"Ginabalabagan Ninyo Ang Mga Tawo Nga Magpasakop Sa Paghari Sang Dios"

Ebanghelyo subong nga Adlaw (Mateo 23:13-22)

"Kaluluoy kamo nga mga manunudlo sang Kasuguan kag mga Pariseo. Ang inyo pagtuo sa Dios pakita-kita lang! Ginabalabagan ninyo ang mga tawo nga magpasakop sa paghari sang Dios. Kamo mismo indi magpasakop, kag ginapunggan pa ninyo ang mga tawo nga nagatinguha nga magpasakop. 

["Kaluluoy kamo nga mga manunudlo sang Kasuguan kag mga Pariseo. Ang inyo pagtuo sa Dios pakita-kita lang. Ginaubos ninyo kuha ang mga pagkabutang sang mga babayi nga balo, kag ginatabon-tabunan lang ninyo ang inyo ginahimo paagi sa inyo malawig nga mga pagpangamuyo. Gani mas dako ang silot nga inyo pagabatunon!]

"Kaluluoy kamo nga mga manunudlo sang Kasuguan kag mga Pariseo. Ang inyo pagtuo sa Dios pakita-kita lang! Ginalibot ninyo ang bug-os nga kalibutan agod makomberter ninyo ang bisan isa lang ka tawo sa inyo pagtuo. Pero kon makomberter na ninyo ginahimo ninyo siya nga sobra pa sa inyo kalain kag bagay gid sa impyerno.

Kaluluoy kamo nga mga bulag nga manugtuytoy. Nagatudlo kamo nga 'kon ang tawo magsumpa sa templo, indi kinahanglan nga tumanon niya ang iya ginsumpa. Pero kon magsumpa siya sa bulawan didto sa templo, kinahanglan tumanon gid niya ang iya ginsumpa.'

Buang-buang kag bulag kamo. Diin ang mas importante, ang bulawan ukon ang templo nga nagapabalaan sa bulawan?

Nagatudlo man kamo nga 'kon ang tawo magsumpa sa altar, indi kinahanglan nga tumanon niya ang iya ginsumpa. Pero kon magsumpa siya sa halad nga yara sa altar kinahanglan tumanon gid niya ang iya ginsumpa.'

Mga bulag gid kamo! Diin ang mas importante, ang halad ukon ang altar nga nagapabalaan sa halad?

Amo ina nga kon ang tawo magsumpa sa altar, nagasumpa siya sa altar kag sa tanan nga halad sa altar.

Kag kon ang tawo magsumpa sa templo, nagasumpa siya sa templo kag sa Dios nga nagapuyo didto.

Kag kon ang tawo magsumpa sa langit, nagasumpa siya sa trono sang Dios, kag sa Dios nga nagapungko didto.

***

Meditation:  

When God knocks on your door are you ready to let him in (Rev. 3:20)? God offers each of us an open door to his kingdom, but we can shut ourselves out if  we reject his offer. What is the door to heaven? When Jacob fled from his brother Essau, who wanted to kill him for stealing his birthright (Genesis 27:41), he sought refuge in the wilderness. There God pursued him and gave him a vision that both changed his life and the life of his people. As Jacob slept on a star-lit hillside God showed him a great ladder or stairway that extended from earth to heaven. This stairway was filled with a multitude of angels ascending and descending before the throne of God. God opened heaven to Jacob, not only to give him a place of refuge and peace, but to offer him the blessing of dwelling in intimate friendship with the living God. God spoke to Jacob and renewed the promises which he had made to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac, and now to Jacob and his posterity. God promised not only to bless and protect Jacob, but to make him and his descendants a blessing to all the nations as well. When Jacob awoke he exclaimed:  "How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God and this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17). God opened a door for Jacob that brought him and his people into a new relationship with the living God.

Jesus proclaimed to his disciples that he would fulfill the dream of Jacob in his very own person: "You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man" (John 1:51). Jesus proclaimed that he is the door (John 10:8-9) and the way (John 14:6) that makes it possible for us to access heaven and God's very throne. But Jesus woefully warned the religious leaders and successors of  Jacob that they were shutting the door of God's kingdom not only on themselves but on others as well.  The word woe expresses sorrowful pity and concern as well as grief and extreme sadness. 

Why did Jesus lament and issue such a stern rebuke? Jesus was angry with the religious leaders because they failed to listen to God's word and they misled the people they were supposed to teach and lead in the ways of God. Jesus gave a series of examples to show how misguided they were. In their zeal to win converts, they required unnecessary and burdensome rules which obscured the more important matters of religion, such as love of God and love of neighbor. They were leading people to Pharisaism rather than to God. Jesus also chastised them for their evasion of binding oaths and solemn promises.  Oaths made to God were considered binding, but the Pharisees found clever ways to evade the obligation of their oaths when convenience got in the way. They forgot that God hears every word we utter and he sees the intention of the heart even before we speak or act. The scribes and Pharisees preferred their idea of religion to God's idea. They failed as religious leaders to teach others the way of God's kingdom because they failed to listen and to understand the intention of God's word. Through their own pride and prejudice they blindly shut the door of their own hearts and minds to God's understanding of his kingdom. 

How can we shut the door of God's kingdom in our lives? By closing our ears to Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelations 17:14; 19:16), who speaks words of life and love, truth and freedom, hope and pardon. The Lord Jesus wants to dwell with us and to bring us his kingdom.  He opens the way for each of us to "ascend to heaven" and to bring "heaven to earth" in the daily circumstances of our lives. God's kingdom is present in all who seek him and who do his will.  Do you pray as Jesus taught, "May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10)? 

"Lord, your word is life for me. May I never shut the kingdom of heaven through disbelief, indifference, or disobedience. Help me to listen to your voice and to conform my life more fully to your word."