August 28, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 28, 2016

22nd Sunday in OT

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

I remember this story about a robber who held a man at gunpoint demanding: “Give me your money or else you’ll die!” The man with an air of superiority said, “Don’t you know who I am? I am the honorable Congressman of this place. You should give due respect and honor to me.” The robber looked at him and said “In that case, since I am a taxpayer, give me back my money.”

We might find the same kind of person in today’s gospel as Jesus observed how people in the banquet were looking for seats of honor. The guests must have thought that of all the guests here, they are the most important. So they deserve to be in the seats of honor. The guests were invited to honor someone but here they are honoring themselves. This is what proud people do. Pride is one of the seven capital sins. It means that if not addressed, pride can become the root of other vices. Our readings for today tell us that we can overcome pride with humility. But what is humility? How can we become humble persons?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

HUMILITY IS A CHOICE. It does not come to us by chance. We have to choose it. The virtue of humility tells us that if we really want to acquire humility, we need to practice it through repeated actions to the point that it creates a certain disposition in us to be humble. That is why the first line of the first reading tells us to choose humility. It says, “My child, conduct your affairs with humility.” If humility does not come to us by chance, the same is true with its opposite which is pride. Proud people do not become proud by chance. It can be that they have repeatedly doing actions that filled their hearts with pride. What can we do to develop the virtue of humility and conquer pride?

HUMILITY INVOLVES KNOWING YOUR LIMITS. Pride means making oneself God. Pride means we want people to worship ourselves. Pride leads us to think that we can do everything on our own. This is the total opposite of humility. The first reading tells us that humility involves knowing your limits. Humility came from the word “humus” which means ground. Humility means being grounded in the reality that we are not God. Humility means accepting who we really are –our strengths, weaknesses, success and failures in life. There are things that go beyond our capacities. This affirms the fact that we are mere finite beings and we are not God.  Becoming humble means accepting the reality that we cannot do everything on our own – we need others and we also need God in our lives. So what’s the point of aspiring to be humble?

A HUMBLE PERSON PLEASES GOD. Human experience tells us that we love to be in the company of friends who are humble. But it is not just human beings who love to be with the humble. The first reading again tells us, “be humble and you will find favor with God.” Now we understand why God is pleased with Jesus. It is not only because He is the Son of God. The second reading tells us that the humility of Jesus, who did not seek honor for Himself, pleased God. God is pleased with humble persons.  What will be the response of God to the humble? Jesus in the gospel says, God will exalt the humble person. So instead of seeking seats of honor for ourselves, we should seek humility. We should choose humility. Because in the kingdom of heaven, those who exalt themselves will be humbled while those who humble themselves will be exalted.

St Augustine once said, “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men (and women) as angels.” In this mass let us beg for the grace to conquer pride by choosing humility. May we strive to be humble so that we may find favor with God.  Amen. 

August 21, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 21, 2016

21st Sunday in OT

Isaiah 66:18-21; Heb 12:5-7. 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

I remember this story about a group of friends who wanted to know if there was basketball in heaven. They agreed that whoever died first should come back to inform them. After a couple of years, it happened that Juan first died. One night his friend Pedro heard the voice of Juan. Pedro said: is that you Juan? “Yes” the voice replied. “Okay tell me: is there basketball in heaven?” Juan said, “Yes, but I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is: there is basketball here in heaven. The bad news is: you will join us in the game tomorrow.”

I think all of us would want to go to heaven. One of the characters in the gospel today asked Jesus, “Lord, how many people will be saved? Will there be few or many people in heaven?” Notice that Jesus did not give a straight answer to the question. He did not give an exact figure of those who will be saved. Why?  Because the character in the gospel asked the wrong question to Jesus. Wrong questions lead to wrong answers. That is why the response of Jesus in the gospel redirected this person to the right question. What are some of the wrong questions posed by the man in the gospel? How did Jesus correct them?

THE FIRST WRONG QUESTION IS: “HOW MANY WILL BE SAVED?” Getting to heaven is not a question of “how many.” Instead of asking how many will be saved, the more important question is: HOW can we be saved? We should not waste our time speculating how many people are there in heaven or hell. Our first reading already tells us that God wills the salvation of all peoples – not only Israelites, not only the chosen people of God but all peoples. Isaiah says in his prophecy: “The Lord will gather nations of every language.” But again, our concern must be: How can we be saved? How can we go to heaven?  Jesus answered this by saying: enter the narrow gate.

THE SECOND WRONG QUESTION IS: “WHERE IS THE NARROW GATE?” The gate that Jesus refers to in the gospel is not a place. We cannot find that gate in the Philippine map or any available map in the world. The right question to ask is not, “where is the gate?” because there is really no gate. The right question to ask is, “who is the gate?” The gate is a person referring to Jesus Christ. Jesus is the gate to heaven. We need to follow Jesus in order for us to be saved. But following Jesus is described as entering the narrow gate. Why? What exactly is the narrow gate?

THE NARROW GATE INVITES US TO EXERT EFFORT TO GET TO HEAVEN. The door to heaven was not purposely made narrow so that people may have difficulty entering it. It can be the other way around. Perhaps we have become so “big” that we could no longer enter the narrow door. Perhaps our excessive hunger for power, pleasure, wealth and other sinful inclinations led us to indulge in these things to the point that we have become so “big.” Sin has a way of disfiguring ourselves. Sin makes us ugly. Sin makes us big to the point that we can no longer enter the narrow door.

How do we shape up so that we can enter the narrow door? Our second reading reminds us, exert effort and discipline ourselves to pursue good and avoid evil. Isn’t it that if we are really determined to lose weight and be healthy, we need to consistently put discipline in our food intake and exercise? The same is true in entering the narrow door that leads to heaven. God wants all of us to be saved. Having a baptismal certificate and regular Mass attendance does not guarantee our salvation. We must go through the narrow gate. We should do our share, exert effort and discipline ourselves to pursue good and avoid evil.

My dear friends, salvation is God’s gift to us. There is enough space for all of us in the kingdom of heaven. In this mass let us beg for the grace that we may be motivated to exert effort in entering the narrow gate so that we may one day see each other in the Kingdom of God. Amen.

August 14, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 14, 2016

20th Sunday in OT

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53

There is this story about a child who asked his father to help him do the assignment in his history class. They were supposed to answer the question: How do wars begin? The father said to his child, “Well, wars begin when for example, the Philippines attacks the U.S.” The mother heard the answer and replied, “How could that happen? The Philippines and the U.S. are allies.” The father replied, “That was just an example.” The mother said, “How can you expect our child to learn by giving him wrong examples?” The father got irritated and said, “Will you please shut up!” The mother also said, “You shut up too!” The child intervened and said to his parents, “Mom, Dad, please stop. Now I know how war begins.”

The strong words of Jesus in today’s gospel might give us an impression that war is coming. He said: “I have come not to bring peace, but division – even among family members.” Is this being consistent with our image of Jesus as the bringer of peace and unity? What kind of division will Jesus bring about?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

JESUS CALLS US TO A WAR NOT AGAINST EACH OTHER BUT AGAINST EVIL. Goodness will always be in conflict with evil. They can never go together.  Jeremiah in the first reading experienced this reality. He proclaimed the truth that came from God. Jeremiah’s message was meant to awaken the people to return to the Lord. This explains why the princes, who were deeply disturbed by the message of Jeremiah, wanted to eliminate him. Evil would always want to silence goodness. Sometimes this can happen among family members. We should be at war against these evil forces: pride, lust, adultery, anger, envy, injustice and many more. These evil forces will cause division and destroy our family. To be at war against these forces is never easy. We will surely encounter opposition from people. What should we remember in the midst of this reality?

FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS. Our second reading reminds us that we can survive in engaging at war against these evil forces when we fix our eyes on Jesus. Why? Because Jesus himself experienced how difficult it is to be at war against these evil forces. Jesus experienced opposition, rejection, humiliation, suffering and even death. But what did Jesus do? He never gave up. So when we fix our eyes on Jesus, we see in him a model of faith because He persevered until the end no matter what the cost is. In what concrete way can we fix our eyes on Jesus?

BE FAITHFUL TO OUR BAPTISMAL PROMISES. Jesus in the gospel speaks of His great anguish in anticipating his baptism. He is referring here to the baptism of suffering that He will have to face. Perhaps we can also look at our own baptism – particularly our fidelity to the promises we made when we were baptized. What are those promises? We promised to reject sin. We promised to reject Satan and all his empty promises. Have we been striving to be faithful to these promises? Are we still disturbed every time we fail to be true to these promises? When Jesus was baptized, He remained faithful to the Lord until the end. Let us also strive to remain faithful to the promises we made when we were baptized.

In this mass let us pray for the grace of fortitude as we engage in a war against evil. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus so that we may be inspired to remain faithful to our baptismal promises.  Amen.

August 07, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 7, 2016

19th Sunday OT

Wisdom 18:6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 or Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12; Luke 12:32-48 or Luke 12:35-40

I remember this story about an old lady who was brought into the hospital for an operation.  As she was being wheeled into the operating room, she got nervous and said to the doctor, “Doc please be gentle with me; this is my first time to be operated on.” The young doctor glanced at her and said, “Ma’am don’t worry, we are in the same situation. This is also my first time to do an operation.”

If the doctor tells you that your operation will be successful and you believe his word even if you’re totally ignorant of how it will work out, that’s faith. The same is true with faith in God. There are many ways of describing faith. But how do our readings for today describe faith in God?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

FAITH IS BELIEVING IN GOD EVEN IF WE DO NOT SEE HIM. This was how the Jews experienced faith in God in the first reading. God promised them that He will save them from slavery in Egypt. The first reading described how the Jews prepared themselves that night when they are about to leave Egypt.  But prior to this event, remember that Moses talked to Pharaoh many times to allow the Jews to leave Egypt, but Pharaoh refused to let them go. But how come the Jews were sure that God would lead them out of slavery in Egypt that night? The reading says, it is because of faith. They have not yet seen God. But since they believe in God’s promise, they prepared that night and believed that something good will happen to them. True enough, that night God led them out of slavery in Egypt.

My dear friends, some people say that to see is to believe. But our first reading tells us that even if we cannot see God, we can believe in Him. This is faith. Why should we believe in a God whom we cannot see?

FAITH IS BELIEVING IN A TRUSTWORTHY GOD. The second reading tells us that God’s word is credible and He will never ever fail us. Just look at the experience of Abraham and Sarah - at the age of 75, God called Abraham and promised that he will be given a vast land and many descendants. That seemed humanly impossible especially when you have reached that age of maturity in life. If Abraham was 75 years old, Sarah his wife must also be in the same age range. But since Abraham and Sarah thought the one who made the promise is worthy of trust and worthy of belief, even if the promises seemed absurd and impossible, they chose to believe and have faith in God. True enough, in God’s time, God fulfilled his promise. 25 years later, Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah. And many years after that, God gave the Israelites the promised land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham.  This tells us that we can never be wrong in believing in God. God is faithful to His promise. He is worthy of our trust. He is worthy of our belief. He is worthy of our faith. How do we cultivate our faith in God?

FAITH IS MAINTAINING OUR CONNECTION WITH GOD. Jesus in the Gospel tells the story of a foolish servant who loses his connection with the master, the moment the master leaves the house. He takes advantage of the situation and assumes the role of being the master: he becomes abusive to his co-workers and does not think that the master will return at a time when he least expects it. He is a foolish servant because he easily forgets who the real master is.

