The Gospel according to Daenerys

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:49-53. 

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 
From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; 
a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

Reflection

I have to admit that one of my addictions, little byways that distract me from getting too engrossed in the study of theology, is following the series Game of Thrones. Too bad we have to wait for another ten months just in time for winter to set in. Winter is coming. So is Daenerys.

The young Targaryen queen vying for the Iron Throne is coming to Westeros to claim the seven kingdoms. This comes after six seasons of preparations where we saw her burn through everything... and survived. One of the most gratifying scenes in the show is where we see Daenerys literally burning down the old order of things in order to start afresh. We saw her burn the body of Khal Drogo and ensuing pyre hatched her dragon eggs. We saw her burn down cities to free its slaves from the masters of Astapor and Yunkai. We saw her burn down the Dothraki Temple along with the khals to take hold of the horde.

courtesy of popsugar.com

She is what we call a catalyst. In chemistry, a substance that enters into a chemical change without being changed but rather speeds up the process and lessens the energy required is called a catalyst. Metaphorically, we use the word to describe people who encourages change in a society. Fire, which is one of the most visible signs of chemical change, is the brand of Daenerys' change.

Jesus too talks about fire. In our Christian imagery, fire is always related to the Spirit, the agent of change, of creation and re-creation. The Spirit fell like tongues of fire on the Apostles during the Pentecost. Today we describe our charismatic brothers and sisters as afire with the Spirit. That is exactly the point of Jesus. He wished to cast fire on the earth, the Spirit, the new Baptism of Fire, and he wished to see the flames lit up consuming the world - changing it.

Changes always come at a cost. The old is consumed by the change in order to give birth to the new. As such, there has to be a decision to change for change to happen. This is what shakes things up in our world. This is the division that Jesus is talking about. In our being Christians, we are often called to make decisions that will surely divide. It cuts through between those who are for the change and those against.

When couples enter into the Sacrament of Marriage, they make a decision for a change that will divide their options - they choose to be with a spouse over all the other possible options, for life. When a priest is ordained he makes a decision that he will never have a wife, his own children, his own house. When we truly believe in the Church's teachings we often pit ourselves against the values of the world. Talk about the issues on artificial contraception, divorce, death penalty, and same-sex marriage. The real following of Christ will always force us to make decisions that will divide.

Yet, we are not afraid. Just like Daenerys who only wishes to usher in a new world, a new order of things, we Christians have always our eyes fixed on heaven. The change that we do on earth is in view of the promise of heaven. We personally change our behavior, our way of life in order to reflect the way we will soon live in heaven. We become catalysts of society in order to make present the Kingdom of God on earth. We are the fire that Jesus saw, for we have received the Spirit at our Baptism. If only we keep the flames blazing!

Real Possession

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 12:13-21. 

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable. 
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. 
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Reflection

After I read the Gospel one thing entered my mind. The greed that Jesus warned us about is not in material possessions today. Rather it is in the greed with which we possess ourselves. People often say that millennials (those aged 18-34 back in 2015) are too self-absorbed, too narcissistic, too involved in their own dreams. Fight over property among siblings has been happening since Jesus' times until today but the greed with which people are willing to kill their brothers and sisters are taking on more vicious forms. Today, we are willing to kill for our self-image.

One doesn't have to look far to see the symptoms of narcissism among millennials and the youth in general. Our social media posts are filled with 'me' and 'what I do'. It's all about self-promotion. Although it has its own merits (most people are on social networks to share their lives with those they love and care) but most are already aware of the temptation to self-promotion. Don't we always want to show the best angle, the best shot, the best photos, the best moments? Don't we feel a tinge of jealousy while browsing over our friends' posts in our news feeds? And don't we feel that urge to post something better or to be cynical about the good fortunes of others?

While it is certainly not categorically bad to post something about yourself online, there are areas in our online life that we need to examine more closely. There are behaviors that tell-tale signs of greed for attention and pride of life. This is the hoarding that Jesus spoke of in the Gospel. We hoard likes and views. Our hearts swell when the comments pile up. Jesus' warning remains true today: one's life does not consist of possessions. Sadly we possess everything today, including our profile page.

Rather we invited to value things that matter most - family, friends, being kind to everyone. Yet above all, we have to value the treasure of life - God Himself. Without God, there is no real life. He is all that matters in this life. Our fortunes come and go. Experiences and memories come and fade away. As the first reading would say, 'everything is vanity' (Ecc 1:2). Even our online life would fade away. No one would care to browse your profile page a hundred years from now. Real and true life comes from a personal relationship with Jesus. After all, for him, you are all that matters.

Keeping Tabs with Tech Direction

These days Microsoft is hosting their BUILD developer conference. Once in a while I check on the developments and directions these technology companies are taking. Whether you like it or not, our world is already being dictated by these multinational corporations. What they plan for the future will shape societies across cultures.

Apple's iPhone and ecosystem is ubiquitous and sought after by both rich and poor. Google saturates all aspects of our lives. Microsoft dominates business and productivity. Our lives is marked by a continuous and steady union of the physical and virtual spheres. This landscape is surely affecting how you live in 21st century.

So what's interesting in the coming years?

1. A new take on User Interface. It used to be that our interface with computers is through the screen, mouse, and keyboard. Expect that to change as technology is entering the Natural Interface: language and touch. Technology is slowly becoming more natural when it interacts with users. There will be more and more use of voice and natural language in giving out commands to your phones and computers.
2. Centralization. I've talked about this before in one of the JPII Cebu sessions. There is a strong movement to centralize information online so that it would match your unique and singular identity on earth. All of us now log-in either with Facebook, Google, or Apple credentials. The same credentials can be used for other services. Some observers would raise the flag for privacy concerns and putting in too much power over information to these companies. But this is the direction we are heading and we need to be aware.
3. Use of Artificial Intelligence. As more information gets accumulated online it becomes more difficult to manage and sort out. Here comes artificial intelligence to help out in making sense of all the data we are all pouring out. Artifical intelligence will make sense of the semantics (meaning) of all the information you put it: your personal information, your social connections, your online habits, yes, all of your life. It will also attempt to act as an interface: you are already using Google Search that has been partly powered by AI for the past years, almost everyone is aware of Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana. These AI's are sure to spawn out more applications in the coming years.
4. A more seamless world. More boundaries will be toppled down and there would be more tension in who and how our human structures can control this ebb and flow of the internet. This openness will challenge governments, convents, and homes. Access to the internet and information would become a hotter topic. Security, privacy and safety both for individuals and businesses will find more challenges. Computer literacy will have to be seriously considered in education. The global village will continue its path of search of identity and organization as individuals and groups try to make sense of the internet.

A Caution. 

While these developments are interesting, I believe we should taper down on our optimism that the internet will save the world. I personally believe that technology will always be an extension of human capacity and nothing more. It will not become more sentient and intelligent than the minds that program it. Afterall, the effect can never be greater than the cause. The internet and its parts might appear more intelligent than the average human simply because it is an accumulation of collective and personal information. It won't find itself useful outside the human sphere.

Nothing can ever replace efficaciousness of personal physical contact. No matter how fast or efficient communications become, whether we enter into a world of virtual and augmented reality, the basic and most important way to get to know each other is always through our persons - as bodies and spirits who need to be near each other in space and time. No text message, chat, e-mail, or video conference can ever replace the tenderness and genuineness of a mother's hug and kiss.

Lastly, technology will remain amoral. Whether it is good or bad essentially depends on who uses it. It could save the world if there are good people using it or it could also destroy everything with the same mad people using it.