I STAND by Mike Serapio

JOHN 3:16-18 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 7, 2020)

JOHN 3:16-18 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 7, 2020)

 

Yes, God so love the world that he give his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through Him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in Him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

 

POINT OF REFLECTION

 

All we know that God is a supernatural being who created all things both within and beyond our senses. But the most wonderful identity of God for us is Love. God is Love. This was proven when Jesus was sent by the Father to rescue us from this sinful world. Jesus presence in us is a manifestation of the Father’s great love to us for universal redemption of those who chooses to believe in Jesus only. Remember, brothers and sisters,  Jesus  does not come into this world  to condemn  but to save.

MARK 12:38-44 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 6, 2020)

MARK 12:38-44 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 6, 2020)

 

As he was teaching, he also said to them, “ Beware of those teachers of the law, who enjoy walking around in the long robes and being greeted in the market place; and who likes to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues; and the first places of feasts.  They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s good’s while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”

 

Jesus sat down opposite the Temple treasury, and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and man rich people put in large offerings. But the poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.

 

Then, Jesus called his disciples, and said to them, “Truly I say to you, the poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty; but she gave from her poverty, and put in everything she had, her very living.”

 

POINT OF REFLECTION

 

Life looks forward nothing but investment. When one dares into investment, he is not expecting less in return instead greater than anybody doing the same kind of investment. There are the two kinds of investment for life, the short range investment and the long range investment. Short range investment for life is a kind of investment goaled only till this temporal life. While the long range investment is a kind of investment that impact life not only to this world alone but into another world after temporal death.

 

Life after temporal world seems hypothetical to those who does not know and believe Jesus as the savior and the  key figure of resurrection. If one do not believed Jesus, their mentality would be the same as that of  the mentality of the Sadducees  who believe that  life is all in this planet earth. Their investment was limited only to the life on earth in accordance to their traditions, practices, and beliefs.

 

My dear brothers and sisters, the real and most meaningful investment of greater return is the long range investment. The very nature of this investment is the teaching of the gospel, MARK 12:38-44,  “Truly I say to you, the poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty; but she gave from her poverty, and put in everything she had, her very living.” Jesus teaches us to value less in this life and value more unto the life with the Father.

 

Putting into donation boxes all for the promotion of God’s kingdom and His people, is a long range investment. This is not only about money resources but includes primarily our investment for our faith, for our prayer, for our spiritual life.  Jesus reminded us to invest like the widow did in the Bible. That is giving from our poverty not giving from our plenty.  Truly God’s ways is not man’s ways for usually, we only give from our plenty.

 

We might also come to think by how much we are to give? The answer is “the widow put in everything she had, her very living.”  By saying this, God is telling us to invest our everything unto Him or at the very least  give from  you until it hurts.

 

In conclusion, God requires Christians to invest in faith,   prayer, spiritual growth, and if possible giving our all, or at the very least giving from our poverty until it really hurts.

MARK 12:35-37 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 5, 2020)

MARK 12:35-37 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 5, 2020)

Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said “The teacher of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David. How could that be? For David, Himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared: The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet! If David, himself, calls him Lord, in what way can he be his son?” Many people came to Jesus, and listened to him gladly.

POINT OF REFLECTION

Before Jesus began His teaching in the synagogue, masters of the laws were authority figures to be consulted on matters found perplexing in the Bible. But sad to note, that they were not better than ordinary Christian of today. That is why when Jesus started teaching, people came and listened in great joy. Through His teaching the mystery of life unfold which guide Christian followers in their journey of faith and love. Through His teaching, people came to know the Father who made all things under man’s stewardship.

Jesus has given His followers important aid of faith and spiritual life. These included: the Scripture which serves as the manual of life and the compass guide in a journey of a life time.. The second is the Church which serves as the house of the Eucharist which in turns assures us the ever presence of Jesus. The Church is the spiritual   community duly sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. And allowing this aid of faith and spiritual life to lead us assures everlasting life unto the father.

In conclusion, the Scripture, the Eucharist and the Church are today’s aid of faith and spiritual life so that when seriously attended would lead a life in the comfort and security of the Holy Spirit.

FORMS AND TEMPLATE 2

FORMS AND TEMPLATE 2

The forms and template 2 is  the folder directory of Mulao NHS on the incoming and outgoing reports to facilitate easy collection of needed data and other information  for future decision making.

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MARK 12:28-34 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 4, 2020)

MARK 12:28-34 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 4, 2020)

A teacher of the law had been listening to this discussion and admired how Jesus answered them.  So he came up and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”

Jesus answered, “The first is: Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with your entire mind and with all your strength. And after this comes a second commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”

The teacher of the law said to him, “well spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one, and there is no other besides him. To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifices.”

Jesus approved this answer and said, “you are not far from the kingdom of God,” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.

POINT OF REFLECTION

Jesus’ life on earth was all but teaching. The teacher of the laws on the other hand, kept on following Jesus not mainly to learn from Him but to wait for opportune time to trap him for some accusation but this time they  listened  and even appreciated and admired the teaching of Jesus regarding the question about the first two greatest commandments of God.

As Jesus had told, we need to love God in four ways: Loving God with all our heart, Loving God with all our soul, Loving God with our entire mind, and Loving God with all our strength. When we say loving God with all our heart is another way of saying that we need to love God with the fullness of life. When we say loving God with all our soul is giving Him a love that cut across life on earth and life after death. This is a love that is untouched by the occasion of death. We are also to love God with our entire mind and our strength. In this loving, we need to love God with all the reasons and use our strength to best serve God throughout life. The second of this greatest commandment: loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. This is the real picture of unselfish love. You can do this by giving to others what you want to give to yourself.  Make it happen to others what we really want for ourselves. In conclusion, we can fulfill the will of the Father by doing the first and the second of His greatest commandments that is, loving God with  all  our hearts, all our soul and all our mind and strength. And the second is loving our neighbor as we love ourselves.

