Michelangelo's amazing painting on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican Italy - this painting depicts: the story in the book of Genesis, the fall of man.

Michelangelo's Paintings

In 1512, after 4 years finally Michelangelo was able to finish his famous painting which is so amazing on the roof of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican Italy - this painting depicts: the story in the book of Genesis, the fall of man, the genealogy of Jesus, & also the work of salvation etc.

 But over time, also because of the candle smoke in the church, and dust etc., it all slowly began to cover the beauty of the painting.  So in 1984-1999 a restoration project for the painting was carried out.

 Prior to 1999, many tourists who visited the Sistine Chapel who saw the large painting work mostly thought, although the work was large, graceful and stunning, but the colors were too dark, dim and the painting looked less than bright myopic.  However, after the restoration was completed in 1999, the artwork has managed to return to the way it was when the creator painted it.  The original brilliance that had been hidden for hundreds of years has been brought back to life, graceful, stunning beauty with a variety of beautiful color contrasts can once again be enjoyed by everyone who visits the Sistine Chapel.

Likewise with the beauty of all God's blessings in our lives, but sadly, there are many things that are familiar in life-such as candle smoke, and the immunity of our hearts being ungrateful, and often forgetting to give thanks for the blessings.  It's just like dust, starting to slowly erode making the beauty of God the Creator's artwork slowly disappear and look increasingly dim.

 

 Every morning. if the sunshine on the eastern horizon that rises faithfully cannot make your heart meet with thanksgiving;  if a cool breeze can't wake your heart and sing praises for the air you breathe;  if the chirping of the sparrows has not been able to raise your heart to sing hymns and cheer for God's faithfulness in His care for your life.! OR Should the sentence after the words above read something like: "if I recover from cancer stage 4  incurable;  or if I could survive a bruising to a fatal car crash;  or if my house does not burn, though the whole village is destroyed by fire;  if I get a promotion at my job with a double salary “….then we can be shocked to give thanks to God?

 M A K A Come on in this Thanksgiving season, we all carry out restoration projects for our spirituality, so that the beauty of the Creator's work in our lives may once again shine brightly and the heart of our creator God may be accepted!

 Then Jesus said, "Weren't all the ten men clean? Where are the nine? Has none of them returned to glorify God except this stranger?" (Luke 17:17-18)

Be Faithful Disciples of Christ. Not being a wolf for others or other religions (homo homini lupus). Luke, 21:12-19

Suffering and persecution will always be a part of human history.  Often we find that humans become wolves for others (homo homini lupus).  Life is not easy, it requires struggle to get something or to achieve something, often justifies various ways to pursue it.  Sacrificing others becomes an effective and easy way.  There are almost always victims in many life events.

 Likewise in the dynamics of the life of faith.  There are many challenges and obstacles that are often faced by religious people when they want to express their faith.  Certain religious rituals are often considered strange and untrue because they are not used to seeing them or fail to understand the rituals of other religions.  While each religion has a different expression of faith, it has a different rite.  If there is not sufficient explanation, the expression of faith in other religions is always a source of conflict.

 Jesus reminds us as Christians to be alert and ready when the time comes for us to experience obstacles in our faith.  Obstacles will always exist and there will be attempts to weaken us as believers.  Now, all of us are challenged to remain completely faithful to God, take up our cross in life and follow God.

 Are we able to dedicate ourselves with passion and commitment to serve the glory of God in our lives?  Are we willing and able to stand up for our faith when the situation demands it?  Are we able to live this life with sincere love for God and be witnesses of His truth in our lives?

 These are the questions we should have, to remind us and to strengthen us in our determination to be faithful disciples of Christ.  It is the waves of life that will be the field of our struggle.  The quality of our faith is further tested by this.  A reliable captain must be able to pass through thousands of powerful waves of sea water.  Without it, he would not be able to become a reliable captain.

 Let's learn from the simple things in life.  We see these simple things and live within the framework of our lives as believers.  God is with us, strengthening us and empowering us in our journey of life, now and forever.

The temple is a place where we gather and pray. Jesus is the living temple of God, instead he must experience death because of the temple of God

It is a joy in itself when we can see, witness and feel magnificent buildings, beautiful and cool natural scenery, also the face of someone who is beautiful and so on.  These are all human facts for which we should be grateful.  We are grateful that we are able to enjoy it with the senses we have.  Each of us would want everything to be good and beautiful, from our behavior to the behavior of the universe.

 This is our reality as human beings who are capable of thinking and acting.  But that ability is also often the destroyer of the beauty that is around us.  Even one's own beauty is marred by our own thoughts and actions.  Humans who are so great and noble have actually become so low because of our own actions.

