RajahJun

Christmas day reminds us of the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. We celebrate his birth because it is the fulfillment God's promise to finally redeem mankind from sin. God's promise were written down in old testament scriptures. Being the son of God, Jesus could have been born to a royal family. His childbirth could have happened inside the comfort of a palace and attended by royal physicians. Instead, he was born into an ordinary family. His actual childbirth was pitiful when Joseph and Mary, because of their circumstances, had to give birth to Jesus inside a stable in Bethlehem.  In usual circumstances for an ordinary family from that period, childbirth is usually done inside the safety and comfort of the parents' house. God could have arranged for a more comfortable place for Mary to give birth to Jesus. But that was not the case. Luke, one of the gospel writers, recounted Jesus' childbirth in Bethlehem (Luke 2: 1-7). Verse 7 says when Mary gave birth to Jesus, she ...

Christmas day is just around the corner. It's the time of gift-giving and being with family and friends. Though the pandemic has limited the enjoyment of that special day, we find ways to celebrate it despite the prevailing situation. For Christians all over the world, Christmas day is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is a celebration of hope. It also reminds us of God's unconditional love by offering a sure-fire way to finally redeem mankind from sin once and for all. That is through his son Jesus. We all know that God sent his son to be with us and to show us the way to redemption. Matthew wrote in one of the verses in his gospel (Matthew  1:22) about a fulfillment of a prophecy of a virgin who will be with a child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel - which means "God with us." Matthew mentioned a virgin who is Mary the mother of Jesus. She played a big part in our redemption and our Christmas day celebration today. If she h...

In the Catholic tradition, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of Mary every year on December 8. That yearly celebration reminds us that Mary was conceived without sin. Though Mary had ordinary human parents who conceived her in the usual way, God had already redeemed Mary from original sin the moment her parents conceived her.   That kind of redemption from original sin that Mary had is the same kind of redemption that Jesus would giving to everyone when he grew up to be a man. Mary had received it earlier because she would be playing the crucial role as the biological mother of God. In Luke 1: 26 -28, the verses strongly suggest that Mary had received that kind of redemption ahead of time. As a Catholic myself, I have mistakenly thought that the Immaculate Conception celebration was about Mary's conception and virgin birth of Jesus. I have studied in Catholic schools in my young life and I guess I did not pay attention when that doctrine was being taught during Religion c...

Jesus chose Paul, also known as Saul, to be his apostle to preach his teachings to the Gentiles. Paul's apostle story is written down in the book of Acts  (Acts 9: 1 -18).  His  conversion was different from Jesus' first disciples.  The first disciples had the privilege and opportunity to be with Jesus during his earthly ministry. They had the privilege of special training and teaching from Jesus. They spent some considerable time together for several years and perhaps developed a strong bond like family.  In the case of Paul, he met Jesus for the first time on the road to Damascus. Jesus had already died a few years before. That meeting changed Paul's life forever.  On that dusty road, Jesus confronted him, though not physically but in the spirit, because he had been persecuting his followers.    Paul was the exact opposite of Jesus' first disciples. He had so much zeal in defending the Jewish faith. In Jerusalem, he searched from house -to-house...

Luke,  the gospel writer, wrote the book of Acts. It is a sequel to the gospel of Luke which he also wrote. Both of Luke's gospels detailed the unconditional love of God for mankind through Jesus. In the first gospel, Luke wrote about Jesus' earthly ministry. Jesus was physically present among his disciples and the people. He taught them the right way to God. Luke later accounted Jesus' death on the cross as cleansing sacrifice for the sin of man. In chapter one of the book of Acts which is the second gospel of Luke, Jesus left the disciples physically. But Jesus did not leave the disciples like orphans to fend for themselves. He promised that they will receive help when he is gone. He had promised that help even before his execution.  True enough, in chapter two of the book of Acts, the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples during the Pentecost and stayed with them everywhere, anywhere, 24/7, and in their dreams as well. That's an extreme but reassuring presence. Th...

