visible rhetoric

Today it would seem that we are being informed by Jesus of the forgetfulness of God.  Lord let us in.  And he replied, I do not know where you are from.  But we ate and drank in your company.  And he replied, I do not know where you are from, depart from me.  It seems that God cannot remember. There are two things we can do in order to remind God as it were.  First is to pray the rosary.  The rosary is a prayer of remembrance, reminding the Father what Jesus has done for us in the joyful mysteries, in the luminous mysteries, what Jesus had gone through in the sorrowful mysteries and in the glorious mysteries.  When you pray the rosary it’s like saying, don’t forget your people Lord, for Jesus your Son has already done so much for us.  Pray the rosary.  The rosary helps God to remember you.  October is the month of the rosary and we end it today, though we should not stop praying the rosary

Jesus accused the ruler of the synagogue of hypocrisy.  Why?  Because of wrong priorities.  The example of the Lord is very clear.  A woman suffering for 18 years was not allowed to be healed because it was the sabbath.  And yet an ox and an ass can be untied on a sabbath so that they can drink water. Why did Jesus call this hypocrisy? Because of wrong priorities. Which is more important, the woman who had suffered for 18 years or the thirsty ox or ass?  So why untie the thirsty ox today and let the woman wait for tomorrow.  Wrong priorities.

Bar Timaeus.  This is the name of the blind man healed by Jesus.  Jesus has performed a lot of miracles - a deaf-mute, another blind man, a lame man, as well as the demon-possessed, but none of them has been mentioned by name.  Except one - Bartimaeus.  Perhaps because he was an exemplary disciple.  Why?  Most probably because he knew how to ask the right things from Jesus and he only asked for two things. First, Bartimaeus called out to Jesus saying, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.  Have mercy in Greek is Eleison the same word we used in the Mass – Kyrie Eleison – Lord, have mercy.   Eleison comes from the Greek root word which means olive oil.  In the past olive oil was not just a condiment but it was also poured over wounds and bruises, gently massaged in, thus soothing the wound, comforting the person in his pain, bringing about healing, making the injured part whole again.  This is what mercy does,  'Lord, soothe me, comfort me, take away my pain away, make me wh

The image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, finding and carrying on his shoulders the lost sheep back to the fold – this is the symbol of the pallium.  It is a band of white cloth made from the wool of lambs and resting on the shoulders of archbishops, worn over the chasuble on very special and solemn occasions in which he presides. Have you seen Pope Francis, the Pope of Mercy, carrying a real lamb on his shoulders and smiling? The perfect smile was just that, for the cameras, and it wouldn’t be as perfect if that lamb stayed on his shoulders for another 5 minutes.  Worst so, for an hour or two.  But the point was beautifully made.   And so does the pallium. Solemnly, conveniently, and perfectly symbolically.

“Gird your loins and be like servants who await their master’s return.” Eastern dresses are usually long and can be an obstacle for work.  To gird one’s loins means to lift the dress up, have it tied around your waist and get ready to work, get ready to do whatever task is in store.  It means that when the call is made the task assigned is urgent and no hesitation should be entertained – to be ready to do God’s bidding at all times.

The questions of Jesus to James and John need answers from us also. And there are two. First question: "What do you want me to do for you?" Imagine yourself being asked that question by Jesus,  “Juan, Mary, what is it you want me to do for you?” How would you answer? Last time I heard mega millions is 1.6 billion.  What do you pray for?  Do you pray for health, for your children to go to college?  It is a good question because  our prayers reveal who we are - our character, our values, even our anger, they reveal our insecurities, what is important for us, and even our frustrations in life.   Jesus said from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.   The point is, this question of Jesus is important.  We need to explore and discover our real desires expressed in our prayers.   And then probably as a follow-up we could ask, are these desires in consonance with the desires of God for me?

What kind of sin is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit which Jesus said is an unforgivable sin?  There has been a lot of commentaries on this.  Allow me to simplify them.  The sin against the Holy Spirit is a refusal to believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.  

Give alms and everything will be clean for you. In his commentary on this particular verse Pope John Paul II said that the word alms comes from the Greek word which means compassion or pity.  So almsgiving is not just about giving money or extending help.  It is a feeling of compassion or pity that moves me to extend help.

I am a bit amused when I was making this homily.  Amused because last Sunday, in explaining the relationship of husband and wife in marriage, Jesus used the words cling, to hold so tightly, in order that the two become one. This Sunday in addressing the young man’s relationship with his riches, with the things of value to him, Jesus used the words sell and give, something that connotes ease in letting go.  Husbands and wives, family – cling, hold tightly.  Things, riches, let go easily.  Problems come when we confuse these two, when we cling to things, and easily let go the people we love, because many times because we can’t let go of things. 

