 | Daily Bible Reflections
for December 13, 2010 |
|  Dear Lordie,
Be God?s blessing to the world this Monday!
Praying for you,
Bo Sanchez
| | QBQ “Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” – Matthew 21:25a They had witnessed many of His miracles, but they had either minimized them or attributed them to Satan. What makes us think that this time they would accept a point-blank-Jesusanswer? So He asked them a question. His questions tell us more than answers ever would. His questions reveal the intentions of the heart and confront the real issues well masked by legalism and false justifications. His question inevitably reveals the QBQ (Question Behind the Question) of the chief priests and elders. Their QBQ was, “How can we justify ourselves, further our own truth, and structure a lie to pin You down?” Jesus didn’t oblige and refused any of His words to be unjustly used. Friend, have you been using God’s Word to justify your self-glorifying intentions, to mask your sinful pride in your relationships, to coerce obedience from helpless victims at work or in Christian community or to manipulate the feelings of your loved ones. The “silence of Jesus” on your question tells you something today. Jon Escoto (faithatworkjon@gmail.com) REFLECTION: In which specific area of your life do you feel God is asking you a question to reveal your QBQ? What is He asking? Bring on Your questions to me, Lord, when I fall into the trap of manipulating Your Word for my selfish gains. | |
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| | COMPANION | 1st READING Moses covers his face in the presence of the Lord; the people only get to see the shadow of God as he passes by. The Jews had such tremendous respect for God that they would not call Him by His name. They read “Ha Shem” whenever the text for the name of God occurs in Scripture. God’s glory is too much to behold. Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a 2 When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe, the spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, 4 The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, Of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured, and with eyes unveiled. 5 How goodly are your tents, O Jacob; your encampments, O Israel! 6 They are like gardens beside a stream, like the cedars planted by the LORD. 7 His wells shall yield free-flowing waters, he shall have the sea within reach; His king shall rise higher, and his royalty shall be exalted. 15 Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle: The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eye is true, 16 The utterance of one who hears what God says, and knows what the Most High knows, of one who sees what the Almighty sees, enraptured and with eyes unveiled. 17 I see him, though not now; I behold him, though not near. A star shall advance from Jacob, and a staff shall rise from Israel. P S A L M Psalm 25:4-5ab, 6, 7bc, 8-9 R: Teach me your ways, O Lord. 4 Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. (R) 6 Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your kindness are from of old. 7 In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. (R) 8 Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. 9 He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way. (R) G O S P E L Jesus is not going to be put off by bullies. Neither should we. If we know that our particular stance on a moral issue is correct because we are merely following Church teaching then we should stand firm against anyone who would seek to tell us otherwise. The world’s sense of morality today is very weak and usually guided by emotion or feelings. We live by the truth of what God intends for His creation. This may be hard to do, but it is the only way to eternal life. Matthew 21:23-27 23 When Jesus had come into the temple area, the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him as he was teaching and said, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus said to them in reply, “I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me, then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where was John’s baptism from? Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” They discussed this among themselves and said, “If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us, ‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd, for they all regard John as a prophet.” 27 So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” He himself said to them, “Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.” my reflections t h i n k : It may be hard to live by the truth of what God intends for His creation but that is the only way to eternal life. God’s special verse/thought for me today________________ _________________________________________________________
T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________ READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Hosea 1-5 | |
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| | SABBATH | ACKNOWLEDGING JESUS’ AUTHORITY IN OUR LIVES As we are now in Advent’s third week, we get a hearty serving of the Messianic prophecies in our readings. We can ask the intercession of today’s saint, St. Lucy (virgin and martyr, as well as patron saint of those suffering from eye diseases), that we, too, may truly see Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament predictions. We have, on one hand, in today’s First Reading those from Balaam (a famous Old Testament wise man). The Gospel reading, on the other hand, is the episode about Jesus in a discussion with the chief priests and elders on the basis for his authority. They posed a question to Jesus, which He countered with a question of His own to them. Not until they answered it first would He answer theirs. In effect, Jesus turned the tables on them, putting them on the hot seat. But in a sense, the response to the question of the basis for Jesus’ authority is effectively answered (in retrospect, that is) through the Old Testament prophecy of Balaam. Jesus fulfils the prediction and He possesses the authority of the promised ruler, the Messiah. Indeed, if we were to go back to the Gospel incident, we can’t help but observe the competent command of Jesus over the situation, one that could have been embarrassing to Him to say the least. His “counterquestion” and reversal of the situation was a masterful stroke of genius. Truly, our Lord was in control of the situation; never would His authority and power be questioned. Let it be so in our lives as Jesus’ disciples, therefore. We dare not question His authority. He and He alone is our Lord, the Messiah, the One to whom we owe our gratitude and loyalty. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB Reflection Question: Do you let the Lord Jesus guide you from day to day? What other areas of your life have you not surrendered to Him? Do you question Him in times of difficulty? You are the Lord of my life, Jesus. I put my trust in You. Sts. Einhildis & Roswinda, pray for us. | |
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