Life? What is it? What do we have in life? Life can pretty be difficulty and overwhelming when one races to what only gives him or her pleasure and satisfaction. We may search for the meaning of our life, for the purpose of our life and mission of our life. Yet, life can be puzzling and confusing especially when we are faced with the painful realities of life.
This is what the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes wants to tell us. All things in life is vanity, meaningless like a vapor that disappears in the wind. He may have sound pessimistic yet, true in his perspective. Nothing remains under the sun for everything passes away even life itself.
However, not all actually. There is more in the suffering of life, there is more in the pains of life. But this is neither found in pleasure, in comfort, in riches, in power nor in any material possession we have accumulated.
This was something Herod the tetrarch was after and looking for. He too was puzzled and perplexed at what life was revealing to him precisely because he was after vanity. He was after power and wealth. He was after pleasure and comfort. Such attitude made his heart hardened and cruel. As a result, John the Baptist who called him to repent and embrace life as it is, was beheaded by Herod. Thus, Herod became uncomfortable with the presence of Jesus whom he must have believed would take away his pleasure and privileges.
What limited Herod was his belief that he will be satisfied with what he possessed and can accumulate in his life. Nevertheless, everything is vanity. Qohelet also says, “What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun?” All that Herod had vanished like a vapor.
What is rather more in life is in giving life itself to others which we can find there in the relationships we have built, in the friendships we have created, among our families, communities and friends.
As Herod kept trying to see Jesus, we may also keep trying to meet Jesus, to encounter Jesus in our human relationships, in our many encounters with people and have the courage and faith to give life as Jesus does. Kabay pa.
Once a promising young entrepreneur was asked about his secret of success in his business. His reply was like this: “I could have profit up to 30 percent from every transaction I make. But usually, I offer my costumers up to 25 percent discount, thus me only gaining at least five percent. Yes, money-wise, it is bad business. However, I may have less profit from each transaction, but I have gained more business costumers, contacts, and friends, which thus offers me more business transactions and opportunities.” Clever, is’nt it?
Amazing it is how clever, smart or sometimes even shrewd we can be when making business deals. Whether it’s buying a used car or selling a house, all of us learn how to get the most for our money and investments. This is not something new. It’s part of human nature to get the best deal possible. Jesus was aware of this.
The parable he told us about the steward who had to think quick to get himself out of a financial jam, recognized our human resourcefulness, and inventiveness in terms of our dealings with others in this life.
The Lord’s point is that we often demonstrate our intelligence, but we don’t apply this intelligence and shrewdness to the one thing that really matter: our Christian way of life now.
Consider the number of times we have sat down and worked out how we can use our talents, time, and treasure to be better Christians. Consider the number of times we have thought out how we can put ourselves in situations which would avoid moral problems we have had in the past. Consider the number of times we have plotted out how we can implant and improve the practice of our faith in our families. If we were to add up the minutes spent a month doing this for God and our Christian life; and then compare them to the minutes a month spent working out our financial deals and investments, would there be any comparison at all?
Some people, like those in the first reading from the prophet Amos may have perfected how they can outsmart others. They cheat with their scales. They inflate & launder money – or however, you call it nowadays. BUT, That is not why God gave us intelligence. He gave us intelligence to make his PRESENCE & ACTIONS real in the world. We must make use of the same cleverness, skill, and plain nerve that the manager used to save his skin, and the strategy and tactics that businessman used to secure more business contacts and clients, and all other ways and means to make God’s ways real in our world.
Jesus tells us today in our gospel, “Make friends for yourselves through your use of this world’s goods, so that when they fail you, a lasting reception will be yours.” In other words, Jesus is telling us “You have the intelligence, resources and opportunities use it. Use all these to fulfill the mission you assumed and accepted when I called you to be my disciples. Be SMART for Me.” We thus must make use of our talents, money, and time not as an end but a means in attaining life worthy of God, and in sharing from God’s benefits given us through Christ. We must be as resourceful, and dedicated in the ways of God as we are in the ways of commerce, politics, and social relations.
In other words, Jesus’ parable challenges us to be SMART for His sake, that is – to be as eager, clever, and ingenious for the sake of God’s kingdom; to be as ready and willing to use our talents, time, and resources to accomplish great things for the Gospels as we are to witness & prosper in our Christian faith & lifestyle.
In whatever & however circumstances we find ourselves now & in the near future, for His sakes’ (beyond our own), may the Lord ever help us develop more our ingenuity, intelligence, and creativity to promote his Kingdom here on earth and in our world to come. Amen.
Where do we go in times of despair and hopelessness? Where do we find ourselves when we are confused, broken-hearted and afraid?
The Hebrew people were looking for a “god” to worship, to lean on from their desperation. They were in the desert for many years since their liberation from the Egyptians. They felt hopeless and directionless.
