the 3 truths: 19th sunday C
Three truths are revealed to us this evening. Three important truths we should not miss for anything.
The first truth: It is found in our second reading today. We are strangers and foreigners on the earth and we are seeking a homeland. We are strangers in this world. What you call home is not your home. One day you are going to leave it behind and never come back. What you call your town, your city, your country is only temporarily your town, your city and your country - only temporarily. One day you are going to leave it behind and never come back. We are strangers and foreigners on the earth and we are seeking a homeland - this is the first truth. But it is a truth that may sometimes be hard to accept, a truth we prefer not to discuss.
Last Sunday I recalled to the people attending the mass the formula which the priest says when he imposes ashes on your foreheads on Ash Wednesday. He would say, Remember man you are dust and to dust you shall return, Dumdoma tawo ikaw yab-ok sa yab-ok ka man magabalik. What does that mean? And so I told them of a priest who summarized it so that he would not waste a lot of saliva repeating the same long formula to hundreds of people that Ash Wednesday. So instead of saying Dumdoma tawo ikaw yab-ok sa yab-ok ka man magabalik which is very long, he shortened it by saying - mapatay ka man gihapon, so everytime people come, he puts ashes on their foreheads and tells them, mapatay ka man gihapon, and so it was to hundreds of people that day. He told them mapatay ka man gihapon. That day people came with all kinds of make-up and in all kinds of dresses and they heard the same thing, mapatay ka man gihapon. That day the high heeled ladies and the bakya crowd came and they heard the same thing, mapatay ka man gihapon. The poor squatters came in trisikad and the rich came with their beautiful cars and they heard the same thing, mapatay ka man gihapon. We are strangers and foreigners on the earth. One day we are going to leave this place for good. It may not be good therefore to be so attached to this world and to the things of this world. You may not be happy when its time for you to leave.
I went for supper with some friends at del Rio 3 days ago. There was ballroom dancing in the vicinity and at one point they were dancing to the tune of I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. They were dancing to the tune. Don’t ask me how they did it because my back was facing the hall and I had this perennial stiff-neck which prevents me from turning around, but my companions were laughing. So the people there must be enjoying, dancing. I hope we can be as happy when the day comes when we’re leaving on a jet plane never knowing when we’ll be back again - leaving this world for our real homeland. I believe we can be happy about leaving this world if we take seriously the advice of Jesus: Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, (surely this purse is not a Louis Vuitton) an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. The earth is not our permanent home, we are just passing by, so don’t be so attached to it. That’s the first truth.
The second truth: It is found in our first reading today. We are holders of the promise, rejoicing in the sure knowledge of the promises made to us which we trust. Many of the things we do in life, we do because of a promise. We work, we love, we sacrifice, we struggle, we do our best because of a promise, a future promise. A student would sacrifice long hours of study and parents would sacrifice so many good things to pay for the tuition of their children’s education, for what?, for a good future promised by a good education.
We too are holders of a promise, the promises of God. And we can do whatever it takes, we can dare ourselves to sacrifice whatever it asks, we can expend whatever effort it demands . . . for the sake of the promise. This is what keeps us going in the faith - the promises of God. Without holding on to the promises of God we would fail, we would not persevere in the good that we do, we would succumb to the more real and even seemingly practical enticements of the world. Look, who would not succumb to corruption if what is offered is amounting to millions of pesos, who would not be enticed by possessions, prestige and power even if we have to steal our way to these. I tell you only the promises of God can belittle those millions of pesos. What holds us to do good is the promise of God the he will reward the good and punish the bad into eternity. Without holding on to the promises of God we would succumb, we would compromise a lot of things. But we would not succumb if we hold on to God’s promises and believe that God’s promises will be proven true on the last day, believing that God cannot tell a lie. That’s the second truth - we are holders of the promises of God - hold on to the promises of God.
And lastly, the third truth: It is found in our gospel today. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. In the final days there will be an accounting. We have to take responsibility for our actions and we have to take responsibility for our inaction for the things we failed to do. Are we ready to face the accountant when that day comes, are we ready to face the truth commission so to say. Philippine justice can be farcical at times. We can pay some or a few policemen, we can buy a few judges, we can turn a blind eye to a wrong doer who happens to be a friend, we can be permissive to a relative, we can buy time so that what we have done can be forgotten, lusot. But not so in the final days. At some point we have to learn to take responsibility. We cannot hide forever. We cannot hide forever, that’s the third truth.
One day we are going to leave this world behind, never to come back. One day we are going to face the judgment seat of God for a full accounting. One day we will finally come home and end our searching and our seeking but only if we are found faithful holding on, hanging on tightly, to the promises made to us by God.
