MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE WITH YOU?

Saturday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Mt 14:1-12

Some people are born dancers. I am not. As we say it in Tagalog, “Parehas pong kaliwa ang paa ko.” I can sing a tune but I cannot dance to a rhythm. People sometimes call me “The Singing Priest” but they never dare tag me as “The Dancing Priest”.

The world is like a huge dance floor. We dance our way through life. There are two kinds of music being played. One by the world, the other by heaven. Two kinds of rhythm: one mundane, another divine. Two “disc jockeys”: the devil plays the worldly while Christ plays the heavenly. All of us, born dancers or not, dance to the rhythm of either tunes. The music has been playing even long before we were born, but the choice to what tune we wish to dance is always ours.

John the Baptist refused to dance to the music of the worldly in favor of the heavenly tune. But because those who refuse to dance with the world the world persecutes, John was imprisoned and eventually killed by those who dance to the rhythm of the mundane.

We remember John the Baptist as the great prophet of God who lost his head because Salome seduced her mother’s lover, King Herod, with her provocative dance. John was the price paid by the king for oaths proudly but unmindfully taken in the midst of guests and so-called “nobles”. The king could have taken back his oath but taking back his oath would mean being kicked out of the dance floor. The king therefore danced to the rhythm of the mundane desires of his wife as expressed by her ballerina-daughter: “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The dancing became wilder as the axe fell on the Baptist’s neck and his head rocked and rolled.

When the world hates us for refusing to dance to its rhythm, the temptation to give in to its sways and bounces is very real and very strong to us. The music becomes even more inviting as we see that the people on the dance floor increases, many of them are familiar to us, too. Very often we catch our selves saying, “Many people are doing it anyway, so what is wrong with it?” Frequently we are advised with “Don’t be such a kill joy” or “It’s the in-thing now! A little worldliness won’t hurt you.” We also sometimes reason out, “It is just a venial sin anyway. Yung iba nga riyan, mas grabe pa.” So we dance and dance and dance until the dance gets wilder and wilder and wilder. While we sway to the rhythm of the world, some people lose their heads on account of our dancing. Worst, we either hardly notice or have become indifferent to those whose heads roll while the world rocks. Dancing can be very intoxicating, too.

The Lord is very much in need of more people like John the Baptist. They are the godly people who know when the dancing has gone wild. They are the prophets who tell us when we are not dancing to the rhythm of Jesus. They are the martyrs who refuse to dance with the world. They are the saints who dance only to the tune of the Kingdom of God.

“May I have this dance with you?” Jesus asks us. Will we take His hand and dance with Him or will we say, “Sorry po, Lord, parehong kaliwa ang paa ko”?

IS THERE A DRAGON IN THE HOUSE?

Memorial of St. Martha

Lk 10:38-42

Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. Theirs was a home frequented by the Lord. Theirs was a second home to Jesus. They were close friends of the Lord.

Have you seen a statue of St. Martha? In her statue, St. Martha steps on a dragon. A legend says that St. Martha is the patron saint against dragons. But did dragons really exist?

Today, there is a new dragon we need St. Martha for. It is the dragon that we become when we work for the Lord too much but listen to Him too little. We must never tire our selves in working for the Word of the Lord at the expense of listening to the Lord of the Word. St. Martha learned this lesson straight from the mouth of the Lord, from the Word Himself. Her concern for Jesus was appreciated but it was not the best part. The best part is listening to Him.

What we want to say about Jesus is important. But what Jesus wants to say to us matters more. The Lord values what we do for Him, but what He does to us is more valuable. Moreover, the Lord can do what He intends to accomplish in and through us when and only when we spend serious time listening to Him.

So-called “church people” who fail to heed this lesson eventually become like dragons. They may be quiet for a long moment even as they volunteer for church work, but they explode like volcanoes when given the chance. They may be meek and mild like the Sacred Heart even as they endure all the hardships consequent to apostolate and ministry, but they can become as ferocious and fiery dragons when requests are not granted. They are dangerous, ugly, and vicious. They are dangerous because they can be working for the Lord even at the expense of others, save themselves. They are ugly because quite often they end up with badmouthing in reciting a litany of complaints. They are vicious because they can be relentless in their anger, forever holding on to their grudges. Like dragons, they breathe out sulfur and fire. Keep out of their way, lest you burn as they can make your life and mine already like living hell.

Let us be very careful not to become like dragons. Let us not fail to attend to the presence of Lord even as we attend to the needs of the Lord. Let us keep our focus on Jesus, only Jesus, always Jesus. As we sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to His life-giving word, may we breathe in His Spirit so that we may breathe out not fire but love, only love, always love.

There was no dragon in the house of Martha. She crushed it to death with her feet as soon as the Lord showed her its tail.

Is there a dragon in your house?

THE AFFAIR BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW

Mt 13:47-53

We tend to flock around anything new. But when the novelty wears off, we return to the familiar because we become aware of what we are missing.

Many people commit the mistake of quickly subscribing to what is new. Many of them are surprised to realize in the process that the thing they think is new is really the old thing with a new wrapping. But we have to go through this kind of experience so as to appreciate the familiar better. What matters is that we learn from our mistakes.

How then should we deal with the old and the new?

First, we should respect the old. The old and the familiar are the foundations of renewal and development. We should not easily disregard the old for the new. We should treasure the old as we must cherish our origins.

Second, while respecting the old, we must not be slaves of the familiar. Many people do not grow, do not progress, because they keep on clinging to the old and refuse to take the risk that is necessary for any growth. Many people miss miracles because they have lost the sense of wonder in living what the new and the fresh stir in every heart. If we must be critical about the new, we should not criticize it only just to have something to say in favor of the old. We should not miss the blessing of the new but neither be blinded by the glitters that may come with it.

Third, we must allow the new to confront us with our complacency with the old but allow the old to provide direction to the new. Complacency always results in mediocrity.

The new confronts the old and improves on it. It renews, converts, and develops the old. But the old gives direction to the new because the old determines what has to be renewed, converted, and developed. Thus, the old is the guide while the new is the catalysts. The old provides context while the new leads us beyond. The old and the new are friends, not enemies. They should not be threats to each other.

Jesus does not advocate disrespect for the old even while He challenges us with the new. Jesus wants us to develop in growth and holiness. Jesus wants us to respect and be grateful to the old but He also wants us to welcome and be refreshed by the new. It is therefore not a question of who is for the old and who is for the new. Rather, it is who can grow in the spirit because he wastes neither the old nor the new. That person, as the Gospel describes today, is a disciple of the kingdom of God.

EXPOSE AND GET DEVELOPED!

Ex 34:29-35

A film captures an image by being exposed to the image. But a film that is overexposed gets spoilt. That film becomes useless.

We are like a roll of film. When we are exposed to God, we capture something of His image. And, unlike the ordinary film, the more we are exposed to God the more His image is developed in us. Have you noticed that people who really pray and pray regularly exude an aura of the divine?

When Moses came down from the mountain after talking with God, his face shone so brightly that he needed to cover his face with a veil. Having been exposed to God’s unveiled presence, his countenance became blindingly radiant.

When we visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament do we become more and more like Jesus? When we wallow in God’s presence each time we meditate and pray, do we reflect God’s image to others?

I remember Fr. Ismael Misolas from my younger days. When I was serving as sacristan in my hometown parish, he would teach me catechism in the afternoon. I would arrive early in church to prepare for my one-on-one catechism class with him before the 6:00 P.M. Mass. Almost everyday, when I get to the parish church, I would see him either sitting or kneeling before the tabernacle, absorbed in deep prayer. As a twelve year old kid, I was captured by Fr. Misolas’ image more than his image captured by me. It was during those afternoons that I would look intently on him from a distance and whisper to Jesus, “Lord, I want to be like him when I grow up.”

