Ezra 6:7-8. 12b. 14-20 ...The Israelites — priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles — celebrated the dedication of this house of God
with joy...
Today's psalm reminds me of this
popular game called, "Trip to Jerusalem "
I guess, everybody's familiar with it. We may all have played this game when we
were young or even when we're older. The fastest, quickest, most alert person
who gets the last seat wins. If we are not paying attention or are too slow
then we are bound to lose. We have to put up a good fight in this game in order
to win because the chairs are always lacking so every round there is always one
person who doesn't get a seat and gets eliminated. It is just a game but people
have a lot of fun doing their best so as not to be eliminated and win. People
who engage themselves in this kind of game and want to win exert a lot of
effort. It is so tiring and can exhaust one's energy in the game. And to think
that after all our efforts only one person gets to win. Isn't it a relief that
we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
We need not worry that all our best efforts would just be wasted because
God has reserved a seat for each one of us. If we are all set and very sure
where we are headed then nothing can stop us from being there. Considering, too
that we have a God who has secured a place and our future for us. John 14:1-3,
" Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You
have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may
be." Nothing or no one can prevent us unless we ourselves decide not to
go. The truth is, it's all up to us. We are confronted with a lot of things
every day and if there is one thing we should choose and decide for then peace
is one of them. It is important that we work and pray for peace to always reign
in our midst. If we have peace that passes understanding always safeguarded in
our hearts then we can rejoice in the Lord at all times. We should always be
confident of the truth that we are blessed and secure in the knowledge and
truth that we are where we are right now, doing what we are doing right now at
the exact time God has provided for us, for with God there is always a perfect
time for everything. When we are feeling tired from all the day's work all we
want to do is just go home. Nothing could be more rewarding than coming home to
a place where we find rest and peace. Our life here on earth could be compared
to something like this. It is nice to know that at the end of the day or our
life's journey we can go rejoicing to the house of the Lord and find ourselves
welcome there. Ideally, there should be no other place we want to be, more than
a place where there is peace and prosperity. It is a choice we have to make but
sometimes we make the wrong choices and choose to be just anywhere but in a
place such as this. We have all the time to be in different places that is fun
and exciting. There is nothing wrong with being in these places for as long as
we know our limitations but do we get the same joy and fulfillment when we go
into the house of God. We should be balanced human beings. We should not just
seek to satisfy our physical but spiritual needs as well. Let us tap our
dormant souls that are left unattended for so long and revive it to really feel
what the psalm tells us today. As much as we are confronted by the fact that we
are still inhabitants of this imperfect world we are in we can not live as if
it does not exist. We might as well make the most of what we can do while we
are part of it. We’ve got to set goals in order to achieve this and keep our
eyes focused on it. It helps go through our daily life if we have set goals
that we want to achieve and fulfill. The SMART acronym tells us that our goals
should be S for specific, M for measurable, A for attainable or achievable, R
for realistic or relevant and T for timely or time based. This is very
effective in helping us improve as a person especially at times when we can't
get our acts together. We can always set SMART goals from time to time in order
to keep track of our performance in whatever field we want to work on and excel.
It helps a lot in assessing ourselves in order for us to make an evaluation on
how we our doing with our life. After each SMART goal we set for ourselves and
have achieved it gives us a sense of fulfillment knowing that we have
accomplished something. Little by little everyday we step up the ladder of our
SMART goals. All of these should eventually come up to rejoicing with what we
have made of our life. These we continue to do until it all sum up to bring us
to that ultimate SMART goal. It should all lead us and point to our final
destination when we go up to the house of the Lord. There is no greater joy
than being with the Lord. Amen. Hallelujah!
P S A L M Psalm 122:1-2. 3-4ab. 4cd-5
R: Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
1 I rejoiced because they said to me, “We will go up to the
house of the LORD.” 2 And now we have set foot within your gates, O Jerusalem.
(R) 3 Jerusalem ,
built as a city with compact unity. 4 To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the
LORD. (R) According to the decree for Israel , to give thanks to the name
of the LORD. 5 In it are set up judgment seats, seats for the house of David.
(R)
Today's gospel speaks of a big gathering or crowd that
prevents the people closest to Jesus to come near Him. Whenever there are big
gatherings in the Church you can be sure that Filipinos are actively taking
part in these activities. I am sure God appreciates our efforts to always
become part of feasts and celebrations in His honor but what's most important
is that as we are active in taking part in these activities we not only become
physically present and close to God but really live, act, and put into practice
His word with all our minds, hearts and souls. Let us follow the example of our
Blessed Mother Mary who heard the word of God and acted on it. In doing this we
can be instruments of bringing more people to God through the Church. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Luke 8:19-21 19 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to
him but were unable to join him because of the crowd. 20 He was told, “Your
mother and your brothers are standing outside and they wish to see you.” 21 He
said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word
of God and act on it.”
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