Human as we are, we fail and sin. However, this is not an excuse not to desire perfection and holiness before God. In fact, the Gospel of Mark today reminds us to be more aware of our selfish tendencies and evil desires so that we will be able to respond to the temptations that may come to us.
What Jesus told us in the Gospel is not meant to be understood literally. “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off… if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off… If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out,” – if this is to be understood literally, then, each of us here will have no hands or feet or eyes or even more than that.
Jesus actually wants us to cut off sin from our system that only separates us from Him and from others.
The Book of Sirach also reminds us of the danger to solely rely on human strength, power and wealth that feed our selfishness. Having such desires to only cloud our mind and heart will make us indifferent to the needs of others.
Thus, when our thoughts are filled with lust and evil thoughts, then, Jesus wants us to stop that, and instead fill our thoughts with God’s Living Word that will inspire, challenge and confront our hearts. Read the bible, then.
When our heart is filled with anger, hatred and bitterness, fill it with God’s forgiveness and peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
When our hands remained close to those who need our help, then, open them and express your gratitude to God by extending help and kindness to people around us.
When our feet remained paralyzed with fear in taking risks, then, be embraced and be confident in God’s love for you so that your feet will be free from fear and take the risk of building close and intimate relationship with others. Go and come nearer to your loved ones, spend more quality time with them.
When our eyes will only tend to see what is ugly, negative and imperfect, then, open our eyes wider to see and realize the beauty of others, the wonders of the world and the goodness of our neighbors.
In this way, we lessen our tendency to nurture our insatiable desire for self-gratification. We begin to see others rather than ourselves alone. We become more self-giving rather than self-serving.
This will hopefully allow us to deepen our relationships, whether in marriage, or in the context of a family with children, or among our friends and colleagues.
Indeed, Jesus calls us to become persons not driven by selfish desires, but to become persons driven by the desire to love and to give oneself for the sake others. In this way “we keep the salt in ourselves and have peace with one another” because Spirit of God dwells in us and among us. Hinaut pa.
How would you feel at the success of others? Of a friend or classmate who is so popular in your group? Or with your spouse who has been receiving a lot of appreciation from your relatives? Or sibling who has been so successful with his/her business? Or a colleague or workmate who was just promoted recently?
When we are truly secured and grounded as a person, we will surely be happy at the success of others and celebrate with them. We will be inspired and excited particularly with people who are close to us. Yet, it can also happen that at the outside we express happiness, but inside having a feeling of insecurity, jealousy and worst resentment and envy. While looking at the success of others, we could have wished and believed that “it should have been me” or “that should be mine.”
This becomes a reality in us when what we saw in others was something we really want for ourselves. Others have enjoyed it, while we don’t. This becomes more intense when we too have the tendency to “compare ourselves and compete with others.” To some degree, it’s okay, yet to some extent as well, it can be damaging to ourselves and to our relationships with others.
With this, let us explore our readings today and discern how God’s invitations are revealed and manifested in our human experiences.
In the Gospel of Mark, the disciples seemed to be worried that there was another man who was capable of healing others through the name of Jesus. They stopped the man because they felt that it was not right since he was not ‘one of them’ and did not belong to their special group. Their worries reached to their feeling of insecurity. They value so much their reputation and image before other people. Thus, the disciples seemed to be entitled by the fact that they were Jesus’ disciples. It was their own way of asserting that they were the only persons who were knowledgeable and capable.
Remember, days before this event, the disciples also felt troubled because they were unable to heal a boy who was possessed by a mute spirit. Jesus himself had to intervene to heal and free the boy from the evil spirit. He reminded his disciples that it can only be done through prayer.
With that failure and brewing insecurities and self-entitlement of the disciples, these made them to be unwelcoming and jealous at the success of others, of those who were not part of their special group. Other people seemed to go to that person because he was able to drive out demons in the name of Jesus. The disciples felt uneasy because of this. As a consequence, they failed to recognize how God also works in the life of other people.
Yet, as a teacher and Lord, Jesus constantly formed his disciples to purify their intentions and their hearts. The response of Jesus to them came from a heart that was secured, confident and most especially, wise. In Jesus’s wisdom, he was not worried about the man who did healing miracles in his name. Jesus was more worried for his disciples who felt insecure, entitled and envious.
