Quest for Eternal Life (20th Sunday Ordinary B)

Was it in the mid-90s that we heard of the health product “Forever Living?” It is a variety of food supplements that promise better health and, therefore, longer life. The name even bears the audacious suggestion of immortality! No wonder that a good number of people have been taking it even if its maintenance costs them an arm and a leg. After all, life is precious.

Among the hoi polloi though who couldn’t afford expensive health supplements, Ernie Baron, known to be the “walking encyclopedia,” popularized his “Pito-Pito”— a blend of seeds or leaves of seven traditional medicinal plants—as a cure-all tea for health problems.

To date, countless health products mushroomed in the market, the latest being that of a stem-cell booster to keep our cells and tissues young. What a wonder! Good news for the “baby boomers” who wish to feel and look a generation younger.

Despite the “culture of death” that is gradually creeping in, e.g. the conspiracy of legalizing measures that suppress the flourishing of life, I believe, humanity’s love for life is inextinguishable. We all see this as people swim for dear life and heroically rescue one another in the face of super typhoons and heavy rains that have flooded thousands of houses. Needless to say, we see life as precious. And not only that, the human spirit will always refuse to die as it has an incontrovertible sense of its eternal destiny.

The gospel reading this Sunday (Jn 6:51-58) is the third sequel of the Bread of Life discourse. This is already the third Sunday that we’ve been reflecting on the theme: Jesus, the Bread of Life. This gospel is the real good news. It has to say about the human spirit’s quest for eternal life.

I think, for all of us who consciously or unconsciously desire to live forever, the gospel today has something to offer that food supplements and health tea cannot. Jesus’ body is the “true food” and his blood the “true drink.” The gospel promises that whoever eats the flesh of the Son of Man and drinks his blood has eternal life (v. 54).

I would like us to reflect more deeply on that promise of eternal life. Almost always we take “eternal life” to mean everlasting life or, as the name of the food supplement suggests, “forever living.” And this is to be experienced in the hereafter. People are always concerned about the length of life. But essentially eternal life is more about the quality of life than just about the length. For who would want longevity if such a life, corrupted by sin, is not worth living on the first place?

Essentially eternal life is divine life. Jesus explains in today’s Gospel, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me (vv.56-57). So Jesus is actually sharing the divine life he received from the Father to whoever receives him. Jesus is sharing with us the quality of life that is divine.

When we receive the Lord in our life, first in baptism and in the Eucharist, we are given new life and this is sharing in the divine life, for we remain in him and he in us. How do we live out this divine life? I think the answer is: To live as God lives, i.e., to love! Deus Caritas Est. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” (1 Jn 4:16). Pope Benedict’s encyclical Deus Caritas Est describes God’s love as agape—a self-sacrificing love… a love that forgives… even on the cross!

The kind of life that Jesus is giving us is the life that is characterized by agape. And this is the highest quality of life one can ever have! This is a life of self-giving rather than self-serving, a life of forgiving rather than forsaking and hating. Without Jesus, the true food and the true drink, this highest quality of life would be impossible for the sinful and self-centered human being. But with him we can have eternal life, his divine life the essence of which is love. We can have it in the “here and now” and in the hereafter.

Forever living also means forever loving! We will still die of course... naturally. But the death of someone who has lived the life of Christ is but a glorious culmination of a life well-spent and a birth to the everlasting life where one permanently shares in the eternal agape of God.

What’s It All About (Birth of John the Baptist)

“It’s not about you.” Rick Warren’s opening statement in his best-seller, A Purpose-Driven Life, challenges the rather common mindset about life’s meaning—that it’s all in our hands, that it all depends on what we decide to do and to become, that at the end of the day we can sing like Frank Sinatra: “I did it my way.” On the contrary, Warren asserts that it is not about us.  Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our life’s purpose. We have to come to terms with the truth that we were made by God and for God—and until we understand that, life will never make sense.  God is our Creator; it is He who set the purpose for our lives. Hence, our task is to discern this God-given purpose and live this out in life. In this consists the meaning of life.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist, a very significant person in God’s plan of salvation. Of him Christ himself said that “among those born of woman, none is greater” (Mt. 11:11).  This is why the Church from the very beginning has given a special veneration for him. Today’s celebration invites us to reflect on our origin, identity, and purpose. John the Baptist is an exemplar of a man who lived a purpose-driven life. For him, it was very clear that his life is not about him; it is all about God and the purpose for which he was born.

