Father's faith heals the son (Mk 9:14-29)

Mk 9:14-29

The Jewish family is a Patriarchal family. In every Family, the role of the father is very important, more than that of the mother. The mothers care about the growth of the child within the family, whereas fathers care about his contact with the world, work and his social relationships. He connects the child with society. The father makes the decisions for the family for his wife and children. Today's Gospel of Mark beautifully narrates the sacrificial father's requests to Jesus for healing. 

Just imagine yourself: There is a son possessed by the spirit, epileptic in front of a large crowd. This is a kind of social shame and humiliation for the father, because who will marry an epileptic child? How he will go to work to earn? In this case, a father will suffer more than a mother. That is why Jesus asked a particular question “How long has this been happening to him?” not only out of care for the possessed boy, but he wanted to know how long the father has been suffering for his child. The father replied, “Since childhood." 

1. Father's care and responsibility for his child include the capacity to suffer for him. That's what Jesus did. This story is introduced in the Gospel of Mark when the Messianic secret is revealed. Hereafter Jesus will predict his death and resurrection three times. Jesus will start to suffer for humanity. Jesus looks at this figure as his own image of carrying the sins of humanity until his death on the cross. We need to pray like this; God, Father, help us to follow the example of your son's patience in suffering. 

2. The disciples have been presented in the Gospel of Mark, are the persons of failure until the resurrection. The Father brought his son first to the disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so. It is good for us to direct our prayers and problems to the right person, Jesus himself. Sometimes, we need to know if the people  have the spirit of God. We cannot go to the persons who say that they are problem solvers, healers, and are well prepared, and still are not so. Disciples were not yet prepared until they experience the passion and death of Jesus. The Father shouted to Jesus, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” constantly doing this we revise our human pride. 

3. Prayer is the “intimate” dialogue with God. Saint John Paul II affirmed that “Prayer always brings with it a type of interior hiddenness with Christ in God. Only in this hiddenness do we see the work of the Holy Spirit.” Prayer will increase our faith in Jesus, and Faith will make miracles. 

CLEAR VISION OF LIFE WILL TAKE YOU TO SUCCESS!

Gen 8:6-13,20-22. Mk 8:22-26.

 

BE PATIENT FOR A CLEAR AND COMPLETE VISION OF LIFE!

 

Today’s readings bring before us two persons who see everything clearly. In the first reading, Noah sees the dry land; in the gospel reading, the blind man sees everything clearly. Though the verb ‘to see’ is used metaphorically in the Bible, referring to the internal eyes we mean, eyes of faith, in today’s reading it is used directly to refer to people's perfect sight to see God and earth.

The first reading narrates the immediate events that follow the Great Flood. Three events happen here: (i) after many years, Noah removed the covering of the ark, and it is written that the surface of the ground was drying up. What a miracle! Instead of seeing the sky, Noah sees the surface of the ground dried up. Noah insists on the necessity to look down; In fact, he sees with the eyes of God; (ii) Noah offers sacrifices to God. In pre-historic times every individual – Cain, Abel, Noah - was offering sacrifices to God; in the patriarchal era it was the fathers of the family or the clan who offered sacrifices (priesthood was developed later in this context) (iii) God is pleased with Noah’s offering and he promises that he would never harm humanity again. (remember God of Noah’s time is not a God of theology). 

 

In the gospel reading Jesus heals a blind man. Only in Mark do we listen to the healing of a blind man that happened in two stages. Both times, Jesus was on his ‘way’ to Jerusalem. These two instances serve as parables to explain the nature of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus is not able to give complete healing to the blind (they used to call ‘embarrassment texts’ of Mark.). Why Jesus did not cure him the first time? Blind man needs to do it for the second time. A blind man is brought to Jesus. Jesus takes him away from the village. So, when Jesus was healing him it was just he and Jesus. When he was able to see partially it was Jesus whom he saw. He says, ‘I am able to see men, but they look like trees, but they walk.’ These words reflect the nature of the disciples. Even though they were close to Jesus, they were not able to recognize him. Later when Jesus touched the man again he became totally alright. 

 

What are the lessons that we draw from today’s readings?

