Measured By Your Own Measure

𝐌𝐀𝐑. 𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐃𝐧 𝟗:𝟒𝐛-𝟏𝟎

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟕𝟗:𝟖,𝟗,𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟑 “𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐬.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐊 𝟔:𝟑𝟔-𝟑𝟖

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐆𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮.” (𝐯.𝟑𝟕) 

         Do you know that the Lenten Season starting from Ash Wednesday up to Easter Sunday can be compared to a 47-day crash course on how to live life as an authentic Christian and anyone who will devoutly contemplate on the Liturgical Readings throughout this season and listen to what God is saying through the Scriptures that are amplified by the homily of the Priests at Mass will emerge from it as a new person inside out.

         The Readings are so organized that it serves as a guide for everyone who wants to step out of the darkness to which they are mired and onto the marvelous light of God. The focal point of the season of repentance and forgiveness is about metanoia or the complete transformation of the person (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟐:𝟐) through our immersion in the Word of God which should transfigure us into the image of God that will make it easy for us to understand and abide by the Will of God for us.

         This is what the Lenten Season is all about. It is about God recreating us by the example he has set and it begins with our turning away from sin and being faithful to the Gospel (𝐌𝐤 𝟏:𝟏𝟓; 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟑:𝟏𝟗), for us to be humble as Jesus Christ himself did (𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝟐:𝟔),  and he came to serve and to offer his life as a ransom for us all (𝐌𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟒𝟓).        

         Lent is about God reshaping us by impressing upon us the need to die to our own self by denying ourselves and through humility learn to seek forgiveness and in the same way extend forgiveness to those who may have wronged us.

         Through his Holy Spirit he comes into our lives to give us the inspiration, strength and perseverance to take up our cross daily and, the spirit of obedience to follow him wherever he takes us (𝐋𝐤 𝟗:𝟐𝟑).        

         Humility, obedience, forgiveness and love are the core message of the Lenten Season and these are the Christian ethics that God wants us to possess because these are the standards that will help transform us through prayer into becoming not only children of God but being God-like which is the nature to which we have all been created.

         This outpouring of God’s incomparable and unparalleled love is what we call Grace, and it is this Grace that that allow us to treat others as God wishes them to be treated with loving-kindness and mercy. God is good that he sends rain on the just and the unjust as well as to the evil and the good (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟓:𝟒𝟑-𝟒𝟖).        

          His love encompasses both the saints and sinners alike and God doesn’t distinguish as to whom he will apportion his love because God seeks man’s highest good. In the same, what he is telling us is that we must also seek the greatest good of others including those who may hate and abuse us.

        We all should emerge out of the Lenten Season without the negativity that has ruled our lives in the past. God’s instructions that are in the Liturgical Readings during the season are designed to transform us into better persons because the standards that God wants is for us to do good instead of just avoiding sin.

         From school we often read a sign on top the blackboard that reads “𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘥𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶.” But this is the negative connotation of the Golden Rule and God’s ethics is not just for us not to do what is bad but primarily to “𝒅𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒅𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖.” This is the very essence of Christian conduct which should move us to actively do good and not simply refrain from doing what is bad.

         To be a Christian is not at all easy and at some point in time we all must carry our crosses and be nailed to it. I have been in the Media Business all my life. I started as a Radio Announcer then progressed to Television until I was moved to the Print Sector where I established a reputation as a fearless journalist.

         I became arrogant in the process as I moved with the thought that the power of the pen was mightier than the sword. The insatiable appetite for material possessions drove me to set aside all ethical standards of my profession. I had it all. That’s what I thought. But I wasn’t happy. Inside me was the longing for true joy and not just fleeting happiness. My heart wanted peace, the kind of serenity that has no room for fear and anxiety.

         God found me in this state, and he brought me to the renewal. He led me to my second baptism where God changed the dichotomous life that I lived. As God poured out his kindness and mercy on me he also gave me the courage to take that leap of faith from the dark world I was in and into his marvelous light.

         As I grew in my spirituality, I learned to seek forgiveness of those I have wronged including government officials who became the constant target of my reportage some of whom I met as they too were brought by God to the renewal movement.

         As I felt the joy of being forgiven, I too forgave those who have wronged me including my two business partners who gypped me of my share in the business and the architect whom I harbored a grudge after he botched the renovation of my house.

         What then is the reason why God wants us to adapt to his standards of humility, obedience, forgiveness and love. The reason is that when we can do these, it will make us look like God for that is how we were all created when God stamped His own image into our nature.

         Jesus says in Matthew: “𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭.” (𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟓:𝟒𝟖) and we rationalize that God is perfect because he is God and we ignore that which will make us perfect because of our resistance to disrobe ourselves of our pride. Such perfection is made manifest when we can forgive others as God forgave. For it is by our own measure that we will be measured when we come face to face with God at the appointed time.

         God’s perfection lies in our being able to love everyone including those whom we perceive to be our enemies. This is what Lent is all about. This season has been so designed to give us the opportunity to turn away from sin through fasting and prayer and to turn to God who is the source of the true joy and eternal life that can only be found in Him and to also give to others what we have received. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 2, 2026)