When Moses was nowhere to be found, they made themselves the “golden calf” and worshiped it instead of the TRUE GOD who brought them out of Egypt. The people had very short memory that in times of great difficulty, they turned to a false god believing to find security in it. Indeed, the people forgot God’s promise to them and God’s faithfulness in them.
We are not also far from these people in the bible. We might have our own false gods too that offer false hopes. We may ask, who and what is our golden calf that we worship? Is it ourselves or some others other than the Lord God? When we become desperate our minds and hearts may become crowded that we tend not to recognize the Lord who is at work in us.
Thus, in times of difficulties in life we may develop some forms of attachments to compensate and appease our anxieties and the emptiness that feel from within. And so, a person who felt unloved by a mother may seek affection from many women. Or a woman who is rejected by a loved one, may retreat to loneliness and depression. A child who lacks the security of love and affection at home from parents may succumbed to drugs or alcohol addiction. A child who has been deprived of material things in the past may become a hoarder of things or worst a thief.
These are forms of unhealthy attachments that only bring us to greater and deeper despair and misery. Consequently, there is a need for us to reconnect ourselves to God who gives us true hope and freedom.
This was how Moses pleaded with God to show mercy to the people who turned to worship a false god. The people were lost because they were desperate. They attached themselves to a false security because of their overwhelming misery. However, as Moses pleaded with God, the Lord relented and embraced again the people to be his own. Such story of desperation, hopelessness and of being lost but, then, of being showed mercy, of being loved and of being found again by God, is the very invitation for us on this 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In fact, St. Paul also recalls the story of his life in his First Letter to Timothy. His past life of being a blasphemer, persecutor and arrogant made him so lost. It was a denial of God. Yet, God continued to search for Paul until they had an encounter. Paul’s encounter with Jesus turned Paul’s life completely because when Jesus found him, the Lord was so merciful to him. That experience of mercy led Paul to gratitude. And that gratitude inspired him to give glory to God by becoming a minister and servant of the Gospel.
Moreover, in the parable, Jesus tells us of a shepherd who sought his lost sheep until he found it and a woman who lost her coin and searched for it until she found it.
This image of God tells us of a God who searches for the lost. We are the sheep in the story who is driven by our selfish desires. We are the lost coin that has been longed by the owner.
Nevertheless, God never tires to search for us and embrace us again. God invites us to be with Him, to join with Him and enjoy His abiding presence in our sacraments, in our liturgy and in our daily prayers, and in our community.
Indeed, Jesus teaches us of a God who invites us and searches for us not just once but in every opportunity of our life. And this is the truth; God searches for us and desires to embrace us so that we may find true hope and freedom. Kabay pa.
We surely have heard and familiar with our gospel today. And hearing and reflecting again & anew today’s parable would still always be fascinating, for it offers us ever fresh insights into our Christian faith & life.
Now, if we are to give it another title, how would we call it?
Well, we all know that this parable is known to us as the parable of the prodigal son. But we also know that this parable is more just a story about the prodigal younger son’s misdeeds and repentance. The parable is also about the elder son’s bitterness as well as the father’s love. Surely there is more to this parable that it cannot be limited to the called only as: “the Prodigal Son”, or “the Merciful & Forgiving Father” or “Disapproving or Resentful Elder brother.” Perhaps we may also call it: “WELCOME BACK HOME”, I think.
WHY? We, Filipinos all know that Ours is a culture of strong family ties, and the basic representation of this strong family relation is the HOME. That is why family occasions such as leaving and coming home are important events in the story of the whole family. When someone leaves home, it is like death – a big loss or gap within the family. While when someone comes back home, it is like a fiesta – a thanksgiving, an offer of renewed life & energy within the family.
Especially for us Filipinos, there are three yearly events in our life that are occasions for homecomings – reflecting our family ties and our home life: the Christmas, Holy Week and All soul’s day. On these occasions, we usually find some time to come back home and spend some time and enjoy our own family. Surely you will all agree, that pasko or semana santa or kalag without kuya, ate, nanay or tatay would be “kulang,” guol o subo pud, murag namatyan. Feels like someone & somethings are missing & lacking.
These events are important occasions in our Filipino family life and culture, because these are the moments not only for family get-together, knowing and enjoying each other anew, but also reconciling our differences and renewing our family relationships and visions in life.
Our parable today has a strong appeal to us, Filipinos because it is all about “Homecoming.” It is about a loving father who receives his repentant son and appeases his resentful elder son BACK HOME. He invites both his sons to go back home. That is why somehow it is appropriate to call our gospel today as: “Welcome Back Home.” It is a homecoming, a reconciliation, a renewal of relationships.
This reminds us of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or what we commonly know as confession. Primarily the sacrament of reconciliation is a Sacrament of homecoming, an opportunity, an occasion for us Christian to be reconciled and be renewed with our relationship to God.
