The Lord is Coming!

Matthew 24:42- Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.

My jaw dropped wide open to hear my name called during the campus flag raising ceremony. It was a simple grade school boy’s dream to become part of that 4-person representing our entire grade level in the annual General Information Quiz Bee. After the excitement have sunk in, I immediately buckled down to work and started collecting my reviewers – current events, headline news, government ministries (it was still Marcos era during that time) and other what-must-be-knowns. I tapped my ever-reliable Dad to check and organize my review papers. Thursday came and our teacher coach also inspected and checked my papers. I was visibly pleased to see her approving nod, an assurance about the great length of my data collection. Now, I have another full week to really start my actual review.

However on the next day and after the flag raising ceremony again, the participant’s name were one by one called again to my bewilderment. This time, we were asked to go up the stage and take our assigned seats.

“What is this? Is it a dry run?” I murmured to myself.

But as the emcee started detailing the mechanics of the quiz bee, it finally dawned on me that the Friday schedule our teacher coach was telling us about was that particular fateful day already and not the next week’s Friday that I mistakenly assumed. All the hard work and preparations went for naught because I totally overlooked the day and time when I exactly needed those information up inside my brain and not neatly written on papers. I can only keep my head bow, writing with jitters and shame for that untold blooper I made.

Expectedly, I ended the quiz bee in Cinderella-fashion, albeit not from the top, but from the bottom.
It was a very humbling experience.

This coming December 2 is the start of the Season of Advent in preparation for Christmas, the day of incarnation of the Lord. “Adventus” is a Latin word to mean “arrival or coming”. Our Lord and God, in fulfilling His divine plan to save mankind, became man and was born from a woman in fulfillment of the ancient prophecies.

With Advent the ecclesiastical year begins in the Western Churches. During this time the faithful are admonished
1. To prepare themselves worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love,
2. Thus to make their souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace, and
3. Thereby to make themselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world. (source: newadvent.org)

Clearly, Christmas is not the sole reason of Advent.

Advent is our church’s timely reminder for us about the inevitable fact of Christ’s 2nd coming which can happen in 2 ways. First is the end of the world which no one can ascertain to happen within our lifetime. Second is our own death which, without a single iota of doubt, will happen at the end of our earthly life. Our own death is worth reflecting during this season as well. This may variably be one of the reason why Advent comes after the feast of the Solemnity of Saints and Souls. It is not just a church calendar coincidence. There is nothing like preparing our life after foreseeing the end of it during our cemetery visits.

So now we focus on our personal Advent activities. Like any upcoming activities, we plot and make plans. For some, they even make a list.
I will go to confession.
I will devote more time for prayer.
I will participate in out-reach activities to help the needy people.
I will make thrifty holiday spending and divert the savings to donating to charitable institutions.
I will attend each of the nine Simbang-gabi preludes to Christmas.
I will visit or call my loved ones and friends in far places.
I will condition my body for the food-festivities and merry-makings of Christmas season.
I will start buying gifts early to avoid rush hour shopping.
I will learn to cook the best meal for my family.
I will attend reunions, and so on and so forth.

These are all good and pious plans but the tricky part will still be the timing of implementation. Let us not kid ourselves by procrastinating until a few more days or a few more weeks before improving ourselves.

Time is of the essence.

In giving birth, it is called the “baby-out” moment.
In children’s milestone, it is called walking, speaking and the like.
In school, it is called the final exams.
In sports, it’s called game-time.
In movies, it is called the climax of the story.
In books, it is called the main topic.
In work, it is called the project completion.
In quiz bees, it is called the quiz bee day (a special lament for my case)

Because, in the end, planning is good but loving now is what God expects from us. Go to confession now. Devote more prayer time now. Support and participate in God spreading activities now. Participate in all masses now. Visit a friend now. Call a loved one now. Take care of our body now. Do our best for our families and friends now. Respect other people now.

Pastor Jon Walker of Purpose-Driven Life Daily Devotional wrote, “And we are anxious that you keep right on loving others as long as life lasts” (Hebrews6:11 LB). There is urgency in learning to love now because today could be our last day on earth. This life is fleeting, and eternity is coming. The opportunities for us to express love come and go quickly; we cannot take them for granted. One day our earth-bound lessons will end, and we’ll love for eternity in heaven

Advent is being prepared when the Lord will come to take us back to His kingdom. And like a thief in the night we will never know when will that day come. Planning will not count. Only how much actual love we gave away will matter.

Loving now nullifies any planning.
Because there is no need to prepare for the Lord’s coming if He is already residing in our hearts.

God bless.

A Childlike Faith

“Dadi, hold Zek.”

