"Wala pa mag-abot ang Iya tion"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Juan 7:1-2, 10, 25-30)

Pagkatapos sadto, naglibot-libot si Jesus sa Galilea. Ginlikawan niya nga magkadto sa Judea tungod kay ang mga manugdumala sang mga Judio nagtinguha sa pagpatay sa iya.

Karon, sang malapit na ang piesta sang mga Judio nga ginatawag Piesta sang mga Tolda.

Pagkahalin sang mga utod ni Jesus agod magpamiesta, nagsunod man si Jesus sa ila. Wala siya mag-upod sa kadam-an tungod kay indi niya gusto nga mahibaluan sang mga tawo nga didto siya.

May mga taga-Jerusalem nga nagsiling, "Indi bala amo ini ang tawo nga ginahingabot sang aton mga manugdumala nga patyon?

Pero ari siya nagahambal sa mga tawo, kag ang aton mga manugdumala wala man lang nagahambal batok sa iya. Basi kon nahibaluan na nila nga siya amo ang Cristo.

Pero nahibaluan ta gid kon diin naghalin ang tawo nga ini. Pero kon ang Cristo na ang mag-abot wala sing may makahibalo kon diin siya maghalin."

Gintuduhan dayon ni Jesus ang iya tingog didto sa templo. Nagsiling siya, "Ti ano, nakilala na ninyo kon sin-o gid ako, kag kon diin ako naghalin? Sa matuod lang, wala ako nagkadto diri sa kalibutan suno sa akon kaugalingon nga gusto, kundi ang matuod nga Dios amo ang nagpadala sa akon. Wala ninyo siya makilala.

Pero ako iya, kilala ko siya, tungod kay didto ako naghalin sa iya, kag siya mismo ang nagpadala sa akon."

Tungod sa ginhambal nga ini ni Jesus, dakpon na siya kuntani sang mga manugdumala sang mga Judio. Pero wala sing may nagdakop sa iya, kay wala pa mag-abot ang iya tion.

Prayers:

“Eternal God, who are the light of the minds that know you, the joy of the hearts that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you; grant us so to know you, that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom, in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Prayer of Saint Augustine)

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Reflection of the Daily Gospel:

What can hold us back from doing the will of God? Fear, especially the fear of death, can easily rob us of courage and the will to do what we know is right. Jesus met opposition and the threat of death with grace and determination to accomplish his Father’s will. Jesus knew that his mission, his purpose in life, would entail sacrifice and suffering and culminate with death on the cross. But that would not be the end. His “hour” would crush defeat with victory, condemnation with pardon and freedom, and death with glory and everlasting life. He willingly suffered and went to the cross for our sake, to redeem us from sin and to restore our relationship with God the Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo says: “Our Lord had the power to lay down his life and to take it up again. But we cannot choose how long we shall live, and death comes to us even against our will. Christ, by dying, has already overcome death. Our freedom from death comes only through his death. To save us Christ had no need of us. Yet without him we can do nothing. He gave himself to us as the vine to the branches; apart from him we cannot live.”

No one can be indifferent with Jesus for long. What he said and did – his signs and wonders – he did in the name of God. Jesus not only claimed to be the Messiah, God’s Anointed One. He claimed to be in a unique relationship with God and to know him as no one else did. To the Jews this was utter blasphemy. The religious authorities did all they could to put a stop to Jesus because they could not accept his claims and the demands he made. We cannot be indifferent to the claims which Jesus makes on us. We are either for him or against him. There is no middle ground. We can try to mold Jesus to our own ideas and preferences or we can allow his word to free us from our own ignorance, stubborn pride, and deception. Do you accept all that Jesus has said and done for you with faith and reverence or with disbelief and contempt? The consequences are enormous, both in this life and in eternity.