Do Not Fear (12th Sunday Ordinary A)

The ancient philosopher, Plato, has pointed out the tragedy of being afraid: “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”

Who are afraid of the light?

Those who have something to hide shun the light for fear of being exposed; so, they rather thrive in the dark. But those who are called to speak in the light may also be afraid of it as it may lead to their persecution. So they keep quiet. This, indeed, is tragic. And we can all easily fall into this same tragedy if we allow our fears to paralyze us.

“Do not fear.” This is the reminder of today’s gospel reading (Mt 10:26-33). “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops” (vv. 26-27).

The Lord’s instruction to his disciples is clear: Speak in the light! Proclaim from the housetops!  Simply 'whispering' the gospel among them is not enough.  It may safeguard them from threat and antagonism of this world but it is tantamount to 'disowning' the Lord Jesus in the presence of people; and this cowardly act will cause the Lord to disown the same followers in the presence of the Father.

So the disciples are called to face courageously the realities of evil in the world and the fate that awaits those who brave to confront them with the values of the Gospel. But from where do we draw the courage with which we confront the evils of this world and their vicious reprisal?

The readings for today offer us three ways to conquer our fears:  a) Entrusting our cause to God our mighty champion; b) Having faith in the grace of Christ to triumph over sin; c) Invoking God’s protection and care.

Entrusting our cause to God.  In the first reading (Jer 20:10-13), the prophet Jeremiah expresses his awareness of the plot to denounce and entrap him precisely because of his vocation as a prophet and the message of woe that he delivers to his fellow citizens. But even in the face of this hostility and threat coming from every side, he remains unafraid as he confidently claims the Lord to be in his side like a “mighty champion” who will foil his persecutors.  Jeremiah has no fear because he has “entrusted his cause” to God who will vindicate him in the end—“O Lord of hosts …let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause” (v. 12).

When we confront the ills of our society with the light of the gospel, we also have to prepare for our fate as a persecuted prophet.  But we should not fear for our cause is God’s cause. Like the prophet Jeremiah, we shall realize that the Lord is on our side; and as a mighty champion, He will put to utter shame those who plot against us.

 Are you afraid to “speak in the light?” Don’t be. Entrust your cause to God for He is on your side.

The grace of Christ triumphs over sin.  In the second reading (Romans 5:12-15), we can discern an appropriate background to our calling to confront the evil of this world. St. Paul acknowledges the universal spread of evil throughout the world in the past and we see its bearing in the present sinful situation in our world.  But we ought not to fear as we confront sin because while we have inherited this condition of sinfulness, we have also received a gift that far surpasses it—the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflowing for all of us.

This overflowing grace of Christ is our source of courage. We need not be afraid when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.  When we speak against the power of sin around and within us, only this overflowing grace of Christ guarantees victory for it is a gift more powerful than any of the earthly threats we may fear.

Invoking God’s protection and care. The gospel reading has a refrain: “Do not be afraid.”  Jesus encourages his disciples not to fear anyone, any human persecutor, who can kill the body, because the whole of their physical existence is held within the protection of God’s hands. Jesus reminds them that they are precious in the eyes of God who manifests love even to the lowly sparrows: “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge… So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mt 10:29-31).

God values all his creatures;  He is our loving Father and we, His children, can always rest in the truth that He loves us dearly and protects us from those who plot against us.  We, who stand firm and proclaim the gospel in the light and “from the housetops,” can be confident even in the face of death that our ultimate fate lies in the loving hand of God and that He is our vindication.

Fear no one then… Do not be afraid… speak in the light and proclaim from the housetops! The Lord is our mighty champion who remains on our side against our persecutors; his overflowing grace has overcome the power of sin and eliminated the sting of death; His love and care is our protection and vindication. So do not fear. Have faith in God.

A Treasure that Gives Life (Corpus Christi Sunday A)

After almost three hours of exhausting walk to a far-flung barrio chapel, I and Alfonso, who graciously carried my things throughout the long trek, were at last met by the community.  There were only fifteen of them waiting to celebrate the Eucharist as we arrived!  While we rested, still catching our breath, Alfonso couldn’t hide his disappointment and asked me why must we travel on foot that far for only fifteen people.  Before I could offer a consoling answer, I was handed a pitcher of fresh Buko juice which I mercilessly gobbled down to the dregs.  After such a refreshing treat, I told Alfonso, “I know the answer to your question: The longer the walk, the sweeter the Buko juice becomes.”

In a more serious note, I wish to reflect on the question as we celebrate today the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.  The celebration, I believe, lends itself to our quest for meaning as regards our true Eucharistic piety.  My answer to Alfonso should have been: “Because the Eucharist is a treasure.  We have to go out of our way, cross the same river for over ten times under the scorching sun, brave the perils of the jungle, and pant for air to survive because we are up for a treasure—the pearl of great prize—long held by the Christian communities for generations.”

Pope John Paul II, in his spiritual reflection Ecclesia de Eucharistia, presents the Eucharist as our treasure as he says: “The treasure of the Eucharist... impels us towards the goal of full sharing with all our brothers and sisters to whom we are joined by our common baptism. But if this treasure is not to be squandered, we need to respect the demands which derive from its being the sacrament of communion in faith and in apostolic succession. By giving the Eucharist the prominence it deserves, and by being careful not to diminish any of its dimensions or demands, we show that we are truly conscious of the greatness of this gift.”

Source of communion as Brethren. In other words, the Pope reminds us of the greatness of the gift of the Eucharist and calls us to safeguard it as our treasure because it is in the Eucharist that we derive our life as Christian communities.  It is in the celebration of the Eucharist that we live out our communion as brothers and sisters in Christ sharing in the one and the same baptism as attested to by the second reading, 1 Cor. 10: 16-17—“We, many though we are, are one body for we all partake in one loaf.” In my pastoral experience, I can attest to the fact that the more a community gathers to celebrate the Eucharist, the more they burst with life with more and more people participating in the communal life and celebrating the diversity of their gifts as one community of faith.

Source of eternal life for Christ’s disciples. The Eucharist is a treasure because it is the source of the life of Christ’s disciples. The Body and Blood of Christ, in the humble signs of bread and wine, give life to those who receive them.  Our first reading (Dt. 8: 2-3, 14-16) reminds us that God’s people were fed with manna, a food unknown to them, in order to show them that man lives not by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord (v. 3).  In the same vein, the Gospel of John (Jn. 6: 51-52) instructs us that it is Jesus who is the living bread that comes down from heaven.  The real manna of everlasting life. “He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal (v. 54).

Source of perfect union with Christ.  The Eucharist is a treasure because it makes possible the unique experience of “mutual indwelling” of Christ and the disciple in each other.  It is through the reception of the body and blood of Christ that we experience Christ living in us and us living in Christ. “The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (v. 56). We can say therefore that through our participation in the Eucharist we attain life eternal. And this eternal life is not so much about the length of life (and one which we shall have in the hereafter) as it is about the quality of life that we possess in the here and now. We speak of the life of Christ in us. It is divine life throbbing in us, impelling us to live as Christ lived—a life of love. 

No wonder then, that a priest takes all the troubles in going to the far-off communities in order to share this treasure to them. No wonder then, I was often told, that our overseas Filipino workers hunger for the Eucharistic celebration in foreign lands where they are deprived of this treasure.  They are there to “eke out a living.” But only the Eucharist can grant them true life—the life with Christ.

As we celebrate, then, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ today, let us approach the altar and feed on Christ in the signs of bread and wine turned to his body and blood. As we approach, let our hearts well up with gratitude for being so blessed as to receive this great gift of the source of eternal life. As we receive the Lord, let us do it with an interior devotion that shows how we truly treasure Jesus Christ who gives life by living in us.

Then, in silence, we pray for all Christians in foreign lands who are deprived of this great treasure—they may be your father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister, or your friend. Pray also for all priests consecrated primarily for the celebration of the Eucharist, that they may draw their own life from it—from the treasure that gives life.

A Love that Saves (Trinity Sunday A)

(Photo by Rex Features. Caption added.)

What does Trinity mean to today’s man and woman who struggle in life each day trying to make sense of the mess, so it seems, or the brokenness, of our contemporary human existence?

In Manila, I’ve always been intrigued, if not fascinated, by taxi drivers making the sign of the cross whenever they pass by a church. Once I asked a driver about the meaning of his gesture when he touched the crucifix of the rosary dangling in front of him and quickly made the sign of the cross while driving. He replied rather sheepishly, “Sir, we just passed by a church.” He smiled and continued, “I’m a catholic... I have reverence for the house of God. I made the sign of the cross because that’s how we start our prayer.” “You mean you’re praying now?” I inquired. He scratched his head much like what Efren “Bata” Reyes does in difficult circumstance, and answered, “I really wish I’m in the house of God right now praying but, no, I’m driving... Sir, life is difficult... I touched the crucifix and made the sign of the cross because deep within me is a conviction that God won’t abandon me... I believe that God sees me... and has mercy on me... that God loves me and my family... and his love will see us through difficult times...” 

I could have continued the interrogation but I didn’t; honestly, I was awed and moved by the driver’s faith. Much was unarticulated... most part of it was existentially lived out as he stirred the wheel through the thick of the traffic while all at the same time hoping for the best for himself and his loved ones in most of their trying times.

I say that the taxi driver’s faith is attuned to the truth of today’s Gospel reading (Jn 3:16-18) and both can facilitate our reflection on the mystery of the Trinity. The driver believes in the Triune God as he unapologetically makes the sign of the cross—in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. As he makes this gesture, he believes deep down that God is love and full of mercy... that God blesses him and his family.

Today’s gospel reading shows that too: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (vv. 16-17). The gospel announces to us the heart of the Good News: the Father’s great love for us which is effectively manifested through the Son’s redemptive work. God’s love does not condemn. God’s love saves.

The redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the Son, the person in the Trinity who shared our humanity, can be the key to a deeper insight into the mystery of our faith in the Triune God. In theology, the contemporary approach to understanding the Trinity has already departed from a detached and out-of-this-world ontological exposition of the classical approach and has moved towards articulating what is closest to our human experience. The contemporary theology takes, for instance, the paschal mystery of Christ as entry point to a greater appreciation of our faith in the Three-Personed God. I believe this approach can help articulate the taxi driver’s faith in the God of the cross.

For most of us, the passion- death-resurrection of Jesus (or the paschal mystery) is easily appealing. At a recollection for the Eucharistic Lay Ministers (kaabag) of a certain parish, I played Mel Gibson’s film, “Passion of the Christ,” and that did the trick. They were all teary-eyed moved by the sacrificial love of Jesus, the Son. Hence, I didn’t have to belabour the point by an extended boring input! The paschal mystery interests us. Even captivates us. Draws us to an intimate relationship with our loving God.

The sacrificial love of Jesus is manifested in the most sublime way through his passion and death. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (Jn. 15: 13). His resurrection-ascension announces with joy the victory of the life-giving power of God’s love over the alienating and destructive propensity of sin. Love has overcome sin and death.

Therefore, the greatness of the Father’s love, a love that saves, is made known to us in human terms through the sacrifice and victory of Jesus Christ, the Son. The Father, out of his great love for us, gave his only Son that we may be saved and have life (Jn. 3: 16-17).

The Holy Spirit who dwells in us is the person in the Trinity that enables us to understand, appreciate, and actually experience in a real way the love so sublimely revealed in the paschal mystery we saw above. It is the Holy Spirit that makes us cry out a thanksgiving prayer for being so loved. It is the Holy Spirit that accompanies us in life, giving us the confidence, like the taxi driver, that no matter what, everything’s gonna be fine... that the mess I am in will eventually be alright because I am loved with a love that saves.

The driver touched the crucifix and made the sign of the cross in the name of the Trinity. Such a gesture, in his lack of capacity to articulate the beauty of the paschal mystery of Christ, is a simple act of faith in the unfathomable mystery of God’s love for him and his family. When we gaze at the cross of Christ, we pray to the Holy Spirit to enable us to see in it the greatest love of all. A love that does not condemn. A love that saves. It is the Father’s unconditional love expressed to us in human terms by the sacrificial and redemptive love of the Son, Jesus Christ. It is this love that enables us to trust in life despite its seeming brokenness.

When we look at the cross, meditatively, may our hearts well up with the love that saves—the love of the Father and the Son which we existentially experience, in whatever state of life we are in, through the indwelling of the Spirit.

Lord, thank you for the knowledge and inner conviction that I am loved with a love that saves in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.