Daily Bible Reflections
for May 18, 2012
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18
May
Friday
AN EMBRACE WORTH WAITING FOR
“So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” – John 16:22
I couldn’t control my excitement. As I walked down the lobby after the immigration counter, I got giddy. I hadn’t held her in my arms for four months. I missed her so much.
As I rounded the corner, my heart started to race. I suddenly saw daylight peeking through the door at the end of the tunnel. I took one final breath, turned into the arrival lobby and there she was — the most beautiful girl in the world — standing in the middle of a million nameless, faceless, blurry figures. She was beaming with pure joy and happiness, reflecting exactly what was in my heart.
We embraced. For a moment, the world stopped turning. We could’ve stayed in that spot forever. We didn’t want to let go. The long four months suddenly melted away. It was worth the wait. Oh, so worth it.
And to think, she and I are mere reflections of God’s love here on earth. How much more will our joy be when we are reunited with our Father in heaven — the One our hearts beat eternally for? I can only imagine. But one thing’s for sure, when we fall into His arms, we’ll say to ourselves with a sigh, “This was so worth the wait.” George Tolentino Gabriel (george.svp@gmail.com)
18
REFLECTION:
Are you burdened? Tired? Suffering? Hold on. His embrace is waiting for you.
Lord, may I live a life of faith until the day I see You face to face.
St. John I, pope and martyr, pray for us.
Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top
COMPANION
1ST READING
God speaks to us through dreams, the Scriptures, other people, the sacraments, the lives of the saints, and many other means. Let us never limit ourselves to one of the above. It is up to God, not us, how He wants to speak to us. It is better that we simply remain open to His Word and do our best to listen to Him as best as we can, and then obey Him.
Acts 18:9-18
9 One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, “Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 He settled there for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them. 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, “If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; 15 but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters.” 16 And he drove them away from the tribunal. 17 They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio. 18 Paul remained for quite some time, and after saying farewell to the brothers he sailed for Syria, together with Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had shaved his head because he had taken a vow.
P S A L M
Psalm 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R: God is king of all the earth.
1 [2] All you peoples, clap your hands, shout to God with cries of gladness, 2 [3] for the Lord, the Most High, the awesome, is the great king over all the earth. (R) 3 [4] He brings peoples under us; nations under our feet. 4 [5] He chooses for us our inheritance, the glory of Jacob, whom he loves. (R) 5 [6] God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy; the Lord, amid trumpet blasts. 6 [7] Sing praise to God, sing praise; sing praise to our king, sing praise. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus tells His disciples there are difficult times ahead but after the suffering will come joy. The dawning of the gift of the knowledge of salvation must be the most joyous experience anyone can have. The disciples witnessed this whole process first hand when they saw Jesus die and then resurrected. What a privilege this must have been for them. Undoubtedly this would have inspired them to do great things for the Gospel.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory.
John 16:20-23
20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. 21 When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. 22So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. 23 On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.”
think: There may be difficult times ahead of us but after the suffering will come joy.
T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________
_______________________________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
_________________________________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judges 5-8
Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top
SABBATH
LIFE’S PAIRS AND THE REALITIES BENEATH
Has it ever occurred to you that much of life’s happenings and realities often come in pairs? There is weeping, but there is also rejoicing. There are the pains which accompany childbirth, but there is also the ensuing joy and wonder as the child is born. There is death, as well as life; and there is heaven, as well as earth.
If there’s any sadness with Jesus’ departure (on His ascension into heaven), it is simply a question of Him going ahead to prepare a place for us who also hope to be there eventually with Him in heaven. As He assures us in today’s Gospel, “You are sad for a time, but I shall see you again.” It’s more just like saying, “See you later,” or “Till we meet again.” There is no final or definitive goodbye or farewell.
As we were saying about pairs in the first paragraph of the Gospel, while we usually tend to dichotomize each item in the pair (separating and even pitting them with one another), the greater truth is that each of the two things in the pair are really connected with each other. It is a connection whereby the two inevitably go together, and you can’t quite have one without the other. (Go ahead, look at the pairs again in the Gospel and ponder on it.) As was beautifully put by Mormon missionary John Groberg (depicted in the movie-biopic, The Other Side of Heaven), “There is a connection between heaven and earth. Finding that connection makes everything meaningful, including death. Missing it makes everything meaningless, including life.”
So, whether you talk about departures or childbirths, about grief or rejoicing — beneath them are the same realities of meaning, faith and God’s love. And in the midst of it all, Jesus assures us, “On that day, you will have no questions to ask me.” Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: Look back at the most sorrowful moment in your life. Can you find its most joyful pair?
Lord Jesus, help me trust that You will turn my every sorrow into joy, every trial into a blessing, every death to a new life.
Didache | Companion | Sabbath | Top
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