Fr. Larry Sugiano, in his homily, talked about the virtues of St. Joseph, whose feast we celebrate last Monday. He said that St. Joseph's role in Jesus' birth is of utmost significance owing to his obedience to and faith in God. He was a caring husband to Mary and a good father to Jesus. Hence, Jesus had great love and respect for him.
Then the lights were switched off and a voice hollered within the four walls of the venue: "Let's get ready to rummmbbbllllle! Ladies and gentlemen, presenting, the heavyweight champion of the Lord (drumrolllll)... Bro. Jay Yogawin!!!!"
The introduction created enough ruckus and laughter among the attended. More importantly, it is signaled the start of a new series: THE FIGHTER which is about temptations that lead us to sin.
The round girl ushered in round 1: Focus on the good. Romans 8:5-11 says "And is the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he
who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you."
STOP IT! This is how to knockout temptation, Bro. Jay said, showing a comedy video to stress his point. Temptation is not an external problem but an internal one and it is powerless if it does not have allies within us.
Bro Jay compared sinning to the literary epic Aenid. He explained that the Greek soldier inside the Trojan Horse stand for one big reason we fall into sin. He said it's not lust, not greed, not pride. These three play only supporting roles to the Devil's greatest weapon, the
greatest weapon, the nuclear bomb that he uses to bring souls to hell: self rejection.
Four youthful servants displayed their thespian skills by playing devils of lust, greed, pride and self-rejection.
Bro. Jay pointed out that behind every sin is a cry for love due to
inner wounds inflicted by people who tell us we are not good enough or from bad experiences that make us conclude we are rejects. so, our deepest hunger is to be accepted, to be loved. And when that need is not satisfied, we look for ways to temporarily meet that need so we fall into sin. The pleasure of sin is the pirated version of the pleasure of being loved.
Signs that you have a Trojan Horse within you: 1) You don't love yourself. You always think you need to prove yourself to someone; 2) Your relationships are dysfunctional. You can't perceive the love of people around you. It is difficult for you to love and express love; 3. You worship a judgmental God. You think God also rejects you because of your sin.
When we have these symptoms, we always think that somebody, not ourselves, can complete us. We think that we have trials because we are being punished by God. We forget that god does not look at the wrong we did. he loves us so much He died on the cross for us. And it is this love that makes us repent and change.
Bro. Jay concluded:
"Love is expensive and sin is cheap. Engaging in sin is just fooling ourselves. We think it's making us complete. In truth, God's love and mercy has made us all complete. Love is expensive but we are worth it."
Just before the love offering, Bro. Rhine exhorted the attendees to give more by sharing his personal story on tithing. He said that because he tithes, he's been blessed tremendously which confirms that our God is a faithful God whose generosity cannot be outdone.
The Feast was made even more blissful by the Music Ministers and spirited by the Dance Ministers wjo were joined by our young brothers and sisters from the Fire of God Community. Towards the end, everybody, young and not so young, danced in front to honor and worship our loving God.
