Category Archives: 33rd

We sometimes here people saying words like: “you can’t put a good person down” or “justice will prevail.” Such sayings give us hope and encouragement that, no matter what, a wrong will eventually be made right, though not necessarily the way we expect, but it would be made right by God in His time and according to His plan. We do not know exactly when and how this will happen, so we can only leave it in the hands of the Lord instead of worrying or fretting about it.

In today’s reading, we come across an example of how “you can’t put a good person down” or “justice will prevail.” In the reading, two prophets who have been a plague to the world, were finally killed by the beast that comes out of the Abyss. The people of the world were glad about it, since they thought that they have been finally gotten rid of the prophets. But God had other plans, and “after three-and-a-half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified; then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here’, and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.” Indeed, “you can’t put a good person down” or “justice will prevail”, since the prophets could not be silenced or stopped, since God is with them.

What does this mean to us? As Christians, when it comes to doing what is right and just, are we willing to stick with it, knowing that eventually, “you can’t put a good person down” or “justice will prevail?” We may face troubles or persecution, or even put to death, but we should not be worried or concerned, and continue doing what is right and just, since what we are doing is not for our own gratification or glory, but for the glory of God.

What sort of expectations do we have in life? Are our expectations only concerning wants and needs of this world? What if our expectations are not met, either partially or entirely? Some of us may just shrug off such unmet expectations and carry on our merry way, thinking that it is not that big a deal. Some of us may complain or get angry since what we expect is not fulfilled. Some of us may even end up bitterly disappointed, like what happened to king Antiochus in today’s reading.

In the reading, we are told that king Antiochus threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out as he had planned. He had planned and achieved many things, and even planned to conquer the city of Elymais and sack its renowned riches. Unfortunately for king Anthiochus, his plans failed, and he suffered from deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that life was slipping away from him, in other words, he was dying. King Anthiochus’ life of worldly expectations, ended up in disappointment.

What about us? Have some of us become like king Anthiochus, when our expectations are not met? As Christians, our expectations ought to be eventually be in God’s presence. If we focus only in fulfilling our expectations in this world, we may find ourselves quite disappointed, since our expectations may never be satisfied. May we strive more towards expectations which would guide us closer to God and be with Him, instead of just focusing on expectations which are merely temporary and may end up in disappointment.

We sometimes here people saying words like: “a thorn in my side.” What they basically mean is that someone or something has been continually causing problems for them, and the sooner they are able to get rid of such problems, the better. For example, some couples may have had money problems as a thorn in their side since the day they got married; or health inspectors are a thorn in the side of most restaurants; or custom officers have been a thorn in the side of criminals involved in smuggling activities due to raids and confiscation of smuggled goods.

In today’s reading, we come across another example of a “thorn in my side.” In the reading, two prophets who have been a plague to the world, were finally killed by the beast that comes out of the Abyss. This caused the people of the world to be glad about it, since they thought that the “thorn in their sides” have been finally gotten rid of. But God had other plans, and “after three-and-a-half days, God breathed life into them and they stood up, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified; then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here’, and while their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.” The thorn in the sides of the people of the world could not be silenced or stopped, since God is with them.

What does this mean to us? As Christians, we are called to be “a thorn in the side” of others, especially when it comes to doing what is right and just. We may face troubles or persecution, or even put to death, but we should not be worried or concerned, and continue being “a thorn in the side,” since what we are doing is not for our own gratification or glory, but for the glory of God.

In life, we all have expectations. Some of us may have great expectations, some of us may have smaller expectations. But no matter what, we would have some form of expectation, according to the present situation. For example, as babies, we would have expectations of love, food and comfort from our parents, especially from our mother. When we do not seem to get such expectations, what do we do? We cry, hoping that our mother would meet our expectations by feeding or comforting us.

But sometimes, our expectations are not met, either partially or entirely. When that happens, what do we do? Some of us may just shrug off such unmet expectations and carry on our merry way, thinking that it is not that big a deal. Some of us may pout or throw a tantrum, hoping to get what we expect. On the other extreme, some of us may end up bitterly disappointed, like what happened to king Antiochus in today’s reading. In the reading, we are told that king Antiochus threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out as he had planned. He had planned and achieved many things, and even planned to conquer the city of Elymais and sack its renowned riches. He had high expectations that all his plans would be fulfilled and that nothing could stop him. Unfortunately for king Anthiochus, his plans failed, and he suffered from deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that life was slipping away from him, in other words, he was dying. King Anthiochus’ life of great worldly expectations, ended up in great disappointment.

As Christians, our expectations ought to be not of this world, but of the other world, in God’s presence. If we focus only in fulfilling our expectations in this world, we may find ourselves bitterly disappointed, since we may never satisfy our expectations. May we come to realise what is true, lasting and worthwhile expectations, and strive to move towards such expectations, which won’t result in a disappointment.