Thus our eldest son would often says every time we reminded him that we are about to cross the street. As part of our practical safety training to him, we always prompt him to immediately stop and step aside whenever he sees a car is coming his way, to always look ahead where he is going and to hold our hands before crossing any street. Normally he would oblige unless his toddler excitement and enthusiasm to get somewhere that is of extreme interest for him catches his attention like his favorite convenience store with car toys or a watering hole he can stump his little feet into or the garden playground with kiddie slides and see-saws. He would run with aimless gusto unmindful of the hazards along the way. This is when my wife or I have to run after him to insists on the basics and prevail upon his innocent objections. He must let us hold onto him and not him holding unto us.

The key to our faith is the same childlike attitude.

Whether we are basking in the glory and grandeur of personal triumphs or have gotten engrossed with the worries and concerns of our lives, we should pause oftentimes and look up to our Father who looks after our welfare with genuine and unconditional love. The realization must be that we have no independent control over our fate, that His gentle hands are always reaching out inviting us to trust in His ways and that He mean everything for good in our lives.

Do not hold unto Him because a really serious and abrupt event in our lives can dislodge our grip and exposed ourselves to danger or get lost along the way.
Let Him hold us because He leads us to safety. He will not let us either fall or go astray.

Let this be our personal prayer.
Dear God, hold me.

There is a God and I am not Him

“Something is wrong!”

This was what’s on my mind as I entered the hospital’s emergency room and told the nurse I wanted to be admitted. Of course, physically something is really wrong with me. I can’t breathe well. I wish they’d put an oxygen in my nose. But the nebulizer was already a great relief. My fever subsided after I took paracetamol, just long enough for me to travel two hours back here in my home town. I live alone and work in the neighboring town. It took four days of fever until I decided to go home and finally do this.

That ‘something wrong ‘ is what would I realize on my stay in the hospital. I remember the second night I still had fever and run out of medicine. It took me a hundred times to think before I decided to text a friend to buy me one. I was thinking I can do it myself. He might be resting already or have an overtime and I don’t want to disturb him. As much as possible I don’t like to ask help from others. I am used to doing things myself. I guess being a bread winner for a time after landing a job made me behave like this. I am self sufficient. I can fend for myself. I am strong and healthy.

A chord was attached to my right hand where the steroids were injected directly to my veins. I had a great difficulty brushing my teeth. I find it very irritating that I couldn’t clean my teeth so well and I started to feel impatient. But then I thought, since I can’t do anything about it, why not reflect on it and find out what God is telling me in this situation. So I asked Him. As I was using my right hand to guide my left hand in brushing my teeth, God was telling me I don’t live alone for life. I need someone to help me and guide me in order to do things right. Yes. Doing things RIGHT. I am where I am right now because I thought what I did with my body was right. I need to learn to ask help from others. I realize that there are people who would just be happy to reciprocate the kindness I extended to them and I deprived them of the chance to do so. Just like the friend who bought my medicine. They are one of God’s blessings and I don’t make use of them. Wasn’t I daily pray that I may use His blessings well so I would be a blessing to others and give Him glory?

In the middle of the night I found myself having a contrite contrition. I thought of the kind of medicine and the dosage that was given me. I realized how delicate was my situation. I thought it was alright that the symptoms were tolerable. I didn’t realize that I am getting older and those symptoms are no longer alright even though I experienced some of it before. I made the weather an excuse to miss regular exercise. I asked sorry for the things I did wrong. I had a lot of worries and I forgot to let Him join me. I thought I could handle them and it’s going to be alright. Yes, maybe to my mind, but to my body it wasn’t alright. I realize my accountability with my life, particularly with my body. I remember I thanked Him before for this second life. ( I couldn’t remember how and when did my first life ended….Hmmm..) I promised this time I would better take care of myself. This life is just borrowed and I have to return it just as good if not better as it was lent me. God showed me how meticulous He is with His property and He is reminded me that I am not taking care of it as He wanted me to.

God cares for us more than we care for ourselves. He takes care of a lot of things for us that we never even realize. This is the big thing I learned during my one week vacation at the hospital. I say vacation because during that time, I felt the presence of God more concretely. I felt pampered like a baby. I felt I have His ears alone for myself. That what ever I say, He is like staring at me and listening intently. It was really like having a honeymoon with God after having my first Life in the Spirit Seminar.

Just like one of the great preacher said. When something needs to be done or taken care of in our life, we should not put it in OUR list. Rather put it in God’s to-do-list. He can’t help us unless we ask and surrender them all to Him. Although He has already a lot of things to do, but still, why wouldn’t we? After all, He is a God…….. and sometimes we forget that we are not Him.

Again, Bea… there is a God and you are not Him!


Bea Leones is a friend-writer from Capiz whom I met through the Kerygma Frappr site. Thanks Bea for this inspiring reflection!