A dying husband on his death bed makes a request to his wife: “my dear, when I die and you bury me… please do not put R.I.P. on top of my grave.” Surprised, the wife replies: “why not? What would you want us to put instead?” With a solemn voice the husband suggests: “simply put S.Y.S” “And what would that suppose to mean? she inquires. The husband says: “See You Soon!”
St. Paul in the 2nd Reading (1 Thes 5:1-6) reminds us that the “day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Therefore, we need to be prepared; to be awake and sober.
Our Sunday Readings have two lessons to teach us:
1. We need to Prepare. Right now, there are three big events I am preparing for: the Christmas Concert on December 9; the Misa de Gallo and the Loudes Fiesta 2018. We are aware that without preparation many things will not be in order and the event will not be meaningful.
How then should we prepare for the most important day of our life? Surely that is the day of our death! It is the day when we shall meet God face to face; the day we encounter Him. Hence we should look our best. Because I believe after death – the best is yet to come.
It may happen that we may deliberately stay away from Him. I saw in facebook a coffin being carried in church by 6 men. Under it was a caption in Bisaya: “Bisag unsaon nimo’g palayo sa Dios ug sa Simbahan, sa katapusan ibalik ra ka gihapon sa Simbahan.” (No matter how you distance from God and the Church, in the end you will still be returned to the Church). Its something to thinks about.
2. We need to take responsibility. The gospel reminds us that God is the master and the owner of whatever we have. He gives us talents, gifts and abilities for our use. But he expects us to use them responsibly in order to honor and glorify him.
American writer, Mark Twain said: “there are two most important days in our life: the day when we were born, and the day you discovered why.” One afternoon, I was surprise to see a new name for Ganciang Street – Gabriel Elorde Street. I was more surprise to learn that the promulgation from the City Government was still way back 1985.
Who was Gabriel “Flash” Elorde? He is considered the greatest Filipino boxer of all time. In Asia, he is first to be inducted into the prestigious New York Boxing Hall of Fame in 1993. Looking back at his life, he actually discovered boxing by accident because of an ex-boxer friend, Lucio Laborte. After teaching him how to box, he made history by becoming a champion.
But he is a real champion in and outside the ring. In one of his visits to the clinic after being diagnosed with cancer of the lungs, he met a boy with the same sickness. Feeling compassion, he gave his gold necklace crucifix to the hapless lad who was so grateful of him. Writer Ronnie Nathanielz described Gabriel Elorde as “a champion who feared no man, but humble to all men.” He was indeed a giver. He did not just give punches; he also gave away his heart.
Our talents are God-given. Whatever talent we may have – we use it! God does not wants us to bury them under the ground. It is how we honor and give glory to God. Moreover, It will also serve as our entrance ticket for the banquet of life – the banquet of heaven!