Travel light

Sea of Galilee, November 2008

A travel agent looked up from his desk to see an older lady and an older gentleman peering in the shop window at the posters showing the glamorous destinations around the world. The agent had had a good week and the dejected couple looking in the window gave him a rare feeling of generosity. He called them into his shop and said, "I know that on your pension you could never hope to have a holiday, so I am sending you off to a fabulous resort at my expense, and I won't take no for an answer." He took them inside and asked his secretary to write two flight tickets and book a room in a five star hotel. They, as can be expected, gladly accepted, and were on their way. About a month later, the little lady came in to his shop. "And how did you like your holiday?" he asked eagerly. "The flight was exciting and the room was lovely," she said. "I've come to thank you. But, one thing puzzled me. Who was that old guy I had to share the room with?"

Jesus asked the Twelve to go on a travel. No flight tickets, no five star hotel. The condition was nothing appealing. He asked them to travel light. They are to bring only what they need: sandals and traveling stick for protection. No food for the journey, no money on hand, no extra clothing.

Why would Our Lord send them out on a journey and ask them to take almost nothing with them? There are several reasons for this advice. The more things they have in their hands, the more delayed they would be. The more things they need to attend to, the more they would be distracted. And the more they get distracted, the more would they forget their message. Having things can distract his apostles from fulfilling their mission.

Previously they were known as the Twelve. Now that they are being sent, they are called apostles. The root word for apostle means “to send out.”

The second reason pertains to their own safety. If they have more than what they need, then they are more prone to being robbed or harmed along the way. The less they carry, the safer they are.

Jesus asked them to travel light for a deeper reason, however, reflecting the personality of God. God is simple and is not complicated. God’s beauty and loveliness resides in His simplicity. He enters into our lives through small things and simple moments.

Not through earthquakes and fires like the story of the prophet Elijah. He found God in a gentle wind blowing and touching him. Perhaps some of us have already encountered God during those times: a simple greeting of friendship from a person we do not even know, an impish smile from a child we like, a comforting touch from a person we love.

Jesus has often reminded us that we get to be big by beginning to be small. He likened the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed. He did not visit big cities. Instead, he went from village to village. Beginning small does not mean giving God a little of everything. It is giving God everything even if it is little.

Be simple. If you had been to an Amish community who live simply, you might have noticed a pay phone in their compound. One visitor asked them about this modern item and an elder explained that if the telephone were in their home, it would control them. As long as it is out of their houses, they control it. Then he added, “Most people drop everything they are doing the instant the telephone rings and run to answer it. In their lives, the telephone takes importance over everything. The pay phone that we have out there is for our use. We do not allow it to intrude into our lives.”

Jesus did not want any intrusion into the lives of the apostles. He was teaching them that they need to trust in God. He was teaching them that if we have God in the center of our lives, whatever seems impossible is possible. Without him, not a thing would be possible. With him, anything can be possible.

Like the apostles, we are also travelers in this world. This is an occasion for us to reflect on the things we carry in life. Perhaps, some of us had been bogged down by the sad and painful experiences of the past. Perhaps, some of us are carrying the burdens of worrying about the future. St. Paul tells us that all of us should be concerned with only one thing, and that is to set our sights on heaven where the good Lord reigns in glory. That is our goal. That is our mission.

We share the same message from the same God who sent the apostles. The message has not changed: turn back to the Lord. It can be very hard to turn back to God if we are heavily burdened. It can be difficult to turn back to God if we have so many possessions in our hands and in our hearts. But, it is not difficult to turn back if we lighten our load and if our baggage is light.

So, the question remains: are we traveling light or have we been lightly traveling?

12 July 2009

unBLOck

A 7 year old boy once asked a priest friend of mine, “Father, I notice every Sunday before you give your homily, you bow your head for a moment before the altar. What are you doing?' The priest answered, 'I'm asking the Lord that I will be able to give a good, if not better, homily.” He said, 'Then why does it take a long time for him to answer your prayers?'

We all face roadblocks in life. We have everything planned down to the last detail, then something unexpected happens. We have our goals set in mind, then something extraordinary develops requiring us to change our plans.

Jesus encountered a roadblock during his time. To his old neighbors, to his old friends, He wanted to bring them His message of love and forgiveness. But, they did not want him in their lives. They questioned his credentials. They pigeon holed him as the carpenter from Nazareth.

