Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a
2 When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe
by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he gave voice to his oracle:
The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is
true,...I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near. A star shall
advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel .
No matter how unsure life may be and how unfair it may seem
we can always rely on the one true God who was, is and will always be forever. If
we will just take to heart at all times the assurances of God in the scriptures
then there is really nothing that should stop us from following the right path
that leads to God. We should constantly implore God's help in prayers so that
we faithfully live out His example in our lives. In the Philippines there is an expression
being said when people are so bent over and head strong about doing a certain
task like nothing can ever stop them. It is known as, “Kina-career mo naman yan”
In English, “You’re making it a career!” If we will look at the meaning of
career in the dictionary we’ll find that it means, course of action; height of
activity or run or move at full speed. Come to think of it, that’s how we
should act when it comes to the most important aspect of our life. There is
really no doubt about the goodness of God. If there is one thing in this world
that we can depend on that is the mercy of God. We should constantly implore
God's help in prayers so that we faithfully live out His example in our lives.
Our confidence in God should never waver nor falter. It should be our goal to
grow and mature in our knowledge and love for God. As we move forward in it
then we win for ourselves a friendship that is like no other. We have seen a lot
of broken relationships in our lifetime and if we will base our understanding
of the word friendship on that then we will start to lose faith and confidence
in friends. It is so reassuring and comforting that in the friendship of God we
can be sure that it is something we can always count and depend on. Everything
comes from God. All good things come from God. All blessings come from God. God
pours out to us the all abundant love in every possible way. Love and life is
not simple other wise we will be living in a heavenly world where there is no
strife, deceit, injustice and division.
The world we live in is fractured, unless we stop doing mundane and
distracting things that pulls us away from visualizing the things of God then
we will just find ourselves distracted and unfocused. We just might find
ourselves going in all directions but not really finding where we are supposed
to go. God teaches us His ways with the guidance of the Holy Spirit directing
us every step of the way. This is how we should relate to God by aiming to
encounter Him in an intimate and personal way. It is possible that all our
hurts and injuries be turned to compassion for those who have caused us so much
pain because God who is full of mercy and love is the one who did it first for
us and we ought to follow. It is indeed
a consolation to know that we are in the hands of God. There is no reason to
fear nor doubt, for the Lord will surely bless and keep us at all times. This
made me think of the children who squirm and try to break free from the
protecting hold of a parent. Sometimes we are no different from the children
because we want God to let loose of His hold. We have a gentle and loving God
who will never impose nor force Himself. It is all up to us whether we remain
or wriggle free from the loving grasp of God's hands. God always work with perfection. We can
always be assured that if we allow ourselves to go through the Refiner's fire
then we will surely come out perfect. God is always precise in His moves and
can never go wrong. We should be very grateful and awe inspired as we realize
that there is nothing beyond the power of God. If we are sensitive and
attentive enough to the Lord then we would discover that God allows the events
in our daily experiences to happen in a way that is best for us. Although there
are times when we just can’t see it the way it is. It is in the consultation of
the word of God that we can find so much consolation and hope in our daily walk
in life. As we develop this communication with God through scriptures we would
find it to be always connected if not perfectly fitted as God opens up our mind
and allows us to grasp things in a very unbelievable way. Our God is beyond
compare, awesome, wonderful and marvelous. If we give to God all our concerns
and anxieties and trust in His goodness and mercy then He will always direct
our steps in the way that He wanted us to go. A few years ago in a Lenten
Retreat at St. Lorenzo the speaker said that Catholicism is the religion of the
soul while Protestantism is the religion of the mind. This is because
Protestants have a problem accepting things that are not written in the
scriptures. The language of the mind makes use of words alone which are limited
unlike the language of the soul which goes beyond what is written and extends
to signs, images, symbols and metaphors. There are things that are beyond human
comprehension and expression. This explains why we are a people attracted to
signs and symbols. Dan Brown, a famous author of books, Da Vinci Code and
Angels & Demons are only a few of them, which deal greatly on the meaning
of signs and symbols has become a hit. His style appeals to the public that's
why he has earned millions and become popular. It is in this nature of ours
that God speaks to us not just in physical terms and words but in spiritual
language as well. We have to be aware of
the truth of the richness of our Catholic dogma, doctrine, discipline and
practices. Our Catholic faith is so rich, it's like eating cheesecake and if we
ever think of leaving the Catholic fold after knowing these truths it would be
like exchanging the cheesecake for a sugarless donut. Liturgical cycles of the
Church are very interesting in the light of the seasons of love, life and
faith. Advent is defined as anticipation of something that is coming. We are
well aware of the 1st coming (Parousia) when Jesus came to this world more than
2,000 years ago and the 2nd coming of Jesus which no one knows exactly when it
would be. But there is one more thing we need to really prepare for which is
the 3rd coming or our own personal coming of Jesus when we die. As Catholics,
we might want to ask ourselves why we go to Church and attend mass. We come to
the Lord at a designated time and place to know of the mystery of life. If we
somehow come to know of these signs, symbols, images and metaphors although not
totally then we could relate better in our relationship with God. The Mass is
full of these signs and symbols that appeals to our sense of sight, sound and
smell. There are lots of explanations that go with these practices. Though
these practices can change in the course of time the core teachings of the
Catholic Church like the dogma and doctrine are all non negotiable and would
stand through time. We should no longer doubt in our minds all the things that
God is capable of doing. Life is a mystery which is much like a black hole.