Now that I have grown up, I understand why Fr. Misolas’ image was so powerfully captivating for me. As he knelt or sat before the Blessed Sacrament, he was telling the Lord, “Jesus, I want to be like You until I die.” I know because I am also a priest now. I know because that is my prayer too.

You may be a priest or not a priest, but that is your prayer too, is it not? So, let us keep on exposing our selves to Jesus…sana ma-develop tayo! (“I hope we get developed!”)

A LETTER TO INANG (Grandmother)

26 July 2005, Memorial of Sts. Joachim and Ann, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Mt 13:16-17

Dear Inang,

Today we remember the parents of Sts. Joachim and Ann. They are the parents of Mama Mary. They are, therefore, the grandparents of Jesus. Because today is the feast of the grandparents of the Lord, I decided to write you this letter.

You are the lola I got closest to. I remember my childhood years with you. I recall your long white hair and the afternoons you would spend with us at home. That was many, many years ago, Inang.

I write just to thank you for giving me a mother such as my mom. You have trained her well how to love a son. Many times I wonder where mommy learned how to be a mother. She is the best at it! She is a true and loving mother to my three sisters and me. I suppose there are no schools for good motherhood, except good homes. And because you, Inang were the mother in the home mommy was born and grew up in, you deserve this much-belated letter of thanks from your apo. Thanks, Inang!

In my Mass today, I shall remember you most fondly. But I will not only pray for the eternal repose of your soul, as you have gone back to heaven years ago. Most importantly, I ask for your prayers for mommy. She has been a widow for seven years now, you know. I know she misses daddy, especially when we, their children, go through some trials in life and she is alone to accompany us through. Since dad left for heaven, mommy has gone through a lot of dark tunnels in life with us. But she remains strong like a formidable wall! I am not surprised because I came to know you, Inang, as a woman of sturdy character. You showed yourself to be a strong woman yourself, especially Tatang (grandpa) passed away in his fifties and you had to raise seventeen children all by yourself.

Please pray for my three sisters and me as well. May we be worthy of so loving a mother. May we always treasure your gift to us in the person of mommy. May we be worthy of an even more loving a mother named “Mary”, the daughter of Joachim and Ann. May we cherish and follow their Grandson, no less than Jesus, the Son of God.

I love you, Inang. See you in heaven someday.

Love and kisses,

Bobby

WHEN THE BEST IS ONLY GOOD FOR THE BETTER

Feast of St. James, Apostle

Mt 20:20-28

Parents wish the best for their children. Normally, they do not simply wish for it; they work hard for it. They will climb mountains, cross the seas, and endure a lot of sacrifices to secure for their children a bright tomorrow. They will not settle for the good; they want the best for their children.

The mother of James and John wanted to secure the best future for her boys. She mustered all the courage to actually beg from Jesus what she thought to be the best for her children. She asked Jesus to reserve the seats on His right and left for her two sons. We cannot blame her. She is a mother, we know. We should not criticize her for doing so. We know she is a mother.

But Jesus had something else for James and John. He still had their best in mind though. He always has for each of us. But the best for James and John – as it is for us, too – was not what mother wanted but what God willed.

God willed that James and John fix their eyes on Jesus rather than on the seats at His right and left. God willed that James and John drink from the cup that Jesus would drink from. God wanted that James and John to serve and not be served. I wonder if this is what exactly the mother of James and John wanted for her two sons. But for sure, this is what God wants for all who wishes to follow Jesus.

Of course we say, “Mother knows best.” But we believe that God knows better. And mother’s best is only good for God’s better.

By the way, we know God is our Father. And He is our mother’s Father, too.

LOVE LETTERS

Seventeenth Sunday in the Ordinary Time

Jer 18: 1-6/Ps 146/Mt 13:47-53

Women are very good at collecting things. They seem to collect almost anything – from cosmetics to antiques, from seashells to jewelries, from hairpins to shoes. Women do not only love collecting things, they seem to keep almost everything. And they are very good at it! Unused paper napkins are slid inside their bags. Dry leaves are placed in-between pages of their diaries. Used gift wrappers are neatly folded and ribbons are carefully rolled, then stored for future use. Most mothers I know have the habit of keeping even old plastic and paper bags. Is my mom their “patron saint”?

When I was in grade school, my mother used to have a tall pile of old magazines because, she reasoned out, we might be assigned to do some clippings in school. Back in our old house, we used to have a very old closet made of wood where, for many, many years, my mother kept all my grandmother’s baro’t saya and other personal effects (including the plastic flowers and cards of condolences sent during lola’s wake!). She had to eventually let go of them though when we had to move into a new house. But the pile of old magazines? They keep on getting taller and taller for her grandchildren this time around.

When I was in high school, I discovered a wooden box that my mother kept under our closet. It was the find of my life then! It contained the love letters sent by my father to her. They were love letters before and after their marriage. I found my father’s love letters corny but I smiled at almost every word of every letter. But not my mother, of course. Those letters tell her how much my father – now departed – loved her. For her, those letters value more than anything.

In our Christian life, there comes a time when we need to bring from our storeroom both the new and the old. We bring them out to discern which has real value and which has none. The old may not necessarily be more valuable than the new, but the new may not also be necessarily more essential than the old. The gift of discernment is most needed to know which between the new and the old is truly worth keeping. Our storeroom is limited. We can keep only so much.

Jesus tells us today that we need to be instructed in the ways of God if we are to develop the gift of discernment. We must be familiar with the ways of His kingdom. To be instructed in the ways of God, we have to keep our selves always attuned to God. Personal and communal prayer, scripture-reading, recollections and retreats are important aides in this regard. Practicing what we pray for, read about and hear is equally essential to remain attuned to God. By doing so we are trained to make our ways God’s ways always.

There is nothing wrong about collecting and keeping things. Many times I cannot understand why my mother has to collect and keep things that I think are rubbish. But perhaps, she is right in doing so because more often than not her collections prove to be very handy even up until today.

However, even with the wisdom there is in my mother’s collecting and keeping things, she also periodically brings from her storeroom both the new and the old. She discerns which among her collections should remain in the storeroom or go somewhere else. Her storeroom is limited. She can keep only so much in it. Yet through the years, she treasures my father’s love letters to her. They remain inside the wooden box I once opened.

One who is learned in the Kingdom of Heaven knows that the Father’s love letters to us are infinitely more valuable than anything. They never lose their meaning. In our storeroom of the new and the old, those love letters are kept and read. Our hearts are like my mother’s wooden box where she kept my father’s love letters. In our hearts the God keeps His love letters to us. Have you read yours lately? Or have you already thrown them away?

HIGH SCHOOL COVENANT

Ex 24:3-8/Mt 14:24-30

I have a best friend named Cyril. We grew up together in the high school seminary. In college, though, we had to separate ways. I went to the Ateneo while he moved to U.S.T. I pursued priesthood and he psychology. Though we no longer lived together in the seminary, we maintained our contact and, even today, we are the best of friends.

When I left the seminar in 1989, I dropped by where Cyril was working. Cyril pressed on me to stay longer for a heart-to-heart talk. “Irene (his girlfriend then and now wife) has a problem,” Cyril began. I asked, “What bothers Irene?” “I am deciding to go back to the seminary,” he replied. Surprised, I asked him, “But why?” He answered, “Because you left the seminary. Bob, we made a covenant way back in high school, don’t you remember?” “Covenant? Huh…what covenant?” I asked. “We made a pact that one of us would have to become a priest,” He said.

