Category: Ordinary Time

November 17, 2019 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the Book of Prophet Malachi (3:19-20a)

Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,
 when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble,
 and the day that is coming will set them on fire,
 leaving them neither root nor branch,
 says the LORD of hosts.
 But for you who fear my name, there will arise
 the sun of justice with its healing rays.

A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians (3:7-12)

Brothers and sisters:
You know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day
we worked, so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you,
we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work,
neither should that one eat.
We hear that some are conducting themselves among you in a
disorderly way,
by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.
Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly
and to eat their own food.

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (21:5-19)

While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, “All that you see here–
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”

Then they asked him,
“Teacher, when will this happen?
And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?”
He answered,
“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end.”
Then he said to them,
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

“Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”

Homily

How would you imagine the end of time? I asked this question to some of our staff here in our Parish. Many of them expressed their fear of the end of time and imagined the destruction of the world. Calamities and unimaginable tragedies will occur. There will be fire, typhoons, tsunamis and earthquakes. There will be great suffering, pain and death. 

Our readings this Sunday seemed to have the same horrifying images also. The first reading from the Book of Prophet Malachi prophesied about the destruction of the evildoers. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus described the signs that will come like the powerful earthquakes, famines, plagues, wars, and persecutions.

However, does the end of time really mean to be deadly and terrifying for all of us?

Let us see closely the prophesy of Prophet Malachi and the words of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke .

The prophecy from Book of Prophet Malachi was addressed to all the Israelites who have returned from exile. However, at their return the prophet saw how the leaders of the Jewish community had become corrupt, abusive and indifferent to the common people.

Those words of destruction and death are meant for those who continually reject God and oppressed His people. Yet, the prophecy is also a hopeful promise to end the evil institution and end of corruption and death. And for those who remained faithful and in friendship with God, the words of Malachi meant comfort and strength, for to them, the Lord will come to bring healing.

And this will be the most wonderful and joyful time.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warns us of those who pretend to be god and not to follow them because they only lead us to death and not to life. Jesus also reminds us of the sufferings in life that may come but he comforts us not to be terrified and to be afraid. Jesus promises us with his presence abiding in us. He will never leave us alone. Jesus will walk with us and accompany us. 

Moreover, at the fulfillment of time, Jesus will be with us in person with his power and glory. And when he comes, Jesus will gather His people who believed in him and trusted him even in difficult times. His coming will be the end of the corrupt and the murderers. It will be a destruction of the powerful and arrogant.

Now, the beautiful message lies here.  The message of comfort and strength, of joy and peace is for us who are waiting patiently for the end of time. This is what St. Paul tells us.

Thus, for us who believe in Jesus, the end of time is not something that we should be afraid. It is not a terrifying event but it will be the most joyful moment of our life. Meeting the Lord is a moment of fulfillment of all our hopes, desires and dreams.

However, it will surely be a destruction to what is evil. It will be the most terrifying moment for those who continually reject God and for those who pretend and act like a god.

With all of these, what can we do then, as we patiently wait for the second coming of Jesus?

God in His generosity and love prepares us daily for that wonderful moment of our life. God prepares us by making Himself felt daily and in every moment and event in our life. Jesus reveals himself in us and through us. Indeed, Jesus’ words will not pass away, his promises will never fade. God is faithful and He is ever present with us. That is why, it is very important that we become discerning and welcoming of Jesus’ presence being revealed in us and around us.

How do we do it then? Our prayers as constant communication with God, both individually and as a community, will help us to make ourselves open to God. When we pray, we also allow God to transform us and transform the way we look at things, the way we judge things and people and our way of relating with others. Thus, the effect of constant talking and listening to God forms us to be more aware of His presence in our life.

 This calls us to recognize God in everyone and in everything. What would be its consequence now? 

When we grow tired from praying because our dreams and desires were not granted, remember, that God never grows tired in making Himself known to us. God also reveals himself in moments of failures and defeats. 

