Hope in the word of life and love

God speaks with precision and ever remains faithful to His unerring Word.  The Holy Bible is filled with the divine message, especially the Words of the Son of God, Jesus, that touch and penetrate the heart, and are applicable to different situations in life.

The sixth chapter of John uncovers Jesus as speaking the words of ‘spirit and life’ (cf. Jn. 6:63).  He assures Peter that “Whoever comes to me I shall not turn away” (Jn. 6:37), while Peter, moved by the Spirit, discloses his utter trust in the Master, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:66).

Jesus reminds his disciples to “be like the Son of Man who has come, not to be served but to serve, and to give his life to redeem many” (Mt. 20:28).  What a timely reminder for the candidates running for public office, to put authentic service of the massive poor sector of society above one’s self-interest.  Jesus the Leader claims only His intimate, undying care for his flock – “I am the good shepherd.  I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father.  Because of this, I give my life for my sheep. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep” (Jn.10:14-15).

Let this spark hope and strength for each person, and each family of our nation that we may be ‘the people chosen as God’s inheritance’ (cf. Ps. 33:12), thereby being ‘the good soil who heard the word, understood it, and bore fruit a hundred, sixty, or thirty times more’ (Mt. 13:23).  With certitude shall our hearts be freed from all worry and anxiety. “Set your heart first on the kingdom and justice of God, and all these things will also be given to you.  Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Mt. 6:33-34).  It will be Jesus leading us to bear fruit in love as His true disciples, so that in the end, He will say, “By this will everyone know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35)

No fear of God

God surely wants us to fearlessly trust in Him and face the challenges of a fast secularizing world.. challenges meant to strengthen our Faith as lived by taught by the Son of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and all the heroic saints who followed in the divine footsteps.

I recall the psychologist I had read about many years ago, Dr. Alexander Cannon, M.C., Ph.D., D.P.M., who wrote in his book ‘Powers That Be’ that “the lion takes its fierceness from your fear: walk up to him and he will run from you; run away from him and he will run after you.”  I compare this to life’s trials that give us strength if we turn away from fear and face them bravely, as the same book suggests: ‘face a situation fearlessly and there is no situation to be faced.’

Even prayer beckons the person who turns to God on his knees to surrender totally to the divine will and entrust the events to His loving providence.  Power that seemingly was lost is restored by the overwhelming faith strategy, so to say.  Like a staircase we climb, one step after the other, there’s a solution to every problem prodded by our faith in God.  Because faith is a sign of bravery, while despair is like falling into thehands of Satan.  “All things are possible to one who believes” (Mk. 9:22).

May this new year solidify our maturity, based on trust in God which makes a person fearlessly face problems in life,while growing in the selfless love of Jesus.  Maturity vis-à-vis our Faith and Love will earnestly guide us to let go of our fears and focus on perfecting a love-union with the Creator.  “There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives away fear” (1 Jn. 4:18). 

Celebrating Jesus

As Jesus came to save us and show us the way to Everlasting Life, so we have committed ourselves to follow Him above all, as His faithful followers.  He is the Divine Word of Truth made flesh that we may not only ponder on Him like Mary His and our Mother, but more wondrously live in Him, our Bread of Life.  Since the start of His mission, He showed that He needed us—men and women disciples—to fulfill the Father’s will for all created beings.  So he formed the first community of apostles, to continue for ages to come in various parts of the world where His Good News is being proclaimed.  Hence we journey to our Eternal Home with the Father as brothers and sisters in Christ our guide.  “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.  No one goes to the Father except by me” (Jn. 14:6).

Recalling the birth of Jesus as we have been preparing for His coming indeed fills our hearts with joy as we also join Mary in her “yes” to the will of the Father, telling the angel: “let it be done to me.” Even Elizabeth responded with joy to the nearness of the Lord, acknowledging she was in the presence of “the Mother of my Lord.”  We ourselves are wont to echo what Christ said to the Father, “I have come to do your will.”  The lives of these holy women and the saints remind us that there is real joy in fulfilling the will of God as we go about our manifold tasks in life.

Jesus’ birth means a promise of peace to all those faithful to the Lord and His love, and become active instruments of transformation in a war-torn, sin-wounded world.  With Mary, let us become ‘lowly servants’ of God, celebrating the richness of His love in our poverty and readiness to share all He has gifted us with so that the shepherd-king born in a lowly manger will be truly alive in the hearts of the poor and humble of heart.  “Cry out with joy in the Lord, you holy ones; sing a new song to him (Ps. 33).

Protecting human life

As Christmas nears, we recall the tedious and endearing devotion of Mary and Joseph in caring for the Baby Jesus.  This reminds us how Christmas is a celebration of life, as Mary and Joseph closely followed the Father’s Providence in protecting Jesus from the clutches of King Herod who brutally dictated the murder of the infant male babies just to get rid of the new-born King of Israel.  For what motive?  For political reasons, power, greed, and dominance.

Let us reminisce how history can repeat itself, those days of genocide since the very days of Moses when the Egyptian king wanted to eliminate all male children (see Ez. 1:22);  the murder of the Holy Innocents by King Herod;  the Holocaust with millions of Jews killed in Hitler’s Nazi regime; the 40 million communistic purges by Stalin in Russia and neighboring countries, and in our very day the terror and widespread life-destructive attacks by the Islamic State (IS) militants, particularly in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and ongoing murders by the millions of abortions throughout the world.  Let’s not forget that murder—including abortion—is part of the four sins crying to heaven for vengeance.  These are: willful murder (including abortion), the sin of Sodom, oppression of the poor, and defrauding laborers of their wages.

St. Paul warns us that those who are evil and morally self-indulgent  will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Cor. 6:9).  He further states in Heb. 10:31 that “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” If we look for victory in our world, it is because we endeavor to be on the side of truth, while the devil is a murderer and the father of lies and deception (see Jn. 8:44). 

Right giving VS. human rights

Right giving means a right motivation and concept regarding human rights.  As previously written out in this column, one gives for the purpose of helping and benefitting the recipient, in respect of his/her dignity as created by God, while also gaining in substance in the efforts to grow in the love of Jesus, who gave His own life to save and restore humanity to the Father’s original plan.

The actual mistake of those clamoring for human rights is that at times they do not seem to know what they are asking for, especially when such clamors end in violence and riots, which proves that there was no right motivation, and that there was correct concept regarding human rights.  Remember the first right of man is life and as such therefore a most important act is to respect the dignity of human life.  If there were no life, who could possess the other subsequent rights of: liberty, property, pursuit of happiness, freedom of worship and speech?  We might have a false peace, as that in a cemetery where all are dead.

True love – God’s love in us or charity – will ensure our right giving which has the intent and extent of Jesus’ immeasurable and unconditional love, going beynd all hguman rights.  He who had all right to divinity somehow relinquished this in becoming the Infinite Gift of the Father to man, so that all will have life to the full.  Right giving therefore also comes from right loving and rewards all concerned with unending happiness with the Giver of All Love.  May this Advent deepen our awareness of our God-given right to give in His love.