1st Day of Simbang Gabi December 16, 2014

There is a story of a boy who wished to become a famous rockstar. However, his parents could not afford to buy him even the cheapest guitar in this world because they were so poor. Yet, his father made a promise to buy him a guitar as a birthday gift. So the boy became excited. He did not bother to know how hard his father tried to look for some ways to earn the money he would use to buy a guitar. On his birthday, he waited for his father to bring him his guitar. His father decided to steal a guitar from the store as his money was never enough to buy it. He did not want to disappoint his son on his birthday. As the father rode his bike home to give the guitar to his son, he met an accident. He fell from his bike at the train station. The boy saw how the father tried to save the guitar by pushing it away from the train while giving up his life for it. The son cried as he lost his father though he had what he wanted –a guitar. Years later, the said boy became a famous rockstar. His guitar always reminded him of his father who wanted to fill him with success and happiness. My dear friends in Christ, in this world, God sends us people who can inspire us, make us happy and give meaning to our lives. We can say they serve as our light in life. In our Gospel, John 5: 33-36, Jesus reminded the people of his time that John the Baptizer served as their light. He said, “John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a time to enjoy his light.” It means John the Baptizer inspired the people, made them happy and gave meaning to their lives. But Jesus also reminded them the role of John was limited and temporary. It means then that as it ended, people should see the “source” of light which John’s showed them. It also means that as John’s role to be the people’s light came to an end, people should not live in darkness. Rather, they should seek to live in the unfading light of God –who is Jesus. My dear friends in Christ, our family, friends, etc. serve as our light in this world. However, we have to remember that someday we will lose them. And though we come to grieve in the process, we should not allow ourselves to stay in darkness. We should seek the light of God –Jesus. It is only in Him that we can find the true meaning of everything including our life. Amen.