February24, 2019, 7th Sunday of Epiphany*

                      Fr. Aris Miranda, MI

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/432697476674367099/?lp=true

Ps 103:1-4,8,10,12-13

1 Sam 26:2, 7-9,12-13, 22-23

1Cor 15:45-49

Luke 6:27-38

 

In today’s Sunday gospel, Jesus invites us to reflect on the famous Golden Rule of life – “Treat others as you wish them to treat you.” Though Jesus mentioned this Rule in the gospels, he attributed a new sense to this Rule, a new rule which goes beyond seeking only of one’s inner peace and serenity.

The Golden Rule evolves from history, and it is being interpreted from the different life’s situation.

 

In the Book of Exodus, the People of Israel were given “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” as an ethical principle. Today we regard this system of proportional punishment as rather severe. In a more primitive society, it was regarded as permissible to take revenge often quite disproportionate to the original injury suffered. This led to vendettas lasting for generations, something which was highly destructive to society at large. The principle of “an eye for an eye …” was therefore brought in, to introduce some form of equity into the situation and so stop people from aggravating the grievance and effectively preventing unnecessary vendettas.

 

From this position, society gradually progressed to a system of monetary compensation for injuries. Even today society generally works along the same lines with fines imposed for minor injuries and imprisonment for more serious cases. The worst that we have ever experienced is the escalating cases of extrajudicial killings and the culture of impunity perpetrated against innocents or victims of poverty in case of the present war on drugs.

 

But those who choose the spiritual path, they realise that this is an insufficient basis on which to live a righteous life and so there was a gradual progression to the Golden Rule. This provides a much more positive principle on which to base one’s life. It isn’t based on reacting to injuries but sets out to build a positive society. It is an altruistic approach to life and promotes the general well-being of everyone we come into contact with.

 

Other faiths interpret this Rule in different ways. From Islam: “No one can be a believer unless he loves his brother as himself.” From Buddhism: “There are five ways in which a true leader must treat his friends and dependents – with generosity, courtesy, goodwill, giving to them what they expect and being true to his word.” From Taoism: “Consider the success of your neighbor as your own, and also his misfortune as if it were your own.” In Jesus teaching, he succeeded in putting into words the deepest and most universal desires of humankind, the desire for fraternity, born of the will to wish others well completely, selflessly, without trying to draw any benefit, merit or reward. It is in a sincere fraternity, well-lived that the face of God is revealed.

Jesus includes the Golden Rule in his teaching, but he goes one step further and takes his disciples far beyond the Golden Rule with new teaching which is to love even our enemies. Yes, the Golden Rule is certainly part of loving your enemy, but there is much more to it such as “turning the other cheek,” “giving your tunic as well as your cloak,” “lending without hope of return” and so on.

The Golden Rule “treat others as you would like them to treat you” is based on what you would want others to do to you whereas “love your enemies” is based on the way God deals with us as exemplified in the life of Jesus himself. This is best summarised in these words: “Be compassionate as your heavenly Father is compassionate.” Our task as disciples of Christ is to act in the same way as God acts which is to be compassionate to everyone even to our enemies.

The New Golden Rule of Jesus

If a Christian embodies the gospel he questions the established order of the society, then it is inevitable that he will be persecuted as it happened to the human rights activists and pro-people development advocates. How should we behave then when are persecuted, marginalized, suffered injustices and may even lose our lives?

Often, our instinct dictates to react, to revenge even using violence. What do you think would Jesus say to you?

Jesus said to his disciples “to you who hear I say love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.”

Jesus presents four imperatives. The first imperative: love your enemies. Have you ever wondered how you could be friends with those who have done wrong against you? Jesus is not asking you to befriend them but to love them. Love is not a feeling but a gratuitous act of loving (Gk. agapan). It does not originate from human nature but in the life that our Father has given to us because He is himself, love. Agapan is an availability to do good unconditionally even to an enemy who did serious evil deeds against you. It means readiness to respond to the request for help even from an enemy. The enemy is expressing his/her needs despite the gravity of the wrongdoing he has done to you.

The second imperative: do good to those who hate you. Hate is not alien to our sensitivities. However, it will become dangerous when it turns into hatred. Hatred is not simply an antipathy but a deep-seated feeling of aversion. The one who hates wants to destroy the other. Here, Jesus demands his disciples to take all opportunities to help that person (enemy) and make him happy by doing good and doing good means making a firm decision to help that person to grow. By all means, a disciple of Christ cannot do anything but love alone.

The third imperative: bless those who curse you. Cursing means wanting the death of the other while blessing means to wish life. We bless God when we recognize that all of life comes from him and God blesses us by giving his life. When you bless a person it means you want him to live and not just to survive but the fullness of life. It is a recognition that no one has the right to take the life of others regardless of the gravity of his/her evil doings.

