psalm 85: justice and peace shall kiss - 24th sacerdotal anniversary 10th week thursday

Psalm 85 is one of the most beautiful psalms.  It is in this psalm that we hear that beautiful passage which says "Mercy and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss."  We often hear this, we often say this, but do we see the seeming contradiction?  Do we see the impossibility of the encounter and embrace between mercy and truth, of justice and peace?  And yet this psalm says they will, one day they will meet like two long lost friends.  One day they will kiss like long lost lovers.

The country today is torn between what president Duterte is doing to crime and criminals and what human rights activists want him to do.  In the president's mind a drug pusher does not deserve to live, kill him.  In the president and seemingly in the majority's mind a rapist does not deserve to live, give him the death penalty.  In the public's mind, the Maute brothers after what they have done to Marawi and so many innocent people do not deserve to live, they should be crushed, they should be eliminated, they should be killed. 

If we uphold the truth and inflict the full brunt of punishment which they deserve, then, there can be no manifestation mercy.  But if we show mercy and simply make peace to the offender, then we betray the truth, we turn our backs to the demands of justice. 

Mercy and truth cannot meet in the logic of the human mind.  Justice and peace cannot kiss in the bitter emotions of the human heart. 

"Mercy and truth shall meet; justice and peace shall kiss," may be beautiful to our hearing, but in reality, since the beginning of human government, our actions, our emotions and even our logic run contrary to what this statement says.

Only Jesus, only Jesus can do this, only Jesus has done this. 

What is the truth? Our sins deserve us death!

What is mercy?  Jesus took our sins with him and died in our place. 

What is justice?  We deserve to die. 

What is peace and reconciliation?  Jesus died for us, in place of us.

 Only in Jesus can mercy and truth meet; only in Jesus can justice and peace kiss.  Not man, not even a holy man, not even a priest can do what Jesus alone did and what Jesus alone can do.

I was ordained to the priesthood 24 years ago.  Today is my anniversary.  Actually, I should have been ordained the year before and I should be celebrating my 25^th year today.  In the roster of priests there at the information of the seminary lobby you will notice that nobody got ordained in 1992.  That should have been me.  So, today, I am actually celebrating the year, the 25^th year, the jubilee year, when fear overpowered me and made me shy away and made me ran in fear from the ordaining hand of the bishop.  Subong ginasaulog ko ang silver anniversary sang akon pagkatarantar.  I was afraid.  I thought then that I could not do it.  I thought then that I was still too stupid, I was still too weak, I have still so many things to resolve, so many things to thresh out in my life, so many thing to undo and to repair in my person.  I feel I need to be perfect or even just right, in order to become a priest. 

Then after a year I realized my mistake.  My fear came from my arrogance that the priesthood is mine, that I own it, and whatever is demanded from this vocation I should be able to carry out perfectly and be able to do by myself.  And so I have to be perfect, I have to be just right, I have to be so sure, because I was afraid that I might fail.  In the thought that I have to do things on my own I have arrogated to myself what Jesus alone can do in me and through me.

I am today celebrating the silver jubilee of my pagkatarantar 25 years ago so that I will not forget what the priesthood is all about – it is not what I do but what I allow Jesus to do in me and through me. 

Only in Jesus can mercy and truth meet; only in Jesus can justice and peace kiss.  ..... and I don't have to be afraid again.