Luke 19: 1-10 (Tuesday, November 20, 2007)

Zacchaeus story is an invitation to stretch out to the Lord. He wants to encounter the living God and nothing will stop him from encountering Jesus. He does not let his height stop him; he doesn’t let the crowd stop him; he doesn’t let his riches stop him; he would not let his life of sinfulness stop him. All he wants is to see Jesus. He fought all barriers that would have stopped him from seeing Jesus and he was victorious. The moment he encountered Jesus, he received the gift of salvation. In our own lives too, sometimes we want to see Jesus but we cannot because of certain barriers: disease, family, poverty, wealth, our jobs, sin, etc. Like Zacchaeus, we must keep stretching, keep making efforts and we must overcome all these barriers and proclaim our victory. If we stretch hard enough, we will see Jesus and in his presence there is healing, joy, peace, happiness, and above all, the fullness of love.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, we want to see you. We want to be in your glory. Give us the courage and the power to overcome all that stand our way and prevent us from seeing you.

Luke 17: 20-25 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)

In the Lords prayer we pray, “thy kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven.” What do we pray for? We pray that the glory of the Lord shine upon this earth, as it is in heaven; we pray that the peace of the Lord reign upon this earth, as it is in heaven; we pray that the joy of the Lord radiate this earth, earth as it is in heaven. Jesus tells us in the gospel of today that the kingdom of God is among us. God’s kingdom is here, but we are not seeing it. It is here in the Eucharist we share; it is here in our brothers and sisters, members of the ecclesia. In fact, we are the kingdom of God today. We should not look at the kingdom of God as an ideological concept; as something out there. We should look at it as something here with us. We all have the responsibility of bringing that kingdom to other people. Whatever Christian thing that we do furthers the realization of that kingdom here on earth.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, through our lives and work, may your kingdom come upon this earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 9: 28b – 36 (Monday, August 6, 2007 – Transfiguration of the Lord)

Sometimes we wonder how heaven will look like. We look forward to seeing family members who have died. Unfortunately, I have not died and returned to tell the story of what heaven looks like, but fortunately, the scriptures is able to help us have a view of the experience of heaven. The experience of the transfiguration is an experience of heaven in its magnificence. Peter, James and John are able to have a glimpse of heaven – seeing the glory of the Lord. This experience which is beyond words is just so powerful that all Peter could say is, “Master, it is good that we are here.” Even though the apostles were terrified, they knew that is just where they want to be. They just want to stay forever in this presence of the Lord. Their clothes changing colors is merely a human way of describing the transformative moment of experiencing the glory of the Lord.

The presence of the Lord is where we all want to be. We all want to experience the glory of the Lord. Contemplating the scriptures daily is one of the most effective ways of being in the presence of the Lord. We should strive to be in that presence because in his presence, there is love, joy, peace, healing and forgiveness.

Prayer:
Lord, we just want to be in your presence. We want to experience your glory. Only you can bring us to that moment of transformation. We ask you to give us the spirit of patience and silence that we will daily contemplate your scriptures.