The Word God Spells

Luke 1: 26-38
Is 7: 10-14; 8:10/ Ps 40: 7-11 / Heb 10: 4-10

‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.’

Her virtues that we emulate
Will shield us from all tribulation;
Today let’s pause to meditate
Her ‘Yes’ that led to our redemption

In the sixth month of her cousin Elizabeth’s pregnancy, the young maiden Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel to announce her role in God’s plan of salvation. Pledged to be married soon to Joseph, Mary would have been placed in a great quandary by the angel’s news that she would be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. But this awesome news that she would become the mother of “the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, to reign over the house of Jacob forever” was a divine privilege that a simple village girl like her could hardly refuse. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.” After hearing these revelations, Mary could only reply in total submission, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be done to me as you have said.”

Reflection

The Church celebrates this day as the Feast of the Annunciation. It is a special day worth commemorating because this day in human history marks the Incarnation of the promised Redeemer, Jesus Christ. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) It was in relation to the date of the Savior’s birth on December 25 that the Church selected March 25 (exactly nine months before) as the day when the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity took place, the same day that the great news was announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We do not know if Mary was well versed with the prophetic writings, particularly the words of Isaiah in the first reading: “. . . the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” (Isa 7:14) But her canticle in vs. 46 to 55 revealed her ecstatic feelings to her cousin Elizabeth, knowing that she occupied a unique place in the whole of mankind, because she was now bearing the Son of God. And yet this special honor in no way affected her humble disposition. She even took pains riding a donkey to visit her aged cousin, and stayed to serve her for three months until Elizabeth delivered her own baby.

The Annunciation highlights what we admire most in our Mother Mary: her humility, submission, and obedience to God’s will. Her example clearly defines the meaning of discipleship, which all followers of her Son should strive to emulate.

We thank You, Father for the example of our Mother Mary, providing a beacon for us in times of darkness and trials, for no woman ever felt the pains that she had. Amen.

Hi!

By the time you read this, I will be on the way to Mt. Apo with a few of my running buddies for our club’s annual climb. So there won’t be any Gospel reflections for obvious reasons until we come back on Sunday. Please pray for our safe journey.

Thank you and God bless!

Luke 24: 13-35
Acts 3: 1-10 / Ps 105: 1-4, 6-9

Were not our hearts burning (within us) while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?
(Luke 24:32)

God’s message comes in verses read,
In parables that Jesus said,
Or even on the roads we tread,
Or in the breaking of the Bread.

Two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. While they were talking about everything that had happened, Jesus came up and walked beside them; but they did not recognize him. He asked them, “What are you discussing?” With their faces downcast, one of them named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there these past days?” “What things?” He asked. “About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed. The chief priests and our rulers sentenced Him to death, and they crucified Him. We had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find His body. They said they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.” He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. As they neared the village where they were going, Jesus acted as if He were going farther. But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening.” So He went in to stay with them. When He was at table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, but He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how they recognized Jesus when He broke the bread.

Reflection

All of us (hopefully) will experience our own ‘road to Emmaus’. There will come a time in our life when we will have a personal encounter with our Saviour. Right now we might still be too preoccupied with making our first million, raising a family, attending to our career, or struggling up the corporate ladder, but sooner or later, we will eventually meet up with our Lord, like Cleopas and the other disciple, or more dramatically, like St. Paul’s encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus. Jesus just bides His time, but He knows that somewhere along the way in our journey through this earthly existence, we will discover our true destination, and He will be there to offer His assistance. After all, He is the Way, all His promises are true, and in the Eucharist, He is the Source of eternal life.

Jesus taught the two disciples first about Holy Scriptures before breaking bread with them, as if He was setting the format for the future celebration of the mass. We listen to the Word of God first before partaking of His Body and Blood. That is why the celebration of the Holy Eucharist would not be complete if we arrive during or after the reading of the Epistle and the Gospel.

How foolish we are if we do not seek direction on the path we must take to arrive at our destination. How much more if the direction we need will help us reach our Ultimate Destination! The Word of God reveals to us our mission in life; without its instructions all our attempts to find our way in life will amount to nothing. By our own plans and efforts alone, we will always come up empty, puzzled and lost. That is why it is very important to read the ‘Divine Manual’ everyday. The more we read about our Lord Jesus in the Bible, the more we will understand His purpose for our life and the direction we need to take.

“It was You who created my inmost self, and put me together in my mother’s womb; for all these mysteries I thank You: for the wonder of myself, for the wonder of Your works.” (Psalms 139:13-14) Amen.

John 20: 11-18
Acts 2: 36-41 / Ps 33: 4-5,18-20,22

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?
(John 20:15)

Let not an empty tomb bring sorrow,
Hope instead for joy tomorrow;
Let all creation stop and listen:
Jesus Christ our Lord is risen!

Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that He had said these things to her.

Reflection

If Mary Magdalene had only remembered what Jesus said before He was taken by the authorities and crucified, she would have been filled with rejoicing rather than grief upon being confronted by an empty tomb. There are two common “blinders” that prevent us from seeing the truth, even when it is right there under our very noses, or in the case of Mary Magdalene who was looking for Jesus, even when He was standing right in front of her.

The first is our mindset. When we have been preconditioned to expect the familiar and ordinary, we fail to find or “see” the unusual or extraordinary. Mary Magdalene had witnessed the brutal crucifixion and death of our Lord, and in her mind He was already dead. Her grief had made her forget that Jesus had said He would be killed but would rise again on the third day.

