Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Author: A Dose of God Today

  • A Weeping God

    A Weeping God

    November 19, 2020 – Thursday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111920.cfm)

    Homily

    There were only two occasions when Jesus was described in the scriptures to have wept. The first was at the death of his close friend, Lazarus. At that time, he was moved to tears because he saw the grieving family of Lazarus. The people even said that the tears of Jesus was an expression of his love to a friend. Another account is this Gospel we have heard today. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, because of its coming death and destruction in the future which really did happen.

    A weeping Jesus presents to us the human face of God. Indeed, God weeps. Jesus feels. He gets disappointed, frustrated, angry and also able to feel joy and happiness. This scenario in Luke’s Gospel affirms these qualities in Jesus.

    But why did Jesus wept over Jerusalem? Jesus realized that Jerusalem, its people, the authorities and others had not come to believe and recognize him as the Messiah. In fact, Jerusalem refused to believe in him despite his miracles and preaching of the Kingdom of God.

    This reality brought Jesus in a very emotional state. He wept. He was crying because he loved the people. Jerusalem did not accept him and did not recognize that in him, God has visited them. Because of such action, Jerusalem will suffer a consequence. She will be destroyed. The city and the temple shall be shattered to the ground. In the year 70 AD, Jerusalem was surrounded and invaded by the Roman Army. Everything was destroyed. That was the consequence of rejecting the Lord, his love and faithfulness to his people.

    What does it say to us now? The Lord always desires that each of us and as a community be united in him. To be united in God means to recognize God’s presence manifested in us. We are called and invited by the Lord to accept him as our savior, our Messiah. We are only able to recognize and accept the Lord as God and savior when we are also conscious and aware of God’s visitation in us. God visits us in our lives in many ways. Both in joyful and sad events in our life can be occasions where the Lord visits us. It is a challenge for us then to make ourselves be accustomed to the workings of God in our life.

    Likewise, what was really the difficulty of Jerusalem in recognizing Jesus as the Messiah? Jerusalem as the city-center was portrayed to be powerful. It is independent and dominant. These qualities made Jerusalem, the authorities and its people to be self-absorbed, arrogant and selfish. Jerusalem did not need God that’s why she refused and rejected Jesus. The ones who recognized Jesus as the Lord and Messiah were those at the margins, the sick, the blind, the lame, those who were oppressed and deprived, the poor and the abandoned. These were the powerless and vulnerable people who were able to recognize God’s visitation.

    I am indeed reminded how Jesus showed his own vulnerability by weeping, a human condition that expresses the emotions of love and compassion. Jesus indeed will be deeply saddened when we refuse to accept him and not to recognize his presence in our life. Thus, to be arrogant, to think that we can do things on our own, to refuse help from someone and to be in control of everything in our life are forms of blatant denial of God’s visit and presence. This  brings us to self-centeredness, self-absorption and to our own destruction as a person.

    It is the call then to each of us and as a community to be vulnerable and powerless. Not to be afraid of our own insecurities, weaknesses and pains but to embrace them so that Jesus will be able to accompany and heal us, that he may become our healer, comforter and savior. That he becomes the center of our lives, and his love and mercy on us become the power of our hearts.

    The celebration of the Eucharist is a concrete expression of our personal and communal confession that Jesus is Lord and our savior. Together we give thanks to the Father, we break and share the bread in remembrance of him who offered his life for us and who has come to visit us again so that we may be fully alive. Hinaut pa.

  • Why do we worship? Who should we worship?

    Why do we worship? Who should we worship?

    November 18, 2020 – Wednesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111820.cfm)

    Homily

    We can be in the Church the whole day but not worshipping. We can be kneeling during the whole hour but not worshipping. We can be singing in the Church but not really worshipping. We can be in a particular ministry but not worshipping God at all.

    Why do we really worship God? To worship God is to express our belief and to live what we believed. Worshipping the Lord our God is a celebration of God’s gift of Himself to us. Jesus as the very image of the Father, is God’s ultimate gift of presence to us.

    Moreover, to worship the Lord is not just limited in our worship services in the Church. Worship is basically a way of life. The way we live our life according to God’s desire is an essential part of our personal and community worship.

