Share the Joy!

“Come share your Master’s joy.” Matthew 25:21

In Matthew 25, Jesus gives us the gift of another parable. A rich man goes off on a journey and entrusted talents to each of his servants. Today we think of talents as a special ability. A talent in Jesus’ day was a measure of the weight of gold or silver so one talent in today’s equivalent would be about more than a million dollars. One servant was given 5, the second one two, and the third, one. When he left, the first servant immediately went and traded the talents, maybe bought a boat and started fishing and sold fish. The second one probably went to Divisoria and bought stuff to sell. The third one dug a hole in the ground and hid it. 

When the Master came back after a long time, he called his servants and settled accounts with them. He was so happy that the first one doubled his talents that he exclaimed, “Well done, my good and faithful servant! Since you were faithful with small matters, I will put you in charge of many things! Come, share your master’s joy! Celebrate with me!” The same thing happened with the second servant who was also able to double the talents entrusted to him. 

But alas! The third servant received a tongue whipping! “Wicked and lazy! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten! Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside!” 

When we use our creativity and imagination, when we work hard, using the gifts, talents and resources God generously gave each of us, we do experience joy! It is the same joy that God experienced in Genesis when He created the heavens and the earth. God totally revelled in making all the magnificent birds, fishes and flowers. He took great pleasure in forming the corals near the waters of Coron, sculpting the Niagara, carving Mount Everest, and blowing the VY Canis Majoris into existence. “God saw that it was good,” is repeated so many times in Genesis. I believe that God wanted us to have that same kind of triumph and exhilaration when we too make something out of what has been given us. The first servant IMMEDIATELY went out to use the talents. He was that excited. We too should be excited to use whatever resources we have at our disposal. In the end, we will have to show God what we have done with the talents he gifted us with. I hope God will say to each of us, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the fullness of my joy!” 

The Foolishness of the Cross

“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing , but to those who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

Indeed Jesus does say a lot of foolish things. “So the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16). “Blessed are they who mourn” (Matthew 5:4). “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). The thing about Jesus' words is one has to start with faith, or we can't understand it. The tendency would just be to scoff at what He preaches. 

I like to read about saints because in their stories, the truth of what Jesus says comes alive. Saint Francis of Assisi gave up his luxurious life to live in total poverty. Blessed is Saint Francis who was poor here on the earth but received all the riches of the Kingdom. That is what Jesus died on the Cross to give us: the eternal riches of heaven. To get it, we have to be poor in spirit, totally dependent on God. "The helpless put their trust in You" (Psalm 10:14).

Saint Teresa of Calcutta mourned for those she cared for. She would stop her rickety van if she found someone abandoned on the streets of India. She would give time to the dying, the weak and the elderly. She could not bear for one to die without experiencing companionship and the love of Christ. So she would hold the feeble hand of one who was dying and accompany him to the threshold of God. Many times she has entered in solidarity with others' pain and suffering. "Harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

It's easy for us to get inured to the pain and suffering of others. We get used to seeing street children dodging traffic, families living in a cart, young boys being killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, prisoners wrongly accused. The most foolish message of the cross is that God suffers with the suffering. 

If we are followers of Christ, we need to be a sign of God's mourning, and accompany those God sends our way. 

Boundless and Bare

“For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and abound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.” Mark 6:17

Today is the memorial of the passion of Saint John the Baptist. Luigi my husband, and I were talking about Herod Antipas, tetrarch or King of Judea under the Roman Empire, who had John the Baptist imprisoned and beheaded. In the Bible we read that Herod “feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.” Imagine that, Herod was a very powerful man but he liked to hear John the Baptist speak! He knew there was something different about John. Perhaps John awoke some good in him, but instead of listening to his conscience, he listened to Herodias who harbored a terrible grudge against John for speaking the truth. Herod had divorced his wife Phasaelis, and John the Baptist rebuked Herod for unlawfully taking Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip I.

