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The Risen Lord in the Church by Fr. Lope C. Robredillo May 5, 2002 When
Archbishop Antonio Franco, Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, visited the Diocese of Borongan on April 10-11, the people were too happy and enthusiastic to meet him. Indeed, all the barangays and towns that dot the around
200-kilometer stretch on Eastern Samar welcomed him with arches, streamers, and standing parades, with men and women, young and old alike, waving their improvised Papal flags as the Nuncio's convoy passed by. When he visited the
northern town of Dolores, for instance, the long queue of people wishing him well was tremendous. One, of course, wonders why such an honor is accorded to him. But the people of God in Eastern Samar had one answer
they know the Nuncio is the representative of the Pope. Most of them have not seen John Paul II in person, but the Nuncio was his representative. As the Most Rev. Leonardo Medroso, Bishop of Borongan, said in his welcome address
at the Borongan Cathedral, "Our people are eager and happy to see you. We know that you come here not only as an Ambassador of the Vatican State to the Philippines, but also as the representative of the Vicar of Christ
But now, we
are even more joyful, because we are able to see you who represent him. Through you, we wish to reiterate our expression of affection and loyalty to him." The central message of Easter is that Jesus is alive! But if he cannot be
found among the dead, where is he? Where do we encounter him? In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks of the Paraclete. It may be noted that John uses the term another Paraclete to indicate that Jesus is the first Paraclete.
Literally, the word means "called-to-one's-side" or helper, and has reference to the Holy Spirit that the Father sent as a response to the prayer of his Son. As Paraclete, Jesus revealed the Truth about God the Father to his
disciples until his death; but after his Ascension, the Spirit now reveals the Truth about Jesus. Thus, as Paraclete, the Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus. This is what is meant when Jesus says that "I will ask the Father
and He will give you another Paraclete to be with you always: the Spirit of Truth" (John 14:17a). As Helper, the Spirit will be the source of Truth; and will act as Paraclete, as the disciples suffer hostility from the
world. For John, the coming of the Paraclete is the return of Jesus to the community of disciples. That is why Jesus says that, even with his departure, he will not leave them orphaned, because through the Holy Spirit, he will
continue to abide with his community. In fact, they will share his life, even as Jesus shares the life of his Father. Thus, the Holy Spirit appears to be the spiritual presence of Jesus in the community. In other words, if we ask
the question, where do we meet Jesus? John's answer is: we encounter him in the Holy Spirit, who is present in the community. Because Jesus abides in the Church through the Holy Spirit, we are therefore given a very
rich understanding of what being Church means. First of all, as the First Reading (Acts
8:5-8, 14-17) tells us, the Church in Jerusalem sent Peter and John to confer the Spirit on the developing Christian community to incorporate them fully into the fellowship, this implies that local churches cannot be isolated from Rome, even as the expanding Church in Judea and Samaria cannot severe itself from the Church in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit that is at work in the mother Church in Jerusalem is shared in the community at Samaria and Judea. The spiritual presence of Jesus is thus shared and expanded. Until his death, Jesus was physically present only in the community of disciples, but with the coming of the Holy Spirit, he becomes present in all the communities that profess his name, and are at the same time linked to the mother Church in Jerusalem. How do we say this in our time? Perhaps this means that all communities must form a unity with the mother Church in Rome.
