April 24, 5th Sunday of Easter

April 24, 2016

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 14:21-27; Psalm 145; Revelation 21:1-5; John 13:31-33A. 34-35

Whenever I interview couples preparing for marriage, one of the important questions I ask them is this, “Is there any circumstance or person that forces you to enter into this marriage?” So far, I have not encountered couples answering “YES” to this question. Because if they answered YES, then there is no point to pursue getting married.  To force someone to love you is not really love.  Because real love is something that you freely give to someone.   Jesus in the Gospel today tells us, “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved You.” If love must be free, why does Jesus command us to love?  Isn’t it that love must be spontaneous? What exactly is “new” about the command of Jesus to love? Isn’t it that the call to love has always been there even before the time of Jesus? What is the purpose of this new commandment to love?

Let us reflect on these questions in three points:

JESUS REFERS TO LOVE AS A DECISION OF THE WILL. Our common understanding of love is more of an emotion or a romantic feeling. This is what we see in love stories portrayed in movies or TV programs. But Jesus invites us to a deeper meaning of love as a decision of the will to seek the good of the other person. It is true that the experience of love may be accompanied by romantic feelings, affection and tenderness. But it is not always the case. When a father gets up in the morning and goes to work to provide the needs of the family, that is love. When a mother prepares the food and brings the children to school, that is love. When children commit mistakes and listen to the guidance of their parents, that is love. When grown-ups take care of their parents when they reach old age, that is love. Notice that there is no romantic feeling involved here. But it is clear that the motivation behind doing these things is none other than love – the decision, the free act of the will to seek the good of the other. This is what Jesus refers to in his new commandment of love. But what exactly is new in this commandment?

JESUS INVITES US TO LOVE IN THE SAME WAY THAT HE LOVED US.  It is not just any brand of love. Jesus emphasizes His own brand of love. This is something new. We are asked to love in the way how Jesus loved us – His sacrificial love, disinterested and gracious love not only for his disciples but for all.  When Jesus said “love one another.” He did not say, “Love one another when you are both young or when you are both healthy.” He did not say: “Love one another when the other has stopped offending you.” He did not say: “love one another when the other is good to you.” Jesus simply says, “Love one another,” without any conditions or limitations. This is the brand of the love of Jesus.  What is the purpose of following the new commandment to love?

THIS NEW COMMANDMENT OF LOVING WILL IDENTIFY US AS FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. People usually recognize us as Catholics by the religious images we put in our homes and churches, by the teachings we believe in and by charitable acts. Yes, they remind us of our identity as Catholics. But Jesus tells us that what will convince the world that we are the disciples of Christ, is our love for another. Without love of Christ, religious images become decorations only. Without love of Christ, teachings may sound good but empty.  Without love of Christ, charitable acts are only a show.

As we come closer to election day, I notice that during campaigns, there is a lot of giving. What is the motivation behind that act of giving? I hope that the act giving is done out of love and not just to buy votes. During campaigns there are lots of beautiful promises, but if there is no real love, they are just propaganda. Hopefully when we exercise our right to vote in a few weeks, may we do it out of love for our country.

My brothers and sisters, on this 5th Sunday of Easter, Jesus gives us a new commandment to love. Love here is a free act of the will to seek the good of the other. It is new in the sense that our standard of loving must imitate the way how Jesus loved us. Let us pray for the grace to practice this love, so that people will recognize us as followers of Christ.

April 17, 4th Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday)

April 17, 2016

4th Sunday of Easter; Good Shepherd Sunday

Acts 13:14. 43-52; Psalm 100; Revelation 7:9. 14b-17; John 10:27-30

I remember reading this joke which says: “What is the difference between a snatcher and a politician? The difference between them is this: The snatcher gets the money first and then runs. While the politician runs first and then gets the money.” How I wish our political leaders will prove to us that this perception is wrong. We hope that the coming elections will give us good leaders who will shepherd our country in the spirit of genuine service. This Fourth Sunday of Easter is called Good Shepherd Sunday.  A shepherd is a leader who takes care of his flock. Although we are not that familiar with the imagery of a real shepherd, we can identify those whom we can consider as modern day shepherds. Who are they? Political leaders are shepherds who should guide the nation to real progress. Parents are shepherds of their family. We priests are shepherds of the parish community. But how does one become a good shepherd? As we celebrate this Good Shepherd Sunday, we look at Jesus as our model. What can we learn from Him? How did Jesus exercise His office as the Good Shepherd? What can we do so that the Lord may give us good shepherds?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

THE LOVE OF JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD IS INCLUSIVE. In the first reading, the Jews were filled with jealousy when they saw Paul and Barnabas having many followers. Their followers included not only the Jews but even the Gentile converts. Why did they have many followers? Because they were preaching about the inclusive love of God. They deviated from the exclusive thinking of the Jews that they are the only nation favored by the Lord. Yes they are the chosen people but one cannot really limit the boundless love of Jesus the Good Shepherd. God’s love cannot exclude anyone. Because God’s love reaches out to all members of His flock. This is one of the characteristics of a good shepherd. This reminds me of what will happen next year in our diocese.  Effective on July 2017, all priests of our diocese will have new assignments. We will all transfer to another parish and you will have new shepherds to guide you. This is a reminder for us priests that our ministry is not exclusive only to one parish. It must be inclusive like that of the Good Shepherd. As parishioners, your love must also be inclusive, not only to the priests assigned to this parish but most especially to those who have not yet felt the inclusive love of Jesus the Good Shepherd. Reach out to them. Be like Paul and Barnabas to them. Lead and shepherd them to experience the inclusive love of the Risen Lord. What are we going to do in order to convince them of this truth?

WE NEED TO CONSTANTLY LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Jesus tells us in the gospel, “My sheep hear my voice and they follow me.” The voice of Jesus will give us guidance and direction in life.  But how do we know if the voice we are hearing comes from Jesus the Good Shepherd? In our ordinary lives, we easily recognize the voices of people who are close to us. Just the sound of their voice is enough. There is no need to state their name. The same is true with hearing the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd.  We get to know the voice of Jesus if we have a deep relationship with Him. We become familiar with the voice of Jesus if we make time for prayer. So that even in the midst of the many voices competing to catch our attention, we can easily distinguish His voice. Let us ask ourselves, can we hear the voice of Jesus the Good Shepherd in our lives? How is my relationship with Jesus the Good Shepherd?

WE NEED TO PRAY THAT THE LORD MAY GIVE US GOOD SHEPHERDS. Today is also the Vocation Sunday. The Church asks us to pray that many young people, may respond to the call of priesthood and religious life. It is true that there is a shortage of priests in our Church. Just imagine, the ratio of priests to parishioners is roughly one to more than 20,000 baptized Catholics. What can we do to promote vocations? We need to pray and encourage the youth to generously respond to the call of the Lord to enter the priesthood and religious life. Aside from prayer we also need to live our faith.  Priests and religious do not fall from the sky. They come from families, schools, communities or workplaces. If we strive to live our faith in these places, then perhaps people may be inspired to respond to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

My brothers and sisters, let us continue to pray that the Lord may give us good shepherds who will lead us to experience the inclusive love of God and good shepherds who will guide us listen to the voice of Jesus. Amen.

April 10, 3rd Sunday of Easter

April 10, 2016

3rd Sunday of Easter

Acts 5:27-32. 40-41; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

In a few hours from now, many people around the world will witness the long awaited fight between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley. These past days, I have heard in the news that after this fight, Manny is planning to retire from his career in boxing. What could be some of the reasons for his retirement?  Aside from politics, he said that this can give him more time to be with his family. I think we find this same dilemma in the gospel today. The apostles, led by Peter might have felt the need to already “retire” from following Jesus.  Why?  Because Jesus is no longer with them. Yes, Jesus has risen from the dead. But things became different after His resurrection. They miss and long for the physical presence of Jesus. Perhaps they also thought this could be the right time look after their own families.  That is why in the gospel today they went back to Galilee. They were back to the fishing business as usual. Back to what they have been doing before Jesus called them. Then all of a sudden, the Risen Jesus appeared to them. Why did the Risen Jesus appear to them this time?  What was the invitation of the Risen Jesus to his disciples? What was the response of his disciples to the invitation of Jesus?

Let us reflect on these questions in three points:

THE RISEN LORD APPEARED TO THE DISCIPLES AT THE SEA OF GALILEE. Part of the command of the Risen Lord is for his disciples to go to Galilee. Why Galilee? Galilee is a very significant place for them. It is the place where Jesus called his first disciples. When they reached Galilee and went on fishing, the disciples perhaps remembered that when they said yes to the call of Jesus 3 years ago, they left everything and followed him. But this time, when Jesus appeared to them, He is inviting them to leave behind their doubts and frustrations. Jesus is Risen. The presence of the Risen Lord filled them with hope. My brothers and sisters, just as the apostles experienced the Risen Jesus in a very ordinary way, we can also experience the Risen Jesus coming to us in the ordinariness of life. But in order for us to recognize His presence, in order for us to imitate John saying, “It is the Lord”, we need to open the eyes of our faith. If like the disciples we find ourselves in doubt and frustrated, we need to go back to our Galilee experience – remember the moments when you really felt the presence of God working in your life. This will stir our faith. Hold on to faith because this will help us recognize the presence of the Risen Lord.

THE RISEN LORD INVITED HIS DISCIPLES FOR A MEAL. This detail in the gospel is also important. Eating signifies that the one who eats is alive.  Eating is a manifestation of life. So when Jesus invited his disciples to have breakfast He is telling them, “Look I am really alive. Come let us eat together.”  Whenever we host a meal, it is unusual to invite enemies to our homes. We usually invite people who are close to us – our close friends and family members. Look at those whom Jesus invited for a meal? Yes they were his disciples but remember that these disciples had not only forsaken Jesus at the moment of suffering. They also denied being associated with Jesus. They ran away from Jesus in order to save their own lives. But still Jesus invited them for a meal and used this as an occasion to reconcile with his disciples. This is the challenge of the Risen Jesus for us: to share a meal with an enemy, to share a meal with someone who have hurt us, not for the purpose of poisoning our enemy but to initiate reconciliation. What happened after the disciples encountered the Risen Lord?

THEIR ENCOUNTER WITH THE RISEN LORD TRANSFORMED THEM TO BE COURAGEOUS PROCLAIMERS OF THE GOOD NEWS. In the first reading, we see how the disciples were transformed from being cowards to courageous witnesses of Jesus. If before, they denied and ran away from Jesus in order to save their lives, now we see them filled with confidence and courage to spread the good news about Christ. If before they would do anything to avoid suffering, now they are happy to embrace suffering and be identified with Jesus.  This is how the Risen Jesus transformed them. In the same way, our encounter with the Risen Lord invites us to be courageous proclaimers of the Good News not only in words but also in our actions.

My brothers and sisters, when the Lord appeared to his disciples at the Sea of Galilee, John recognized Him with the eyes of faith. When Jesus invited his disciples for a meal, Jesus initiated to offer reconciliation. In this mass let us pray that our encounter with the Risen Jesus may also transform us to be courageous witnesses of the good news.  Amen.

April 03, Divine Mercy Sunday

April 3, 2016

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Acts 5:12-16; Psalm 118; Revelation 1:9-11a, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31

I remember reading this story from the book The Name of God is Mercy.  There was a young German soldier who was captured by the French army and sentenced to death. Before his execution, a priest came to talk to him. Upon hearing the confession of this soldier, the priest said to him: “In order for you to obtain forgiveness and absolution, you need to repent and feel sorry for your sins.” The soldier answered the priest: “But how can I repent Father? I enjoyed indulging myself in sin. In fact, if I will be given a chance to live longer, I will do the same sins again and again.” The priest looked at him and was hesitant to give him absolution because there was no sincere sorrow for his sins. But the merciful priest wanted to absolve this man. So the priest asked him, “But are you sorry that you are not sorry for your sins?” The soldier replied saying, “Yes father, I am sorry that I am not sorry.” With that, the priest absolved him from his sins.

My brothers and sisters, this is the mercy of God that does not give up in forgiving sinners. Today, the Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. Mercy is one of the messages of the Risen Jesus to his disciples. In what ways did Jesus show mercy after His resurrection? How did the apostles experience it? What effect did this mercy bring to the apostles?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

GOD’S MERCY CAN PENETRATE THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE. In the gospel we see that even if the disciples locked themselves in a room, Jesus was able enter the room. What were the first words of Jesus to his disciples? He said to them: “Peace be with you.” This greeting is very significant. Remember that during the passion and suffering of Jesus, where did the disciples go? They ran away and hid themselves. They abandoned Jesus at the moment when He needed the support of His close friends. But instead of reprimanding His disciples, instead of revenge, Jesus appeared to them and offered peace, mercy and reconciliation. This is how the mercy of God penetrates our hearts. Even if the doors of our hearts remain closed, God’s mercy can penetrate and enter our hearts not to seek revenge, but to offer us His peace, mercy and reconciliation. This is the good news of the Divine Mercy.

GOD’S MERCY CAN HEAL OUR WOUNDS. One of the prominent characters in the gospel today is Thomas the apostle. He is known as the “doubting Thomas” because he doubted the report of his fellow apostles that they had seen the Risen Jesus. Where did this doubt of Thomas come from? My brothers and sisters, we also need to understand Thomas. He was also hurt. He was also wounded. He was grieving at the death of Jesus. Perhaps the reason why he was absent when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, was that he wanted to have some time alone by himself. Thomas was also in pain. That is why Jesus never gave up on Thomas. After a week, Jesus appeared again to the disciples and greeted Thomas “Peace be with you.” This encounter with the Risen Jesus healed the wounded heart of Thomas. This healing led Thomas to believe and say: “My Lord and my God!”

My brothers and sisters, we are all like Thomas. We come to the Lord as wounded people. Jesus himself was wounded.  The Risen Lord had nail marks on his hands and feet. Those nail marks indicate that the Lord knows how painful it is to be wounded. That is why when Jesus appeared to wounded Thomas, instead of anger and hatred, the Lord showed him mercy. Like the wounded Thomas, our encounter with God’s mercy can bring healing to our wounds, doubts and unbelief. What happened to Thomas and to the disciples after experiencing God’s mercy?

EXPERIENCING GOD’S MERCY WILL STRENGTHEN US TO BE “MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER.” The theme for the Year of Mercy captures this. Pope Francis invites us not only to experience the mercy of God but to share this mercy to others. Thus the theme rightly says, “be merciful like the Father.” This is precisely what the disciples of Jesus did. They were transformed after experiencing the mercy of Jesus. As they continued to preach about Jesus, people will persecute them and put them to prison. Learning from Jesus, their only response to these challenges, their only response to the wounds inflicted on them is mercy – not revenge, not violence, not anger, not hatred but mercy.  Pope Francis tells us that the mercy of God transforms us. It is true. It did transform and strengthened the disciples of Jesus to be merciful like the Father.

My brothers and sisters, as we celebrate today Divine Mercy Sunday let us look at the image of the Divine Mercy. It is the image of the Risen Jesus with nail marks on his hands and feet. In the silence of our hearts, let us say to Him: “Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I trust in your mercy. I trust that you can heal my wounds. I entrust myself to you. Make me an instrument of Your mercy to

others.”  Amen.