One of the extraordinary miracles that Jesus had performed during his earthly ministry was raising people from the dead. The gospel writers wrote their accounts where Jesus raised people from the dead. The first was the widow's son in the town of Nain's (Luke 7:11-17). Jesus  went to the town of Nain followed by his disciples and a big crowd tagged along. As he approached the town, a dead person was being carried out. A widow's only son.  Jesus took pity on the widow and asked her not to cry. He went to the coffin and commanded the young man to stand up. The young man stood up and Jesus gave him back to his mother. Everyone who witnessed it, including his disciple Peter, was surely awestruck. The second was Jairus' daughter (Luke 8: 40-56). After coming from Gerasenes where Jesus healed a demon-possessed man, Jesus crossed the lake back to Capernaum. Upon reaching Capernaum, a synagogue leader named Jairus approached Jesus and asked him if he can heal his child who was ...

In Acts 3: 1-10, Peter performed his first miracle. This happened after the Holy Spirit came down during the Pentecost. Peter met a crippled beggar since birth when he and John were about to enter the temple. The cripple asked for money. Peter replied that he had no money to give. Instead he offered Jesus of Nazareth and commanded the cripple to walk. The cripple rose up and walked. Before the miracle, Peter made his first announcement to the crowd about Jesus. He told them Jesus was the Son of God. He reminded them that they went along with the powers-that-be to crucify Jesus. Finally, he boldly gave his eyewitness account to the crowd that Jesus had risen from the dead. He was a different Peter.  In Luke 22: 54 -61, we are remined that when the temple guards arrested Jesus and they brought him to the house of  the high priest. Peter followed them, perhaps, to know what would happen to Jesus. People milled around the courtyard who were following the event. Peter sat among the...

When Jesus was crucified, it left the disciples cowering in fear. They all scampered away and hid from the public, perhaps, thinking that they might be killed too. When Jesus rose from the dead, they were fearful and  doubtful even though they met him personally. They didn't go public about Jesus coming back from the dead. They lacked the guts. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples for about forty days and talked to them about the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps, Jesus told them details about their mission although they lacked the courage to do it.  Then Jesus went back to heaven and told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. Ten days later, they received the Holy Spirit and their individual characters have changed dramatically. In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' disciples on the day of Pentecost. They were altogether in one room when a strong wind blew from above and they saw what seemed like tongues of fire descending on...

The news about Jesus' resurrection didn't go viral in Jerusalem and the rest of Israel. The guards who witnessed the incident received 'hush money' from the chief priests and elders to keep their mouth shut. If ever the news broke out, the guards would spew out a fabricated lie that the disciples stole Jesus' body in the dead of the night while they were asleep (Matthew 27: 11-15). Upon Jesus' resurrection, the disciples and the women with them experienced fear, confusion, and doubt. It was not a glorious comeback. Jesus did not come back in glory with his heavenly army.  When the disciples actually saw Jesus, they did not immediately go out on the streets to proclaim boldly that their Master has risen. They still feared that the Jews would kill them as well. Jesus' resurrection should have emboldened his disciples. Instead, they maintained a low profile from the public for the next seven weeks or so. The four gospel writers wrote their versions about the st...

Jesus told the vine and the branches story to his disciples after the last supper or perhaps at the Garden of Gethsemane (John 15: 1-17). He left those words for his disciples before his arrest, crucifixion, and death. In John 15: 1, Jesus began his story saying, "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener." In John 15: 5-6 Jesus added, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." Jesus told that story to his disciples amid their personal drama after the last supper. He knew Peter would deny him three times. He knew Judas conspired with the Pharisees to kill him.  The disciples argued among themselves who will be the first in heaven. Eventually, they all deserted him upon his arrest. The human nature of selfishness and self-pr...

After the last supper, Jesus went to Mount Olives to pray. He brought his disciples with him. In John's account, they passed through Kidron Valley before reaching the olive groves (John 18: 1).  Online sources cited that Kidron valley lay beside the temple of Jerusalem. The valley is lower from where the temple stands. A brook known as Kidron brook meanders through the valley. Jesus and his disciples needed to cross that  brook to reach the olive groves at Mount Olives. Because of the terrain, the brook served as drainage for the blood of sacrificed animals, mostly sheep, from the Temple. During the Passover celebration held yearly, temple priests sacrificed huge number of animals for the purification ritual. Jews everywhere, even from afar, brought around 250,000 animals to be slaughtered for the ritual. Jesus knew that animals were killed at the temple for the purification ritual. As a devout Jew, he surely went to Jerusalem yearly to practice that ritual during his lifetime...

Jesus washed his disciples' feet during the last supper. John was the only gospel writer who wrote that account (John 13: 1-17). Perhaps, he wanted to share how special it was. The other gospel writers focused on writing the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine.  The last supper happened after the triumphant entry of Jesus in Jerusalem. Jesus timed his entry before the Passover feast. A huge crowd came to greet him. A majority of them followed Jesus from Bethany where Lazarus rose from the dead. As Jesus entered Jerusalem, he rode on a donkey and the crowd waved palm branches and shouted (John 12:13), 'Hosanna!' 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' 'Blessed is the King of Israel!' Surely, the disciples puffed up with pride when they saw the huge crowd shouting praises at their Master. Perhaps, they assumed that Jesus would become the religious/political leader of Israel driven by the wish of the people and the intervention of God. Ins...

John, one of the gospel writers, wrote an account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11: 1-44). Lazarus was the brother of Martha and Mary. The siblings lived in Bethany. Jesus was best friends with Lazarus. We can see this when the sisters sent word to Jesus saying, "Master the one you love is ill." After the raising of Lazarus, the siblings gave a dinner party for Jesus. Mary was the one who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume while Lazarus sat down with Jesus. In another story apart from the raising of Lazarus which is found in Luke 10: 40, Martha complained to Jesus to ask Mary to help her serve meal. Perhaps, we can assume that the sisters were friends with Jesus with the way they act and talk openly to him. Before the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus made a lot of enemies in Jerusalem. The Jews nearly stoned him there because he claimed that he was the son of God. They were blasphemous words which made them furious. So, Jesus retreated to Jordan, nea...

John the gospel writer wrote an account of Jesus healing a man paralyzed for thirty-eight years (John 5: 1-15). The miracle happened when Jesus visited Jerusalem for a Jewish feast. In Jerusalem, Jesus dropped by the Sheep Gate, a pool called Bethesda. The Jews, of that period, believed that the pool had healing powers every time an angel passed over the waters. There were so many disabled (blind, lame, paralyzed) people lying around the pool watching for that movement on the water. I could just imagine all the disabled scrambling to jump in the pool when the water stirs. One of the disabled was a invalid who had been in that condition for thirty-eight years. Jesus saw that man lying there and went over to him and learned of his long-term condition. Jesus then asked him, "Do you want to get well?" The invalid didn't knew who Jesus was. He probably hadn't heard that Jesus was a healer. Instead of saying yes to Jesus, the invalid replied, "Sir, I have no one to hel...

The Jewish chief priest Caiaphas and his cohorts orchestrated the events leading to Jesus' crucifixion. They enlisted Judas, one of the disciples, to help arrest Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. When Jesus was arrested, they presented and tried him before the council of religious elders. Caiaphas presided over the trial to convince the council members to legitimize the killing of Jesus. Apparently, Caiaphas successfully persuaded them and almost everyone agreed except for a lone dissenter.  To complete the plan to murder Jesus, Caiaphas convinced Herod to support his plan. They brought the matter to Pilate. Upon their instigation, Pilate had Jesus flogged and crucified just to appease those who wanted him dead, though Jesus was innocent. The Roman crucifixion applied to persons who were guilty of serious crimes like murder and rebellion. It was a capital punishment reserved for lowlife and people of low stature. It carried a stigma and nobody wanted to be identified with those crucif...

