MIDDLE GROUND

We’ve got to straighten up some things about God. Who He is and what He wants for our life. What is our picture of God? It’s not surprising to know that most of us think that God doesn’t want us to have fun. It’s like all the things that we want to do with our friends that are interesting and exciting when we were young are against God’s commandments. It may seem like we have to settle for less. What’s worse is that all the faithful Catholics get less out of life. This is part of the propaganda way back in the Garden of Eden. God gave us a magnificent paradise wherein there is perfect intimacy and no shame with each other. In the Garden they have everything they need but gave just one limit, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is very interesting because God said, “Don’t do this because you will die.” The reason why God commands us something is because He is a loving Father who cares for us. He wants us to have the best. But then came the serpent, who didn’t create Adam & Eve, nor gave the garden or anything at all. All the serpent gave was a lie and told Adam & Eve not to listen to God or they’ll lose out and won’t become like God. They were made to believe that God is holding out something from them and is actually their rival because God doesn’t want them to have what He has. So instead of trusting the one who gave them everything, they trusted a stranger. They disobeyed God and listened to the liar. They were hooked into a downward spiral of destruction. This is what sin is all about. It is a trap. It is disguised as an apparent good because the fruit looks good and desirable but it ends in disaster. The relationship with God is messed up and so creation turned against them, thorns and thistles appear and things in life become hard. This is what sin does, it seemed small but it gets out of control. Things get worse and worse and there are broken lives everywhere. This is the reality about sin, we are draining life out of ourselves unless we recognize the one true source of Living Water. Amen. Hallelujah!

Jeremiah 2: 1-3 , 7-8, 12-13

...7 When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits,...

…they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water…

The problem is that there is a great propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges all the time or a person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation and all things according to God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the good things in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent even one bit of pleasure.  But God commands them to be used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy. The way to enjoy life is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from who we are but also makes us who we are.  The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. God created us when we came out of the womb, our mothers and father have a great role in that but our creation continues every single day of our lives. We’re even becoming someone more beautiful, mature, stronger or someone weaker, more despicable. There’s no middle ground. We’re going one way or another. Life leads either to heaven or to hell. That’s what the acts that we commit do. Virtuous acts build in us strength. The word virtue comes from the word manly which is strength and power. Virtue is a habit that makes it easy and pleasurable to do the right thing. Golden virtue isn’t always easy. It is hard. But what is vice, it is a habit that makes it easy to do the wrong and evil thing. Let’s take exercise as an example. People make it their New Year’s resolution and people who go to the gym noticed that it’s packed on January but they’re gone by the 3rd week. If we’ve ever engaged in an exercise program for the first time, we know that we feel bad, tired, exhausted and wake up sore. This is because we do not have the habit of exercise. We have not trained and our bodies are not used to it. It hurts and it’s hard the first time we work out. If we persevere past the first few weeks and developed a habit of regular exercise then we end up getting used to it and becomes easy that when we don’t exercise we feel bad. What happens is that we build up the power or the virtue. We’ve conditioned ourselves so that it becomes second nature to us. If we want a progressive course we need to do something hard. No pain no gain. The next time we work out we add up a little bit more since we are stronger. We can move forward and grow in our ability to lift weights. This is the deal. The actions we do have an impact on what we are. It’s like when we start lifting weights we start to change and look different. We look like someone who has strength, power and endurance. This is the point, God is about building champions. The goal of the Christian life is to build champions. Well, not necessarily athletic champions but spiritually. A real champion in every aspect of life. God wants us to be strong, loving, wise and to have the power to live. It’s not so much what we do that counts but it’s who we become. That’s what the commandments, teachings and the Lord our God is all about.

Psalm 36:6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11R: With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

…The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house; from your delightful stream you give them to drink…in your light we see light. Keep up your mercy toward your friends, your just defense of the upright of heart.

It is really important that we take advantage of the opportunities that come our way to spend time with family and loved ones. It's nice to know that a family is a family no matter what and we all belong to one. We all love the idea of a family. Though, this is especially true and important knowing that we are all members of God’s family. We are sure to receive nothing less than what we deserve as such. How about all other opportunities in life that God gives us? Just think of those that we all lost. How easy it is for us to miss the opportunity for everyday. What can we do as a child of our Father in heaven and a member of God’s family? Sow a thought, reap an act, sow an act, reap a habit, sow a habit, reap a lifestyle, sow a lifestyle, reap a destiny. It all begins with a decision or thought, an act and then it becomes a pattern. It has dared us to become who we are. Sometimes we lose sight of this important reality that we should always be aware of. A love is not a love until it is given away. A song is not a song until it is sung. God gives us His own love to share it with our family, friends and fellow human beings. We have been redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord.  We must listen to the still and small voice that tells us that we are not alone. It is a holy task to listen. It is therapeutic to call and to listen.  In doing so, wisdom finds an echo in our heart. We should all say to ourselves, “I should pass this way once any kindness I can do let me do because I shall not pass this way again.”  We’ve got to give it our best shot. Jesus said in the gospel that the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven is granted to some but not to all. Why is this so? It all depends on our commitment to God. If we go all the way with the Lord then nothing else could be in the way for us to be granted all the blessings that we long for.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?’ 11 He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted...16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”