Hence, Jesus wanted them to understand that God’s favor and grace is not limited to a particular and special group of people. God reveals the Divine-Self even to those whom we do not expect. For a disciple to understand this, he or she needs wisdom and not entitlement or mere recognition. This is what we have heard from the first reading. The Lord will embrace those who seek wisdom, says the Book of Sirach.
As the Word was made flesh, and so is wisdom, personified in Jesus. This was the reason why the man who did the healing miracles was actually wise, because he sought Jesus in his life. By seeking wisdom, God embraced him by making him a healer in the name of Jesus. Jesus wanted also his disciples to realize this, and that was to always seek Him because he is wisdom.
Wisdom, then, helps us to see how God works not just through us but also through the people and the whole creation around us. Wisdom makes us more aware of God’s presence among us. Wisdom makes us welcoming of God and others.
Thus, Jesus invites us today to learn from him, from his wisdom that constantly seeks the presence of God. This wisdom is not envious at the success of others but sees it as God’s revelation of Divine-Self in others. This wisdom allows us to recognize the face of God in the lives of our brothers and sisters, whoever they may be.
There are two invitation for us today.
First, learn to celebrate the success of others – that we may be able to truly express our joy by acknowledging the hard work and sacrifice that others have to make or the grace that God has given to that person. Yet, when we feel jealous about it, then, learn to accept it and to sleep over it.
Second, seek wisdom rather than praise. This also begins by humbly recognizing and owing our own inadequacies and inconsistencies. This will hopefully lead us to understand better ourselves and able to discern Jesus’ invitations to growth and maturity for us.
May Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, guide us to Wisdom and brings us closer to Wisdom. Hinaut pa.
What would happen when we become “overconfident”? How would such attitude affect our relationships, work or any endeavors in life? In one way or another, you might have already met a person who was so overconfident or perhaps that has become also our very own attitude. Overconfidence portrays towards others the ability to over-estimate our capacities, knowledge and talents. In fact, it is a kind of “cognitive bias” meaning having “the tendency to act in an irrational way because of our limited ability to process information objectively.[1]” This means that we create and believe a different reality from people around us.
This would explain why when we become overconfident, we believe that we know more than others even with those who are actually experts. We could easily brag or boast ourselves and the achievements or experiences that we have as if ours were so unique and exemplary. Thus, we focus more on ourselves and putting the spotlight directly at us. It is not new then, that we would usually exaggerate things in the way we talk and we do things. It is a kind of proving others that we are indeed “so capable.”
However, being an overconfident person, it would also be so difficult for us to accept criticisms or corrections. As a result, it is easy for us to find someone or something to blame for the failure or the mistake that may happen. Moreover, we would tend to make poor decisions because we don’t acknowledge what is really happening. It is also true that we find it hard to adjust or to learn new things and new ways because we have become fixated to what we already have and know.
This is how an overconfident person could impede team or community building because we don’t listen and accept other perspectives and knowledge. We become annoying to the point that people around us would not really believe in us. In a relationship, an overconfident person can also easily dismiss a partner’s opinion, needs and concerns. This will later create more issues in the relationship.
These are just few scenarios when we become overconfident. Yet, it is also important that we become grounded and we learn to accept our limitations so that we continue to grow, mature and be more wise.
And so, let us discover today how such attitude also affected the disciples of Jesus in their ministry and realize how “prayer and wisdom” play significant contributions in our Christian life.
Some of the disciples of Jesus were arguing with a crowd of people and some scribes. It happened that a man brought his son possessed by a mute spirit. However, the disciples couldn’t do anything.
Before such event, the disciples were already sent by Jesus to help in the ministry. They have been given the authority to heal the sick and drive out demons. They were successful in their previous interventions. Yet, this time. They were unable to do so.
It was not surprising at all how Jesus responded to their question, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” Jesus answered, “This kind can only come out of prayer.”
So, what happened to the disciples then? We can only presume that the disciples, indeed, forgot that the power to heal and give freedom to the possessed come from God alone. They who had been so successful in their previous healing miracles must have thought that those were made possible because of their own abilities and power.
The disciples somehow over-estimated their human strength and abilities. They became overconfident to the point that they argued with people instead of asking the grace from the Lord in prayer. They must have been trying to heal the boy in their name and forgot Jesus. This was the reason why Jesus blurted out, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you?”
Yet, after giving freedom and healing to the boy, Jesus has to remind his disciples the importance of self-awareness, of being able to accept one’s limitations and to truly recognize God’s powerful presence. Being able to do so will make us wise. The Book of Sirach reminds us of this. “All wisdom comes from the Lord… and prudent understanding from eternity.”
