Daily Bible Reflections
for January 6, 2013;

Dear Friend,

This Sunday, remember that you are hidden in His heart.

Praying for you,

Bo Sanchez

6
 January
Sunday
TODAY'S READINGS:

DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH
DIDACHE

 

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
 
A DIFFERENT KIND OF CONCERT
 
They all gather and come to you. Your sons come from afar.– Isaiah 60:4
 
It couldn’t have been any better: a dark sky, amazing fireworks, a canopy of stars overhead and thousands of people standing within inches of each other in a wide open field. It was the presence of warm-blooded individuals that actually made the difference, and what made the entire night most memorable.
This wasn’t a concert or a pyrotechnic competition. It was God’s presence manifested at the Kerygma Conference Grand Feast 2011.
Throughout the event, there were moments when I just found myself marveling at the sight of God’s people coming together and praising in unison. I imagined God smiling from ear to ear, pleased at seeing His children.
As I looked around, I told myself that these are thousands of people who may have failures and ongoing difficulties, who may have broken hearts and broken relationships, and who may still have unfulfilled dreams and unanswered prayers. But they are also thousands of people who still choose to praise God in the midst of the trials they face.
Such thoughts compelled me to remain an avid fan, a loyal follower and a firm believer of the God of the universe, my loving Father.Osy Erica (osy.erica@gmail.com)
 
Reflection: If you can shout, dance and sing at the top of your lungs for your favorite artist, how can you not do the same for your God?
 
Lord, You are the Greatest Artist. Yours is a song of unconditional love and compassion. Instill in me the heart of a loyal follower.
 
St. Andre Bessette, religious, pray for us.

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COMPANION

 

1ST READING
 
This text comes from the third part of the Prophet Isaiah’s writings. It is often disputed whether he actually wrote it or not, but that need not concern us here. Israel is promised that it will become a shining light for the world and all eyes will be turned towards it in the future. As Christians, we believe the shining light is not Judaism but Jesus Himself, a Jew by birth, but with a far greater destiny than just to influence the Jewish people. Let us never forget that, as followers of Christ, His legacy is our responsibility. We are to become the new light to the world.
 
Isaiah 60:1-6
1 Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. 2 See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory. 3 Nations shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance. 4 Raise your eyes and look about; they all gather and come to you. Your sons come from afar, and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. 5 Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you. 6 Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord.
 
P S A L M
 
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13
R: Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
1 O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2 he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) 7 Justice shall flower in his days, and profound peace, till the moon be no more. 8 May he rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. (R) 10 The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts; the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute. 11 All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him. (R) 12 For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out, and the afflicted when he has no one to help him. 13 He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor; the lives of the poor he shall save. (R)
 
2ND READING
 
I like the sense of mystery that surrounds any talk of the Gospel. Why? Because it reminds me that the answers to the questions in life are never simple, and rarely in the form of black or white. Life will always be a mystery as we are all individuals, thus making it impossible to have a “one-size-fitsall” mentality. Life is never simple and always requires treating each person as unique, and tailoring an answer to his or her set of questions, rather than assuming there is a universal solution for everyone.
 
Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6
2 Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, 3 namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation. 5 It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6 that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
 
GOSPEL
 
The Epiphany is an opportunity to reflect on how we experience the presence of Jesus in our lives. Everyone experiences His presence in different ways, so there is no single or limited number of ways to feel His love. Anyone who honestly seeks Jesus will experience Him one way or another. This is the promise of God – seek and you will find. Let us never tire in looking for the ways Jesus is present to us.
 
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.
 
Matthew 2:1-12
1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 7 Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I, too, may go and do him homage.” 9 After their audience with the king, they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 They were overjoyed at seeing the star, 11 and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him
homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
 
think: Never tire in looking for the ways Jesus is present in your life.
 
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ___________________________
 
____________________________________________
 
God’s special verse/thought for me today_________
____________________________________________
 
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR John 16-18
                                                                 SABBATH PAUSE
My weekly time with God
THANK YOU LIST
Things to be grateful for from the past week
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
SPECIAL NEEDS
Things to ask God for in the coming week
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
HIDDEN TREASURE
Most important word God told me this week
 
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________

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SABBATH

 

Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!
 
I don’t know who said the above line, but this is something we need now.
Today is the solemn feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany literally means the unveiling, the revelation, the manifestation. Today, the Child Jesus is manifested as Savior of humanity. But what is the value of something unveiled, revealed and manifested if it will not be recognized and appreciated? God always manifests Himself: in the Scriptures, in the Sacraments, in the people we encounter, in the events of daily life. The problem is with humanity not being attuned to God’s many epiphanies.
The Scriptures bid us, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Being still is not simply being passive; rather, it is an active engagement of the mind and the heart, orienting our inner senses to the essential.
Our generation is fond of “chilling out,” a.k.a. “doing nothing.” Mr. Hahn (Jackie Chan) of the movie Karate Kid said it beautifully, “Being still and doing nothing are two totally different things.” When we do nothing, we achieve nothing. When we keep still, we get more out of life.
One social experiment bears this out. A man was asked to play the violin in a busy subway in New York. In the 45 minutes that the musician played, only six people stopped and stayed for a while. When he finished playing, no one applauded. No one recognized that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth $3.5 million. Two days before this, Joshua Bell sold out his concert at a Boston theater at an average of $100 a seat. The experiment proposed an insightful challenge: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?
Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it has become just a memory. Are you missing God’s epiphany in your life? Savor every moment of God’s epiphany. Don’t let Him fade into a distant memory. Don’t just do something, stand there (read: be still)! Fr. Joel Jason
 
REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you paying enough attention to savor each moment before they become memories?
 
Help me to put order in my life, Lord, that I may savor each moment, especially with You.
 

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