I look (am) like Him! (Luke 8: 19-21)

In 2007, when my father came to Taiwan to attend my solemn profession to the Order of Preachers, many of my friends told us that he looks like me or vice versa. In other words, the similarity is very obvious that there is no way we can deny our father-son relationship.  Some of them even pointed out how I would look like when I reach (hopefully) the age of 60. I am grateful my father is naturally good looking (laughs).

On a serious note, in today’s Gospel, Luke narrated an incident on Jesus and His biological family. His mother and brothers (kin) wanted to have a word with Him but they could not reach him because of the large crowd gathered in the room. As soon as Jesus was notified that they are waiting outside, He asked and told the crowd, “He/she who listens to the word of God and acts on them is my brother, (sister), my mother.” Jesus is pointing out that to be part (member) of God’s family, we should be like Him in everyway, doing His will and doing every service out of love for God and men.

In this way, when people see us, they will be reminded not only of our biological familial relationship but most especially they will see the family of God – how God cares and willing to accept His people; how happy it is to be part of His family. As the psalmist said today “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’” (Ps 122: 1-5)

Firm Foundation

Luke 6: 43-49

In today’s Gospel two ordinary but useful things – sand and rock – were mentioned in the parable. Both of them are very useful in building a stronger house if use wisely. But if use as a foundation of the house obviously one outdoes the other.

If we are to write our name on either one, some people would prefer to write on sand because it can be done effortlessly. Some people would labor to write their name on a rock because they think differently. The huge difference lies on the fact that foolish people want the easy way; they avoid to toil and are short-sighted. Wise people on the other hand know exactly what is essential and aim for it even if it takes them ‘forever’.

In the Bible we heard Jesus as saying, ‘do not trouble your self about tomorrow for tomorrow has its own worries’. I could not agree more. But foolish people think only of today and as they think the day is already over, while wise people do not need to think of today because they know exactly what to do.

In life, everyone aims for happiness. But happiness is built on a foundation. Some people have ‘karma’ as its foundation; some would use a certain kind of law like the ‘lex talionis’ and still some others would use ‘science’ as everything. For a Christian like me, we have faith as a tool towards happiness and we have Jesus as our faith and happiness’ firm foundation.  

堅實的基礎

路六: 36-49

在今天的福音有兩個很普通但有用的東西 - 沙子和岩石 - 被提到的。若明智地使用這兩個東西都是非常有用的為建設一個更強的房子。但是，如果以此為基礎的房子顯然 一個優於另一個。

如果我們把我們的名字寫在這兩個東西，有些人寧願寫在沙子，因為它可以做到毫不費力。有些人勞動地會寫自己的名字在一塊岩石上，因為這些人有不同的想法。巨大的區別在於一個事實，即愚蠢的人想省事，他們避免勞累且他們的看法很短視。聰明的人在另一方面確切地知道什麼是必要的, 即使需要永久的時間就瞄準把它完成。

在聖經中，我們聽到耶穌的話說，“你們不要為明天憂慮，因為明天有明天的憂慮”。我同意。但是愚蠢的人不只想到今天，而且想的太長日子已經結束了，而聰明的人並不需要考慮的，因為他們知道今天究竟該怎麼做。

在生活中，每個人的目的是幸福的。但幸福是建立在一個基礎。有些人依靠“因果報應”為基礎，有些人會使用某一種法律，如“以眼還眼, 以牙還牙”，仍然有些人會用“科學”作為一切。對於一個像我這樣的基督徒，我們有信心，對幸福的一種工具，而我們的信仰和幸福有耶穌基督為堅實的基礎。

I am Chosen (Lk 6: 12-19)

Jesus went all night to pray, listening and perhaps bargaining with the Father as well regarding the choosing of the twelve. Then from among the many disciples He chose them. It’s like ‘take it or leave it’, only with an attitude: confidence in God. We should be thankful to God we are chosen too, ordinary as we all are but called to do extra ordinary things. It also means Jesus has put His confidence in us because He prayed first before He chose us. The most beautiful truth about this is He chose us not ‘because of’ but ‘in spite of’. Indeed, what a great God we have in our midst!  

Don’t go to Fixers. Fix it yourselves!

My recent visit to the Philippines was both official and unofficial vacation. It is official upon the agreement we had in the community. It is unofficial because I have to obtain one document (NBI clearance) which requires a lot of different processing and definitely did consume most of my time. Seemingly it’s my loss but I am glad however to have noticed the improvement in our country’s system. But hey, obtaining an NBI clearance nowadays requires one to queue as early as 1am in order to avoid the 2,000 cut-off of applicants per day. It also means a 10 working-day period before you can finally have the document in your hand. So where’s the improvement? This scenario is due to the change in the system at the NBI – from manual finger printing to biometric system. The agency with this new system just operated a month ago and literally, everybody is adjusting to it. Hopefully, in the not so distant future it will become less tiring and irritating especially to thousands of applicants. With the world’s unstoppable digitalization, it’s good to see we’re in to adapt.

After having obtained my NBI clearance, I proceeded to DFA to have the document authenticated. Since my time in the Philippines is limited, I opted to go through ‘a third party’ who can help quick process the said document. With all honesty I sternly condemned the use of ‘bribe’, the reason I did not give in to pay PHP1,000 to have my NBI authenticated by the DFA. Instead, I did it ‘my way’ and found out to have done the right action. It took me only an hour to have my document authenticated, a big improvement from two hours or more way back then. Moreover, the place was pleasant and spacious to the convenience of the applicants. I did affirm this good sign that change for our ‘everything poor’ nation is really possible.

Although the use of bribe still exists, the new system is more ‘service friendly’, allowing us to regain trust in our government in general and oneself in particular. Change is on the way and will definitely succeed if we will all work for the common good of everybody. Of course, the challenge remains the same: the change of attitude (heart). Patience is a key factor because it allows us to hope; hope on the other hand encourages us to see the positive side of the situation. Oftentimes the problem lies in the narrow mindedness and erratic behavior of many of us, who think change and improvement are the sole responsibility of our government leaders. It is not the question of the degree of responsibility, it is the internalization of the truth that everyone is responsible for the betterment of one’s and other people’s lives.

So before even thinking of going through a ‘third party’, think of what you can contribute to yourself and to your nation if you go through the right and legal way. You will be elated to find out it is more efficient and will do you a great favor. Never allow fixers to do it for you, rather fix it yourselves.  

Doing The Reverse...

The Transfiguration of the Lord

(Mt 17: 1-8)

We must have heard of people who were once rich and famous but being broke and almost forgotten now. Then we ask the same question: what have gone wrong when they were at the height of their career? The answers could be a bad and complicated relationship, health related problem, economic recession, mismanagement and more. Such realities make us want to come back to those old good advises whose wisdom lie at the realization of each: keep your feet on the ground, spend wisely, save for tomorrow, opportunity knocks only once, don’t forget your roots,  get an education (degree), be grateful and appreciative and the list goes on. Some people soar high because they memorize these advises by heart but for some it is going back to the basics. Again for others it remains a dream. 

Whether in business, entertainment, religion, science and the academe, success and failures are inevitable. This is one of the certain truths about life and we should know it by now. Therefore we should not be afraid of failures and overjoyed by success rather we do the reverse: be afraid of success and overjoyed by failures. Sounds absurd, right?

c/o photos8.com

Today in the feast of our Lord’s transfiguration we have a narrative from Matthew. We have Jesus and the ‘magnificent’ trio on ‘top’ of the mountain and above all we have the experience of Jesus’ transfiguration. All interpretations on the event point out to Jesus’ apparent ‘glory’, his lordship, the authentication of his identity revealed at Caesarea Philippi.  Being on ‘top’ of the mountain with his three chosen ‘agents’, this must be the highest point in Jesus’ “career” and makes us claim like Peter: “Lord it is a fine thing for us to be here.” But the message of Jesus’ transfiguration goes on to say: “guys, there is more than meets the eyes.”

And so by saying be ‘afraid of success and ‘overjoyed by failures’ I am pointing out to the attitude we should possess in dealing with life’s reality: by being cautious on the wondrous things we receive and experience, and by looking on the positive side of the not so good things in our life. We often perceive like Peter does that we often conclude we need to ‘build three tents’ and yet Jesus has eyes to see the real deal: while the Cross seems to be a huge failure yet it is the epitome of the saving power of God; while our Lord’s Messianic title may make our ears clap, but it causes distress for many.

The narrative has a lot of things going on, the characters, the succession of events, and mixed emotions. But one message remains true: life must go on.

