01-26-2020 | LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU OUGHT TO HEAR - Fr. Dave Concepcion

LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU OUGHT TO HEAR (Homily of Fr. David Tampus Concepcion | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time | January 26, 2020) 1st Reading - IS 8:23—9:3 Psalm - PS 27:1, 4, 13-14 2nd Reading - 1 COR 1:10-13, 17 Gospel - MT 4:12-23 OR 4:12-17 You all know that any action has a corresponding reaction. What you do today has a consequence in the future. Lahat ng ginagawa mo ay may katapat. It is good to remind ourselves that we have the freedom to make a choice, but we do not have the freedom to choose the consequences of our choices. Therefore, listen to the warnings. Makinig sa mga payo ng mga nakakatanda. Hindi dahil mas matalino sila, kundi dahil mayroon silang karanasan at sa kanilang mga pagkakamali, mayroon silang natutunan. MAKINIG. Kung mayroon mang tungkulin ang mga magulang, ito ay ang paalalahanan ang mga anak para hindi ito mapahamak. Sa mga anak naman, mahalagang nakikinig sapagkat ano man ang kapahamakan na kanilang naranasan, dala ng kawalan ng pakikinig ay ayaw nilang maranasan natin. The 1st Reading speaks of a warning from the Prophet Isaiah. Sinabi niya sa bayan ng Zebulun at Naphtali na kung hindi sila makikinig sa DIyos, sila ay mapapahamak. True enough, hindi lang pangit ang kanilang naranasan, nabura ang kanilang karanasan. The 2nd Reading speaks of our tendency to listen only to the people we like. We want to listen to people who will tell us what we want to hear. We must look for people who will tell us what we ought to hear, not simply what we want to hear. Ang mahalaga ay marunong kang makinig sa taong kailangan mong pakinggan. Kapag sinabing, “Bawal tumawid dito, nakakamatay,” kailangan bang kaibigan mo lang ang magsabi nito para pakinggan mo? Makinig ka sapagkat yan ang ikabubuti mo. Our common problem is that we only want to listen to the people who tell us what we want to hear, people we like and we forget to listen to what we ought to hear. We also have the tendency to please people. We may have disagreements, but we can agree to disagree. As Stephen Covey said, “Learn to disagree agreeable.” Magkasundo tayo na hindi tayo magkakasundo. You can always look good, be pleasing, be good in your own ways, but please keep this in mind, if you will not end up in heaven then you are not good enough. Our goal is not to please people, the goal is to enter heaven. There is no other llight in this world but Jesus. Whoever you are listening to, if they do not point their fingers to God, then forget them. Regardless how dark your past, or how grave your sins, we have a God who forgives. We will not be condemned by the sins we have committed but by the lack of the humility to repent. This is what the Gospel is trying to tell us. You have the freedom to make a choice, you can sin in your own way but remember you do not have the freedom to choose the consequences of your choices. Choose right. Listen to the people who tell you what you out to hear. You may strive to be good but if you will not end up in heaven, then you are not good enough. Remember, we will not be condemned by the sins we have committed but by the lack of the humility to repent. This is what the Gospel is trying to tell us. #frdaveconcepcion