THE FATHER IS WAITING

If there is one common reality among us human persons, it is sin. All of us may have committed sin in our life. Even saints did sin. St. Peter betrayed our Lord three times. St. Thomas the Apostle doubted the resurrection of Christ. St. Augustine was an adulterer before he was converted. St. Paul had a thorn in his flesh. Who among us did not sin? But what separates condemned sinners and exalted saints is the attitude towards sinfulness. Repentance turns sinners into saints. It is the response of man to God's invitation to be made clean, through his grace and mercy, from the muds of sin. It takes courage to admit our faults and imperfection, especially in our world that only admit flawlessness.   

In the story of the prodigal son (Lk 15:1-3, 11-32), the younger son sinned against his father by dishonoring him through loose living and by squandering all his inheritance. And for doing so, he lived a miserable life; the consequence of his sins. But he came to his senses and realized his worth to his father, more so, the worth of his father as one capable of forgiveness; one whom he can approach even if he had transgressed him. He rehearsed what he was going to say to his father as he would meet him. He summoned all the courage left in him, and went to his father. The father must have waited for the return of his younger son, for he saw him from a distance. Without waiting for his son to approach him, the father ran towards his son and embraced him. The son was not able to utter his rehearsed script, save from the simple admission of his guilt. The father mentioned no words to his repenting son. But his actions spoke louder. He brought back his son’s dignity by clothing him, giving him a ring, and throwing a feast in his honor. He showed him mercy more than condemnation and a demand for justice. That is an image of God who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4); our God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency (Mi 7:14-15, 18-20).

The mercy of the Father is only valuable to a repenting heart. The self-righteous who believe that they are perfect will never experience the beauty of forgiveness; the warm embrace of the Father.

In life, we can focus on our mistakes and resort to self-pity, or worse: succumb to our sorry state of life and enjoy sinning. But we have a better choice: to repent and embrace our true identity as children of God, capable of repenting, of rising above sinful situation, and to be good again. Will you come to your senses, and repent? The Father is patiently waiting for you.

HE IS BRING JOY, NOT KILLJOY

I have a friend who has a big appetite, especially for salty and oily food. Every time I have the opportunity to eat a meal with him, I would reprimand him of the unhealthy habit he seems to be developing. I would prevent him from putting too much seasoning on his food or adding chicken oil on his rice, reminding him that doing such practice is a heart attack in the making. In return, he tells me that I am such a killjoy (KJ). How cruel I am to prevent him from enjoying the simple joys of his rather lonely life.

The tenants in the gospel (Mt 21:33-43, 45-46) may have been enjoying the fruits of the field of the landlord. They may have been drinking all night long and do not wish to share the produce of the land to their lord. They prefer to keep it for themselves alone. The joy which the tenants have is not an authentic joy since they have not been rendering to their lord what is due to him. A joy based on lie, deceit, and injustice is a fake joy. The landlord wished to correct it. When the landlord tried to rectify such wrong practices and attitude of the tenants, they resisted and even resorted to violence by killing the landlord's messengers and eventually his son. The tenants may have seen these messengers and the son as killjoy; persons who intend to cut short their merriment. But the landlord is not being killjoy. He simply wanted to bring authentic joy which the tenants can justly enjoy. 

As Christians, we have been enjoying a lot of things and privileges as children of God. Some of us may have been enjoying a sinful life, transgressing the Lord who gives us the gift of life we have. Time and again, the Lord reminds us of our real worth, of the true happiness we can rightly enjoy in our life in contrast to hedonistic and sinful pleasures we may have been immersing ourselves. But when the Lord comes to us, trying to rectify our erring conducts, do we see Him as a kill joy? The Lord wants to bring authentic joy in our life, away from the allurements of Satan that may seem to be joy outside but which rot inside. May we live our life by the joy of the Lord, before its too late; before the Lord takes it from us.

TO THE HEIGHTS OF HEAVEN

Many people want to be great in their league. And greatness is often associated in being the first; in occupying a position of power.

Those who are given recognition in a class, who had achieved something in life, are those who became mayors, governors, doctors and other professionals. No one gives honor to undergraduates who in life and society had attained no offices of their own. This is the world’s standard for greatness.

Christ teaches us that “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Just so, “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Christ is our model and example of greatness. It is by serving others that greatness is attained.

Who are great among us Christians? Mother Teresa, Padre Pio, San Martin de Porres, to name a few. And these people are considered great not because of the positions of offices they had, but for the humble deeds they have done before they occupied such offices, and which they have continued to do until the end of their lives. Mother Teresa administered to the poor people of Calcutta before becoming the foundress of a religious congregation. As she became a foundress, she continued to do what she was doing before it brought her to that position. Padre Pio counseled sinners who approach the confession box in San Giovanni Rotundo. His fame and the devotion to him all over the world is unparalleled. San Martin swept the floor in Lima and attended to the animals of their convent. They did this out of love of others and not for selfish motives. Positions are not our means towards Christian greatness. They are consequences of the humble things we can do for the love of God and neighbor. Greatness in the Christian standard; in the standard set by Christ, is based on humility in doing little things with a great heart.

Sturdy trees attained their strength and survive storms not because of their branches and fruits but because of their roots deeply sunk in the ground. Humility is the key to Christian greatness. It is our willingness to do the will of God even if it means serving the lowliest among us. That will bring us to the heights of heaven.  

ITE AD JOSEPH

After knowing Mary was pregnant, Joseph was afraid. The fear of Joseph mentioned by the angel may indicate that he had an inkling about Christ’s divine conception in Mary. Fear is not the natural reaction towards infidelity of a wife. Perhaps sadness or anger is the proper response rather than fear. Far from believing she was unfaithful, Joseph was inclined to believe that in Mary's pregnancy lies the fulfillment of the prophesies of Isaiah (cf. 7,14 and 11,1), and was aware that Mary was from the stock of David (Jesse) (cf. St. Thomas in Super Matt. I. nr. 117). If that was not the case, Joseph, being an upright man, would have surrendered Mary to the authorities to suffer the consequences of being an unfaithful wife. Out of fear that he may impede the fulfillment of God's plan, and seeing himself as an unworthy person who would be part of the divine plan, he intended to distance himself from Mary. In fear, while pondering over this, Joseph rested and fell asleep. In a dream, he was enlightened and assured by the angel that he would not be a hindrance to the divine plan but in fact, would be given a role; to name the child which is a paternal authority and obligation. Joseph may not have any role in the conception of the Child Jesus but he was certainly given a part to fulfill; the guardianship of the Messiah. He did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do.

In the presence of a great mystery, we tremble in fear and may see ourselves unworthy to be in God's presence. Like Peter, we may say "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinner” (Luke 5:8). Like the fearful Joseph, we may intend to distance ourselves from such sublime and overwhelming reality. We may be tempted to beg off from the responsibilities given to us. We may think we may mess up the entire plan of God should we, sinful and imperfect persons, be involved in it. We are afraid that we may threaten and endanger not only ourselves but also the lives of others and more so, the grand plan of God. When we are almost conquered by fear, what shall we do? Should we panic and look for excuses?

Silence is a notable characteristic of St. Joseph. In front of the mystery unfolding before him, he fell silent. More than filling his head with uncertain things, he chose to be silent. In the silence of his slumber, an angel of the Lord enlightened him. Silence is important in understanding the will of God and dismissing the fear in our hearts. After all, God speaks only one language: silence. When afraid, some of us look for ways to divert our attention from the pressing reality of our life. Consequently, we deprive ourselves with the opportunity to come face to face with our deepest fears. Silence can facilitate our coming into terms with the difficult realities of our life. With full trust in the Divine Providence, and with humility before His Divine Majesty, in silence, let us understand and live what the Lord tells us to do.

Should fear and trembling hinder us, let us go to Joseph (Ite ad Joseph).  St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, the universal patron of the Catholic Church, help us in our needs.     

THE BEST IS YET TO COME

In solidarity with a Filipino-Chinese brother, we once celebrated Chinese New Year in a mall with food stalls lined-up from one entrance of the mall to another. The food stalls offered free-taste of the food they were selling: from tikoy to canton, tapioca to milk tea. Clever as he was, our Tsinoy brother encouraged us to take the free taste offered by the food stalls. From the first stall to the last, we did not miss any single free food they were offering, down to drinks and dessert. We ended up not having our dinner, for we were already bloated with the free taste. 

The transfiguration of Christ at Mt. Tabor (or Mt. Hermon for others) is a foretaste of heaven, where everyone will dazzle gloriously in white. It is an epiphany of the true identity of Christ the Son of God; the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. More than a man, Christ is the Son of God too, a Divine and heavenly Person manifested by his transfigured dazzling white clothes. This aspect of Christ was explicitly revealed by the voice from the cloud (indicating God's presence): "This is my Beloved Son." The status of Christ as the Son of God, and therefore heir to the Father’s heavenly Kingdom, is shared to us by Christ through our baptism, wherein we become adopted sons and daughters of God. We too, therefore, can enjoy this heavenly reality. As St. Paul says in his letter to the Philippians: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body” (3:17-4:1).

The transfiguration of Christ took place after the proclamation of His coming passion and death in Jerusalem (Luke 9:18-27). The apostles may have probably been disheartened or put into darkness by such a pronouncement of a gruesome reality that is to come. Together with Christ, they climb Mt. Tabor and prayed. And there they experienced the Light. They had a glimpse of the reality that is beyond the suffering and death of Christ, the ultimate end of their journey. Up in that mountain, they saw that their journey will not end in a horrible way but in a glorious one; in heaven not in Calvary. The transfiguration took place at that precise moment of Jesus' ministry and of His apostles so that they may be strengthened by the foretaste of heavenly reality; that the darkness cast in their minds by the pronouncement of Christ passion may be dispelled by the light of faith they have in Christ who is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets.      

We too, like the apostles, may experience darkness and doubts, obscurity and uncertainty in our life. Like Abraham, a deep, terrifying darkness may envelop us (Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18) as we commit ourselves in following God. Like the Philippians, we may be tempted to let go of the crucified Christ due to the difficulties and challenges it brings to us (Philippians 3:17—4:1). But the Lord is our light and our salvation. We are to keep the faith in God in times of darkness and doubts. He invites us to climb a Mt. Tabor, there to pray and meet Him; to experience the Light of faith that we may see and accept the realities of our lives, and most especially the end and the ultimate goal of our life: heaven with God.  

After climbing our Mt. Tabor, experiencing a foretaste of heaven and having a glimpse of the fulfillment of our faith, we go down. We proceed to our Jerusalems and climb our Mt. Calvaries. We are not to stay there, however good that place and experience may be. It is just a foretaste. We are not meant to be satisfied with a foretaste. We proceed to embrace the reality it represents. Seeing Jerusalem and Mt. Calvary with all the suffering they may entail, it may be difficult to accept. But we need not fear to go down from Mt. Tabor and leave that foretaste so that we may proceed to Mt Calvary, because we will simply pass through them. We shall proceed to Resurrection and Mount of Ascension, that is, to heaven. God is our light and guide along this obscure phase of our journey. Indeed, our journey to heaven includes passing through the gloom of Jerusalem and Calvary. Do not worry. It will not end there. It will culminate with the resurrection of Christ on Easter morn. The transfiguration experience can be our inspiration and motivation to pursue heaven, even if it means passing through the darkness. We need not be afraid for we know that God is with us even in the darkest moments of our life.  

What a bright and glorious "foretaste" of the reality that is to come to those who will listen and obey the Son!!! But why be satisfied with "foretaste" when you can proceed to the "main course"?!? The best is yet to come!