April 2, 5th Sunday of Lent

April 2, 2017

5th Sunday of Lent;

Ezekiel 37:12–14; Romans 8:8–11; John 11:1–45; John 11:3–7, 17, 20–27, 33b–45

When you invite a Filipino to attend a wake, you will probably hear him say in Filipino “parang natutulog lang ang patay” – that the dead is like in a state of deep sleep.  I believe this expression is biblically based. In today’s gospel, when Jesus was informed about the death of Lazarus, he said, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep but I am going there to wake him up.” (John 11:11). Sleep is a metaphor used to describe death. How should we believers look at death? Let us look at our readings for today and reflect on them in 3 points:

 WE SEE DEATH NOT AS AN END, BUT A TRANSITION. Perhaps one reason why we do not like to talk about death is because we look at death as the end of everything. We think that death is the end of communication because we can no longer talk to our loved ones, end of our dreams because we cannot pursue what we want, the end of communion because we are separated from the rest of the world. But the Christian way of looking at death sees it not as an end but as a transition to eternal life. Jesus says in the gospel: “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Death is not an end. Death is a transition to eternal life – life that does not end, life in the presence of God.

GOD WANTS TO RESURRECT US FROM THE DEATH CAUSED BY SIN. Aside from physical death, there is also what we call spiritual death as an effect of sin. In the first reading, the Israelites were thrown into exile because of their sins and infidelity to God. To be thrown to exile is a form of death – they lost their land, properties and they became slaves in the hands of their oppressors. God tells the prophet Ezekiel says: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.” God wants to resurrect us from the graves we have made for ourselves because of sin. The problem is that oftentimes we choose death instead of life. What can help us to always choose life and not death?

WE SHOULD LIVE BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Paul says in the second reading that we should live not anymore by sin or by the flesh. We should live by the Spirit of God. If it is the same Spirit of God that resurrected Jesus from dead, this same Spirit will also resurrect us from our sinfulness. In other words, Paul reminds us that we should experience death now – death to the dictates of sin and allow the Spirit of God to work in us.

In this mass let us beg for the grace of openness to the guidance of God’s Spirit.  May this Lenten season be a journey that will lead us to resurrect from our sinfulness so that at the end of our earthly life we may enjoy eternal life with God. Amen.

March 26, 4th Sunday of Lent

March 26, 2017

4th Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday or Sunday of Rejoicing

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6–7, 10–13a; Ephesians 5:8–14; John 9:1–41; John 9:1, 6–9, 13–17, 34–38

One of the ways to gain access to internet nowadays is though the wireless connection called WIFI. I remember this story about a conversation between God and man about Wifi. There was once a man who asked God: “Dear God, you said in the Bible that you are always with us – that we can reach you anytime and anywhere. But why is it that I cannot seem to connect with you?” God replied: “I am like WiFi my child. I am available everywhere, but just like any other WIFI, you need to connect with me with a correct password. And the password is – FAITH.”

My dear friends, it is indeed true that God is everywhere and always available. But we need faith to be connected with God. What does faith do to us?  Let us look at our readings today and reflect on them in three points:

FAITH ENABLES US TO SEE GOD’S WILL. The experience of Samuel in the first reading illustrates this point very well. God sent Samuel to Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel. Perhaps on the way, Samuel started thinking: “What are the characteristics of a king chosen by God? How does he look like?” Samuel came up with his own criteria of a king. When Jesse presented his sons, Samuel looked at them to see who among them fits his criteria. But every time Samuel would say, “This is God’s anointed.” God would say, “No. Not him.” Even Jesse, the father had his own set of criteria. Perhaps Jesse told himself, “If Samuel is looking for the next king, certainly that king is not David – his youngest son.” But when David was presented to Samuel, the message of God was clear: “He is the one, anoint him.” God was teaching Samuel a lesson: “Human beings look at appearances. But God looks into the heart of the person.”

It is a good thing that the faith of Samuel led him to listen and be attentive to God. This is something we can emulate from Samuel. If we want our choices in life to be in accordance with God’s will, we need faith to connect with the Lord and be open to where God is leading us.

FAITH ACTS AS LIGHT IN THE MIDST OF DARKNESS. I often encounter the saying that faith is a leap in the dark - a leap in the unknown. But I think faith must rather be seen as light in times of darkness. Pope Francis said: “Faith as light is like a star that illumines our journey at a time when we are in need of light.” (Cf. Lumen fidei, 3-4). Isn’t this the experience of the man born blind in the gospel? There is so much darkness in his life. Imagine a person who is not only blind but also poor. But when the man born blind came to encounter Jesus and believed in Him, the blind man regained his sight. His faith finally led him to see and get out of darkness. Faith acts as light in the midst of darkness. This season of Lent we are invited to overcome the darkness of sin in our lives. How do we respond to this invitation?

FAITH CALLS US TO REPENTANCE. Paul tells us in the second reading: “Take no part in works of darkness. We are children of the light, not of darkness.” The problem is we often go back into the darkness of sin. Sin darkens our vision to what is good. Repentance on the other hand is turning from what is dark to what is light. Repentance is recognizing our need for the Lord’s help to restore our sight. Are there areas in our lives that are still in darkness of sin?  Lent is the time to respond to the invitation of faith to repent and be sorry for our sins.

As we continue our journey this Lenten season, let us beg for the grace of the light of faith to enable us to see God’s will, to act as light in the midst of darkness and to guide us in responding to the call of repentance.  Amen.

March 19, 3rd Sunday of Lent

March 19, 2017

Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus 17:3–7; Romans 5:1–2, 5–8; John 4:5–42; 
John 4:5–15, 19b–26, 39a, 40–42

It is said that human beings can survive for a time without food. They say that one can survive for 3 weeks without food. But we can’t last long without water. One can survive only for a week without water. Our readings for today tell us about 3 characters who experienced thirst. Let us look at these three characters and reflect on what we can learn from them this season of Lent:

THE FIRST CHARACTER ARE THE THIRSTY ISRAELITES. In the first reading, we see the Israelites wandering in the desert. After God saved them from slavery in Egypt, they now begin their journey to the promised land. But something happened in the desert. Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses saying: “Has God forgotten us? Why did you lead us out of Egypt to die of thirst here in the desert?” Look at how thirst led the Israelites to easily forget the many good things that God has done for them. Isn’t this what sin is all about? Sin is forgetting God and forgetting how God has been good to us. But in midst of their grumbling, God enters as a compassionate and understanding God. God instructed Moses to use the same staff so that overflowing water will flow from the rock. It was as if God was telling them: “Do you remember how this staff saved you from slavery? Do you remember how this staff parted the waters of the sea? Do you remember now that I care much for you?”

If God were a human being, maybe the story would have changed. A human being will be hurt if his/her good deeds will be easily forgotten by someone. But not with God. God will never tire of saving us. God will never tire of allowing us to remember His goodness. The call conversion this Lent also involves this process of remembering - never forgetting the memories of how God has been good to us. Hopefully by remembering them, like the Israelites we turn to God and respond to the call to conversion.

THE SECOND CHARACTER IS THE THIRSTY SAMARITAN WOMAN IN THE GOSPEL. The conversation of Jesus and the Samaritan woman in the well led the woman to a realization that she is thirsting not only for water. The woman is thirsty for real love. She had five husbands and she is now living with another man who is not her husband. She is thirsty for real love, meaning and fulfillment in life. The woman was surprised because Jesus knew the truth about her life. She asks Jesus: “Who are you? Are you a prophet? How come you know about my life?” Perhaps this is the first time that the woman encounters a man who knows the truth about her life but does not condemn her. This man respects her. This man is compassionate towards her.   The call to conversion this Lent also involves our encounter with God who does not condemn us. When we come to realize our own sinfulness, and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, our God will not condemn us. He will be merciful and compassionate to us.

THE THIRD CHARACTER IS JESUS. He was physically tired and thirsty. But we later find out that His thirst illustrates God’s thirst for His people. Lent invites us to conversion – to quench God’s thirst for sinners to turn to the Lord. Pope Francis once said: “The Lord never tires of forgiving us. [The Lord never tires running after us. The Lord never tires of thirsting for us.] We are the ones who get tired coming to him to ask forgiveness.”  In this season of Lent, let us take to heart these words of Pope Francis. Let us not be afraid of the call to conversion. God is always there not to condemn us but to remind us and make us remember how great is His love, mercy and compassion for us sinners.  Amen.

March 12, 2nd Sunday of Lent

March 12, 2017

Second Sunday of Lent

Genesis 12:1–4a; 2 Timothy 1:8b–10; Matthew 17:1–9

Do you know that even if there were no televisions yet during the time of Jesus, Jesus already mentioned the term “television”? If we look at today’s gospel reading, after the Transfiguration at Mt. Tabor, Jesus said to Peter, James and John: “Tel-e-vision to no one.” Our gospel for this 2nd Sunday of Lent is not about television but the vision of Jesus’ transfiguration. Why did Jesus allow Peter, James and John to witness his transfiguration? What effect did it bring about to his disciples?

FIRST, WE NEED TO POINT OUT THAT BEFORE THE TRANSFIGURATION EVENT, JESUS ALREADY TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WILL SUFFER AND DIE. What was the reaction of the disciples? Of course, they were frustrated. Perhaps they were telling Jesus: “What will now happen to us? After all these years of following you, after leaving behind everything - our own livelihood and loved ones, you will suddenly leave us and allow yourself to suffer and die? What kind of Savior are you?” They were frustrated because it shattered all their expectations about Jesus as a political leader who will liberate them from the Romans. Faced with this problem, the disciples do not know how to address it. 

Sometimes we can be in this situation. When big problems come to us, bringing darkness in our lives, like the disciples we do not know what to do. In order to forget this problem, what do some people do? They divert from the real issue. Some drown themselves in vices in order to escape from the problem. But will this solve the problem? No. What will solve the problem is changing our attitude towards the problem. This is what I want to emphasize in my second point:

THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS WERE TRANSFORMED AFTER WITNESSING THE TRANSFIGURATION OF JESUS. What happened in the transfiguration? Jesus changed his appearance: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. He now looked like God. The disciples also heard the voice of the Father saying: “This is my beloved Son. He is not just an ordinary teacher or prophet. He is God. Do not abandon Him. Do not run away from Him out of fear. Listen to Him.” Jesus was transfigured not to impress Peter, James and John. Jesus was transfigured to strengthen them, to prepare them to face the big problem, to give them strength, to give them hope that suffering and death is not the end for Jesus.

Perhaps this is something we can learn from Jesus. Problems are solved not by changing the problem. Jesus did not solve the problem of his disciples by saying: “Ok. We will not anymore go to Jerusalem. I will not allow myself to be crucified.” No. Problems are rather solved by changing our attitude towards the problem. Jesus solved the problem of his disciples by transforming their hearts, by strengthening them to face the problem. How are we going to transform our hearts?

WE NEED TO SPEND TIME WITH THE LORD IN PRAYER. This is what Peter, James and John did. They climbed up the mountain to pray. This experience transformed their hearts, strengthened them and filled them with hope. In order for us to remember this, may I propose a new meaning for the letters ASAP. The dictionary tells us that ASAP is an abbreviation for “as soon as possible.” But ASAP can also mean “Always Say A Prayer.” If you encounter difficulties in life, remember ASAP, Always Say A Prayer. If you become depressed because of the many problems in life, remember ASAP, Always Say A Prayer. If it comes to a point that you are fed up with worries and anxieties, remember ASAP, Always Say A Prayer. It is in prayer that we encounter the Lord. It is in prayer that the Lord works to transform our hearts, to strengthen us to face the challenges of life.

My brothers and sisters, this Second Sunday of Lent, our gospel tells us that problems are solved not by changing the problem, not by diverting ourselves from the problem, but by changing our attitude towards the problem. As we continue our journey this Lent, let us allow our encounter with the Lord in our prayers to strengthen our hearts to face any difficulties in life.  Amen. 

March 5, 1st Sunday of Lent

March 5, 2017

First Sunday of Lent

Genesis 2:7–9; 3:1–7; Romans 5:12–19; Matthew 4:1–11

A young man who was struggling over lustful thoughts came to his Dad and asked this question: “At what age do you think all of these impure thoughts will go away?” The father replied: “At my age son. When you reach 75 years old, the temptation will go away.” Then suddenly a beautiful lady crossed the street and the old man’s eyes were fixed on her. Still gazing at the lady, he called back his son and said, “Son did I say 75?...Well make that 85!”

My brothers and sisters, temptations will never disappear as long as we’re alive.  Temptations affect every person in the world.  Temptations are part of the DNA of humanity. We have heard in today’s gospel that as a human being, Jesus was also tempted by the devil. But how was he able to resist temptations? What was his weapon? What can we learn from the example Jesus as we face temptations in life? 

Let us reflect on this in three points:

JESUS REFUSED TO ENTERTAIN TEMPTATIONS. We usually think of the devil as an ugly and horrible looking man, with horns and a pointed tail. But in reality, when the devil comes to us in temptation, he does not look ugly and horrible. Because if he did, we will surely run away from the devil. The devil is smart and cunning. The devil always presents temptation in a very attractive and pleasing manner so that we may be enticed to say “YES” to the invitation. In the first reading we see how our first parents were enticed by the temptation: “Eat this fruit and you will become like gods.”  But did they become like gods? No. They were deceived by the serpent. The devil personalizes temptations based on our own weaknesses. So what must we do in order to win against temptation? We look at Jesus in the gospel. He refused to entertain them. He immediately rejected the offer at the very beginning. There is a saying that says “If we pray against temptation but refuse to avoid occasions of sin, we are like putting our hands on fire and pray that our hands will not get burned.” What can we do to strengthen us in resisting temptations?

WE STRENGTHEN OURSELVES THROUGH PRAYER. This is what we see in Jesus. He was led by the Spirit into the desert and immersed himself in prayer. Prayer gives us the grace. Paul tells us in the second reading that this grace coming from God strengthens us in our weakness. We must never give up praying even if we see ourselves falling into sin. Because prayer and sin can never go together - either sin will go away or prayer will go away. If we want sin to go away, then we need to couple our efforts of avoiding occasions of sin with prayer, sacraments (confession, eucharist) so that we may be strengthened by the grace that comes from God.

WE STRENGHTEN OURSELVES BY LISTENING TO THE WORD OF GOD. In the gospel, Jesus answered the deception of Satan by quoting the Sacred Scriptures.  When asked by Satan to turn the stone into bread, Jesus quoted Scripture by saying: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” When asked by Satan to throw himself down, Jesus again quoted Scripture by saying: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” When he was asked to worship Satan, Jesus consistently quoted Scripture by saying, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Perhaps we can also learn from this. Instead of entertaining the lure of temptations, we must entertain what the Word of God is trying to tell us.

My brothers and sisters resisting temptations is part and parcel of our daily spiritual battle. Jesus as a human being also faced temptations but refused to entertain it. In this Lenten season, let us work out to strengthen our defense against temptations by our prayer life and by listening to the guidance of God’s Word.  Amen.

February 26, 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 26, 2017

8th Sunday in OT

Isaiah 49:14–15; 1 Corinthians 4:1–5; Matthew 6:24–34

I once read an article saying that too much worrying can have a negative effect on our health. Aside from making us feel tired and stressed, too much worrying speeds up the aging process of our body and increases the risk for heart attack. For those of us who have the tendency to worry all the time, Jesus in today’s gospel tells us: “Do not worry about your life what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear…Your Heavenly Father knows what you need.” Some of you might say “That sounds strange. Does Jesus forbid us from thinking what are we to eat, wear or drink? These are essentials for basic human life.” How do we understand in the words of Jesus in the right context?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

JESUS INVITES US TO TRUST IN THE PROVIDENCE OF THE LORD. Jesus is not telling us to stop thinking about the basic necessities of human life. There is a big difference between being concerned and anxiety. We can still be concerned about the basic needs of life without excessive worrying. How? By trusting in the providence of the Lord. Yes our Heavenly Father knows what we need. But it does not mean that we will stop working and just wait for God to provide us with food. What Jesus is telling us is to always couple our human activities with trust in the providence of the Lord.  We need to work hard but after we have done what we could do, we leave the rest to God’s providence. For as the first reading tells us, God never forgets us especially in times of need.

JESUS REMINDS US: SERVE GOD AND NOT MAMMON. Without trust in God, the danger is that we become slaves of mammon – slaves of money. Money is there to serve our needs, support ourselves and our family. But it happens that sometimes money becomes our master and we become its slaves. In the first reading, Israel asked God: “Have you forgotten us? Have you abandoned us?” God should have been the one asking: “Have you forgotten me, have you abandoned me because you now have new masters?” We cannot serve two masters in life. We should be careful: without trust in God we might start serving false gods. What can we do to avoid this tendency?

SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. To seek first the kingdom of God means to serve the real master. When we serve God, we will use mammon or the resources of earth, as a means to serve God. It cannot be the other way around. It cannot be that we worship money and manipulate God to justify ourselves. Loyalty and fidelity to God will give us the right perspective in utilizing the resources and wealth of the earth to serve Him.

Let us pray in this mass for the grace to always trust in the providence of the Lord who never forgets us especially in times of need. May we always strive to seek first God’s kingdom and serve the real master who is God.  Amen.

February 19, 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

February 19, 2017

7th Sunday OT

Leviticus 19:1–2, 17–18; 1 Corinthians 3:16–23; Matthew 5:38–48

One of the popular cartoon series during my childhood days was “Popeye the Sailor Man.”  The story of Popeye varies but the plot is always the same: Popeye and Olive happily living together and then suddenly the villain Brutus comes along and beats up Popeye. Popeye eats spinach to become strong, he flexes his muscles and defeats Brutus with a punch.  It is obvious that the way how Popeye deals with his enemy Brutus is different from the way how Jesus deals with people who hurt him. Jesus tells us in today’s gospel: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”  What does he mean by these words?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

JESUS IS TELLING US NOT TO RECIPROCATE EVIL WITH EVIL. The Old testament law “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is actually meant not to promote revenge but to promote justice. We need to understand that prior to this law, retaliation at that time knows no limit. If someone has wounded me, I can retaliate to the point that I can kill the person. The punishment was not commensurate to the injury done. This OT law was therefore meant to restrain one’s impulse for vengeance and unnecessary bloodshed. But Jesus in today’s gospel goes beyond this law. He tells us not to reciprocate evil with evil. Because if we keep on doing that, the vicious cycle of violence will never end. We conquer evil not by another evil but by goodness. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “If we live by an ‘eye for an eye’ and a ‘tooth for a tooth’ kind of justice, the whole world would be blind and toothless today!” How then should we deal with people who hurt us? Jesus says: “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

JESUS ENCOURAGES US TO BE INCLUSIVE IN OUR WAY OF LOVING.  We have just celebrated Valentine’s Day last week. If you look at the list of persons who received gifts from you, I am sure your enemies are not included in the list. How can you give a Valentine gift to your enemy? How can you be good to your enemy? That is absurd. That is foolishness – according to the wisdom of the world that Paul refers to in the second reading. My dear friends, it is really very difficult to love our enemies. The wisdom of the world labels it as foolishness. But in the eyes of God: being good to our enemies, loving them, praying for them is not foolishness. The invitation of Jesus for us then is to be inclusive in our way of loving: loving not only those who are good to us, not only those who belong to our group, but to love even those whom we find it very difficult to love.

BE COMPASSIONATE AS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER IS COMPASSIONATE. When Jesus in gospel says, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect, he is telling us to imitate the inclusive love of God the Father.  God does not exclude from his love those who hurt him. God does not exclude from His love the sinners. God does not exclude from His love his enemies. The gospel affirms this when Jesus said: God created the sun to shine not only for the good people but even for bad ones. Rain comes down not only for just ones but for everyone. The more inclusive we are in our loving, the more we become perfect and compassionate like our Heavenly Father. 

My dear friends, we are not followers of Popeye the Sailorman. We are followers of Christ. Let us beg the Lord in this mass for the grace to be compassionate just as our heavenly Father is compassionate. May this grace strengthen us to reciprocate evil with goodness and to be inclusive in our way of loving.  Amen.