Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Tag: Judas Iscariot

  • God for 30 pieces of Silver

    God for 30 pieces of Silver

    April 8, 2020 – Holy Wednesday

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040820.cfm)

    Homily

    God only costs 30 pieces of silver!

    Do you know what that means? It means that the Lord is cheap!

    30 pieces of silver were the approximate amount to buy a slave. This amount was also equivalent to a person’s wage for five weeks based on 6 days of work at that time of Jesus.

    Today, especially for Davao Region the highest minimum wage rate is P 390.00 and multiply it by 6 days and 5 weeks, then, you have P 11, 700.00. This is the equivalent amount of the price of Jesus in today’s context.

    Thus, just for five weeks, working 6 days a week, 8 hours a day, we can buy God!

    This is both fascinating and upsetting. It is fascinating knowing that God is cheap. An ordinary person can buy God just like what Judas did. Judas sold his friend and master to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.

    In a way, this tells us of Jesus’ availability for us. He makes himself cheap, for a price of a slave so that we can have him, so that he can be with us. With that 30 pieces of silver, then, we have Jesus who offered his life for us.

    However, what is upsetting is the thought that we do not value that much the presence of God in our life. The chief priests valued Jesus for that amount and Judas willingly accepted that and even desired to really have that amount in his hands. This is so disturbing because for all those days that Judas had been with Jesus and the goodness and generosity shown by Jesus to him, Judas seemed not to have realized the great worth of Jesus.

    With this attitude, we may not be far. We too might have thought also that God is the least in our priorities and that God is not essential. We could have spent more time and more of our presence on other things rather than spending quality time with the Lord and with our family. We could have thought also that other people are worthless and good for nothing.

    Nevertheless, what is more striking was the price that Jesus has to pay for us. Judas might have sold Jesus for 30 pieces of Silver, but Jesus has paid for his life in order to redeem us, that we might be with him.

    Imagine, we are more expensive than God. We, mere creatures, are more costly than the Creator. This tells us how much we are being valued by God.

    That’s why when somebody tells you that you are worthless, believe Jesus, that’s not true. Jesus has paid his life for you. When someone would say that a sinner or a criminal or an offender has no value in our community, believe Jesus, that is fake news. Jesus has to suffer, has to be crucified and to die to tell us that every sinner and every creature on earth is special and expensive. God has to pay it himself.

    Hence, on this Holy Wednesday, there are three invitations I would like you to dwell deeper.

    First, God is so cheap. As God is everywhere, recognize God always. It won’t take you long to recognize God in the presence of your loved ones, with your friends, with strangers, and with all the things that are around you.

    Second, each person worth the life of Jesus. Never allow others also to put you down, to tag you as valueless and worthless. Stop thinking too of this idea, because each of us is so valuable to Jesus. And never believe also that there are people or even just one person that has no value.

    Third, recognize also the value, the importance of the gift of presence of people around you. Recognize also the many gifts that you are enjoying, the gifts of nature, the gifts of material things.

    Hopefully, with these realizations then the more we become grateful to Jesus and generous of ourselves to others. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Do not let Satan grab us away from the Lord

    Do not let Satan grab us away from the Lord

    April 7, 2020 – Holy Tuesday

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040720.cfm)

    Homily

    The Gospel today is very sad. A student and a friend turned bitter. Judas, one of the disciples of Jesus became bitter and his heart was filled with darkness.

    What happened with Judas, really? Why did he betray Jesus who only showed goodness to him?

    The Gospel says that “Satan entered into him,” meaning, Judas was controlled by Satan. But, does Satan can just overpower a person? Of course not, not unless we allow Satan to control us. 

    Let us see the attitudes of Judas. Judas seemed to have been filled with complaints and bitterness. He would seek what was for him, what he could benefit or what he could gain. Judas would think of himself. He became entitled and even demanding. Yet, he was also pretentious in front of others. Remember how he expressed his disgust over an oil poured into the feet of Jesus for anointing. He was as if concerned that the poor can benefit from that, but not. He was only concerned of the amount of money that he could get out of that oil if sold and given to him because he was the treasurer of the group. Thus, Judas was gradually eaten by his selfishness. This turned him to be corrupt and deceiving.

    These attitudes creeping in his heart became the entry points for Satan. Those were welcoming attitudes for Satan, the deceiver. Satan, indeed, deceived Judas.

    Consequently, as Satan entered into him, Judas was not anymore in control of himself. He lost himself or perhaps has lost his mind. This was symbolized by the words in the Gospel, “it was night.” It means, Judas succumbed into darkness. He gave in to the false hopes and false promises of comfort, of wealth or influence. 

    However, despite these actions of Judas, Jesus never gave up on Judas. That’s why, never in the Gospel that we heard Jesus condemning this person. 

    With this scenario on this Holy Tuesday, these are the invitations for us.

    First, be careful of the attitudes of our heart that conjures Satan most particularly of selfishness that creeps into our soul.

    Second, we are not the center of everything. It is Jesus.

    Third, do not succumb to darkness. Do not yield to our habitual sins that may lead us farther from God. Always seek the light. Seek God even if we stumble every now and then. 

    In this way, hopefully, then what we will allow is God to be the master of our life and not Satan who will only grab us away from the presence of God. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR