OPEN FOR ALL

There are hundreds of things we human beings, and even animals, share in common. We value life, family, goodness, beauty, love, peace etc. We abhor death, hatred, stress, etc. These are all true and inherent in all cultures and traditions.

Christ came to the world preaching a message that is for all: for Jews and Pagans alike, male and female, righteous and unrighteous. He preached not only in Jerusalem but also beyond the Jordan, in Galilee, the land of the pagans. He ministered not only to those in the light but more so to those in darkness that they may see the light. He prepared everyone for the coming of the Kingdom by means of proclaiming the good news of our salvation, curing illnesses, feeding the hungry, forgiving sins, preaching and living God's mercy, dying for the salvation not only of the tribe of Israel but also for the renewal of entire humanity. The love He preached and commanded us to live by is true not only for the Jews but also for us Filipinos, Chinese, Africans etc. He accepted everyone; sinners and saints alike. The salvation from sin and death which Christ won had merited not only a handful of human beings but every one of us. The salvation which Christ brought forth is universal.      

Universality and acceptance of everyone is a mark which Christ has imprinted in His brand of preaching, and so it is in the Church which He founded. Our Church is described as “Catholic” precisely because it is, and can be present anywhere for everyone.

As Christians, do we have the same attitude of Christ? Do we make the Kingdom of God open to everyone? Do we accept everyone whether sinners or saints alike? Or have we become exclusivist and make the gospel message a private message only for the righteous?

The way we treat the weak, sinners, destitute, the least, and those who differ from us indicates the presence of God in us. We have truly embodied the universal Christian message of love, the good news of salvation, when we accept everyone, with their weaknesses and imperfections; guiding them, walking with them side by side towards the gates of the Kingdom of God which Christ opened for all.     

WINNING DIVINE AND HUMAN FAVOUR

Have you ever seen a child or a baby superhero? Most superheroes in movies are adults. That is because children are often portrayed as powerless and weak. Today the all-powerful God presents Himself as the Holy Child (Sto. Nino). It is a description far from the image of a fearsome God in the Old Testament who created the entire universe in His words, who submerged the earth to cleanse it from sins, who destroyed armies of enemies, and who created a nation for Himself. The Child Jesus shows to us the strength of God through an image of a crowned child holding a globe and a scepter in his hands. How can this adorable Child be so powerful?

The strength of the Child Jesus lays in his ability to obey the will of the Father. Young as he was (twelve years old), the Child Jesus listened to the Father and was able to attend to His Father's concerns. We are pleased to see children following the instructions of their parents. The Father is pleased when the Son realizes His will. The ability to obey begins with the willingness to listen. Obedience comes from the Latin words ob-audire, meaning “to listen to.” Those who listen carefully to instructions are the ones who do the right things. Those who attentively listen to the instructions of a proctor have higher chances of passing an exam, for they are able to know what to do during the exam. Not paying attention to the voices and instructions around us may cause us to do wrong things, and worse, may even endanger our lives.

Listening is not enough. We have to be selective about what we are listening to. We may end up doing the wrong things because we listen to wrong voices. Once there was a jogger who kept listening to his iPod while jogging on a busy street. He was so immersed with the music he is listening to. When a vehicle was fast approaching him, he missed the shouts of people warning him from a distance. He ended up being injured by a vehicular accident that could have been avoided if only he was listening to the right voices at that particular moment.

When we listen to kind words, there is a big chance that we will be kind since we will know how to be kind. When we listen to lascivious words, we may end up either being lascivious like the person we listen to, or despising such lascivious person (that is if we are a discerning listener), and uphold what is decent and proper.

To whom then should we listen to; who are we to obey? We are to listen first and foremost to God, for He is our Father who desires only what is good for us, who instructs us through His Son with His wise counsel. We are to listen too to those who listened to the Father and reechoed His message to us. Mary and Joseph are examples of these people who listened to the Father and conveyed to others the same message they heard from God (They went to Jerusalem every year for the feast of the Passover as prescribed by the Law). Thus, Jesus listened and obeyed them. Do the people and the voices whom we listen to resemble that of the Father's voice? Do our voices and messages resemble that of the Father?

Knowing by listening to what we ought to do is just half of the task at hand. Knowing the Father's desire should move us to realize it in our lives, even if it means moving outside of our comfort zones. A child's comfort zone is the reassuring presence of his father or the loving arms of his mother. The Child Jesus left these that He may attend to His Father's business.