Honestly, I had forgotten all about our high school covenant. But I advised Cyril, “Don’t rush into making the decision of going back to the seminary, Cyril. Pray and discern carefully.” Did I say “pray”? But our high school covenant was never in my own prayer. Discern carefully? But I was not careful not to forget our pact. Cyril was!

The First Reading today gives us a dramatic narration of how the covenant between God and the Israelites was made after the Sinai experience. The covenant was even sealed by blood. Yet we know the story of the Israelites. We know how unfaithful they became to their covenant with Yahweh. We know how easily they forgot it in times of plenty and peace. But remind God of it when life is tough and disturbed. The Israelites worshipped Baal, thereby mocking their covenant with Yahweh. Scriptures compare the Israelites with a woman who commits adultery against God, their faithful Lover. Not seldom do the Scriptures depict Israel even as a prostitute.

But like the farmer in the Gospel today, God gave countless chances to Israel to return to His embrace. He did not turn His back on her even when Israel deserted Him. “Yahweh remembers His covenant forever,” so says the psalmist. And the psalmist is right.

I am no better than my best friend Cyril. He was faithful to our high school covenant. We are the new Israel. Are we any better?

GRIZABELLA

Memorial of St. Mary Magdalene

Jn 20:1-2, 11-18

T.S. Eliot wrote a poem that later was made by Andrew Lloyd Weber into a musical play entitled, “Cats”. The climax of the play happens in the Jellicle Moon, where one cat character, Grizabella, is chosen to go to cat heaven and be reborn into a new cat life. The choice is unexpected, even shocking, for Grizabella is the most unlikely candidate for canonization. She is an outcast in the cat community. In her tattered clothing, she represents the so called “street people” of society. Worse her fellow feline consider her to be the curse of their race. Yet to the shame of those who belittle and ridicule her, those who think that they are better choices for rebirth and entrance into cat heaven because they are of a better breed, Grizabella is chosen and exalted. An audience awed by the play cannot help but feel the urge to stand up and cheer for Grizabella. Do you know why? Because Grizabella is more than just a counterpart of Mary Magdalene; she is the mirror of anyone in the audience!

Grizabella is the reflection of each of us: sinners yet loved, wounded yet chosen, hopeless yet made into signs of hope. But where Cats can only awaken our deepest hopes for another and better life, the love of the Lord confirms these expectations as true. In the musicale, as Grizabella is transformed into a new cat with a new cat life she sings to welcome the dawning day: “Daylight, I must wait for the sunrise, I must think of a new life. And I mustn’t give in. When the dawn comes tonight will be a memory, too. And a new day will begin.” This is Grizabella’s song. This is also Mary Magdalene’s. This is our song, too.

However dark our life may be, remember that Jesus already conquered darkness by the light of His Resurrection. However wounded we become, Jesus already has the healing we need. He always has. No matter how down-and-out we are, like Magdalene and Grizabella, there is always hope for us that a new life would begin.

I heard it said that the world is at its darkest just before the first streaks of light cut across the sky. We wait in silence for the voice that calls us by name, the same voice that called out Mary Magdalene from the tomb she wanted to linger on. We grope in darkness for the touch of Him who will make us understand what happiness is.

There are many others who seek for that touch. There are countless who long to hear that voice. Having heard His voice and felt His touch, let us be His voice and touch. By loving like Jesus, let us make them understand what happiness is, and a new dawn will begin.

LOVE LIKE JESUS

Mt 13:10-17

Is it not funny, if not totally ironic, that when we say we are running out of words to describe something we end up using more words to define it through storytelling? But no matter how great a storyteller we are, there are simply things in life that cannot be fully put in words: the peace of a clear conscience, the joy of giving life, the gratitude after forgiveness, the wonder of God’s creation, the mystery of the Incarnation, the love of the Lord, the things of heaven.

Jesus is the Greatest Storyteller. He used parables to describe what the Kingdom of Heaven is all about. He resorted to parables not because He would run out of words each time He tried describing the Kingdom, but because the Kingdom is beyond our understanding. The Kingdom is understood only by the language used in that Kingdom. That language is love. And because our love remains imperfect, we cannot have a full comprehension of the Kingdom.

The more we love the more we understand the Kingdom. The better we love the better we understand the Kingdom. Do not love and we do not understand the Kingdom.

To share the Kingdom is to love. To describe the Kingdom is to love, too. To be in that Kingdom is still to love.

When we see but do not perceive and hear but do not understand, is it not because we do not love enough? Not loving shuts our eyes and dulls our hearing.

Love like Jesus – this is the key to understanding the Kingdom. This is also the secret in making others understand what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. When we run out of words to describe the Kingdom, we still have arms and hands to show what the Kingdom is all about. Those arms and hands are meant to serve, to hug, to bless, to give a pat on the shoulder, to extend in welcome, to shake another’s hand in reconciliation, to lead, to shield someone, to raise someone, to carry someone…to be extended and nailed on the cross.

Love more than explanation. Love more than words. Love like Jesus and we will not run out of words because Jesus is the Word.

EVEN JUST CRUMBS

Ps 78:18-19, 23-24, 25-26, 27-28/Mt 13:1-9

Our response to the Psalm today is “The Lord gave them bread from heaven.” Knowing the Exodus, we know that this “bread” is the manna which the ancestors of the Israelites ate in the desert. God feed them in the wilderness as if it were a wild dream.

Jesus continues to feed us with bread more superior to manna. He gives us Himself. That is even wilder! “How can this man give us His flesh to eat,” did not the Jews argue?

Just as there are three kinds of soil on which the seed, in the Parable today, fell, there are also three kinds of people who receive the Bread of Life, the Manna from Heaven, Jesus Himself. To which of the three do we belong?

First is the man who receives the Eucharist but keeps what he receives to himself and for himself. The Eucharist does not change him into becoming more and more like Jesus who gave Himself away. He hoards Jesus when he should share Jesus to as many people as possible by allowing the Broken Bread to transform him into bread broken for others.

Second is the man who receives the Eucharist simply for show. He falls in line during Holy Communion time and receives the Blessed Sacrament because not doing so puts him in a rather embarrassing situation. More embarrassing when all the other people in the same pew he is sitting on stand to receive Holy Communion and he is there left staring blankly on the floor. Most embarrassing when those around gaze at him with a speculative stare: “What sin did he do that he cannot receive Holy Communion now?” This kind of man profanes the Eucharist.

Third is the man who receives the Eucharist and is transformed by what he receives, making him more and more like Jesus. He is the perfect example of the saying, “You are what you eat” or “What you eat and drink today walks and talks tomorrow.” What this man receives is not hoarded neither profaned, but grows and bears much fruit. From life-recipient, he becomes a life-giver himself.

When the good seeds are sown, they fall on any kind of soil. But only those that fall into the good soil yield a rich harvest. When the Bread of Life is broken, we nobody is refused or turned away from receiving It. But only the life that does not hoard or profane the Life-Giver truly becomes life-given…just like Jesus, the Bread of Life.

Watch out, for even just crumbs of that Bread can make this happen!

ARE WE RELATED?

Mt 12:46-50

There are three ways by which we may be related to somebody.

First, we may be related to somebody through consanguinity. By consanguinity we mean that we share the same bloodline with the person we are trying to confirm our relationship with. This is the most common way of tracing relationships.