The fourth imperative: pray for those who mistreat you. Practicing the first three imperatives is difficult, and thus prayer is needed. Only an authentic prayer and not a mere repetition of formulas which will make you in tune with the thought of God, to see and feel how God sees the one who hates you. God hates bad things. He does, but above all he loves. When we are before the Lord, we cannot lie to Him, and so we can ask him to fill with his blessings the one who did wrong to you.

Jesus further explains this proposal for a new life with four practical examples using paradoxical images. First,  to the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well.”  Jesus wants us to be moved by the Spirit of the divine life. This means you must not respond with violence when you experienced aggression in your life. A Christian cannot react except with love. If you cannot change the situation, don’t react with violence. Be calm and pray for the virtue of patience.

Second, “from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.”  If you find someone who took your cloak because he is dying of cold, you must give him a tunic even if you feel cold. Do not look for excuses; give to everyone who asks of you. Helping is done without discretion even if it creates an unpleasant situation. If you can help your brother, you must help him no matter what. However, let us be vigilant. There is a saying which goes  “keep the alms in your in your sweaty hands until you know who is best to receive it.” Think well before giving alms and know how your help will be used.

The third example relates to economic justice – “from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.” Jesus is not saying that you should remain passive; resign to yourself. A Christian is not foolish. You are not to behave in the same way as the other behaves on you. Moreover, do not tolerate injustice. Love does not mean silence in front of injustices. A Christian must be committed to ending injustices and abuse of power, but he does it according to the ways of the gospel.

Jesus proposes a new golden rule especially in the situation that you are not sure what to do. “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount.”

Jesus introduces the theme of the gratuity of Christian love. It is the availability to do good for free without expecting anything in return. It transforms a person into a noble one; into a true disciple of Christ because from him, or she comes the light that characterizes the noble person who is Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus says you must be light of the world, it means you must let your lives be the light to others.

What will be then your reward of loving your enemies? Loving an enemy is a privileged situation where it is possible to show the gratuitousness of love. In this way, you will become a child of the Most High who is generous even to the ungrateful and the wicked. God manifests his very identity as God by loving especially those who are impossible to love with. One who commits evil is a person but weak and thus can be strengthened and corrected.

Jesus concludes with an exhortation to the Christian community. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  In the Old Testament, God is known as merciful (rahem). Rahem which refers to a mother’s womb (uterus). God presents his love as visceral as motherly. It does not say the heart of God; it says the uterus. All of us have hearts but not the uterus which is only for women. This is how God demonstrates his unconditional love for each one of us.

God hates evil more than any other because evil is done to his children, but he loves each person. However, he is capable of distinguishing between the evil deed and the doer, the person. He judges the act but not the person. When you judge a person, it means you tie that person to his evil deeds. When you judge his act, then you untie that act from him and thus frees him from his evil doings. This is what forgiveness is all about. It means to untie the rope hanging around his neck.

To live happily, we must untie ourselves from the mistakes we have made. We do not deny them, but we look at them serenely knowing that God does not tie us to our mistakes.

 

 

 

Trusting God in All Humility and Gratitude

Noy Loyola, Redemptorist  Lay Missionary

February 17, 2019, 6th Sunday of Epiphany Ps 1:1-4, 6 Jer 17:5-8 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 Luke 6:17, 20-26

  17, 2019, 6th Sunday of Epiphany

Ps 1:1-4, 6 Jer 17:5-8 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 Luke 6:17, 20-26

The Gospel today is actually simple and easy to understand. The theme of reliance on God runs through prophet Jeremiah saying that trusting God is like a tree being planted near the stream. It will continue to have green and healthy leaves as well as bear fruit even if drought and other unfavourable conditions come (Jer 17:8).

This picture of being in the best situation is repeated in the prayer of King David when he says that there is nothing more desirable than a tree beside a brook – able to produce fruit and its leaves forever fresh and green across changing seasons (Ps 1:3).

St. Paul tells us that the event of the resurrection is clear enough proof that Divine Justice is trustworthy and reliable (1 Cor 15:12-20). If there is no resurrection, then justice to those who died of cruel deaths are not served and compensated.

The difficulty however in today’s Gospel lies in the fact that God has been eased out in the present situation of secularism. Science and technology are helpful in understanding things in our world. It is also important that science and technology are directed towards   the nurturing the caring capacity of the community and a people-oriented, justice-framed  sustainable life-style. The mainstreaming of a belief that a new social order of global market economy will solve wide-spread poverty through the so called “trickle-down effect” of development becomes a myth when the very poor are themselves the victims of the system.  This system promotes a lie, that happiness is a state of “having more” instead of being whole. And so, we are being urged to accumulate wealth power and fame to fulfil a   individual security. Result – brutal competition and exclusion that engenders violence to the point of mutual annihilation of contending parties.

