Do You Believe in the Resurrection?

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us,If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her."
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out 'Lord, '
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive." 

- Lk. 20:27-38

Do you believe in the resurrection?

That's the question that Jesus indirectly poses when he challenges the Sadducees in this Sunday's Gospel reading.

As Christians, we believe that someday we will experience a resurrection like Christ's, after we depart from this present earthly "age" or stage of life. All believers who follow Jesus will live as the angels do. This is why Catholic funeral Masses are Resurrection Masses and use white instead of black as the liturgical color.

But do you believe in the resurrection of love?

Jesus explained the resurrection in terms of marriage. A marriage is supposed to be a reflection of God's love for his people. Marriage is supposed to unite a man and a woman in an enduring love that comes from God; therefore it gives witness to the world of God's faithfulness and commitment.

So why would Jesus say that marriage is not a part of the resurrection of the dead? Why won’t today’s marriages become perfect and continue forever after both husband and wife have entered heaven?

Here on earth, love is imperfectly given and imperfectly received. Therefore, it's constantly dying and being resurrected again, every day, to the extent that each spouse repents and forgives. (The same is true of any friendship.)

Perfect love is God. We live as true children of God when we love our brothers and sisters the way he loves them. Marriage does not exist in heaven because it's an imperfect love: We love our spouses more than we love others. In heaven, we will love our spouses fully (yes, even our ex-spouses!) and we will love everyone else just as much. And those who have loved us poorly will love us better than the best spouse could love us now.

Marriage is only a foreshadowing of what love – with everyone – will be like in heaven.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

Who has failed to love you enough? Who has caused you a lot of pain? How would you feel if that person were to greet you at the entrance of heaven to let you in at the moment of your death? Do you have enough love for that person to get you through the door?

Questions for Family & Community Faith Sharing:

How is a marriage like God's love? Describe the ways that God loves us, and relate these signs of true love to what you've experienced in good friendships. How is this a foretaste of heaven?

Ako ang Pag-asa

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Sa kamay nakasalalay ang kinabukasan

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Halina kaibigan, tayo nang magtulungan

Isa akong Pilipino, ang lahi ng mga astig

Ang awit ng pag-asa sa tinig ko’y maririnig

Ibabahagi ang aking galing para sa bayan ko

Isisigaw sa buong mundo na Pilipino ako!

 

Dugong kayumanggi sa aki’y nananaig

Sa lahat ng pagsubok ay di padadaig

Umaraw man, bumagyo lalaban ako

Buhay ay iaalay para sa bayan ko

Marami kang pwedeng gawin

Gamitin ang talino angkin

Una sa lahat ng yung gagawing ay taimtim na panalangin

Gabay ng may Dakila ang ang iyong dalhin.

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Sa kamay nakasalalay ang kinabukasan

Ako ang pag-asa ng bayan

Halina kaibigan, tayo nang magtulungan

Happiness Within

I was early today. I took the MRT from Buangkok station and alighted at Seranggon station. I rode a bus and walk a few meters to our office here in Singapore.

As I got up the 3rd floor, our office was still locked so I went down again to the canteen to spend time reading and write articles.

As I type this, I am beside a big window and I can see the beautiful view of this part Singapore. The trees are slightly swaying to the gentle wind and the sunny day here in this beautiful country helps give you a feeling of joy.

As I write this article also, I am listening to Toby Mac’s Lose My Soul song. I am struck by the lyrics of the chorus. It goes like this “I don’t want to gain the whole world and lose my soul…”

Then a realization came to my mind.

With all the innovations and great leaps that man has accomplished in this world, many people cannot find the true happiness in this world. 

The other day, I was watching the 25 Most Tragic Death in Hollywood,  and I find it really disturbing why people like Kurt Cobain and other famous personalities with all their money and fame still have not found true happiness in this life. 

I think the answer is very simple yet complicated.

The answer is you can only find the true happiness with Jesus in your heart. You can have all the money in the world, be the most famous person, and be the most powerful but it will all be an empty success if you don’t have that true joy that only Jesus can give.

This very simple thing is yet so complicated to many people. They find it absurd to put God in their hearts and in everything they do. They view having God in their lives as corny and not a cool thing to do. They value more what other people may tell them. The young people look up to actors, actresses and personalities who also have a disturbed and twisted lifestyle. 

I hope if you are reading this, you have Christ in your heart and share His love to other people. This world needs godly people who will stand-up for the truth and will knows that the greatness of character is more important than achievements. 

I hope that many people will stop for a while, look at the world around them and find God in the ordinary and in the extra-ordinary, in the everyday routine and in life’s surprises.

May God bless us all.

Fight For Your Dreams

I am a dreamer. Yep, I am that kind of person who have big hairy audacious dreams and goals.


Before, I think it was wrong to dream. There came a point in my life where I thought that having big dreams is wrong because I have this mistaken interpretation of the phrase "be contented on what you have". 

Don't get me wrong, I am contented of the life I have right now. I am contented in the context of being happy with whatever I have. I am really happy. No, make that truly happy.

But there is a little problem.

I realized that the life I have is not just meant for me to be happy and contented with what I have but to also help other people find happiness and contentment in their lives as well. I realized that the only way for a person to be happy is no other way but to serve others.  If you will learn the joy in serving other people then you can truly say that you have lived. 


Last month, on the day of my birthday I updated my goals and my dreams in life. While I am typing down the words, I get very excited to do all those things. I believe that God put those dreams in my heart and He wants me to be happy by pursuing those dreams. After I have finished writing, I prayed to God and was very determined that I will fight for these dreams. I will pursue all of these because I know that God will bless many people through me. I want to be in the front line of God's work to bless other people's lives.


How about you, will you also heed those dreams that God placed in your heart and fight for it?

There's More To This Life

I went to Universal Studios Singapore. It was such an exhilarating experience. Even from the entrance gate you can feel the happiness and the excitement of the people coming in and out.  You can hear the children's laughter as they run around the bigger than life figures of their favorite cartoon character like Buzz Light Year and the animals from Madagascar. The adults were like children also as they pose and take pictures in the different movies that was made famous by this great company. Laughter, fun, joy, love, happy faces are all a familiar thing and feeling here.


Then it hit me.


For many people, this place could be one of the happiest places on earth. But after the lights were turned off, the fireworks have subsided, people went back to their respective places it will be again an empty place, dark, quiet and lonely.


Sadly, many people think that they can find true happiness in places like that, or in the material things that they have. They exhaust all their strength in pursuing their dreams but neglecting to pursue a much higher purpose of living- and it is living a life according to what God wants for them. 


This may sound absurd or corny to many people but I believe that this is the truth. If we want to be happy in this earth, we must see that there is more to life than our everyday routine.


We must strive to do good so that we may be able to enter the happiest place which is Heaven. A place where there will be no sadness, loneliness, fear, and negative feelings but all joy, happiness and faith. 


And the best thing about it is it will never end.


 It will be forever. 

Ideas Worth Spreading

Sometimes, it only takes one great idea to make one's life better. One idea to make a significant to the lives of people.

Tragedy of Love

They say that only time can heal the wounds of a broken heart. Time makes it easier to accept the loss of people we love. It is a chain that all of us go through – falling in love and getting hurt. Getting hurt and vowing not to love again. Promising not to love again and becoming miserable all our lives.

It isn’t easy getting up on our feet after a crippling fall, but there is just no other way but to stand up and move on. Nobody wants to become unhappy all his life. All of us know how love can bring magic into our lives. Have you ever realized how good it felt waking up in the morning knowing that somewhere out there, there’s a person who’s also thinking of you and feels exactly the way you do? Doesn’t it feel good looking forward to being with that person and spending memorable moments with him?

Love brings joy beyond compare and that warm and sparkling glow in each of us. Love brings us to the top of the world where we can conquer just about any obstacle that may come along our way. It is a great feeling love is. There is probably nothing else in this world that can compare to this. There may be many of us who feel that love has passed us by and finding someone we can share our lives with seems to be such a remote possibility. We watch our trains go by as time swiftly drifts away from us. We may be in control of our lives but we feel somewhat helpless in our relationships. There is nothing permanent in this world and not even those we cherish would be with us forever. There is no guarantee that comes with loving. It is always a risk getting involved with someone. But it is a risk that we have to take if we want to find real happiness. For there is no gain without pain, there is no permanence without commitment, and there is no lasting love without constant sacrifice. 

The tragedy of love is in getting hurt. The tragedy of getting hurt is in not wanting to love again. And the tragedy of not wanting to love again is in being alone all our lives. If it is what we want to be, then we could just stay in our shell and be miserably forgotten. But, if it is love we choose, then there is the promise of a new life, the joy of being able to share that life with someone and hope of finding something beautiful and keeping it forever.

- Author JDM