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Repentance: Stop, look and listen (to God)

Posted by junix28 on March 3, 2013 in Homilies, Homilies and Reflections

Homily for 3rd Sunday of Lent year C 2013

  1. Brothers and sisters, in this third Sunday of Lent we are all urged to repentance and to bear fruit. But we may ask, how might we do this? What might be the best way to take to a true repentance? If you went around the Philippines during Holy week you will see many different ways people would take this message of repentance and penance to heart. Of course, there would be a long queue going to the confessionals. Some people walked about the streets lashing or whipping themselves. In Cebu  for instance, starting at Midday in Good Friday, most of the radio stations and televisions would hook up to the happening in the Cathedral wherein Priests, and bishops would lead people in the reflection on the seven last ‘words’ of Jesus (e.g. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing, Today you will be with me in paradise, etc.) But some people too would go to the extreme. They would have themselves really and actually crucified, to somehow follow exactly what Jesus has shown them. The only difference is that they wouldn’t die, and if they would die in the process I wonder if they would rise from the dead on the third day too.

  2. However, our gospel today tells us the way to take to a true repentance. In fact, the gospel today tells us of two ways. First, is that we stopped comparing ourselves with others. It means we stop being self-righteous and self-centred to the expense of neglecting the other people. It also means we stop thinking that we are better than other people. In our gospel Jesus had to assure his disciples that the people who have been slaughtered by Pilate and those who are killed in a building accident in Siloam were not more sinful than they are. For Jesus it is not a question of who is more sinful and  who is saintly. For him, we are all sinners and we need  repentance.

  3. The second way to take repentance to heart is to endeavour to become fruitful in our lives and it has to be a good fruit. It must not be a fruit that poisons others, kills others, puts people off, or that which takes advantage of other people. Bearing fruit is a real sign of repentance. And repentance must be from within us, from our hearts. If we really have a truly repentant heart it expresses in our actions. It shows itself by the fruit we bear.

  4. So the question now: How can we bear fruit? Based on our Readings of today, we can bear fruit in three  ways. First, listening to the voice of God calling us to conversion-and acting on it. ‘Moses’ burning bush ‘take off your shoes’ (security, grounding, protection). This means letting go of our security and let God take over.

  5. Second, appreciating the bountiful graces of God and not taking God’s gifts for granted. St Paul would remind the Christian community in Corinth of this. Using the history of the Israelites in their journey through the desert, St Paul urged the early Church to accept the grace of God with open heart- to accept Christ in our hearts. For Paul, complaining is not helping us to grow in repentance. Instead it would slowly create in us an attitude of negativity towards ourselves, towards others and even towards God. But we do complain at times. We can’t help this. The Israelites always complained about many things towards Moses and towards God (e.g. Egyptians might overtake and kill them, food (manna & quail), water, Moses taking time on the mountain- they couldn’t wait so they made golden calf and worshipped it). But God is patient. He put up with them. He always puts up with us too.  And this would lead us to a third way to repentance- that is to allow God and other people help us as we grow so that we may bear fruit. This is what the gardener does. He tends the fig tree, waters it, nurtures it. He gives it a chance, another chance, one more chance. So also God does for us. So to grow up and bear fruit we need help from the outside too. But if we don’t take the nourishment from the outside, the love and care from others around us, we would remain barren and fruitless.

  6. So  as we continue our celebration today, we pray that we take our resolve to repentance to heart and take it on as a serious, urgent and as a top priority especially in this time of Lent. Amen.

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Transfiguration: A moment of listening to Jesus

Posted by junix28 on February 24, 2013 in Homilies, Homilies and Reflections

Homily for 2nd Sunday of Lent year C 2013

Our Gospel today tells us of the transfiguration of Jesus in the presence of three of his closest disciples: Peter, James and John. It was an experience not only for Jesus himself but also for his disciples, especially Peter. We can note that earlier in this chapter of Luke, we heard of Peter professing his faith in Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God [Lk9:20]. And now his faith in Jesus Christ as the messiah is being confirmed in the way that he and the other disciples were allowed to experience a foretaste of Christ’s glory [Lk 9:28-36].

Because of that heavenly and glorious experience, Peter wouldn’t let go of his own satisfaction. He wanted to remain and stay right there at the top of the mountain. That experience has become for him the very important thing that he forgot the very important cost of Messiahship that Jesus, the Christ had to pay, i.e. death on the cross for our salvation. He missed the point of transfiguration as a ‘pre-view’ so to speak of what was going to happen to Jesus and his faithful disciples only after walking the way of the cross and after embracing his cross. So all he could comment was: ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ But this particular episode is not what God wants to finish his story of salvation with. So we heard the ‘voice’ from heaven saying: ‘This is my Son, the Chosen one. Listen to him.’

So we who are here today, let us resolve to listen to Jesus and obey his voice. How?

Three things: First, getting down from our own mountain of glory and self-gratification or satisfaction. Jesus told Peter and the other disciples they had to go down from the mountain of glory. They have to proceed to Jerusalem, to suffer and die to fulfil the mission of the Messiah. For us as a Church, this means getting out of our comfort zones,  not just working for the poor, the oppressed, the persecuted, the victims of abuse, victims of violence, and the victims of injustice, but really working in solidarity with them by being there with them in their hopes and struggles and assisting them in the way we can. During lent, this can mean giving up something that we love or like doing such as eating sweets or drinking wine and soft drinks, etc. This can also mean taking on something good, noble and true that can help us remind ourselves that we are in this holy season of lent such as visiting an elderly neighbour, distributing meals on wheels, allocating some amount to charity, etc.

Second, keeping our focus on Jesus and listening to him as the ‘voice’ [assumed to be of the  Father’s] urged us to do in our gospel today. It is a bit of a challenge to listen to Jesus today because of the many things that occupy not only our minds, but also in our hearts. We have the inner noise telling us to listen and be conformed with the world. Wherever we go, we can hear this inner noise telling us to get this thing or that because they guarantee us of real happiness and contentment.

To counteract this current trend and allurements of the world, we need to grow in our desire to see Jesus. And our desire to see him would only be fulfilled and grow, says Ricardo Cardinal Vidal to the young people in Cebu during the 19th Local World Youth day in 2004, if we stop searching and following the false beauty, the empty pleasures, the luxury of life, the spirit-killing leisure and the noise in the world. The Cardinal added that we can certainly find Jesus in our search for the true beauty in our act of self-giving, in the silence of our hearts, in our meditation and in our prayer. (Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, You’re Still Young, I’m Old…a Conversation with the Youth of Cebu, pp14-15)

Third is making Jesus our personal friend. In this way we can really be with him, be like him and work like him. The beauty of being a friend of Jesus is that like the disciples we may have to witness his agony and sufferings, we also have the  chance to witness the wonders of his work, the beauty of him as a friend, and even  to become sharers of his glory as his close disciples experienced. Being a friend of Jesus enables us to bring him to others and empowers us to bring others to Jesus to become his friends as well. This sounds like an ideal move but it can be done. How? St Paul would offer us some ways here in our Second Reading today. Putting himself forward to be our model in following Christ Jesus, St Paul reminds us of our true homeland which is heaven, and that to get there we must not be like some people who ‘are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ.’ This means that we must not be content of building up tent and enjoy the serenity there up in our own mountain. Rather, we have to go down, follow Christ on the way to the Cross, as well as embrace and carry our particular crosses too. Paul also added an important note here that we must ‘not give way but remain faithful in the Lord.’ (Phil 3:17-4:1)

So as we continue our Eucharistic celebration today and as we continue reflecting on the transfiguration of Jesus, let us imitate Jesus in his prayerfulness, trust and dependence to his Father’s will. Let us also resolve to listen to him as he tells us to come down from the mountain and follow him on the way to the cross. Let us also pray that like Jesus we may not be afraid to deny ourselves, to be courageous to take up our cross and be faithful in following him on the way to his passion, death and resurrection. Amen.

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Prayer, Fasting and Obedience to the Word of God: Jesus’ way to beat the tempter

Posted by junix28 on February 16, 2013 in Homilies, Homilies and Reflections

Homily for 1st Sunday of Lent year C 2013

In my homily last Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), I said to some of the children at our parish primary school  that one way to observe lent is to give up something that  we love doing such as eating lollies or chocolates, or watching TV, or playing video games. And this is to be done not for our own sake but in solidarity with the many children in the world who have less or even no way to watch TV because they don’t have any, or simply because they have no money to buy lollies or chocolates. I was almost caught up with my own word when after the mass, one girl told me she wouldn’t want to get back to school until playtime. I said to her: ‘Remember my homily? I said ‘you give up something that you love.’ And she readily protested: ‘But I love school!’ I could have said to her: ‘You must not give up going to school otherwise your parents would have to pay a fine of $70.

We who are here today, let us ask ourselves: How do we take this season of lent to heart?

Traditionally we observe lent in three ways: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. Let us still keep up with these ways because these express a deeper motivation and a deeper reality. These express our inner self (fasting through denying oneself of some cravings), our relationship with God (prayer) and our relationship with one another (almsgiving). But perhaps many of us are working on what is the particular thing or action that we like or we love doing and which we desire to give up at least this holy season of lent. I heard some have given up sweets, soft drinks or wine. They are good resolutions but a big challenge too, because the temptation is great, very  attractive and is always before us. No wonder Oscar Wilde, in his play Lady Windermere’s Fan said: “I can resist anything except temptation.” Or as one priest jokingly said: “Temptation resisted is temptation wasted.”

