Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Homilies

  • The Lord in our Midst, in Flesh & in Need.

    The Lord in our Midst, in Flesh & in Need.

    April 18, 2021 – Third Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041821.cfm

    “The Lord has risen, indeed. Let us be glad and rejoice. Alleluia”. As Easter people, we Christians proclaim our faith in the Risen Lord – that is, our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed resurrected from death and always with us alive and in life now forever. This is our faith. This is what we believe. This is what we proclaim as Christians to the whole world.

    Though many at times, we still wonder as to how do we & can we experience the risen Lord in our lives today. We still grapple as to how do the risen Lord reveal himself to us and to the world today, and as to how do we recognize the risen Lord in our lives today. Mysterious our faith maybe, we might discern however some signs or ways we may recognize the risen Lord in our lives.

    By telling us the disciples’ Easter experience, St. Luke in our gospel today gives us hints as to how they had then and we will now witness the risen Lord in our lives today.

    First, the risen Lord reveals Himself IN THEIR MIDST. While the two disciples from Emmaus recounting their experience of the risen Lord to the community, Jesus stood IN their midst and said to them: “Peace Be with You”. The community of disciples witnessed the risen Lord themselves while they were remembering and celebrating their experience of the Lord in their own lives. By the testimony and faith of our Christian community and through our community of believers as church, we thus experience the risen Lord in the midst of our lives. Our Lord does once said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst”. In other words, we and others may and will witness the risen Lord is in our lives today, wherever and whenever we gather together as community of believers to celebrate and proclaim our faith in Him, as He is Present in our midst.   

    Second, the risen Lord reveals Himself IN FLESH. As the risen Lord reveals Himself in the midst of the disciples, he showed and asked them to touch and see His wounded hands and feet. Thus, the risen Lord reveals Himself not as ghost but in flesh and bones with wounds. This is very significant because mostly how we witness the Lord is clouded by how we want to see Him and how we want Him to reveal Himself to us. In other words, “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Like, we may ask ourselves not, “how does the risen show Himself to us” but more like, “how would we like to see the risen Lord”. Here we may want to see and believe on an Easter with a “Jesus without a cross”. Jesus here is the risen Lord – without wounds and cross – who reveals to us in full transfiguration and perfect glory who will save our day and provide us success and wealth in life. He is a Jesus of the prosperity gospel who enjoying and sharing the luxury and pleasure of life (smiling on a BMW motorbike with latest iPhone & all abobots/gadgets/perks) enjoying the good life with all His followers.

    We may also want to see and believe on an Easter with a “Cross without Jesus”. Jesus here is the risen Lord not in flesh but in spirit – a ghost. Here Jesus is believed to be not anymore in this world but in spiritual realm welcoming us to the next life, but still remains at a distance from our daily life-struggles.

    However we like to see our risen Lord in our lives now, whether as “Jesus without a cross” or “Cross without Jesus”, the fact is – the risen Lord has made Himself known to us as “Jesus with a Cross” – a risen Lord in wounded flesh and bones who struggles and sacrifices painfully yet victoriously in life. The risen Lord in flesh is thus a seasoned life-hero who, by letting us touch and see His wounds in Life – not His glorified body or His spirit, is now willing to coach and journey us in life. In our day to day struggles of life and humanity then, the risen Lord makes Himself known to us.

    Third, the risen Lord reveals Himself IN NEED. After showing Himself to them in their midst and asking them to touch and see His wounds in flesh, the risen Lord Jesus asked from them for something to eat, and ate in front of them. He is thus a hungry and needy risen Lord who needs us and needs something from us, for Him to continue on His mission. In other words, the risen Lord is a Lord who is not-yet finished, promising yet still more to come, still on mission, on the job, on the go, on work-in progress with our life-resurrection. And he does need us to be His cooperators/partners in life and resurrection. In our sensibility for His needs and our response for the Lord’s mission now, the risen Lord makes Himself known to us. 

    The risen Lord in our Midst, in Flesh and in Need are just but hints for us to witness Him in our lives today. These are invitations for us to see Easter as they are, as it is being revealed to us, and not as we are and we would want it to be. Only then that we may become more open to the mystery of Easter, and willingly proclaim: “The Lord indeed has risen. Let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia.”

    Lord, in our midst, in flesh & in need, reveal anew Yourself to us now so that we may see what You want us to witness for our lives now & we know what is your will for us now, especially during these difficult pandemic times.

    So Help Us God. So May it Be. Amen.

  • MIGHT NOT BUT MORE THAN WHAT IT SEEMS

    MIGHT NOT BUT MORE THAN WHAT IT SEEMS

    April 15, 2021 – Thursday of the Second Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041521.cfm)

    Usually, we see things not as they are, but as we are. Normally we see things as we are, not as they are. The way we see things are always clouded by our own perspective. The way we look at realities is usually limited by our own understanding. That is why we see things by what we only understand and not what it really is. And at times, in seeing things, we do need to suspend judgment & try to be more open to other possibilities because things might not & more than what it seems.

    For instance, to promote consumerism & shopping spree during Christmas holiday season, in a non-Christian Japan, a crucified Santa Claus was placed on the display section thinking Christians buyers would be attracted to buy their lingerie products. For a non-believers, it is just for promotion, but for a believers, there is a reason for the Christmas season; not the crucifixion of Santa Claus but the birth of Jesus Christ. In the same way, sticking chopsticks standing on a bowl of rice means nothing for us, but it is a no-no for Japanese since it is bad luck & for Chinese it reminds of funeral.

    That is why we should be aware of how we see things because we tend to see things not as they are, or not as it is, but as we see things as we are.

    The main issue and at the very heart of our readings today is the question on how people see things & realities differently.

    The birth of Christianity in the Acts of the apostles is a dangerous political movement for the Jewish courts & hierarchy. But for the Apostles & Christian followers, it is the testimony of the risen Lord & the chance for them to bear witness & proclaim to others God’s offer of salvation to all. Here we are reminded as Christians that we see things differently. While others see things differently as they are, we Christians also see things differently since we see what is happening & going on in our lives with the eyes of Faith in the risen Lord. Because we believe in the Risen Lord & of our faith in Jesus Christ, we see life in faith & we look with faith in life.

    This is what Jesus is teaching us in our gospel today. He said to us: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life.” In other words, eternal life for those who believes, damnation for those who don’t believe. Our faith then makes us Christian in life. And He wants us to see things in life with faith in Him. For us Christians believers, a Cross means everything. But for non-believers, a Cross means nothing.

    Perhaps now we ask ourselves: How do we see life as we experience it now? Do we see things – what is happening & going with us now – with the eye of faith, as we believe in the risen Lord? During this Easter season, what is it that the Lord want me to see now in our lives?

    Open wide our eyes Oh Lord that we may see what you want us to see now in life, so that may we believe You deeply & through us, others may also believe You.

    So Help us God. So May it be. Amen.

  • BELIEVE

    BELIEVE

    APRIL 11, 2021 – 2ND Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041121.cfm)

    Once a Catholic missionary tried to lead a young atheist to accept God’s grace by faith in Jesus Christ through the Church. But the young man just said, “I will never believe until I have an experience of Christ.” And the missionary replied, “But you will never have an experience of Jesus in His Church until you believe in Him.”

    Nowadays, it is difficult for us to believe. We ask usually for signs, proofs, or evidences in order to trust somebody. We need some credentials in order for us to believe someone. We say: “To see is to believe.” Many times, we claim, “We will never believe until we see it”. Others would say, “Show me the money first before I trust you”. Like Thomas in our Gospel today, we say: “Unless there are evidences (see and touch the nailmarks on the Lord’s sides), I will not believe”.

    The opposite of Belief is doubt. Doubt and distrust have indeed been a great stumbling block or hindrance in the growth of our Christian faith. Even Jesus had difficulty in preaching the Good News because of the people’s doubt and unbelief. And the same doubt and unbelief have caused the Lords’ suffering, crucifixion and death. 

