visible rhetoric

Today in our first reading from the book of numbers, we see how jealousy unravels itself even among God’s chosen ones – in Moses, Miriam and Aaron.  Let us have a look into this. First Miriam and Aaron made it appear that they were complaining about the wife of Moses who was a Cushite and therefore a foreigner.  Amo ini kuno abi ang rason sang away.    But in reality the animosity is not because of the wife of Moses but from the fact that Moses is special and we are not, Moses is nearer to God and we are not as near, Moses is a powerful prophet and we are not as powerful, Moses receives special treatment from God and we are treated ordinarily.  If you notice jealousy does not always show itself as jealousy.  It will always wear masks.  So instead of accepting the fact that we are jealous and envious we mask this by saying - I am not treated fairly, his decisions are all wrong, injustice, (injustice ka to, hisa ka lang naton) .  Do you notice t...

Feasts were established not just to remind the people of what God has done for his people but it is also an assurance as to what God will do for us.  Feasts have an anamnetic quality in them.  Anamnesis is a Greek word which is loosely translated in English as memorial or remembrance.  But it is more than just a mental remembrance of things and events.  Anamnesis means to make present what has happened in the past, and by making this present we participate in its grace and in its power.

Today in the book of exodus we see what the Israelites call the shekinah, the cloud that covers the tent, the cloud that becomes a pillar that guides them during the day, the cloud that becomes a pillar of fire that guides them during the night.  The shekinah, the cloud, the glory of God is God’s presence to his people. This shekinah is a reminder that God though present among us is totally other.  It speaks of the transcendence of God.  God is different, God is beyond, God is above us, God is all powerful, God alone is creator – we are not in the same level with God.  Two things therefore from laudato si. First, the shekinah is a reminder that we are not God.  Many of our ecological problems come from the belief that we can do what we want.  Laudato si is telling us that we are not God, we are not the lords of the cre­ation; we are not the lords of mate­r­ial things; we are not the lords of our own money; and we are not the lords of other human bein...

Our gospel presupposes that we have heard before this the parable of the weeds.  It is a parable told by Jesus about a farmer sowing good seed in his field.  But in the night his enemies came and sowed weeds without his knowing.  And so it to pass that in the field wheat and weeds grew together.  The servants wanted to pull out the weeds but the owner said that pulling out the weeds would only compromise the good seeds.  “ Let them both grow together until the harvest, the owner said,  and at harvest time wheat and weeds will be separated, the weeds to be burned and the wheat will be brought into the barn.”

When does a miracle of provisions happen?  The first reading for this Sunday is composed only of two verses but it gives us I believe the conditions that make miracles of provisions happen.  What are these conditions?  There are four. First. A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, twenty barley loaves made from the first fruits and grain.  There was no obligation on his part to provide Elisha with food.  There was not even a mention that Elisha needed food.  The man who was not even named went to Elisha to give him food.  A generous person doesn't have to be named, he offers to give not because there is a need, he gives not because he is obligated to give, nor does he give because he is bothered by his conscience.  No.  He just gave.  Nobody even asked from him, but he gave.  He was generous, it was automatic.  There was a miracle here because there was a man who was generous. Miracles always beg...

We have to admit and we should not be ashamed to admit that every time we gather as old girls and old boys of assumption at every memorial mass, at every feast of the Assumption and every two years for the grand reunion, we are in fact living up to the adjective that distinguishes us from the other boys and girls of Assumption.  We are getting “old.”  Some of us, as we can see around us, are better in hiding this reality than others.  Some are just so good in fact that only a twenty percent discount can reveal the truth.  Others like me are not so good.  One time when I was about to pay the bill in a restaurant a waiter casually asked me for my senior citizen’s ID.  If this is injury to my ego, what followed was further insult when coming down from the car at the emergency room of a hospital to anoint a sick person the security guard ran towards me with a wheel chair.  Sometimes, though this does not speak well of religious simplicity, a daub of Oil o...

Today on the feast of St. James the Greater we read from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians. Paul talked about his ministry as an apostle and he is telling the people of Corinth that the source of his ability to preach the gospel is not found in himself.  The credit belongs to God and to God alone. "We have this treasure, in earthen vessels, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us."  We are all clay jars and God has placed his treasures in these jars to serve his purpose. Our responsibilities can tempt us and pull us into two directions.  First, we can be tempted to be proud.  This is what I have done, this is what I have achieved, this is what I did.  In pride we attribute to ourselves what is not truly ours.

Our first reading today says - “I, the LORD am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.” These first words are very important because they make the difference as to how we look at the commandments of God.  In ancient past when a king conquers a nation and its people, he would make an agreement with the conquered people by recalling his victory over them.  Then he will set out the terms that the people would obey and follow. In the introduction to the 10 commandments God also recalls his victory.  However, the speech does not speak of a conquered people.  Instead it speaks of a people delivered from slavery, freed from servitude.  If we were a conquered people then these commandments would be a burden which we will carry grudgingly.  Keep holy the Lord’s day.  Ambot a masimba naman ta.

In the book of Exodus, in our first reading today, the people prepared themselves for what is called the theophany.  Theophany means the manifestation of God, the encounter between God and his people.  As it is written, “on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.”  To prepare for this encounter they have to sanctify themselves and curiously, they also have to wash their clothes.  Washing clothes is no ordinary task for a people who had made the desert their home.  Imagine thousands of people washing their clothes at a place where water is so scarce.  But making oneself presentable physically and outwardly were considered an important part of the preparations for the encounter with God, so important in fact that it was worth mentioning in the book of Exodus, and worth doing in a desert. Why are these preparations important? Encountering God is something we look forward to, something we anticipate, someth...

