The Godless Say There Is No Other Life

Hi! and happy TGIF to all of us, GUYS.  Our "daily bread" this Friday:

THE GOOD NEWS (11 March 2016)

"Led by mistaken reasons they think, 'Life is short and sad and there is no cure for death.  It was never heard that anyone came back from the netherworld.

By chance we were born; when life is over, it will be as if we never existed.  The breath in our nostrils is like a puff of smoke, and thought is no more than a spark resulting from the movement of the heart.  Put this out and the body turns to ashes, the spirit melts away like idle air.

In time our name will be forgotten, no one will remember what we did.  Life passes like the shadow of a cloud, disappears like mist chased by the sun and overpowered by its heat.  Our days are like the passing of a shadow; from death there is no turning back, the seal is set: no one returns.

Come then and enjoy all the good things; let us use creation with the zest of youth, making the most of choicest wines and perfumes and not passing by any flower of spring.  Let us crown ourselves with rosebuds before they fade.

Let everyone take part in our orgy; let us post everywhere the signs of our joy, for that is our due, the lot assigned to us.

Let us oppress the upright man who is poor, and have no thought for the widow, or respect for the white hair of old age.

Let our strength be our right, since it is proved that weakness is useless.  Let us set a trap for the righteous, for he annoys us and opposes our way of life; he reproaches us for our breaches of the Law and accuses us of being false to our upbringing.

He claims knowledge of GOD and calls himself son of the LORD.  He has become a reproach to our way of thinking; even to meet him is burdensome to us.  He does not live like others and behaves strangely.

According to him we have low standards, so he keeps aloof from us as if we were unclean.  He emphasizes the happy end of the righteous and boasts of having GOD as father.

Let us see the truth of what he says and find out what his end will be.  If the righteous is a son of GOD, GOD will defend him and deliver him from his adversaries.

Let us humble and torture him to prove his self-control and test his patience.  When we have condemned him to a shameful death, we may test his words.'

This is the way they reason, but they are mistaken, blinded by their malice.  They do not know the mysteries of GOD nor do they hope for the reward of a holy life; they do not believe that the blameless will be recompensed." - Wisdom 2:1-22 

(By chance we were born.  The "impious," meaning those who have freed themselves from the Law of GOD and their conscience, are friends of death since they do not know true life.  For them wisdom consists in profiting from life: let us enjoy the good things now.

Let us see the truth of what he says.  Because the godless are the friends of death, they necessarily come to persecute and even kill  the good.  For them it is like a game to prove to what extent the righteous can remain firm, since they themselves believe in nothing.  They need to destroy others to convince themselves that they alone benefit from life.

If  the righteous is a son of GOD, GOD will defend him.  The words in 2:16-20 reveal the situation of JESUS on the cross.

This is also verified in the lives of real believers, a scandal to a materialist who enjoys inflicting suffering on those who make sacrifices for others.  We have seen comfortable "Christians" rejoicing over the death of those who speak of justice and who, by their involvement, disturb the conscience of the satisfied.

The mentality of the godless who do not believe in the hereafter is, in some way, very much like that of the society in which we live.  Let us set a trap for the righteous for he opposes our way of life.  Secretly we all admire an upright person, but in any institution, her presence disturbs us - in the unions just as in the factories - because we cannot buy her conscience.

He does not live like others and behaves strangely.  When this was written the Jews were  not well-thought-of by pagans because of all the things in their lives that were different from the pagan customs.  The same is true now, as well; even though believers try not to be distinct, their integrity and enthusiasm make them "strange."

Those who stand with death experience death.  Those who do evil begin to experience death.  There is a physical wearing down caused by vice [alcoholism, licentiousness], but there is an even greater deterioration of enthusiasm, generosity and trust.  "He who sows in the flesh will reap from it corruption and death" [Galatians 6:8]. 

The text considers what JESUS will do; that behind a mass of evils that tear humanity, and behind our disbelief there is a presence of  "the Enemy.")

