SIGNS, WONDERS & MIRACLES

What a mighty God we serve! I can never forget the cartoon movie, “The Prince of Egypt”. Today's 1st reading was animated in the said film. I watched it together with my 2 sons who were still very young then.  I fervently hope and pray that the lessons taught in the movie will forever be etched in their hearts as I continuously plead God for their well being today and for the rest of their lives. Sometimes we sound just like the Israelites in today's 1st reading when we question God's will in our lives when we encounter hardships and difficulties.  The Israelites regretted having left Egypt and gone with Moses to the Promised Land. They were in the stage of “If only I had known that this would happen then I could have gone back.” We may be in a situation when we can most definitely relate to the Israelites, especially when there are moments when we suddenly feel that we could have been better off if we hadn't obeyed or followed what God was telling us to do. We come to a point when we think that maybe it would have been easier if we had just followed our own or the world's standard of wise, quick fix and practical suggestions or solutions. We sometimes succumb to this dilemma every single day whether in major or minor events in our lives.  I guess, we are no better than the Israelites because there are even times when we complain to God at the slightest inconvenience. At least these Israelites were on the verge of being killed and feared for their lives seeing that the Egyptians had already caught up with them. It might be just a natural reaction when we encounter grave danger but even in the face of death God calls us to go beyond our fears and continue to stand our ground. Just like the Israelites who may have thought of turning back but simply couldn't anymore for there is no other choice but to move forward or die in the hands of the Egyptians. We also may have come to a point when we ask ourselves how we've ever come to reach this far, to a point where there is no turning back and feel like there is no way out. For as long we know that we are rooted in God with regards to what we did, are doing and will do then we have surely seen, are seeing and will surely see the victory that the Lord won, is winning and will continue to win for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

 

 Exodus 14:5-18

...The Egyptians, then, pursued them; Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers, caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. 10 Pharaoh was already near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the LORD. 11 And they complained to Moses, “Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? 12 Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, ‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’? Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert.” 13 But Moses answered the people, “Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today...

Let us always equip ourselves with the strength and courage of the Lord for He is our mighty warrior who saves us from all our enemies. Our hope lies in the God who is incomparable in all things, in greatness, in love, King of all kings, Lord of all lords, praise be to you Oh Lord God for all eternity. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Exodus 15:1bc-2. 3-4. 5-6

R: Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

...My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. He is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him. (R) 3 The LORD is a warrior, LORD is his name!...Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power, your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.

Have we become an evil and unfaithful generation? We tend to doubt some things unless we have proof. What God expects of us is to believe even in the midst of uncertainty. Let us just focus on the truth that God will always give what's best for us. If we maintain an open communication line with God, there is indeed no more need for proof and sign. Everything that happens to us should be considered as God’s way of calling us to Himself. We must not be doubtful or unbelieving anymore like the scribes and Pharisees in today’s gospel. What could be greater than the sign of God’s infinite love for us, Jesus who became man, suffered, died and resurrected for our sake. The gospel also reminds us once again of the sign of Jonah. Whatever signs or significant meaning it remind us of or could be none at all, there's something to learn here which we must all come to know. Fr. Tony's said in his teachings that Jonah is an entertaining lesson of the great capacity of people to do good and evil. Even the Ninevites or our enemies for that matter can still be a source of goodness since repentance and salvation is not a monopoly. We must not lose sight of God's image of love and mercy first before that of a just and a punishing God. Sometimes we tend to label people as hopeless or just like Jonah who was very prejudiced against the Ninevites. And we can't blame him for they can be considered as enemies of their race and an adulterous and filthy nation incapable of change and conversion.  This is why Jonah is also a pointed message to all "righteous/holier-than-thou people" that if an evil, good for nothing and messed-up Nineveh can put on ashes/sackcloth" and repent, more so can a "God knowing, fearing, righteous and good Jerusalem." This time instead of always looking at those people who hurt us or in our opinion do not measure up, let us try to look at ourselves, who claim to believe and follow God if we are able to recognize the very signs that God send us every day in every event that is happening in our own lives. We need not look any further for we ourselves and the daily circumstance is more than enough sign that we need not ask for more.  Like Jonah who refused to bring the good news to the Ninevites since he felt that he would just be endangering his life by doing so. Although it was a legitimate concern knowing how cruel and barbaric the Ninevites were during that time he finally obeyed after so much resistance. Sometimes we are like Jonah, too, when we resist and refuse to do what God is telling us to do since we are so fearful and maybe traumatized. This happens when we like Jonah already know that he had to face a people capable of great evil and in the same manner have to face someone whom we know is capable of hurting us or has already caused us a great source of pain and trauma that we feel like we don't even want to see or talk with them anymore or just fight back. We may already know who or what the "Ninevites or Nineveh" in our lives are, and no matter what it is, there are times when somehow we've got to follow Jonah's example. We have to brave through our fears by not running away from it, do the right thing and be the sign.  Just like any other sign or symptom, our thoughts, words and actions should be pointing to just one greater sign which is to be tested and confirmed positive to have J-E-S-U-S in our lives. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” 39 He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. 40 Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here...