Inspirations at your Fingertips!

To let God's love flow So far, we've been following the book of Hosea, the prophet.  Yesterday, his theme was the love of God in structure through the Christian community. It is a call to coversion because of the powerful and life-changing love of God vs. the hardheadedness of the people whom he loves. This flows in the very heart of Jesus who instructed his apostles while sending them on a mission to preach the Good News.  They shall not be exempt from the trials of this world.  Rather, they shall even be subjected to their violence.  But Lord reminds them, "By the time it happens, the Good News shall be preached through out the world." Clarify whether we are the apostles or the hardheaded people; the meek and humble victim  who loves or the persecutor.  Time will come when in our actions we shall know whether we have caused the Good News to run freely or hindered its growth.  Let God's flowing love be our guide in this world.

Doing what is right In the book of Amos, the prophecy continues.  The children of the next generation would suffer because of the injustices.  We don't to see that far to realize what we have done for every sin we commit in our generation and how they affect the next generation. In gospel, Jesus does something right - he starts healing those who were affected by the sin of society. Matthew is one of them. We can also do our part to stop the cycle of sin and corruption around us by turning to the victims of sin. It's time to do what is right.

Faith and the process of building it The parable of the house build on solid rock calls us to make our faith deeply rooted in God and not only on empty promises. But do we wonder why Jesus chose the process of building to picture faith and not just present its reality?  Because eventually, faith is a process that needs to be built.  It begins as our lives begin and we are baptised.  It continues as our lives mature in this world, and it reached its maturity upon the completion of our lives. In the Church, we believe that the kingdom of God is here, but it is not yet.  Why? It still needs to grow in hearts and lived out concretely.  It needs to be fruitful. Let us aim to build our faith on solid grounds which on Jesus can supply for us.

Making everything holy We cannot desecrate what is holy.  But we can make this world holy by consecrating it.  We cannot use the mindset of the world and use it to interpret the language of God. The language of God is different from the language of the world. God's language is that of sharing; mankind's language is full of self.  The language of God demands self-sacrifice for the sake of others.  Man's language is self-survival. If we desire to truly live, let us abide in God and we shall remain in Him.  That is holiness.

The spirit of the law In going back to the Old Testament, the Christian re-exposes himself to God's word and check whether he adheres to His will and he binds himself to Jesus to be and "Alter Christus in the world". The story of Ahab as story of entrusting oneself to God will with the spirit of a totally dependent child to his father.  From this intimacy, one learns from the father.  One learns to posses the heart of the father. In the gospel, Jesus enters into the spirit of the law.  We can follow the external law if we wanted to.  But the Waterloo of every law is when some parts are not written.  Then we can justify our every action. But in the Christian world.  The law is Jesus himself who commands us to go deeper than the law.  He reminds us that anger against a brother leads to death.  Thus, we should take care that from the very start we don't violate our relationship with our brother. "Be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect...

How does one learn? One learns through word; i.e., through the teachings of others. But in the first reading, St. Paul was quick to remind Timothy of his patience, love, and constancy as he preached in different places.  He also shared with him his persecutions and how Jesus rescued him. In the Gospel, Jesus had to refute earlier claims that he was an impostor and not the Son of God.  But it takes the Son of God to explain it in the most convincing way.  And the most convincing way to explain God's love is through the offering of one's own life. How else can the next generation know about Jesus?  How many can commit themselves to His work?  Only the persons who have the heart of Christ, those whose knowledge about God are converted into concrete actions have the capacity to see the life in their children, the life that comes from God.  They shall live forever.

Obedience "The fullness of the revelation of God is found in the Catholic Church."  This has been the official stand of the Catholic Church, specifically referring to our Lord Jesus Christ who is God's revelation.  The way to salvation is definitely through following Jesus. The effects of following Jesus is explained by the gospel today."I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life." (Mk. 10, 28 - 31) If we can only reflect on the true meaning of following Jesus; if only we have heeded Jesus throughout our lives, we could have been living in a Spirit-filled Christian community.