PARANG REPLAY

a personal reflection on the Gospel for July 11, 2018 Matthew 10:1-7

THE YOUNG FOOTBALL TEAM OF THAILAND SAFELY RESCUED. Social media was flooded with posts about this topic. It was good news indeed. Truly something to be thankful for. The world rejoices with their families.

Their story was worth following. The ending was awesome. Twelve boys and their coach trapped inside a cave for 18 days. It was supposed to be a fun activity but nature had other plans. The entered a cave & floods kept them inside. Trapped! They could not get out by themselves even if they tried. A team of Thailand's Navy SEALs & expert drivers had to save them in batches. They rescued the first eight boys last Sunday but they had to work harder to get the rest. The threat of being trapped there for months was possible. Today (or last night) a miracle happened when they rescued the last four and their coach. Awesome story! Sadly, the rescue effort claimed the life of an experienced volunteer diver.

I read this morning the Gospel (Matthew 10:1-7) & I could not avoid relating it to today’s headline. The characters are similar. The plot looks the same. Read along the text below.

"And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zeb'edee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphae'us, and Thaddae'us; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.....Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." - Matthew 10:1-4

Jesus formed a team also to save us. The Thai story had 13 lives at stake. The Gospel story talks about saving everyone’s lives.

• 12 kids and the 12 apostles
• The team trapped in a cave is like us being trapped in sins
• They could not get out is similar to our struggles. We cannot do it alone.
• It takes a team to save them while we need the whole Church 
• * A diver loses his life, God dies to save us.

Was is coincidence? Maybe.

Was it a divine reminder? Most likely.

The Gospel is a good reminder for us that God will save you no matter what. He will pursue you at all costs.

Do you feel “trapped"? Trapped in your personal problems. Maybe in your toxic relationships. Or in financial debt. Maybe you are trapped in your habitual sin.

Do not panic. Enjoy the silence. Wait for God to come. He will save you no matter how much it takes.

Have a blessed day! - alvinfabella@yahoo.com

MAY DIYOS NGA BA?

a personal reflection on today's Gospel Mark 6:1-6

Did you ever questioned God?

You are not alone. This has been happening since the time of Jesus. The people also had a lot of questions.

“Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” - Mark 6:2-3

Maybe you even questioned the existence of God.

There are a lot of ways to prove the existence of God. One can use simple logic, theology, science or philosophy to prove God. Simplehan lang natin. Let's use the practical approach.

I met this man five years ago at a conference. He shared his life story before a big group. I approached him after the conference because his story inspired me. He shared how he started taking drugs at an early age of 17. Halos lahat ng droga nasubukan na niya. Name it & he has tried it. He was caught several times & imprisoned. Pero sa pamamagitan ng para-paraan nakakalabas ulit siya. He underwent rehab and convinced the judge that he was a changed man. He tricked his wife, friends & relatives into believing that he was a changed man. He was not. He secretly met with his friends for their illegal drug sessions. That slowly destroyed his life. Then one day a friend invited him to attend a Christian Seminar. Surprisingly, he attended all the sessions. Here comes the more shocking part of his story. Now, he is a responsible father, a loving husband & a leader in the Church community that he serves! He is drug free, a good man & a Christian.

How did he change? Was it the rehab? Maybe. Was it the fear of going back to prison? Maybe. I am definite it was God who changed him. He realized how much God loves him & that moved him to change. Maybe you also know someone like him. People who suddenly changed for the better. Society has given up on them, judged them to be hopeless then by some miracle they make a complete turnaround. There are a lot of ways to prove that God exists but one of the ways is seeing people changed for the better.

E, bakit nga ba hindi na lang magpakita ang Diyos sa ating lahat? That will remove all the doubts that HE exists. More importantly, that make all of us good. Or will it really?

Imagine this scenario. You are walking around and you see God floating around in HIS full majesty. You go to work and HE is there. You go home & GOD is sitting in your sofa. You see HIM everywhere. How will you react? Will you follow all the Ten Commandments? Baka hindi lang sampu ang sundin mo. Baka may 11th, 12th, 13th pa :)

But will all of us follow the Commandments because we want to? Or will we just follow because we see that God sees us? That, for me, is one of the reasons why God does not appear before us. God wants us to be good out of own will & decision. HE does not want to force himself on us. Because God is love. And you cannot force another person to love you. God will wait for you to invite HIM in your life.

God exists! That is the truth. All you need to do is believe. Look at the townspeople of Jesus. They had little faith yet Jesus still healed a few of them.

"So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.” - Mark 6:5

Small faith is all you need to experience God. Believe. Then allow God to work out a miracle in your life. May you have a blessed and awesome week! - alvinfabella@yahoo.com

THE WEIGHT OF WORDS

a personal reflection on Gospel Matthew 8:5-17 (June 30)

The judge bangs the gavel on the wooden base & declares - “Guilty as charged!” Then the officers lead the suspect out of the trial court.

The doctor reads the patient’s lab result & then says “You need to change your diet or your condition becomes worse.” Then the patient shifts to a more healthier diet.

The referee forms a “T” using his hands, blows his whistle then instructs to the player “Leave the basketball court!” Then the player picks up his towel & silently goes to the locker room area.

What happens when I say “you’re guilty”, “change your diet” or “leave the playing court” to someone? NOTHING. Nothing happens because I am not a judge in a trial court or a doctor or a referee. The WEIGHT OF OUR WORDS depends on our authority. The Centurion in Matthew 8 knew this.

“For I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes, and to another, 'Come,' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." - Matthew 8:9

Never underestimate the power of your words. Because no matter how insignificant you think you are, there will always be someone who will by affected by your words.

• You may not be a trial judge but your child looks up to you.
• You may not be a doctor but your sick & elderly parents depend on you.
• You may not be a referee but your next door neighbor listens to you.

Watch your words. Because words have weight. The bigger the authority you have the bigger impact it creates. Remember Luke 12:48 “....Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required”

May we use our words to encourage not to bring fear. To comfort not to criticize. To spread love instead of hate. May you have a blessed weekend! - alvinfabella@yahoo.com