Team Jesus

It is human nature that we always want something for ourselves. We all have dreams, wants, needs and others of the same kind. And at some point in our lives, we come to God asking, begging, bargaining for that request to be granted. God is a compassionate God. I think we all know that. In the first reading, the Lord was very angry that he decided to destroy Sodom. But here comes Abraham, asking and bargaining God. “Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?” Then Abraham continues until the last part saying, “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.   What if there are at least ten there?” If God was like an ordinary person, I don't think he would answer him until the end. But God is not just a mere person, nor is He anything close to ordinary. That is why till the very end He answered, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” ...

Good evening. J The readings we have for tomorrow’s mass is very special, and if I might say, sakto, for us who are here in this praise and worship, in this youth ministry, in this church. Our readings for today basically has one predominant theme. Service. In just three small stories, we have been shown, basically, a guide, to service. We have been shown who to serve, why we should serve, and how to serve. First. Who to serve. In the first reading, we saw how Abraham really volunteered and begged to clean and bathe their feet, make rolls out of the finest flour, and picked out a tender, choice steer, and serve it to them. And what’s even funny is, ni-agi lang man sila. Kato sila tulo. Diba? Abraham just saw them standing there by the gate, and he asked them na, “let me bring you food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.” You may go on your way. Sino sa inyo ang nakatry na manghagad ng someone just passing by to eat, na lutuan ninyo’g bacon, pas...

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?... He said in reply ‘ You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself’…. ‘ He said to Jesus:  ‘And who is my neighbor?”  Lk 10: 25-37 I just want to focus on some of the lines above. Let us little by little discuss it briefly. First, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The scholar in the Gospel had a vision to have an eternal life.  This is the problem today, do we, ourselves, wish and dream of having an eternal life? We are so bombarded of the ideals of the earthly world. It tells us that: The number of significant figures we had made in our bank accounts, are more important than God. (which in truth all of this came from God) There are remote controls that in just one click we can have everything we think we need. (there’s   a difference between our wants and what God thinks we need, all we need...

One of our Youth Ministry’s favourite songs is Commission my Soul by Citipointe. When the keyboard starts the rhythm, I personally get lost in the bliss of it all. The song starts in a real slow, swaying motion. The lyrics kick in, and it becomes a sweet dialogue between you and God. The guitars and the drums join the symphony and you find yourself bouncing to the beat, now, declaring ever more emphatically the message you want to convey. “ Commission my soul with a fire uncontrollable, for this great cause to save the lost, open my eyes to the reason I’m alive, O Lord, I’m ready now. I’ll follow You”. I find the song very appropriate with today’s gospel which talks about Jesus commissioning his disciples to the mission field. Luke’s Gospel has two stories of Jesus sending out his followers to go and spread the good news. Jesus sends the Twelve apostles (chapter 9), and the 70 disciples (chapter 10) on mission.According to the Jewish tradition, there are twelve tribes of Isr...