Tag Archives: Jesu

Apr 21 2013

The heart of vocations: the Heart of our Good Shepherd

Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter year C 2013

Good Shepherd Sunday

  1. good shepherdWe are now on the 4th Sunday of Easter, also called Good Shepherd Sunday. Pope Paul VI established this day as a World Day of Prayer for Vocations. So we are hereby invited to spend sometimes praying to God the Father that ‘he would send more workers into his harvest’ [Mt 9:38] may it be priesthood, or religious life, or be a dedicated lay faithful.

  2. We can pray for vocations for two things. First, all of us, and more especially those who are called, that we may have a heart like that of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. To aid us in our prayer for vocations in the pattern of the heart of the Shepherd, first, we need to know how it is to have a heart like that of our Good Shepherd? Jesus in our gospel today assures us, his sheep: ‘I know them…I give them eternal life…they will never be lost and no one will ever steal them from me.’ [Jn 10:28]. Our Good Shepherd knows us intimately and  is willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of his sheep. As our Good Shepherd, Jesus understands our needs, our vulnerabilities, our helplessness, and our tendencies. So he tends and cares for us with utmost care. He even lay down his life for all of us.  He embraced death to provide us, his sheep protection, assurance and security. Pope Francis is one who has impressed me so much since the beginning of his ministry as the Bishop of Rome and as Pope of the Catholic Church. For me, he’s got a heart like that of the Good Shepherd. When he was elected Pope, he said to the Argentinian, not to spend so much money to get to Rome for his inauguration, but rather to give the money to the poor in Argentina. He sees the immediate and the real need of his people over what he might need himself. This was a news then, so on Facebook, I saw a picture of him with a caption telling the Argentinians: ‘Don’t fly for me Argentina.’ The other thing Pope Francis did  was on the news the other day. It is reported that every time  there is a changeover of Pope or if a new Pope is elected, the Vatican employees would receive a bonus. It’s a good one, a good move indeed. But Pope Francis didn’t do it this time. Instead he decided that the money given for the bonus (a good few millions in dollars I heard) is to be given to the Church’s works of Charity. He would know that the Vatican employees want it, but he understands that the poor need it more. Such is an example of a person with a heart that of a Good Shepherd- one who distinguishes wants from needs.

  3. The Second thing that can aid us in our prayer for this World Day of prayer for vocations is to pray that we may have the willingness to hear the voice of God calling us to follow his example in our lives. Willingness is an important clue in here, because this involves our freedom, our decision and our motivation to follow him. To willingly listen to God today is crucial and important because of the many voices and noise we hear everyday. I have noted this challenge in my homily last Sunday too. Let me repeat it. ‘Listening to Jesus today is not easy because of the many voices we hear that tend to drown his voice. There are voices that oftentimes lead us to think more for ourselves and less for others. There are voices that call us to be DOING more and BEING less. There are voices that push us to believe life is more of doing something rather than being who we are and enjoying what we’ve got. There are voices that lead us to hoard and keep rather than give and share.’

  4. It is so true that that not a few so-called ‘shepherds’  who have been entrusted to tend a portion of God’s flock failed, or looked after themselves first while neglecting the others, or have even broken the trust and the promises they’ve made when they took office. It is also very true that there are shepherds whom God called but are not really living out their vocation well and not listening to the voice of Jesus. This is not a new thing. This has always been an experience in our faith journey. The prophet Ezekiel had to remind the King- shepherds of Israel in his time that they had harshly and brutally fattened themselves instead of their sheep, fed off the sheep’s milk, worn their wool, but hadn’t strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bound up the injured, brought back the strayed or sought the lost [Ez 34:1-6]. However, there are also a good number who are in their own little ways doing their bit to follow the lead of our Good Shepherd. Paul and Barnabas in our First Reading today set us an example here. They continually preached the message of Jesus to Jews and Gentiles alike, no matter if they accepted it or rejected it. They continued spreading the gospel despite oppositions from others, and personal obstacles too. The other example I can give is about the two priests I personally know in the Philippines. One time I was assigned into the parish of one of these priests. He wasn’t there. I was told by the parish secretary that he was up there in the mountain, visiting his parishioners with his ute bringing several containers of water to be distributed to the people there. Apparently, there was no access of clean water in that part of this parish. So he went up there to give them water himself. The second priest I know and even worked with before, is another one who really listened to the voice of Jesus and followed him. This priest would go to the little villages in the parish regularly, collect the recyclables from each households, sell them to the junkshops in town. He then used the proceeds to buy medicine or other immediate need for the people in the village and stock them in village community centre for everyone who might need them anytime.

  5. So as we continue this day, this World day of prayer for Vocations let us pray that all of us who are called to be shepherds in our own little way, to our little flock (may it be a home, a school, workplace, or community) may love to listen to the voice of our Good Shepherd, may have a heart like his, and may follow his lead and example in our lives. Amen.

 

 

Apr 13 2013

Experiencing the presence of the Risen Lord

Homily  for 3rd Sunday of Easter year C 2013

feed my sheepWow! Time is really moving fast. It seems like Easter Sunday was only last Sunday, but we are now on the third Sunday of Easter. I hope that we are still in the Easter mood. I mean I hope we are taking each Sunday or each week during this Easter Season as a journey to meet and experience the risen Lord ourselves. If not then it’s never too late. The person standing beside you or behind you or in front of you is an image of the risen Lord. Look at each other in the eyes of faith and of hope and you see Christ- the risen one. We can see in each other the reason why Christ has died and has risen from the dead. Because we are worth dying for. The fact that we are here this time on this third week of Easter, when we could have done something else or have gone somewhere, attests to the fact that we are people of hope, people of faith, people who are taking Easter seriously. Thanks be to God.

Last Sunday we heard of Thomas who came to believe in the resurrection because he has seen the wounds of Jesus himself. He has experienced the real presence of the risen Lord. In our gospel today we have just heard Peter and 6 other disciples who have experienced the presence of the risen Lord again. And this is also what we are invited to see today. We who are here celebrating our faith together are called to experience the risen Lord. But in what way can we experience the presence of the risen Lord today?

Our gospel today points to us three ways in which we can experience the presence of the resurrected Christ.  

First, is by listening to Jesus and doing whatever he tells us. This calls for humility, courage and decision for our part. Peter and his fellow fishermen would have some discomfort when they heard Jesus (though they haven’t recognise him at first) telling them to cast their nets on the right. They were experienced fishermen and here someone who is not even a fisherman, but only a carpenter, telling them to do something differently, when they had just spent all night there catching nothing. But no, they didn’t protest against Jesus. Instead, they listened to his voice and acted on it and the catch was great. When they listened to Jesus they realized that their former way of life (i.e. fishing) couldn’t assure them of a life in abundance and contentment.

Listening to Jesus today is not easy though because of the many voices we hear that tend to drown his voice. There are voices that oftentimes lead us to think more for ourselves and less for others. There are voices that call us to be DOING more and BEING less. There are voices that push us to believe life is more of doing something rather than being who we are and enjoying what we’ve got. There are voices that lead us to hoard and keep rather than give and share. Thanks for the example of Peter and the other disciples. They listened to Jesus. And they did what Jesus told them to do and because of this they caught plenty. By listening to Jesus, Peter had the chance to reverse his three-fold denial of the Lord by making a three-fold profession of his love for the Lord.

So today, Jesus is challenging us as he would have challenged his disciples. We are Easter people, people of hope. So we must live out this noble identity by not going back to our former way of life in sinning and selfishness and by listening to Jesus telling us to do the right thing, to take another way, or to get out of our comfort zones.

The second way we experience the risen Lord is through this Sacred Liturgy, in this Eucharistic celebration.

When the disciples got to the shore with all their catch, Jesus was already there. Apparently he has prepared breakfast for his disciples. This is what the Eucharist is about. Every celebration of the Eucharist is not our doing. Every celebration of the Eucharist is a miracle unfolding before us. Isn’t it an amazing thing to reflect on, that  every time we attend Mass we are witnessing a great miracle. And what is this miracle? The miracle that God becomes present in all of us together, in His Word being read, and in the changing of the bread and wine into his own body and blood (Sacrosanctum Concilium, Vatican II # 7-8). The disciples recognised the risen Lord in the breaking of the bread. Therefore, we can really experience the risen Lord in our participation in the Eucharist. Vatican II taught:

Christ is always present to his Church, especially in the actions of the liturgy. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, in the person of the minister (it is the same Christ who formerly offered himself on the cross that now offers by the ministry of priests) and most of all under the eucharistic species. He is present in the sacraments by his power, in such a way that when someone baptises, Christ himself baptises. He is present in his word, for it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Finally, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he himself promised: Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst. (SC 7)

The third way we experience the risen Lord today is through discipleship, through following Jesus Christ. Peter in our gospel today shows us a way to follow Jesus, in fact this should be the first step: to profess our love in Jesus and decide to live out this love by loving one another, by tending or by looking after the sheep of God. It is a big call, but our faith would tell us that if we just keep listening to Jesus and act on his words something great and wonderful happens. The Apostles in our First Reading today could attest that by following Jesus and proclaiming his gospel, they are given power and courage to go on proclaiming the good news to all people despite oppositions, indifference or persecutions. Because they realized they are following the real Christ, they stood on their ground no matter what awaited them. They remained firm in their principle: ‘that obedience to God comes before obedience to men.’ This is then a reminder for us. Discipleship doesn’t mean that everything would be always right or perfect or to our advantage. It doesn’t mean walking on a red carpet all the time, or sleeping in a bed of roses. Discipleship is following Jesus even to the Cross. But if we do persevere, we can be assured of the promise of a full sharing in the glory of Christ in the kingdom of his Father.

