Never Cut the Thread (Holy Family B)

A father accompanied his son to fly a kite. The kite easily reached high up in the sky.  After a while, the son observed that the thread seemed to hold the kite from flying higher. So, he asked his father to cut the thread. The father obliged. The kite, to the son's delight, started to go a little higher. But then, slowly, it started to come down and soon fell on the top of a tree. The son, surprised by what just happened, asked his father, “Father, I thought that after cutting off the thread, the kite can freely fly higher. Why did it fall down?”

The Father explained, "Son, the thread was not holding the kite from going higher. It was helping it stay higher when the wind slowed down and when the wind picked up, you helped the kite go up higher in a proper direction through the thread.  When the thread was cut, the kite lost its support.” So it is with the support of our family. Our loved ones edify us and see us through the rough times, sustaining us as we reach higher heights in life. They are not holding us back; they provide us the thread of support for us to fly. So, never cut the thread.

The celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family encourages us to value our own families and to appreciate the "thread of support" our families provide us with. In the light of the scriptural readings for today, let us reflect on three areas of support our families may offer us inspired by the Holy Family: The area of obedience to God's will; of building our trust in God's faithfulness; and of extending our families to the wider family of God.

Obedience to God’s Will. The Gospel describes how Joseph, as the head of the Holy Family of Nazareth, presented Mary and the Baby Jesus in the Temple for the mother’s purification and the Child’s “redemption.” The Law of Moses taught that every Jewish firstborn male child belonged to Yahweh and therefore must be “bought back” by the parents with a lamb or turtledoves as a sacrifice in the Temple. Also, the mother had to be purified after childbirth by prayers and an offering made to God in the Temple. As an act of obedience to God, Joseph kept these laws. Hence, in the gospel reading, we see the Holy Family in the temple obedient to God’s commandments.

Joseph’s obedience to God provided the thread that trained Jesus to be obedient to the Father’s will; so that when his hour came, Jesus faced his harrowing passion and death on the cross, overcoming his agony by praying for strength to do his Father's will: "Father, not my will, but yours be done" (Lk 22:42). Jesus’ total obedience to God the Father reversed the disobedience of Adam, the cause of the downfall of man.  How crucial is obedience to God in the work of redemption!

The Holy Family reminds our families to become schools of this very important virtue, i.e., obedience. Through proper discharge of authority and by way of everyday witnessing of parents as Joseph and Mary did, children are moulded to become persons with deep respect to their parents and with fear of the Lord.  And there is a promise of blessing that await a family that lives in obedience to God’s laws: “How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments” (Ps 112:1). May our families be a school of obedience that leads each one to walk the ways of the Lord.

Building Trust in God's Faithfulness. The Holy Family has been a witness to God’s fidelity to his promise.  As God had been true to his promise to Abraham in the first reading (Gen 15:1-6; 21:1-3) giving him a son, Isaac—who would fulfil the promise of a multitude of descendants, God fulfilled the Emmanuel prophecy through Joseph and Mary by giving them Jesus, the Saviour born of a virgin (Mt 1:23). In today’s gospel, Mary and Joseph presented the child Jesus in the temple; there, they witnessed how the promise made to the righteous and devout Simeon and the prophetess Anna were also fulfilled. The Presentation in the Temple, we can say, was an event in the life of the Holy Family together with Simeon and Anna wherein the fulfilment of God’s promise of salvation for the people was revealed and celebrated.

God is a God of promise and a God of fulfilment. He is a faithful God as witnessed to by the Holy Family. Our families, too, experience the fidelity of God as He abides with us through all the vicissitudes of family life.  May we exclaim at all times what the Psalm proclaims: “The Lord remembers his covenant forever” (Ps 105:6). May the sincerity of the husband and wife to live together with faithful love be their own witnessing to the faithfulness of God.  May we make good of every promise we make to one another in our families; may we be there for one another in good times and in bad; and as we grow in integrity, honouring our every word, may we build the culture of trust—strengthening our trust in one another and in the faithfulness of God. 

Embracing the Wider Family of God.  In Simeon’s prayer of blessing, he prophesied that Jesus was meant to be the glory of Israel and the light of revelation to the Gentiles. And as he blessed Mary, he warned her that her child would be “a sign of contradiction,” and that she would be “pierced with a sword.” Simeon was prophesying both the universal salvation that would be proclaimed by Jesus and the necessity of suffering in the mission of the Messiah.  Right from the very start, the Holy Family was well aware of the mission of Jesus—He was not to be theirs alone. He belonged to the wider family of God. As the child Jesus grew and became strong, filled with wisdom and God’s favour, his family in Nazareth was there to provide all the support He needed for this mission.