    The Book of Revelation tells us of the right attitude of worship. The twenty-four elders, who can be the representation of the twelve sons of Israel and the twelve apostles, are worshipping the one who sits on the throne, the Lord our God.

    John also described to us how they worshipped the Lord our God. The elders who were honored greatly in heaven, have thrown down their crowns before the throne to exclaim the glory, the honor and the power of God. This means that these elders did not cling to their own crowns but letting them go to worship the giver of their crowns.

    Thus, when we learn to let go of our own glory, of our achievements and successes, then we also learn to truly worship the Lord our God who is the source of everything that is good. To worship God, then, is actually to celebrate also our life, to celebrate our giftedness, to celebrate who God is and what God has done to us.

    Besides, worship allows us to focus on the Lord. That is why, even when we are in pain and confused, in worship, we re-channel our gaze from bitterness to God who strengthens us. In worshipping God, we regain our balance by reminding ourselves that we are unworthy of God’s grace yet, we are blessed because we are loved.

    This is what we also find in today’s Gospel, in the Parable of the Ten Gold Coins. Those who truly worship the Lord are those who are productive and fruitful in their lives. The servants who used well the gifts given to them have lived and celebrated wonderfully the King’s gifts.

    However, the unproductive servant lived in fear. He decided to hide the gifts given to him because he was afraid. He was afraid actually of losing them, because he could not let go of those, so he kept them. As a result, this servant turned to worship his fears because he lived in fear. This was how he lost the opportunity to celebrate life, to celebrate his gifts and to celebrate with the King.

    Each of us today, we are called to truly worship God by living not in fear or in bitterness or in our arrogance or in our personal glory but by living and celebrating our life with God.

    Thus, as we come to church and proceed with our daily affairs, let us also remind ourselves that we worship the Lord our God and not some other “gods,” that we worship the Lord by living honestly and generously, that we worship God by celebrating life and we worship God by making God’s presence more alive in us.

    Let us be inspired today through Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, so that like her, our decisions in life including our words and actions may become our very worship to God. Hinaut pa.

  • Be Careful of an Indifferent and Lukewarm Heart

    Be Careful of an Indifferent and Lukewarm Heart

    November 17, 2020 – Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111720.cfm)

    Homily

    The Book of Revelation warned the Church of Laodicea of its “LUKEWARMNESS.” Laodicea, because it was a center for commerce and finance, and of medical discoveries at the time, became affluent. The Christians living in that City have been influenced greatly by the prevailing culture of the City. The prosperity that they experienced made them to “somehow feel independent from God.” In fact, there must be a feeling that because of their success they did not need God anymore.

    This was how their hearts became lukewarm, passive and indifferent to God’s call of conversion. Relationship with God is a constant calling to grow, and that is to change and be transformed always. Yet, the people did not want to be challenged anymore. The people seemed to become comfortable with their way of life. Hence, the people’s hearts became “rich and affluent that they have no need of anything.” The lukewarm heart of the people led them to reject and ignore God. Their success and wealth became their “new gods.”

    Consequently, the vision of John tells us that when our heart also turns lukewarm and indifferent, God shall spit us from His mouth. However, God does not want this to happen to us. The vision of John tells us that “those loved by God shall be reproved and chastised. We are called to be earnest and to repent.”

    Moreover, the Gospel of Luke tells us about the best example of this, of a person who did not allow himself to stay indifferent and remain lukewarm. This person took the risk to leave behind what was comfortable for him including his bitter past in order to live his life with meaning and with real purpose.

    This man was Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a wealthy man. Being wealthy, Zacchaeus could have remained in his seat and not bother anymore to see and meet Jesus. However, he made concrete steps to meet the Lord. He committed himself to change and to repent.

    As a Jew working with the Romans, Zacchaeus must have been despised by his fellow Jews because he represented their oppressors. Being a short man, he must have experienced bullying from his friends. His limitations must have been a subject of discrimination. Yet, he found ways to be on the side of the Romans, and became a trusted man to be promoted as a chief tax collector. Though he was despised by his fellow Jews, being a chief tax collector was his best way in taking revenge to those who maltreated him before. He had power at this time to oppress those who oppressed him. He had the chance now to bully them by making them pay high taxes.

