August 2004, my sister asked me I if wanted to come to the anniversary celebration of the Light Of Jesus (LOJ), of which she is a member. I said yes, thinking that Jesus was the one inviting me.
That day came. I went with them. On the way to St. Paul college, Quezon City where it will be held, I saw a man so very dirty. He was wearing black t-shirt and shorts. He had no slippers. He knelt down on the ground and drank from the dirty water on the gutter, just like a dog.
Normally, when I saw people like him and situations like that, I just prayed to the Lord to bless the person. I just wondered what happened in their life that it turned out that way. But this day, it was different. I felt pain, not just pity, but pain. I closed my eyes, and asked Jesus, ‘Why do I feel this way? Am I seeing it through Your eyes?’ I opened my eyes and looked at the man again. The pain was still there. I thought Jesus must have felt much more pain.
When we arrived in the gym where the celebration would be held, I forgot what I saw. I went to the ladies room. A man was kind enough to point me where it was. My sister just followed. While waiting for her after I finished, an elderly lady greeted me as she entered the comfort room. She said, ‘Hello, sister, good morning!’ She had a big smile while saying this. I replied, ‘Good morning.’, as I smiled back at her. When she left after using the ladies room, she even turned around after she passed me and asked, ‘What chapter are you, sister?’. I answered ‘Oh, my sister just invited me.’ She replied with enthusiasm, ‘That’s very good, sister.’, then left without forgetting to give me a smile. When my sister came out, I told her Jesus welcomed me, then relayed to her what happened.
When I took my sit inside the gym. The man who pointed the ladies room to me, opened the electric fans and steadied one towards my direction. I accidentally turned around and saw what he was doing. He was looking at me but before I could smile and say thank you, he shyly looked the other way. Wow! This was another welcome from Jesus.
People of all ages, from the very young to the very old, started filling up the place. Wow, again! Everybody was greeting almost everybody, handshaking, kissing on the cheeks, with big, big smile on the faces. There was warmth everywhere. Then the celebration started. It was a big bang! Everybody was singing on top of their voices. Some were even dancing. You could really see the happiness on their faces. Everybody was smiling.
Suddenly I found myself close to tears. A tear or two even escaped my eyes. I seemed to feel what Jesus is feeling. I felt, He was crying with tears of joy. The shouting praises and worships of the people were thundering towards the heavens. The voices of their hearts were music to His ears. He felt so loved by them. Jesus was really happy during that moment. He looked down upon these people, His community, His family with so much joy in His heart. He was so grateful to the obedient and trusting leader of this community. I could not explain what I felt . I was in tears.
Then I remembered what I felt towards the poor, dirty man on our way there. I wondered if Jesus used that situation to give me a hint that He would let me see the celebration through His eyes. It felt like He lend me His eyes and made me feel what He felt.
My celphone beeped, I was about to ignore the idea of looking at the message, but something bugged me, ‘What if it comes from Jesus?’, and so, I read the text. It was a daily text message. The first sentence struck me. It said, ‘ARE YOU HAPPY?’. Wow! I knew it came from Jesus. I closed my eyes and answered Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I am very happy because You are very happy.’
During the Holy Mass, the Gospel and the sermon of Fr. Steve, the presider, seemed to talk to me. According to the Gospel, you cannot serve two masters at the same time. You should choose just one. In his homily, Fr. Steve, mentioned the presence of Jesus in the community and how important the service one could do, even from the tiniest task to the biggest responsibility. The talent that God gave to each and everyone should be shared for His glory. I felt like Jesus was requesting me to give Him my full trust and just follow His lead.
As I experienced this anniversary celebration, I saw unselfish people sacrificing themselves for the glory of the Lord. They were giving the best they could, trusting Him, and obeying Him. I also saw love….yes, I saw love there. My, these people were so dedicated to Jesus.
This was the first time I attended their anniversary, and they were celebrating their twenty fourth. It felt home for me. I was not even a member yet, but God welcomed me. The people there smiled at me, greeted me, extended their hands to me, they even shared their food with me during lunch.
Jesus invited me. I had accepted. He made sure I felt at home. He made sure I would see that this would be my family. As I committed myself to Him, they became my brothers and sisters. I knew, I am home.
-luisadelacruz
