Today is the first Sunday of the month of October. It is the 20th Sunday after Pentecost. I believe that we are blessed to come together every Sunday to worship together and receive the most important gift of Christ to us, His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist. I guess summer is over as the weather is getting cooler, and we welcome the new season when leaves start to change colors, and soon we will see them falling to the ground. This is a cycle which we also experience in our spiritual life. There are times when we feel low, starting to drift away for so many reasons, times when the well becomes dry. These feelings are not absolutely permanent, but it does send a message of life’s natural cycle. The most amazing thing happens when in many ways we seek transformation. This cycle of life awaits our rejuvenation when we respond to God’s call with a well-defined view living out the gospel of Jesus.
We heard on the news about the great devastation brought by hurricane Helene in hard-hit North Carolina. It caused 250 deaths and hundreds more are missing. We pray for all those victims of the hurricane that they may be strong in their faith and hope. It is hard to imagine going through this tragedy of losing loved ones, livelihood and properties. We unite ourselves in prayer that God will show mercy and love thru the many volunteers, responders and rescuers who work so hard to alleviate their pain and sufferings. Maybe next week we can have a second collection to assist them financially, which we would channel thru the Diocese. Maybe financial contribution, aside from prayers, can help those people in this time of need.
Today’s epistle from St. Paul to the Ephesians, chapter 5:15-21, describes the conduct of the Christians, which is the outcome of their true identity in relation to Christ and His Church. St. Paul calls us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, which means we must walk in love in a way that differs significantly from gentile pagans, and unbelievers. We are called upon to walk as those who are wise. This statement of Paul regarding walking wisely is in the context of being “filled with the Spirit.” (v.18) When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we become submissive as evidence resulting in obedience of His Holy Will through the hierarchical structure and social institutions of authority. It also speaks of submission to all forms of human relationships. Therefore, we need not live our Christian lives in a haphazard fashion. We must give careful thought to our attitudes and actions, and how we concretize our faith in charity and love. This is what Paul calls for, “Become not unwise but understanding of the will of God” because we don’t want to add hostility to this dangerous and fallen world. A wise Christian will manifest wisdom both in what is said and done, and in how it is said and done. The best way to gain wisdom, which is necessary to glorify God, is to demonstrate what is good for the advancement of the gospel. Satan always diverts and distracts us, I guess because we have more free time doing unnecessary things than seeking the presence of God. I suggest writing this phrase in your room, “Redeeming the time has begun.” Doing actively the will of God is acting wisely, and with sound reasoning, as guided by the Spirit of God and the Word of God. Failing to discern and do it is foolish, because doing His will is not a matter of irrational impulse, but of intelligent reflection and acting lovingly in a tangible manner.
The gospel today according to St. John narrates the story of a certain royal official whose son was sick at Capernaum. Two important things I would like to mention:
First, the faith of the royal official who probably heard Jesus when he had come to Capernaum doing miracles of healing. Thus, he desperately begs Jesus for the healing of his son after a strenuous journey, maybe a two-day walk through mountainous terrain, having only strong faith based on what he heard about Jesus. So now he comes to Jesus and implores him to help. Jesus’ first response is a rebuke, not just of the official’s faith, but of all the Galileans, who were more interested in signs and wonders rather than in who Jesus actually is. Jesus responded, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.” (v.48). But the man refuses to be denied. He is persistent. Jesus told him with a command and a statement: “Go, thy way, thy son liveth,” or Go, your son lives, which is more accurate than most translations that say “will live.” The present imperative emphasizes a word of power, a healing word, and underscores the continuing power of life that Jesus brings. Instead of insisting that Jesus come with him, he believes that Jesus has already healed his son. “He took Jesus at his word.” He shows his strong faith when he believed the word that Jesus spoke to him. What matters for us is to have faith in the word of Jesus and His desire to help and assist all of us in moments when we fall to our knees and beg the Lord.
Second, the confirmation of time. When the official returned, and while on his way home, he meets some of his servants who bring a joyous message. He was shocked to find out the time of the boy’s healing was about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, which was the same time that Jesus had spoken the word of healing.
As a result, the distinct story of Jesus’ healing of the boy from a distance by only a word, has a profound impact on the royal official’s family that his whole household (meaning family members, including servants) became believers and most probably later were included as faithful followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How mature is your faith initially? How do you think this gospel story is able to nurture us beyond mere belief of coincidence? Certainly, faith based on miracles alone is deficient, but faith that is praise-worthy is based on how we truly know Jesus being the true Messiah, our Lord and Savior, who has the power in Word and Authority.
With all the things that happen to us here and abroad, we must truly seek God through His incarnate Son, taking Jesus at His word and acting before seeing the result. This is important to apply at this moment when we have experienced crises, destruction caused by wildfire, hurricane, financial crisis or need for a job, marital issues and perhaps having serious medical problems, as we cry out to God for help and healing. The Lord, however, does not want us to seek Him merely for deliverance from some crisis and then put Him back on the shelf until we need Him in the next crisis. Rather, God wants us to have a deeper relationship and faith to follow Him conscientiously and not just because of what He can do for us.
God bless you.
Fr. Arlon, osa