    

The Testimony

Hi! and happy good Thursday to all of us, GUYS.  Today's "food for the soul":

THE GOOD NEWS (10 March 2016)

"If I bore witness to MYSELF, MY testimony would be worthless.  But Another One is bearing witness to ME and I know that HIS testimony is true when HE bears witness to ME.  John also bore witness to the truth when YOU sent messengers to him, but I do not seek such human testimony; I recall this for you, so that you may be saved.

John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were willing to enjoy his light.  But I have greater evidence than that of John - the works which the FATHER entrusted to ME to carry out.  The very works I do bear witness: the FATHER has sent ME.  Thus HE who bears witness to ME is the FATHER who sent ME.  You have never heard HIS voice and have never seen HIS likeness; then, as long as you do not believe HIS messenger, HIS word is not in you.

You search in the Scriptures thinking that in them you will find life; yet Scripture bears witness to ME.  But you refuse to come to ME, that you may live.  I AM  not seeking human praise; but I have known that love of GOD is not within you, for I have come in MY FATHER's name and you do not accept ME. If another comes in his own name, you will accept him.  As long as you seek praise from one another instead of seeking the glory coming from the only GOD, how can you believe?

Do not think that I shall accuse you to the FATHER.  Moses himself in whom you placed your hope, accuses you.  If you believed Moses, you would believe ME, for he wrote of ME.  But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?" - John 5:31-47

(To gain a direction in life, we need some understanding of the world and humankind.  This understanding may come through reason and science, but more often we are influenced and guided by the testimony of others - by their words, attitudes and personal qualities.

It is thus that those in love discover one another, friends accept each other, a career is decided upon, a religious or political commitment is made.  It is also thus that the Word of GOD is discovered.  Therefore, JESUS speaks of the testimonies that accredit HIM:

     - HIS works, that is, HIS miracles.

     - John the Baptist's testimony in pointing HIM out as the Savior.

     - the words of the Bible that refer to HIM.

Some people say that since the Bible is the word of GOD they do not need anything more than that to guide them.  Let them know that just as GOD spoke through events and through prophets, HE continues speaking to us through actual events and through spokespersons of the Spirit in the Church.  JESUS rebuked those who believed they possessed the truth just by having the Bible, but did not believe in HIM whom GOD was sending them.

GOD instructs us in HIS way when we listen to what others teach us; in daily life and within the Church we meet people living according to the Spirit, whereas others only pretend to be religious and upright persons.

How then do we distinguish between what is true and what is false?  How do we recognize those who speak of GOD's ways from personal experience?  JESUS says that those who love the truth recognize those who speak the truth.  Everyone values the testimony of an equal.  To recognize the messengers of GOD, we must be the people who do not look for praise from one another, and thus are not enslaved by false values.  Whoever seeks the truth and mercy will recognize a communication of the Glory of GOD in the words and actions of GOD's more humble servants.

It pleases GOD when we recognize HIS witnesses.  HE desires everyone to honor the SON just as HIS FATHER does.  By believing in HIS SON, we show ourselves worthy of HIS trust and thus become GOD's children, open to HIS life.)      

Though Your Mother Forget You!

Hello! and happy good mid-week to all of us, GUYS. For our "daily bread" this Wednesday:

THE GOOD NEWS (09 March 2016)

"This is what YAHWEH says: 

 'At a favorable time I have answered you, on the day of salvation I have been your help; I have formed you and made you to be MY covenant with the people.

You will restore the land, and allot its abandoned farms.  You will say to the captives: Come out; and to those in darkness: Show yourselves.

They will feed along the road; they will find pasture on barren hills.  They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the scorching wind or the sun beat upon them; for HE who has mercy on them will guide them and lead them to springs of water.

I will turn all my mountains into roads and raise up my highways.

See, they come from afar, some from the north and west, others from the land of Sinim.'

Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth;

break forth into song, O mountains:

for YAHWEH has comforted HIS people

and taken pity on those who are afflicted.

But Zion said: 'YAHWEH has forsaken me,

my LORD has forgotten me.'

