The Word God Spells

John 21: 15-19
Acts 25: 13-21 / Ps 103: 1-2,11-12,19-20

“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
(John 21:16)

How much we love our Lord Jesus
Depends on how we care for His sheep;
From our sins His grace will free us,
Trust that this promise He will keep.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” (John 21: 15-19)

Reflection

Every time Peter answered that he loved Jesus, he was told to take care of His sheep. Our Lord’s message for His leaders in this Gospel passage defines love for Him as not merely lip service or an emotional experience, but in active service of the flocks under their care. This brings to the fore a question that every servant leader of Christ should ask himself before he takes on the tasks of ministry: ‘What is my motive, or reason for serving in my community?’ If the answer is ‘For the love of God and Jesus Christ,’ then he can look forward to a Spirit-filled and fruitful service.

There are two kinds of members in any religious organization: those who are active because they love the fellowship (or the singing, or the camaraderie), and those who join because they seek Jesus and want to develop a more intimate relationship with Him. It is usually the latter who readily accept any assignment requested of them. And they are the ones who stay on through the years and become strong leaders and pillars of the organization.

Throughout the Gospel books and the epistles, we are commanded to love. As Jesus said: “A new command I give you. Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Jn. 13:34-36) Jesus showed His apostles (and us) how to love. Love is patient (1Cor.13:1-7): He was patient with them to the end, until they understood fully His plan of salvation. Love is kind: Jesus showed kindness to all who came to Him for help, and never discriminated even the lowliest and the most hideous (lepers). Love is respectful: Jesus showed His respect for all men, friends and sinners, rich and poor alike. He even asked forgiveness for His tormentors in Calvary. Love is humble: Jesus is our model of humility; He chose to be born poor, and mixed comfortably with the masses. He rebuked the Pharisees and teachers of the law for their pride and lack of humility. Love is forgiving: Jesus guaranteed remission and forgiveness of sins for all who repent. Repentance and forgiveness are major themes in His Gospel messages. Finally, Love is sacrifice: Again, Jesus is the perfect model of life-giving sacrifice, when He accepted death on the cross for the forgiveness of all sins. Jesus is our model of love. Let us follow Him in order to be assured of a place in heaven.

You know our hearts and minds, Lord God, and know how much we love you. Increase our knowledge of Your love, so that we may serve our brotherhood more intensely, and come to love You even more. This we ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

John 17: 20-26
Acts 22: 30; 23: 6-11 / Ps 16: 1-2, 5, 7-11

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
(John 17:20)

Diffrences in forms of worship,
Won’t be resolved by long debate;
But we find in Jesus’ kingship
Lies the unity of our faith.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17: 20-26)

Reflection

When we consider the hundreds, or maybe thousands of Christian denominations all over the world divided by doctrinal differences, it makes us wonder if the prayer of Jesus nearly 2000 years ago has ever been answered. Jesus prayed, “May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” How can the world believe that Jesus was sent by the Father to unify all His followers if the Christian world remains fragmented?

But wait. Don’t we all constitute the Mystical Body of Christ? Recall what Jesus did at the Last Supper which the Church memorializes everyday in the celebration of the Eucharist: Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, ‘Take and eat; this is my body’ (Mt.26:26). We are His body, broken in order to be shared! When the schism in the Catholic Church happened in 16th century Europe during the so-called Age of Reformation, this did not mean victory for the evil forces. It actually unleashed a wave of evangelization throughout the world, as Catholic and Protestant missionaries competed in converting nations to the Christian faith.

We might be diverse in doctrines and forms of worship, but all Christians are one in faith. Through our faith men of all colors continue to receive the commission that Jesus bestowed on His apostles, and handed down to generations of Christians throughout the millennia of Church history. Whatever church we belong to, as long as we believe in Jesus Christ as our risen Lord, God and Savior, and is One God with the Father and the Holy Spirit, then we are one body, all children of God, united in the truth of His covenant.

Jesus’ prayer had long been answered in all Christian denominations who live and profess God’s Word in their lives. The world comes to believe in Jesus Christ as it sees His Gospel values and ideals being manifested in our life. Through our individual missions, witnessing to the glory of God, Christ continues to make Himself known to others, and in this apostolate God’s love will grow abundantly in our lives.

Lord Jesus, You have shown us how much You love those who are faithful to You by praying to the Father to include them in Your glory. May we be worthy of Your great love as we try to imitate You in carrying our own crosses in life, thanking God for the privilege of being one with You. Amen.

