We should actually feel the grace of God moving in our lives
before we can become effective in convincing our fellowmen to build and take
part in the kingdom
of God
Acts 11:21b-26; 12: 1-3
...While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the
holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I
have called them.” 3 Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands
on them and sent them off.
Is there any other place we would like to be other than in
the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we can and should have a straight
answer without delay. No one should ever claim that they haven't heard or known
about God since it is our prime duty to spread and make it known throughout the
whole world. There is no denying to the truth that all of us are given the
chance to know who our God is and it is also our duty and responsibility to
take part in this mission of spreading the good news and make known to everyone
to the best of our ability the saving power of God. We should consider each day
as an opportunity to know and learn more about our God. Whether it be an
ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be amiss and should be spent
in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can never ever deny the
greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest part of God’s
creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in the world. As
in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the sand as limit to
the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves may toss but not
prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask ourselves how in the
world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the ocean in the same way we
know that we have a God whose saving power is known throughout the earth. It is
our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good which is the will of God in
our lives. This is not something that we still have to search and look for. It
is already programmed in us and made known to us by the Lord. If by any chance
this is not the case especially for those people who have not heard or known
about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself knows how to deal with
them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For us who have been blessed
and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing about Jesus, this is
coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those who have been given
much, much is also expected definitely applies to it. We have a responsibility
in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this vital truth that
could spell the difference between life and death. It is always for our good to
attend activities that nourish our soul. We are enlightened and inspired
because of the many good things we can learn from it. Whenever we hear words of
wisdom it could always help us make sense of the things happening around us
even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy and gladness in every
person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles of God then we will
come to know that there is no truth in the saying that faith is against reason.
We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as explained by Pope John
Paul II that true faith come together with true reason. It is the same thing as
saying that Theology tells us that God created the world while Science tells us
how God created the world. 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. We, Catholics believe that God gave human
beings reason although it sometimes gets darkened by sin but still human reason
can figure out some things. One of the things that human beings figure out
without God having to reveal it, is that human beings need to meet 4 qualities
to be deemed a human being. The philosopher, before even Plato, Aristotle and
Socrates, had this figured out. We find it mentioned in Wisdom 8:7, the 4
virtues or qualities are also called the hinge virtues because it is where all
the other virtues or qualities of good people would hinge. The word cardinal
means hinge. The Cardinals who surround the Pope are the doorway to the Pope. They
are also the ones whom he rely the most for advice. Everything else depends on
the cardinal virtues. (Prudence or wisdom, justice, temperance and courage or
fortitude) We can also find all the cardinal virtues, like justice which means
giving each person his or her due in the Book of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes
and all the wisdom literature in scriptures. We all know even as kids
instinctively how important justice is. The first thing that a kid cries out as
soon as he learns how to talk if he has brothers and sisters is “Not fair, he
got more than I did” or “You ask me to do more than what that person is doing.”
This is because we have instinctively or natively offensive justice. Each
person has rights and ought to get their due. There’s also another part of
justice that we forget, that is, we have obligations and duties to everyone. A
person who is unjust is not a good person. To be just, we need to control our
passions. Temperance is a virtue that balances and controls our passions. It is
like controlling our desire for that last piece of cake if we know that it
belongs to our sister. In order to be just, we’ve got to control our appetites.
Make our appetites come into line with justice, truth and goodness. We’ve got
to have that balance in our life in order to be a good and effective person.
Temperance makes this happen. We also have to be courageous. If we are not
courageous then every time a difficulty arises we’re going to shrink back. If
there’s any danger involved in doing the right, just and wise thing then we’re
just going to crack out and find an excuse because we’re afraid. Courage or
fortitude helps us to master fear and not let fear keep us from doing what’s
right. In the same way that we want justice to prevail always since it is very
frustrating when we encounter situations that are very unjust. We are reminded
in today's psalm that we can all be assured of the truth that the Lord rules
the earth and He rules with justice there is no doubt. We've got to take hold
of the marvelous things that God has done. Nothing else matters than the truth
that we are all loved by God and given the privilege of taking part in His
great kingdom in heaven. God revealed to us Himself in various different ways.
