Still Have Work To Do

 “I create Jerusalem to be a joy...” Isaiah 65:18

“L'Shana Haba'ah B'Yerushalayim“, the Jews pray after Passover or Yom Kippur. It means, “Next year in Jerusalem!” Before, the Jews of the Diaspora would pray this with longing to return to their very own country after having been dispersed. Now “Jerusalem” in this prayer refers to the future city and the Temple that will be rebuilt when the Messiah comes. It is also the New Jerusalem, or Heavenly City, a symbolic and literal representation of heaven on earth described in Revelation 21.

I have been listening to Corrie Ten Boom’s preaching, her stories about Betsie her sister, and the horrors of Ravensbrück. At 85 years old, she needed a pacemaker. She said she would have wanted to go to heaven but apparently God had other plans. After traveling all continents of the world, preaching the good news, starting when she was in her mid-50s, she was able to settle in her very own home with a garden in Placentia, California. God promised her that she would be able to reach more people than she did going from place to place. On April 15, 1983, Corrie Ten Boom passed away on her 91st birthday. Jews believe that only very special, blessed people are given the honor of dying on their birthday.

She is now in Jerusalem, city of joy, city of the living God. One day we may be able to meet her and see her smiling face. But not yet. Right now, we still have work to do- God’s work, just like Corrie, that He has prepared for us to do. 

The Lord Sees the Heart

 “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because he sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

Every day we are bombarded with beautiful people on our feeds in Facebook, Instagram, etc. I am reminded of the book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, written by Oscar Wilde in 1890. It is about a beautiful young man who sold his soul to keep his youth. Instead of his face showing the hedonistic, corrupt life he chose, it was his portrait that reflected his many sins and the picture became more and more grotesque every day. 

In contrast I offer Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, known as Mother Teresa to most of us. She was not beautiful. It is interesting what Bill McKendry, a top advertising executive with Leo Burnett thought of Mother Teresa’s feet when he interviewed her in 1996. 

She was wearing sandals as she usually does, and he was startled at how tremendously deformed, calloused and warped her feet were. 

“With toes that were twisted, nails that were missing, and bruises everywhere, Bill felt they were by far the ugliest feet he’d ever seen. He also knew they were the most beautiful he’d ever seen. Those were the feet of someone who lived life passionately in service to others. Those were the feet of someone who didn’t take the easy path or make life solely about themselves. Those were the feet of a woman who had every reason to retire, to not travel, to finally relax, but with failing health traveled to the United States to raise awareness and money for the neediest of the world.

They were, in other words, the feet of a living saint. “ 

God certainly saw beyond the wrinkled face, hands and feet of Mother Teresa. He saw her desire to give Him her all in spite of the profound spiritual loneliness she felt detailed in her letters to her spiritual directors. 

Father, may You walk with me, and always lead me to grow closer to You, until my heart is pleasing to You in every way.  

Have Mercy!

 ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ Luke 18:13

If we listen or read St. Teresa of Avila’s autobiography, she says a lot about being wicked, and sinning against God, but does not say what it is she has done. Luigi said that when you are close To God, you are more aware of your sins. In her autobiography St. Teresa wrote that she was ‘very fond of St. Augustine...for he was a sinner too.’

What impressed me is that she spent a lot of her time talking to God. Although she is the total opposite of Brother Lawrence, who was a simple man, unpolished and awkward, they both ‘practiced the presence of God’. In contrast, St. Teresa was sophisticated, her father was one of the richest men in Avila, and when she was young, she was very concerned about her looks, make up, and even perfume. 

Much to the disappointment of her father, she entered the religious life at the age of 20. She was sick for a long time, staying in bed for almost a year. What pained her about her sickness was she could not pray all alone as there was always someone watching out for her. 

Eventually, she found the laxity of her Order disturbed her. There were too many visitors of high rank, and unsubstantial conversations that intruded on the practice of contemplation and solitude. She then founded a ‘reformed’ Carmelite convent with stricter monastic regulations which included flagellation! She was a reformer and during the last three years of her life, she founded several convents and even men’s monasteries. 

What transformed this frivolous young woman interested in romance novels into one who only lived to serve God with her whole heart, soul and body? We can say it was the mercy and grace of God. 

St. Teresa de Avila wrote: “Trust God you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and everyone of us.”

Have mercy on me, O Lord, a sinner! 

Take with You Words

 "Take with you words and return to the Lord." Hosea 14:3

Sometimes all I do is talk, talk, talk to God, not allowing Him to say a word to me! But then I have a long seemingly unending list of prayer requests! I do not think those are the “words” this passage suggests we take to the Lord. 

Then what are the words that we should say to Him? This verse from Hosea is always recited on the Sabbath preceding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year for the Jewish people. (Hebrew: [ˈjom kiˈpuʁ], or יום הכיפורים) I love how the Hebrew script looks! 

The Jews usually observe this holy day with long fasting and prayer in the synagogue. It is a day of atonement and repentance.

“Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the Lord.” In Hebrew, ‘words’ means things, realities, and the connotation is we need to repent sincerely. Rabbi Len Ben Sisi wrote that the power of repentance was so great it soars all the way up to the throne of glory. 

Yes, Lord, forgive us for abandoning You. Show us the way back to You! Father, we want to be pleasing in Your sight. Wash us clean of our iniquities, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." After that, I am sure His grace will allow us to enjoy and bask in His presence! 

The Finger of God

 “...by the finger of God..." Luke 11:20

Can we say we have been touched by the finger of God? Have we seen God's power at work in our lives? Or perhaps we see God intervening in someone's life and wonder why He has not done the same for ourselves. We live in a skeptical world, very much the same as the time when Jesus lived. Back then, some thought that when Jesus cast a demon out of a deaf and dumb person, He did it with power from Satan! Today, we prefer to be sophisticated skeptics, always questioning whether God is present or if He exists at all! I saw this picture on Facebook of a big sign "GODISNOWHERE". How would we read it? God is nowhere? Or God is now here?

When we start with faith, we will see signs of God's being "now here" everywhere! I see it in every answered prayer. I see it in every encouragement and smile I receive. I see it in the miracle of our business that thrives in spite of many mistakes and failures. I see it in the perseverance and faith of my countrymen who have good humor in the midst of trying times. 

Sometimes we need bigger signs that God is present. Marion Brown, a court reporter, grew away from her faith as she got older. She became skeptical that God was listening when she talked to Him. It took a big fire, the 2003 wildfire that destroyed over 700 thousand acres and more than 3000 homes, to make her believe again. Her family's home was razed to the ground. When she went back to the site with her husband and kids to find if there was anything of value that was left, they looked around and everything was just ashes. There were even holes on the ground because the roots of the trees were burned. She started to pray for words to say that would help her sons heal. She could see her younger son Erik quietly going around with tears falling down his cheeks. He suddenly got excited when he found a book but when he picked it up, it disintegrated in his hands. 

"Wait! Look!" he shouted. In his hand, was left a most fragile piece of ash. It was a picture of a family holding hands, with the words, "Count your blessings."  

Lord, may I always remember to be grateful for Your presence in my life. May I remember to count my blessings and not wait for big signs before I believe You are working in my life! 

God’s Friend

 

Moses said to the people, “ Now Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe…” Deuteronomy 4:1

There are things I remind my son Josh about, and because I've said them again and again, his response is a plaintive, "Mom! I've heard that before!" 

“Pray everyday and read the Bible.” I drummed this into his brain since he was young. "Don't date until you're ready to get married!" I've taught my son what I believe is best for him. Would God our Father do any less? 

In the 4th chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses tells his people to listen and observe the statutes and decrees God gave them, His chosen people. It is for their own good, just as it is for ours. His law is easily summarized into the Ten Commandments and the Shema, the Jews' daily declaration of faith to one God. Just as we want to teach our children what is good for them, so God wants to teach us how to live in good order, wisely and faithfully. 

There is a story of an old miner who lived like a hermit in the Colorado Mountains. When he died, his relatives came and took his meager belongings, an old cooking pot, and some rusty mining equipment. Before they left, his old friend came walking up and asked if he could have what was left. They answered, "Sure! We got everything we want." The friend then went in, moved the table, and lifted one of the floorboards. There was his friend's hoard of gold worth millions. Only a true friend would know your worth! We need to be God's friend to know how valuable His Word is! 

Lord, thank You for the gift of Your Word. I know Your Word, Your promises, Your decrees, are worth more than gold or silver, or property in Manhattan or all the wealth Elon Musk has! 

Forgive to Give Freedom

 “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21-22

Ann Voskamp is one of my favorite writers and this is what she has to say about forgiving:

“This is hard but healing:

 

Forgive to give freedom.

Forgive to give yourself the key out, forgive to give what you’ve been given.

Forgive to give what you will need to get a thousand times so you can get to go on. 

 

Love gives. So live given.

Love is a verb and that verb is give.

You’ve been given so much — so how can you not live given?

 

Give thanks and live given — this is how you get joy.”

