Readings for Sunday, February 28, 2010

1st Reading -- From the Book of Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18

God speaks to Abram and tells him that he will have as many descendants as the stars up in the sky, and then some more... Being an old man, Abram has trouble believing in God's words...

Abram is nothing but human, and he analizes God's prediction from a human perspective. The idea is hard to accept, after all Abram's body is old (75?) and common knowledge along with science have established that a man of such age can no longer father children. Though at first Abram fails to hear God's prediction with his soul, he is-first and foremost- a believer, and ultimately decides to give value to God's words based on their source. Abram's descendants have nothing to do with common knowledge or science, they have to do with the will of God Almighty. The children are a part of God's covenant, to turn Abram's descendants into a great and powerful nation.

Abram receives a second promise from God: fertil and prosperous land from Wadi of Egypt to the Great River (the Euphrates), the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites" ... This time Abram is not as sure as with the first prediction. So, filled with doubt, Abram asks God for evidence of this promise. He needs to be convinced in order to relate to others the news of God's promises.

"Be careful with what you wish for... You might just get it" the saying goes... Just a weekend ago Jesus told the devil "Do not tempt the Lord, your God"...

With special pirothecnical effects, God demonstrates to Abram what he is capable of doing. Abram asked, God responded, and Abram felt fear...

Let us never question God, for He keeps his promises.

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2nd Reading -- From the letter of Paul to the Phillipians 3:17- 4:1

Transformation, change: two words that are deeply rooted in our Christian faith.

From the transformation of a 16-year-old virgin into the expectant mother of the Messiah, to the miracle of turning water into wine, to the miracle of the transformation of a dead body into a living one... Our Christian faith is all based on change, on transformation from one state to another.

On the 2nd reading of Sunday's Scriptures, Paul addresses the Phillipians, people very dear to his heart, and he calls for their transformation from their old wordly ways into the way of the Lord. Paul asks them to leave the bickering behind, to become one in the Lord, to transform. And yet, they remain hard of hearing...

Paul uses himself as public example of transformation: he used to be a zealous Pharisee, a "full blown Jew", and after experiencing a change of heart, he transformed himself into a vocal representative of Christ and the Christian principles of our faith. Paul them, spoke out loud the news of the new Covenant.

Paul's request for the Phillipian's transformation is the same request that God asks from us. During this time of lent, when we recognize ourselves as sinners -as we receive ashes on Ash Wednesday-, God asks us to not just recognize the sin in us, but to transform ourselves into men and women of faith, of love. Paul asks us to copy him, to pay more attention to our internal transformation than to the external symbols of God's followers.

It is not circumcision that will grant us acceptance into Heaven, but intstead, it is the transformation of our hearts that will grant us citizenship in the Kingdom of God.

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The Gospel according to Luke 9: 28b-36

Today's Gospel also brings up the issue of transformation.

We find Jesus on top of Mount Tabor, meditating... Our faith has paid great attention to "mountain tops", always linking them to the fact on the top of a mountain is where deep meditation and sincere connection with God can be achieved.

The three disciples accompanying Jesus, Peter, John, and James, awake from deep sleep and become confused when confronted by a vision of Jesus talking with the prophets Moses and Elijah. So confused they are, that Peter first idea is to build them three tents...

God our father does not want us to be confused and in the dark, for He knows what these circumstances do to our spirits. So God, speaking from within a cloud above says to the disciples "This is my chosen son, listen to Him"... In other words, do not be afraid, who you see is not a stranger, he is the one I sent to protect you...

God's message is plain and simple, and it is very clear: our job is to listen to Jesus's words, and to follow his commands, for he is acting on behalf of God the Father.

Let us not be paralized by fear of the unknown, instead, let us put our trust in the Lord... Let us be like Abram, who with deep faith believed God's promise of a great number of descendants... Let us copy Paul's conviction so our hearts can be changed and citizenship into God's Kingdom can be achieved... Le us listen to God our Father with open hearts...

Readings for Sunday, February 21, 2010

1st Reading - From the Book of Deuteronomy, 26: 4-10

Me must never forget!

