30th sunday C the man who humbles will be exalted

Someone has suggested that "God created people because God loves stories."1 I think the following story is likely to meet with God's approval:

Two men called on a pious, old monk to seek his advice. "We acknowledge our sinful ways," they told him, "and we want to clear our consciences. Can you advise us on how to do this and get rid of our guilt?" The old monk agreed to help. "But first," he said, "you will have to tell me about your sins."

The first man said, "I have committed a terrible sin, a grievous sin, a great big sin." The second man said, "Oh, I have committed a number of small sins, none of them grievous or terribly significant."

The holy man pondered the matter for a while, then said, "Each of you must bring me a stone, representing each one of his wrong-doings." The two men then set out to carry out the monk's instructions.

After a while, the first man staggered back, carrying with him a huge boulder. It was so heavy he could hardly lift it. With a loud grunt he dropped it before the old man.

Then the second man returned carrying a bag of small pebbles, which he promptly laid at the monk's feet.

"Very good work," said the monk. "Now, each of you take your stones and put them back where you found them." The first man staggered back to the place from which he had brought the huge boulder. But the second man was unable to remember where he had found each of his little pebbles. So he returned to the wise old man and told him that he couldn't carry out his instruction. To which the monk replied, "You must realize, my son, that sins are like those stones. If a man commits a big sin, it lies heavily on his conscience. But if he truly repents, the burden is lifted. He is forgiven and the load is taken away. But if a man is constantly doing small things that are sinful, he is less likely to repent and more likely to remain a sinner, out of habit. Understand, therefore, that it is just as important to break the habit of committing little sins as it is to avoid committing a big sin."

Today's Gospel is a parable in which Jesus tells the story of two men -- a pharisee and a tax-collector -- who go into the Temple to pray. Says the pharisee (a religious type), "I thank You, God, that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get" (Lk. 18:11). He doesn't even acknowledge committing a little tiny sin. The tax-collector (a gangster-type) beats his breast and says, "God be merciful to me, a sinner" (Lk. 18:13). After telling the story, Jesus says, "This man I tell you (the tax-collector) went home at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk. 18:14).

To be "at rights" with God, we must be willing to repent, which means to humbly acknowledge that something in our life needs changing. It means a turning away from rebellion against God. It means a turning away from self-centeredness. But this cannot occur unless we are willing to acknowledge, in all humility, that we actually do certain things, live in a certain way that causes estrangement from God and from other persons.

In John's Gospel it is written, "God sent His Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but so that through Him, the world might be saved" (Jn. 3:17). Jesus is not asking us to admit the need for change in our lives in order to condemn us. He is asking us to freely admit that there is room for the kind of improvement that can build up, that can enrich, that can enhance, that can fulfill our lives as never before. You don't need to keep turning yourself over the coals, hating yourself for the rest of your life. God loves you so much and His forgiveness is so full that it is as if the past had never been. It is a new page in the book of life that God wants you to open up. It is a new start, a new possibility. So while you humbly begin by acknowledging your wrong-doing, you end up by accepting the forgiveness. And the union with God now is deeper than it has ever been. And the healing is real. And, again in Jesus' words, "You are at rights with God."

A wise old woman happened to be a piano teacher who had taught many students over the years. Invariably, when she prepared her pupils for recitals, she would encourage them to practice the endings over-and-over again. And, invariably, the students would grumble because of the constant repetition of the last few measures of the music. When the complaints came, the teacher would answer, "You can make a mistake in the beginning or in the middle or in some other place along the way. But all will be forgotten when you manage to make the ending glorious."

A pastor was talking to one of the wealthiest persons in his parish. The subject of successful living came up. "I'm a success, the wealthy one boasted, because I'm a self-made man." To which the pastor replied, "Congratulations! You've relieved the Lord of a great responsibility."

The Good News of the Gospel is that the Lord is totally accessible to you when it comes to the question of successful living. He offers you guidance, He offers to light your way to a glorious ending -- and He doesn't want any relief from this responsibility.

At this very moment, the light of Christ's Spirit is shining at the center of your being. Drop your defenses! Relinquish all excuses! Cast off every trace of self-centeredness, egoism and pride! Let the light shine through! Let it permeate your life! Let the new life and the healing come into every part of your being! You'll begin to see! You'll begin to come alive!

This is the Gift of Light that God gives to each of us in Christ. This is the Gift of Love that God gives to each one of us in Christ.

This light within us is given to us not to "hide under a bushel," as Jesus put it. The whole world needs the love that is in us, the forgiveness that is in us -- beginning with our own families and then extending ever outward.

Forgiving, which begins with self-forgiveness, can become a constant, ongoing process -- a way of living. It means letting go of past resentments and bitterness, and moving on. Of course, it_s not always easy, but it's worth every difficulty. And there is nothing mushy or softheaded about loving and forgiving. As Doctor Jonas Salk puts it:

The end result of forgiving is to release the power in the nucleus of the individual -- a power much greater in its positive effects than atomic power in its negative. The point is this:

If we can be courageous one more time than we are fearful, Trusting one more time than we are anxious, Cooperative one more time than we are competitive, Forgiving one more time than we are vindictive, Loving one more time than we are hateful, we will have moved closer to the next big breakthrough in our human growth, and closer to the next big breakthrough toward our full human potential.

Open the window of your heart and see what the Apostle John saw when he declared,

Look! There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The real light which gives light to every man.

Humbly acknowledge your absolute need for the Light of the World that comes in and through Jesus Christ! And let it shine! Let it shine!

God Searches for our Voice in Prayer

29th sunday c luke 18:1-8

"Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to Him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them?" (Lk.18:7).

A couple was fighting, after the argument the wife gave her husband a silent treatment. Three days had passed but still the wife would not speak with her husband. When she entered their room, she saw him ransacking their cabinet. Annoyed with what she saw, she asked him, "What are you looking for?" The husband looked at her, gave her a sweet smile and said, "Finally, I found it! I am searching for your voice."

When we pray we lift our voices not only to praise and thank God but ask for our needs. Sometimes when we don't get what we pray for we ask why God is so insensitive to our pleas. We begin to give Him silent treatment. We stop praying. But God searches for our voices in prayer.

Through the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus tells us that we must persevere in our prayer even if no answer seems to be provided. In ancient Israel, a widow was a symbol of all who were poor and defenseless. In the parable a widow used to come to a judge who neither fear God nor respect any human being. She asked him to render a just decision for her against her adversary. For a long time the judge was unwilling but eventually he thought, "While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps on bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally came and strike me."

The widow did not lose hope that she will get justice and so she kept on coming back to plead with the unjust judge. Her persistence gradually wore him down and eventually gave her what she wanted to stop her from pestering him. Jesus points out that if this unjust judge gave the woman her way because of her persistence, how much more will our Heavenly Father give to those who call upon Him. Nonetheless, from our experience we don't seem to get all that we asked for. How could we reconcile this incongruence?

I think it is important to bear in mind that our relationship with God is not like that of a child who expects his parents to give everything that he wants. This is not helpful in bringing out the best in us. If God does not grant what we want it doesn't mean to say He doesn't love us. Loving is not tantamount to giving. God is a judicious giver meaning He judges first whether what we ask for would be beneficial to us or not. God allows us to pray for what we want so that we may know what is good for us. Sometimes though, we do not know that what we ask for would hurt rather than help. Since God sees time in whole, He knows what is good for us in the long run. Thus, instead of giving God a silent treatment, Jesus tells us never to be discouraged in our prayer because it is necessary to maintain a loving and trusting relationship with Him.

How can our faith remain strong in the face of delays in our requests, occasional trials and test, adversities and difficult situations in our life, and serious trouble if we cease from praying? God searches for our voices in prayer. We must be persistent because God listens to us. Even though many times we cannot comprehend His ways we just have to trust Him because He only wants the best for us.

Gratitude (Pasasalamat)

28th Sunday C (Lk.17:11-19)

Attitude of Gratitude

Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"(Lk.17:17-18).

There were two beggars who sought alms in the streets of a big city. Along their route they used to go past the palace of the king who always saw to it that they got bread. One of the beggars thanked the king for his generosity, but other thanked God for having given the king the power and the means with which to help his subjects. This irked the king and he told the beggar, "Why is it that when I am generous to you, you thank someone else for it?" The beggar answered, "If God were not generous to you, you would have nothing to give me." The king decided to teach him a lesson. He ordered his cook to bake two loaves of bread and hide some jewels in one of them, and to make sure that the beggar who used to thank him gets this special loaf. In this way the beggar who only thanks God would regret why he did not thank him. But when the man who used to thank him got the bread with jewels, he noticed that it was heavier than normal. This implied that it had been poorly baked so he swapped it with his companion and they went on separate ways. When the beggar who always thanked God began to eat his bread, he found the gems inside it and thanked God that now he would no longer have to beg for alms. After some time the king noticed the beggar who used to thank him still remain poor and kept coming back to the palace. He asked him, "What did you do with the special loaf of bread handed out to you sometime ago? The beggar said, "When I felt it was heavy, I thought it was poorly baked so exchanged it with the bread of my fellow beggar." Then the king understood why the other beggar had thanked God and not him.

Do we acknowledge God as the source of all that we are and all that we have? Do we express our gratitude to Him for His goodness to us? Gratitude is the homage our hearts pay as we recognize and appreciate the kindness, courtesy, love, and compassion shown to us. This kind of attitude is what the Samaritan leper would like to teach us. As Jesus was entering the village, ten lepers met Him and raising their voices said, "Jesus Master! Have pity on us!" When He saw them, He said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. One of them, a Samaritan, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The Samaritan was grateful because he recognized and appreciated the mercy shown to him.

The attitude of gratitude is only possible to those people who know how to recognize and appreciate the kindness they received. Like the Samaritan leper, we should recognize and appreciate the mercy God has shown us. Secondly, let us express our gratitude to God with the same amount of intensity that we have when we pray desperately for our needs. Oftentimes we are good when we ask for something but once our prayers are answered we forget to thank God. Lastly, as we remember the love, the many acts of kindness that we received, and the goodness that surrounds us, we too must be inspired to show the same act of love, kindness, and compassion.

One time I anointed an elderly woman, since she has no kids, her niece takes care of her. I told the niece, "How nice of you to be taking care of her!" She said to me, "When I was young, she took care of me, now I am glad to make a return by taking care of her." Let us make ourselves worthy of God's grace by making His love present wherever we are. Let us thank the Lord and forget not His benefits.