KNOW THY HISTORY

What is your favorite subject in school? Mine is History. Not so many students like this subject. They abhor history as it entails memorizing dates and personalities. But History is more than that. By studying past events we can understand our present and charter the course of our future. Seen with faith, we can see in our past the hands of God working in our lives. History teaches us about the faithfulness of God in promises He made to us.

It is apt that Mathew and Luke begin their account of Christ's life through a genealogy of Christ. The genealogy of Christ connects Him with the promise God made to Israel, fulfilled in Christ Jesus, and extended to us, the New Israel. Through our history, we experience a faithful God, no matter how unfaithful we have become.   

When we think of Jesus, as the son of God, we expect that he descended from a royal blood; from de Buena familia. The reality is far from it. In the genealogy of Christ, there is a prostitute (Rahab, the harlot of Jericho), a murderer (David), idolaters (Solomon and Amon), and an evil king (Ahaz). In the account of Luke, he traces the ancestry of Jesus to Adam himself, who disobeyed God’s command in the beginning. Christ did not come from a de Buena Familia.

God promised us a Savior. Through generations covenants were made between God and man, that God may fulfill His promise. But many times man broke these covenants. But ours is a faithful God. He drew goodness from the evils which are of man’s doing. Christ was born from a not so perfect ancestry. God remained faithful in His promise. A Savior was born to us. Though we did not come from a de buena familia, through the faithfulness of God, expressed in the birth of Christ, we have become a buenas na familia. 

In our life, Satan wants us to always remember our evil deeds. Satan calls us by our past sins. Sadly, sometimes, we give in to his allurement be haunted by the ghost of the past. The good news is, God wants us to remember His compassion and forgiveness towards us. He calls us by our name. In the end, God’s promise is realized no matter what we do; no matter how evil we have become.  God can bring forth goodness (the sole desire of His heart for us), even in a very evil situation. This is the truth that we can learn from our history; a promise fulfilled yesterday, and a hope realized today, and so will it be in our future, for our God is faithful God. That you can learn in our history as the New Israel.

Are you frustrated or confused about your present?

Look at your past and see how God had been faithful to you;

how He drew straight lines through crooked sticks of your life.

He did in the past, so He does today and even tomorrow.

He is the Unchanging God, the Faithful God in our story.

R.O.S.E.: AN ACTION PLAN TOWARDS REJOICING

How are we to rejoice? We can read a lot of self-help manuals on how we can indeed be happy in life. Despite the existence of these self-help manuals on genuine happiness, pure joy remains to be an elusive reality in our life. More guidelines are published each year, but few people experience joy.

Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, we are to rejoice. We call this Sunday as Gaudete Sunday in reference to the entrance antiphon that says:  "Rejoice (Gaudete in Latin) in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob." (Philippians 4:4–6; Psalm 85 (84):1). We are half-way through our waiting for the coming of our Jesus Christ on Christmas day. Mid-way in our waiting, we rejoice as we see the forthcoming of our goal. What a joy! The liturgical color for today outwardly expresses our the joy we celebrate today. Rose is a color of celebration. We become roses to others when we become their reason for joy (Hopeful, we shall not turn into thorns!). Thus, it is also called Rose Sunday.

This Sunday, let the word ROSE be our guide in our desire to be glad.

Recognize. We can be genuinely joyful when we learn to recognize the graces of God in our life, and ultimately His plan for each of us. Seeing the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God in our Life brings us delight. We shout for joy; we sing joyfully in knowing the will of the Father. To save us from sin and death; to be with Him is the sole desire of God for us. Our salvation is our reason for rejoicing. 

When we do not know what we should do in our life, have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God (Phil 4:6). Ask the good Lord, “What should we do?”

Obey. Knowing the desire of God for us should move us to obey Him. We are saddest when we realize our OWN plans, in our OWN strength, and end up frustrated if not a failure. Left on our own, we are doomed. By obeying the will of God, we do ourselves the most significant thing we can render to ourselves, for the will of God only desire the best for us. By disobeying God’s will, we sin; we know what and how SHOULD we do things in accord we God’s commandments, but we insist on our OWN way. We end up separating ourselves from God by offending Him. 

Along our way, as we strive to realize God’s plan; we sometimes lose sight of our goal, we give-in to temptations; we deviate from God’s desire. When we sin, bravely admit it and repent; return to the Lord. Thus, for us to be obedient to God, it is imperative for us to constantly beg the good Lord “What should we do?” We are to remain in the Lord always. We return to Him.     

