The Life of St. Thomas is an Anti-Climax - John 20:19-31

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – April 19, 2020
2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
John 20:19-31

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (NIV)

The Life of St. Thomas is an Anti-Climax

 To begin, the clue to understanding this passage is found at the beginning of the chapter.

8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 For until now, they still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Despite all that they already knew of Jesus, the disciples still had not reckoned with the fact of Jesus’ death and much less with His resurrection. None of them believed that anyone could rise from the dead.

When Jesus died, everything they ever believed about Jesus died too.

Death had the final say.

If you had one word to describe the problem of the world today, the problem of the pandemic, and everything else that is horrible, the word to describe all of them would be, “death”.

It was death that Jesus conquered on the cross. And we know He did because he resurrected.

Jesus went out to conquer and to establish God’s Kingdom. He did not kill the evil people around him. The Jewish rulers and the Romans who crucified him were not the enemy. The enemy is not flesh and blood but spiritual, invisible rulers, powers and principalities in the air. He came to save the lost and that included everyone, including the centurion, the disciples, Pilate, Herod, Judas, Trump and Putin.

The enemies of Jesus were very clear to him, Satan, sin and death. The last one to be destroyed is death. At his resurrection, Jesus declared victory over death.

The implication of this fact is terrifying too, that for us to conquer, we need to die. We cannot beat people on the head if they don’t believe. We are the only army in the world that goes out to war not to win but to die.

This is what the dear Pope Francis meant when he said we must launch a revolution of tenderness.

When we quarrel with our wives, we know that our enemy is not our wife. When we quarrel with those who defraud us, our enemy is not the cheats.

We cannot kill our enemies. Even our enemies also need to be saved. God loved the world that he gave his only son. It is the whole world he is after.

We cannot kill the drug addicts or how else will they be saved if they are already dead.

For Christians to win, we need to die on the cross like Jesus.

For St Thomas the past days had been a series of bewildering events, and the past years a barrage of lightning explosions, a storm of revelations that could easily overwhelm anyone.

The disciples had just witnessed Jesus die a horrible death.

It signaled the end of all their dreams.

Even the ruling Jews and the Romans were disappointed. They had braced for a long bitter fight and were disappointed that nothing happened. The crowd who welcomed him with shouts of Hosanna, called him, Son of David, which means, king of the Jews. But the vaunted Messiah, just simply died.

When we enter the life of St Thomas in this passage, we are quickly confronted with an enigma, who is Jesus? Who are you really?

On the one hand, Jesus was a profound teacher who taught us how we could truly live. He was a scary prophet who revealed to us who we truly are. On being confronted so, Peter dropped to the ground, trembling and in tears. He cried out: depart from me for I am a sinful man. Jesus finally revealed himself as the Messiah, the long-awaited savior who would restore the Kingdom and kick the ass of the Romans.

On the other hand, Jesus was the Son of Man, the real Adam who showed us how men and women should have lived, had Adam and Eve not sinned. He was also the Son of David the rightful heir to the throne, sending shivers to the Jewish rulers. Jesus was the King of the Jews; that was the charge against him. Finally, while dying on the cross, a Roman Centurion watching him cried, “This man was truly the Son of God!”

It was admittedly bewildering so that at one time Jesus had to clear the confusion. He asked the disciples, who do people say that I am? But you, who do you say I am?

Even his closest associate, John the Baptist who had the inside info from heaven itself, was not sure anymore. Are you really the Messiah or should we wait for another one?

These are too much for an ordinary person to grasp.

And on top of that, the rumor was going around, Jesus had resurrected and walked through solid walls and locked doors.

St Thomas knew like everyone else that no one comes back from the dead. Not even those who told him, “we have seen the Lord” really believed.

If indeed they saw him, what they saw was His ghost, and not the flesh and blood Jesus. Only a ghost can walk through solid walls and closed doors.

The burden of Jesus’ death was too heavy. They had so much hopes for the Messiah and these hopes were dashed on the rocks when Jesus died.

Jesus accommodated Thomas, and gave in to this requirement.

Anyone so overwhelmed at this point, needs all the help he can get. The evidence will have to be given that Jesus really came back to life, alive, in the flesh, and not a ghost.

History showed that the epicenter of the battle for the faith is really this: did Jesus really come back to life. Can you prove it?

Thousands of apologetics have been written on this one topic alone.

Just like the conspiracy theory that said the Americans never really landed on the moon, that it was just doctored photographs to boost the US space program in their fierce competition with the Russians to conquer outer space, so also many conspiracy theories abound about whether Jesus really rose from the dead.

St Paul expressed the whole dilemma. If Jesus was not raised back to life, our faith is useless.

St Thomas was actually standing at this moment at the threshold of history that would determine the destiny of the entire Christian faith.

Everyone was afraid to ask, who are you?

Only St Thomas dared.

“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Thomas never doubted. His problem was, he never believed! Thomas like everyone else did not believe anyone could resurrect from the dead.

So, Jesus said to him, please stop NOT BELIEVING. Believe now. Jesus did not say, please stop doubting already. The word used is apisteo (not believe), instead of distazo (to doubt).

Just like when water and blood came out of the body of Christ on the cross that proved beyond doubt that he was really dead, so now, the final and winning evidence to show Jesus had really come back to life, not as a ghost but really alive, was here. Jesus knew this was the moment of truth.

Without Thomas, we would continue to doubt today.

St Thomas’ touching the wounds of Jesus proved finally that Jesus resurrected in the flesh.

After St Thomas had touched Jesus’ wounds, he cried out, My Lord and My God.

Not everything ends well. In fact, not many things end well in real life.

There is something very anticlimactic here.

Jesus downplayed the response of Thomas. We don’t sense the surge of energy that we sensed when Peter threw himself on the ground on realizing who Jesus was.

St Thomas’ realization was short of all our expectations. He did not tremble or cry or throw himself on the ground upon realizing who Jesus was. He just stood there.

And we know Jesus downplayed his realization because he said,

“uh huh, so you believe because you have seen. But even more blessed are those who believe even though they have not seen.”

We don’t see Jesus appreciating what St Thomas had seen.

The proof Jesus gave to St Thomas was just for that particular moment in history. Faith would not stand on proofs alone.

The greatest display of miracles in the history of mankind happened at the liberation of the Israelites from the Egyptians during Moses’ time. But it did not grow faith in the people.

Of the more than 3 million who witnessed the terrible and supernatural works of God, only 2 people were able to enter the Promised Land. Only 2 people believed despite all the proofs given.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews, later on, wrote: now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things NOT SEEN.