 

 

Mar 17 2013

Seeing our real worth: Jesus’ way of love

Homily for 5th Sunday of Lent year C 2013

If we found a crumpled, even slightly torn off five-dollar note on the road, why do we take it. By the look at it, it seems not pleasant at all. It might be soiled but still if no one is looking, we would readily pick it up, well I am speaking for myself now.

We do pick up dollar note no matter how badly it has become not because of its appearance but because of its value, because of its worth. We can still use it. We can buy something out of it despite its appearance because of its real worth.

This is more or less the same message that Jesus wanted to express in our gospel today. He wants to show us that there is more to us than just following the what the  law tells us to do. There is more to the person than just looking at what he or she has done or has failed to do.

The Pharisees and the Scribes wouldn’t realize this because they didn’t really care for the woman at all. They were not concerned of her at all. They just took advantage of her humble and unfortunate situation to further their own self-interests and to realize their plot to get rid of Jesus. They wanted to have their way done in their favour, no matter whose life it may need to sacrifice. All they are interested to hear was Jesus’s answer to their case, and for them, so they thought, there is no way out for Jesus. He has to say YES or NO. And for both answer they have already made up an accusation against him. If Jesus said ‘no’, they’d say he’s breaking the law of Moses. If he said ‘yes’, then many of those following him would immediately stop following him because his YES would betray his claim of a loving, forgiving and a compassionate Father.

But Jesus didn’t like what they are up to. He knew they had lost sight of the reality of the situation. So he had to remind them that he looked at the person as he/she is, not on what he/she has or has done. He has seen that the woman was helpless and thus needing his help, his mercy, his forgiveness. He also has seen that all the people around him, the Pharisees and the scribes included had to be directed back to the real perspective.

He did that quite subtly yet powerfully. He didn’t make any judgment over anyone or over the woman. He seemed to have done this by saying like this: ‘Come on people, there’s life at stake here…and you are still thinking of your own self, of your personal interests, of your distorted understanding of the law of God. Look at the person, not on what he or she does or has failed to do.’ What he did was challenging everyone to have a life check and a lifestyle check. So he said: “If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ That caught the Pharisees and the scribes by surprise. They didn’t expect that answer from Jesus. They lost the case, so they left. Of course, the might have realized how narrow-minded they were. And Jesus gave the woman another chance to live.

However, this episode must not lead us to think that Jesus just takes sin lightly. In fact, he is serious about it. He even died on the cross for all our sins and for us sinners. What he did rather here is to show us that  if we humble ourselves before him, acknowledge our sins, come to him as we are, he would not only forgive us but he also would give us another chance to live and take on life, and even promised us of  eternal life.

And this is the beauty of our saviour. He knows that because of pride we tend to focus more on ourselves. Yet, he always gives us another chance. He always looks at our real value and worth despite everything we do and have. But we need to listen to him. We need to respond to his invitation to renew our relationship with him especially when we break it through sinning.

This beautiful and wonderful God has also come into the life of St Paul. He met him on the way. Again, in St Paul God didn’t look at his background or what he did. He looked at his inner goodness, which is his fidelity to the commandments of the Jews. Jesus only had to re-direct him to be faithful to his mission of proclaiming Christ to all the world. Today’s second reading is an example of this. So we heard St Paul  exclaimed: “For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him.” St Paul realized that Christ is his supreme advantage because he died for all of us and for each one of us to live. For Christ, and even St Paul would agree with me in here,  we are worth dying for.

So as we continue our Lenten journey, let us have a life check and lifestyle check. Are we living according to our real worth and value that God has put on us? Are we seeing others as they are (with all their flaws and imperfections) as Christ sees them? We have to realize that no matter how sinful or bad we are, God sees us in our real worth, which cost him dearly of his blood. So then, let us  endeavour to appreciate the gifts that God has given us everyday without us even asking for them. Let us also begin, if not continue to see others the way Christ sees them, to bring Christ to others and to bring others to Christ. Amen.