🎤"NO MATTER HOW MY PAST HAS BEEN, I CAN BEGIN ANEW"

⏰Feast of St. Matthew (21 Sept. 2019)

📖Eph 4:1-7, 11-13; Ps 19:2-3, 4-5 (R.v.5a); Matt 9:9-13

🎤"NO MATTER HOW MY PAST HAS BEEN, I CAN BEGIN ANEW"

My dear, the Feast of the apostle Matthew reminds us again that our God of justice is also the Merciful God. He is ever ready to accept us back to himself and use us irrespective of what our past has been.

Matthew, or Levi in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 2:13-17), was a public sinner in the rating of the Jews. But Jesus went to the very source of his sin to begin his salvation.

Can you not also hear Jesus calling you from that particular sin you have been dwelling in to come out and be saved? It does not matter how dark your past has been; he is waiting with mercy to save you.

Just as in the case of St. Matthew, your conversion can also mean the conversion of many. Jesus called only Matthew, but many other tax collectors followed (cf. Matt 9:10; Mark 2:15).

Do you know that there are many people who are looking up to you as their model? Are you not going to give them the opportunity to get saved too by turning to Christ yourself?

Finally, this Feast reminds us that we are all objects of God's mercy. God has shown us mercy while we were sinners. We must also become disciples of mercy to others especially those we consider as never-do-wells in the society (see Eph 4:1-13).

May the mercy of God always follow us to lift us up and guide us along the right path to success in this life and salvation in the next. Amen.

Have a joyful day. Peace be with you.

🎤"DO NOT WEEP" (Luke 7:14)

⏰Tuesday of the Twenty-Fourth Week of Ordinary Time 1 (17 September 2019)

📖1 Tim 3:1-13; Ps 101:1-2ab, 2cd-3ab, 5, 6 (R.v.2c); Luke 7:11-17

🎤"DO NOT WEEP" (Luke 7:14)
Child of God, wipe your tears! Look up and see your Savior coming. He does not want to see you in tears. He came to restore your lost hope and put a smile once more on your face.

Let your mouth shout out for joy for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. He came for liberation; he wants to take you back to the original plan of God for you. The devil comes to destroy that plan and steal your joy but he that is in you is great than the devil (cf. 1 John 4:4).

Consider the example of the widow of Nain who just lost her only son and was on her to burial. The word _Nain_ means a place of happiness. Now, is it not ironical to come into a place of happiness and meet sorrow and tears? So the presence of Jesus in the town changed the story from sadness to joy, from hopelessness to hope.

That is Jesus for you! He is the story changer; he wants to change your story too for the better. Are you going to give him a chance? All that is required of you is uprightness (cf. 1 Tim 3:1-13) and everything would be well again.

As Jesus went about doing good, may he come into your life to change everything that gives you sorrow. Amen.

Have a beautiful and joyful day. Peace be with you.

🎤A CELEBRATION OF GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

⏰Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) - 15 Sept 2019

📖Exod 32:7-11,13-14; Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17 and 19 (R. Luke 15:18); 1Tim 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32

The three readings that we have in our Liturgy of today point out, in a very clear manner, the imperfection of man and God's unconditional love towards man. In the First Reading, the people of Israel deserted God and chose to worship a molten calf. Worst still, they ascribed to the molten calf, the glory which ought to be given to God, saying: These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. This action angered God a great deal but even before they repented, God forgave them based on the promise he made to Israels ancestors (cf. Exod 32:13-14).

That attitude of God is equally symbolised in the Gospel, in the characters of the shepherd who went after the strayed sheep, the woman who searched for the lost coin and the Prodigal Father that welcomed the Prodigal Son. In the eyes of the world, the action taken by these different characters might seem foolish but that is exactly how far God can go in bringing a sinner back under the canopy of his love.

Last Sunday, we were warned against using human wisdom to judge the things of heaven. Today, the Pharisees and the elder brother of the prodigal son used human wisdom to interpret the action of God's love. But as the saying goes, Gods foolishness is wiser than any human wisdom. Notice that the story did not end by telling us what became of the Pharisees or the brother of the prodigal son  whether they were able to accept God's love for what it is or not. That could be a challenge for us. We can choose to embrace God's love or keep ourselves outside of it.

The most striking thing about this love of God is that it is an unmerited love. God does not love us because we are good or because we merit it. It would infact seem that he loves us more in our fallenness. That could be what St. Paul makes reference to in the Second Reading, "I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life" (1Tim 1:15-16). He would say in another place, "See how God manifested his love for us: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom 5:8).

However, we should be careful not to take Gods love for granted. Even with this knowledge of Gods abundant love in our weakness, St. Paul asks, _Shall we keep on sinning so that grace may come more abundantly?_ (Rom 6:1). The answer is no. Note what was said of the prodigal son, "when he came to himself" or in other words, _"when he came to his senses."_ Even though Gods love is unconditional, it is important that we make a decision to seek to be one with him. He is a merciful but equally a God of justice who would repay each man according to his deeds.

There are many positions we could take from the readings. We can try and emulate God who loves unconditionally. We are called to embrace the position of the repentant prodigal son but must be discouraged from taking the position of the Pharisees and the brother of the prodigal son who could not come into terms with the nature of Gods love. _God is love. He who abides in love, abide in God and God in him_ (1John 4:16).

May the love of God never depart from you in all things. Amen

Have a lovely Sunday. Peace be with you.