By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, C.S.Sp. (1Kg 19:16,19-21; Ps.15, Gal 5:1,13-18; Lk 9:51-62)
Dear friends in Christ,
I have been asked several times why I chose to come and work in the Netherlands. That has always been a difficult question for me. This same is often addressed to the administrative board of Congregations that bring priests to the Netherlands. What are the conditions for bringing a person to work in the Dutch church? Do they choose to come on their own or are they sent by the authorities of their congregations? I have seen many priests struggle with this question. I understand the reason for the question. It seems that when someone has chosen a country for himself, it also means that they will give everything for the mission. But is that really the case? We have noticed over the years that those who choose a country for a particular vision are more likely to leave when that vision becomes unrealistic. So, our congregation, for instance, does not just accept people because they come forward and present themselves for a particular mission or country. There are also people who we would like to have, but who have other wishes. That is how it goes. I have always said that when someone accepts their vocation as a gift from God and opens themselves up to it, that is enough. Because then the chance to develop and adapt to reality is greater. We are human beings. And as human beings, we often want to plan everything in advance. And sometimes we even expect God to follow what is in our plan, claiming it to be His will. But the first reading and today’s Gospel teach us something else, namely that we must not set conditions for following God. Rather, we must always make the right choices and be resolute about them.
Today’s Gospel is actually the story of failed invitation to follow Jesus. Luke deliberately places this story in the context of Jesus going to Jerusalem. It reads, “when the days of his exaltation were about to be fulfilled, he resolutely accepted the journey to Jerusalem”, the city of his suffering and of his resurrection. With these three stories, Luke wants to make clear to us the very things that constitute obstacles to following Jesus.
The first man who offers himself to Jesus wants to follow him, “wherever you go”. Beautiful words, and he seems to be full of good intentions: an idealist who dreams of great things. But Jesus sees that his heart is still bound to a hundred things, and Jesus wants to make him aware of that. He used the analogy of animals to describe how following him demands total self-giving and exposure to dangers. Animals that find it hard to defend themselves have their lairs, in which they can crawl away and from which they do not like to emerge when in danger. Birds exposed to wind and weather have a warm nest that offers them security from storms and cold. Those who want to follow Jesus must not creep into their holes: they must dare to defy the dangers of our time – they must not hide when it comes to standing up for justice, for the poor, and for those who are overlooked (that is, the ‘marginalized’, the ‘unimportant’). You have to dare to be a Christian in all weathers, exposed to criticism and ridicule.
The second man wants to bury his father first, but Jesus seems to be ‘against’ it. It seems very unkind when Jesus says to the young man, “Let the dead bury their dead; you must go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Of course, Jesus does not forbid people to bury their dead. What He says is only a picture to teach us that we should not set conditions if we want to follow Him. We may not be aware of this, but we do it so often. Thoughts like ‘I have prayed so much, and still God does not listen to me.’ Or “I come to Mass every week, but I don’t get anything done. These are words and thoughts we are familiar with because they are so human. After all, conditions are very human standards in our relationships, in our work, and in our attitude toward our fellow human beings. When we do something, we want to get something in return: we know this as human beings. But God is not human.
The third man wants to follow Jesus, but asks: “Let me first say goodbye to my family and friends”. What he asks seems reasonable, but in essence, he cannot renounce his past. To him Jesus says: “He who leaves the hand to the plough and looks back is unfit for the Kingdom of God.” In this way, Jesus wants to make it clear that the Kingdom of God requires all attention. There is no point in looking back on what you must leave behind: you must have the courage to try new things, and you must believe and trust that God has the future in his hands.
These radical words of Jesus about following come across as harsh. Jesus does not want to scare us by making these demands, but He does want to create clarity. He does not want to break the ties with our family here either, but He does want to give us the right value. He wants us to understand that there is nothing more important than the Kingdom of God. Important things demand full attention. Likewise, following Jesus demands a strong sense of resoluteness. When Jesus took the path to Jerusalem, he knew it was a dangerous route, he knew that a painful death awaited him there. But he was resolute. Being resolute is very important because we are mostly confronted with all sorts of options in life.
