Lumapit, Kumapit, Mahigpit

Jesus’ proclamation to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and a year of favor of the Lord, fell on ears that yearned for these graces. The people who heard these words were amazed by the gracious words that came from Jesus’ mouth. And they celebrated upon hearing such good words.

The only problem that we may find in the Gospel reading was the refusal of these people to believe that these words would have an effect in their lives. And this was the tragic flaw that they had. After being amazed by Jesus’ proclamation that the kingdom of God was at hand, the people who heard him began to ask questions as regards the authority from which these good words came. And due to this refusal to believe, Jesus would not perform miracles in his homeland. In their refusal to accept his words, they refused to accept God’s activity in their lives. The good words that they heard couldn’t bear fruit in their lives.

We also do fall in these moments of doubt in our own lives as well, especially when we fail to believe. But can we give God a chance to work with us? Can we give him a chance to be with us — for the Emmanuel we hear of at Christmastime is the same Emmanuel who is-with-us in our here and now? God’s grace is for us to receive. The only thing left for us to do is to open our hearts and welcome him to our lives.

With this Gospel reading, may I invite you to prayer as we allow God’s word to move deeper into our lives. Go through the next few lines without hurrying. Stop awhile whenever you feel that something strikes you in your heart.

Three words do come into mind as we try to open ourselves in believing that Jesus does have an effect in our lives: Lumapit, Kumapit, Mahigpit.

LUMAPIT. We approach Jesus especially at times when we feel broken in our lives. We seek refuge in our Lord as we offer to him the concerns that we have in our daily lives. We bring him certain questions that we carry in our hearts. We come before our God as we ask him to journey with us and to be near and close. As we search our hearts, what life-concerns do we remember?

KUMAPIT. At times, we are ashamed and tell only of the good things that we have in our lives. We choose only certain aspects of ourselves and hide the unpleasant things we find in our lives. But can we be honest enough and offer to our Lord ALL that we are? Finding Jesus, we hold on to him and offer our whole selves. As we hold on to Jesus, what do we celebrate in life with him?

MAHIGPIT. Not just holding on to the Lord, we even hold fast to him. We listen to him as he reassures us of his never-failing love. We seek a certain intimacy with him so that we may be able to feel with his heart and have a certain familiarity with his ways. In a sense, we beg for the grace to have a similar outlook and faith as Jesus had.

As we hold fast to Jesus in our lives, do we believe that his works have an effect in our lives?

Allowing Jesus always to be present in our lives gives us the opportunity to have Jesus work in our lives as well. May we always put Jesus at the center of our lives and see that his words really do have a certain effect with the lives we lead. Lumapit, Kumapit, nang Mahigpit. Kay Hesus.