Kumusta Ka Na?

Ascension of the Lord

24 May 2020

First reading                                                                        Acts 1:1-11
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Second reading                                                        Ephesians 1:17-23

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Gospel                                                                     Matthew 28:16-20

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Reflection

By Gary Tulabut

As we were entering February this year, I remember posting “Feb Be Good” as my Facebook status. Of course, this has something to do with Taal Volcano erupting to start the year. In my introduction as a co-preacher at The Feast in San Fernando, I even mentioned this and of course asked the congregation how they were coping up.

Then as we entered March, I was on stage again asking the congregation how they were doing, because after the Taal eruption, we were then about to face something we are not yet ready to face - Covid-19 pandemic - that we are now experiencing. I even added the recent Kobe Bryant’s death just to paint a picture of what’s going on in the world.

But, of course, in both instances, what I delivered was a message of hope; that God is in control, and that our God is bigger than our problems.

Now, three months later, kumusta ka na? How are we doing so far? How many versions of the quarantine did we already have? Can we still do it? How long can we last?

Today, I still give the same message: GOD IS IN CONTROL. GOD IS BIGGER THAN ALL OUR PROBLEMS.

I am not an expert in advising what should or should not be done in our present situation. But here are my priorities: first priority is our health and survival. As a famous business giant was quoted in social media, “Success during these times is to be alive.” So that should be our priority. Let’s not get sick.  

Then we must have a plan, how to stretch our income. This is the time to stop buying non-essentials. Plan how to make money during these times also. Let us think of a one year situation. Or, might as well listen to experts on until when shall we be experiencing this.

Let us not forget to help others who are helpless. Then improve ourselves. I believe in prospering ourselves in times of crisis, so that when all these is over, we are on top of our game. 

And then surrender everything to the Lord. 

Do you have doubts that we will get through this?

In today's Gospel, Jesus was about to leave His disciples. It was also mentioned they doubted. Why did they doubt? What did they doubt?

Probably with all the things that has happened to them and to Jesus during those times they doubted if they could survive the trials that they would be facing. Now, Jesus was even leaving them. And Jesus even left them with great responsibility— to make disciples of all nations. 

But of course, let us not forget what Jesus promised. That He will be with them, and us, till the end. 

Do you have doubts? Let us hold on to His promises. He will be with us till the end.

Prayer

Lord, Jesus, forgive me if I sometimes doubt. May I always be reminded of Your promise that You will be with us till the end. Amen.

Journeying With Weed

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 20

First reading Wisdom 12:13,16-19

There is no god, other than you, who cares for every thing,

to whom you might have to prove that you never judged unjustly;

Your justice has its source in strength,

your sovereignty over all makes you lenient to all.

You show your strength when your sovereign power is questioned

and you expose the insolence of those who know it;

but, disposing of such strength, you are mild in judgement,

you govern us with great lenience,

for you have only to will, and your power is there.

By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people

how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men,

and you have given your sons the good hope

that after sin you will grant repentance.

Psalm                                                                          Psalm 85:5-6,9-10,15-16

Second reading                                                      Romans 8:26-27

The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to
pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words,
and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the
pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.

Gospel                                                                     Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus put another parable before the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

Reflection by Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

And no! Not that weed! Kayo ha! The kind of weed that was in today’s Gospel. Jesus talked about the “enemy” sowing weed on the wheat field.

Personally, I believe that the Lord is maybe trying to explain the necessity of difficult people in our lives. Or why we also become so difficult to others, as well as to ourselves! Most of the time, my greatest hindrance is me! We all are the weeds at one point or another.

“His slaves said to him,

‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?

He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them. 

Let them grow together until harvest.”

Jesus continue parable-ing by saying that in the end, main sower will separate the wheat from the weeds.

“…Then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn.””

Can this be the symbolism of heaven and hell? Probably. Only God knows. The question now is, do we actually do good because we want to go to heaven? Definitely. Do we want eternal life with Jesus? Amen to that! But do we want to be virtuous SOLELY because of this? Of course not. We try to be upright each day as our way of thanksgiving to our Creator. We try to be kind to one another because we empathize and sympathize with our co-pilgrims in this earthly journey. We are not in a life triathlon. Life is not a race. Hindi contest ang buhay. We all are travellers with baggages, and yes, with some extra luggage, along the way. We become difficult to one another because of exhaustion, of hopelessness, of resentment. I continue to believe that we cannot be the best wheat for harvest unless we learn to live with the weeds in our midst and even inside our hearts.

So in trying times, may we not forget to look up to our compassionate Farmer and ask His help. You can survive it all! It could be your difficult family, your boss, your study partner, your next door neighbour, your colleague, or YOURSELF. Let’s trust the plan God has laid down for us. Let us trust the process. We are all predestined to be with our Creator. But the journey towards that is what living and being human is all about.

Prayer

Dear God,

I trust in You.  I trust Your plan. I trust your will. I trust that You have a purpose for this challenging person I’m praying for at this moment. I trust You and Your holy objective why You placed me in this situation. I pray for spiritual strength to carry on. Teach me to enjoy this life and to take every step with courage. Hold my hand in this pilgrimage, Lord. I face anything because I know You are with me.  Amen.