In His Time

The readings today remind us that in God’s time, in God’s perfect time, things will unfold in front of our eyes.

I think as human beings, we generally are impatient. Especially now, in this day and age, that everything seem so fast. Everything is instant. If you want coffee, there’s instant, so you won’t have to wait for a long time. There are also a lot of instants – instant noodles, instant spaghetti, etc etc etc (yes, puro pagkain. Sarap=) ). Technology has also make life faster for us – no more waiting for weeks for the snail mail to come from your special someone – a text message is just one button away from your cellphone, no matter where in the world the other person may be. No more waiting months to get to know the person – there is social media available nowadays. I came from a seminar and people were pushing for speed – fastest way to process billions of transactions, fastest computer servers, etc etc etc. Even in our careers. People cannot seem to wait. Gusto agad maging boss. Gusto agad umangat, wala pa naming foundation. We seem to be impatient and want things get done as soon as possible.

Well, our ways are not God’s ways.

Sometimes, despite all the technology advancements around us, God wants us to be still and wait. Wait in faith for his plans to unfold.

Unfortunately, no matter what technology we use, hindi natin kayang madaliin si God. We just have to obey and listen to him.

The readings tell us that. Everything will happen in God’s time. Peace. Blessings. Salvation. Fasting. All in God’s time. While we are waiting for that time to happen, we are supposed to be patiently wait in faith. Serve while waiting on the Lord. Continue living a life pleasing to Him. Continue being peaceful, trusting in faith that in His time, everything will be perfect. Meantime, we just have to be still, know he is God, and serve Him.

Am I impatient? In what ways? Do I believe that God has great plans for us, and that in his perfect time, things will unfold before our eyes? Am I willing to serve him while I’m waiting?

Dear God,

I am sorry for being impatient. Sometimes, even if my intention is good, I become impatient waiting for your plans to come into fruition, and I feel that my plan is better. Forgive me lord for thinking that. Forgive me for being hard headed. Lord, I know that you have great plans in store for me, and now, as I wait on you, I will do my best to be still, be patient, and serve you. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Will you get up?

In today’s gospel, we see Jesus calling Matthew, the tax collector. It was just an ordinary day for Matthew. He was just sitting there, doing his normal job. Suddenly, Jesus drops by and calls him. He simply said “Follow me”, and that was more than enough for Matthew to leave everything behind to follow Jesus.

I believe Jesus also visits us everyday. Probably not as explicit as his visit to Matthew, but Jesus uses people around us to remind us of his presence. He uses people to ask us to follow him – to leave our worldly life with all its concerns and follow Him. He asks us to leave that bad habit we can’t seem to let go of, and fully follow Him. He asks us to get out of the harmful relationship and follow him without something heavy burdening us. He asks us to leave the concerns of this world – money, fame, power, and follow Him, trust in Him to provide for everything we need. He disturbs us, he asks us to step out of our comfort zones and follow him.

Am I sensitive enough to recognize when Jesus comes and ask me to follow Him? Like Matthew who was just waiting for Jesus’ call, am I ready to respond to him when he calls me? Am I ready to get up and get out of my comfort zone to follow Him? How can I follow God? Is there anything, or anyone, that I should let go before I can fully follow Christ?

May we be inspired by Matthew, who certainly knew what the first reading and the psalm meant – Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out from the mouth of God.

Dear God,

Thank you for this day. Thank you for not giving up on me, kahit na makulit ako, kahit na hindi kita pinapansin. Lord, I ask that today, I be extra sensitive to you when you come visit me through other people or circumstances. Lord, sana mapansin ko na ikaw yun. And Lord, may I have the heart of Matthew that will readily leave everything behind and follow you when you call. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Courage

Today’s gospel encourages us to press on with life

They say that the words “Do not be afraid” is mentioned around 365 times in the bible to remind us not to worry. However, in today’s gospel, Jesus gives us a more active approach. Instead of saying “do not worry”, he tells the paralytic to have courage.

Diseases during those times were usually associated with sin. For those have serious condition, like the paralytic in the gospel, it was considered a severe punishment – either from his sins or from the family’s sins. He is considered an outcast in society because of this. People do not want to be associated with a sinner. That is why it was very difficult for those people because their sickness or disease is associated with sin.

Jesus did not just immediately heal the man. He could have just said that “Rise up and walk, your faith has saved you.” However, he did not. Jesus addressed the root of the problem. He healed the innermost sickness of the person which is the sin. He first forgives the person from sin. Not only that, he asked the person to have courage. Courage for what? Courage to have faith. Courage to ask God. Courage to come to him – because as he is forgiven his sin, he is cleaned and welcomed back into society and to God.

Jesus tells us the same thing today. He first addresses the root of our concern. Take courage, your sins are forgiven. Take courage, I love you. Whatever our concern is, Jesus is telling us to take courage and continue to fight. Jesus is telling us to be at peace, knowing that he loves us and readily forgives us. With this, we can come to God with courage. We can ask for help. We can mend our relationship with Him and with others – all because we have experienced first his love, mercy and forgiveness.

