I don’t like surprises. Yes, there’s that element of excitement that one feels over it. But I think it’s in this certain sense of mystery and of unpredictability in surprises which makes it unwanting for me.
Zechariah was not ready for a surprise. For sure, in the course of time he had served God, he must had presented his desire to have at least a child. But the time he waited for God’s answer was long overdue. Being human and old, and his wife Elizabeth was found to be barren, his doubts were understandably considerable.
To doubt or misunderstand God’s purpose in our life is obviously easy. Even highly spiritual people are sometimes subject to doubt. Maybe because we don’t pay much attention to God’s intimate presence in our lives. Or perhaps we underestimate our value by magnifying our inadequacies.
But God’s power is not bound by human limitations or confined by our pessimistic views. These factors, therefore, are not deterrents to God’s promised plan of salvation.
God is faithful, and He keeps his promise. And he delivers it on time, by his time and by his way. He, who created the whole universe and guided the events of history to prepare the coming of the Messiah, is very much capable of accomplishing what He had begun. What may be under humanly impossible circumstances, God makes it possible. Because He specializes in the “Impossibles.”
However, to be able to appreciate God’s hands at work in our life, we must be open to what God can do in every situation, be it ordinary or extraordinary. And of course, to let God be God by patiently waiting for God to act in his time, in his ways.
Lord, God of surprises, may you give us eyes of faith to see you present in our life and ears of faith to hear you speaking to us. And may we learn to trust you enough in every step of the way. Amen.
Each of us might be waiting for something good to happen. Yet, we could have grown impatient because of waiting. But then, extend more our patience, God is preparing and it is coming. It really is. Just believe. But, why should we believe? Why risk in believing, in having faith in God? Well, because promises are made to be fulfilled.
Do you believe in this? Contrary to popular saying that “promises are made to be broken,” which applies to those who are bitter in their life, promises are indeed made to be fulfilled. So, please don’t be bitter, be better rather.
Promises are, certainly, made to be fulfilled. This what makes a promise, a promise. Using the philosophical language, “the very essence of a promise, is its fulfillment.” That is why, the very essence of the WORD is when it becomes FLESH. The very essence of what we speak and talk about, is when it becomes our action.
The very person of Jesus, our Lord, is the fulfillment of God’s promise. This promise of God started from the very beginning found in the Book of Genesis. When man and woman was driven out from paradise, God promised to be with them and to stay always with them. As God chose the people to be his own, God also promised to send a Savior, a Redeemer, a Messiah who will be with God’s people. This is what has been proclaimed in the first reading today. The Book of Jeremiah tells us that God proclaims his promise to save his people and give them security.
In fact, this points us to this “PROMISE OF GOD” that springs from the covenant made by God with humanity. The prophets told the people of this promise, the laws and decrees of God point also to this promise. The historical events and all those people in the Bible have prepared for the promise to be fulfilled.
So, what is this promise? Much better to ask, Who is this promise? He is the Emmanuel, the God who is with us. He is born from a virgin, the word that became flesh, he is JESUS, (whose names means “YAHWEH SAVES”.) JESUS, our Lord, is the very promise of the Father to us.
However, the fulfillment of the promise was tainted by a scandal of unfaithfulness and of a promise seemed to be broken. The arrival of Jesus seemed to be scandalous. This was the steaming aura at that time in the little town of Nazareth. In the ears of the neighbors of Joseph, what happened to Mary was scandalous. Mary and Joseph were already engaged but within that period of engagement Mary got (preggy) pregnant. The people in their village knew that Joseph was not the father. Joseph himself was confident that Mary’s child in her womb was not his. Joseph knew that the Jewish law would find Mary guilty of adultery. This was an act punishable by shame and death.
As it happens in small villages, Mary must have been a subject of gossips and fake news. Mary was judged without further investigation. The eyes and fingers of the people around her must have pointed and branded her to be a shame. In their eyes, the promise of the engagement was broken.
Joseph must have been in pain as well. He must have been confused and must have been very hurt. He must have felt betrayed. However, Joseph’s response to this was not out of anger or bitterness. In the heart of Joseph, he wanted to save Mary by divorcing her quietly. Joseph must have thought that Mary was in another relationship. To divorce her quietly will allow Mary to be engaged with the man who fathered the baby in her womb.
This difficult situation in Joseph, and the belief that he was betrayed, became the way for God to reveal the divine plan to this gentle and thoughtful man. God must have been waiting for the proper time when to reveal to Joseph the divine plan. Thus, when everything was in its place and when Joseph was ready enough, an angel revealed to Joseph the mind of God.
