Monday, August 10, 2015
19th Week
in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 2 Cor 9:6-10
Gospel: John 12:24-26
Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
“Those who love their life destroy it, and those who despise their life in this world keep it for everlasting life.
“Whoever wants to serve me, let him follow me and wherever I am, there shall my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
A joke is told of an old lady who went to the bank bringing a lot of old wrist watches. “What’s with all those wrist watches?” the guard asked. The old lady replied: “I’m submitting them to the bank for time deposit.” (End of the joke).
The banking industry is telling us that time can make money grow. So even from the point of view of business time qualifies as a treasure worth considering. More can be said at the social and spiritual level. At the social level, time heals wounds and reconciles people. At the spiritual level, time can make or break a person. A single minute has brought salvation to many repentant people, much as a few seconds brought hardened hearts to damnation.
We were all endowed with 24 hours per day at birth. With so much time equally apportioned to every human being at birth, endless possibilities are available to human beings depending on their wise use of time. There is no wiser use of time than spending it with God. In today’s Gospel Jesus said: “Where I am, there my servant be”. Now, where is the Lord found in a way most accessible to human beings? Jesus has given us his address: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto me”. Spending time with God, then, is spending time with the least of our neighbors.
Because of God’s preferential option for the least of our brethren, being with God without being with the least of our neighbors does not constitute best use of time. This serves as one reliable test of the worthiness of the time allocated to our favorite devotions. There is a sea of people in every procession organized for the Sto. Nino and the Santo Entiero. But if we zoom in on that sea of people swarming these holy images, there is a big chance we catch scenes of people pushing each other and stepping on one another’s toes. Failing to integrate love of neighbor with these popular devotions is throwing precious time on Pharisaical practices.
Time spent with our fellowmen is like a time deposit earning double interest because time spent for others is time spent for the Lord. —Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM . Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com. Website: www.frdan.org.
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