John the Baptist: Prepare the Way of Christ into Our Hearts: Advent Preparation Work with Vigilance and Diligence – 2nd Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

 When you are drowsy, do you think you can do your work well? Probably, you would do a lousy job.

In moving from the First Sunday of Advent to the Second Sunday of Advent on Cycle B in the Liturgical Calendar, reflect on the above question, because vigilance was a theme emphasized in the First Sunday of Advent Gospel, B (Mark 13:33-37).  Following that, now, on the Second Sunday of Advent, the Gospel Reading (Mark 1:1-8) tells us that we need to work diligently in our preparation for the coming of Christ, upon listening to the voice crying out in the wilderness, the voice of John the Baptist (John 1:23), “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Mark 1:3; Isaiah 40:3). The voice of John the Baptist from the wilderness by the Jordan River does not say, “Just wait for Christ to come”. Rather, John is calling us to get in action, keeping us busy in our preparation for the adventus of Christ to come.

So, in spirit, exactly where is Christ coming? Where Christ will arrive?

Will it be a manger in the animal stable, outskirts of the town of Bethlehem, just like how it happened about 2,000 years ago?

It should not be a manger. Christ deserves a better place to arrive. And it should be our hearts where Christ is coming and arriving.

Remember, our hearts are where the Word with Wisdom is deposited as the source of life (Proverbs 4:20-22), and we are to guard this with vigilance and diligence (מִ֭שְׁמָר /mishmar). Our hearts to be guarded with vigilance and diligence is where the way of Christ’s coming ends. And Christ is the Word in the human flesh of Jesus (John 1:1, 14) and the Wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-36). Thus, as the Word, Christ is sent  by the Father in heaven to arrive in our hearts so that our hearts shall function as the wellspring of life, which is given by Christ.

So, we need to work diligently and vigilantly, as indicated by the spirit of this Hebrew word used in Proverbs 4:23. For this, we need to work on the straight way for Christ to arrive in our hearts.

In the First Reading (Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11), the crying voice in the wilderness, prophesized for John the Baptist calling to prepare for Christ’s coming by the Jordan River, says:

Every valley shall be lifted up,

every mountain and hill made low;

The rugged land shall be a plain,

the rough country, a broad valley.   Isaiah 40:5

So, in order to welcome Christ at his arrival, are we to go to valleys to fill them up with land reclamation projects? And to blow mountains with dynamites to flatten them?

No. It means to work on our hearts – to make our hearts stable, peaceful, and content. The condition of our hearts must be peaceful. By the time Christ arrives, there should not be emotional ups and downs – no psychological valleys and mountains in our hearts. The work on our hearts also includes receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation upon confessing our sins and having them absorbed, because clean hearts means the hearts without rugged and rough conditions. So, the state of our hearts shall not be turbulent but peaceful enough for Christ to enter smoothly.

 This is what John the Baptist is calling us to work on diligently and vigilantly as our preparatory work for Christ’s arrival. Yes, he is on the way and coming closer and closer. We sure do not want to find our work incomplete at his arrival. That is why we need to guard our hearts vigilantly from temptations to slack off. That is why we need to keep working diligently.

 Don’t we want to welcome Christ in our hearts?

 Some may ask, “How much time do we have – do we need to work so hard – until the arrival of Christ?”

Curious about when Christ is coming?

 Read the Second Reading (2 Peter 3:8-14), and you will be admonished that it was rather a stupid question. That kind of question can be a red flag that you are at risk of being tempted to slack off. By asking such a question on time, you know you can “calculate” how many days you can take it easy and how many days you work hard. But no. No such a “strategic planning” in our preparation work to welcome Christ at his arrival. In this reading, Peter reminds that Christ’s arrival will not be delayed, though some may wonder so and that he comes like a thief, meaning unpredictability of his arrival. So, we just work diligently and vigilantly, wasting not even a moment.

 In Isaiah 40:9-11, the second half of the First Reading, we are reminded how it will be upon Christ’s arrival.

