Amazing

"CAN you believe what things people do these days? I was sitting next to this guy in the church, and in the middle of the Mass, he lit a cigarette! I was so shocked I almost dropped my beer!"

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The text message we mentioned above underlines the fact that life is really full of twists and turns, and surprises. The parents of Jesus must have been so surprised when they presented their son to the Lord. (Lk. 2,22-40) They were a simple, ordinary couple who went to Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements of the law, but they ended up "amazed at what was said about Him." First, there was Simeon who said he could die now that he had seen the Child. Then, there was the prophetess Anna who gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary must have been so puzzled and bewildered, shocked and surprised at all these. Wow! It must have been "masayadong too much" and "sobrang over" for this simple and ordinary couple.

The fact is that every child is really amazing. There is no telling what a child will turn out to be. So, parents, never underestimate your child, and never set limits on what your child is and can be. Remember, your child has a mission in this world. He/she belongs to God, more than to you. God loves your child more than you can love him/her.

You don't own your child. Your mission is to take care and guide your child so that he or she can live a life that is pleasing and presentable to the Lord.

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Mama always told us when we were young that her greatest joy would be to see all of us live good lives and go to heaven after this life. Her greatest sorrow would be if one of us would not be able to make it to heaven.

For Mama, presentation was not just a personal but a family affair. She believed in living good lives together and going to heaven together.

Today, let us spend some time to pray for and reach out to members of our family who need healing, forgiveness or conversion. They who are hurting are the ones who need our love most.

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Presentable ka ba kay Lord? Are you living a life that is pleasing to God? If you were to come before the Lord today, what sort of a life will you present to him? Will you be carrying in your hands presents from a life well lived, or will you come before him empty-handed because all your life was focused on the perishable and the degradable? In other words, are you on the pre-sent or the pre-paid lane of life?

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Is there still room for jokes, surprises, wonder and amazement in your life? Have you become so dead serious about life that you no longer take the road of the possible and say, why not? Do you belittle and look down with contempt on people who are "childish"? Are you so bloated in your sense of self-importance that you have become so immersed in doing, and have forgotten just being? Don't forget the "eleventh commandment": Do not take yourself too seriously. You know why? You are not indispensable in this life. Ultimately, God is in control. Not you.

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There are some people who never cease to amaze us even in their advanced years. One such person I've met was the late Ambassador Nicanor Jimenez whom I had the privilege of meeting when I was a missionary in South Korea. Nick had a way of making people feel special. He would literally go out of his way just to surprise his friends and loved ones. He loved to make people happy and he loved to surprise people.

I can never forget one early December morning in 1984. Nick was on the phone telling me to look out of the window, sharing with me my excitement of seeing the first snow. His care was real. His joy was contagious. Amazing people are like that: real and contagious.

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Another "amazing" person I've met was Ernesto Michael from Cebu. He was a real character who, for a while, I thought to be a superman because he had faced death eyeball to eyeball so many times, and survived. Plane crash, shipwreck, car accidents-he experienced it all. A lover of food, drinks and cigarettes, he had it all, too: diabetes, emphysema, heart attacks, stroke and cirrhosis of the liver. He outlived four of his doctors who warned him that he would die early if he did not reform his ways. But behind this practical joker who talked tough and rough was a humble man with a big, generous and compassionate heart especially for the poor. I asked him once what he would say to the Lord when he'd finally meet him. In tears, he said, "All I'll tell God is 'Lord, you know me, you know my heart. Have mercy on me, a sinner."

That is what he probably said to the Lord when he finally met him at 3 a.m. last Wednesday, Jan. 29. He was honest and real. He was humble and trusting. Yeah, amazing people are like that.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, help me not to lose my sense of wonder, amazement and surprises as I go on in life. Amen.