1 Peter 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is
imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you 5 who by the
power of God are safeguarded through faith, to a salvation that is ready to be
revealed in the final time. 6 In this you rejoice, although now for a little
while you may have to suffer through various trials, 7 so that the genuineness
of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by
fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus
Christ. 8 Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not
see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious
joy, 9 as you attain the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
An anchor is a great image for faith because it doesn’t move
about, held down fast and makes firm our position. Hope with faith does not
simply mean a subjective feeling of hope that depends on our own personal
feelings. What are the things that we hope for? Our hope should be something
objective. We should hope for what God has promised. It should be our hope that
we’ll go to heaven. This is the hope that we should have in our mind, our
motivation to keep and stir up our faith. It is an extremely important goal for
us. We do not simply have hope in seeking for the pleasures of this world. This
pleasure is tangible and something that we can get a hold of immediately. The
idea of postponing the pleasure, like not resorting to drugs, pre marital sex,
alcohol and not depend on what seems to be the sole pleasure in life like
possessions and all sorts of material things and focus on a hope in the future.
We postpone the pleasures in this life and have the hope that there is a
pleasure that surpasses these pleasures of this world. We have to develop
virtue or the strength on the inside. The word virtue means strength. Our
interior strength comes from the fact that we lose heaven if we seek those pleasures
and make them the goal in our lives. It is such a pity if it will be where the
anchor of our hope lies. Our hope in the promises of God may seem to be veiled
at the moment. We have to reach beyond the veil just like the veil in front of
the holy tabernacle or the Holy of Holies. Essentially, it was shielding a holy
God from sinful man. Whoever entered into the Holy of Holies was entering the
very presence of God. In fact, anyone except the high priest who entered the
Holy of Holies would die. Even the high priest, God’s chosen mediator with His
people, could only pass through the veil and enter this sacred dwelling once a
year, on a prescribed day called the Day of Atonement. The picture of the veil
was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God
could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He can
tolerate no sin (Habakkuk 1:13). The veil was a barrier to make sure that man
could not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence. Even
as the high priest entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, he had
to make some meticulous preparations: He had to wash himself, put on special
clothing, bring burning incense to let the smoke cover his eyes from a direct
view of God, and bring blood with him to make atonement for sins.
“But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that
only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for
the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” (Hebrews 9:7)
So the presence of God remained shielded from man behind a
thick curtain during the history of Israel. However, Jesus’ sacrificial
death on the cross changed that. When He died, the curtain in the Jerusalem temple was torn
in half, from the top to the bottom. Only God could have carried out such an
incredible feat because the veil was too high for human hands to have reached
it, and too thick to have torn it. Jesus a forerunner, high priest through His
death and resurrection entered heaven. Thus we too are given this free access
to enter heaven. If we know that we are standing on a firm and steady ground
then we are confident that we are safe and secure. There is no doubt that the
will of God will never take us where the grace of God will not protect us and
will surely see us through for He is a truly reliable God. We have a God whom
we can surely rely on. We've got to focus more on the bright and good side of
life at all times because we have a great God who always works wonders in our
lives. We can always rely on God at all times and be assured that the wisest
thing that we can do for ourselves is to follow His precepts which are all
truth and equity. There is nothing more we ought to do but live by it. In this
movie about Moses it struck me how many times he kept on reminding the people
of God's covenant. Every time God shows His signs, wonders and miracles the
people are filled with faith but it doesn't last for each time they easily
forget and not remember. Let us always remind ourselves of these signs, wonders
and miracles that happened a long time ago even up to the present time for it
remains true forever and ever. We have been declared through Jesus as God's own
for He has made a covenant with us, the work of His hands. Let us not set this
aside or neglect and put ourselves in our rightful place as His people. God is always true and faithful to his
covenant. We can count on Him to carry out and fulfill His part. It is our part
of the covenant that we need to be concerned about. We've got to respond to God
and fulfill our part of the bargain for our own good. This we need to be aware
of and keep in mind always. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalm 111:1-2, 5-6, 9, 10c
R: The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
1 I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the
company and assembly of the just. 2 Great are the works of the LORD, exquisite
in all their delights. (R) He has given food to those who fear him; he will
forever be mindful of his covenant. He has made known to his people the power
of his works, giving them the inheritance of the nations. (R) He has sent
deliverance to his people; he has ratified his covenant forever; holy and
awesome is his name. His praise endures forever. (R).
Several years ago we had the opportunity to take part in a
very unique activity in the prayer meeting facilitated by a guest speaker from
the Philippines.
It was an enjoyable and learning experience for all of us that made us more
focused on what Jesus is trying to tell the rich man in today's gospel. The
activity was likened to an auction sale but the things on sale are not material
things but values that are most important to us. The Values for Auction Sale
are the ff.:
1. Integrity & good reputation
2. Gaining respect and recognition in my parish, community,
office, etc.
3. Being united with God in heaven
4. Lasting marriage or relationship, loyalty of spouse and
family
5. Clean conscience, precious in God's eyes
6. Having someone to love me or take care of me
7. Peace of mind
8. Intimate relationship with God
9. Having plenty of money for my needs and to secure my
future
10. Accomplishing my parish projects and witnessing the
fruits of my labor
11. Having plenty of friends and/supporters
12. Academic excellence-like advance/special studies locally
or abroad
13. Enjoying life comforts-house, car, appliances, provision
for night life, etc.
14. Getting higher position in my company, parish, community
15. Good health, free of any chronic disease
16. Making a big difference in the lives of others
17. Long life
The following statement which is very enlightening came with
the speaker's module, "It is our investment in these accounts that our
real worth and value is measured before God and humanity. And it is in this
measure that our life finds real meaning and purpose. We have to start looking
for our wealth. And if we have not invested enough, we still have time. Don't
wait until it is too late."
We have to be wise in our investments and willing to make
the highest bid, let go of the lower values to lay claim on the higher values
and truly benefit from it not just in this temporary life but in eternity. It
is not true that God makes it difficult for us to enter heaven rather it is
ourselves who make it difficult. When we cling to people and things more than
we cling to God then that's when it becomes difficult. We've got to realize by
now that nothing is impossible for God and by uniting ourselves to Him we can
overcome anything. Instead of focusing on the enormous problems and
impossibility of the tasks we are facing it is better to dwell on the truth
that we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. We've got
to surrender everything to God and unite our wills with Him so that what seems
to be impossible becomes possible. St. Dominic Sabio said that he would choose
death rather than sin. We have to know what helps us to overcome sin in our
life. St. Ignatius of Loyola said that we have to retrace the steps that led us
to fall into sin and strive to eliminate it. It is in the beginning when sin is
easily overcome. We have to attack sin at a point where it can still be easily
removed or put to a stop. One more important thing is to avoid occasions of
sin. We must not underestimate the effects of original sin. If we play with
fire we will get burned. Furthermore, "Curiosity kills more than just
cats, it can kill the soul." We have to resist temptation and offer
negative resistance but when a temptation is difficult, we offer positive
resistance through prayer. We do this by invoking the presence of God in
moments of temptation. We can also do the opposite virtue for which we are
being tempted. For example we are tempted to hate and despair we make an act of
love and hope. If it's an attack to chastity then we direct ourselves to other
things. There is a parable about making it is easy to live virtuously. It is
about a man who said that there are 2 wolves fighting within us. When asked who
won he answered it is the one who we feed the most. We have to feed the good
wolf in us through spiritual reading, frequenting the sacraments, spending time
in prayer and engaging in healthy spiritual friendships or anything that can
inspire and strengthen our character to what virtue is in need of. We’re not
Pelagians who believe in the theory that we can be holy by our own strength
alone. We need the grace of God. If we know we are lacking in devotion we ask
for fervency and a fiery love of God. We should work and develop abhorrence for
sin as in hate intensely what God loathes. We should see sin for what it really
is. Eve looked upon the fruit and saw that it is pleasing to the eyes. It may
have an appeal but it brings destruction. An offense to God is an attack to our
own dignity. Sin is a threat to our
union with God because it delays or prevents it. Sin may appeal to us in a very
irresistible way but we have to keep in mind that all it can give is just a
momentary sort of delight. We need to think of ourselves walking on the edge of
a cliff. If we want to strive for holiness and perfection we need to move
further away from the cliff so as to increase the distance between us and the
cliff and thus prevent falling into sin. It is a difficult task but as the
gospel tells us today, "All things are possible for God.” Amen.
Hallelujah!
Mark 10:17-27
...“Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
...“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for
one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were exceedingly
astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked
at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All
things are possible for God.”
No comments:
Post a Comment