Shameless persistence, this is the phrase that literally translates the Greek word describing the knocking of the man in the parable.     The word is not just persistence but shameless persistence. So many things in our lives were left undone and have merited an undeserved outcome because we did not really persist or at the very least tried to, and much less have done it with shameless persistence.  If one’s goal, however, is clear, if the desire to attain the goal becomes too badly wanted, if we have realized how much we will lose without achieving it, then shameless persistence is possible.  

Traditionally in the church Martha who was busy preparing the needs of the Lord represent the active life. Mary, who sat listening to Jesus represents the contemplative life.  Both are good and both are needed by the church.  But for Christians who are called to live in the world, the active life and the contemplative life cannot be separated.  Both are needed.  An active life which forgets union with the Lord in prayer and contemplation is useless and will eventually become barren.  A contemplative life which concerns itself only in praying and shows no concern for what is happening around us, no concern for the apostolate of the church, is also not pleasing to God.  It is important that both are combined – there is always an allotted time for prayer and this allotted time for prayer pushes us to do good in the world beginning in our homes and in our places of work.  

Today the Pharisees asked Jesus:  "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"   However, for Jesus, things are better understood when we have seen the bigger picture.  And so he changed the question into, what is marriage? Before discussing divorce, before venturing into the question whether a divorce is called for or not, whether it is allowable or not, Jesus pressed before the Pharisees the more important question that must first be answered, what is marriage?  So what is marriage?

It is with great excitement that the disciples reported back to Jesus after being sent to their mission. They were successful and they came back triumphant.  At your name, they said, even the demons are subject to us.  They realized that they had power, they can do miracles.  They can heal and drive away evil spirits.  They were so happy and probably even proud.   Thus, Jesus said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  What does that mean?  It can mean that Satan’s kingdom is finally beginning to crumble because of what the disciples did. But it could also mean another thing. It can mean - beware of the sin of Lucifer, beware of the sin of pride, the sin that makes you think that you can do things on our own, that you have power and you don’t need God anymore. The same sin of Satan himself.

This gospel passage is part of the instructions given by Jesus to the 72 disciples he was sending out to preach.  So, in reality the condemnations uttered by Jesus to Chorazin and Bethsaida were not said to the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida but to the 72 disciples.  And it was not the disciples who were condemned either.  Instead, Jesus is telling them that as you go expect rejections, as you preach the gospel, expect opposition, as you tell the truth about God expect insults, expect a rebuff, and also expect a cold shoulder.  In other words, get used to being ignored.  Nevertheless speak, nevertheless preach, nevertheless say what needs to be said.

Today on the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi we come together as a close circle of family and friends to entrust to God’s loving embrace David, a husband and a father.  St. Francis in his life and in his death has taught us how to look at death from the perspective of someone who loves God, from someone who knows that his end is God. The Canticle of the Sun is a beautiful poem made by St. Francis.  Francis narrates how God is praised by his creation, in brother sun and sister moon, praised by mother earth, brother fire and sister water.  It is a joyful outburst of one who was aware that he is surrounded by God’s creation, the sun who gives light during the day, the moon and the stars whose beauty shines in the night, the wind and water which brings about the weather that sustains us in our needs.  

St. Francis of Assisi followed this command of the Lord to his disciples to preach the gospel almost literally.  As a mendicant he went around preaching the gospel with no money bag, no sack and no sandals.  And except maybe for the Prayer of St. Francis, we remember none of what he preached, only what he did and how he lived his life.  This is because the attraction of so many people to St. Francis is not so much on what he said but on the way he followed Christ in his life – his simplicity of life, his joyful disposition, his trust on God’s providence, his love for Jesus, his passion for the church and his respect for the works of creation.

This October we are celebrating three Saints who made living the Christian life a bit simpler, making it more practical and doable for the not so “sophisticated” in the faith like you and me. ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS , (1873-1897; Feast Day October 1) teacher of the Childhood Spirituality, a Carmelite Nun who died at the young age of 24. She wrote: “Let us go forward, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors.”   Heaven is the goal. This is a very simple assertion, but how many times have we forgotten this?   Look what happens when reputation becomes the goal - we pretend, we lie, we become affected even by the slightest mistake.   Look what happens when riches, ambition or power is the goal - we corrupt, we connive, we cheat, we neglect the people we love and we suffer physically, mentally and even spiritually because of our desire for it.   Riches and health are not the goal.  These are helps in order to reach the goal, but they are not th

Today we celebrate the feast of our guardian angels.  We believe that God’s care for each one of us is so personal thus he gave each of us angels to watch over us.  Pope Francis said, “No one journeys alone and no one should think that they are alone.”  “Oftentimes,” the Pope continued, “we have the feeling that ‘I should not do this, this is not right.’ Be careful. This the voice of our guardian angel.”