The idea of trust and faith in God become even harder these days when the necessity of Divine Justice and Love are hardly considered as the supreme regulating authority of the entire cosmos and much less recognized as the template of achieving full, significant and moral life.

This is the reason why God’s declaration that the poor are blessed is a great shock  (Lk 6:20). The harrowing misery of the poor can hardly qualify as a blessing by the world’s prosperity standard. In fact the opposite (the rich), and all the satisfaction and fortune that embellish such “greatness” is the best example of being blessed. The ideological construct of wealth equals blessedness makes the contents of news today.  Having multi-billions properties and money, as a product of exploitation, oppression and plundering of the earth’s resources  does not speak well of blessedness.

How can the Beatitudes then be at least become a consolation for us Christians undergoing ridicule, aside from the on-going death threats, from our own current President who boasts of himself as the equivalent of a god – one who gets enormous satisfaction in killings and one worships the ideals of business instead of justice and welfare for his own people?

Can we trust God with all this bad happenings around us and perhaps even within us? Such question is really the bone of contention of having faith in God or not today. For the record, no human project ever launch in history that lacks and ignores Divine Justice had not ended up in disaster.

First of all, let us rest be assured that indeed the poor is blessed. Because they are the ones who shall act upon to fulfill  their own longing for  life  with dignity. .  The fulfilment of this is manifested  in a situation   when  we will no longer wander around hungry. There shall be a time when our sorrow is replaced with laughter. And, our humiliation is turned into dignity. An important point however that we need to understand about the Gospel of Luke is its God’s Kingdom framework in contrast to the kingdoms of the world.

The Gospel of Luke is situated during the Roman Empire that is characterized by violence and oppression. The Kingdom that Jesus announced to the Israelites is the opposite of this worldly kingdom. Thus, in declaring the Beatitudes Jesus intentionally refused to return the same inhuman rule of violence and oppression by the Romans. This is because God’s time is the universal love and mercy to all creatures regardless of their status as angels or demons. What we are dealing here is to identify the kingdom of the world that is full of violence and death VS the Kingdom of God that is full of love and mercy. The Kingdom of God is supposed to replace the kingdom of the world. Therefore, we have to understand that the great reversal is not about the continuation of the cycle of violence  of oppression but rather the end of all violence.

Ultimately, what is being promised towards us, the poor, by God is not the reversal of the current rich and poor position in society. It’s not that tomorrow we will wake up inside a condo unit while our cruel neighbor is scavenging the wastebasket below us hoping to find a scrap of throw-away food. What we have been promised is not a large stash of money in the bank but the Kingdom of God (Lk 6:20). That Kingdom is already here on earth, as well as in heaven. The only thing that we have to do is to allow ourselves to be governed by that Kingdom. That Kingdom is not so much about a place but more of a relationship of mutual help and assistance – the kind of relationship that very much resembles the original justice of creation. Amen.

 

Feb. 17 ,2019 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time*For or against the way of the just

Sr. Mary Jane Caspillo,MMS

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Jer. 17:5-8

Psalm 1

Second Reading: 1 Cor. 15:12, 16-20

Gospel: Lk: 6:17, 2026

 

The readings for this Sunday liturgy present to us an image of two paths. One path is the way of the wicked, and another path is the way of the just. According to the first reading , he way of the wicked can described as turning away from the Lord; and the way of the just implies trusting in the Lord,. The responsorial psalm states clearly that anyone who follows not the counsel of the wicked is blessed, for the Lord watches over the way of the just.

In both readings, we notice that the  author uses the  analogy of nature to describe the  wicked and the just. We can imagine ourselves like nature. When we choose the way of the wicked, we’re like a barren bush in the desert or a chaff which the wind drives away. We’re can also be  like a tree planted near the running waters that yields its fruit in due season when we choose the way of the just. It is to say that the way of the wicked is death! The way of the just is life! Probably, we can understand why the second reading speaks of the death and the resurrection of Jesus. It is not to say that the death of Jesus was the way of the wicked, but that his death has saved us from our wicked ways. And Jesus has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. The gospel also presents to us two opposing conditions i.e. being poor, hungry, sorrowful, and excluded versus being rich, filled, glad and acclaimed. And we see in the readings the thoughts of Jesus on each condition. We may be surprised or scandalized why he considers the poor as blessed, and unfortunate those who are rich.

At the first part of the gospel, Luke describes Jesus as one who considers blessed those who are or have become poor and being persecuted. Here, becoming poor for Jesus is not a choice in itself but as a consequence of choosing the path of truth, justice and peace. Choosing the path of the just demands sacrifice, risks, and even to the point of death. This path is not just an option but a prophetic witnessing as followers of Jesus. In this time in our country, we can think of the farmers, fisherfolks, workers, Indigenous Peoples, women among others as the modern apostles. They are ordinary people who have chosen to live a life of caring for the others and the environment but are suffering in poverty and oppression. They are  lawyers, journalists, priests and pastors, human rights and peace advocates, who because of their stance for truth are being persecuted and even killed. It would be grim to say that they are blessed. In fact, we should be in anguish for the repression that the powerful puts on the majority; and denounce all acts of evil. Blessed are they because they take the path of righteous living.