After the events of September 11, 2000, these words had been uttered by many people, both in America and overseas.

When the Book of Deuteronomy saw light and these same words were written, they had a different meaning. Moses was addressing the people of Israel and Judah, reminding them to keep in mind that they had been slaves, mistreated, and exposed to inclement weather and hunger... and that they should never forget those difficult times. Instead, they were asked to keep this memory alive.

During their period of exile in Egypt, the people of Israel and Judah had enough time to reflect and to embrace God's ways. Once their time in Egypt was over and they had returned to the promised land, they all worked very hard to successfully overcome poverty. Moses words were a request to always remember how it feels to be poor and hungry, just so they would feel inclined to share their talent and treasures with those less fortunate than them.

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2nd Reading - From the Letter of Paul to the Romans, 10: 8-13

On this reading Paul asks the Romans about their knowledge of the Scriptures. He asks them hoping that they will know the answer right away.

And what does Scripture says? What is it all about?

It is about love. It is about God and how much he loves us. Regardless of who we are or how we look, whether we are white, black, or yellow, ugly or pretty, whether we are a banker or a farmer, God loves us just the same.

God asks us to have faith in him, to trust him. And he asks us to confess our faith publicly. He asks us to believe with our hearts and to profess with our voices, that we trust and love him.

We believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Messiah, and we believe that God raised him from the dead on the 3rd day. We are called by God to share these good news -out loud and with sincerity- to all who are willing to listen to us.

Confession on our lips, is the way to our salvation.

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The Gospel according to Luke, 4: 1-13

The best way to deal with temptation is to maintain the door that leads to it firmly shut. If we open that door just one little inch, before we know it, it'll be fully open. Temptation is a very strong emotion. To be able to fight temptation, one must have a strong personality and deep rooted convictions.

Think of temptation as a box of caramel covered chocolates: all you want to do is open that box and take a peek, after all they look so pretty... Well, maybe you just want to have one little chocolate, not more... Or maybe two... No one will get hurt... They are so tasty, so sweet... And so it goes, before you know it several -or maybe even all- are gone.

The devil in his selfishness thought that he could lure a very tired and very thirsty Jesus, into following his commands. After all this human Jesus had been in the desert, fasting, for over a month. The devil did consider the fact that Jesus was hungry, he just failed to see that Jesus wanted more than just simple food.

In his malice, the devil blinded himself. He thought that tempting Jesus would be as easy as showing him the proverbial box of chocolates. The devil took Jesus for granted and forgot that he was dealing with the Son of God. He forgot that the Messiah should be respected, worshiped, and never put to the test. Silly devil... Just because Jesus was born from humble parents did not mean that he was poor; in fact the devil's own temptation made him forget that he was dealing with the richest man in the world.

Readings for Sunday, February 14, 2010

1st Reading, from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, 17: 5-8

Many have called Jeremiah “the prophet of doom”, and it is easy to see why. On his prophecies, repeating himself over and over, Jeremiah predicts the fall of Jerusalem. He asks the people to change their ways; he reiterates to them that God is very displeased with them and with their actions, and he warns them that heaven’s wrath is about to fall upon them.
At the time of the prophecies, the people of Judah are certain that they have God's favor on their side, and they do not believe for a minute, that destruction could ever be a possibility in their future. "This would never happen to us..." they think, "After all we are God's favorite ones; we are the chosen ones." They are convinced that God can never see them under a different light.

Despite the people's faults and their denial, Jeremiah asks them to consider changing their ways. He insists that if the people return to God, the change will allow us to become, once again, recipients of the Lord's trust. He reminds the people of Judah -and us, in present times-, that God is our real source of nourishment. We can always trust in the Lord, for He will never abandon us.

In an attempt to make the people understand how important God is, Jeremiah compares them, and us -the inhabitants of the world-, with a bush in the desert. And he explains that if we place our faith in God and live our lives following His teachings, our “roots” will grow deep down in the desert soil, allowing us to find nourishment and water. We will in turn, become better prepared to withstand bad weather and difficult times. And just like the desert bush which roots grow deep down, finding water and becoming strong, we will become strong too, nourishing our bodies and souls with the strength that only the faith in God can give to us. With that love and the trust in God we will be prepared to withstand harsh weather; and that same strength will helps us to survive those days, when life throws hard punches at us and we fear that we are not going to be able to make it.

