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Tag: The Lord is Risen

  • A Defiant Hope

    A Defiant Hope

    April 9, 2023 – The Resurrection of the Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040923.cfm)

    In the popular Netflix Series, The Sandman, an episode portrays how the Lord of Endless Dreams (Morpheus) went to Hell to retrieve his tools. In Hell, Morpheus faced Lucifer in the duel through the “Oldest Game” where each one has a turn to use a concept from their imagination to defeat the other. As each one used a concept, Lucifer at the end, used Anti-Life. In this, Morpheus was down and weak. He was asked by Lucifer, “What can survive the anti-life?” Yet, slowly, Morpheus tried to speak, until he was able to utter, “I AM HOPE.” With hope, Lucifer was defeated for nothing kills hope.

    On this Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus, we are reminded of HOPE. However, we as Christians now, do we really believe in the resurrection?

    Well, on that Sunday morning, as the Gospel of John told us, when the women wanted to visit the tomb of the dead Jesus, his body was nowhere to be found. They believed that the body was stolen. However, the other disciples whom Jesus loved, when he saw the cloth that covered the head of Jesus was rolled up in a separate place, HE SAW AND BELIEVED! The Lord indeed, rose from the dead!

    Jesus’ resurrection sums up everything in the Sacred Scriptures. The resurrection of Jesus is the very essence why the Church continues to live until today. If not because of the resurrection, there is nothing to believe, nothing to hope for. Hence, the resurrection of Jesus is the “DEFIANT HOPE, a hope, hoping against hope.”

    With all those suffering and gruesome death of Jesus, the disciples ran away, hid and believed that that was the end, and there was nothing more. However, the Lord is more powerful than death, more powerful than our frustration and disappointments, or of our failures, more powerful than human sin, more powerful than human violence and greed.

    God’s commitment to us and his love for you and me is so great that it makes the dead back to life, to the glory of resurrection, to new life, to a blessed and joyful life.

    Thus, friends, remember too, if you find yourself at the brink of giving up, or at the edge of losing your desire to live and to dream, or when you are at the end of hopelessness and despair, God will never let go of us. God will never surrender on us. Remember that! Believe in that!

    Jesus went through all those suffering and even the loneliness on the cross, because Jesus believed that there is more in you and in me, in each of us, and that there is more in our broken and wounded world caused by human sin of greed and indifference. We may also consider ourselves as terrible sinners, or others may condemn and think that we are hopeless and worthless, but the Lord will always see hope in us. God sees a joyful and blessed life in each of us, in all of us, as a community.

    Thus, the power of the resurrection tells us now of the Church’s mission and commitment to life and to freedom. The Church, and that is US, is a believing community who is being moved, touched and taught by the Lord.

    As the Lord dwells in each of us and in our community, we are now called to become EASTER PEOPLE or PEOPLE OF THE RESURRECTION. This means that what we preach and what we live is the joy and hope that the resurrection brings. But, remember too, that to be become a people of the resurrection, we also become a contradiction to those who want to act like God and become like God and those who are anti-life, like Lucifer. Just as Jesus was a threat to them, we too shall be. Yet, the glory of the resurrection will bring us into hope and joy which can be experienced not just after our death but can be tasted, felt and lived even today.

    How would that be possible? By becoming the presence of Jesus today to people around us through our very life that gives and expresses hope for others. Kabay pa.

  • The Lord in our Midst, in Flesh & in Need.

    The Lord in our Midst, in Flesh & in Need.

    April 18, 2021 – Third Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041821.cfm

    “The Lord has risen, indeed. Let us be glad and rejoice. Alleluia”. As Easter people, we Christians proclaim our faith in the Risen Lord – that is, our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed resurrected from death and always with us alive and in life now forever. This is our faith. This is what we believe. This is what we proclaim as Christians to the whole world.

    Though many at times, we still wonder as to how do we & can we experience the risen Lord in our lives today. We still grapple as to how do the risen Lord reveal himself to us and to the world today, and as to how do we recognize the risen Lord in our lives today. Mysterious our faith maybe, we might discern however some signs or ways we may recognize the risen Lord in our lives.

    By telling us the disciples’ Easter experience, St. Luke in our gospel today gives us hints as to how they had then and we will now witness the risen Lord in our lives today.