In the gospel of Mark: "the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God"
(Mk 1:1) is summarized by the phrase - The person of Jesus, and the gospel of
Luke:"The gospel of glory to God in high heaven and peace on earth to
those on whom his favor rest (Lk 2:14) is summarized by the phrase - Joy to the
world, while the gospel of John:"the gospel of the Word that became flesh
and made his dwelling among us and we have seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is
summarized by the phrase - Eternal life then the gospel of Matthew is where all
this happened to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (Mt 1:22)
and is written almost 55x in this gospel and summarized by the phrase - The
Coming of the Kingdom. God's saving power is manifested in this treasury of
books that have been preserved and handed to us from generation to generation.
No one can deny the fact that to all God has been gracious and loving with no
exception at all. God's faithful love should compel us to do the best we could
ever do. There was a time when my computer got bugged down and happened to be
the same time that I heard and was touched by the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong
in the healing mass at St. Christopher where Hendrie who fixed my computer was
serving as a member of the choir. It had been 3 years since I heard about this
story of a tailor and his needle but I would never forget and always remember
it especially the perfect timing and situation when I heard it. This tailor who
was about to die spoke his last and they were these words, "Give me my key
to heaven." At first those people who were there and heard him did not
understand what he was talking about until they realized that he was asking for
his needle. In the same way we must have our own keys in heaven as we try to
examine ourselves and find out what is it in our life that can be compared to
that needle in a tailor's life or our special talents that we can offer to God.
I could still very well remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing
that because I immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread
the word of God through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write
and share to others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my
heart for all the amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that
this computer which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect
condition since that time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call
to each one of us to become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed
in us. We will just run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor
and praise to God. There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would
have to realize not sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to
trust, hope and rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes
rely too much on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot
of things when sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of
anxiety. Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest
obstacles to holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust
in God's Grace and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even
momentarily. Life on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot
of things can bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We
have to exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the
one whom we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about
the daily revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround
us which points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our
hands once we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know
that God's grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond
our strength. Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's
promises. Today's psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise
man from the East in the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and
served an evil and wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel
but from his mouth came forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18
that there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel who will dispossess Edom . A star and a scepter signifies
kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise men in the New Testament (NT)
during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were looking for a star that would
direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus. He is truly our King and the
fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to respond with gratitude to
the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us. There is no doubt that the
God of the house of Israel
is still the same one true God of today. The same privilege is handed over to
us as the chosen people of God ,
Israel
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wondrous
deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) 2 The Lord has
made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his
justice. 3 He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house
of Israel .
(R) All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing
joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise. (R)
Heaven is the realization of being a champion. In heaven we
will be glorified magnificently. We will live forever with strength, power and
beauty sharing a new humanity with Jesus.
Nothing compares to the true and everlasting joy that awaits those who
will enter the Kingdom of heaven. We are all called to be with God in heaven.
On our final day it is not God who will condemn us but as the scripture tells
us , "...it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must
die..." and also added in today's gospel,
"... your opponent will hand you over to the judge..." We
really have to be attentive to all these things and details and not take them
for granted. We know how things can fall apart when we fail to attend to the
seemingly insignificant matters in our life. Remember God is on our side but He
is also a just and fair God. Though, Jesus has already won the battle and paid
the price and having known of this truth, it is: #1 the iniquities that we
continue to commit and #2 our opponent which both create a deadly combination
that can bring us to hell. It could ban us from the kingdom of heaven and what
could be worse than that? We really ought to realize the impact and importance
of this knowing that it is not just a lifetime that is at stake here but
eternity. Our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees.
They may be observing all the rules and precepts but only because they want to
be pleasing in the eyes of others but what about in the eyes of God. God can
see through us and dig deep into us. It’s time to do something not just with
our outward appearances but with our hearts. Just think of farmers at work.
They have to plow the field and dig deep into the soil so that new life can be
planted and grow. It’s quite the same with us. We need to remove the dirt in
our hearts so that the Holy Spirit can plant new life in us. We need some work
to be done. It involves pain, suffering and recovery but it is all worth it.
Our fidelity is not with God if we keep up and hold on to our defenses,
justifications, gripes and complaints. We may not be aware of it but it becomes
our false idols. We have to throw it away and stop worshipping a false God.
It’s time we recognize who really is Lord of our lives. . Let us trust that God
who sees through our hearts and knows all things will find us worthy as we
strive to do our best to be part of His kingdom. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the
kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You
shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to
you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever
says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever
says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring
your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against
you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with
your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent
quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand
you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you
will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”
No comments:
Post a Comment