the god of surprises - dec. 17 2014

I am once again assigned on the second day of the Aguinaldo mass, in the same chapel, surely with more or less the same people in attendance, and with the same gospel, a gospel most priests dread.  Amo na ang diperensya sa kalibutan.  Kon ulihi ka pili, imo ang bilin.

This is the problem when you are made to repeat one thing over and over again.  It loses its newness, it loses its novelty, indi na sia fresh kay man liwat liwat na sia.  Wala na sing surprise, wala na ini naga-create sang sense of wonder. 

May sacristan ako sang una.  Ang ngalan niya si Jose.  Jose was 8 years old.  He died because of leukemia.  But anyway kada gani istorya ko, even if he was only eavesdropping, he would always ask, ngaa haw.  So ang amon istorya sa lamesa for as long as he was around pirme lang sabat sa pamangkot nga ngaa haw, ngaa haw, ngaa haw, endless ngaa haw.  Sang ulihi natak-an ako  kag ginsingganan ko sia, Jose sugod subong ang imo apelyedo ngaa haw, so mamangkot gani maestra mo what is your name, masiling ka my name is Jose Ngaa-haw.  Tinulok niya ako nga daw natingala kag nagsiling, ngaa haw?

This is typical of children – it is typical for children to be surprised, to wonder, to ask more often than necessary the question ngaa haw. 

But a certain Philosopher asserted the opposite.  He asked who will be more surprised to see a flying horse, an adult or a child?  Sino ang mas makibot kon makakita sia sing nagalupad nga kabayo, ang bata bala ukon ang hamtong?  Of course mas makibot ang hamtong.  Why?  Because of the law of expectation.  Ang bata wala pa sing amsyado madamo nga eksperyensiay.  Sa amo ko na ini nga pang-idaron wala pa ako kakita sang kabayo nga nagalupad.  Ang tanan nga kabayo nga nakita ko nagalakat ukon nagadalagan sa duta.  And so I expect horses to walk or run.  I am not expecting them to fly.  And if they happen to fly then I will be surprised because I have never seen horses fly and I have never expected horses to fly.  A child in contrast will have few reasons not to believe a flying horse for he has fewer experiences and as such he has fewer expectations.

When we begin to expect, when we begin to anticipate then we lose the element of surprise. 

God is a God of surprises.  You never expected.

Our first reading comes as a surprise.  One would never expect Judah to become the holder of the messianic promise.  He was the fourth child of Jacob – Reuben was first born, Simeon was second born and Levi was third.  Judah was just a fourth son and yet he was chosen. “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise.  He crouches like a lion recumbent, the king of beasts–who would dare rouse him?  The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his legs.”

Our gospel too comes as a surprise.  It comes as a surprise because the things we expected from a holy person are not met.  A holy person must have a holy background. 

It comes as a surprise because the things we expected from a messiah are not met.  A messiah should be pure Jewish.  He must have, he should have. But surprise - he had sinners in his family tree, he had gentiles in his lineage.  Tamar was a victim of incest.  Rahab was a prostitute.  Ruth was a gentile. Bathsheba was a victim of adultery.  And yet from this lineage The messiah, the savior of the world was born.

God is a God of surprises. 

You will never fully know who God will use, you can never be sure what God is up to, what he will use, and for what…. and you will be surprised by how people are shaped and transformed, by their encounter with the living Lord. Indi ka kapakot.  It happened to Abraham, to David, it happened to these women, it happened to Matthew, it may even happen to us.

Wala gid man ko tani tuyo nga magpari.  Actually wala ako kapasar sa seminario tungod kay sang ginpamangkot ako (12 yrs old ako) kon ano luyag ko kon magdako ako, ginasabat ko ang pari ma-doktor ako.  Sang ginpamangkot ako kon diin ko luyag maiskwela ginsabat ko ang matuod, gusto ko maiskwela sa UP.  So one day aga pa, may telegrama nga nag-abot sa balay.  Nasulat didto sa telegram “not admitted to seminary stop no vocation stop.  Wala na.  I really felt so ashamed and devastated.  Imagine wala ako kapasar.  Indi ako makabaton nga wala ako makapasar, indi ako makabaton nga pigado ako kay wala ako makapasar, indi ako makabaton nga pierdi ako.  And so I asked for help, I asked for assistance, maninoyi ako.  I was twelve years old, kabalo na ko magdaya just to restore my dignity nga wala makapsar.  To make the long story short I was given a chance.  And the rest is history.  Ang akon pagkapari napatigayon tungod kay indi ako magpapierdi, indi ako luyag mahuy-an.

God is a God of surprises. 

You will never fully know who God will use, you can never be sure what God is up to, what he will employ, and for what.  God will never hesitate to use even our own vices and even those of others to lead us gently to do his will. Jesus’ family was not a perfect family, it was not a perfect lineage but God is an expert artisan who works through our mistakes and failures.  Grace is more powerful than sin.  God is more powerful than the vilest intent.  We have to believe and trust that God will make all things work out for the good as he once did to the lineage of his only Son.