Third Sunday of Easter
15 April 2018
| Second reading 1 John 2:1-5 |
|---|
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him:
Now by this we may be sure that we know him, if we obey his commandments. Whoever says, “I have come to know him,” but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him:
When they came to Jerusalem, the two disciples told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you-that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.
By Gary Tulabut
“It is not an apple. It’s just a fruit. It was not specified what kind of fruit. It is the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” exclaims this person every time he hears someone say that Adam and Eve ate the apple. And then he continues with the discussion of everything he knows about the Bible, that is, everything he believes and those which he does not. Of course, since one mentioned about Adam and Eve, the discussion starts from the book of Genesis. Just imagine how long it will take before he ends up with the book of Revelation.
To keep the privacy of this person, let us just hide him by the name, “Dad.”
One time I was the lucky person he discussed this to. I answered back with the things I know (like Dad, like son.) This is something that I regretted doing afterwards because it was not done out of love but rather out of anger, pride, and annoyance. And also because Dad did not talk to me for the next two weeks after that.
What I told him was something like this: “Is it really important to know whether it was an apple, a guava, or an orange? True with many other things trivial in the Bible. The Bible is summarized to one word, and that is Love.”
But then again, the irony is that I am not doing this in a loving way. I also mentioned, “In fact Cain’s question to God, ‘Am I my brother my brother’s keeper?’ (Gen. 4:9) was answered ‘yes’ by the whole Bible as it taught us how to love our neighbor.”
Lastly, I said “that fruit that we are talking about, we encounter that face to face every day; every time we are facing temptation. So it does not really matter whether it is an apple, banana, or mango. What matters more is if that is a temptation to cheat, to gossip, to lust, to steal, to lie…” (…and to dishonor your father and mother, another irony of this self-righteous writer.)
Today in the First Reading, St. Peter said to the people “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” (Acts 3:13-14) When we disobey His commands; when we do not love one another; when we give in to temptation; we are denying Him over and over again. We are biting the fruit over and over again. We are crucifying Jesus over and over again.
But as mentioned in my article last week, God already knew we will commit mistakes. And He’s offering repentance in today’s Gospel reading. “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations.” (Luke 24:46-47, Acts 3:19)
By the way, Dad and I are okay now. And I try harder with every opportunity to do things in a loving way.
Prayer
“It is not an apple. It’s just a fruit. It was not specified what kind of fruit. It is the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” exclaims this person every time he hears someone say that Adam and Eve ate the apple. And then he continues with the discussion of everything he knows about the Bible, that is, everything he believes and those which he does not. Of course, since one mentioned about Adam and Eve, the discussion starts from the book of Genesis. Just imagine how long it will take before he ends up with the book of Revelation.
To keep the privacy of this person, let us just hide him by the name, “Dad.”
One time I was the lucky person he discussed this to. I answered back with the things I know (like Dad, like son.) This is something that I regretted doing afterwards because it was not done out of love but rather out of anger, pride, and annoyance. And also because Dad did not talk to me for the next two weeks after that.
What I told him was something like this: “Is it really important to know whether it was an apple, a guava, or an orange? True with many other things trivial in the Bible. The Bible is summarized to one word, and that is Love.”
But then again, the irony is that I am not doing this in a loving way. I also mentioned, “In fact Cain’s question to God, ‘Am I my brother my brother’s keeper?’ (Gen. 4:9) was answered ‘yes’ by the whole Bible as it taught us how to love our neighbor.”
Lastly, I said “that fruit that we are talking about, we encounter that face to face every day; every time we are facing temptation. So it does not really matter whether it is an apple, banana, or mango. What matters more is if that is a temptation to cheat, to gossip, to lust, to steal, to lie…” (…and to dishonor your father and mother, another irony of this self-righteous writer.)
Today in the First Reading, St. Peter said to the people “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.” (Acts 3:13-14) When we disobey His commands; when we do not love one another; when we give in to temptation; we are denying Him over and over again. We are biting the fruit over and over again. We are crucifying Jesus over and over again.
But as mentioned in my article last week, God already knew we will commit mistakes. And He’s offering repentance in today’s Gospel reading. “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations.” (Luke 24:46-47, Acts 3:19)
By the way, Dad and I are okay now. And I try harder with every opportunity to do things in a loving way.
Forgive us Lord when we fail You over and over again. Thank You for the gift of repentance. Grant us the strength to resist biting that apple, err, fruit, which is to fight temptation. Guide us that we will do things in a loving manner. Amen.
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