BRING ON THE TRIALS!

... and peace abound, until the moon is no more. – Psalm 72:7

         This magnificent sight gave me a practical lesson in life. The famous Blue Mountains of Australia are blue — not poetically but literally. At a scenic point in this mountain range, I marveled at its unique spectacle. I found out that the mountains were filled with gum trees, the leaves of which koalas feed on. These trees emit a vapor which gives the mountains its azure shade in sunlight.

       There is another thing about the gum trees that I took interest in: their seeds. I learned that these seeds pop open when exposed to extreme heat, like a forest fire. In fact, when a forest fire breaks out, it revitalizes the whole mountain because more seeds pop open and new gum trees are born.

         Such also is life. Sirach 4:2 says, “In fire gold is tested,” meaning we need to go through trials or “fire” so that our values are enhanced. Trials, like forest fires, give new life and strengthened endurance. Through trials, we discover that there is a God who is faithful. When the tests and trials come, we have peace and will have the boldness to declare that we have a God who is greater than our trials! Rolly España (rolly@homeliving.com.ph)

Reflection: Think hard about this fact: Trials and pains are necessary in our lives.

Jesus, Your grace is all that I need. It is more than sufficient for me.

St. Lazarus, pray for us.

An essential aspect of our faith is willingness to listen to the traditions and voices of the past that proclaim unending truths with an eye for how they are to be applied in the present and the future. It is not up to us to change the content of our faith — only to inculturate and situate it within the present context. This is a task that requires great sensitivity to the Spirit, or we may lose an aspect of the Gospel in the midst of our busyness.

2 Jacob called his sons and said to them: “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. 8 You, Judah, shall your brothers praise — your hand on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father shall bow down to you. 9 Judah, like a lion’s whelp, you have grown up on prey, my son. He crouches like a lion recumbent, the king of beasts — who would dare rouse him? 10 The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs, while tribute is brought to him, and he receives the peoples’ homage.”

R: Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.

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) 3 The mountains shall yield peace for the people, and the hills justice. 4 He shall defend the afflicted among the people, save the children of the poor. (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) 17 May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. (R)

This genealogy situates Jesus within human history but He is also God. For this reason, He stands above human history as well as a part of it. Our relationship with God encompasses both the humanity and divinity of Jesus and so we need to make sure that we do not neglect it. It is not enough to say that our service to God or the Church is our prayer. We need to make the effort and put aside time for prayer every day where prayer alone is the focus.

O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, 6 Jesse the father of David the king. David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. 8 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos, Amos the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile. 12 After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. 17 Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Christ, fourteen generations.

think:  We need to make the effort and put aside time for prayer every day where prayer alone is the focus.

SUCCESS IS A PROCESS

It is common knowledge that Thomas Alva Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors of the 19th and 20th centuries. To his name is credited more than 1,000 patented inventions, the most famous of which is the electric light bulb. A story goes that when Thomas Alva Edison presented to the public his newest invention called the light bulb, a reporter asked him, “ How do you feel that you failed a thousand times before you perfected the light bulb?” Edison responded, “I did not fail. It’s just that the invention of the light bulb is a one-thousand-step process.”

         What is not common knowledge is that Thomas Edison did not invent things swiftly. When he wanted to discover something, he’d begin by reading up everything that had been done along that line in the past. He’d gather data from many thousands of experiments as a starting point, and then he’d make thousands more. Edison was committed to his vision.

         Now listen to what Matthew says about God and His commitment to His vision of salvation: “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah” (v. 17). Don’t read today’s Gospel as simply a list of meaningless names. It took God three sets of 14 generations to carry out His plan of salvation. The long period of time is not about God’s failure. It is about God’s patience with frail humanity — God patiently redoing what man undoes with his stupidity, offering again and again His vision of salvation. That is commitment to vision. But more than that, God was committed to the process that will realize His vision.

         The genealogy reminds us that salvation is not an event but a process. And success is determined not so much by commitment to a vision as to a process. The problem is, most of us are committed to a vision but hardly to the process. Whether it be in everyday life or in the spiritual life, it is our commitment to the process that will carry us through. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you want to test your commitment to a process? How about completing the nine-day Simbang Gabi this Christmas season?

Grant me patience and perseverance, Lord, in attaining Your vision for me. Help me not to give up when the road seems rough.