We sometimes fall prey to the trap of the enemy when we
succumb to temptations. There are instances when we say words that we don't
mean or fail to say words that we should have said. We sometimes ask ourselves
things like, I should have said it or I shouldn't have said it. Definitely,
there are words which you really need to say and some also that are better left
unsaid. We really have to be careful about the words we say and be bold enough
to speak out the words that should be said. Amen. Hallelujah!
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
...and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them
all that I command him.19 If any man will not listen to my words which he
speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. 20 But if a prophet
presumes to speak in my name an oracle that I have not commanded him to speak,
or speaks in the name of other gods, he shall die.’”
Today's psalm reading is used as a preparatory psalm in the
Liturgy of the Hours just as it was used in the Old Testament. Each time we
hear it, there is an emphasis to the fact that is just the same as it is
proclaimed today. During the time of Moses there had been an incident of great
rebellion and testing on the part of the chosen people of God. The same message
is being said to us because there is a possibility that we also harden our
hearts today. Massah means rebellion and Meribah means testing. It refers to
the time they rebel when they had no water. Moses struck the stone in the
desert and water came out. We can read in Numbers 13 when Moses sent out spies
to check out the promise land and when they returned in Numbers 14 they were
full of discouragement. They came back and reported that the Land of Canaan Canaan .
But the people believed the spies and concluded that it’s impossible to
overcome these barriers. They wanted to choose new leaders and kill Moses &
Aaron and go back to slavery in Egypt .
Due to their unbelief the whole generation never entered Canaan
only the new generation with both Joshua & Caleb did. The goal is to enter
into rest in the land of Canaan but they refused because they believed their
fears rather than believe what they’ve already seen in God’s miracles in Egypt .
Psalm 95 is used so often in the Liturgy of the Hours and encourages us how
today we must listen well. They do not just apply to the people in Numbers 13
& 14. It also applies to the Church and we consider ourselves the New
Israel. Let God call us to attention. We don’t have to fall back to the same
sin of disbelief. No matter how hard the world makes us do so. The Church is
beginning to experience persecution. Today we have to keep in mind what God
already said in the past especially as we hear the words of His Son today.
Jesus Himself gives us a greater authority than the prophets and the angels.
When we look at our day, there are a number of strains that we have to alert
ourselves. There are New Age beliefs
that everything is God including the forces of nature. It is moving towards the
act of depersonalizing God by a vague force. It clouds the truth of God the
Father, God the Son & God the Spirit. There is this New Age notion vs. the
Christian notion of God. The catch here is the fact that there are no demands
upon the faithful to be obedient. A hardened heart is equivalent to
disobedience. There is no longer a clear distinction about the truths of the
faith. It's just a matter of loving nature and taking care of the environment.
No other demands like obeying the 10 commandments. The truth is not existent
with the New Age. They water down the Person of Jesus and lead others to
disbelieve in Him. Certain scholars deny Him as a historical figure or is
believed that He had a wife as depicted in the fictitious Da Vinci Code. These
are all things that are far from the authentic gospel. The image of Jesus is
being shaped to imitate our worst moments and sins. It makes him appear like He
is no better than we are and attack His moral character. It is an act of
impunity to God’s character as if He is just a character of fiction. It looks
like God is on the dock as C. S. Lewis put it. Instead of us being on trial,
God appears to be the one who’s on trial. Let us not fall into this kind of
thinking nor continue in our lack of faith or let anything shake our faith.
Some dogs are amazing in their ability to show devotion and faithfulness
although they do not even measure up to the dignity and standing of human
beings they are capable of obeying their master with so much love and
respect. This should make us realize all
the more can we do it and a whole lot better than that. We have to make a
decision to be with Christ. God is the Good Shepherd. He will not scatter but
draw people to holiness, righteousness and goodness. How can we be lost or led
astray? There are things we need to do if we want to be under the care of the
Good Shepherd, listen to His voice, follow His guiding hand and stay within the
circle of the flock He tends. The truth is that we should never have any doubts
about our decisions for as long as we know that it is all for the glory of God
first and foremost and everything else will follow. We have this faith and
confidence in God as in Philippians 4:6-8, "Have no anxiety at all, but in
everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known
to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever
is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever
is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of
praise, think about these things." When someone speaks to us we sometimes
ignore, refuse to listen, simply pretend that we haven't heard anything or
misunderstood what we heard because we are too distracted or busy to give time
to listen well. Let us always open our hearts and mind so that we become
sensitive to the voice of God talking to us.
