ALL GOOD THINGS

 Is there something more we still need to see in order to believe? I guess, we've all seen enough no matter who we are, what we've been through or still going through, how much we've known or learned and where we're all coming from there's always this undeniable reality of a Supreme Being and Power who is God. Except, of course for those stubborn atheists but if we believe so, then we should all be fully aware that this Almighty God is also All Loving and Most Compassionate that He allowed His only Son to suffer for our sake, what a privilege!  Amen. Hallelujah!

Hebrews 5:1-10

“You are my son; this day I have begotten you”; 6 just as he says in another place: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” 7 In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; 9 and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, 10 declared by God high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

We have a high priest in Jesus Christ our Lord who intercedes for us before God now and forever. God makes all things possible. He does not expect us to do impossible things. We have to enter into a level of intimacy with the Lord and the Holy Eucharist makes this possible. We need to realize as Catholic Christians the great gift of the Holy Eucharist that is given to us. What could be greater than this that Jesus the high priest in the line of Melchizedek, has offered us His own body and blood for our nourishment. Right here and now we should confidently decide without a cloud of doubt on which side we really are. The priests and monks who gave their life to serve God have come to a point where they realized that what they give up is really nothing compared to what God has in store for all of us. Their lives like the saints before us have become sign posts pointing to heaven. It helps us increase our zeal today as if we are beginning anew. All this life is nothing compared to eternal life so we must not be faint hearted. Nor think that we are doing anything great for the sufferings we encounter at present. It is nothing compared to the glory that is to come. The whole of earth is nothing compared to the kingdom of heaven. We should always be reminded that Jesus offered His own life for our sake and because of this we have already been given the gift of eternal salvation and can become part of His kingdom if we choose to accept and respond to that gift. Just like this fascinating story of a girl with her plastic pearls. One night her father asked her if she loves him so the girl replied ,"yes". The father asked for the pearls but the girl refused and offered her doll instead but the father said no and told her he loves her anyway. The following week the father did the same thing and the girl offered her horsy. Then another week later when the father asked the same question she tearfully handed him the plastic pearls and told her dad that he can have it. To her surprise the father handed her a beautiful box with the pearls of great value. Sometimes we keep holding on to something without realizing that God is offering us something great. May we be firm and focused in leading a life of holiness that no earthly attractions keep us from loving God. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 110:1, 2, 3, 4

R: You are a priest for ever, in the line of Melchizedek.

...The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion: “Rule in the midst of your enemies.” (R) 3 Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor; before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”

We've got to act right away and respond to God's call. Though, we should always act and respond in accordance to God's will and submit to the designs of His perfect time. It's just a matter of matching things in its proper order and perspective. In other words, know that things that are not for God should definitely not be forced into any situation. God speaks to us in many different ways. He will not give us a difficult maze and puzzle to figure out or throw us a mission impossible task to solve. I heard someone say that all problems have solutions if there's no solution to it then it isn't a problem after all. The answers and solutions are right before us. Sometimes we are the ones that make life more difficult than it really is. We are the ones who come up with problems and questions that shouldn't really concern us. Just like in today's gospel when some people questioned Jesus about fasting and failed to see the true essence of sacrifice which is love and mercy. Above anything else is the spirit of the law which is love. In today's gospel, Jesus reveals His Divinity by referring to Himself as the Bridegroom. We can find in the scriptures especially during the time of Israel how God our Creator addressed Himself as Husband. As in Jer 3:20, "But like a woman faithless to her lover, even so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel," says the LORD. St Paul’s words also in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her..."  Also in the Parable of the wise & foolish virgins who were getting ready to meet the bridegroom and the parable of the invitation to the wedding feast. The cross is not just a sacrifice but God's expression of His desire for love, relationship and a covenant with His people. And in Hosea 2:18, On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me "My husband," and never again "My baal." ... and 21-22 "I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD." There are many qualities of the covenant but there are 3 qualities attributed to the Book of Hosea. Hosea's style is a parable of married love to describe Yahweh's relationship with His people. Hosea is a proponent of Yahwism. It is a doctrine of repetitious reminder (pesher) to the Jews that Yahweh has only been the savior of the chosen people in their history. The formula of Yahwism:"I am Yahweh who brought you out of Egypt." This evolved into what is later called "Salvation Theology", the covenant. Which could be expressed as God after having created man and fallen into sin asked, "What am I going to do with my creation?  Hosea's prophecy was based on this. Yahwist tradition is the source and the beginning and God continues to sustain and nourish His people. People of God who were set apart, chosen and privileged. As in this bible saying, "Hear ye O Israel, I am your God and there is no other God than Me." Hosea addresses the disorder in the kind of worship being offered to God. They have forsaken Yahweh in both rituals and moral life and did not follow what is expressed in the covenant, the decalogue (10 commandments) and the following 3 qualities which I mentioned earlier:

1. Fidelity is best described as a covenanted union which is best depicted in the image of marriage union: showing Yahweh and Israel as husband and wife. (Hos. 1-3) In this regard, infidelity to the covenant is best shown thru the images of sexual perversions and the breaking of the marriage vows. (Hos 4:14)Like Hosea's love to his unfaithful wife, Yahweh's fidelity to the union remains in spite of Israel's unfaithfulness (Hos.#) During that time there was presence of the worship to the pagan god Baal which contaminated the worship of God's people to Yahweh. Baal was believed by pagans as a god that gives fertility and fruitfulness.  This contamination resulted to impure rites of worshipping. Eventually the Jews no longer became a pure race and was even evident in the presence of several other races, the Samaritan as one. But more than the impurity of the race is the unfaithfulness manifested in the empty rituals and sexual perversion shown in adulterous and unfaithful relationships.

2. Loving Compassion- "I desire loving compassion and not sacrifice..."(Hos 6:6) Hesed is Hebrew for loving kindness. Hesed is the center of this love. Hesed is not quid pro quo. It is true devotion (both mind and heart) to the covenant partner. A sign of faithful love to His own people. True covenant partner has pity (rhm) Rhm true meaning is lost in English translation. Rhm is not just a sorrowful compassion but more of the attitude a mother has to her child. Like rehem or womb. The covenant is characteristic in all the prophets. In Isaiah it has mentioned, "Can a mother forget her child and even if she forgets, God will never forget." The cross before the time of Jesus used to stand for death. It is abhored and detested by people. During the bible study, Fr. Tony before proceeding with his talk asked who would like to become a victim and as expected nobody raised a hand. When God became man, He embraced victimhood when he willingly died on the cross. During the ancient times or even in the book of Revelation in the bible the dragon stands for evil and is even symbolic of the serpent in Genesis. When Jesus came He did not slay the dragon but instead allowed the dragon to slay Him by dying on the cross which is rehem and Hesed. Of course Jesus rose from the dead with power on the 3rd day.  The Latin word sacrificere means to make sacred or holy. It is God's business to make man holy which is symbolized by the cross. Fr. Tony continued by saying that there are actually 8 days of creation. The 7 days as recorded in the bible and each day of our life as 8th day. God continues to create but with man as co-creator. Since it was man who made the mess in creation by giving in to sin, each day is an invitation to us to cooperate with God in making this world a better place.

3. Knowledge of God- the most important among 3 qualities. Personal knowledge/relationship of God and His attributes. (Hos 5:4) There is no true "Hesed" without knowledge which is wisdom or true intelligence as not only the world sees and knows of but is interwoven with life experiences. Knowledge here is more of deep spousal knowledge akin to marital union of 2 individuals becoming one. True union of no secrets, shared joy and sorrows as well as oneness of both bodies and souls. Love making (not sex) is a good example of this. (Gen 2:24 "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body.") Even Jesus in Mk 2:19-20 compared Himself to a bridegroom. In Ephesians 5: 23-24 Jesus compares His eternal love for the Church as the love of a husband for his wife. See also Lk 1:34 when Mary said,"I have no knowledge of a man." and Jer.1:5 "...before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." This knowledge is encompassing and strives to reach the height and depth of God's unfathomable love.

I also learned from the bible study that Abraham is the 1st recipient of God's revelation of Himself to mankind. He is considered as one of the Patriarchs to whom God chose to establish his covenant. Salvation history tells us of God's faithful love and continues to restore and bring back the broken relationship of God and man. It was through Abraham's total surrender to God's will to offer his son Isaac that he foreshadowed the sacrifice of Jesus  as the Lamb of God. It is true that God started to reveal Himself to us through Abraham and the ultimate revelation was in Jesus His only begotten Son. The victimhood of Jesus to conquer evil not by slaying evil but by allowing Himself to be killed is the height of God's love. It should always be a treasure embedded in our hearts.

Today's gospel is also an allusion to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We as Catholics practice fasting 1 hour before communion. Fasting symbolizes mourning which is not appropriate when the bridegroom is there. During Holy Mass, He arrives in the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist. The sacrament when the Divine Bridegroom gives Himself to us. A marriage supper where we encounter the bridegroom, Jesus therefore we should have a love for the Mass. It is a foretaste of Heaven when we become enraptured by the love of God and be totally in union with Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

Mark 2:18-22

“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day ...No one sews a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak. If he does, its fullness pulls away, the new from the old, and the tear gets worse. Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”