 The temple is a place where we gather and pray.  The temple of Allah is our place to meet Allah.  In the temple building we express our faith.  The temple of God as a magnificent building is indeed needed.  But if only the physical building is important, the Temple will only become a place for ordinary gatherings, even a market.

 Returning the altar that was made into the market is not an easy action, it even involves a big risk.  Jesus, who is the living temple of God, had to experience death because of the temple.  Updates often have to go through difficult risks.

 The church also needs to continually renew itself, evaluate itself.  Because of its convenience and stability, it often happens and it is not easy.  Isn't that what happens in parishes?  Often a reformer has to face persecution, torture, rejection, and that's where we as Christians are challenged to dare to open up to the thoughts of others or not.

Because of faith, Jesus reminds us to persevere to the end even though we have to face a lot of suffering.  The condition is one, we must survive.  Not fighting, not dodging, not running but defending.  Enduring in His name, we will be given a way.

Let us continually surrender our lives to God's providence.  Thus, our life is full of fruits that abound with goodness and truth.

FAITH THAT ACTUALLY SEEN FROM ACTIONS OR WORKS OF LOVE.

The widow at Zarephath was willing to GIVE BREAD FROM HIS LACK to the prophet Elijah.

 The poor widow who put the offering into the treasury was praised by Jesus because the widow gave of her lack.  The Widow of Zarephath and the Poor Widow are examples of believers who imitate Jesus Christ who was willing to lay down His life for the salvation of the world.

 These two widows who are both poor give up what they need in life to help others who need them more.  They give willingly without expecting any appreciation or praise or reward.  we must always be ready to help anyone who is always in need, even if we have to sacrifice something that we really need.  For the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward from God (Mark 12:14).

 Giving something to others in need, when we ourselves are also in need, is NOT EASY.  But herein lies the VALUE OF GIVING.  The value of that gift becomes REALLY HIGH, BECAUSE WE GIVE FROM WHAT WE NEED, NOT WHAT WE DON'T NEED.  We give from our lack and not from our abundance.  We ourselves want to use the item, but because for the sake of others we help, we let it go.  Here is the role of our hearts that are willing to sacrifice.

 There are people who give donations / donations in fairly large amounts but the amount is nothing compared to their wealth.  He gave out of excess, so in it there was no element of sacrifice and therefore became less valuable in the eyes of Jesus.  So the value of giving someone who gives a lot is NOT necessarily more meaningful than someone who gives a little.  This also means that THE ACTION OF GIVING ALSO DOES NOT DEPEND ON WHETHER PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OR LITTLE.  One should not think that because he does not have much he does not need to give anything to the church.  Giving means that there is an ASPECT of SACRIFICE in it.

 In addition, Jesus saw that the value of a gift lies not in the amount, but in the heart of the person who gave it.  How is our mood BEFORE giving alms, WHEN/TIME to give alms, and AFTER giving alms.  Before giving, we should not give out of necessity.  When we give, don't let us give with regret.  After giving, lest we make our alms/gifts an excuse to demand too much or demand various things or start doing calculations.

 My brethren, Be like the widow of Zarephath and the poor widow who dedicated her whole heart to God through our good works to others.  That is what pleases Him.

The resurrection of the dead throughout Israel's history has always been an interesting debate. What is life after death?

The resurrection of the dead throughout Israel's history has always been an interesting debate.  Some groups of Jews believed in a resurrection but some Sadducees did not or did not believe in a bodily resurrection.  They also do not believe in angels and spirits, much less in the resurrection after death.  This unbelief is the context of their question to Jesus.  They imagine life after the resurrection as much as life today.  And their question is very relevant with regard to the law of the levirate.

 This question becomes our question in general, namely how life after death.  We believe and believe that there is a resurrection and eternal life.  But as to how exactly or how the resurrection technique was, we can only speculate.  In line with the question of the Sadducees, nowadays what often becomes our debate is what about people who have died and are not buried, but cremated.  Anxiety thought of many people is one of the issues of bodily resurrection.  If his body was destroyed, how would he in time get up again, using whose body?

 The Church believes that God's power is far beyond our debates like that.  God has ways and ways that we can never understand.  As Jesus answered, the resurrection after death is an entirely new resurrection or life, with a new body, together with the angels.  Because our God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead.

 The dialogue between Jesus and the Sadducees shows a debate between human law, in this context the law of Moses and God's own law.  The Mosaic Law spoke of the prohibitions and taboos on what the Jews could and could not do.  The benchmark is a matter of can and can't.  Such a law turns out to be different from the new law brought by Jesus.  The benchmark is not what is allowed or not, but what is more important is the open heart to God's will.  What is clear is that God's law requires His people to have life, not death.  While the law of Moses mostly made people die.