What Joseph realized in that deep dream was the fulfillment of what he was hoping for and the hope of all humanity, the joy of all. God’s presence made into flesh is that greatest joy of all, and the fulfillment of the promise because “Yahweh saves.”
Joseph began to see the scandalous situation of Mary’s pregnancy through the eyes of faith rather than his fears and disappointment, through God’s love rather than his anger and hate. Joseph now fully realized that this was the fulfillment of God’s promise, calling him also to fulfill his commitment.
From then on, Joseph saw and felt that what has been revealed to him was truly scandalous because God revealed Himself to him, because God has become man there in the womb of Mary just to be with us. It was scandalous because we thought that God is up there or out there in the heavens only, a place that no person can reach. But then Mary was preggy (pregnant). This blows our minds now, because through that unexpected pregnancy, God is telling us the He is intimately present with us. God is telling us that humanity can become pregnant with God.
Joseph understood that Mary’s pregnancy is a statement of God’s faithfulness and commitment to us. God commits himself to be our God. God commits himself to choose us as His people. This is God’s assurance to us now that he is present and he lives in the midst of our lives, in the midst of our pain, of our failures, of our disappointments, hurts and fears in order to bring to us His mercy, love and friendship.
What God is telling us now is this – that God chooses life and not death because God chooses to be born like us. God is telling us that he never gives up on us because His name is Jesus – the God who saves us. God is telling us that we are not alone in our difficulties because He is Emmanuel, the God who is with us who gives joy and hope.
May this reminds us now, that as God fulfills His promise to be with us and to be for us, we too are called to fulfill our commitments in our work or profession, among our friends and family, in our communities or organizations. May our commitment then, bring us into that realization that every time we fulfill our commitment, we also share in fulfilling God’s promise to be with us for we become God’s presence today. Hinaut pa.
I come from a family of fishermen. For hundreds of years, my ancestors’ main occupation was fishing. Our family’s history revolved around the sea and the various fish we could find within the Island of Mactan. In fact, our family’s surname is related to fishing. I became aware of this when I found my Papa’s long list of names of our ancestry. Papa loved history and most especially the history of our family.
Papa told me stories of our great-grand fathers and mothers who created significant impact in our small history. As I listened to those long and many stories of Papa, he too shared interesting and exciting stories of significant people in our history. Later, he was not hesitant anymore to share with us some disheartening, scandalous and painful stories in the family.
Yet, what I found funniest in our family history was Papa’s claim that our family come from the lineage of the great Lapu-Lapu, the first hero in our archipelago and defeated Fernando de Magallanes.
Nevertheless, though funny it is, our own small family history has a small part in the story of 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. Part of our family tradition is the devotion to the Sto. Niño as it is common among Cebuano families. We too have our own share of miracle stories with the Sto. Niño which made our Christian faith to grow.
From this story of my own family, this also brings me into God’s invitation for us today, on this Second Day of our Misa de Aguinaldo. Thus, I would like to deepen today’s reflection on the Gift of our Family and the Healing of our Family History.
Each of us, is also a product of our vast family history. It is not that we are doomed and chained by the past, but we are being enriched by a vast history. Our families have our own history of both joys and sorrows, failures and successes, of horrors and victories.
Our family history tells us who we are and it is part of our identity. Hence, it is also very important that we become in touch with our own family history and see how God works within our story. Besides, knowing our family history, this will be an opportunity for us to allow God to heal our broken and painful past present in our family history.
Let me bring you now on how God works within a human family and how God reveals the Divine Plan in the family history of the whole humanity. The first reading from the Book of Genesis tells us how Jacob called his sons and bestowed the blessing to Judah the fourth son. The blessing also contains the prophecy of the rise of a King, in the person of David, the very lineage of Jesus claimed in the Gospel of Matthew.
This family of Jacob was not guiltless. The lineage had stories of repeated unfaithfulness and scandalous personalities. Jesus’ lineage is not perfect and not wholesome at all. In fact, Judah sold his own brother, Joseph for money. There was King David who raped Bathsheba and then later ordered to murder her husband. There was Rahab, who was a prostitute. There was King Ahaz who burned his own son alive as a human sacrifice. There was another King, Joash, who committed idolatry against Yahweh and murdered the people in the Temple area. And there was the once revered King Solomon who built the Temple pf God but later on, turned to be unfaithful to God by turning to the gods and goddesses of his many wives.
In this kind of family history, is there any good news here, when, in fact, Jesus did not come from a “good” and “blameless” family?
