Missing Signs

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Spirit Moments

As Jesus drew near Jerusalem,
he saw the city and wept over it, saying,
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace–
but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
~ Luke 19:41-44

There are times I miss cues and signals in conversations and situations. I am blind to the import and meaning of what is happening to and around me. There have been times I missed other people’s invitation into a deeper relationship because I was busy paying attention to trivial details or engrossed in my own thoughts. There was a time I was being cued to a great project but I missed the signs and missed the project altogether. Sometimes, I hear only what I want to hear and totally miss what the other person is telling me.

Yes, there are times I hear the words spoken by friends and loved ones but miss their meaning. I see their actions but miss what they are actually telling me.

Lord, I can see but take away my blindness anyway.
I can hear but heal my deafness anyway.
I can speak. I can talk. But cure me of my dumbness anyway. 

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Making More More

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Spirit Moments

He replied, ‘I tell you,
to everyone who has, more will be given,
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.’
~ Luke 19:11-28

You reap what you sow. This is the law of nature.
You are what you think. And your thoughts eventually show in what you do.
You are what you do. And the more you do, the better you become.
The things you excel in will define who you are and how you think.
In this end, you make your own life and shape your destiny.

What you do not use, you lose. This is the law of nature.
Muscles and bones that are not exercised eventually atrophy.
Plants that are not exposed to sunlight will wilt away.
Even money, when not used, loses value because of inflation.
A heart not exposed to love nor exercised by service will waste away.

The more you do, the more you get. This is the law of nature.
Life will always find a way to express itself.
Muscles, bones, plants, money are valuable when used.
The more they are used, the more and better we have of them.
Employ and exploit talents and resources. And they become productive.
Engage and encounter life and life becomes fruitful and meaningful.

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Home

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Spirit Moments

When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
~ Luke 19:1-10

I have always loved to say that
home is where you can scratch where it itches.
Yes, home is where I can let my mask and defenses down.
Home is where I can allow myself to be vulnerable
without fear of being taken advantage of
or even being harmed or devastated.
When things get rough or difficult,
home is the one safe place for rest and refuge.

I love welcoming family and friends to my home.
I love preparing food for them,
maybe even cooking one or two dishes myself.
I love to think of those who are coming
and serving up what I know are their favorites.
And when they finally come,
I love the bantering and sharing of stories and memories.
We could end up singing or playing games or watching videos together.
I really love it when they stay for the night.
The sharing of stories go deep into the night,
and sometimes into the early morning hours.

I also love going and visiting friends and family in their homes.
There is something about food in other houses.
It is somehow always more delicious than the food at home.
Then at my friends’ house,
anything in the house can be a topic of long conversations.
And when the conversations have quieted down,
the presence of a loved one just a hug or an embrace away
simply makes me want to stay longer,
and linger for yet another while.

Lord, bless me as you blessed Zacchaeus. Come and stay in my house today.

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Today’s Supermoon

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Spirit Moments

The blind man shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!”
Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him;
and when he came near, Jesus asked him,
“What do you want me to do for you?”
He replied, “Lord, please let me see.”
Jesus told him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.”
He immediately received his sight
and followed him, giving glory to God.
~ Luke 18:35-43

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Tonight, the moon will be at its perigee. We will be seeing the biggest and brightest supermoon in 70 years. This event will not happen till another lifetime. Already, my Facebook feed is full of moonshots. Most of those who have posted these photos are simply awed by the beauty and magnitude of the supermoon. There are some who continue on to praise and thank God for the grandeur of His creation. They see the hand of God in His works and the hymn “How great Thou art,” comes to their minds so naturally.

My thoughts turn to the events of recent days. Many have been disheartened by Trump’s election as president of the US. Many Filipinos have become disenchanted with Duterte, special with his unconventional style and uncouth behavior. Many are fearful that what is happening in the Middle East right now might escalate into a full blown world war. Through all these uncertainties and fears, can one still the the hand of God at work? Is God at work in His mysterious ways and transforming our world and us into something better? In the face of such difficulties and tribulations, can we still sing spontaneously, “How great Thou art?”

I look at my ordinary life. I am far removed from all these events and I cannot really do anything to change their course. Yet, their worsening and their escalation will surely affect me and my immediate loved ones. Can I still see God at work in my life? Can I even believe that God would spare a thought for me? And yet, Christ did spare time for the blind man on the road to Jericho. He restored his sight. Can I see God’s greatness in the ordinariness of my life and allow Him to do His great deeds?

In humility and gratitude, I break out in song and praise:

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art

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Faith And Perseverance

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Spirit Moments

“You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
~ Luke 21:5-19

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The nights can be dark
And they can be dreary
But there is the moon
To comfort the weak and the weary.

The days have the sun
To make things bright and happy
But there will be shadows
And clouds can make things gloomy.

My faith makes me strong
In the face of adversity
But the journey is still difficult
And it’s rarely easy.

The biggest struggle I have
Is the battle within me
And then I still have to contend
With my clash with the rest of humanity.

I hold to the good Lord’s promise
Not a hair on my head will be destroyed
With faith and perseverance,
Despair and doubts, I can avoid.

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The Call Of The Times

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
~ Luke 18:1-8

When things are on the up and up
And we seem to be having it all,
We’d like to believe the world is our cup
And that we are in control.
But when things begin to fall apart
And we don’t know what to do
We feel the pain and sorrow in our heart
And look up into the skies of blue.

When we are happy and enjoy most everything
We pat ourselves proudly on the back
And of our achievements and of a full life sing
There is nothing that we lack.
Everyone looks out for himself
And take or make what he needs.
It’s mostly to each his own, no need of other’s help
There is no one else to care for, no one else to feed.

