OUT OF THE ORDINARY

 Today's 1st reading reminded me of Sister Ester. She said that Ruth reminds her of her childhood when she used to glean on the field of her relatives. She is always reminded of God's goodness because she would always be told to just get from the storehouse instead of get tired picking up one by one the fallen bits of grain. We were talking about how Ruth became an important part of the family tree where Jesus came from. Her good deed paved the way for this immense blessing because she did not fail to respond to God's call to goodness and love. In our own lives, we too are called to respond to Him the way Ruth did. Sometimes it may come in the form of a situation where we really have to follow the leading of God to us in doing something out of the ordinary. But it was Ruth's unusual love and devotion to look after her mother in law and her willingness to give up his own people to embrace a people totally alien to her which made Boaz admire her. Not a lot of people are ready to do what she has done and may not understand her reasons for doing so. I just know that God who knows everything that is to come have chosen her to take on this privilege that she lovingly and responsibly accepted. I guess it was not easy for Ruth back then to come up with such decisions and actions but she has clearly understood, followed her heart, believed and responded well by living God's call in her life. Amen. Hallelujah!

Ruth 2:1-3. 8-11; 4:13-17

...Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter! Do not go to glean in anyone else’s field; you are not to leave here. Stay here with my women servants. ...10 Casting herself prostrate upon the ground, she said to him, “Why should I, a foreigner, be favored with your notice?” 11 Boaz answered her “I have had a complete account of what you have done for your mother-in-law after your husband’s death; you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know previously.” 4: 13 Boaz took Ruth. When they came together as man and wife, the LORD enabled her to conceive and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the LORD who has not failed to provide you today with an heir! May he become famous in Israel! 15 He will be your comfort and the support of your old age, for his mother is the daughter-in-law who loves you. She is worth more to you than seven sons!” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became his nurse. 17 And the neighbor women gave him his name, at the news that a grandson had been born to Naomi. They called him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

One of the purposes of marriage is for procreation. When we enter into it we should be open to having children and the responsibilities that go with it. This is the reason why when people petition for marriage annulment cases the tribunal look for 3 things, 1. whether it’s defective consent there was defective diriment impediment or a defective form. When you have a formal marriage annulment case usually it’s a defective consent. In such case the direction of the tribunal would like to know whether the spouse has an intention against children. There are 4 goods of marriage and one of those goods is to have children. The openness to children is one of the essential parts of marriage. If a party chooses marriage and somehow chooses in some way to avoid having children to frustrate the marital act to exclude children from inception through to end then that’s an invalid marriage. It’s a  great starting point for the tribunal to investigate. This is a canonical opinion from a canon lawyer and to find out whether the marriage is invalid or valid there is a need to petition a tribunal where a person resides.   It is a very challenging task and we need to know how to really walk in God's ways in order to live a happy and favored life. There is only one thing needed and that is to follow the ways of the Lord. Whenever we come to a point in our lives when we encounter trials and difficulties and standing up firm in our faith in God seems to be an impossibility then all the more should we remain faithful and true to God. The psalm reading tells us exactly why. This fear being spoken of in today's psalm is the holy fear of the Lord and is different from other kinds of fear that we know. It's more of the kind of fear that is coupled with respect and is the beginning of wisdom as written in Proverbs 1:7. We have to be perfectly aware of this and strive to maintain it within ourselves so as not to lose sight of this aspect of God's Holiness. Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power and pureness. The olive tree and olives are mentioned over 30 times in the Bible, in both the New and Old Testaments. It is one of the first plants mentioned in the Bible, and one of the most significant. For example, it was an olive leaf that a dove brought back to Noah to demonstrate that the flood was over. The Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem is mentioned several times. Olive oil has long been considered sacred; it was used to anoint kings and athletes in ancient Greece. It was burnt in the sacred lamps of temples as well as being the "eternal flame" of the original Olympic Games. Victors in these games were crowned with its leaves. Today, it is still used in many religious ceremonies. Today's psalm mentions and compares children to olive plants. We have always been awed by such great affection a mother has for her child. We've seen a lot of things throughout time that attest to this. I am a mother myself and I have done things beyond my capacity because of how much I love my children.  This love of mothers for their brood grows into something very special which explains why they are referred to or likened to olive plants around the table. Let us hope and pray that the Lord will continue to look after our families. No matter how difficult this year is, for our families we have to be confident in God's assurance in today's Psalm reading. If we truly believe that we have an Extraordinary and Awesome God then we, too must be willing to take on the challenge of doing something out of the ordinary and really get out of our way to live out what God calls us to do. Nothing is ever wasted for it has always been proven throughout all generations that those who follow and obey the Lord will surely be blessed not only today but all the days of our lives. We really have to always start with the basics, keep it simple and really get down with the real stuff. We've got to take things one step at a time. We know for a fact that we humans have a tendency to make things complicated.  We know exactly why. It is because we want to make excuses, create our own rules and get away with it. God tries to make it as simple as possible for us but we just don't want it His way because we've got to have it our own way. That's when the problem starts. It is always easier said than done but we've got to take God's word for it. I like the writing on the shirts of my son, Jude and these young people when they attended the YFC (Youth for Christ) Youth Camp. It says, "It's not about me, it's all about God." It's right on target and what it is all about. For in the end and to top it all, it will all come down to us as a blessing and favor from God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalms 128(127):1-2.3.4-5.

