PRIVILEGE AND HONOR

Today's 1st reading is about a widow and reminded me time and time again of my nanay's (mother) strong faith in God when she was still living. My brothers and I were still very young when my mother was widowed. We were aged 3,2, and 1. We were such a pitiful sight then when we lost our father in a very sudden and unexpected way but my mother weathered through it all for she had always believed and held on to God's promise. The story of Elijah in today's 1st reading arouses a certain sense of confidence and trust in a Supreme Being who has everything under control. If we are to read a few verses before today’s 1^st reading we will find that at first Elijah was asked to hide beside a brook and when it ran dry he was instructed to stay with this widow in Zarephath. If we try to examine our own life experiences we'll find that we do not differ that much from Elijah in the sense that we too are undeniably led and guided by the Lord. The only difference lies in the fact that we simply ignore, neglect and deny the constant act of God directed and moving in our lives. We come to a point where we miss it altogether. We sometimes end up bitter and feeling abandoned when we are not supposed to. God always has something good going on for us. The problem lies with us when we fail to grasp the entire meaning of how an Almighty God looks after our welfare. Amen. Hallelujah! 

1 Kings 17:7-16

7 The brook near where Elijah was hiding ran dry, because no rain had fallen in the land. 8 So the LORD said to Elijah: 9 “Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you.” 10 He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, “Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” 11 She left to get it, and he called out after her, “Please bring along a bit of bread.” 12 “As the LORD, your God, lives,” she answered, “I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” 13 “Do not be afraid,” Elijah said to her. “Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. 14 For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’ ” 15 She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; 16 The jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

Ignorance of Jesus Christ is ignorance of the faith. With this faith we have to be confident of the ground we are stepping on which is laid on a firm foundation. Knowing these things enable us to move up of the ladder as we discover the many things that relate and connect to the very roots of our faith. We need to really make things clear for us. We are very aware of the fact that misunderstandings and communication gaps can ruin and mess things up. We may all have been there and done that and know exactly how it feels to be in such a situation. We could have done this and otherwise sort of thing always come up in the end. These things happen when we do not pay attention and become sore losers because we did not play our part well. How many times has this sort of thing happened to us? Nothing is too late because God never stop shining His face on us. It's just a matter of uncovering our eyes, focusing and turning our gaze on the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 4:2-3, 4-5, 7b-8

R: Lord, let your face shine on us.

1 [2] When I call, answer me, O my just God, you who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, and hear my prayer! Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart? Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood? (R) 3 [4] Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one; the LORD will hear me when I call upon him. 4 [5] Tremble, and sin not; reflect, upon your beds, in silence. (R) 6 [7] O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us! 7 [8] You put gladness into my heart, more than when grain and wine abound.

We have to stand up for something or else we'll end up falling for anything. It's also another thing what we are determined to live up to. These things we've got to decide on and be firmly committed to. We are God's special creation according to His image and likeness. We have to be always aware of this profound dignity that is bestowed on man by God. We ought to live up to this privilege and honor as salt of the earth. The priest said that even without us doing anything we are already salt of the earth and light of the world. He didn't say we are salt of the earth if we serve others and light of the world if we do good. The problem lies in the fact that when we sin, we lose our taste and obscure our light. Let us not allow any of the things that rob the taste of our being salt and hide the light that is within us dominate who we really are. Let us hold on to this identity God has given us and not allow it to be trampled underfoot. All we have to do is just live up to who God has meant us to be, salt of the earth and light of the world. When our Lord went to Calvary he was going away beyond the call of duty.  No one could compel or coerce any man to give his life for others. But our Lord made it clear that no one was taking away His life away from Him freely He was laying it down as a sacrifice of love to the Father for you and for me. I wonder if we in our lives have learned that lesson. There are certain demands, certain duties imposed on everyone on this earth. The employee has to go to work every morning, spends a certain number of hours on the job and performs certain duties as expected. It is the same with the mother and father. They must feed and cloth their children, educate them and treat them humanely. And so it is with the husband and wife, certain obligations are laid to them by the fact that they are one and two in one. It is the same with the priest, with the lawyer, doctor and student. There is another dimension to life that we have to learn if we are going to live radiantly on this earth. The student will never learn the meaning of education until he goes to the library himself beyond what is demanded of him by the professor and study and research on his own. Then will he begin to enjoy learning in itself. The mother and the father and the children will never become a family as such until they could go beyond what the law demands. And the man who works would never enjoy his occupation until he stops thinking about the paycheck. In every country and community there are 3 kinds of people, 1st the lawless who break the law, refuse to do their duty and have to be taken care of with the penal system. 2nd there is the man and the woman who are the people who do what the law demands. Last, there are the volunteers who go beyond the call of duty. They are the backbone of every country and every community. Everyday they are the salt of the earth But isn’t it what Christianity is all about. Isn’t this what our Lord has taught us, to give our cloak as well as our coat and to go the extra mile. Not to turn away from him who would borrow from us. To forgive not 7x but 70x7 (Mt. 18:21-22) that same person who does the same stupid things all the time who is indifferent and callous who never says thank you and takes us for granted. Our Lord said if you love those who love you what is there to that? The pagans do that. You and I must love our enemies, do good to those who hate us and pray for those who persecute us that we may be the child of our Father in heaven who causes the rain to fall on the good and the bad (Mt. 5:45) and the sun to shine on the just and the unjust. We have been tutored by the years that all the good things and its loveliness is not of our own making. This comes only from our union with God who lives within us. We can not be loving to our enemies, forgiving to those who hurt us, understanding and compassionate on our own. These are all a gift of God to us. It comes from the union with our Lord as we try to live day after day. Who compels Mother Teresa to do the things she does? Who compels the mother and the father to offer a sacrifice of themselves and do without, so their children can be educated, grow up and take their place in life? All of this comes from the Lord in whom we believe lives within us. Day after monotonous day we must go on striving, failing, falling and beginning again. The Lord doesn’t ask us to succeed in anything, success is His gift. What we are asked to do is to try and to go on trying all the days of our lives. And so we pray, “Lord lift us up of our lethargy, apathy, coldness, and indifference and make us so aware of your love for us that we may learn to love you in return.” Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 5:13-16

13 Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. 16 Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”