So, let us not waste one more minute! What we have done -or have failed to do-, is in the past and it is there where it has to remain. Past actions, or lack of them, cannot be changed. The best we can do with our mistakes, is to use them as learned lessons, just so we don't repeat them again. And once we have learned, we must move on with our lives.

Therefore, at this time, when we read Jeremiah’s words of doom, we are to act upon his prophecies and put our trust in God Almighty. It is not too late to return to God’s path, of that we can be certain. We can trust Him. His love will feed us and make us stronger, and our faith will deepen so much that we will find nourishment and strength in that love. And when times get tough, our roots will be strong enough that they will be able to fight the winds of deception. And our roots will be able to reach deep down, finding God’s waters, the waters that contain within their current, the love of God our Father.

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2^nd Reading: 1 Corinthians, 15: 12, 16-20

On Sunday’s reading, the apostle Paul expands the topic of Jesus’ resurrection.

Through Scriptures we have learned that Jesus of Nazareth, the son of God, the Messiah, died on the cross. On the third day following his death, Jesus came back from the dead as the prophecies had foretold. Yes, Jesus resurrected, in flesh and body.

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At the time when the letter was written, the people of Corinth were experiencing a break from their faith. Their trust in God was wavering. So with his writings, Paul attempts to help the Corinthians to return to God’s path, and to understand, believe and accept the mystery of Jesus’ resurrection. His death and resurrection were a part of God’s plan. To prove his love to us, God used His son as an example, allowing him to die and to resurrect. He did this just so we could see with our own eyes, the miracle that is available to all of us. Why are we to doubt this?

The mystery of Jesus’ resurrection is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. Denying it is the equivalent of completely missing out on the joy of life after death. Perhaps God expected that some of us would doubt the prophecy, and so he promised a second coming. The second resurrection, as he promised, will be enjoyed by all of us. It will happen anytime, at any moment, in the future…

Christians are called to believe, without questioning, the fact that Jesus resurrected from the dead. No ifs, buts, or whys; plain and simple Jesus returned on the 3^rd day, proving to all of us that He is “the real deal.” He promised he would, and he maintained his word. If we get stuck on that Friday afternoon, at the side of the cross, and we refuse to move on to Jesus’ resurrection, we have missed the point. The train, mister traveler, has left you behind…

And like the 1^st reading teaches us to put our faith and trust in God, this reading reassures us that the end on the cross was just the beginning of the adventure of being a Christian.

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The Gospel according to Luke, 6:17, 20-26

On this Sunday’s Gospel Luke explains to the listeners that all sacrifices done to glorify the Kingdom of God will be rewarded. For those who follow God’s path, the reward will be in heaven. In contrast, those who choose to ignore God’s request to place their trust in Him, and instead place their trust in people, they will eventually have to face the fact that they have followed a false prophet. Those trusting in people will not be able to enjoy paradise.

Jesus is found at the Sea of Galilee, in the company of his disciples, along with people -Jews and Gentiles- who have come from places as far as Tyre and Sidon. The ones coming from far away have walked the equivalent of about 50 miles on foot. They want to hear Jesus’ good news. They have faith. And yet the news at first appear to be bad instead of good. The news talk about sacrifice and a life of dedication to proclaiming the word of God. The news don’t say anything about being rich on earth but instead the news praise poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution. Is this possible? How can someone find happiness in circumstances like these?

True happiness can only be found throughout the Holy Spirit. Jesus, presenting us with his beatitudes, speaks from experience. Though he did not come to the world to be hated and poor, he knew that in openly accepting his faith he would be teaching us with his example. The more the world turned Jesus down, the more he opened up his heart and asked God to fill him up with strength and love. God offers us a kingdom so magnificent, that we will willingly endure hardship with the purpose of spread his word to others, just so them, us, everyone, can one day share eternal life filled with his love.