How are you running the race of faith?

END IN GLORY                                

 

“Sa hinaba-haba ng prusisyon, sa simbahan din ang tuloy.” This is a favorite Philippine saying that expresses the inevitable end of a long, even tedious journey. After a long period of courtship, a woman finally accepts a man to be her boyfriend. They go through the normal ups and downs of going steady and end up in church as they receive the holy sacrament of matrimony.

       It can refer to the long travails of someone who has to bear all the hardships of life in pursuing a dream that ends up in its fulfillment — a student graduating after years of studies, an athlete going through rigorous trainings and finally being rewarded a medal for all his hardwork, a man finally salvaging his own family living in dire straits to a blissfull life of plenty.

       I like to look at the genealogy of Jesus this way. It is a long journey of Jesus’ bloodline, passing through different histories of glory and even shame. It ends up in the coming of the promised Messiah that effects salvation for humankind. From this long journey, we have seen the highs and lows of human existence, the best in human character and some less known or even the unknown lot whose only claim to fame is their inclusion in this genealogy. The glory came in the end as Jesus is born.

       That is the story of our life. It should always end up in glory. We should never be content in achieving the half-way good. Something much better awaits in the end. We should never be disheartened by the lows of living and the blows that come our way. We should never give up and quit. The prospects of a glorious end should excite us and inspire us to keep on running until the glory that is desired by God for the faithful is handed on to us. Fr. Sandy Enhaynes

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How are you running the race of faith?

 

Jesus, I want to get the prize that awaits me. Help me to persevere.