Thought for the Day: God's Word

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God...
And the Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us
John 1: 1-2, 14

This exercise of writing about some aspect of the Gospel for the day makes me appreciate the notion of God's Word.

A lot of the things we (must) believe in are products of things God said.

In the Old Testament, it was the covenant: I am your God, you are my people. If you stick to your part of the bargain, I give you my word I'll stick to mine. The difficulty there was that God's word was delivered through some prophet or other: Moses, Isaiah, Elijah. etc. So you have to ask yourself, do you trust these prophets?

In the New Testament, Jesus pretty much says, "take my word for it" quite often. Take my word for it, follow my commandments and you will be vindicated even if in the process, you will be persecuted. Take my word for it, this bread is my body. Take my word for it, there is a resurrection. And then indirect affirmations (affirmations through other people) that he is the Son of God.

There are moments in life when the only thing you can hang on to is God's word. When you are persecuted for doing what you think you are being asked to do, you hang on to the thought that you will be vindicated even while you are being literally or metaphorically stoned. That the ordeal was worth going through. Are you sure you will be vindicated? No. But you hang on to God's word.

When you are facing death and are filled with an existential anxiety about whether or not there is anything to look forward to. Are you sure you will be resurrected? No. But you hang on to God's word.

And maybe that's why it makes sense to prepare for those moments by going to mass every week and receive communion. At every mass we are asked in an abrupt way, (Do you believe that this is) The Body of Christ? And we say, "Amen".

At the moment of persecution and death, it is harder to say Amen. But maybe years of practice with the body of Christ will make it easier for us. Maybe the blessing to ask for is that at the moment when Amen is difficult to come by, we must remember that we are not saying Amen to the difficult situation but to God's promises.

Reading for the Day: Abraham

Today is the Feast Day of the Holy Family. I find it curious that the Gospel for yesterday and the Gospel for today are the same except for the inclusion of a few lines. So I'll just focus on the First Reading for today and continue with my theme of a God who is hard to accept, faith, and obedience.


The first reading today is about Abraham who is asked by God to do some things that were pretty tough to swallow. The most famous incident, of course, was when God asked him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. This sacrifice is best understood if we place it in context. According to Paul, Abraham was "past the normal age" (and his wife, Sarah was sterile) and before Isaac came along, he was childless and as such, his heir was the steward of his house. In response, God promised to give him descendants as numerous as the stars and the first descendant was Isaac. So Abraham had waited for a long time for that son and at some point, God asked Abraham to sacrifice that longed-for heir. Imagine the depth of Abraham's obedience when he did what he was asked to do.


Abraham's less famous act of obedience is described by Paul as follows: "By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go". (emphasis mine)

Reading the passages of the past few days, I can't help but think how  astonishing these acts of obedience were on the part of Abraham, Mary, and Joseph. 

Gospel for the Day: Pierced Hearts

Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
"Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
(and you yourself a sword will pierce)
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."
Luke 2: 34-35


I've been asking myself since yesterday's post who played the harder part: Mary or Joseph? (As an aside, previously, I found myself asking what differentiated Mary from Zechariah). 


Mary said yes to being the Mother of God. Of course that meant she would be subjected to shame and possible death from stoning for having had sex out of wedlock. Of course there was the mothering that she had to do but if handled well, that would be pretty joyful on balance. And she had to see Jesus grow up and suffer throughout his life and through his death. But except for that yes at the start, a lot of it seemed passive, a lot of piercing of her heart, as the Gospel today says. 


Joseph, on the other hand, had to do things he didn't want to do. Marry a woman who probably had sex with another man. Go to a foreign country and leave everything behind. 

Maybe the politically correct thing to say is that Mary and Joseph are models of two different kinds of obedience. One kind of obedience is active, doing that which you are asked to but you do not want to do. And the second one is passive: accepting things that happen and still keeping the faith.

(The part of me trained in the social sciences says: what do you expect? It was probably the case that all the heavy lifting in Jesus' society could only be done by a man. So it would have been unthinkable (and dangerous) for Mary to bring Jesus by herself to Egypt. And being a woman, Mary probably wasn't in any position to influence the events of Jesus' life (and she probably knew Jesus himself wouldn't allow her to intervene) 

I guess these two models apply to different people or to different times in our lives. Sometimes we are asked to do things which we would rather not do. Sometimes we are asked to accept things which we would rather not happen. 