It is not log before we become blind and deaf
To many things and the others around us.
Till we wake up to see there is no one else with us left
There is only darkness and loneliness around us.
In our vainglory we thought we’re totally independent
No need to care for nor work with one another
And soon we realize we were meant to be interdependent
To love, to share, to care for each other.

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Hope For These Trying Times

Posted on November 11, 2016 by Spirit Moments

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.”
~ Luke 17:33

Things have been simmering and percolating for sometime now and are now coming to a boil. Many people are fearful how things will eventually unfold or even explode. Oh, things have been bad for a while but these were things happenings in some remote faraway lands. But now things are going awry right in people’s backyards. And now comes the frantic scurrying to safety or the violent pushback for protection.

People driven by fear and hatred will tend to act out their fears and vent their hatred. People moved by love and compassion will end to act in accordance to their deepest values. People who are lost will tend to follow the loudest voices or merely go with the crowd. People with strength and resources will probably gain the initial upper hand. That is painting a grim scenario.

Thus, I will choose to act out of what I have always believed in and prayed over. I believe that love and compassion are stronger than anger and hatred and in fact will heal the wounds of anger and hatred.

I believe that life is stronger than death and that deep inside them people would rather want to build rather than destroy, to unite and work together rather than be divisive and exclude.

I believe that it our common appreciation for beauty that will build us our caring communities and that we are meant to be brothers and sisters rather than strangers and adversaries.

And we need not imagine these things but in fact can make them happen. For aren’t we humans, the apex of all God’s creation?

Lord make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
And where there is sadness, joy.
O divine master grant that I may
not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love
For it is in giving that we receive-
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned.
And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen
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Morning Has Broken

Posted on November 10, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
~ Luke 17:20-21

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Today, another day has dawned,  wonderful as ever and bringing the promise of more possibilities and more favorable moments. This morning, a young loving mother woke up early to prepare breakfast and lunch boxes for her kids and the young dutiful father rustles them up and drives them school.

In another part of town, a young couple wake up excited to continue fixing up their new condo as they prepare for a life of pledged love with each other. And in another part of the globe, a doctor-couple work unheralded to do their share in fixing up a health system to improve the delivery of healthcare for young mothers and their children.

And at the end of today, the young parents will ask their kids how their school day was. The young couple will sit and share a bottle of wine to relish what they have accomplished for the day. The young doctors will be lolling in bed, maybe quietly reading or exchanging anecdotes from their clinics. And this weekend, they will all be treated by the largest full moon ever within this generation.

It is in homes like these that the future is being made and built. It is these people who will make things happen to make our world a better place. And it is the love and connection they create and affirm that will keep our humanity alive. Yes, the night has come but morning has also broken again.

I scanned the social media the whole day yesterday. There was a lot of pontificating, moralizing, lecturing, bloviating. There was still a lot of divisiveness and hatred and vitriol and gloating and anger. But I also saw a lot of people still loving (all the more), still hoping (with joy in their hearts), seeing the glimmering of dawn, the promise of tomorrow, and the abiding presence of God. In the despair and sorrow of Psalm 42, these words still shine through:

By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,
and by night he gives me a song,
a prayer to the living God.

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The Night Has Come

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Spirit Moments

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Just as things seemed so bad in the Philippines that they could not get any worse, last November 8, they did. The Philippines Supreme Court allowed the burial of Marcos at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani. And just as November 8 seemed so bad that it could not possibly get any worse, it did. The results of the US elections have been stunning to say the least.

I am at a loss for words. I feel something heavy in my chest but I cannot put my finger on it. I feel a deep foreboding of impending doom and it hangs thick in the air. I used to revel in the dawning of each new day. Now, it seems the eternal night has descended upon us.

I do not know what to say. I do not know what to write. I do not know what to pray for nor how.

As a deer longs for streams of water,
so I long for you, O God! 
I thirst for God, for the living God.
I say, “When will I be able to go and appear in God’s presence?”
I cannot eat, I weep day and night;
all day long they say to me, “Where is your God?”
I will remember and weep!
For I was once walking along with the great throng to the temple of God,
shouting and giving thanks along with the crowd as we celebrated the holy festival.
Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.
I am depressed,
so I will pray to you while I am trapped here in the region of the upper Jordan,
from Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
One deep stream calls out to another at the sound of your waterfalls;
all your billows and waves overwhelm me.
By day the Lord decrees his loyal love,
and by night he gives me a song,
a prayer to the living God.
I will pray to God, my high ridge:
“Why do you ignore me?
Why must I walk around mourning
because my enemies oppress me?”
My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone,
as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
Why are you depressed, O my soul?
Why are you upset?
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.
~ Psalm 42

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In His Time

Posted on November 7, 2016 by Spirit Moments

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Things that cause sin will inevitably occur,
but woe to the one through whom they occur.
It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck
and he be thrown into the sea
than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.”
~ Luke 17:1-2

We live in confusing and perilous times. Lies are peddled as truth. Hatred and anger are fomented by leaders of nations among their people. Violence and murder are often justified in the name of some heavens. Ugly and polluted are acceptable as foul language is taken to be normal and ordinary.

I pity the young ones growing up today. What will their future be if the adults are behaving so obnoxiously? How will the world we are leaving behind for them look like when it is their time to take care of it? I cannot change the world but I can do things in my small corner of the world.

No one has the right to destroy the reputation of another person. So, I will not say or do anything that will make people think less of another person. I will share and speak only of what is true, good and beautiful about them. I will keep quiet on all the rest. But I will likewise resist evil and will not let down my guard against.

In the face of all this confusion and danger, I shall keep faith in the Lord and that, in His time, He will make things  beautiful. And true. And good.
The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
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