The Sea of Galilee or Lake of Gennesaret is nestled among the hills in the northern Israel. It is nearly 700 feet below sea level. It measures 21 kilometers north-south. In some places of the lake it goes down to only 43 meters deep. It is relatively small and shallow. The sea's geography subjects the lake to sudden and even violent storms. That happens when cool air from the mountains on the eastside blows downward towards the lake and pushes the warm air covering the lake upwards. The sudden change can produce surprisingly furious storms in a short time. Also, because the lake is small and shallow the confluence of cold and warm air produces strong waves. In Capernaum, a fishing village by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus healed many people like the centurion's servant and Peter's mother-in-law. In the evening, he healed many sick people and exorcised people possessed with demons. When a large crowd was gathering, he ordered the disciples to cross the other side of the lake. Whe...

Jesus Christ spent a lot of time in his ministry around the Sea of Galilee. In Luke's gospel, it is also known as Lake Gennesaret. Modern day Israelis now call it Kinneret. The lake measures just more than 21 kilometers north-south, and it is only 43 meters deep.  In the Bible, 18 of the 33 recorded miracles of Jesus were most likely done in areas surrounding the Sea of Galilee. Jesus moved around the surrounding area quite a lot. According to Matthew 4:23: Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.  It was the same lake that Jesus Christ met and asked his first disciples to join him. They were fishermen on a boat casting a net into the lake (Matthew 4: 18-21). For practical reason, Jesus needed a boat to go around the area easily. I presumed that one of the reasons Jesus invited Peter and his brother Andrew, James and his brother John to be his disciples was beca...

Photo by  David Hablützel  from  Pexels Eddie, the rat, noticed lately that humans stay in their houses everyday. He went home to his lair to report that to his wife.  Upon reaching his lair, his wife Minnie was cooking lunch while he entered the kitchen.  "Hey you're home early? You look pensive. Is something bothering you?" Minnie asked. "Oh no it's nothing. It's just that I noticed lately that humans don't leave their houses at all. It's weird. They normally leave their houses in the morning and come back at night. Now, they're always inside their houses except for one who goes out weekly to buy groceries." Eddie said. "Is that right? You know I heard from our neighbors that there's a human pandemic raging right now. They overheard it from the human radio that a virus is causing widespread sickness. It's making a lot of humans sick and a lot of them are dying," Minnie paused and added, "Could that be the reason?...

At the tax collector's booth, Matthew (also named Levi) the tax collector was so happy when Jesus invited him to be one of his disciples. To show his appreciation and joy, Matthew threw a dinner party for Jesus. On the evening of the party, Jesus and his disciples arrived and sat down to eat. Matthew invited his friends too. They were tax collectors like him and other sinners. The Pharisees who saw what was going on at the dinner party were scandalized at the sight of Jesus mingling with people whom they consider as sinners. Their disgust was written in Matthew 9: 11. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus on hearing the Pharisees' comment, replied, "It is not the healthy who needs a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what that means: 'I desire mercy not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:12) Jesus was angry at the Phari...

Lately, I began reading the Bible again because I was looking for answers to questions as to why the Covid-19 pandemic had to happen. Was there a reason for it? Did God willed it to happen to teach us all a lesson? Was it entirely our fault that it had to happen? Was this event written somewhere in the scripture like a prophetic message? I'm not sure if I can find the answer in the Bible to those questions. But I'll try. My other reason for reading the Bible again is that I wanted to re-ignite my faith in God. I guess it was faltering a bit because of what's happening today.  People, who believe in God, resorted to prayers and turned back to God when things weren't looking good. The pandemic which had raged since last year had been tough for all of us. These past years, I have not actively read the Bible and I just relied on sermons from our parish priest when we were still able to attend mass as a community. Sadly, hearing mass is now close to impossible lest you contr...