Today is April 28, 2020. Tuesday in the Third Week of Easter.
Have you ever had that moment when you finally have what you’ve always wanted – or accomplished what you’ve poured blood, sweat, and tears into – only to be met with this inexplicable sense of emptiness and longing for something that only gets further the closer you get to it? Do you feel like it’s terrifying to feel happy because you know once it’s gone you’ll just be empty? People say that we should not get attached to material things because it consumes a person. It’s interesting how the inanimate can possess the living. But in hindsight, those possessed by it are helpless souls who’ve cursed themselves by having this material world as their only joy; believing that the crude world has something that can satiate their relentless thirst for happiness. It’s not just them, but every one of us is bound by this heinous fable. That is why we’ve fallen countless times into a state of despair by believing the empty promises that mortal existence offers. Money, fame, power; they’re all just crumbling pillars of sand upholding man’s pride for his own feeble mortality. That’s why we must seek for a greater happiness, one that is not confounded by time and space; something eternal and perfect; a happiness only found within the Father
I’ve always wondered how we would react if ever Jesus finally returned. People would say that they would follow and believe in him and I also say that I would but one cannot erase the thought of “how will we actually know if it’s really him”. I don’t actually know what’s written in Revelation or details about the Second Coming. Will he come in a grandiose manner with the clouds opening with a blinding light or will he just reappear someday in his humble yet holy manner? Regardless of how he reappears, a problem that would remain constant is this: “would people believe in him?” Just like the crowd in the Gospel, there will be skeptics who will require for Jesus to gain their faith but I believe that he won’t perform miracles just for them to believe. I think he’d prefer for them to just have faith, because that’s what really matters.
In today’s Gospel, I learned the mantra: “Just have faith”. In the modern day, it’s considered absurd to take a leap of faith or just believe in the unknown without sufficient knowledge and understanding on the subject at hand but that’s the thing. “How can you explain the inexplicable, understand the unfathomable, know what’s beyond reason?” There are some who fear to face these problems who just truly “follow blindly”, who follow with no conviction and so the moment their creed is tested, they break. Their world shatters; and they become hollow lifeless husks of who they once were. These are the type of people who rely solely on reason and understanding. Because of this, they trust only what they see resulting to faulty faith since they require reassurance and affirmation of their standing since they lack the trust within themselves. Turning them into aforementioned skeptics. On the other hand, those who have honest faith and require no physical evidence are able to stand by their creed no matter what comes their way and I believe that’s what paradise really means. Servants who are faithful to their Lord whether He is near or far. Since they have been faithful servants, their master will be pleased and take care of them; and help them flourish in His undying love. They will never hunger nor thirst for they are always with the bread of Life.
Kit Anthony T. Pahuyo is an incoming Grade 10 Junior High School student. He is an avid reader and a student-volunteer.
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