The second are the worldly and unnecessary distractions. Women are usually more susceptible to this because of their preoccupation with detail and their emotionalism. Mary Magdalene had prepared the spices, and went early to the burial site. In the Gospel version of St. Mark, the ladies had even worried about who would roll back the large stone covering the entrance of the tomb (Mk.16:3). Her immediate reaction upon seeing the empty tomb was that their enemies (the henchmen of the pharisees or the Roman soldiers) had stolen the body of Jesus. This had so upset her that she started weeping, and only recognized Jesus when He called her name.

Our human limitations always confine our vision to unimportant things. Most times we are incapable of “seeing the big picture.” Like we mourn the loss of a loved one for a long time when we should be happy that he or she has passed on to a life more glorious than the one left behind. Often it is our petty concerns that hamper our vision, and make us forget our loftier quest or nobler purposes in life.

Grant us the grace, Lord, to discern the good that will come out of a tragic event, just as an empty tomb is not a loss, but rather the gain of eternal life. Amen.

Matthew 28: 8-15
Acts 2: 14, 22-33 / Ps 16: 1-2, 5, 7-11

…they departed quickly from the tomb, fearful yet full of great joy.
(Matthew 28:

May the Holy Spirit’s power
Recharge us again this Easter;
May He make our mission richer
With His joy that lasts forever.

So they departed quickly from the tomb, fearful yet full of great joy, and ran to tell His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” While they were on their way, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed; and this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day (Matthew 28: 8-15).

Reflection

Jesus met the two women on their way to tell the others to confirm what the angels had told them, and to remove all traces of fear and doubt in their hearts. I tend to believe they took hold of His feet to assure themselves that they were not merely seeing a ghost before they worshiped Him. In fact, despite His predictions in the past that He would be killed but would rise again on the third day, His closest disciples still refused to believe the testimony of the women and the two others who had broken bread with Him on the way to Emmaus. Jesus had to appear before them and asked for something to eat just to convince them that He had indeed come back from the dead (John 24:35-42).

Doubting is part of our human nature, but concocting a lie and resorting to bribery to propagate it can never be justified for any reason. It is the tragedy of the Jewish nation that most of its people chose to believe this great deception by their chief priests that the body of Jesus was stolen from His grave by His disciples to make it appear that He had risen from the dead.

The fundamental principle that all true Christians uphold is that Jesus Christ was and is truly the Son of God Who became man, and His resurrection is our greatest proof. Those who doubt this principle can never claim genuine affinity with our Lord, and those who deny it can never enter the kingdom of His Father in heaven. For Jesus had said in no uncertain terms: “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

May this season of Easter strengthen our faith in the Risen Lord. May it fill our hearts with genuine love for each other as Jesus had mandated before His ascension. May it also enliven us with the hope that we too will experience our own resurrection in the last day, to rise from our graves and join Him in His heavenly glory.

Lord Jesus, we believe that You resurrected from the dead to show us that the real life is not the one here on earth, but what awaits us in heaven. During this time of Easter, fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving to our heavenly Father, as we pray for the Holy Spirit’s continuing guidance in our lives until our last days. Amen.

Black Saturday

Matthew 28: 1-10
Rom 6: 3-11 / Ps 118: 1-2. 16-17. 22-23

Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.
(Matthew 28:5-6)

Morning has come, a New Life awaits,
The rock has been rolled, let’s celebrate!
We’re freed at last from sin’s destruction,
Christ has risen for our redemption!

Very early on the first day of the week (after Sabbath), Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and John, went to the tomb of Jesus bringing spices. There was a strong earthquake as an angel came down and rolled back the large rock covering the entrance of the tomb. He told them that the Lord had resurrected as He had promised. They went off, fearful, but overjoyed. On the way, Jesus met them and greeted them. As they did Him homage, embracing His feet, Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Reflection

Today is Holy Saturday, once known as Black Saturday, commemorated as the only day when God as man was dead. There are no accounts in the Gospel related by any of the four evangelists about this ‘Black Sabbath’ –- except about the chief priests and pharisees, (in Matthew, 27:62-66), requesting Pilate to post guards at the tomb, “lest His disciples steal the body and say to the people ‘He has been raised from the dead’.” This day seems to bear no significance at all, and does not appear at any time in the Church’s Liturgical calendar. It may well be “not here” at all. In fact the Gospel for today is about an event that will transpire tomorrow (Easter Sunday)!

There are only three major events in the Christian Liturgical Year when we are obliged by the Church to celebrate the day with a Eucharistic Mass. These are: Christmas Day, New Year, and Easter Sunday. Among the three, our Church holds Easter Sunday as the most important, because this is the day that God’s Plan for mankind’s redemption finally comes to realization. Christ, the Son of Man has risen! And in His Resurrection, man has finally been freed from the bondage of sin. Easter is so important that it is celebrated for seven weeks until Pentecost. In fact, even this day (Black Saturday) is already a part of Easter, because the day of Christ’s death was the start of mankind’s salvation!

Praise God for the coming Light of RESURRECTION! The stone has been rolled away, a new LIFE awaits . . . prepare to celebrate!

We Praise You, Father God and Adore You, for You have emptied Yourself out for us through the pains and death of Your Beloved Son, so that we may have Life Eternal! Amen.