Second, we may be a relative to someone by affinity. By affinity means being related to someone by virtue of marital union. Thus, while spouses are not related by blood, they begin to be relatives because of marriage contracted between them. From this contracted relationship branch out “relatives-in-law”. This is the most complex way of tracing relationships.

Third, we may be related to somebody through sanctity. This is the “Jesus way” of establishing relationship. Relationship of this kind is what the Gospel today explains. Our common desire and effort to do the will of God puts us in relationship with one another. This is the highest form of relationship because it also establishes our relationship with Jesus, the Son of God. This is also the only relationship that continues even in heaven.

We are not related to Jesus by blood neither by law. But we can be a relative to Jesus by holiness of life. Those who do the will of His Father are brothers, sisters and mothers to Jesus. It is therefore the fulfillment of God’s will in our life that unites us to Jesus in a way that blood and law cannot achieve.

Relation through sanctity is a privilege because it is always a special gift to be related to Jesus. It is also our mission because it challenges us to treat as brothers and sisters all who are united to Jesus.

Jesus is our communion, our “common-union”. Being related to Him, we are related to one another.

Now I know why there is a striking similarity between you and me. We must be related. Don’t you think so?

SIGNS THAT ERASE OR RAISE DOUBTS?

Mt 12:38-42

When we are in doubt, we seek for a sign. When we see the sign is our doubt gone? Not always.

A sign does not always automatically erase our doubt because sometimes we doubt even the sign itself. We ask, “Is this really the sign?” or “Am I not mistaken in interpreting the sign?” Judging a sign to be authentic and interpreting it correctly requires the gift of discernment. But sometimes, we doubt the sign given us simply because we expect something different from what we see.

Certitude is arrived at through a process that involves intelligence and freedom. Certitude is not always guaranteed by the tangible proofs. To see is therefore not always to believe. Instead, to believe is always to see. One who believes sees but one who sees does not always believe.

There are times when the more signs we are given the more doubts we have. Openness to the sign, and not the sign in itself, casts away any doubt. For one whose mind is close and whose heart is hard, even a million signs may not suffice. But for one whose mind and heart are open, no sign is required. Consider this: For one who believes no miracles are needed, but for one who does not believe no miracle will do.

The generation of Jesus was expecting a different Christ. Jesus did not fit its expectations. Thus, it rejected Jesus and even crucified Him. The generation of Jesus had its mind and heart closed to Him.

The sign of Jonah was God’s act that certified Jonah’s call to the Ninevites to repent from their evil ways. For three days and three nights God kept Jonah alive inside the belly of a big fish. The fish brought him straight to the shores he did not want to step on in the first place.

The sign was Jonah but the reality that sign pointed to was Christ. God’s act through Jonah foreshadowed God’s act through Jesus Christ, His Son. After three days in the tomb, the Father raised His Son back to life. The resurrection of Jesus testified to the truth of all that He taught and claimed to be. For our part, we, as disciples of Jesus, must be signs of His lordship.

Are we signs that faithfully point to Jesus as the Christ? Or are we signs of Jesus that raise even more doubts about Him in the hearts and minds of the unbelievers? Please do not forget to give a visible sign of your response.

THE FAITH THAT TURNS THE WEEDS INTO WHEAT

Mt 13:24-43

Try answering this question: Why is there evil in a world created by God? If that is easy for you to answer, try this: Why does God allow evil to exist side-by-side with the good? Still, an easy question? How about this: Why does the evil doer prosper while the righteous suffer? Now, we pause a long while because this last question is really difficult to provide a sufficient answer to when we are the one who are truly striving to live uprightly and yet we suffer as evil men prosper. This last question may even move us to tears if evil doers prosper at our expense even as we quietly and sincerely struggle to persevere in doing good.

I confess, I cannot give conclusive answers to these questions I throw to you today. I have my own days of confusion and sleepless nights over the issues they raise. I search for any logical and clear explanation but there is none within my limited reach. I cry deep inside when I see a good man suffer while the evil doer prosper. But I cry most when the evil doer prospers at the expense of the godly man.

Why is there evil in a world created by God? Why does God allow evil to exist side-by-side with the good? Why does the evil doer prosper while the righteous suffer? These questions have already been asked by every man even before we were born. It is as old as creation, it seems. But there are no final and definite answers that suffice us yet. Why?

There are no conclusive answers to the questions that opened this reflection because it is a question on evil more than on God. Evil is not only real. Evil is also a mystery. Mysteries are not solved. Problems are. Mysteries remain mysteries to our finite minds. The moment a so called “mystery” has been solved, it shows that it is a problem, not a mystery, in the first place. Mysteries do not search for solutions. Problems do. All problems have their corresponding solutions. That is the reason why they are called “problems”. Solutions are to problems while enlightenment is to mysteries. In our human life and in our life of faith, there are many mysteries just as there are many problems. One such mystery is the mystery of evil in the world where the good and the bad co-exist, and in our selves where the capacity to be holy and the ability to do evil are both present. Before such a mystery, we turn to God who is the Mystery of all mysteries. At His feet we kneel and bow our heads. With Him we plead, “Enlighten us, Lord. How can it be that there are weeds in the field You have sown with good seeds alone? Do you want us to weed out the darnel now? We beg for Your light, O Lord. Speak, Your servants are listening.”

Jesus tells us today what the farmer in the parable proclaimed in the Gospel told his servants, “No.”

When the evil we witness grows and grows and grows, it is difficult to take a “No” for an answer. When evil doers prosper more and more and more, we doubt if it is really a “No” that Jesus should give us for an answer. When the ungodly enjoys life and gets the best and the first at the expense of the godly, we begin to have reservations if the “No” we hear really comes from Jesus.

Jesus insists further, “Let.”

Let evil exist in the world I brought into being. Evil will never destroy the good I have created the world with. Let evil men live side-by-side with righteous men. Evil men may destroy the bodies of the righteous but evil cannot kill the spirit of the righteous. Let evil prosper; yes, even if they prosper at the expense of the upright. I am in the righteous; I suffer in them. They shall rise and shine like the sun in the kingdom of my Father. But the evil doers, unless they repent and amend their ways, will be hurled into the netherworld where they will wail and grind their teeth…not for ten years, not for fifty years, not for a century, neither for a millennium, but for ever.

It entails strong faith in God to continue doing good when we see the good scorned and murdered. It requires steadfast faith in God to live in a world where evil deeds are either praised or excused while good works are snubbed if not suspected of malicious motives. It demands genuinely deep faith in God to be unwilling victims of evil men who prosper at our expense as we struggle to persevere along the path of righteousness. Today, let us pray for that kind of faith.

Our faith may be the size of a mustard seed or likened to yeast, but may it be strong, steadfast and genuinely deep. It is a strong, steadfast and genuinely deep faith in God that softly whispers to us each time we see evil seems to take the upperhand, “Be still, my child. I am God. I know what I am doing.”

We have no conclusive answers why there is evil in a world created by God, why evil co-exists with good, and why evil men prosper while the righteous suffer. But we have faith that conquers evil with good. We do not pull the weeds. We let them grow with the wheat. By our goodness perhaps the weeds may someday become wheat.

CARMEL IN OUR HEARTS

Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Zc 2:14-17

Carmel in Hebrew means “garden”. On top of Mount Carmel, flowers of various colors, scent, sizes and shapes abound. I had the blessing of being there and offering a Mass in the church on top of Carmel. It is one of the beautiful places I have ever been!