There is a story of two men who happened to make big money many years ago. One of them built a big mansion with his money, and the other invested his money in starting a bank. After twenty years, the man that built the big mansion could not even maintain the mansion again due to the size and lack of money. The man that started a bank has now thousands of branches all over the country, he has equally hundreds of mansions all over the place. Two of them had the same amount of money, what differentiated them was the choices they made. The man who built the mansion with his money might have thought of investing it in some business but might have lacked the resoluteness to follow up on that, he might have fallen for what was more appealing at that time, what was more comfortable to do. The route which Jesus took was not appealing, Peter had tried to even talk him out of it but he rebuked Peter (Matthew 1623).
We see this sense of resoluteness in the first reading. Elisha received the call of Prophecy when Elijah threw his mantle upon him. He immediately abandoned his farming life, he even slaughtered the two oxen that were his major tools in the farming business, he used the ploughs as firewood for cooking them and made a farewell feast for his men. This way, he demonstrated his resoluteness to follow his new call without looking back. He destroyed everything that would make him look back. There is a story of a war leader who faced a larger army more numerous than his men. When he came down with his men from their boat to face the numerous enemies, the war leader saw how many their enemies were and how frightened his men already looked on seeing the enemies, he gave an order that their boats should be set on fire. His men were surprised and wondered what he was up to. After the boats were destroyed, he told his men, ‘we have only one option, we either defeat the enemies or we all perish, there is no boat for escape or retreat.’ His men knowing they had only one option fought with all their strength and conquered the numerous enemies.
In the second reading, St. Paul warned about self-indulgence which can become an obstacle to our goals in life. Self-indulgence comes from a lack of resoluteness, it makes us become negligent, complacent, weak, indecisive, and distracted. St. Paul warned us not to allow the life of liberty we received to lead us to self-indulgence but to be careful and guided by the Spirit. It is always very easy to get complacent when things are moving fine, when we have some boats for escape or retreat, we might find it difficult to give the battle of life all the force and resoluteness it requires. Most times, people get serious when they have no other choice than to fight. This is why people can do unbelievable things when they face dangers or threats, but we do not need to wait to be confronted by dangers or threats before we get resolute with the important things of life.
Like Elisha and the people Jesus called, we all have been called for a purpose in life. Our calls might not be as clear as that of Elisha or the people Jesus called. It could be as simple as being a baptized Christian. The truth is that we are purposeful beings, there is always a desire within us to be something and to achieve something worthwhile with our lives. However, these dreams and desires are often buried through self-doubt, indecision, fear, comfort, narrow-mindedness, etc. Sometimes, we get comfortable or satisfied with what we have achieved or feel that our highest aspirations are not achievable. The call to follow Jesus does not really have to be something extraordinary like Saul who encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. It could be as simple as the word of God we hear, the simple desires inside us to do something good and great. If we give accent to these calls as simple as they are, they will become something great through our commitment and persistence. Commitment is required for us to start off something, and persistence is required to see us through to the end, both commitment and persistence require consistent resoluteness.
Today’s readings remind us that being a Christian involves making the right choices and being resolute about them. An indecisive person cannot achieve anything of great worth. Since the Kingdom of God is the most important of all things, let us pray for the grace to remain focused on it. As Jesus admonished, “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The call is the call to be part of that Kingdom.
Homily of the Second Sunday of Easter (Acts 5:12-16, Ps.117:2-4.22-27, Rev. 1:9-13.17-19 & Jn. 20:19-31)
Today, in a special way, we celebrate the mercy of God our Father. In the Jubilee Year 2000, Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Sunday after Easter a Sunday of Divine Mercy. The Pope himself was a great devotee of Divine Mercy and died on the eve of Divine Mercy in 2005.
