It is once said that: “Justice is getting what you deserve. Grace is getting what you don’t deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve.”
In our gospel today, all hired-laborers got justice from a just wage for an honest day’s work. However, those who are hired-later received Grace & blessing for a chance to work though undeservingly late & last to work. And they also received Mercy for though deserving of rejection for hiring, they were given a chance for work & just wage instead.
Judging from the merits of their work, the early-hired laborers complain & ask for Justice based on reward & punishment reasoning. However, not only justice but also grace & mercy are given to the late & last-hired workers, because of and based on God’s generosity & their faith.
We are reminded here that God judges & sees us beyond our merits, reward & punishment reasoning, & justice. In His grace & mercy, God loves us out of His generosity along with our faith in Him.
Now in our relationship with God, are we IN only for His Justice, & our merits – our reward-punishment? OR are we more into His grace & mercy, His generosity & our trusting faith in Him?
Be reminded then of these words: “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?
In your generosity, grant us Your Grace & Mercy O Lord, deserving or undeserving we may be. Amen
“The Lord be with you” and we normally nowadays reply: “And also with your spirit”, – where decades ago we used to reply: “And also with you.” As Christians, we usually use these words of greetings as our recognition & faith of God’s presence in our midst & in one another.
A priest once celebrated Eucharist in his own parish church. As he was about to greet these words to the people, he was not able to broadcast, because there is something wrong with the microphone’s connections. While tapping its cord, he eventually regains contact. But unfortunately, instead of the usual “the Lord be with you”, he loudly broadcasts to the people: “There is something wrong with the microphone”. And the people reply: “And also with your spirit”.
Funny story it might be, but it is also telling us something – that sometimes we need to hear the words differently for us to fully appreciate and understand its meanings. This is what Jesus is also doing when he said the disturbing message in our gospel today, “I have come to set the earth on fire and I wish it were already blazing; I have come not to establish peace but division.” For the apostles and to us to fully understand the value and consequences of discipleship – of following Him, Jesus has to present us the Good News differently – somewhat off and disturbing so that we may fathom the height, width and depth of its meaning.
Like “The Lord be with you. And also with you” greeting. Surely we are familiar with those words. But come to think of it, though mistakenly said, but somehow it is not totally false that we may also say that there is something wrong with us & with our spirit. Yes, in almost all liturgies and prayers we celebrate, we hear and speak those words. But what does it really mean?
First, It’s a great Honor and Privilege. We should feel then happy and great that the Lord is here with you and I, with us. Remember the first and primary good news of peace, love and hope ever preached are those words: “the Lord is with You”. But do we really feel great and honored hearing and speaking those words? Are we excited to hear and proclaim it? Or upon hearing and saying those words, we only say: “OK lang”, like “Ya, sounds familiar – We have heard it before, so what’s the fuss?” Like youngsters nowadays might say: “the Lord be with you? OK, fine, whatever”.
Second, It’s personal and intimate. The Lord is WITH YOU. He is with you near – up close and personal. But do you really want Him to be nearby and near with you — OR would rather have Him far and away from you, who comes in handy when needed only? Would you rather Him as your buddy companion KASAMA, OR your usual “suking” gasoline station, handy only when empty & needed?
Third, It’s communal. He is not only with You but with all of Us. He dwells amongst us, and lives and stays with Us. He is with and in each and everyone of us, good and bad alike. But do we want Him to be with others & respect His presence with other than ourselves -OR do we prefer that he is exclusively with you and your family or group but not with the outcasts and rejected or your competitors or enemies?
Fourth, It’s a Great Task and Responsibility. To welcome Him into our lives demands responsibility and total dedication. Meaning to accept, recognize and believe in the Good News that “the Lord is with you” is to be converted – to completely change your own ways and style of life and be patterned into His own faith and life. This is the cost of welcoming and following Jesus into our lives. Christian Discipleship would cost us a lot, for life will be different & never be the same again. Once you recognize & welcome Him to be with You, you cannot but change your ways & lifestyle. Perhaps that’s the reason why sometimes we don’t take those words: “the Lord be with you” seriously for we know that if we do so, there will division, tensions, disharmony and conflict within ourselves and with others, for all the changes it entails following Jesus demands of us.
For those who have seen the movie Spiderman 1, its simple message is “Great power comes with great responsibility”. In the same way, to believe in Jesus Christ – The Lord with Us, to follow Him is a Great personal and communal Power, Honor and Privilege but also comes with Great Responsibility. Somehow this is what Jesus is trying to say to us when he said: “I have come to set fire on earth, and how I wish it where already blazing.”
Indeed, there might be at times something wrong with us in life & spirit; both as the announcer/proclaimer (priest broadcasting: there is something wrong…) & listeners/receivers (people responding: and with your spirit) of the message. But the good news and message remain always the same: EMMANUEL – the Lord with us… was with us, is with us and will always be with us – whatever, however, whoever & whenever we might be.
We pray then that we Christians may remain be shaken & disturbed by the deeper meaning of Lord’s gospel, so that we may be more Jesus-like in being passionately responsible for the Good News of Emmanuel- God being with us. Amen.
Once in a dream, a rich man found himself at the heaven’s door and welcomed with VIP treatment by two nice angels. As he was about to be brought to his house in heaven, he was fetched by a long white limousine with all the amenities, and was driven through a high-class subdivision. Along the way, he saw that his once-poor squatter neighbors are now living in big nice houses in heaven. Like, his laundry woman resides in a nice cozy house, his gardener has a big lawn, his former driver lives on a bungalow, and his maid now lives on a condominium. Thinking these poor neighbors have made well in heaven, he also thought that his home in heaven would be a big mansion, since he has been their master and better off than them.
As they arrived, they stopped in front of a very big nice mansion. The rich man, however was led thru the mansion’s side gate, and eventually into cardboard box shanty at the back of the big mansion. The angels then said: “Welcome to your home in heaven”. He was so disappointed and disgusted to a point that he yelled at them, “What? A cardboard box shanty? I don’t deserve this.” The angels replied, “Sorry, Sir, this shanty is only what we can prepare for you from the materials and contributions you have sent here”.
Deep inside, yes, we do long to be reunited with God. We hope, and it is our heart’s desire that one day we will be one and at home with our Heavenly Father sharing with Him eternal life in our heavenly home. But while we are still here in this earthly life, like that rich man and that foolish maidservant in our gospel, it is easy for us to enjoy and be contented – or be more anxious and occupied with life here and now that we tend to forget what we really hope and long for in life.
Because of our life-concerns in the here and now, it is easy for us to be more confident only with ourselves, forgetting God, even acting like-God, doesn’t anymore care of others except oneself, and fully enjoying the pleasures of earthly life. Meaning, we become more concern and greedy in amassing earthly treasures that we don’t anymore recognize and value heavenly treasures.
Here in our gospel today, Jesus reminds us of what really matters to God and the true treasures in life, and that is our life to be with Him – our everlasting life with Him in God’s Kingdom. He challenges us to “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven”, that is, to seek and strive for the true treasures in heaven…for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” This would mean that, rather than amassing earthly treasures in life, we must value and be concerned in preparation about our heavenly treasures in the here and now.
For Jesus, our life now and our life to-be is not about building up our status and wealth in life, but it is about building up our faith relationship with God. Like the faith of Abraham and Sarah, our faith in God, our faith-relationship with God is our true treasures – our true heart’s desire. Such faith in Him will surely bring us into our salvation, into our heavenly home, for God loves to share His graces to all, especially those who have faith in Him.
As we are still living on this life while hoping for eternal life, our nearest experiences of heaven here on earth are moments when we love and serve those who are in need, and when we trustingly fulfill what God entrusted and required of us in life. For he said, “much will be required of the person entrusted with much and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more”. Yes, God gives each of us a required-task to fulfill, an entrusted-mission to accomplish in life. And doing our part in fulfilling our life-tasks and life missions here and now, with love and service of others is our contribution in building up our home and treasures in heaven.
We are called Christians because of our faith in Jesus Christ. We are Christians with faith in Jesus Christ, not only because we recognize and believe in Him, but also because we long and hope for the fulfillment of His message and promise of God’s Salvation into our lives. And as we long for the true treasures in life – our heavenly home, let us be vigilant and prepare for the fulfillment of His promise and learn how to build up, nurture and share our faith and blessings with others.
As pandemic times compel us nowadays to think about the meaning & value of life, may we never separated from what is most important and valuable in life – our faith in God, and may we never be wearied in accomplishing our missions in life – building up our home with God. Amen.
Somehow, we may discern about two types of leaders and leaderships nowadays: the go-getting and go-giving leadership, or the go-getters and the go-giving leaders. Both share the same passion, but differ in motivations.
Go-getters are leaders who aspire, work, and strive on things in order to GET – that is, to acquire, accumulate, possess, own, and have things only for themselves; while go-givers are leaders who aspire, work and strive on things in order to GIVE and to share things with others. The big differences here are the motivation, objective, and beneficiaries of leadership. Go-getting leadership is motivated by GREED while Go-giving leadership is motivated by SERVICE. Go-getters are more concerned of themselves, and aiming for hoarding power and wealth, while go-givers are more concerned with others, aiming for sharing power and wealth. Go-getting promote individualism, selfishness, self-centeredness, consumerism, materialism, and greed, while go-giving promote community, other-centeredness, selflessness, inter-relationship and service. In other words. Go-getters do everything to get what they want, while go-givers do everything to share what they have.
Our modern high-tech western world today has obviously promoted go-getter leaders. In our schools, government, workplace, business, media world and even in our church, go-getters have been recognized and praised. People nowadays prefer go-getter leaders, who have a lot of everything – money, influence, power, connections, latest gadgets, and cars. We can sense go-getters mentality in the air. Slogans like: “obey your thirst”, “why settle for less”, “satisfy your cravings”, “be an addict”, “go for the best”, “be a millionaire” are just few of its catchwords. Go-getters are clearly personified by “Gollum”, a character in the Lord of the Rings. He does everything for His precious, even to the point of murder, betrayal, and deception. All his life was directed toward getting back the ring, his precious.