Is there something I need forgiveness from? What is my main concern in my life right now? Do I know and believe that God readily forgives me, even if I am not deserving of it? Do I know and believe that God can heal anything I am concerned with? Do I humbly come to him in faith?

Dear God,

Thank you for your word. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your forgiveness. Lord, as I face another day, may I always remember that you can heal anything, and you will. I just need to have faith and humble come to you. And as I am healed, may I also find it in my heart to allow you to use me for your purpose. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Do you just know him?

The gospel today reminded me that even evil spirits know Jesus and who he is.

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"

Yes, they knew who Jesus was, before other people did. They knew the power of Jesus. We see that knowing Jesus is not enough. Knowing him, his love and his power does not necessarily mean we are his followers. Knowing Him alone does not guarantee salvation. It is easy to know who Jesus is. The harder part is living a life recognizing it.

Knowing God is different from making him God in our lives.

Nowadays, it is easier to know God more. We have technology we can use for that. There are a lot of credible internet resources that would help us know God more. Question is, what do we do with that knowledge. We should live that knowledge of who God is. We should live our lives knowing and acknowledging that He is God.

Do I know who God is? Do I proclaim who God is, not just by mere words, but by how I live my life? Is my life consistent with what I say? IS what I say consistent to what Jesus says? How can I improve the way I proclaim the gospel?

May we be challenged that knowing God is not enough, we should live our lives as a testament of that knowledge, of that faith.

Dear God,

Thank you for the sun today. Thank you for giving us another day to improve ourselves, and to serve you better. Lord, I ask that you help me get to know you more. Help me build my relationship with you, and out of that relationship, may I do what is good in your eyes, for your glory. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

Peace be with YOU

Today, we celebrate the feast of St Thomas the Apostle, also known as “doubting Thomas”

Thomas was not with them when Jesus appeared, and he did not believe the others when they told him Jesus appeared to them. Thomas doubted, and even challenged that until he put his hand on Jesus’ side, he will not believe. Kung ako si Jesus, nakakainis. Wala ka na nga nung nagpakita ako, then instead of saying sorry I wasn’t one with the apostles, nag doubt pa. Diba? But Jesus, unlike most of us, uttered greetings of peace when he returned. Special mention pa si Thomas, pinahawakan pa nya yung sugat nya. This experience led to Thomas saying what we still proclaim everytime we go to mass. “My Lord, and My God” – an unbeliever proclaiming and professing that Jesus is his Lord and his God. Bumawi si Thomas, sabi nga nila =)

I believe Jesus also gives us his peace. He reminds us of his peace in today’s readings.

Jesus gave them his peace, the same way he is giving us his peace. Jesus gives us his peace, first to experience it within our self. He gives us peace from all the sins we have committed. He gives us peace for all the times we doubted him, for all the times we chose not to follow His will and stick to what we want. He gives us peace from all our shortcomings and failures. He gives us peace from the circumstances around us, that even if there are a lot of things happening and that there are a lot of things you cannot control, He gives us his peace to calm us down amidst the storm. (Philippians 4:7)

As we experience Christ’s peace, we are encouraged to give it away as well. Like in love, we are able to love because Christ loved us first (1 John 4:19), we too are capable to forgive and give peace because we experienced it first from God. There are people who knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously, hurt us even if we did not deserve to be hurt.  Well, Christ forgives us, even though we do not really deserve forgiveness. It’s time we forgive others as well.

The first reading says that we are a community built around Christ. We are one household, getting strength from God, and God could only dwell in us, God could only work through us, if we rid ourselves of everything that is not of his and if we have peace among ourselves, despite the differences. As we focus on Christ and put him in the center of our lives, we will slowly die of ourselves and our concerns, and let him with his love and peace reign among us.

What is peace to me? Do I realize we all need to give and receive peace, or am I too proud to see and accept it? Do I need to make peace from someone whom I hurt with my words and actions? Do I need to forgive someone who has hurt me? What is stopping me from giving or receiving Christ’s peace?

Dear God,

I praise and adore you for all that you are. Thank you for continuing to surprise me and for continuing to make your love very much alive in my life. Lord, I ask that you probe my heart. Make me realize what I need to do. May I be open to giving and receiving your peace, just as you have always been generous in giving me peace, when I ask for it when I confess, but especially when I don’t ask for it. May I have a heart like yours and put others first, and as I do, I know that I will slowly be moulded to be like you. This I ask in Jesus name, Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

PS

See related reflection:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/04/peace-be-with-you.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/05/second-chance.html

We do not know

In the gospel today, we see two people Jesus talked to. One, a scribe, told that he wanted to follow Jesus. However, Jesus did not encourage him, so probably we can say he did not follow Christ. Then Jesus asked a man to follow him immediately, and we can say that he did eventually follow Christ.

At first, it seems unclear why Jesus rejected the scribe and called another one. However, they say that it is because Jesus sees the heart. The scribe was proud and seem to be full of emotions when he told Jesus he will follow him wherever he goes. Mayabang. Jesus knew his intentions, that he was not really sincere in his desire to follow Jesus, so sinabihan na sya ni Jesus na hindi madali maging alagad. Then, dahil the intention is not pure, he backs out.

The other one Jesus called. When he said he has to take care of his dead father first, Jesus asked him to prioritize him over the dead father. Jesus tells us that nothing should come in between our service to him. And when he calls us, we definitely will follow.

In our lives, there are things that will happen that we will not readily understand. We do not know why certain things happen. We do not know why certain things have to happen. There may be hurts and pains, sadness and disappointments in our lives that we feel is un necessary, or we feel could have been easily avoided, or that we should not have been subjected to… but as the gospel reminds us, we should look deeper. Try to see things in the eyes of Jesus. We should try to look at the heart, and have faith that whatever happens is what God wanted to happen. Life is not fair, and following Christ will not always be easy. However, we are reminded that Christ will be with us every step of the way, and when he calls us and we respond, he will take care of everything.

What things are bothering me right now? Are there things that I don’t understand in my life? Is God calling me to serve him? How? How do I respond?

Dear God,

I thank you for this brand new week. I thank you for the weekend. Lord, I ask that you strengthen my faith, especially when I don’t understand things that are happening. May I always put my focus on you and remember that everything will happen according to your will. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

In Christ,

-g-

Faith that heals

The readings today remind me of something close to my heart – Faith.

In the gospel we see Jesus faced with problems. Jairus came to her to have his daughter healed. They were on their way when a woman came to Jesus and touched his cloak. Jesus asked who touched her, because he knew someone touched him and that power came out of him. Malamang, anak sya ni God, alam nya talaga yun. I believe he also knew who touched her. He just wanted to see if the woman would stand up and be responsible for her actions. During that time kasi, malakas yung social division, may mga slaves and masters, and yung widows and women ay nasa baba ng hierarchy. Pasaway yung babae kasi diretso syang lumapit kay Jesus. She thought she would be punished, still she held up for her actions. Then we see Jesus breaking social barriers and commending her faith. “Daughter, your faith has saved you” Yes, Jesus cannot work miracles without our faith (Matthew 13:58). He goes on further assuring her she did nothing wrong to be healed “Go in peace and be cured of your affliction”

On the way to Jairus’ house, they received news that the daughter died already. Well, indeed nothing is impossible for God.  Again, Jesus emphasizes the importance of faith. “Do not be afraid, just have faith” Although it was not explicitly stated that Jairus had faith (except for the fact he asked Jesus to heal his daughter, thus had faith in Jesus), we can see he had faith because Jesus was able to heal his daughter.

God do not want sickness and death. The first reading tells us that. Thus, we should be encouraged and have faith in God’s love and power. Indeed, as the readings yesterday tell us, he heals! And as we are healed, we are encouraged by the second reading to help others as well, to repay God’s goodness to us by helping out others, by sharing God’s blessings to us.

Do not be afraid; just have faith.

God is reminding us to just trust in him – no matter what the situation may be. In this life there will be a lot of challenges, and tough ones at that. No matter what you do, there will always be negative reactions. Jesus is telling us to keep our faith, to focus on Him and to just continue to trust in Him. The enemy cannot prevail over God, so no matter how difficult the situation may be, it is nothing God cannot handle and win over. Yes, nothing is impossible for Him (Matthew 19:26) and he will never give us something we cannot bear through him (1 Corinthians 10:13)

What is my concern right now? What am I praying for? What is something I want to be healed of or want to be freed from? What challenges are there in my life right now? Do I believe that I can go through this, through God’s grace? Do I know that nothing is impossible for God? Do I know that God needs my faith to save me?

May we be reminded on the power of faith in God.

Dear God,

I praise and thank you for your great, redeeming and healing love for me. Thank you for always keeping me safe and watching over me. Lord, I am sorry for the times I take you for granted and for taking your blessings for granted just because I think everyone experiences the same as well. Today, Lord, I ask that you strengthen my faith. May I always trust in you, no matter what the situation may be. I know Lord that nothing is too big or too small for you, and that you will always be there to guide and protect me, even if I cannot feel it sometimes. Use me Lord for your kingdom, and may my faith be a sign of your great love and power to others. Amen.

Have a blessed Sunday!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps

See related reflections:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/05/do-not-worry-have-faith.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/01/confidence-in-god.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2011/12/refiner-and-purifier-of-silver.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/06/jesus-heals.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/01/jesus-heals_31.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/01/jesus-heals.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/02/of-faith-and-humility.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/06/have-faith-in-god.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/02/faith-without-works-is-dead.html