When I go to the gas station, sometimes I see a line of people buying lottery tickets. They place all their hope on guessing the winning number while the Church is right in front of their noses. Hoping to win at gambling affords our soul no benefit, much less our mental health, since it causes nothing but stress while we wait for the winning numbers to be announced. We idolize that six-number ticket as if our salvation depended on it, carefully keeping it in a safe place so it won’t get lost or damaged.
But where do we keep God in our lives? It appears as if we put Him on the back burner, only remembering Him on Sundays. In today’s first reading, Peter speaks to us about faith in God, “so that your faith and hope are in God.” The analogy of placing our faith in a lottery ticket, which might save us in this earthly life through fleeting possessions, shows us that without God’s love, we will be lost. By not recognizing Him as the Son of God, we continue to condemn Jesus to death for our sins, just as the chief priests and scribes did in today’s Gospel: “the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death”.
We are human beings with imperfections, but God’s love allows our sins to be forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession. But first, we must have the humility to acknowledge them and seek God. Again, in the Gospel of Mark, we see Jesus’ humility, who came to serve us by dying on the cross: “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many”.
By delving into the teachings given to us in the daily readings, we will learn to have the humility to continue living with God day by day. We can turn away from the temptation to gamble and realize that we have won the lottery in our God. Then we will be able to proclaim with conviction, “Praise the Lord!” (see Responsorial Psalm)
Cuando voy a una gasolinera, a veces veo una cola de personas comprando boletos de la lotería, poniendo toda su esperanza en tener el número ganador mientras la Iglesia está enfrente de sus narices. Poner la esperanza en los juegos de azar, no tiene un beneficio a nuestra alma, y menos para nuestra salud mental, por lo cual uno vive estresado esperando los números ganadores. Endiosamos ese ticket de 6 números como si fuera la salvación de nuestra vida hasta que lo guardamos en un lugar seguro para que no se pierda o se deteriore.
¿Dónde guardamos a Dios en nuestra vida? Al parecer lo ponemos en un segundo plano solo acordándose de Él los domingos. En la primera lectura de hoy Pedro nos habla de la fe en Dios, “a fin de que la fe de ustedes sea también esperanza en Dios”. Por lo cual hago esta analogía de la fe del ticket de la lotería que nos puede salvar en la vida terrenal con bienes efímeros, pero sin el amor de Dios estaremos perdidos. Por no reconocerlo como el hijo de Dios seguimos condenando a Jesus a muerte por nuestros pecados como los sumos sacerdotes y los escribas lo hicieron en el Evangelio de hoy: “van a condenarlo a muerte y a entregarlo a los paganos; se van a burlar de él, van a escupirlo, a azotarlo y a matarlo”.
Somos personas humanas con imperfecciones, pero el amor de Dios hace que nuestros pecados sean perdonados en el sacramento de la confesión. Para esto, debemos tener la humildad de reconocerlo y buscar a Dios. Nuevamente en el Evangelio de Marcos, nos habla de la humildad de Jesús que vino a servirnos a nosotros muriendo en la cruz: “el que quiera ser grande entre ustedes que sea su servidor, y el que quiera ser el primero, que sea el esclavo de todos, así como el Hijo del hombre, que no ha venido a que lo sirvan, sino a servir y a dar su vida por la redención de todos”.
Al adentrarnos en las enseñanzas que nos dan las lecturas diarias, estaremos dispuestos a tener esa humildad para seguir viviendo diariamente con Dios. Podremos alejarnos de toda tentación de juegos de azar y darnos cuenta que hemos ganado a la lotería al tener a nuestro Dios. Y así proclamaremos con convicción, “Demos gloria al Señor”! (ver Salmo Responsorial)
Felix Urcia was born in Lima, Peru. He moved the U.S. to complete his college degree in Computer Science at Northern Kentucky University. He is passionate about his faith, his family, education and soccer. When he is not homeschooling and caring for his young children he enjoys personal programing projects and sports analysis. He and wife live in a small town in Western Michigan where they enjoy spending time with their five children.
Feature Image Credit: Erik Mclean, unsplash.com/photos/text-4ACaUyPyjoY
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
Daily Reading
Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 Peter 1:18-25 Beloved:Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,handed on by your ancestors,not with perishable things like silver or goldbut with the precious Blood of…
Saint of the Day
Saint Augustine of Canterbury
St. Augustine of Canterbury was a monk and abbot in Rome, Italy when he was sent by Pope Saint Gregory the Great with 40 brother monks, to evangelize the British