Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 5, 2020

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 5, 2020

Reflection

The psalms in the Bible is a collection of songs and poetry that were used for ritual purposes. But they are also sung by the Israelites at home because they contain the people's response to God's graces. The people lived God's goodness. Throughout their history, their God has been a gracious God.

The messianic prophecy in Zechariah foretells of this gracious God visiting his people. He does not only hand out graces from a distance. His very presence is the grace that ends all wars and subdues all pain. Zechariah sees a vision of God enveloping the whole of creation with his gentle power.

This gentleness and grace of God became man in Jesus. He embodies the fullness of God, makes concrete God's mercy and meekness. What has been hidden in God, Christ has made known to his disciples. He invites them to draw out from the spring of God's richness in Him.

St. Paul knowing that sin is the cause of death, sees in Jesus the new life of a Christian. The flesh in the mind of Paul has been tarnished by sin. Yet in baptism, Christ supplants this evil by the presence and indwelling of his Spirit. God does not just grace creation from afar, he comes to truly visit his people and dwell within them. By this, the spring of God's life and grace now flows from each Christian, through Jesus, in the Spirit.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 28, 2020

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 28, 2020

Reflection

Hospitality has always been a hallmark of the Filipino. We Filipinos pamper our guests as if they were royalty. Where then does hospitality flow from? If we think deeply about it, hospitality reflects the dignity we bestow upon our guests based on our appraisal of them. Too often we treat better the better looking guests.

Our readings know about this universal human feature. The first reading narrates the prophet’s welcome that Elisha received. Wishing to pay back, Elisha intervenes on his hosts’ lack of a male heir, which is an embarrassment in their culture. It seems that great hospitality merits reward.

The psalm however reminds us that we are not the hosts. We have always been guests and God is our gracious host. The love and mercy of God does not depend on the righteousness of man. He loves both good and evil men. In front of this gratuity the psalm answers in gratitude.

This is the very point of the challenge of Jesus. Our Christian hospitality is not a reflection of our appraisal of people. If we do, we only merit justice. Instead, our hospitality is a reflection of the mercy of God. It extends to those without honor and dignity, the little ones, to whom we are invited to be inviting. If we do, we become God’s mercy to our community.

St. Paul strongly pointed out that a Christian’s life is not his own. He is living the life of Christ. Just as Christ died for men, both great and small, so must a Christian give himself to his brothers and sisters. Our hospitality is not about offering what we have to those that deserve it. Our hospitality is offering who we are to even those that don’t deserve it.

It might be a losing gamble but Jesus assures us that in the end we lose nothing. Everything is in the hands of the Father. Those who take up this cross does not lose any of what he has or any of who he is. Those who follow the mercy of God finds himself, and so much more, finds eternal life.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 21, 2020

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 21, 2020

Reflection

Jeremiah is one of the most persecuted prophets. And he laments to God in the midst of the betrayals against him. Despite the insurmountable difficulty he faces both outside and inside Kingdom, and the injustice he received from his own countrymen, he resolutely submitted himself to God. By proclamation of faith he has shown us that God does not abandon his children.

God knows that man passes through the valley of tears. Pain and death is the consequence of sin, of the separation of humanity from God. Every human being suffers, both the good and the bad. But God is greater than sin and death, and he willed to overturn the curse of sin. Jesus reminds us through the Gospel reading that God is a Father who understands our pain and suffering.

Jesus is the overturning of death and sin. He undoes the disobedience of Adam and in doing so became the source of salvation. Jesus is the salvation of every Jeremiah today, for each person who suffers social injustice and the sting of personal sin. He is the compassion and understanding of God; and in his eyes, each person has worth. Do not be afraid.