Josephus, the Jewish historian who wrote “Antiquities of the Jews”, relates that Herod was afraid of John’s great influence on the masses and put him to death because the Jews might raise a rebellion against him. Herod lusted for power and wanted to hold on to it at all cost. He had his wife Mariamme, and three of his sons executed because he accused them of trying to kill him. He confiscated the property of the hostile Jewish upper classes who did not support him, making him exceedingly wealthy. 

With all his wealth and power, Herod made many miserable. Herod’s disease and distemper are described in minute detail by the historian Josephus and many of the Jews believed his pain and suffering were God’s punishment upon him. Herod claimed, “I know the Jews will greet my death with wild rejoicing...” To make sure that there would be mourning in the whole of Judea when he died, he had the most important men of every village in Judea arrested and imprisoned in the hippodrome. He instructed his sister Salome, “These men under guard — as soon as I die, kill them all….” Thankfully, Salome released them all at his death. In Josephus’ words, “Salome ... dismissed those that were shut up in the hippodrome; and told them, that the King ordered them to go away to their own lands, and take care of their own affairs, which was esteemed, by the nation, a great benefit.”

Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a poem about how might, wealth and power is fleeting, “My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings; Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” 

Let us make sure that what remains of our life is that which lives forever in the hearts and souls of those we love and serve. 

Our History

“[Paul commands,] ‘Therefore, brethren, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions which you have been taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours’” 2 Thess. 2:15

This is an oft overlooked passage in the Bible especially by some Christian traditions that believe only in ‘sola scriptura’, meaning the Bible alone is the sole authority of Christian doctrine. But there is much the Church Fathers have to say about these traditions Paul speaks about. John Chrysostom in a homily says that from this passage it is clear that Peter, Paul, James and John did not hand down everything by letter, but there is much also that was NOT  written. “Like that which was written, the unwritten too is worthy of belief.”

So Scripture is not the sole rule of faith for Christians. Not according to the Bible. Although we should guard against merely human tradition, it is important for us to cling to apostolic tradition, and this we can find in the writings of the Church Fathers like Ireneus, Origen, etc.

Basil the Great said that, ““Of the dogmas and messages preserved in the Church, some we possess from written teaching and others we receive from the tradition of the apostles, handed on to us in mystery. In respect to piety, both are of the same force. No one will contradict any of these, no one, at any rate, who is even moderately versed in matters ecclesiastical. Indeed, were we to try to reject unwritten customs as having no great authority, we would unwittingly injure the gospel in its vitals; or rather, we would reduce [Christian] message to a mere term” (The Holy Spirit 27:66 [A.D. 375]).

There is indeed so much treasure in the writings of the Church Fathers. It is amazing to read their wisdom as we seek to know more and more the history of the Church, God’s people. Indeed this is our own history! 

Sing to the Lord

“Sing a new song to the Lord." Psalm 96:1

We should always sing to God, fully and joyfully but we certainly shouldn’t limit ourselves to just using our voices. We can sing with our pen, just like King David did when he wrote the Psalms. And we needn’t always be joyful. We can sing and write of our pains, and laments to our Father. He can take it. But let us always, always conclude with thanksgiving. 

I like to list what I am grateful and thankful for every day. I also like to number it. I’m on number 12,000 plus. It’s not an exact number because there was a break in my counting when I reached 9,000 plus, and I started again from no.1 and I am on #3930 as of yesterday evening. 

We can also sing with our paintbrush which I always do. I find immense joy in using the beautiful range of colors that God has given us. I draw, paint, collage my prayers, my joys, my praise, God’s promises and beautiful reassurances. 

We can lift up our hearts when we sing with a musical instrument, or even when we dance, and I like to think we can sing with a broom while we clean the house, or with an egg whisk when we make bread. You get the idea. 

Whatever we do with our hearts lifted up to the Lord is a song of praise. Hallelujah!

Fanatics

 “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

This didn’t really happen, but it is a joke that has been going around about two of soccer’s greatest stars, Leonard Messi and Cristiano Reynaldo. In an interview, Reynaldo is said to have boasted, “God sent me down to earth to teach people how to play soccer.” When Messi was asked to react to the statement, he pronounced, “I don’t remember sending him!”

Many people look up to sports stars, celebrities and now even influencers as their gods. They put up posters on their walls, follow the way they dress or put on make up, have their names or faces tattooed on their bodies.

A Manchester United fan jumped to his death after his team lost to Newcastle United. A fan sent Jared Leto his severed ear. Dolly Parton had to care for a baby left on her doorstep till the Department of Health and Human Services arrived. The note said the newly born baby was named Jolene, and left by her momma because she wanted Dolly to look after it. Some fans are so obsessed they will do anything to be just like their idol. One teenager broke her foot when Jessie J injured her leg while rehearsing for a performance. She sent Jessie J photos to prove it. A super fan changed her name to Mrs. Kanye West when tattooing his face on her arm and derrière was not enough to claim his attention. 

None of these is as bad as how the Hebrews used to worship Baal during the time of the great prophet Elijah. They would sacrifice their children alive in fire, and actively engage in unholy activities in Baal’s pagan temples. So frustrated was Elijah, that he summoned the 400 priests of Baal to a challenge. This led to one of the most dramatic miracles in the Bible.

After that, all the people had no choice but to see that Baal was just a straw god, with no power, and no ears. It was obvious that Elijah’s God was the real, one true God, all powerful and mighty. But the real question was, would they abandon their unclean pagan ways to follow the true God? Sometimes we too straddle between believing in a God who requires obedience and faithfulness, and wanting to go our own way. We have to be like Joshua who said with firm resolve, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

I Am With You Always

“I saw you under a fig tree.” John 1:48

Does Jesus see us under a fig tree the same way he saw Nathanael under a fig tree? “Under a fig tree” was a common place for prayer especially for young, rabbinic students, so Jesus was telling Nathanael that he saw Nathanael communing with God, and that he would see “greater things”. Indeed when we bow our head to God in prayer, our lives will definitely be changed! 

There is a story of a beggar who was at the great David Livingstone’s funeral. He was heard muttering, “You were right, Davey, you were right!” A man asked him why he said that, and the beggar explained that when they were young, he was David Livingstone’s classmate in Scotland. One day a preacher came and told them about Jesus and Davey went forward and gave his life to Jesus. The beggar said he refused to follow.

David Livingstone went on to be a giant of a man. He lived a lot of it on his knees. When he was young, he prayed, “Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever any ties, but the ties that bind me to Your service and to Your heart.” And God answered, “Lo, I am with you always, even till the end of the age.” 

Henry M. Stanley, a journalist, was contracted to find David Livingstone, after the great explorer, physician and missionary went missing in Africa for 6 years. When he found the man, he asked the famous line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” and continued, “I am the biggest swaggering atheist on the face of the earth. Don’t convert me!” Within 4 months, Stanley was on his knees accepting Christ because of Livingstone’s compelling faith and life. 

Livingstone died on his knees, weak and worn as he was, praying with the last breath in his body. He saw many wonders in Africa, and was influential in stopping the slave trade which he abhorred. But of all the wonders he saw, I am sure none can compare with meeting Jesus face to face! 

Dry Bones

“Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!" Ezekiel 37:4 

There are many dramatic chapters in the Bible but none more dramatic than Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones.   The prophet is placed in the middle of a plain with dry bones in every direction. He is asked, "Can these bones come to life?" Whoa! What a question, but Ezekiel knows the perfect answer, "Lord God, You alone know that!" Then God says to him, "Prophesy over these bones! Dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord!" If anyone but God said that, it would have been a mockery. But God's Word is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). God's Word will not return to Him void or with no effect. It shall prosper and succeed wherever it is sent (Isaiah 55:11). And these dry bones were filled with the Spirit of God and lived again! 