When we become confused and doubtful of our faith, remember that God never surrenders on us. God makes himself known even in moments of our pain and suffering. When we feel that we are surrounded by evil, corruption and deaths, remember that God brings justice and makes himself bright even in the darkest part of our lives as Christians and members of our community. 

 As we are about to end the liturgical calendar and begin the Season of Advent in few weeks’ time, let us make this week more wonderful and exciting.

Let us intensify our “Wi-Fi connection” with God, by making our prayer frequent and sincere.

Hopefully, this will lead each of us to see and feel the face of God among ourselves and even among those people who are not familiar to us and events that may be surprising and strange for us. In this way, we hope that we too will grow in our faith and become more excited in the end of time where we will surely meet the Lord, who is the fulfillment of all our dreams and hopes. Hinuat pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

November 10, 2019 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the 2nd Book of Maccabees (7:1-2,9-14)

It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. 
One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said:
“What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? 
We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”

At the point of death he said:
“You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,
but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. 
It is for his laws that we are dying.”

After him the third suffered their cruel sport.
He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,
and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words:
“It was from Heaven that I received these;
for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
from him I hope to receive them again.”
Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s courage,
because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

After he had died,
they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
When he was near death, he said,
“It is my choice to die at the hands of men
with the hope God gives of being raised up by him;
but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”

A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians (2:16-3:5)

Brothers and sisters:
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
and good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed
and word.

Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us,
so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified,
as it did among you,
and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people,
for not all have faith.
But the Lord is faithful;
he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you,
you are doing and will continue to do.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
and to the endurance of Christ.

A reading from the Holy Gospel to Luke (20:27-28)

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless. 
Finally the woman also died. 
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them,
“The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise. 
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out ‘Lord, ‘
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.” 

Homily

Are you living to die? Or are you dying to live?

Few weeks ago, I was in a funeral wake of a young professional in his mid-twenties. Because of so much pain and hurts that he was experiencing in his young life, he couldn’t endure them anymore. He felt helpless and hopeless. He felt alone and lonely. All of these directed him to depression until his depression clouded his mind and heart which also led him to kill himself.

Without judging or condemning him, such situation brought me to ask myself, how am I living my life right now? Am I living to die, letting hopelessness and despair to deprive me to live fully and meaningfully?

Back in college, I met a leper in Cebu, an 80 plus year old woman, who was abandoned by her family in her teen-age years when leprosy began to manifest in her body. Yet, despite being abandoned and left alone in the hospital for lepers, she remained hopeful in life by resisting to be eaten up by despair, by emotional hurts, by abandonment and by the very suffering she was enduring. Thus, she even adopted an abandoned baby girl whom she named Nancy. She found Nancy in a garbage bin in Cebu. Despite her poverty, she accepted Nancy in her life and let Nancy feel a mother’s love, affection and care. Yet, as Nancy grew up and due to her failing eyesight and old age, she has to let go of Nancy and bring her to a group of Sisters who could provide better the needs of Nancy. Despite the pain of separation and of the loneliness she would endure by losing Nancy beside her, she let her go for the sake of her beloved daughter. In that way, she gave life to Nancy even though she herself struggled to live.

With this encounter, I also asked myself, am I giving life? Have I tried to die from my selfish desires in order to give life to others?

Such situations and questions that have come up invited me to dwell deeper also into the readings proclaimed to us this Sunday. Thus, I would like to invite you that we discover together God’s invitation for us today.

The 2nd Book of Maccabees tells us of the story of the seven brothers and their mother who were persecuted and killed. Despite the persecution, they did not fear of dying and to give witness to what they believed. They remained faithful to the law of God until the end. Were they wasting their life for the sake of faith? No, their very life became an inspiration to the many generations after them. Through their witness, the people found assurance in God’s promise of eternal life.