Sacrifice. Obedience to God requires sacrifice. This is primarily evident in giving our OWN ways, and desire, so that indeed His will be done. Parents give-up their bachelor’s way of life that they may dedicate themselves in taking care of each other and their children. Priests and religious sacrifices the prospect of married life so that they may be made available to everyone. This is difficult but brings forth incomparable gladness. Just look at the faces of parents when they see their children getting married and living a good life. Just look at the faces of religious sisters as they assist their students in their graduation day. Indeed it is a sacrifice to live our lives for others and God, but it is only through such sacrifices for others that we can realize our true selves as Christians, just like Christ who lives not for Himself for his friends.   

Enjoy. In all these things, never forget to enjoy the life we live. In the midst of obedience and sacrifice that our lives demand, always find the sunny side of life. We are people of Easter morn. No Christian should wear long faces as if stuck in Good Friday. We can only enjoy the life that God wanted us to live as we learn to own it and find meaning in this life. There is no greater joy in this world than to follow God’s will.

As we recognize the will and graces of God, obey Him, sacrifice our own will, and enjoy the life God wanted us to live, we become roses; pleasing to the eyes of God and man; causes of joy to all.

DESIRE OF THE HEART

As persons, we can love; that is to desire the good of others. Love ought to bring forth goodness. We have loved a lot of things and persons. We look around us and we see banners expressing love: I love Manila, I love Boracay, Lov ko ‘to, Napusuan ko na post mo (about social media posts). When asked to post wacky, we display a finger heart. But when we have a second look in our society, goodness remains wanting. Hatred and violence characterised our society. Why is that so? It is because our concept of love is distorted. The object of our love is not truly good. We have mistaken like for love. We do not love tourist spots. We do not love a fast food chain. We do not love a post. We like them. Love entails readiness to die for the beloved. Are you willing to die for a burger and fries? We have a disordered concept of love in as much as it is oriented towards a wrong object brought by an unclear notion of what is good. With childish disposition, we do not know what we love; what is good for us. We demand one thing, but in an instance, we change our mind. We are confused on what we truly love in life. We cannot make up our mind on what is good for (Mt 11:16-19). 

What do we love in life? Whom do we love in life?

The Lord teaches us what is good for us and lead us to the path where we should go (Is 48:17-19). The commandments of God point on what is good for us. These commandments are what God desires for us to be the objects of our love. God, Himself should be the object of our love. Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt 6:33). God and all that is good in Him is the proper object of our love. The rest is merely a manifestation of the former. We love a friend, even an enemy, in as much as we experience God in them. We care for things and properties in as much these God’s creation entrusted to us. We do not like to offend our beloved by bastardizing His creation; an extension of Himself. We love of we do, though how difficult it may be, in as much it is the will of God. Parents love being mothers and fathers to their children, though how difficult it may be to raise children nowadays because that is the desire of God for them. We please the One whom we love. We do everything that will make our Beloved happy.

Love brings good towards the beloved. This is true when a man truly loves a woman. It is different when a man loves God. Our efforts to love God do not add anything to God. He is all good. He has all the goods of this world. Our love of God, his commandments and will, brings goodness not to God but to us who love Him. Those who follow the Lord will have the light of life (John 8:12). By loving God, we can love the right things, deeds, and persons, as His goodness shed light towards the goods, we should desire in life. God is the desire of our hearts. 

GOD ASSURES US: AKO ANG BAHALA SA IYO

What are we afraid of? Most of us have fears. We are scared of darkness. Deafening silence frightens us. We are afraid to lose the things and persons in our lives. We are fearful of the absence or loss of a thing or person in our life because they are essential to us. Darkness is the absence of light, which enables us to see. Thus when it is dark we see nothing and panicked. Death of a loved one is an absence of a loved one. And that terrifies us. Fear of the unknown is a manifestation of the lack of knowledge we ought to know.  

We are afraid of the things and persons, incapacities and inadequacies that prevent us from achieving our goals. Ultimately and adequately we should be afraid of the things that prevent us from realizing how God loves and cares for us. Sin separates us from God. Are we afraid to sin? Are we afraid when we are separated from God?

Today, God reminds us: I am the LORD, your God, FEAR NOT.

God sends the best of this world to assure us of His love for us. God sends John the Baptist to announce the coming of our Savior. Though the Kingdom of Heaven may be under attack; we might be under attack by lots of adversities in our life, know that God sends us help. Our community, our church, our family as Christian are under attack. God sends people and opportunities that may help us to become faithful members of His Kingdom. He sent no less His only begotten Son for our sake. Recognize these aids coming from the Lord. Like John the Baptist, these assistances God sends point to the essential realities of our life which we miss in the hurly-burly of everyday life.

Do not let unknown things, or absence of knowledge cause useless anxieties in our life, save the situation when we are separated from God.   

God assures us in life. AKO ang bahala sa iyo.

Tunay nga sana, masabi natin “Lord, ikaw na bahala sa akin.”