Forgiving is not the easiest thing. I know because just the other day I was grappling with saying mean words about somebody who did something not even against me but what I felt was against all Filipinos. How much more if he wronged me or a loved one personally? But forgiveness is a decision we have to make each and every day until we get it right. Our Father is all about forgiveness. When we say the Lord’s Prayer we ask that He forgive us as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Sometimes this is impossible and I think of all the survivors of Auschwitz like Corrie Ten Boom, or women who have been raped or abused like Christine Caine, or mothers and fathers whose sons or daughters have been taken from them by the IRGC or grooming gangs in the UK. We cannot do it on our own. We need to pull from God’s sea of mercy and allow Him to work in our hearts and minds one day at a time. Sometimes a minute at a time. 

Use Our Weapons

 “Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?” 2 Kings 5:7

The story of Naaman, a LEPER, makes a very interesting read. Naaman, must have been an impressive man in spite of his being diseased. He was the highly esteemed army commander of the King of Aram. 

Naaman’s wife had a little Jewish slave girl who told her a prophet in Samaria would be able to cure him of his leprosy. The King sent Naaman off to the King of Israel, with a letter. When Joram, the King of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments and exclaimed, “Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?”

When Elisha the prophet heard about this, he told the King of Israel to send Naaman to him. After Naaman obeyed what Elisha told him to do, to go and wash seven times in the Jordan river, his leprosy was healed. His flesh became like a little child.

It is a question to me why we do not have prophets like Elisha we can go to for guidance and healing. We need him today to go around the world healing so many people who are sick, and to give specific advice for our government leaders! I think it is because Jesus came and sent us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. We are supposed to be “Elisha” in our part of the world. We need to practice the gifts of the Spirit which include healing, discernment, wisdom, miracles, prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues. These are weapons God gave us to advance His Kingdom. 

Just like in any army, we need to learn and practice how to use weapons. We can’t expect to go out into the battlefield and be an expert. We need to be brave and pray over sick people and use the gifts God gave us. Maybe at first, we won’t see any results. But if we keep at it and don’t give up, I am 100% sure, we will see God work through us. 

The God in our Midst

 "Is the Lord in our midst or not?" Exodus 17:7

Like the Israelites, we tend to ask this question when we are in the midst of some trial. In Exodus 17, the people of God grumbled and complained because they were thirsty. They forgot all about the pillar of fire that guided them at night, the parting of the sea so they would be saved from the Egyptians' wrath, the manna and the quail from the Lord's hand for them to eat. 

In Romans 5:3-4, Saint Paul advises that we should rejoice in our trials and tribulations: knowing that tribulation produces steadfastness, patience and perseverance. This in turn develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation. When we are undergoing some trial or testing, let us be confident that God is doing some perfecting in us. Just like any master potter, He will knead and mold, and carve. He will throw us on the potter's wheel again and again. He will creatively use the needle or the brush or whatever tool He can, to make us into the masterpiece He plans. I was listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz and he said, “The reality is that God does not waste our wounds. That all of this can be used. The truth is this, that nothing given to God is ever ever wasted because he's involved. Because God can use every part of your story.” We can trust Him with our life. 

Lord, it may be hard to rejoice in the trials and sufferings we sometimes go through. May we always be aware that You walk with us during these times, and may we be confident that You are doing some important work in us. Amen. 

Focus on the Father

 

‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns…you slaughter the fattened calf.’ His father said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ Luke 15:29-32

I don’t know about you but I can relate more to the son who did not leave home, who was obedient, and did his work diligently and did not squander half of the father’s wealth. Like that son, I most probably would have felt very bad about the big welcome given to the son who left home. 

I have to confess that I sometimes wonder if I will see the big sinners in heaven. Just yesterday my husband and I were discussing how councillors in his hometown corner the market for particular construction materials and earn big money. It is against the law for public officials to have direct or indirect financial interest in any transaction requiring their office's approval and yet this is what is happening all over our country. 

After politicians have stolen millions from our country’s coffers, after they have deprived a majority of our people of a good education, basic healthcare, efficient transportation, and sufficient food supply, will they receive forgiveness from the “ocean of mercy that opened up for the whole world” when Jesus died on the cross? My mind says an adamant NO! But my heart says YES! If they come humbly before the Father, of course He will welcome them with open arms! 

I realize I am self-righteous much like the older son, “caught up in the narrow confines of the ego”. If we are in the right relationship with the Father, we will just be focused on  Him. We will be using all our strength, our passion, our gifts, on being one with Him in His purposes and goals for me and for others. We will desire that all, absolutely all, may receive of the Father’s bountiful mercy and grace. 

Count On It!

