WORLD’S MISREPRESENTATIONS

Today the Lord reminds us in the 1st reading that we have to be careful in our words, thoughts and action. Sometimes we easily get carried away by the things we see and hear that we judge wrongly. It is important that we pray and think long and hard before we act on something. We can never be too careful especially when we are not at peace with God and ourselves at the time we are confronted with these things. There is more to it than meets the eye. We tend to see and hear things in various ways and the difference matters a lot. We encounter all kinds of people and situations in life. We sometimes succumb to the pressure and tension that build up when we are confronted with the anxiety and turmoil it brings about.  We should always seek to follow the standard of God in our judgments and we will never be led astray. There was a time when I was feeling very sick and was roused from my sleep by a sharp pain in my stomach. I felt like throwing up and I didn't know what caused it but I prayed to God to heal me and it was miraculously gone in an instant and was able to go back to sleep right away. God is good. He will always save us in our distress even before we call on Him. I always have this desire to sing a song to the Lord especially when I hear the chirping of the birds on top of the trees. I could never forget that time when I heard the birds singing along the road and thought to myself that I would continue singing if these birds would join me as I walk on, and they did. I was so overwhelmed by the fact that even before I entered the church I still heard their chirping and it gave a joyful feeling which lasted throughout that day and the following day because when I woke up, the first thing that entered my mind was this song with this lyrics, "...mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of your name..."  and envisioned a vast ocean with all its beauty and strength. Today's 1st reading speaks of the sea. This may be very petty for some but the feeling of joy coming from the imminent and looming presence of God in everything that surrounds us is so awe inspiring that we all have to realize. When something has been cut off, all that is left is a stump. We go through life experiencing so many things that we sometimes feel like we have been obliterated or erased from the face of the earth. I have heard someone said something about being erased from the face of the earth as if they never existed. This happens when people try to deliberately wipe out the existence of another just as what happened to the chosen people of God during the time of the prophet Isaiah when the Davidic lineage and kingship had been cut off. It was a very difficult time then but Isaiah gave hope through his prophecies which were all fulfilled in Jesus. As we all live to this day, we can also say that we are in a siege and sometimes do not know anymore who to turn to. In times when we ourselves experience trials and persecution as if our very existence is being wiped out.  Who do we trust? We have to go higher and beyond ourselves and become closer to God. God is like a mountain and He is there period whether we acknowledge Him or not. When on a mountain we can gain new perspective and build on solid grounds. It is the same when we have God in our lives. Our suffering has value and we know that we are not alone. We turn and cling to God and cultivate this loving relationship with Him. We must continue to hope that we have a God who could make miracles happen and exactly what we are being told in today's first reading that He is a God of impossibilities! Amen. Hallelujah!

Isaiah 11:1-10

On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom... Not by appearance shall he judge, nor by hearsay shall he decide... Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. The cow and the bear shall be neighbors, together their young shall rest; the lion shall eat hay like the ox. The baby shall play by the cobra's den, and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair. There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea.

The days of December, the last month of this year is starting to roll by but we continue to hope and pray against all odds. Amidst all the negative speculations, we must be firm in our belief that God will make a way. The psalm reading should inspire us even more because it is a confirmation of God's abiding presence in our thoughts, feelings, sight and hearing. There are times when it is easier for us to just be angry and fight back but the psalm reading tells us otherwise. We should experience peace in the midst of all the problems and concerns that beset us knowing that we have a God who knows, hears and sees all. Jesus Christ our Lord entered into this world as a helpless little infant like we all did. Thus every single day, hour, minute and second of our life should constantly remind us that He is our Savior. We pray that as we earnestly wait this Advent season for the coming of the Lord who took this humbling form of an infant may we prostrate ourselves too in homage in adoration to God. What the wise and the unlearned alike sought and found in the stable is the encompassing light of heaven. Herod was so afraid that Jesus will take away his earthly kingdom without realizing that He gives away the heavenly kingdom. We have no reason to fear knowing that we have a God who saves. No matter how difficult things may seem to be if we will just persevere in prayer then nothing can ever withhold the blessings that God has promised us. We must always develop a kind of surrender and dependence on the Lord that is total and be confident that He is our Savior. God is our stronghold and our defender. His strength and power is beyond all telling. In Him alone should we trust and depend. There is really no room for doubt and this confidence should lead us to only one resounding cry to God alone. If we allow God then we would discover and find a source of inspiration that could arouse a lot of good thoughts in our mind and heart.  A talk entitled, “Life is worth living” delivered by Bishop Fulton Sheen in EWTN served as an inspiration which we could all benefit from. He was sharing about his childhood and was describing how he used to argue with her mom whenever he was asked to run an errand at a time while he was busy playing. And her mom would always reason out, “What difference does it make if you’re running around the backyard or running an errand for me?” He said he would always end up  unable to answer her mom. It was only recently when he found the answer upon reading what Thomas Aquinas said, The difference between work and play is that, work is for a purpose while play is not. It relieves a tension. He further shared about St. John the Evangelist who was seen playing with his disciple and was questioned for his behavior. To stress his point, he asked that person to shoot arrows and asked if he loved it. The person said yes so he asked him to keep on doing the same thing non stop. But the person reasoned that he would end up tired. He was able to get his message across that when we get tired it has to be relieved by play.  He called God as the Workman and quoted this beautiful statement. “I was with the Workman playing with him all through the day.” Where does play come in when we work? Love is free without any obligation. In the divine order these 2 things go together, work and play. Greek philosopher, Plato even pictured God holding the universe with His hands playing with it. The Workman playing and swinging the world. He said that according to a famous writer, when giving a serious discourse you have to play but never completely distract the discourse. Even Shakespeare from his book “Taming of the Shrew” said, Have we any play to distract us from this terrible hour? These 2 elements work and play, tragic and comic are important in life. Why does life have a serious side? Because we have freedom which implies responsibility. We have the liberty to open doors and close others. Life is great to be alive. There’s joy in it. We get the true concept of life. Who best describes this combination of life, tragic and the comic? Comedians? Is it Jack Benny? He said he represents the victim of being the butt of the joke and the laughing stock of Billy Graham’s jokes. He depicts the tragic side of it. How about the comic? He chose Bob Hope whom he said is on top of everything. He always have something to laugh about and represents the comic side. Who depicts both sides? Is it the clown, a man who combines both sides within himself? He has the laugh and the tears. There is sadness in the clown but there is also humor. He said that there is no specific group who can claim the clown because he depicts all the contradictions of human life. He could be the butt of the joke but does the same to others. Why do we like the clown? A picture of what we are. Dignified and yet we make fools of ourselves, proud and frustrated and glory in our wealth and yet impulsive. He mentioned Charlie Chaplain as an example.  A clown could be appearing in green pastures, makes us ridiculous and laugh at ourselves. Scriptures have it that God laughed, too. He laughs at the atheist, those who say God is dead. He is laughing at finite men trying to be infinite, poor man trying to be rich, and carbon copy who calls himself to be the original. The clown reveals both sides of the tragic, comic, hedonists and pessimists. It urges us to see life as a whole, tears and laughter. But in the end we have to really make the serious side or work side matter. As an ending statement he said, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his soul? There was a commentary about Bishop Fulton Sheen and what catches my attention most is what was said of him in relation to the responsorial psalm which says that he is a man loved by all peoples of faith. God is constantly assuring us of His great love for us. He never fails in reminding us of His enormous and endless love that is displayed throughout the world. Which reminds me of another incident of this old lady close to my heart who confided of some plans she is considering acting upon. I was just so surprised when I found myself brave enough to advise her though she’s much older than I am to be patient about her situation and not take actions without giving it much thought and praying to God for it. I know I have said this to her several times already and still continue to remain unwavering in my position with regards to that matter but then again the choice is all up to her. I just left her with this words of wisdom that was impressed to me to say to her, that the end will never justify the means and it would always help to put God first in everything we do and He will do exactly what is stated in today’s psalm. Has there ever been a time when we look back at our past and realize what it meant to us today? It is surely good to do this and would help us better understand what path we are headed for in this life. There is a need too, to look back at our life's time line most especially during the times that we can never forget for the rest of our life, the dramatic and significant events that happened which will remain forever etched in our memories. This reminds me again of what happened a long time ago in the Philippines when my son, Jude was still very small and we were strolling in Megamall and before I knew it Jude is gone and nowhere to be found. I guess what happened was Jude panicked when he realized that I wasn't by his side and ran outside the Alexis watch store where we both were, without realizing that I didn't really leave him and was still with him inside that small store. As a mother my first reaction should have been panic and fear but I couldn't understand why I have the calmness and peace in my heart although I was really alarmed and was already looking for him intently.  The unexplainable feeling of serenity in my heart came from the assurance from God that was playing at the back of my mind that everything will be alright. I was able to find him at once with an old couple already carrying him. There is really nothing to fear although things at the moment demand or compel us to be afraid. Instead of running outside the security of God's love when our limited or disturbed vision hinders us from seeing God, we should always seek God who is always by our side and never really leave us. We can not deny that God constantly communicates to us in many different ways. He knows our limitations and would speak to us in the language that we can comprehend. He is never amiss in reaching out to us in countless ways that we may run out of excuses not to draw near and be able to speak to God and listen to His messages. Several experiences in the past inspired me to start a devotion to always pray whenever I can for the poor souls in purgatory and the souls of my dearly departed relatives, friends and even those I have no relation whatsoever but just happened to know them briefly and in passing. Our God is infinite and powerful. He is able to make all things possible. We just have to entrust everything and everyone, let go and let God. Let us trust God’s judgment in everything and we can be rest assured that nothing is outside His Divine Will and Providence. No matter how unstable and unsecure things are in this world we can always look forward to the time that God promises us in today's psalm. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17

R: Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. R. Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. R For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. 13 He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. R. May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. R.

In all these things we know that it is our hope in God that can make us endure to the end. We may not be seeing any concrete proof of what we have been praying for but the eyes of our faith can not deny our daily assurances that we can get through the word of God.

Amen. Hallelujah!

Romans 15:4-9

4 Brothers and sisters: Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope…

We sometimes lose sight of the radical inclination of our nature to sin. We need God's grace to keep us on track and turn away from evil. We have to acknowledge our sins. We can't rely on our past efforts or our lineage is not enough. The Pharisees and Sadducees in today's gospel may have thought that being the chosen people is all that matters but it doesn't count at all if there is no true conversion. Let us not be fooled by the world's misrepresentations. It is something personal and is renewed everyday. Jesus is the Kingdom in person. Rejoice and celebrate for what the prophet Isaiah announced from the Old Testament  came to pass in the gospel. We belong to Him if we are converted to Him. We've got to have the free will to repent, turn away from sin, focus on Him and really attach to Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 3:1-12

...‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’…When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.