OXYGEN

18 Aug
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Judges 6:11-24

The angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah which belong to Joash of Abiezer. Gideon his son was threshing wheat inside the winepress to keep it hidden from Midian, when the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘The Lord is with you, valiant warrior!’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but if the Lord is with us, then why is it that all this is happening to us now? And where are all the wonders our ancestors tell us of when they said, “Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt?” But now the Lord has deserted us; he has abandoned us to Midian.’

At this the Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength now upholding you, and you will rescue Israel from the power of Midian. Do I not send you myself?’ Gideon answered him, ‘Forgive me, my lord, but how can I deliver Israel. My clan, you must know, is the weakest in Manasseh and I am the least important in my family,’ The Lord answered him, ‘I will be with you and you shall crush Midian as though it were a single man.’ Gideon said to him, ‘If I have found favour in your sight, give me a sign that is you who speak to me. I beg you, do not go away until I come back, I will bring you my offering and set it down before you.’ And he answered, ‘I will stay until you return.’

Gideon went away and prepared a young goat and made unleavened cake with an ephah of flour. He put the meat into a basket and the broth into a pot, then brought it all to him under the terebinth. As he came near, the angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Take the meat and  unleavened cakes, put them on this rock and pour the broth on them.’ Gideon did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff in his hand and touched the meat and unleavened cakes. Fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of the Lord vanished before his eyes. Then Gideon knew this was the angel of the Lord, and he said, ‘Alas, my Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!’ The Lord answered him, ‘Peace be with you; have no fear; you will not die.’ Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it The-Lord-is-Peace.
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Matthew 19:23-30

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘I tell you solemnly, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ When the disciples heard this they were astonished. ‘Who can be saved, then?’ they said. Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he told them ‘this is impossible; for God everything is possible.’

Then Peter spoke. ‘What about us?’ he said to him. ‘We have left everything and followed you. What are we to have, then?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I tell you solemnly, when all is made new and the Son of Man sits on his throne of glory, you will yourselves sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or land for the sake of my name will be repaid a hundred times over, and also inherit eternal life.

‘Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’
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[F]or God, everything is possible

There are many things on my plate this year: having to take care of my grandmother, managing issues at work and serving the Lord in church. It can be pretty draining at times. It has also been a time to move on in my career. There was a switch in job scope. Though I was coping well with the change, somehow I felt something was amiss. I did not come to my current work place to have a switch in job scope. This was already decided by my bosses without prior consultation on my end.

Hence I prayed to the Lord seeking for direction. There were times when I was really down, yet I continued to do my scripture reflections, read the bible and pray. Indeed He was with me. During my job search, I also prayed to him, to close off doors not meant for me and to show me the right ones. The Lord has indeed been there for me. I had interviews in the educational sector in different aspects and He showed me which areas were not suitable for me. I was bit worried about my job search, as it was not showing results, until the recent interview. It just flowed smoothly and I was at peace after the interview. Before I knew it, the job offer came and I accepted the offer.

In the first reading from the Book of Judges, Gideon questioned the Lord about deserting them and abandoning them to Midian. The Lord assured him that He shall be with him and Gideon will crush Midian as though it were one man. Still doubting, Gideon asked the Lord to show him a sign that He was speaking to him. He told the Lord not to go away till he came back bringing his offering and lay it before him. The Lord assured him that he will be there. When the offering was offered, fire sprang from the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened cakes, and the angel of Yahweh vanished before his eyes.

Do you believe that with God everything is possible? Sometimes things don’t happen the way we want them to. Why is that so? It could be due to timing or we are not ready for the change or it is not meant for us. How are we to know that the Lord is with us? Surrender the entire situation. Be still and listen to the Lord, and His peace will come and rest on us.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Patricia Ang)
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Prayer: When we faced with fear and doubt, let us always be reminded that Lord, You are always there are us, to sustain and to guide us. With You, everything is possible. Allow us to grow in faith and to serve You.

Thanksgiving: Thank You for the opportunities that You have given us. We are thankful for the doors that are open for us to grow in faith with You.

Upcoming Readings:
Wed, 19 Aug – Judges 9:6-15; Matthew 20:1-16; Memorial for St. John Eudes, Priest, Religious Founder
Thu, 20 Aug – Judges 11:29-39; Matthew 22:1-14; Memorial for St. Bernard, Abbot, Doctor of the Church
Fri, 21 Aug – Ruth 1:1.3-6.14-16.22; Matthew 22:34-40; Memorial for St. Pius X, Pope
Sat, 22 Aug – Isaiah 9:1-6; Luke 1:26-38; Memorial for the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sun, 23 Aug – Joshua 24:1-2.15-18; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69; Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time