The WORD in Other Words by Fr Florante Camacho SVD (Philippines) for Thursday 2nd Week of Easter
It is interesting how people listen to Ambassadors of other nations, e..g. USA, China, Germany, etc., when they speak to our people! Once I was attending an inauguration of a newly repaired provincial road. It was a project funded by AUSAID; the Australian Ambassador attended the affair! The few words the Ambassador spoke were swallowed “hook, line, and sinker” by the barrio folks and all who were present. To observe their faces full of gratitude was amazing!
Here comes the great ambassador of heaven, Jesus Christ. After three years of helping, teaching, and curing many sick people, how many gave Him thanks? Instead they betrayed him, and had Him crucified. Fortunately for us, He rose from the dead to continue His mission of love.
How do we listen to Him today? Do we faithfully follow His teachings? In a book written by Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, a couple of lines caught my attention. He states that on Judgment Day, God will ask us two questions:
- What did you do to my son, Jesus Christ?
- What did you do with the gifts I gave you?
Question number one is about God’s Ambassador, someone coming from above. People listen very well to earthly ambassadors with praise and gratitude. Do we listen and believe in Jesus Christ? Remember that he who believes in Him will have eternal life; the one who disobeys Him will not see life. They will eventually receive the punishment of “the wrath of God!”
– Fr. Florante Camacho, SVD (HNU, Tagbilaran City, Bohol)
I was a classmate of Fr Florante Camacho in Rome at the Colegio del Verbo Divino in the 1960’s. We attended the Gregorian University together.