As a minister of the sacrament of reconciliation, I learned two things in confession. First, that like in the parable, there are two kinds of penitents coming in for confession: the repentant and the resentful penitent who both needed, invited & received to be at Home with God, others, and himself. And second, that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is more than just a Sacrament of sorrow but a sacrament of joy. Long lines of penitents coming for confession (especially in our Redemptorist churches during Wednesdays) are indications not only of people’s sinfulness and sorrow but more so, are stories & our-story of homecomings, reconciliation, God’s healing, forgiveness, love, mercy, joy, and above all, renewal of our faith-life relationships.
Undeniably a few baptized Catholics nowadays have gone astray and have turned lukewarm in their relation with God in our church, especially during these Pandemic times. Our parable today is both a reminder and open invitation of Jesus for us Catholics, His people and follower, to COME BACK HOME to Him thru His Church.
Consider then our whole life now, as Christians, is our homecoming – our way back home to the Lord thru His church. Regardless of what happened & happening in our lives now, this parable son is OUR STORY – the story of our journey of coming back & being welcomed by God, our Father – who, like the father in the parable, always merciful and ready to forgive, invites, waits and welcomes us back to his home. He can only express His abounding love to us if you and I, in sorrow or resentment approach Him and ask for his forgiveness and healing, for as He said to Isaiah, “Come back to me with whole heart… for long have I waited for you coming home to me and living deeply our new life.” Siya Nawa. Kabay pa. Amen.
How do we understand being blessed? Our usual understanding of a life being blessed has something to do with material wealth and prosperity – like having a good family, a prosperous business, a successful career, a good paying job, or having a good health. Thus, we think that being blessed has something to do with success and material possessions.
That is why, poverty is never a blessing; being persecuted, being sick and being rejected is never a blessing too. If we are experiencing such life, we consider ourselves being unlucky or worst being cursed.
However, what Jesus told us today is quite opposite. Our human understanding of being blessed is different from God. Indeed, there is a need for us to understand blessing and our life from God’s perspective.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warns those who in the standard of the world are blessed such as the satisfied, the rich, the powerful, the popular and the influential. The danger lies in the attitude of the heart that becomes independent from God, a heart that rejects God’s mercy and love. In fact, Jesus warns us when we tend to accumulate more wealth for ourselves at the expense of the poor, or when we gather fame and influence at the expense of others.
Such attitude of the heart is filled with arrogance and self-centeredness that has no need of God. True enough, when we are so filled with ourselves and too satisfied of what we have gained and achieved, we don’t need God anymore. Our successes and we, ourselves, have become ‘gods.’ This leads us to worship our achievements, wealth, our power and ourselves. But then, all of these corrupt us because we will never be satisfied. We will thirst and hunger for more wealth, recognition and fame which will also lead to our own destruction and those who are around us and those blocking our way to gain for more, as any form of addiction will also result in this way.
Indeed, dependence on these forms of material satisfactions is a mere arrogance and a false sense of security. This is actually the promise of addictions, in whatever form that may be, whether addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, influence and fame, wealth and power (political or economic power).
However, in God’s perspective those who are poor, sick, persecuted, those who failed and rejected are blessed because it is in their poverty and difficulty that they also realize their weakness and need of God. Such insecurities bring us to understand that we are so small in this world and we are in need of God’s grace. That is why; Jesus addressed these Beatitudes to his disciples, assuring them of his presence. His disciples left their families and jobs. They went to places where sometimes they have to sleep without roof. Authorities ridiculed them and insulted them for following Jesus.
Thus, the very presence of God in our life is what makes us “blessed.” Since God favors those who are weak, poor, suffering and struggling in life, they are the ones who are blessed because they understand their need of God. God comes to us when we are ready to accept God in our life and to let God be our God.
God invites us then, to recognize our own poverty and anxieties because God blesses us with His presence. This is also the message of St Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. Though at that time, they must have believed that the second coming of Jesus was about to happen during their lifetime as he said, “for the world in its present form is passing away.” Paul reminded the people of the need to be more attached to God rather than to what was material and temporary. Paul recognized the importance of ones dependence to God and complete trust in God’s providence. Through the presence of God present in their life, they were indeed blessed.
So, how blessed are you? The material wealth that we have gained, the influence and fame that we have received, the successes that we have achieved, our good health, our talents and abilities, our knowledge, intelligence and competence are signs of God’s grace and generosity. When we have these, these may lead us to humble ourselves and to recognize that these are gifts and we ought to share them to others. Thus, if you have received much, share the blessings to those who are in need, if you are enjoying success in life, share the experience with those who failed. It is in this way that the Kingdom of God will truly be present among us, and that we ourselves become God’s blessing to our communities. Kabay pa.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 