What a mighty God we serve! I can never forget the cartoon
movie, “The Prince of Egypt”. Today's 1st reading was animated in the said
film. I watched it together with my 2 sons who were still very young then. I fervently hope and pray that the lessons
taught in the movie will forever be etched in their hearts as I continuously
plead God for their well being today and for the rest of their lives. Sometimes
we sound just like the Israelites in today's 1st reading when we question God's
will in our lives when we encounter hardships and difficulties. The Israelites regretted having left Egypt
and gone with Moses to the Promised Land. They were in the stage of “If only I
had known that this would happen then I could have gone back.” We may be in a
situation when we can most definitely relate to the Israelites, especially when
there are moments when we suddenly feel that we could have been better off if
we hadn't obeyed or followed what God was telling us to do. We come to a point
when we think that maybe it would have been easier if we had just followed our
own or the world's standard of wise, quick fix and practical suggestions or
solutions. We sometimes succumb to this dilemma every single day whether in
major or minor events in our lives. I
guess, we are no better than the Israelites because there are even times when
we complain to God at the slightest inconvenience. At least these Israelites
were on the verge of being killed and feared for their lives seeing that the
Egyptians had already caught up with them. It might be just a natural reaction
when we encounter grave danger but even in the face of death God calls us to go
beyond our fears and continue to stand our ground. Just like the Israelites who
may have thought of turning back but simply couldn't anymore for there is no
other choice but to move forward or die in the hands of the Egyptians. We also
may have come to a point when we ask ourselves how we've ever come to reach
this far, to a point where there is no turning back and feel like there is no
way out. For as long we know that we are rooted in God with regards to what we
did, are doing and will do then we have surely seen, are seeing and will surely
see the victory that the Lord won, is winning and will continue to win for us.
Amen. Hallelujah!
Exodus 14:5-18
...The Egyptians, then, pursued them; Pharaoh’s whole army,
his horses, chariots and charioteers, caught up with them as they lay encamped
by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 Pharaoh was already
near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march
in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the LORD. 11 And they
complained to Moses, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out
here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out
of Egypt ?
12 Did we not tell you this in Egypt ,
when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us
to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” 13 But Moses
answered the people, “Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory
the LORD will win for you today...
Let us always equip ourselves with the strength and courage
of the Lord for He is our mighty warrior who saves us from all our enemies. Our
hope lies in the God who is incomparable in all things, in greatness, in love,
King of all kings, Lord of all lords, praise be to you Oh Lord God for all
eternity. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M
Exodus 15:1bc-2. 3-4. 5-6
R: Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.
...My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been
my savior. He is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him. (R) 3
The LORD is a warrior, LORD is his name!...Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent
in power, your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.
Have we become an evil and unfaithful
generation? We tend to doubt some things unless we have proof. What God expects
of us is to believe even in the midst of uncertainty. Let us just focus on the
truth that God will always give what's best for us. If we maintain an open
communication line with God, there is indeed no more need for proof and sign.
Everything that happens to us should be considered as God’s way of calling us
to Himself. We must not be doubtful or unbelieving anymore like the scribes and
Pharisees in today’s gospel. What could be greater than the sign of God’s
infinite love for us, Jesus who became man, suffered, died and resurrected for
our sake. The gospel also reminds us once again of the sign of Jonah. Whatever
signs or significant meaning it remind us of or could be none at all, there's
something to learn here which we must all come to know. Fr. Tony's said in his
teachings that Jonah is an entertaining lesson of the great capacity of people
to do good and evil. Even the Ninevites or our enemies for that matter can
still be a source of goodness since repentance and salvation is not a monopoly.
We must not lose sight of God's image of love and mercy first before that of a
just and a punishing God. Sometimes we tend to label people as hopeless or just
like Jonah who was very prejudiced against the Ninevites. And we can't blame
him for they can be considered as enemies of their race and an adulterous and
filthy nation incapable of change and conversion. This is why Jonah is also a pointed
message to all "righteous/holier-than-thou people" that if an evil,
good for nothing and messed-up Nineveh can
put on ashes/sackcloth" and repent, more so can a "God knowing,
fearing, righteous and good Jerusalem
Matthew 12:38-42
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 He said to them in reply, “An
evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 Just as Jonah was in the belly of the
whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of
the earth three days and three nights. 41 At the judgment, the men of Nineveh
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