Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 20 | Page 24
RELIGIOUS
24
Wisdom from
the Word
Ben Berto
Matthew
20:13-15
New
International Version (NIV)
13 “But he answered one of
them, ‘I am not being unfair to you,
friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a
denarius? 14 Take your pay and go.
I want to give the one who was hired
last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t
I have the right to do what I want with
my own money? Or are you envious
because I am generous?’
Matthew 20:
13-15, NIV
At the eleventh hour, the thief on
the cross turned to Jesus and said,
“Lord , remember me when You come
to Your kingdom.” And Jesus replied,
Truly I tell you, today you will be with
me in paradise.” Luke 23: 42,43. This
is another topic that we will consider
next time, but I want to relate this
to the foregoing text about the God
of the eleventh hour. Pastor Dwight
Nelson has this devotional book “The
Chosen” about God’s dream for us.
God is a master of surprises, and He
has a surprise for each of us. Don’t
you know that He loves you and me
with an everlasting love” So with out
further ado, we will go on with the
story of God’s eleventh hour surprise,
retold in today’s setting.
“Once upon a time there was a
Moments
Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD
The story is told about a pilot who
volunteered to walk a blind man’s dog
into the plane. Imagine the reaction of
the passengers at the boarding gate
when they saw the pilot, all dressed
up, wearing sunglasses, with a guide
dog walking on his side! Some were
aghast, and some even thought of not
taking the flight!
In today’s Gospel (Mk. 10:46-52),
Jesus healed a blind man named
Bartimaeus. Notice how the crowd
rebuked him when he started calling
out to Jesus? All too often, sighted
people misunderstand or totally belittle
people who are visually challenged.
Jesus took time to stop for
someone “at the roadside.” It was
a very affirming gesture. For Jesus,
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 16 - 31, 2018
THE GOD OF THE ELEVENTH HOUR
farmer who needed day labourers to
help harvest his sprawling vineyard.
So early in the morning he jumped
into his rusty pick up truck and drove
into town to the corner where all the
migrants who needed work show up.
“ You guys want some work? Jump in.
I’ll pay you the going rate for twelve
hours”. The farmer drove his battered
truck, now filled with migrants back
to the vineyards where they worked
hard. Three hours later, the farmer
realized he had to have more help if
this crop was going to be harvested
by sundown. So back down the road
in a cloud of dust he raced. And soon
another pickup load of migrants joined
the crew. Another three hours the
farmer could tell he was still behind.
So for more help, he drove back to
town, and another pickup load showed
up in the vineyards. Finally one hour
before dark the farmer mutters, “I’ve
got to have more help---or we’ll
never have this done.” And when he
hurried back to town he saw still more
migrants standing on the corner
wishing they had work. “jump in fellas!
I need help and I’ll pay you what’s
fair.” That evening when the twelve
hours of harvesting were through,
the farmer instructed his accountant
to begin with the last hired and pay
the workers. With astonished eyes
and gaping mouths the eleventh hour
migrants watched as the accountant
counted out a full day’s wages for
them. With glee the the migrants
who’d been there from sunup did the
arithmetic and concluded they were
due a bonanza payday. But when they
stepped up to the cashbox, they were
paid the identical amount as all the
others. The place erupted in angry
voices. Jesus put the words of today’s
text in the mouth of the farmer, and
it’s its punchline that catches us.
“Are you envious that I’m generous?”
(Matthew 20: 15)
“Could that be our problem, too?
Are we envious because God is so
generous ? How else can you describe
this God who declares, ”Come to Me
in the last hour of life, and I’ll give you
the same gift to the people who walked
with Me all there lives? No wonder,
when God does salvation arithmetic,
you can’t even count the numbers. No
wonder, heaven will be so full. That’s
why when God mobilizes the chosen
He mobilizes their hearts to be as
generous as His, so that there is no
human being on earth that they would
not gladly receive into his kingdom.”
There will be great joy in that day
when God will say to His redeemed
Chosen People,(not the original
chosen people) “Come you blessed
of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you since the foundation
of the world.” One hymn writer once
wrote, “Someone will enter the pearly
gates, /By and by, By and by. /Tastes of
the glories that there await. / Shall you,
shall I, Shall you, shall I.”…Someone
will cry and shall not be heard/ Vainly
will strive when the door is barred./
Someone will fail of the saints’ reward/
Shall you, shall I.”
For questions and Bible Studies,
call, Ben at 604 581 1278, Junjun at
778-927- 8040, Stanley at 604-700-
3053 and Pastor Leomar Macaraig
at 604 928 3579. The Abundant Life
Seventh-day Adventist Church meets
at the City Center Church on 13062
104th Avenue, Surrey on Saturdays.
All are welcome to attend.
Worth stopping for
every person is worth stopping for.
Let us ask ourselves today: Do I stop
for the last, the lost, the least, the
insignificant and the “worthless” in
our midst?
Notice, too, how Jesus helped
Bartimaeus not out of pity or
condescension—as we often do when
we help the “less fortunate” in our
midst? Jesus empowered the blind
man by first asking him “What do
you want me to do for you?” Jesus
affirmed the person’s importance and
dignity not by giving a dole out, but by
first giving respect.
The greatest disrespect for our
people comes from politicians and
government officials who buy people
with money that was stolen from
them in the first place. They throw
a little bread and entertainment and
continue to fool them and steal from
them.
Instead of empowering our
people, many of our politicians have
mastered the art of making the
people dependent on and beholden
to them. They become gods, and so
too their children, because they know
how to use money. Simply put, they
have reduced politics and governance
to “pera pera lang yan,” and treat our
people as “mukhang pera lahat yan.”
“Take courage; get up, Jesus is
calling you.” I praise and thank God for
people who help us on in our journey
by their kind and encouraging words,
by their prayers, care and support. It
is heartwarming to know that there
are so many people who are enablers
and who cheer us on. Oh, there are
stalkers, talkers, fault-finders and
bashers as well. Are you an enabler or
a disabler—worse, a basher?
I and my classmates, Fr. Gil
Alejandria, SVD, Fr. Bebs Alcober,
SVD, and Fr. Vic Tiam, together with
Ted Terrenal, Eggai Matias and Jules
Quinabo, celebrated our 38th priestly
ordination anniversary last Oct. 25.
We sang our class song, “Why me,
Lord?” in gratitude for God’s love and
faithfulness in spite of our failings and
unworthiness all these years.
Sharing with you the lyrics of
the song by Kris Kristofferson: “Why
me, Lord/ What have I ever done/ To
deserve even one/ Of the pleasures
I’ve known/ Tell me, Lord/ What did
I ever do/ That was worth loving You/
For the kindness You’ve shown?/
Lord, help me Jesus/ I’ve wasted it so
help me Jesus/ You know what I am/
But now that I’ve known/ That I need
You oh so help me Jesus/ My soul’s in
Your hands.”
Next week, we will be celebrating
All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
We are reminded that our life
on earth is temporary, and that we
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
have a soul, and that heaven is our
final destination. Instead of being so
engrossed in worldly pursuits and
concerns, we should be preparing,
too, to meet our Creator, which may
come sooner than we think, at a time
when we least expect.
Think about this: “Speed is
calculated with ‘miles per hour,’ but
life is calculated with ‘smiles per hour.’
Are you happy? Are you truly happy?”
A moment with the Lord:
Lord, remind us that every person
is worth stopping for. Amen.
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