Asks for Quality not Quantity (Mt 9:35 – 10:1)

The Gospel today emphasizes on the following certain truths:

1. Jesus saw the needs of the people and pitied them. Among us are people who have eyes but cannot see; who can see but are afraid of the troubles and responsibilities.  It takes a compassionate heart like Jesus to see the needs of others.
2. Jesus appeal to pray to God to send laborers is both an invitation and a reminder: It is an invitation to acknowledge that it is God who sends laborers, that He is the source of help and grace. It is a reminder that being sent means to serve and not be served, and that service entails doing the will of He who sends.
3. Jesus’ appeal proves that He wants us to participate in His mission. Thus, we must pray not for the increase in numbers of laborers but for those who agreed to labor for the sake of the Gospel; the one ready to serve and do the will of the Father.
4. Jesus being a Servant himself labored for our salvation. In the same manner he/she who knows his/her role and purpose in life is he/she who is ready to do the ‘job’. Because one sees not with one’s eyes but with one’s heart. The Cure of Ars, whose memorial we celebrate today exemplifies a ‘laborer’ who by seeing the needs of his parishioners sees for himself his role and the purpose why he was called and sent.

Identity Crisis

Feast of James, the Apostle 

(Mt 20: 20-28) 

Today is the feast of James, the Apostle. The New Testament mentioned him along with Peter and John several times, on Jesus’ Transfiguration (Mt 17:1) and His agony in the garden (Mk 14: 33) for example. As for today’s gospel, Matthew mentioned them through their mother who tried to secure their position by asking Jesus to allow her two sons to sit at his right and left in His kingdom.

Is being an apostle identity or a position? In the words of Mark, James and John themselves asked Jesus to favor them of the right to be His right/left hand man when His glory comes. Understandably they view apostleship as a position. However, Jesus clearly explained to them to be His apostle is to undergo what He underwent, to do what He did, and above all to do the will of God without any reservations. 

Notice that in chapter 10, Matthew narrated Jesus already summoned the twelve and sent them to mission. The Greek word for apostle is “apostollein, apostolos” which mean ‘being sent’ and ‘the one being sent’ respectively. They have in themselves the full image of Christ as Teacher, Physician and Judge. 

photo c/o turnbacktogod.com

Like James, we Christians often fall to the same danger of laboring for the sake of greater position. We forget that it is not so much of laboring as doing service for the sake of the Kingdom. We overlook that ‘to be sent’ or “the one being sent’ is God’s own initiative; it’s His choice. On our part it is a privilege.

Christian life without a position will never make life less but Christian life without its true identity is not life at all. This is our identity: we have life precisely because Christ lives in us.

Let us contemplate on James’ identity as an apostle as he follows Christ until the end.

LV…the City, not the Brand!

Aside from being the “Entertainment Capital” of the world, Las Vegas also offers cheap gasoline J…Interestingly, Vegas is the place to have what you call ‘desert experience’.

(Background Music c/o Usher feat will.i.am: OMG; Bruno Mars feat Cee Lo Green and B.o.B.: The Other Side)

Sandy SoCal

Next stop is SoCal: San Diego, where the weather is always in two digits. I was told it’s also an ideal ‘haven’ for well off US retirees. Thanks to my special someone, Ms L.A., for the wonderful time.

(Background Music c/o Usher feat Pitbull: DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love)

Maybe Yes, Maybe No...

With the ‘scandal’ and ‘moral issues’ intimidating the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines for weeks now, many people find themselves either ‘defending’ or ‘questioning’ the credibility of the involved ‘leaders’, more so,  of Christ’s Church. A look at Carlo Carretto’s reflection may shed some light and help us to get involved in a reflective mind and amicable deeds.

  

How much I must criticize you, my church

and yet how much I love you!
You have made me suffer more than anyone

and yet I owe you more that I owe anyone.
I should like to see you destroyed

and yet I need your presence.
You have given me much scandal

and yet you alone have made me understand holiness.
Never in the world have I seen anything more obscurantist, more compromised, more false, yet never have I touched anything more pure, more generous or more beautiful.
Countless times I have felt like slamming the door of my soul in your face –

and yet, every night, I have prayed that I might die in your arms!
No, I cannot be free of you, for I am one with you, even if not completely you.
Then too – where should I go?
To build another church?
But I cannot build another church without the same defects,

 for they are my own defects.
And again, if I were to build another church, it would be my church,

not Christ’s church.
No, I am old enough. I know better!