But amid that beautiful garden is a monument of the Prophet Elijah whose eyes are fierce as his right hand holds a sword about to slay the prophets of Baal. The intriguing monument is an artistic representation of 1 Kings 18:20-40. The Prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal at the service of Queen Jezebel to prove that there is only one true God and Yahweh is His name. When the prophets of Baal lost to Elijah, Elijah took them down to the wadi of Kishon and slaughtered them there. Take note: Elijah slaughtered the prophets of Baal at Kishon, not on top of Carmel. The location of the present monument therefore is misleading. Why is it there? I do not know.

However, the verses immediately following the bloody narrative in 1 Kings 18:20-40 are more in resonance with the image of Our Lady. When the prophets of Baal had been all slaughtered, Elijah instructed Ahab to eat and drink because he could hear the rain already coming after a long drought. After a long dry spell over the land, this indeed is good news. Elijah once more climbed Mount Carmel and from there he saw the cloud coming. This is the monument that should stand on top of Mount Carmel: Elijah looking at a distance with a smile on his face at the sight of the coming rain.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is like that cloud that Elijah saw coming. She brings us the Rain that refreshes our souls. The Seven “O’s” of Advent, a prayerful hymn asking for the Redeemer to come, includes a plea to God that He opens the heavens and rain down the Just One. The Just One is Jesus Christ, the Promised Messiah.

Mary, His mother, is like that cloud heavy with Jesus that provides not only shade from the burning heat of the sun but also the Water of Life. When we feel we have spent our selves in the struggle against good and evil yet evil seems to be a relentless foe, when we cry over missed opportunities and wasted blessings, when we ache at our sincerest efforts being unrecognized, when we hurt at the sight of our pure intentions being manipulated by the cynic and the malicious, when the good we do is forgotten while the mistakes we commit are ever remembered, when deep inside we shout in protest yet cannot find the voice necessary to be heard, when we are not heard at all, when every ounce of energy we have invested in the apostolate and ministry is rendered fruitless, when our dreams are dashed against the hard realities of life, we must remember Carmel and in our hearts make that difficult but important ascent. There awaits us the sight of a cloud coming, heavy with rain to refresh us with Jesus.

“Let all mankind be silent before the Lord! For His awakening and is coming from His holy dwelling” (Zc 2:17).

REPAYING THE LORD

Ps 116/Mt 12:1-8

Do you remember the psalm in the Mass yesterday? If you do, I congratulate you. Quite often we easily forget the psalm prayed or sung in the Mass long before the next reading is read. I have the impression that many people consider the psalm in the Mass as simply an interlude between readings from the scriptures.

But psalms are prayers. In fact, they are song-prayers. They are beautiful and sincere expressions of what really lies deep within the believer. Such is the psalm today.

What a moving prayer the psalm today is! “How can I repay the Lord for His goodness to me?” (Psalm 116). Such a question comes for the heart of every sincere believer. The answer to the question is found in the Gospel however.

Jesus says, “What I want is mercy, not sacrifice.” If we want to repay the Lord for His goodness to us, mercy towards others is the answer. Sacrifice is good, but mercy is better. If we are merciful as the Lord is merciful to us, we repay the Lord for His goodness to us.

But mercy is not an easy gift to give. Humans as we are, we often want the other to be worthy of what we give. If not, at least, we want to be assured that the other will value our gift and not just waste it. But if the other is worthy of what we give, will it still be a gift?

In the reign of Alexander the Great, there was a soldier who broke the ranks in the middle of a battle and fled for his own life. Death was the punishment reserved for soldiers who would escape the battlefield. When the fleeing soldier was caught, the verdict was immediately handed down: guilty. The punishment: death by the sword. The mother of the condemned soldier went to Alexander and pleaded.

“Have mercy on my son, Great Emperor,” the mother begged with tears.

“Mercy? But your son does not deserve mercy!” shouted Alexander.

“Yes, Great Emperor,” the mother dared to speak again, “my son does not deserve mercy, for if he does, then it is not mercy at all.”

We are never worthy of the goodness of the Lord, and yet He is good to us all the time. Should we wait till the other is worthy before we show him mercy? Then, we cannot repay the Lord’s goodness to us.

No wonder, we easily forget about the psalm. Or do we choose to?

I AM

Ex 3:13-20

For the Hebrews, knowing the name of a person somehow gives the knower power over that person. It is rather not polite to ask a person’s name therefore. One should wait for the person to volunteer revealing his name.

But Moses dared ask the Voice that spoke to him through the burning bush its name. And the Voice declared, “I AM.”

What? What a name!

The Voice that spoke to Moses through the burning bush was God Himself. And God revealed His name. It is “I AM”. In giving His name to Moses, God gave Moses the power to speak and act on His behalf. Knowing His name did not mean that Moses gained control over God, but that God exercised a more defined control over Moses and the events that would follow and lead to the liberation of Israel. It was as if God was telling Moses, “Beginning today, I AM in control. Not Pharaoh, not Israel, not you. I AM.”

We all know the dramatic story that followed this rendezvous between God and Moses. With signs and wonders, God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. We are aware of what I AM accomplishes for and through us when we submit to God’s power even today. I AM sets us free!

The more we submit our selves to the power of God, the more we are liberated from whatever or whoever enslaves us. Even when freedom is impossible, I AM can set us free.

The parting of the Red Sea shows us that God makes a way where there seems to be no way. As the song says, “He works in ways we cannot see. He will make a way for me….”

Today, let us make a more conscious resignation of our selves to the power of the Great I AM. Let us bind our selves to Him and He will set us free. Let us pray not to possess God; pray rather that God may possess us. Know His name; know His power.

We who have known His name and are liberated by His power must make others come to know the power of His name. It is our mission to reveal God to those around us until all are truly free.

For the Jews, knowing a person’s name means gaining control over that person. For us, Christians, knowing the name of God means submitting our selves completely to the power of God.
God made Himself vulnerable to us. He gave us His name. Let us make our selves vulnerable to God. He will always make a way.

Keep still and feel. It is now our hearts that burn, no longer just a bush. Keep still and listen. Your heartbeat whispers His name: “I AM…I AM…I AM….”

SIMPLE GOD FOR A SIMPLE HEART

Mt 11:25-27

A dear friend of mine, Sr. Annie Petta, O. Carm., once complained, “Father, it is so difficult to catch you! It is easier for me to get the pope than you.” Of course, it is easy for her to get an audience with the pope because she is a good friend of Archbishop Marini, the pope’s master of ceremonies. But I smiled and said, “Sister, only the pure of heart can see me.”

There are many times when we exhaust every logical reasoning and scientific method to understand the ways of God, but to no avail. Our intelligence and wisdom simply cannot grasp Him. He is beyond our reach. That is no surprise, for He is God. Unless He allows Himself to be within our reach, we cannot reach Him. Until He reveals Himself to us, we cannot know Him.

But God is within the reach of children. He reveals Himself to all, but only the simple-hearted can know Him. He is accessible to all, but only the pure of heart see Him. Not the clever and the learned, but children.

One of the reasons why we fail to experience fully the graciousness of God is our exclusive reliance on logic and technique. Grace does not go by logic and technique. Miracles do not follow scientific method or learned reasoning. Grace is always an absurdity for the world. Miracles are foolishness for the clever and impossibilities for the learned. When we are simple-hearted and pure of heart, we recognize everything to be grace, a miracle, a blessing from God. We get excited over even the simplest things because in them we also see and come to know more about God.