By dying they have given life. However, those who tortured them who deprived others to live, were eaten up by malice, greed and evil. The torturers learned and knew how to kill but also they never learned how to live and give life. This was the reason why they too will be deprived of the resurrection because only to those who have lived life and given life will be given new life at the resurrection.

In the Gospel, the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were so concerned of what they could get from others in this life, asked a malicious question to Jesus, to trick him and embarrass him. Yet, Jesus knew their hearts. They too were filled with malice and selfish desires. This attitude reflected in the very situation they presented to Jesus of a woman marrying the seven brothers when one after another died without having any child.

Life, then, is not about accumulating things from others, or securing something for oneself. Life and living life is to be able to give life to others. This is what St Paul has told us in his letter to the Thessalonians. God’s love and faithfulness makes us alive. God strengthens us in our weakness. Through this, then, God moves us to share to others what we have received and experienced by living together as brothers and sisters by encouraging and praying for one another and showing good deeds and words to all.

Let us be confident in this then, for God loves us and he is faithful to us. Despite the bad experiences that we may have now, the ugly and painful environment we may have, or our messy and traumatic past, the persecution and suffering caused by others to you – never lose hope in living your life fully. Be reconciled with your past embrace whatever there is in life and whatever you don’t have too. Discover the wonder and beauty of living now with others and with Jesus. Never stop giving life to others, in sharing your very life to people who are dear to you, because it is in this way that we become more hopeful to a life with Jesus. Living our life fully today and giving life to others is already a foretaste of what is to come after. Kabay pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

November 3, 2019 – 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time 

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (19:1-10)

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature. 
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.” 
And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” 
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”

Homily

Have you been a victim of bullying and of rejection?

To be bullied or to be rejected could create a deep emotional wound in us. Because of being helpless, we could not protect ourselves from people who hurt us emotionally such as bullying and rejection at school, in our neighborhood or even at home. As a result, we do not only begin to hate those people who were bullying and rejecting us, but we also hate ourselves  for being who we are. We hate ourselves because of the imperfection that people find in us.

Thus, we also begin to think that if only we are not like this, then, people might accept us and love us. This consciousness begins to develop in us until we become a person whom we are not, just for the reason of being accepted, recognized, respected and loved by people around us.

Take for example of the story of Zacchaeus. This man was surely a victim of terrible bullying and rejection. St Luke described Zacchaeus as short in stature and a wealthy tax collector. His fellows Jews hated him for being a tax collector and someone who was affiliated with the Romans. Remember, at that time, Israel was under the a foreign invader, the Roman Empire who imposed tax on them.

However, we could also ask, how Zacchaeus, a Jew, ended to the side of the Romans, working for them as a tax collector. We could actually imagine the life of Zacchaeus. Thus, being short in height, Zacchaeus as a young boy must have been a subject of bullying. Even until now, among our friends we actually make fun of people who are short or those people who do not belong to the standard of the majority like those who are too tall or too dark, etc.

Because of the physical limitation of Zacchaeus, people looked down on him. It must have been so terrible for Zacchaeus to be bullied publicly and to be hurt emotionally. Zacchaeus must have felt the pain of rejection and disrespect towards him as a person. However, he was helpless against those playmates and other people who had bullied him.

That emotional pain in him must have created a deep emptiness also within him. Thus, being bullied and rejected, Zacchaeus was in search of respect, of acceptance and of affirmation. But then, he could not gain those by just being who he was because people disrespected him for being who he was. Zacchaeus needed a way of getting his revenge. He won’t be able to get what he wanted if he would remain helpless and meek. He needed power and wealth to make those people who have bullied and rejected him to bow down to him.

Zacchaeus grabbed the opportunity the Roman Empire could offer him. The Romans were feared, though hated by the Jews, but were forced to show their respect. People had to bow down to the powerful Romans. Thus, Zacchaeus made himself available in the service of the Romans. This was how Zacchaeus got his revenge against his fellow Jews. He became the chief tax collector and becoming one also meant becoming powerful and wealthy. 

Now, Zacchaeus was above those who have bullied him. Zacchaeus could now play the bully himself. As a chief tax collector, he could get his revenge by raising the tax against those people whom he also despised. Because of this, people would now please him, affirm him, and show their respect to him because he had power over them.

Perhaps, Zacchaeus would love to see the faces of those who have abused him emotionally to beg for mercy. He could now demand what he needed and force the people to accept him and pay respect to him.

However, Zacchaeus was never peaceful. He was always restless. At the beginning, this was not what he wanted but because of those pain of rejection and emotional wound, he turned out to be corrupt and a monster in the eyes of the people.

In the depths of his heart, what he wanted was complete acceptance from people which he never experienced. But then, he heard about this man Jesus. Jesus was a miracle worker, a famous preacher who healed the sick, raise the dead and forgave sinners. St. Luke described to us how Zacchaeus became curious about Jesus. This curiosity actually showed the desire of a human heart to see and encounter God. Yet, we are also confronted by the fact that it is the Lord first who tenderly seeks for us.

 However, because of the limitations Zacchaeus had, not just his physical limitation of being a short man but also because of his hardened heart, his emotional wounds, his corrupt practices and insecurities, these prevented to him see the Lord. But, these limitations of Zacchaeus did not discourage him to seek further the Lord. What Zacchaeus did was to ran ahead and climbed a tree that he may see Jesus. And truly, Zacchaeus saw the Lord. And Jesus saw him and called him.

For the very first time in the life of Zacchaeus, he felt accepted and welcomed, the way he was, thus, he felt being loved. Jesus addressed him with respect and with dignity without condition, without pretensions, and without questions. This encounter with Jesus, changed Zacchaeus completely.

This attitude reminds us of every human heart’s desire to encounter the Lord. We are made for God. God is imprinted in our hearts as we are created in God’s image and likeness. Let us be conscious on that. Let us be aware that we desire God.

Yet, in our desire for God, there will be things that will prevent us to see and encounter God. This is what we find in the story of Zacchaeus. 

What are those that prevent us to truly encounter God? 

Perhaps, our fear and shame of admitting that we have sinned prevent us in truly meeting the Lord. Fear causes us low self-esteem and to hide because we are afraid of being judged by others, and by the people around us. Shame also prevents us to hold God’s love in our hearts and his forgiveness because we feel that we are not worthy. Our emotional hurts from the past could also hold us back especially when they hardened our hearts to be welcoming of others like that of Zacchaeus.

Our arrogance can also prevent us in meeting the Lord. Our indifference stops us from true conversion. Let us ask then, ourselves,

 what are those things, addictions, or attitudes that may hinder us from truly seeking God?

The story of Zacchaeus reminds us that we have actually the capacity to overcome anything that holds us back to see God. We are called to ran ahead and overcome those attitudes that prevent us from seeing Jesus. Let us look for a tree where we can climb over our sins and fear. Look for a friend whom you can share you own problems and struggles, come to the sacraments with a heart that truly desires the Lord, only then, that we are able to overcome those that prevent us from being near the Lord.

We too are reminded in the story that though our heart desires for God,

but God desires more to see us, to be with us.

Thus, the Lord is constantly looking and searching for us. Jesus was in fact searching for Zacchaeus, searching for a sinner, indeed, we are all the Zacchaeus in the Gospel that Jesus has been searching for. Jesus desires to be with us and that we will be reconciled to him and will be healed from our past hurts and pains. Let us allow then the Lord to search us, to find us and to heal us.

Hopefully, our encounter with Jesus will bring us also into that joy of forgiveness and assurance of love from God that we are forgiven, accepted and respected. This may hopefully lead us too to repair the damage that we have caused and to make amendments for our sins like Zacchaeus who promised Jesus to give to the poor half of his possessions and repay four times over those he extorted. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR