While we still have time, let's take advantage of it. We'll
never know the time and the hour and not wait before it's too late. Let's not
cram and lose everything. Have you ever experienced cramming for an exam and
trying to read and absorb everything on the night before an exam? I did and the
result was disastrous. Amos the prophet where today's 1st reading is taken
calls us to act on the word of God. He is not just a shepherd and dresser of
sycamores. He is a herdsman, rancher and a wealthy person. He lives in the
garrison city a place dominated by people of power who live in luxury. He lived
in affluence and belonged to the clan system which is a guild or crusade to
maintain the purity of the tradition of the temple (Ark of the Covenant). He
was well educated, and embraced the clan
wisdom. Although he experienced a
luxurious life he was also aware of the injustice and plight of the people
being a sycamore dresser who worked in close contact with the people. When God
called him he was already aware of both worlds. And the Lord took him from what
he was doing and summoned him to prophesy to the people. If I must say he came
to a point when he no longer owned the choices and decisions he made. This, I
guess is given once you take upon yourself the duty of a prophet much more the
will of God in our lives over our own. This reminds me of what Atty. Moya said
in his talk on Family and Social Morality which really makes sense in as far as
what Amos did is concerned. He mentioned that there should be no confusion
between authority and power or obedience and inferiority. Amos clearly demonstrated to us obedience to God's
authority over power and inferiority owing to the inappropriate situation he
was in and status in life. Amos was able to differentiate the highest authority
of God over the power of the priest of Bethel
and his obedience which can never be taken as inferiority since he is also a
man of power and wealth during his time. In the same way but definitely based
in our present status in life, whoever, whatever, wherever and whenever, we are
also being led to do something in response to God's call to apostleship. It
should clearly be well established that our response is based on the authority
of God and out of obedience. May we like Amos also get over our own personal
idiosyncrasies and really get down to the real business of God. Let us not be
deceived by the false misrepresentations of the world thinking that we can get
away from our accountabilities or attempt to merge opposing worlds or acquire a
little of both. It is either heaven or hell, God or Satan. There is no in
between. For no one is above or over,
exempted or excluded from the power of God. He will see to it that justice is
served. Amen. Hallelujah!
Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
4 Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the
poor of the land!... 11 Yes, days are coming”, says the Lord GOD, “when I will
send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for
hearing the word of the LORD. 12 Then shall they wander from sea to sea and
rove from the north to the east in search of the word of the LORD, but they
shall not find it.”
Another interesting event I am reminded of is one of the MI (Militia
Immaculata) Meetings we had in the past
wherein we were asked to introduce ourselves briefly by saying our
names, parishes where we belong and the time when we were consecrated to the
Mother Mary. I can never forget the date I was consecrated (March 15, 2008)
since it was the same date, but in 1995, of my mother's death anniversary but I
would rather call it her birth to eternal life. It was highlighted by another
significant event which was a dream I had at that same time of my aunt, Tita
Edna who also passed away on the same date, March 15 in the year 1992. The
dream was quite interesting and very vivid because I saw Tita Edna riding in a van and the moment I saw her I
took off immediately and ran after the van which I almost missed if I did not
leap and managed to make it to the door of the van from which I almost fell.
When I finally made it inside the van, I saw that she was about to eat so I
offered her a hand sanitizer and saw that it made her so glad that I had it.
She immediately applied it in her hands and thanked me for it. It suddenly gave
me the impression that the van could be a symbol of our transportation to
heaven. It is very difficult to catch that ride, we have to be always alert and
vigilant we might end up missing it and worst never be able catch the ride ever
again. That is, if we are too busy with other things we tend to neglect what
should we be paying attention to and end up missing out on our ride and get a
different ride which instead of bringing us to heaven, be brought to another
destination which I guess none of us would like to be. We must always know on
whose authority we are basing our actions. It will always help to examine
ourselves and really be aware where our loyalty lies. Are we for God or against
God or are we just for God in the superficial sense? If we are deeply rooted in Him then we can
withstand that horrible day of trial and
still find ourselves persevering in our faith. Just the thought of ending up in
hell should really make us pray fervently to God. Today's psalm teaches us the way to always be
attuned to God's Spirit in order for us to truly see the word of God, as the
light shining like a lamp for our feet. If we really want to be truly happy
then there is just one thing we have to always do that is to always keep
ourselves blameless before the Lord. We can never run away from the probing
eyes of God because nothing is hidden from Him. We sometimes have this
impression that our God requires impossibilities from us. We misinterpret and
take things in a different way whenever we hear of rules and regulations to be
followed. The decrees of our Lord are not meant to make things difficult for us
nor do they burden or tie us down. This is the deception and we should start
looking at it the right way. Just imagine life without God's decrees to guide
us, it would be very disorderly and chaotic. It's like driving in the freeway
wherein one can just go his or her own way without any regard for any traffic
rules and regulations. Real freedom is the ability to follow God and being
totally free of the grasp and hold of sin that brings death. Some sins bring
instant death but others just like cancer slowly creep in and before we know it
has already eaten us up whole. God loves
us so much that He has given us His decrees because it is in following them
that we become totally free and live. The only way to true freedom is by
following God's commands. In doing this we become free of the bondage of sin
and live a power filled life based on the Truth. We should believe that if
there is someone in and out of this world who is most reasonable, just, fair
and at the same time loving, caring, slow to anger and rich in kindness that is
no other than our God. One thing for sure, if He requires us something, He will
definitely equip us for it because it is written, "I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me." If we commit ourselves to following
God then we will surely be blessed. Allow me to use the word "luck"
or "swerte" in Tagalog in lieu of any other more appropriate word
like blessed or pinagpala in Tagalog since I have always been hearing this word
being used very often by some people in reference to certain situations within
the broad context of this word. I just couldn't help but share it, first and
foremost due to some personal circumstances. We often hear people say to
another who is about to embark on something challenging, “good luck” If the
word luck may have been associated with whatever negative meaning then consider
it excluded from here and out of context for the mean time. Let's just say we
would like to broaden the scope of our vocabulary. This is to further drive the
point or message in today's psalm and is actually the catch here. This is to
come up with an induction that following the law of the Lord is just as
synonymous to being blessed, lucky, swerte or pinagpala or any other word that
we could closely associate with this. It is not very easy to lead a life like
that of the saints who followed the example of Jesus. Ignorance is not an
excuse. We should always seek to enrich our knowledge about God so that we will
continuously grow in our faith. Our world is ever changing with all the new
technology coming up, it's so surprising that whatever is considered the latest
and gold standard today may not hold true the following day. If there's one
thing we should rely and hold on to in this very dynamic world of ours, then it
should be something constant and enduring.
It gives us great consolation that we have a God who is true to His
word. We may have heard it but we haven't learned yet. It is a lifelong journey
and quest to know God better. Nothing can be more rewarding than having great
peace in our lives. We can make this possible by adhering to God’s law and committing
to following it in word and deed. It will always be well for us to consult the
scriptures that shed light and give understanding. It is only right that we
follow the law of the Lord if we are really for God then our works should
follow us and testify to who we really are. We've got to make sure that what we
sought and yearn for, is what should bring us genuine riches, true delight and
the most precious treasure which the world can not give and only God can bring
about. It is only right that we follow the law of the Lord if we are really for
God then our works should follow us and testify to who we really are.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 119: 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131R: One does not live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.2 Blessed are
they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart...
During our clinical
rotations when I was just a student nurse I have encountered several patients
who are already terminally ill. One of them can no longer tolerate his oral medicines
and just vomit it out. When they tried to give it intravenously the veins
ruptured. No amount of medicine can heal a terminally sick person. Let us not
wait for the time when we are already too sick to respond to God's healing and
end up rejecting it rather than accept it. It is written in Isaaih 55:6, “Seek
the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near.”
And also in Ephesians 5:15-17, “Watch carefully then how you live, not as
foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the
days are evil. Therefore, do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand
what is the will of the Lord.” We all know too well, that God will never get
tired of loving, caring and running after us, for He is a perfect God but we are imperfect and the problem lies not
on the love of God but on our response to His love. If only love can be forced
then God would have done that to us but He never did and never will. Love is
perfect, patient and kind. Let us respond to this love while we're still in
perfect shape. Jesus has the biggest and most compassionate heart for sinners
especially those who choose to respond to His call and follow Him. Despite the
stigma attached to tax collectors and sinners during His time, He did not
hesitate to call them. We are all being called to live a life with Him no
matter what our situations are. Whatever we may be going through right now, a
problem, difficulty or sin that is preventing us from responding to His call,
we have to always believe that God can overcome all of these if we are willing
to give Him the room to act in our lives. Once we give God the go signal, He
can accomplish almost anything. If we really believe this then it doesn't
matter if we may be experiencing already a life of comfort and ease, our
acceptance and consent to shifting to the unknown will only serve to emphasize
the extraordinary nature of both our unwavering faith and the grace of God. The
grace of God is worth celebrating as it can bring about wonders that will
stretch the ability of our imagination. And we can not deny the fact that we’ve
been privileged to watch this happen not only in the lives of people on a
number of different occasions as in the life of our forefathers like Abraham,
Jacob, Moses, the life of the Blessed Mother but also to us. For He doesn't
only call the qualified but He also qualifies the called. No one is hopeless
and desperate for God. Nothing is beyond His healing love and mercy. We must
not be impatient or judgmental of our brothers and sisters who have strayed
from the Lord. We must keep in mind that He has a special eye for the sick and
the sinners. We have all sinned and fallen ill because of the disease that sin
brings to us. No matter how big and grievous our sins are, God is always able
to heal us. This song which tells us, "He was pierced for our
transgressions, crushed for our iniquities and the punishment that brought us
peace was upon Him for by His wounds we are healed." should inspire us to
reach out to Him more than anyone or anything else. God is indeed an Almighty
God who knows our specific needs be it spiritual, emotional or physical and He
will surely heal every single one of them. He is a God who makes us whole. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Matthew 9:9-13
9 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at
the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.
10 While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and
sat with Jesus and his disciples. 11 The Pharisees saw this and said to his
disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 He
heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick
do. 13 Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
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