YOUR ANGEL

In today's 1st reading cherubim is mentioned which reminds me of Sis Susan a lay missionary of the Holy Trinity Missions whom I met yesterday. I have been very interested about guardian angels already that's why I was so engrossed in listening to her stories when she shared to us how helpful these angels to us are if we acknowledge their presence. She also quoted several scripture readings that speak of angels. Psalm 34: 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. Exodus 23:20-21 See I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Matthew 18:10 'See that you never despise any of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels in heaven are continually in the presence of my Father in heaven.

Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22

... Then the glory of the LORD left the threshold of the temple and rested upon the cherubim. 25 [19] These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth,...

No one can pretend to be innocent and blameless for our iniquities. We've got to set things right before we find ourselves lost in the deceptions of this world. God will never take things sitting down for He will see to it that those who call and truly follow and obey Him, the so called "poor of the Lord" those who fully depend on God's Providence will surely be lifted up and raised from the dust. God gave His only son as ransom for our sins to save us. Is there anything else He could have done that He has not done for our sake and best interest? God alone is worthy of our praise and worship. If we will just be open at all times to this truth that the psalm reading today tells us and realize the importance of always praising God in all circumstance and live it in our lives then we can be assured of the loving, protecting and caring gaze of God to be always on us. I love this prayer that I got from an email it says, "Stars do not struggle to shine; rivers do not struggle to flow, and you will never struggle to excel in life because you deserve the best. Hold on to your dreams and it shall be well with you. Amen." We simply have to keep on trusting that God will do for us what He has promised and said that He would do. There is nowhere to go but to God. If we are confident in God's Divine Providence and constantly and consistently pray for God's guidance and protection and decide to act at all times for His greater glory then there is nothing that should ever make us want for anything for God is in control, He provides for all our needs and knows what's best for us. Nothing is indeed by accident everything is under the will of God. We just need to always trust God in all circumstances that whatever happens, God will always make a way. It is important that we are always in touch with this reality and truth about our God who is Lord of lords and King of kings and gain confidence from it as if we are already seated and counted among the leaders of His people. That's the Spirit we should all have, a winner. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R: The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.

1 Praise, you servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. 2 Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forever. (R)  4 High above all nations is the LORD; above the heavens is his glory. (R) 5 Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high 6 and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?

God will always and without fail make His presence felt at all times if we will just seek Him in all the things that we think, say or do. He will always assure and confirm us especially in times of trouble and distress. He is always with us, will never leave nor forsake us. I know that with God there is no such thing as coincidence only Divine intervention. There was a time when I've been wanting to find this specific passage in today's gospel but I just can't locate it in the bible. I even quoted it in the letter I made for a friend and wanted so much to include the specific book, chapter and verse where to find in the bible but I was not able to do so. It is indeed a pleasant surprise that what I was trying so hard to look for is now in today's gospel which emphasized even more the message I was trying to convey to her. Another important thing that I have been reminded once again is the truth that to be a part of a community of believers is really valuable. The gospel today affirms and confirms it because Jesus Himself advises us to have someone whom we can pray with. But in connection with the reality of the presence of guardian angels there is never a single moment in our life when we are alone, all we have to do is acknowledge their presence and call on them to say our prayers with them which means that even though we can not see them physically present we can rely on them to always pray and be with us. Psalm 91:11-12 he has given his angels orders about you to guard you wherever you go. They will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone. 

Surely what He tells us is something that we can hold on and take to heart seriously. His great and steadfast love for us is new every morning. We can no longer deny the truth that the hand of God is always reaching out to us. Whether we reach out to Him too is all up to us. I was reminded to share about the talk of Charles Whitehead at the SCRC. It is well fitted for the readings today especially his experience on the train while riding with a bum or a punk. He described him with a shocking orange hair standing on its ends and got the surprise of his life when he felt a prompting of the Holy Spirit to tell that man standing right next to him that he has nice hair. At first he was hesitant but he finally gave in and told it to the man. With a loud and somewhat irritated voice the man snapped at him, Why did you say that for? He mastered all his strength in order to have the courage to answer him that he is a charismatic and the Holy Spirit prompted him to say that. He wasn't prepared for the response because the man asked him if the Holy Spirit has something to do with Jesus and told him that for days he has been thinking about him. He excitedly responded yes to him and that was the start of the man's conversion when he asked him if he could spend time with him and tell more about Jesus. Charles Whitehead decided for love when he risked being mugged by that punk in the train. When he courageously obeyed God he witnessed a surprising conversion of a bum. Surely there were times when we heard and experienced the voice of God giving us out of this world instructions and we responded nonchalantly as if we never heard anything or outrightly refused and rejected it. Whichever way we chose to do it before let us resolve to respond positively to God from now on. It took one courageous step on the part of Charles Whitehead and a beautiful story of conversion unfolded before him. It's about time we start doing the same thing and win them over to God's side. There is this song that I really like which has the words, "If you draw near to Him, He will draw near to you, to get a touch from the Lord is so real." We could really feel God touching our lives every single day if we only draw near to Him instead of shutting God out of our life. We may or may not be aware of it but we are definitely capable of doing this. It may sound petty for some but not a single day passes without God drawing near to us in different ways. Sometimes we just fail to see it anymore when our actions bring us farther away from God. If all our words, thoughts and deeds are always focused on God then everything else will follow. Amen. Hallelujah!

Holy gospel from Matthew 18:15-20

15 Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector...19 Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”