In Solidarity

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 16:19-31.

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. 
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, 
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. 
When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.' 
Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. 
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.' 
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, 
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.' 
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.' 
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

Reflection

One great thing the the internet did was to shrink the world. News updates from any part of the world can easily by accessed with a few clicks or taps. When the world heard about the unprecedented disaster of Typhoon Yolanda (international name, Haiyan) especially in Leyte, aid poured in. Tacloban was in the New York Times Square, in London, on television, and all over the internet. At that time, the world was in solidarity in the face of nature's terrifying power.

The Gospel today speaks of solidarity. It invites us go beyond ourselves and reach out to others. It does not speak against enjoying riches. In fact, it speaks of the goodness and abundance of God who freely gives out his graces. Some of us are more blessed materially. Jesus' parable of the rich man reminds those who have more to be sensitive to the needs of their fellow men, especially the poor who may be just sitting outside their golden gates. It brings to focus that everything we have received ultimately comes from God, who in the figure of Abraham, took pity on Lazarus. Lazarus did not merit heaven because he suffered. Rather, God saw his plight and had mercy, so much so that he gave Lazarus not less than Himself in the afterlife. Lazarus was laying in Abraham's bosom!

This parable is not a story of class struggle between the poor and the rich. It is a story about God's vision. In the Kingdom of God, there is no rich or poor but one family. As we journey on earth we all receive a fair amount of blessings. It could be material but most of the time it is spiritual. After all, God's gifts do not come in expensive wrappings but in the very things we easily take for granted: family, friends, good health, opportunity, waking up in the morning. What is essential is invisible to the eye. God's invitation is an invitation to be like him, the Great Giver. His vision consists in us being gifts to one another. We don't need a more special and a higher sign from God for us to convinced of this. We only have to look at Him who rose from the dead, the one who gave us His everything.

Our sharing in the one Baptism binds us together in God's family. We are brothers and sisters to each other, adopted children of the Father and siblings to the only Son. In this family we find solidarity. In solidarity we belong to a one body whose members feel each other's pain and suffering. The reward of the afterlife is not something that we win but a state that we grow into here today. If only we would listen to God's invitation in Christ.

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.