Faith is the evidence of the reality of our salvation brought about by Jesus dying on the cross. Faith is the evidence of the cosmic plan of redemption to reconcile all of mankind to God through Jesus.

Faith does not ask for evidence; faith is itself the evidence.

Blessed are those who believe even though they did not see.

Faith is not looking for proofs. Faith is not about being convinced that Jesus came back from death. Faith is more than that. The essence of faith was actually contained in the words that St Thomas blurted out: My Lord and my God, but which he did not quite fully understand then.

Faith is looking for someone worthy to worship. It is in search of the true God.

Faith seeks someone we can follow, to whom we surrender everything, who will be our Lord.

Faith wants to worship Jesus our God before whom we tremble and fall on our knees.

Not all the 11 apostles believed. We see them at the last moment before Jesus ascended to heaven, when Jesus gathered them one final time:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Years had to intervene before the faith of Thomas finally solidified.

In the months following Jesus’ ascension, we don’t see in St Thomas the blazing faith we see in Peter or in John or in James, whose faith clearly showed they had conquered death. St. Thomas is nowhere to be found nor heard.

But years later, slowly, we hear that St Thomas finally got it, maybe not as dramatically, but still it came as fully as it did with Peter and with John and with James.

Not all of us are Peters. Most of us are Thomases, slow but in the end, sure.

I visited the tomb of St Thomas in Chennai in 2008. Tradition has it that St Thomas founded the first church in India which then lay outside the Roman Empire. He walked 7 thousand kilometers from Jerusalem to Kerala. Along the way, it is said he also preached the gospel in Syria and China.

I did a little research on the Christian churches in India. The Syriac Orthodox church I visited in Chennai is more than 1,300 years old and is still passionately evangelizing and planting churches. 

Christ is still alive to them until now. And their faith is said to come from St Thomas.

I think on the day of his martyrdom, St Thomas, old and at peace, could finally face death with the assurance of Christ’s resurrection in his own life. It might have come late, it might have come slowly, but it came.

All’s well that ends well.

Raineer Chu

Companion with the Poor Inc. 

Faith and Hope in the Time of COVID - John 20:1-9

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection
 April 12, 2020; Easter Sunday
John 20:1-9

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

FAITH AND HOPE IN THE TIME OF COVID

The empty tomb narrative is being celebrated by Christians as an event that highlights faith and hope for all Christian believers.  Not to find the body of Jesus, but only his clothes, inside the tomb made Jesus’ friends, disciples and the early Christians believe that Jesus has resurrected. This event is also marked as an extremely joyful celebration faith in Jesus Christ. He rose from the death. He defied the dark reality of death and that Jesus died that he left us.

Reading through this gospel in the time of Covid-19 can also give us hope.

What precedes the resurrection is Jesus’ death.  The situation for the disciples is dark and gloomy. Our beloved leader left us.  The situation today gives us that same sense more than ever before. Jesus is dead today. We get angry at the failures of government’s response to the pandemic. We feel afraid, as the President talks mean, dirty and threatens us. We feel sad of the traditional politicians who scamper to take advantage of the situation to propagate themselves. During this time, Jesus is dead. The same feelings of the disciples then, when Jesus died.  Lonely.  Sad.  Afraid. Angry. I feel the same way now.

I have been on a two-week quarantine journey with my family now.  Trying to adjust to the “new “normal” way of life – restricted mobility, lack of social contact, frugal living .  We have watched both local and international news, we saw the rising death rates even among the first world countries like Italy, Spain, UK, and US. You get a sense of political maneuverings and power struggle and self-interests especially in the USA. I find the news all over the world, including ours as revolting and depressing.

So, I ask, when will this pandemic end? Will good triumph? Will God be with us in this most trying time? Will there be resurrection at this time?

Despite my lack of belief in a traditional and hierarchical church, I still and truly believe that God is here with us. That God is resurrected in the face of ordinary people who offer generosity to fellow Filipinos not out of obligation but out of love.

A designer creates and designs his own brand of PPEs for frontliners.  Another one creates a plastic shield to use as face masks.  A taho seller scoops and gives his wares for free to soldiers manning the quarantine lines. And a baker of ensaymada gives wares to people passing by.  An old woman at the corner of a street gives alcohol. A young man and his group provide medicine to an elderly.  Artists and celebrities sing songs and share messages to help raise funds.  Civil society groups speak up to protect the rights of people and offer support to poor communities. Churches continue their work of mercy.

These are snippets of God working within us. Despite the pathetic situation we are now in, despite the idiosyncrasies of the President and his minions, we continue to rise as a People. This is our source of hope. We need to continue to hold on to these and believe!

Jesus is alive. He gives us hope. We celebrate with joy in this time of Holy Week!

I guess God works within me too?  Despite my health challenge, I made a sign to support our frontliners.  My Facebook page carries this image. I hope everybody shares a little of God to whoever and whomever we can reach. So that we may fully celebrate the resurrection of Christ in this daunting period of our life as a nation.

(Protect and support the health workers, food workers, check point workers and elderly.  The Lenten cross is something for the Holy Week, the difference is that we have a cloth that is colored red not purple.  Have a nice Holy Easter!)

Vio B. Esguerra
Kaalagad Member

Of Palm Sunday, Pandemic and Power - Matthew 21:1-9

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – April 5, 2020

Palm/Passion Sunday

Matthew 21:1-9

1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,

5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
   Look, your king is coming to you,
        humble, and mounted on a donkey,
        and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!
       Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Of Palm Sunday, Pandemic and Power

This Sunday we celebrate an important event in the Christian calendar- the triumphal entry which signals the beginning of Holy Week. As a young girl, I had lots of recollection of being a part of the Palm Sunday celebration. My lola would often bring me with her at church and we’ll have our palaspas blessed with holy water. Sometimes the blessing of the festal branches will be inside the church, in other times we have to join in the procession outside in the streets. What I was certain that time was that we used the palaspas as protection against evil spirits. We would nail it on doors and walls joining the other protection of our houses: makabuhay stems fashioned as crosses, salt in windows, garlic, and the tail of stingray. Aside from replenishing our stock of protection against evil spirits, I never understood, as a child, the significance of the event in the life of Jesus. It is good for us to remember the magnitude of this momentous event which made it a narrative common to all four Gospels.