In our gospel today Jesus taught his disciples to learn from the child, from the attitude and disposition of a little child in order that we could become the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Today we celebrate the feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and it is through her that this gospel become practical, doable and simple in her childhood spirituality.  

Scandal comes from the Greek word skandalon.  It means an obstacle along the way which may cause one to trip over or fall.  A skandalon causes the little ones to fall.  The little ones are the mikros in Greek, and generally, they refer to believers whose faith are still weak.  It can include the children, those who are not so learned in matters of the faith, the new Christians for example, those who are not mature enough in the faith. So skandalon is putting an obstacle causing the mikros, the weak to trip over and fall away from the faith. Why is scandal so serious a sin Christ was so vehement about, that he violently sentenced to drowning those who cause them by tying a millstone around their necks to be thrown into the sea?  Why?  Because something very important for the faith has to be upheld.  And there are two.  What are these?

Our faith teaches us that angels exist.  The bible says that they minister to God day and night singing holy, holy, holy – a song we sing with them at every mass.  They are the messengers of God, sent to fulfill God’s will – from the time of creation when an angel was sent to guard the tree of life, to the angels sent to Abraham and Sarah, to the angel Michael guarding the chosen people, to the angel Raphael sent to heal Tobit, to the angel Gabriel announcing the good news to Mary.

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, the first martyr of the Philippine church.  When we speak of martyrdom we cannot help but also meditate on the silence of God. Martyrdom is not just about courage.  It is also about fear, abandonment, loneliness and so many unanswered questions when one is in the midst of suffering.  Where is God in the midst of my pain?  Why does God allow me to suffer?  In all these God is seemingly absent and asleep.  Even Jesus experienced the same on the cross when he cried out – “my God, my God why have you forsaken me.”  This is the silence of God.

Herod the tetrarch who had John the Baptist killed wanted to see Jesus.  His desire to do so was accompanied by fear and curiosity.  Fear because he heard that Jesus was John the Baptist risen from the dead.   Herod was also curious to see Jesus for he wanted to verify, he wanted to see for himself, if indeed the miracles of Jesus were true.  He was amused that a wonder worker was in his realm.

"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.” This is one of the gospel passages that fired up the missionaries from the different ages of the church to go to the whole world to proclaim the message of salvation to all peoples.  Beginning with the apostles until now the lighted lamp of God’s word is placed on a lampstand for all to see, for all to receive the light who is Christ.  Many of these missionaries suffered opposition and many had to offer their lives in martyrdom for the work of spreading the gospel. The light cannot be kept hidden, and since day 1 of the church, people have labored to spread this light all over the world.

What is greatness?  How do we measure success?   These are the questions debated by the disciples among themselves.  The same questions which they kept to themselves, too embarrassed to reveal. The very same questions, which Jesus, nevertheless, answered for them.  What is greatness?  How do we measure success?   Greatness lies in service.  It is not what we get and accumulate rather it is what we give away. It is not seeking our own welfare rather it is seeking the welfare of those around us.  It is not the power we acquire but the service we render including the humility and the sacrifices we bear in doing so.  That is greatness for Jesus.  And when greatness is such, success therefore is measured by how much we share with others, how much we care for others, how much we serve others, how much we sacrifice ourselves for others, and how much we love others.

Why can’t God’s Word bear fruit in us?  According to the parables what are the obstacles or hindrances that makes God’s word less effective?   The first hindrance is the devil.  The devil takes away the word by keeping  people from hearing it, from understanding it and from responding to it.  So we hear God’s word but we do not believe it or we promptly forget it.  So whenever we hear God’s word we rationalize saying – that is old-fashioned, the Lord does not really mean that, the preacher has no credibility.  Or something like this - Father I like your homily.  What part of the homily you liked?  I don’t know, but I like it. So the word is taken away by the birds, forgotten.