John 17: 11-19
Acts 20: 28-38 / Ps 68: 29-30, 33-36

As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
(John 17: 19)

Be bold, don’t fear what lies ahead,
Take the hard road to perfection;
Be steadfast in your faith instead,
Assured of our Lord’s protection.

Jesus continued His prayer: “And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them Your Word, and the world hated them because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you to take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, any more than I belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I consecrate myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.” (John 17: 11-19)

Reflection

The whole chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel (vs. 1 to 26) comprises the longest prayer of Jesus to His Father just before He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. First, He prayed for Himself (for strength), then for His apostles whom He would send on their mission, and finally for all who would believe them and become His followers.

For His apostles, Jesus prayed for their protection from the evil one, and for them to be sanctified in the truth (the Word of God). In the first reading, St. Paul expressed similar sentiments for the faithful in Ephesus before He left them on his way back to Jerusalem. He said, “Keep watch over yourselves and over the flock the Holy Spirit has placed under your care . . . men will come forward perverting the truth to draw away disciples after them . . . Now I commend you to God, and to His grace-filled Word, that can build you up and gain for you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20: 28,30,32).

We too are sanctified by the Holy Spirit in our daily reading of God’s Word. But those who refuse to believe in God’s truth in the Bible are in danger of being perverted by false doctrines that are now proliferating throughout the world. My wife and I had once been fond of watching the Oprah Winfrey show because of the seemingly good influence that Oprah has on millions of television viewers for her humanitarian activities. But we were greatly disappointed to learn on YouTube how subtly she has been perverting the truth and leading nominal Christians away from God’s Word by espousing her brand of New Age religion. She questioned that Jesus is God and is the only way to heaven, and even gave weight to an atheist author’s premise that, “Man made God in his image and likeness.”

As disciples of Jesus, we must counter the teachings of these false prophets and defend the truth, as some Christian ladies in the audience of Oprah’s show did, with much applause. (For once the applause was not for her.) Jesus did not pray to the Father “to take them out of the world, but that (God) protect(s) them from the evil one.” Our Lord wants us to be in the world to transform it with His Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit; but at the same time He asks the Father to protect us from being contaminated, or perverted by the world.

Shield us, dear God from the temptations and evils of the world, but grant us the courage and discernment to spread the light of Your Good News of salvation to others in it. Amen.

John 17: 1-11
Acts 20: 17-27 / Ps 68: 10-11, 20-21

… that they may be one as we are one.
(John 17: 11)

Satan celebrates our confusion,
But falls when we are gathered as one;
His main goal is to sow division,
Thank God we’re united with His Son.

Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Father, protect them by the power of your name - the name you gave me — that they may be one as we are one.”

Reflection

There are many things in life that bring people together as one. Anniversary celebrations; the death of someone great, like Ninoy Aquino, Mother Teresa or Pope John Paul II; or the deposition of a dictator or corrupt leader (Edsa); or the victory of an idolized prizefighter, like Manny Pacquiao. The death of our 85-year-old mother is especially memorable to us for the hundreds of friends and relatives who came to condole with us. During the one week of her wake in our ancestral home, people from all walks of life came, shared our loss and prayed with us as one, turning our sadness for her passing into joy and even merriment. In the field of sports, the phenomenon of Manny Pacquiao so mesmerizes the whole country during his celebrated bouts that almost all of his countrymen forget their differences, and come together to watch and cheer their idol. Total strangers do ‘high fives’ and congratulate each other in his moment of triumph. The funeral of Ninoy Aquino was joined by more than a million people, and this spelled the beginning of the end for the Marcos dictatorship.

Indeed, in unity there is great power. Our unity as a people is defined by something greater than ourselves, which at times may even be worth dying for. This is what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel, as He prays to the Father for the unity of His disciples, on the eve of His impending death. But take note that our Lord specified only “those whom (God) gave to (Him) out of the world.” Jesus even said, “I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours” (Jn.17:9). What defines our unity as followers of Jesus? And how do we glorify Him? First, it is our acceptance of and obedience to His Word, the Gospel, and our conversion to a more meaningful relationship with Him. Then it is committing ourselves to serve Him in our chosen community by living His values and ideals. Finally, it is by leading others to Him that we glorify Him and be one with Him. These are the ways by which we have come together as one in our Brotherhood in His Name.

Our Church still has a long way to go to achieve ecclesial unity with other Christian churches, but as long as they believe that Jesus came from God, and is Himself God, died for our sins and was resurrected, then the road to unification is just around the bend.

Lord God, we pray for the unity of all Christians under the leadership of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Bring us together through the power of Your Holy Spirit, on Whom we trust. Amen.

John 16: 29-33
Acts 19: 1-8 / Ps 68: 2-7

I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but take courage, I have conquered the world.
(John 16:33)

God’s kindness is beyond all measure
No cause to worry or to fear
Whether in times of pain or pleasure
With faith in Christ, His peace is here.

His disciples said, “Now you are talking plainly, not in any figure of speech! Now we know that you know all things, and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. By this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. I have told you this so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble; but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (John 16: 29-33)

Reflection

The apostles naively thought that they had finally understood the message that Jesus was telling them, about ‘leaving the world and going back to the Father,’ because finally they had believed that He came from God. But our Lord knew that in just a matter of a few hours they would again lose faith and abandon Him, once the temple guards came to arrest Him. He knew that their frail faith was based on their limited understanding, and merely on the miracles and wonders that Jesus had performed in their midst. They had not yet known who Jesus really was in the context of His mission on earth. This enlightenment would only come after His resurrection and ascension, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

Still, Jesus assured them, that with Him they would have peace, just as He was at peace because the Father was with Him. They would be going through a lot of persecution in the coming days, but they had no reason to fear, as by His death and resurrection Jesus would be victorious against evil, and they too would prevail over their trials and persecutions.

Early in our life with the renewal, we were filled with the joy and peace of the Holy Spirit, and it seemed as if we were prepared to take on whatever tasks the Brotherhood assigned to us. We gave so much of our time, effort and resources to our assigned ministry that we became confident that God would take care of our business because we were taking care of His. When the real estate industry took a downturn and we started encountering financial difficulties, we wondered why God was allowing this crisis to happen to us, as we regarded it a major obstacle in the road of service. After we had weathered that storm, we came to realize how immature our knowledge was about God, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord,” (Isa 55:8). We cannot presume on God’s favors in return for our services. We should only trust in His divine wisdom for our ultimate benefit. We have come to accept that our faith is still a work in progress, and that true peace lies in a heart full of faith in Jesus Christ. Life’s trials and tribulations play an important part in the development of that faith.

Father God, fortify our faith in times of trials and difficulties. Do not let us be discouraged when we fail to receive what we are praying for. Grant us Your gift of joy in our service so that our enthusiasm may never flag when the work seems monotonous or tedious. Thank You, Lord, for the inspiring words of Jesus Christ that sustain us in the Gospel. Amen.

John 14: 6-14
1 Cor 15: 1-8 / Ps 19: 2-5

Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.
(John 14:9)

How much time have I sacrificed
To know Him and be satisfied?
Who is this Jesus crucified?
He’s the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.’ (John 14: 6-14)

Reflection

In our brotherhood’s teaching assembly last night, the topic was ‘Finding God in Everyday Situations.’ It seems that in most cases, we are not aware of God’s presence in our day-to-day existence, until something near-catastrophic happens and we acknowledge His presence and saving power. Our chapter head related how in one very recent incident, he fell asleep while driving alone on the highway, and his vehicle would have fallen into a deep ravine had it not hit a concrete signpost. His pick-up was a wreck, but he only suffered a minor cut on his lip. He said, “I thank God for His protection.” Indeed, as God assures us, ‘I will show you my saving power’ (Psa 91:16).

How much do we know our loving Father in heaven? One popular song in our brotherhood goes, “To love You, O Lord, is to know Your love … to love You, and to make You loved.” It is quite sad that many Christians are still in the dark regarding their relationship with God, simply because they have not yet come to know who Jesus Christ is in their life. They have not taken the trouble to read about Him in the Bible, and to relate the lessons He imparts to their own life’s situations.

It is never too late to transform our lives by getting to know Jesus better. By meditating on the Bible, especially the Gospel accounts, Jesus will reveal Himself to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. The more we come to know Him, the more we will become like Him, and the easier it will be to bring others to Him when they see Jesus in us. In this way we will be fulfilling the words of Jesus, Who said, “The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do …” And what a joy it will be to do the works that our Savior did!

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the gift of Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whose example we can aspire to be holy, and be worthy of Your eternal kingdom. Grant that we may become closer to Him, by seeing His face in every person in our life. Amen.