Should the Moon Shine More Brightly Than the Sun

Religious people - priests, nuns, and brothers, are for the  most part people of privilege in Filipino culture. Not because of their own achievements but because of the identity they have taken for themselves. Religious are honored because they chose a life of service to the Church, a life that strives to be closer to Christ - two difficult endeavors in our society today. Besides that, their consecration to Christ marks them as a group Jesus Christ has taken for Himself. It is that acceptance of their self-donation by Christ through the public admission of the Church that religious are seen as "people close to God".

It is both a privilege and a responsibility. It is not a right. It is a privilege because the vocation to serve is a gift. It is a responsibility because the religious share in the mission of Christ and the Church more closely. It is not a right, because what man has the right to claim God's glory for himself? Religious people are like the moon that help govern the tides and seasons of earth but they are not the source of light and warmth. They accompany the earth in its dancing journey around Jesus, the sun and Son.

The big danger so far, as what Pope Francis has also pointed out in the past, is clericalism, or that sense of entitlement within the Church. Too many religious people fall into the trap. Pampered by people, admired by parishioners, listened to in talks and homilies, religious begin to think that they are the source of light. How many of us priests and religious feel proud when garnering more likes and shares in social media than the average person? How many of us priests and religious expect to be served and given special attention at social functions?

The privilege of attention, of focus, of a captured audience, was given to us because we are supposed to be heralds of the Gospel. The Gospel, Jesus Christ, takes the center stage of all our ministry. Our success in the ministry, the plans that we perfectly executed, the achievements we have garnered, our political beliefs and ideas should not eclipse our main mission of proclaiming Christ. For when the moon has eclipsed the sun, then we have defeated our self-donation to Christ and the Church.

For the ordinary Christian, stop praising priests because they are priests. They did nothing to deserve their priesthood and call it their own - it was Christ who chose them and not the other way around. The same goes for religious sisters and brothers. But rather, pray for them, assist them, encourage them, and help them become faithful in their ministry. In our society permeated by social media, the temptation to shine more brightly than the sun is stronger, our weak self-image and the need for affirmation trap us in an illusion of self-grandeur. Should the moon shine more brightly than the sun, remind it of its own proper place.

The “Hugot” of the Christian

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23.

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace 
they do not eat without purifying themselves. 
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?" 
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."

He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
"Hear me, all of you, and understand. 
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.

"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."

---

Reflection

This Sunday’s Gospel presents to us a controversy between the Pharisees and Jesus’ disciples. Apparently, Jesus’ disciples have not been following the ritual traditions of purification in the Jewish religion. The Pharisees, who are strict observers of the law, point this out to Jesus in the belief that what these rituals are the true expressions of worshipping God. Not doing them means forsaking God.

Jesus turns around the debate by pointing out to the Pharisees that it is not what we do that makes us pleasing to God but rather the sincerity of our hearts that flows to our actions. For Jesus, it is important that a person worships God through his actions because those actions are motivated by love that comes from the person’s heart. A loving and merciful heart that expresses itself in acts of charity is true worship of God.

In Filipino pop culture, “hugot” means drawing out from one’s deepest emotions. Like Jesus, we Christians draw out our actions from our deep love for God and for our neighbor. Rituals themselves are not bad but they become meaningful when they are motivated by love and meant for love. For Jesus, we worship not in empty rituals but in love expressed and made felt.

Conviction by Faith

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6:60-69.

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before? 
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him. 
And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" 
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? 
You have the words of eternal life. 
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

---

Reflection

As a result of Jesus' teaching, many of his disciples left Him. They were drawn to Jesus because of the power of His words and the many signs and miracles that He worked. The recent teaching however was a challenge: one has to consume Jesus' flesh and blood in order to have eternal life. Not only was it against the Jews' religious sensitivities, it was also a call to cannibalism most, if not all, cultures would reject.

The invitation of Jesus was not symbolic. It is graphic and disturbing, something that challenges one's worldview. For those who rejected the invitation, they returned to their former way of life. For them, Jesus was just a fad who turned out to be too strong to the taste. The evangelist John directs us however to the honest and sincere response of Peter: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

The twelve stood out from the disciples as those who chose to stay. Jesus forced them to face their own position, "do you also want to leave?" They were however taken up by their conviction, in their faith, to stay. They have seen and experienced for themselves the mystery of the person of Jesus and they were ready to take His challenge. They have left everything and they have followed only Him. Our Christian faith requires that strong conviction in Jesus.