We were talking about the right time or age to die and a lot
of answers and opinions came up with regards to this. One said she would not
even think of reaching the age of 100 and mentioned one Senior citizen in the
community who is already 86 and looks so tired and bent over already. Another
one said she is not ready to die and doesn't want to think about it yet. Still
another one just gave a smile and decided not to say anything. It was also
yesterday when I heard someone narrated a very inspiring story of a person who
almost died but was able to recover from her sickness and came back as a
totally changed person. A lot of people could not even believe the dramatic
change in her that everybody noticed how good she has become. Whenever death is
being talked about there are a lot of different reactions, responses and
stories being generated from people. A lot of comments and ideas were said and
it even came to a point when we were already discussing about the extreme
situations and were already laughing out loud. I guess, it doesn't really
matter what age we die for as long as we are still able to reflect God in our
life then we are indeed making the most of the life that is being given to us
each day. It is very important to really prepare for that day when we will come
face to face with God on our last day here on earth. I'm sure God heard
everything that we said that day regarding death. Today’s 1st reading speaks
about the death of Moses to augment the shortsightedness of how
death should be viewed in order to put emphasis the importance of really paying
attention to the Word of God. Moses reached the age of 120 and still a picture of
God's greatness and glory and would forever leave behind a memorial of God's
Almighty Power. Amen. Hallelujah!
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
...Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died,
yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated...He had no equal in all the
signs and wonders the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against
Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, 12 and for the might and
the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.
Looking back all these years at
the glorious background of our faith that has been handed to us, we can say
that we are so blessed among all of God's creation. We have been endowed with
such a great blessing beyond our comprehension. Just imagine ourselves
meeting someone who is very admirable and impressive, we can't help but be
proud and share with others our wonderful experience. That's how it is with the
apostles and even more once we've come to know God. We have to be strong and of
good courage. Each and every moment is a clear manifestation of God's
tremendous love. No words can ever be enough to describe it. Blessed is Mother
Mary for believing that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
We can also come to a point when we can also sing our own
"Magnificat" and raise our hands to God in prayer and thanksgiving for
every gift He has given to us even those gifts of sorrow. God is in charge and
He will make all things work for the good. We have a God who is fighting our
battles for us. God is in control. Although God will not stop every adversity
but if we stay in faith, He will see us through. He did not promise life to be
smooth sailing all the time but He definitely assured us of a safe landing. God
has already lined up the right people, right places at the right time. He has
prepared for our victory and so we should be ready for God's favor. I remember when we went to San
Francisco we joined the bay cruise, were able to come up
very close to the Golden Gate
Bridge
P S A L M
Psalm 66:1-3a. 5 and 8. 16-17
R: Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!
1 Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth, 2 sing praise to
the glory of his name; proclaim his glorious praise. 3 Say to God, “How
tremendous are your deeds! (R) 5 Come and see the works of God, his tremendous
deeds among the children of Adam. 8 Bless our God, you peoples, loudly sound
his praise. (R) 16 Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare what he has
done for me. 17 When I appealed to him in words, praise was on the tip of my
tongue. (R)
God will always and without fail make His presence felt at
all times if we will just seek Him in all the things that we think, say or do.
He will always assure and confirm us especially in times of trouble and
distress. He is always with us, will never leave nor forsake us. I know that
with God there is no such thing as coincidence only Divine intervention. There
was a time when I've been wanting to find this specific passage in today's
gospel but I just can't locate it in the bible. I even quoted it in the letter
I made for a friend and wanted so much to include the specific book, chapter
and verse where to find in the bible but I was not able to do so. It is indeed
a pleasant surprise that what I was trying so hard to look for is now in
today's gospel which emphasized even more the message I was trying to convey to
her. Another important thing that I have been reminded once again is the truth
that to be a part of a community of believers is really valuable. The gospel
today affirms and confirms it because Jesus Himself advises us to have someone
whom we can pray with. But in connection with the reality of the presence of
guardian angels there is never a single moment in our life when we are alone,
all we have to do is acknowledge their presence and call on them to say our
prayers with them which means that even though we can not see them physically
present we can rely on them to always pray and be with us. Psalm 91:11-12 he
has given his angels orders about you to guard you wherever you go. They will
carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.
Surely what He tells us is something that we can hold on and
take to heart seriously. His great and steadfast love for us is new every
morning. We can no longer deny the truth that the hand of God is always
reaching out to us. Whether we reach out to Him too is all up to us. I was
reminded to share about the talk of Charles Whitehead at the SCRC. It is well
fitted for the readings today especially his experience on the train while
riding with a bum or a punk. He described him with a shocking orange hair
standing on its ends and got the surprise of his life when he felt a prompting
of the Holy Spirit to tell that man standing right next to him that he has nice
hair. At first he was hesitant but he finally gave in and told it to the man.
With a loud and somewhat irritated voice the man snapped at him, Why did you
say that for? He mastered all his strength in order to have the courage to
answer him that he is a charismatic and the Holy Spirit prompted him to say
that. He wasn't prepared for the response because the man asked him if the Holy
Spirit has something to do with Jesus and told him that for days he has been
thinking about him. He excitedly responded yes to him and that was the start of
the man's conversion when he asked him if he could spend time with him and tell
more about Jesus. Charles Whitehead decided for love when he risked being
mugged by that punk in the train. When he courageously obeyed God he witnessed
a surprising conversion of a bum. Surely there were times when we heard and
experienced the voice of God giving us out of this world instructions and we
responded nonchalantly as if we never heard anything or outrightly refused and
rejected it. Whichever way we chose to do it before let us resolve to respond
positively to God from now on. It took one courageous step on the part of
Charles Whitehead and a beautiful story of conversion unfolded before him. It's
about time we start doing the same thing and win them over to God's side. There
is this song that I really like which has the words, "If you draw near to
Him, He will draw near to you, to get a touch from the Lord is so real."
We could really feel God touching our lives every single day if we only draw
near to Him instead of shutting God out of our life. We may or may not be aware
of it but we are definitely capable of doing this. It may sound petty for some
but not a single day passes without God drawing near to us in different ways.
Sometimes we just fail to see it anymore when our actions bring us farther away
from God. If all our words, thoughts and deeds are always focused on God then
everything else will follow. Amen. Hallelujah!
Holy gospel from Matthew 18:15-20
15 Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins
[against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he
listens to you, you have won over your brother. 16 If he does not listen, take
one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the
testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell
the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you
would a Gentile or a tax collector...19 Again, amen, I say to you, if two of
you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be
granted to them by my heavenly Father. 20 For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
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