Unwilling?

    

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

22 January 2023

 

First Reading: Is 8:23-9:3

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14

Second Reading: 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17

Gospel: Mt 4:12-23 or Mt 4:12-17

 

Reflection

By: Cailin Balla

 

God is always calling us to follow Him. He never ceases calling on the people, no matter who they are, what they do, or where do they come from. Whatever our faults may be, He accepts us readily, for He is a God of mercy and love. Everyone is welcome to His kingdom - sinners and good people alike, as long as they turn to the Lord wholeheartedly. Anyone can change, which further stands to reason that with God, anything is possible.

In the Gospel, Jesus called out to the people to repent, especially as the kingdom of heaven is nearing. He called out to the people. Astonishingly, the two pairs of brothers dropped everything and went ahead to follow Jesus. We can all learn a thing or two from Simon Peter and Andrew, and James and John.

The only obstacle between us and the Lord which keeps us from fully giving ourselves to Him is our own unwillingness. We may be unwilling to fully believe in Him and let doubt arise, unwilling to let go of our worldly possessions, unwilling to let go of negative feelings such as anger, thirst for vengeance, or hatred, unwilling to leave behind the people in our life, or unwilling to let go of any attachments in particular. It is not uncommon for people to be unwilling to let go of some things, but to be able to truly follow and serve Him is to offer your every being.

Prayer

Lord, You are abounding in mercy, and Your love is ever-gracious. From the darkest depths up to where the light touches, Your hand reaches out to us, always welcoming. Man, as we are, sinful, but You are ready to forgive. Please accept our contrition, guide us to go back into Your arms, and allow us to serve You. Strip us of our worldly attachments and let us join You in the path of righteousness. In Your glorious name, we pray. Amen.

Cailin is the third daughter of God-Speak former Faith Section Lead, Mrs. Anabelle Balla. Cailin is currently taking a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering in De La Salle University-Dasmariñas.

Try Again

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 10 February 2019
First reading Isaiah 6:1-8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”

Second reading                                                          1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are saved, if you hold it fast-unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Gospel                                                                         Luke 5:1-11

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.

But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Reflection

By Grace B. Madriñan

"Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets." – Luke 5:5-6

Two things strike me from this passage.  First, our human efforts alone cannot guarantee favorable results.  Second, we need to be humble enough to follow another leading and set aside our prejudices to achieve greater things.

Simon, Andrew, James and John are definitely experienced fishermen.  They fish for a living so they would certainly know what they are doing. When they worked all night and caught nothing, you can bet that they really tried hard.  They may have gone to deep waters and changed spots several times during the evening, but still caught nothing. 

Then all of a sudden, here’s Jesus commanding them to lower their nets once again. In their minds, they might have doubts. They may know Jesus as a respectable teacher, but He is not a fisherman. Yet they abide by Him and witnessed a miracle. From there, they answered to a greater call as “fishers of men.”

This is a challenge for us Christians to imitate what the disciples did – to listen despite doubts, to follow without prejudice, to try and try again despite gruesome toil.

Prayer

Father, we have worked all night and are growing tired, be patient with us and continue to lead us to Your greater call. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Rest

Sto. Nino 21 January 2018

First reading                                                               Isaiah 9:1-6

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy and great rejoicing, as they rejoice before you as at the harvest, as people make merry when dividing spoils. For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, and the rod of their taskmaster you have smashed, as on the day of Midian. For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for flames. For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counselor, God- Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful. He will rule as David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this!

Second reading                                                          Ephesians 1: 3-6; 15-18 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and with- out blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to

himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones.

Gospel                                                                        Mark 10:13-16

People were bringing their little children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them: “Let the children come to me. Do not prevent them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he embraced the children and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Reflection

by Grace B. Madriñan

“Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” – Mark 10:15

Why is it that we can’t help but smile when there  is a baby around? Even as you try to ignore them,  they will find ways to catch your attention.  You can’t help but follow them with your eyes and in your mind, you will think, “what is he up this time?”  A toddler is always up to something and their smiles and laughter are contagious.  And even when they did something to hurt you like pull your hair or almost pluck your eyes,  you can’t even get angry with them.  They just show their toothless smile and the pain goes away.

Maybe that’s how God feels about us.  When He sees us,  He also can’t help but smile. His eyes are always on us.  And although He knew what we are up to,  He never intervenes. He joins us in our laughter.  Even though we did something to hurt Him, one smile and “sorry” from us eases His pain.

And  that’s where the problem comes in.  We hurt God but we rarely come to Him first. We run away as far as we can.  We are overpowered by our pride and guilt thinking that our sins are too much to be forgiven with just one "sorry".

If we can only be like a child, who raises up his hands for his father to pick him up whenever he is sleepy or tired from playing. Observe how he stretches out his hands with full trust that he can find rest in his father’s arms.  If we can just do the same, stretch out our hands at the end of the day, “Father, forgive me. I am tired of running. “  God will definitely pull us out and let us rest in His arms for awhile. 

Prayer

Father,  teach us to be more trusting like a child.  May we run to You and be our first source of refuge in times of  rest. Amen. 

Come and See

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time   14 January 2018

First reading: 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli,  and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again."  So he went and lay down. The Lord called again, "Samuel!" Samuel got up and went  to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son;  lie down again." Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord  had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel again, a third time. And he got up and went to Eli, and said,  "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say,  ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, "Samuel! Samuel!"  And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." As Samuel grew up,  the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. Second reading: 1 Corinthians 6:13-15                        "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"-and God will destroy both  one and the other. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord,  and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.  Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the  members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Gospel: John  1:35-42 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched  Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" The two disciples  heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?"  They said to him, "Rabbi" (which translated means Teacher), "where are you staying?"  He said to them, "Come and see." They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him an said,  "You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas" (which is translated Peter). Reflection by Grace B. Madriñan " What are you looking for?" – John 1:38 They say if you asked the wrong questions, you will get the wrong answers.   But sometimes, even the right questions, get responded with wrong answers.  We, Filipinos, tend to answer differently to some questions. “Kumain ka na?” (“Have you eaten?”)  One will respond,  “Busog pa ako.” (I’m still full.) “San ka pupunta?” (Where are you going?”) To which the response will be,  “Dyan lang sa malapit.” (Just near here.) I believe the apostles in today’s Gospel are somewhat like us.  When Jesus asked  the two disciples what they were looking for, they replied with another question,  "Where are you staying?"  I think they were a bit hesitant to answer directly so they  answered with another question.  They could have just answered,  “We want to follow You, Lord.  We will go with You.” Like most of us, maybe they don’t  want to commit just yet without making sure that Jesus is indeed, the Messiah.   They want some assurance that He is as good as John proclaimed Him to be. But Jesus knew better, He responded, “Come, and you will see.” (John 1:39).   He invited the disciples to come and be with Him and witness for themselves the kind of Shepherd that He is. And when they followed Him, all hearsay about Him has been  confirmed for they have witnessed His Divine Power first hand.  From then on,   it became easier for them to call their other friends and family to follow Him. Like the disciples,  we need only  to make one step towards the Lord and be willing  to come and experience Him. Only then will our eyes and hearts be opened,  discipleship will become second nature to us. Prayer God, our Father, forgive our reluctance to follow You. Erase our doubts and anxieties  and let Your love overflow so that we may be true disciples of Your Word.   In Jesus’ name. Amen.