlessness to God and receive the power of Jesus to lift us up. God has
poured and emptied Himself out in every possible way. This should be our
motivation. The great love of God is inexplicably incredible and wonderful. It
reaches out to all of us and all He asks of us is that we acknowledge, believe
and obey Him. Jesus said, "None of you can be my disciples unless he gives
up all his possessions." What Jesus condemns is the selfish clinging. We
need to detach from selfish clinging to things for their own sake and not for
God. We need to develop a universal surrender to God. We are sometimes ruled by
the pleasures being offered by the world. There is a condition in ourselves
that we have to achieve before we can be completely free. If we have freed
ourselves of that bondage then God can move into our lives. God does not force
His way into us. He is like light that comes in open windows. God is very well
mannered and will not interrupt. If we cling to things then we can not advance
in our relationship with God. We must work for the virtues of prudence,
fortitude, justice and temperance. If we are filled with these virtues and not
tied down to the worldly things then we become free. Once we achieve this then God will give us
anything we ask of Him. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 15:9-17
9 Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I
also love you. Remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will
remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in
his love. 11 “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy
may be complete.” ... I have called you friends, because I have told you
everything I have heard from my Father. 16 It was not you who chose me, but I
who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that
whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. 17 This I command you:
love one another.”...
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