 We will be standing on high place, pointing to the Father in heaven, shouting out the good news of Christ’s arrival in our hearts, with great joy, knowing that the one who has just arrived in our hearts is also the Good Shepherd to guide us to his Kingdom towards the end of time. Yes, as the Shepherd, he feeds us well – with his own Body, namely, with the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, Corporis et Sanguinis Christi, until the end of time when he will escort us to his heavenly wedding banquet, connecting images of Last Supper (Matthew 26:17–30//Mark 14:12–26//Luke 22:7–39), Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:22-59), and Wedding Banquet of the Lamb (Revelation 19:6-9).

 John the Baptist added that we will be receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit as another benefit of Christ’s arrival (Mark 1:8), foretelling the Pentecost to be “born again” to become the bride of Christ (Revelation 19:6-9).

 Now, we see how God the Father has already mapped out our path of salvation all the way to Christ’s Kingdom and to become his bride, in response to our cry sung in the Responsorial Psalm’s (85:9-10-11-12, 13-14) refrain:

 Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Now we are fully awake and alert and eager to work diligently and vigilantly to welcome Christ in our hearts, looking forward to shouting with joy his arrival because it is Good News and great benefits to unfold towards the Kingdom.

Advent Reflections: Day 5 – Why God the Father did not Send Christ the Son Sooner and What We Can Do?

 Mark 13:33-37; Deuteronomy 4:1-10

In yesterday’s reflection, we were reminded that God the Father was already thinking of sending His only begotten Son, Christ, to us, way back when He was kicking out Adam and Eve for disobeying what He had told them not to do, based on Genesis 3:15. And it was also when God was angry at Satan in the figure of snake for making Adam and Eve disobey Him by lying and tempting.

We do not know exact year when God the Father kicked Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden and shut the entrance of the garden for good. But we know it was a very long time ago. It was even before David, even before Moses, even before Abram, and even before Noah.

So, the question is – why God did not send Christ mush sooner, perhaps, when Adam and Eve were still in the garden of Eden to get rid of Satan right on the spot?

Why God delayed the coming of Christ for way too long?

It’s not just God’s plan to have Christ come that seems to be delayed.

When God saved the Israelites from their suffering from slavery in Egypt through Passover (Exodus 12-14), God did not deliver them to the Promised Land immediately. The way God led them to the promised land was through 40 years of journeying in the wilderness (desert) (Joshua 5:6), and this is described in detail in the Book of Numbers.  It did not have to be that long, right?

But why? Why God let his deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land take so long? Why God did not make the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land (and this journey is called Exodus) much shorter and in less time?

So, likewise, why did God let the coming of Christ be delayed way too long, from the time when Adam and Eve were still in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) to when Caesar Augustus, Roman Emperor, ruled the Israelites (Luke 2:1)?

To simply put, it was probably because God wanted only the finest people to be saved. By not making His deliverance and salvation so easy, only those who can remain patient and vigilant (paying special attention), because of strong faith, can be benefited by God’s care.

During the 40 years of challenging journey in the wilderness, only those whose faith was strong and therefore could endure the journey made it to the Promised Land, while those whose faith was not so strong perished. In the same way, God has been testing us for generations to see who can stand strong and remain patient, as well as vigilant, with strong faith can see Christ’s coming and arrival. And, only those who remained patient, vigilant, and strong throughout the time, keeping strong faith, can enjoy meeting Christ at his arrival. 

So, we know, just because God had thought of sending Christ to us, it does not mean that he would come right away, as we may think. Christ comes as God the Father intends to. And, it may seem delayed or too long, but the coming of Christ is not delayed according to the will of God the Father (2 Peter 3:1-10).

So, God the Father has said to the Israelites during Exodus – while they were in the wilderness through Moses from Mt. Sinai – in the hope that they would make it all the way to the Promised Land:

Be on your guard and be very careful not to forget the things your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart as long as you live, but make them known to your children and to your children’s children, that day you stood before the Lord, your God (Deuteronomy 4:9-10a).

In a similar way, Christ the Son also said (as reflected on the First Sunday of Advent, Cycle B):

Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: “Watch!” (Mark 13:33-37).

