THE DISTURBING PRESENCE

September 23, 2010
Thursday. 25th Week in Ordinary Time
LUKE 9:7-9

Disturbing presence:

Jesus’ presence is not always comforting, consoling, owe-inspiring and justifying. His presence in most occasions could be disturbing. Such was the experience of Herod, the Tetrarch. Herod was perplexed, confused and disturbed in His conscience when he heard of the story of Jesus. He was disturbed because his immoral ways of life and relationships were exposed and challenged by John the Baptist. John disturbed his conscience, yet Herod did not repent. He liked listening to John but had no courage to face the real face of his own being and to take steps to correct himself. His weakness was revealed when he had to behead John at the desire of his illegal wife Herodias. Now, in Jesus the voice of John came to haunt Herod. He believes that Jesus cannot be anyone but John returned to life. He was disturbed for panic and fear struck him. He is now faced with a double dilemma: This Jesus has shaken the comfort of his castle of immoral life. The return of John has put Herod powerless, for the ultimate weapon of punishment—death—has no effect on the Prophet. Since he can no longer silence John, He has to live in the constant echo of truth that comes straight to his heart from the prophet. He had two options: either repent, leave behind the sinful life and follow the path of reconciliation and love, or ignore the voice of the prophet, give a deaf ear to Him even as pretending to befriend him for the lurking fear of his being. He chose to be complacent, but only to be disturbed for his life forever.

Wishful Thinking:

It takes courage and decisiveness to be converted. A feeble heart and confused mind cannot embark on the path of conversion. Herod is a perfect example of the tragedy of wishful thinking. The call to conversion came to him through John and Jesus. He delighted in listening to them. He longed to see Jesus. Yet, he did not take any step to fulfill this longing of his heart. Imagine, what would have been the course of history, if Herod did listen to his conscience and embarked on the path of conversion, took a step towards the Lord to see Him and decided take the challenge Jesus gave Him! Had that happened, Herod would have been venerated as a great saint throughout the world today, a model to be emulated. But what has become of him is the opposite of the ideal. His heart’s longing for Jesus remained a wishful thinking.

Grace and Repentance:

It was Divine grace that came to Herod in the call of John for repentance. It was again that very same grace in its highest form that came to Him in the person of Jesus. The disturbance in his conscience was vicarious; an act of the Holy Spirit, impelling him to act on it so that he may receive the forgiving and merciful grace from the heart of Jesus. Had he dared taking one step towards God, God would have taken a thousand steps carrying him into His abode of peace and reconciliation.

How about me? How often do I feel the “disturbing presence” of the Lord? What direction do I take when the Lord gives me the grace of His disturbance in my heart? How do I respond to the impelling longing I have “to see Jesus”? Does the desire for constant conversion and transformation remain a “wishful thinking”, or do I take a daring step to encounter the true person I am with the person of Jesus?

GOOD NEWS!

September 21, 2010
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Matthew 9:9-13

Good News and Bad News:

“Good news is bad news, bad news is good news, no news is bad news”. This is the journalistic principle on which the media firms operate. This media law implies that good news (positive stories, pleasant happenings) is bad news for media, for they do not spiral subscription (audience)ratings. Bad news (negative stories, war, kidnapping, terrorist acts, violence and sufferings) is always good news for the media firms for they have the highest viewership ratings and there by they bring in the highest revenue. Media feeds on bad news--breaking stories--on which people are hooked. No news (news blackout, status quo, peaceful situation) is bad news for the media firms because such situations bring them little revenue. This “news principle” is based on the human tendency to magnify what is perceived to be bad, evil and unacceptable. Indeed, our media today thrives on bad news. And humanity seems to be happy being hooked on to bad news.

Against such “culture of bad news”, Jesus came ushering in a culture of good news. The story of Jesus—the Gospel is the Good News. Jesus not only gave us the good news of the Kingdom of God, He also became the Good News for us. Indeed, the message and the person of Jesus are identical, and hence is the Eternal Good News for the entire human race.

We celebrate today the feast of Mathew, the Apostle and Evangelist. Mathew was drawn to the Good News that Jesus is, accepted the call of the Gospel and became a proclaimer and channel of the Good News as he encoded the Gospel for the generations to come.

But not everyone thought of Jesus as good news. When the sinners, outcasts, tax collectors and the untouchables sensed the presence of God in Jesus and were happy moving with Him, eating with Him and making friends with Him, the Pharisees and scribes saw Jesus as a bad news. They were shocked by the scandalous behavior of Jesus in being friends with the sinners and sharing intimate moments with them in their table fellowship.

The Triple Hearts:

The story of the call of Mathew is a revelation of the heart of God, the heart of the sinner and the heart of the Pharisees.

The Heart of Jesus:

Jesus is comfortable with the socially outcasts and the public sinners. He feels drawn towards the repentant sinners so much that He recognizes His purpose of incarnation as one exclusively for the sinners. He feels welcome and acceptance in their midst. He feels happy when the sinners turn to Him. He opens His heart and reveals His mercy. Merciful and compassionate is the heart of Jesus. His heart delights not so much in sacrifices and prayers, but more so in mercy and compassion. This is why He dared to do the unpopular and “scandalous” in calling Mathew, a tax collector into the inner circle of His disciples, to be with Him and to be sent out. In the call of Mathew, Jesus is calling all the sinners to Him. The heart of Jesus is the ultimate refuge and solace for all the sinners. Now I have hope, I am welcome and accepted in the presence of God. A repentant sinner is the Good News for Jesus.

The Heart of a Repentant Sinner:

Even as the repentant sinner is the delight of the Lord, the heart of the repentant sinner is open for the grace and mercy of God. Mathew knew his identity in the society as a tax-collector. He does not seem to be too happy living with that identity. His heart longed for more. And He found Jesus. Or rather, it was Jesus who found Him. At the spark of His grace, Mathew’s heart leaped for joy. Jesus called Him, he responded with gratitude. Mathew had a heart so simple, unassuming and receptive. His heart was full of gratitude for the immense mercy Jesus poured on Him. In calling a man like Mathew with a history of disrepute, Jesus did not make a mistake. The Divine heart of mercy found a receptive, humble, generous heart of a sinner. Mathew became a good news for Jesus.

The Heart of the Pharisee:

The Pharisee is a symbol of self-righteousness. His self-imposed image of being the standard bearer of the society and the prince of God makes him arrogant and rude. The norm of perfection is himself. Such great pride in his heart impels him to be a perennial critic of everyone other than himself. This is why He would think that he is holy, so holy that even God Himself is unholy. His heart feels bad that Jesus is imperfect because He makes friends with the sinners and eats with the “unclean” people. His heart is closed to the light of Christ and the streams of grace. Mercy and compassion have no place in his heart. He feels that he is so good that He does not need the grace and forgiveness of God. His heart is beyond redemption. Jesus finds helpless in saving such a heart. Indeed, His mercy is for the sinners, those who consider themselves sick, in need of His healing grace.

Points to Ponder:

What heart do I have? Do I have the heart of Jesus, a heart full of compassion, mercy and love? Do I have the heart of an Apostle and evangelist, delighting in the heart of Jesus, grateful and proclaiming His grace? How open and receptive is my heart towards the forgiving grace of the Lord? How eagerly do I long for and how spontaneously do I give up my “sinful practices” at the call of the Lord? In what areas and situations of my life do I exhibit the pharisaic heart? How do I handle the itch to criticize everyone and demand that everyone should conform to my attitudes and mentality? Am I a promoter of Good News or bad news?

LOST AND FOUND

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
Exodus 32:7-11,13-14; 1Timothy 1:12-17; Luke 15:1-32
Sunday Scripture Reflections


Losing and finding are common experiences of our daily life. And we live in the paradox of losing in order to lose and lose in order to find. Growth, change and becoming are measured in terms of our ability to lose and gain. The Gospel for our reflection today has three parables depicting the pain of losing and the joy of finding.

Salvation History—A History of Losing and Finding:

The Bible is the story of human beings’ pain of losing God, and God’s joy of finding us. It is also a story of humanity losing sight of its goal, losing and breaking relationships and finding each other in repentance and love.

Adam and Eve:
The very first story of the Bible is about God’s joy of accomplishing creation and His pain of losing the humankind. God brought forth Adam and Eve, the reflection of His very heart, showed them the whole creation, blessed them with the greatest blessings and set them in the Garden of Eden to be free, happy and God-like. The very next moment we find man being lost, hiding and seeking the cover of darkness. God comes looking for him, and calls him: “Adam, where are you?” Adam says, he is hiding, because he is afraid, he is naked, he is miserable. And he raises his accusing finger against his wife, saying, it is because of her, and she in turn accuses the serpent. In this process of finding fault and pointing figure at each other, they found themselves lost first to God, second to each other and third to the entire creation. But God does not want man to be lost. He calls his name, brings him before His light and makes shows Him a way to return: repent.

Cain and Abel:
We find God coming again, looking for the sons of Adam. He calls out Cain who murdered his brother, and asks him, “where is your brother?” Cain retorts, “Am I the keeper of my brother?” Cain tried to hide his sin, his anger, his bitterness, and himself from God. Yet, God will let him realize, he cannot run away from His sight, that he cannot deny his responsibility for his brother.

Israel:
Yahweh kept accompanying His people, He chose them and made a covenant with them that He will be their God and they will be His people, that He will be loyal to them, true to His promise and faithful to His covenant. But His people turned stiff-necked, stubborn, and unfaithful. They ran away from their promise, abandoned their faith and went after false Gods. This is the background of the first reading, where, God seems to have run short of His patience for a people who went on playing hide and seek. But, no matter how his people will run away from Him, He runs after them with the cords of compassion and love.

