Gratitude is a memory of the heart. When we are grateful and
thankful for something that has been done to us then it is an act of giving our
heart. Today's 1st reading tells us of Naaman who was full of gratitude for
being cured of leprosy. He made a radical decision of turning away from his
previous gods and just offer praise to the one true God alone.
2 Kings 5:14-17
...“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except
in Israel...I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god
except to the LORD
Is there any other place we would like to be other than in
the loving presence of God? This, I'm sure we can and should have a straight
answer without delay. No one should ever claim that they haven't heard or known
about God since it is our prime duty to spread and make it known throughout the
whole world. There is no denying to the truth that all of us are given the
chance to know who our God is and it is also our duty and responsibility to
take part in this mission of spreading the good news and make known to everyone
to the best of our ability the saving power of God. We should consider each day
as an opportunity to know and learn more about our God. Whether it be an
ordinary or special day in our life nothing should be amiss and should be spent
in giving glory to God our Savior and Master. We can never ever deny the
greatness of our God even just by looking at the simplest part of God’s
creation like the tiniest grain of sand to the largest ocean in the world. As
in Jeremiah 5:22, “Will you not tremble before me who set the sand as limit to
the sea, as an everlasting barrier it can not pass? Its waves may toss but not
prevail, they may roar but can not pass beyond.” We ask ourselves how in the
world can a tiny grain of sand hold the vastness of the ocean in the same way
we know that we have a God whose saving power is known throughout the earth. It
is our duty to ourselves to aim for the ultimate good which is the will of God
in our lives. This is not something that we still have to search and look for.
It is already programmed in us and made known to us by the Lord. If by any
chance this is not the case especially for those people who have not heard or
known about our Lord Jesus since birth then the Lord Himself knows how to deal
with them in accordance to His Divine Wisdom and Mercy. For us who have been
blessed and endowed with the privilege of hearing and knowing about Jesus, this
is coupled with a responsibility. The principle that to those who have been
given much, much is also expected definitely applies to it. We have a
responsibility in our hands to make known to everyone we meet about this vital
truth that could spell the difference between life and death. It is always for
our good to attend activities that nourish our soul. We are enlightened and
inspired because of the many good things we can learn from it. Whenever we hear
words of wisdom it could always help us make sense of the things happening
around us even suffering. It gives a feeling of special joy and gladness in
every person’s heart. If we continue to stand by the principles of God then we
will come to know that there is no truth in the saying that faith is against
reason. We can truly appreciate the relevance of the truth as explained by Pope
John Paul II that true faith come together with true reason. It is the same
thing as saying that Theology tells us that God created the world while Science
tells us how God created the world. The problem is that there is a great
propaganda out there. It makes sin appear with all its fun, excitement and
glamour. It makes virtue appear boring, lame, bland and unexciting. But the
truth of the matter is, it’s not. The pleasures that God created in this world
are enjoyed the most by those who don’t abuse them and use it simply. Who do we
think enjoys food most? The person who doesn’t know how to fast and engorges
all the time or a person after a fast experiences a feast? The virtuous person
enjoys life the most. The person who uses creation and all things according to
God’s plan enjoys it the most. It is because pleasure is God’s idea. All the
good things in the world that people want are God’s idea. Satan can’t invent
even one bit of pleasure. But God
commands them to be used so that it leads to life and a part of life is joy.
The way to enjoy life is to follow God’s commands. Life is not all about rules
and regulations. God did not just give us a bunch of rules and regulations that
we are supposed to obey like machines. What we do does not just proceed from
who we are but also makes us who we are.
The actions we engage, the words that we say and the things that we do
have an impact on us. We are making ourselves all the time. We, Catholics
believe that God gave human beings reason although it sometimes gets darkened
by sin but still human reason can figure out some things. One of the things
that human beings figure out without God having to reveal it, is that human
beings need to meet 4 qualities to be deemed a human being. The philosopher,
before even Plato, Aristotle and Socrates, had this figured out. We find it
mentioned in Wisdom 8:7, the 4 virtues or qualities are also called the hinge
virtues because it is where all the other virtues or qualities of good people
would hinge. The word cardinal means hinge. The Cardinals who surround the Pope
are the doorway to the Pope. They are also the ones whom he rely the most for
advice. Everything else depends on the cardinal virtues. (Prudence or wisdom,
justice, temperance and courage or fortitude) We can also find all the cardinal
virtues, like justice which means giving each person his or her due in the Book
of Proverbs, Sirach, Ecclesiastes and all the wisdom literature in scriptures. We
all know even as kids instinctively how important justice is. The first thing
that a kid cries out as soon as he learns how to talk if he has brothers and
sisters is “Not fair, he got more than I did” or “You ask me to do more than
what that person is doing.” This is because we have instinctively or natively
offensive justice. Each person has rights and ought to get their due. There’s
also another part of justice that we forget, that is, we have obligations and
duties to everyone. A person who is unjust is not a good person. To be just, we
need to control our passions. Temperance is a virtue that balances and controls
our passions. It is like controlling our desire for that last piece of cake if
we know that it belongs to our sister. In order to be just, we’ve got to
control our appetites. Make our appetites come into line with justice, truth
and goodness. We’ve got to have that balance in our life in order to be a good
and effective person. Temperance makes this happen. We also have to be
courageous. If we are not courageous then every time a difficulty arises we’re
going to shrink back. If there’s any danger involved in doing the right, just
and wise thing then we’re just going to crack out and find an excuse because
we’re afraid. Courage or fortitude helps us to master fear and not let fear
keep us from doing what’s right. In the same way that we want justice to
prevail always since it is very frustrating when we encounter situations that
are very unjust. We are reminded in today's psalm that we can all be assured of
the truth that the Lord rules the earth and He rules with justice there is no
doubt. We've got to take hold of the marvelous things that God has done.