Secondly, because the Holy Spirit dwells in the Church, the community is in communion with the Risen Lord. The Risen Lord lives in the Church because the Holy Spirit is there. But quite apart from being present,
the community shares the life of the Risen Lord, who shares the life of the Father. For this reason, the Church experiences the continuing action of God among men. The Father is revealed by Jesus and his saving-presence is shared
through the Holy Spirit. That is why the Church is an icon of the Trinity: the saving work of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is shared in the Christian community. In other words, being Church is an experience of
Trinitarian life. And finally, this Trinitarian life is lived in love. "He who obeys the commandments he has from me is the man who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father. I too will love him and
reveal myself to him" (John
14:21). The fact that the Spirit lives in the Church this signifies that the Church is a charismatic Church. There never was a time that the Church was not charismatic, or it is not a Church at all. But this should not be taken to mean that ecstatic experience is always a necessary element of being Church. There was and there will be ecstatic experience; miracles of healing and driving of spirits might be present, but what being charismatic necessarily implies is the observance of the commandment of love, which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In fact, in today's Gospel, the presence of the Father is linked with the commandment of love: "If you love me and obey the commands I give you, I will ask the Father and He will give you another Paraclete to be with you always: the Spirit of Truth" (
John 14:15-16). In contemporary theological reflection, the Church is viewed as a Church of Communion, and there is no doubt that today's Gospel provides a solid basis for such a theology. In the Church, the
members are in communion with the Trinitarian God and with one another. In practice this implies that the love of God dwells in the community and is shared among the members. On the other hand, the members are assured of the
presence of the Trinity by their observance of the love-commandment. Their love for one another is a sign that the Trinity dwells in the Church. Which means that it is not enough to view the Church simply as an institution. Of
course, to see the Church as a structured visible society has its own merits, but to look at the Church as a Communion is to emphasize the work of grace that unites all the members in Christ and draws them into the communion with
the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. by Fr. Lope C. Robredillo
May 12, 2002 One time, I happened to meet a man in his 50s who had gone to various Christian denominations and sects. In the end, he settled for a born-again community that he felt answered his
affective needs. I recalled he believed all religions are the same, and so it did not matter to him which religion was true. What was important to him was that the particular sect he had chosen assured him that he was saved. This
line of thought that all religions are the same this is rather common even among the educated. Of course, when one scans the spectrum of religions, he may observe that they appear to be all the same they teach about God (under
different names) and good behavior, they observe certain rites, and call everyone to conversion. No wonder, some people would advocate pluralism in religion. They would tell us that all religions are of equal value, and are ways to
salvation, and what is decisive is that one follows the religion he professes. Indeed, others go even as far as saying that what one believes does not matter; what is decisive is what he does. It would seem, however, that
today's Gospel does not accept that line of thinking. From a Christian point of view, the most decisive act of God in history is His revelation in Jesus. As we noted in the previous Sundays, that revelation was unfortunately
rejected. Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom of God and his demand of conversion fell on deaf ears; in fact, his enemies crucified him, and they thought that was the end of him. But God was with him. The Father raised him from the
dead. His cause the Kingdom of God was entirely correct, and the resurrection vindicated him. Hence, the mission he began must be continued. That is why, in today's Gospel, Jesus gives his disciples the so-called Great
Commission: "Full authority has been given to me both in heaven and on earth; go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to carry
out everything I have commanded you" (Matt
28:18b-20a). Since Jesus could no longer personally continue his mission, because he has already ascended to the Father, the Christian community where his Spirit lives on must carry on the cause. The disciples must proclaim the Gospel, and those who accepted it have to be brought to the community through faith and baptism. That is why the Church continues to send missionaries to bring people to the fold.
Does this mean that we will have to reject other religions? There is no question about it today we are in the age of inter-religious dialogue. We can no longer go back to the time when Christians had almost
nothing good to say of other religions. Nowadays, we seek dialogue, trying as we do to explore areas where we can agree with believers of other faiths, mindful as we are that God can speak, too, through other religions. Of course,
in the practical level alone, dialogue is important. For us, Filipinos, dialogue with our Muslim brothers is of paramount significance. In the words of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II), "(1) our history as a
Christian people has pitted us against them in a long series of religious conflicts, and lowland Filipinos still suffer today from its psychological and cultural effects. And (2) we are part of the Asian region and Asia contains
the bulk of Islamic countries. We need, therefore, to take a closer look at inter-religious dialogue as an imperative of mission." Part of the dialogue that has to be encouraged is the dialogue of life. The PCP II was happy to note
that "in the areas of Mindanao and Sulu where Muslims and Christians live and work together, a dialogue of life is taking place. In daily life they witness to each other to their own religious values and both contribute to the
building of a just society." But inter-religious dialogue cannot mean a compromise of the Christian uniqueness and the command of Jesus to carry on his work. As the Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith Dominus Iesus
(On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church) says, "it would be contrary to the faith to consider the Church as one way of salvation alongside those constituted by the other religions, seen as complementary to the Church or substantially equivalent to her, even if these are said to be converging with the Church toward the eschatological kingdom of God." x x x "With the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ, God has willed that the Church founded by him to be the instrument for the salvation of all humanity (cf
Acts
17:30-31). This truth of faith does not lessen the sincere respect which the Church has for the religions of the world, but at the same time, it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism "characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that 'one religion is as good as another.'" If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking, they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation."
Therefore, even as the Church advocates inter-religious dialogue, she cannot surrender the mandate that Jesus gave to the Church in today's Gospel. She must preach the Gospel to all nations, and those who accept it
must be baptized and admitted to the historical embodiment of the Kingdom of God. "Following the Lord's command (cf Matt
28:19-20) and as a requirement of her love for all people, the Church 'proclaims and is in duty bound to proclaim with faith Christ who is the way, the truth and the life (John
14:6). In him, in whom God reconciled all things to himself (cf 2 Cor
5:18-19), men find the fullness of their religious life." Says the Declaration: "Indeed, the Church, guided by charity and respect for freedom, must be primarily committed to proclaiming to all people the truth definitively revealed by the Lord, and to announcing the necessity of conversion to Jesus Christ and of adherence to the Church through Baptism and the other sacraments, in order to participate fully in communion with God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus, the certainty of the universal salvific will of God does not diminish but rather increases the duty and urgency of the proclamation of salvation and of conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ.
by Fr. Lope C. Robredillo May 19, 2002 As I write this, the "All Parties Conference" summit (May 3-5, 2002), which was intended to bring together 12 national political parties, eight regional parties and 12 party-list groups,
to address problems of our political system, is on its second day. Amid the disclosure of the results of a UP survey indicating that Filipinos were becoming disenchanted with our kind of democracy and system of government, the
summit, which has "Modernizing the Political Institutions of a Democratic and Prosperous National Community" for its theme, opened on a sour note, as the Daily Inquirer headlined. The LDP (Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino
), the PDP-Laban and the Reporma-Lapiang Manggagawa boycotted it. The party-list groups Bayan Muna, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Sanlakas refused to join it. Each opposition party,
of course, had its own agenda for not coming to it, but nationalism, reconciliation and communion could hardly be invoked. If anything, all this shows how fractious and fragmented we could get a dubious distinction that was
duplicated during the Labor Day celebration when various groups converged to address issues that hardly touched on the significance of the day. Such diverse groups as the Philippine Consultative Assembly (PCA), and its erstwhile
enemy, the People's Movement Against Poverty (PMAP), and the left-leaning were there at Mendiola to show their dislike for the President, while the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) was gathered at the Araneta
Coliseum. If these two events are any indication, it is that we are still far removed from being a people of reconciliation and communion. This brings to mind the famous story of the tower of Babel (Gen
11:1-9) in the First Reading of Pentecost Vigil. According to the narrative, the people of Shinar wanted to build a city with a tower, but God punished them. As can be inferred from v 4 ("to make a name for themselves, lest we be scattered"), it seems that they sinned not only for trying to make a name for themselves on their own initiative and quite independent of God, but also for refusing the command of God to fill the earth (1:28). Of course, others think that their sin consists in trying to build a tower with its top in the sky (11:4) as a sign of pride and rebellion against God. But there seems to be no basis for this conclusion. At any rate, as used in the narrative, the story is meant to teach us about the ongoing sin of man and, when read together with the next chapter, which focuses on Abraham, about true greatness whose origin is God (12:2), and about the birth of Israel through whom all nations will be blest. Originally, however, the story was an aetiological legend about the origin of the diversity of languages and nations. In v 7, the Yahwist writer uses the word
balal, which means to mix, to confuse: "Come, let us go down and confuse
the language." The city, with its tower, was left unfinished because Yahweh confounded the speech of the builders; hence, its name became Babel, or confusion. In English, the word babble
means confused or incoherent speech. Because of the confusion of language, people could no longer understand each other; on the contrary, unable to reach agreement, they could not be united. Hence, the quarrel among nations, and their lack of communion and reconciliation. Because they could not get through their head, they were fractious and fragmented.
Today, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost. For Christians, it is not simply the 50th
day after the Lord's resurrection; rather, it is also the time when the Church, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, received its mission to bring all people to God. Thus, in the Gospel, Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to the early Church: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men's sins, they are forgiven them. If you hold them bound, they are held bound" (
John 20:21.23). Pentecost signifies that the risen Lord is active in the world, reconciling all men to God and to one another. Thus, one of the theological meanings of the event is that Pentecost is a time of reconciliation
and communion. Indeed, from linguistic evidence, there is no doubt that the account in the First Reading (Acts
2:1-11) is meant to reverse the experience of Babel. Luke says that the Jews who came from every nation under heaven and were staying in Jerusalem witnessed the outpouring of the Spirit on the apostles, "they were much confused
because each one heard these men speaking his own language. The whole occurrence astonished them" (Acts
2:6). If in the story of the tower of Babel, people were confused because of their different languages; here the Jews who came from every nation on earth were confused because each one heard the apostles speaking in his own particular language. Thus, Pentecost overcomes the division of men at Babel. That is why Luke uses tongues as of fire (v 3) to convey this signification. This means that through the tongue of the Spirit, which is ultimately charity, all men will be reconciled. Pentecost is thus a time of reconciliation and fraternal communion.
It might be difficult to expect our political parties to be reconciled to one another and to establish fraternal communion so that the country could move toward achieving the kind of society that our constitution
envisages. But a Christian always expects that the Church be a community of reconciliation and communion. And precisely because the Spirit that was poured out at Pentecost is active in the Church, such a community could be promoted
if Christians are to be informed wit a spirituality of communion. According to John Paul II in his Tertio Millenio Adveniente, this spirituality means that we are able to think of our brothers and sisters in the faith within
the profound unity of the mystical body; it means sharing their joys and sufferings; it implies the ability to see what is positive in others; it means knowing how to make room for others, bearing their burdens, and resisting
temptations that constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy and above all, it means our contemplation of the Trinity dwelling in us. If people can see this spirituality shining on our faces, they
will certainly recognize the miracle of Pentecost working in the Church and, who knows, our political structure and system could be affected in the long run. And the Babel among our political parties will be transformed into
reconciliation and communion. by Fr. Lope C. Robredillo May 26, 2002 In his entertainment column, "Viewfinder," (Philippine Daily Inquirer, May 4, 2002), Nestor Torre complimented the show, "Sharon", for focusing on the
country's black performers. Gathering a diverse and comprehensive group of dark-skinned guests, which included Luke Mijares, Norman Mitchell, Elizabeth Ramsey, and others was in itself a feat. He lamented, however, the show's
failure to make telling points about Filipinos' racist streak. Says Torre: "It really is quite funny-peculiar to see Filipinos, many of whom are rather dark-complexioned themselves, poking fun at black people
For their part, our
black entertainers should stop poking fun at themselves and their coloring. They're aiding and abetting the cruel bias of the racists, which won't change for the better until they are bluntly made to realize that black can be
beautiful and is definitely not funny! Above all, it's we, the members of the local entertainment audience, who have to change. For decades now, we have poked fun at people just because they have dark skin, or flat noses, or are
'vertically challenged,' or look and speak 'funny' or come from the Visayas all superficial factors that don't define the kind of persons that they really are. And yet, because our colonizers have successfully taught us to use
Caucasian standards of beauty as our own, we look down on non-whites, not realizing that we are in fact poking sadistic fun at ourselves! Torre finds our racist attitude wrong on the ground that color does not define who we are
and that it has a cruel, painful effect on others. On the feast of the Trinity, however, we as Christians are given a deeper basis for rejecting it. But before going into that, let us see first the principles that
the Gospel teaches us: "God so loved the world that he gave His only Son that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life" (John
3:16). With these words, John makes it clear that the purpose of Jesus' coming is to give us eternal life, which is John's term for salvation. Elsewhere, however, John describes the purpose of Jesus' incarnation and death in terms of gathering people" "Jesus would die for the nation and not for this nation only, but to gather into one all the dispersed children of God" (
John
11:52). If salvation is about gathering people into one community that experiences the life of God, then we can say that it is Jesus who, by his coming, communicates the divine life to the community. No wonder then that elsewhere in the New Testament, we are told that this life that comes from God first of all flows to Christ who in turn shares it with the community: "In Christ the fullness of deity resides in bodily form. Yours is a share of this fullness in him" (
Col
2:9). A similar teaching can be found in the letter addressed to the Christians in Ephesus: "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith and may charity be the root and foundation of your life. Thus you will be able to grasp fully, with all the holy ones, the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love, and experience this love, which surpasses all knowledge, so that you may attain to the fullness of God himself" (
Eph 3:18-19). Salvation or eternal life is therefore achieved when Christians share Jesus' life of love that has its origin in the Father. Because they share in the life of the Father and Jesus, Christians therefore
become one with the Father and His Son and with other Christians who receive this divine life. Understandably enough, the same letter describes Christians as "one new man" (Eph
2:15). Consequently, there cannot be division in the Christian community. Precisely because God, by sending Jesus to communicate his life to us, shows himself as the Father of the community, all of us who share his life have become brothers and sisters. Whatever and whoever we are, we form one family where there is no division: "Each one of you is a son of God, because of you faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who have been baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with him. There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus" (
Gal
3:28). The early Christians saw the implication of this teaching. Luke tells us, for example, that in the early church, the Christians were one in heart and in mind. No one claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common (
Acts 4:32). In other words, the Christian community is a place where people are accepted and welcomed. The basis for accepting and welcoming every Christian to the community is simply the fact he is a
Christian he partakes of God's divine life. Consequently, in a Christian community, there cannot be any discrimination on any basis be it sex, power, merits, wealth, culture or race. Earlier, we noted that discrimination of
colored people is wrong on the ground of its superficiality and its effects on others. But a meditation on the Gospel provides us with a deeper basis: we have become one with Christ. All of us share in the status of being God's
children. Therefore, no one can claim superiority over others. In the words of the Latin American bishops, "we are all fundamentally equal, and members of the same race, though we live our lives amid the diversity of sexes,
languages, cultures, and forms of religiosity. By virtue of our common vocation, we have one single destiny" (Puebla
334). No doubt this statement is based on the Constitution of the Church: "Although by Christ's will some are established as teachers, dispensers of the mysteries and pastors for others, there remains, nevertheless, a true equality with regard to the dignity and the activity which is common to all the faithful in the building up of the Church" (
Lumen gentium, 32). This why is our racist streak poking fun, for example, at colored entertainers and at our colored neighbors is wrong, and nothing could make it right. If we stressed this implication of the Gospel
today, it is with the purpose of showing that the doctrine of the Trinity need not be taken as an esoteric teaching that has no connection with the everyday life of the Christian. In the past, we looked at God in Himself, and we
tried to explain the Trinity in terms of Greek categories that are difficult to comprehend unless one has a background of Greek philosophy and culture. Here, however, we simply tried to present how the Trinity is experienced in our
lives, and we found that, among others, our faith in God as Father and in His Son makes us realize that it is wrong to discriminate against people on any basis, precisely because of their fundamental equality that is guaranteed by
God's sending His Son to the world so that it may be saved. In this sense, Nestor Torre hits the nail on the nail on the head: "Let's all agree to stop being racist and sadistic right now. |
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