    First, the risen Lord reveals Himself IN THEIR MIDST. While the two disciples from Emmaus recounting their experience of the risen Lord to the community, Jesus stood IN their midst and said to them: “Peace Be with You”. The community of disciples witnessed the risen Lord themselves while they were remembering and celebrating their experience of the Lord in their own lives. By the testimony and faith of our Christian community and through our community of believers as church, we thus experience the risen Lord in the midst of our lives. Our Lord does once said: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in their midst”. In other words, we and others may and will witness the risen Lord is in our lives today, wherever and whenever we gather together as community of believers to celebrate and proclaim our faith in Him, as He is Present in our midst.   

    Second, the risen Lord reveals Himself IN FLESH. As the risen Lord reveals Himself in the midst of the disciples, he showed and asked them to touch and see His wounded hands and feet. Thus, the risen Lord reveals Himself not as ghost but in flesh and bones with wounds. This is very significant because mostly how we witness the Lord is clouded by how we want to see Him and how we want Him to reveal Himself to us. In other words, “We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.” Like, we may ask ourselves not, “how does the risen show Himself to us” but more like, “how would we like to see the risen Lord”. Here we may want to see and believe on an Easter with a “Jesus without a cross”. Jesus here is the risen Lord – without wounds and cross – who reveals to us in full transfiguration and perfect glory who will save our day and provide us success and wealth in life. He is a Jesus of the prosperity gospel who enjoying and sharing the luxury and pleasure of life (smiling on a BMW motorbike with latest iPhone & all abobots/gadgets/perks) enjoying the good life with all His followers.

    We may also want to see and believe on an Easter with a “Cross without Jesus”. Jesus here is the risen Lord not in flesh but in spirit – a ghost. Here Jesus is believed to be not anymore in this world but in spiritual realm welcoming us to the next life, but still remains at a distance from our daily life-struggles.

    However we like to see our risen Lord in our lives now, whether as “Jesus without a cross” or “Cross without Jesus”, the fact is – the risen Lord has made Himself known to us as “Jesus with a Cross” – a risen Lord in wounded flesh and bones who struggles and sacrifices painfully yet victoriously in life. The risen Lord in flesh is thus a seasoned life-hero who, by letting us touch and see His wounds in Life – not His glorified body or His spirit, is now willing to coach and journey us in life. In our day to day struggles of life and humanity then, the risen Lord makes Himself known to us.

    Third, the risen Lord reveals Himself IN NEED. After showing Himself to them in their midst and asking them to touch and see His wounds in flesh, the risen Lord Jesus asked from them for something to eat, and ate in front of them. He is thus a hungry and needy risen Lord who needs us and needs something from us, for Him to continue on His mission. In other words, the risen Lord is a Lord who is not-yet finished, promising yet still more to come, still on mission, on the job, on the go, on work-in progress with our life-resurrection. And he does need us to be His cooperators/partners in life and resurrection. In our sensibility for His needs and our response for the Lord’s mission now, the risen Lord makes Himself known to us. 

    The risen Lord in our Midst, in Flesh and in Need are just but hints for us to witness Him in our lives today. These are invitations for us to see Easter as they are, as it is being revealed to us, and not as we are and we would want it to be. Only then that we may become more open to the mystery of Easter, and willingly proclaim: “The Lord indeed has risen. Let us rejoice and be glad. Alleluia.”

    Lord, in our midst, in flesh & in need, reveal anew Yourself to us now so that we may see what You want us to witness for our lives now & we know what is your will for us now, especially during these difficult pandemic times.

    So Help Us God. So May it Be. Amen.

  • Be A Witness

    Be A Witness

    April 4, 2021 – Easter Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040421.cfm)

    Alleluia. The Lord Has Risen. Alleluia. Happy Easter to All.

    Holy Week has just finished. Easter Season has just get started. We come to realize now that our story of salvation is more than just about us, but all about God and what He has done for us through our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Our redemption & faith-life now are more than just about what we have done in life but rather what Christ has done for us. Remember Jesus on the cross did not say: “I am finished” but rather said, “It is finished.” He has just getting started. So, Abangan. Beware. Be Aware. There are still more yet to come & to happen to us and for our life ahead. Brace ourselves then for God is not finished with us Yet.

    As the Lord has risen now & always in our lives, ours now is to be a witness to God’s acts & messages yet to happen in our lives. Since God is not finished with us yet, ours now is to bear witness what is yet to be revealed in our lives now through our risen Lord.

