The Word God Spells

Matthew 11:20-24
Ex 2:1-15 / Ps 69

. . . if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
(Matthew 11: 23)

Let us heed the words of Jesus:
The worse will come without remorse;
We know that there is no excuse,
Repentance is our sole recourse.

Then Jesus began to criticize openly the cities in which He had done many of His miracles, because they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you! And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be thrown down to Hades! For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for the region of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you!” (Matthew 11:20-24)

Reflection

Along the shores of the Sea of Galilee were once found the four beautiful ancient towns of Capernaum, Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Tiberias. Only the city of Tiberias is still existing in the present day. What happened to the other three? In today’s Gospel passage of Matthew, Jesus made the prophecy that a greater tragedy would befall Chorazin and Bethsaida than what happened to Tyre and Sidon, and that Capernaum would suffer a worse fate than the city of Sodom. History records that in AD 400, a massive earthquake destroyed the three cities. Only the city of Tiberias was spared. Our Lord’s prophecy against Capernaum and the two unrepentant cities was thus fulfilled. Significantly, Jesus never uttered a word of judgment against the city of Tiberias. It is still standing today, and flourishing, after nearly two thousand years.

Capernaum once enjoyed the honor of being the special place of Jesus’ ministry. He recruited many of His apostles there, like Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew. He performed many of His miracles in His adopted town, such as: the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law (Mt.8:14-15), the centurion’s servant (Mt.8:5-7), the paralytic (Mt.9:2,7), and the casting out of demons (Mk.1:23-27). It was also near this town that the miraculous feeding of the four thousand occurred (Mk.8:6-9). And yet, in spite of all the signs that Jesus performed in Capernaum, the people there remained impassive and unrepentant, and like what happened in Nazareth, they eventually began to resent and oppose Him. They saw the many great miracles, and heard Jesus’ words of truth and wisdom, but they refused to repent and believe. Thus, the people of Capernaum sealed their own fate, and like Sodom before it, as our Lord had predicted, it disappeared into the dustbin of history.

The fate of Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida serve as a historical lesson that the way of impenitence can only lead to physical and spiritual destruction. Even those that enjoy a special place in God’s heart will never last if they persist in their sins.

Thank You, dear God for making us realize the damnation we would face without repentance. May the most precious blood of Jesus wash away all our sins. Amen.

Matthew 8: 28-34
Gen. 21:5,8-20 / Ps 34

The whole town set out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw him they implored him to leave their district.
(Matthew 8:34)

Guard against earthly obsessions
Strive only for the things divine;
Desire for worldly possessions
Drives men to the level of swine.

When Jesus reached the district of Gadara, two demoniacs confronted Him– so fierce that no one could pass that way. They screamed, “What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time?” Seeing a herd of pigs nearby, the devils pleaded with Jesus, “Send us to the herd of pigs”. He said to them, “Go then”, and they came out and made for the pigs. Then the whole herd charged down the cliff into the lake and drowned. When the townfolks heard what happened from the swineherds, they set out to meet Jesus, and as soon as they saw the Lord they implored Him to leave their place. Jesus did not waste time leaving that place. For their sheer ingratitude and closed minds, our Lord chose to go to other places where people would be more receptive to His works and to the Good News of salvation.

Reflection

Why was our Lord rejected by the inhabitants of Gadara? For one thing, He was a Jew, and Gadara was of the Gentile world, as evidenced by their swine raising (Jews were forbidden by the law of Moses to eat pork). Another reason could be because the influence of the evil spirits had become so pervasive in that place that the kingdom of God that Jesus wanted to preach was anathema to them.

This Gospel account reminds us that the influence of Satan can be so strong that the Word of God can fall on deaf ears due to people’s materialism, selfishness, or false doctrines. None are in greater danger of demon possession today than those who indulge in spiritism and embrace the New Age Religion. Their adherents believe in reincarnation, channeling, and in communicating with the spirits of the dead. Despite numerous testimonies in Scriptures, many even deny the existence of devils and eternal damnation, having been deceived by Satan that God in His goodness would never allow the existence of hell. As early as the time of Moses, man has always been warned about these evil influences. “There shall not be found among you any one… that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord.” (Deut.18:10-12) All whose faith is not firmly established upon the Word of God will be deceived. We are fortunate who live and believe in the Word of God, which has become the rule of our life. We subordinate all our plans to the designs of the Holy Spirit.

By Your Word we have been enlightened, Lord, and by Your Spirit we shall never succumb to Satan’s wiles; for Jesus now lives in our hearts. Amen.

John 14: 1-6
Acts 13:26-33 / Ps 2:6-11

I am the way and the truth and the life. . .
(John 14:6)

Christ Jesus is the only Way,
This vital Truth we all should know;
His Word’s our nourishment each day,
As well as our path to follow.

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Reflection

Jesus Christ is our Way to the Father, and there is no other way. He is the Truth, and others who proclaim otherwise will be proven false. He is Life Eternal — the life that begins not when we die but when Christ begins to live in us. And the words of our Lord should provide a great consolation: “In my Father’s house there are many rooms. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (Jn.14:1-2).

In our annual trek to Mt. Apo, we can easily get lost in the forest without our porters to guide us. The thick virgin forest can be very treacherous for the uninitiated, and without proper orientation, hunger, hypothermia or a treacherous ravine can be the cause of untimely death. The same is true in this jungle called life. Without Jesus as our guide and model, how easily we can get lost and fall into sin. But Jesus does not merely show us the way. He is the Way. God became one of us in order to blaze the trail for us in this life, and His death and Resurrection became the beacon of light for us to follow on the way to His Father’s home.

There may be many rooms in heaven, but Jesus will only welcome the most worthy, just as we would only invite the most select friends into our home. Not a great multitude will follow the Way of the Lord. After all, how many people can avoid the pitfalls of adultery, blasphemy, covetousness, envy, falsehood, greed, hedonism, and all the sins on earth that one can classify from A to Z? And millions of these victims of the evil one never had the chance to see these sins in the context of the Truth in Holy Scriptures, much less encounter Jesus as their Path to everlasting Life. The ultimate destiny of fallen souls will remain a mystery to us until we cross the Great Divide.

This much is certain: the souls that will fall into eternal damnation can only be those who choose to deny the Divine Mercy of God, who prefer darkness instead of light. These are the ones whom our Lord said would be judged by their own decision.

Father most loving, because of Your great compassion we find comfort in the thought that our Lord Jesus has prepared accomodations for us in Your home, and as long as we remain faithful to Him and His Word, our hearts will never be troubled. Amen.