The knowledge of God is encompassing and strives to reach
the height and depth of God's unfathomable love. Abraham is the 1st recipient
of God's revelation of Himself to mankind. He is considered as one of the
Patriarchs to whom God chose to establish his covenant. Salvation history tells
us of God's faithful love and continues to restore and bring back the broken
relationship of God and man. It was through Abraham's total surrender to God's
will to offer his son Isaac that he
foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus as
the Lamb of God. It is true that God started to reveal Himself to us through
Abraham and the ultimate revelation was in Jesus. God spared Isaac, Abraham’s
son but did not spare His only begotten for our sake. The victimhood of Jesus
to conquer evil not by slaying evil but by allowing Himself to be killed is the
height of God's love. It should always be a treasure embedded in our hearts. Let
us make this clear, it is God who first took the initiative and not the other
way around. He was the one who first loved us and we are just responding to
that love. Sometimes we get confused when we think that blessings and graces
only come our way because we obeyed God. We sometimes fall into the trap of
believing that it's because we are righteous and obedient that God blesses us. We
may have encountered people who believe that in order for God to answer our
prayers we should do this and that. It is like having a list of dos and don’ts and
treats God like a vending machine that if we place the right amount of money or
pressed on the right button we will get exactly what we wanted. There is
nothing wrong with it if we have a programmed way of serving and praying to God
but it sometimes keeps us off track when we start to focus more on our efforts
that can produce results rather than on this most important truth, it is not
God who changes but us who needs to change. God is good all the time and there
is nothing wrong with Him for He is All Perfect, Almighty and All Powerful. He
is perfectly able to do everything in His power all He has to do is will it.
His wisdom and understanding surpasses all knowledge. It would be best if we
try to look at the whole scenario of God's great goodness and love from the
very beginning. Abraham knew it from the start that's why he was willing to
give up his son, Isaac. He is very aware of the truth that only He can give and
take, it is not for us to question His will. We maintain our belief that God
knows best and all we have to do is obey. Amen. Hallelujah!
Book of Genesis 22,1-2.9.10-13.15-18.
..."I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because
you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless
you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky
and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the
gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall
find blessing--all this because you obeyed my command.'
When we hear of amazing stories we can not contain our
excitement. May we be always mindful of it at all times and filled with this
kind of emotion in all circumstances. We all have sinned and bore the guilt in
us. We have all been destined to die but Jesus took upon Himself all our sins
and paid it in full. He made an offering of Himself for our sake. The least we
could do is to give honor to this Holy Sacrifice. Let us cloth ourselves with
the blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount
Calvary
1. nominal- when we deny to identify a person as a real person. Example is
abortion, when doctors deny the fact that at the moment of conception a person
already exists. 2. real but limited - We do not deny but identify them as persons but with lesser worth like the sick and terminally ill. Just because they are old, weak and sick they deserve to die as in the case of euthanasia.
3. full and real but limited - Kills people as in the Holocaust.
The whole principle involved here is discovery and deciding. When our approach is discovery then we are being led to the events in our life with a sense of total surrender, trust and faith in the Lord's
We should ascribe to the real definition of personhood. It
answers the question what, how and what is it meant to be. Our approach in life
to achieve faith and righteousness is by discovery and through an authentic
Christian life. Discovery can be best defined in the sense that we are open to
the intention and purpose of God for us. With a seeking and expectant faith we
should allow God to lead us in discovering what is ahead of us and prepared by
God. The approach should be in a manner of discovering what God's intention is
and respecting it. We've heard of several occasions when people are spared from
death or any tragic or unpleasant event because they missed the bus, woke up
late, got stuck in traffic and something just came up which delayed them. I
guess, it has happened to us too, somehow. After feeling annoyed and impatient
because of that incident, we just found out that what appeared to be a nuisance
and a problem turned out to be a blessing. It will always be good to undergo
trials and hardships in life and remain steadfast in the Lord for everything
will pay off in the end. Not a single thing that we've been through for the
glory of God will ever be in vain. It is only right that we give all glory,
honor and praise to God. We need not wait and see any longer for it is in our
very own lives that God wants us to start paying attention to in order to make
a return for all the good he has done. What Jesus has done for all of us is the
ultimate sacrifice of love ever known in the entire history of mankind. It is
impossible for us to repay what He has done but with hearts full of gratitude
we can follow what the psalm reading today is telling us. It is only right and
fitting that we honor our vows and promises.