 

(i) Be patient during trials:  The floods in our life will also become dry one day. One cannot be sure that the flood will never appear in his life. Sometimes, God may send it purposedly into your life. So, it is possible in our life, the moments of the flood: the great destruction. As the neighboring people of Noah made fun of Noah building an ark in the desert, so some people around you, might frustrate you. Be patient, as Noah was patient for a number of years inside the ark. It takes a lot of courage to see the dry land.

 

(ii) Wait for Jesus to be touched for complete healing: It is not easy to get a good and perfect vision all the time. God allows us gradual healing of truth. Since evil is intrinsic in our hearts, we need to be carefully watchful. The Book of Proverbs beautifully says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" (Prov 4:23). We will be able to see Jesus, the people, and the creation (trees) in truth, only if we allow Jesus to touch us.

 

VALENTINES DAY, MATTHEW 5:38-48

 (Lev 19:1-2, 17-18 1 Cor 3:16-23 Mat 5:38-48)

Sino ang binigyan mo ng regalo noong nakaraang Valentines Day?

Lahat naman siguro kayo nagbigay ng bulaklak sa inyong "inday". Siguro nagbigay kayo ng cake sa inyong mga magulang. Maybe you gave a simple card to your beloved friends. Siguro nagbigay ka ng rosas, rosas na may bubuyog! Siguro nagbigay ka ng pagkain, pagkaing panis na! Siguro nagbigay ka ng ice cream, ice cream na tunaw at puwede ng gawing juice! Have you given anything to your enemy? It’s true… mahirap mahalin ang kaaway (it’s hard to love the enemy).

Jesus’ message on this 7th Sunday is about Love of God/neighbor/forgiveness/loving one’s enemy. But loving an enemy is not easy. How can you forgive an unfaithful partner? Someone who is gossiping about you but smiles in front of your face? or has caused a serious injury to a family member? mahirap mahalin ang kaaway. Mahirap magpakita ng pagmamahal sa taong nagbibigay sa iyo ng sama ng loob! (It's hard to show love to someone who gives you a hard time!) sabi ni Jesus through todays readings…

sino ang pinagmulan ng pag-ibig? Who is the origin of love? First reading says it is God. Magpakabanal kayo, sapagkat akong panginoon ay banal. Diyos ay pagibig. Yet love proposed in the OT was different. “Mata sa mata at ngipin sa ngipin” was the Old testament formula, cannot be used today. Ang sabi ng namayapang si Mahatma Gandhi: “Kung paiiralin natin ang batas na mata sa mata at ngipin sa ngipin, darating ang araw na ang ating mundo ay punong-puno ng mga bulag at bungi!” Totoo nga naman. (if we do like OT, the day will come when our world will be full of blind and deaf!" It's true. Hindi kapayapaan ang iiral kundi paghihiganti! There will be no peace but vengeance!) 

That's why Jesus is universalizing the love of OT, when he said, “ibigin Ninyo ang inyong mga kaaway, at idalangin Ninyo ang mga umuusig saiyo” Maari bang ibigin ang kaaway? Mahirap ngunit posible! Is it possible to love the enemy? Difficult but possible! It is possible because true love is not a feeling. A book I read said: “Loving is willing not feeling!” You love to love! You love someone not because you "feel" that you love him/he loves you. 

Why do we need to forgive? 1. Because we are Christians, Forgiving our enemy is a command of the Lord and a CONDITION of our own forgiveness. “If you don’t forgive your enemy, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you.”  The nature of our God is love. 

2. To be happy we need to forgive. Hatred is a destructive emotion. It poisons our moments of peace and contentment, it causes stress, and affects the nervous system, sleep patterns, heart and circulatory system. There is a group called “No love, no stress”. When you forgive there is no stres

3. The nature of our God is love: Jesus gave a perfect example, that is God the father, “sapagkat pinasisikat niya ang araw sa masasama at sa mabubuti, at pinapapatak niya ang ulan sa mga banal at sa mga makasalanan.” Subukan mong magmahal katulad ng pagmamahal sa iyo ng Diyos. Magmahal ka hindi lamang sa mga taong mahal mo ngunit maging sa mga kaaway mo.

Sometimes we need to educate our hearts. Many of us are brokenhearted because our love is only at the feeling level. Try to love as God loves you, be generous, do not be possessive, do not be rigid in love. Love not only the people you love but also your enemies.

