Do not be afraid

The short gospel today repeats the phrase “do not be afraid” three (3) times. This is how much God wants to tell and assure us not to be afraid and trust in Him.

Life is not easy. There will be a lot of challenges. We are living in the world, and we know that Christ, our master, is NOT of this world. We know that the enemy controls this world. Thus, we can expect this world not to treat us the best possible way, simply because we are not its own. We belong to Christ, we belong to eternity with him.

When faced with these challenges, Christ tells us not to be afraid. He tells us three times in today’s gospel. Even if we are not of this world, our God is victorious and there is no reason we should be afraid of anything. No being is more powerful than God, so as long as we remain in him, there is no reason to be afraid.

Christ promises that he is watching over us. He even says that all the hair on our head is counted. That’s how much he is watching over us. When we feel we are alone, when we feel overwhelmed by the challenges of this world, we are to take courage and remember this – that God is watching over us even if we do not feel it.

Am I living in the world or of the world? What am I afraid of? Do I know and believe that Christ has won over sin and death, and there is no reason to be afraid of anything as long as we are in Him? Do I believe that God is always watching over me, even if I do not feel like it?

Dear God,

Thank you for today. Lord, I ask that this weekend, you speak to me and constantly remind me not to be afraid. I know lord that sometimes, things seem overwhelming, and I hope that I always remember to trust in you, and that you are always watching over me and protecting me even if I do not feel it. May I constantly trust in you no matter what. Amen.

Have a blessed Saturday!

In Christ.

-g-

Founded in Faith

The gospel today is an example of an inspiring promise of God to us.

When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you

Challenges will always be there, but again, Christ tells us not to worry. He’s got our back.

I’ve always imagined how it is like to live during those times. Being persecuted for proclaiming the gospel is not easy, much more face influential and powerful pagan leaders. How much anxiety would there be in their hearts. However, Christ tells us not to worry. He will give us what we should say.

Pano kaya yun? Bigla ka nalang magsasalita? Bigla ka nalang tatalino?

Probably yes, but that is not alone. You cant just live your life not thinking about God, and expect to say these things when faced with problems.

You can’t give what you don’t have.

You can’t give a testimony about Christ is you do not have a personal relationship with him.

The disciples, because they do God’s work, definitely have a personal relationship with Christ. It goes without saying that they can say these things because they have faith in God, they have faith in God’s word and power because they have a personal relationship with God.

How can we have that?

We know that God is everywhere and all around us. We can easily talk to him anytime. However, today’s technology makes it easier to know things about him. There are a lot of books and resources that would make us know him more. There are a lot of faith stories that would help us build our own faith. The bible is always there. We just need to make use of these things around us, and spend time with him in prayer, and eventually, we will be living a life pleasing to him, because we love him, because we know him and have a personal relationship with him already.

How is my relationship with God? Am I working on building my personal relationship with him? How? How is my faith? Do I build my faith as well? Do I practice and live my faith?

Dear God,

Thank you for this week. It was a fast one. Lord, as I head into the weekend, I know you still have great things in store for me. Lord, use this weekend to reach out to me. Help me build my faith, help me build my relationship with you. Help me strengthen whatever relationship with you I have, and may it bring other people to you. All this I ask in Jesus name, Amen.

Have a blessed Friday!

In Christ,

-g-

Gracious God

The readings today remind me that God is such a gracious God, far from a human being.

In the first reading, we can see his love for us even if we constantly reject him. IT must have been so painful for him to be rejected by us, humans he himself created, saved, and loved, but he continues to love us even if we are not deserving of it. Until now this happens – every time we sin, every time we insist our way instead of his, every time we disregard what he teaches us, we continue to hurt him.

The gospel is a continuation of yesterday’s. Jesus gave them instructions on what to do and what not to do. What is striking to note is how Jesus instructs them in relation to people who do not accept them.

Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town."

The same way Jesus came as a baby in a manger, not forcing us to accept him, He is telling his disciples not to force people to accept him. They should do what they were told to, but in the event that people do not listen, they should not lose heart. It is not their fault if other people do not listen. They are not to be dishearten, not to lose focus, and just continue working for God.

IT may seem like Jesus is harsh in the gospel, compared to God being merciful in the first reading. I believe that just as he is gracious, he is also fair. He does everything to reach out to us. He sends people in an attempt to make us believe and follow him. Kaya lang, kung hindi parin tayo makikinig, pasaway na talaga tayo. He can only do so much, As St Augustine said, God who created us without us, cannot save us without us. He does not want to punish us, but if we constantly reject him, we bring it upon ourselves.

Do I realize how gracious God has been to me? Do I thank him for that? Am I willing to accept him in my life? Am I sensitive to him when he comes through other people and circumstances?  Am I ready to go out into the world and work for him?

Dear God,

Thank you for all the blessings you give to me. Lord, I am not worthy of your love, I am not worthy of these blessings, but because you love me so much, you continue to shower me with such. I thank you lord for constantly blessing me and for never giving up on me. Lord, I ask that you help me choose you, and live my life as a testament of that decision. In my own little way, may I bring people to you and proclaim your kingdom. Amen.

Have a blessed day!

In Christ,

-g-

He sent them out

In today’s gospel, we see Jesus sending the disciples out into the world. First, Jesus gave them what they needed. He spent a lot of time with them, praying with them, teaching them, developing their faith. Then in today’s gospel, it explicitly says that Jesus gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and cure every disease and illness. Astig diba, ang lakas! =)

Jesus first took care of the needs of his apostles. Hindi sila pinili, tapos pinadala agad sa mundo. He first nurtured them. He took care of them. He strengthened them. As young in the faith, this is what God does to us. He nurtures us. He teaches us things. He slowly reveals himself to us. He is asking that we see his importance, and that we build our own personal relationship with him. This is when we start getting strong, founded on him.

However, it does not stop there. God did not bless us only for ourselves. Our blessings, our faith, our whole being is not only for ourselves. It should be used to build the kingdom of God, and God asks us to do just that. He will send us out.

Having a strong faith and relationship with God is useless if it does not build God’s kingdom. Our lives should magnify God, and should make people want to love God more. This is why Jesus, after making sure they are ready, sent out the apostles. We too, once we get enough foundation, are asked to go out into the world and build God’s kingdom. We do not necessarily need to go to different places and become a missionary to do this. In our own respective homes, work, and community, we can be ambassadors of Christ by living a life centered on Him.

Am I willing to build God’s kingdom or do I just want to benefit from Him? Am I willing to give of myself to bless others and proclaim his kingdom? Am I living a life proclaiming God’s goodness? How can I be an ambassador of Christ in where I am right now?

Father God,

I thank and praise you for providing all that I need to serve you. Thank you for taking care of me, and for making sure I grow in faith. You never cease to provide opportunities for me to build my faith and strengthen my relationship with you. Lord, I ask that you help me have the heart that would go the extra mile for you. May I be a willing instrument for your work. May I be selfless and be willing to go out of my comfort zone to build your kingdom. Help me live my life proclaiming your greatness. Amen.

Stay blessed!

In Christ,

-g-

Ps,

See related reflections:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/04/eyes-on-him-who-equips.html

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/06/equipped-for-task.html

Focus

Today’s readings show us the difference of having our focus on God.

In the gospel, Jesus just healed a possessed man. We can see two reactions – one set of people were amazed in Jesus’ power, and one set was very opposed to it.

In construction, a hard hat protects people from injuries. On the road, helmets provide motorists support and protection. However, we see in the gospel that the Pharisees’ hardness of heart prevents them from accepting Christ as God in their lives.

Having a closed and hardened heart makes it impossible to see the goodness in other people, in this case, even to Jesus himself. Because of that, they missed the very reason for living – Jesus. No amount of miracle or good deed will be enough for someone whose heart is closed to someone or to something. A hardened heart chooses to focus on the negative rather than the positive.

In the first reading, we see a people focusing on the negative. They were not focused on God. Their hearts were closed to God, and God was certainly not pleased with them. When they lost their focus on God, they started to do evil things and eventually led a life opposite what God wants.

Is my heart hardened? Is my heart and my life focused on God? Do I choose to see the goodness in other people, or do I focus on their shortcomings? Am I focused on serving and loving God, or on loving and pleasing myself? What can I do to be able to continually focus on God and see the goodness in people and circumstances?