    For what is it to be a witness? Like a witness to an event or an incident & like those who first witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection in our gospel today, to be a witness and to bear witness is….

    First, to experience first-hand what is being & yet to happen & be revealed. Mary Magdalene, Peter & the beloved disciple saw in person the burial cloth left on an empty tomb. Important thus is the personal direct encounter– what you see, hear, think & feel of the incident & God’s actions in our lives. Second, to allow the incident to happen as it unfolds. We are but bystander witnesses and not active actors. Like Peter, never tamper the scene & evidences or control/program the incident for if so, you become an accomplish – a compromised witness. Third, to allow the incident affect, disturb & move you. Useless is the incident if it has no effect & meaning to you. The other disciple went in, saw & believed. What he experienced makes him realize & understand now (as Paul would call, from above) the meaning of the empty tomb & the rising from the dead. Lastly, to be a witness is to testify to others what you have experienced. Mary Magdalene saw and told others. As in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter & other disciples shared & testified to others what they experienced & believed. What we witnessed & believed then must be claim & proclaim, given & shared with others, so that others may also witness the risen Lord in us from & through what we have witnessed & believed.

    As Easter People – believers & proclaimers of the Lord’s resurrection, we now bear witness to our faith by our personal & communal experience of God’s continuing work in us, by our obedient participation to His plans & ways, by being transformed by our encounter of God’s revelation & by sharing to others what we have received by the testimony of our faith in the risen Lord.

    In the same spirit & attitude, today we also begin our year-long celebration of our five decades of Filipino Christianity this year. With deep gratitude, we thank our Father for continually revealing Himself to us, doing His work of salvation to us, and making us witness & bear witness to what the Lord Jesus Christ has done & continually doing for us now. We are indeed gifted with Filipino Christian faith. This is the time the Lord has made. We rejoice & we are glad.

    With the risen Lord, we believe that there are more yet to come & happen in our lives now and ahead. The risen Lord is not finished with us yet. With this, we, Filipino Catholics pray that may we always be worthy & fruitful witnesses of the risen Lord to our world here & abroad today & always.

    So Help us God. So May it be. Amen.  

  • Ask anything and you will receive. Really? Anything?

    Ask anything and you will receive. Really? Anything?

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    May 23, 2020 – Saturday of the 6th Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052320.cfm)

    What do I usually ask and pray? 

    We have realized how Covid-19 brought us so much difficulties these days. During the Enhanced Community Quarantine, the world seemed to stop spinning. Our movements have been halted and so our economic/financial concerns also heightened. As more and more infected cases were confirmed we have become so worried. Perhaps others have come to the point of paranoia for fear of being infected. And for those who have been infected, and succumbed to death, most surely, they have been more embattled by fear and uncertainty.

    Hence, these must have been the concerns that we bring up now to God in our prayers. These are evident in the countless comments and prayer requests we received in our Facebook page (@OMPHRedemptoristDavao).

    We believe in the power of prayer and many of us can testify how God pours His blessings and graces to a prayerful heart. Moreover, Jesus told his disciples in today’s Gospel to “ask anything in my name and you will receive.”  Really? Anything? 🙂

    Hmmm, what does it really mean?

    Does Jesus mean that we can just ask anything we want? Does it mean that I can also ask Jesus to give me a lifetime premium subscription on Netflix with an unlimited supply of popcorn and bottomless four-season juice drink? Or can I also ask a top managerial position in a company though I don’t have the qualification?  And then expect that everything will certainly be given to me? Or to make the virus disappear by tomorrow and to bring the world back as it was before the virus came?

    Some of my close friends shared with me that at some point in their life, they felt that God was unfair to them. They have earnestly asked God to grant their prayers and so they visited Churches as many as they could. They would attend the mass faithfully and did novenas to the Saints. They would do these so that God may hear their prayers and their wish will be granted. However, those prayers were unanswered. Consequently, feelings of inadequacy, unworthiness, guilt for the sins committed and even disappointment and being upset may arise. This may lead to a spiritual confusion believing that God is not fair.

    However, we might not be aware also that what we are praying could be filled with selfish reasons. Our prayers might be more focused on ourselves, on what “I shall have and on what I can gain.” Then, our prayer remains self-centered.

    Today, Jesus tells us to ask and to pray “in his name.” The beauty here lies in the prayer that considers the desire of God for us. It means that in our prayer we do not forget Jesus, we do not forget his desire for us and his will for us. 