The first truth: It is found in our second reading today. We are strangers and foreigners on the earth and we are seeking a homeland. We are strangers in this world. What you call home is not your home. One day you are going to leave it behind and never come back. What you call your town, your city, your country is only temporarily your town, your city and your country - only temporarily. One day you are going to leave it behind and never come back. We are strangers and foreigners on the earth and we are seeking a homeland - this is the first truth. But it is a truth that may sometimes be hard to accept, a truth we prefer not to discuss.
Last Sunday I recalled to the people attending the mass the formula which the priest says when he imposes ashes on your foreheads on Ash Wednesday. He would say, Remember man you are dust and to dust you shall return, Dumdoma tawo ikaw yab-ok sa yab-ok ka man magabalik. What does that mean? And so I told them of a priest who summarized it so that he would not waste a lot of saliva repeating the same long formula to hundreds of people that Ash Wednesday. So instead of saying Dumdoma tawo ikaw yab-ok sa yab-ok ka man magabalik which is very long, he shortened it by saying - mapatay ka man gihapon, so everytime people come, he puts ashes on their foreheads and tells them, mapatay ka man gihapon, and so it was to hundreds of people that day. He told them mapatay ka man gihapon. That day people came with all kinds of make-up and in all kinds of dresses and they heard the same thing, mapatay ka man gihapon. That day the high heeled ladies and the bakya crowd came and they heard the same thing, mapatay ka man gihapon. The poor squatters came in trisikad and the rich came with their beautiful cars and they heard the same thing, mapatay ka man gihapon. We are strangers and foreigners on the earth. One day we are going to leave this place for good. It may not be good therefore to be so attached to this world and to the things of this world. You may not be happy when its time for you to leave.
I went for supper with some friends at del Rio 3 days ago. There was ballroom dancing in the vicinity and at one point they were dancing to the tune of I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again. They were dancing to the tune. Don’t ask me how they did it because my back was facing the hall and I had this perennial stiff-neck which prevents me from turning around, but my companions were laughing. So the people there must be enjoying, dancing. I hope we can be as happy when the day comes when we’re leaving on a jet plane never knowing when we’ll be back again - leaving this world for our real homeland. I believe we can be happy about leaving this world if we take seriously the advice of Jesus: Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, (surely this purse is not a Louis Vuitton) an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. The earth is not our permanent home, we are just passing by, so don’t be so attached to it. That’s the first truth.
The second truth: It is found in our first reading today. We are holders of the promise, rejoicing in the sure knowledge of the promises made to us which we trust. Many of the things we do in life, we do because of a promise. We work, we love, we sacrifice, we struggle, we do our best because of a promise, a future promise. A student would sacrifice long hours of study and parents would sacrifice so many good things to pay for the tuition of their children’s education, for what?, for a good future promised by a good education.
We too are holders of a promise, the promises of God. And we can do whatever it takes, we can dare ourselves to sacrifice whatever it asks, we can expend whatever effort it demands . . . for the sake of the promise. This is what keeps us going in the faith - the promises of God. Without holding on to the promises of God we would fail, we would not persevere in the good that we do, we would succumb to the more real and even seemingly practical enticements of the world. Look, who would not succumb to corruption if what is offered is amounting to millions of pesos, who would not be enticed by possessions, prestige and power even if we have to steal our way to these. I tell you only the promises of God can belittle those millions of pesos. What holds us to do good is the promise of God the he will reward the good and punish the bad into eternity. Without holding on to the promises of God we would succumb, we would compromise a lot of things. But we would not succumb if we hold on to God’s promises and believe that God’s promises will be proven true on the last day, believing that God cannot tell a lie. That’s the second truth - we are holders of the promises of God - hold on to the promises of God.
And lastly, the third truth: It is found in our gospel today. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. In the final days there will be an accounting. We have to take responsibility for our actions and we have to take responsibility for our inaction for the things we failed to do. Are we ready to face the accountant when that day comes, are we ready to face the truth commission so to say. Philippine justice can be farcical at times. We can pay some or a few policemen, we can buy a few judges, we can turn a blind eye to a wrong doer who happens to be a friend, we can be permissive to a relative, we can buy time so that what we have done can be forgotten, lusot. But not so in the final days. At some point we have to learn to take responsibility. We cannot hide forever. We cannot hide forever, that’s the third truth.
One day we are going to leave this world behind, never to come back. One day we are going to face the judgment seat of God for a full accounting. One day we will finally come home and end our searching and our seeking but only if we are found faithful holding on, hanging on tightly, to the promises made to us by God.
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