Can a woman forget the baby at her breast

and have no compassion on the child of her womb?

Yet though she forget, I will never forget you."

- Isaiah 49:8-15

Footprints In The Sand

(YAHWEH's maternal love for HIS people.

HE saves them from despair and from being despised, rebuilding Jerusalem and gathering those who were dispersed.  HE invites all the nations to come and recognize the true city.

Here GOD again addresses the more conscious minorities of Israel, those who held onto their hope at a time they seemed to be lost amidst the pagan inhabitants of the materialistic Babylon.  They would lift up their nation and become the light of the world.

These promises started to be fulfilled when, having returned to their land, the Jews became missionaries of the One GOD to all the countries of the Greek and Syrian world.  Later, these promises would take on a new meaning for the Church which CHRIST established as the New Jerusalem.  At times, the new Jerusalem seems downhearted and lifeless, and even disappears in some parts of the world.  Yet, GOD brings it new children from other continents.  HE invites us to look beyond our communities to those who have not yet received the Kingdom.)

      

A River Whose Streams Bring Joy To The City Of GOD

Hello! and happy good Tuesday to all of us, GUYS.  For our today's "food for the soul":

THE GOOD NEWS (08 March 2016)

"GOD is our strength and protection,

an ever-present help in affliction.

We will not fear, therefore,

though the earth be shaken

and the mountains plunge into the seas,

though its waters foam and roar,

though the mountains quake and totter.

For the LORD of hosts is with us,

the GOD of Jacob, our stronghold.

There is a river whose streams bring joy to the city of GOD,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

GOD is within, the city cannot quake,

for GOD's help is upon it at the break of day.

Kingdoms tottered, nations were in turmoil;

at the sound of HIS voice the earth melts away.

For with us is the LORD of hosts,

the GOD of Jacob our refuge.

Come, see the works of the LORD -

the marvelous things HE has done in the world."

- Psalm 46:2-9

The Pool Of Shiloah

(To the upheavals mentioned in the first stanza the psalmist contrasts a vision of tranquility, the Holy City, Jerusalem, the Church.

This psalm is one of those that recall the miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem in the time of Isaiah [Isaiah 36-37].

We will not fear... though the mountains quake and totter.  The Hebrew poetry always associates nature and political events.  The history of Israel has been a troubled history: marked by internal crises and enemy invasions.  Yet, it is not a chaotic history.  This history is guided by an invisible hand, powerful and tender - the hand of GOD.

A river brings joy to the city of GOD.  The pool of Shiloah, where the water entered through a tunnel in the interior of the ramparts assured the life of the city at time of siege: symbol of the secret protection of GOD.  Ezekiel will recall the source which flows out of the Temple, symbol of life and fecundity.

HE has put an end to wars.  The spiritual Israel [the Church] will be there again to proclaim the wonders of GOD when the armies and imperial powers will have fallen.

At the sound of HIS voice, the earth melts away.  And it is still true when GOD feels at home with us; if we had many reasons to fear, suddenly the scene changes and all is certitude and peace.) 

Unless You See Signs And Wonders, You Will Not Believe!

Hi! and happy good first day of the week to all of us, GUYS.  For our "daily bread" this Monday:

THE GOOD NEWS (07 March 2016)

"When the two days were over, JESUS left for Galilee.  JESUS HIMSELF said that no prophet is recognized in his own country.  Yet the Galileans welcomed HIM when HE arrived, because of all the things HE had done in Jerusalem during the Festival and which they had seen.  For they, too, had gone to the feast.

JESUS went back to Cana of Galilee where HE had changed the water into wine.  At Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill, and when he heard that JESUS had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and asked HIM to come and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

JESUS said, 'Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe!'  The official said, 'Sir, come down before my child dies.'  And JESUS replied, 'Go, your son is living.'

The man had faith in the word that JESUS spoke to him and went his way.  He was already going down the hilly road when his servants met him with this news, 'Your son has recovered!'  So he asked them at what hour the child had begun to recover and they said to him, 'The fever left him yesterday in the afternoon about one o'clock.'  And the father realized that it was the time when JESUS told him, 'Your son is living.'  And he became a believer, he and all his family.

