|
April 1, 2006 (Saturday of the 4th Week of Lent)
Readings: Jer 11:18-20/ Jn 7:40-53
The tension between Christ and the Jewish leaders continues to grow. They are obviously motivated by jealousy and hatred. But one among their rank speaks out for Jesus. He is Nicodemus, who had earlier asked Jesus about eternal life and got the mysterious answer about the need to be born again.
Since that conversation, Jesus' words must have left their mark on this upright Pharisee. The message of Christ had been growing in his heart, and now he had the courage to speak out in favor of Jesus, demanding at least a fair trial. Later on, Nicodemus will be even more daring -- he will ask for the body of Jesus and come out in the open as a sympathizer of the "defeated" Galilean. He certainly must have been among the first Christians when the Lord had risen from the dead. Let us imitate these virtues of Nicodemus -- love for truth, uprightness and courage.
April 2, 2006 (FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT)
Readings: Jer 31:31-34/Heb 5:7-9/Jn 12:20-33
In today's Gospel, Jesus confides to His followers: "Now my soul is troubled." And He tells them what human weakness may suggest: "And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour!" But Jesus Christ shows them what is the strength of His obedience: "No, this is why I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!" (v. 28) We see here that in order to carry out the salvific plan of God, Jesus Christ was ready to obey, even if it was difficult for him. But He did not obey out of weakness, apathy or lack of character. He obeyed precisely because He was strong and self-possessed.
Obedience does not mean mere conformity to a stronger external force. Obedience entails the exercise of one's own freedom because the obedient person must will (not just do or follow) what the superior wishes. So in order to obey, one must have self-mastery, one must have self-control. In fact the desire and effort to obey provide us the opportunity to die to ourselves like the grain of wheat. And like the grain of wheat, obedience will yield fruits. The fruit of Jesus' obedience was the work of Redemption which we now enjoy. The fruit of the apostles' obedience was the rich haul of fish. What fruits could each one of us yield if we strive harder to be more obedient?
April 3, 2006 (Monday of the 5th Week of Lent)
Readings: Dn 13:1-9, 15-17, 19-30, 33-62 or 13:41c-62/ Jn 8:1-11
The gospel of the woman caught in the act of adultery has a special relevance for us these days. Jesus did not deny the validity of the Jewish law to execute the woman for her crime. But he refused to implement it. "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Jesus, the only really sinless one, did not cast the stone. He forgave but also admonished her to sin no more.
Many people still cannot understand the Church's position on the death penalty. Well, here is a partial explanation. The position of the Church is the one most consistent with the attitude of Christ. We must give the sinner the chance to reform. Death penalty should only be resorted to as a last resort, when there is no other effective means to safeguard the common good. It should not be a product of vindictiveness or a misplaced sense of righteousness. We are all capable of the worst crimes if God did not give us the help to avoid them.
April 4, 2006 (Tuesday of the 5th Week of Lent)
Readings: Nm 21:4-9/ Jn 8:21-30
The gospel of today finds Jesus talking about "being lifted up", an obvious reference to the crucifixion. He is also talking about the Old Testament figure of the bronze serpent. The Israelites in the desert who had complained against God and who had been punished by a plague of snakes could be cured of the venomous bites by looking up at the mounted bronze serpent forged by Moses upon God's command. That serpent is a type of Jesus who, mounted on the cross, would be the salvation of mankind.
We are all bitten by the serpent. Satan, inciting our first parents to sin, appeared as a serpent. Salvation from sin comes from looking at Jesus Christ hanging on the cross. We must unite ourselves interiorly to the sacrifice of Christ, to make it our own. We best do this in the Eucharistic liturgy since the Mass is the unbloody renewal of the very same sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. Attend Mass well and you will see how it strengthens you in the struggle against the serpent.
April 5, 2006 (Wednesday of the 5th Week of Lent)
Readings: Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95/ Jn 8:31-42
Jesus said, "The truth shall make you free." Many people associate freedom with the mere absence of external constraints. But while that may be an important condition for freedom, the core of freedom does not lie in an absence or a negation. Freedom is an affirmation. It is an affirmation of our ability to make choices, to decide, to determine ourselves.
If freedom is the ability to choose, then true knowledge is something that liberates. And the opposite of truth, error or ignorance, is what really oppresses man. The more we search for truth and embrace it, the freer we become. But if we allow ourselves to be moved by our whims and passions instead of true principles, we will find ourselves enslaved by those very whims.
April 6, 2006 (Thursday of the 5th Week of Lent)
Readings: Gn 17:3-9/ Jn 8:51-59
The gospel today contains one of the clearest assertions of the divine nature of Jesus Christ. "Before Abraham came to be, I am." Jesus was obviously referring to the proper name of God, unmentionable to the pious Hebrew, "Yahweh" or "I am who am," the name by which God identified himself to Moses at the burning bush.
We cannot reduce Christ to a popular political figure, a great teacher of life or a philosopher. The most important reality about this man whom the gospels talk about is that he is the true Son of God, God himself. A Christian believes not only in the wisdom of Christ's teachings, he believes in the person of Christ himself. He believes him to be God, otherwise he is not a Christian. That is why, with all due respect for their opinion, the Philippine sect called "Iglesia ni Cristo" that follows the Arian teaching that Jesus is only a very special man, cannot really be considered "Christian."
April 7, 2006 (Friday of the 5th Week of Lent)
Readings: Jer 20:10-13/ Jn 10:31-42
The gospel of today shows us that to be the true "Son of God" is the same as to be God. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which is recited at the Sunday Eucharistic Celebration, contains the formula that Jesus Christ is "God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in Being with the Father." That repetition of like coming from like refers to the unity of nature between God the Father and God the Son. To be the true son is to be of the same nature as the progenitor.
Jesus then is the "only-begotten" Son of God. But, as John says in his gospel, we also have the power of becoming sons of God. We can become so not by nature, but by grace, by a kind of adoption by virtue of our union with Jesus Christ. Our "divine sonship" is the foundation of our Christian life.
April 8, 2006 (Saturday of the 5th Week of Lent)
Readings: Ez 37:21-28/Jn 11:45-56
In the gospel today, we hear the prophetic words, spoken unwittingly by Caiphas that, "it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." Then the evangelist John explains that Jesus had to die, "to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad." Those who killed Christ were distorting his mission, giving it a primarily political meaning. The true meaning of Christ's mission transcends the socio-political sphere, even if it will have a very important bearing on that sphere due to the moral and spiritual dimensions of everything human.
The mission of Christ is also the mission of the Church. Thus, we would fail to understand what the Church is doing if we expect her to be immersed in socio-political affairs as if it were her aim. On the other hand, if we focus on the transcendent mission of the Church, then we can understand better when the Church, through her prophetic role, "intervenes" in socio-political issues. And in the field of applying Christian moral principles to temporal affairs, it is the lay person who must act on his own responsibility and not as the "extended arm" of the hierarchy.
April 9, 2006 (PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD'S PASSION)
Readings: Mk 11:1-10 or Jn 12:12-16 / Is 50:4-7/ Phil 2:6-11/ Mk 14:1—15:47 or 15:1-39
With today's remembrance of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, we begin the Holy Week. It is a week dedicated to the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, culminating on Easter Sunday, when we focus on the risen Lord, who is forever with us. Precisely in order to appreciate Christ's paschal mystery, we should now devote ourselves to prayerful reflection on the Lord's passion.
Just notice how so much of the gospels are devoted to the passion of Christ. It must have meant a lot to the apostles and to the early Christian community. We can also think of the age-old practice of the Way of the Cross. While there are other alternative stations, there is an ancient remembrance of the specific sites in the city of Jerusalem where Christ walked as he struggled to do the will of God the Father. We can say that Christians of all ages have been nourished by the meditation on the sufferings of the God-Man Jesus Christ.
When we meditate on the passion of Christ, following the account of it in today's gospel reading, let us not forget that all those sufferings reflect Christ's love for us. He himself said that there is no greater love than that a man should lay down his life for his friends. He is telling us that he is our friend, and that he wants you to be his friend. Proof of it is his willingness to undergo those atrocities for our good.
April 10, 2006 (Monday of Holy Week)
Readings: Is 42:1-7/ Jn 12:1-11
In the gospel of John, after Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with expensive ointment, Judas Iscariot complained, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" (Jn 12:5) Later on, this same person would sell the master for the price of a slave.
There is no opposition between caring for the poor, having a preferential option for the poor, and dedicating good and rich things to the service of God. People are more important than things, and our efforts should go to alleviating the needs of people. But it is also the need of people to worship God with dignity and decorum. Let us not be stingy when it comes to the worship of God. The incense that goes up in smoke is not wasted. Man needs to manifest his attitude of adoration through appropriate external means.
April 11, 2006 (Tuesday of Holy Week)
Readings: Is 49:1-6/ Jn 13:21-33, 36-38
The gospel today is selected to prepare us for the celebration of the "holy three days", starting Holy Thursday. Now we focus on the betrayal of Judas, which would trigger off the next events. Christ knew of the betrayal since it was part of the plan of redemption, but it must have hurt just the same, coming from someone he had trusted. By all indications, Judas was "trusted" because he held the money of the group.
Betrayal is one of the most bitter of human experiences. Spouses can find it very hard to forgive a partner who has been unfaithful. To be betrayed by a friend or business partner leaves a person cynical about all friendships. But we should not become negative about love and friendship. True, there was betrayal. And even the ones who did not betray Christ were too weak to give him the human support he sought. But the grace of God later on gave them the strength to be faithful even to death.
On our part, knowing how difficult it is to be betrayed, we should resolve to be faithful to our loved ones and friends. For that, we must be "faithful in little things" as Christ recommended in one of his parables. That is the effective way to be faithful.
April 12, 2006 (Wednesday of Holy Week)
Readings: Is 50:4-9a/ Mt 26:14-25
The gospel today still focuses on the betrayal of Judas. This time, we can analyze his actions a bit more. The gospel begins by telling us how Judas had already made a deal with the enemies of Christ. Yet he had the gall to dissimulate his betrayal by pretending to act innocently and asking, like all the other disciples, if he were the traitor. Perhaps Jesus' words, showing Judas that He knew all along, were an invitation for Judas to change his mind.
We talked earlier of the need to be faithful, especially in little things. One sign of fidelity is truthfulness and sincerity. On the other hand, a clear sign of betrayal is lying and deceit. If we resolve to be very sincere, to love the truth at all costs, we will have taken a major step in being faithful. To recognize our little lacks of fidelity prepares us for the struggle to be faithful to our commitments.
April 13, 2006 (Holy Thursday)
Readings: Chrism Mass: Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9/ Rv 1:5-8/ Lk 4:16-21 /// Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14/ 1 Cor 11:23-26/ Jn 13:1-15
Today there are two liturgical celebrations. In the morning there is the "Chrism Mass" in which the bishop will consecrate the holy oils for the celebration of the sacraments and in which the priests will be united around their bishop. The focus of this Mass is on the institution of the priesthood by Christ. Later in the day, the "evening Mass of the Lord's Supper" will commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist.
The Eucharist and the priesthood are the greatest gifts of Christ to his Church. Let us consider today the value of the priesthood. Without the priest, we cannot have the Body of Christ in our midst. The Chrism Mass gospel talks about how the prophecy of Isaiah applied to Jesus: "The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me…" The priest is "another Christ", another "anointed one" present to serve us. Today is a good day to pray intensely for our priests. Let us resolve to be very supportive of priests. In spite of their failings, they have chosen to answer the call of God to a life of service requiring great sacrifice. Let us pray that there be many generous young men who will listen and respond to the call of Christ
April 14, 2006 (Good Friday of the Lord's Passion)
Readings: Is 52:13—53:12/ Heb 4:14-16; 5:7-9/ Jn 18:1—19:42
The liturgical notes today say that "after the veneration of the cross and tomorrow until the solemn Paschal Vigil one genuflects before the cross." What does this mean? In the Roman liturgy, genuflection is a posture of adoration and not just veneration. Veneration can be manifested by bowing the head and it signifies recognition of special honor due to the saints and, in a special way, to the Blessed Virgin Mary. But adoration is due only to God. It is to acknowledge the supremacy of God.
On this special day, since the Body of Christ in the Eucharist is reserved in private in anticipation of Easter, the gestures of adoration are shown towards the symbol that represents Christ, and this is the cross. What counts is not the materiality of the cross but the person represented by it. Since we acknowledge Christ to be God-made-man, we validly give a cult of adoration to the humanity of Christ, represented by the cross.
April 15, 2006 (Holy Saturday)
Readings: Vigil: Gn 1:1—2:2 or 1:1, 26-31a/ Gn 22:1-18 or 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18/ Ex 14:15—15:1/ Is
54:5-14/ Is 55:1-11/ Bar 3:9-15, 32—4:4/ Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28/ Rom 6:3-11/ Mk 16:1-7
This is the day of the buried Christ. There is no liturgy for today. What we have is the Easter Vigil, which properly belongs to the Easter celebration. The Easter Vigil is like the mother of all vigils.
What is the point of a vigil? To keep vigil over something that is about to happen is to anticipate that event. It expresses our eagerness for what we are to expect. A father, watching over his wife about to give birth, is in vigil. Here we are expecting the resurrection of Christ. Together with the new life of Christ, we are also eagerly awaiting the new life of Christ in us. That is why the Church has preferentially wanted to celebrate the sacrament of Baptism, our new birth in Christ, on this day. We all participate in this new life through the renewal of our baptismal commitments during the Mass.
April 16, 2006 (EASTER SUNDAY: THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD)
Readings: Acts 10:34a, 37-43/ Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6b-8/ Jn 20:1-9 or Mk 16:1-7 or, at an afternoon or evening Mass, Lk 24:13-35
Easter is the most important celebration in the Church. It commemorates the final victory of Christ over sin and the devil. It signifies our liberation from sin and all that oppresses man. Above all, it means that Christ is alive. He is not a historical figure that we simply remember, like a Jose Rizal, Mahatma Gandhi, Plato or Socrates. The resurrection means that he is alive NOW, and not just as a separated soul but as a man of flesh and bones. So important is this that St. Paul says that without the resurrection, our faith would be vain.
Christian life is not just following a set of rules or high ideals. Above all, it is the following of a person, and the person is Christ, the Son of God made man. A Christian must be personally committed to Christ and he must have a personal relationship with Christ. Through this relationship, the Christian also relates to the other persons of the Most Holy Trinity. That is why it is very crucial for us that Christ is alive. The resurrection of Christ is not just a desire or a product of our collective psyche. It is an objective historical fact that, at the same time, requires the virtue of faith to be accepted.
April 17, 2006 (Monday in the Octave of Easter)
Readings: Acts 2:14, 22-33/ Mt 28:8-15
Today is the second day of the Easter Octave. Today's gospel recounts the experience of the holy women to whom the Lord appeared first. "Octave" means a period of eight days. We are celebrating the whole week after Easter as one whole "Easter week". In fact, the whole year can be considered a celebration of Easter because the heart of the Christian message is the "paschal mystery" -- the victory over sin and death through the death and resurrection of Christ.
The fact that we remember Easter for the whole week reflects what Pope John Paul II called "the Church's culture of remembrance" as opposed to the "media culture of transitory news," as he pointed out in a message on World Communications Day. The problem with our culture is that it is so fast paced, and the attention is focused on clamorous current events so that we very soon forget the past and fail to draw the lessons of wisdom we could learn from them. We are left with pure information without much reflection. We can learn from the celebration of Easter octave to see the value of things that are worth remembering.
April 18, 2006 (Tuesday in the Octave of Easter)
Readings: Acts 2:36-41/ Jn 20:11-18
The gospel today narrates the apparition of the risen Jesus to Mary of Magdala. She may have been the woman who, for having been forgiven much, also learned to love God very much. That is why we can understand her answer to the angels who were asking her why she wept. "They have taken my Lord away and I do not know where they have put him."
Whenever we sin, we take the Lord away from our heart. When we realize our wrong and turn our heart back to God, we are filled with a certain sadness that is called contrition or sorrow. If we realize the depth of our loss, such contrition may even lead to tears. But the important thing is not our emotional reaction but the deep conviction in our heart that we would like to turn back to God by rejecting our wrongdoing.
April 19, 2006 (Wednesday in the Octave of Easter)
Readings: Acts 3:1-10/ Lk 24:13-35
In the gospel today, two disciples were on their way to Emmaus, leaving Jerusalem, disappointed at the death of Christ. They were disillusioned. Perhaps they felt that they had wasted some of the best years of their life. Jesus Christ, without revealing his identity, helped them to recover their spirits and their faith. And at the end of everything, when they were fully recovered and they had recognized Jesus, they said, "Was not our heart burning within us while he was speaking on the road and explaining the scriptures to us?" (Lk 24:32)
Every Christian is like another Christ in the crossroads of the world. If we are consistent with our faith, we actually make Christ present in our daily surroundings -- in our place of work, in school, in the family. How wonderful it would be if people could say, because of our dealings with them, that their hearts were burning -- that they were being encouraged and enlightened by our conversation and presence.
April 20, 2006 (Thursday in the Octave of Easter)
Readings: Acts 3:11-26/ Lk 24:35-48
In today's gospel, Christ appeared to the eleven apostles and wanted to reassure them that he was not a spirit. He showed them his wounds. He made them touch him. And finally, like a final proof of his being truly risen, he asked for some food and had a meal with the apostles.
We know that Jesus himself, in the glorified state, did not need to eat. He ate for the sake of the apostles. He ate, not so much for the material aspect of eating, but for its social dimension. For us human beings, everything has to be "humanized", even our most fundamental bodily needs. We should not eat just to fill ourselves and be satisfied. We should also see the human aspects of eating. For example, when we eat as a family, bonds are strengthened. When we eat with friends, we get closer to them. It's good to enjoy the meal, but it's even better to enjoy the company.
April 21, 2006 (Friday in the Octave of Easter)
Readings: Acts 4:1-12/ Jn 21:1-14
Following the instructions of the Lord, the apostles had left Jerusalem for Galilee. They were now beside the lake, in the same place where many of them had first met Christ. They had gone back to their former occupation of fishing. As on a previous occasion, they had caught nothing all night. Suddenly, from the shore, they heard a voice, "Do you have anything to eat…Cast the net to the right of the boat and you will have a catch." Perhaps recalling the previous occasion, John confirmed the suspicions of Peter, "It is the Lord!"
At night, on their own, without Christ, they worked uselessly. They wasted their time. In the morning, with the light, with Jesus present, his words enlightening them and guiding their activities, the nets get filled with fish. We have to be always united to Christ in order to be fruitful.
April 22, 2006 (Saturday in the Octave of Easter)
Readings: Acts 4:13-21/ Mk 16:9-15
The resurrection of Christ is a call to the apostolate. All the apparitions of Christ end up with some kind of apostolic mandate. In the reading for today, Jesus tells the eleven apostles to "Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature."
Those eleven persons represent the whole Church. Through them, we Christians have received the joyful mandate to communicate that Christ is alive and is calling us to share his divine life. A light is not lit to be put under a table but to let the light shine before all. We must communicate the faith and values that we have received.
April 23, 2006 (SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER OR DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY)
Readings: Acts 4:32-35/1 Jn 5:1-6/Jn 20:19-31
"Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (Jn 20:23) This gospel passage is related to the other passages before the death and resurrection of Christ when he promised the twelve apostles, and especially Peter, the power to "bind and to lose". Let us not be afraid of the sacrament of reconciliation. It is a wonderful sacrament manifesting God's mercy. The Second Sunday of Easter is especially dedicated to the Divine Mercy – it is a devotion that depicts a red and a white ray streaming from the side of Christ, representing the "blood and water" that flowed out from his heart at the crucifixion. It symbolizes how much Christ loves us. That blood and water washes away our sins, especially through the sacrament of forgiveness.
Some people do not want to go to confession because they "confess directly to God" to have their sins forgiven. No one is stopping us from telling God how sorry we are for our sins. But that is not enough for forgiveness. If we have offended someone, it is not we, but the offended party, who should set the terms of forgiveness. If Christ gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles and their successors, these are Jesus' terms, and we should avail of this channel. What great peace of soul results from availing of this sacrament of mercy!
April 24, 2006 (Monday in the Second Week of Easter)
Readings: Acts 4:23-31/Jn 3:1-8
The gospel of today's Mass narrates a wonderful conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Jesus saw the goodwill in the heart of this man, so he opened unsuspected horizons for Nicodemus. "Unless a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (Jn 3:3)
Obviously, as Jesus himself explained, this does not refer to a physical re-entry to the womb and coming out again. It means entering into a new kind of life. It is a transformation, wrought by grace, of "the old man" to become a child of God. This requires a certain "dying to self" because the grace of God usually acts with human cooperation. Unfortunately, many Christians do not advance in this transformation because of neglecting the spirit of sacrifice.
April 25, 2006 (Saint Mark, evangelist)
Readings: 1 Pt 5:5b-14/Mk 16:15-20
St. Mark wrote the gospel which is commonly believed to contain the oral preaching of St. Peter. Aside from our debt of gratitude to St. Mark, we can also learn a lesson from his life.
As a young man, he joined Paul and Barnabas in their first missionary journey. He later abandoned them because he found the task too difficult. However, he was ready to go again on the second missionary journey. Paul did not want to take him because he had failed them the first time. But Barnabas gave him a second chance. This time he stuck it out. Many years later, Paul himself would ask for Mark's help in his ministry. We should not let defeats discourage us. After a mistake, we can always put things right. And we should also learn to give people a second chance.