 “Here comes that master dreamer!” Genesis 37:19

Joseph’s brothers knew he was special, different, but instead of being drawn to him, they were irritated, jealous of their father’s favor, and wanted to kill him. They stripped Joseph of the multicolored coat their father Israel made, threw him into a cistern and sold him to traders for 20 pieces of silver. 

We are all but too familiar with sibling rivalry and favoritism and the middle child syndrome, but Joseph’s brothers took it to the extreme! Joseph went through so much hardship and trials and challenges, becoming a slave, then ending up in jail for years for doing the right thing. 

All that time, God had a wonderful plan for Joseph. He was walking with Joseph the entire time. He was working behind the scenes. One thing we can learn from Joseph is to trust God! Even if what is happening is totally disappointing, even if people we love fail us and do us wrong, even if circumstances are worrisome, we must BELIEVE that God will make things right.

We should be confident that God has better things in store for us! God will make our dreams come true if we work with Him to make those dreams come true! We should not allow whatever happened in the past to come and haunt our present! We should know that God will RESTORE what the enemy has destroyed and God wants to do a new thing! God is faithful! Count on it! 

Is Lazarus at Our Gate

 “Lying at the rich man’s gate was a poor man named Lazarus covered with sores.” Luke 16:20

Is there a Lazarus at our gate? 

Many of us live our lives with no thought of heaven and hell, angels or devils. We forget about all that, in the busyness, the stress of everyday life. We may get reminded if we go to mass or a prayer meeting, if we’re paying attention, and not allowing our mind to wander around. 

Here we have Jesus telling a story to the Pharisees. There is a very rich man who is UNNAMED. Lying at his door is Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores that the dogs would lick. When Lazarus died, he was carried away by angels to heaven. When the rich man died, he went straight to hell. What was his sin? Jesus did not say he stole, he lied, he cheated, he murdered, he committed adultery. What sent him to hell? The unnamed rich man ignored Lazarus at his doorstep. He went about his life wearing fine garments and eating good food and did not bother to help Lazarus. 

When I ignore the needs of others around me, I am that rich man who is nameless in Jesus’ eyes. In His reckoning, He does not know me, even if the world gives me plenty of awards and citations. Even if I am powerful and rich and famous, Jesus will say, “I do not know you.”

“I never knew you. Depart from Me,” Jesus said clearly in Matthew 7:21-23. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Let us make sure Jesus knows our name, by opening our eyes to see the world around us, paying attention to the needs and the cries of the poor, the sick, the hungry, the ones in prison. When we help them, let us make sure to ask their names. After all, Jesus knows and loves them.

The Future

“You do not know what you are asking!” Matthew 20:22

The mother of James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, asked Jesus that these two sons of hers be given places of honor in His Kingdom. Jesus replied, “You do not know what you are asking!” Mothers always want the best for their children. We plead with God for their good health, safety everywhere they go, friendships that will influence them to go the right path, authentic faith, etc. 

Salome, the mother of James and John, had the unique position of being right there with Jesus and His apostles when He described His death and resurrection. She could not have foreseen that James would be the first of the disciples to be martyred, slain by the sword when Herod Agrippa had started persecuting leaders of the Christians. When James was lead away, his accuser was so moved by his courage that he repented, accepted Jesus and asked to be executed alongside James. 

Salome’s other son John was the only one of the original Twelve who did not die a violent death. He passed away of old age after writing several books of the New Testament. 

We never know what the future holds for us, and for our loved ones. We can only pray that we all finish running the race well. Jesus tells us how: “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:26-28)

The Greatest Among You

 “The greatest among you must be your servant.” Matthew 23:11

Does this make any sense?

How do we grow into having the heart of a servant instead of feeling 'entitled' that we have to be served? One way is remembering that we have a purpose and to concentrate on that. We need to do the next right thing. 

I was impressed with the story of an usher. He is nameless but God knows His name! In November 1934, two young boys came into a tent where a revival meeting was going on. The place was full, so they turned to leave. But an usher saw them, put his big arms around them and said, “I'll find you seats, boys! Follow me!" He led them to two seats with the choir. 

That was the night that one of the boys, Billy Graham, gave his life to Christ, after listening to the preaching of Mordecai Ham. What if the usher was more interested 

in ogling some giggling girls? What if he was daydreaming? What if he was counting the minutes till he could go home?

Saint Paul commanded us: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men . . . It is the Lord Christ you are serving” (Col. 3:23-24).

How many times have I concentrated on myself and what I think I am entitled to, rather than being present in the moment doing the job I am supposed to do? Lord, forgive me. Teach me to be a servant like You!