Gospel for the Day: Joseph

Today's Gospel is about the Holy Family's Flight to Egypt and the Feast of the Holy Innocents. I guess I can easily continue with the theme I started on Christmas day of a God who is hard to accept.

Joseph had it pretty bad. He was commanded to accept Mary and the baby that wasn't his. He obeyed that command but then it didn't stop there. He had to make the trek to Bethlehem for the census (which according to Google Maps is a journey of 155 kms) and had problems finding suitable accommodations. And now he had to leave everything behind, bring his family to a foreign country and wait for Herod to die.

Joseph should be given an award, second only to Jesus, for mindful obedience.

Gospel for the Day: John

Now that I'm doing these daily posts on the readings for the day, I can see the strange sense of timing of the sequence of readings. Christmas one day, the stoning of St. Stephen the next day and the Resurrection the day after. 


Apparently, today is the feast day of St. John, the Evangelist so the first reading and the Gospel is from his books. The Gospel for today is about the discovery by Mary Magdelene of the empty tomb and the confirmation by Peter and John. 


Mary ran to these disciples and told them that “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So the two ran to to the tomb to see for themselves. When they saw the empty tomb for themselves, John saw and believed. 


The reading for the day ends there so there are two possibilities on what exactly John believed. First he believed Mary Magdalene or second, he believed that Jesus rose from the dead. 


The verses that follow say it is the second. "For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead." Add that to the many ways in which God is hard to accept. 


The two must have gone back where they came from downhearted. It's bad enough that their friend was crucified and their Messiah failed. It's even worst that his body was stolen and never given a proper burial. 

Reading for the Day: Stephen

It seems strange that the first reading for the first day after Christmas is about the stoning to death of St. Stephen. The Gospels are no help either with Jesus warning his disciples to "Beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans... Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved." Merry Christmas, indeed. 


But this seems to tie in with the whole notion of a God who is hard to accept.


It's easy to fall in love with a child but the child grows up and the grown-up asks his followers to do pretty tough things including proclaim the Gospel to a hostile crowd who want to hear none of what you have to say. 

There's a Christmas song I love entitled The Work of Christmas. When all the hoopla surrounding Christmas is done, the work of Christmas begins. And while the work of Christmas involves a lot of redemptive stuff, it also has consequences that eventually lead to the cross. A God who is hard to accept, indeed.


The Work of Christmas

When the song of angels is stilled
When the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and princes are home
When the shepherds are back with their flock
The work of Christmas begins

To find the lost, to heal the broken
To feed the hungry, free the prisoners
To rebuild nations, to bring peace among brothers
To make music in the heart

Gospel for the Day: Our God Who is Hard to Accept

One of the possible Gospels for the day is about Joseph who plans to quietly divorce Mary after discovering that she is pregnant. The angel appears to Joseph in a dream and commands him to accept Mary. (Command is the word used to describe the angel's action). Joseph obeys and the story goes on.

This must have been tough for Joseph. He must have been so decided on divorcing Mary that the angel had to appear to him in his most unguarded moment (while he was asleep).

But if we think about it, the circumstances involving Jesus' birth were really hard for the major players to accept.

Joseph having to accept Mary who had a child that wasn't his.
Mary who had to accept that she could have a child even if she had no previous relations with any man.
Zechariah who had to accept that his wife Elizabeth was pregnant despite being advanced in years.

And as if it weren't enough that the circumstances surrounding his birth were difficult to accept, Jesus himself proved hard to accept.

John the Baptist found it hard to accept that Jesus was not a political Messiah. Even his father, Zechariah, seemed to think Jesus would be a political Messiah. I suppose other characters like Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot thought so too.

Some of his other disciples found it hard to accept that they had to eat his body and drink his blood and they chose to walk away.

The religious authorities found it hard to accept that Jesus was God and that God became man.

The disciples who chose to stay with Jesus found it hard to accept that the Messiah was crucified.

Yes, our God is a God who loves each and everyone of us infinitely but as time passes, one realizes that he is also a God who is hard to accept. And in most of the cases cited above, acceptance of our God and his commands is a fruit of grace and our cooperation with that grace.


May the graces of this Christmas Day be with us all!

Gospel for the Day: Zechariah's Canticle

Around Christmas time, I usually have a spiel about celebrating Jesus' birthday as if he were still around (and not just commemorating his birth). I also wonder what Jesus' birthday celebrations (both when he was still around and after he ascended) would have been like.