In the Gospel, Jesus’ journey now reaches the peak as he approached Jerusalem. All the small details that the Gospel writer painted in the narrative portrays Jesus as the one told in the prophesies of old, its fulfillment, that he’s the awaited one. The two disciples going ahead of the group acted as advance agents preparing the royal entrance. The mere mention of “The Lord needs it” shows that the colt was requisitioned as a royal prerogative. When the people spread their cloaks, it was reminiscent of Jehu’s anointing as king by a young prophet sent by Elisha in 2 Kings 9:13. The whole story calls forth images of a royal leader, victorious in battle, entering the gates of the city. The people welcomes back the heroes of war, assured of their ruler’s capability to defend and fight for them. The story of the triumphal entry, then, is a story of hope placed upon a leader whom the people see as the person who would lead them into liberation and to a life of shalom, of completeness.

The narrative makes one wonder why and how Jesus had such a following. They lived in a time in which circumstances are not unknown to us. The gap between the rich and the poor was too wide.[2] Being extremely poor was a matter-of-fact for over 85 percent of the people. Infant and child mortality was so high and the life expectancy was low and, if they’d live past the crucial first decade of your life, the quality of life, in general, was not optimum. Taxes were skyrocketing high and those from different offices extract some more from the people. They were ruled by an empire offering faux peace—pax Romana was maintained by sacrificing the blood of those who criticized, resisted and revolted against those in power. Fear and precariousness are constants for them. But Jesus was a breath of fresh air, a hope for these poor folks.

After citing as an example Jesus’ dealing with lex talionis in Matthew and Luke as an example of a stark development in the trajectory of justice from the retributive form, one of our students in Penuel School of Theology asked why there was a rise in the number of leaders who are, as she described, violent and controlling, unlike Jesus. Zygmunt Bauman, in an interview by Aljazeera a few months before he died, noted the role played by power and people’s precariousness in the rise of populism.[3] Bauman’s magnum opus, Liquid Modernity, describes how people today live in a society wherein change is too fast, offering you a plethora of options but leaving you a sense of insecurity and fear of being left behind in all aspects of life.[4]

“There are two crucial values without which human life is simply inconceivable. One is security, a measure of security, feeling safe. The other is freedom, ability to self-assert, to do what you really would like to do and so on. They are both necessary. Security without freedom is slavery. Freedom without security is complete chaos where you are lost, abandoned, you don’t know what to do.” Bauman said that that we are definitely freer today than our forefathers were. But we paid the price by exchanging it for security. The precariat are “uneasy, lost, incapable of acting with certainty, with assurance.” This “liquid fear” is something a populist leader banks on.

People desire politicians who are assertive, leaders who are willing to affirm “Give me the power and I will take responsibility for your future.” Such leaders are capitalizing on the impression that democracy is “very strong in its mouth but not in its deeds.” The memory of totalitarianism has faded if not been lost in the younger generation (sometimes even those who had also been through it for years) so the rhetoric is acceptable. People are looking for “magic” in leadership which, given the fear that people have, is understandable.

Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser gave apt descriptions of populist leaders.[5] Here are some:

          Populist leaders call for the kicking out of political establishments but have no
          specific plans for replacement.
       
          They are dividers; they do not unite. They split society into two homogeneous
          and antagonistic groups. They are not pluralists; they recognize only one group.
       
           They claim that they represent the people- the silent majority, the real people.
           Trump, for example, says he is the representative of the masses though he is utterly
            rich. Duterte also said that they were poor; but he also said that even as a kid, he
            had flown the private plane of their family.

           They claim to be victims while in the height of power.

           They say that their boorish behavior makes them like real people.

           They claim that “I alone can fix.”

Narratives about populist leaders are written in the pages of history. Again, it is understandable because people want to feel secured. Their situation and lives desperately calls for hope. Because of this, wolves clothed in sheep’s skin would prey on them. Those who can see how they can use power to their own advantage often succumb from it, and, usually, there’s not a point where they can return.

Again, let us revisit the portrayal of Jesus in the story of the triumphal entry. The Lord Jesus was consistently aware of the dynamics of power and how it would affect the lives of many.[6] The narrative that we have shown Jesus riding a colt, a donkey, not a mighty warhorse as he entered the city. The unridden colt marks a direct enactment of Zechariah 9:9.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!

Lo, your king comes to you;

triumphant and victorious is he;

humble and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

“Humble and riding on a donkey” demonstrates peaceful intentions. He was not violent; he is never usurping and always careful with power. In the days after the triumphal entry, he would prove that his kingdom was founded on principles different than the kingdoms of this world.

Verse 8 stresses Jesus’ large following. It was said that as he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples. They began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen.

“Hosanna to the Son of David!

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!

Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

The first line is the common reception to Passover pilgrims (from Psalm 118:26). In Luke’s Gospel, “king” was added. He was deemed king who comes in the name of the Lord. Also, Jesus has always been described by the crowds as, “the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.” In Luke’s rendition of the narrative, Jesus was described as the bringer of peace, of shalom, of completeness.

This pandemic, this crisis has revealed the core of people. Now we know of the innovators who respond compassionately and prioritize the welfare of the citizens. We have heard stories of volunteers and of selfless heroes, of leaders sharing best practices of service to their citizenry.

Disappointingly, we have known those who are insensitive to the plights of those who are fearful if they will still have something to put and share in the table simply because they have much and none to worry. We know of politicians who throw fits of tantrums upon having their incompetence revealed. And more than ever, we are more aware of those who abuse the power entrusted to them by the people. Instead of bringing security, they cultivate fear. Instead of feeding the people’s mouths, their lips hurl threats.

The stark difference between those who succumb to the temptations of power and of Jesus who is mindful of it guides us as we try to choose the path where we will walk. We, as followers of Jesus, are then confronted with the same test with power as we evaluate our choice of leaders and also of ourselves.

Are we mindful of our tendencies with power? In our relationships and dealings with all people, do we bring security and hope or fear and anxiety? Do we bring people down or do we lift people up? Are we secure and settled with ourselves that we are never afraid to develop people towards eudaemonia, a fulfilled and complete life with their full potential developed? Are we bringers of peace, agents of shalom? Are we trying and striving to follow the path of Jesus, the hope for the poor and the weak, the bringer of peace?
###

Ana Rica “Rix” S. Navarra
Penuel School of Theology

[1] Cf. Luke 19: 28-40; Mark 11:1 – 10; John 12:12 – 19
[2] Steven J. Freisen, Destiny or Oppression? Early Christian Explanations for Poverty and Wealth in the Roman Empire. Lecture at Ateneo de Manila University.
[3] Aljazeera. Zygmunt Bauman: Behind the world's 'crisis of humanity' Accessed at https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2016/07/zygmunt-bauman-world-crisis-humanity-160722085342260.html
[4] Bauman, Zygmunt. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, UK : Malden, MA :Polity Press; Blackwell, 2000.
[5] Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. Populism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.
[6]

Faith is tied to love, because love itself creates insight - John 11:1-45

Kaalagad Gospel Reflection- 5th Sunday of Lent
March 29, 2020
John 11:1-45

Faith is tied to love, because love itself creates insight.

