I have always loved to read quotations and positive words of wisdom. One of the many quotes that I really like goes something like this, “Learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others and try to correct them since that's the reason why pencils have erasers.” It may not be the exact words but the thought being conveyed is quite the same. In today's 1st reading we can learn from the 1st sin of our 1st parents by examining very closely what really went wrong. It's very obvious that they committed a sin against God but what made things worst was when they hid themselves from the Lord God. The strategy here lies in not giving in further to the deceit of sin after we've committed it. The scenario could have been different if they admitted to their sins instead of hiding and running away from God. Let us not be pulled farther away from God as we allow ourselves to be deceived from one sin to another. If we continue to give in to guilt then we can never rise up from where we fell. It's time to keep in mind that we are God's beloved children and He will always forgive us and grant His mercy on us.
Gn 3:1-8
...And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise. ..
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
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R: Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven
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.
Today's gospel tells us of a deaf and mute person healed by Jesus. It is noteworthy that Jesus took him off by himself away from the crowd. We could somehow apply this to ourselves in the sense that we too have to take off by ourselves with Jesus on our side so that we can spend a one on one time with God and really focus and feel His presence in our lives. We have to press closer to God and huddle together just like spending quality bonding time with a loved one. It surely feels good. Is there anything more in our lives that we can't give to God in prayer without trusting and believing that He will do what is best for us? No impediment is big enough for God. He is able to carry us through anything. Whenever we make our choices we must be sure to choose the one that is the best which is to always choose God above anything else. For He alone is capable of making all things well now and forever. Sometimes we have a tendency to always focus on the outward appearances and results without paying much attention to the more essential things. Jesus did a lot of wonders, signs and miracles and there's no more doubt that He is indeed God and powerful. How come in today's gospel Jesus is telling those people who witnessed His miracles not to tell the others. I guess more than our admiration and awe for all the obvious and visible wonderful things He had done, what He desires most of all is for us to go deeper in our faith which relies not only on the visible and the outward signs and miracles but more on the unseen and the things that are hoped for and yet to be known. Sometimes our minds have already been programmed to praise and thank God for the answered prayers and granted heart's desire but we tend to question God when things don't turn out the way we expected them to be. If we have been genuinely awed and convinced of the power of God then no amount of disappointment or discouragement should keep us from consistently believing in a God who will always make things work for good no matter how unpleasant things may seem to appear if we know that God is in control then we can always have a happy disposition and hope always that the best is yet to come. Amen. Hallelujah!
Mark 7:31-37
...He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; 34 then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) 35 And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. And he charged them that they should tell no man. But the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal did they publish it. 37 And so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all things well; he hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
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