2 Samuel 24:2, 9-17
The LORD then sent a pestilence over Israel from morning until the time appointed,
and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba
died. But when the angel stretched forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy
it, the LORD regretted the calamity
and said to the angel causing the destruction among the
people, "Enough now! Stay your hand." The angel of the LORD was then
standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the
angel who was striking the people, he said to the LORD: "It is I who have
sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what
have they done? Punish me and my kindred."
Jesus is fully human and fully divine. These are the 2
opposite parts that make up the arch of Mark's gospel and joined in the fulcrum
or apex of its architectural structure.
The first half of the
gospel represents the Jesus as the Son of God and image of power and might and
can be found in Chapters1-8:26, Jesus who is in charge, giving orders, an
exorcist, and walks on water. Jesus is in control and source of strength, drive
and power. The Son of God focused on His mission who engages into rapid phase
of exorcisms and healing. He is truly the Son of God. Second half of the gospel
(Ch. 11:1-15:47), Jesus as the Son of Man and image of weakness and suffering.
No longer in charge and the one receiving orders, suffered greatly which is the
prelude to the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, dying and rising of Jesus from
the dead. We can often encounter in Mark's gospel, Jesus ordering them not to
tell anyone about the miracles He had done. It's because they won't understand
until Jesus is nailed on the cross. This is core purpose of Jesus' becoming man
to save mankind. The fulcrum or apex of the arch is found in the middle of the
gospel, Jesus as Savior which is the central theme of Mark's gospel where
Jesus' divinity meets His humanity in the cross as the perfect victim
(sacrificial lamb/scapegoat) of man's salvation. Mark is telling us and
intended for us to discover the arch in ourselves that will bring us closer to
the center/apex/fulcrum of our lives who is Jesus. We are too preoccupied with
our physical and material needs that we end up neglecting the most important
need, that of our eternal soul. When we get sick, we try to look for cure and
treatment in order to bring our bodies back in shape. We even resort to
different means in order to maintain our health and keep it in perfect shape by
eating the right kind of food and exercising. This kind of care that we give
our bodies should also be the same and even more for our spiritual bodies, our
souls. There is not much difference, when our souls are inflicted with wounds
of our sins, we must try to cure ourselves by going to God and asking
forgiveness right away before it gets any worse. We have to treat our souls
with utmost care and diligence. Though, nothing is ever impossible for God
because He can make us whole. The problem lies with us when we are deeply stuck
in our sins or we could also be just comfortably wading in the seashore of
sins. When these happen we either fall into the trap of false impressions that
little things won't hurt but before we know it we have become entangled in
those little things that we thought we could easily get away with. As
scriptures say, we ought to be ready at all times we might be caught unaware
and empty handed just like the Parable of the Virgins and the song which says,
"Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning until the break of day." We don't
want to be found with no more oil in our lamps. Or we could be too deeply stuck
in the mud of our sins that we tend to choose just to be left in our misery.
The small and unnoticeable wounds that we inflict on ourselves can eventually
amount into a big and ugly scar so it would be easier for us not to wait until
we're in a total wreck before we go to God. Leprosy is a disease that makes a
person look very ugly and unwanted. I remember this time when a friend and I
shared some thoughts about physical beauty when we met a priest from Italy.
Just by looking at him, one could not help but think that he could really pass
off as an actor in Hollywood. He is very tall and handsome. During our
conversation we both came up with this thought that physical beauty could sometimes
obstruct a person's holiness if the person is not careful of his/her choices.
It could lure him/her to a lot of worldly options that are presented to
him/her. It is a lot better to have a beautiful soul for eternity than to be
physically beautiful for a limited time. We admired this priest for offering
himself to God for he was not only handsome physically but surely very wise for
he realized the importance of making it big in the kingdom of God and chose it
over the glitter and glamour that this temporary world can offer. We should not
ignore or overlook this truth about our God who is loving, merciful and
forgiving. Let us not delay any longer and go back to Him with a contrite and
repentant heart. No matter how big our sins are, we are blessed to have a God
bigger than any of our sins. No matter how big a mess our first parents got
into, no sin is bigger than God's mercy. Let us just do as the psalm tells us
today. Let us not lose confidence in a God who forgives all our sins. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R: Lord, forgive the wrong I have done.
1 Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile. (R) 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin. (R) 6 For this shall every faithful man pray to you in time of stress. Though deep waters overflow, they shall not reach him. (R) 7 You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
Sometimes the most unlikely things happen to us with people and in places where we least expect them to happen. Jesus lived and grew up for the majority of His life here on earth with his relatives and in his native place. How can it possibly be that the Most Perfect Human being who ever lived on earth was rejected by his own kin? But that's how it was for Him and could possibly be also for us. This should encourage us to become better Christians knowing that if He was rejected we should not expect a special treatment for ourselves. We are just setting ourselves up for a big disappointment if we always have big expectations from others most especially from people very close to us. It would be well for all of us if we just carry on with whatever good we can do and leave the rest to God. If we have decided to really follow Jesus then we have to be ready for trials and persecutions for even Him the Son of God, who resides in His Heavenly kingdom, All Holy, Powerful, Immortal, and Creator of heaven and earth was rejected and mocked by His own kin and household. If we haven't fully decided yet and still holding back from Him and still lack the faith then we should realize that it's really to our greatest loss and disadvantage for Jesus can not perform His mighty deeds in our lives without our cooperation. Bottom line again, it is always our choice. We should make Jesus our choice in our thoughts, words and in deeds. And it should be a firm, clear and unwavering one, no ifs and no buts. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 6:1-6
...And they took offense at him. 4 Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house." 5 So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith. He went around to the villages in the vicinity teaching.
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