A Beautiful Blessing

What, then, will this child be?

57 When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 [a]When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” 61 But they answered her, “There is no one among your relatives who has this name.” 62 So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. 63 He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. 65 Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
... 80 The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.-Luke1:57-80

“What, then, will this child be?” Every child has a promising future. S/He can be the next president, an astronaut, a company founder, a well-meaning medical doctor, a brilliant scientist, a beloved child that will be there for his/her parents, etc. A baby is never a mistake because primarily it did not choose to be conceived, it did not choose his/her parents, it did not choose the time, place and circumstances of its birth. A baby is always a blessing even though the circumstances surrounding his/her conception might be a little wrong. Why condemn an innocent and pure baby for the wrongs made his/her parents? St. John the Baptist's birth is a reminder to us all that a baby is a blessing from the Lord, a beautiful creation of God fashioned after His image and likeness.

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From Your Bounty

Mystery.

26 He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God;[a] it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land 27 and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28 Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
30 He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? 31 It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32 [b]But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34 Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.-Mark4:26-34

Life is indeed mysterious. Some efforts are too big already, and yet yielded no result. Some efforts are too small, yet yielded much result. We are created to be stewards and caretakers. We can plant, we can build, we can do something. But success and growth will never be attributed to our efforts no matter how much it is. Rather, success and growth are gifts of God to us. As the prayer said, "... which we are about to receive from Your bounty." By ourselves, we can do nothing. Everything is grace from God.

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Disguised Grace

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

1 He began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. 2 At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. 3 But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. 5 He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. 6 He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What [then] will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this scripture passage:
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes’?”
12 They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.-Mark12:1-12

Rejection. Nobody wants it. Given a chance, we would always wanted to be accepted, welcomed and received in the best way. But in today's Gospel, I cannot help but realize that sometimes rejection is a blessing in disguise, a hidden and strange grace. A few years ago, my job contract ended at the time allotted for it right from the start. Although I knew it was coming because right from the start it was clear to me, I did not really take it seriously. When the day came that I have to go, I was much pained. However, a much better job offer came to me with better pay, better work and more chances of growth. As I look back, I would always marvel and say to God that if my previous job did not end at the right time, the better job will never be given to me. So let's look back on the many rejections we had and see how God weaved His plan through it so that we become better individuals or a much blessed individual.

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Pride and Prejudice

The humbled and the exalted.

9 He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. 10 “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity—greedy, dishonest, adulterous—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ 13 But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”-Luke18:9-14

One day my friend shared that when she was in the middle of her job training, one boss shared that he doesn't prefer graduates from top schools because the latter usually fights back, talks back, arrogant, and so forth. But, when my sister was looking for a job many years ago, she encountered many executives who prefer graduates of top schools, graduates who studied with this or that professor, graduates with 'connections directly or indirectly,' graduates who revolve in the same circle with them, executives, one way or another. Years before, a boss asked me who I prefer as friends, and I said, "Anybody." He said, "No! Pick only the rich, the well-connected, and brilliant. Because a janitor cannot help you when you are in trouble. They will even ask money from you. Make friends with the elite only. They alone can help you." I do not exactly agree with him because one way or another, a person is capable of helping me or others regardless of his/her status.

The world is full of prejudice and discrimination. We may deny it, we may say we haven't done it, but in truth, we have done it perhaps unconsciously or indirectly. Jesus is teaching us to be humble always. He is reminding us that we are all created the same way, have committed sins, imperfect. Who are we, then, to separate ourselves from the rest of humanity, if we have sinned just like the rest? Rather than focusing on ourselves and in our own human capacities and successes, let us bear in mind that God is the true Bringer of all that we enjoy in life. "God can give and can take away."

Image courtesy: The Passion of the Christ