The decision to declare the Second Sunday after Easter a Sunday of Divine Mercy came from the devotion to Divine Mercy. This originated with the Polish visionary Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938). Sr. Maria Faustina had several apparitions of Jesus who revealed Himself to her as Divine Mercy. He told her to dedicate the Second Sunday of Easter to Divine Mercy from then on. It is, therefore, a time to reflect on God’s mercy towards us. It is also an opportunity to ask ourselves how merciful we are towards those around us, especially in this period that we celebrate the joy of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ.
The joy of the Risen Lord is quite overwhelming. It gives the power that is beyond human understanding. The first reading narrates how the apostles continued the work that Jesus began out of love and mercy for those suffering. The apostles were able to work many miracles and healings by the power of the risen Christ that brought many to believe in Jesus and come to faith in Him. The people brought their sick to the streets for healing. Even the shadow of Peter was sufficient to bring healing and succor to the sick. And the second reading (Rev.1:9-13.17-19) narrates how John received the revelation from the Risen Jesus who commanded him to write down what he saw. Jesus described himself in the vision as the First and the Last (Alpha and Omega), the one who died but now lives forever and holds the keys of death and of the Underworld.
Jesus’ resurrection gives courage to all who suffer as a result of their Christian faith. This explains why, within this period of Easter, the Risen Jesus keeps appearing and re-appearing to his disciples at different times and at different locations in order to revive their drooping spirit. Last Sunday, the First Easter day, we read how very early in the morning of the First day of the week, Mary of Magdala and other women met with the empty tomb and later met with the Risen Lord himself who informed them to go and tell the brothers that he has risen. In the Gospel reading of this Second Sunday of Easter (Jn. 20:19-31), the Church presents us with the second part of that very story and of what happened later in the evening of that very First Day of Easter, as well as what happened subsequently eight days later.
The gospel reading of today is about two appearances of Jesus to his disciples. At the first appearance, Thomas was absent. When he was told about it, he did not believe it. He wanted to experience it himself and put it to the test by inserting his fingers into Jesus’ wounds. For him, seeing, and even touching, a kind of checking of facts, was very important. And that is sometimes understandable. You don’t always have to believe what people tell you. Sometimes you have to check the facts, even though there are so many truths that cannot be physically checked.
Thomas is not alone in this kind of thinking. In our time, when you talk to people about the resurrection, you usually get nothing more than a shrug or a pitying laugh of incomprehension in response. Even for those of us who hold to the belief in the resurrection, it is not easy to imagine what we actually believe. That is why there are many who do not want to speak about it in public anymore. In the light of science and all our knowledge and experience, which is always based on evidence, for many, the resurrection is nothing more than one of the stories from the Bible. It is therefore possible to understand the predicaments of Thomas when he was told that Jesus has risen from the dead. He might have been consumed with inner grief because of Jesus’ torture and death. And that brings doubt to his mind. Obviously, doubt is something that afflicts our minds a lot. There is a part of us that wants to question the existence of God and spiritual realities. There is a part of us that wants to question and doubt some of the mysteries of our faith. There is a part of us that wants to question and doubt the reality of the Resurrection, the reality of the Holy Eucharist, and so on. What we need to realize here is that the mind is the battlefield. Whatever takes control of a person’s mind has conquered the person.
If Jesus, after his death and resurrection, had appeared to Pontius Pilate and the soldiers, to Caiaphas, to King Herod, to all those who sat in the high court, the Sanhedrin, no one would have doubted his resurrection. But that is not how it happened. Jesus appears only to his disciples. Why did Jesus appear to those who believed in him and not to his enemies? It is certainly because ‘seeing’ and ‘appearing’ is something else than simply ‘seeing’ with the naked eye. His post-resurrection apparition is not meant to be an ‘exhibition’! It is an act of faith and has the goal of strengthening the faith of his disciples rather than being a public event to gain worldly glory and acclaim. We see that in His apparition to Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul could hear Jesus speak but those around him could not. Jesus did that to call Paul to faith for the mission he had for him.