 

At the second part of the gospel, Jesus seemed to be unwelcoming of the rich. His take of them is not so much on the fact that they are rich but what made them to become such. For Jesus, it is woeful that one becomes rich because of corruption, lies, and taking advantage of others especially the poor and the marginalized. It is so alarming that unlike Jesus, people in our times do the opposite. Praises and favors are given to the few rich and powerful. People tolerate the evil acts either because of being misguided or because of fear. That is why, we are called to support individuals, different sectors, groups and organizations who continue to educate, organize and mobilize people to assert our basic human rights.

 

If Jesus would be standing in a great crowd of Filipino people, I would imagine him uttering these words…

 

Blessed are those who speak for truth,

for truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

 

Blessed are those who pursue justice,

it brings joy to the righteous and terror to evildoers (John 21:15)

 

Blessed are those who build peace,

mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. (Isaiah 55:12)

 

But, woe to you who tell lies,

for whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)

 

Woe to you who kills,

for God will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. (Genesis 9:5b)

 

Woe to you who creates violence,

the land mourns along with the beasts of the field, and birds of the sky, and also the fish of the sea disappear. (Hosea 4:3)

 

This February 23, let us gather as One Faith, One Nation, One Voice. Let us denounce all acts of evils in our society and announce the principles and values Jesus has taught us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

February 3, 2019, 4th Sunday of Epiphany*The world may not notice or care, but God never overlooked the service and love of the faithful!

Rev. Ritchie Masegman, Rise Up

http://corpuschristicsp.org/blog/2018/7/8/prophet-not-without-honour-except-own-country

Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19

Psalms 71:1-6, 15-17

I Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Luke 4:21-30

 

Nelfa Cepillo is an Alternative Learning System (ALS) teacher who treks three to four hours through the mountains of Oriental Mindoro to reach her  Mangyan students crossing 3 rivers and two bamboo bridges.. For her to reach the community, she wakes up at 3 am and starts to travel at 5 am in order to meet her students in time for their class. She has to brave the steep way up the mountains, the presence of linta and other insects and animals that may harm her along the way. Aware of their poverty, she toils to make education accessible, leaving her less time for herself and her family. At times, she would sell Banana Chips in town and the proceeds are used to purchase a handful of school materials. At times, she stays with the Mangyan communities for a week to encourage them to attend the night sessions that she holds on basic and functional literacy.

Hers is a testimony of service and of greatness. However, in our society marred with indifference and hollowness, the services offered to people is not being measured by its great impact to the community. Often the services are gauged if it has pleased the powers- that- be. Likewise, people are also used to expect accolades or rewards in return if something venerable has been done.

The Gospel says that when Jesus started His ministry people were both astonished and offended. They saw Jesus heal people, but they couldn’t get past the fact that they knew His mother, brothers and sisters. After all, Jesus was only a carpenter to them. He did not have the proper academic or religious credentials. His people in Nazareth were more reluctant to accept not only Jesus’ teachings but the man himself. They knew Jesus the carpenter, not the Messiah. And because they thought they already knew Him they’ve made their conclusions and Jesus could not change their assumptions about who He is.

People and those in power believed that there was truth in Jesus’ words. His words were simple, powerful and true to being.  The compliment was never their way but to refute and rebuke. All they care and fear is how they can sway off this man proclaiming as the Son of God. They feared that Jesus’ words would be used as an instrument to gather as many allies as he can and build a corporate faith against them. Thus, started their character assassination of Jesus.

Thousands of years had passed yet the same mentality still resides to those who are in office. They knew that the cry of the poor and helpless are genuinely legitimate. But at the same time, they would still prefer to address their self-made interests than responding to the cry of the many.

We are then challenged not to look ahead and prepare for the “rooms that the Father has prepared”. It is more so that we should stand and be united with the truth that seeks for the  welfare of the majority.

Let God be our stronghold in bringing His greatness where it needed be. I am sure of few things though the Greatness of God is so dim or much worse unseen.

When the tillers of our land, those that grow the produce, those that work all day that we might have something to eat. They are harassed, maligned and even killed. Paanong sa ganyang kalagayan maramdaman nila ang Kadakilaan ng Diyos. When the Urban Poor suffer so much and yet they are the subject for experimental improvement. They are harassed, maligned and even killed. Paanong sa ganyang kalagayan maramdaman nila ang Kadakilaan ng Diyos. When the people of the Church defend the defenseless, standing against the violations of their rights. They are harassed, maligned and even killed.##