"The Word Made His Dwelling Among Us"Dec. 23-29, 2013 Objective of the week: To realize the grace given to us - God dwells among us. He’s one of us and shows us with his incarnation the way of life.
IntroductionAnd the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us... (John 1:14) This week, we are invited to realize within our humanity how Jesus wanted so much to dwell in our nothingness. What is in us? What we have is humanity that Jesus likes so much to stay. (Psalm 8:3-4) When I look at the sky, which you have made and the stars, which you set in their places, what are human beings, that you think of them, mere mortals , that you care for them? Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crown them with glory and honor. It is about time for us to recognize, who Jesus really is in our life, in the real essence of a deep understanding. How come He needs to become this new born baby, lived with us and died among us? Humanly speaking when we know someone who shows us great interest in our personality, we begin to have this cloud of doubt. We start not to trust, and become distant. We have this human instinct telling us that he may be needing my assistance in some aspect. We do not like being sold or used. However, Jesus has never been like this to us in our lives. He wants nothing from us, but he wants what is the best for us and our greater interest, above and beyond human understanding, to realize the grace given to us - God dwells among us. He’s one of us and shows us with his incarnation the way of life Jesus is one like us, became a real brother to us, familiar and friend. In his humanity we understand our fragility and temporality, because he assumes our nature. He understands our suffering, betrayal, negation, fear, and character, “I understand you”. He understands our condition, time, history, and social class, one like us and in that experience he learned to be Son. His humanity gives sense and orientation to all. “In Christ and for Christ is the full revelation of the humanity…in him we can discover totally our dignity and transcendence…” RH#1 What is to be a brother and to be familiar? In Him we learn to be the same with others. ‘I understand you’, but I do not leave you there. I will help you, and show you the way. MondayReliable PartnerTake my yoke and put it in you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit and you will find rest. (Matthew 11: 29) Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. (Ephesians 1:4) Jesus himself knows how we suffer, how we fought hard in our battle with life, how we have been badly tossed-up and down with the storms in our way of living. This is the sole reason that he wanted so much to dwell in our being, because He knows that we alone, fighting for it, can never be possible. And today He wanted so much to impart to us, that He is within us. I can be your reliable partner. Do not just do it yourself, this is why I came down from heaven. TuesdayFollow by exampleHe knows what we are made of, he remember that we are dust. (Psalm 103:14) When I look at the sky, which you have made and the stars, which you set in their places, what are human beings, that you think of them, mere mortals , that you care for them? Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crown them with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:3-4) We are God’s perfect creation, we may be created as mere dust, but Christ took so much importance in our poor life. He created us, right before the image of God. And for this purpose he wanted us to follow by example in His way of life. He knows that, our life is very vulnerable. At anytime we break our beings. And this is why He wanted to dwell so much within us, to lead us by example. It will never be easy but, it can be possible to live the kind of life that God promised. WednesdayThe PromiseWhen the angels went away from them back into heaven , the shepherds said to one another, “ Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and saw him, they told them what the angel had said about the child. All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said. Mary remembered all these things and thought deeply about them. The shepherds went back , singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them. (Luke 2: 15-20) John’s father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit , and he spoke God’s message ; Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He has come to help of his people and has set them free. He has provided for us a mighty Savior. (Luke 1:67-69) And the Promise was with us. Let us make our Christmas be merrier within our hearts. We need to take care of the promise and He will take care of us. No guarantee of pleasant life at all times, but an assurance of abundant life with His grace, mercy, compassion and love, as He continues to dwell with us, by means of the Holy Spirit in us. ThursdayMeaningful LifeI know that your love will last for all time that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky. You said I have made a covenant with the man I chose. I have promised my servant David. (Psalm 89:4-5) Light shines on the righteous and gladness of the good. All you that are righteous be glad because of what the Lord has done. (Psalm 97:11-12) His dwelling within us is for us to be put right in the eyes of God. Regardless of how we live in the past, how un-organized it was, how unworthy we are. How messy and dusty our heart is. How hold and hide our dirty old little secrets. It doesn’t matter now to Him. The purpose of his dwelling is to reform our old lifestyle and replace it with a new and refreshing atmosphere. He came because his desire is for us to be joyful and happy. And live a meaningful life in this temporal life. FridayIn Total FreedomYou do not belong to yourselves but to God, he bought you for a price . So use your bodies for God’s glory. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) The Lord in this passage is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord, is present, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17) Jesus came and dwelt among us. But the way that He stays within us, he does not want us to take by force in obeying Him. He does not mean to use mere obligation in our part to follow him. He wanted us to carry ourselves for him with humility and total freedom and surrender, even though we have been bought for a price by him. He knows our capacity, and Jesus himself does not want from us an overnight change, but he wanted us to taste the life He offers, the one that lasts a lifetime. SaturdayLive a happy life!Surely, you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you! (1 Corinthians 3:16) Now that we have been put right with the God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He was brought us by the faith into this experience of God’s grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory! We also boast of our troubles because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God’s approval and his approval creates hope. This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured us out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to us. (Romans 5:1-5) We now receive the greatest gift ever this Christmas, and that is how Jesus came to us and dwells among us, in order to make our following concrete and be our role model. He promises to be with us and accompany us in our bumpy journey of faith and life. As we end this year 2013, we are thankful to Jesus Christ our Lord, because He gave himself totally to us with the fullness of love and mercy, regardless whether we are willing to give it back to Him. The greatest payback for us to give this time is to be at the service to the nearest neighbor we have, and to all the people that God has entrusted in our care. The purpose of Christ dwelling with us is to live the fullness of life He offers. Regardless of what we have now, God has his own way of dealing with it, we just need to learn and trust our God. Whatever it is, God is greater above and beyond our worries, fears, anxiety, troubles, difficulties and problems. We must learn from the person who dwells in us. SundayOctave of Christmas - The Holy Family1st Reading: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14
Psalm: Psalm 128:1-5 2nd Reading: Colossians 3:12-21 Gospel: Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 Comments are closed.
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