    Yet, deep within, Zacchaeus was restless. He was in search of something that will truly satisfy his longing for acceptance and for unconditional love. His wealth and influence could not satisfy that. Only God and he knew that. That is why, when Jesus was passing by, he did everything to meet the Lord and let Jesus find him. Though he was short, but he did not give up easily. Though it was crowded and people prevented him, yet, he moved to change his perspective. Until he found a tree to climb. That was how the Lord found him and thus, Zacchaeus also found acceptance and unconditional love from God.

    The story of Zacchaeus invites us today not to remain lukewarm in our relationships or indifferent towards others, towards ourselves and towards God. There is no growth in being lukewarm and indifferent.

    As we face life today, do not allow our comforts to control us to become stagnant. Never allow our limitations and painful experiences to drown our hearts into anger and bitterness. Allow rather the Lord to challenge us today, to call us and to move us and to always choose Jesus in all our decisions and actions in life. Hinaut pa.

  • Faith is loud and so make it daring

    Faith is loud and so make it daring

    November 16, 2020 – Monday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111620.cfm)

    Homily

    Faith is loud and it echoes into the heart of God and into the hearts of many. Our Gospel today tells us about this, in the beautiful healing story of a blind beggar. Let us explore his story.

    The blind man was sitting by the roadside and by being on the side, this tells us that he did not belong to the privileged people. He was one of the despised and outcast because he was ill. He was blind and so people believed that he was cursed. He was considered unclean and so people would not dare touch him.

    Yet, this blind man believed in the Son of David. His physical blindness did not prevent him to recognize that the Lord was near and that God was in Jesus. When he heard that Jesus was passing by, he cried out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” The Blind man must have heard a lot already about Jesus. The stories he heard made him believe that Jesus too can heal him.

    However, people around him seemed to discourage him. They wanted to keep him silent, yet, he cried louder all the more. This tells us that true faith is neither passive nor indifferent. Faith is always loud. Faith disturbs the arrogant and the powerful, that is why, they would try to keep faith silent, to suppress and kill it.

    He was not afraid to show his faith because he truly believed in Jesus. This is what Jesus wants us, that is, to make our faith daring and loud. Faith leads us to listen to Jesus’ invitation and to respond to his call.

    This is what the blind man showed. Jesus called him and he was brought to Jesus. Indeed, as faith moves us, faith also moves God and moves people around us. Notice the movements then. The loud faith of the Blind Man, caught the attention of Jesus and so was moved by the expression of the man’s faith. This made the people to be also moved and helped the man to move closer to Jesus.

    Moving closer to Jesus also requires us to let go of our habits and attitudes that kept us stagnant, passive and unmoved. Letting go and moving towards God, will help us to listen carefully to Jesus, to his desire for us. The words of Jesus was so moving, he said, “What do you want me to do for you?” The Lord knows what we need. But then, Jesus wanted the man to name what he needed – to recognize his blindness. Healing can only begin when we recognize what is wrong with us. Thus, any medication will not work if we continue to deny our true illness.

    Thus, the response of the blind man to Jesus was an expression of self-awareness. He said, “Lord, please let me see.” Consequently, we are invited by Jesus to name our own blindness, our own illness and the evil that is within us so that Jesus can work in and through us.

    The man began to see when Jesus made him realize that his faith saved him. This was because the man believed in Jesus that he began to see the face of God in Jesus which moved him too to follow the Lord.

    God invites us today, first, to make our faith daring and loud. Second, to let go of whatever that prevents us from going near to Jesus. And third, to name and speak of the blindness, the illness and the evil that is within us.

    Hopefully, by responding to Jesus with our faith we too shall experience healing and begin to see clearly the face of God among ourselves and especially among those who are continually oppressed and abused by the evil structure creeping in our culture today. Hinaut pa.

  • Where your heart is and should be.

    Where your heart is and should be.

    November 15, 2020 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111520.cfm)

    Homily

    As we are about to end the year and prepare for another year ahead, during these coming weeks, it is opportune time for us to review the year has been & about to end – especially as we are forced to deal & adjust with the life-threatening pandemic infection, and consider our life’s endtime or endgame as well. Yes, it is but timely & important for us to be once again in touch & in tune with meaning & purpose of our being and living life then-now-ahead, and above all, for us Christians to  have a closer look & be in sync once again & anew about our views, attitude, & beliefs towards God’s kingdom – our life-eternal with God.