To be simple-hearted is to be surprised even by simple miracles that happen everyday, such as the rising of the sun, the blooming of a flower, the availability of air around us. To be pure of heart means to be single-hearted. It is to be focused on God and to focus everything on God. It is not only to have God in our hearts, but to have our hearts in God.

When I told Sr. Annie that only the pure of heart can see me, I was, of course, just joking. But when Jesus said that only the childlike can know God and, in the Beatitudes, only the pure of heart shall see God, He was not joking. He was telling the truth. Let us, therefore, strive to remain childlike. Let us be simple-hearted and pure of heart.

God is too simple for my complicated heart.

A HOMETOWN FOR JESUS, A HEART FOR HIS CALL

Mt 11:20-24

If you have gone to the Holy Land, you would have noticed at the entrance of the Holy Site in Capernaum the words: “Welcome to Capernaum, The Hometown of Jesus”.

If Capernaum is the hometown of Jesus, why in the world is He condemning it in the Gospel today? Jesus says, “As for you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to the heaven? You will go down to the netherworld. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.” Jesus runs the risk of being judged a persona non grata. Jesus grew up in Nazareth, but Capernaum is considered His hometown because it was Capernaum that welcomed Jesus when Nazareth rejected Him. Yet to the town that opened wide its arms to Him, Jesus brings upon a rather heavy hand. Why?

Pride. That’s why.

Capernaum, as well as Chorazin and Bethsaida, the two other towns mentioned in the Gospel today, refuses to repent from their sins. While it welcomes Jesus, it shuts its heart to the call of Jesus to conversion of life. It gives a home to the homeless Jesus, but refuses to welcome His message. Again, why?

Pride. That’s why.

Pride makes it difficult for anyone to accept that he is a sinner like the rest of humanity. Pride is one of the biggest obstacles to contrition from sin and conversion of life. The proud-hearted cannot even be forgiven, for he will never even accept forgiveness, in the first place. Thus, hard shall be the judgment on the proud-hearted. The saddest thing about it is that the proud-hearted himself causes his own condemnation.

Today, let us pray for the grace of humility. Let us do our best to be more and more humble each day, too. There is no other way by which we can approach God except on our knees. And those who are on their knees before God, God can only help them rise to their feet and exalt them.

If Capernaum is indeed the hometown of Jesus, should we not rather look up to it to learn how to be humble? If Jesus truly dwells in us, should we not be models of humility? The humble answers, “Yes”. But the proud says, “I already am!”

YOU ARE IN DANGER!

One of the adjectives used o describe the memory of Jesus is “dangerous”. Jesus inspires His followers so intensely that they become willing to offer their lives for Jesus at any cost. Remembering Jesus drives them to radically commit themselves to Jesus and strengthens them to endure any trial and persecution, death not excluded. Thus, while Jesus leaves His disciples with peace. He does not leave them in peace.

This is what Jesus means when He says that He did not come into the world to bring peace but rather division. The memory of Jesus transforms those who are totally open to His grace and makes them more and more like Himself. Because the world hates Jesus, it also hates those who follow Him. Because the world persecuted Jesus, it also persecutes those who are configured to Him. The more a person is like Jesus the more the world does not like that person. If the world put the Master to death, the disciple cannot be safe.

Through every generation, the world does not run out of people who keep the memory of Jesus very much alive. Not seldom does keeping the memory of Jesus alive requires this disciples own life. Not a few of His followers are persecuted and ostracized even by their families, relatives and friends. The world slaughter them, but like mushrooms they grow in numbers everywhere. Followers of Jesus are not safe from the deadly blows of the world, but neither does death deter them from life.

The Eucharist we celebrate is a remembering of Jesus. It is the memory of Jesus. It is Jesus Himself made present again. Because the memory of Jesus is dangerous, the Eucharist is dangerous, too. If you think that the Eucharist is not dangerous, you are missing the point that the Eucharist challenges and transforms us more unto the image and likeness of Jesus. If you think that the Eucharist is simply a nostalgic remembering of Jesus over a meal, completely forgetting It’s sacrificial overtones, you are wrong. You must have come to a wrong gathering. You must have missed the Eucharist Itself.

The Eucharist – a dangerous remembering. Jesus – a dangerous memory.

Are you a disciple of Jesus? Take care, you may be in danger!

ADD THE CROSS

Mt 13:1-23

Jesus ends the Gospel today with the request, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Perhaps, it was even more than a request. It was a command: “Hear!”

It is worth noting that if you add a cross to the word “hear”, you get the word “heart”. The small letter “T” is in the figure of the cross.

Jesus commands us to put a heart in our hearing of His word. It is in our hearts that the seeds He sows must fall if they are to produce an abundant harvest.

Jesus reminds us that to have a heart in hearing His word is to welcome the cross. Through the cross we bear on account of hearing His word and living it out, the seeds He plants grow in us and yield a rich harvest.

Jesus also tells us to put “e-a-r” at the center of our “h-e-a-r-t”. We must listen to Him with our hearts. We cannot put a heart in our hearing of His word, unless our “h-e-a-r-t” has “e-a-r”. The first attitude that our hearts must have before Jesus is hearing His word; then, our hearts will be part of the Lord’s bountiful harvest.

Remember: it is not enough to hear the Word of God. Add the cross and have a heart to hear with.

Hear whoever has ears but only those who welcome the cross will yield a rich harvest!

ULTIMATE JOY

Mt 10:24-33

The ultimate joy of any disciple is to become like his master. Our ultimate joy is to become like Jesus because Jesus is our Master. There is no other path towards genuine joy for any genuine disciple of Jesus than this. But what is the path that leads to becoming more and more like Jesus?

A man once talked to the Lord and asked Him, “Lord, I want to reach the shores of heaven. What boat should I sail on?” “The cross,” Jesus answered. A second time, the man inquired from the Lord, “I want to go up to heaven, Lord, what mountain must I climb?” “The cross,” Jesus replied. A third time, the man asked the Lord, “Lord, if I already stand before the gates of heaven, but they are locked, what key should I use to unlock them?” The Lord Jesus, without a wink of an eye, said, “The cross.”

We cannot become like Jesus unless, like Him, we carry our cross and even be crucified to it. The sufferings and persecutions we endure are the means by which we are purified, like gold is purified by fire, and molded into the image and likeness of our Divine Master. By denying our selves and carrying our cross daily, we pattern our selves after Jesus, who “though He was God, did not cling to His equality with God but emptied Himself and took the form of a slave, and became as men are; and being as all men are, He was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).

To consider becoming like Jesus is truly exciting but to take the road that leads to complete identification with Him can be very threatening and, therefore, frightening. Yet there is no other way by which we can have the fullness of joy, the fullness of life, than becoming like Jesus.

Today, we pray for three things: faith, courage, and generosity. Rather than possessing faith in the Lord, may we have a faith that possesses us. May this kind of faith strengthen us and defend our spirit from the trials that attempt to break it. Then, with this kind of faith and courage, may we always have the generosity needed to offer our life, not only to Jesus, but WITH Jesus.

Next time you want to convince anyone that you are happy, do not laugh like a hyena; love like Jesus. When you want to make someone happy, do not crack a joke; love like Jesus. When you want to be really happy, be like Jesus.

NO PUPPET BUT REED

Matthew 10:16-23

I have an adopted son, named Pipo. Pipo loves playing with his Dalmatian puppet dog. He always asks me to make the puppet “talk” to him. I oblige on one condition: he talks back to the puppet in English. It is my playful way of teaching him a second language.

