We have a God who never fail and will always fulfill what He
said He would do. This prophecy of Samuel in today’s 1st reading
explains why Jesus was often referred to in the scriptures as Son of David. The
long history of the chosen people of God speaks of a Messiah whom they have
long waited for. The more we get familiar with the scriptures the better our
understanding of the prophecies from the Old Testament in connection with the
New Testament. The deeper we know more about them the better our amazement and
appreciation of how God works in mysterious, wonderful and miraculous ways. The
long span of more than 4 thousand years that date way back to the time of
Abraham to the time of Jesus speak of God's faithfulness to His covenant with
His people. I often hear people say that life is so uncertain and that nobody
knows what's going to happen next. Everything that we do seems to be a gamble
for we are so imperfect and bound to make mistakes and wrong decisions. There
are times when we look at our lives and ask where it is headed, when are things
going to happen and change for the better and what awaits us in the days to
come. It is so appeasing to know that we have a God who always speaks to us
through the events, people and circumstances that surround us. In today's 1st
reading, it tells us that only time can tell, all we have to do is remain
faithful to God and persevere to the end since it speaks of Samuel telling
David of a prophecy which was fulfilled 900 years later in Jesus. God's
promises will always be true and can stand the test of time all throughout generations.
Before I got myself involved in bible study I was just taking the title of
Jesus as "Son of David" for what it is, just a title they have
decided to call him. After several sessions things become clearer to me and
taken on a deeper meaning. People who address him in the New Testament as Son
of David are people who know of the salvation history of Israel or the
chosen people. They are the very people who have come to believe that Jesus is
the Messiah because they have been promised of one who will come from the House
of David as foretold by the prophets of old.
This is very interesting that we find our Christian faith rooted in
Jewish heritage. The more we know of the ancestral beginning of Christianity
the better our appreciation of it and eventually and inevitably lead to awe and
marvel of God's wonders and miracles. St.
Joseph is the foster father of Jesus and protector of
the Holy Family. Joseph is an unwitting accomplice to the work of salvation.
Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is his betrothed. He is given no options as to what
he wants as regards the birth of Jesus. Yet somehow Joseph manages to allow the
grace of God to lead and guide him such that he willingly accepts his role as
foster father of Jesus and protector of the Holy Family. We, too sometimes find
ourselves in a situation when we have no idea how things came about, it just
happened without exerting any effort on our part. It just shows how God is able
to do wonderful things in our life. All we need to do is follow the example of
Joseph who at that time did not have any idea whatsoever that those were going
to happen to him. Joseph is a righteous man; he stands in the line of righteous
men stretching back to Abraham. It was mentioned above that he had little
choice about the direction of his life. However, we must not fail to reflect
upon the option that he could have simply walked away and left Mary and the
child in her womb to fend for themselves. He could not do this as he was a good
man and could see that Mary was going to need his help. Though he may seem to
be a somewhat silent observer in the work of salvation, he plays a much greater
and more important role than most give him credit for. He allowed God to lead
and guide him through that situation which he obviously did not plan or intend
to happen. In whatever situation we are
in right now, whether it's all part of our plans or not, let us continue to
allow the grace of God to work for He can surely bring about goodness and
prosperity in our lives. We may be in a situation where we are not truly
satisfied with what is happening around us but we must continue to believe.
What a glorious promise from God to His faithful servant David. He has the same
words for those who will faithfully and perseveringly follow His lead. If we
can only look back and examine carefully our lives in the past then we can
gauge from there if we have been totally obedient to His will in our lives. Are
we missing out on something? Let us be quick and diligent to assess our lives
so as not to miss out on the best things that God has in store for us. We can
always count on God to carry out the plans He has for His people and always be
true to His word. There is no greater joy in the knowledge of the hope, joy and
love that Jesus is our Savior. Amen. Hallelujah!
2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16
4 The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: 5 “Go, tell my servant
David, 12 ‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise
up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom
firm. 13 It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his
royal throne firm forever. 14 I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son
to me. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your
throne shall stand firm forever.’”
