Believe to See

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 5, 2015

We are the people of the Lord, the flock that is led by his hand: come, let us adore him, alleluia.

First reading                                      Ezekiel 2:2-5

The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’

Psalm                                              Psalm 122:1-5

Second reading                              2 Corinthians 12:7-10

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Gospel                                               Mark 6:1-6

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Reflection

By Benj Santiago

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

Jesus started His public ministry and many of those who believed are those who do not have any full knowledge of where He came from and what was His background. Most of those who knew Him as the carpenter’s son did not believe in Him. In one instance He even had to admonish the disciples who had been with Him in His ministry teaching the people and healing the sick. I can sense the frustration Jesus had when He said: “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me”.

It is a paradox. They saw the miracles that Jesus has performed yet they didn’t believe. A lot of us like Thomas has to simply see to believe. But no matter what unfolds in front of us, if we are blinded by disbelief caused by our pre-programmed biases and beliefs we still end up doubting. I really wonder how Jesus felt when His own kin and close friends did not recognize and give Him due honor as a prophet in spite of the many miracles He had performed. In the end, He chose to bring His ministry and healing to other places. He chose to do mighty deeds somewhere else.

To this date, in Israel where Jesus Christ was born, many are still hard-hearted and still is in disbelief even after thousands of years has passed. They still do not give honor to Jesus as a mighty prophet at the least. We who are so far away from where He was born, are so blessed that we have heard the good news of salvation through the disciples and the martyrs and saints and believed! Thus we give Him honor not just as a mighty prophet but us our Lord and Savior!

Prayer

Dear Jesus, we thank You for opening our eyes and erasing our disbelief. We thank You that for allowing us not to have the need to see with our physical eyes but with our eyes of faith to believe that You are our Lord and Savior. That You are our Almighty God! Use us Lord that we may be able to open the eyes of those who still struggle to believe in You! Amen!

Guilty

First Sunday of Lent
21 February 2010


Come, today, and listen to his voice: do not harden your hearts.

First reading Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Moses said to the people: ‘The priest shall take the pannier from your hand and lay it before the altar of the Lord your God. Then, in the sight of the Lord your God, you must make this pronouncement:
‘“My father was a wandering Aramaean. He went down into Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there he became a nation, great, mighty, and strong. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and inflicted harsh slavery on us. But we called on the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. He brought us here and gave us this land, a land where milk and honey flow. Here then I bring the first-fruits of the produce of the soil that you, the Lord, have given me.”
‘You must then lay them before the Lord your God, and bow down in the sight of the Lord your God.’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 90:1-2,10-15

Second reading Romans 10:8-13
Scripture says: The word (that is the faith we proclaim) is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Gospel Luke 4:1-13
Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’
Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says:
You must worship the Lord your God,
and serve him alone.’
Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says:
He will put his angels in charge of you
to guard you,
and again:
They will hold you up on their hands
in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’
But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said:
You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

Reflection
By Benj Santiago

“The scripture says, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’ ” (Luke 4:12)

Knowingly or unknowingly, most of us are guilty of testing the Lord our God! We often pray for some blessings with a precondition that if it is given then we will donate part of it to charity and if not given, no charity work for us. Or, we pray for something on a novena and if it is not given, we will no longer continue to pray our novena prayers.

The scripture clearly says we must not put the Lord our God to test. The scripture also tells us that “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Romans 10:11)

We just have to simply believe in Him and His words of everlasting life. We must cling on to His words and abide in them. We must continue to pray, read the Bible, ponder on it and continue believing without preconditions and attached expected results in our beliefs.

I look back in my own life and I see the many blessings He has poured down on me for I believed and continue to cling on to His mighty words that I study and ponder on. He has never disappointed me.

Father in heaven, you are all-knowing and most loving Father. You already know our needs. We believe that as long as we cling to Your mighty words, You will not disappoint us, but we will receive abundant blessings from You.Amen.

Next week on God-speak
Transform!