End Times??

Binhi sang Pagtuo

March 1, 2010

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings!

Somebody said that today is the official start of summer. What comes to mind when summer is mentioned is vacation with friends and family, and most probably a trip to a beach and enjoy the heat of the sun. But right now what everybody is thinking is how to escape the scorching heat of the sun.

The last time that rain visited the country was in the first weeks of January. In some areas of the Philippines, a state of emergency was proclaimed by the government due to drought that consequently brought damage to crops. The El Niño spell has continued to bring havoc to health and livelihood.

The other day we received news of a big earthquake in Chile and a tsunami in Hawaii. What is still fresh in our minds is the devastating catastrophe brought by an earthquake in Haiti a few weeks ago.

These situations were the topic of my conversation with National Capital Region coach of Table Tennis the other day in Manila.* He was asking me if the end of the world is really coming. He quoted to me the verse in Mark 13:7-8 that says, “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines.”

There is a temptation for us to speculate when the end time will come to us. A lot of religious groups gained membership because they provide dates and proclamations when apocalypse will be. But up to now, all these groups were proven to be false. The words of Jesus are still the most authoritative: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

The lesson for us then is to take heed of the command of Jesus: “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come…If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Let us continue to be watchful and at the same time tell others to be on guard and be alert.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Assistant Chaplain

*Thank you for your prayers. The Region 6 Table Tennis Women’s Team represented by 3 CPU players won the championship in the 2010 CHED National Games. We also won the silver medal in the women’s doubles event, and bronze in the mixed doubles event. Juliette Gayoso, a first year BS Accountancy student was hailed as the Most Valuable Player in the women’s event, and I was also adjudged as the Best Coach. To God be the glory!