    Jesus did not say to just ask anything because he, then, would merely be a magician or a genie in a bottle or like an automated money dispenser. Jesus tells us “to ask anything in his name.” 

    Our prayer, then, includes a discernment of God’s will for me and of God’s desire for me. God is not a mere “dispenser” like a machine or a “biometric device” that records our time-in and out to record how much time we spent in our novenas and rosaries. However, God is a person who wants us that he becomes part of our thoughts, of our decisions and actions.

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    Thus, in the Gospel, the disciples had actually already prayed. They asked God many things. However, their prayers were also filled with their own desires and personal wants. This was the reason why Jesus said, “until now you have not asked anything in my name…” The self-centered prayers and requests to God did not make the disciples joyful and contented. They remained insecure and lacking in faith because they did not ask in Jesus’ name.

    Instead of praying – “this is what I want and wish Lord,” ask and pray rather first in this way, “what is your desire for me Lord?” Only then that we will be able to get away from our selfish tendencies and intentions because we shift our focus from ourselves to God – from praying that comes only from personal wants to praying in his name.

    Certainly, God will never say no to a sincere heart that seeks His desire. Jesus will answer our prayers when our hearts and minds are one with him. As we continue to brawl in this time of pandemic, we may also discover more God’s desire for us in our troubles and in our prayers. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • Have you been circumcised? I mean, your “heart”

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    May 13, 2020 – Wednesday – 5th week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051320.cfm

    During this month of May, our Parish would always have the annual “Operation Tuli” to be sponsored by the Devotees of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. This plan has already been discussed as early as November last year in order to have an organized operation. With this, it reminds me of my growing up years in elementary school.

    During summer time like this, there would always be an “operation tuli” everywhere. Tuli or circumcision of the male genitalia has become a Filipino tradition and culture, an initiation process among young boys.

    As I underwent the same process, I was filled with fear of the pain that I would experience. Thus, when my mother brought me to a doctor’s clinic, I was trembling but managed to get out and hid myself. Well, for a week, I was able to avoid that. But because of the tremendous pressure from my playmates and classmates especially with those who were already circumcised, I was somehow forced by them to go through the same process of “initiation.” With tuli, then, as we have believed will turn me into a man. Tuli has become an initiation process from being a small weakling boy to a “gwapo-looking” young teen and from being a boy to a young man. But I wondered, was it really necessary for a man to be a man?

    This question I have brought me to the problem of the first reading. The Acts of the Apostles expresses a conflict of the early church. The Jews, especially the Pharisees who became believers of Christ insisted that pagans or non-Jewish Christians should be circumcised like them. Somehow, the Jews discriminated the pagans by thinking that pagans were unclean. For them to be cleaned they too must go through the same process of circumcision. The Jews thought that by becoming first a Jew through circumcision then one becomes a Christian.

    Now, Paul was against it though he himself was a Pharisee. For him, to be converted into Christ is beyond what is physical. The Jews at that time were looking in a very legalistic point of view. Paul wanted them to realize that a person who has been captured by Christ does not need any “tuli” anymore. 

    What is needed is the circumcision of the heart! What does it mean? It means that one should give up or stop old habits and attitudes that keep one away from God. These include the insecurity and indifference of the Jewish Christians at that time.

    For us today, what should be cut-off from us also are those thoughts, beliefs, actions and attitudes that continually keeping us away from the Lord, making us unresponsive to the invitations of the Lord, and that make us uncaring and unmoved of the difficulties and struggles of others. In other words, cut-off those that keep us indifferent to what is happening around us.

    This is the invitation of the Gospel. We, who are believers in the resurrection of Jesus, must be constantly pruned just like any plant so that we will bear good fruits or flowers. What is not helpful, dangerous and oppressive must be stopped because that will only lead us into our own misery.

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    Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that the key to become a good Christian is “to remain in him.” To remain in Jesus means to be always aware of his presence in our life. To remain in him too is to recognize his face in all of God’s creation especially among the criminals and sinners, the young and the old, the sick and the underprivileged, the poor and the abandoned.

    I would like to ask you now as we continue to deepen our faith.

    What are the thoughts, actions and attitudes that keep me away from God’s presence? Or those that make me indifferent and uncaring to the needs of others?

    May our Mother of Perpetual Help who is an example to all of us, inspire and teach us how to remain and recognize the Lord always. Through her help, we may be able to circumcise our hearts. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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