The gospel reading (Lk 1:57-66, 80) recounts John’s birth and the day he was circumcised and given name. Contrary to expectations, he was named John and not after his father, Zechariah. John means “God is gracious.” His name reminded his parents of God’s mercy and kindness in given them a son as a response to their prayers despite the fact that they were already old and Elizabeth was particularly barren. The naming of John as such proclaimed to the people, neighbours and relatives that the hand of God was upon the child and hence, the child will be great. This event points to the fact that from the very beginning of John’s existence, God was already at work with him. Or in the language of the first reading (Is 49:1-6), John can say for himself, “The Lord called me from birth; from my mother’s womb he gave me my name” (v. 1).

John is only John because of God. God sees, from the very beginning, a great purpose for this man who would be known as John the Baptist. We are who we are because of God. And we can be assured that from the very beginning of our human existence or even before we were formed in our mother’s womb, God has already conceived us in Him.  Hence, together with the psalmist we can pray to God saying:

Truly you have formed my inmost being;

You knit me in my mother’s womb,

I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;

Wonderful are your works (Ps 139).

Embracing the truth that God is the origin of our being and the principle of our becoming allows us to see that indeed life is not about us. It is about God.  And when we pursue life’s meaning outside what God has intended for us, we are bound to despair.  Perhaps this is what happens to people who, despite tremendous success in the eyes of the world, still end up a mess, deeply unhappy and unfulfilled.  

For John the Baptist, it was very clear what he was born for.  He was not born for his own agenda.  He was born for God’s purpose. This clarity afforded him clear self-identity and mission.  He knew who he was and what he has to do in life.  In the plan of God, John saw himself called to become the precursor of the Messiah—the herald of the coming of the Savior.  So he went about with authority proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.  This was his purpose: to prepare the way of the Lord, to prepare the hearts of people for the coming of the Messiah. Towards the end of his career, The Acts of the Apostles ( 13: 25) attests, John made it clear to his followers that He was not the Messiah. He was not even worthy to unfasten the sandals of the One who is to come after him. John did not confuse his identity with what people expected him to be.  He led people to Jesus and not to himself.  This was his God-given purpose. 

Today, as we celebrate the Solemnity of John the Baptist’s birth, let us see him as who he was to the people of Israel then:  the symbol of repentance.  Let him continue to remind us of our need for repentance. Let us allow him to lead us to Jesus.  This is his glory: to have lived and died as the man whom God willed him to be, to have served in fidelity to his life’s purpose.

Today, too, is an opportune time to ask ourselves, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this most fundamental question in life: To borrow Rick Warren’s line—“What on earth am I here for?” or in line with the celebration of the Baptist’s birth—“What am I born for?”

It’s a pity to continue living aimlessly. Without a clear purpose, we can easily be swayed by just anything.  Life can unnecessarily be complicated, without focus, disoriented and meaningless. We have to remember that our life, like John the Baptist, is not about us. It’s about God. God is our origin. He gives us our identity and our mission.  He is our destiny. Hence, we cannot underestimate the importance of discernment that we may be able to see ourselves as God sees us in terms of who we are and what we are all about.

At this point of my life, what gives me direction or a sense of purpose? Could this be God’s purpose for my life?

  

Be Quiet! Know That I Am God! (4th Sunday Ordinary B)

I think I was ordained to the diaconate twice!  

In November of 1998, together with my batch, except for one Benedictine monk who had a separate venue and schedule of ordination, I submitted myself willingly to the Order of Diaconate held at St. Augustine Cathedral in the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.  After all the busy preparations and the heady day of ordination which, of course, included the inevitable and exhausting socialization at the reception, what I felt was the feeling of great relief that everything went well and I was already a deacon. I thought that was all that mattered.

After some time, the batch was invited to attend the ordination of the monk at the Transfiguration Chapel of the Benedictines in Malaybalay.  I was there awed by the silence of the surroundings and the chapel.  Few people were invited. Hence, the liturgy turned out to be enviably solemn.  During the rite, I was washed with a deep sense of tranquillity with my mind and heart freed from the disturbing noise of anxieties that had preoccupied me for the most part of my own ordination.  As the ordination rite went on, my tears were flowing like a stream because, in that deep state of silence that I found myself in, I felt I was being ordained a second time.  And this time, my whole being participated!

Few people have discovered the eloquence of silence.  Most people live and mastered the art of thriving in the noise of anxieties, charting their way to success through the multi-layered pile of tasks, important concerns, and, no doubt, noble responsibilities.  For these people addicted to productive activities, silence is strange.  Silence is unbearably a waste of their precious time.

In today’s gospel (Mk. 1: 21-28), Jesus commanded the man with an unclean spirit to be quiet: “Quiet!  Come out of him!”  Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit this way because he was ranting and raving as Jesus was teaching with authority in the synagogue.  The man with an unclean spirit was resisting Jesus’ authority as he cried out “What have you to do with us...? Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 

Such is the noise of resistance to God’s authority.  Like the evil spirit, all too often we find ourselves declaring our autonomy from external authorities like God’s. “What have you to do with us?” We say even unknowingly. We are afraid that God might ask us to change and “destroy” our own grand plans in life. We acknowledge his Holiness but we do not trust God enough to allow him to be the God of our lives!  Hence, we keep on ranting, filling our hearts with the noise of resistance.  No wonder, many times we are afraid to be silent. We do not want to admit Him into our lives.

Today we listen to the Lord as He commands us with authority, “Be quiet!”  Only in that deep state of silence can God speak into our hearts.  I propose the following invitations to silence:

The silence of emptiness.  Cluttered with all our worldly concerns and anxieties, our minds and hearts have no room to offer for God.  We need to de-clutter.  We need to give space for God’s Word to penetrate our hearts.  Silence is an invitation to emptiness.  To be truly silent is to be empty in such a way that our only yearning is to be graciously filled up with the sense of being loved by God. 

The silence of powerlessness.  Satan’s bad habit is to perpetually resist the authority of God.  Satan wants to wield power and to be his own God.  We do feel this evil tendency in us very strongly.  We want to be “the captain of our souls.”  We want to be the ones taking hold of the helm of our fate.  We have to admit, we can be control freaks.  We seem to be disoriented and lost when we are not in control. That is why we resist God’s directions.  We cannot let go. Silence is the courage to be powerless in the face of God. Silence is letting go of our control and being docile to God’s command, “Be quiet! Come out!”  Hence, silence is an invitation for us to give up our futile resistance and let God be the God of our lives.

The silence of peace and harmony.  This is the experience of tranquillity after we have been purged of the “unclean spirit.”  This is the peace that sets in after the convulsions of our defiance.  We seek harmony in life.  We can only attain it by making silence an integral part of our busy lives. We can have peace and harmony when we have replaced our bad habit of harbouring anxieties and resistance in our hearts with the powerful habit of incorporating into our practical lives the eloquent power of silence.  The silence of harmony is like the silences in between the notes of a great musical composition. All those notes fail to form a harmonious melody when they are not woven together by the silences that connect them all. So are the endless concerns in our lives.

In a retreat house I’ve visited, a poster hangs on a wall.  And as if to remind every guest that he stands in a haven of silence, it has this to say: BE QUIET AND BE STILL. KNOW THAT I AM GOD!

A Heart that Treasures and Reflects (Mary, Mother of God)

A story was told of a king who fell in love with a beautiful peasant who was among his subjects. He sent for her; and in the palace, expressed his love and offered her a life of bounty with him. But the beautiful peasant could not come to accept his gracious offer of love. She was trembling in fear and overtaken by the feeling of unworthiness in the face of the king’s majestic presence. The king was brokenhearted. But with the help of his wise counselor, he realized what to do: either to forget her as there were plenty of other women worthy of his love and stature or to forget being a king and live as a peasant to win her love. What did the king do? He stepped down from his throne, took off his crown, laid down his scepter and put on a peasant’s garment. He lived with the people in the village and once again met the beautiful peasant who eventually and happily accepted his love.

By becoming one of us, God offers his love to us in the only manner that we can truly appreciate: as a human being. So God’s indwelling in us is never an issue of worthiness or unworthiness on our part but rather a statement of God’s gracious will to stoop down to our lowly status on account of his self-emptying love.

Only with this realization that we accept with ease that a simple woman like Mary can truly be the Mother of God. God lovingly wills it. Hence, God lives with us and in us as he wills it. This great mystery of incarnation is the great mystery of God’s love for us. Mary has been both an instrument and a witness of this great mystery.

Today’s gospel (Lk 2:16-21) reveals Mary’s attitude to this mystery of God’s love. “Mary treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart” (v. 19). Treasuring and reflecting. These are acts that we Christians should learn from Mary, the Mother God. Just as Mary treasured and reflected on the marvelous works of God in her life, we too are invited to examine God’s acts of love in our lives. We too ought to treasure in our hearts the beautiful things that God has caused in our lives. Reflecting is also necessary for us to discern what lies behind whatever transpires in our lives and see God’s invitation for us.

So as God deigns to dwell among us, He asks for an open heart on our part. Treasuring and reflecting are acts that show our openness to God’s indwelling. Treasuring and reflecting are just what we need to do as we end the year and begin anew. I would like to suggest four ways of doing this—these are four ways of looking and seeing God: Looking back and thanking God. Looking ahead and trusting in God. Looking around and serving God. Looking within and finding God.

Look back and thank God. One way to treasure God’s marvelous acts is to look back into the past year and see what God has done for us. It’s only in recognizing God’s grace that we can treasure it and find our hearts extolling in gratitude. A victim of typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro city sent me a text message to greet me a happy new year. It read: Even in the worst of times, there are still some things that we can be grateful for.

Look ahead and trust in God. This is an exercise of reflection and discernment. What are we called to do or to become as we go through this another year? Many express this as New Year’s resolution. The future may be filled with uncertainties but we are called to trust in God… because God is always faithful to his promise. We are invited to face what lies ahead with confidence--in latin, con means with; fides means assurance, a promise, word of honor. Hence, we welcome the new year with the assurance that everything will be fine because God cares.

Look around and serve God. This is about the present, our day to day attitude towards life and its challenges and the people we work with or work for. We are asked to see God in the people that surround us and through them serve God each day. In the light of natural calamities that befall us quite frequently now, we cannot deny the fact that to serve is an urgent call to take care of mother Earth. This calling is no longer an option. It is a moral responsibility.

Look within and find God. This is at heart of the mystery of God’s indwelling. God is with us. God dwells in us. People do pilgrimages to have deep spiritual experiences. The most basic pilgrimage I think is the journey within. We can do this simply by giving ourselves moments of silence each day. In that silence, we meet God who dwells within ourselves. We can lose everything helplessly in a flash flood but not God who stays with us no matter what happens.

God is a God who has decided to be with us and to invite us to experience his great love. Mary is our model in responding with an open heart to God’s love by treasuring and reflecting on the marvelous works of God in her life. This New Year let us then be confident of God’s unfailing presence in our life—in the past, in the future, in the present, and within ourselves. As we begin this year, let us ask the grace for a heart that treasures and reflects on the greatness of God’s love.