The Kerygma Family: DIDACHE | COMPANION | SABBATH Daily Bible Reflections for October 28, 2013 Conquer this new week with Gods Word in your heart! Praying for you, Bo Sanchez 28 October Monday TODAYS READINGS: DIDACHE Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles YOUR SONG When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles… – Luke 6:13 Beatles road manager Mal Evans accidentally found John Lennon’s handwritten lyrics to “A Day in the Life,” the haunting final song on the 1967 No. 1 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This double-sided page of writing went under the hammer at the auction house Sotheby’s on June 19, 2010 in New York, and sold at $1.2 million! What’s worthless trash to a simple street sweeper is a gold mine to an art collector and a fanatic follower. Ordinary as fisher folks of their day, Jesus saw immeasurable beauty in His disciples. Unnoticed from the “shelves” of society, Jesus singled them out. He knows He was calling back to Himself fantastic poetry written by God Himself. I know of a love song that has infinitely more value than all auctionable musical pieces. It’s entitled “The Song of Your Life.” It’s written by God. It may be marred by your sins and mistakes, but He still put in a bid to have it back. It cost Him not just millions of dollars but the blood of His Son. Friend, God is humming in His heart “The Song of Your Life.” Hear Him sing His love for you today. Jon Escoto (faithatworkjon@gmail) Reflection: God sings His song for you today. What do you think is a fitting “title” for this song? Father, let me remember that You have created a happy ending for the “song” You wrote about my life. Thank You. Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles, pray for us. COMPANION 1ST READING As we celebrate the feast of the two Apostles, Simon and Jude, we celebrate two men who died as martyrs in proclaiming the Gospel to the world. We are called to follow in their footsteps of uncompromising allegiance to the truth of the Gospel — willing to do whatever God asks us to do and to go wherever He tells us to go. This is the heart of discipleship — entrusting our lives into the hands of God to take us and use us as He wills. Ephesians 2:19-22 (or Romans 8:12-17) 19 Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. 21 Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; 22 in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. P S A L M Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5 (or Psalm 68:2, 4, 6-7, 20-21) R: Their message goes out through all the earth. 1 [2] The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 [3] Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge. (R) 3 [4] Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; 4 [5] through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message. (R) GOSPEL Jesus chose 12 men to assist Him in a special way in the service of the Gospel. As the Church developed, it came to understand the role of the Apostles as the forerunner of that of the office of “bishop.” The bishops are the successors of the Apostles. Let us pray for the bishops of today, that they will always be willing to lay down their lives in the service of the Gospel, as did the Apostles. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the glorious company of Apostles praise you. Luke 6:12-16 (or Luke 13:10-17) 12 Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13 When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: 14 Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, 16 and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. think: This is the heart of discipleship — entrusting our lives into the hands of God to take us and use us as He wills. SABBATH THE GOD WHO CALLS We celebrate today the feast of the Apostles Simon and Jude. It is so comforting to know that the call of the first Apostles was preceded by Jesus “going to the mountain to pray, spending the night in communion with God” (v 12). This shows that the choice of the Apostles was a most personal and intimate act on Jesus’ part. It was an assurance as well of Jesus’ commitment to accompany them at every moment. This brought to mind an old story. Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress in playing the piano, a mother took her boy to a piano concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and went to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually found his way through a door marked “No Admittance.” When the lights dimmed to signal the start of the concert, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing. When the curtains parted, the mother saw her child onstage sitting by the piano, innocently plinking out, “Twinkle, twinkle, little star...” At that moment, the great piano master went onstage, quickly approached the kid and whispered to him, “Don’t stop, keep on playing.” Then leaning over, the master reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon, his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. As with the little boy in the story, the Master will be there to encourage us. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy, but with the hand of the Master, our life’s work can be beautiful. So, listen carefully and hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, telling you, “Don’t stop, keep on playing.” His strong arms will help you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. It is God who calls. While God doesn’t always call the well-equipped, He always equips well those whom He calls. Fr. Joel O. Jason REFLECTION QUESTION: Whenever you set out to do something, do you make sure you are spirit-led and inspired through prayer? Lead kindly Thou, O Lord, and with Your grace I will bravely travel on. Amen.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 02:39:07 +0000
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