    Usually we doubt by certain truths in our life because they are beyond our comprehension. Because we don’t understand them – they don’t make sense- that we doubt if what is presented before us is really true and sincere. So also, many at time in life, we struggle to find God in our signs and evidences, in our darkness and loneliness, in our comprehension and understanding that usually leads us nowhere but doubt and unbelief. But actually, doubt and unbelief happen whenever and because we are just asleep – not aware or not awake and present enough to recognize what has been presented right before us.

    This is what Jesus is trying to reveal and teach his apostles then and us now in our Gospel today.

    As the community of disciples hid themselves asleep in fear for the authority, in shame for abandoning their master, and in hopelessness and defeat for the death of the Lord, Jesus, now the Risen Lord came and shown Himself to them, saying: “Peace Be with you”. Take note, Jesus reveals and presents Himself – make Himself known to them in order to tell them: “Not doubt but believe Him”, that is to wake them up from doubt, and to wake up their faith in Him again. The Risen Lord thus presents Himself before and in the Church to wake up our Faith in Him anew so that we may experience God’s glory being offered to us once again.

    And He continues to reveal Himself again and always to us in our Church and whenever we are PRESENT in our Christian faith-community. Remember, Thomas doubted the risen Lord because he was absent – not there but somewhere else – when the Lord revealed Himself for the first time. In the same way, whenever we are absent with ourselves and with our community, we doubt and don’t experience Easter. But whenever we are present with ourselves and our community, we experience and believe in the Resurrection of our Lord.   

    “Believe the Gospel, believe in Him, Believe in Jesus Christ” has always been the core message of the Gospel. For us to experience the Good News of God’s glory in our lives always, all we are asked to do is not to look for evidences, signs or proofs but just to believe in Him who reveals Himself right before and in us, our community of faith. Without faith, we cannot comprehend and benefit from the greatness of God’s graces offered and can offer us now by the Risen Lord, as he makes Himself present in our church and community.

    Joan Chittister, a known lady-theologican once said: “It takes a lifetime to really understand that God is in what is standing in front of us. Most of our lives are spent looking straining to see the God in the cloud, behind the mist, beyond the dark. It is when we face God in one another, in creation, in the moment that the real spiritual journey begins”. Very true, indeed. We do tend to look for something else while searching for God who is already right before and in front of us. In other words, Easter – the Lord’s resurrection only happens, makes sense and becomes meaningful to us, if and when we are present enough to acknowledge and believe in the Risen Lord as He reveals to us face to face, in front of us, in our Church, our community of believers.

    So, Don’t doubt but Believe the Gospel being and yet to be revealed to us in our community of faith. Be present as the Lord presents Himself & is present in our Church. 

    So be it. Amen.

  • GOING FORWARD AND TAKING RISKS

    GOING FORWARD AND TAKING RISKS

    April 9, 2021 – Friday within the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040921.cfm)

    Jesus who was thought to be the Messiah and Son of God was crucified and died on Friday. He was buried in a tomb but on Sunday morning Jesus resurrected. However, his disciples like Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael and other disciples did not know yet that the Lord is alive. These disciples only knew that their Lord was buried in a tomb. Because of this, their hearts were filled with pain, disappointment, with fear and doubts.

    When Jesus was there at their side, they were filled with enthusiasm and spirit but when Jesus was arrested they fled and when he was crucified, they hid themselves for fear of the Jews. Because of these negative experiences, they believed that they have failed the Lord, and so they themselves were failures.

    Their immediate response was to go back their old self, to retreat and not to go forward anymore. Because they believed that they were failures, they succumbed to the temptation to go back to their old ways and that was to fish. They have been called from being fishermen to become fishers of people, yet, having a painful and horrible experience on the death of Jesus, they retreated to go back to fishing. This was what Simon Peter and the rest did.

    However, all night they caught nothing. The “night” in the Gospel is very symbolic because it reveals to us that the disciples were in darkness and they couldn’t find light. They felt hopeless and even in a helpless situation. They wanted to give up. But, at dawn a stranger appeared on the shore and asked them if they have caught anything. They all answered, no, they caught nothing. That stranger said, “cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” And they did, they trusted that stranger and to their surprise, when they pulled the net they could barely pull it back because there were plenty of fish.

    Then, the “beloved disciple” recognized that it was the Lord Jesus. Jesus is alive and waiting on the shore. This prompted Peter to jump into the sea in order to meet the Lord with excitement and joy.

    This reminds us that there will be times of sorrow, of disappointment and discouragement, times of fear and failure. We might come into the point of our life where we feel hopeless and helpless because we have failed, because the situation is just too difficult, family problems are just horrifying, our poverty is just overwhelming, or our relationship with others have failed – and then, our immediate reaction is to retreat, to hide in our own failure and pain, to dwell so much on our problems, to go back to our old and bad habits, becoming fearful, anxious and mediocre – which means going into the darkness of depression rather into the light of hope and life.

    Indeed, this happened to the disciples and because they retreated into the night of fear, they caught nothing. They thought that they could catch fish by themselves alone. They believed that they could surpass that difficulty by being alone, but, no! Being alone and separated from God only brought them into a deeper disappointment in life. It is when we are with Jesus that we find meaning and joy even in the midst of pain, of failure and difficulties.

    The Risen Lord invites us today.

    First, when we meet failures and difficulties, do not go back to the old ways and old habits (which could be our addictions and depressive behaviors). This will only bring us into deeper darkness and hopelessness. Rather go forward and take the risk.

    Second, in taking the risk of going forward never take the road alone, or never think that we can do everything by ourselves. The journey is lighter when we are with somebody else whom we can trust, whom we can share our story. Find and build long lasting friendship, build a deeper family relationship, invest in your relationships. When we are told to cast our net, to change the course of our boat and to change our life – go for it and trust the Lord because it might be in that direction that we will find the abundance of love and life.

    Third, be always aware of God’s presence waiting for us on the shore. Just like the beloved disciple let us always be intimate with Jesus. It is only when we become intimate with Jesus in our prayer that we also become aware of his presence in everyone. Hinaut pa.

  • SCARS INTO GRACE

    SCARS INTO GRACE

    April 8, 2021 – Thursday within the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040821.cfm)

    What scars do you have in your body? And what scars do you have in your heart? We both have physical and emotional scars. Every scar would remind us of pain in the past. Some scars may become insignificant through time. Other scars especially the big ones may remain significant even though the pain has gone. The trauma that we have been through in the past could sometimes still shaken us at present.

    Emotional scars compared to the physical ones carry more weight and longer time to heal. The stories behind our emotional scars can also sometimes bring back old memories of pain and sadness. Yet, it is also possible that those scars we have whether physical and emotional, can become signs of victory, of growth, of wonder, of beauty and even of grace.

    Such possibility of turning our scars into grace is what has been told to us in today’s Gospel. Jesus appeared before his disciples. He greeted them with peace because their hearts were filled with fear and troubles. The very thought of the death of Jesus brought so much sadness and fear into the hearts of the disciples. Because of this, they could not believe that Jesus is alive and was in front of them.

    Jesus rather invited them, to look a hands and feet. Jesus said, “touch me and see.” Jesus wanted the disciples to touch and see that indeed he bore the scars from the wounds he endured at his crucifixion. To touch and see the scars of Jesus, those signs of wounds and of his death is to be able to behold the grace of God.

    This tells us that the resurrection of Jesus has made those scars, now, as signs of victory, of wonder and of grace. Those scars remind us that Jesus went through suffering and he knows very much the feeling of being in pain, being humiliated, being abused and being maltreated. Those scars revealed the cruelty of sin and evil.  Yet, beyond those scars also is the grace of God that brings new life and new hope for all.

    Thus, as the disciples were invited by Jesus to touch and see the scars in his body, the Lord also calls us to look at our own scars. Do not deny or hide in forgetfulness and in shame those scars in us. The very scars we carry can become opportunities where God shall bring graces to us. Through our own scars, we shall find healing and life, transformation and hope.

    Hiding in forgetfulness or in shame and denying that we are scarred will not help us. These attitudes will only bring us into more fear and sadness. Our heart will remain fearful and troubled like the disciples who were in hiding.

    As we allow the Lord to work wonders in us and make his grace be revealed through our own scars, may we also experience today the grace of new life through his resurrection. Hinaut pa.