Many saw the earthly Jesus from a close range. But the question is, “what did people see in Jesus?” The high priests, the Sadducees, and Pharisees saw in him a blasphemer who broke the law, especially the Sabbath law, one who ate with sinners and tax collectors, who touched the unclean and put God’s merciful love above law and commandment. The others, especially his disciples, saw through him. And by his words and deeds, they realized that he was the messenger of God and the Messiah. He was their ‘beloved Master’. But His death on the cross blinded them. In their culture, death on the cross was meant for one cursed by God and man. Out of fear, the disciples locked themselves up behind closed doors with closed hearts. However, they were together with the same questions and with the same experiences. Together they were sad, desperate.
Slowly a light went up for them. They began to realize that this Jesus, whom they had known, was no ordinary man, who had died and been buried. Jesus showed himself to be the true prophet who had died a martyr’s death out of love for God and man. They were, as it were, awakened and came to repentance. Jesus came back into their lives. Not as before, not as the earthly Jesus they could just see, but as the glorified one in God in whom they could believe.
The disciples of Jesus were able to come back into the light through the mercifulness of Jesus who came to them in spite of the fact that they had left him during his way of the cross to death on Golgotha. He gave them the Holy Spirit to come to understanding and to believe in him again as the Envoy of God. Now They have to proclaim it all over the world. Without the Holy Spirit, you cannot understand anything about God, because the naked eye and the naked heart can only see and understand naked earthly things.
We ourselves have not seen and known the earthly Jesus. The apostle Paul, for that matter, did not see Him either. On the basis of the gospels and the many testimonies of Paul and the first Christians, we have seen him in faith. We do not see him with the naked eye. So, we may count ourselves blessed because we are privileged to believe in Him, even without seeing Him (John 20:29). That Jesus is calling us now to go out like the apostles of old to proclaim Him everywhere and do the same works that he began. His Holy Spirit is with us. Let us, therefore, strive to bear this testimony and, like Thomas, proclaim our faith: My Lord and my God. Amen.
The Parable of the Fruit -bearing tree: What does it mean to be a fruitful Christian?
When Jesus mentioned of this Parable in Luke 6: 39-45 . He was telling us that God sees the heart . We may put on a great show of words and actions but it is what is in our heart that is so visible to God. Jesus asked us why do we observe the splinter in our brother’s/sister’s eye and never notice the plank in our own? Jesus said, “ Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your yes first and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s/ sister’s eye “.
In these modern world, we try to focus on the faults of others , no matter how true, to take the focus off our own.
Then Jesus proceeded to mention that “there is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit. Figs are not taken from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man produces goodness from the good of his heart ; an evil man produces evil out of his store of evil. Each man’s words flow out what fills his heart. “
Father Emmanuel made us realized that a fruitful Christian means that there must be genuine love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness in our hearts that reflects our actions to others. But only when we first acknowledge our own faults and be a better person then our actions will bear good outcome for our children, family ,friends and to the community.
He even reminded us of the on-going conflict between Russia and Ukraine . This is the time to be a fruitful Christian, to bear good fruits of good deeds and including them in our prayers for the conflict to end.
After the Mass, our Priest requested couples to come forward. He blessed and prayed for their successful Marriage and Family life. Father Cyril also requested the single ladies whose partners are no longer with us and the ladies who are still looking for a lifetime partner.
The happy, blessed couples of the FCC-Gouda Community
The word of God is central to our lives. John 1: 1-3 indicates that all things were made by the word of God which is God himself. This identification of God with his word signifies our closeness with God. When we hear the word of God, it is God himself who is taking form in us. You can now understand Paul when he writes that faith comes through hearing, and what is heard is the word of God (cf. Romans 10:17). To emphasize the primacy of the word of God in Christian liturgy, Pope Francis established ‘The Sunday of the Word of God’ to be marked each year on the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time. This primordial position of the word of God and its importance in our daily lives are clearly presented in the three reading we have today.
