RELIGIOUS
24
Wisdom from
the Word
Ben Berto
Behold what manner of love
the Father has bestowed on us,
that we should be called children
of God![a] Therefore the world
does not know us,[b] because it
did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now
we are children of God; and it has
not yet been revealed what we shall
be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for
we shall see Him as He is. 1 John
3: 1,2 NKJV
Ahead of us is what our friends
in the Roman Catholic Church call
as Holy Week. In it, many signifi-
cant events happened as proph-
esied in the Scriptures. The Trium-
phal Entry, the Betrayal and Arrest,
A Kangaroo Court Conviction,
Crucifixion, and Resurrection. All
of these events must take place to
effect our Salvation. The Passion
of Jesus is described in Isaiah 53,
but verses 4-6 is but a snippet of it
. “Surely He has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows; Yet we es-
teemed Him stricken, Smitten by
God, and afflicted.5 But He was
wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace
was upon Him, And by His stripes
we are healed. 6 All we like sheep
have gone astray; We have turned,
Moments
Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD
The story is told about an
elderly who was tired of his nagging
wife, so much so that he planned
to shoplift, with the intention of
being caught, then sent to jail, to
be away from the wife, and forever
live in peace. Guess what? When
the judge heard his case, due to
his old age, the poor fellow was
sentenced to house arrest!
In today’s Gospel (Lk. 13, 1-9),
Jesus urges us to true repentance.
“If you do not repent, you will all
perish as they did.” Like the elderly
man in our story, we, too, may be
in a worse situation than before if
we do not truly repent.
The Gospel today urges us not
to postpone our conversion, our
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY March 16 - 31, 2019
GOD’S AMAZING PLAN
every one, to his own way; And the
LORD has laid on Him the iniquity
of us all.”
Any one could read the whole
chapter at his or her leisure.
Let us now go back to our
topic about God’s Amazing Plan
for us. We were at the image of
God reserved for king and royalty.
Let us continue. “The Genesis nar-
rative emphasizes that God did
not make such distinctions. When
God decided to create mankind in
His own image, He did not make
some people more special than
the others---He did not separate
them by hierarchy and power. Ev-
ery human being bears the image
of God. The royal language is used
for every child of God regardless of
status, caste, gender,or position in
society. You are a child of God! We
are his royal children.
“The concept of the im-
age of God is so special that it ap-
pears only four times in the Jewish
Scripture and always in relation to
the creation of humankind( Gen.
1: 26, 27 ( 2x), 9: 6). The Hebrew
verb ‘bara’ (create) is is used only
with God as the subject. He creates
children, male and female (adam)
in His image according to His like-
ness. Each gender is given unique
characteristics that together make
a complete, comprehensive, and
complementary view of God. We
are all created in the image of
God.
“Only the Biblical Creation
speaks of a God who serenely
makes man in His own image to
be part of His divine family. Only
the Biblical Creation rehearses the
story of a supreme Godhead who
deliberately creates humans for
the purpose of fellowship. Only
the Biblical Creation recalls that
humans are given rulership of the
earth as God’s representatives.
Later Seth, is described as being
“in his (Adam’s) own likeness, ac-
cording to his image.” (Genesis 5:
3) God had children in His image;
Adam had children in his image;
and you have children in YOUR
image! Perhaps you are already
beginning to understand the plan
of redemption…and we haven’t
even started yet.
“Divine Dialogue. “Then
God said, ‘Let Us make…(Gen.
1: 26) This is the only “divine dia-
logue” in the Creation account.
The Godhead planning to create
the human race: “Before under-
taking the next act of creation God
took counsel. This unique refer-
ence to God reflecting in com-
munity before making something
underscores both the importance
and the uniqueness of what God
was about to create.” (Hartley,
Genesis, p. 47)
“Selfless Community: God
who is love and exists in the self-
less, intimate community of Three
Persons in One, was about to create
a race to love and cherish, human-
kind. God wanted to give humans
the capacity to love selflessly too,
so that they might understand His
love better. And because God ex-
ist in the intimate community that
we call Trinity, He intended that a
woman and a man also would ex-
ist in an intimate community that
we call marriage. “For this reason
a man shall leave his father and
his mother, and to be joined to his
wife, and they shall become one
flesh.” (Gen.2: 24) (To Be Contin-
ued: Maituloyto)
For prayer, questions and Bible study,
call Ben at 604-581-1278, Junjun at 778-
927-8040, Stanley at 604-700-3053 and
Pastor Leomar Macaraig at 604-928-
3579. You are invited to study the Bible
with us every Friday night at 9495- 132
St. Surrey, and worship with us every Sab-
bath (Saturday) at the Abundant Life Sev-
enth-day Adventist Church at 13062-104
Avenue, Surrey. Welcome.
The road of humility, or impunity?
going back to the Lord. We are
supposed to bear fruit, and not just
exhaust the soil. Like the fruitless
fig tree, may we not be cut down.
There is a time for reckoning for
everyone.
There is, however, a “grace
period” that is given to us by our
merciful God. As it were, there is no
expiry date to God’s compassion
and forgiveness. Our sins are like
just a drop of water in the ocean
of God’s mercy! Having said that,
may we take the road of humility
and find our way to God’s heart.
The road of humility brings
us home. The presumption of
impunity brings us to endless
wandering, and gloom.
We all have “regret moments,”
like “I should have bought the
stuff I saw at the store,” or “I
should have greeted the person,”
or “I should not have made that
negative remark,” or “I should have
taken good care of my health,”
and so on. But the greatest regret
moment would be “I should have
loved God, and other people more,
when I had the chance while I was
still alive.”
“Jesus, meek and humble of
heart, clothe us with compassion,
kindness and humility, and
make us want to be patient with
everyone” (from the intercessions
of the Breviary, Psalter, Week 1).
Especially this Lenten season, let
us take the road of humility, in
repentance for our sins, and in
gratitude for God’s mercy.
The shortest psalm in the Bible
is Psalm 117: “O praise the Lord,
all you nations, acclaim Him all
you peoples; strong is His love for
us, He is faithful for ever.” Let us
constantly praise God amidst our
many worldly travails and concerns,
and let us hold tenaciously to His
faithfulness and love.
It is always a wonderful feeling
to come home. It was more so,
coming from the Holy Land last
March 20 to see from my airplane
seat the big supermoon rising in
the east, and the colorful sunset in
the west. At such moments, one
can’t help but praise God, and pray
for our country, our home and our
family. In moments like these, one
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can’t help but feel how big God is,
and how small, how little we are,
yet loved and important in His
eyes.
Lenten food for the soul:
“Someday, it will all come to an
end, when all your riches, and
beauty, power and fame will not
matter; What will matter then?
Not what you bought, but what
you shared; Not your success,
but your significance; Not your
competence, but your character;
Not your popularity, but your
sincerity; Not your words, but
your shining example of a life well
lived.”
Bantay Matanda invites you to
a Lenten recollection at Tuklong ni
San Jose, Christ the King Seminary,
E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue, Quezon
City, on March 30, Saturday, from
9 a.m. to 12 p.m. For inquiries,
please call 3732262 or 9982548
or 09174167849
A moment with the Lord:
Lord, help us to take and
stay on the road of humility in
our journey to eternity. Amen.
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