It is Mary who has chosen the better part, and it is not to be taken from her. - Luke 10:42

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, pasta, fillet mignon, wine, and all the finest food you have in your house serve, just to have them leave right after? For sure, if those were friends, meron pang socializing, movie marathon, or whatever afterwards the food diba? Why, who were these three special people who were just passing by Abraham’s tent, that he was willing to do all these? For sure, alam niyo na sino yun. Yes, that was God, the Holy Trinity, appearing to Abraham. Indeed, God deserves all of those favors. Siya lang ang deserving of all of our finest. Finest skills, greatest efforts, highest respect, loudest worship, all the best that we have to give. Because He is our God Almighty. No other being deserves as much, Amen? And what is the best gift we can ever give to our God? Our lives. This life is a gift also given to us, and in return, we give it back, after spending it of a life full of love and service to Him. Moreover, as we have seen sa 1^st reading, serving God, indeed has its perks. Abraham was rewarded a son, through his wife Sarah becoming pregnant. His wife Sarah was already old, but this miracle still happened, through God’s word. That same thing applies to us. We must not allow ourselves to be enslaved, to be paying heed, to things that are not gonna be worth it in the end. All these worldly things are not gonna be with us when we die, so why tie ourselves so tight to them, Amen? I’m not saying that we should only do things because there would be a reward in the end. We should just really learn to pick the things that really count. Abraham didn’t know that he would be given a son, when he decided to feed and wash the feed of our Lord. None of that was in the mind. Tayo rin, let us just serve Him, and allow ourselves to be surprised by blessings that he might be giving to us. God never leaves His servants empty-handed.

Second. Why should we serve? Why we? The second reading is actually entitled Paul’s Labor for the Church. We, the members of this church, this BLD community, this Youth Ministry, have been commissioned by God to spread the word of God. We are one of the chosen few. We in this ministry, after having our encounter, or our YLSS, have been equipped with at least a knowledge of who God is, and how intervenes in so many ways, in each of our lives. However, that knowledge and feeling of God in our lives wasn’t put there to stay. It was put there to be spread. This love of God we have felt during the encounter, and the love of God we are still experiencing today, was given so we could share it out also, and that itself, is already service. Also, this service, again, is the least we can do to give back for all the blessings we have received in our lives, Amen?

Last. How to Serve. This is the part where it gets kind of tricky. Sino sa inyo ang naga-church every Sunday? Sino sa inyo ang nakabigay na ng alms to the poor? Sino sa inyo ang naka-help na ng any other person in any kind of way? Last, sino sa inyo ang makaremember pa sa message ng gospel yesterday? The other day? That is exactly the message ng gospel reading for today. Martha was so diligent, and working hard in service, siguro sa paghanda ng food, sa paglinis ng bahay, because Jesus was there as a visitor. He asked Jesus to tell her sister Mary, who was just sitting there, listening to Jesus, to help her, kay nagkapuliki na si Martha ug serve, but what did Jesus say? “Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken away from her.” We see here, that as we serve, we should not be losing sight of what is more important, and that is keeping an ear and our heart out to the God who is always speaking to us. Listen to Him. Sometimes we may be so into the technicals of service, that we forget why are serving. Sometimes, we are so into accomplishing many tasks for a praise and worship, that we forget that we are here to actually worship Him. Sometimes, we get so focused on doing tasks for the Youth Encounter weekend the whole week, that we choose not to go to the community praise and worship, just to finish a task. In school, we are willing to do everything and anything to pass a subject, that we become willing to cheat, and forget the essence of learning altogether. In our family, we sometimes get irritated pag naga-demand ng family time ang ating siblings, or parents, or even children, because we are too busy studying hard for our make them proud, or working hard to help out with the bills sa house, that we fail to see the real reason why we were given this family, which is just to have people to love. See, that is not what Jesus wants for us. Jesus wants us to focus on the things “that can’t be taken away from us.” He wants us to not let the cares of serving prevent us from welcoming the word of heaven. He wants us serve His people, to serve Him, but not forget the reason behind all of it. And that is love. Diba we are always told, that whenever we find ourself too stressed with something, and we don’t know what to do anymore, we only need to ask ourself, “bakit ko ba ‘to ginagawa?” “Para san ka bumabangon? J” When we realize the reason, everything starts to become a bit easier, diba? Noon, I had a time where ako mismo namuyboy kay Lord when I asked him, “Lord, grabe man aking service sayo, why don’t I seem to experience the perks of it, sa school, sa family, sa other stuff.” But eventually, ako lang din nakasagot sa aking tanong when I thought about it deeper, and saw that the perks were already in the service itself, in the people I’m with in community. Therefore, let us always remind ourself every now and then of the things we should keep our focus on. It is a challenge, because now, it is not just plain service, but also service with heart, with a heart that listens, and with a heart that is obedient, that is asked of us. The willingness and efforts to serve are well appreciated, but now God is reminding us to not lose of Him as we go through that service, and that is through reading the bible, knowing Him deeply. Listen to mass, instead of just going to church. There is a difference between the two. Again, God is the one worthy of our service, and we are the once who are chosen to carry out his word, but let us not drown in the abundance off too much service, because we might lose sight of sound of something he is still telling us, and that is to give love as we go along the way.

God bless us all. J

- Neil Ramos