Pipo enjoys talking with his puppet dog. You know he does because he giggles and jumps when the puppet “talks” to him…in English. I am amazed at how he laughs his heart out. He is aware though that it is not the puppet that talks to him but me because he looks at my mouth while his puppet “talks”. Oh, children!

Jesus tells His apostles: “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to speak or what to say; what you are to say will be given to you when the time comes; because it is not you who will be speaking; the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you.” I cannot help but remember Pipo, his Dalmatian puppet dog and me. Did Jesus know about our “puppet ritual”?

But the apostles were not puppets of God. They were men with freewill to choose whether to allow God to speak through them or not. They were free to let the Spirit of the Father to speak in them or not. Puppets do not enjoy this freedom.

The apostles were like reeds instead. As a song written by Fr. Manoling Francisco, S.J. says, “I am Your reed, Sweet Shepherd; glad to be. Now with Your will, breathe out Your joy in me and make bright songs to fill me with the soft moan of Your love….” Lovers are not meant to be puppets but reeds. We are lovers of the Lord. We are His reeds.

When I pick up Pipo’s Dalmatian puppet dog, it begins “speaking” to him. The puppet has no choice. It cannot even protest if I make it speak poor English. Pipo, aware though he is that it is I who speaks through the puppet, jumps with joy and giggles just like any four-year old kid each time his puppet “speaks”. When I allow the Spirit of the Father to speak through me, I am like Pipo instead…thrilled, joyful, jumping. But I am no puppet. I am His reed.

THE PRICE OF PEACE

Gn 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5/Mt 10:7-15

We dream of peace. We pray for peace. We hope for peace. But peace remains illusive to us. In every Mass we celebrate, just before we break the Bread, the Body of the Lord, we ask the Lord for the gift of peace. But where is peace?

Peace remains illusive to us perhaps because all we do is dream, pray, and hope for it. In order to have peace, we must work for peace. If we want to enjoy peace, we must labor for it. Where there is no peace, let us sow the seeds of peace and we will find peace.

Are we not guilty of praying for peace but not becoming more and more peacemakers ourselves? We beg the Lord for peace, but we harbor in our hearts hurts from the past and refuse to forgive our assailants. We storm heaven with our prayers for peace, but the doors toward reconciliation remain closed and the table of dialogue empty. We want peace, but we do not want to pay the price for it.

What is the price of peace? The price of peace is making peace. Only men and women of peace receive peace.

Like Joseph, the man from our First Reading today, revenge against those who hurt us must never be an alternative for us. Our option can only be peace. Like the apostles in the Gospel today, peace should be our gift to all. Peace is our choice and mission, not only our prayer and hope. Peace is our life and gift.

In the Mass, we pray for peace and give one another the sign of peace just before we break the Bread, the Body of the Lord, lift it us as the Lamb of God, and partake of it. If we want peace, we must be ready to allow our selves to become like bread broken for the life of the world. The best sign of peace is strive becoming more and more like Jesus, our Peace, to one another.

Today, ask the Lord for the grace to make peace, not only to have peace. Resolve to extend a hand of reconciliation to anyone who might have hurt you. Likewise, humbly seek forgiveness from those whom you might have hurt.

A VIRGIN, A MARTYR, A SAINT

Matthew 10:1-7

Today we celebrate the blessed memory of St. Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr. St. Maria Goretti lived and died in the last century. She is a saint from our times and for our times.

Early in life, St. Maria Goretti consecrated her life to God. She was so much in love with Jesus; thus, she offered her entire life to Him. As a visible expression of her love for Jesus, she consecrated her virginity to Him. Her faithfulness to her consecration to the Lord was proven when she was attacked by a man, Alessandro by name, who wanted to violate her. Defending her virginity against the assault of Alessandro, Maria Goretti died from fourteen stabs. But before she died, from her lips came only words of forgiveness for Alessandro. She said, “I forgive Alessandro and pray that he may go to heaven someday.”

We need more people like St. Maria Goretti. There may be many people who promise virginity or chastity to the Lord, but their promise must be like that of St. Maria Goretti’s: single-hearted, faithful, and forgiving. For many may offer themselves to God but also subscribe to false gods. One may be very determined in consecrating himself to the Lord but when persecuted, easily gives in to “blend in” with the crowd. One may be chaste but unwilling to forgive.

It is not virginity or martyrdom that makes a person a saint. It is the quality of love that makes a virgin or a martyr a saint. Without love, virginity is self-preservation, nothing else. Without love, martyrdom has no meaning at all. It is the quality of our love that satisfies the Lord’s instruction in the Gospel today: “As you go, make this announcement: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Let us love like St. Maria Goretti – single-hearted, faithful, and forgiving. It was love that made St. Maria Goretti a virgin and martyr. It was her kind of love that made her virginity and martyrdom holy. It was the quality of her love, not her virginity neither her martyrdom, that made her a saint. For as St. John of the Cross said, “At the twilight of life, we shall be judged on love.”

Would you qualify for a virgin? Would you qualify for a martyr? But would you qualify for a saint?

PRAY FOR THE SHEPHERDS

Matthew 9:32-38

Why does the sheep need a shepherd? Three reasons:

First, the sheep needs a shepherd because the sheep is a shortsighted animal. It can see only up to its nose. Thus, the sheep may wander and easily get lost. Without a shepherd, the sheep goes astray from the fold it belongs to. The shepherd is an indispensable guide for the sheep. He is the “eye” of the sheep for things beyond its sight.

Second, the sheep needs the shepherd because the sheep is a very meek animal and, therefore, an easy prey to wild animals. The sheep cannot defend itself. It needs a shepherd to protect if from the beasts that salivate for its flesh and blood. Without a shepherd, the sheep dies and ends up in the bowels of predators.

Third, the sheep needs a shepherd because the sheep needs to be pastured. The sheep does not know where greener pastures are. Without a shepherd, the sheep is not only lost and in danger; it also starves. The shepherd feeds the sheep.

To lead, to protect and to feed – these are the three reasons why the sheep needs a shepherd.

But what if the shepherd himself leads the sheep astray because he himself is lost? What if the shepherd himself poses a danger to the sheep because he himself is in weak? What if the shepherd himself feeds on his sheep because he himself is starving? We know this happens: those to whom the sheep is entrusted are themselves who violate the sheep. The shepherd himself may have gone astray, may be in danger, and may be tempted to feast on the flesh of his sheep.

Today, let us pray for the shepherds even as we pray for their sheep. The responsibilities placed on the fragile shoulders of the shepherds are tremendous. Let us pray for shepherds according to the heart of Christ who is the Good Shepherd. May every shepherd become to us what Jacob uttered when he wrestled with the angel through the night, “Peniel”, which in Hebrew means, “Face of God”.

GOD NEEDS AFFIRMATION?

Psalm 91:1-2, 3-4, 14-15b

The Psalm today is very beautiful. It says, “Deus meus, sperabo in Te.” In English it is rendered as “In You, my God, I place my trust.” It is an affirmation given to God, not only a flat statement expressing whom we trust. That God is affirmed is good! Perhaps we seldom do that because we think He needs no affirmation anyway. Sometimes we might also think affirming God is like “making bola” to Him.

Does God need to be affirmed? Yes, He does.

God needs to be affirmed for three reasons.

First, by affirming God, we become like Jesus. Remember the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus Himself taught His disciples? How does Jesus begin His prayer to the Father? “Our Father, in heaven, holy be Your name.” When Jesus prays, He starts by affirming the holiness of the Father. To affirm God is to pray as Jesus prays.