    We have just heard about the all-too familiar Parable of the Talents. The master entrusted some investments to his servants – each according to his ability. As accounting day arrives, those who did well to make the most of his investment were entrusted with more investments & responsibilities, but those who failed to maximize his investments were deprived of further investments & responsibilities. Such a simple business principle. You reap what you sow. Same as in computer language, it is called GIGO (Garbage IN, Garbage Out).

    But somehow life-lessons learned here in our gospel today may also teach us more about the Kingdom of God – our life being and living with God.

    First, God’s kingdom is all about our DYNAMIC and CREATIVE life with God – never should be a static and typical life. Like dance, life with God is the marriage partnership between God and man. For Him to grant us His blessing of Creation and Redemption, God needs a Partner. God needs us to be His partners. He needs our contribution and participation in the dance and marriage of Life and salvation.

    And somehow this is how our partnership with God works: God provides us with the necessary materials or ingredients. He endowed & entrusted each one of us with unique talents, capabilities in attitude, skills and knowledge and opportunities in life (each according to his capacity). But for us to Participate in the Re-Creation, i.e for creating once again our life and our world, and for us to continue God’s work of Redemption, it is up to you – to each and everyone of us to take risk, develop, make the most use of, invest and contribute such GIFTs and talents.

    Second, God’s kingdom also works in a different grading system. Usually using our grading system, we rate the individual student’s capacity against our own standards. Against our accepted standard, we rate them as poor – good – very good – excellent. We grade them with numbers or letters (60 – 75 – 80 – 98 or A – B – F). But in His Kingdom, in His ways or His eyes, God works with a different standard. He sees our basic goodness, our unique potentialities (each according to our capacity). He gives each of us 100%, or excellent or straight A by his own standards & our unique capacity. But like the servants in the Gospel, it is up to us remain at 100%, or settle for less… OR to take risk, strive more to be than 100%. It is not a matter of striving for 100% grade, but a matter of taking a venture to make the most use of our full potentials.

    For instance, making a school project, like -baking a cake or assembling a radio. In school, we are given the opportunity to create those things. Our parents provide us with the necessary materials or ingredients or instruments. Our teachers give us a chance to cook a cake or assemble a radio.  They facilitate and guide us in creating or producing the project. But to the last analysis, it is you who will make the project. It is up to your discretion and creativity to make your cake taste like cake or better than mom’s cake, or to make your radio makes sounds and sounds good. And as we all know; others would settle for less. But others would explore, experiment, and take risks to be more creative and to learn more. Therefore, in doing a project, it is a joint venture, a partnership between your parents, your teacher, and yourself.

    And lastly, our life with God is mirrored in the state of our life here on earth & the state of our life then in heaven later. It is lived on how we make the most of & be responsible for His investments with us in life, & how poor/right & good/bad our marriage partnership with him. In other words, God’s kingdom is how we treasure God in our hearts.

    Marriage, Venture, Treasure – are just but keywords to remind us at this time to consider that God’s kingdom is where our heart is and should be.

    Now consider this….

    In a dream, a rich man found himself at the heaven’s door with two angels. The angels said: “Welcome Home, Sir”. He was brought inside a posh five-starred hotel, where he was also welcomed by his former staff, friends, family & colleagues who have gone before him. Glad to be in heaven meeting again his people, he was then led to his room at 175th floor. Coming down from the elevator, he and the angels passed through several VIP rooms. But eventually, he was led into a storage room near the staircase with only a cushion bed on the floor. Shocked with what he got, he complained: “That’s it?  Only this pathetic room?”. But an angel replied: “Well, that’s only we can do & set up for you from the few materials & resources you have sent here.”

    Remember Jesus advices us: “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven” (Mt. 6:19-20)

    Set our hearts, Lord towards Your Kingdom at all times so that we may not lost our ways & not lose Your ways but rather live our lives here now on earth more directed and meaningful, and thus fully enjoy our being with You now and forever. Amen.