Team Jesus

Hi guys! I know we haven't heard from each other for a while, but I honestly miss you guys! In the gospel, to make it short, Jesus preached to Nazareth. All of us know that it was His hometown. The people there were infuriated and brushed Jesus out of Nazareth once he started to preach. They did not want Him there; even when they needed Him so badly and even when His presence, teachings and ideas were supposed to be like water to a parched throat. They rejected Him, resented him, and refused His whole being. How could they, when they knew that Jesus was the Son of The Almighty. His hometown did not want Him. His hometown wants him out. And so, Jesus left. Jesus was wholly human, and wholly divine. So I bet that his human part felt a bit sad when He was rejected; as we all are when we are rejected too. I could relate to this gospel because it tremendously resembles what happened in my life just recently. As your kuyas and ates know, I used to live in Davao, so it follows ...

The gospel helps us ask ourselves on how we perceive the Son of Man. It helps us ask ourselves how we see Jesus and how is He significant to our lives. All of us have our own opinion when we are asked of who the Son of Man is, especially when we consider that everyone has different personalities and experiences in life. People may have a better perception of who Jesus is, some may not. But in the gospel, just like how Jesus asked His disciples, what is important to Him is how we perceive Him or what our opinion is. I myself believe that Jesus is the Son of Man. Growing up in a catholic community really formed me and my knowledge about Jesus. When struggling, when in need, and when in doubt, I always consider Jesus as a shelter for help. After every storm and every storm ahead, I believe that Jesus was there with us and will be there for all of us as long as we believe in Him. Just like Peter in the gospel, He answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." A...

She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." –Matthew 15:27 I have to admit this is a tricky gospel to read at first. You can look this in a wrong way because it sounds like Jesus is just on his way of turning down a Canaanite woman who needs his help because her daughter is being tormented by a demon. The Canaanites are generally an idol-worshiping ethnicity. The woman is calling out to Jesus saying “Have pity on me son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. At this moment it is a very “oh hinde kulba my heart” moment for the Canaanite woman because Jesus is not responding to her call but she still called Jesus to make him respond. Even the disciples are asking Jesus to send her away because she is a Canaanite woman. They think that she does not believe in God but in reply, Jesus says “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” . With that being sai...

The gospel teaches us to share our blessings to others. The two fishes and five loaves in the story are God's blessings to us. No matter how little, when we share them to others, we may be surprised by how big the impact is to the lives of other people. This is because God multiplies the little blessings we have to bring great blessings to others. The twelve baskets of leftovers symbolizes the abundant blessings that will return to us when we surrender what we have to Him. It also stands as a reminder that God is a generous God. He gives us more that what we need so that we will have something to share to others. Just like our Father, we, too, should be generous enough to give, because His blessings are better cherished when we share them. Who knows, our little act of generosity could mean so much to a lot of people. Always remember that it is so much better to give than to receive. -Nikki Chin