 But what had lasting significance were not the miracles themselves but Jesus' love. Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, and a few years later, Lazarus died again. Jesus healed the sick, but eventually caught some other disease. He fed the ten thousand, and the next day they were hungry again. But we remember his love. It wasn't that Jesus healed a leper but that he touched a leper, because no one touched lepers. - Shane Claiborne

 If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

 We have the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45, the gospel story for the 5th Sunday of Lent.  It is a story of resuscitation or coming back to life after an experience of death.   The reality of death comes to haunt us. All will die. We are reminded of the celebration of Ash Wednesday - we are dust and unto dust we shall return.  Our existential angst. Death leads to decay.  Decay leaves behind only dust.  Human life is basically earthly.  Steve Jobs, co-founder, chief executive and chairman of Apple Computer powerfully said: No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.

 The words of both the Martha and Mary, and the words of some of the Jews are anxious words of mortality, of fears of death and of the clout of skepticism. The sisters say, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  Some say, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying!"  The sisters speak of our fear of abandonment by God.  The Jews speak of our doubts about God's saving power.

 Martha and Mary are grieving what they rightly perceive as the unnecessary death of their brother Lazarus. A delayed arrival in Bethany is not what they expected from Jesus, with whom their family has a close relationship. Martha is resentful of Jesus’ delay, and in the same breath she trusts in the power of his compassion. Mary blames Jesus and at the same time kneels at his feet. Jesus himself is deeply moved and troubled; he weeps alongside the beloved sisters. This is friendship and intimacy; this is mercy and love in one sweeping gesture.

The interchange between Jesus and Martha shows the pain and loss of the sisters of Lazarus. When she says, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died," I hear a very familiar tendency among those who are grieving. It is a time of denial, of regret, of guilt and disappointment.  Those regrets are part of grieving, not in a way of condemning, but in a way of accepting the pain of losing a loved one and coming to terms with his death. 

Jesus' response to Martha’s grief and pain is, "Your brother will rise again." She hears this as Jesus’ act of care and mercy.  She hears Jesus’ love for Lazarus. Martha is consoled by her faith in the future resurrection and her brother's place in it. Jesus responds to this statement of faith by challenging her with a deeper revelation of himself.  Jesus says to Martha, and to us, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha responds: “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.” It is Martha’s confession of faith. It’s about giving Him all her fears and hopes. It’s about total trust even when life-changing events are tough especially in moments of despair and death. Martha’s discerning faith in Jesus, made without the advantage of witnessing miracles, made in the midst of grief and disappointment, is striking for its insight, strength and depth.

The confession of Martha is a confession of faith and love or a powerful testimony of being a friend and a disciple of Jesus. Pope Francis reflection on Lumen Fidei (the light of faith) is illuminating when he connects faith to love and truth. This is the depth of Martha’s confession.

 If love is not tied to truth, it falls prey to fickle emotions and cannot stand the test of time. True love, on the other hand, unifies all the elements of our person and becomes a new light pointing the way to a great and fulfilled life. Without truth, love is incapable of establishing a firm bond; it cannot liberate our isolated ego or redeem it from the fleeting moment in order to create life and bear fruit. If love needs truth, truth also needs love. Love and truth are inseparable. Without love, truth becomes cold, impersonal and oppressive for people’s day-to-day lives. The truth we seek, the truth that gives meaning to our journey through life, enlightens us whenever we are touched by love. One who loves realizes that love is an experience of truth, that it opens our eyes to see reality in a new way, in union with the beloved. In this sense, Saint Gregory the Great could write that "amor ipse notitia est", love is itself a kind of knowledge possessed of its own logic. #27

Sometime in each of our lives, Jesus is going to basically ask us the same question – do we believe in Him and have faith in His words and deeds? Do we still trust and love him in moments of suffering and doubt? Often it will be at a time of trial, struggle and grief, like it was for Martha. It will be the moment of truth and love; have we just been paying lip-service to Jesus, just mindlessly going along with what we have been taught about Him and His Church, or will we make our belief in and love of Him real and personal?

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist, author of the internationally best-selling book, On Death and Dying (1969) said with profound insight: It is not the end of the physical body that should worry us. Rather, our concern must be to live while we're alive - to release our inner selves from the spiritual death that comes with living behind a facade designed to conform to external definitions of who and what we are.

Fr Percy Bacani
Missionary of Jesus

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John 11:1-45 New International Version

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11 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” 4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, 7 and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” 8 “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. 10 It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.” 11 After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” 12 His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Then Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

 17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles[b] from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. 21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

 28 After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.


32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34 “Where have you laid him?” he asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they replied. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

 38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” 40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

The Fruit of Tya Maria’s Sin - John 9:1-41

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection - March 22, 2020
Fourth Sunday of Lent
John 9:1-41

9As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. 4We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, 7saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

8The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” 12They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” 16Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. 17So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

18The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20His parents answered, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

35Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” 37Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” 38He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.

39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” 40Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” 41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

The Fruit of Tya Maria’s Sin

I first learned of my cousin Monching’s existence when in the summer break of 1962 my mother took me to visit my ageing grandmother at her house in Santolan, Pasig.  I have not been to that house in a long while.  So I immediately set myself to re-acquaint myself with and re-explore the surroundings, as a curious 11-year old kid would do.  I decided that I had not yet seen the somewhat isolated rooms in the outermost corner of the second floor.  I noticed at once that the room at the end of the hall was in use, the door was left ajar and I could hear voices.  I carefully approached it and took a peek.  Then there was my mother’s sister, Tya Maria, hunched over a figure of a long lanky boy sprawled almost naked but for his boxer’s shorts on the banig as she was spoon-feeding him. The boy immediately peeked back past Tya Maria’s cover and broke into a wide not-too-quiet a grin.
            “Sino siya, Tya Maria?”
            “Si Monching.  Pinsan mo siya.”  Noticing that I was studying his condition of disability – long thin thighs and emaciated body, Tya Maria added, “Nagkasakit siya. Hindi na siya makakalakad at makakapagsalita, pero kung kakausapin mo siya, maiintindihan ka niya.” Tya Maria actually encouraged me to engage Monching in some sort of a conversation, to which I readily set myself to doing.   His smile was so infectious and he looked quite handsome and clean, and smelled fresh with Johnson’s Baby Cologne as obviously he was just given a wash.  I noticed, too, that he was far darker in complexion than I was.  I did no longer ask my aunt about this detail.  All I felt was that I found a long lost cousin, in fact, as later developments would show, a long lost brother and… a friend.

But later back home I asked my mother more about Monching.  Delicately, but without any hint of blame or shame, she intimated that Monching was my Tya Maria’s “anak sa pagkadalaga” with a black American G.I. whom she met after the war, “noong panahon ng liberation.” Monching was born in 1946, afflicted with the condition mongolism, not long after his father went back to the States, not to be heard from again.  My mother would not comment on the “love angle” of Tya Maria’s liaison with the American G.I.  But even to me, my Tya Maria’s love and dedication to Monching was undeniable.

For the duration of the summer of ’62, I asked my father, mother and siblings that we go on a weekly visit to my grandmother’s place.  For varying reasons each, we all wanted to go.  As for me, of course, Monching was the principal reason.

So my weekly visits to my grandmother’s place continued on till the summer of ’63. Monching was particularly curious about my experience of school.  At that time I was attending Letran as a grade-six schooler.  I told him I did not like my school very much.  I did not quite like the division or classification of students according to the class they belonged or language they mostly spoke.  There was then still a significant number of students who were Spanish-speaking: they strutted about boisterously and loudly as though the Philippine Revolution had not happened.  A sizeable number came from the posh villages – Forbes Park, Dasmarinas, New Manila.  They were the new ilustrados, albeit mostly English speaking.  And then there were the majority of us, ang mga indios, whose parents aspired to provide their children some semblance of “classy” education in a school that could not compete with the real classy league of Ateneo or La Salle.  At that time it was all about class.  But this is political after-thought.  What really bugged me about Letran of my time was that I was often bullied by lazy and dumb Kastilaloy classmates who demanded I’d do their homework or assignments or else….

Monching wanted to know if there was anything I particularly liked about my schooling in Letran.  I narrated to him I particularly loved my music class and my English class.  In my music class (through which I became part of the Grade School Glee Club) I told him I learned to sing songs that I grew to love forever, like “Moon River” (from Beakfast at Tiffanny’s), “Summer Time” (from Porgy and Bess) and, characteristic of Letran education, some Spanish songs like “Valencia”.   From my English class, I narrated to him the story of the French epic poem “The Song of Roland”.

We would “chat” for hours on end. And when it was time for me to go, there was always this pale of sadness over his face which I found impossible to ignore…but none more than that teary expression of sadness that I saw when I bade him goodbye before I entered the seminary.

I did not see him again since our last meeting in the summer of ’63.  He passed on in 1969 when I got to be hauled away farther to Baguio City for my philosophy studies at Maryhurst.  Tya Maria tried to explain to me that Monching, with his condition, could not be expected to live very long.

When I was reading and began to reflect on this passage of John 9: 1-7,  I could not help but be struck by the uncanny parallelism between Jesus’ words and my brief experience of faith and friendship with my cousin, brother and dear friend Monching.

As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?  Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned: he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.  As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world….”

Monching was not born a “mongoloid” because he was being punished for his sin, nor for Tya Maria’s sin.  He was born as a revelation of God’s work.  Through him and Tya Maria, God has revealed the marvel of love, compassion and humanity, the joy of motherhood, brotherhood and fellowship, the wonder of learning, of music, of story telling… truly, the wonder and miracle of being alive in God’s light and love. 


DIEGO G. QUEJADA
Urban Missionaries
The Mission Partner in Labor Apostolate of
The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines 
 

Water and food in a time of coronavirus - John 4:5-42

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection -  March 15, 2020

Third Week of Lent

John 4:5-42

Water and food in a time of coronavirus

In this global pandemic, we are like Israelites wandering in the wilderness, fearful and angry, finding no place and no one safe. Gone from the shops are alcohol, masks and other things we believe would protect us. We observe social distance, avoiding places frequented by people known to have been infected.  In church, we consider the most hygienic way to give and receive the Eucharist. If things worsen, we may not even be able to gather.

Yet it is crowded in the margins of life.  Public transportation is packed and the alleys along which cramped shanties huddle are narrow. Instructions to wash hands with soap and water, singing Happy Birthday 2x are good, but is there water in the taps? Exhausted and underpaid, thousands of workers have no sick leave benefits. The reality for most is no work, no pay. Disease knows no borders but ultimately, the poor more vulnerable. Already stretched for resources, the social distance required during this time becomes isolation, and for the poor almost certain illness and possibly death. What will sustain us all through this time?

It is in this context that the Good News of living water comes to us -and directly too. Surely, Jesus enters our lives and our cities. In the same way he chose to go via Synchar, taking that direct route rather than the longer one used by other Jews to avoid the Samaritan town, He comes to us where people hunger and thirst. At the well, he engages with a woman infected by prejudice and shame. He does not stay away. As the conversation goes on, the woman realizes that Jesus has actually seen her, her needs, her longings. At the well, she finds another place so unlike the fearful, anxious, small one she has experienced.  There is something about the hospitality Jesus offers. She grasps a radically new way of viewing life, flowing and limitless.

The apostles who later arrive are clueless. They wonder why he is engaged in inappropriate behaviour (speaking with a woman), but avoid the topic asking whether he has eaten at all.  Jesus keeps to the essential: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.

”What is that food? What is this drink? What is God’s will for us to live out in our time? Jesus speaks of the living water that is the sharing in God’s life. It is to burst beyond the constraints of fear and self-preservation, to go outside our little isolated lives into the vast realm of God’s eternal, untamed Spirit. It is to go beyond the steps to keep disease at bay to care for self and others.  Could it be for a world that is more aware of how we all are actually so closely connected, of how what affects one, so easily can affect the other. New health practices might adopted not only in homes, but also in communities. In government budgets health-for-all becomes a priority. National security becomes primarily human and ecological wellbeing.  With production and imports slowing down, we would have less junk in dumpsites and lower carbon emissions. We would produce local and buy local, stimulating livelihoods within communities instead of giving power to large corporations. Community gardens could become more a standard feature of food security for neighbourhoods.  We could have economies that are more life-giving for people, and local communities where ecosystems can regenerate.  Perhaps we might realize that after all, our small, fragile world could provide abundant life for everyone.

In a world grown sick and fearful, the constant movement of the Spirit could move us all to envision and work for a new creation of wholeness and abundance. “Look around you,” Jesus tells his disciples and us. The world waits the Good News, “look, see how the fields are ripe for harvesting” (v.35).

Rev Sophia Lizares

Uniting Church in Australia

The Gospel Passage (John 4:5-42)

5So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.

7A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8(His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

13Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.”

17The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!”

19The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” 26Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”

27Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?”

28Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, 29“Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” 30They left the city and were on their way to him.

31Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” 32But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” 34Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. 35Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. 36The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

39Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” 40So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41And many more believed because of his word. 42They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

What’s Going on Here? - Matthew 17: 1-9

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – March 8, 2020
2nd Sunday of Lent

Matthew 17: 1-9

17Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. 2And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. 3Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. 4Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. 7But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

What’s Going on Here?

Only six days previously Jesus began telling his disciples he would be dragged before the scribes and the priests of the Temple; he would suffer greatly and then be put to death.  Shocked as they were, perhaps the disciples did not hear the last part: that he would be raised from the dead on the third day.
How could they possibly comprehend this? That Jesus of Nazareth, their companion and Lord, the healer of the sick and the forgiver of sins was headed for torture and death?  Certainly, Peter remonstrated strongly against Jesus but was swiftly put in his place with a “Get behind me Satan!”

How then were Peter, James and John impacted that six days later when they were led up to a high mountain, only to see Jesus “change into another form”.  (The Greek word for Transfiguration is “metamorphoo” which is the origin of our word metamorphosis).  Not only did the face of Jesus shine like the sun and his clothes become white as light, but there behold were Moses and Elijah talking to him!  These were the two who epitomised the Law and the Prophets, the very foundation of their religion.

The mountain, reminiscent of Sinai. Moses the law giver. Elijah the forerunner. A voice from the bright cloud. Jesus the Son of Man, destined to fulfill the promises of ages. This was an epochal moment.  The end of one epoch, the beginning of another.

Yet Jesus was to die first? Again, how could they possibly comprehend that?  No doubt the reality of resurrection after death had not seeped into their mind, struggling as they were with the possibility of his death.

Centuries later in our own time there is so much we do not comprehend about what happened on the mountain. It was bringing the past ages of the Jewish people into one point in time and forecasting it into the future.  It is upon each generation of Christians to grapple with the meaning of this event.  It is now our turn.

How do we view our lives as Christians?  It is possible we become myopic about our faith, seeing it closely through the lens of our daily lives with its routine and its grind sometimes.  Or perhaps grind most of the time. We say our prayers, make our intercessions, seek God’s favour through Mary; complete our rituals either in the house or in the church.

In a moment of reflection and meditation we can allow the Spirit of Jesus to expand our consciousness of Christian faith, to truly transfigure the way we view our lives, to undergo a metamorphosis of our own.

We belong to a great march of history, dating back to the time that Moses climbed Mt Sinai out in the unforgiving desert and underwent his metamorphosis, contracted by God to lead his People to a Promised Land. We are connected to an ancient belief and ritual that has carved out the centuries, with prophets like Elijah restoring and carrying the flame forward until Jesus took hold of that flame of faith.  It consumed him in death, restored him in resurrection and projected his Spirit into the future.  To our time, to our lives, to our community.

As in times of old, the flame can be lost, people can lose their way, powers in the world and the church can seek to put the flame under a drum out of sight.  But the flame can never be extinguished, it will find its way out of all the hurt and sin and misery of humankind, because the flame is the living Spirit of Jesus who is subject to no restriction.

The joy – and the burden – of carrying that flame is upon our shoulders as the whole world continues its stumbling way to being the Promised Land of the Father of Creation.
Being part of this ancient history is not summed up in our daily prayers, our intercessions for God’s help, our rituals of worship and penance.  It is summed up in acting out the mission of Jesus by caring for our neighbour, those rejected by society – and by government; it is to make a safe way for the poor, those lonely and destitute, those oppressed and downtrodden.

We are called to be agents of the transfiguration of the world, to bring about a continual and continuing metamorphosis of our own lives and of our society.

Integral to this transfiguration is the demand to confront evil, to challenge the powers of government, of society and of church who seek to extinguish the path to the Promised Land.  Concretely, who seek to oppress the poor and persecute any who challenge them.

Our faces may not shine like the sun and our clothes not be white as snow.  But we can stand and proclaim that we know what’s going on here!

Tony Conway
Concerned Christians of Australia

The Way of the Son of God Matthew 4:1-11

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – March 1, 2020
First Sunday of Lent

Matthew 4:1-11

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”  4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone,  but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”  7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God,     and serve only him.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

The Way of the Son of God

In Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, adapted into the big screen by Francis Ford Coppola, one of the central characters Don Vito Corleone makes a fortune by building and maintaining a highly successful Mafia empire. His career is nicely summed up in the words, “Behind every great fortune there is a [great] crime.” No wonder Mario Puzo, who credits Balzac, used these words as the epigraph to the novel.

Vito Corleone is what the destitute and the hopeless might regard as a savior-figure. Indeed Corleone is godlike. He is a source of livelihood. He offers protection. Everything seems to be under his control.

By the time the gospel text for today was composed, there already had been a variety of expectations concerning the son of God. The three well-known temptations are noteworthy precisely because they seem to reveal some of the popular Jewish expectations concerning how they thought the Messiah would behave. Many seemed to have expected that the miraculous turning of stones into loaves of bread will be what the Messiah would normally do. Others thought that a display of power such as jumping from the pinnacle of the temple was necessary precisely because this will prove, in a decisive manner, that indeed he is the son of God. Still others thought that the Messiah will claim or conquer the world’s kingdoms, for how can he be able to liberate his people if he does not own, or is not in control of the kingdoms?

It is not difficult to see that the act of turning stones into bread seems to reveal not only the basic human instinct for survival and but also of instant gratification. The picture of one jumping off the steeple reveals the basic human desire not only for supernatural divine intervention but also guaranteed protection from harm (as beautifully expressed in Psalm 91 which the devil used in the passage). Finally, ownership of the kingdoms of the world seems to reveal the human impulse to control the daily transactions of life.

There seems to be nothing wrong if Jesus yielded to these temptations especially if the point was to showcase God’s provision, or God’s supernatural power to intervene and to protect him from harm. Moreover, there seems to be nothing wrong if indeed the point was to show that he is sovereignly in control of the world, to which the term “Lord” is not uncommonly meant to refer.

But this should make the reader wonder: What if in the story Jesus turned stones into bread? What if he jumped from the pinnacle of the temple? What if he chose to own the kingdoms of this world? Yes, he may have proved to satisfy hunger. Yes, he may have boasted to have secured guaranteed protection. Yes, he may have claimed to be simply in charge, Lording over the kingdoms of this world. And because of this, people will inevitably come to trust in him for their livelihood, and to trust him to protect them from harm because he is in control of everything. Having chosen this route, however, is it not the case that Jesus would have ended up looking somewhat like Vito Corleone?

In this first Sunday of Lent, it is absolutely worth pondering why Jesus refused to be just another Vito Corleone, and why he restrained himself by choosing the way of the cross, which in today’s passage is expressed or implied in the words “Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.”

Christopher Sabanal 

Asian Theological Seminary
KAALAGAD Member

A Theology of Nonviolence - Matthew 5:38-48

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – February 23, 2020
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:38-48

 Jesus said to his disciples:

“You have heard that it was said,

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

When someone strikes you on your right cheek,

turn the other one as well.

If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,

hand over your cloak as well.

Should anyone press you into service for one mile,

go for two miles.

Give to the one who asks of you,

and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

“You have heard that it was said,

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I say to you, love your enemies

and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your heavenly Father,

for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,

and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?

Do not the tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet your brothers only,

what is unusual about that?

Do not the pagans do the same?

So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 Do not resist evil.

Turn the other cheek.

Walk two miles more.

Give him your tunic.

Love your enemies.

Pray for your persecutors.

A THEOLOGY OF NONVIOLENCE

These words in the Sermon on the Mount seem to be a central part of the Christian tradition. Forgiveness, love of enemy, non-violence: these define our Christian identity. “If we only love those who love us, what reward do we expect?” The martyrs were portrayed as joyfully singing to their death among the lions.

If these commands were personal injunctions, they may still be manageable. Still difficult but possible. To keep quiet in the face of insult; to give continuing service to one who does not appreciate it; to pray for those who wish my downfall – provide occasions to practice self-restraint, to accept personal idiosyncrasies, or to keep on caring for people we love no matter what the cost.

But it becomes more complicated when applied to social relations enmeshed in asymmetric and hegemonic power.

Today, the charges of “sedition” are hurled left and right against critics of this regime. For instance, is the showing of Bikoy videos constitute a conspiracy to sedition, creating hatred against the president and his family, stirring tumult among the people, and intending to topple the government “by force”? Is it seditious to report a crime?

We push the question further: Is inciting to “sedition” immoral? Is the rhetoric of force in the midst of violent tyranny un-Christian? Does Christian forgiveness and compassion mean passive submission to systemic evil?

On the one hand, there are Christians who profess “absolute pacifism” – unconditionally rejecting in all circumstances any form of physical force to achieve political, economic of social goals. Many Christians, mostly Duterte supporters, tell us: just pray for the President, do not sow hate and discord, preach the gospel of peace and forgiveness. As priests, that is what you are supposed to do, they remind me.

But we soon realize that non-violent pacifism has many faces.

Take the case of Mahatma Gandhi. Millions of Indians liberated themselves from British rule through “active non-violence” guided by satyagraha (which literally means ‘truth force’). It was a use of force, the force of truth. Gandhi’s march (March 12 – April 6, 1930) was not a passive submission to evil but militant protest which was seen as seditious by the Empire. It was an act of rebellion, a symbolic breaking of the Salt Law, a call to civil disobedience to bring down colonial power. There were no arms and bullets, of course. But it was seen as a war of defiance, a confrontation with evil, in the words of Gandhi, “a battle of right against might.” He was even imprisoned together with his 60,000 followers. He was seditious. During the march, after his morning prayer, with a lump of salt, Gandhi said: “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.” And crumble it went. The rest is history.

The great Protestant preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr. learned from Mahatma Gandhi. This was also Martin Luther King’s response in the bus company boycott in Montgomery in 1955-1956 and subsequent campaigns. These large scale US demonstration later led to 40,000 black bus drivers to boycott their work until the black segregation ended. King was reacting not only to white supremacy but also to the “purist” but also self-righteous stance of Christian’s absolute pacifism.

In the ideal world, one can trust in human goodness to forge peace or institute justice. But in the realpolitik of everyday living and asymmetric social power, strategic force – in whatever nonviolent form one can imagine – becomes necessary to free the oppressed, to incapacitate the abusive ruler, or to stop the dictator from killing more people.

Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King are not alone. Pope Paul VI went even further; he recognized the moral sense of “revolutionary uprisings” in the context of “manifest, longstanding tyranny”.

“The injustice of certain situations cries out for God's attention. Lacking the bare necessities of life, whole nations are under the thumb of others; they cannot act on their own initiative; they cannot exercise personal responsibility… Everyone knows, however, that revolutionary uprisings—except where there is manifest, longstanding tyranny which would do great damage to fundamental personal rights and dangerous harm to the common good of the country—engender new injustices, introduce new inequities and bring new disasters” (Populorum Progressio, 30-31).

My point is simple: there is no universal theology of non-violence that floats free regardless of historical contexts and theological traditions. There is also no such theology of non-violence that is predetermined from the start. This is the reason for the Catholic Social Teachings’ acknowledgement of the use of violence in most difficult contexts, even as it strongly cautions the faithful against its long-term effects.

 In short, a theology of non-violence is always a product of its context as individual or groups discern for an honest Christian response in their difficult circumstances.

New Testament studies show that Jesus did not tell his followers to use violence to promote the Kingdom. He did not succumb to the Zealot’s temptation. However, he did not also advise a retreat to Qumran among the Essenes. He asked his disciples to engage the real world.

Whether the renunciation of force (or the use of it) as the prerequisite of the “following of Jesus” cannot be determined from the beginning or decided in a vacuum. It can only be honestly and painfully discerned in context. It is not an easy deductive enterprise. Like Jacob, it is always an act of “wrestling with God” in the process of asking what his name is.

The journey of Dietrich Bonhoeffer – from being a pacifist, to helping plot Hitler’s assassination, to kneeling before his execution to the gallows – is well-known.

We stand on the shoulders of some great theologians before us. I seriously take the products of their own reflections on this matter. They keep me thinking. Their challenge strikes at the heart of the Philippine situation today.

In Jesus Before Christianity, Albert Nolan gives a helpful reminder:

 “Jesus was not a pacifist in principle, he was a pacifist in practice, that is to say, in the concrete context of his time. We do not know what he would have done in other possible circumstances. But we can surmise that if there had been no other way of defending the poor and the oppressed and if there had been no danger of escalation of violence, his unlimited compassion might have overflowed temporarily into a violent indignation… However, even in such cases, violence would be a temporary measure with no other purpose than the prevention of some more serious violence. The kingdom of total liberation for all men cannot be established by violence. Faith alone can enable the kingdom to come” (Jesus Before Christianity, 111).

