Cycle B, Year II

30 September 2012: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48

Witnessing for Christ!
We continue to read the evangelist Mark writing about the public ministry of Jesus. Today he gives useful tips on becoming effective disciples of Christ.

The Gospel this Sunday presents John and the other disciples wanting to prevent someone from performing mighty deeds in the name of Jesus because he was not part of the group. But Jesus tells them, "Do not prevent him."

Jesus used this incident to teach the disciples, and us in our time, how to be his true followers. It involves tolerance even for those who are not members of the church. He said to the disciples, "For whoever is not against us is for us." In the gospel narrative, the fact that the "outsider" was able to cast out demons "in the name of Jesus" showed that he recognized the power of Jesus.

As Catholics our mission is to share our faith with others but also we must be respectful and tolerant  of other faiths as well. While the Roman Catholic Church sees itself as the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Christ himself, it recognizes that elements of salvation are found in other churches also.

At the same time Jesus advocates intolerance for sin, as this is a matter of life versus death. Thus, in the latter part of the gospel narratives He warns us about causing others to sin. Jesus uses strong metaphors to warn against leading simple Christians, "the little ones who believe in me", astray by shaking their faith through bad examples we give.

In the Eucharist let us reflect on our personal witnessing of Christ in our daily life. Are we giving bad examples to others thus "leading them astray?"

We pray that we become true disciples of Christ in every place of our presence by our personal witnessing of Christ through faithful observance of the teachings of the Church. Because like the examples of all the parts of our human body that are connected and support each other, we too collectively enrich the Church, the People of God, by living a good Christian life.

A blessed  Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Cycle B, Year II

23 September 2012: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Mark 9:30-37

Greatness is service!

The usual understanding of "greatness" in our competitive society is being on top of the world. To be great is to be number one in human endeavors, who must outshine and outdo everyone else. Greatness is being the first!

Such competitive mentality was what the disciples of Jesus were arguing about among themselves in today's gospel event.

On the way to Capernaum (an ancient city in Palestine, on the Sea of Galilee) Jesus foretold for the second time that the Messiah will have to undergo his passion and death on the way to his glory and resurrection. But the disciples failed to understand what Jesus was saying, because they were busy arguing among themselves who should be first among them. They were thinking about their own personal power and glory in the kingdom when Jesus would finally reign as the Messiah.

But Jesus turns their worldly thinking upside down with his opposite preaching of what true greatness really is. Jesus said to them, "If anyone wishes to be the first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." This was of course shocking and radical preaching from the normal standard of society. Perhaps, Jesus needed practical example to drive home his point.

So Jesus places a little child in their midst to explain what greatness means in God's kingdom. He told his disciples, "Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me."

A child symbolizes the "little ones" of society -- the poor and the marginalized, because a child is totally dependent on others for survival and protection. Thus, to receive a child then is like receiving the lowliest in our society and ministering to their needs with humility.

In other words, Jesus is presenting a new standard to measure greatness. We become great  by serving the lowliest in society. In practical life, we can do even small things in a great way when we have the right motivation of doing them to promote God's kingdom here on earth. For example, we practice Christian charity by ministering to the basic needs of the poor and the needy. Because in God's kingdom, greatness is serving all with humility. Greatness is being the last.

A blessed  Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo

Cycle B, Year II

16 September 2012: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Mark 8:27-35

A personal faith in Jesus!
In our catechism years, (and that was so many years ago for me,) we used to be told that the Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia. But after so many years that the seed of Christianity has been planted in our soil, sometimes we ask how come that we are unable to evangelize our neighboring countries in Asia?

For majority of Filipinos, we embraced Christianity from baptism because of our Catholic parents. In our catechism years and other religious formation in later lives, we were taught about important Catholic dogmas and other teachings of the Church.  And at the center of our faith is our belief in Jesus Christ as God the Son. But on second thought, who is really Jesus in our lives?

That brings us to the gospel event this Sunday. After staying with Jesus for some time and watching him cure the sick and perform miracles, Jesus poses a question to the twelve:"But who do you say that I am?" It was Simon Peter who answered him, "You are the Christ!"

But when Jesus started to talk about his impending suffering and death, Peter could not take it and objected. Because his idea of the Messiah is a worldly king who would liberate his people from suffering. He could not understand the redemptive value of Jesus' suffering and death on the cross.

Peter's dilemma about his faith in Jesus is not uncommon even with us today. As we said earlier we have been baptized as Catholics but does our faith in Jesus take root in us? So like Peter and the rest of the apostles, Jesus also poses the same questions to us, "Who do you say that I am?"

In other words Jesus challenges us to go deeper into the roots of our faith by making it truly personal. That involves total commitment and unconditional trust in Him to follow in his footsteps through his passion and resurrection.  We cannot be his disciples if we want only the "resurrection" part without the cross.

We live in a world with so much personal and collective suffering, sometimes of own making. Even the Church is not spared, as it suffers from dissension even unfounded attack for its teachings on life and defense of the unborn. We pray for the gift of personal faith in Jesus Christ our Lord that we are able to embrace our sufferings, trusting that our God of Life will prevail in the end.

In the Eucharist we also pray that our faith becomes alive in our daily situations through acts of charity to those in most need and sharing our faith with our Asian neighbors. So that we truly rejoice no longer as the only Catholic country in Asia but as among Catholic countries in this part of the world.

A blessed  Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo