Deliberation

First Reading:  Isaiah 66:18-21

I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come to witness my glory.

I shall give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coasts and islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations, and from all the nations they will bring all your brothers as an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, Yahweh says, like Israelites bringing offerings in clean vessels to Yahweh's house.

And some of them I shall make into priests and Levites, Yahweh says.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 117:1, 2

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, do not scorn correction from the Lord, do not resent his training, for the Lord trains those he loves, and chastises every son he accepts.

Perseverance is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him?

Of course, any discipline is at the time a matter for grief, not joy; but later, in those who have undergone it, it bears fruit in peace and uprightness.

So steady all weary hands and trembling knees and make your crooked paths straight; then the injured limb will not be maimed, it will get better instead.

Gospel:  Luke 13:22-30

Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem.

Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them,

'Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.

'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us," but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from."

Then you will start saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets," but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!"

Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out.

And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God.

Reflection:
by Gary Tulabut

This semester is my fifth as a college instructor. Therefore I am still relatively new compared to my colleagues. I still have a lot to learn. That is why, based on what I have learned in previous sems, I innovate my rules and techniques and to suit the needs, and sometimes the stubbornness, of my students.
This sem, one of my rule changes is that the midterm grade is already the final grade… unless a student wants to change his or hers. There will be no more quizzes after the midterms… except if a student wants to take one (max of 1 per week). Everyone will still be required to take the finals but if the result is pulling the grade of a student down, it will be disregarded for that student. This means that after the midterms, if a student gets a failing grade, he can request a quiz every week (about the topic for the week) to pull the grade up. The total denominator for quizzes increases every time he requests for a quiz. There’s no taking back those added number of items no matter what the student’s score will be.Why am I implementing this?Last sem, right after the finals and just before faculty members met for a deliberation of grades, a student sent me a private message in Facebook saying, “Sir, what else can I do to get a 75?” 75 is the passing grade equivalent to a 3 on the card. When I checked the records of this student, he did not even reach 70.I replied, “Iho, you should have asked this question after prelims or after midterms, and we could have done something.”The sad part is that he was one of those happy-go-lucky students who seem not to care at all about studying; those who rest their hopes on projects, term papers, and the kindness of their professors to pass.That is why my rule on the midterm grade as the final grade; so that they can still ask me what they can do to pass, and they will be forced to at least study for the quizzes they will request; or they may opt to just drop the subject.If we fail the final exams in heaven, there will be no more projects, no term papers, or a kind Prof. St. Peter. If we ask what we can do to enter the pearly gates, he might say, “My son/daughter you should have asked that during the midterms or prelims of your life, then we could still have done something.”

Prayer:Thank you Father for constantly reminding a stubborn student like me to do something now to straighten my ways while I am still in the midterms of my life and not to cram on my final days. Amen