April 26, 2006 (Wednesday in the 2nd Week of Easter)
Readings: Acts 5:17-26/ Jn 3:16-21
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son, that those who believe in him may not perish..."(Jn 3: 16) With these words, we see how the passion and death of Christ are the supreme manifestations of the love of God for men. It was God who took the initiative. The sacrifice of Christ is an urgent call to us to correspond to God's love and mercy. In Spanish, there is a saying, "Amor con amor se paga" (love is paid back with love).
We should remember, however, that the love of God does not consist of sensible feelings, although God may give these to help us. Love consists mainly in the complete identification of our will with God's. Do I do my duty at every moment? Do I do what I have to do with the intention of giving the glory to God?
April 27, 2006 (Thursday in the 2nd Week of Easter)
Readings: Acts 5:27-33/Jn 3:31-36
"He who is from the earth belongs to earth, and of the earth he speaks. He who comes from heaven is over all." Indeed, while there is a very rightful autonomy of the temporal order (i.e., of things referring to "the earth"), there are many issues and areas of life that have to be guided by the higher principles of Christian faith.
Nowadays, there are many areas of life in which the faith is either frontally contradicted or relegated to the background. There are in fact many issues in which Christian moral teaching has a great bearing. To name a few: the defense of the right to life of the unborn, the promotion of the family institution, the right to a clean moral environment against the "pollution" of pornography, the right to religious freedom, the right to property, the obligation to practice solidarity especially with the poor, the obligation to promote the common good. Passivity in these matters could be considered sins of omission. Let us not be afraid to let our Christian principles influence our actions in social and political life.
April 28, 2006 (Friday in the 2nd Week of Easter)
Readings: Acts 5:34-42/ Jn 6:1-15
The gospel today is about the miracle of the loaves. In order to feed the great crowd of people who had followed him to an isolated place in their enthusiasm, Jesus made use of five loaves and two fish, then ended up with twelve baskets of leftovers.
There were some 19th century rationalists (people who, by their choice, refuse to accept that there is such a thing as a miracle) who claimed that there was really no multiplication of food, but that there was only a "miracle" of the heart, in the sense that the people, who had presumably brought their own provisions but were keeping them selfishly for themselves, were then moved to share it with the rest. The unfortunate thing is that nowadays, there are some persons who want to pass off this unfounded speculation as something "new", as a great discovery of modern scholarship.
Such an interpretation is full of inconsistencies with the biblical text. Why would the apostles say that there was only a small boy with the loaves and the fish? Why would the people react so strongly to the miracle? And in the next gospel scene, the crucial discourse on the Eucharist at Capernaum, why would Jesus make reference to the abundance of bread he had provided for them (See Jn 6: 26)? Indeed, if we truly believe in the divinity of Jesus, why should we go to all kinds of convolutions of the scriptural text in order to depart from the obvious meaning of what is said?
April 29, 2006 (Saturday in the 2nd Week of Easter)
Readings: Acts 6:1-7/Jn 6:16-21
The disciples were having a very hard time navigating their boat in the storm, until Jesus came walking over the water to join them. Once Jesus was in the boat, they easily reached their destination.
Christian writers have seen a symbol of the Church in this boat, driven by the apostles, and buffeted by strong waves. From the first centuries, the Church has had to face contradictions from within and from without. Even now, the Church is undergoing difficulties. Just think of the consumerist environment in which the Church often has to present its values. There are many places, quite a number within Asia, where there is discrimination against followers of Christ.
All these should not discourage us. We have the assurance from Christ that the Church will last until the end of the world. And the Lord will be with the Church till then. It can never sink even if it may seem to totter.
April 30, 2006 (THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER)
Readings: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19/1 Jn 2:1-5a/Lk 24:35-48
Christ appeared to the disciples, reassuring them of his consoling presence by having a meal with them. He was not a ghost. He had risen from the dead and had perfect control of the situation.
Once the disciples were calmed down, Jesus explained to them that his suffering, death and resurrection were all part of God's plan for salvation. But they, his followers, had to help men go to heaven by preaching the need for "repentance for the forgiveness of sin." Indeed, God offers forgiveness for our sins. But it is not automatic, like a vending machine. We must repent, meaning to say that we must uproot the attachment we have to sin. We must "turn to God", meaning we must have a change of attitude, a change of heart. We must value God and our relationship with God, over anything else in the world.
|
