Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Sunday Homlies

  • Enough

    Enough

    August 1, 2021 – 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080121.cfm)

    It could happen that once in a while some wayward beggars would come to us & ask for some “bahaw” or left-over food to eat. Once I gave some enough food for a day to a beggar. As he received the food, he asked: “Walay kape ug saging man lang?” (How about some coffee & fruits for extra?). Though this irritated me, it also made me think: “If I’m going to give, why not give all – the full package deal with all the extras? Why only give enough for the day? Why not for the whole week?

    But as we all know, human as we are, we are not easily contented. Hard for us to be fully satisfied. We want more. We need more than we already have. Like that wayward beggar, we want some extra: extra rice, sauce, toppings, privileges, discount, bonus, payment and others, but effortless & easily, if possible, quickly. So, when is the limited resources that I have now, enough for me? When is the less that I have, enough for me to share with others who are in need? So, when is enough is enough?

    Somehow at the very heart of our readings today is the question about ENOUGH.

    In Exodus, we hear that after escaping slavery from Egypt, the people of Israel found themselves free but hungry in the desert. They needed food for the journey & they grumbly complained about their predicament. To the point of blaming Moses &  even preferring to be slave again in Egypt but nourished, rather than free but starving in the wilderness. Yahweh heard their cries & addressed their needs. God rained down bread from heaven for them, and they only have to gather enough bread for their daily portion.  Great! But they also asked: “What’s this?”. And perhaps may also have asked: “only this, fine flakes?” It might be from heaven, but why only biscuits/flakes? Why not pizza or burger? No extra drinks? And why gather only enough for the day? Why not save & reserve for tomorrow?

    In the same way in our gospel today, after they were fed and have their fill at the multiplication of loaves, the people followed Jesus because they want more. They never had enough. They need more extra from Jesus. In their mind, they would think: “Since you, Jesus have already fed us, what more can You offer us? What shall we do to have what You can give us? Do we need to work for food?

    Over and beyond our human need for survival & God’s saving act is the question of our Faith and Trust in God. The manna from heaven and the miracle of feeding thousands of people is not about the Gift, but about our faith in the Giver. What matter most then is not having enough or more than enough Food and blessings to receive, but more so about us believing & trusting in God’s way of taking care of us. It is all about having enough faith & trust in God’s work of giving us life to its fullness.   

    Through the manna from heaven, Yahweh gave the people enough manna provision for the day – not  pizza for the whole week, because as Yahweh said, “I will test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not”. The graces before us now then is a test in our faith with God rather than rescue operation to satisfy our immediate & urgent needs. In the same way, there is more to the miracle of Jesus than just the feeding of the multitude. It is a challenge for the people-then & us-now, as Jesus said: to “BELIEVE in the one God sent”. In the same way as God sent manna from Heaven, God sent us His son, Jesus not just to satisfy our cravings, our needs & hunger for more, but more so to offer us fullness & meaningful life. Here, Jesus clearly proclaiming to us now: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

    Simply put: In life , Jesus is Enough for Us. He is all that we need in life, nothing more, nothing less. Only required of us now is to accept Him, as God-sent  bread of Life, and believe His life & witness as God’s work of salvation, is enough and more than enough for us, and for all.

    This is what St. Alphonsus de Liguori, the founder of the Redemptorists whom we also honor today believes. For St. Alphonsus, “With Him, there is fullness of redemption” – with Jesus, we got & have abundance grace & blessing. In other words, Jesus is enough & more than enough for us. And Jesus & all his offer of graces are given for all and not only for the few. All has a share in God’s blessing of Redemption – and this is what St. Alphonsus and we Redemptorists, & all of us Christian, believe & proclaim to all people in the world, most especially to the poor, neglected & most abandoned: Jesus, the bread of Life is enough for us & for all.

    When Jesus taught us to pray “Give us each day our daily bread”, he doesn’t want us just to express our needs, since the Father knows already what we need. But he wants us to express our faith in God that we believe and abide with whatever the Father wills for us. Thus, when all is said and done, it was not the manna that sustained the Israelites in the desert, it was not the bread and fishes in the Jesus’ time, it was not our daily bread that sustains us today. What sustained them and us today is our faith and trust in God.

