For those of us who had been going to
masses the past days after the Epiphany – there is a STORY LINE that we are
following in the readings. We started with the story of HANNAH, the
second wife of Elkinah. Hannah was
getting depressed because of her barrenness.
She would cry and Elkinah assures here:
ISN’T MY LOVE ENOUGH FOR YOU?
Yahweh promised her a son. She
bore a son and a great prophet SAMUEL which means “YAHWEH HEARS. Yahweh asked Samuel to eventually anoint a
King for the scattered tribes of Israel – SAUL the handsomest son of KISH. Yahweh chose the best. Saul was the BEST.
ORDINARY TIME is marked by the RISE and FALL
of Kingdoms; the appointments of PROPHETS;
the anointing of Kings; Kings
falling out of favor and eventually being deposed;
a new King rises; a prophets
comes. ORDINARY TIME asks us to reflect on the ROLLER COASTER RIDE
we call LIFE ... our experience of BARRENNESS,
our experiences of TRIUMPHS/ VICTORIES and even FALLENNESS – our
sinfulness/ weakness. We are called to
REVIEW the VERY ORDINARY LIVES that we live.
HOW HAS GOD BEEN PRESENT THERE?
Every step of the way in ORDINARY LIFE, we are asked to
DISCERN how God is calling me at this particular time of my life. I would like to believe that we are in
different stages in life right now. It’s
so easy to GET STUCK in what we were doing in the past. We can say:
It was working before and so perhaps it will still work today. Is this true?
We are asked to DISCERN God’s calling for me at this particular stage in
my life today. There was a time I’ve
realized that I can just do everything by myself, accomplish things for myself,
reap the harvest for myself. NOW ... I
continue to realize that I’m asked to build communities, gather people
together, speak to more people about God ... so that God’s word can even be
more spread. Collaboration, in terms of
work ... so that God’s work can be done more efficiently. MENTORING.
INSPIRING others. What was working for me before in terms of ministry, no longer works for
me today. I will exhaust myself if I
insist on doing the old paradigms of life.
In your case, how are you discerning God’s call for you at this
particular stage in your life.
Ordinary
time – CALLS US TO NEWNESS. Everything
ought to be NEW ... we are not to sew unshrunk cloth unto old cloak nor pour
new wine into old wines skins. It will
cause us DISASTER. We are called to
DISCERN how God is calling us in this stage of our lives. How are we called to welcome NEWNNESS, a
sense of starting something NEW again.
MIXED feelings? EXCITEMENT and
ANXIETY? Isn’t God’s LOVE and PRESENCE
enough for you? For us? A SENSE of WHAT TRULY IS IMPORTANT at this
stage in my life.
Lastly ... something about SACRIFICE. We may mistake the readings today as speaking
against sacrifices. In our first
reading, Saul and his men offered sacrifice and the sacrifice was REJECTED by
Yahweh. In the Gospel, the Pharisees
were asking why Jesus apostles’ do not fast and make sacrifices? SACRIFICES remain IMPORTANT. We have our individual DEVOTIONS... Nazareno –
people walking on their knees and bare feet;
Santo Nino – dancing in the streets and waving their hands.
What
is the context of our sacrifices? Why do
we sacrifice? Why did Yahweh REJECT the
sacrifice of Saul? Or the piety of the
PHARISEES in our Gospel? A valuable note from Pope
Francis: Do we turn to God only to ask
him for things, to thank him?” Or rather, do we “also turn to him to worship
him?”
Worshipping God means learning to be with him” and not simply “trying to dialogue with him.” It is “sensing that his presence is the most true, the most good, the most important thing of all.” God’s presence TRANSFORMS. Remain in God and allow God to remain in us ... to transform us to the creatures, the children he wants us to be.
Worshipping God means learning to be with him” and not simply “trying to dialogue with him.” It is “sensing that his presence is the most true, the most good, the most important thing of all.” God’s presence TRANSFORMS. Remain in God and allow God to remain in us ... to transform us to the creatures, the children he wants us to be.
WE
ARE CALLED TO REFLECT ON THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE we call LIFE. HOW IS IT TO ENTER INTO THE ORDINARINESS OF
LIFE? HOW HAS GOD ASSURED US OF HIS
PRESENCE.
HAVE
A SENSE OF WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT ESPECIALLY AT THIS STAGE IN MY LIFE. HOW DO I DISCERN MY CALL AT THIS POINT IN MY
LIFE?
SACRIFICE
- remaining in God and allowing God to remain in us ... and STRUGGLING with that.
Isn’t that the sacrifice that is asked from us, a kind that TRANSFORMS
US to better persons and better children of God.