One of the things that I highly valued in people when I was still in the seminary was the capacity of some of my companions to see good in the person. It may be a case of a person we may consider incorrigible or somebody whom everyone else find difficult to correct; it may be a case where the mistake may be considered grave, a case where everyone was on the verge of giving up, and here comes a guy who sees good in the person, a guy who sees potential, a guy who simply would not give up for good on the person.  And this is also what I see in Jesus today.  In the eyes of all Matthew was a sinner, Matthew was a thief, Matthew was corrupt, a traitor, a conspirator to the oppressors of the country, and therefore Matthew was given up for good even by the religious men of his age.  And yet Jesus came one day, looked at Matthew and called him from his post to follow him.  Jesus saw goodness.  He saw potential.

Regarding the angry reaction of Simon the Pharisee towards the sinful woman in the gospel, St Gregory the Great has this to say, “True righteousness is compassionate, whereas false righteousness is indignant.” Real righteousness comes from the consciousness that I too am a sinner.  Probably not as sinful as the other but nevertheless a sinner in need also of forgiveness.  We all come from a consciousness of this reality and only then can we look at other sinners with pity and understanding instead of anger.    True righteousness comes from the consciousness that I am a loved sinner. It is to know that one is a sinner and yet loved.

In yesterday’s gospel the centurion’s slave was healed at the intercession of the elders of the Jews and at the pleading of the centurion himself who asked Jesus to heal his beloved slave.  In our gospel today, however, Jesus, without being asked by anyone in the crowd, touched the coffin of the widow’s son and raised him to life again. And why did he do such great miracle without anyone requesting him to?  Luke simply notes that the Lord  saw the widow and he was moved with pity for her, he consoled her saying, Do not weep.  Then stepping forward he touched the coffin and said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!"

There are two approaches to Jesus in the gospel.  The first approach is that of the elders asking Jesus to heal the centurion’s slave.  They said to Jesus,  "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." The second approach is that of the centurion himself who said, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof … but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Notice the contrast.  The first says, He deserves.  While the other says, I am not worthy.  

The gospel of Mark was written to a people who have forgotten the value of the cross in the life of a disciple of Jesus. In particular it was written to the Roman Christians who in the face of persecutions, rejections and trials, in the face of anxieties created by wars and calamities all over the empire, were questioning and abandoning their faith.   The gospel of Mark was written at a time when the legend Quo Vadis was told and retold among the Christians.  The legend tells of Peter who upon knowing that the Christians were about to be persecuted slid quietly to escape it.  And as he fled he encountered the Lord just outside the city gate carrying his cross entering the city Peter was leaving behind. And Peter asked, Quo vadis, Domine? Where are you going, Lord?  And the Lord replied saying, “In Rome, to be crucified again.”  It was once again a confrontation and a rebuke that has already become too familiar to Peter.  Peter could not understand why the messiah would suffer, why

In the gospel of Matthew, Mark and Luke the glorification of Jesus is his resurrection and ascension.  In the gospel of John however, the glorification and exaltation of Jesus is in his death on the cross.  His humiliation was his exaltation, his death was his glorification.  Thus, in our gospel today Jesus would refer to the cross as a lifting up, not just a physical lifting up of the cross, but its exaltation. In this John is inviting us to look at things differently.  To look at things not from the human perspective but from the perspective of God.  

How do we love our enemies?  Waiting for emotions of love to come by may take a longer wait, a longer time to develop, so Jesus prescribes instead some doable actions of love.  So how do we love our enemies?  Jesus says we can begin with three things.  First, do good.  Find a way to do something good for the enemy not because you want to shame him or her but because you want to develop love in your heart, you want to develop genuine care for the person.  To do good.

Like the Pharisees in our gospel today there are many beliefs we have grown up with that we do not want to let go now; there are many points of view we hold on to ever since, we would rather not want to see altered; there are many attitudes and ways of doing things we would rather stick to no matter what, something we have been so used to doing.  It is the status quo, why disturb it?  We are so good at it already, why change it?  It has been there ever since, why question it?

There is something beautiful and unique in our gospel today.  Jesus healed a lot of people but this healing, the healing of a deaf mute is unique and we can profit from the lessons this particular healing may impart. First the deaf-mute was brought to Jesus.  He was brought, he was led, he was presented to Jesus by some people. The deaf-mute may not have known what is happening.  He may not have heard about Jesus.  Remember he is deaf.  He does not know that Jesus is a miracle worker, that he can heal the sick and drive out demons.  But when Jesus was passing by, people got hold of his hand, led him and presented him to Jesus, and begged Jesus saying – this man is deaf and mute, please heal him. Then they simply faded away after silently fulfilling their role of presenting somebody in need to Jesus.