    No matter how difficult life may be, for those who trust in God, and live a day at a time, rest assured, God’s blessing of manna from heaven falls everyday with Jesus always with us. Lord, our bread of life, Your Love & your grace is Enough for us. Continue to nourish & give us life especially now during these trying times of pandemic. Amen.

  • SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS MATTER

    SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS MATTER

    July 25, 2021 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072521.cfm)

    The total population of the world is now at 7.9 billion and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World estimated that there are about 811 million people in the world who went hungry in 2020.[1] Out of that number, the 418 million hungry people are found in Asia. The report also projected that around 660 million will still suffer hunger in 2030 because of the lasting effects of Covid-19 Pandemic on global food security. Moreover, there are about 9 million people die of hunger and hunger-related diseases.[2] And in every 10 seconds, a child dies because of hunger. This is the cause of the 3.1 million deaths of children around the globe every year.

    Here in the Philippines, the recent SWS survey revealed that there are about 4.2 million Filipino families suffering from hunger.[3] And Mindanao has the highest rate of incidence of hunger with 1.2 million families.

    With these statistics available to us, there is a need that we become aware of the suffering that our brothers and sisters are enduring because of hunger. We cannot be blind and indifferent to this need. In fact, our readings this Sunday would actually help us to be more conscious of such hunger and of other forms of hunger around us.

    The first reading from the Second Book of Kings proclaimed to us how a nameless man from Baal-Shalishah brought food to Prophet Elisha. People were starving and they needed food. This was the reason that the man offered his food to the hungry men of God. However, Elisha’s servant knew that that food was not enough for them all. This was the reason why the servant objected Elisha when he demanded that the food must be distributed. But then, there was something Prophet Elisha saw that the servant did not recognize at that moment. Prophet Elisha believed that no matter how little they have, that will be enough for God to work wonders. Certainly, when the food was generously given to the people, they were surprised because there were left overs. The little food that they have shall be multiplied by the Lord. This was what the Prophet believed.

    The confidence in God’s providence and complete trust in God’s power to sustain and provide for His people, manifested also in the Gospel this Sunday. The Gospel of John told us that Jesus was aware of the needs of the people. The Lord was not just conscious of the spiritual hunger of the people but also their physical hunger. This awareness in Jesus moved him to ask Phillip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”

    Jesus did not just see the hunger of the people. Jesus also felt their hunger. This urged Jesus to do something. However, Jesus needed the participation of people around him. Phillip, just like the servant of Prophet Elisha, could not think of anything since they did not have enough money to buy food for all. Just like the servant of the Prophet, Phillip seemed to be too calculated in his response to the words of Jesus and thus of his response to the needs of the people. Yet, this prevented him only to fully participate in Jesus’ saving action at that moment.

    It was Andrew who brought to Jesus a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish. The appearance of the boy in the story was actually very symbolic. He was nameless and faceless and was just a boy with small food. Yet, that nameless and faceless boy must have volunteered and gave generously his food to Jesus.

    With the boy’s willingness and generosity, his small share became the perfect offering that Jesus needed so that the people will be fed. It was through that boy who had five loaves and two fish that Jesus did something and made everyone to wonder.

    The first reading and the Gospel seemed to have a common ground. There was the small share from a man  who came from Baal-Shalishah and the loaves and fish from the boy. The little things that they had were transformed into many. The small share that they gave became abundant.

    This is where we find God’s invitation for us today as we have also become aware of the pressing hunger in our communities. We are invited by Jesus to offer sincerely the little that we have. We might be thinking that the world’s problem on hunger is too big for us to respond and our share will only be insignificant. Then, having such pessimistic view and calculated in our generosity will only prevent us from participating in God’s saving action, like the servant of Elisha and Phillip. But let us remember, the twenty barley loaves and fresh grain of the man were insignificant to a hundred men and even the five loaves and two fish of that nameless boy were nothing compared to the five thousand men. However, the man did not keep away his food and the boy did not run away to hide what he had, rather, both of them offered generously what they had no matter how small or insignificant those were. Indeed, this tells us that small acts of kindness matter in the presence of the Lord.

    The action of the man as well of the nameless boy were symbols of our vulnerabilities and weaknesses, of our anxieties and fears of having not enough but at the same time the power behind a generous action. To give away the little that we have, makes us insecure, yet, it is actually through the little that we possess that the Lord works wonderfully. When we give something and then we feel vulnerable because that was all we have, no matter how small, is actually the fruit of our generosity. Remember, true generous people will always feel helpless because what they give to others is not something that is only an excess of their possession.

    Thus, the Lord invites us today to be generous with what we have, no matter how small or inadequate in our eyes. Remember, the Lord needs our participation, our small contribution so that he too can work wonders through us and through our small things. With us, Lord will be able to continue to feed the various hungers around us. These many hungers involve hunger for food, for shelter, for a home and family, for friendship, for acceptance, for love and intimacy, or for a deeper relationship with God.

    Let us take time today to be that nameless man and nameless boy who generously offered the little things they had, to make a generous action towards people around us, no matter how small would that be as long as it is given in generosity and kindness, the Lord shall make wonders with us and through us. Hinaut pa.

    [1] https://data.unicef.org/resources/sofi-2021/

    [2] https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/people-and-poverty/hunger-and-obesity/how-many-people-die-from-hunger-each-year/story

    [3] https://www.rappler.com/nation/millions-filipino-families-stay-hungry-sws-survey-may-2021

  • THE POWER OF LESS

    THE POWER OF LESS

    July 25, 2021 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072521.cfm)

    Our gospel today is surely something familiar and already known to us all. How could we miss one of the best stories of Jesus’ miracles ever told?  All four gospel evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) have each own version of the story of this miracle. However one call this miracle-story – whether as “the multiplication of loaves & fishes”, or “the feeding of the multitude, these unique versions & diverse interpretations share the same plot.

    Basically it is about Jesus & His disciples with crowds of people gathered & now stranded in a far-distant mountain field, perhaps already during midday. Concerned about the people, Jesus ask his disciples for resources to tend & feed these multitude of people. With the less food-resources that they can collect & muster, Jesus instructed the disciples to organize people into small groups, took & blessed the less that they got, and have it broken & shared to the groups. People began to share what they got & have to each other, that in effect, had each other & one-another fed. And eventually made all filled & satisfied, and even able to garner twelve basketful of left-overs. Crisis-solved. Five thousand men (perhaps including or excluding women & children) were fed. A miracle happens. All are happy. Jesus saves the day.

    Perhaps there is more to the story than we may realize. Somehow the story have more lessons now to teach us than it has taught us before & always. Perhaps, we can learn here something about the Power of Less.

    What can Less do to All? What & how can the only Less we can have contribute for many (if not for all)? Ano at Paano ang magagawa ng kakaunti para sa karamihan at kalahatan? We may have something, but how it can help all? Like the man in our first reading, we also raised the practical question: “How can I set this (20 barley loaves & fresh grain) set up for a hundred people?” And somehow like the disciples, common sense tells us that “200 days’ wages worth of food is not enough for each of them to have a little.” And somehow in our pandemic times, we ponder: What & how can my little inconveniences (like wearing mask, face shield, quarantine, social distancing, or vaccine) can contribute in healing our infected & life-threatening world?

    Somehow our condition and reality of LESS may bring us to these realizations.

    First, with less resources, we come to grip with our vulnerability. Suddenly, we come to experience how poor, fragile, limited, dependent & needy we are & we can  be. When we get what we want & have what we need – Fast, easy, accessible, instant & convenient life gives  us an illusion of power, independence & invulnerability in life. But when resources are scarce & abilities are limited, we are humbled to realize our own poverty & neediness.

    With such humility, second, we begin to be thankful & to make the best of what we already have. We become “madiskarte sa buhay”. We learn to cope & live with what less resources we have. We get to know what is enough from what is too much. We know now what is essential & important things in life as well as what we can live & do without. In other words, with less, we become resilient as well as resourceful.

    Third, with less, we are moved to feel with & feel for one another. As we become conscious of our own poverty & our little resources, we come to empathize & sympathize with one another, and we try to help & contribute what little we have with others. In our gospel, Jesus did not only make a miracle of feeding the people. He also makes an example & witness of sharing the little we have with others. What meant to be a relief operation of feeding the people, now turned-out to be an agape, salu-salo because what they have received & got is also shared with others & one another. Less makes us kind & compassionate with one another.

    And yet still, fourth, less makes us rely on the help of others & trust in God’s mercy. In our poverty & humility, we come to realize that without God, we can do nothing. On our own we cannot live. We need God & each other to be & live in a much better & meaningful life.

    LESS can be powerful. It can humbly render us poor, bring us to resiliency & resourcefulness, make us kind & compassionate to share with others, and above all, impels us to rely & trust in God and one another. Though not much, LESS can make a BIG DIFFERENCE in life.

    Perhaps some of us are familiar with the 2007 comedy movie entitled: “Evan Almighty”. It is about a TV-anchorman turned politician Evan Baxter, not unlike Noah, inspired by God, built a big ARK to fulfill his promise campaign to change the world. The story-line evolved around how spectacular & comedic it is to literally build an ark in these modern times in order to change & save our world. Perhaps a primitive & crazy solution for our complicated world. At the end, Evan’s ARK may have saved his city (animals & people) from landslide & flooding. But he realized that what God meant for Evan to build an Ark is not literally a big physical structure of an ark, but as an acronym A.R.K., which means Acts of Random Kindness.

    ARK can change the world. Our little Acts of Random Kindness can make a Big difference. Less can change our world for the better.  With LESS, God can be & we can be.

    Take, Lord, the little resources we have. Bless & share these to others, as we are also needy of their help & of our Father’s mercy. Let these be our small contribution & acts of random kindness that we may have a share of our agape in God’s kingdom now & always.

    So Help us God, So may it Be. Amen.

  • SHARING

    SHARING

    July 25, 2021 – 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    + Emmanuel T. Cabajar, C.Ss.R. D.D.

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072521.cfm)

    A boy gets his lunch left-over boxed up to take home. As he leaves the restaurant he ignores an old man begging. Feeling a sudden guilt, he gives him some coins. “How about the box, I’m hungry?” the old man begs. To part with his burger isn’t that easy, but compassion prevails. The boy gives it to the poor old man who smiles with gratitude.

    In the gospel a boy gives his lunch to Jesus, which allows Jesus to do something extra-ordinary – feeding the crowd. This miracle is repeated at the Last Supper and at every Mass where Jesus gives Himself and makes us sharers in his body and blood. St. Ignatius of Antioch calls this “one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ.” This food unites us intimately with Jesus and heals us, body and soul. It gives us strength for our spiritual journey. Do we hunger always for this bread of life?

    The feeding of the crowd demonstrates God’s kindness to us. He gives generously. He gives more than we need so that we may also share with others, especially the most deprived. God multiplies the little that we have, like the boy’s lunch, for the good of others. Do we trust in God’s provision for us? Do we share freely with the poor? Jesus is still looking for simple people, like you and me, who are willing to make selfless sacrifices that He may convert small love offerings into His glory. May our hearts be open to such kindness and generosity!

             Lord, satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and feed us with the finest food!

             Brothers and sisters, generosity makes us joyfully share our God-given gifts with others. Amen.

  • UPGRADING INTERRUPTIONS

    UPGRADING INTERRUPTIONS

    July 18, 2021 – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071821.cfm)

    A lady once went to visit a friend who is a public high school teacher. As they chatted at the school canteen, however, they were continually interrupted by students who came for his friend’s advice  or opinion on something. Eventually she asked her friend, “How do you manage to get any work done with these interruptions?” Her friend replied, “At first, I resented interruptions in my work. But one day, it suddenly dawned on me that interruptions are part of my teaching work. Educating students is not so much what I teach them inside the classroom, but moreso about how much time and attention I spent them outside the classroom.”

    That teacher could have devoted her time on her lesson plans. She could have attended much of her time to her private life and not be involved with her student’s lives. But being caring and generous that she is, she made her work consists of being available to her students’ needs. No wonder she was greatly loved and respected by the students.

    We do experience interruptions in our life. Especially people who are in caring profession like teachers, priests, social workers, government and bank employees, frontliners, doctors and nurses experience lots of disturbances at work. And usually these interruptions are particularly difficult especially when the request is not of our own choosing, when we don’t feel in the mood to help, when we are forced to respond and when it causes a lot of inconveniences. In such cases, a real sacrifice is involved. Most of the time, we have to forget ourselves and set aside our feelings and present plans to address the pressing needs of others than ourselves.

    Good for us to know that Jesus himself, like us, also had to cope and contend with disturbances & interruptions in his ministry. Jesus too had his plans upset and postponed because of other people’s needs.

    In our gospel today Jesus saw the need of his apostles for rest and recreation. After sending them on a mission to proclaim the good news, to heal the sick and to cast out demons, Jesus understood his apostles’ need to recharge their energy. They had been through a lot while on mission that they need the time to eat, enjoy, & process their experiences with Jesus & the people. With this, Jesus planned to take them off to a quiet place for a break because frontliner caregiver as they are, the apostles also needed caring.

    However, as we have heard, things didn’t work out as planned. The ordinary people sabotaged their rest and recreation. And how did Jesus react? Not with annoyance but with compassion. Jesus was moved with pity for them. Inasmuch as he attended and took care of his apostles’ need for a break, out of compassion for them, Jesus also responded to the pressing needs of other people.

    Nobody likes interruptions. We know how annoying & limiting interruptions are. However, there will always be interruptions in life. They are inevitable – cannot be avoided. Be as it may. Somehow our readings today may also teach us some lessons about our experiences of interruptions in life.

    First, interruptions can be God’s way of taking care of us. The Lord said in our first reading: “I myself…take care, gather, bring back, appoint..” Meaning, What God does Himself to us are His hands-on interventions in our lives that will definitely disturbs us. As Paul said, Jesus is God’s intervention in our lives, who totally can disturbs, change & renew our lives. Jesus is God’s cure to save & help us to live our lives for the better.

    Second, interruptions can be our way of taking care of ourselves. As interruptions happen, we are moved to give more attention & value to what is important and we really need. The disciples needed to rest, recreation & recharge, and the people needs God’s healing, care, inspiration & meaning through Jesus’ words & ministry. In crisis-disturbance, we are to adjust, adapt & cope with our bare necessities. We evaluate – we put value on what we have & longs for the better than the usual.

    Third, interruptions can be our way of taking care of one another. As it caused us to be conscious of our needs, life-interruptions make us also feel the needs of others & moves our hearts to compassion to help. It challenges us to do whatever we can to contribute & fulfill our mission in life for them & for us.  Life-interruptions moves us to sympathize & empathize with one another.

    Simply put, whatever, whenever & however it happens to us then, now & in the future, these interruptions can be the chance for our intervening, disturbing & interrupting God to take care of us, & can be our opportunity to take care & be a better versions of ourselves & of one another. Interruptions call us to faith, self-care, compassion & personal mission.

    If we really come to think of it, our present experiences of Covid pandemic is & has been indeed a great interruption to our lives. Needless to say, the disturbance, crises, & challenges, Covid pandemic has done and cost in our lives nowadays. However, somehow like a major medical operation or dialysis procedure, perhaps this pandemic is God’s intervention to save from our own sickness & destruction. The interruptions we are going through might be God’s way of saving, curing & healing us from usual our toxic & abusive-lifestyle that make us sick & has brought cancerous diseases & infectious viruses to our nature, environment, physical bodies & personal lives. As we cope with the challenges of the pandemic times, we come also to see & value more the need for us to reimagine our lives, be more clear with our priorities & steadfast with our values, purpose & principles in life.  And above all, we come to realize that we need each other, we feel for one another, & we contribute what we can for a much better life ahead.

    Somehow the pandemic, virus, quarantine, immunization we are going through are God’s evasive, interrupted, inconvenient procedure for our upgrade, from corrupted & infected system to a better version of our humanity & our world. With the Lord and our compassion for one another, somehow what we are going through nowadays is God’s way of care-giving & care-taking us now & always.

    Lord, Interrupt & disturb us, once in a while (if not always), … that we may realize how sick we are,…. how we need You & one another,…. how we can help & take care of one another and…. how God is working & intervening to protect & save our lives & world now especially during these trying pandemic times. Amen.