THE MODEL

I have always been fascinated by the dramatization of this particular bible passage in Exodus of the Passover. I bought a VCD of the Prince of Egypt and my 2 sons and I used to repeatedly watch it. I can still remember the look on the child's face, wide eyed and scared, in that particular scene of the movie during the Passover when the Israelites were instructed to mark their homes with the blood of the lamb and all homes bearing the blood were spared.  When I was just new in the Catholic Renewal I used to hear my brothers and sisters always say this prayer, "Jesus, cover us with your Most Precious Blood". As days and years go by in the renewal my understanding of this became broader and deeper. Baby christians whine and cry often about their situations not realizing that the blood of Jesus have them covered. As a child christian, maybe it has improved to that same wide eyed and scary look on the face of that child in the movie but no more of the whining and crying. Adult christians are fully aware of the efficacy and power of the blood of Jesus in their lives. On what stage are we right now? Whether we're at the highest level of maturity or still working on it we ought to really be constantly marked by the blood of Jesus. We should have been all sentenced to death penalty if we were to give an accounting of all our sins and offenses against God, the Master, Creator, King and Judge. Even if we drain up to the last drop of blood left in our bodies only Jesus' blood can exact payment for the insult received by an Almighty God. Which is why, Jesus took it all upon Himself and shed righteous blood. It may be difficult to understand what Divine Justice is all about but the love of an innocent person to the point of dying for a sinner is what we should just focus on. The outline of the salvation history or covenant history goes back to the time of Adam & Eve and Noah and dates way back to 1800 BC during the time of Abraham, Moses (1200), David (means the favored one,1000), Exodus (600)the time of Exile until the birth of our Lord Jesus. From this time line, significant events happened like Creation when God created man who fell into sin and became unfaithful and how God continuously called us back to Him by showing us who He really is throughout the length of time. It can never be denied that the Salvation History or the covenant history of mankind shows us the relationship of God and man and how God continues to show mercy and relent in many ways for He is a living and loving God. God's demonstration of His love to us through the length of time is like a strip teaser who one by one strips herself of clothing before she comes out totally naked. God throughout time has sent emissaries, patriarchs, prophets and kings to declare His great love for us and in the fullness of time has ultimately revealed His naked love in its entirety by sending His only begotten Son Jesus who was not spared to suffer and die on the cross just to show His great love for us. The foreshadowing of the Old Testament to the New Testament is a remarkable connection which can not be denied and overlooked. It is all about the covenant, the new, perfect and everlasting covenant, and the repetitive words of God that can be found all throughout the scriptures, "I will be your God and you will be My people." There is no doubt about the faithfulness of God in fulfilling His part of the covenant because He has shown from generation to generation that he is indeed our God but have we fulfilled our part of the covenant in truly being a people of God. Abraham is the 1st recipient of God's revelation of Himself to mankind. He is considered as one of the Patriarchs to whom God chose to establish his covenant. Salvation history tells us of God's faithful love and continues to restore and bring back the broken relationship of God and man. It was through Abraham's total surrender to God's will to offer his son Isaac  that he foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus  as the Lamb of God. It is true that God started to reveal Himself to us through Abraham and the ultimate revelation was in Jesus His only begotten Son. The victimhood of Jesus to conquer evil not by slaying evil but by allowing Himself to be killed and shed His own blood is the height of God's love. It should always be a treasure embedded in our hearts. We have to be fully aware of the efficacy and power of the blood of Jesus in our lives. The great exile from Egypt is part of the life history of the Jews that has defined them as a people of God. In the same manner, we can never separate the Eucharist in our identity as Christians. The bread and wine truly becomes the body and blood of Jesus and is instituted by Christ Himself during the Last Supper. Amen. Hallelujah!

Exodus 12: 1-8, 11-14 (or Isaiah 61:1-3, 6, 8-9)

...It is the Passover of the LORD. 12 For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first-born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt — I, the LORD! 13 But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. 14 “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”

When we hear of amazing stories we can not contain our excitement. May we be always mindful of it at all times and filled with this kind of emotion in all circumstances. We all have sinned and bore the guilt in us. We have all been destined to die but Jesus took upon Himself all our sins and paid it in full. He made an offering of Himself for our sake. The least we could do is to give honor to this Holy Sacrifice. Let us cloth ourselves with the blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount Calvary, let us not forget what Jesus did for us so that God's mercy will always be upon us. We have to endure to the end and be found deserving of a great blessing that awaits us. The ignorance of our faith is ignorance about Jesus. We may sometimes think that evangelization is just work for the priests and the religious. It is not limited to them but anyone who is baptized should take on this responsibility. JFK once said, "Here on earth, God's work must truly be our own." Nothing should ever stop us from being part of the work of God. God made man in His own image and likeness. (Gen 1:26) In this context we need to define personhood well and know the perils of limited definition. It could be classified into 2 definitions, nominal and real. Nominal definition of personhood is decided by man. It is approaching something that we don't know but we already have the answer. We make decisions and play God. The dangers of this definition of a person are:

1. nominal- when we deny to identify a person as a real person. Example is abortion, when doctors deny the fact that at the moment of conception a person already exists.

2. real but limited - We do not deny but identify them as persons but with lesser worth like the sick and terminally ill. Just because they are old, weak and sick they deserve to die as in the case of euthanasia.

3. full and real but limited - Kills people as in the Holocaust.

The whole principle involved here is discovery and deciding. When our approach is discovery then we are being led to the events in our life with a sense of total surrender, trust and faith in the Lord's Providence for the realization of things that are unseen and hoped for. God may not fully reveal and present us with a surprise but we maintain full confidence in a God who brought us to wherever we are right now. In deciding, our approach is a lot different since we already have an answer for something that we don't know yet. It boils down to the fact that we think we know too much but we don't. We end up playing God. We need to remain as man and allow God to be God of our life. When man becomes God, we lose everything because we are not God. We have to realize the impact in our life of discovery versus deciding.

We should ascribe to the real definition of personhood. It answers the question what, how and what is it meant to be. Our approach in life to achieve faith and righteousness is by discovery and through an authentic Christian life. Discovery can be best defined in the sense that we are open to the intention and purpose of God for us. With a seeking and expectant faith we should allow God to lead us in discovering what is ahead of us and prepared by God. The approach should be in a manner of discovering what God's intention is and respecting it. We've heard of several occasions when people are spared from death or any tragic or unpleasant event because they missed the bus, woke up late, got stuck in traffic and something just came up which delayed them. I guess, it has happened to us too, somehow. After feeling annoyed and impatient because of that incident, we just found out that what appeared to be a nuisance and a problem turned out to be a blessing. It will always be good to undergo trials and hardships in life and remain steadfast in the Lord for everything will pay off in the end. Not a single thing that we've been through for the glory of God will ever be in vain. It is only right that we give all glory, honor and praise to God. We need not wait and see any longer for it is in our very own lives that God wants us to start paying attention to in order to make a return for all the good he has done. What Jesus has done for all of us is the ultimate sacrifice of love ever known in the entire history of mankind. It is impossible for us to repay what He has done but with hearts full of gratitude we can follow what the psalm reading today is telling us. It is only right and fitting that we honor our vows and promises.  This shows how grateful, confident and assured we are of the Lord’s goodness. It is only right and fitting that we give 100% loyalty to God who deserves more than all the praises we can give. Let us cloth ourselves with the blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount Calvary, let us not forget what Jesus did for us so that God's mercy will always be upon us. The blood that marked the houses of the Jews during the Passover spared them from death. We, as true believers and followers of Christ had been marked with the Most Efficacious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is really good that without us making a way, He was the One who made the way. No amount of thank you will ever suffice to what God has done for all of us. This and only this should we always have in mind, the least we could do is to always put God first in everything we do. Let Him become our motivation and inspiration knowing that He shed His blood for our sake. We may look different, strange and queer for some because of our intense desire to please God in return for all the good that He has done for us. It may still be imperfect or could be unbecoming if based on the standards of some but we must continuously strive to do our best to pay reverence, homage and loyalty to the one and only Supreme Lord of all in the presence of all his people at all cost in the best way we can. We have to feel the abounding joy and peace in our heart as we remind ourselves of the many promises of God that we have been patiently waiting for to be fulfilled. God is going to fulfill all His promises this Easter season. It should give us renewed strength and courage to confidently stand up and remain steadfast in His love against all odds. We can be a people radiating with goodness that others can see the contrast. We can choose modesty, chastity and purity over the values that the world tries to influence us with. We should be able to know our definition of happiness and love and be the person God has made us to be before the world defines it for us. In doing so, we can face God on that day with faith and enter the ark of salvation into His heavenly kingdom. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18

R: Our blessing cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

12 How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? 13 The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. (R) 15 Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. 16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17 To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people.

God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus who already paid the price of our redemption at a great cost. His humility goes beyond the washing of the disciples' feet and extends up to His death like a criminal on a cross. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There's no other way and we have no further excuse. He has given us the perfect example and a model to follow. In today's 2nd reading, St. Paul gives us instructions on the greatest legacy of Christianity, the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. A death freely accepted, Jesus left us a remembrance of His great love for us by giving up His body and blood. It is very important that we commemorate this as often as possible, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration during Holy mass.  Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (or Revelation 1:5-8)

23 Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, 24 and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There's no other way and we have no further excuse. He has given us the perfect example and a model to follow. God knew everything before it came to be. We need not be stressed or anxious. Sometimes it is easier said than done but sometimes too we should take into consideration the many occasions that God has shown us that there is really no other way to do it but according to His way if we want the best. Nothing could go wrong since God has already appointed "the hour" or a time, place and situation for everything. We may think that time is running out but God owns time and so we must peacefully resign our cases to God. This is the best thing to always do than panic and be stressed because none of those things could really help and called for.   Whenever we think that we are at the end of our line we should remember that it is not over unless God says so. God knows and sees all and it would always be for the best to surrender to His will and spare ourselves from further trouble. God knew the exact hour. Amen. Hallelujah!

 

John 13:1-15 (or Luke 4:16-21)

1 Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father... So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”