But in this age of the internet, I thought I'd do a quick search on birthday traditions during biblical times.

Apparently, the Jews didn't celebrate birthdays and birthdays were only celebrated by two biblical characters- Pharaoh (Moses' nemesis) and Herod. The fact that it's these two folks who celebrated birthdays doesn't speak much about birthday celebrations from the biblical perspective. And it was during Herod's birthday, after all, that John the Baptist was beheaded.

There's a line in one of the readings cited below which goes something like this: it really doesn't matter when you were born. It matters more what you do with your life.

And in the Canticle sung by Zechariah in today's Gospel, he does celebrate John's birth (after all, he had been praying for a child ever since) but also prophesies what John will do with his life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

Of course Zechariah could sing this with a lot of confidence because he had inside information from the angel, Gabriel, that his son would be "great in the sight of the Lord". 

In a sense, then, if it mattered what their children would become, Zechariah and Mary were lucky in that they knew, even before their children were born, that these children would be widely acclaimed. I wonder, though, if they realized the suffering their children would have to go through. (not a very Christmassy thought I know :-). But the posts for the next few days will not be traditionally Christmassy either) 

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For some reading on birthdays and the bible, check out the following:
http://www.cogwriter.com/birthdays.htm
http://www.triumphpro.com/birthdays-origin.htm

Gospel for the Day: Naming Rights

In today's Gospel, Zechariah names his son John, following the orders of the angel. His relatives are puzzled by this choice because no one in the family has that name.


I did a quick search of the internet to see who else aside from John (and Jesus) was provided a name by God. (A number of people are re-named (like Saul and Simon) but they don't count)


Apparently, only a child of Isaiah and the children of Hosea were named by God. And the names were tied up to those prophets' prophecy. 


God told Isaiah to name his son Maher-shalal-hash-baz and Wikipedia suggests that this means "Hurry to spoil!" or "He has made haste to the plunder!" suggesting that Israel would be ransacked by Assyria.


God told Hosea to marry a prostitute (!) and God provided the names of the children. The first one was named Jezreel because God intended to break the bow of Israel in Jezreel. The second one was named Lo-ruhama or no pity because God took no pity on Israel. (in fact, he abhors them utterly) The third is named Lo-ammi because Israel is no longer God's people. 


So when God asked people to give particular names to children in the Old Testament, it was bad news. 


Things get better with John and Jesus. John means God is merciful. Jesus means God saves. The other shift from the Old to the New Testament is that in the Old Testament, the prophets named their children but their children don't play key roles. John and Jesus were the prophets themselves and not their parents. It's as if the Old Testament kids were asked by their parents to wear advertisements while John and Jesus were talking advertisements themselves. 

Reading for the Day: Pregnant Women

You know that Christmas is fast approaching when the readings for the day are about pregnant women. I think it started last Sunday with the Annunciation. Then it was a whole series on Elizabeth. Today, it is about Hannah whose claim to fame may be that she was the mother of Samuel. (A couple of days ago it was about Samson's mom) 


The reading for the day is abbreviated so it may be helpful to go through the entire chapter. 


Hannah is an Old Testament figure, one of the two wives of Elkanah, the other one being Peninnah. Unlike Peninnah, Hannah was unfortunate in that "the Lord had closed her womb" and Peninnah "would torment her constantly. Year after year, when she went up to the house of the LORD, Peninnah would provoke her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat". 


After one such instance of bullying, Hannah runs to the temple and begs God for a child and promises that if she is granted a male child, she will offer him to God all the days of his life. The next day, "Elkanah had intercourse with his wife Hannah" and she conceived a child who would become a major prophet and anoint Saul and David as the first two kings of Israel. 


All this makes John the Baptist sound like Samuel. Barren women (Hannah and Elizabeth) who give birth to a prophet child (Samuel and John the Baptist) who eventually anoint a king (Saul and Jesus). 

I guess all this reflects an entire belief system about child-bearing. That it is the Lord who closed Hannah's womb. That Hannah begged for the gift of a child. That God remembered Hannah while she was having intercourse with her husband and gave her a child. The same belief system that makes Filipino women dance in Obando.

Maybe child-bearing might as well be a metaphor for all the barrenness in our lives. And yet again, the lesson might be that everything is grace. 

Gospel for the Day: Elizabeth

The annotations of the New American Bible suggests that when Luke writes that Elizabeth says this: "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled," he was referring to the contrast between Mary, her cousin and Zechariah, her husband.

Both Mary and Zechariah were given the same message: Elizabeth is pregnant. But while Mary trusted and verified, Zechariah doubted. 

Maybe it was because, unlike Mary, Zechariah was full of bitterness and not grace as I argue here. Maybe Mary was still generous because she was still young. Maybe it was because Mary was full of grace. 


In the Gospels, there's a lot of talk about being prepared for death and in some parts, it's about being prepared for the end-of-times. Maybe the story of Zechariah and Mary (conveniently bundled up in Luke Chapter 1) just tells us that we also need to be prepared to accept unusual messages from God. 


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I pray for (and with) the souls of the dearly departed of Sendong who did not have time to prepare for their untimely death. I pray for the souls of those they left behind. (Untimely) Deaths are always tough on those left behind. 

Reading for the Day: Emmanuel

The following prophecy from Isaiah is familiar: "the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel". What might not be familiar is the context in which the prophecy was made.

Isaiah made the prophecy to Ahaz, king of Judah. Judah was under threat from two kingdoms and wanted to form an alliance with Assyria. Isaiah was dissuading Ahaz from forming this alliance and to trust in the Lord. And to persuade Ahaz, he asked Ahaz to "Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!" What an offer. 

But Ahaz replied rather diplomatically, "I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!" which might have made Jesus proud in the New Testament but in this context, Isaiah picked up the meaning of what Ahaz was saying. (I don't need God. I only need Assyria) So Isaiah gave him a sign anyway, a sign that is familiar to us.

What I find interesting about this exchange is that the sign Isaiah offered was kinda understated. From offering signs as deep as the nether world to as high as the sky, the sign is that a virgin shall be with child. And the second interesting thing is that the sign does not materialize until around 700+ years later.

But maybe the message was that the God whom Ahaz doesn't think he needs is coming himself. 

References:

http://bibleencyclopedia.com/ahaz.htm

and the annotations of the New American Bible: http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Isaiah&ch=7&v=29007010

Gospel for the Day: Zechariah

We’ve all heard the saying that God answers prayers in his way, in his time but I found this particularly Gospel passage so amusing, I had to write about it.

Zechariah was going about his business burning incense in the Temple when it was his turn, like he always did, and he probably did it several times because like his wife Elizabeth, he was probably “advanced in years”. Of course, his problem was that he had no child because his wife Elizabeth was barren and we must note that in Jewish societies, being barren is a big embarrassment.

I could imagine that when Zechariah used to pray at the Temple when Elizabeth and he were newly married, he’d pray that God would grant him a son. And as time passed and Elizabeth was starting to get past her prime, he would probably pray even harder to God to grant him a son.

And then Elizabeth finally went past her prime and she was so old that the thought of her still having a baby was probably considered a medical impossibility or at the very least terribly dangerous.

I suppose Zechariah was probably depressed at that point but being “righteous in the eyes of God”, he continued serving God while I would imagine, continuing to hold some grudge or disappointment against God for not answering his prayer. In this case, there might have been some zeal taken out of Zechariah’s sense of service. Or, and this seems more likely, he might have thought God did not favor him and this was God’s way of showing it so he became even more astute in his service to seek God’s favor. Nonetheless, Zechariah had a petition and the petition was not answered.

Then one day, he’s offering incense to God like he always did and an angel suddenly appears (which as my wife points out was probably terrifying but that’s another story). And the first thing that the angel says is “Do not be afraid (which is the standard angelic/deific greeting to us mere mortals) Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness…”

I can’t even begin to imagine what Zechariah must have felt at this point: terror, certainly but also maybe a sense of why-now? leading him to ask “How shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years?”

I think Zechariah was saying that’s nice my prayer was heard but aren’t you a bit too late? with undertones of where were you when we could still  have a child?

Maybe it is the bitterness in his voice that makes the angel “punish” him by making him mute. Notice the heavy-handed way the angel responded to him, “I am Gabriel who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news” which could be translated as, “Kilala mo ba ako? Ako si Gabriel, lagi kong kasama ang Diyos. Ikaw, sino ka ba? Pinadala niya ako para bigyan ka ng magandang balita tapos pagdududahan mo ako?

I think it is natural for us to feel some bitterness toward God whenever we have prayers that are seemingly unanswered. But as the tale of Zechariah shows, God does listen to our prayers and responds to them in his own way, in his own time.

- January 10, 2003

Gospel for the Day: Mary's Fiat

A friend of mine commented that when Mary said yes to God's call, she probably did not know the full import of what she was saying yes to. In a sense, it was beyond her. She knew at the moment of the annunciation that she was being asked to accept a child born outside of marriage (after all that was what was asked for). But maybe she did not know that she would have to run off to Egypt or that the little boy who was supposed to be the Son of the Most High would answer her sharply at Cana or at the Temple or that the little boy she cared for would be hated by the powers-that-be and would lead him to his death. As Jesus grew up, Mary might have wondered if she had said yes to more than she bargained for and yet, through it all, she said yes and cooperated fully with God's will working in her life.

We tend to think of Mary's yes as a fiat, a blank check which she signed to God surrendering her entire life. In reality, Mary's yes needed to be repeated during various important points in Jesus' life but also in their everyday life as mother and Son. At every major point and during her everyday life as a mother, Mary was being asked to say yes to things that were becoming increasingly difficult, including saying yes to the gruesome death of her son, and by God's grace, she found the strength to do so.

- October 1, 2006

Gospel for the Day: Genealogy

I remember that when we discussed Jesus' genealogy in college, two points were raised.

First, the genealogies reflected the theological aims of the Gospel writers. Matthew wanted to show that Jesus was the Messiah Israel  was waiting for so he traced Jesus' lineage to Abraham (and I remember there was something significant about his division of the genealogy into sets of 14). Luke wanted to show that Jesus was God-for-everyone, not just Israel so he traced Jesus' roots to Adam.

Second, Jesus ancestors were a colorful bunch. I remember that some of the people involved included sinful characters like prostitutes. I remember our teacher back then saying that this demonstrates the adage that God writes straight with crooked lines.

I only have one other note to add to what I learned in college. Jesus lineage is traced through the males and so right before him is Joseph. But Joseph wasn't his biological father. So that really impressive lineage which includes Abraham, (Solomon), and David could really be only considered his foster family, with Joseph as the steward of the child Jesus.

Gospel for the Day: My God of Surprises II

These past few days, I've found myself drawn to John the Baptist and have recognized that he is a tragic figure. Like most people during Jesus' time, John was waiting for a political Messiah. While he was in jail, maybe he even sent out his disciples to ask Jesus if he were the one they were all waiting for so that he could look forward to Jesus busting him out.

But Jesus' (indirect) reply to John's question is that, yes, he is the Messiah, but not the kind of Messiah John was expecting. In today's Gospel, Jesus says, "John was a burning and shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have testimony greater than John's". Testimony greater than John's. Greater than any notion of political liberation. 

And no, I'm not busting you out. And that must have been difficult for John to accept, especially given his circumstances.

Long, long ago I gave a talk entitled My God of Surprises. But the God of surprises there was a lovey-dovey God.

I guess there is a different God of Surprises who is much more difficult to accept.

Difficult for the Jews of Jesus time (especially the Zealots) to accept because they were expecting an earthly king and not a son of a carpenter without political/ nationalist aspirations. Difficult for the Pharisees and the Sadducees to accept because Jesus did not recognize their authority and upended their laws and acted as if he (actually) was God which was sacrilegious for a people who thought seeing God meant you're dead. And for a while, difficult for his own disciples to accept because his mission ended in complete failure with his crucifixion.

And difficult for John to accept because his second cousin and Messiah wasn't going to bust him out. (I remember when we were in high school there was this phrase we used to laugh about, "I thought pa naman you were my friend")

A God who is hard to accept. Will leave it at that for now.

Gospel for the Day: Charity

Today's Gospel is a continuation of yesterday's. I find it amusing that Jesus speaks highly of John after John's disciples had left.

But then again, the annotation in the New American bible suggests that Jesus says John is a prophet of the old order and that Jesus was inaugurating a new covenant. Maybe that's why Jesus did not speak of John while John's disciples were there. It was the more charitable thing to do.

Gospel for the Day: The Dark Night of John's Soul

In Today's Gospel, John the Baptist sends two of his disciples to ask Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" 


I remember a priest saying that the context of this question is that John had been playing his part for some time. That role involved substantial (physical and social) hardship on his part. In Matthew's version of this story, John was in prison so he couldn't go to Jesus himself. 


And at some point, he hears news from his disciples about Jesus who has been performing wonders. (Right before today's passage, Jesus had just raised someone from the dead). 


Having heard this news from his disciples, John sends two disciples to ask Jesus if he is the one he had been preparing Israel for. It sounds more emotional in Tagalog, "Ikaw na nga ba ang pinaghahandaan namin?"  Is Jesus the reason for all his hardships and why he was in jail? 


Some commentators (including the annotators of the New American Bible) suggest that maybe John was expecting an earthly king come to liberate Israel. (Maybe he was calling for Israel's repentance in order to restore the old covenant between Yahweh and Israel). Maybe then John was asking, is this all there is to you? Is this it? Where's the political liberation foretold by the prophets? 


Jesus' reply can be read as being a little heavy-handed “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” One could take this to mean that Jesus is telling John, "Look what has been done. Isn't the answer to your question obvious?"


And yet the annotation on the New American Bible suggests that the last line in particular suggests that Jesus is telling John that, yes, I am the one, but not in the way you expected and I hope you do not take offence that I am not what you expected. The prophets misinterpreted things a bit on points of politics. 


I can only wonder what John must have felt when his disciples came back to him with Jesus' response. Maybe that's why this is the reading for the feast day of John of the Cross, author of The Dark Night of the Soul. 

Thought for the Day: Joyfully

The Gospel for today speaks of two sons asked by their father to do something. One says he won't do the task but eventually goes off and does it. The other says he'll do the task but eventually doesn't.

The moral of the study is that what is important is what we do and not what we say we'll do (or won't do). But I'll take off on a tangent today.

I remember that when I was in college, my father would sometimes ask me to do small things like fetch his eyeglasses or his papers from his room. Sometimes I'd grumble but I'd do it inevitably.

One day, I found myself asking for the grace to do things for my father joyfully. Sometimes we've got to do what we've got to do even if we don't feel like doing it. But if we've got to do it anyway, we might as well ask for the grace to do it joyfully. Sometimes, it is not just the verb but also the adverb that modifies the verb which makes all the difference.

Gospel for the Day: The Visitation

I find it amusing that the first thing Mary does after the Annunciation is to travel in haste to the hill country to visit her cousin Elizabeth.

Maybe she went to see if Elizabeth was really pregnant despite her advanced age, which would have been nothing less than miraculous. And if her cousin Elizabeth were really pregnant, then everything the angel said would really happen to her. Maybe that's why she proclaims her Canticle after receiving confirmation.

Reading for the Day: Brokenhearted

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me...
... to heal the brokenhearted


Brokenheartedness is often associated with a bad romance. Break-ups or rejection. 


But there are all sorts of causes of brokenheartedness in the world. 


I think it's inevitable that parents break their children's heart. Unexpected withdrawals of love. Realizing your parents aren't perfect or not who you thought they were. And children, of course, break their parents hearts too. 


Camelots are exposed as being unattainable or merely illusions. 


Contests are lost. Betrayals abound. Promises are broken. 


Brokenhearted people should take comfort in the words of Isaiah. Sure, God comes for prisoners, the blind, the deaf, the lame, and the sinners. But he has a special place in his heart and actively seeks out the brokenhearted. 

Prophet for the Day: Elijah

The readings for today are about Elijah. 
And based on the readings, I can only surmise that Elijah was a rock star as far as prophets are concerned. 
(True enough, the Catholic Encylopedia says Elijah was "The loftiest and most wonderful prophet of the Old Testament". Rock star, indeed) 


The First Reading is from Sirach. 


like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah (great entry)
whose words were as a flaming furnace. 
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord's word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire. (see #5, #10, #11 below)
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds! (awesome!)
Whose glory is equal to yours?


Quick scans of his life story suggest that Elijah boldly confronted Ahab and Jezebel which is par for the course for a prophet. But he also worked a number of miracles and came up with a number of prophecies that were fulfilled. A convenient summary is provided by David Pyles here: 


