God Rules The Rules

2011 Sep 3, Saturday: Saturday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Colossians 1:21-23/Psalms 54:3-4, 6, 8/Luke 6:1-5


It should not take a genius to know that if you believe in God, then it should be God who must prevail and be obeyed. However, actual experience seems to show that it is easier said than done. In so many instances, we still disobey God and let our will happen than His.

It was one of the main reasons why God sent His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Aside from the Father's intention of letting us believe that He is with us, He wanted us to see Him, feel Him, hear Him, and even have a taste of His love the human way. But another reason was to let us know the real intent and spirit of His commandments. Salvation should be the ultimate goal and not just doing what He commanded. Everything we do must advance our relationship with God. Everything we do must make us more divine and human. In the same way, everything we do must be a rejection of the attraction of evil. Everything we do must move us farther from the influence of the devil. Everything we do must be a defeat of satan. The laws were supposed to fulfill all of the above.

I was then reviewing for our final examinations in the seminary. One review evening, a fellow seminarian knocked at my door and invited me to pray with him in the chapel. He said he wanted company in asking God for an intention. It was a very tempting invitation. Prayer is a very holy action. I wanted to join him but I was having my review for the next days' examinations. Finally I told him that I could not go because I was deep in my review. If I join him and pray, I will surely risk so much and endanger my passing that subject. I thought that part of my responsibilty to the vocation of the priesthood was to pass my subjects. Had I gone praying and failed in my examinations, I would have done the expectations of a "good" Christian but may have been wanting in becoming a minister of God I was called to be. As the Book of Ecclesiastes say, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven..." (Ecclesiates 3:1-11). My decision was not because I did not want to pray nor that prayer was not a good act. It was a matter of choice between two goods. And the challenge was to choose God's Will for me at that time and place. It was my review time and not my prayer time. My passing the exams should take priority. It was God's Will for me in that particular situation. Prayer could be done at another time. Here, God helped me see through the invitation of my friend. At another circumstance, I would have easily gone with him in prayer.

St. Ignatius calls it "discernment". It is the capacity to see through things in terms of their apostolic value and salvific relevance. It helps us to do things not just for the sake of doing them but according to the intentions of God. Faced with a lot of rules to follow in our lifetime, we have to remind ourselves that those rules were man-made and therefore limited. The words and actions used to capture those rules were similarly limited. Only God, who is omnipotent and from whom those rules came from is perfect. Therefore, only God rules the rules!

Changing For The Better, Not To The Letter

2011 Sep 2, Friday: Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Colossians 1:15-20/Psalms 100:1, 2, 3, 4, 5/Luke 5:33-39

Jesus came teaching and doing miracles. The people were astonished at the "newness" of those teachings. Some were able to accept them. But others could not. For the Jews, the Torah, the document that contains the laws given through Moses, was the standard. In the Gospel, the people were asking why the disciples of Jesus were not following the fast. He responded by pointing out that the wedding guests do not fast while the bridegroom is with them. Jesus is the bridegroom, so they do not need to fast. Jesus was not really teaching something new or going against any law. He was actually fulfilling the law in its spirit. But since the law was given to Moses, it had developed and multiplied. In the process, the spirit was lost and the laws had not served as intended. In the words of Jesus.

The intention of the law as given by God was to help man towards salvation and not merely to do them even devoid of its spirit. Jesus pointed out their need to go back to the spirit of the law. There is no one who knows the law better than Him. Jesus wanted them to "change", not to something really new, but to go back to the original purpose of the law. The parable of the old and new cloth and the old and new wine skin illustrates the tension He was creating with the leaders. The "newness" He brings will challenge the "old" they hold.

Once, when I was still in formation, a new Rector came and immediately made a lot of changes in our seminary life. Obviously, many of us reacted. We felt that he should have settled for a while first before changes were made. But because he is the Rector, it was within his authority to do so. Because we trust him, we tried to adopt to the change. At that time, I was the beadle (seminarian head) of the community. One day, I just felt I have worked and studied too much that I really needed a break. After an afternoon class, I asked one of my classmates to play basketball in a court at the back of our building. It was already 4;30 pm and our schedule requires that we must be in by 5:30 pm to prepare for the evening prayers. We thought we can easily make it. Unfortunately we did not. We were so engrossed with our game that we lost track of the time. We finished at about 5:45 pm. way pass the required time we must be in. When we entered the seminary, the Rector was there standing and staring at me. When we were closer to him, he asked why I was not following schedules and added that I was setting a bad example to other seminarians being the head of the community. I just told him that I was very stressed and I felt that I needed to release them. I apologized to him for the extended game.