No matter how delayed and how long it may seem, let us not make ourselves tired of waiting for the coming of Christ. Let us keep our strong faith so that we can stay watchful all the time, guarding ourselves from temptations to fall asleep or drift away from Christ. Remember, God wants only the best to meet Christ and be saved and let him destroy Satan. So, we are tested for the strengths of our faith – to see if we can remain on guard.

 

St. Francis Xavier, 16th Century Jesuit Apostle to Have Built Churches on Rocks by Acting Upon Words of Christ

 In celebrating and honoring the amazing life of St. Francis Xavier, a 16^th century Jesuit foreign missionary priest and one of the founding “Trois Mousquetaires” of the Jesuits, along with St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Peter Faber, on his memorial feast, December 3, the Gospel text is drawn from Matthew 7:21, 24-27.  This narrative is found toward the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which runs through Matthew 5,6,7.  Basically, the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ advice on how we can live a life of the beatitudes (blessed life), leading to the Kingdom of God. This is like the manual for Christian life for salvation in the Kingdom. And, I can see St. Francis Xavier preached on this sermon of Jesus wherever he went on his mission with zeal. He was known for his eagerness to win more souls of people for salvation by God through his preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

That enthusiasm of St. Francis of Xavier to bring the Good News of Jesus to people, who did not know Christ yet, to prompt their encounters with Christ, was unmatched, except the passion of St. Paul of Tarsus, the 1^st century missionary Apostle, who evangelized widely through the Greco-Roman world, on his three missionary journeys and his final journey to Rome to become a martyr (Acts 13:4–14:26; 15:36–18:22; 18:22–21:17; 26:30-28:30).

Fast-forwarding to the 16^th century, St. Francis Xavier was serving God as a Jesuit missionary priest first in Goa and in Java, then, in Japan.

What is common to both St. Francis Xavier of the 16^th century, a Jesuit missionary priest, recruited by St. Ignatius of Loyola, and St. Paul of Tarsus of the 1^st century, an Apostle, recruited by Ascended Christ, that they really lived these commissioning words of Christ given to his Disciples to make them the first batch of Apostles:

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).

Just as Paul was on fire of the Holy Spirit, so was Francis Xavier, and the Holy Spirit fueled Francis’ passion on mission and took him beyond the 16^th century missionary eastward frontier in Java and carried him all the way to Japan. Though he struggle in making new disciples of Christ in Japan, as many Japanese were too critical to believe in Christ at that time, Francis Xavier certainly sowed good seeds of Christ’s Gospel in the minds of the Japanese. He struggled with strong resistance of Japanese people. But he sure laid the strong foundation of churches in Japan to withstand storms of persecutions. Therefore, as his successors, such as Fr. Cosme de Torres, S.J., carried on the missionary works in Japan, great disciples emerged in Japan, such as St. Paul Miki, the first Japanese Jesuit and one of the 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki, Bl. Peter Kasui Kibe, a Japanese Jesuit martyr, and Bl. Justo Ukon Takayama, an influential Catholic samurai lord, as well as, one of the seven of students of Sen no Rikyu, the tea master, exiled to the Philippines, as a result of having his castle and province confiscated by the Tokugawa Shogun for his refusal to denounce his faith in Christ.

Though nearly 250 years of severely bloody persecution in Japan put the growing Christian population out of sight to naked eyes, they remained strong and resilient during these years. Thus, the strengths of Christianity in Japan, refined through these years of the persecution, owe to the Gospel seeds sown by St. Francis Xavier.

So, these words from the Gospel reading in celebrating and honoring St. Francis Xavier’s life of missionary stands out:

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock (Matthew 7:24).

Like St. Paul of Tarsus in the 1^st century, St. Francis of Xavier in the 16^th century not only heeded to but acted upon Christ’s words, especially in Matthew 28:19-20.

As the seeds of Christ’s Gospel sown by St. Francis Xavier continue to grow and bear fruits throughout the regions where he journeyed on his mission, the house built by his missionary, churches in Goa, Java, and Japan, remain strong, as reflected in Matthew 7:25.

So, we shall ask ourselves: Do we really act on the Gospel words of Jesus upon listening and reading and studying as to build the Church on the solid rock, as St. Francis Xavier did in the lands strange to him, perhaps, inspired by St. Paul of Tarsus?