The first reading presents the post-exilic Israelites who lost the sense of direction, having been cut off from their usual reflection on the Torah. Their law, deriving directly from the word of God given to Moses and written down in the Scripture, was kept aside when they were driven into exile. They were made to practice the customs of the pagan nations around them. Upon return to their homeland, they needed to rediscover their place prior to the exile event. When the book of the law was discovered by what we might regard as divine providence during the repair of the temple, read out and explained to them, they listened attentively. They discovered, in the process, how far away they have drifted from the precepts of the covenant God made with their forefathers. Contrary to the self-perception they had developed as defeated and exiled people, they realized that they had a special relationship with God, which made them a special nation among the pagans. Unfortunately, the failure to keep to the demands of the covenant had estranged them from the many blessings of God meant for them all the while they suffered in a foreign land. That discovery brought them to tears and remorse for their sins and shortcomings. But Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites urged the people to be grateful, happy, and rejoice rather than mourn because ‘the joy of the Lord’ is their strength.
Discovering the word of God is like discovering a pearl of the greatest value because it is the discovery of God himself. The word of God enables us to understand that we come from God, live in God, and will return to God (cf. Acts 17:28). Realizing our divine origin enables us to dedicate our entire lives to following the path that God has marked out for us. As a manufacturer of a product describes in a manual the best way to use and maintain the product for optimal performance and durability, so also the word of God contained in the Bible describes the mind of God concerning us. It enables us to understand the way to live in every circumstance. As Psalm 1:1-3 indicates, meditating constantly on the law of the Lord is a great source of blessing that never runs dry. Ezra and the others urged the people to be glad because they knew that the discovery of the Book of the Law will open a new page in their lives as a nation. It will enable them to understand the will of God concerning them and enable them to cart a new path and enjoy God’s enormous blessings. They will no longer be afraid of their enemies nor dread exile so long they keep to the demands of the Law because the Lord God will be their defense. As the Psalmist puts it, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).
When a person or a nation (in this case the Israelites) walks away from God that is the light (cf. John 8:12), he walks in darkness. The Israelites were driven into exile in the first place for disregarding the word of God. Its rediscovery was, therefore, a new opportunity to regain their sense of direction as a people and a nation. The value of things is sometimes better appreciated after being lost and rediscovered. But the risks involved in that process are enormous. It is not all prodigal sons and daughters that have the rare opportunity of returning home safe. That is why we must cherish our relationship with God and not allow the devil to steal it from us (cf. John 10:10).
Luke who was a disciple of Paul, having seen the great works accomplished in the spreading of the Gospel, and having seen de account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ written by others, decided to write an orderly account of it for Theophilus. It is not clear if Theophilus is an individual person or if it is a term used to refer to believers, regarded as “friends of God” (Theo – God, Philos – loving). What interests us here at this moment is that Luke’s account sought to anchor the genealogy of Jesus to Adam (whom he called the son of God – Luke 3:38b) rather than Abraham (in Matthew’s account – Matthew 1:1), and traced the incarnation of Jesus to the message of Angel Gabriel (cf. Luke 1:26). By so doing, Luke connects the salvation brought by Jesus to the account of the creation where God created everything by the power of His word. It was that word, brought by angel Gabriel to Mary that made Jesus take flesh and dwell among us (cf.John 1:14).
In the second part of the gospel, we see Jesus beginning his ministry with the reading of the Scripture in the Synagogue. He opened the book of the Prophet Isaiah and read a portion that is written about him. The Spirit of the Lord is upon him to preach the good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, liberty for the oppressed, and proclamation of the acceptable year of the Lord. After reading these words, Jesus said that they are fulfilled in their very eyes because they were fulfilled in him. The potency of the Gospel is in its ability to bring positive change in the lives of people. When lived and proclaimed under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the word of God brings to life what is dead, transforming the bad and ugly into goodness, sinfulness into holiness, and failure into success. The word of God is power and not just a sterile piece of history. It is alive all through the ages; ever fresh and potent.
Jesus did not just proclaim the good news, or claim the words of the prophet Isaiah to be about him. He went about doing good, healing the sick, and setting free those held in bondage by the devil (cf. Acts 10:38). Listening to the word of God and not doing what it commands does not benefit the hearer. James calls such a person a self-deceiver. He is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and goes off forgetting what he looks like (cf. James 1: 22-24). It is only by taking the necessary action that the power of the Gospel is brought to life. And the action each of us is called to take differs in kind and proportion to the gift and situation of everyone. Paul takes up that issue with the Corinthians, using the different parts of the body and its functions as a metaphor.
