Trust, perseverance, doubt, frustration and anxiety are all
part of one big mix of experiences that we need to go through. Just like a big
cookie dough with all the bits and pieces of nuts, chocolate and all the other
things that add up to its flavor and taste. We encounter these things so God
can provide opportunities for us to advance in our faith and discover His
perfect will in our lives. Sometimes we encounter people who belong to a
different religion or same religion but different organization or prayer group.
Whether you're Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or Catholic what matters most is
that you respect each other's beliefs and know in your heart that each person
is a child of God. Trusting God in His magnificent ways that He will reveal
Himself in whatever way He deemed fit for each one of us. Sometimes our
convictions and beliefs can place us in a difficult situation when we would
have to be tested to the point of being forced to retract and abandon what we
are standing up for. Especially when it comes to a matter of life and death,
this would definitely make us think hard before we can ever decide if we are
really willing to go through that kind of suffering and hardship. Reflecting on
the life of Jesus, Mary and the saints should humble and embarrass us whenever
we end up wavering in our faith. We have been blessed by the glorious
background of their lives and gifted with this present time when we can freely
exercise our faith without fear of being imprisoned and executed. During their
time, profession of faith in Jesus meant persecution and death. Isn't it
something that we should really be grateful and take advantage of. Those people
who have worked hard for our faith paved the way for its richness and splendor
that we have to appreciate every single moment of our life. Let us not waste
nor disregard the hard work they have done for us to enjoy the blessings
brought about by their great faith in God. Let us always treasure it in our
hearts and be very thankful for it. May it inspire us to also work hard and
contribute for the further flourishing, proliferation and spread of the good
news about Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts 25:13-21
... they had some issues with him about their own religion
and about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed was alive.
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
Psalm 103:1-2. 11-12. 19-20ab
R: The Lord has established his throne in heaven.
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his
holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) 11
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness
toward those who fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has
he put our transgressions from us.
Love is not exclusive. Jesus wanted Peter to show his love
for Him by reaching out to others. This is exactly what we're supposed to do no
matter who the person is. Our faith in God brings us to circumstances when we
can no longer decide on our own but on the basis that we are totally disposed
and abandoned to His perfect plan for us. This is why in today’s gospel Jesus
had to emphasize it to Peter. Whenever we want to make a point then we tend to
repeatedly say and ask things and sometimes, too we tend to feel hurt when
someone seem to doubt our capacity to do it. Jesus in today's gospel asked
Peter 3x if he loves Him and he also replied positively to Him 3x. But we know
the rest of the story when Peter ended up denying Jesus 3x also. The same in our
own lives, God sometimes needed to emphasize some things in our life so as to
really focus and commit to it. God knows each and every one of us and it is
just proper and fitting that we must take every persistent message that God
gives us, really take action and surely benefit from it. Knowing that our God
will always bring about what is good for us. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 21:15-19
...“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He
said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my
lambs.” 16 He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love
me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him,
“Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you
love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you
love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love
you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.
No comments:
Post a Comment