This message that surrounds the Life is not fair thing has been very persistent. By just looking at the things that are happening around us we can easily come up with such a thought. Sometimes we think that it is just about it but we would be surprised to find more and more reasons to believe so if we observe the circumstances and situations we are confronted with. Life doesn't seem to be fair that's why we really have to pursue wisdom. We may feel inadequate and less fortunate but we must take into consideration what the 1st reading is telling us today. These bible passages from the Book of Wisdom answer our doubts regarding this matter. We need not be jealous or envious of others who seem to be more blessed since with great blessings come great responsibility. With those who are given more, much is expected. So whenever we feel like life doesn't seem to be fair then we need not despair for we have a God who is fair and shows no partiality. Amen. Hallelujah!
Hear, O kings, and understand; learn, you magistrates of the earth’s expanse! Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude and lord it over throngs of peoples! Because authority was given you by the Lord and sovereignty by the Most High, who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels. Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly, and did not keep the law, nor walk according to the will of God, Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern for the exalted– For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test. For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin. For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response. Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed.
Me and my siblings grew up without a father because he died when we were still kids 3 years old and below, but I am so thankful that God is true to His promise that we never felt the loss because God has gifted us with a loving mother who tried to fill in the loss of our father when we were still young and growing up. God is indeed a loving Father to all of us. All things are in God's hands and we should not use our circumstances to measure God's love. We sometimes come up with thoughts like why does the ungodly increase in riches (Ps 73:12-13) and the righteous suffer. These outward circumstances can never be used as a gauge since it is just part of the entire plan of God for us. We should realize that these are the things that we need to go through to become better persons. When we enter adversity it refines and strengthens us. Just like tearing down a house to make room for a better and improved place. We need to be prepared for everything that comes our way. And if there's one thing that happens to us all, sinner or saint, that is death and after it come judgment. If death seems to be an enemy we still have to live with joy and not fear for there is hope beyond the grave for Jesus Christ conquered on our behalf. Amen. Hallelujah!
Responsorial Psalm Ps 82:3-4, 6-7
R. (8a) Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Defend the lowly and the fatherless; render justice to the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the lowly and the poor; from the hand of the wicked deliver them.
A leper could not go anywhere because of fear of contagion. This is what leprosy does to a person, it does not just eat up a person’s flesh but it could also be spread through contact. We must realize that before Jesus came to redeem us we were all like lepers isolated and banned from entering heaven but we have all been healed from the sin of our 1st parents and restored to wholeness. In today’s gospel 10 lepers were made whole but only 1 came back. It is important that we learn to be thankful. We sometimes imagine that life owes us a living. Take the example of a teenager who is not allowed to use a family car and gets upset over it. We feel the same way when we feel slighted it is because we are immature and arrogant. None of us are self sufficient and we are all totally dependent on God. Everything we have is a gift from God. We must learn to acquire the heart of gratitude. We should pray to the Lord who have given us so much to give us one more thing, a grateful heart. Our gratitude to God should have no limit. He has given us so many blessings but we have a tendency to take it for granted and just turn our backs on him just like those 9 lepers in today's gospel. There is no doubt that Jesus is able to do all things even the most impossible ones. The problem lies not in the part of Jesus to do what is supposed to be done it is in our part that we fail. Sometimes we go through life complaining and moaning about our problems without realizing that we have a lot more to be thankful to God for. The gospel is a statistical illustration of it since only 1/10 lepers came back to God and recognized what He has done. It's time we realize which part of that statistic do we belong? Or better yet, to try to make a statistical shift from that number to 10/10 as we all go to God and give Him thanks. Technically speaking if we are to refer to this statistical formula we will find it to be known as shift invariance. In other words, if a statistic, S is shift-invariant, then addition of an arbitrary value, a, positive or negative, to all elements of the sample results in the increase/decrease of S by the same amount a. We can take it as something that is subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one's discretion: an arbitrary decision. Let us do our part in making a difference for in the end it will all return to us more than a hundredfold. Can we expect to hear the same words of Jesus spoken to the cleansed leper to be spoken to us? Are we the grateful Samaritan or one of the other 9 who did not return to give thanks. Giving thanks come in so many ways and Jesus tells us the importance of it not for His own sake but for ours. Our thanks to God will not add anything to the greatness of God. God is great and mighty with or without our thanks. It is us who needs it. The more thankful we are the more we acknowledge God's goodness and become more open to His graces. Giving thanks to God works for our own good and advantage more than anything else. God can take away all our sufferings if He wills it just like the instant healing of the ten lepers in the gospel. So why does he still allow suffering? This world we live in is the way it really is, imperfect. We need to be content in every circumstance and must not depend on anything in order to be contented or happy. We can decide to be content and grateful where we are right now and not end up like the ungrateful 9 lepers who were healed. It is very sad that only a few people recognize the goodness and blessings that God bestows on each one of us. In today's gospel only one gave thanks to God for the healing that they received. We tend to always assume that God owes us something and become ungrateful for the blessings we received. Or we take for granted the things that God gives and tend to focus more on our personal agenda which surely is not always the best thing for us. Only God knows what's best for us and by accepting our circumstances right at this very moment the more God can bless us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 17:11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem , he travelled through Samaria and Galilee . As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
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