Jesus—the seeker:
God’s desire and efforts to find His children back home culminated in His becoming man, Emmanuel, His being with us that we may never again keep hiding from His presence. He brought us the lost-heaven, the lost grace and the lost way. Now we only need to look at Him, the crucified, that we may find life, light, and love. In so many ways, in so many words He reminded us that God delights in us in our finding Him, and God rejoices in getting us back home.

The Gospel passage today presents three parables of Jesus depicting the pain of losing and the joy of finding. These parables are on the one hand about the loss of grace and the joy of repentance. On the other hand, these are about you and me getting lost to ourselves and to each other. It is about loss of self-confidence, self-worth, and dignity as well as loss of relationships, loss of trust and loss of faith in each other. It is also about finding courage to face reality, accept truth about the self, taking steps to reach out to the broken/lost relationships, restoring the loss of dignity and trust.

The Three Kinds of Losing and Finding:

The three parables of Luke, chapter 15 are about three types of losing and finding that we experience in our daily life. They are: 1) the loss by carelessness, 2) loss by impulses/instincts, and 3) loss by defection.

Losing by Carelessness: The Lost Coin

The first parable is about a woman who lost one of her coins which she treasured so much. A coin cannot get lost by itself. It is the woman who either misplaced or dropped the coin somewhere by her carelessness, forgetfulness, oversight, or taken-for granted attitude. Now that she lost it she feels the pain, takes responsibility for the loss and acts on it, with a diligent search. How many relationships have I broken because of my carelessness? How many opportunities for improvement have slipped away because of my carelessness and taken for granted attitude? How many people have I hurt, bruised, and they in turn have walked away from my life because of my insensitivity, forgetfulness and oversight? How often have I neglected the presence of God, the blessing of love, security, care and comfort that so many people so selflessly give me? No matter what, if I have lost relationships, friendship, love and grace, the fact is I cannot afford to put the blame on the other person. I need to own responsibility for the loss. Like the woman who lost the coin, I need to light the lamp of hope and diligently seek what is lost. Seek, and you shall find is the promise of the Lord. Do not give up until you find. Once you find, celebrate your joy. Indeed, relationship is all about celebration. Life is all about the search. The search is all about hope, and hope is all about the joy of finding.

Losing by Impulses/Instincts: The Lost Sheep

A sheep is primarily an animal, no matter how pretty, adorable and lovable it may be. As an animal it lives by impulses and instincts. An impulsive life can expose it to dangers. A sheep is short sighted. It can lose sight of the way and get trapped in the wilderness. Sometimes we can be led by impulses and instincts rather than reason and faith. A person who lives by instincts and impulses loses sight of His purpose and direction in life. Impulsive behaviors can cause us relationships, and damage reputation. Sometimes we lose control of our senses, feelings, and instincts. A short tempered man, might easily get angry with others. He may not be aware of the rising of his pitch, the change of his tone, the reddening of his face and the resultant loss of patience and trust people have in him. How many people have broken away from me because of my wild and instinctive behavior! How many times have I lost my dignity and self-worth on account of my impulsiveness? Now, in Jesus, the good shepherd I have hope and comfort. No matter how people might look at me, the Lord will carry me in His hands, shoulder me to home, and rejoice for me, if only I give him the privilege of finding myself, listening to His call and submitting myself to His gentle love.

Losing by Defection: The Lost Son

The younger son who defected from his father willfully cut off his relationship with his home. He did not want to be called a son. He knew what he was doing. He knew the implications and consequences of breaking off with his father. With knowledge and understanding he took away whatever belonged to him and went away. He lost his sonship hoping that he will find better relationships outside. He risked the comfort of his home as he found more comfortable and pleasure filled homes outside his home. His breaking away, however did not mean that his father lost him. No matter what happened, nothing changed the love of his father for him. This is why the father would patiently, hopefully wait for his son to return him home and celebrate his homecoming with all his resources. He knew that at times it is better to let go that you may find the worth of life and love. For the son, it was a painful process of realizing, remembering, repenting and returning which resulted in great rejoicing. Since it was a willful act of defection, the father was helpless unless the son himself will come out from the hiding. Most experiences of loss in my life are results of my own willful acts. In this information society, I am well fed with sufficient information and bombarded with spiritual, emotional and social formation programs, that I make my choices of defection, breaking off, and abandoning relationships knowing too well the consequences and the pain of loss. This is where the entire world seems to be helpless, unless and until I humbly accept my mistakes and return home to the broken promises and damaged relationships. I need to remember my promises, repent over my mistakes from my heart, and return to the source of grace and to the people whom I hurt. Then I will experience the joy of finding what I lost. On the part of the offended, I need to be open minded, patient, compassionate and forgiving. You might let the other party hide and get lost, yet do not let yourself be losing hope. If your offender comes back make it a reason for celebration, not of nagging.

Here are the five Rs of losing and finding: Remembering, Repenting, Returning, Reinstating and Rejoicing!