Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Mateo 6:7-15)"Sa inyo pagpangamuyo indi kamo maggamit sang madamo nga mga pulong nga wala sing pulos subong sang ginahimo sang mga pagano, nga nagahunahona nga pagapamatian sila sang Dios tungod kay malawig ang ila mga pangamuyo.
Indi kamo magmanginkaangay sa ila, kay ang inyo Amay nakahibalo na sang inyo kinahanglan sa wala pa kamo makapangamuyo.
Gani dapat kamo magpangamuyo sing subong sini: 'Amay namon nga yara sa langit, Pakabalaanon ang imo ngalan, Magkari ang imo Ginharian, Matuman ang imo kabubut-on diri sa duta subong man sa langit. Hatagi kami karon nga adlaw sang kalan-on nga amon kinahanglanon, Patawara kami sang amon mga sala, subong nga ginapatawad man namon ang mga nakasala sa amon. Indi kami pag-ipadaog sa mga pagsulay, kundi luwasa kami sa Malaut.'
"Kay kon ginapatawad ninyo ang mga nakasala sa inyo, ang inyo Amay sa langit magapatawad man sang inyo mga sala.
Pero kon wala ninyo ginapatawad ang mga nakasala sa inyo, ang inyo Amay sa langit indi man magpatawad sa inyo."
Indi kamo magmanginkaangay sa ila, kay ang inyo Amay nakahibalo na sang inyo kinahanglan sa wala pa kamo makapangamuyo.
Gani dapat kamo magpangamuyo sing subong sini: 'Amay namon nga yara sa langit, Pakabalaanon ang imo ngalan, Magkari ang imo Ginharian, Matuman ang imo kabubut-on diri sa duta subong man sa langit. Hatagi kami karon nga adlaw sang kalan-on nga amon kinahanglanon, Patawara kami sang amon mga sala, subong nga ginapatawad man namon ang mga nakasala sa amon. Indi kami pag-ipadaog sa mga pagsulay, kundi luwasa kami sa Malaut.'
"Kay kon ginapatawad ninyo ang mga nakasala sa inyo, ang inyo Amay sa langit magapatawad man sang inyo mga sala.
Pero kon wala ninyo ginapatawad ang mga nakasala sa inyo, ang inyo Amay sa langit indi man magpatawad sa inyo."
***
Meditation:
Do you believe that God’s word has power to change and transform your life today? Isaiah says that God’s word is like the rain and snow which makes the barren ground spring to life and become abundantly fertile (Isaiah 55:10-11). God’s word has power to penetrate our dry barren hearts and make them springs of new life. If we let God’s word take root in our heart it will transform us into the likeness of God himself and empower us to walk in his way of love and holiness. God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose, a fourth century church father, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the scriptures, we listen to Christ."
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection. When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he responds with grace, mercy, and kindness. He is good and forgiving towards us, and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. God has poured his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). And that love is like a refining fire – it purifies and burns away all prejudice, hatred, resentment, vengeance, and bitterness until there is nothing left but goodness and forgiveness towards those who cause us grief or harm.
Consider what John Cassian, a 5th century church father who lived in a monastery in Bethlehem and then with Egyptian monks, wrote about the Lord’s Prayer and the necessity of forgiving others from the heart:
“The mercy of God is beyond description. While he is offering us a model prayer he is teaching us a way of life whereby we can be pleasing in his sight. But that is not all. In this same prayer he gives us an easy method for attracting an indulgent and merciful judgment on our lives. He gives us the possibility of ourselves mitigating the sentence hanging over us and of compelling him to pardon us. What else could he do in the face of our generosity when we ask him to forgive us as we have forgiven our neighbor? If we are faithful in this prayer, each of us will ask forgiveness for our own failings after we have forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us, not only those who have sinned against our Master. There is, in fact, in some of us a very bad habit. We treat our sins against God, however appalling, with gentle indulgence: but when by contrast it is a matter of sins against us ourselves, albeit very tiny ones, we exact reparation with ruthless severity. Anyone who has not forgiven from the bottom of the heart the brother or sister who has done him wrong will only obtain from this prayer his own condemnation, rather than any mercy.” Do you treat others as you think they deserve to be treated, or do you treat them as the Lord has instructed us – with mercy, steadfast love, and kindness?
"Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart and mind with your truth and love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me."
Do you believe that God’s word has power to change and transform your life today? Isaiah says that God’s word is like the rain and snow which makes the barren ground spring to life and become abundantly fertile (Isaiah 55:10-11). God’s word has power to penetrate our dry barren hearts and make them springs of new life. If we let God’s word take root in our heart it will transform us into the likeness of God himself and empower us to walk in his way of love and holiness. God wants his word to guide and shape the way we think, act, and pray. Ambrose, a fourth century church father, wrote that the reason we should devote time for reading scripture is to hear Christ speak to us. "Are you not occupied with Christ? Why do you not talk with him? By reading the scriptures, we listen to Christ."
We can approach God confidently because he is waiting with arms wide open to receive his prodigal sons and daughters. That is why Jesus gave his disciples the perfect prayer that dares to call God, Our Father. This prayer teaches us how to ask God for the things we really need, the things that matter not only for the present but for eternity as well. We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection. When we ask God for help, he fortunately does not give us what we deserve. Instead, he responds with grace, mercy, and kindness. He is good and forgiving towards us, and he expects us to treat our neighbor the same. God has poured his love into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). And that love is like a refining fire – it purifies and burns away all prejudice, hatred, resentment, vengeance, and bitterness until there is nothing left but goodness and forgiveness towards those who cause us grief or harm.
Consider what John Cassian, a 5th century church father who lived in a monastery in Bethlehem and then with Egyptian monks, wrote about the Lord’s Prayer and the necessity of forgiving others from the heart:
“The mercy of God is beyond description. While he is offering us a model prayer he is teaching us a way of life whereby we can be pleasing in his sight. But that is not all. In this same prayer he gives us an easy method for attracting an indulgent and merciful judgment on our lives. He gives us the possibility of ourselves mitigating the sentence hanging over us and of compelling him to pardon us. What else could he do in the face of our generosity when we ask him to forgive us as we have forgiven our neighbor? If we are faithful in this prayer, each of us will ask forgiveness for our own failings after we have forgiven the sins of those who have sinned against us, not only those who have sinned against our Master. There is, in fact, in some of us a very bad habit. We treat our sins against God, however appalling, with gentle indulgence: but when by contrast it is a matter of sins against us ourselves, albeit very tiny ones, we exact reparation with ruthless severity. Anyone who has not forgiven from the bottom of the heart the brother or sister who has done him wrong will only obtain from this prayer his own condemnation, rather than any mercy.” Do you treat others as you think they deserve to be treated, or do you treat them as the Lord has instructed us – with mercy, steadfast love, and kindness?
"Father in heaven, you have given me a mind to know you, a will to serve you, and a heart to love you. Give me today the grace and strength to embrace your holy will and fill my heart and mind with your truth and love that all my intentions and actions may be pleasing to you. Help me to be kind and forgiving towards my neighbor as you have been towards me."
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