St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, reminds us that, “The way to love has a name: it is sacrifice.” Love is above all, the gift of oneself. That’s what Jesus did: Jesus loved each one of us so much that he sacrificed His life for us. When we think of the great sacrifice that God Himself made for us, can we not make small sacrifices throughout our day for Him? Some people used to say: “Father, I’ve forgiven her already, but I don’t want to see her face!” I have forgiven but I cannot love like the old times,  Is there someone you cannot forgive? Or you’re not in talking terms with for months and years?

1. The first is to avoid revenge. Don’t think of retaliation. Be patient! Give time! We should never let ill feelings reside in our hearts. But we should open our hearts to understanding and forgiveness. Our hearts should never be closed to them – available for listening. Jesus is teaching us to avoid biases and prejudices. He urges to get rid of the “likes and dislikes” attitude.

2. The second is to pray for them. “idalangin Ninyo ang inyong mga umuusig sa inyo”. What Jesus wants here is to wish them good. Bless them. It is to see goodness in them. We should still think of their well-being. People believe in black spirits and superstitions, they wish them to curse them. We should still believe in their goodness. Best way to love is to remember them in the Eucharist. The second reading tells, “tayo na tayoy bumubuo ng isa lamang katawan at ang ating mga pamayanan ay mga templo ng Diyos. The division is like breaking God’s temple. Like the body of Christ is one, parts many. 

3. Performing small acts of kindness: I love you means nothing without action. Anyone can say these words, but the only one who cares about you, will show it. Jesus says: “Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow (vv. 41-42). Love is to do good things at all times and for everyone. Love is to give the best and to the maximum.

Choose to be brave: Ang kabaliktaran ng LOVE ay hindi HATE kundi… FEAR! Totoo ito, takot lang tayong magmahal kung kaya’t poot at pag-aalinlangan ang namamayani sa ating mga puso.  Brave ones will fight fear. There is a saying, “do not be afraid to love again. Everyone isyou’re your ex”. Someone will say, “I will never fall in love, I experienced great failures” Huwag tayong matakot na mahalin ang ating sarili.  Huwag tayong matakot na mahalin ang ating kapwa.  HUwag tayong matakot na mahalin ang Diyos. Tandaan natin na tayong ay kanyang “inamorata” (beloved). Minamahal Niya tayong lahat. (The opposite of LOVE is not HATE but… FEAR! It's true, we are only afraid to love that's why hatred and doubt prevail in our hearts. Let's not be afraid to love ourselves. Let's not be afraid to love our neighbor. Let's not be afraid to love God. Let's remember that we are his "inamorata". loves all.)

• Is there someone you cannot forgive?

• Or one you’re not on talking terms with for months and years?

Pope John Paul II forgave the assassin Mehmet Ali who was arrested for shooting the pontiff in St. Peter's Square. The pope publicly forgave his assailant. Many other saints nearby your homes are examples of forgiveness. 

All you need is love. Love is all we need. 

Two blind men (Mt 9:27-31)

The man was narrating how he lost his job. “I just gave up my seat to a blind person on the bus. And then I lost my job”. 

“Why? What was your job?”

That’s how I lost my job as a bus driver.

Jesus cured two blind men in today's Gospel. There is a strange thing that happened in this miracle; Jesus allowed them to follow him on the way until he reached his house and only then he healed them. They cried out all the way saying, "Son of God, Have mercy on us!" Why? 

Why did he wait for so long, the whole journey, to heal them?

Why is he asking the question, "Do you believe that I can do this"? 

There are three lessons from this Gospel. 

• Sometimes the Lord invites us to make a long journey of testimony in order to have an ultimate Messiah experience. During this journey, we may have to follow Christ without knowing clearly what is our destination. Things are not clear because of our blindness. But we need to make this long journey only by having faith in his mercy. 
• We need to pronounce these words very often within ourselves, Yes, I can, I will. If human beings did not believe in these words, we would still be monkeys. You need to believe in yourself for success. Jesus asked an important question to them; Do you believe that I can do this? Do you believe in Messianic power? We need to believe in the Man whom we are following. Sometimes we may follow him simply, but we need to pose this question; Is it worth following him? Is it meaningful to follow Him? I follow him because I inherit eternal life. 
• The responsorial Psalm says like this; the Lord is my light and salvation. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life's refuge; of whom should I be afraid?  Lord is the true light and a way for salvation. There is no doubt about this. Those who follow him shall not walk in darkness. 

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”!