"Reform your lives and believe in the Good News."
Lectionary Readings for the 3rd Sunday of the Year, Year B
In today's gospel we see Jesus calling the first apostles. He saw Simon and Andrew, who were fishermen, and called them to follow him. They abandoned their nets and followed Jesus. Then he saw James and John and called them too. These two abandoned their father Zebedee and followed Jesus.
Before this happened, Jesus was announcing to people in Galilee that the kingdom of God was at hand. And he urged the people to repent and believe in the Good News. Scripture scholars say that probably before Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James and John, these men already heard of Jesus and knew of him from others. However, since they were fishermen, they had to earn a living and so continued with what they had to do: make a living. But Jesus saw potential in these men that he himself approached them and called them to follow him. And since these fishermen already [according to Scripture scholars] have heard of Jesus, they made the final decision to follow him and leave their nets and livelihood behind.
When was the last time that we heard Jesus calling us to follow him? Was his call for a more regular prayer life? Or was his call to do more active work in the Church? What is Jesus calling us to do right now? Is it to repent and believe in the Gospel with more conviction? If this is what Jesus is calling us to do, then let us be ready to respond to him with a yes. Yes, we can repent of our sins and believe in the Gospel with more conviction than before. Yes, we will convert from our wicked and evil habits and do what is more according to God's will. It only takes the gift of faith which is freely given to us by the Holy Spirit.
So, even if we need to earn a living, we can follow Jesus right where we are. We need not change our circumstances. All we need to do is to repent from our sinful ways, believe in the Gospel with much more conviction, and follow Jesus and the Father's will according to our state of life. In this we have already fulfilled what God is asking of us.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Sunday, January 15, 2006
2nd Sunday of the Year, Year B
"They said to him, 'Rabbi, where do you stay' 'Come and see,' he answered. "
Lectionary Readings for the 2nd Sunday of the Year, Year B
In this Sunday's gospel, we see two disciples who were introduced by John the Baptist to Jesus, whom John referred to as the Lamb of God! The disciples in response asked Jesus where he stayed. And Jesus said, "Come and see."
The two disciples were introduced to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Their response to this was to ask Jesus where he stayed. And Jesus said, "Come and see." Since Jesus was introduced to them as the Lamb of God, the disciples wanted to know more about Jesus - how he is the Lamb of God. They wanted to know how his dwelling place looked like to get more truth about his being the Lamb of God. For the disciples, the word lamb has already some meaning attached to it: animal for food, for sacrifice, for shepherding, an animal that is meek, and doesn't say anything while it is being sheared. The disciples were curious of who Jesus was and wanted to know more about him and so they asked him where he stayed. And Jesus invited them to learn more of his being the Lamb of God.
In many urban places, we do not see many lambs anymore. We know what they are and what their animal traits are from books and from pictures. Jesus was referred to as the Lamb of God. What does this mean for us? If Jesus is the Lamb of God, how is this related to our discipleship and our following of him. We know that as the Lamb of God, he was sacrificed on the cross that our sins may be atoned for. This means that in our following of him, we are to sacrifice our lives also for the good of others. How we do this depends on our present circumstances and our present priorities and responsibilities. There may be opportunities offered to us: opportunities that would seem to offer greater possibilities of promotion or greater ranking or more money or better political connections. However, sometimes, we are asked to sacrifice the possibility of that life in order to follow Christ more closely and to be with him in our prayer and to follow his will in the direction the light of Christ is leading us.
It takes much humility to follow Christ as the Lamb. It involves much pain and sacrifice. But if we do his will and sacrifice our lives for the good of others, then we shall be led to his promise of eternal life. Let us always ask ourselves daily how we are to follow him in his life of service to others - sacrificing much of ourselves in this line. We will know that we are on the journey to a greater life of service to others in the spirit of Christ if we know that despite much hardship and difficult, we continue to pray and have the gift of faith, hope and charity. If the fruit of our service brings about goodness, faith, charity, gentleness, joy and long-suffering, then we know that we have rooted ourselves much in the Christ's Word and Sacrament. So let us not forget to always seek Christ. To find him in prayer and in our service to others. For it is in seeking him that we find him. And in getting to know him as the Lamb of God, we will learn from him how to sacrifice our lives according to his will.
Lectionary Readings for the 2nd Sunday of the Year, Year B
In this Sunday's gospel, we see two disciples who were introduced by John the Baptist to Jesus, whom John referred to as the Lamb of God! The disciples in response asked Jesus where he stayed. And Jesus said, "Come and see."
The two disciples were introduced to Jesus as the Lamb of God. Their response to this was to ask Jesus where he stayed. And Jesus said, "Come and see." Since Jesus was introduced to them as the Lamb of God, the disciples wanted to know more about Jesus - how he is the Lamb of God. They wanted to know how his dwelling place looked like to get more truth about his being the Lamb of God. For the disciples, the word lamb has already some meaning attached to it: animal for food, for sacrifice, for shepherding, an animal that is meek, and doesn't say anything while it is being sheared. The disciples were curious of who Jesus was and wanted to know more about him and so they asked him where he stayed. And Jesus invited them to learn more of his being the Lamb of God.
