visible rhetoric

There are at least three instances in the gospel when the reaction of Jesus toward his family seems adverse.  The first was during the finding at the temple.  The second one is this gospel when his family wanted to get hold of him, in fact to seize him because he has gone out of his mind.  And the last, as far as I know, is that gospel when he was told that his family was waiting outside for him and he made that tart reply, "who are my brothers, who are my sisters?" 

I believe that, of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit, one of the most difficult to handle is the gift of healing - to be given the gift to heal other people. One can receive from the Holy Spirit the gift of teaching for example, the gift of preaching, the gift of counsel, the gift of administration, etc., etc.  Well and good.  But I would be hesitant if the Spirit would give me the gift of healing.  It calls too much attention on the healer, and we know from experience and from common knowledge that when too much attention is focused on the person, whatever he or she does cannot last, and most often too even the person of the healer does not last.

For several days now the gospel of Mark tells us in quick succession the many opposition Jesus has to face especially among the leaders of the Jews.  His teachings were questioned and so were his actions.  For two days in a row now he was accused of violating the rule of the sabbath rest.  And yet he persisted.  In fact he could have done these healings more discreetly, but again he did it in public right in front of the synagogue especially now that the pharisees were present in the front row.

Why do Jews fast? Fasting was primarily done because of penance.  Jews fast because of penance, because of the discipline that it imposes on the body and its desires.  But there is another reason for fasting and this is what Jesus is pointing out in our gospel today.   Fasting came also to signify their longing, their hunger for the messiah.  It was a fasting of expectation, a fasting of waiting.  This is also the meaning of why we have a Eucharistic fast - we refrain from eating an hour before holy communion - it is a fasting of waiting, it is a fasting of expectation to express our longing to receive the Lord as the Jews then expressed their longing for the coming of the messiah.

We are formators of the young and this is our gospel today.  The question which would somehow aid us in our reflection this morning is the question, what happens when our girls and boys go beyond our expectations?  It would seem that this is the question confronted by Mary and Joseph in our gospel today.  Jesus went way beyond their expectations.  They were looking for him with his relatives, friends and perhaps even with his playmates, but instead they found him with the scholars and theologians.  They were looking for him all over Jerusalem, perhaps in inns and restaurants where food was plentiful, perhaps they looked in parks and playgrounds but instead they found him in the temple.  It took them three days to find him because Jesus was no longer what they thought he was, he was no longer the baby boy they once had, his priorities were no longer the same, his concerns were no longer the concerns of a little boy, his needs were no longer the needs of ...

Last week we reflected on the consequences of the words of consecration on the bread and wine in the mass, and we said that through the words of consecration the bread and wine become the real body and blood of Christ.  Christ becomes truly present, he is real.  Thus, we kneel during the consecration, thus we give reverence when we receive Holy Communion.  Why?  Because it is really Jesus who is on the altar; it is really Jesus whom we receive in Holy Communion. Also we said that through the words of consecration the real presence of Jesus becomes a continuous presence.   Jesus is not just truly present while the mass is being celebrated?   Jesus is not just truly present during communion.   No.   The presence of Jesus is continuous, it becomes permanent even.   Thus, we have a tabernacle.   Thus we have a tabernacle lamp which we light up to signify the presence of Jesus in this chapel.  

Last month we have reflected on the importance of the words of consecration, the words which the priest utter over the bread and wine, and we said that the words of consecration makes the mass the mass, and it is what makes the Eucharist the Eucharist.   Today we reflect on the consequence of these words to the bread and wine.  What happens to the bread when the priest says, this is my body?  What happens to the wine when the priest says this is the chalice of my blood? As Catholics we uphold three important beliefs.   We will reflect on two today?

As we move our way up to the feast of the Epiphany which means the manifestation of the Lord, our gospel slowly introduces and unravels for us the person of Jesus.  Who is Jesus?  Who is he for us?  Why was he born?  What is his purpose?  In our gospel today John points to Jesus as the Lamb.   Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.   This title given by John recalls the image of the sacrificial lamb offered in the temple in both the Old and the New Testaments.   The Lamb of God was the lamb that was sacrificed for the sins of the people.   The lamb was made to bear the punishments due to the guilty and the wrongdoers because of their offenses.   The lamb was made to suffer the consequences of sin which the people committed.   It was the death of the Lamb, it was the shedding of its blood that puts an end to the cycle of sin in the life of the people.   Hatred, anger and the desire for revenge stopped...

Why is today’s gospel, the lost and finding of the Child Jesus in the temple categorized as part of the joyful mysteries, instead of, let’s say, the sorrowful mysteries?  I mean losing a twelve year old child for three days, is that your definition of joy?  And even if I focus on the finding instead of the losing, I would react differently from the rosary.  Probably the moment I see him, I would run and grab him by the neck and choke him for what he did and how he made everyone anxious and scared out of their wits for the last three days.  What do you think?  What would you do?  Kakita ka sang nanay nga nadula bata niya for a mere thirty minutes - ay terrible.  Indi na kami makapangita sang bata kay sia na iya ang natabangan.  And you know how it ended?  The child found us.