Second, when we affirm God, we become true to our selves. Telling God that we trust Him – as in the Psalm today – is telling our selves, too, that we are hopeless without Him. And that is the truth! By affirming God, we humbly recognize our need for Him. We recognize who we really are and what we can become because of God. Affirming God is an important means to remind us of who we really are, not only about who God is.

Third, affirming God is a powerful way of witnessing to others. By affirming God through our words and deeds, we tell others who God is for us because of what He actually does in us and for us. Affirming God is a means of evangelizing others. We say God is faithful, all-powerful, loving, merciful, just, trustworthy, etc. because we experience these attributes of God in our lives. We proclaim thus so that those who hear and see us may be led closer to God, too.

Next time you affirm God, remember these three things: becoming more like Jesus, becoming more true to your self, and becoming a way for others to God. these are the reasons why we must affirm God every moment of our lives.

When we affirm God, He does not blush. He simply smiles and says, “Thank you, child, for trusting Me. Go and affirm your brethren, too, for in them you shall find Me.”

REST IN JESUS

Matthew 11:25-30

We are very tired. We have drained ourselves to the last ounce of our energy. We seek refuge. We long for renewed vigor. We wish to rest. Jesus tells us today where we can find what we are looking for: in Him.

Rest in Jesus. He does not only strengthen us. He Himself is our strength. He does not only give us peace. He gives us Himself. He is our peace.

While we often pray that Jesus, our peace, live in our hearts, we need to strive in dwelling in Jesus’ heart. In His heart we shall find peace. Let us not possess Jesus; let Jesus possess us. Let us not possess peace; let peace possess us. Let us not only have peace; let us peacemakers ourselves. Let us be peace; let us be another Jesus.

As we have rested in Jesus, let us give rest to others.

R – reconciliation. Make peace with everyone. Give to others what you want others give to you. Reconcile with those against whom we have misgivings. Grudges are too heavy to carry for a heart that longs for rest.

E – emptiness. Be free from inordinate attachments. Be not a slave to anything or anyone, but be a faithful servant of God always. Be filled with God. Other attachments are excess baggage.

S – silence. Learn the art of slowing down and toning down. Stop and be still. God gave us one mouth and two ears so that we may talk less and listen more. Noise promises no peace. It will never give you rest.

T – tenderness. Be tender-hearted. When we are hard on others, when we are cocky, when we are violent, who really suffers? We are the ones who really suffer. We are the first and worst victims of our own lack of tenderness. Learn from Jesus. He is meek and humble of heart.

The world is very tired. There is little peace in the world. Let us bring the peace of Jesus to the world. Let us “R-E-S-T” in Jesus. Let the world rest in His hands.

WASTED FASTING

Matthew 9:14-17

Fasting is commonly associated with Lent. And the season of Lent is intimately linked with sacrificing and mortifying the self. But lent is not primarily about sacrificing and mortifying the self. Lent is about life, not death. Sacrifice, mortification, and death have something to do with Lent only insofar as the forms of our sacrifice, mortification, and death are life-giving. From ancient times, the Church Fathers already referred to the season of Lent as “the springtime in the Church”. Lent comes from the old English word, “lencten” which means “springtime”.

Our fasting should be at the service of life. The more we fast, the more life-giving we should become. Fasting is not merely about depriving our selves of food or drink. Fasting is disciplining our selves to be more in control of our desires which are often the root causes of spiritual – and even physical – death for us and, through us, for others as well. If by fasting we feel good but do not become good persons, then our sacrifice is not life-giving. It is not the feeling good that makes us life-givers. It is becoming good – and even better – persons that transforms us into channels of life.

In ancient days, Christians fasted and the money or goods they saved from fasting were contributed to the common treasury for the poor. But today, when we fast, where do the money and goods we save from fasting go? Is it to our own pockets? Is it to our budget for the next meal? Is it to our funds for entertainment in the most luxurious ways? Fasting is not postponement. Fasting is sacrifice for the poor. We steal from the poor when we use what we save from fasting for our selves.

This in an important lesson that Jesus teaches us by answering the inquiry of John the Baptist’s disciples: it is not the time to fast that makes fasting pleasing to God. It is what fasting makes out of us that truly matters. Fasting should lead us to the newness of life, to the fullness of life, to the service of giving life in and through Jesus Christ.

Next time you fast, examine why you are fasting and what fasting does to you. If you fast simply to satisfy a religious precept, your fasting is shallow. If your fasting does not make you more and more a life-giver, forget it. It is like putting new wine into old wineskins. Your fasting is wasted.

MOVING ON

Genesis 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67 and Matthew 9:9-13

My father passed away in 1998. Three days before he died, he requested for a father-and-son chat around the football field of the Ateneo de Manila University. He said that he had something to tell me. By the tone of his voice, it seemed that that “something” was serious and urgent. It was a Wednesday when he made the request. Feeling inadequate to face whatever revelation he wanted to make, I bargained with him and promised to be back the following Saturday for our chat. He passed away the following Friday. Seven years have already passed since his passing away, yet I continue to grieve over a promised made but not given a chance to fulfill. My mourning has yet to cease, though I know I must move on.

Our readings paint for us two pictures of moving on. The first is of Abraham who grieves over the death of Sarah, the woman he loved and married. He loved Sarah, his wife, more than anything. He was faithful to her. Remember when Sarah herself proposed that Abraham lie with Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant, so that Hagar could give Abraham a son, an heir, because Sarah herself was barren? Abraham could not believe it was his wife who was making such an indecent proposal. But Sarah prevailed and Abraham a son through Hagar. Later on, however, God intervened and opened Sarah’s womb. Abraham and Sarah, in their old age, begot Isaac, the promised son.

The finality of Sarah’s absence brought about by her death must have been devastating for Abraham. They were not couples similar to spouses we see in the news today who would sacrifice being together and, therefore, keeping their family intact, for the sake of political agenda. Abraham and Sarah were inseparable. But death separated them without their consent.

Interestingly, though he was mourning, Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac. He knew that he must move on or God’s promise to give him and his descendants the land in which they dwell will not come true.

In our gospel today, Levi had been considered dead by his own people, for he was a tax collector. Jesus, however, came to restore him to life. Jesus invited Levi to follow Him. Jesus wanted Levi to move on…not to move on with his old life but to move on with a new life in Christ.

But the scribes and the Pharisees did not want people like Levi to rise and move on. They had nothing to do with people who were long buried underneath their personal and social sins. What the scribes and the Pharisees fail to see in their hypocrisy and stubbornness of heart was that in mingling with tax collectors and sinners, Jesus also wanted them to move on with Him and the rests who accepted His invitation. In raising up those who are considered dead due to unrighteousness, Jesus also wished to release those who are buried underneath their self-righteousness. Jesus wanted sinners to move on with Him. Jesus wanted saints to move on with Him, too. He still does. Jesus wants us all to move one with Him together.

Moving on is not always easy. But it becomes less difficult if the people around you pave the way rather than block the path that towards a new and a better kind of life. If we are like Levi, let us hear Jesus calling us by name and take His hand that raises us up to our feet so as to move on. If we are like the scribes and the Pharisees, let us confess our hypocrisy and join those who are already moving on with Jesus. Let us move on and let us help others move on. Let us move on together with Jesus.

Moving on was important for Abraham and Levi. It is equally important for me, too. I am able to move on not because of the scribes and the Pharisees in my life, but because of the “Jesus-es” in my heart. Let us follow Jesus. Let us be another Jesus. Let us be Jesus to one another. Let us move on together.

Amen.