Keep Holy the Lord’s Day

"Is it permitted on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil, to save life, or to kill?" (Mark 3: 4)

"Lord Jesus, I look around and see a lot of things happening on the 'Sabbath'. I do not know how to interpret your commandment regarding the observance of the Sabbath. How do I know the difference between the work that means "doing good and saving life" and work that is done purely for profit or lack of trust in your promise to provide adequately for our needs? I do not know how to counsel my friends. I need your light and guidance, Lord."

I confided the above reflection to my journal exactly ten years ago in 1997. Today, I am still struggling with the issue of understanding the command of keeping the Lord's Day holy. God in his mercy has blessed me with the gift of the 'Sabbath.' I do not work on Sunday. I try to enjoy a full day of rest. Sunday is my best day of the week. But unfortunately, I cannot say the same for some of my friends. Some of these friends who also love Jesus work on Sundays. They work on Sunday because their schedule obliges them to work on Sunday or because they are self-employed and Sunday is their best day of doing business. More and more businesses are opening on Sunday. Which of these businesses open in order to "do good or save life" or just for pure greed?

Lord, give me an understanding heart for these issues. Help me not to condemn or to complain.

Enthusiasm

"Our desire is that every one of you should go on showing the same enthusiasm till the ultimate fulfillment of your hope, never growing careless, but taking as your model those who by their faith and perseverance are heirs of the promises." (Hebrews 6: 11 – 12)

"Fill me Lord, with the unsurpassable knowledge of yourself. As I know your more every day, let my love for you grow more intense and passionate. Then I will be ready to follow you everywhere."

Jesus Christ gives us a lot of aids to help us maintain our enthusiasm. These are the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, prayer, the word of God, spiritual reading and spiritual direction. He also provides us with so many sacramental like holy water. We have also a crowd of saints as model for our faith and perseverance.

God Remembers

"God would not be so unjust as to forget all you have done, the love that you have for his name or the services that you have done, and are still doing, for the holy people of God." (Hebrews 6: 10)

God remembers. He remembers every good deed we have ever done in our life. He uses this for our benefit. This truth should encourage us to continue in the way of goodness. How and when does God apply our good works to our benefit? It is a mystery but one thing is certain. It does not follow a cause and effect sequence. Where does God's mercy, that is, unmerited favor come into the picture? Which blessings are attributable to God's remembrance of "all you have done, the love that you have for his name or the services that you have done, and are still doing, for the holy people of God" or purely to God's mercy?

It is obvious that goodness is rewarded in this life. It is also a fact of faith that without God we can do nothing.

He learned obedience

"During his life on earth, he offered up prayer and entreaty, with loud cries and with tears, to the one who had the power to save him from death, and, winning a hearing by his reverence, he learned obedience, Son though he was, through his sufferings; when he had been perfected, he became for all who obey him the source of eternal salvation and was acclaimed by God with the title of high priest of the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 5: 7 – 10)

• Jesus Christ, though Son of God prayed with loud cries and tears to the Father.
  
• He won a hearing by his reverence.
  
• He learned obedience through suffering.
  

Lord, teach me to pray with trust and confidence. Teach me to revere and honor you as you deserve. Teach me to accept all the delays, disappointments and obstacles in your loving providence for me today.

Our Calling

"No one takes this honor on himself; it needs a call from God, as in Aaron's case." (Hebrews 5: 4)

A vocation is a call from God, an appointment by God. God appoints those he chooses to share in a particular manner in the work of redemption with his son, Jesus. When we are baptized, God chooses us to be his adopted children. This is also when we receive our vocation. While some are called to the ministerial priesthood like Aaron, every baptized is called to a particular ministry.

What am I called to? I am called to be a friend and companion of Jesus. I am called to know Jesus intimately, to love him passionately and to teach men to know and love him. Am I on focus? Am I on strategy?

I waited, waited for the Lord

"Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will." (Psalm 40)

Psalm 40 expresses for me the theme of the call to service. I love the first line: "I waited, waited for the Lord; who bent down and heard my cry..."

I need patience in order to realize my vocation. Lord, teach me to wait upon you. Your word asserts that you reward patient waiting with your sure answer. I want your will for my life to be fully accomplished.

The One Thing I need

"As John watched Jesus walk by he said, 'Look! There is the Lamb of God." (John 1: 36)

Today is the last day in the Octave of Christmas. John described Jesus as the Lamb of God. Is it a coincidence that Jesus was born in a stable where sacrificial lambs were born? John pointed others to Jesus. 'Pointing to' is the work of the disciple. True disciples point people to Jesus. Jesus is the solution to all human problems. He is the light of the world. He is the truth, the way and the life. Jesus is indeed all that I need and all that I want.

Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to live this truth and to share it with others.

The Call of Samuel

"Samuel, Samuel!' Samuel answered, 'Speak, for your servant is listening.' Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect." (1 Samuel 3: 3 – 19)

The Call of Samuel

The Lord called Samuel thrice before he answered. God is an excellent and patient communicator.

"There is no change of mind on God's part about the gifts he has made or of his choice." (Romans 11: 29)

God has been faithful to his word in Romans 11: 29 with regard to his call to me. Not even the tragedy of sin was permitted to frustrate the call. Thank you Jesus.

Power Prayer

"Almighty and ever-present Father,

your watchful care reaches from end to end

and orders all things in such power

that even the tensions and tragedies of sin

cannot frustrate your loving plans.

Help us to embrace your will,

give us the strength to follow your call,

so that your truth may live in our hearts

and reflect peace to those who believe in your love.

We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord."

The Church prays thus in the Opening Prayer in the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. I call this power prayer. Consider these truths in the prayer:

• God's plan for us is loving.
  
• Nothing can frustrate this plan; not even sins.
  
• We need God's help to embrace his will.
  
• We need his strength to follow his call.
  

I rejoice in the certain knowledge that God's loving providence covers my life totally. All is well. All shall be well. All manner of things shall be well.

Doctor of Souls

"It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I came to call not the upright but sinners." (Mark 2: 17)

Jesus Christ, our high priest is also a doctor of souls. He feels at home among sinners. He brings them healing.

The call of Levi: "Come follow me."

"I came not to call the upright but sinners."

St. Paul, St. Augustine and numerous other saints became exhibits to God's love and mercy.

Our Supreme High Priest

"Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must hold firm to our profession of faith. For the high priest we have is not incapable of feeling our weakness with us, but has been put to the test in exactly the same way as ourselves, apart from sin. Let us, then, have no fear in approaching the throne of grace when we are in need of help." (Hebrews 4: 14 – 16)

Jesus, Son of God

Jesus, our supreme high priest

We must hold firm to our profession of faith in Jesus. This is because Jesus, the Son of God is also our supreme high priest.

What faith do I need to hold firm at this time?

• God has a good plan for my welfare: Jeremiah 29: 11
  
• God will open for me a door that nobody can close: Revelation 3: 8
  
• God will never abandon me nor forsake me: Hebrews 13: 5
  
• God himself will lead me across this passage: Deuteronomy 31: 3
  

Christ, our high priest is imminently qualified to help us because he has experienced our problems. He had great desires as a man. He too faced delays, disappointments and obstacles. So he understands how I feel about my delays, disappointments and obstacles. I should bear this in mind when I approach Christ in prayer with my needs. This insight should give me confidence when I approach the throne of grace either through prayer, his word, in the Blessed Sacrament or in the Eucharist. The Lord himself says: "Have no fear in approaching the throne of grace when in need of help."

Faithing

"We received the gospel exactly as they did; but hearing the message did them no good because they did not share the faith of those who did listen. We, however, who have faith, are entering a place of rest." (Hebrews 4: 2)

Faith leads to the possession of God's promises of:

• Peace
  
• Provision
  
• Protection
  
• Power
  
• Purpose
  
• Pardon
  

"Faith that is firm is also patient."

"Let us, then, press forward to enter this place of rest." (Hebrews 4: 11) We press forward in faith towards our final place of rest, heaven. We persevere. We persist. We never give up.

"Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'My child, your sins are forgiven ….. I order you: get up, pick up your stretcher, and go off home." (Mark 2: 5)

What did Jesus see? He saw the relatives and friends of the paralytic acting out their faith. If we open our eyes, we too can see people faithing everyday.

The Promise never lapses

"Let us beware, then: since the promise never lapses, none of you must think that he has come too late for the promise of entering the place of rest." (Hebrews 4:1)

God's promises never lapse. I cherish so much these promises of God to me:

• "I will never forsake you nor abandon you." (Hebrews 13: 5)
  
• "My plan for you is a future full of hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)
  

In another passage, the Lord said: "My salvation will not be late."

So my soul, be patient. Do not be deceived by the passage of time. Everything in life happens at the time God wants it.

Are you willing?

"A man suffering from a virulent skin- disease came to him and pleaded on his knees saying, 'If you are willing, you can cleanse me.' Feeling sorry for him, Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said to him, 'I am willing. Be cleansed." (Mark 1: 40 – 41)

Today, some people with "virulent skin disease," that is, serious problems may come to us and plead, 'If you are willing, you can help me.' What will be our reaction? It sounds so simple for them to believe that all that we need to help them is "if we are willing." But in reality, that is all that we need to be Jesus to others. If we are willing, then we can ask Jesus to work through us to help people with "virulent skin disease."