We hear the Word of God every Sunday. We access it in our social media anytime we want to. Have we realized and lived in accordance to the will of the Father? Have we busied ourselves with the will of the Father, or have we simply retreated to our old and sinful occupations? Have we become truly obedient children of God, or have what we heard simply passed through our ears because it is too inconvenient for us to obey them?

Obeying God will always involve inconveniences, for we are following Christ who suffered and died before He gloriously rose and sat at the right hand of the Father. Be consoled, however, that obedience to God will bring forth wisdom and understanding. It will truly please the Father.

By knowing and doing, listening and obeying the Father's will and those who reecho his message, we can truly become children of God who have increased in wisdom and age and in divine and human favor. Mga anak ng Dios na may pinagkatandaan, at kalugod-lugod sa Dios at sa tao.

We do not have to be superheroes to win divine and human favor.

By simply listening and being obedient to God’s word, we can surely become pleasing children of the Father.

TRUE HERALDS OF CHRIST

We receive gifts wrapped in different manners. Some are wrapped simply while others pompously. One of our brothers last Christmas Eve received a gift wrapped beautifully. Everyone thought it contained a great gift, for the wrappings and the box used was very attractive. Everyone held his breath, as the brother unwrapped his present.  To everyone’s dismay, it was just a ball pen. Another brother received a gift placed in a matchbox. Many thought it was a simple gift for the box was too small to contain a significant gift. The brother opened it and everyone was amazed. It contained a gift certificate worth more than the agreed price for the gift from his monito. Wrappings can be deceiving.

Today is the Baptism of the Lord. This celebration ushers in the beginning of Christ’s public ministry. The Father introduced him to us as His only begotten Son. After thirty years of formation and silence under the tutelage of Mary and Joseph, Jesus went out from the carpentry of Joseph to minister to the whole of Israel and indeed to all humanity. What a great gift Christ has become to us. Through Him, we have received eternal life. Through His baptism, the waters of the earth were made fit to wash us from our iniquities. Though not a sinner, Christ was baptized, so that we who are born sinners may be truly cleansed by the water he made holy.     

Who brought us this gift? Who paved the way of the Messiah? His cousin, John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord. John can be likened to the wrappings that kept the people in suspense for the One who will come and baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire. What kind of wrappings is John the Baptist? Is He simple, pompous or deceiving?

John is a humble herald of Christ. He did not attract attention for himself. He directed people to Christ who is coming after him. As John baptized Christ, John fulfilled his role to introduce Christ as the One they have been waiting for. In the simplicity of his lifestyle and faithfulness in the vocation God entrusted to him, the humble John the Baptist became an effective herald of Christ.

Like John, we too are called to be heralds of Christ; wrappings and boxes that will bring Christ to our families, offices, and communities. What kind of wrappings are we?  What kind of heralds of Christ have we become? Are we getting to much attention for ourselves so much so that people miss the good news we ought to convey to them and instead see the glamour of our lives? John can be our model and inspiration in becoming heralds of Christ. Humility was the mantra of John in his life: “I must decrease. He must increase.”

Humility will make us effective heralds of Christ. Humility is being truthful about ourselves. Humility comes from the word humus meaning soil or dust. Is that not a primordial truth about us? We are from dust and to dust, we shall return. In front of the majesty of God, who can boast among us? (God owns and created everything in this world, including us. We own so little in comparison to that of God). All that we have, except sin and weakness, comes from God. How can we be boastful in front of God? Be humble, therefore, that Christ may increase; that people may see Jesus and not the glamour of our life.

But beware not to fall to what we call false humility. False humility is the hesitation not to receive attention or credit when these are due to us with the intent of attracting more attention for ourselves. I had a friend who was asked to sit in a place of honor in an event, being top of his class. He begged not to, saying he is not worthy of that seat. In the process, a lot of members of the faculty department went to him to convince him that he deserves the seat. He attracted more attention. If he simply sat in that seat of honor, there could have been no commotion before the program.

Genuine humility is rooted in truthfulness about ourselves (seen with a grateful heart). John kept reminding people: I am not the Christ; I am not the Messiah; I am a herald of Christ. Are we humbly faithful in the truths about ourselves? We have been bathed with the waters of baptism. We have become adopted children of God on whom the favor of the Father rests. This is our true identity. Are we faithful parents, godparents, brothers, sisters, friends, and Christians to each other? Are we faithful in the identity we received when we were baptized?  Have we become faithful to our baptismal vows: to reject sin, to reject Satan and all his works and empty promises? Do we believe in one God or have we created our own gods? Faithfulness in these truths of our lives (seen with a grateful heart) will lead us to become humble heralds of Christ and not fancy wrappings that deceive.