If we enter into agreement with any person we have to make
sure that we are able to fulfill it and vice versa for the person whom we make
a contract with. It is so disappointing when things do not turn out the way it
should be and terms and conditions are not followed. I guess, we have all
encountered mishaps and are dismayed along the way. It is always best that if there's someone
whom we should observe and maintain a covenant with then there should be no
other but God. For His words and promises will always remain true. As in
Habakkuk 2:2-3, "Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets, so that
one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to
fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely
come, it will not be late." We can be assured that His covenant will last
and stand firm. Thousands of years have passed and only one name remains tried
and true and continues to stand the test of time and even eternity, the name
above all names, Jesus. If we are to look closely and pay attention to the
succession of events of the salvation history or covenant history which goes
back to the time of Adam & Eve and Noah and dates way back to 1800 BC
during the time of Abraham, Moses (1200), David (means the favored one,1000),
Exodus (600) to the birth of our Lord Jesus we will see God’s faithfulness and
steadfast love for His people. In this
time line are significant events that happened from the time of Creation when
God created man who fell into sin and became unfaithful and how God
continuously called us back to Him by showing us who He really is throughout
the length of time. As dramatic events unfold, like the entrance of the
Israelites to the promised land, the pockets of rebellion as they took over the
12 tribes and settled into a life of monarchy (kings) from their 1st king
(Saul) to King David and King Solomon, the time of David is described as the
greatest time of the people of God. Today’s psalm speaks of how God is pleased
with His faithful servants and promises to maintain kindness forever. As we
celebrate the feast of St. Joseph
we look at him in the eyes of the Jews, he was the person who gave Jesus His
proper name and claim as descendant of King David. Joseph was more of a foster
father, because he was truly the legal father of Jesus. In like manner, he was
not just the guardian of Mary. Before the law and traditions of Israel, he was
the husband of Mary of Nazareth, the one who legitimized the “virgin birth” of
Jesus to Mary. In the church’s liturgy, Joseph, aside from the Blessed Mother,
is the only saint mentioned in the “Divine Praises” for the Eucharistic
Benediction. Then, according to experts
on the apparitions of Fatima, Joseph was the only saint who appeared with the
Blessed Mother in those phenomena that happened in Portugal." All these things
tell us that there is really no cause for worry and fear for we have a God who
is faithful to all His promises. We should always be reminded of this reality
and never doubt that everything will come to pass. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29
R: The son of David will live for ever.
1 [2] The promises of the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations
my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness, 2 [3] for you have said, “My
kindness is established forever”; in heaven you have confirmed your
faithfulness. (R) 3 [4] “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have
sworn to David my servant: 4 [5] Forever will I confirm your posterity and
establish your throne for all generations.” (R) 26 [27] “He shall say of me,
‘You are my father, my God, the rock, my savior!’ 28 [29] Forever I will
maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm.
We can see from the readings today that the big moments of
history are based on the simple, intuitive comprehension of the faith of David,
Abraham and Joseph, the so called the Anawim of God. We have all the reasons to
rejoice and be glad. God is always true to His word and fulfills His promises
to the poor in spirit. We can trust God to always bring about the best
situation for us. Especially when we look back at the times when we think we
are in big trouble. God has the ability to bring about good in everything. The
will of God is really wide between choices that are good and good. It is always
a consolation to know that whichever way we go, granted of course that these
choices are all good, we can also be assured of the wide array of good things
waiting to happen to us. If our God is faithful, so must we be faithful, too.
God guarantees to fulfill all His promises to those who remain steadfast in
their faith. Believe and have faith, push aside all doubts that god is able to
fulfill all his promises. Be proud and shout to the whole world of his
goodness. Today's 2nd reading should make us realize that we have a
God who guarantees to fulfill all His promises for as long as we have faith in
Him. We should believe what has been promised to us and it shall be done. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Romans 4:13, 16-18, 22
It was not through the law that the promise was made to
Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the
righteousness that comes from faith.
For this reason, it depends on faith,so that it may be a
gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who
only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the
father of all of us,…He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become
“the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “Thus shall your
descendants be.” 22 That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Today’s gospel speaks of the Annunciation scene of Joseph when the angel
said to him not to be afraid to take Mary into his home. He woke and did so as
the angel had commanded him. God’s beauty and Mary are one in the heart of
Joseph. Pope John Paul II said in his book that Joseph did not suspect Mary but
was afraid and held back since did not want to interfere in this great mystery
of God’s plan. He has great respect for her holiness and felt unworthy but the
angel assured him and he obeyed. We can see the inner drama of Joseph and the
test of faith that we sometimes think holy people do not encounter. We have
this notion that when we’re holy we don’t have to walk in the darkness of
faith. Even Mary had her dark night of faith in Calvary.