Manna according to scholars comes from the tamarisk tree.  Insect common in the mountains of Sinai would puncture the bark of the tree and drops of resin would come out and solidify in the cold of the night.  It has to be gathered early in the morning because it would deteriorate when the desert becomes hot during the day.  Even today Arabs collect this solid resin which they still use as a sweetener. Quails migrating from Europe to Africa and vice versa would pass the Sinai peninsula.  This happens especially in May or June.  So when these birds migrate to Europe from Africa they would first rest in the Sinai.  At this point in their migration it would be very easy to catch these birds.

In our first reading today we see the forces of nature coming into play when Israel went out of the land of their slavery pursued by the Paraoh’s army – a pillar of cloud blocked the Egyptians as they race towards the Israelites, the strong east wind blew the seabed turning it into dry land, and the waters of the Red Sea stopped flowing and divided into two thus allowing a passage for Israel. Origen in his homily commented on these miraculous events saying: “See the goodness of God the Creator: if you submit to his will and follow his Law, he will see to it that created things cooperate with you.” Nature cooperates if only we submit to God’s will and follow his law.  This observation harps back to that beautiful relationship and cooperation between man and nature in the garden of Eden before sin entered the world.  But when man disobeyed God, the ground was cursed and it produced thorns and thistles  and only through painful toil, by the sweat of his brow can man ea...

In our first reading today we see the forces of nature coming into play – the pillar of cloud blocked the Egyptians as they race towards the Israelites, the strong east wind blew the seabed making it into dry land, and the waters of the Red Sea stopped flowing and divided into two thus allowing a passage for Israel. Origen in his homily commented on these miraculous events saying: “See the goodness of God the Creator: if you submit to his will and follow his Law, he will see to it that created things cooperate with you.”

We reflect on our first reading, from the book of Exodus.  The Israelites were finally freed from slavery but while they were moving out of Egypt Pharaoh suddenly changed his mind and decided to pursue them and bring them back.  The Israelites were so terrified when they saw the Egyptians gaining on them.  It was the first crisis of faith:  the freedom they desired meant also giving up the quiet life they had in Egypt.  Freedom can be terrifying, it can be disconcerting.  Many times it is better to remain enslaved than to go through the chaos which new life brings.  There are some of us who are more secure in their enslavement.  And in this confusion Moses said to the people, “Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD.  The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”  This is what the virtue of hope means.  Stand your ground, keep still – the Lord will fight for you.  It is now Go...

We continue our reflection on our first reading, this time from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.  In pronouncing judgement to the leaders of Judah, God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.”  There is a word play here – you have not cared for them so I will take care of you to punish you.  You did not attend to them so I will attend to all your abuses.  The word play in a way also reveals the heart of the matter which will find its echo in our gospel today.  So what is this heart of the matter?  The heart of the matter is this:  to take care, to attend, to look after, to be present, to accompany, to be mindful of, to be ready to serve, to listen, to take charge of, to be attentive  – this is where the leaders failed.  Probably they were busy making things more efficient, probably they were engrossed in system...

We continue to reflect on our first reading, this time from the book of Exodus.  Today we reflect on the choices of two women which made Moses who he was. The first woman I am referring to is the mother of Moses, the real mother.  And the second woman is the princess, Pharaoh’s daughter, the adoptive mother of Moses. First these two women chose life.  In a culture of death they chose life.  Pharaoh decreed that all male born of Hebrew women should be killed at birth.  It must have been agonizing for the mother waiting for the child to be born.  Will it be a girl or a boy?  She had to wait anxiously for nine months to know that.  There was no ultrasound then, there was no way to know the sex of the child.  And yet she allowed her son to live.   She disobeyed Pharaoh, she disobeyed the law and did all she can to hide him for three months.

Today we reflect on our first reading from the book of Genesis.  We all know the story of Jacob and how he duped his father, Isaac, and his twin brother, Esau, into inheriting the blessing and birthright which was not meant for him but for his brother Esau.  For stealing what was not his, Jacob fled fearing that Esau would take revenge.  And for many years Jacob was separated from his family and from his brother.  Our reading today narrates that part of the story when Jacob finally decided to return home and face his brother once and for all.  It will be an attempt for reconciliation. I would like to propose for our reflection three things we can learn from reconciliation.  In the process of reconciling with his brother Jacob has to go through several things which he needs to correct. 

Today we reflect on our first reading from the book of Genesis.  Today we focus our attention on Lot’s wife.  She turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back at the burning city of Sodom.  Later, a thousand years later that is, Jesus would use this story to teach his disciples to learn from her mistakes and weaknesses when he said, “Remember Lot’s wife?” What should we remember about Lot’s wife so that we will not fall to the same fate?  What should we learn from her? Let us reflect on just two things.  First, it is important to choose the people you are with, it is important to choose the environment you are in.  Consider these facts.  Lot originally settled his family near Sodom, not in Sodom itself but near Sodom.  But then in time we already find them living inside the city itself.  Probably they might have slowly crept in, perhaps attracted by the convenience of living in a city, probably attracted by the fast life of the ...

Today we reflect on our first reading from the book of Genesis.  Abraham together with his nephew, Lot prospered in the land which the Lord God gave them.  Their flocks multiplied and they became rich.  Since their flocks multiplied greatly the land in which they were staying could no longer sustain both of them and there were skirmishes and quarrels among their workers.  The book of Genesis described their situation saying “their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together.”  Prosperity undermined peace in the family.  Because of riches, family harmony was disrupted.  Isn't this happening even today?  Whenever it is a question of what is mine and what is yours, chances are conflicts will arise, quarrels will start, even among members of the family.  Money should have made us generous, possessions should have made us kind, but many times this does not happen in reality.  In fact the opposite tends to happen. ...