That is why Jesus tells us we must be vigilant and prepared. How? By not losing our connection with the master. Even if the Master seems to be absent, even if we cannot see the Lord with our eyes, maintain your connection with Jesus. Let us not terminate our connection so that we may not do things that are against His will. This is what we call faith. This is the faith that Abraham and Sarah exemplified in the second reading. This is the faith that the Jews manifested in the first reading.

What kind of servants are we? Are like the faithful servant who maintains our connection with God even if we do not see him? Or are we like the foolish servant who terminates our connection with God? In this mass let us beg for the grace to have faith in God even if we cannot see Him. Our God is worthy of our belief and trust. Let us maintain and strengthen our connection with God at all times.  Amen.

July 31, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 31, 2016

18th Sunday in OT

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Psalm 95; Colossians 3:1-5. 9-11; Luke 12:13-21

I remember a story about a man who wanted to get rich. He said: “I wish I could see the lotto winning numbers ahead of the draw and become the richest man in the world.” This man got his wish. The following day, he saw at his door a newspaper dated one week ahead. The man was excited as he turned to the page where the winning numbers were listed. He was already imagining what he would do with the multi-million money. But as he turned the pages, his heart skipped a beat.  For there he saw his name printed in big, bold letters – in the obituary!  On the day he was going to win all those millions, he was also going to die. The point of the story is similar to the gospel parable about the rich fool. Why did Jesus call this rich man a fool? What kind of wealth must one pursue to be rich in the eyes of God?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

ASPIRING ONLY FOR MATERIAL WEALTH MADE THE RICH MAN A FOOL. Why? Because our first reading tells us that when you aspire only for material wealth, everything is vain. Everything is empty. Everything is pointless. Imagine, all your life is devoted to work and because of perseverance, you earn something and become rich. But when your life on earth is ended, all your wealth and riches will be given to someone else who did not work to gain it. It will be given to someone who did not even lift a finger to earn it. Isn’t that pointless? You work and in the end, you do not enjoy the fruits of your labor. Is this true and meaningful wealth? Wealth that you do not enjoy?

That is why Jesus challenged the rich man in the gospel: Why are you interested in material wealth? It cannot guarantee your life. Wealth cannot buy an extension of your life. Maybe just a few days or weeks extension due to medicines and procedures that you are able to pay. But in the end, we will all die. And when we die, we cannot bring in the next life even a single centavo. So what must we do to avoid the mistake of pursuing only for material wealth?

ASPIRE FOR HEAVENLY THINGS. Paul says in the second reading: “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.” Paul enumerates the false riches and wealth.  What are those? Fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, lust, adultery. These are the things that we should not work for. Many people become materially rich by doing these things. But is this true wealth? Paul says we should work for things of God. What does this mean? Paul is not telling us to stop our work and escape from doing our profession. No. Paul rather says that while we are pursuing these earthly matters, while we are pursuing our decent work here on earth, we should also pursue heavenly matters. We should pursue things that matters to God: pursue love, honesty, forgiveness, mercy, compassion and obedience to the Lord’s commandments. These are the heavenly things that matter to God. What will happen to us when we pursue heavenly things?

ASPIRING FOR HEAVENLY THINGS WILL MAKE US RICH IN THE EYES OF GOD. Perhaps you have already encountered agents selling pension plans that will ensure you financial security in the future. Yes, they may be helpful. But remember, let us not commit the mistake of the rich man who aspired only for material wealth.  If we want real security in the future, then we must look beyond the material world.  We must put our security not on material things but on God.