We do not use God's Word enough. We do not wield it like a sword. We do not expect things to happen when we prophecy over hopeless situations. Dry bones? No job? Cancer? An ailing business? What is any of that to an all mighty, powerful God? 

Lord, may I study Your Word and use it like a sword. You said, "I have promised and I will do it!" (Ezekiel 37:14). May we believe and trust in You no matter how hopeless the situation! 

A New Heart

I made this plant pot for my friend’s birthday. I like making pots and will make some more. 

“I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, taking from your bodies your stony hearts and giving you natural hearts. I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes...” Ezekiel 36:26-27

Even saints like Saint Paul found it hard to follow God sometimes. He mourned in the 7th chapter of Romans that he did not understand his own actions. “I do not do what I want, but I do THE VERY THING I HATE.....I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” He said he was wretched indeed, “Who will deliver me from this body of death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” (Romans 7:21-25)

Saint Augustine battled against God before succumbing to His spirit. “Late have I loved you, beauty so ancient and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours.”  Sometimes like Saint Augustine, we are beguiled by the “lovely”, shiny things in this world, things that entice us far away from God. Sadly, if we rely on our own strength and power, we will be frustrated like Saint Paul. We need the promise of God, a new heart and a new spirit that He is willing to place within us. 

A few days ago, we celebrated the feast day of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. Amazingly, at the age of 22, he, his four brothers, and 25 of his friends entered the Abbey of Citeaux, because they feared the ways of the world! He wrote the famous words, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”. Do we need to fear the world? I do not think so. God placed us where we are, and I believe He uses this world to make us better people. The world is a huge saint-making machine as I have heard some say. We just need to be aware that we have an enemy who tries to deceive us, and lure us with “pretty things”, not showing us the “fine print”, the long term consequences of sin. Let us claim God’s promise of a new heart and a new spirit! 

First Will Be Last

"But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Matthew 19:30 

This phrase can be found also in Luke 13:30, Matthew 20:16, and Mark 10:31. And Jesus means exactly what he says. The thief hanging on the cross beside him must have done terrible things for him to merit the absolute worst punishment, but he received heaven's reward after he repented. That thief received the same fullness of life eternal that Saints Peter, Paul, and Timothy received. The thief just got through that narrow door! We will never know who we will meet when we get to heaven. (We're getting there not because of any good we've done but because God will finish the work He started in us!) 

We can try to think of the most evil person we know, the one who murders people, babies even, the one who goes to a crowded place and plants a bomb, the one who rapes, who deceives, who lies, etc. And then when we see Saint Peter, we can ask him, "Why is that person here? I served God, tried my best to be good, told the truth, and prayed every day! And that person, what did he do?" Saint Peter might answer, "He repented and asked for mercy!" 

It's the same as the workers in the vineyard in the 20th chapter of Matthew. Some worked a full day, others just an hour, and they all got the same wage! There can't, after all, be any more or less of eternal life. And NONE of us deserve the reward of heaven. None! 

Lord Jesus, thank You for paying the price of admission to our eternal home! We will never realize how amazingly incredible our inheritance is until we join you, like the thief beside You on the cross, in Paradise! 

Perfect

"If you wish to be perfect..." Matthew 19:21 

The rich young man in Matthew 19 is nameless. He can be anyone who desires to be good. He asked Jesus, "Teacher, what good must I do to possess everlasting life?" Jesus answers that he must keep the commandments. He should not kill, commit adultery, steal, or lie. He should honor his parents and love his neighbor as he loves himself. 

We could easily have answered the same, "I have kept all these. What do I need to do further?" Jesus told him, "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give to the poor. You will then have treasure in heaven. After that, come back and follow me." 

The young man left, sad, grieved and in much distress, for he had many possessions. Upon hearing this passage, another 20-year-old, rich young man by the name of Anthony, gave up his wealth to live in the desert for 20 years. Saint Anthony of Egypt, known as the 'Father of Monasticism', inspired many other men to give up worldly wealth and become monks in the desert. 

Not all of us are called to do this. Like the rich young man in Matthew 19, we should ask God what to do, for I believe, we were all born with a mission. I was listening to a couple talking with their daughter. The young girl was a little anxious because she was told by her father that one day their nice house and other properties would be her responsibility, and that she should always share the blessing with others. This hospitable couple always lent their vacation house to others for retreats or rest breaks and did not ask for payment. "How will I get the money to maintain the house? It's so expensive to let people use the house. Just the water, electricity and the subdivision dues cost so much!" The couple reassured their daughter that God will provide as He always does.

How do we become perfect? The road to perfection is a journey, and one we never undertake alone. We should walk with Jesus our friend, continuously talk with Him and ask Him the way. 

Living Bread

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” John 6:51 

God’s Word is creative and if He says, “Whoever eats this bread will live forever,” we better ask, “What can He mean? How do we eat Him if I want to live forever?” 

If we read it in the original Greek, Jesus uses the word “trogain” which means to GNAW, as a lion would eat the meat off the bones of its prey. “Unless you GNAW me, you will not have life within you.” This was very disgusting to the Jews because they were taught from childhood, from the Law and the Prophets, that they should never eat animal flesh with blood. Many followers left His side at this point. Did Jesus tell them, “Come back! I did not mean what you think! I only meant that you eat me symbolically!”? No! He let them go. 

In many ways the Old Testament prefigured the Holy Eucharist and the first Jewish Christians believed in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They saw the Eucharist as the new Passover, the new manna from heaven and the new Bread of the Presence. Dr. Brant Pitre lectured about Jesus and the Jewish roots of the Eucharist. One of the points he brought out was that the mystery of the Trinity is foreshadowed in the tabernacle of Moses.

The 3 key symbols in the tabernacle, he said, were the Ark of the Covenant (God the Father), the lamp stand or the menorah with tongues of fire (Holy Spirit), and the gold table with the Bread of the Presence (Jesus). In the Jewish Talmud it says that at Passover, the priest would take the table from the holy place of the temple. And in the midst of the people, the priest would lift up the table with the bread and say, "Behold God's love ❤️ for you."

Thank You Lord for the bread that You give, Your flesh which You sacrificed to give us life and love! And thank You for choosing us to be Your instruments to spread Your love to others!!!

“Whoever eats the bread of life

Will never hunger, says the Lord.

For all who eat and drink of me Will never die but will receive

Eternal life.” Bread of Life, Bukas Palad Music Ministry 

https://youtu.be/3LY70FEV82w?si=UKDw_dMENdNnc-3r

A Clean Heart

“Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Psalm 51:12

King David wrote this Psalm after realizing his sin against God. He lusted after Bathsheba, had her husband killed, then married her. In Psalm 51, David recognises his sin and his guilt before God. He asks forgiveness and asks to be cleansed. Then he promised to teach sinners the ways of God. 

There are many ways people realize their sin against God. One of the Youth for a Mission workers in the Middle East met an Isis fighter who converted to Christianity. This man had enjoyed violently killing many Christians already. Before murdering one man, his victim said, “I know you will kill me, but I give you my Bible.” He started reading the Bible and one night, he had a dream about a man dressed in white. “You are killing my people.” After that, his hard heart softened, and he began to feel guilty and sick to his stomach about the atrocities he committed. Jesus continued to appear to him. In one dream, Jesus invited him, “Follow me and be my disciple.” 

According to YWAM missionaries, many in the Arab world are quietly following Jesus. They watch services on TV and serve communion to each other. It can cost them their lives if they openly proclaim their allegiance to Christ! 

Jesus calls each of us to follow Him and be His disciple. It will not cost us our physical life if we say yes to Jesus, but it will definitely change the very essence and meaning of our existence!