The great theologian Karl Rahner writes:

 “The principle of absolute renunciation of force would not be a Christian principle. It would be a heresy which misunderstood the nature of man [sic], his sinfulness and his existence in the interplay of persons in the one space of material being. An order of freedom would be misunderstood, if it were taken to be an order of things in which force was considered reprehensible on principle. A fundamental and universal renunciation of physical force of all kinds is not merely impracticable. It is also immoral because it would mean self-destruction of the subject who is responsible to God.” (Theological Investigations Vol. 4, 399).

 I am back to my first questions: Is inciting to “sedition” immoral? Is the rhetoric of force in the midst of violent tyranny un-Christian? Does Christian forgiveness and compassion mean passive submission to systemic evil?

Daniel Franklin E. Pilario, C.M.
St. Vincent School of Theology
Adamson University

The Rule of Law - Matthew 5:17-37

KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – February 16, 2020
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 5:17-37

 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

 The Rule of Law

To the ordinary Jew, Jesus was a prophet, a miracle worker, a wise teacher, a man of God.

But to the Temple officials, He was a deranged person, a rabble rouser, and a Law Breaker: He healed people on the Sabbath, He did not observe the hand-washings prescribed by the Law, He consorted with sinners and, worst of all, he was openly contemptuous of the Scribes and Pharisees, the self-proclaimed ‘protectors’ of the Law! So they watched his every word and action, for an excuse to get rid of Him.


But they were wrong, as Jesus declared at the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5:17-ff):

“Do not think that I have come to remove the Law and the Prophets;
I did not come to remove the Law and the prophets but to fulfill them.
I tell you this, as long as heaven and earth last, not the smallest letter or stroke of the Law will change until all is fulfilled…….”
     
What Law then were the enemies of Jesus accusing Him of breaking?
And inversely, what Law was Jesus declaring as ‘irremovable’, the Law that He’d come to fulfill?
Biblical exegetes point to four different uses of the expression The Law among the Jews:

One, to refer to the Ten Commandments; Two, to refer to the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, which the Jews regard as the most important part of the Bible; Three, they use the  phrase ‘the Law and the Prophets’ to refer to the whole of Scripture (or, what we today call the Old Testament); and Four, to refer to the Oral or Scribal Law.

William Barclay, in his biblical commentary, explains that this Oral or Scribal Law was the creation of a ‘race of men called the Scribes, who made it their business to reduce (or, elucidate) the (Ten Commandments) to literally thousands upon thousands of rules and regulations.”  The Scribal Law was never written until the third century A.D. It was, instead, handed down in the memory of the Scribes. The Pharisees were men who separated themselves from the ordinary activities of life in order to observe and to teach these rules  and regulations.

The Gospels relate instances when Jesus did ‘break’ some of the rules and regulations stipulated by the Scribal law. But when He did, it was always in deference to service and compassion for the people. And he did lash out against the Scribes and Pharisees, the authors and practitioners, respectively, of the Scribal Law, calling them ‘hypocrites’, ‘blind guides’, ’brood of vipers, and ‘White-washed sepulchers’ (Mt.23:13-36). They were the ones He referred to when he warned the people ….I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Prophets, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven!”(Mt.5:20)

On the other hand, it was the Law handed down through Moses, not the Scribal Law, to which Jesus adhered strictly- the Law that He came to FULFILL. By this, Jesus meant that it was His sacred mission from the Father to bring out the full meaning of the foundational principles contained in the Law handed down through Moses.

William Barclay points out that if we look at the Ten Commandments, “….the whole meaning can be summed up in one word – respect, or even better, reverence”:  Reverence for God, for the Name of God, for the Day of God, Respect for parents, for life, for property, for personality, for the truth, and for another’s good name.”  Then Barclay concludes, “…. (Reverence and Respect) are the foundational principles of the Ten Commandments (The Law) – reverence for God and respect for ourselves and our fellowmen. Without them, there can no such thing as law.”

But Jesus had first said that long before, although, with much more authority, because that was how he had lived His whole life. When asked one day by a ‘teacher of the Law’, trying to trip Him, what He considered the ‘most important commandment in the Law’, Jesus answered, “You shall love (Reverence) the Lord your God….This is the first and the most important of the Commandments. But after this, there is another one, very similar to it: You shall love (Respect) your neighbor as yourself. The whole Law and the Prophets are founded on these two commandments.” (Mt. 22:35-40) If a law does not originate from and lead to love (reverence and respect), no law exists.

Governments and peoples often love to boast that they live and relate by the ‘rule of law’.  And we sincerely wish this were true. But measured against the yardstick laid down by Christ, we have reason to doubt this assertion.

A couple of illustrations:

Earlier this week, the US President Donald Trump, narrowly escaped being ousted from office for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress; this, despite the allegedly overwhelming evidence presented by his accusers. His Republican defenders, who voted to acquit him, claim that his actions, although admittedly ‘inappropriate’, did not break any law!

Also this week, the Philippine Government’s Solicitor General, is seeking for the withdrawal of the franchise of ABS-CBN to operate as a media corporation. It is an open secret that his move comes directly from the orders of Malacanang, which has a long-standing feud with ABS-CBN. Legally, the Solicitor General’s Office is not the proper body that grants or withdraws franchises. But, ‘what are we in power for’, right? So Solicitor Calida has invoked a ‘law’ known as the Quo Warranto to lodge his complaint. This is the same Quo Warranto law that SolGen Calida used to drive Supreme Court Chief Justice Sereno from office! And knowing this Government’s tricky ways of applying the ‘rule of Law’, Calida might yet succeed again!

And of course, we need mention the thousands upon thousands of victims of the diabolical War on Drugs and the Extra-Judicial Killings! Laws are abundant and clear, both ecclesiastical and civil, both human and divine: Life is sacred, Life is a gift from God, Thou shall not kill! Persons are presumed innocent unless proven guilty! Everyone is entitled to a day in court! etc. etc. Then, of a sudden, new ‘laws’ emerged: Addicts are the enemy, their life is worthless, they are dangerous, hunt them down, kill them. Then collect your price, and say: “Kasi Lumaban”

All laws must be rooted in and must lead to Love (i.e. Reverence for God & Respect for oneself and one’s fellows). We are obligated to obey such laws. But what if laws originate from other objectives other than love? What if laws are twisted and exploited in order to cheat, to intimidate,, to harm, to kill?

            “Every time we turn our heads the other way, when we see the law flouted,
              When we tolerate what we know to be wrong,
              When we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt,
                      because we are too busy  or too frightened,
              When we fail to speak to speak up and speak out,
              we strike a blow against freedom, decency and justice.”
                                                                          (Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy)

BEN MORALEDA

KAALAGAD Member