R: See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.

1 Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! 2 For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; happy shall you be, and favored. (R) 3 Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; your children like olive plants around your table...may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

We should always maintain a humble spirit and heart before God. Only God knows what's going on inside our minds and hearts. He will always lift up those who trust in Him. Let us offer to God all our brokenness and downtrodden selves and He will be the one to lift us out of it. God loves everybody but more so those who are being oppressed.  Do not despair. If we sometimes feel that life is so unfair and things have become so unfortunate that nothing or no one can help us then still be thankful that we've arrived in this situation for God who sees all things will definitely not allow such injustice and will surely uphold what is right and the truth. It is not enough that we follow and obey without understanding. There is a need to know our motivations and intentions in doing something. We should live by example. It is not enough that we claim to be good Christians for there is something more to that than just being called one but to live like one is another and most important at that. God's persistent reminder to constantly hear the word of God must compel us to really put it in our hearts and minds and drive us to act on it. There are so many points to consider in life. There are various faces and appearances that seem to present a certain thing but could bring about an entirely different or opposite thing. Just like in today's gospel, how could one thing mean something and bring about the opposite. It's all a mystery and behind all of it is a God who can make all things beautiful. He is able to bring about good things even in the most unlikely situations when we least expect it. In the gospel Jesus addressed the scribes and the Pharisees, He compliments but criticizes strongly. The Pharisees represent the lay party and the priesthood the Sadducees. At the time of Jesus during the Roman rule, they figured the way to peace is through adaptation. The houses of priests are decorated just as the Romans, as in Pompeii and very much like it. They had identified themselves with the oppressive dominant culture and though they kept some Jewish law they denied judgment, heaven, hell, and eternity. On the other hand, the Pharisees or the lay counteract the way priests are living. They had 2 principles, to take the rules of ritual purity so that the laity would be pure as they offer sacrifices like a kingdom of priests as in Exodus 19:6 “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. That is what you must tell the Israelites."  The people of Israel is a kingdom of priests and they put a fence around the law so that no one would break the law. An example is “Thou shall not use the Lord’s name in vain” In order to make sure they don’t break the law, no one is allowed to say the Lord’s name. A death penalty is given to those who break it. This is precisely the oral tradition that our Lord is talking about in the gospel. The Pharisees were not helping people live the law because they didn’t practice it themselves and made life complicated. In Chorazin, there was a seat of Moses for the Rabbi, which symbolizes the authority to teach in the synagogue. The Lord said pay attention to what they teach but don’t do what they do. One of the things they were being criticized for is pride and arrogance. Jesus warns us against that vice especially for religious people although not so much for the people outside. Church people just like us can try to show that we are holy so that people would compliment us and they would think that we’re religious and others are not. This is a constant problem for religious people at all levels, whether laity or the priesthood. The devil will try to tempt us with whatever works, if we’re not religious he can use things of the flesh to tempt us, but if we are religious then he can tempt us with our pride and change it into something spiritual. It is impossible to detect pride in ourselves. People around us will know so it’s important to pay attention to what they say to us so that so we learn from it. It is too difficult to detect a vice on our own because it is easier to detect it in other people or to listen to what other people say. Jesus mentions about those who widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. Jewish men wear a phylactery which is a small leather box that they wear on their forehead and one on their left arm as in Deut 6:8, Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.  They took it literally as a part of the way to obey the law. They made it really big so to show people that they are more pious than others and because it is bigger they stand out more than them. The tassel is a sign of royalty in the ancient times. Jewish men wear this to show that they are a kingdom of priests for God. They even tie 613 knots in the tassel which represents one tie for every 613 laws as a sign of obeying the entire commandment. Jesus wears a tassel Himself if we can recall the woman who touched the tassel of Jesus and got healed. He’s not against it, but feeding the pride is the issue. He mentioned not to be called Rabbi or teacher which is important in this context because at that time there were different rabbis that start various sects called a House. They are rival sects of Pharisees and disagree among themselves which can be found in the collection of Rabbinic sayings, the Mishnah. What He is speaking about here is that we may not call anyone a Rabbi for He did not want us to be divided. Oneness is an important virtue that He commends among His disciples. He did not want Christianity to be divided and wanted us to submit to the oneness of the Church. Humility is the antidote to the pride as He said that the least is the greatest. We have to keep in mind the division among the Pharisees is the underlying reason for this restriction of why they should not be called rabbi or father. In Corinthians, Paul insists on being called a Father because he preaches to them. There is nothing wrong with it because he knows that the real work is done by the Holy Spirit and he is part of a community and known as a spiritual father but not in the sense of a father that Christ is speaking of in the gospel like sects which is something that we’re not supposed to do. Christ calls us to respond out of the ordinary and set things right. All of us need to have the sense to rid ourselves of religious pride. The readings call us to humility. It does not mean putting ourselves down but rather saying the truth about ourselves, not more not less. Pride is looking down at other people who are below us. We need to think of it in a way that when we look down on people, Christ hits us at the back of the head. J We better just look up at people. When we are looking up at the skies, we feel small, so how much more would we feel looking up to God. That’s when we realize what humility is all about. We see our sinfulness and smallness in reference to God, which is the antidote to our pride. If we do, then Christ will save us and bring us to the joys of heaven. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 23:1-12

Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”