Dear God,

I praise and adore you for all that you are. Father God, I know how great, loving and powerful you are. However, there are times that I still lose my focus on you, and for that I am sorry. Sorry for wanting to get things my way and not yours. Sorry for wanting things and attention to myself and not only on you. Sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me, instead of praying and giving you control over things. Lord, I know how great you are, and I just want to ask for your help that I may always seek your will, and that I always focus on you, no matter how good or bad a situation may be. All this I ask in Jesus name, Amen.

Have a blessed Tuesday!

God bless!

In Christ,

-g-

Impossibility

The gospel today is similar to last the July 1 Sunday’s (See reflection: http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/07/faith-that-heals.html  ), however, today’s gospel struck me because in Matthew’s version of today’s gospel, the child is already dead (compared to July 1 when she was at the point of death when Jairus went to Jesus). The official in today’s gospel showed a lot more faith in Jesus, coming to him and asking him to come with him to heal his dead daughter.

What faith that it! Call it desperate. Call if blind. Call it stupid. It is real, genuine faith.

The official could have just gone on with his daughter’s death. However, he did not. He fought death. We do not know the reason, it may be because he loves the daughter so much that he was desperate and just needed to believe in someone who could raise his daughter and found that person in Jesus. It could have been his faith, knowing and hearing about Jesus, the Messiah, having faith that his concern could be easily solved by Jesus. What we know is he came to Jesus with something big, something huge, something impossible. He told Jesus that he needed Jesus to bring her dead daughter back to life.

The condition for a miracle is difficulty. The condition for a great miracle is impossibility (Angus Buchan, Faith like Potatoes [Movie])

Again, God proved that what is written in his book is true. Nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26).

He honoured the man’s faith (as opposed to the people in his own town, see reflection: http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/07/lack-of-faith.html ) and did what the man believed he could do. Ang galing ng faith ng taong yun. Ang galing talaga ni God.

Tayo, paano? When faced with a seemingly impossible situation, how do we react? Do we let our emotions rule? Do we let the natural world overcome us? Do we let our faith in God win the battle? Do we let God shine the brightest by bringing to him, in faith, the seemingly impossible situation, and allow him to perform a great miracle in our lives?

May we always remember that nothing is impossible with God, and that a seemingly impossible situation is what gives God an opportunity to give us a great miracle.

Dear God,

I praise and thank you for the weekend. Thank you for giving me time, a lot of it, to rest and refresh my body and my spirit. Lord, as I start this new week, I thank you for giving me a good story which shows your power and the need for our faith. Lord, help me to always have that faith in you, especially when things seem impossible and when I seem helpless, because I know that only then will you shine the brightest. May I always allow you to surprise me and may my life and my faith lead others into worshipping you. Amen.

Have a blessed week!

In Christ,

-g-

PS

See related reflection:

http://mysimplereflection.blogspot.com/2012/07/faith-that-heals.html

Lack of Faith

In today’s gospel, we see the power and importance of faith, ironically, through the lack of it.

Jesus went to his hometown, and the people, instead of being proud that Jesus came from there, belittled him and took offense at him. They did not believe that someone from their own could really be God’s Child. This lack of belief, this lack of faith, was the reason why Jesus did not do a lot of miracles. Yes, Jesus needs our faith.

In the second reading, we see Paul reacting the other way. He had complete faith in Jesus. He was willing to suffer, kahit hirap na hirap na sya, for God. He was willing to take all the hardships just so God would be magnified and glorified. Ganun kalakas ang faith nya kay God, faith that is more than words – faith that is willing to suffer and experience pain for God’s greater glory.

I believe we are challenged by God. We are asked to look at ourselves and see what our heart says. Is our faith strong, or are we like the people who do not trust in God? When we pray, do we really have complete faith in God and his love and power, or do we just pray just in case God hears us? Is our faith strong enough to be willing to suffer for God? When God does not seem to hear us, like his response to Paul’s request in the second reading, do we have a humble heart and will still continue to serve Him, or do we walk away from him when we don’t get what we want?

Father God,

I thank you for the gift of faith. Lord, I ask that you help me strengthen my faith. I know faith is such a powerful and important aspect of my life, and I ask that you help me develop it. Kahit maliit, kahit mala mustard seed, I know it is enough, that it is a good start. May I have faith and may I be willing to suffer and still serve you because of that faith, knowing that your name will be glorified in everything. Amen.

Have a blessed Sunday!

In Christ,

-g-