No Turning Back

We are at the end of the Ordinary Time and the Advent Season is approaching. That's why the readings of these days alarm us about the end of the world and the coming of the Son of God. The central message of today's Gospel is the sudden arrival of the Son of man into this world. He will come in the moment when no one is prepared. So it is good to be always prepared always. 

In today's Gospel, the Final day is compared and divided into five metaphors; The period of Noah, the days of Lot, someone on the housetop, and two of them who are in fields.

What are the lessons: 

We do not know the day of arrival. Everything will happen unexpectedly. We cannot predict. Life will be normal in our eyes. How to face that day? 

The first reading and image of Lot's wife give a good example for all of us to face the end of the world. St. John says, "Let us love one another. For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments". It is not enough to fall in love, it is necessary to remain in love, walk in that love fulfilling God's commandments. 

Think of Lot's wife. Still now the pillar of salt named Lot's wife is existing on Mount Sodom, near the southwestern part of the Dead Sea in Israel. We would think what errors this poor lady committed? Is it a big sin just to turn back? She might have turned to see her village out of curiosity? Maybe out of a doubt, she wanted to confirm the burning of her house? Maybe out of enthusiasm? 

Yes. Turning back is a wrong action. Leads to sin. Do not turn back when you are just at the goal. Sometimes we turn back just to look at the others. It may be sometimes good to turn back, but it is dangerous to stop and rest. 

Our life does not give us time to rest and turn back. Just go forward, NO TURNING BACK. 

Survival to the Weakest

Luke 17:1-6

Jesus gives continuous pieces of advice in Luke Chapter 17, but they are not found in order. There are three different pericopes, just collected and placed here; Invitation not to be a scandal to the little ones, forgiveness to the neighbor and to have faith like that of a mustard seed. The central theme will be that of love of neighbor. 

I recently watched a video of Dalai Lama, in which he says, "Forgiveness does not mean to forget/tolerate/to be indifferent" We should keep a good memory of that negative thing. But because of that we develop anger and hatred, this we need to work out, control or channelize. 

Forgiveness is a process, not an event or it happens in a flash one day. You need to develop your heart. Why God said very often in the scripture, "harden not our hearts"? God speaks to us through the desires of our hearts which is also part of the Ignatian spirituality. So, we need to become more and more aware in a sense, that what God wants and what we really, most deeply desire are the same. We pray to God so that he may make our hearts know him or his will easier for us. Sometimes, we will be very convinced of a thing, which is not true. This is because of ignorance. Psalm 119 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet, and light on my path". 

The survival of the fittest is Darwinian evolutionist theory which is also the natural instinct of every human being. At the age of 13, I always wanted to be the best.”,  the best basketball player, the best student, the best classmate. Most of the time, it did not work well. We are born with the survival of the fittest mentality. Survival of the fittest is the thinking that only the best are truly valuable in this life.  This thinking is a lie. Jesus said, The last will be first, and the first will be last.  (Matthew 20:16)

God’s answer to the survival of the fittest is the survival of the weakest. Thus, Forgiveness is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. We have no strength at all to fill our need to feel valuable.  That is why the apostles are asking to increase their faith, when Jesus asked them to forgive many times. Only Jesus was able to do this for us.  In His weakness, dying on the cross, He succeeded in making us what we have always wanted to be – important regardless of our performance.

I believe in the Resurrection (32rd Sunday)

There is a story about a man who died while on a business trip in Jerusalem. When asked by phone about the burial arrangements, his wife insisted that the remains should be brought back home to their country even if it was expensive. But why, everyone asked her, she said: “Don’t bury him there because I heard that years ago, a man was buried there and he rose again!”

We are at the end of the liturgical year. In a few weeks, we are going to start the new liturgical year with Advent. That is why the readings speak about death, hope and resurrection. For today's students, Google and Wikipedia are very helpful. They have answers for everything. But even those websites do not give satisfactory answers to some questions; Is there life after death? Does heaven/hell/purgatory exist really? Where will we go after death?  Do you believe that there is a heaven and a hell?  Science cannot answer these questions perfectly, while Faith can answer with certainty (Faith of the Catholic Church/Individuals). 

The Old Testament is almost silent about the resurrection and eternal life. The people of Israel did not believe in the resurrection (there are some rare references here and there). They commonly believed in the presence of Sheol, the place under the earth where the good and bad people go after death. Just 2-4 centuries before the arrival of Jesus Christ, the concept of resurrection was introduced in the scriptures (eg. Maccabees, wisdom literature, the book of Daniel). The book of Daniel, composed about the year 165 B.C. speaks of the belief in the resurrection of the dead, “and many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace (Dan. 12:2).”

The problem of Suffering: Why the innocent people suffer? We can accept the suffering of sinners, but how can we interpret the suffering of honest people? This was the starting point for the belief in the afterlife. Innocent people may not be rewarded in this life, but surely they will be rewarded in the life where they will be near God. In today's first reading from the book of Maccabees, there are seven sons of an unusually tough mother who are dragged before the king to endure terrible tortures, and even death, if they would not break a rule of their faith and eat pork. They refuse to do so! And so, they must suffer to death, one by one. Through  all the history, God has shown us many ways in which people are led to something because of faith–endurance till the end, in fact, sometimes is the supreme mark of Faith in God which is strong, and solid, and even powerful.

In this Sunday gospel (Lk 20: 27-38), this is exactly what the Lord said in His conversation with some Sadducees, about bodily resurrection. Sadducees belong to a very conservative/fundamentalist group, who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or future life. They were believing the Torah, the five books of OT, according which there was no life after death. They wanted to put Jesus to the test. Jesus conveyed the powerful message not only to Sadducees but also to today's Christians inviting everyone to start their life expecting the arrival of Christ. I want to give you a few points from today's readings. 

1. Jesus said, "Our God is not a God of the dead but of the living". Diyos na Buhay... Diyos Ng Buhay; Naniniwala tayong may Diyos na buhay na tutulong sa atin upang muling bumangon mula sa ating pagkadapa sa anumang kahirapan sa buhay.  Are you relating with a living God? Do you have a personal relationship with God? Is God just a Somebody, or is He a Someone to you? Marahil ay hindi natin maipagkakaila na ito ay dahil sa ating PANANAMPALATAYA SA DIYOS NA BUHAY!  
2. Jesus responded that the resurrection is not a return to our normal life. The question of the Sadducees was “Whose wife will that woman be because she married all the seven brothers?” Jesus did not entertain that question. Rather, he explained that the resurrection should not be thought of as a continuation of our earthly life. In the resurrection there is no more marrying, partying, eating or drinking. Jesus said that the resurrection is a completely new life, and a new experience as well. He said, that those who rise “can no longer die, for they are like angels.” to be of pure spirits; they don’t have bodies. The reunion is better seen in the context of “communion”. We will all be in communion with Christ. That communion is an experience of Heaven. Moreover, as angels, we will be seeing God face-to-face. Let us leave some fancy stories about resurrection. 
3. No Fear, but Faith: So let's not be afraid of our death. This is like a "door" that we have to enter if we want to get God's reward. How to prepare? Have Faith in Jesus and the resurrection of the dead, and good deeds based on his love. Another way of preparing for the afterlife is through good deeds. They said God has two dwelling places: one in heaven, and the other in a humble and grateful heart. If one is humble and grateful, one can experience Heaven already here on earth. If one is proud and ungrateful, he/she already experiences and makes others experience hell here on earth. 
4. Our earthly loves and relationships do not end in death. We will meet each other again in our best and purest form, minus the heartaches, minus issues, minus walls and divisions. There will be peace and rejoicing in Heaven. But the highlight of our reunion in Heaven is our reunion with our Creator. Over and above our joy of being reunited with our loved ones, our greatest joy will be that of being united with Him and in Him, finally.

Let us not forget to pray for the “grace for a happy death”. May we be ready when the Lord calls us back to our Heavenly Home. When that time comes, may we be in the state of grace, truly reconciled with God, with the world, with ourselves. May we face Him not empty-handed, but with hearts full of love, having humbly accomplished our mission in life. Let us also pray for the “grace for a meaningful life”!