JESUS performed this second miraculous sign when he returned from Judea to Galilee." -John 4:43-54

(JESUS reproach is directed, not to the official who will later show great faith, but to the Jews and to us.  While JESUS works miracles which confirm HIS mission, HE also stresses that we should recognize HIM by seeing and hearing HIM.  Do lovers demand miracles in order to trust one another?  Do those who follow leaders demand absolute proof?  Those who really seek the truth recognize it when it is presented to them. 

JESUS second miracle in Cana concludes this second part of the Gospel in which JESUS defines HIMSELF in relation to Jewish society and its hopes.

Now begins a new section: JESUS proclaims the work for which HE has come into this world; HIS FATHER has sent HIM to judge and to give life.  We must first believe in the Messenger of GOD.)    

JESUS, The Messenger Of GOD 

"Today I Have Removed From You The Shame Of Egypt."

Hello! and happy holy and family day to all of us, GUYS.  Today's first-thing-first:

THE GOOD NEWS (06 March 2016)

"Then YAHWEH said to Joshua: 'Today I have removed from you the shame of Egypt.'  So the place is called Gilgal up to this day. 

The Israelites encamped in Gilgal where they celebrated the Passover  on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho.  On the following day, they ate of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain on that very day.  And from that day on when they ate of the produce of the land, the manna ceased.

There was no more manna for the Israelites, and that year they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan." - Joshua 5:9-12 

Manna From Heaven

(From that day on, they ate of the produce of the land.  See commentary on Exodus 16 for the explanations concerning the manna and legends about it.

Fruit Of The Land Of Canaan

Then begins a new era.  Up to this time, the religion of the Israelites had been that of a nomadic people.  Now begins a deep crisis which will last until King David's time, with the Israelites trying to adapt themselves to their new situation as farmers and city-dwellers and gradually evolving a kind of religion suitable for this new situation.  The text goes even further: the time of the journey, the time of the march towards the Promised land is over; the people have entered this land.  The manna, nourishment for the journey, no longer falls and the people satisfy their hunger with the fruit of the country.  So it will be at the end of time when all humanity will have reached the FATHER and HIS kingdom, no longer will the Church give people bread for the journey - what they will have is the eternal presence of GOD.)

It Is Love That I Desire, Not Sacrifice

Hello! and happy good weekend to all of us, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" this Saturday:

THE GOOD NEWS (05 March 2016)

"Come, let us return to YAHWEH.

HE who shattered us to pieces, will heal us as well;

HE has struck us down, but HE will bind up our wounds.

Two days later HE will bring us back to life;

on the third day, HE will raise us up,

and we shall live in HIS presence.

Let us strive to know YAHWEH.

HIS coming is as certain as the dawn;

HIS judgment will burst forth like the light;

HE will come to us as showers come,

like spring rain that waters the earth.

O Ephraim, what shall I do with you?

O Judah, how shall I deal with you?

This love of yours is like morning mist,

like morning dew that quickly disappears.

This is why I smote you through the prophets,

and have slain you by the words of MY mouth.

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice;

It is knowledge of GOD, not burnt offerings."

- Hosea 6:1-6

(People regret their errors, but they are not so sincere  to abandon their sins.  They think they will please GOD by offering a few sacrifices but are far from real love which manifests itself in obedience; they prefer to offer the costly sacrifices which they choose rather than to do what GOD asks of them.

It is love that I desire, not sacrifice.  On several occasions JESUS refuted the Pharisees by quoting this saying [see Matthew 9:13].)  

Humanity's Reconciliation With GOD

Hi! and happy TGIF to all of us, GUYS.  Our "daily bread" this Friday:

THE GOOD NEWS (04 March 2016)

"Return to your GOD YAHWEH, O Israel!

Your sins have caused your downfall.

