Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’: This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.
Second reading 1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12
I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same supernatural food and all drank the same supernatural drink. For they drank from the supernatural Rock which followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless with most of them God was not pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as a warning, but they were written down for our instruction, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let any one who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
Some people came and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them-do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next ear, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'”
Reflection
By Bernard M. Borja
Have you ever asked someone give you one last chance? It could be to prove them that you are right or they are wrong, or simply to redeem yourself? Have you ever been in a situation when you have to ask someone a chance, in behalf of your loved one, and took all the responsibility to guarantee that your loved one would be better? I believe this is what Jesus did for us, and continues to do for us.
One of the messages of Jesus to the people is repentance. To turn away from their evil ways and, and return to the good. Several times during His ministry Jesus was asking the people, through His preaching and parables, to repent. It seems like it is more than just asking, but a plea to the people because Jesus brings the Kingdom of Heaven and He wants the people to receive it by repenting. Up to the time when He entered Jerusalem, Jesus was still pleading to the people to repent and forgive each other. But when everything seems to lose hope, while many people were still continuing their wicked ways, Jesus pleaded to God our father. Nailed on the cross, Jesus begged His Father for mercy and forgiveness for the people especially those who crucified Him. Even in His suffering and death, He still gave His all to cultivate us and hoped that we shall bear good fruit in the future, just like the fig tree in the parable.
The message of repentance is preached by the prophets from the Old Testament, to the apostles after Christ’s commissioning, and still continues up to present day. But it has always been a challenge for the people to turn away from the things they used to do. And it is a greater call for us to do what the gardener did in the parable: to take responsibility in hoping that people just need a chance to be cultivated,and bear fruit. This can clearly be seen in our country today.
I have seen people do wrong things, regret it, and are trying hard to do good. I know about some people continuing to do sinful things and not having any regret of doing it. I have heard stories of people living in their evil ways, some still have a chance to turn back, but some have been cut off and denied the chance to repent. All people, no matter how long they have lived in their evil ways and how dreadful their ways are, have been given a chance to repent through the mercy of God, and the plea of Jesus Christ. One could be a petty thief, a liar, a greedy official, an abusive person, even a drug addict, but Jesus continues to ask us return to our good ways, to our true selves. We must therefore never take for granted Jesus the gardener's last plea to God the vineyard owner not to cut us down and nourish us to be better.
Have you ever asked someone give you one last chance? It could be to prove them that you are right or they are wrong, or simply to redeem yourself? Have you ever been in a situation when you have to ask someone a chance, in behalf of your loved one, and took all the responsibility to guarantee that your loved one would be better? I believe this is what Jesus did for us, and continues to do for us.
One of the messages of Jesus to the people is repentance. To turn away from their evil ways and, and return to the good. Several times during His ministry Jesus was asking the people, through His preaching and parables, to repent. It seems like it is more than just asking, but a plea to the people because Jesus brings the Kingdom of Heaven and He wants the people to receive it by repenting. Up to the time when He entered Jerusalem, Jesus was still pleading to the people to repent and forgive each other. But when everything seems to lose hope, while many people were still continuing their wicked ways, Jesus pleaded to God our father. Nailed on the cross, Jesus begged His Father for mercy and forgiveness for the people especially those who crucified Him. Even in His suffering and death, He still gave His all to cultivate us and hoped that we shall bear good fruit in the future, just like the fig tree in the parable.
The message of repentance is preached by the prophets from the Old Testament, to the apostles after Christ’s commissioning, and still continues up to present day. But it has always been a challenge for the people to turn away from the things they used to do. And it is a greater call for us to do what the gardener did in the parable: to take responsibility in hoping that people just need a chance to be cultivated,and bear fruit. This can clearly be seen in our country today.
I have seen people do wrong things, regret it, and are trying hard to do good. I know about some people continuing to do sinful things and not having any regret of doing it. I have heard stories of people living in their evil ways, some still have a chance to turn back, but some have been cut off and denied the chance to repent. All people, no matter how long they have lived in their evil ways and how dreadful their ways are, have been given a chance to repent through the mercy of God, and the plea of Jesus Christ. One could be a petty thief, a liar, a greedy official, an abusive person, even a drug addict, but Jesus continues to ask us return to our good ways, to our true selves. We must therefore never take for granted Jesus the gardener's last plea to God the vineyard owner not to cut us down and nourish us to be better.
Prayer
Dear Father, we praise You for Your mercy and compassion through our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that we may be able to receive Your Kingdom through our repentance. Help us to forgive one another as we plead for a chance to turn from our sinful ways, and be able to come back to Your loving embrace. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
Dear Father, we praise You for Your mercy and compassion through our Lord Jesus Christ. We pray that we may be able to receive Your Kingdom through our repentance. Help us to forgive one another as we plead for a chance to turn from our sinful ways, and be able to come back to Your loving embrace. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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