He is like a tree planted near running water that yield its fruit in due season... Whatever he does, he prospers. – Psalm 1:3

       I used to think that running is one of the worst metaphors for life. As many runners would agree, in order to race easy, we have to train hard. This is painful, yes, but also simple and reliable. Life, on the contrary, is more complicated than this. Life makes no guarantees regardless of our effort, and is also rather fond of overlooking our plans.

       I found myself asking if this is losing: receiving little and giving much? I always thought that giving your best meant winning it all, but what about the moments when our best gets rejected, and we end up disappointing, and disappointed?

       Perhaps it has something to do with being more concerned about the development of the dreamer than the fulfillment of the dream, in the same way that the run will always be more important than the race. 

      Just like a tree planted by streams of water, may we never tire of being kind and kinder, of doing good and better, of loving much and more, regardless of how we are received and reciprocated. Ria Macasaet (ria.macasaet@gmail.com)

Reflection:Are you waiting to reap the fruits of your labor? Be patient.

Take comfort in knowing that because you have done well, your work is bound to prosper. Lord, please bless the work of my hands. Help me pour my heart and soul into every endeavor — in full surrender to Your will. Amen.

The Law of the Lord is important. The Ten Commandments are and always will be our guide to good living. The good news is that we don’t have to live them on our own or through our own strength. Jesus will provide the grace we need to fulfill the Commandments. What God asks is that we trust in Him – His word, His promises and His call. If we trust in God, all things are possible.

17 Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I, the Lord, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. 18 If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea; 19 your descendants would be like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their name never cut off or blotted out from my presence.

R: Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.

1 Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, 2 but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night. (R) 3 He is like a tree planted near running water that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. (R) 4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 6 For the Lord watches over the way of the just but the way of the wicked vanishes. (R)

When it comes to proclaiming the Good News, it is impossible to please everyone all the time. Even if no one responds to our proclamation of the Gospel, we trust that we have planted a seed of faith within someone, and that the Holy Spirit will make it grow. We may not see the harvest but what is important is that we have sown the seed. Others will have the joy of bringing in the harvest.

The Lord will come; go out to meet him! He is the prince of peace.

16 Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, 17 ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is vindicated by her works.”

think: If we trust in God, all things are possible.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR  Proverbs 21-23

THE INCARNATION IS A DANCE

One gift I never have is the grace to dance. During parties, I love to fellowship with songs, with wine and drinks, with food, with all kinds of stories and sharings, but when it’s dancing time, I would simply enjoy watching partners dance.

       Dancing is an art of timing one’s graceful movements with the rhythm and beat of the music, and with the equally graceful movements of the partner. The more naturally graceful the partner, the dance becomes more sophisticated, too. I believe that more than timing with the music, it is the chemistry with the human partner that really makes the dance challenging and enjoyable.

     Jesus reveals to us through His words today that His becoming human like us — His being God-Man — is an invitation not only to journey with, but to dance with God. Like the story of the good dance, though, the human person must allow graceful interaction to flow, and not be like one who changes the tempo and the style every so often. When it happens, the dance turns into an unexpected competition and an ugly challenge between two persons who should be partners.

       At this point, it is good to recall that, through the patriarch Jacob from whom the 12 tribes originated, the Chosen People of the Old Testament got their name “Israel.” This name, by etymology, can be rendered as “one who dances with God,” or “one who wrestles with God.” I am afraid that in most of Israel’s biblical history, the name meant more like the second signification: wrestling with God. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is your life, at this point, a graceful dance or a draining wrestling with God? Why?

May my dance with You, O dear God, lead me to an enjoyable journey. Amen.