When Jesus ‘falls’ in love
Homily for 5th Sunday of Easter year C 2013
I went to a retreat in the last couple of days with 30 others young adults, all leaders for the Victorian World Youth Day pilgrims in Millgrove. During the first night we had this activity called ‘getting to know you.’ We are asked questions that speak something about ourselves. One question was ‘If there is one person dead or alive you wanted to have dinner with, who would it be?’ I’m amazed of the answers. Obviously many chose the famous celebrities, like David Attenborough, or the Obamas in America or Keith Urban, or their dead grandfather, etc. However, not one in my group, myself included (how embarrassing) chose to have Jesus for dinner. I’m surprised and a bit ashamed of myself for not choosing Jesus. Fortunately, no one in my group dared to point it out to me otherwise I could have said ‘That’s my plan B.’ But as I reflect back on that activity, I said to myself: ‘It might just be for fun but it really reveals something of myself and also who or what other young people aspire to be in company with.’ I’m not going to tell you who I wanted to have dinner with as I answered the question that night, but to be honest with you, I didn’t choose Jesus.
Due to my Sunday commitments here with you I had to leave the retreat earlier. The retreat ends later today. I drove for three hours last night to get back home. It’s a long drive especially I’m on my own, but it made me think why didn’t I choose Jesus to have dinner with?
I found one reason from the gospel for today. In our gospel today from John (Jn 13:31-35), Jesus issued a challenge if you like, to his disciples. And if we read the text just before this gospel, Jesus threw the challenge during the last supper, during dinner, after Judas Iscariot had left.
This is one reason I can see now, why I didn’t say I want to have dinner with Jesus. It is because I don’t want to be challenged by him. I just wanted to enjoy the meal, to enjoy the company.
However, whether we like it or not Jesus is challenging us all today. And what is his challenge? Listen to what he said: ‘Love one another’. It sounds easy. We can do that. Anyone can do that. We might say: It’s not challenging! True, but there is more to this. Jesus added: ‘Just as have loved you, you must love one another.’ Here’s the rub. Jesus is commanding us (I give you a new commandment) to love one another the way he does.
To love one another like Jesus does, we need to have a look on how does Jesus ‘fall’ in love?
Firstly, He loves God, his Father so much. He is always obedient to his Father’s will. He always listens first to his Father in prayer and solitude for everything he does. He is so united with his Father in love and that gives him strength and power. The good news is that we are all invited to experience in ourselves this love between the Father and the Son. And we can make this happen in us, with the grace of God if we always allow God to be the source and the motivation of all the good things we do, if we listen always to Jesus and if we do whatever he tells us to do through the Church, through the Scriptures and through our Traditions.
Secondly, Jesus, our Lord and our God, loves us indiscriminately. He doesn’t look at us in terms of our nationalities, skin colour, social status, educational profile, etc. He loves us all the same no matter how sinful we think we are, no matter if we live in his love or not, no matter if we are loving or not, no matter if we reject his offer of love or not. The greatest proof of this is the Cross. If we want to see for ourselves how much God loves us, let us just contemplate on the mystery of the Cross.
Thirdly, Jesus loves his enemies. ‘Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing’ (Lk 23:34) And he urges us to do the same. He said: ‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again’ (Lk 6:27ff). This is a new commandment indeed. And this is hard but it is not impossible. Jesus wasn’t only telling us this. He really showed it in his life. And we ought to follow him in this way. We need to understand though that to love someone doesn’t mean we have to like them. Loving is different from liking. This reminds me of a Vietnamese seminarian in the seminary with me. He was asked one dinnertime if he likes the food because he just filled his plate with the lot. He said: ‘I can eat everything, but it doesn’t mean I always like them.’ One thing I do to show that I love that someone even if I don’t like him or her (I might be a priest but I am human too you know) is to pray for the person regularly. I just said: ‘Lord, you know that I don’t like this person, but look after him/ her. Take care of him/her.’ I can attest that this prayer really works. It’s slowly becoming good.
So as we continue our celebration of the Mass today, I invite you to make two resolutions: First, invite Jesus to have dinner with you. This means allowing him to be there in all aspects of your life (family, workplace, community life, etc.) He might be throwing a challenge at us but he would also give us the strength and the power to face it. Second, let us resolve to be more loving by following the way Jesus loves us all. One way to do this is to imitate what Paul and Barnabas did in our First Reading today. ‘They put fresh heart into the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in the faith’ (Acts 14:22). This is also our mission when we are baptized, to show that we love one another. This is an important mission because as Jesus would say to us now: [‘By] this love you have for one another everyone will know that you are my disciples’ (Jn 13:35).
The heart of vocations: the Heart of our Good Shepherd
Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter year C 2013
Good Shepherd Sunday
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We 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. -
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.
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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.’
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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.
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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.
Experiencing the presence of the Risen Lord
Homily for 3rd Sunday of Easter year C 2013
Wow! 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.
Junjun FAITHBOOK 