What do we celebrate during birthdays?  We celebrate life, we celebrate achievements, we celebrate the gifts of persons and friends, the gifts of health and wealth, the gift of surviving and enduring for another year.   And for whatever reasons, during our birthdays, we give ourselves a break, become the star for a day, become the object of appreciation and affection and even adulation, until the day after when everything comes back to normal again. This is what we celebrate during birthdays. Our liturgy however does the opposite.  When the liturgy celebrates a person’s achievements and giftedness and endurance; when the liturgy shows appreciation and affection and adulation to a person for a life well lived, it does not celebrate birthdays.  Rather it celebrates death.  And that is the reason why we celebrate the feast of saints on the day they died.  In death, we as a worship community, celebrate death, the death anniversary.

On the question of fasting Jesus said , "Can you make the wedding guests fast  while the bridegroom is with them?    But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days." What is fasting?  To fast means to deprive ourselves of food for a day.  For example on Ash Wednesday we are only allowed to eat one full meal that day so that we can experience the difficulty of hunger, so that we can experience the weakening of our bodies because of the lack of food, so that we can still be faithful to our duty even if deprived of necessities.  These are the sacrifices we have to endure and to bear when we deprive ourselves or are deprived of something so basic to our life as food.

In the seminary when I was still rector, may seminarista nga in-charge sang discipline sang iya kasubong nga mga seminarista and often times of course pareho sa mga mag-ulolutod sa isa ka panimalay kon imo-imo lang saway, bisan matuod magulang ka pa, wala gid effect kon kaisa.  Ti kay pareho man lang kamo magulolotod.  Ti amo man sa seminaryo kon sila lang ang nagasaway sa isa kag isa. Hipos, hmm gahod man sa gihapon, pungko, hala libot-libot man sila sa gihapon, tuon na kamo, wala sia ginasapak. So this seminarian devised a way of making them follow his commands.  He would say siling ni Monsi hipos, gahipos ang tanan; siling ni Monsi pungko, aba pungko ang tanan; siling ni Monsi tuon, ang tanan balik sa ila desk kag dayon kuha sang ila tulun-an.  Ngaa?  Kay siling ni Monsi.  Bisan sa tuod tuod lang wala gid ako na nagsiling.  Pero tungod kay siling ni Monsi, ang tanan nagasunod.

In today’s gospel, the logic of the Jews in their quarrel with Jesus is this:  How can a son of an ordinary carpenter claim that he can give bread from heaven?  How can an ordinary person whose father and mother we very well know claim that he is the bread that came down from heaven? How can Jesus whose family are our next door neighbors claim that the bread he gives will bring eternal life? How can something so ordinary bring about these extraordinary claims?  Even today this same logic continues: How can tap water, the same water we take a bath in, the same water we use to brush our teeth with, how can tap water wash away our sins and make us the children of God in baptism?  Or how can a bread made of only flour and water, how can ordinary wine, it’s not even first class and San Miguel beer tastes better, and yet, how can these ordinary bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus which is our food for eternal life?  Or how can I go to this ordinary man who is himself sin

Today in our responsorial psalm we hear the enthusiastic call of the psalmist, a call filled with eagerness and excitement, to bless the Lord, “bless the Lord, my soul, let all that is within me bless his holy name."  The call to bless the Lord is not just ordinary praise, to bless God means to fall down on one's knees, in fact it means, to be brought down to one's knees in awe, in sheer joy and gratitude to God.  Why, because of two characteristics of God mentioned in the psalm. And what are these characteristics of God?  God is gracious and compassionate.  In God there is grace and mercy, two words which the psalmist says are the benefits of God, the reason why our souls, our whole being in fact should bless the Lord. God is Gracious and compassionate; in God there is grace and mercy.  

Last Sunday I was a bit disturbed because in the gospel the Lord sends the apostles two by two to preach repentance, to drive out demons, to anoint with oil and cure the sick.  I was disturbed because until now the bishop has not given me any assignment yet – no apostolate, no parish, no work.  And so I am there stuck in the seminary living as a guest in the house where I was once the boss for 8 years.  And now I am just a guest, living in a much smaller and warmer room, and to while away my time I spend most of my day in the library of the seminary.  I classify the books, I mend the covers which are torn because of years of use, I arrange the books on the shelves, I get my hands dirty by dusting the books and the cabinets and the tables and the chairs and the floor.  And imagine my bewilderment then when I read the gospel last Sunday, the gospel which narrated how Jesus sent the apostles two by two.  Go, Jesus said, go to towns and villages, preach repentance, drive out demons, ano