There’s a story about a rich matron who died and went to heaven. St. Peter escorted her to a place in heaven that is full of mansions. The rich lady saw one house that was exceptionally beautiful and asked who lived there. “You will be surprised,” said St. Peter. “That is the home of your household help.” “Well,” the lady said smiling, “if my helper gets a place like that, I certainly look forward to having a more grandiose mansion.” Soon they came to a small alley where there are small houses. St. Peter stopped and said, “Lady, you will live in that hut.” “Me, live in that small house? This is an insult.” St. Peter explained to the woman, “You must understand that we only build your home up here with the material you send ahead while you’re still on earth.” The materials we are supposed to send ahead are obviously not cement, sand and gravel. The materials are our good works, our acts of kindness and piety. We must also invest to become rich in the eyes of God. This is real wealth that we can bring to the next life. 

In this mass let us pray for the grace that we may not aspire only for material wealth. Let us also aspire for heavenly treasures so that we may be rich in the eyes of God.  Amen. 

July 24, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 24, 2016

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Col 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

I remember this story about a man who dreamt that he died in a tragic car accident. When he woke up the next morning, he immediately went to the bank and withdrew all his money. Why? Because the slogan of the bank says: “We make your dreams come true!”

Our readings for today tell us that prayers can make our dreams come true. Jesus says in the gospel: “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” To whom are we talking to when we pray? What kind of attitude must one have in praying?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

WHEN WE PRAY, WE TALK TO A GENEROUS GOD. This is what we see in Abraham’s prayer in the first reading. He was negotiating with God to give up His plan to destroy the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. One may say that Abraham had a vested interest in protecting Sodom because his nephew, Lot who was a good man, was living there. This was the basis of his negotiation – to spare the destruction of the city because there are innocent and good people residing there. What was the response of God to the persistent request of Abraham? God said: no matter how few these innocent and good people are, I will spare the city from destruction.  This tells us that we have a generous God. 

My dear friends let us remember that when we pray, we talk to a generous God.  Paul in second reading also reminds us that this generosity of God should inspire us to trust in Him every time we pray. So when we pray, let us remember that we are not talking to a mean God. We are rather talking to a generous and kind God who listens to us. We must not be afraid to come to him and present our concerns in prayer. But does this generosity mean that God answers our prayers?

THE ANSWER OF GOD TO OUR PRAYERS WILL ALWAYS BE FOR OUR OWN GOOD.  There was this story of a mother and her child were strolling along the mall one Sunday afternoon. Passing by a makeup store, the child requested the mother, “Mom, can you buy me some lipstick? Some of my friends are already wearing lipstick.” The mother said quickly, “No.” After a few meters, they passed by a shoe store. “Can you buy me those high heel shoes, some of my friends use it during certain occasions.” The mother said again, “No, I will not.” Then they passed by a dress store. The child told the mother, “Mom I want to try one of those dresses, can I?” The mother finally said, “Junior, will you stop it or else your father will get mad at you!”

The point of this story is that sometimes in prayer, we are like the child who asks God for things that are not for our own good. God is like a parent who knows what is good for us. When we ask for things that may not be good for us, out of God’s love, God will not give it for us because it is not for our own good. But even then, God will always give us something better than what we have asked for. What does this tell us about prayer?

PRAYER IS BENDING OUR HEARTS TO THE WILL OF GOD. It is a wrong notion to think that prayer seeks to change the mind of God. Prayer is about inclining our hearts and minds to the will of God. This is actually the content of the Lord’s prayer in the gospel today. Notice that the first part of the Lord’s prayer says: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  No amount prayer can change the mind of God. The essence of prayer is not about conforming the mind of God to ours whether He likes it or not. No. Prayer is more of the changing of our hearts and minds to the will of God. We may never know how God will answer our prayers, but we can be sure and certain that God’s will is that which is best for us.

In this mass, the highest form of prayer, let us remember that we are bringing our concerns and needs to a generous God. His answer to our prayers will always be for our own good. Let us pray that we may bend our hearts and minds to the will of God.  Amen.

July 17, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 17, 2016

16th Sunday in Ordinary time

Genesis 18:1-10a; Colossians 1:24-28; Luke 10:38-42

Four years ago, Forbes magazine made a study about the most hospitable country in the world.  The results of the survey showed that Philippines is the friendliest and the most hospitable nation in Asia. Why do you think Filipinos are considered as good hosts? Is it because of the food? Other countries have better food than us. Is it because of the lodging? Other countries have better accommodations. I think what makes us good hosts is the way we make our guests feel special and important.

Our readings for this Sunday are actually about hospitality. We are talking here not just about welcoming guests but more of welcoming Jesus in our lives. We actually have two models of hospitality to Jesus in today’s gospel: the way of Martha and the way of Mary. Which of the two is a better host? What can we learn from the the hospitality of Martha and Mary?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

MARTHA WELCOMED JESUS INTO THE HOUSE. We see in Martha the usual way of welcoming a guest. Martha welcomed Jesus by inviting Him to the house. Martha wanted to give the best for Jesus. Martha wanted Jesus to feel at home and comfortable in their house. This explains why Martha is busy doing all the physical preparations - cleaning the house, getting water from the well, cooking the food and so on. 

I remember whenever we would have visitors in the house, everything will be special. It was like an instant fiesta in the house: from the food, to the utensils to the decorations and so on. This is similar to what Abraham and Sarah did in the first reading. They welcomed the visitors and provided what they need: they offered water to wash their dusty feet and prepared food. Here we see the hospitality and generosity of the hosts to their guests. This is how we can also describe Filipino hospitality – we think of what’s the best for our guest.

What about Mary? How did she welcome Jesus?

MARY WELCOMED JESUS INTO HER HEART. Perhaps Mary, the sister of Martha, realized that Jesus visited them not primarily because of the food or the accommodation. Jesus perhaps visited them because he wanted to share something to them. Because of this sensitivity of Mary, she offered Jesus her time, her listening ear and her full attention. This is how Mary showed her hospitality to Jesus.

Isn’t it that when we have guests in our house, we often decide how are we going to welcome them? We decide what food to cook, we give schedules for the tour of our guest and many more. But do we bother to ask the guest, do we bother to listen to the guest, how he/she must be welcomed? Listening is important. If we prepare food for the guest without asking if he or she has any allergies, we might end up preparing food that is not good for the health and well-being of the guest. Whenever we priests are invited to a celebration, we are often given a special seat so that we will not anymore queue in the buffet table. But what happens is that when the host gets food for us, the host will get the food he/she wants. The volume of the food is measured according to the capacity of the host and not of the guest. That is why as much as possible, I insist to fall in line and get food for myself.

My dear friends, listening is an important part of hospitality. This is what Mary did. She sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to Him. Who is the better host between the two?

A GOOD HOST FIRST LISTENS TO JESUS AND ACTS ON HIS WORD. We are not saying that Martha’s hospitality is not a valid way of welcoming Jesus.  It is. But let us not forget that we must complement this by listening to Him and welcoming His Word. This is actually the reminder of Paul in the second reading. He is urging the Colossians to welcome Jesus, welcome every word that comes from him. In a certain sense this not easy. Because this implies that we must welcome even those which we find it difficult to accept.

Mary did not tell Jesus, “Tell me only the things I want to hear.” This is not hospitality. When Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, she listened to everything that Jesus told her.  Perhaps it included even those which are not easy to accept and believe. The same is true with our life. Welcoming the Lord in our life means welcoming every word that comes from Him – even those which might challenge or disturb us. If Jesus says, “love your enemies” will you welcome that? If Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give it to the poor” will you welcome that? If we are to be hospitable to Jesus, we must welcome every word that comes from him.

What kind of hosts are we to God? Let us pray that we may welcome Jesus not only in our homes but also in our hearts. Let us welcome the Lord as He wants it. Yes, it is a good thing to serve the Lord like Martha did. But let us complement it by listening to the Lord, like Mary did, so that our acts of service may flow from welcoming Jesus into our lives.  Amen.