 We as humans, as part of society, live by mutually agreed rules and laws.  Obedience to existing laws is one of the virtues that must always be fought for.  Don't let us become pioneers in breaking the law.

 Today Jesus reminds us to be able to wisely judge about the law, whether the law gives life or kills someone.  In this regard, the Church has had a change of attitude with regard to laws.  One of the most recent is the simplification of the marriage annulment process.  What we want to strive for is so that more and more people can live with these changes, not that their lives will be turned off.  May we also dare to look more closely, not the law of death that we carry but the law of life.

"Master, what must I do, to have eternal life?" so asked a rich young man (Mark 10:17-30

According to Jesus, the first way: Obeying God's Commandments (10 Commandments), this first method must be complemented by the second way: Following Jesus in life, because Jesus is the way to eternal life;  However, this second method needs to meet 2 conditions, namely:

1.  trusting themselves sincerely in God's guidance where people are challenged to break free from attachments to personal desires and desires: money, place, people, position/position (worldly things).  Attachment in any form that is only temporary in nature, often shackles people and makes it difficult to let go and often leads people away from happiness.  All our hearts and minds are primarily for God and not for other things that can shift God's position in our hearts and minds.
2. triving to live the Word of God in our daily life. As humans, we often act like the young man Jesus told about in today's Gospel.  The young man was so attached and preferred to follow the call of earthly treasures than to follow the call of heavenly treasures.  We too often find it difficult to separate our hearts from our possessions to follow Jesus, the Owner of Everything.  For example, we find it difficult to leave our favorite android cellphone for only one hour to pray the Rosary or personal prayer.  We are so attached to money, wealth, position, our hobbies, even worse, we have the heart to sacrifice other people to get the property and wealth we want.

 Wealth has turned people's hearts into greed and blocked the way to meet God.  Humans no longer really believe in God, but more strongly believe in material wealth that brings flattery, praise and honor.  Are we more sensitive to the call to hunt for earthly riches or to hunt for heavenly treasures?  Do we dare to let go of our wealth and share it with others or is the worry of losing worldly possessions very strong in our hearts if we want to share with others?

 Furthermore, the disciples' questions sometimes also become our questions: What about us who have left everything and have tried to sacrifice to follow Jesus, whether the sacrifice of time, energy, thoughts or property?  Are there any advantages that we get?  Maybe we also compare our lives with other people who seem to sacrifice a little, but get name, praise and appreciation?  It can be painful for us.

 But Jesus explained that all sacrifices for God will surely be rewarded (verse 30).  Those who have to lose something because of following Christ, will receive a double reward in exchange for all the losses suffered.  God does not turn a blind eye to all that.  God sees, notices and appreciates all of it.  He does not neglect those who have sacrificed everything to follow the One who has it all.  What we need to pay attention to is that the sacrifice of time, energy, thought, and property in serving others should not be based on the shadow of the award we will receive from God.

 Do our service as a form of gratitude and our gratitude to Him, who has trusted us and who has given us the opportunity to do good serving Him in our fellow human beings.

 My brethren, today's Gospel invites us to repent and dare to break away from absolute attachments to money, wealth, position, pleasures and worldly pleasures that often keep us from the Owner of Everything and live eternally with him in the Kingdom of God.

JESUS ​​CHRIST KING OF THE UNIVERSE

a celebration that wants to remind us that Jesus is King in this universe.  As King, His presence is a Blessing to HUMANITY.  The greatest blessing we receive from Him is HIS EXAMPLE OF LIFE to us, LIFE TO LOVE EACH OTHER.  The example of life He manifested by the miracles He did both healing and feeding, then atonement for our sins through His death on the cross.

 My brethren, let us ask ourselves: Is Jesus still the king who reigns and reigns in each of us, in our families, in society, and in the midst of life in this universe?  Are we still providing the best time in our daily lives for Jesus the Lord?

 It is not uncommon for JESUS ​​to be neglected in our daily lives.  He is indeed the king who resides within us, but often we don't greet him, we are ignorant and don't care about him, we don't ask for his advice and considerations.  Maybe all this time we "KING" OTHER THINGS OUTSIDE Christ.  We want POWER OVER OURSELVES so that we forget Jesus who is in fact the king who rules over us.

 The Lord Jesus as the King of the Universe is truly a BLESSING for us.  Let us open the eyes of our hearts so that we find and feel God's blessings for us every day.  Next, let the Lord Jesus always be king in our hearts.  Let Him lead our hearts so that more and more people receive His blessings, the King of the Universe.