This shows how grateful, confident and assured we are of the Lord’s
goodness. It is only right and fitting that we give 100% loyalty to God who
deserves more than all the praises we can give. Let us cloth ourselves with the
blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount
Calvary
Psalms 116,10.15.16-17.18-19.
R: I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the
living.
...I kept faith, even when I said, "I am greatly
afflicted!" Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful
ones. (R)16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your
handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17 To you will I offer sacrifice of
thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 My vows to the LORD
I will pay in the presence of all his people.
The 1st reading for today contains one of my most cherished
and favorite bible passages. This is also found in the lyrics of a Christian
song entitled, "Dios ay Pag-ibig" meaning God is love which is also
the favorite song of my nanay (mother). She already passed away and her
birthday was last Oct. 21. Every time I encounter this bible passage I am
always reminded of how strong the faith of my mother was. It is one of the
reasons why I grew up with the same kind of conviction that she has in the kind
of love that God has for us. There is nothing to fear as we travel the road
leading us to the path to Jesus. We are safe and secure in the promises of God
our Savior. Amen. Hallelujah!
Letter to the Romans 8,31-34.
What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be
against us?He who did not spare his own Son but handed him over for us all, how
will he not also give us everything else along with him? Who will bring a
charge against God's chosen ones? It is God who acquits us.
We should fully trust the voice of Jesus who dwells in us
through the Holy Spirit. If there are times when we get confused and don't know
anymore what to do, whom to listen and where to go just feel the very depths of
our heart as we pray and He will never hesitate nor withhold the answers we
seek. He is not a God who misleads, confuses and causes chaos. There is a time
for everything. All we have to do is kneel down before the foot of the cross
and we will surely find the answers. Let our hearts talk and do the work to
fully understand His instructions to us. May we be able to learn the art of
silence and just listen and meditate on the Word of God. There are some things
that our mind can not fully explain and understand. Each one of us during our
lifetime have experienced unbelievable things wrought by God's mighty hand that
are beyond our understanding and comprehension. We shouldn't be surprised at
all if we truly believe that our life is in the hands of a God who is Almighty,
Immortal and Holy. Today’s gospel invites us to look deeply into the
transfiguration of Jesus. This corresponds to the 1st transformation
in the womb of the Blessed Mother when the glory of God penetrated humanity.
This transformation happened without any harm coming on Christ’s Divine
nature. This communication of divinity
is the immediate prelude of the resurrection. We long and have a deep desire to
live and see at the very moment of our death this same glorious sight that the
disciples saw although with holy fear and an awe of God that we want to live in
perfect union with Him. We see God’s face that shines forth and with clothes
dazzling white. We think of the very garments worn by Jesus made by Mary. We
ask Mary to intercede for us and plead to her son that each of us will be
transformed into the likeness of His son just as Jesus Himself was woven in the
flesh of her own body. The
transfiguration is true of us when we experience deification after the 2nd
coming. Our features will not be distorted but glorified just as in the person
of Jesus. He did not lose the substance of his flesh but showed forth an
addition of brightness. Our bodies will be renewed in the way Jesus is. We will
be brought to a state of perfection, surrounded by the glory of God not only at
the level of our souls but also in the level of our bodies. Jesus is one Divine
Person with 2 natures, the divine son who by merit of his Incarnation assumed
our human nature. He exists united, with human and divine nature which is what
we profess in the Apostle’s Creed every Sunday. He takes the aspect of
suffering and humiliation when He underwent death in his human nature but in
his divinity resurrected in glory for He is life Himself. His glory in
transfiguration as a human person is not abolished or absorbed by His divinity
nor did His humanity hide His Divinity. When Jesus became man He did not in any
way lost any of His Divine nature. He is always complete, fully divine and
fully human and always in full and total operation, both natures are together
and miraculously joined in the person of Jesus Christ. His divinity is not
evacuated but divinity communicated. He
shares to us his divinity and makes us partakers as in Romans 8:16-17, The
Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if
children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we
suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him. God alone can transfigure our lives and make
it beautiful. Thus the gospel for today also holds a special meaning to me in
relation to my son. He wrote an essay a couple of years ago to fulfill one of
the requirements for his College entrance exam. Here is what he wrote.
-When I was in elementary (4th grade) and wanted to be a
part of the basketball team of our school. I tried out many times but I always
get cut because I am not physically fit, I was really fat back then. I was
really determined to join the team and I decided to lose weight and get fit. I
exercised daily and lessened my food intake and from 160lbs I became 120lbs. On
the first term of my 1st year in high school, I tried out again for the team
and I got accepted but the league that I am suppose to play in was in the 3rd
term. I became really sad that the coach didn’t recognize my determination and
talent. And then the most unexpected thing happened to me, during our PE class
which was swimming, I got a perfect score in our practical test in diving. My
teacher talked to me about my potential in becoming a strong swimmer and asked
me if I would want to join the team, at first I was hesitant in joining because
I didn’t really know how to swim but when my teacher said that he would teach
me all of the strokes, I immediately accepted his offer. At the start of my
training in swimming, I had a really hard time. My coach said that it’s normal
because I haven't been swimming for a long time already and my body is not yet
used to it. But he assured me that eventually I will soon get the hang of it.
And so I did train hard and enjoyed at the same time, I joined competitions and
it was in my 4th competition that I got my very first medal. And now that I am
in my 4th year in High School, I was appointed by our coach to be the Team
Captain. In those years I have learned that you must persevere in order to attain
your goal. I just wanted to be a part of the basketball team but because of
persevering it turned out to be more than I expected because now I am already
the Team Captain of the swimming team.
When I was a child
about 7years old, I used to idolize the cartoon character Tarzan. His family
lived in the jungle, but his parents were killed when he was still young and
the gorillas were the ones who took care of him. I was really captured by the
movie and I used to watch it everyday, over and over again. And then one
afternoon, after eating lunch, I got so hyper that I copied the moves of
Tarzan. In our garage we had a lot of cases of beer for my dad’s business. I
climbed the cases of beer about a storey high. I lost my footing and I fell
from it. It was really high that I just closed my eyes and then all I heard
were the crashes of the bottles and cases. And then felt that my body was flat
on the ground. And then I heard my mom screaming. When I opened my eyes I was
already surrounded by glass splinters. The
shirt that I was wearing was bedecked with broken glasses. It looked like it
was stuck there forever and can no longer be used so my mom just threw it away.
I was all wet with beer and really smelled of alcohol but aside from that all I
got was a small scratch in my chin. I saw my mother’s face and she was crying
so hard, she kept on asking me “Are you okay? Where does it hurt?” and I just
said to her that I am okay and she has nothing to worry about. I got up and
took a shower then I slept. When I woke up, I saw my mother crying while
praying and then I said to her that I would join in praying. From that day on I
have always prayed almost everyday. I made it a point that I would always talk
to God and thank Him for His blessings everyday. From a kid who watches Tarzan,
I became a man who have a big faith in God. End of his sharing.
When I read this I was in tears. I praised and thanked God
for the personal transfiguration process of my son at a very young age and
still at work even in the present. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 9:2-10
2 Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high
mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, 3 and his
clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them. 4
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with
Jesus. 5 Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, “Rabbi, it is good that we are
here! Let us make three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
6 He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified. 7 Then a cloud came,
casting a shadow over them; then from the cloud came a voice, “This is my
beloved Son. Listen to him.”…
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