MARK 12:18-27 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 3, 2020)

MARK 12:18-27 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 3, 2020)

The Sadducees also came to Jesus. Since they claim that there is no resurrection, they questioned him in this way, “Master, in the Scriptures Moses gave us this law: If anyone dies and leaves his wife but no children, his brother must take the woman, and, with her, have a baby,  who will be considered the child of his deceased brother. Now, there were seven brothers. The first married a wife, but he died without leaving any children. The second took the wife, and he also died, leaving no children. The same thing happened to the third. In fact, all seven brothers died, leaving no children. Last of all, the woman died. Now, in the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife? For all seven brothers had her as wife.” Jesus replied, “ is this not the reason you are mistaken, you do not understand  the Scriptures or the power of God?  When they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry, but are like the angels in heaven. Now, about the resurrection of the dead, have you never had thoughts about the burning bush in the book of Moses? God said to Moses: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are totally wrong.”

POINT OF REFLECTION

The pick-up points of this gospel reading is quite perplexing and needs prior understanding about the social standing and beliefs of the Sadducees. Sadducees were group of early elites that do not believe in resurrection after the physical death, anchored their beliefs on Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and values good relationship with the ruler to further their beliefs and tradition. This group is the liberal version of Pharisees deep stuck on the three major areas: Their of tradition, their view of supernatural, and their views on divine sovereignty and human responsibilities.

In the first place, the gospel is a question of resurrection to loosen the credit of Jesus as He immerse into the lives of human almost completely enslave of sins. They wanted to remove Jesus’ crown of popularity by letting people see that Jesus teaching is moot and not in accordance with the Laws, Torah. In other words, this somehow tries to drag Jesus down of the perplexing level of their question. Who return answer that truly caught them by surprise?

Because Sadducees does not believe resurrection, they question Jesus whose wife would a woman become after resurrection having married all the seven brothers here on earth? Jesus answer was so direct telling they were wrong and did not understand the Bible or the power of God. The logical thinking of the Sadducees was limited only on “the here and now” because they do not believe life after death. Their understanding on the Mosaic Law in the time of Moses which allowed the second brother to take the woman with no child of the first was a perpetuation of the Israelite’s tribe by way of the child. They never taught of life after death. That is why Jesus said they were wrong.

In this gospel, resurrection is real not even in the accounts of the New Testament but even more in the account of the Old Testament which was maliciously interpreted by the Sadducees in favor of their beliefs, practices and traditions. Jesus clearly speak to us, Christians, that there is life after death in Him. The mind of the Sadducees was contained in the loop of a single age and life tomorrow is a continuation of today.

There are two important ages to consider in this regard, the so called as “this age” and “that ages.” The “this age” is our life here and now. While the “that ages” is the resurrected life as the son of God.  Sadducees mind was loop on “this age” and does not understand life on “that age."

Death is the gate way of resurrection unto Jesus as the son of the Father in heaven. Notice that early believer happily give-up their lives for the works of Jesus because they knew that they would be resurrected back to life like angels of God in heaven.

Finally, while Sadducees was trying to fall down Jesus using very difficult question that even them does  not understand, Jesus made it not into their favor. Instead, He turns it into an opportunity to further the cause of the Father’s kingdom by clarifying and assuring the reality that death is the gateway of resurrection.

MARK 12:13-17 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 2, 2020)

MARK 12:13-17 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION (June 2, 2020)

They sent to Jesus to some Pharisees with the members of Herod' party, with the purpose of trapping him by his own words. They came and said to Jesus, " Master we knew that you are truthful; you are nit influence by anyone, and your answers do not vary according to who is listening  to you, but truly teach God's way. "Tell us, is it against the law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not!" 

But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, " Why are you testing me?  Being me a silver coin and let me see it." They brought him one and Jesus asked, Whose image is this, and whose name?

They answered, " Caesar's." Then Jesus said, " Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God, what is God's."  and they were greatly astonished.

POINTS OF REFLECTION

The Pharisees wanted to trick Jesus so that he would end up saying that could damage and ruin his name against authorities. But as they carefully present their logic Jesus knew it was a trick and Jesus said "give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."  

They  were caught in  great astonishment and leave Him upon hearing His response. In deed  Jesus was able to keep himself from the pitfalls of planned destruction or self demolition.

What is the meat of the gospel? We are living in a deceitful and judgmental world. Many of those who are around  waited for a perfect timing like lion ready to lark its prey. Others are judgmental, giving and publicizing their impartialities without  the merit of the due process of law. 

Furthermore, the tax collection of silver coin reminded us to get our income from a legitimate source only. Honest income is hard to spend. Wise spending brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be prudent in  our daily spending. Do not spend more than your earning because you may find it hard to meet both ends causing you to go around helplessly and vulnerable to financial sharks. In this case, you will end up into serious financial trouble in the future which will make life more difficult to paddled on.

PRAYER

Lord, holy is your name and great is your love.  Thank you for the teaching and wisdom of  the day. Forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who  trespassed against me. Grant me oh God courage and wisdom to review my ways of living and spending and reprogram according to your light and guidance to better my ways of living ahead. Amen