The beggar who stopped Peter and John as they entered the temple, asked for alms. Peter and John were willing to help but did not have money to offer the beggar. But Jesus worked through them to heal the beggar of lameness, thereby delivering a greater benefit than money.

Lord Jesus, open our hearts to your grace so that we can be willing to stretch out our hands in your name to heal.

Encourage one another

"Everyday, as long as today lasts, keep encouraging one another so that none of you is hardened by the lure of sin, because we have been granted a share with Christ only if we keep the grasp of our first confidence firm to the end." (Hebrews 3: 13 – 14)

Encourage one another. We look around, near and far, we see many people that are discouraged. They are failing: morally, financially or maybe physically. Failure of any type tends to bring discouragement. And that is when there is the greatest danger of falling into the "lure of sin." The Holy Spirit asks us in Hebrews 3: 13 – 14 to watch out for signs of discouragement in the people we meet. Sometimes the signs may be a sigh, a word, language, a gesture or just plain inaction.

How do we encourage the discouraged? The first step is to ask the Holy Spirit for the fitting response. It could be a word. The best word is the word of God. This is what encourages me most. One of the most encouraging things is the remembrance of what God has done for us in the past. At the period of discouragement, the memory seems to go blank on God's past favors. If offering a helping hand in housework or a ride could lift up the spirit, do it. Perhaps it is just a little cash that could make the person feel that God is still on his side, give it.

If we trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, he will show us the best response to the discouraged.

Fickle hearts

"That generation sickened me and I said, 'Always fickle hearts, that cannot grasp my ways!' And then in my anger I swore that they would not enter my place of rest." (Hebrews 3: 10 – 11)

To reach God's land of rest, we must grasp his ways, listen to him every day and be constant in pursuing his will. No fickle mindedness.

The strategy is:

• Listen to God every day
  
• Little by little grasp his ways
  
• Be steadfast, firm and unwavering
  

To enjoy God's peace, we must be decisive, consistent and predictable in seeking and serving God. This is the opposite of fickle mindedness.

Speak to me

"That is why, as the Holy Spirit says: If only you would listen to him today! Do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 3: 7 – 8)

Today for sure, the Holy Spirit will speak to me. He will speak to me through his word, at Mass, during prayer and study. He will speak to me at home, in the Church, on the street and at work. I will be especially alert today. I will not harden my heart. Help me God.

Heal us

"Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed and feverish, and at once they told him about her. He went in to her, took her by the hand and helped her up. And the fever left her and she began to serve them." (Mark 1: 30 31)

We need good health for the service of God and our neighbor. We know that God will not refuse us anything that furthers his kingdom. The Lord himself encourages us: "We can approach God with confidence in this: if we make our requests which accord with his will, he listens to us; and if we know that our requests are heard, we know that the things we ask for are ours." (1 John 5: 14 – 15)

Good health is one of the greatest blessings in life. Jesus Christ exercised his ministry of healing with great generosity. And people flocked to him because of it. "Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it." (John 14: 13 – 14, Matthew 7: 7, 18: 9), so Jesus promised his disciples. Let us in confidence approach the throne of grace and ask for healing.

School of Suffering

"It was essential that he should in this way be made completely like his brothers so that he could become a compassionate and trustworthy high priest for their relationship to God, able to expiate the sins of the people. For the suffering he himself passed through while being put to the test enables him to help others when they are being put to the test." (Hebrews 2: 17 – 18)

Jesus Christ is like us in all things but sin. I am like my brothers and sisters in everything including sin. In God's loving and merciful providence, he permitted me to know great sins in my life so that I can become "a compassionate and trustworthy high priest for their relationship to God."

Jesus Christ learned obedience and submission in the school of suffering. I thank God for Desert 95 when I started learning obedience and submission in the school of suffering. The Lord used the period to enrich my understanding and compassion for those who suffer.

Fear of death

"Since all the children share the same human nature, he too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could set aside him who holds the power of death, namely the devil, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death." (Hebrews 2: 14)

One of the great rewards of redemption that we can enjoy here and now is freedom from the fear of death. Man fears poverty, ill-health, joblessness, and a host of other fears. But no fear is as dreaded as death. If we can overcome the fear of death, then we can see the other fears in their true perspective. We can certainly overcome the fear of death by absorbing the truth that Jesus Christ overcame death by rising from the dead. He wants us to live free from the fear of death.

Lord Jesus, help us to overcome the fear of death so that we can live in freedom.