Although the go-getter mentality is the promoted in-thing craze nowadays, we cannot deny that we, Filipino by our culture are go-givers. It is our nature to do anything in order to share what we have. Everything that we have is not only for own selves, but for others to share.
It is only here in the Philippines that have the concept of bring house. We do not only attend parties but we also extend it to others who are not able to attend by bringing them some food – to make them part of the party. It is only here in the Philippines that have the concept of PasaLoad, or Share a Load. Imagine, sharing your telephone bills with others. Same way with Balikbayan box. Until now, foreigners have a hard time understanding Filipinos saving and sending goods to Philippines where you could now get anywhere. For we know that those goodies are not for themselves but for others to share – for lolo, lola, igsoon, utod, barkada, neighbors and others. Best example for this is the “eat-all-you-can” spree in restaurants. Although tempting and reasonable, it did not work well because of its “no sharing, no left-overs, no bring house” policy. Yes, Filipinos like to eat, but we like to eat with others. It’s not the food but the fellowship, agape, salusalo, punsyon in eating, whatever the food there is, that matters most.
Jesus in our gospel today openly criticized go-getter leadership and mentality in the world. He reminds us that life and God’s grace are meant to be shared with others and not to be hoarded for oneself. Go-getter, amassing power, and wealth for oneself are all meaningless – vanity of vanities, does not bring lasting happiness in life.
For Jesus, what God has given us is not only for ourselves but for us to share with others. God’s graces are Shareware, not private property, intended not for your own reign but God’s reign.
While our world today advocates Go-getting leadership, as Filipino Christians, we must be Go-giving & Go-givers in life and in God’s kingdom. Remember as the Lord once said: ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. And store up for yourself treasures in heaven.”
Let us then seek what is essential and righteous before God, and go-give & share with others for that gives us life, happiness and meaning. Amen
A funny story once told about a man who was so envious about the faith & prayer life of his poor neighbor. Whenever he meets this elderly devoted neighbor, he would always test at a point of insulting her faith. Sometimes, he even would say, “your prayers and devotion do not lead you anywhere but more frustrations”. The old neighbor would just smile and keep her silence.
One day, he overheard his poor neighbor praying this way, “Lord Jesus, you taught us to ask for our daily bread. You know my food supply is just enough for this day. My hard-up son has not yet sent me something for tomorrow. I believe you know what is best for me. If it is your will, Lord, grant me what I need as you have always provided me. May your will be done.” After hearing this, the man went to the grocery and bought some food supply. Then, next day, he went to his neighbor’s house, put a bagful of grocery outside the door, hides behind somewhere and waited for his neighbor’s reaction. When the neighbor found the bag outside, she was happy and all praise to God for the graces before her. Suddenly, the man interfered and said, “Aha, got you. That bag of food is not from your God but from Me. See, your God doesn’t care for you”. In response, The old neighbor just loudly prayed, “Lord, many thanks for these graces you have given me here today… and for letting my good neighbor pay for it”.
Praying to God has always been part of our life. And in our efforts in praying, there will always a discontent within us with the way we pray – that somehow there is something missing or kulang in the way we pray, and we don’t know what and how. There is always a desire and longing for the best way of praying. Deep inside, we cry: “Lord, teach us how to pray”.
Our readings today are all about prayer, and teaching us how to pray. In our first reading, we hear Abraham made a persistent appeal to Yahweh in behalf of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to be spared from His judgment. Jesus in our gospel today did not just teach his disciples what to pray but described them prayer as asking, seeking, and knocking for what we need from God. Meaning, prayer is our humble and trusting but persistent expression of our appeals, requests – of our heart’s desire to God before His presence. In other words, our readings today are teaching us that prayer is basically our LAMBING, paanga or “Pamaraig” to God, our Father – our Tatay.
Here, we are also reminded that God always listens to our prayers. God as our parent wants to listen to our heart’s desire. He knows and understands our needs and concerns, while he also wants us to come near Him and show our lambing – “pamaraig” to Him. Also, God always answer our prayers in His own time and ways. Yes, sometimes we feel frustrated with God for not answering our prayers. But the same way we experience our parents, God seems silent or passive with our prayers but actually he is discerning and planning what is best for us, better than what we prayed for. We are only to express our prayers – our pamaraig persistently, wait patiently and trusting that not long for now we receive more and better than what we expected. Like what happened with the story, God has His own ways and time to grant our prayers. God always listens and answers our prayer in His own time and ways, (and perhaps allow others to pay for it. 😉)
For Jesus, it is not our desires, longings, needs, hungers, and cravings but it is LAMBING : our persistency, patient waiting and trust and confidence in God, our Father that matters. Remember in praying to God, it is not what we pray but how we pray it, not what we ask from but how we ask it from Him that matters. It is the manner of prayer, the pamaraig: the asking, seeking, and knocking that is significant, and not the content or outcome what you ask and seek. “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Regardless of the what grace & how blessings are given, we now express our lambing/prayer to our Tatay-Father who loves us so dearly.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 