“We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord to take the serpents from us.” – Numbers 21:7

       Two years ago, I decided to eat healthy and exercise regularly. My wife and I joined a gym with like-minded people who had the same goal: to be fitter and stronger.

       I thought it was easy at first, but every time I worked out, I found myself gasping for air. I would complain and ask, “Why am I even here killing myself with this workout?!” Plus, I’d get sore muscles and body aches days after, not to mention the pain of saying no to pizza, ice cream and crispy pata.

       Once, I asked God, “Can’t You just take away the pain and discomfort of working out?” Instead of answering my prayer, He sent people to encourage me to finish every workout. And because of this, I’ve persevered in my fitness journey.

       We can sometimes be like the Israelites who complained to Moses about their situation. They prayed for God to remove the serpents from their midst, but instead, God gave them a bronze serpent on a pole to heal whoever was bitten.

       When God calls you to your Promised Land, you will experience discomfort. Worry not. God may not take away the suffering, but He will surely comfort you in your difficulties until you reach your Promise Land. Velden Lim (veldenlim@gmail.com)

Reflection:If God does not calm your storms, ask for the strength to brave through them.

Jesus, let distress teach me to trust in Your ways.

St. Isidore of Seville, bishop and doctor of the Church, pray for us.

According to the Fathers of the Church, the saraph of Moses symbolizes the healing we experience as we gaze on the Cross of Jesus. Just as the Israelites were healed from snake bites when they looked at the serpent on a pole, we too are healed when we gaze upon the cross of Jesus and receive His forgiveness.

4 From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, 5 the people complained against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!” 6 In punishment the Lord sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned in complaining against the Lord and you. Pray the Lord to take the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people, 8 and the Lord said to Moses, “Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and whoever looks at it after being bitten will live.” 9 Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

R: O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

1 [2] O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. 2 [3] Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; in the day when I call, answer me speedily. (R) 15 [16] The nations shall revere your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth your glory, 16 [17] when the Lord has rebuilt Zion and appeared in his glory; 17 [18] when he has regarded the prayer of the destitute, and not despised their prayer. (R) 18 [19] Let this be written for the generation to come, and let his future creatures praise the Lord: 19 [20] “The Lord looked down from his holy height, from heaven he beheld the earth, 20 [21] To hear the groaning of the prisoners, to release those doomed to die.” (R)

In John’s Gospel, Jesus is shown as someone who knows His mission and what it entails. He uses the image of “being lifted up” to speak to the Jews. This image would remind any Jew of the desert experience where lives were saved by gazing on the saraph raised by Moses. Jesus appeals to the people’s psyche by recalling their heritage. This image is powerful to a believing Jew.

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live forever.

21 Jesus said to the Pharisees: “I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said, “He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, ‘Where I am going you cannot come?’” 23 He said to them, “You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world. 24 That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” 25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “What I told you from the beginning. 26 I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world.” 27 They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him.” 30 Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

think: How can you be a light bearer and help people know Jesus more?

Read the Bible in one year Exodus 16-18

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

WHOEVER LOOKS WILL BE SAVED

Seeing is a much taken-for-granted involuntary act we all do. We see things — both beautiful and ugly, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. When we don’t like what we see, we tune out, we ignore, or we turn our gaze to something more pleasant.

       Seeing is definitely not the same as looking. We see things and either forget about them or look again, scan or stare to see more. When we look, we intend to drink in more of what meets the eye, for whatever reason or purpose. I remember an inspirational poster back in the day. (Nowadays, they call them memes.) It said: “Two men looked out the window. One saw mud; theother saw stars.”

       Seeing casually versus seeing purposefully, looking lazily versus looking intently — it’s all a matter of intensity, a matter related to emotional affinity. You find what you are looking for. In the first place, you see what you were eyeing for, what your heart pines for, what your mind longs for.

       Two acquaintances can see each other and have some fun together. But two lovers who look for each other, and who have more than just an eye for each other, see each other’s mutual love. They sense that invisible spark that keeps them attached and attuned to one another. And that invisible “more” has to do with an affinity, a relationship. Love makes one see more, not less.

       The Israelites, out in the desert, were both desolate and demanding: “We are disgusted with this wretched food!” They suffered more on account of their sin. But sin occasioned something greater on account of something nobler — God’s love and mercy, for He did what had to be done to make them see more. They were told to look up and see beyond the serpent that caused them suffering. And when they looked up, they were saved.

       Look up to the Lord! See more, not less. See love, not loss. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

----------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

Do you see beyond the difficulties and pain to gaze at the peace and joy that awaits you?

Lord, help me to see with Your eyes, that I may see more, not less. Amen.