Once we fall into that black hole then there is no more turning back from where
we came from. We just go on and on learning about life until such time when we
come to the knowledge of its full mystery when we die. For God has reserved for us something special
like the front row seats in a spectacular play in a theater. No less than the
prime spot for the Lord will always grant our heart's delight as we faithfully cling
to Him. While we still can, we must come to a better understanding of these
things and strive to learn the deeper meaning of our faith. No one in his right
mind can ever deny the presence of a Supreme Being who created all of us and
this wonderful world we live in. It remains a mystery how the sky hangs on high
without ever getting tired and falling, even the rising and setting of the sun,
the moon and the stars that bedecks the sky and the planets that rotate around
the sun without ever losing its alignment and end up bumping into each other.
Even the wisest and most brilliant scientists are continuously amazed at the
endless and infinite discoveries and revelations of the universe as they strive
to unravel its mystery. From generation to generation and ages past no single
human being was able to completely unfold it for human intelligence is simply
insufficient and can never measure up to God's. Have we ever wondered and asked
how things in our life came to be? There is only one thing that needs to be
done, that is to call on God endlessly at all times for guidance. As we try to
look back and recall may we always find ourselves confidently claiming all our
life's events as according to what God has planned for us and if not then it is
about time that we call on to God with these words in the psalm reading. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6, 7bc, 8-9
R: Teach me your ways, O Lord.
4 Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths,
5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. (R) 6
Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your kindness are from of old. 7 In
your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. (R) 8 Good and
upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to
justice, he teaches the humble his way.
Jesus knows the motive and intention to every question and
the rationale for our every action. We can stop beating around the bush and
just be true before the Lord to the best of our ability. We can not hide
anything from God. It's about time we straighten up our acts and really be
ourselves. Unless we accept who we are and be humble enough to admit our
shortcomings God can never carry out the work He is supposed to do in each one
of us. We've got to be transparent before God because there is no use in
covering up anything. The greatest adversity that God is up against is our free
will. It is for our own good if we go to God and rid ourselves of all
pretentions, not hold back and totally surrender everything to Him. Jesus in
today's gospel is also teaching us alternative ways and means how to handle the
affairs in our life or our opponents and detractors present in our life. Have
you ever been in a situation with people when no amount of explanation can ever
suffice or will ever be enough for them because they refuse to understand or
plainly because they are too shallow some things are beyond their
comprehension? It's a pity that there are really people who are out there to
make things difficult for us in the same manner that these chief priest and
elders of the temple are for Jesus. Don't despair! Jesus went through the same
thing and in today's gospel He gives us the best strategy and approach to
handle the situation. Jesus obviously outsmarted them and was able to escape
their evil scheme and turned the situation to their disadvantage. In dealing
with the realities of life we have to resort to other strategies and try out a
different route or solution. Jesus tells us to be wise and efficient in dealing
with the matters of this world in order to get where we are going. I believe
that we have a long and difficult journey ahead of us because the road of this
world where we are traveling is not easy but we can always be assured that we
always have Jesus who is the way the truth and the life. Amen. Hallelujah!
Matthew 21:23-27
23 When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief
priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and
said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this
authority?” 24 Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and
if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these
things. 25 Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human
origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly
origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we
say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a
prophet.” 27 So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said
to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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