Our love for the family must not be exclusive.  Our love should embrace the wider family of God.  The support our family gives to each other must be conscious of our mission to be of service to the wider community.  Families should provide that “thread” of support for each member to respond to God’s call to serve or even face sacrifices for the good of society. May our families be in solidarity with the wider family of God. May we see that the homeless out there in the cold are part of our family; the addict, the broken, and the lonely are members of our family; the sick and the dying, are our brothers and sisters; the persons in the prison cell are also sons and daughters of God, and as such, are members of our family. 

On this Sunday, the Feast of the Holy Family, we lift our families up to God for His blessing, thanking Him for the gift of our parents, our brothers and sisters, our grandpa and grandma. May we always draw our strength and sense of direction from our family who is there to allow us to fly like a kite with the guiding thread which reminds us to fear the Lord and walk in his ways, to trust in God’s promises, and to embrace the wider family of God. And remember, never cut the thread.

We Can’t Always Say Perhaps (4th Sunday Advent B)

Why does it take a lot of courage to say yes? 

Women, unsure of their feelings for their avid suitors who press them to give their answer, have a very convenient reply: “Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps!” (This is with or without a smile).  A variation in Filipino language is “ewan...” which means “Sorry. I don’t know. I’m not sure.”  Songs have been composed along this theme. They sure are amusing and cute.

While this reply is convenient when we find ourselves not ready to commit, a persisting non-committal attitude to life, however, can be disastrous or tragic.  We may lose our opportunity to make our choices and decide what ought we to do in life or what kind of person we want to become.  We may live life, taking our time, as if we’re not going to die and we die as if we have not lived.  Tragic indeed.

Life is a commitment.  So we can’t always say “Perhaps.”  In some life-defining moments, we need to say “Yes!”  Today’s gospel reading (Lk. 1:26-38), we witness once more the courageous fiat (latin for let it be done) of Mary.  This is Mary’s “Yes!” to God’s invitation for her to become the mother of Jesus, the awaited Messiah and Savior of Israel and of the whole creation. Let us allow Mary’s fiat to invite us, as part of our preparation for Christmas, to examine our own attitude to commitments to life and, ultimately, to God. 

Why does it take a lot of courage to say yes? Three ways to show why in the light of Mary’s yes:  Saying yes is a leap of faith.  Saying yes is realizing our destiny.  Saying yes is a commitment to serve humbly.

Leap of Faith. After hearing the angel Gabriel’s greetings and message, Mary “pondered” what this meant.  “How can this be?” She asked. Mary was in the face of something which, in her human reckoning, is impossible.  Yet, she said yes.  She said yes despite the clear danger that her having a child out of wedlock might bring her.

Saying yes to God’s invitation is a leap of faith.  One has to place everything in the hand of God believing that nothing is impossible with him.  To say yes is to trust in a faithful God—a God who fulfils his promise like his promise of a throne for David’s descendants that will last forever.

Like Mary, we say yes to God’s calling not because we are sure that we can deliver and succeed but because we are certain that God always delivers and succeeds through us. We only have to say, “Yes. Let it be done to me.” As the angel reminded Mary, we are reassured too:  Do not be afraid.  Take the leap of faith.

Realization of Destiny.  When God has promised, it is destined to happen in His own time.  Mary was placed at the threshold of the realization of what God has destined to happen and that is the coming of the long-awaited Messiah who will establish God’s Kingdom forever.  For this destiny to be fulfilled, Mary needed to say yes out of her freedom. Her fiat allowed her to participate actively in the fulfilment of God’s design.

We are not puppets.  We are not programmed to mechanically execute a design.  We decide whether to say no or yes.  Hence, we are responsible for the choices we make and their consequences.  Our decisions may thwart what is set by God for us.  To be able to fulfil our own destiny, to be able to become the kind of person we are called to be, we need to be decisive.  We cannot persist in our non-committal attitude to life like a shrivelled leaf adrift the river.  Destiny is not fulfilled this way.  God’s design calls for our active participation as it did for Mary’s fiat.

We say yes to God and allow the realization of God’s design in our lives.  We say yes and we fulfil our destiny.

Commitment to Humble Service.  Mary’s fiat came from a humble posture of a handmaid: “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word” (v. 38).  This is a decision to place oneself at the disposal of the Lord. This requires humility and readiness to be of service to God.

In this dog-eat-dog society, competition is the name of the game. When you’re into it, you want to show who’s the boss, who calls the shots, who’s the man.  It’s no mean feat to be committed to humble service in such an egoistic milieu.  

Christians who are in leadership positions in society are called to say yes to the ideals of humble service as Mary did.  We can make a difference.  Let us not allow the narcissistic style of this world to shape our way of being.  It’s our commitment to humble service that ought to teach the world.  Let our humble posture of service everyday convert the proud and self-serving inclinations of the world.

When our response to life’s opportunities and God’s invitations is always “perhaps” for wanting to be on safe grounds, we sure end up losing everything instead.  We ought to have the courage to say “Yes!” to life and to God.  In our preparations for Christmas, this last week of advent showcases to us the courage of Mary’s fiat.  With her brave and trusting yes to God, she made all the difference.  She made us all see that indeed nothing is impossible with God.

