9th Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck? Who knows? My dear friends, for those who do not believe in God, they depend on luck. But for those who do not believe in luck, they have to surrender themselves before God. In our Gospel, Luke 1:67-79, the birth of John the Baptist was recognized by Zechariah that it was brought by a divine intervention and not by luck.  With the eyes of faith, he exclaimed, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David." His words reveal his total dependence on God. If ever there is what we call "luck" in life, it happens most probably in accordance to the will of God. Good luck or bad luck? Just pray because God knows best. Amen.