Exodus 32:15-24. 30-34
...So Moses went back to the LORD and said, “Ah, this people
has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! 32 If
you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the
book that you have written.” 33 The LORD answered, “Him only who has sinned
against me will I strike out of my book. 34 Now, go and lead the people whither
I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish,
I will punish them for their sin.”
We should always keep in mind that if Moses was able to turn
back God's anger and withhold His destructive wrath how much more Jesus His
only begotten Son who suffered, was obedient to the point of death on the Cross
and gave Himself as ransom to redeem us from all our sins. Let us not forget
even for a second nor neglect this truth every single minute, hour and day of
our lives that we have been ransomed, saved and redeemed by the Precious Blood
of Jesus. Our little gods and idols can not do anything for us. They are
useless and stupid things. How foolish we can be as a people of God to do such things and be off track by turning
away from where the Lord has pointed out. A lot of terrible things happen when we forget. Important
and significant events in our life should always hold a special place in our
hearts. We must not ignore those times when we had those special moments with
the Lord. These will serve as a constant reminder to us and would definitely
help us remain faithful to the Lord. Our memory of this, though very wonderful
to forget may sometimes become dull or fade in the background when we are beset
by the present and daily cares of this world. We may eventually lose the awe
and wonder that we used to feel about it as time passes most especially when we
encounter trials and difficulties. Today's psalm tells us to always remember,
never forget and always tell our story of the goodness of God. Let us
not forget and be mindful always of the love of God. Sometimes when things
don't turn out the way we wanted or expected we get sidetracked by the
realities of this world then we start to immediately or slowly lose sight of
the goodness of God. No matter what our situation is we must not forget that
God saved us, had done great and wondrous deeds and He alone has the power to
make things happen and not happen in our lives. We have to be in a relationship
with the only true God. If there's something we really need to be thankful to
God for bringing us to life at this present time that is the fact that we have
a glorious background that we can always draw strength, hope and inspiration.
We need to focus on this and be aware that we've got so many things in this
present life to look back to and be blessed. The timeline of our salvation
history demonstrates God's persistent and consistent effort to win our hearts
and be in a relationship with us. Not to forget that after Jesus, the saints
followed which added to the color of this long time running declaration and
evidence of God's great love for us. It's been quite a while already that He
has been waiting for our answer much more than a suitor offering his pledge of
love to his lady. We should never doubt any single moment that God is good all
the time and all we need to do is just give thanks to Him no matter what our
circumstances may be. Let us always
remind ourselves of the good things God has done in our lives. Let us always
count our blessings instead of focus on the negative things. We are constantly
reminded in the readings today to always work for the things that win the favor
of God. It's not because of any selfish motive but because what we do is born
out of great love for the Lord. God calls us to repent and live a new life.
There's one very important thing that we should be guided with. We always have
to keep in mind that a repentance born out of fear will never last but
repentance born out of love will last. We should always keep in mind the great
love of God for all of us. Our Lord's
instructions are very simple and easy to understand. It is in the following and
obeying part that we find difficulty in doing. Let us always focus our eyes on
the Lord and remember to follow and keep what the responsorial psalm tells us
if we intend to live a blessed life not just in the beginning but to the end. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
R. (1a) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image;
they exchanged their glory for the image of a grass-eating bullock. R. They
forgot the God who had saved them, who had done great deeds in Egypt , Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham ,
terrible things at the Red Sea . R. Then he
spoke of exterminating them, but Moses, his chosen one, withstood him in the
breach to turn back his destructive wrath. R.
God can do a lot of wonderful and amazing things in our
lives if we just open our hearts to the kingdom of heaven and all that it
represents. We must cultivate, nurture and nourish it in our hearts, minds and
souls until it reaches its full maturity. I can still remember when I was still
in Japan , I together with
the other Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) participants were given
during the Summer Fair in the Science Complex in Hiroshima , beautiful and small plants. It
wasn't that difficult to take care during the summer. All I had to do was water
it everyday and leave it outside the terrace of my room. It just kept on
blooming with beautiful flowers. But when winter time came that was when I
started to have a problem. My co-participant from Columbia told me that her plant was already
dead because she found it frozen and dried up. I decided to bring my plant
inside the room during nighttime and leave it outside the terrace only in the
morning whenever the sun was shining brightly. But I was able to commit to it
only for a short period of time because my work in the laboratory did not allow
me to go back early to HIC (Hiroshima Intl. Center) where I was staying or
sometimes I was just too tired that I've completely forgotten about it. Then
one day I just found out that my plant was also dead. I felt bad about it and
realized that if only I had paid more attention to it and became diligent in
taking care of it then it would have survived winter and lived up to Spring. In
today's gospel unlike the plants in Japan that we cared for Jesus is telling us
that no matter how little or insignificant we feel we are and how difficult our
situations are we must liken ourselves to the mustard seed and yeast which in
due time has grown and risen to its full capacity. If only we would always entrust
ourselves to the TLC (Tender Loving Care) of a trustworthy God who always pays
attention, not forgetful and is diligent in giving us the perfect care. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Matthew 13:31-35
31 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The kingdom of
heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is
the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its
branches.” 33 He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like
yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the
whole batch was leavened.”
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