Jesus was rejected by people he loved because he was speaking the truth. They rejected our Lord because Jesus wanted them to revolutionize their outlooks on life, their perspective on people, their belief on what society needs. They rejected Jesus because Jesus wanted them to change for the better. They do not want to be assigned a task and a job. They wanted Jesus to do something for them, not them doing something for what Jesus wanted.

Jesus was speaking as a prophet and prophets are not liked or appreciated. If he spoke as a priest telling them about prayers to be said, obligations to be fulfilled, contributions to be given, then he would have been accepted. But once he spoke about those victimized by society, the blind and the poor, the prisoners and the broken, then they rejected him.

They rejected Jesus because they were afraid of Him. Their fear limited them to what God can do for their lives. If only they had faith in Him, if only they relied on his message, if only they trusted him, miracles could have happened right there and then. Nazareth seems to be the only place where Jesus was not able to perform any miracle. The lesson is clearly set before us: nothing good can happen if we reject in our lives the all good. To a faith that is receptive, to a heart that is open, to a person who is all accepting, the power of God to heal and transform is most effectively designed.

We all face the same roadblock that Jesus faced. Most of us are afraid to change for the better. Most of us fear losing control over what we normally do. Most of us get alarmed when we are asked to examine our lives and our priorities.

We can be like the people of Nazareth when we reject God’s message. It is when we remain deaf to what the Church has constantly taught: Abortion is morally wrong, Cohabitation and living together is a sin. We can be like the people of Nazareth when we reject Jesus. It is when we behave like cafeteria Catholics: choosing to believe what we want to believe. We can be like the people of Nazareth when we put roadblocks in our faith and blinds before our eyes. It is when we hold in contempt anyone on welfare, when we condemn those who are addicted, when we look with disdain on those who look, say things and behave differently from what we normally do.

We can be pious in prayer. We can be religious in Church. We can be compassionate in action. But, we have to rise beyond our piety, our religiosity, our compassion. We need to be like Jesus, prophets who are based on reality and morality, willing to change to what God is asking us to do, challenging people to do what God wants them to do, accepting not rejecting the roadblock we face.

There is a painting of Jesus where he is pictured standing outside and knocking on the door of a house. If you look closely, you will find out that there is no handle on the outside. The door must be opened from the inside.

God does not force himself into our lives. Freedom, one of our country’s pride, is also one of God’s greatest gifts. We only need to open the door to let him in. We need to unblock.

5 July 2009

Darling

Capernaum, December 2008

The manager of a large office noticed a new man one day and told him to come into his office. “What is your name?” was the first thing the manager asked him. “John,” the new guy replied. The manager scowled, “Look, I don’t know what kind of a namby-pamby place you worked at before, but I don’t call anyone by their first name. It breeds familiarity and that leads to a breakdown in authority. I refer to my employees by their last name only - Smith, Jones, Baker - that’s all. I am to be referred to only as Mr. Robertson. Now that we got that straight, what is your last name?” The new guy sighed and said, “Darling. My name is John Darling.” “Okay, John, the next thing I want to tell you is…”

Both of them were nameless. One was the woman with the hemorrhage; the other was the daughter of a synagogue official. For twelve years she suffered. And that same year when blood poured out from her in relentless passion, the girl was born. The girl grew up with money, while the woman had to use up all that she had in search of a cure. The girl had a family to love her and friends to appreciate her while the woman found nothing and no one in her hope that her illness would end.

The woman with the hemorrhage heard about Jesus and she began to have faith. She believed that if she could touch just the clothes of our saving Lord, she would be cured. The girl’s father Jairus, on the other hand, felt the same way as the woman. His daughter was sick and he believed that if Jesus could lay his hands on his daughter, then she would get well and live.

This is a lesson we should constantly remember. When everything all else fails, try Jesus. There are some among us here who, at one point in our lives, had experienced what this woman felt: lost expectations and trust, broken dreams and families, financial bankruptcy, loneliness and aloneness, hopeless end.

There are some among us here who must have also felt what Jairus experienced: the painful hours of watching a loved one suffer and die, the excruciating pain of knowing that the end is soon to come and that hoping for the end is the only kind solution. There are some among us here who are down on our knees praying that the good Lord will listen to us and our plea.

Take the example of the woman. Large crowds pressed around her, but she was determined. This woman is telling us that for as long as we live, we should never lose hope. Beyond the things that limit us, beyond the things that frustrate us, beyond the things that hinder us, do not give up.

It does not mean that God is not listening to us if our prayers remain unanswered. God lives in his silence. It does not mean that God no longer likes us or loves us if our prayers seem to have fallen in deaf ears. God is not deaf, but deep. He hears the sounds of our voice, just as he hears the sounds in our hearts. He knows what we most need and when we need it the most.

Sometimes, God’s answer to our prayer is delayed. When Jesus arrived at the house of Jairus, the girl was already dead. The crowd ridiculed him, but he was determined. He brought her from the dead. Jesus is telling us that there are no hopeless situations in suffering and death. Out of them comes life.

Just imagine if God would give us anything that we pray for. There would be no more hospitals. Nobody would die anymore. We would all be winners in the lottery. Everything would be like heaven. But we are not yet in heaven. Earth is our training ground.

The trick is we conquer pain, suffering and death. And we can only do that if we follow the only person who conquered pain, suffering and death: Jesus our Savior. He knows what is happening in our lives. He knows who we need most and why we need him the most.

Beyond the heartaches and pains caused by those we love, beyond the senselessness and boredom presented by the way we live, beyond the delay and interruption brought about by the way we believe, have faith in God.

And know that God calls us by a name that we all share: Darling. We are God's Beloved.

28 June 2009

Invitation and Presence

Santarem in Portugal, October 2007

My pastor friend put sanitary hot air hand dryers in the rest rooms at his church and after two weeks took them out. I asked him why and he said that they worked fine but when he went in there, he saw a sign that read, "For a sample of this week's sermon, push the button."

On this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, there are two words that I would like you to remember: invitation and presence.

The word “invitation” has the Latin word, vita, which means life. The invitation we receive for every baptism, every First Communion, every Confirmation, every graduation, every wedding is a sign of an ongoing and existing relationship. Whoever invited us wants us to share with them a significant part of their lives. Because every invitation is a participation in life.

The word “presence” also has a particular ring to it. It means before the sense. It means having the awareness of sensing before being at a particular moment.

The Eucharist is an invitation to a presence. It is not just a memorial of a historical event that happened years ago or a reminder of what Jesus did for you and me. The Eucharist is a reality of the God’s presence in our lives.

The words of institution that the priest say when he elevates the Body and Blood of Christ point to us this existing reality and presence: the body given up for you and the blood given in memory of me.

Since at every Mass there is a constant invitation to a relationship with our good Lord, every Mass that we attend should therefore be an opportunity for us to make ourselves present in that eternal presence.

If the Eucharist is an invitation to a presence, what is expected of us is to be present at this invitation. If the Eucharist is a party and Jesus is its life, what we need not be is to be a wallflower.

Be present because you are invited. Talk to the host in prayer. Sing most especially, because “to sing once is to pray twice,” as St. Augustine said. And as we normally do at parties, if our envelopes, the Bread and Wine we offer are our gifts, then our whole-hearted presence becomes our offering.

Sometimes it gets to be boring at Mass. I heard this story of a little girl who became restless as the priest’s sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"

Sometimes, it gets to be distracting. And for some of us, going to Mass could be a burden in itself. We get tired from all our activities and we squeeze in Mass to fit our schedules. These are all the devil’s hidden tricks. It is the devil’s intent to separate us from our God and we should never allow that to happen.

The more should we go to Mass if we find it a burden, because that is the time when we really need God. The more should we be in Church if we find Mass distracting and boring, because those may be the times when we need God most.

Lastly, our party is not just for us. The invitation is still open. Invite those who are not here present to Church. Invite them not just for the company. Invite them not just for the party. But, invite them because of the Real Presence.

14 June 2009

Phases

Medjugorje, July 2007

All of us go through different phases in life. Just like marriage, which can be likened to a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering. We may add a fourth one: boring. Or just like married life. During the 1st Year: The man speaks and the woman listens; 2nd Year: The woman speaks and the man listens; 3rd Year: They both speak and the neighbors listen; 4th Year: Both woman and man speak and their children listen; 15th Year: Parents speak but teenage children do not listen and 50th Year: Both man and woman are too deaf to listen.

There is no easy way to define, describe, explain and expound the Trinity, but this we know: the way to God is the way to happiness. What would bring us to God would be the things that would make us happy. Anything that could bring us happiness is part and parcel of what God is for us because being with God is perfect happiness.

What then would make us happy? To be happy, we need to have a Someone in our lives. That someone could be somebody whom we find a lot of commonality. That someone could be somebody where we see a lot of differences because sometimes, opposites attract. Or most probably we have already found that someone in the person of our spouse, children or family.

Having a Someone in our lives is just the first phase. In order to experience life in its happier moments, we need to be in a relationship with that Someone. Relationship defines what we are to each other. It is not just consequential that I have you here listening to me. It is more significant that I relate to you and you relate with me and that this relationship binds us together.

Because we are related more by faith than by blood, we are exemplified more by commitment than involvement. Jesus was not just involved with us. He committed himself for us. If religion is a relationship of convictions and spirituality is a relationship of faith and understanding, then the only way to happiness, the only way to holiness, the only way to God is through a relationship of individuals and persons based on love.

When we fall in love, when we are in love, whenever we share love, we become one with God who created us. Whenever we fall out of love and whenever we do not share love, we become separated from the God who died for us. And when we no longer love because of the ugly lessons we learned from loving, when we no longer share love because of the hurt and pain we got from loving, we hinder, shut out, choke and cripple the Holy Spirit who comforts us.

Love’s ultimate desire is oneness with the Beloved. In our society, this is present in various respects: companionship, friendship, partnership, ordination or marriage. Most of our happy moments happened when we felt one with that beloved someone: a mother’s assurance of her love, a father’s affirmation of his affection, a husband’s or a wife’s way of caring. Most of our sad moments happened when we felt disconnected: rejection, separation, divorce, betrayal, death, isolation.

It is an obvious reality. There is no happiness in being alone because we are not meant to be alone. Whenever somebody is turned down and rejected, there is a betrayal of the God who is ever abiding and embracing. Whenever somebody feels isolated and excluded, there is a betrayal of the God who is ever present and accepting. And, whenever somebody feels alone and helpless, there is a betrayal of a God who is ever compassionate and understanding.

The good Lord did not go through the phases in understanding us, but He was in each of the three phases. We are that Someone God the Father created. God the Son brought us to a new kind of a relationship. And, we have God the Spirit uniting us to this communion of Persons we still cannot fully understand, the Most Holy Trinity.

7 June 2009

Spirit

More than a month has passed since we have the dedication of this Church and I am still overwhelmed by it. During the past weeks when I heard some of your comments and suggestions, I had three conclusions. First, that we are all different. Secondly, that we are all a work in progress. And thirdly, that inherent in us is our desire to move forward as a united faith community.

This reminds me of letters written by children to God. Listen to some of them. Joyce: Dear God, Thank you for the baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. Nan: Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it. Denise: Dear God, if we come back as something, please don’t let me be Jennifer Horton because I don’t like her. Mickey: Dear God, if you watch in Church this Sunday, I’ll show you my new shoes. Elliott: Dear God, I think about you sometimes even when I’m not praying.

We are all different. We have different personalities, ideas, backgrounds, heritage, body compositions, moods, temperaments, spirituality. We have different expressions of our faith, different ways of worshipping God, different manners of sharing what we believe, different modes of living what we were commanded.

However, what makes us different unites us. Our differences become the foundation of our unity. There is unity in our diversity.

That is the first reminder of Pentecost. From different languages divided by the tower of Babel, we became one through the same language that begun from the Blessed Mother, the Tower of Ivory. Our unity resides in our faith, our baptism and our Lord.

The Spirit makes us one, just as the Spirit united the first disciples. Through the Holy Spirit that came from the Father and Jesus, His Son, we became a church that is open to all people. Through the one Spirit, our Church no longer have any distinctions of race, gender or nationality, that social status is not a requirement but a challenge, that love is no longer a declaration but a commandment.

All of us are God’s work in progress. That is why Pentecost is a time for us to ask ourselves whether the Spirit is alive and living among us. It is a time to examine ourselves whether the fruits of the Spirit are visible and manifest in us. It is also a time to determine whether we have God’s Spirit here in our parish, in our community, in our homes and in our families.

The answer to this question can be found in what the Church calls the fruits of the Holy Spirit. “By their fruits, you shall know them,” as the good Lord said.

Kindness, patience and self-control. These are some of the fruits of the Spirit. Kindness may be seen in our compassion and generosity, but how about patience? How patient are we when things take longer than we expected? How patient are we with the weaknesses, mistakes and pains of others? Self-control. Now, that’s really something to pray for because the self, our ego, can become our enemy than our friend.

Then, there is love, peace and goodness. Are we at peace? Are we doing and being good? Are we loving? St. Paul said, “Bear with one another in love; do all you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” When and if we need to be patient, kind and good to each other, it is because of love. When and if we need to remain one and united, it is because of peace.

Because the world is a creation by God and is still on its way to perfection, there is no perfect world. Because the Church is a composition of imperfect human beings and is constantly growing and changing, there is no perfect Church either. And because we are still being molded in this world, there is no perfect human being.

The Holy Spirit is given to us on Pentecost to serve as our Guide, our Advocate, and our Inspiration. The Holy Spirit is our God continually urging us to be in that perfect world in time to come. That is a desire inherent in all of us, moving us forward to a better faith community.

2 June 2009

Peke

Maraming naloloko sa peke. Maraming nanloloko ng peke. Akala tunay, orig, walang sablay, totoo. Yon pala ginaya lang, gawa-gawa, mahinang klase, huwad. Makinang na parang ginto nang tingnan, tanso lang pala nang malaman.

Nagkalat ang mga peke--damit, pantalon, bag, sapatos, relo, pilikmata, ilong, hita, bilbil, labi. Nagkalat ang mga manloloko. Sila ang mga taong nagsasabing tutubo at tatabo ng gabundok na pera ang puhunang kusing. Sila ang mga taong naguudyok na may computer na makakamit sa bawat email na ipinadala. Sila ang mga taong mapagsamantala sa isipang payak at madaling maniwala’t magtiwala. At dahil sa kanila, maraming naloloko, maraming napepeke.

Kung maaari nga lang na kilatisin muna ang bawat hibla, himaymayin ang bawat tabing at suriin ang bawat ugat, mababawasan ang kalolokohan. Kung maaari nga lang na basahin ang maliliit na letra sa bawat kontrata, pakinggan ang hindi sinasaad sa bawat pangako, tantuin ang iniwang kwento sa bawat salaysay, mabibigyang lunas ang kakulangan sa kaisipan. At, kung maaari nga lang na pagmasdan ang bawat umaga, tangkilikin ang bawat kahapon at paghandaan ang bawat bukas, marahil dadalang ang kalapastangan.

Ito ang hatid ng bawat kasalanan: ang akalaing tunay, peke lang pala naman. Ito ang bulong ng bawat tukso: ang akalaing masarap, madaling gawin at walang makakaalam.

Katotohanan ang siyang magbubunyag sa pagtatago at pagkukunwari. Malalaman ang amoy, kulay, salita at katauhan sa damdaming hinubaran ng totoo’t tunay. Katotohanan ang siyang magbabaklas sa panunukso at aliwan. Mababatid ang sangsang, pagkukulang, anghang at pananamlay sa pagkataong tinuruan kung ano ang tama at kung ano ang nararapat.

Ang Panginoon ang Katotohanan. Ito ang totoo—na sa Kanya’y wala na tayong hahanapin pa. Na sa kanya’y hihimlay at matatapos ang lahat. Na sa Kanya’y nakalaan ang totoong tagumpay. Pera man o alahas, mamahaling gamit man o sasakyan, pagiging sikat man o tanyag, ang lahat ng ito’y nasa Kanya. At iyan ang katotohanan.

Si Hesus ang Katotohanan. Ito ang totoo—na Siya’y walang hahanapin pa, kundi tayong napariwara at nawala sa piling at tabi niya. Matalino man o mapurol ang isip, matayog man o mababa ang pangarap, malakas man o mahina ang damdamin, Siya ang dapat hanapin dahil Siya ang katotohanan.

Mahirap mapariwara sa katotohanan. Mahirap mawala sa tawag ng kabanalan.

Kung mangyari mang magkaganoon na tayo’y maloko sa kinang ng ginto, sa tukso ng laman at sa anyaya ng karimlan, masaklap isipin na mabuti pa ang mga baliw, may mga nakaambang kasagutan. At sa mga naloloko at napepeke naman, mahirap isaad ngunit wala pang naimbentong gamot sa katangahan.

2 June 2009