In this joyful season of Christmas, can we allow our contemplation of the mystery of God’s incarnation to evoke our own fiat?  

Finding Joy in God (Gaudete Sunday B)

Christian life, we have to face it, is quite demanding.  We speak of high cost of discipleship, of carrying our crosses each day, of self-denial and self-sacrificing love among others.  Without the correct disposition, our life in the Lord can end up as listless, unhappy and exhausting commitment of self-giving.  In fact, stern faces and humorless outlook in life are not uncommon among many serious Christians we meet.  Needless to say, this joyless witnessing is a source of discouragement for others to take Christian faith seriously. How can we be attractive when there’s no joy in the life we lead?

Joy is an essential disposition of a true disciple.  The demands of Christian life have to be carried out with a joyful heart.  Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, is meant to remind us of the fact that always God’s presence in our life is a cause for rejoicing.  All Advent biblical figures attest to this. We hear Isaiah exclaims, in the first reading (Is 61:1-2, 10-11): “I rejoice heartily in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul…” (v. 10).  Mary’s magnificat, too, is read as the responsorial psalm and we hear Mary exults: “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit finds joy in God my savior” (Lk 1: 46).  We recall too, though not in today’s readings, John the Baptist leaping with joy in her mother’s womb as Elizabeth and Mary greeted each other.

Do we find joy in God? Allow me to offer three ways of finding joy in God—the joy of gratitude, the joy of ministry, the joy of surrender.

The Joy of Gratitude.  There is joy in thanksgiving. No doubt about it.  St. Paul, in our second reading, tells the Thessalonians to rejoice and pray always and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thes 5: 16). Christian life may be demanding but even before we are faced with the demands of our commitments to the Lord, God has favored us first as “He has looked with favor on his lowly servant”, Mary, that she may be called blessed in all ages.  Isaiah’s joy too is one of gratitude as he attests: “for He has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice” (Is. 61: 10).

When God asks our commitment, he sees to it first that he endows us with the gifts required for fulfilling what he expects of us.  When we see it this way, gratitude then is our first response to God’s goodness.  Whatever we do for God, we do it with the joy of a grateful heart.    

How often, deep in our hearts, we demand from God our reward for being good in this life! This we expect with a stern sense of entitlement oblivious of the fundamental fact that we have been blessed already prior to our achievements and that we are good only because God has been good to us first.  

Advent allows us to rejoice because of the goodness of God in our lives.  An important Advent preparation then is cultivating a grateful heart, one that truly brings forth joy, as it recognizes God’s favor on us.

The Joy of Ministry.  There is joy in serving.  We sure feel physically tired after serving, yet at the end of the day, we wonder why a serene sense of deep satisfaction invigorates us from within.  I believe it is the quiet and gentle power of joy that revitalizes us.

I once worked in a rural and mountainous parish with an aging missionary as my parish priest.  Because I was young, nimble and quick, all ministering that involved going through the rough roads and dangerous trails of the countryside were understandably left to my care.  Always upon my return from these difficult areas, the kind old missionary would come to me with much concern in his face making sure I was fine.  Sometimes, for one reason or another, I could not make it to the barrio, he would volunteer to go as we were left with no choice.  As he returned home, I would meet him to see if he was fine.  On those days, he surely looked tired and older but, to my amazement, a lot happier.  He would look at me beaming with a joyful smile and say, “I’m back and I’m great!”

Such is the joy of serving.  This I believe is the same joy that exudes and makes the face of Mother Teresa beautiful—more beautiful than the fresh and pampered faces of those hailed Miss Universe.

Do we find joy as we serve in our ministry?  In our professions?

The Joy of Surrender.  There is joy in trusting and in believing in the faithfulness of God.  This is the joy of placing our lives at the hands of the faithful God. 

Sometimes, in this result-oriented society we are living now, we can become control freaks.  We spend a lot of our energy making sure that everything goes according to our wishes and plans.  We begin to become strict, intolerant, stiff, unbending.  We lose our flexibility and spontaneity.  All because we want to see our design successfully materialized, our set goals met and our plans well-executed.  Failures and adversities have no place in our lives.  Yet, the fact is, they do happen.  Not everything goes according to our design.  Hence, our contemporary life is marked by stress and anxiety.

To surrender to God is liberating.  Filipinos are said to be the happiest people despite formidable adversities.  I suspect this is because we know how to place our lives into the hands of God.  “Bahala na!” in its positive sense expresses our trust in God’s providential care.  We trust that in God’s wisdom, everything will fit together, everything will make sense.  So we learn how to let go and let God and get a life.

In our Christian life it is not our own will but God’s will that matters most, not our own design but God’s design.  Advent reminds us that like the prophets and Mary who listened to God’s will and trusted in God’s fidelity, we too may do well to surrender to God.  There’s so much joy in it.  Promise.