BENEFITS

Trust, perseverance, doubt, frustration and anxiety are all part of one big mix of experiences that we need to go through. Just like a big cookie dough with all the bits and pieces of nuts, chocolate and all the other things that add up to its flavor and taste. We encounter these things so God can provide opportunities for us to advance in our faith and discover His perfect will in our lives. Sometimes we encounter people who belong to a different religion or same religion but different organization or prayer group. Whether you're Christian, Buddhist, Muslim or Catholic what matters most is that you respect each other's beliefs and know in your heart that each person is a child of God. Trusting God in His magnificent ways that He will reveal Himself in whatever way He deemed fit for each one of us. Sometimes our convictions and beliefs can place us in a difficult situation when we would have to be tested to the point of being forced to retract and abandon what we are standing up for. Especially when it comes to a matter of life and death, this would definitely make us think hard before we can ever decide if we are really willing to go through that kind of suffering and hardship. Reflecting on the life of Jesus, Mary and the saints should humble and embarrass us whenever we end up wavering in our faith. We have been blessed by the glorious background of their lives and gifted with this present time when we can freely exercise our faith without fear of being imprisoned and executed. During their time, profession of faith in Jesus meant persecution and death. Isn't it something that we should really be grateful and take advantage of. Those people who have worked hard for our faith paved the way for its richness and splendor that we have to appreciate every single moment of our life. Let us not waste nor disregard the hard work they have done for us to enjoy the blessings brought about by their great faith in God. Let us always treasure it in our hearts and be very thankful for it. May it inspire us to also work hard and contribute for the further flourishing, proliferation and spread of the good news about Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah!

Acts 25:13-21

... they had some issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus who had died but who Paul claimed was alive.

We can never fathom the wisdom of God but we can always remain confident in the truth that His kindness is perfect and everlasting. He makes all things work for good. When we feel so helpless, miserable and alone, never ever doubt that He can't help but be the loving God that He is. God loves us so much that he will adjust to our needs and make things work for good. There is no reason for us to even doubt and hold back anything from the Lord for nothing is too difficult for Him. If we are confident of God's Providence in our lives then nothing should even make us doubt that God is able to redeem us and take us out of misery. God has made known His kindness, mercy and secures justice for all. He knows exactly what we need at the precise moment and brings forth everything in its appointed time. Furthermore, God wanted to take our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. How far is the east from the west? Only God knows. We know that the distance is unfathomable, that’s what the Lord does with our sins. How much does He loves us? We know that His love and mercy is immeasurable. There is really none like our God. And reading part of the psalm reading made me remember the song "Loving and Forgiving". He is our best bet for always and there is no one or nothing else that could or should take first place in our lives more than the Lord. Whenever we receive goodness and kindness from people we meet we are very much delighted and pleased with it. How much more would we feel if we have God's favor resting upon us. There is nothing else better compared to this. We may search long and hard but we can never really find true satisfaction and remain restless unless we have God in our life. We only have to believe in God's kindness and mercy and we will surely see it happen in our life before our very eyes. He is our refuge and strength. To whom can we go but to God alone. The world’s point of view is very contradictory to the message that God wanted us to live by.  We need to pray hard for the desire to always follow what is pleasing before the Lord and not forget that it is what really matters first and foremost. We are so blessed that we did not live during the time when Christians were being persecuted and martyred and what we are enjoying right now are already the benefits of God's marvelous work wrought by His mighty hand. This is why we should stop complaining and just keep our hope if we truly believe that we have a God and Father who is full of kindness and goodness. This reminds me of the prophet Amos. He is a prosperous herdsman/farmer, well educated and traveled. His time (746-786) was an age of prosperity but severely marked with moral decay and spiritual bankruptcy. He experienced a luxurious life, lived in the garrison city a place dominated by people of power and had all the time to study the scriptures. He lived in affluence, belonged and embraced the "clan system/wisdom" which is a guild or crusade to maintain the purity of the tradition of the temple of Jerusalem which houses the "Ark of the Covenant". He saw the evil of excess in Tekoa, he witnessed the "left" (poverty) and the "right" (wealth and affluence) side. Being himself a dresser of the sycamore tree who worked with his people, he also saw the plight and injustice that is existent during that time. His prophetic mission emerged as an offshoot of his kingly and priestly status and was able to go through all these stages making him a good "nabi" hebrew word for prophet. We, too as followers of Jesus should also go through certain stages and fulfill our call or mission to be king, priest and prophet in our own personal lives. What I learned in the bible study about the very relevant and essential Hebrew word "pescher" which means repetitious study, reading and pronunciation of the word of God is a tool to achieve this goal and always be reminded about the goodness and benefits of being a genuine, equipped and well fulfilled follower of Jesus. The God of yesterday, today and forevermore. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 103:1-2. 11-12. 19-20ab

R: The Lord has established his throne in heaven.

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. (R) 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us.

Love is not exclusive. Jesus wanted Peter to show his love for Him by reaching out to others. This is exactly what we're supposed to do no matter who the person is. Our faith in God brings us to circumstances when we can no longer decide on our own but on the basis that we are totally disposed and abandoned to His perfect plan for us. This is why in today’s gospel Jesus had to emphasize it to Peter. Whenever we want to make a point then we tend to repeatedly say and ask things and sometimes, too we tend to feel hurt when someone seem to doubt our capacity to do it. Jesus in today's gospel asked Peter 3x if he loves Him and he also replied positively to Him 3x. But we know the rest of the story when Peter ended up denying Jesus 3x also. The same in our own lives, God sometimes needed to emphasize some things in our life so as to really focus and commit to it. God knows each and every one of us and it is just proper and fitting that we must take every persistent message that God gives us, really take action and surely benefit from it. Knowing that our God will always bring about what is good for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 21:15-19

...“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He then said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” [Jesus] said to him, “Feed my sheep.