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, refused outright and rejected it. If before we just
choose to do it whichever way we wanted it without much thought from now on let
us respond to God in the best way we can with hearts full of love and
obedience. When we grumbled and complained we all know for a fact that it
didn't make things any better. We would have to practice more and make perfect
the art of trusting and hearing God's voice. God is never short of anything.
God is God and He will always be. Let us no longer confuse ourselves with the
inaccuracies and discrepancies of our human hearts and minds. Let us keep it
focused on Him who is Holy and Perfect. Let us all acculturate ourselves to the
Kingdom of God
Psalm 95:1-2. 6-7. 7-9 (8)
R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD; let us acclaim the rock of our salvation. Let
us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us joyfully sing psalms to
him. (R) Come, let us bow down in
worship; let us kneel before the LORD who made us. 7 For he is our God, and we
are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides...
It will always be for our own sake that God gives us this
reminders. We should always be attuned to His will and conscious of the fact
that we need to shelter ourselves within the confines of His Divine Presence.
Let us stay always within the loving embrace and protection of God and not
stray away from Him. Amen. Hallelujah!
1 Corinthians 7:32-35
32 Brothers and sisters: I should like you to be free of
anxieties...I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a
restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord
without distraction...
We find that the word teaching is used twice in today’s
gospel. From this we draw emphasis on the fact that Jesus is a teacher. We know
that the Jews have rabbis and whenever one states a particular teaching it is
common practice to give reference to one as source of authority. But Jesus
teaches in a different way. He conveys a new teaching and teaches with
authority. His words are straight forward and without reference to anyone else
but Himself for He is authority. His message is to repent and believe which is
a fulfillment of the Old Testament. There are 2 things that are classic to
authority first it is confrontational and second it is a defense. An example of
this is when Jesus drove out an evil spirit. He demonstrated His authority
through the exorcism. He said something and proved it with His actions. When
Jesus said the Kingdom of heaven is at hand it is to confront and destroy the kingdom
of darkness and sin. The confrontation is a violent one just as Jesus commands
the evil spirit to be quiet and come out of the possessed person. But the evil spirit as a form of defense
responded by saying, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you
come to destroy us? ? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!” This is a strategy of the inferior to show
control and put responsibility to the superior. The demon also recognized Jesus
as the Holy One but it has no authority. It may know His name but it has no
control for God is stronger than the one that is in the world. One of the
reasons they possess people is to distort the image and likeness of God. The
evil one’s last ditch effort can be seen in the fact that he is telling Jesus that
he knows Him to try to wield control but he has no power. We have to keep this in mind always. The evil
one will always assert authority in our lives and confront us with what he
knows about us. We need to read and know the gospels because they are authoritative
words. In doing so we become filled with His authority and by His authority we
help bring the world to God. This we have to remind ourselves and do many times
and over and over again. Jesus is up and above everything and nothing is beyond
His power. God can exorcise evil spirits because He is the Exorcist. Thus our
faith in Jesus should also go beyond our recognition and amazement of Him but
rather go further than what the unclean spirit and the onlookers did. We should
all lead a life which testifies to God's greatness. God is the Supreme
authority over all things and we as His faithful followers have the same power
in our hands all in accordance to His great love and care for all of us. There
is really no doubt that God is the only Power that we need and will ever need.
Let us not be left behind in claiming these truths in our life since even the
unclean spirits themselves can not deny it, how much more, us Christians who
proclaim loyalty and faithfulness to our God? Let us be challenged to make a
difference. There are always two sides of a pole. It's either we go one way or
the other. Today's readings have been very clear on who we really are. The most
precious creature that God ever made. Do we know who we are? It is up to us to
live up to who God made us to be or not. The choice is ours to make. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Mark 1:21-28
Jesus came to Capernaum
with his followers, and on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. 22
The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes. 23 In their synagogue was a man with an
unclean spirit; 24 he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of
God!” 25 Jesus rebuked him and said, “Quiet! Come out of him!” 26 The unclean
spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him. 27 All were amazed
and asked one another, “What is this? A new teaching with authority. He
commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him.” 28 His fame spread
everywhere throughout the whole region of Galilee .
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