I did not feel guilty about what happened. I needed that release very much. Schedules are guides in order to get the best formation. Being healthy (sane?) and conditioned are parts of that formation. I fully respect the schedule. But I believe, the situation was more in fulfilling the spirit rather than a violation of the law.

Jesus Says, Simon Follows!

2011 Sep 1, Thursday: Thursday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Colossians 1:9-14/Psalms 98:2-3, 3-4, 5-6/Luke 5:1-11

This may be the story of the call of Peter to the discipleship of Jesus, but in essence, it is every one's call to be a Christian. The circumstances of the call reveals to us who we really are and who Jesus really is.

Peter had just come back from an all night fishing job when he was approached by Jesus and requested him to put his boat ashore so Jesus can teach. I am sure Peter had heard the Lord talked. Am sure he was moved and touched by it so that when Jesus commanded him to go out again and catch fish, he wanted to follow Jesus saved for fact he knew there was nothing more to catch. Remember, Peter was a veteran fisherman. He had been in the job for so long. He knew his craft well. He knew the sea, the weather, the fish, etc. Later, however, he would realize that the Lord knew better. He was not able to constrain himself to question the Lord. But because of what he heard from the Lord's teaching, he followed Jesus' command. Proven wrong, Peter saw deeper in Jesus. Maybe a beatific vision that prompted him to kneel before Jesus and admit to his unworthiness.

Crucial to Peter's conversion was listening first to the Lord. It should be the same with us. Listening here does not mean hearing the spoken word but also understanding it. The Lord had spoken from the heart, therefore, we must listen from the heart.We must listen not only with our ears, but also with the heart. There may have been some questions or objections from the mind of Peter, but having felt and heard the Lords presence, faith rather than experience prevailed. The Lord's Will over his will. The Lord's authority more than his. In short, Peter simply put everything in Jesus' hands.

The miracle of the catch not only astonished Peter but also those around him who had also heard the Lord. It was enough for them to make a decision to leave everything and follow Jesus. It is symbolic of the fact that when we find the Lord, everything becomes dispensable. Having found the Lord completes us. We will never be wanting of anything or anyone. The Lord is our enough.

There was a time...

The Feast of the Epiphany not only reminds us of the all-embracing love of God but also Jesus, the Word made flesh, as the Light as symbolized by the star that guided the Magi to the manger. Jesus had presented Himself in so many ways; the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Good Shepherd, the Prince of Peace, the Healer, Master etc. In the context of the the Epiphany, Jesus is the Light of the World. Prophet Isaiah referred to Him as the Great Light seen by the people in darkness. He is the Light that shone on those who dwell in endless doom. Jesus brings hope and enlightenment.

The Light of Jesus is not just brightness. It is more of understanding the life which God has given us. A deeper and apt appreciation of this opportunity to grace the paths of this world. There was a time when enemies must be hated, hurt, defeated, and even killed. When Jesus came, He taught His followers to love them instead! What to many was an absurd response, was for Jesus the best! There was a time when forgiveness may be given once, twice, or even thrice. Forgiveness has its limits. When Jesus came, He told His disciples to forgive not only seven times but seventy times seven! Meaning, endless! There was a time when death is seen as a negative experience; an experience of total loss, hopelessness and desperation. When Jesus came, He challenged His followers to even embraced it; teaching that dying to self would make one bear much fruit! The resurrection was His answer to the fangs of death. The resurrection brought death to death itself! And many others like; poverty, sorrow, imprisonment, meekness, etc. Jesus brought to enLightened life so that it could be lived to the full.

As followers of Christ, the Light, we can never lost. The Light provided by the Word and Deed of Jesus would assure as being on the Way all the time. Through the darkness of life, Jesus, the Light will see us through the tunnel up to the end where God's Light awaits!

Without Limits

I just saw this movie about the life and times of American long distance runner, Steve Prefontaine. The movie pictured him as a different kind of runner. One who saw running not only a sport but also an art; not only to win but to give one's best. "Pre", as he was called by everyone lived running. He saw it not only as a part of his life but the very way life should be lived. His coach learned more from him than he from his coach. 

"Pre" had been quoted a lot by his coach, team mates, friends, and fans. He ran in order to achieve his full potential as a person. Once he had ran his best, his next goal is to run more than his best, "without limits", that is why.

I particularly liked what his coach said during his eulogy; " There are times when you win even though your mediocre; and you lose even when you have given your best." Therefore, winning is not the ultimate goal. Giving one's best is.

He died in a car accident.

Here are some of the words immortalized by the late Steve "Pre" Prefontaine;

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift."

"Somebody may beat me but they have are going to bleed to do it."

An anonymous sports writer once said, "When the great scorer pens your name, he writes not whether you win or lose but how you played the game!"

A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. Nobody is going to win a 5,000 meter race after running an easy 2 miles. Not with me. If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself."