1 Sinabi ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad: “Hindi maaaring walang
katitisuran at magpapabagsak sa tao ngunit sawimpalad ang taong naghahatid
nito! 2 Mas makabubuti pa sa kanya na talian ng gilingang-bato sa leeg at
ihagis sa dagat kaysa tisurin at pabagsakin ang isa sa maliliit na ito.
3 Mag-ingat kayo. Kung magkasala ang kapatid mo, pagsabihan mo
siya, at kung magsisi’y patawarin mo. 4 At kung pitong beses siyang
magkasala sa iyo sa isang araw at pitong beses din siyang bumalik sa iyo na
nagsisisi, patawarin mo siya.”
5 Sinabi ng mga apostol sa Panginoon: “Dagdagan mo ang aming pananampalataya.”
6 Sumagot ang Panginoon: “Kung may pananampalataya kayong sinlaki ng buto
ng mustasa, masasabi ninyo sa punong malaigos na iyan: ‘Mabunot ka at sa dagat
ka matanim,’ at susundin kayo nito.
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward
and put this question to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If
someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the
wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third
married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also
died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had
been married to her.” Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and
remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the
resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no
longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because
they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known
in the passage about the bush, when he called out ‘Lord,’ the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of
the living, for to him all are alive.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
The story is told about a man who did not believe in the resurrection. So
he did everything that he wanted to do including many actions that made him
very sinful. When he was dying already he saw Satan at his bedside and he asked
Satan: “Why are you here?”Satan
immediately replied, I’m here to bring you to my kingdom so that you can spend
the rest of your life there.
It’s very hard to think that there is no resurrection like what the
Sadducees believed. For example if there’s no afterlife what then is the
purpose of our life in this world? What then is the purpose of our worship and
faith in an eternal God?
We follow Jesus and we try to live His teachings because we believe that
by doing so. We would be with our Lord after our earthly journey is over
already. To deny that there is no resurrection is like to deny that there is no
heaven and hell in the afterlife.
But we know that there is heaven and hell and this heaven and hell is not
an exclusive domain of the afterlife. For example, if we live our life in this
world contrary to the teachings of God. We would experience hell even while we
are still alive. On the other hand if we live our life according to the
teachings of the Lord we would experience heaven even if we are still here in
this world.
There is resurrection and there is an afterlife. We must believe this
because this is the teachings of our faith and this is the reality. Therefore,
we have to live a life that is worthy in the eyes of the Lord. We have to avoid
whatever forms and shapes of sin, why? So that we can begin to prepare for our
own resurrection in heaven someday.
Do you believe in the resurrection? – Marino J. Dasmarinas
27 Lumapit noon ang ilang
Sadduseo na mga taong tutol sa pagkabuhay. 28 At itinanong nila kay
Jesus: “Guro, isinulat ni Moises para sa amin: ‘Kung may magkakapatid na
lalaki at mamatay na walang anak ang isa sa kanila, kailangang kunin ng kanyang
kapatid ang kanyang asawa para magpasibol ng supling sa kanyang kapatid.’
29 Ngayon, may pitong magkakapatid na lalaki. Nag-asawa ang panganay at
namatay na walang anak. 30 Kinuha ng pangalawa ang biyuda, 31 at
pagkatapos ay ng pangatlo naman, pero hindi nagkaanak ang pito. Namatay sila
32 at sa bandang huli’y namatay rin ang babae. 33 Sa pagkabuhay, kanino
sa pito siya maituturing na asawa? Ang pito nga ang umangkin sa kanya.”
34 Sinagot sila ni Jesus:
“Nag-aasawa ang mga taong nasa daigdig na ito, lalaki man o babae.
35 Ngunit hindi na mag-aasawa ang mga ituturing na karapat-dapat sa
kabilang-buhay at sa pagkabuhay ng mga patay, lalaki man o babae. 36 Hindi
na nga sila mamamatay. Kapantay na sila ng mga anghel at mga anak sila ng Diyos
matapos silang ibangon. 37 Tiyak na may pagkabuhay ng mga patay; ipinahiwatig
ito kahit na ni Moises sa kabanata ng palumpong nang tawagin niyang Diyos ni Abraham, Diyos ni Isaac at Diyos ni
Jacob ang Panginoon. 38 Hindi siya Diyos ng mga patay kundi ng mga
buhay, at buhay na kasama niya silang lahat.”
Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He
found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the
money-changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out
of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the
money-changers and overturned their tables and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace. His
disciples recalled the words of Scripture, Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing
this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days
I will raise it up. The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for
forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking
about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his
disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the
Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why is Jesus so angry? Because they have desecrated the holiest place of
worship: the temple. They’ve turned it into a marketplace to say the least and
they were not simply selling and dealing goods there.
There were other things that were evolving: greed, deceit and many more
that made Jesus really mad. Jesus told them: “Stop making my Father’s house a
marketplace (John 2:16).” Don’t we hear Jesus speaking to us too? Telling
us the same words born out of His anger from what He saw in the temple area or
from what some of us do when we are at church.
How do we behave when we are at church most specifically when we are
inside the church? The church is our sacred place of worship a place where we
encounter God. Thus, we must observe proper discipline when we are inside or
within its vicinity.
Do we still deep our finger into the Holy water font, make the sign of
the cross and genuflect before entering the church? Do we still sit quietly and
pray to Jesus while our eyes are fixed on the tabernacle?
Our church is our safe refuge when we are troubled by our many worries.
This is where we encounter and receive Jesus during Holy Mass. Therefore we
must observe proper discipline when we are in this Sacred and Holy place of
worship. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
• 13 Malapit na noon ang Paskuwa ng mga Judio, at umahon si
Jesus pa-Jerusalem. 14 Natagpuan niya sa patyo ng Templo ang mga
nagtitinda ng mga baka, mga tupa at mga kalapati, at ang mga nakaupong
tagapalit ng pera. 15 Kaya gumawa siya ng panghagupit mula sa mga lubid,
at ipinagtabuyan ang lahat mula sa Templo, pati ang mga tupa at mga baka, at
isinabog ang pera ng mga tagapalit at ipinagtataob ang mga mesa.
16 At sinabi niya sa mga nagtitinda ng mga kalapati: “Alisin n’yo
ang mga ito! Huwag n’yong gawing palengke ang Bahay ng aking Ama.” 17 Naalaala
ng kanyang mga alagad na nasusulat: “Tinutupok ako ng malasakit sa iyong Bahay.”
18 Kaya sumagot ang mga Judio: “Anong tanda ang maipapakita mo sa
amin at ginagawa mo ito?” 19 Sinagot sila ni Jesus: “Gibain n’yo ang
templong ito, at ibabangon ko ito sa tatlong araw.”
20 Sinabi naman ng mga Judio: “Apat-napu’t anim na taon nang
itinatayo ang templong ito, at ibabangon mo ito sa tatlong araw?” 21 Ngunit
and templong katawan niya ang kanyang tinutukoy. 22 Nang ibangon siya
mula sa mga patay, naalaala ng kanyang mga alagad ang sinabi niyang ito. Kaya
naniwala sila sa Kasulatan at sa salitang sinabi ni Jesus.
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported
to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I
hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no
longer be my steward. The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that
my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong
enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I
am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He
called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do
you owe my master? He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil. He said to
him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe? He replied, ‘One
hundred measures of wheat. He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note write
one for eighty. And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting
prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with
their own generation than the children of light.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why was the steward removed from his position as the fund manager of his
master? Because he became complacent and negligent in his job. Otherwise if he
did his job well he would have not been removed but he became complacent.
On the surface it may seem that the only issue here is the incompetence
of the steward. But in a deeper sense there is a lesson that we could all learn
from the steward. When he learned that he was to be removed fear suddenly set in
on him. He was worried about his future for the reason that he would be without
a job.
Therefore to ingrain a debt of gratitude from their debtors and to assure
his survival he collected their debts with a discount. With the fervent hope
that they would take care of him when he is finally dismissed from his job.
On the first debtor he discounted fifthly and on the second he discounted
twenty. Suddenly this complacent steward became very creative because what was
at stake was his very survival.
We are also being reminded to be creative not in assuring our survival in
this world. For the simple reason that all that we have in this world are all
temporary and passing. We are reminded to be creative in sharing our faith in
Jesus most specially during this time wherein technology is very advance.
Let us therefore creatively harness the many social media platforms
that are available at our disposal to continuously share Jesus. For this will
assure us of survival not in this world anymore but our survival after our
lives in this world is over and done with already. - Marino J. Dasmarinas
1 Sinabi rin ni Jesus sa kanyang mga alagad: “May katiwala ang
isang mayaman, at isinumbong sa kanya na nilulustay ng katiwala ang kanyang
kayamanan. 2 Ipinatawag niya ito at sinabi sa kanya: ‘Ano itong naririnig
ko tungkol sa iyo? Magsulit ka sa akin ng iyong pangangasiwa dahil hindi ka na
makapangangasiwa.’
3 At inisip ng katiwala: ‘Tatanggalin ako ngayon sa pangangasiwa ng
aking panginoon. Ano ang gagawin ko? Kulang ako ng lakas para magbungkal ng
lupa, nahihiya naman akong magpalimos. 4 Ah, alam ko na ang gagawin ko.
At pagkatanggal sa akin sa pangangasiwa, may mga magpapatuloy sa akin sa
kanilang mga bahay.’
5 Kaya tinawag niyang isa-isa ang mga may-utang sa kanyang
panginoon. Tinanong niya ang una: “Magkano ang utang mo sa aking panginoon?’
6 Sumagot ito: ‘Sandaang galon ng langis.’ Sinabi ng katiwala: ‘Narito
ang resibo mo; maupo ka agad at isulat mo: Limampu.’ 7 Tinanong naman
niya ang ikalawa: ‘At ikaw, magkano ang utang mo?’ Sumagot siya: ‘Sanlibong
takal ng trigo.’ Sinabi ng katiwala: ‘Narito ang iyong resibo at isulat mo:
Walundaan.”
8 Hinangaan ng panginoon ang matalinong paggawa ng di-matuwid na
katiwala. Mas matalino nga ang mga taong makamundo sa pakikitungo sa mga gaya
nila kaysa mga tao ng liwanag.
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes
sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus addressed this parable to them. “What man
among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the
ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And
when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his
arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the
same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.
“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and
sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find
it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice
with me because I have found the coin that I lost. In just the same way, I tell
you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who
repents.
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Are you patient enough to look for those who are lost or wayward? Say for
example, a sinful relative or a friend; do you have the patience for them? Do
you have the time to counsel or even listen to them so that they could find
their way back to the loving embrace of the Lord?
There was one hundred sheep being taken care of by the good shepherd,
suddenly one went ashtray into the wilderness. The good shepherd left the
ninety nine to patiently look for the lost one. He did not stop until He found
it.
The same story goes for the woman with ten silver coins. She lost one
silver coin and she never stopped patiently searching for it until she found
it.
This is the love of God for us; He never stops looking for us until He
finds us, we who are sinners. Jesus never stops loving us no matter how sinful
we are. In fact the big-time sinner we are the bigger His love for us.
If you think that God has stopped loving you, think again because Jesus
has never stopped loving you. He never stops searching for you. – Marino J.
Dasmarinas
1 Lumapit kay Jesus ang lahat ng kolektor ng buwis at mga makasalanan
para makinig. 2 Kaya nagbulung-bulungan ang mga Pariseo at mga guro ng
Batas: “Tinatanggap niyan ang mga makasalanan at nakikisalo sa kanila.” 3 Kaya
sinabi ni Jesus ang talinhagang ito sa kanila:
• 4 “Kung may sandaang tupa ang isa sa inyo at mawala ang isa
sa mga ito, hindi ba niya iiwan ang siyamnapu’t siyam sa ilang para hanapin ang
nawawala hanggang matagpuan niya ito? 5 At pag natagpuan ito’y masaya
niya itong pinapasan sa balikat, 6 at pagdating sa bahay ay tatawagin
niya ang mga kaibigan at mga kapitbahay at sasabihin sa kanila: ‘Matuwa kayong
kasama ko sapagkat natagpuan ko na ang nawawala kong tupa.’ 7 Sinasabi ko
sa inyo: magkakaroon din ng higit na kagalakan sa langit para sa isang makasalanang
nagsisisi kaysa siyamnapu’t siyam na matuwid na di nangangailangan ng
pagsisisi.
8 Kung may sampung baryang pilak ang isang babae at nawala ang isa
sa mga ito, hindi ba siya magsisindi ng ilaw, magwawalis sa bahay at hahanaping
mabuti hanggang matagpuan ito? 9 At pagkakita rito’y tatawagin ang mga
kaibigang babae at mga kapitbahay: ‘Matuwa kayong kasama ko sapagkat natagpuan
ko ang nawawala kong baryang pilak.’ Sinasabi ko sa inyo na ganito rin sa mga
anghel ng Diyos, magkakaroon ng kagalakan para sa isang makasalanang
nagsisisi.”
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever
does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of
you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the
foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should
laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources
to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide
whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still
far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
A dying man was given two choices by the angel of God. One choice was to
be well again and live a worldly life and the other one was to die immediately
and enter the pearly gates to be with Jesus. The dying man chose to die and be
with Jesus, baffling as it may seem for many of us yet the dying man made the
right choice.
What is the essence of life if it’s only lived for this world? What is
the reason for living if it’s empty of Jesus’ presence? To choose to follow
Jesus over this world is to discover the real meaning of life in this world. To
fill your life with Jesus is to finally discover the real reason why you’re
existing and breathing in this world.
The core of life is a life lived in union with Jesus. Surely, Jesus will
forgive us if we contradict Him by immediately jumping into discipleship
without careful thinking -- Jesus is a God of love and forgiveness
anyway. Because if we carefully
think first we may be overwhelmed by the daunting task of discipleship. And we
immediately back out without even trying and experiencing how it feels to be a
follower or a disciple.
Whereas, if we immediately decide to follow Jesus we will right away have
an experience about how to be His follower. If we find it hard or difficult let
us never hesitate to call on Jesus. For He is always there for us, by our side
walking with us as we wade through the many challenges of
being His follower. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who
will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner
to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his
servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by
one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have
purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’
And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate
them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a
woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his
master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out
quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and
the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders
have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the
servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my
home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will
taste my dinner.'"
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Why did the invited guest fail to attend the dinner? The reason behind is,
they all have their own worldly preoccupations. All the invited guests were
very busy with their own personal activities. Thus, they missed the opportunity
to break bread with the gracious host.
If only they put aside first their personal undertaking to honor the
invitation. They could have known more about the generous host who invited
them. They would have known that the host wanted to build genuine and
lasting friendship with them.
Our busyness with the things of this world always prevents us from knowing
Jesus more deeply. It prevents us from building strong and lasting friendship
with Him. We therefore become creatures of this world rather than becoming
future dwellers of God’s kingdom.
Time will surely come that we all have to say goodbye from this world.
What would happen to our souls if we have no time for God? If we are all work
and pleasure and we don’t honor Jesus’ offer of friendship?
It’s always better to have time for God rather than have time for this
world. It’s always better to be poor but have God in our life than be rich
without God. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
15 Sinabi kay Jesus ng isa sa mga inanyayahan: “Mapalad ang
makakasalo sa bangkete ng kaha-rian ng Diyos!” 16 Sumagot si Jesus: “May
isang taong naghanda ng isang malaking bangkete at marami siyang kinumbida. 17 Sa
oras ng handaan, pinapunta niya ang kanyang katulong para sabihin sa mga
imbitado: ‘Tayo na’t handa na ang lahat.’ 18 Ngunit parang sabay-sabay
namang nagdahilan ang lahat. Sinabi ng una: ‘Bumili ako ng bukid at kailangan
kong pumunta para tingnan iyon. Pasensya ka na.’ 19 Sinabi naman ng isa:
‘Bumili ako ng limang pares na bakang pang-araro at pasusubukan ko ang mga
ito. Pasensya ka na’ 20 Sinabi ng isa pa: ‘Bagong kasal ako kaya hindi
ako makakapunta.’
21 Pagbalik ng katulong, ibinalita niya ang lahat ng ito sa kanyang
panginoon. Galit na galit ang maysambahayan at sinabi sa kanyang katulong:
‘Pumunta ka agad sa mga liwasan at mga lansangan ng lunsod, at papasukin mo
rito ang mga dukha, mga bale-wala, mga bulag at mga pilay.’
22 At pagkatapos ay sinabi ng katulong: ‘Nagawa na ang ipinag-utos
mo at may lugar pa rin.’ 23 Sumagot sa kanya ang panginoon: ‘Lumabas ka
sa mga daan at mga bakuran at pilitin mong pumasok ang mga tao para mapuno ang
bahay ko. 24 Sapagkat sinasabi ko sa inyo: walang sinuman sa mga ginoong
iyon na kinum-bida ko ang makatitikim ng aking handa’.”
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading
Pharisees. He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a
dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your
relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you
have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to
repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
+ + + + + + +
Reflection:
Have you noticed that there’s a greater feeling of satisfaction
when you give to the poor than when you give to someone who could repay you? If
you have not done this yet just try doing it so that you would feel it.
For example, try preparing two sets of the same food; you give one to
your neighbor and the other one you give to the poor. Notice immediately the
deeper feeling of grace and fulfillment that will set in to your heart after
you’ve given the food to the poor.
Why is this so? Because the poor, the unwanted and the less fortunate of
our society are closest to the heart of Jesus. In-fact Jesus Himself told a
story about the last judgment where the king said: ‘Truly I say to you: just as
you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did
it to me (Matthew 25:40).’
In the gospel, Jesus was invited to dine at the home of one of the
leading Pharisees. And while there Jesus gave them a food for thought or
something to think about and ponder.
Jesus said this to the host who invited Him: “When you hold a lunch or a
dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters or your
relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you
have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to
repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous (Luke
14:12-14).”
This loaded and meaningful lecture of Jesus is not only for the leading
Pharisee who invited Him this is also for us. – Marino J. Dasmarinas
12 Sinabi naman ni
Jesus sa nag-anyaya sa kanya: “Kung maghahanda ka ng tanghalian o hapunan,
huwag mga kaibigan mo o mga kapatid mo o mga kamag-anak o mayayamang
kapitbahay ang iyong kumbidahin, baka kumbidahin ka rin nila at susuklian ka.
13 Kung maghahanda ka, mga dukha, mga bale-wala, mga pilay at mga bulag
ang kumbidahin mo. 14 At magiging mapalad ka dahil hindi ka nila masusuklian
ngunit sa pagkabuhay ng mga mabuti ka susuklian.”