1) Causing the rain the cease for 3 1/2 years (1Ki 17:1)
2) Being fed by the ravens (1Ki 17:4)
3) Miracle of the barrel of meal and cruse of oil (1Ki 17:14)
4) Resurrection of the widow's son (1Ki 17:22)
5) Calling of fire from heaven on the altar (1Ki 18:38)
6) Causing it to rain (1Ki 18:45)
7) Prophecy that Ahab's sons would all be destroyed (1Ki 21:22)
8) Prophecy that Jezebel would be eaten by dogs (1Ki 21:23)
9) Prophecy that Ahaziah would die of his illness (2Ki 1:4)
10) Calling fire from heaven upon the first 50 soldiers (2Ki 2:10)
11) Calling fire from heaven upon the second 50 soldiers (2Ki 2:12)
12) Parting of the Jordan (2Ki 2:8)
13) Prophecy that Elisha should have a double portion of his spirit (2Ki 2:10)
14) Being caught up to heaven in a whirlwind (2Ki 2:11)


Note #3: which previews the multiplication of loaves by Jesus. 
Note  #4: resurrection of a widow's son. According to one source, only four people in the bible resurrected dead people: Elijah, Jesus, Peter and Paul. 


And his exit was equally awesome: 

You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.


He was also expected to signal the coming of the Kingdom:


You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.


Then in the Gospel, Jesus says John the Baptist is the Elijah that the Scriptures foretold and that "and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased" which suggests that John would suffer and die. And just like John, "So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands."


What these three gentlemen have in common (throw in Peter and Paul too), is that they didn't have an easy life. Elijah has to flee twice (and at one point, prayed for death at which point, he is fed by an angel). At one point, he was being fed by ravens. And it's no joke to confront a King and his Queen. At one point he was so full of despair that he thought of himself as a failure. 


But a prophet's got to do what a prophet's got to do. 

Word for the Day: Vindication

The readings for the day have one word in common: Vindication.


Isaiah channels God and tells Israel, 


If you would hearken to my commandments,
your prosperity would be like a river,
and your vindication like the waves of the sea


And Jesus tells his disciples:


For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they said,
"He is possessed by a demon."
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said,
"Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
But wisdom is vindicated by her works."


I guess these things have to be said because hearkening to God's commandments is hard to do (especially, in Isaiah's context where God seems to have abandoned his people) and playing the role of John the Baptist or eating with tax collectors and sinners makes one look crazy or like a glutton or drunkard. So you have to hold on to the thought (and these words) that in the end, God will vindicate you. 

Fundamental Option

There was a concept which we were taught in college about the Fundamental Option. The way I understand it, the fundamental option is a person's basic orientation, toward good or toward evil. It is a product of that person's decisions and the fundamental option so formed in turn predisposes a person toward good or evil. Every decision we make strengthens or weakens our fundamental disposition. One consequence of this kind of thinking is that we are judged when we die not by our individual acts but based on our fundamental orientation.

In sociology, Bourdieu speaks of habitus, a person's predispositions which defines a person's horizon and makes that person likely to choose one option over another. Habitus, however, is not a structure which pre-determines choices for the person but only makes the person more or less inclined to choose one option over another.

At one point, I came to believe that Mary's yes during the Annunciation was a product of decisions she made prior to the moment of the Annunciation. She was predisposed by previous decisions she made to say yes at that moment. She could have said no but given her predispositions, she could-not-have-but-said-yes.

Gospel for the Day: Life Is Not At All That Bad

Someone posted this link on Facebook: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ocean-robbins/having-gratitude-_b_1073105.html and I remember really liking it when I first read it. For about two or three days, I found myself taking time out to be thankful for various stuff.


But after a while, circumstances made it harder and harder for me to be thankful for anything and soon I found myself in a rut which I find myself falling into once in a while. 


One morning, I woke up and remembered a line from a song, "If you believe there's someone who walks through life with you". Then I remembered the rest of the song and realized that it helped.


Especially the first line: Life is not at all that bad, my friend. And when I really think about it, life is really not at all that bad. Now I find that when I'm not feeling particularly grateful, thinking about the different ways in which life is not at all that bad helps me to regain some semblance of gratitude. 


(I was thinking of posting a Youtube link to the song but Basil Valdez's version is way too dramatic for my tastes and Gary V's version is too hip. Also didn't post Balang Araw two days ago because Bukas Palad's version is too happy and certain for me) 


Lift Up Your Hands

Life is not all that bad, my friend,
If you believe in yourself
If you believe there's Someone
Who walks through life without you
You'll never be alone
Just learn to reach out,
And open your heart
Lift up hands to God,
And He'll show you the way.

And He said, "Cast your burdens upon Me
Those who are heavily laden,
Come to Me, all of you who are tired
Of carrying heavy loads,
For the yoke I will give you is easy
And My burden is light,
Come to Me and I will give you rest."

When you feel the world
Is tumblin' down on you,
And you have no one
That you can hold on to,
Just face the rising sun
And you'll see hope,
And there's no need to run
Lift up your hands to God,
And He'll make you feel all right.

And He said, "Cast your burdens upon Me
Those who are heavily laden,
Come to Me, all of you who are tired
Of carrying heavy loads,
For the yoke I will give you is easy
And My burden is light,
Come to Me and I will give you rest."

Gospel for Yesterday: Blessed Afterthought

The Gospel for yesterday is familiar. Four friends try to carry their paralyzed friend to Jesus and because their way is barred, they make a hole through the roof of the house where Jesus was a guest and they lower their friend to Jesus. Jesus then proceeds to heal the paralytic and he picks up his mat and walks.

I was drawn to a phrase in this passage which is spoken by Jesus after the friends had lowered the paralytic to Jesus. Jesus said, "As for you, your sins are forgiven". I find it amusing that Jesus says "As for you" as if his attention was solely focused on the spectacle of the roof being broken down by the friends (I could imagine the owner of the house panicking. My tiles! My tiles!) and the paralytic himself was an afterthought. In fact the Gospel says that Jesus noticed the faith of the friends (and not of the paralytic) who took extraordinary measures to reach Jesus. And after Jesus said that phrase, he engaged the scribes and Pharisees in an exchange on his authority to forgive and the final act of healing seems to prove Jesus' point on his authority to forgive.

It seems that in the midst of all this, the paralytic was an extra in the cast. But then again, Jesus did talk to the paralytic and did heal him. Which is more than what any of us today have ever experienced.

Reading for the Day: Balang Araw

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
Then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.
Isaiah 35:5 


It is possible to sing the song "Balang Araw" as a song of certainty, a song, as it were, sung by angels. 

But for those who are blind, mute and lame, and for those of us who can only hold on to faith, it is a song of great hope. 

Balang araw ang liwanag, matatanaw ng bulag 
(One day, the blind will see the light and the beauty of the morning forevermore)


Balang araw mumutawi sa bibig ng mga pipi pasasalamat at papuri, awit na maluwalhati
(One day, the mute will sing songs of glory, thanks and praise)


Balang araw tatakbo ang pilay at ang lumpo, magsasayaw sa kagalakan iindak sa katuwaan
(One day, the lame will run and dance for joy)

I remember praying over this song long ago as if I were holding God accountable for his promises. You promised Lord, and now we've learned to expect that in time, the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap, the mute shall sing and every tear will be wiped away. Something to look forward to, indeed. 

Reading for the Day: God's Sense of Time

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,

that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years

and a thousand years like one day.

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay,"

but he is patient with you,

not wishing that any should perish

but that all should come to repentance.

2 Peter 3: 8-9

In today's Second Reading, it is Peter's turn to address the question of the timing of the Second Coming (oh so tempting to study the extent to which that phenomenon affected the writing of the New Testament). And here he is saying that God's sense of time is not like their (our) sense of time. With the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like one day.

This reminds me of stories where the characters are immortal. The elves in The Lord of the Rings Series come to mind. At one point, Legolas says, ""Time does not tarry ever, but change and growth is not in all things and places alike. For the Elves the world moves, and it moves both very swift and very slow. Swift, because they themselves change little, and all else fleets by: it is a grief to them. Slow, because they do not count the running years, not for themselves." But even the elves could be killed and thus, for them, time could stop. 

When we are given the grace to see things from the point of God, it changes our perspective on time. And from that point of view, Peter tells us that God never delays his promises, God only has a different sense of time. May we be as patient with Him as he is patient with us. 

Gospel for the Day: Troubled Hearts

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:35-36


When Jesus went around teaching and curing every disease and illness, the Gospel today tells us that he was moved with pity not just by the physical condition of those in the crowd but he could also see that they were troubled and abandoned. 


Anyone who has been seriously ill or who has had to take care of anyone who is seriously ill knows what that is all about. Illness is often accompanied by anxiety. During Jesus' time, illness also led to social exclusion which may explain why those who were ill felt abandoned.  


Maybe there was also a feeling of abandonment among the Israelites by their God as they were under Roman rule. In the first reading, Isaiah also tried to console the Israelis by speaking of better (political) days ahead when Jerusalem and their God would reign supreme and they shall weep no more.