While reflecting on the readings for today, I was drawn to reflect more on the first reading. The particular verse that caught my attention is the following:

 

           “The Lord has given me a well-trained tongue, 

           That I might know how to speak to the weary

           a word that would rouse them.”

 

I asked myself this question: “Why are these words meaningful for me today?” And as I continued to meditate, one word was the only answer that came to my mind: MARATHON. 

 

It seems queer that I would be thinking of the marathon at this point of time. But the more I prayed about it the more it makes sense.

 

Life is not always a sprint. But most of the time, life is a marathon. Things just take time before something happens. We go through a process that can take a lot of time. We need to be patient. We need to keep pace our daily. We cannot simply give everything we have got or else we would not have enough to last us through the process. We cannot simply think that it would be over soon but we constantly believe and hope that we will get there someday. 

 

It would be foolish to say that what we hope for will happen tomorrow, as in, immediately the next day. Our faith and hope point to a tomorrow that will come at its proper time; not as we expected it but according to God’s time. Thus we look forward in hope.

 

Jesus has been preparing his disciples to face what is coming. He has been warning them way before what to expect. Jesus was preparing them for one of the longest and deepest darkness of their life. The gospel was not only focusing on the events that will happen to Jesus but also on the events that will follow after when has ascended into heaven. The lessons of the gospel guided the early church as it goes through its painful growth and persecution under the Roman Empire through more than three hundred years.

 

We can learn the lessons from the past in order to face the challenges of today. 

 

First, they kept the faith. They continued to witness to the world their faith in God in a world that misunderstood them. Often wrongfully accused and judged unjustly by others, they persevered even to the point of giving up their lives rather than renounce their faith. 

 

We are not being asked to renounce our faith but it is challenged by the circumstances that we are in. We need to find ways and means to continue keeping the faith. It is more challenging to pray and celebrate our liturgy. We have become more innovative and have begun to think outside the box. We continue to teach, to preach, to serve and to be present in the lives of our people. Though we may be far away from one another we continue to keep the flame alive in the hearts of all by being more present with the help of modern technology.

 

Secondly, they found strength in being together. The more they are persecuted the more they assembled and celebrate the mystery of God’s love for them. They found ways to be together. They even invented coded messages and symbols to get in touch with one another. 

 

We will also find strength when we are together. We find ways to link with one another. We pass on messages to inspire and strengthen. We demonstrate our oneness in concrete ways. We are grateful for your continued “presence” by being one with us in our celebrations while you are in the safety of your home. Your encouraging words and your prayers continued to sustain us in our ministry and vice-versa. We are giving out the message that we are not alone facing these challenges. We “hold our hands together” in spiritual way as we unite our hearts to pray and intercede for the needs of each one.

 

Thirdly, as a church and individually, they witness to the world the love of God by their deeds and examples. As Jesus said: "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." 

 

Though we may be apart from one another, we continue to find ways and means to help another in their burdens. As you well know, we decided to give back to the church our salary this month and onward until we can open our church once again. We did this to be able to ensure that we can continue to pay the salaries of our staff. Some have offered not to receive their salary because they know the financial condition of the church as of now. We declined to accept their offer. They have their families to provide for. On our part, God continues to provide for what we need. We were even surprised to receive a check of $1,000.00 from one of our parishioners to help us out to keep the church open. It was their money saved for vacation this coming summer. God bless them for this generosity. I personally have seen people who in their own little way are stepping up to provide for the needs of our frontliners who are already at the point of weariness and frustration. They provide the needed boost to raise their morale knowing they are not alone in combating this pandemic. They are able to see that the needs of others are greater than their own and they responded with generosity.

 

Because of this I am looking forward in hope. Even though we do not know how long this will last, let our light shine forth. Let us continue to be the presence of God in this moment of crisis. Let us not allow one of us to fall away and lose faith. Let us rather sustain one another in whatever little way we can. We are in a marathon. We are all in this together . . . . and TOGETHER WE WILL STAND AND OVERCOME.

 

Fr. Pius Pareja, MMHC