Return to YAHWEH with humble words.  Say to HIM,

'Oh YOU who show compassion to the fatherless

forgive our debt, be appeased.

Instead of bulls and sacrifices,

accept the praise from our lips.

Assyria will not save us:

no longer shall we look for horses

nor ever again shall we say 'Our gods'

to the work of our hands.'

I will heal their wavering

and love them with all MY heart

for MY anger has turned from them.

I shall be like dew to Israel

like the lily will HE blossom.

Like a cedar HE will send down HIS roots;

HIS young shoots will grow and spread.

HIS splendor will be like an olive tree,

HIS fragrance, like a Lebanon cedar.

They will dwell in MY shade again,

they will flourish like the grain,

they will blossom like a vine,

and their fame will be like Lebanon wine.

What would Ephraim do with idols,

when it is I who hear and make him prosper?

I AM like an ever-green cypress tree;

all your fruitfulness comes from ME.

Who is wise enough to grasp all this?

Who is discerning and will understand?

Straight are the ways of YAHWEH:

the just walk in them, but the sinners stumble."

- Hosea 14:2-10

Atonement In Christianity

(The book of Hosea ends with these encouraging words.  After the trials, Israel will seek YAHWEH who will allow HIMSELF to be found.  Humanity's reconciliation with GOD will be an authentic marriage and it will be accompanied by a reconciliation of humanity with nature.  This was already said in 2:17-22 and will be developed in the Song of Songs which will use some images taken from Hosea.)

Man And Nature

True Religion

Hello! and happy good Thursday to all of us, GUYS.  For our "food for the soul" today:

THE GOOD NEWS ((03 March 2016)

"One thing I did command them: Listen to MY voice and I will be your GOD and you will be MY people.  Walk in the way I command you and all will be well with you.  But they did not listen and paid no attention; they followed the bad habits of their stubborn heart and turned away from ME.

From the time I brought their forefathers out of Egypt until this day I have continually sent them my servants, the prophets, but this stiff-necked people did not listen.  They paid no attention and were worse than their forefathers.

You may say all these things to them but they will not listen; you will call them but they will not answer.  This is a nation that did not obey YAHWEH and refused to be disciplined; truth has perished and is no longer heard from their lips." - Jeremiah 7:23-28 

(Jeremiah repeats the warnings of Deuteronomy.  This book had just been discovered [2 Kings 22].  The chosen people will have peace if they listen to the word of their GOD.  In the same way we also must go beyond our religious practices and listen to the LORD.)

More Perfect Law

Hi! and happy good mid-week to all of us, GUYS.  For our "daily bread" this Wednesday:

THE GOOD NEWS (02 March 2016)

"Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets.  I have not come to remove but to fulfill them.  I tell you this: as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the law will change until all is fulfilled. 

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be the least in the kingdom of heaven.  On the other hand, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do the same will be great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:17-19 

(Here begins the presentation of the new Law.  It is far from what is often sought in a religion: practices to observe, fasts, prayers, good works with which one wins salvation.  JESUS says little about this because the Bible has dealt at length with this subject,  and the study of the Bible itself shows that these laws and practices are always linked to a certain culture, and have to be adapted to the times.

Law.  At times this word indicates all the religion of Israel.  The Law and the Prophets: was a way of indicating the whole Bible.

Not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled.  JESUS does not refer to the commandments.  Rather HE affirms that the religion founded on the Old Testament's Scripture was a temporary, yet necessary, step in the history of salvation.  The prophecies had to be fulfilled; the rites and sacrifices of that religion expressed in a veiled manner the mystery of sin and mercy that would be fulfilled in the person and the work of JESUS.  With HIM comes the perfect and definitive fellowship of GOD with humankind.

For us as well, observing the laws of the Bible is not an end in itself.  They are an expression of real love and are its guidelines.  In obeying them we become receptive to the Spirit who will lead us.  In this way we discover a "righteousness" or perfection far superior to the canonists of the time: the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.

So then, whoever breaks the least important of these commandments ... Here JESUS is referring to the commandments.)