We are invited to emulate her faith and Joseph’s too. We can see Joseph’s
radical humility at his disposal to God’s will and his quiet and firm
determination to obey God and be at the service of God’s plan. He shares in the
very faith of Mary. They have a union of hearts and souls through marriage
since he is the husband of Mary and so is considered the father of Jesus
although not biological. In this union, we see the humble service of Joseph. He
does not speak any words and yet achieves his great holiness through his loving
service to love the Church and Jesus and takes Mary into his home. The word of
God comes to us through the Church and calls us like Joseph to bring out the
fullness of Christ in whatever situation. Joseph is there at the birth, the
presentation, the circumcision, the flight to Egypt and all other mysteries of
the life of Jesus. Jesus comes to us in the beautiful institution of the
sacraments we should radiate His presence to the world. This is the challenge
being posed on us today as we celebrate the Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of
Mary. He is an icon of faith and obedience to God. He followed well the example
of his ancestors, Abraham and King David. We can see how the hand of God made
all things possible throughout all generations what He said would be. We should
never have any doubt in our minds that God has a great plan for all of us and
He is able to carry them out for our welfare. We find out from the gospel that
Joseph had other plans and intentions in mind but God’s plan and will prevailed
over him. This is how we should follow his example. We may have other things in
mind and think that it is for the best but we must not lose sight of what God
has in mind for us. We may be encountering some disappointments and struggles
at the moment as most people do but our faith, hope and love should always rest
firm in the Lord who is able to make us stand firm forever. These experiences
should give us the courage and conviction to keep us going and not be afraid
since it could help us build up confidence and faith in God who never abandon
nor forsake. God will not allow us to go through something without seeing us
through it. There are so many parallels in today’s readings pointing to St. Joseph and the angel
in our very own lives if we come think of it and look at it very closely. When things happen to us in an entirely
different manner that we imagined and planned it to be let us always remember
that God is faithful and would surely send us angels along the way who would
guide us to the right path. It has always been divine intervention rather than
what people commonly say as coincidence, since with God there is no such thing.
We may never have thought things to happen and be the way it turned out but we
must always yield to the will of God. It is through obedience that we can show
our unwavering faith in God.
We may think that if we will just go by what is fair then we are already
justified. Sometimes we encounter circumstances that require us to do more than
what is fair. We are challenged by God to always deepen our faith with one step
more. Joseph in today's gospel did not go with what is fair for him during his
time but did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. With that I quote what
Companion says of this:, "Jesus’ birth is no sure thing given that He is a
child out of wedlock in a world where Mary could have been stoned for this!
Following the will of God will always have its challenges and difficulties but
they should not daunt us to the point that we give up. This would be giving in
to the sin of despair, a response unbefitting a disciple of Jesus. Let us
resolve that no matter what the future holds for us we will persevere in doing
God’s will to the end." St. Joseph is an ever
faithful father and protector to Jesus and he could be one to us too. There
were several circumstances that I could attribute to the intercession of St. Joseph. I can still
remember when I had to make a major decision way back in Oct 2007 and at that
same time was gifted with a rare and miraculous sign of being able to get a
rose petal with an angel imprinted on it in a healing service I attended. This
gave me the courage and conviction to keep on going and not be afraid. I should
say that it helped me a lot during that time in building up my confidence and
faith in God who never abandon nor forsake. There are times when we have doubts
about a certain decision and the Lord sends us his message through an angel it
could be disguised in a dream or in any other manifestations but what's most
important is to listen to God's message and act on it like what Joseph
did. We all have our plans in life and
these are all good plans, I suppose. We should know by now that whatever it is
that we plan to achieve, God is with us all the way. But sometimes our plans
are just good but not the best. Joseph being a righteous man remained calm and
quiet in the midst of all these unexpected developments in his life. Thus he
was sensitive and receptive to the angel's instruction to him. He did as he was
told with all obedience. We can learn a great deal from Joseph's trusting
attitude in God's plan over his personal plans. Sometimes we get disappointed
at how things turn out in our lives but we just have to believe and have faith
that there can never be something better than what God has planned for us. St. Joseph's example
reminded us of this virtue that in spite the uncertainties of events he
continued to trust in God's goodness and followed what he was told to do. We
should remain faithful and obedient to the Lord and let go of our plan in
exchange of God's plan. St. Joseph
inspires us to always do what the Lord is leading us to do. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24 (or Luke 2:41-51)
Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was
born Jesus who is called the Christ. 18 Now this is how the birth of Jesus
Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before
they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit. 19
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her
to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20 Such was his intention when,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son
of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is
through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. 21 She will
bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from
their sins.” 24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had
commanded him and took his wife into his home.
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