 | Daily Bible Reflections
for January 14, 2010 |
|  Dear Lordie,
This Thursday, remember that He knows you and loves you.
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
| | An Inconvenient Truth It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. – 1 Samuel 4:10 On a train ride up to the Canadian Rocky Mountains, we passed through mountains upon mountains of evergreen trees. We also traversed through wide areas of pine forest that burned to the ground because of fires started by careless people or by thunderbolts. There were also parts where the pine trees were dying due to beetle infestation. But the tour director told us that it wasn’t all that bad. The fire and the infestation allowed new trees to grow, thus providing new vitality to the forest. Such also is life. God allows us to go through devastating events like sickness, job losses or grievous sins. But through these trials, we come out better and stronger. Sirach 2:5 says, “In fire, gold is tested.” In all these tests, Jesus is always on our side. When the ordeal comes and turns severe, cling to His promise that we will never be tested beyond what we can take. In all these situations, He will show the way (1 Corinthians 10:13). Rolly España (rolly@homeliving.com.ph) REFLECTION: Even in the face of disaster, don’t stop believing in what the Lord has promised to you. Lord, I come to You for I know that Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. | |
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| | COMPANION | 1st READING Not even the presence of the Ark of the Covenant in the hands of the Israelites was enough to gain them victory over the Philistines. Why is this so? The answer they came up with is that they were unfaithful to God — they were not living according to the Law of Moses and thus God was not with them in battle. What we learn from this defeat is the importance of living the life we are committed to. Magic charms or talismen, even something as great as the Ark, is not going to be of any help to us if we are not willing to be faithful to our calling. 1 Samuel 4:1-11 1 The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God. 5 When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded. 6 The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked, “What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, 7 the Philistines were frightened. They said, “Gods have come to their camp.” They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with pestilence. 9 Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So fight manfully!” 10 The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 The ark of God was captured, and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead. P S A L M Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 25-26 R: Redeem us, Lord, because of your mercy. 9 [10] Yet now you have cast us off and put us in disgrace, and you go not forth with our armies. 10 [11] You have let us be driven back by our foes; those who hated us plundered us at will. (R) 13 [14] You made us the reproach of our neighbors, the mockery and the scorn of those around us. 14 [15] You made us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. (R) 24 [25] Why do you hide your face, forgetting our woe and our oppression? 25 [26] For our souls are bowed down to the dust, our bodies are pressed to the earth. (R) G O S P E L The healing of a leper is not just a cure of a disease but one of re-inclusion. Lepers were outcasts and not able to fully participate in the life of the society. By healing the leper, Jesus enables him to go back into the heart of the community. When our sins are forgiven, the same dynamic applies to us. Let us never forget the power of Jesus’ forgiveness, or our own for that matter. Mark 1:40-45 40 A leper came to him and kneeling down begged him and said, “If you wish, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, “I do will it. Be made clean.” 42 The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean. 43 Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 44 Then he said to him, “See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.” 45 The man went away and began to publicize the whole matter. He spread the report abroad so that it was impossible for Jesus to enter a town openly. He remained outside in deserted places, and people kept coming to him from everywhere. my reflections t h i n k : Let us never forget the power of Jesus’ forgiveness, or our own for that matter. _________________________________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
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T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________ READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Mark 5-8 | |
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| | SABBATH | WHAT IS THE MEANING OF DEFEAT? Throughout the whole Old Testament the Jews interpreted defeat as a sign of God’s displeasure with their sin; conversely, victory was treated as a sign of His blessing and pleasure with them. This is a somewhat simplistic understanding of defeat and victory but it is ultimately built upon the right foundation in that if the people embrace sin it will eventually lead to their destruction. Likewise, if we embrace God’s will and the life of virtue we will be walking upon the path to eternal beatitude. Hophni and Phinehas are men whose lives are far from upright and their death is interpreted as judgment upon their sin. Eli is seen to be complicit in their sin because he does little or nothing to stop them from sinning. Again this seems to us a little too deterministic and neat to hold much credence to the modern mind. But again, there is a certain degree of truth in this understanding. We cannot afford to dismiss sin with a wave of our hand because we have all experienced the horrible consequences of sin at one time or another. We know there is an element of truth in the idea that sinners will be punished, if not in this life, then in the next. What should we learn from this story of defeat? I think we can learn that God is a just God and that, eventually, justice will come to the sinner. In some ways those who suffer greatly in their earthly pilgrimage are far closer to heaven on the day of their death than others who have suffered little for their sins. It is interesting in this context to note that the saints desired to suffer precisely because they knew that there is a necessary amount of suffering that we all must endure to make reparation for our sins. This can give us new insight into defeat and the suffering that accompanies it — namely that the suffering is in preparation for our death and our final journey to eternal life. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL Reflection Question: How do I view defeat and suffering in my life? Do I try to avoid it at all costs, even the cost of sin? Do I embrace it and offer it for my salvation and the salvation of others? Holy Spirit, help me to embrace any suffering that comes to my life so that I will always see it as a form of reparation for my sins and thus help me on the path to eternal life. St. Macrina the Elder, pray for us. | |
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