These are now the invitations for us today.
First, overconfidence makes us only stupid and truly incapable and not wise. This will rather prevent us to grow as a person and to develop healthy relationships.
Second, it is in humble acceptance of our limitations and weaknesses that we become truly wise. Indeed, we become open to learn and unlearn things.
Third, prayer makes acknowledge that true power comes from God. We are able to bring healing, life and freedom because we make ourselves instruments of God’s grace. Hinaut pa.
When I was a newly ordained priest in Iloilo, there was such a time that while waiting for the mass to begin, I sat in a corner of our church. Few pews away from me, were a couple with their daughter who was probably about 3 or 4 years old. As I observed, she was very playful and while playing she accidentally hit her head on the pew. It was quite hard and painful because there was a loud cry after that. She sought the comfort of her parents. The father took her up. But what surprised me were the words of the father which I cannot forget. He said, “the chair hit you, you hit back then.” The little girl did as she was told and after that she was comforted not to cry anymore because she was able to hit back already. The little girl hushed from crying and rested on the shoulder of her father.
I am sure this is not something surprising to many of us. Some may have done it too to their children or grandchildren and perhaps you yourself experienced this. I have also experienced this at home when I was a little boy – to hit back whenever I am hurt, believing that the pain will fade once I have my revenge.
Indeed, to take our revenge when we are hurt may have been there in our hearts and sub-conscious because that was how we were brought up or perhaps that was how our environment and culture taught us to do. This sounds actually simple yet this has big implications when we are grown up and interact with one another. With this, we may ask now, is the attitude of taking revenge a Christian way?
In the First Book of Samuel, King Saul was in search of David. David had become an enemy to Saul because David became a threat to his kingship. Thus, Saul wanted to eliminate the threat by killing David. However, we were told that David slipped through the soldiers of King Saul and managed to get near to Saul while he was asleep. David had all the opportunity to kill Saul, his enemy, yet, when David had the chance to take his revenge, David spared the life of Saul.
David believed that vengeance and violence against the man that God has chosen was not the answer to a free and good life but rather in showing mercy.
The Psalm which has been attributed to David expressed such attitude of David too. – “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness and the Lord deals with us not according to our sins.”
This story of David prepares us of Jesus’ absurd and seemingly illogical teaching. Many of those during his time, found it radical and crazy. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus taught his disciples to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray those who mistreat you.” Is it not ridiculous?
We were taught to be vengeful. We were taught to believe that hitting back takes away the pain that we have endured. Yet, Jesus teaches the other way around.
How could we love those who have hurt us? Those who have abused us? Those who betrayed us and caused so much pain in our life? How could we not hate and curse them when we are suffering from what they have done to us? How can we give forgiveness when they do not own the responsibility?
Our immediate response is to retaliate, to take our revenge. Some may result to physical violence which can terrorize the community. And if we cannot express physical violence against them, then, we express it in our words and on how we treat people. But most of all, we linger to hatred, to pain, anger and bitterness.
However, we do not realize that once we let aggression, violence, hatred and anger to dominate our hearts and minds, we, in fact, become prisoners of our own pain. Then, the pain that we endure leads us to feelings of anger, hatred and bitterness. When we linger to these they will lead us to a heart that seeks only revenge. This will be our tendency from our belief that by hurting the person back, our anger and hatred will be satisfied. But then we are wrong because anger and hatred will never be satisfied by violence. Violence only makes us angrier, more hateful and more bitter. The more we linger to these emotions; they become a cycle of violence that never ends.
We create our own cycle of violence, revenge, anger and hatred. We become prisoner of our own pain. All of these will control our life, thoughts and actions towards others. This is how our person and our relationships are so affected that we become toxic. We will never be free because we will try to avoid those who have hurt us and avoid occasions of meeting them. We will begin to become suspicious to our other relationships. Yet, we are afraid of trusting others, of loving others again and even ourselves. We are afraid because we linger to that pain thinking that other people might do it again to us. Thus, we become judgmental and condemning to those who are around us and even of ourselves.
However, it is when we find love and forgiveness in our hearts that we will be free. But remember, this begins in accepting and embracing those painful experiences we have so that we can go on with life.
This tells us, that loving one’s enemies or those whom we hate is an expression of mercy and forgiveness that makes us free. It will not erase the scar of betrayal or abuse or pain or any trauma that we endure; but we will be able to stand up, to wipe our tears, to go on with life and to transform our pain into kindness and forgiveness.
This is what Jesus wants for us. Jesus wants us to be free and not to be prisoners of anger, hatred, bitterness and violence. It is in showing love, kindness and mercy that we actually find peace and reconciliation, justice and freedom.
Showing love then, is not about telling the person, that what he/she did was okay and we pretend as if nothing happened. No! Love and forgiveness bring healing to our wounded heart that will make us say to the person, “I forgive you not because of who you are but because of who I am.” This is what the Dalai Lama said. This is a gift from the Lord because we deserve peace and freedom. This also means that I choose to be free and at peace. I choose love and not anger and hatred and I choose God and not evil.
The invitation of Jesus for us now, is an invitation to freedom from hatred, bitterness and violence and freedom to love, to be merciful and forgiving. This the attitude of the heart of a true believer of Christ Jesus. Hinaut pa.
“To err is human. To forgive is divine.” Surely we have heard & familiar with this quotation before and could easily agree and resonate with it. “To err is human.” This is true for us, especially whenever we have hurt others, whenever we cannot forgive others, or whenever we have failed others. And our usual excuses are: “what can I do, I’m but just human”, or “I’m sorry. I’m not God who forgives. I’m just human and a sinner”.
True, human as we are, we do wrong and commit sins and mistakes, through which we could easily hurt others. Due to our human weaknesses, we can hurt others, and others could also hurt us. Most of us could attest that it is but human and normal for us to do wrong and commit sin, thus can hurt and be hurt by others. And in the midst of this, we do need ourselves consideration, understanding, forgiveness and love.
However, based from our own experience, it is difficult to forgive others, especially our enemies who have hurt us. Just like Abisai in our first reading, usually when opportunity comes, it is normal for us to take revenge or even in return hurt our enemies. Usually, it is not easy for us to forgive people who have hurt and wronged us. And we recognize we do need God’s Help and Grace for us to forgive them. For us then, to forgive is a divine or holy or godly behavior and action.
Jesus said in our gospel today, “Love your Enemy. Do good to all those who persecute and hate you. Forgive them and God will forgive you”. Hearing these words, easy for us reply: “Yes. Easier said than done”. Nice words, good to hear, easy to say but hard to heed. It would be easy for Jesus to say and do those things because He is holy, godly and divine, but for us human, that difficult.
We must consider that when Jesus said these words, he also experienced and felt the pain, hurt, and suffering caused by his enemies. Like us, Jesus also has his own enemies, who have wronged & hurt him. There were also people who hated him, rejected him and even caused his death. And for Jesus, it is also difficult to love our enemies. He knows and understands how difficult to heed these words – to practice what he preached.
But still, Jesus challenges us to carry out this command because he knows that human as we are, we can and are capable of forgiving others. Though difficult, it does not mean that we are not capable of loving our enemies. Though difficult, we can and it is possible for us to love and forgive so because we have the ability to forgive and love others. Human as we are, we also have the freedom and potential to forgive others. Though difficult, compared to animals, we human do have the freedom and option to forgive or not to forgive those who have hurt us. Meaning, to forgive and love our enemies is not only divine but also human.
God indeed is the source of love and forgiveness. It is divine and godly to forgive and love our enemies. But God’s forgiveness and love is revealed through us – in and by our own decision and openness to receive and share God’s love to others. Meaning, though we are weak and slow to forgive others, like David, we can still decide and offer love and forgiveness to them by also accepting their own weakness and limitations, and by giving them the opportunity to repent and change their ways.
As Christians, we believe Jesus has saved us from our sinfulness. By His birth, death, and resurrection, he redeemed us and has forgiven us of our sins and wrongdoings. We are now then called to also forgive those who have sinned against us, as we have also been forgiven. Human and Christ as he is, Jesus forgives us. Human and Christian as we are, we can also love and forgive our enemies.
Whenever we are hurt and are suffering from the sins caused by others, it is better for us to reflect and ask ourselves: “If God can grants me His mercy and forgiveness, how come I cannot forgive my enemies? God loved and have forgiven me, a sinner, how can I not love but hate my enemies?
If of any consolation, consider that forgiveness is not only given to us & what we receive from others, but also forgiveness is something we give to others. Forgiveness then is something more we GIVE For ourselves, and To ourselves than giving to others, for as we ask Our Father to forgive us our sins, we are also to forgive those who sinned against us.
Remember as our Lord said “For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 