The things that matter most

I thought there was an early practice for the choir this afternoon so I went there around 3PM. When I got there in our rehearsal area I was surprised that nobody was in there yet wherein fact I was already late for the supposedly 2PM schedule. I texted our coordinator and asked if there was an early practice (that was the original schedule discussed from the previous week), and she replied that there was none. At that moment I felt like I was being left out. I didn’t receive any message that the rehearsal was cancelled but before I got into this sort of self-pitying I reminded myself that it was also my fault to not ask and confirm the rehearsal. I wasn’t able to attend the other practice before which was last Friday. Maybe they have announced it there about the cancellation of today’s practice.

The good thing is I was able to control my temper and be rational about my thinking. If I’m the same person that I was about two years ago, I would probably burst out in rage complaining about the inaccuracy of information and failure of communication. I would rant about the unfair treatment that I should be staying at the house instead with more time to rest. I shouldn't be coming there early with nothing to do and no one to talk to. I used to be short-tempered back then, imitating my previous bosses who were strict about everything, yelling on imperfections and swearing on the flaws. I have just realized by now that I have changed somehow and that is because of my deepening relationship with God.

It was still two hours away before the time of our mass service. Instead of going somewhere, I entered the church and attend the 3PM mass. It has been a year since I attend the mass as a plain churchgoer. When I joined the choir I’m always attending the mass together with my choir mates in the comfort of the choir loft – secured chair, electric fan, free from the claustrophobic crowd. Today, I experienced again to be seated there in the row, in the last row. I was able to get a seat (people who comes late rarely has the chance to get one) and sat there thinking about the thing that happened to me. Then it was sort like a voice has whispered into my ear, “It just that God wants to spend more time with you today”. I saw Jesus there in the cross, and it seemed like I heard him say, “I want to spend longer time with you today.” If I hadn’t come there early, I would probably be spending time at home facing my laptop doing the same stuffs I bury my nose on from Monday to Saturday. God has made a way to give me a break and cuddle me in his loving arms, rocking me as a baby, whispering in my ears that everything is going to be okay because He's there to take care and watch over me.

I attended the mass and heard the sermon of the priest. After that, it was still an hour away before our 5PM mass service but I went up to the choir loft anyway. I sat there in the corner, browsing my phone and realized that there have been three birthdays for the past week of which I missed to send my greetings. So I send them all my belated greetings assuring them that I didn’t forget their special day. I really didn’t forget, it just that I didn’t get the time to stop from my busy activities and spend some seconds to greet them “happy birthday”. . .

While I typed this article, I came to realize about so many things about time and priorities. Because of so many things that I worry about (financial, career, future), I’m giving less of the time that I should be giving to Him. Most of the time I’m failing to be there in our choir rehearsals (which happen twice a week only for 2-3 hours), and there are even Sundays that I’m absent or nowhere. Why? Because I feel like spending my time instead to things that could earn me money or recognition. There are lots of resources now to communicate with friends from mobile to different gadgets through the internet but I’m still failing to send them even the shortest HBD greeting for their special day. Why? Because I think I could always send them a belated greeting when I’m no longer bombarded with things-to-do – which never really happen.

God has reminded me today to take note of these more important things. Our time is indeed very limited so let’s not consume it all in work alone – remember that other than our job there are more important parts in our life that also need our time and attention. Let’s not miss the most important. There’s more to life than money and fame and those are the people around us and most of all is the Lord our God to whom we owe everything that we have in life.

Sunday Reflection: Be Born Again through Words of God

At that time Jesus arrived from Galilee and came to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. But John tried to make him change his mind. “I ought to be baptized by you,” John said, “and yet you have come to me!”

But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.” So John agreed. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on him. Then a voice said from heaven, “This is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased.”

Matthew 3:13-17

REFLECTION:

As I listen to the reading this afternoon there were lots of realizations that came into my mind. Jesus Christ who is the Son of God knelt and bowed so John the Baptist could baptize Him. John was surprised by this action that he had said out loud that it should be him (John) who must be baptized by Jesus and not the other way around. But Jesus said “Let it be so for now. For in this way we shall do all that God requires.”

Jesus Christ who is greatly above us all had humbled himself and not only that he had taken away our sins and sacrificed himself to die in the cross. Jesus the Great, Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the King – He had done the things that were all required of Him by God the Father. But how about us? Are we willing to do the things that are required of us? Shouldn’t we be ashamed of ourselves that we who are saved by this One Great Son of God from our sins are not doing our part as Christian and worse than that we are not exerting even the least of effort to improve ourselves to become a better person?

Changing and improving ourselves is not an overnight process. The temptation of sins is so strong that even though we intend to move away from it we can’t still win over our own weakness and we will just find ourselves committing again the same mistakes. We are being pulled back over and over again. Now the thing is, we really can’t repair the thing that has been damaged. It’s like gluing together the pieces of a shattered vase. You can make it look like whole again but it will be frail and useless. One wrong move and it will just get broken again, much worse and splintered than before. So what will you do then? You will get rid of that vase and will buy a new one, much better, much beautiful and much functional.

To change for the better is to get rid of our own damaged and wasted self, and be born again into a new person who is much better, much beautiful and much purposeful. It’s sort of saying, kill your old self and let your new self be born and that is through the Holy Spirit. Now I didn’t mean you to take the “kill your old self” literally, it means that we all have to get rid of our old self by an inner transformation that can only happen through our personal relationship with the Lord. We have mentioned here being born again. In Catholic Church when were baptized as baby, we were born again and washed clean from our sins. But as we grow old, we commit again sins and in able to be washed clean from it we must submit ourselves to the Lord and be baptized through the Holy Spirit. Baptizing is more than just the ceremony, like what the priest said this afternoon, baptizing is not about religion, it’s all about faith. As we are baptized, we are receiving the Holy Spirit and we are welcoming the Lord to our heart and this is where the inner transformation begin, thus we are being born again and become a new person. 

Let's all strive to change for the better and keep planting the Words of God to our heart. In this way we are starting a new and exciting transformation within us and we are beginning to fulfill all that are being required of us by the Lord our God.