Despite the unfaithfulness and guilt within this family history, God never wavered His plan to make something good, wonderful and beautiful in this family. The Gospel of Matthew that has been proclaimed to us today, contained a long list of generations until the birth of Jesus.
Matthew recorded the family tree of Jesus with 42 generations divided into three, that makes it 14. 14 is the equivalent of two 7. Seven is a perfect number in Jewish belief. And the repeated use of 7 means that God works in this human family in an absolutely perfect way. The family tree though not perfect but with traces of sins and unfaithfulness, God works within this human family to bring healing and life.
The family tree of Jesus is God’s statement to us that God indeed journeyed with us, in all our humanity, in all our sins and unfaithfulness. Jesus, being born in a human family, tells us that God fully embraces our humanity. With our imperfection, God made it to be the very space for us to encounter him and to know him.
This calls us now to own and recognize the gift of our family. Some of us must have been traumatized and carrying deep wounds because of what happened in our family, others could have been divided because of conflict over material possessions, many families are also struggling to live because of so much poverty. And with all of this, God invites us today, that as we recognize our sins and failures, God is also telling us to recognize how God unfolds blessings and graces in our human family.
Let us also ask the Lord to grant healing to our wounded families, to bring healing to any pain and shame that are haunting us until now, healing to broken relationships, and freedom to our hearts and memories imprisoned by anger, hatred and indifference. Hinaut pa.
December 16, 2020 – Wednesday, First day of the Misa de Aguinaldo, National Youth Day
Readings (Is 56:1-3a,6-8; Psalm 67:2-3,5,7-8; John 5:33-36)
Homily
The gifts during this season excite us. Despite this pandemic, the virus cannot prevent us to show our love and affection to people who are dear to us. Gift giving plays an important role in our Christmas celebrations. To receive a gift also reminds us of the greatest gift which we have received as Christians.
When I was younger what truly excite me were the gifts that I will receive. I always long for that because of the feeling of satisfaction in receiving. Thus, during this season, I would always think of what I would like to receive. However, as I grew up and became more mature in my Christian faith, I gradually realized how childish my desire was. Though it is good, but to always think and long to receive something is indeed childish and a mere reflection of my selfish desire. I realized that Christmas is not just about mere receiving gifts but also recognizing my own gifts in order to be a gift to others.
This realization brings me now into the message of this First Day of our Misa de Aguinaldo which is also the National Youth Day. This calls us together as a Church to recognize our gifts and the gifts around us especially the gift of the young.
Allow me now to bring you all into a deeper reflection of God’s invitation for us today. Let us see the readings and discover the gift that God prepared for us.
The Book of Prophet Isaiah tells us how the foreigners came to believe in God. The Hebrew people who welcomed them, mingled with them and made friends with them, helped them to encounter the One True God. The very presence of the Hebrews became an instrument to this foreigners to recognize God’s presence. God’s people became a gift to these foreigners leading them to worship God and give thanks to God.
This tells us that such encounter was the space where those who did not believe in God came to believe. These non-believers must have seen and witnessed God’s presence through the life of those who believed in God. This reminds us now that when our presence becomes a gift to another, our presence becomes a blessing.
This is what our Psalm expressed today. God blesses everyone because God created everything. However, God’s blessing will be more manifested when such blessing is consciously shared. Moreover, as the Psalm recognizes God’s authority over all the nations, even those who do not belong to the chosen people of God, they too were blessed. This is a confidence in God who gathers everyone, without exception. Gifts and blessing from God are also given to all, without exception.
The Psalm reminds us that each of us is being gifted and blessed by the Lord. Yet, the gifts in us should not remain hidden and must not be kept concealed. The beauty of the gift is when it is being shared.
Our Gospel today tells us about this. John was a gift to his childless parents, but more than that, John was a gift also to people who went to him, to seek the light and to seek the truth. The very life of John was a gift.
This is what Jesus recognized in the Gospel. John’s life and his presence was a testimony to the truth. He was a burning and true shining lamp for people to see and recognize the true light. John led people to Jesus. Indeed, John’s life was a gift to people around him.
More than John the Baptist also, the works of Jesus, his miracles, the signs he performed, were gifts of God to the people that revealed Jesus, the greatest gift we have. Nevertheless, when we are not conscious of the gifts of God, within us and around us, then, we become like those authority figures and people who failed to recognize the Lord. They failed to recognize Jesus because of their indifference.
Thus, on this day, we are called to recognize our individual gifts and the gifts around us. For us to be able to arrive in this awareness, I have three invitations which you can bring with you today.
First. Stop comparing yourself to others.Looking at what others enjoy and desiring what they have, and pitying ourselves with what we do not have, is burying ourselves in jealousy. This brings us into bitterness and indifference to our own gifts. Begin rather, to recognize our own gifts and talents, and the many blessing that we have. With this kind of attitude, we become confident with ourselves.
Second. Be grateful of the gifts of people around you. As we recognize our gifts, we will surely become appreciative of the gift of others. Thus, express your gratitude to your friends, to your family and loved ones and even strangers who have become a gift to you. Say thank you to them even when what was done and given was small. When we become grateful of the gifts of others, this makes us happier.
Third. Be a gift. As the Hebrews led the foreigners to worship God, as John led people to the true light, and as the works of Jesus revealed who he really is, let our person and our presence be a gift to people around us. Let our words, our actions, our talents and resources, become a gift in our relationships. Having such consciousness will allow us to give what is best and what is special. To become a gift is to give from the heart. In this way, our life will become a testimony of God who has come as our greatest gift. Hinaut pa.
The Aguinaldo Masses are in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be celebrated nine (9) days before Christmas for the perseverance of the nation in faith. In the spirit of the season, one may lawfully use in these Masses the Weekday Lectionary. The GLORIA is sung in these Masses and white vestment is used even on Sunday. (-from the ORDO)
Below are prepared Liturgical guide that contains the readings and prayers proper for each day of the Misa de Aguinaldo. Feel free to download and share these resources. May our celebration of the Misa de Aguinaldo truly prepare us to celebrate the big feast on Christmas Day, the birth of our Savior, the Emmanuel, Jesus.
So that each day, may also have a focus, I have designed an over-all theme for the Misa de Aguinaldo and particular theme for each day. The theme of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines, GIFTED TO GIVE, is the over-all theme. From this theme comes the inspiration for each day.
There is also a prepared short introduction for each reading that will be useful for further reflection and connection with the theme.
Each file is in PDF form. Click the link to download it.
December 16 : Recognizing our gift and the gifts around us
Is 56:1-3a,6-8 –Foreigners came to believe in God. Through their encounter with the people of God, they too have recognized God’s presence in them. God’s people became a gift to those foreigners leading them to worship God and give thanks to God.
Psalm 67:2-3,5,7-8 – The Psalm recognizes God’s authority over all the nations. In this, even those who did not belong to the chosen people of God, they too were blessed because God created everything. This is a confidence in God who gathers everyone, without exception.
John 5:33-36 – Jesus recognized the role of his cousin, John the Baptist. John’s life and his presence was a testimony to the truth. He was a burning and true shining lamp for people to see and recognize the true light. John led people to Jesus. John’s life was a gift to people around him. Moreover, more than John the Baptist, the works of Jesus, were the very gifts also of God to us that point us to Jesus, the greatest gift we have.
December 17 : The Gift of our Family and healing of our Family History
Genesis 49:2,8-10 – Jacob called his sons and bestowed the blessing to Judah. The blessing also contains the prophecy of the rise of a King, in the person of David, the very lineage of Jesus claimed in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 1:1-17 – The Gospel recounts the family tree of Jesus with 42 generations divided into three, that makes it 14. 14 is the equivalent of two 7. Seven is a perfect number in Jewish belief. And the repeated use of 7 means that God works in the human family of Jesus in an absolutely perfect way. The family tree though not perfect but with traces of sins and unfaithfulness, God works within human family to bring healing and life.
December 18 : The Gift of promise being fulfilled: A call to fulfill our commitment
Jeremiah 23:5-8 – God proclaims his promise to save his people and give them security.
Psalm 72 –God’s promise is fulfilled as the people lived in justice and peace. The faithfulness of God in the covenant is shown on how God rescues the poor and saves and afflicted.
Matthew 1:18-25 – The scandalous pregnancy of Mary must have brought Joseph to confusion. Yet, because of his commitment to Mary and to God, he fulfilled his promise to protect her and the baby. Joseph embraced the Lord’s will because of his confidence in God who is with us.
December 19 : To be surprised with God’s gifts to us
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 – The birth of Samson was a gift filled with surprises to Manoah and his barren wife.
Psalm 71: 3-4, 5-6, 16-17 – It is a song that expresses the hope for strength from God. It also expresses the spirit that completely puts trust in God and recognizes God even before birth.
Luke 1:5-25 – The announcement of the Birth of John the Baptist caught Zechariah off guard. He was too surprised that he could not believe it. Thus, he argued with the angel and in consequence was made mute because of his unbelief to God’s surprising gift to him.
December 20 : The Gift of Salvation fulfilled through our participation
2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 –The Prophet proclaims the very hope and joyful expectation of the fulfillment of God’s promise. This covenant rests now in that relationship with God as a father.
Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29 – The people at that time endured a great amount of suffering. In their anguish and fear, they recalled the covenant with God and recognized the “everlasting kindness of God.” God is faithful indeed, and God is our father.
Rom 16:25-27 – Paul reminds the Romans of God as the source of strength. And calls obedience to faith through Jesus.
Lk 1:26-38 – The words of Mary to the Angel Gabriel, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” was a statement of faith and also a statement of love. As God fulfills the promise, God also asks us to participate in the divine plan.
Song 2:8-14 – The Beloved has been visited by the lover. Such imagery portrays the excitement of being graced by the presence of the lover to the one being loved. This proclaims the hope of a new day as God comes, the lover, to his people, the beloved. The presence of the lover invites the beloved to arise from sadness and embrace life.
Psalm 33:2-3,11-12, 20-21 – This recalls the hope and the longing for God. The people waits for God’s coming whose presence is the strength of the people. In that anticipation, joy can be felt, thus, a calling to rejoice and sing praises to God.
Lk 1:39-45 – Knowing that Elizabeth needed help in her pregnancy, Mary came to visit her cousin. That visit revealed how a mere presence of a person brings joy to another. Moreover, what makes this visit more wonderful was the presence of God in the life of Mary. The baby in her womb was God’s presence being gifted to Elizabeth and to her child in the womb who leaped for joy.
1 Sam 1:24-28 – Hannah had been into humiliation and shame because of being infertile. She could not bear a son which gave her so much anguish. Being the second wife of Elkanah, Hannah was always humiliated by Peninnah, the first wife. Yet, through the prophet Eli, Hannah’s prayers were answered. She bore a son, Samuel. Because of her gratitude to God’s blessing and saving her for humiliation, she dedicated her son to God. In fact, because of this offering, Hannah had been blessed also to have 5 more children after Samuel.
1 Sam 2:1,4-5,6-7,8abc – This expressed the experiences of the people and particularly of Hannah in the first reading. God comes to rescue his people who were oppressed, humiliated and broken. The response, “My heart exults in the Lord my savior,” expressed that deep gratitude to God who is not indifferent to the suffering of the people.
Luke 1:46-56 – The song Mary, like the Psalm, expresses also that deep gratitude to the Lord. God is indeed great for he has done many great things even to the lowly ones. This recalls and recognizes the action of God where the powerful, the arrogant and the corrupt are brought to shame while the lowly, the poor and the hungry are raised and satisfied. Thus, Mary’s song as indeed a song of gratitude to God.
December 23 : God is gracious and fills us with gifts
Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 – In the prophecy from the Book of Malachi, the herald shall lead and gather the people to see God. He will be like a refiner’s fire who will teach and correct the wrong of the people. In this way, this herald will lead the people to repentance to fully welcome the Lord. The birth of this person is not by accident but planned well by God. The life of this person is the message of God to make the people prepare themselves for God’s coming. This is God’s promise which is to be first fulfilled through the participation of humanity, through us.
Psalm 25:4-5ab,8-9,10-14 – The author of the Psalm expressed the desire to be taught by the Lord and to be led to the truth. This is the role of the herald in the first reading and the herald in the Gospel of Luke who teaches, leads and gathers the people to recognize God’s graciousness.
Luke 1:57-66 – The name John literally means, God is Gracious. The birth of John the Baptist is a testimony of God’s graciousness not just to the old couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth but to the whole humanity. The couple is an image of the people who longed to be taught and to be led to God. As John was a gift to his parents, John also points to God’s graciousness who is about to come in its fullness.
2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 – The Prophet proclaims the gift to be given to David. David who thought that he should build a house for God, was promised by the Lord to be given a house that will last forever. This is the covenant so dear to the people because God is a father.
Ps 89:2-3, 4-5, 27, 29– Because of the suffering endured by the people of this time, they longed to that promise of God who shall show an everlasting kindness. What kept them hopeful was their confidence in God’s faithfulness because God is our Father.
Luke 1:67-79 – Zechariah recalls the covenant of God and the fulfillment of the promise of a mighty Savior. In his song, he also recounts how his eyes have seen clearly that promise being unfolded through the birth of his son John. John will go before the Lord to prepare his way, to give knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of sins. John is, indeed, unboxing the gift.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 