Noong panahong
iyon, sinabi ni Hesus sa kanyang mga alagad, "Kaya magbantay kayo,
sapagkat hindi ninyo alam kung anong araw paririto ang inyong Panginoon.
Tandaan ninyo ito: kung alam lamang ng puno ng sambahayan kung anong oras ng
gabi darating ang magnanakaw, siya'y magbabantay at hindi niya pababayaang
pasukin ang kanyang bahay. Kaya maging handa kayong lagi, sapagkat darating ang
Anak ng Tao sa oras na di ninyo inaasahan.
Ang
tapat at matalinong alipin ang siyang pinapamahala ng kanyang panginoon sa
ibang mga alipin, upang bigyan sila ng kanilang pagkain sa karampatang panahon.
Mapalad ang aliping iyon, kapag dinatnan siyang gumagawa ng gayon sa pagbabalik
ng kanyang panginoon! Sinasabi ko sa inyo: pamamahalain siya ng panginoon sa
lahat ng kanyang ari-arian.
Ngunit kung
masama ang aliping iyon, sasabihin niya sa sarili, 'Matatagalan pa bago magbalik
ang aking panginoon, at sisimulang bugbugin ang kanyang mga kapwa alipin, at
makipagkainan at makipag-inuman sa mga lasenggo. Babalik ang panginoon ng
aliping iyon sa araw na hindi niya inaasahan at sa oras na hindi niya alam.
Buong higpit na parurusahan siya ng panginoon, at isasama sa mga
mapagpaimbabaw. Doo'y tatangis siya at magngangalit ang kanyang ngipin.
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, you hypocrites. You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear
beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every
kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are
filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
you hypocrites. You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of
the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we
would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.' Thus you bear
witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murdered the
prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a
politician who possessed an exceptional ability to resonate with the pulse of
the people. He spoke the language of the common people and promised them
assistance if they elected him into office. To make a long story short, he was
voted into office due to his glib tongue and the image he projected. However,
he did not fulfill the promises he made.
Jesus is criticizing the hypocrisy
of the scribes and Pharisees because they were only focused on outward
appearances. They neglected the most important requirement: nothing less than
interior purity and transformation.
Jesus would not have minded if the
scribes and Pharisees were unable to meet their self-created external
standards, as long as they underwent interior cleansing and eradicated whatever
would lead them to sin. However, they refused to acknowledge Jesus's constructive
criticism. They even had the audacity to take offense at Jesus, which led them
to plot His death.
Somehow many of us are not alien to this
self-righteous behavior of the scribes and Pharisees. Be presentable outside
but neglect the more important aspect of life which is interior cleansing,
renewal and transformation.
But we still have time to rid ourselves of
all the fakery, self-promotion and manipulation. And become like Jesus who
served the people with utmost sincerity. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Herod was the one who had John the Baptist
arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother
Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you
to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted
to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a
righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was
very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. She had an opportunity
one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his
military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.
Herodias’ own daughter came in and
performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the
girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore
many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of
my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She
replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried back to the king’s
presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the
head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed, but
because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He
went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his
disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How would you react if you discover an
adulterous relationship? Would you simply keep quite for fear of the
consequence once you speak against it? Or you courageously speak against it
never minding the consequence that it may bring you.
Saint John the Baptist chose the road less
travelled, he denounced the adulterous relationship of King Herod and Herodias.
Thus, he dearly paid for it with his life. John could just have pretended to
see no evil and hear no evil. But John did not let their adulterous
relationship pass by him quietly; he made noise by denouncing it.
What if we are John? How would we
react? Would we just let it happen, be indifferent and do nothing? The problem
with this kind of behavior is we are perpetuating and consenting to evil. And
we all know that evil will not bring us any good. So the moral action that we
must do is to defeat any form of evil and immorality.
Just like what John did, this is very difficult
to do but we have to do it otherwise we are consenting to evil. By speaking out
we are actually leading these people who are engaged in an adulterous
relationship to the right and moral path of life. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’ Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’ You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Do you allow your faith in Jesus to transform you to become a practicing follower?
For example, His teaching on how many times you should forgive (Matthew 18:21). Do you follow this teaching that says that you should always be forgiving or you put limitations and conditions before you forgive? Or you appear to forgive but deep in your heart you still keep a deep seated hatred toward those who did you wrong?
Jesus in our gospel condemns in strongest terms the scribes and Pharisees because they teach but they themselves don’t follow what they teach. They do mission to convert people to their faith but when they are already converted.
They condition and indoctrinate their minds for them to follow whatever they say. By doing so the followers don’t anymore follow the teachings of God but the self-serving teachings and caprices of their leaders.
What Jesus wants from us is to lead by example; we should mean what we say and do what we say. We should not only put lip service to what we say and profess. For example, if we say we follow Jesus it is incumbent upon us to live the life of Jesus. His life of simplicity, humility, forgiveness and so forth. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
If Jesus were to ask us the same question that he asked his disciples—'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?'—of course, all of us would say that He is Jesus, the second person in the Trinity, and He is Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary. These answers are what our minds would feed us.
But looking deeper into our hearts, 'Who is Jesus to us?' If we have a personal relationship with Jesus, our answer would be: He is Jesus, my God, Savior, and Friend who is always there for me.
To personally know Jesus, we need to read the Bible, especially the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Because it is in these four Gospels that we would gain an in depth knowledge of who Jesus really is. We also need to attend Holy Mass consistently because at Holy Mass Jesus is always present.
The Word of God is read in the Liturgy of the Word, and in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, Jesus is made present by the priest through Consecration. Upon consecration, the ordinary bread and wine are transubstantiated to become the body and blood of Jesus.
If only we would read the Bible; if only we would be attentive and observant during Holy Mass. Carefully listening to the words of God being read by the lectors and to the Gospel reading being proclaimed by the priest.
Being observant of his every movement and gesture —, if we would be like that, eventually, the grace of the Holy Spirit would be upon us. It would be the beginning of a much more profound relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Among the disciples present, it was only Simon Peter who said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus said to him in reply, 'Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father' (Matthew 16:16-17).
It was pure grace from God that Simon Peter knew the true identity of Jesus. Among the disciples, why was Peter chosen? Maybe because Peter was always close to Jesus; he had the hunger to always be in the Lord's company.
For example, when Jesus went to the mountain to be transfigured, Peter was there (Matthew 17). When Jesus walked on water, Peter was also there, walking on water towards Jesus (Matthew 14:29). When Jesus was about to be arrested, it was Peter who defended Jesus by cutting off the ear of the soldier Malchus (John 18:10).
Peter is also the first apostle to enter the empty tomb of Jesus, (Luke 24:12). And Peter is the first apostle to whom Jesus appeared after His resurrection, (Luke 24:34). Of course Peter had his own shortcomings too because he denied Jesus but he was remorseful of his denials.
Jesus rewarded Peter by founding the Church through him: When he said 'And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it' (Matthew 16:18). This is still the same Catholic Church to which we belong right now. From Peter, who is our first Pope, to our present Pope, Pope Francis, who is the 266th successor of Peter.
After our lifetime, Jesus may ask us, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' How would we answer Jesus during that time? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, dumating si Jesus sa lupain ng Cesarea ng Filipos, tinanong niya ang kanyang mga alagad, "Sino raw ang Anak ng Tao, ayon sa mga tao?" At sumagot sila, "Ang sabi po ng iba ay si Juan Bautista po kayo. Sabi naman ng iba, si Elias kayo. At may nagsasabi pang si Jeremias kayo o isa sa mga propeta."
"Kayo naman, ano ang sabi ninyo? Sino ako?" tanong niya sa kanila. Sumagot si Simon Pedro, "Kayo po ang Cristo, ang Anak ng Diyos na buhay." Sinabi sa kanya ni Jesus, "Mapalad ka, Simon na anak ni Jonas! Sapagkat ang katotohanang ito'y hindi inihayag sa iyo ng sinumang tao kundi ng aking Amang nasa langit.
At sinasabi ko naman sa iyo, ikaw ay Pedro, at sa ibabaw ng batong ito ay itatayo ko ang aking iglesya, at hindi makapananaig sa kanya kahit ang kapangyarihan ng kamatayan. Ibibigay ko sa iyo ang mga susi ng kaharian ng langit: ang ipagbawal mo sa lupa ay ipagbabawal sa langit, at ang ipahintulot mo sa lupa ay ipahihintulot sa langit." At mahigpit niyang tinagubilinan ang kanyang mga alagad na huwag sabihin kaninuman na siya ang Cristo.
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his
disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the
chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not
practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move
them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries
and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of
honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation
‘Rabbi.’
As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You
have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your
father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have
but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be
exalted.”
+ + + + + +
Reflection:
Should we aspire for greatness in our
service for Jesus and our fellowmen? No, because the moment we aspire for
greatness we are not anymore serving Jesus and our fellowmen. We are rather
feeding our own egos and personal agendas.
Many of us including those who do
volunteer work for the church as well as politicians fail in this aspect of
true and humble servanthood. For the reason that instead of giving true service
we accompany it with our own selfish motives.
Why are we offering our free time to the
church? Is it purely to serve, or we have hidden motives? Same with politicians
during campaign they would always offer themselves as servants, but after
they’ve won we could hardly see them anymore.
Jesus is teaching us that if we truly want
to serve we must be ready to forget ourselves or forget who we are. We walk our
talk without complaining whatsoever. We silently do what we have to do not
minding if we would be rewarded for what we do for this is what servanthood is
all about.
Let us not worry if we are not cited for
whatever noble undertaking that we do. God is not sleeping He sees everything
and knows everything. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Noong panahong iyon, sinabi ni Jesus sa mga tao at sa kanyang mga alagad, "Ang mga eskriba at ang mga Pariseo ang kinikilalang tagapagpaliwanag ng Kautusan ni Moises. Kaya't gawin ninyo ang itinuturo nila at sundin ang kanilang iniuutos. Ngunit huwag ninyong tularan ang kanilang gawa, sapagkat hindi nila isinasagawa ang kanilang ipinangangaral.
Nagbibigkis sila ng mabibigat na dalahin at ipinapasan sa mga tao; ngunit ni daliri ay ayaw nilang igalaw upang tumulong sa pagdadala ng mga iyon. Pawang pakitang-tao ang kanilang mga gawa, Nilalaparan nila ang kanilang mga pilakterya at hinahabaan ang palawit sa laylayan ng kanilang mga damit. Ang ibig nila'y ang mga upuang pandangal sa mga piging at ang mga tanging luklukan sa mga sinagoga. Ang ibig nila'y pagpugayan sila sa mga liwasang bayan, at tawaging guro.
Ngunit kayo-- huwag kayong patawag na guro, sapagkat iisa ang inyong Guro, at kayong lahat ay magkakapatid. At huwag ninyong tawaging ama ang sinumang tao sa lupa, sapagkat iisa ang inyong Ama, ang Amang nasa langit. Huwag kayong patawag na tagapagturo, sapagkat iisa ang inyong Tagapagturo, ang Mesias. Ang pinakadakila sa inyo ay dapat maging lingkod ninyo. Ang nagpapakataas ay ibababa, at ang nagpapakababa ay itataas."
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had
silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a
scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in
the law is the greatest?"
He said to him, "You shall love the
Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend
on these two commandments."
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
How deep is God’s love for us? We will
never know because God’s love for us is infinite. As a testament of God’s
infinite love He even gave His only begotten son for His love for us.
How deep is our love for God? This is
something that we have to think about deeply. Is it enough to express our love
for God by fulfilling our Sunday obligation by our presence at Holy Mass?
Certainly not for God requires that our love for Him should translate to our
love for our neighbor. Therefore if we say we love God we also should learn to
love our neighbor no matter how unlovable this neighbor is.
Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor could be
a relative, a friend, a literal neighbor or a complete stranger who needs our
help. The big question here is what if this neighbor is unlovable or what if
this neighbor is not good to us? Should we still give our love to this
neighbor?
Yes of course for we cannot separate our
love for God with our love for our neighbor. If we say that we love God yet we
don’t love our neighbor because they are not good to us, then how could this
love of God that we profess be true?
Therefore to love God is to
unconditionally love our neighbor no matter if this neighbor has deeply hurt
us. To love God is to forgive everyone who caused us pain. Do you love
God? - Marino J. Dasmarinas
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We
have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets,
Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth. But Nathanael said to him “Can anything
good come from Nazareth? Philip said to him, “Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and
said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.
Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him
“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. Nathanael answered
him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said to him “Do you
believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see
greater things than this. And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you
will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the
Son of Man.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Nathanael said to Jesus, “How do you know
me?” Why did Nathanael ask this question? This is for the reason that he did
not know Jesus that well. Otherwise if he knows Jesus he would have not asked,
“How do you know me?”
Jesus knows everything about us: Our
deepest even darkest secrets, our thoughts and plans. Jesus knows everything
and we certainly can’t hide anything from Him. If Jesus knows everything
including our darkest secrets, would this mean that He will not love us
anymore? Of course not!
The more hidden sins we have the more that
Jesus will love us and the more that He would seek us. Why? This is for the
reason that Jesus walked on this world to save us: We who are sinners. We
therefore have to walk away and repent from all of the sins that we have
committed.
How are we going to repent? We have to
humbly submit ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this healing
Sacrament we will surrender ourselves to our merciful Lord through the priest
who acts in the person of Jesus by telling Him our many sins. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