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! 

Advent Reflections: Day 4 – God the Father Sent Christ the Son because His Love for Us Cannot be Changed Even by Our Sins

 Genesis 3:1-15 - Original Sin and God's Salvation Plan through Christ

So far, we have been reminded that Christ already existed with God the Father in heaven as the Word (as well as the Wisdom) before the Creation of the universe. Therefore, God the Father has sent Christ, His only begotten Son, to us as His gift of love. Yes, He loves us so much – even though we have sinned against Him.  His love for us never changes.

Yes, Christ is sent by God the Father to us, because He loves us more than we can think and imagine. Even though our sins upset God the Father and He hid His face from us (i.e. Isaiah 64:4), it does not mean that God stopped loving us.

To understand God’s unchanging love for us, though He may hide His face from us when we upset Him by sinning against Him, we need to go back to the sin of Adam and Eve, known as Original Sin in Genesis 3. And, in this chapter, we can also find out when God probably came up with His plan to send Christ to us.

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When God created and blessed us, the humans, starting with Adam and Eve, and placed us in the beautiful place, called Eden, everything was good (Genesis 2:4-25). We had a great time with God in Eden. However, Satan in the snake, very clever in lying and deceiving, came to Eve and called her attention to the fruit that God had told her and her husband, Adam, not to eat (Genesis 2:17), thinking that she was probably curious about the fruit that God had told not to eat. So, Satan was telling Eve, like, “Hey, Eve, aren’t these fruits of the trees in this garden so nice? Don’t you want to eat any of these?”(i.e. Genesis 3:1). To this, Eve reminded Satan that God told her and her husband to eat any fruits but one from the tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of knowledge, because eating that forbidden fruit would result in death (i.e. Genesis 3:2-3; 2:17). Then, Satan lied to Eve, telling, “Oh, c’mon, Eve, don’t worry! You’re not gonna die just because you eat that fruit. You know what?  Eating that fruit will make you feel good because it will make you feel like being God! So, you know !” (i.e. Genesis 3:4-5). And guess what? Eve took a bite on that fruit, forbidden by God and felt so good because she felt as if she had gotten smart, and she shared the forbidden fruit with her husband, Adam, because it was so good. And he also ate it (Genesis 3:6).

At that moment, everything began to change. It was an end of “good old time” between God and us, the human, in the garden of Eden.

It did not take time for God to find this out. God found out that Adam and Eve disobeyed Him as they did not follow His instruction not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God knew that Adam and Eve disobeyed Him because Satan in snake fooled and tempted them to eat the forbidden fruit.

Adam and Eve did what God told them not to do. They did what they were not permitted to do.

God was not happy about what Adam and Eve did. In fact, God was very upset about them.

It is like your parents telling you not to drive a car because you are too young to even have a driver’s license. But, you are curious about what it is like to drive a car. And you think driving a car will make you feel so good. And, a friend of yours told you that it is not a big deal to drive a car even you are not allowed to drive. So, this friend tempted you to drive your parents’ car and you had an accident.

Imagine, if you had done such a thing, wouldn’t your parents get upset?  By eating the fruit that God had told Adam and Eve not to eat, they did something like driving your parents’ car without their permission and driver’s license (and crushing it).

Getting upset by Adam and Eve not following His instruction, God kicked them out of the garden of Eden. It was like God telling, “I don’t want to see your faces, as you broke my trust in you. I thought you would obey my instruction and be good to me”.

Yes, God was like an upset parent. But, it does not mean that God stopped loving us, just as your parents never stop loving you. Remember the story of the father of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24)?

Actually, even when God the Father was so upset, He still loved us, offspring of them, and was thinking to do something for us out of His unchanging love for us.

So, even though God had to punish Adam and Eve, God made a plan to save the descendants (offspring – future children) of them through the Son born of Mary!

This is what is meant by what is written in Genesis 3:15:

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel.

God was telling Satan, who made Adam and Eve disobey and upset God the Father by tempting and lying to them about the forbidden fruit. God the Father was telling Satan that the Son of Mary will strike the head of Satan (crushing Satan, defeating Satan). And, the defeating Satan will be completed at the end of time, once Christ returns (Revelation 20:7-10).  So, Genesis 3:15 is completely fulfilled in Revelation 20:7-10.

What we need to learn today is that God’s love for us does not change even we have made God upset by our sins against God. It is because God is so kind and merciful (i.e. Psalm 34:6;103:8;145:8). It is because God is love (1 John 4:8, 16).

So, even He was upset with Adam and Eve for not following His instruction and angry at Satan for fooling them, God still loved them. So, God was already thinking to send His only begotten Son, who was with Him as the Word, to us.

So, now we know that Christ is coming to us to defeat our enemy, Satan. And, we also know that God’s plan to send His Son, Christ, was already made when Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden of Eden. And, it was because God’s love for us never changes. Because of God’s love for us, God is kind and merciful – even we have sinned against Him, as Adam and Eve did to Him.

Probably, what is written in Genesis 3:15 is the earliest prophecy – indication of God’s plan to send His only begotten Son, Christ, to us for our salvation and defeat of Satan, the ultimate enemy of God and us. 

So, now you can remember that God the Father started planning to send Christ to us way back when Adam and Eve made Him upset with Original Sin, as you look forward to the coming of Christ toward Christmas.

Do you see a connection between Original Sin (Genesis 3) and Christmas (Luke 2) and Defeat of Satan (Revelation 20)?

Advent Reflections: Day 3 – Love: Why Did God the Father Send Christ the Son, Jesus, to US?

 John 3:15b-21

Yesterday, on Day 2, we were reminded that the origin of Jesus is not Mary but the Father in heaven. When Jesus was with the Father, way before he was conceived in the womb of Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit – way before the body of Jesus began growing in the tummy of Mary, Jesus was the Word, as we were reminded on Day 1.

In reflecting passages from John 8 on where Jesus is coming from, we were also reminded that Jesus was “bullied” and thought as “crazy”(possessed) for making a testimony – for speaking the truth – about his origin, the Father in heaven.

Those who “bullied” Jesus for speaking the truth about the Father, who sent Jesus to us and whom he was with in heave as the Word, did not believe what Jesus said – his testimony – about the Father. And Jesus later called them “blind” (John 9).

Jesus would not have to go through such a trouble – being “bullied” – if he had stayed with the Father in heaven, had never bothered to be sent and to come to us on earth.

But, he came, about 2,000 years ago….and he is coming for every Christmas…coming to us. Why?  Why he is coming down to earth, even though it would mean that he might be “bullied” and even killed by those who do not believe in him?

Jesus is coming to us, in spirit, now, during Advent, risking himself of being “bullied” and even being killed. There must be a really good and strong reason to override such great risks for Jesus to come to us on earth, for God the Father to send His only begotten Son.

So, today, let us reflect on the very reason why God the Father has sent His only begotten Son, by making the Word in the human body of Jesus, to us.

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Why did God the Father in heaven decide to send His only begotten Son to us, making the Word, who is God, Christ, appear to us in the human body (flesh) of Jesus through the Immaculate body of Mary, the Blessed Virgin?

To figure out why God the Father has sent and is sending His only begotten Son, the Word (and the Wisdom) to us, by making the Word in the human flesh of Jesus, letting him growing in the body of Mary to be born of her, so that he can live among us, we need to go over Jesus’ conversation with Nichodemus, who believed that Jesus came from God the Father (John 3:1-21).

Nichodemus believed that Jesus is from God because of the miracle that Jesus performed. He said to Jesus that he would not be able to do all these miracles unless he was with God (John 3:2). Then, Jesus said to Nichodemus that he would not be able to see His Kingdom unless he is born again (John 3:3).

“Born again” to be able to see the Kingdom of God, where the Father is and where Jesus came from, as he was with the Father?  Nichodemus wondered how would it be possible to return to his mother’s body and is born of her again?!

Of course, it was Jesus’ figure of speech to teach Nichodemus of the necessity of being baptized not only with water but also with the Holy Spirit (John 3:6; cf. Matthew 3:11). The baptism of the Holy Spirit in addition to the baptism of the water is to assure of eternal life (John 3:6).

Eternal life…this is very important to understand why God the Father sent Jesus, His only begotten Son by making the Word, who was with Him and is God, the human figure of Jesus through Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Even though we have betrayed and brought grief and grievance to God for our sins, God never stopped loving us. When we upset God, He turned His face away from us. And that made the world dark. But, this darkness of the world will not last forever because God’s unceasing love for us has prompted Him to send His only begotten Son to give us eternal life.

But, for this, we must be “born again” – meaning that we need to be baptized not only with water but also with the Holy Spirit – not only to receive Christ at his arrival in our clean heart but also to benefit from eternal life. So, Jesus explained to Nichodemus:

Everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (John 3:15b-16).

With these words, Jesus made it clear that God the Father, of whom he testified, sent Christ the Son as a gift, because He loves us so much, in order for us to have eternal life through the Son.

Jesus spoke what he explained to Nichodemus about the Father’s love for us to send the Son, Christ, to us, also during Last Supper, saying:

“For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God “(John 16:27).

So, God the Father loves us so much. Therefore, Christ is sent by Him and is coming to us, as His gift of love to us. And, we must love him and believe that Christ, Jesus, is coming from God the Father.

Yes, Christ is on his way to us, and he is getting nearer and nearer as Christmas draws nearer.

Do we believe that Christ is coming from God the Father, who loves us?

And as we do believe this, we will enjoy the light, even the world is seen as a dark place with so many problems of injustice, pandemics, and so forth (John 3:19-21), as Christ, who is light (John 8:12), is coming to save us (John 3:17).

Yes, Christmas is when we receive Christ as the greatest gift of God’s love, nicely “wrapped” in the body (flesh) of Jesus, born of Mary so that we may be saved and enjoy eternal life as we believe in him and know that he is sent by God the Father.

The arrival (adventus) of Christ is the undeniable evidence of how much God the Father loves us. And, it is not only that God loves us but God Himself , who sends His gift of love, is love (1 John 4:8,16). So, by sending His only begotten Son, the Word incarnate (the Word in flesh), God is giving us the greatest gift of His love to be received by our clean baptized heart, filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost,  for salvation, eternal life and the Kingdom. And, the arrival of this gift of God’s love will make the world brighter.

Christ the Son is the Greatest Gift of God’s Love Wrapped in the Body of Jesus Born of Mary.

Advent Daily Reflections: Day 2 – Where is Jesus Coming from? – Mary’s Body? or Somewhere else?

 Where did Christ Come From? – John 8:14,16, 18,19, 23, 42; 16:28 cf. 6:35-38

Now we know that Christ existed as the Word eons ago – even before God the Father started His Creation work. He has come extremely long way in terms of time and space. He came all the way from that far and long time ago to be with us – to live among us, just like us (John 1:1-14).

But, where did Christ come from all the way, across so many countless years of time span from before the Creation of the universe, to be with us, as our Immanuel, which means “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23)?

Fast-forward the time and the distance…to find out where Christ is coming from…

So, when Jesus, who is Christ, was in the area, called Judea, near Jerusalem, by Mt. Olive, people who wanted kill him and did not believe Jesus as Christ, argued with him. The argument started because they did not believe what Jesus said – testimonies of Jesus the Christ. During the argument Jesus the Christ mentioned about where he came from (for the Nativity) and where he is going (for the Ascension).

And Jesus the Christ said to them:

 “Even if I do testify on my own behalf, my testimony can be verified, because I know where I came from and where I am going. But you do not know where I come from or where I am going” (John 8:14).

This suggests that those who believe that Jesus is Christ also believe his testimony – what Jesus said because he is Christ and because they know where he has come from.

The argument moved from testimony to judgement…and Christ said:

“Even if I should judge, my judgment is valid, because I am not alone, but it is I and the Father who sent me” (John 8:16).

“I testify on my behalf and so does the Father who sent me”(John 8:18).

So, we now know that it is God the Father, who sent Christ from here He was and is and will be.

And, those who wanted kill Jesus the Christ asked where the Father is (John 8:18a), and Christ responded with these words:

“You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also”(John 8:19).

Furthermore, said Christ to those who wanted to kill him:

“You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world”(John 8:23) “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me”(John 8:42).

Finally, Christ also reminded those who wanted to kill him not only that he came from God the Father in heaven (the above) but also that he existed before Abraham, suggesting that he came from the time of eons ago, saying:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM “(John 8:58).

They say Santa is coming from North Pole to bring goodies to good children. And, Christ is coming all the way from God the Father in heaven, where he also belongs to, to be with us, especially those who have sinned but wants to go to Confession and reconcile with God. And, we need Christ to reconcile with God the Father! So, he is coming to save us from the anger of God the Father!

Also, now we know, because Jesus is Christ, he is coming from God the Father in heaven, with whom Jesus, as the Word (and the Wisdom), existed before the Creation of the universe, before Abraham – before he comes through the body of Mary to be born as baby Jesus.

And Christ is coming all the way from God the Father (John 6:35-38; 8:16,18, 42;14:2-9; 16;28) with whom he is one (John 10:30; 14:10-11). Because Christ is one with God the Father, we can also meet the Father in Christ, when he arrives!

Let us look forward to Christ’s arrival with hope and keeping our eyes wide open so that we will not miss him when he comes. And, Jesus wants us to keep our eyes open for his coming.

Advent Daily Reflections: From the Logos-Chokmar before the Creation to Jesus born of Mary in Theophany Introduction and Day 1

Starting today, the first day of December, I am going to make daily Advent reflections until Christmas Day, following journey of Christ - from the pre-existing Word-Wisdom (Logos-Chokmar/Sophia) to Jesus, who is the Logos incarnate, in the human flesh of Jesus, born of Mary, the Immaculate Conception and the Blessed Virgin.

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A friend of mine commissioned me to form Advent daily reflections for her children, starting the first day of December until the day of the Nativity of the Lord. Though we can make reflections based on the Scripture readings for daily Mass, and there are many Advent reflections in line with the Roman Missal, I have decided to formulate a different daily reflection for Advent to make it clear that Christ existed even before his birth as the Son of Mary in Bethlehem. The Nativity (Christmas) in Bethlehem was the very first known theophany. But, Christ himself pre-existed even before the Creation of the universe as the Logos (the Word). So, in these daily reflections, starting today, the first day of December, I want to follow how the pre-existing Logos has come to us in the human flesh of Jesus, in the figure of a baby in abject poverty, being placed in a manger, rather than a comfy crib.

Day 1: December 1 John 1:1-14

In the night sky, you see stars shining.  Some are brighter than others. It is because some are bigger than others. Perhaps, it is also because some stars are closer to us than others. There are far more stars in the universe than what we can see as stars.

The farthest star from us can be at least some billion light years away! It takes light to travel billions of years from the star to us. And, you know how fast light travels. It travels a distance in flash.  There is nothing we know that travels as fast as light. Yet, it takes light million years to reach us from such a star.

Imagine Jesus had traveled even much longer distance than the distance to the farthest star, which is billions of light years away, to be born in Bethlehem, to be with us, and to save us and to bring us to his Kingdom, about 2,000 years ago.

Christ did not just come, about 2,000 years ago. He has been in existence since eons ago, even before God the Father created the universe – heaven and earth. We say in our creed, Nicene Creed, every time we go to Mass,  “..the only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages” about our belief in Jesus.  It means that Jesus was the Logos (the Word), before all ages, before the Creation. Of course, way before Adam and Eve. Jesus was the Word in the beginning – even before ancient stars existed…even before the universe existed (John 1:1).  And, the World became flesh to live among us (John 1:14) through the Immaculate body of Mary, the Blessed Virgin, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mathew 1:18; Luke 1:35).

And, this was already spoken by Prophet Isaiah nearly 700 years before the birth of Jesus! Isaiah said that a virgin will become pregnant with a son (Isaiah 7:14), foretelling of the birth of Jesus from Mary!

*It is noteworthy to see juxtapose John 1:1-14 to Proverbs 8, especially vv.22-31, pre-existing Christ as the Logos to the pre-existing Wisdom (Chokmah), alluded to Christ in Trinity. 

Stay tuned for Day 2.