In many urban places, we do not see many lambs anymore. We know what they are and what their animal traits are from books and from pictures. Jesus was referred to as the Lamb of God. What does this mean for us? If Jesus is the Lamb of God, how is this related to our discipleship and our following of him. We know that as the Lamb of God, he was sacrificed on the cross that our sins may be atoned for. This means that in our following of him, we are to sacrifice our lives also for the good of others. How we do this depends on our present circumstances and our present priorities and responsibilities. There may be opportunities offered to us: opportunities that would seem to offer greater possibilities of promotion or greater ranking or more money or better political connections. However, sometimes, we are asked to sacrifice the possibility of that life in order to follow Christ more closely and to be with him in our prayer and to follow his will in the direction the light of Christ is leading us.
It takes much humility to follow Christ as the Lamb. It involves much pain and sacrifice. But if we do his will and sacrifice our lives for the good of others, then we shall be led to his promise of eternal life. Let us always ask ourselves daily how we are to follow him in his life of service to others - sacrificing much of ourselves in this line. We will know that we are on the journey to a greater life of service to others in the spirit of Christ if we know that despite much hardship and difficult, we continue to pray and have the gift of faith, hope and charity. If the fruit of our service brings about goodness, faith, charity, gentleness, joy and long-suffering, then we know that we have rooted ourselves much in the Christ's Word and Sacrament. So let us not forget to always seek Christ. To find him in prayer and in our service to others. For it is in seeking him that we find him. And in getting to know him as the Lamb of God, we will learn from him how to sacrifice our lives according to his will.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Solemnity of the Epiphany, Years A, B, and C
"They prostrated themselves and did him homage."
Lectionary Readings for the Solemnity of Epiphany, Years A, B, and C
http://www.pcentral-onlne.net/catholic/lectionary/epiphany.html"
In this Sunday's readings, we find three wise men from the East learn about the birth of "the king of the Jews". They went to King Herod to find out about him. Herod became disturbed because this reality could be a threat to his being in power. For he also knows what the prophets say about in the Scriptures: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the princes of Judah, since from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' Herod then commissioned the three wise men from the East to inquire about the child themselves and to find where he is so that he himself will also pay homage to the child.
The wise men followed the star and when they arrived at the point where it was at a standstill, they saw a place where the child was. They entered the place and saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they offered their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This is the mystery of the Epiphany. God manifested Himself to the world as a child born of a virgin and laid in a manger for the shepherds and the magi to see.
Do we search for the 'star' that will lead us to Jesus so that we may prostrate ourselves and pay him homage? We hear of Jesus in many ways as we go along our daily lives. We learn of how He comes to save us from our sins. We hear of Him through the sharing of others: of how Jesus has saved them from their sins. We hear of Him through the news that comes to us - the good news of people helping people and the good news of people actually giving their very lives for Christ in a special field or profession or even in some missionary or apostolic work. Yet, let us examine ourselves more deeply. Have we really followed the 'star' that would actually lead us to Him? For only when we follow the 'star' that leads us to Him shall we know that He is a God who did not put on His divinity for all to see, but rather God Himself who shed His Godhood and took our simple humanity so that He may be close to us and let us know Him better. When we follow the 'star' everyday in our lives, we shall be led to the person of Christ who will reveal Himself to us as the One who truly created us and brought us to being. Let us pray then that we be sensitive everyday to the 'star' that will lead us to Jesus. It could be in the form of silence, a friendly chat with a neighbor, the grace we receive in confession, our acts of charity and kindness to others, or any sign that will make us discover Jesus as God who became man so that we may live in the light.
Lectionary Readings for the Solemnity of Epiphany, Years A, B, and C
http://www.pcentral-onlne.net/catholic/lectionary/epiphany.html"
In this Sunday's readings, we find three wise men from the East learn about the birth of "the king of the Jews". They went to King Herod to find out about him. Herod became disturbed because this reality could be a threat to his being in power. For he also knows what the prophets say about in the Scriptures: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the princes of Judah, since from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' Herod then commissioned the three wise men from the East to inquire about the child themselves and to find where he is so that he himself will also pay homage to the child.
The wise men followed the star and when they arrived at the point where it was at a standstill, they saw a place where the child was. They entered the place and saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they offered their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. This is the mystery of the Epiphany. God manifested Himself to the world as a child born of a virgin and laid in a manger for the shepherds and the magi to see.
Do we search for the 'star' that will lead us to Jesus so that we may prostrate ourselves and pay him homage? We hear of Jesus in many ways as we go along our daily lives. We learn of how He comes to save us from our sins. We hear of Him through the sharing of others: of how Jesus has saved them from their sins. We hear of Him through the news that comes to us - the good news of people helping people and the good news of people actually giving their very lives for Christ in a special field or profession or even in some missionary or apostolic work. Yet, let us examine ourselves more deeply. Have we really followed the 'star' that would actually lead us to Him? For only when we follow the 'star' that leads us to Him shall we know that He is a God who did not put on His divinity for all to see, but rather God Himself who shed His Godhood and took our simple humanity so that He may be close to us and let us know Him better. When we follow the 'star' everyday in our lives, we shall be led to the person of Christ who will reveal Himself to us as the One who truly created us and brought us to being. Let us pray then that we be sensitive everyday to the 'star' that will lead us to Jesus. It could be in the form of silence, a friendly chat with a neighbor, the grace we receive in confession, our acts of charity and kindness to others, or any sign that will make us discover Jesus as God who became man so that we may live in the light.
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