If we are serious in our resolve then, let us take the Lord’s prayer seriously when we pray: ‘Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.’

In saying this, we are praying that we wouldn’t give in to temptation and not give up with our good resolutions. But how can this be possible?

Jesus in our gospel today would tell us that this is in fact possible, within our reach, within our grasp and  even within us. We heard in today’s gospel Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days of prayer and fasting in the desert.  His temptation is meant to show us that he completely identifies with our humanity. “For we do not have a high priest”, says the Letter to the Hebrews,  “who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin”( Heb 4:15 ). He was tempted in every way, that is in all levels of his being truly human. But he didn’t give into temptation because he didn’t give up his being ‘Son of the Father’ (his true self) and because he remained to himself and to his mission.

If we follow the gospel slowly, we can reflect four levels of temptation that Jesus had to face.

First is on the personal level. ‘If you are Son of God’, says the tempter. We remember on Jesus baptism, he was confirmed as the ‘beloved Son of the Father.’ Now, the evil one is trying to get personal on him. Yet, Jesus didn’t give in. He stood up his ground that He is anointed by His Father and filled with the Spirit of God to proclaim the message of the Kingdom. And  this helped him to stand firm no matter how personally attacked  he was. This is also a lesson for us. Some people might challenge us personally especially if they know we are believers of Christ. Mahatma Gandhi would be one challenger when he declared: “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” So it’s a call for us to stand up for our faith and be really one in Christ and like Christ.

Second is on the physical level. Jesus was hungry and weak after 40 days of fasting and prayer. The devil challenged him to produce a fast food. Yet, he didn’t give in. Instead he stood firm and declared there is more to life than just longing for food. ‘Man does not live on bread alone,’ he said, “but by every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Mt 4:4).

Third is on the intellectual level. The devil offered him power and glory over the kingdoms of the world. The devil persuaded Jesus to take control of his life and of his mission. The evil one asked him to forget who he was representing to and by whom he was sent into the world. The condition was that he would ‘worship’ the devil. Again Jesus remained on his ground that ‘worship’ is reserved to Creator only and not to the creatures. In our time, what are the things or people we unwittingly ‘worship’? Like Jesus, we must not forget that we are here because of God who created us, who loved us, who cared for us and who has reserved a place for us in his Kingdom.

Fourth is on the spiritual level. Jesus was tempted to jump from the parapet of the temple down below and put God to the test. Here the devil tricked Jesus on his level. Because Jesus had been using scriptural texts to prove his ground, the devil also used a passage in the scripture  about the angels of God protecting him from harm if he jumped off.  How can this be a way of testing God? Sometimes in life, we tend to bargain with God. We make promises that we would do this or that if only God listened to us, or answered our prayers or come to our rescue. Sometimes we just wanted the easy way out and the quick-fix God. This is a challenging thing because the devil always takes advantage of this opportunity. But  Jesus is showing us today how to deal with it. He remained trusting in God and obedient to his word. He didn’t listen to the beautiful words of the tempter, no matter how assuring it might seem and how sweet it sounds.

So what can we learn from the temptation of Jesus then?

Jesus didn’t give in to the temptation because he didn’t give up his resolution to be true to himself and to his mission from the Father. Like Jesus we wouldn’t be led into temptation and we would be delivered from all evil if we are obedient to the word of God, if we persevere in our prayer, if we deny ourselves in fasting and if we reach out to others in almsgiving. Let this be our hope and our prayer for this season of lent.

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The beauty of being found by God

Posted by junix28 on February 10, 2013 in Homilies, Homilies and Reflections

Homily for 5th Sunday in Ordinary time year C 2013

Before I got accepted into the seminary, I worked at a hardware shop in the city. Technically, my work was a ‘checker’ which included checking the incoming and outgoing deliveries, making inventories of the stock, and even cleaning the gutter located beside the shop during the less busy days.  About this time also, my desire to become a priest became very strong. Yet, something held me back. I didn’t formally graduate from High School (which was the main pre-requisite to enter the College seminary). I took a special exam after second year. I passed (thank God) and was accelerated to college studies. Momentarily I felt so elated. But later on it frustrated me a bit, because it is the College seminary’s rule to accept only those who have formally undergone and finished their secondary schooling. Anyway, I didn’t lose hope. In fact, I left it all to God. I consoled myself thinking that if God really called me to be a priest, then he would help me out.

It came one day in an unexpected moment. I was cleaning the gutter when one of the salesladies in the shop came to me and told me that someone was  looking for me, a priest. Without much ado, ignoring the not-so-good smell of the gutter that stuck into my shirt, I went out to meet my visitor. It was my parish priest. He came down to the city from his country parish bringing good tidings for me. He’d apparently gone to the seminary to talk my situation through with the rector. He told me that the seminary would take me in. He also assured me of his help in any way. I felt so happy and humbled at the news of my parish priest. I didn’t know how to react or what to say. But silently, I was thanking God for showing me the way, despite my poor background and my unusual circumstance. Until now, I am thanking God for his abundant graces that sustain me all the way up to who I am now.

Friends, you might have heard this story before but bear with me if I told you this again today. I just wanted to share with you my personal experience of a God who called me to be his own as a priest. I just wanted to share with you my experience of the beauty of this God of ours who dares to look beyond our human weaknesses and limitations just to let us know He’s got some great things for us. I just couldn’t help but tell you of the goodness of our God who wouldn’t measure our life by what we do and who we are but by his utter generosity and unconditional love. I am a priest now by the grace of God all because Jesus has invited me and also because he has found something special in me.

St Paul too has experienced the same beauty of our God. In our second reading today, Paul wrote: “I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am…” (1 Cor 15:1-11) For Paul, he would not have deserved such graces from God to him because of what he was before. But God couldn’t care less. He wanted Paul to be at his service so he calls him personally to be his concrete witness for the early Christians Church. This is our God. This is how wonderful he is. If he calls someone, he makes that someone worthy of his service too.

The prophet Isaiah would also attest to us how good and how wonderful our God is especially if he calls us personally. In our first reading today, Isaiah exclaimed: “What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips and I live  among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Is 6:1-8). Isaiah admitted and acknowledged his being weak and sinful, yet that didn’t deter God from anointing him as a prophet. Despite Isaiah’s limitations and inadequacies, God calls him and appoints him as his mouthpiece in the world. This just shows us despite our weaknesses and sinfulness, God cares for us.  Not only that, he calls us to be his friends.

One beautiful and concrete expression of the beauty of our God is what we have heard in our gospel today. Peter and few other fishermen in Galilee, despite their simple and humble background, were called by Jesus himself (personally) to follow him and become ‘fishers of men.’ He called them where they are at. From being  simple and poor fishermen in Galilee, they were appointed to become helpers of Christ in his mission for the world. In calling them, Jesus didn’t ask of them how capable they are or how credible would they have to be. He only expected of them their availability- to listen to his voice; ‘to put out into the deep’ [i.e.  to go beyond their immediate needs and immediate surroundings and reach out to serve others]; and to follow him.

This is how beautiful and how wonderful our God is. He looks through us and appeals to our inner goodness and beauty inside. This is how much he loved us. So for him, it didn’t matter if we are rich or poor, or black or white, or man or woman, young or old, as long as (1) we listen to him always, (2) do whatever he tells us and wills for us to do, and (3) follow him on the way of love and life.

And how possibly can we realize these 3 resolutions? Let us learn from the three figures in our Readings today who had experienced the beauty of God and had listened to God’s voice calling them. First, Isaiah, Paul and Simon Peter & other fishermen with him listened to what God has to say and based their personal responses on it. Second, they humbled themselves.  They could have protested  what is asked of them. Simon Peter for instance, could have said to Jesus: “You are only a carpenter, and I have been a fisherman all my life. I know the movements of the fish and the lake. They usually get to the surface at night. I and the other fishermen with me were spending the whole night here fishing yet we caught nothing. And now you’re telling me, at this time of day, to put out into the deep for a catch? You must be kidding!” Yet Simon Peter didn’t say that. Instead he humbled himself and said: ‘If you say so, then I will.’ And their humility paid off. They caught many. Third, upon hearing Jesus’ invitation, they readily left everything,  their familiar surroundings (lifestyle and all) and ventured into an unfamiliar territory proclaiming the love of God for his people while rendering loving service for others. Because of their humble and faith-filled response to God’s invitation and call to mission they became personal friends of God and a proclaimer of his love to all.

In like manner, by virtue of our baptism and by our faith in Christ, we are responding to the offer of personal friendship that God has tendered unto us. How humble and how faithful are we in responding to our call to mission especially in this year of faith?

We don’t have to go to Africa or Asia, or anywhere. Wherever we are, we are called to be alter Christus (other Christs) for others and for the world. We have to note though that there is only one Christ. There is only one Messiah. What we are to exemplify however is that we may be Christlike in our way of living and in by the way we love- that love that has no strings attached.

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