Nothing else matters than the truth that we are all loved by God and given the
privilege of taking part in His great kingdom in heaven. God revealed to us
Himself in various different ways. In the gospel of Mark: "the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the son of God" (Mk 1:1) is summarized by the phrase - The
person of Jesus, and the gospel of Luke:"The gospel of glory to God in
high heaven and peace on earth to those on whom his favor rest (Lk 2:14) is
summarized by the phrase - Joy to the world, while the gospel of John:"the
gospel of the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among us and we have
seen his glory" (Jn 1:14) is summarized by the phrase - Eternal life then
the gospel of Matthew is where all this happened to fulfill what the Lord had
said through the prophet (Mt 1:22) and is written almost 55x in this gospel and
summarized by the phrase - The Coming of the Kingdom. God's saving power is
manifested in this treasury of books that have been preserved and handed to us
from generation to generation. No one can deny the fact that to all God has
been gracious and loving with no exception at all. God's faithful love should
compel us to do the best we could ever do. There was a time when my computer
got bugged down and happened to be the same time that I heard and was touched
by the homily of Fr. Joseph Magdaong in the healing mass at St. Christopher
where Hendrie who fixed my computer was serving as a member of the choir. It
had been several years since I heard about this story of a tailor and his
needle but I would never forget and always remember it especially the perfect
timing and situation when I heard it. This tailor who was about to die spoke
his last and they were these words, "Give me my key to heaven." At
first those people who were there and heard him did not understand what he was
talking about until they realized that he was asking for his needle. In the
same way we must have our own keys in heaven as we try to examine ourselves and
find out what is it in our life that can be compared to that needle in a
tailor's life or our special talents that we can offer to God. I could still
very well remember that I was on the verge of tears upon hearing that because I
immediately thought of this computer that I am using to spread the word of God
through my everyday reflections on the word of God that I write and share to
others through e mail. I am just full of gratitude and joy in my heart for all
the amazing things that God had done especially of the fact that this computer
which I consider the needle in my life remained in perfect condition since that
time on. There is a need for us to respond to God's call to each one of us to
become channels of His blessings as His power is revealed in us. We will just
run out of excuses and alibis why we should not give honor and praise to God.
There is really nowhere to go but to God and that we would have to realize not
sooner or later but right now and act on it. But we have to trust, hope and
rely on God rather than our own power. Let's face it we sometimes rely too much
on ourselves and too little on God. We are troubled about a lot of things when
sometimes there's really no cause for it. There are levels of anxiety.
Exaggerated anxiety and discouragement are one of the greatest obstacles to
holiness. There is a level of anxiety that we just have to trust in God's Grace
and Goodness. We should not disturb our inner peace not even momentarily. Life
on earth is a great struggle indeed for God's Kingdom. A lot of things can
bother and bring us down but we do not have to stay that way. We have to
exercise our minds and wills to put our confidence in God. He is the one whom
we can totally trust and depend on to save us. Our life is much about the daily
revelations of God to us through all the circumstances that surround us which
points to only one truth, He is victorious. Victory is surely in our hands once
we've made the right move and choice. Let us take our stand and know that God's
grace is sufficient for us. We will not be put to the test beyond our strength.
Things are bound to get better for as long as we hold on to God's promises.
Today's psalm, kind of remind me of this preaching about this wise man from the
East in the Old Testament (OT), he is a prophet named Balaam and served an evil
and wicked king. King Balak wanted Balaam to exact a curse upon Israel
but from his mouth came forth a blessing. He prophesied in Numbers 24:15,18
that there shall come a Star out of Jacob and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel who will dispossess Edom . A star and a scepter
signifies kingship. In parallel, it was also the 3 wise men in the New
Testament (NT) during the time of King Herod an Edomite who were looking for a
star that would direct them to the newborn King of Israel, Jesus. He is truly
our King and the fulfillment of God's promise. We are all called to respond
with gratitude to the Lord who has revealed His saving power to us. There is no
doubt that the God of the house of Israel is still the same one true
God of today. The same privilege is handed over to us as the chosen people of God , Israel
Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4
R: The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous
deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. (R) ...He has remembered his kindness and his
faithfulness toward the house of Israel . (R) All the ends of the
earth have seen the salvation by our God. 4 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you
lands; break into song; sing praise.
I told a friend that we have a God who is trustworthy and
reliable. A God whom we can rely, depend on and will never forsake nor abandon.
If there are moments in our life when we are faced with trials and persecutions
we can be assured of the fact that God never leaves His gaze on us. He knows
exactly what is going on with our life and will always be a loving, merciful
and powerful God who is able to see us through whatever we are going through. This
is the hardest part of the deal. We can know and feel everything there is to
know about our Lord Jesus Christ but if we don't live it out in our lives then
it's for nothing. We should always have faith, hope and trust in the word of
God despite the prevailing situations all around us. These things do not change
the fact that He is God and in control. Amen. Hallelujah!
2 Timothy 2:8-13
...But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore, I bear
with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may
obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. 11
This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with
him; 12 if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he
will deny us. 13 If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny
himself.
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 traveled 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.”