It is interesting to note that we are all different. Monotony, they say, kills interest. The diversity of the functions to which each of us is called is an indication that everyone has an important place in the body of Christ. No position is better or more essential than the other. They are only different. This calls for respect, a sense of duty, and responsibility. No one must think that what he or she is called to do in the body of Christ can be neglected, just as no part of the body can be considered less important or negligible. The first question, therefore, is to what extent one is conscious of his or her vocation (call to service), and what the person has been doing about it. There are many scriptural passages that remind us that we were sent on earth for a purpose. And we must do our best to fulfill that purpose.
When the Israelites wandered away from the demands of the covenant, they lost touch with their identity and special relationship with God and ended up in exile. Negligence of the word of God in our daily lives and routines can blind us from the true essence of our existence and our mission on earth. We are not here to pursue worldly pleasures, wealth, and fame for its sake. We are here to use the various gifts we have received to be an expression of God’s love, righteousness, and mercy to the world. By living acting in line with the word of God, we make him known to others thereby becoming his true disciples.
By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp. | Sir 3:2-6.12-14; Psalm Ps 128; Col 3:12-21; Lk 2:22-40
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. It is important to keep an eye on our own families and recognize that the Holy Family is supposed to be a kind of mirror to help us reflect on our own families and to take some kind of resolution on how we want our family to be, and what we would like to do to keep it going. It is important to remember that no family is perfect. When you take a look at the family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, you can see that when Jesus is in a family, something different happens to it because he helps us to be divine conscious, considerate of the other, as well as develop some virtues. Recall the events surrounding the conception of Jesus which made Joseph (a righteous man) plan to divorce Maria secretly so as to save her from public disgrace (cf. Matthew 1:19). If Joseph had come forward to disown Mary’s pregnancy, it would have had grave consequences for her. So, looking at the Holy Family, we can see that there are certain virtues that saved them in times of crisis. We will see those virtues as we move on in our reflection on the Holy Family.
In the Gospel, we read about Jesus who stayed back in the temple after his parents took him to Jerusalem for the annual feast of the Passover. First and foremost, this is a family that centers God in their life; a family that seeks to fulfill the demands of the Jewish religion. Therefore, they went to the Passover feast every year. When Jesus became 12 years old, they took him along. When leaving after the feast, the parents thought he was among their kinsfolk and acquaintances with whom they went to Jerusalem. But when they could not find him after a day’s journey, they returned to Jerusalem only to find Jesus sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. When the parents approached him, he questioned why they were looking for him. Don’t they know that he should be in his father’s house? This episode brings out the divine nature of Jesus. Even at such a tender age as 12 years, he was so wise as to question the learned men of Israel, already knew his mission, and was filled with zeal to embrace it. But more importantly, it brings out the beautiful lesson that God lived in a human family thereby completing the story of the Incarnation.
When God took our nature, he took it completely, except sin. He was tender, weak, vulnerable, and even threatened by Herod such that they had to run to Egypt. He needed the protection of a family, he needed the protection of a father and mother. Jesus, therefore, knows the experience we undergo as humans. He has felt our pains, dependence, hardships, worries, and all that troubles us. More importantly, although he was divine, he recognized the authority of his parents over him. The bible reads, “he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them” (Luke 2:51a). The dynamics that characterize the relationship between Jesus and his parents are shown to be such that allows children to develop their given vocation in the context of gentle and understanding guidance from their parents. Though Jesus’ parents were astonished by his action, they were patient and understanding for the mystery that they could not unravel about Jesus at that time. “But his mother treasured all these things in her heart”(Luke 2:51b).
Jesus’ obedience and Mary’s loving understanding run through their relationship as recorded in the Bible. Remember that when Jesus began his ministry at the age of thirty years old, the first miracle he performed at the marriage feast in Cana was at the request of his mother (John 2). He mentioned that his hour had not come, yet he went on to do it because his mother has asked for it. This obedience is what we see in the first reading. Ben Sirach describes what obedience to God implies in the context of the relationship between parents and children. He emphasized how important it is, from the divine perspective, that children learn to obey, care for, and respect their parents. He reiterates that God honors children in respect to their parents, and considers the obligation to honor one’s parents to be an integral part of the life of faith.
Without honor to parents, one cannot claim to honor God because biblical ethics is grounded in honoring father and mother. Irrespective of the present situation of one’s parents (sick, old, deaf, whatever), or the present position a person occupies in society, the demand to love, care, and honor one’s parents remains paramount to any claim of loving and honoring God. Exodus 20:12 records honor to parents as the only commandment that has a promise attached to it, and Moses reiterated this very important command in one of his last speeches to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 5:16. It reads, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.”
It is important to always remember our origin. We all come from families and, without our parents who cared for us when we were helpless and brought us up, we could not be who we are today. Jesus recognized this. Hanging there on the cross and seeing that he was about to die, he turned and saw his mother. John 19: 25-26 read, “When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’ And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.” Love and care for parents bring inner joy and a sense of fulfillment because by doing so one is fulfilling a very important task and commandment.
Taking a look at our own families, Paul gives us the virtues that will enable us to improve our relationship with each other. He noted that cordial relationship is enhanced by heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another (cf. Colossians 3:12-13). There is no relationship that can survive without tolerance, humility, and forgiveness. We are humans. We err. Therefore we need to forgive each other. A relationship is like a rose. In it, there is the beautiful flower, but also the thorn. Both make the rose. To keep a loving relationship in the family, we need the above-mentioned elements because no matter how close we are to each other in a family, there is always a little part that remains a mystery. Just as Mary did not fully understand the words of Jesus when they met him at the temple, there could be something that is going on in our family or with a family member that we do not really understand the reasons behind it at the moment. Sometimes, it could be an effect of something that happened in the past that the person is processing in the present. Therefore, we need patience, tolerance, and compassion so that we can gradually understand what is going on in the other person.
As FCC Gouda or as a parish, we are a wider family of the children of God. In this wider family, there is a wide diversity of persons and characters. But what is fundamental is that we belong to the family of Jesus who is born to us. He is the head and we are the members. Since we are different in characters, temperaments, and sensitivity, we need patience, tolerance, humility, kindness, forgiveness, compassion, and love to keep this family of us going. In most families, there are those we regard as “black sheep” because we disapprove of some of the things they do. But it is important that to always remember such persons contribute something unique without which the family is not complete. Besides, we could be the ones mistaken in our judgment. So we need to love and appreciate every person, whether in our nuclear families or the wider FCC family.
While we pray for our families, let us also look inwards and ask ourselves what we could bring into our family that may be lacking in making it such as we truly desire of it.
A New Liturgical year begins today with the First Sunday of Advent. Advent means ‘Coming’. It is the Season of waiting in hope for the coming of the promised Messiah which found fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. This promise made long ago to the House of Israel and Judah in our first reading (Jer. 33:14), kept the Jews waiting for its fulfillment. They were indeed the first set of people to observe the Advent period when they waited for the coming of the promised Messiah. They remained steadfast in their preparation to welcome the Messiah knowing that God always fulfills his promises. However, given the image of the Messiah that developed in the course of their history, it was difficult for them to recognize in Jesus the Messiah they have been waiting for. As John attests, ‘Jesus came to his own but his own people did not accept him but to all those who did receive him and who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God” (Jn 1:11-12).
Christians borrowed this tradition as a means of reawakening the consciousness of the need for preparation to welcome Jesus who will come again in power to judge the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1). The Church places this special period of preparation at the beginning of the Liturgical year when we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on the reason behind the birth of Jesus, his teaching and salvific death and resurrection as well as calls us to prepare for his second coming in glory.
Many ancient prophets had foretold that the Lord’s day would really be a terrible day. “Behold the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger to make the earth a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it” (Isaiah 13:9-13; Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah 1:14-18). It will be a day of judgment for some and a day of jubilation for others depending on where a person stands in his or her relationship with God and humanity. The virtuous will raise their heads in glory while the vicious will tremble in fear. It will be a day of joy and sadness, a day of commendation and condemnation, a day of reward and punishment. Whatever one sows, one will reap.
Jesus noted that there will be great signs in the heavens that will cause the heavenly bodies as well as the earth to tremble. “People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and great glory” (Luke 21:26-27). And he added, “But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand” (Luke 21:28). We can observe two sets of people from the above citations: namely, those to die of fear and those strengthened by faith. Just as men will be dying of fear, many will be joyful in faith. Fear and faith are opposites, predominant one determines one’s fate. More importantly, a predominance of fear in this regard is an indication of something unbecoming about the person because, as John puts it, “For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love (1 John 4:18).
Jesus warns his followers not to end up in fear and destruction because his coming should be a joyful liberation from all that oppresses them rather than being a source of worry and fear for the wrong they might have done. Consequently, he call on them to always stay awake. They must not get carried away by neither the pleasure of life nor by the anxieties of daily life. Whatever happens, they must remain focused on the most important business of human existence – to seek first the kingdom of God in all things (Matthew 6:33). Jesus is aware of the lure of pleasures to which humans are exposed, but also of the difficulties and troubles of daily life which can preoccupy a person to such an extend that the person loses focus on what really matters in life, even to lose focus on God. At the beginning of his ministry, after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus underwent three major temptations (Luke 4:1-12). He was tempted with turning stone into bread when he was hungry. So he knows that hunger and hardship can influence a person’s attitude. He was equally tempted with riches that has driven many to worship the Devil. Finally, he was tempted with the lure of power, showmanship and fame. But being awake to the demands of his mission and having prepared himself with prayer and fasting, Jesus overcame the tempter with words of the scripture.
As we get closer to the celebration of Christmas, we prepare to celebrate the coming of Jesus. People do this preparation in different ways. Paul preached the second coming of Jesus to the Thessalonians, and some of them stopped working and waiting in idleness for Jesus to come and take them to heaven. Paul had to correct that impression in his second letter to them. Some prepare by decorating their homes, getting new cloths, fireworks and planning for house parties. Whichever way we want to prepare for Christmas, the most important thing is to remember that it is about Jesus’ coming, not just a birthday party. And Jesus has told us how to prepare for his coming – we must stay awake and not be carried away by pleasures of life or the anxieties of daily life. His coming must not catch us unaware or unprepared. It is very easy for one to get caught up in the affairs of this world and so remains spiritually indifferent and passive.
Taking a look at the event taking place in the world presently, there is so much to occupy everyone. The world has been fighting the outbreak of Corona for the past two years. When one thinks that we are getting over the situation, the arrival of a new variant is announced. This is certainly a source of worry as it affects virtually everything we do. Yet, Jesus is reminding us that such anxiety should not shut our eyes out of the bigger picture. God is still the ruler of the universe. He was there during all the pandemics in history, the wars, the earthquakes and other terrible things that have happened, and he brought them to an end. Rather than become afraid and worry, therefore, it is for us to trust in him and call upon him in faith while we do the best we can in the struggle to curtail the situation. Fear can sometimes be destructive, but faith leads to positive actions that yield the needed fruits.
It is mostly when we are awake and in the state of spiritual alertness, that we can easily overcome the devil’s intrigue, make good and positive choices and decisions in life and engage ourselves in some beneficial activities. Taking a cue from Jesus (cf. Luke 4:1-12) we could see that being spiritually awake is enhanced by intense and regular prayer life frees us from anxieties and fears over what is happening in the world, sharpens our ability to make right judgements and strengthens our will to do things right. It equally moves us to take steps to render helping hands to those in need, stand up for those unfairly treated, forgive and reconcile with friends, family and others around us. So, stay awake for the Lord is coming in glory to redeem his people. Amen.
