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Tag: Indifference

  • Have the Courage and Faith to be Childlike

    Have the Courage and Faith to be Childlike

    December 11, 2020 – Friday of the Second Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121120.cfm)

    Homily

    Children are particularly special to Jesus because the Kingdom of God belongs to them. This is because of the characteristics associated to the children. Children express their dependence to adults and tend to be trusting, welcoming and open to surprises. Their simplicity makes them sensitive to God.

    Jesus used the image of children in the Gospel, however, this mirrors the attitude of unbelieving people.  Children have both strengths and weaknesses. In the parable of the kingdom of God, Jesus pointed to us the strength of being “childlike.” And in today’s Gospel, Jesus emphasized the dark side of becoming “childish.”

    Being “childish” reveals our negative and selfish attitudes. A child can throw up tantrums when displeased and does not get what he/she wanted. This attitude of a child is an unconscious form of control and manipulation to get what he/she desired.

    Being childish is being selfish to get what we want no matter how unfair that would be to others. Being childish focuses on what “satisfies me” and on what “I can gain.”  To be childish prevents us to “listen” to what is more important. It also prevents us to believe and to accept other ideas because we are already convinced of our own judgments and beliefs. Thus, being childish is also characterized by being indifferent.

    This was the attitude of those people who rejected Jesus as well as John the Baptist. So, what was Jesus really doing? Jesus was very unconventional because he ate and drank with sinners. He touched and mingled with the sick and the unclean people. Jesus preached a loving and forgiving God the Father. He was from Galilee, from an insignificant town called Nazareth. He was not a well-known intellectual and did not come from a rich and influential family. And all that Jesus did was a threat to the status quo.

    The Chief Priests of the Temple and the Pharisees were already contented with the comfort that they had, with the power and influence that they were enjoying. They were privileged people and the ordinary ones would almost worship them. They preferred a strict and unforgiving God because it was through that belief that they could advance their self-interest. They used their position in the society to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.

    That is why; they were against Jesus because he was changing their ways. Their hearts were filled with bitterness, hate, anger and the desire to have more; in other words, they were filled with themselves, worshipping their very selves. This is idolatry.

    These were the reasons why they could not accept Jesus or even recognize the presence of God in Jesus. They rejected John the Baptist by accusing him of being possessed by a demon for being different and radical. They rejected and despised Jesus, accusing him for being a glutton and drunkard because Jesus ate and drank with sinners and the poor.

    Being childish makes us blind to what God shows us now. This attitude makes us “blind” to what is happening around us today. We refuse to see the suffering of others because we tend to only see ourselves. This attitude would also make us deaf to what God is telling us now. It makes us deaf to the many cries of those who are suffering.

    The Lord invites us not to be childish anymore and to turn away from that attitude and become childlike. This is the invitation today, as we continue our journey in this Season of Advent. Let us pray that we may have the courage and the faith to become childlike who can see and hear God in the lives of those who are suffering and among our loved ones. Hinaut pa.

  • Be Careful of an Indifferent and Lukewarm Heart

    Be Careful of an Indifferent and Lukewarm Heart

    November 17, 2020 – Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/111720.cfm)

    Homily

    The Book of Revelation warned the Church of Laodicea of its “LUKEWARMNESS.” Laodicea, because it was a center for commerce and finance, and of medical discoveries at the time, became affluent. The Christians living in that City have been influenced greatly by the prevailing culture of the City. The prosperity that they experienced made them to “somehow feel independent from God.” In fact, there must be a feeling that because of their success they did not need God anymore.

    This was how their hearts became lukewarm, passive and indifferent to God’s call of conversion. Relationship with God is a constant calling to grow, and that is to change and be transformed always. Yet, the people did not want to be challenged anymore. The people seemed to become comfortable with their way of life. Hence, the people’s hearts became “rich and affluent that they have no need of anything.” The lukewarm heart of the people led them to reject and ignore God. Their success and wealth became their “new gods.”

    Consequently, the vision of John tells us that when our heart also turns lukewarm and indifferent, God shall spit us from His mouth. However, God does not want this to happen to us. The vision of John tells us that “those loved by God shall be reproved and chastised. We are called to be earnest and to repent.”

    Moreover, the Gospel of Luke tells us about the best example of this, of a person who did not allow himself to stay indifferent and remain lukewarm. This person took the risk to leave behind what was comfortable for him including his bitter past in order to live his life with meaning and with real purpose.

    This man was Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a wealthy man. Being wealthy, Zacchaeus could have remained in his seat and not bother anymore to see and meet Jesus. However, he made concrete steps to meet the Lord. He committed himself to change and to repent.

    As a Jew working with the Romans, Zacchaeus must have been despised by his fellow Jews because he represented their oppressors. Being a short man, he must have experienced bullying from his friends. His limitations must have been a subject of discrimination. Yet, he found ways to be on the side of the Romans, and became a trusted man to be promoted as a chief tax collector. Though he was despised by his fellow Jews, being a chief tax collector was his best way in taking revenge to those who maltreated him before. He had power at this time to oppress those who oppressed him. He had the chance now to bully them by making them pay high taxes.

    Yet, deep within, Zacchaeus was restless. He was in search of something that will truly satisfy his longing for acceptance and for unconditional love. His wealth and influence could not satisfy that. Only God and he knew that. That is why, when Jesus was passing by, he did everything to meet the Lord and let Jesus find him. Though he was short, but he did not give up easily. Though it was crowded and people prevented him, yet, he moved to change his perspective. Until he found a tree to climb. That was how the Lord found him and thus, Zacchaeus also found acceptance and unconditional love from God.

    The story of Zacchaeus invites us today not to remain lukewarm in our relationships or indifferent towards others, towards ourselves and towards God. There is no growth in being lukewarm and indifferent.

    As we face life today, do not allow our comforts to control us to become stagnant. Never allow our limitations and painful experiences to drown our hearts into anger and bitterness. Allow rather the Lord to challenge us today, to call us and to move us and to always choose Jesus in all our decisions and actions in life. Hinaut pa.

  • How to recognize God’s signs

    How to recognize God’s signs

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    July 20, 2020 – Monday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072020.cfm)

    Homily

    As the pandemic developed and caused great difficulties all over the world, many have interpreted this event as a sign of the apocalyptic days or the end of the world. In fact, many tragic events in the past were also taken as signs of the end of the world. This caused panic and anxiety among those who really believed on this.

    Moreover, it has been our attitude to seek for signs especially when we are confused and filled with unanswered questions. We also ask God to give us signs when we are in the situation of making decisions. We also ask signs from God especially when we become doubtful of His presence and when we experience problems and trials in life. We believe that if God would give us a sign, then, that will make us confident in God.

    However, it has been our experience too, that when we do not receive any sign from God, we begin to doubt more or become angry with God for not listening to us. We may also think that life is so unfair because even a single sign of assurance is not given to us.

    Yet, we remind ourselves today of our tendency to expect impressive signs that will unfold before us. This is actually the problem that we have heard in our readings today. We are reminded of these two attitudes in us namely, our forgetfulness of God’s blessings and coldness towards God’s presence.

    The Book of Prophet Micah reminds us of this first tendency in us, of our short memory and inclination to forget God’s blessings. This is how Yahweh expressed the Divine plea to the people. God reminded the people how they were saved and brought out from Egypt and were released from slavery. Moreover, God sent instruments to guide the people like Moses, Aaron and Miriam. These events and people were signs of God’s blessings yet, the people have forgotten all of these. The people have become ungrateful to God because of their forgetfulness.

    Likewise, our Gospel today reminds us also of our tendency to become cold towards God’s presence. This has been portrayed the way people asked Jesus for a sign so that they will believe in him. The people expected Jesus to do a big and great sign before their eyes before they will recognize God. They thought of Jesus to be some kind of magician. This was the mistake of the people at that time because they asked sign from Jesus, when, in fact, Jesus himself was the greatest sign and miracle that ever happened.

    That is why, Jesus, as if scolding them of their ignorance and indifference, reminded them on how the Ninevites believed in Jonah’s sign and on how the Queen of Sheba believed also in the signs present with King Solomon. However, these people though Jesus was greater than Jonah and Solomon, did not recognize God in the person of Jesus.

    This happens also to us when we tend to be indifferent to what is ordinary. The Jews at that time were not able to recognize God’s tremendous presence in the ordinary life of Jesus. Because Jesus was too ordinary for them, and a mere son of a carpenter from Nazareth, the people refused to believe in Jesus and refused to recognize God in the person of Jesus.

    The Lord reveals himself to us in ordinary and many ways. This is what Jesus is inviting us today, that we may recognize daily God’s blessings and presence in us. But how?

    First, be appreciative and be always grateful even of small graces and blessings that you receive each day. Express in words and actions your gratitude. Be more generous to say sincerely “thank you” to people around you and to God. With this attitude we will always be reminded of the many blessings from God and avoid becoming forgetful.

    Second, be more discerning and listen better on how Jesus reveals himself in ordinary ways. This is also a call to be sensitive to God’s many revelations even in the most ordinary ways. Indeed, God reveals himself and his love for us every day and every moment of our life, in moments of defeat and moments victory, in moments of failures and moments of success, in moments of death and in moments of life. To discern and to listen, then, will make us less judgmental and to become more welcoming of God’s presence in our life.

    In these ways, we may always see and recognize God’s many ways of revealing His signs for us. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • When complacency and indifference grip us

    When complacency and indifference grip us

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    July 13, 2020 – Monday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071320.cfm)

    Homily

    In the first reading, Prophet Isaiah proclaimed to the people God’s message. It was addressed to the rulers of Sodom and to the people of Gomorrah. Isaiah particularly called their attention “to hear and to listen” because they pretended not to hear God at all. These people were identified as citizens of the “sin cities” in the biblical times.

    Moreover, as Isaiah served as God’s messenger to the people, God also expressed the divine dismay and disappointment over these people. God basically expressed how fed up He was with the practices of the people and sick of those facades portrayed by them. The sacrifices made by the people were found unworthy by God. God was not pleased. God even despised them.

    Why? Why would God close his eyes and not listen to their prayers?

    The reasons for these are found at the evil and unjust practices committed by them against the weak and the poor. Yahweh called the people to remove their evil deeds and to put an end on their wickedness. The people are called to seek justice and to do good. And how? It is by ending their selfish desires, stopping the abusers, caring the orphans and defending the widows. Meaning, the people are rather called to respond in concrete actions in the way God wants them to be and that is to be people for others.

    To become people for others is to take the side of those who are helpless, homeless, sick and poor. Only then that they also become true people of God.

    Hence, when our rituals, our prayers and other forms of devotion will stop to be just mere religious practices, then, these are all in vain. When we are too strict in our observance of our prayers, too sophisticated in performing our rituals but remain unmoved to the plight of the poor, unkind to those who need our help and indifferent to unjust practices around us, then, we are not different from the rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah.

    They had grown complacent and corrupt. They had become too attached to their comfort that they also tended to only focus on what was easy and beneficial for them. Their sacrifices and oblations were not for Yahweh. Those were merely shows to display how spectacular their rituals were.

    They found pleasure in them, but not God. They found contentment in their practices, but not God. They were extravagant for themselves but unkind to the homeless. They were sophisticated people but blind to the difficulties of the poor. They would not dare take sides of the oppressed because it would require more sacrifices from them. Thus, the rulers and the people would just keep the abusers among them because they too enjoyed their benefits. This is how Yahweh found displeasure in them and in their attitude.

    No matter how expressive we can be in our religious practices, we are not immune to the virus called INDIFFERENCE and COMPLACENCY. These are attitudes that may grip our hearts to become passive, unmoved, unkind, ungenerous to the needs of others.

    However, just as Isaiah was sent to the people to call them back to Yahweh, each of us today is reminded to beware of this tendency in us. This is what Jesus calls us in the Gospel of Matthew.

    He asked, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.”

    The peace that Jesus talks about here, is most likely the peace that we believe, the peace that is only about comfort and routine of life or ‘business-as-usual.’ This means that we go and proceed to what we usually do in life by doing what we want and by satisfying our needs and desires, from mere our complacency, unchallenged and unconfronted. Thus, this peace only knows about maintaining the status quo and the order that we are comfortable with and a kind of relationship that will not disturb and will not challenge us. Yet, this peace is shallow and remains self-centered. It simply focuses on our ego.

    However, Jesus is not bringing this kind of peace but sword that will pierce and disturb us. This includes piercing and disturbing our comfort, our current situation, our complacency, indifference and even routine.

    Hence, we may choose to be passive because, we do not want to be challenged, we do not want to go beyond and become life-giving. We do not want because it requires more effort from us, more time and more presence from us. As a result, we would not want to confront ourselves and others because it might cost us conflict and division, as Jesus said clearly in the Gospel. Because we do not want to sacrifice the contentment and the comfort that we apparently enjoy, so we distance ourselves from what God calls us to be.

    But, God does not want us to become a person like this because we will become prisoners of our own selfish desires. We will become abusive and corrupt yet the most insecure of all.

    Moreover, Jesus does not want us also to just go with the flow of life and remain passive. We might find ourselves to settle to what is only easy, comfortable and beneficial by doing the same things, thinking the same thoughts and imagining the same ideas to the point that we refuse to do more and give more.

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    The Lord wants us to find freedom. Jesus comes to disturb our seemingly peaceful lives. Jesus is not in favor for making ourselves stagnant. However, Jesus wants us to grow, to develop, to mature, to give life and to become the person He wants us to be.

    This means that our relationship with God becomes the first of all our other relationships. Yet, this will surely cause division in our other relationships because others may not understand us why we take the side of God and not them.

    Despite these challenges, we way find the courage to allow the Lord to disturb our complacency, indifference, passivity and routine so that we will be able to see things differently and wonderfully. We may become life-giving then as we express our faith and show to others the presence of God in us through our prayers, through our devotions and concrete actions of kindness and generosity. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR