Matthew 16:13-19 - Simon Renamed Peter (Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 2014)

Gospel:

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Gospel Trivia:

This particular passage is considered as the "turning point" or "hinge" in Matthew's gospel.  It contains a declaration by the disciples of who Jesus is and, in turn, the appointment of one of the disciples as their leader.  Jesus is declared as the "Son of God".  Yet, in the chapters that follow, Jesus will talk more and more about his suffering, humiliation, and death.  Such a contrast: from being declared as the "Christ and Son of the God" to a Suffering Servant.  

How do we interpret the significance of the various personalities and "titles" attributed to Jesus?

- "Christ" - it is not Jesus' last name.  The "christ" is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word "messiah".  The messiah is the savior or liberator of the people, and is the person chosen or anointed by God to do this task.  The messiah is expected to be likely a "king" because he is the leader of the people, and kings are anointed with holy oil.  This king or messiah will rule the united tribes of Israel after liberating them from the rule of foreign oppressors which, during the time of Jesus, were the Romans.

- "Son of God" - can refer to the divinity of Jesus, but is also another term used by Hebrews to refer to a "messiah."  Biblical scholars believe that when used by Matthew, this title refers to either or both meanings.

- "John the Baptist," "Elijah," "Jeremiah" - some believed that Jesus is the reincarnation of these powerful personalities in Jewish history.  These references indicate that Jesus was at least regarded as a prophet -- one who speaks in behalf of God and communicates his message (and not necessarily one who foretells the future).

Based on this authority, Jesus appoints Peter as the head of the church by giving him the "keys", which is a symbol of authority.  The word "church" refers to an assembly or local group of believers which, at that time, refers to the band of disciples following Jesus.  This movement would grow rapidly from initially a Jewish community to what we now acknowledge as the Catholic Church.

Reflecting on this gospel, it is humbling to note that building God's Kingdom depended not on authority and power but on humility and service.

Other Trivia:

In this gospel, the title "Son of Man" is used by Jesus to refer to himself.  Among biblical scholars, it is one of the most widely debated and confusing title applied to Jesus.  This debate includes whether Jesus used the title himself, or is it a title that the evangelists applied to Jesus afterwards when they wrote the gospels.  Here are some their views:

a. Jesus used the title in a general sense, to refer to himself as a member of humankind.  Thus, the verse above would read, "Who do people say this 'member of the human race' is?"

b. The gospel writers used it to refer to Jesus' role at the "end times" similar to the vision of Daniel in Daniel 7:13, "As the visions during the night continued, I saw one like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven."

c. Jesus used the title himself in a "paradoxical way as the lowly and disreputable messenger of the powerful Kingdom of God."  If I were to paraphrase this, it is as if Jesus said, "You expect the Kingdom of God to come through the power and authority of a militant king; but here I am, a person who eat with the poor and lowly, who will teach you the real meaning of God's Kingdom."

References:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), pp. 213-216.

- Raymond E. Brown et al.  The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, pp. 1324-1325.

Solemnity of Corpus Christi - Supplementary Commentary: What Happens During Consecration?

(c) AnonMoos at Wikipedia Commons

What happens during consecration?

Our Lord Jesus Christ is really present in the Eucharistic celebration in many ways: in the assembly, in the person of the priest celebrant, in the reading of the Word, and most especially under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine.

But what does it mean when we say that the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ? We know that the bread and wine still looks, tastes, and smells like bread and wine. Do the bread and wine merely symbolize the body and blood of Christ (as non Catholic Christians believe), and that we should imagine that these are now Christ’s body and blood? The answer is no; the bread and wine do become the body and blood of Christ. If so, then does it mean that we are like cannibals that eat flesh and blood?

I hope this article will help you understand what happens during consecration, and be able to explain it to others.

The different ways that things change

First, let’s open our minds to the different ways that things change. We know that water can change from solid (ice) to liquid to gas. But it is still H2O. In other words, the outside form changes, but the invisible components of hydrogen and oxygen remain the same.

Another kind of change is when the outside form remains the same, but the inside (or invisible) changes. In philosophical terms, this is referred to as trans-substantiation, which is the term that our Church uses to explain the change that happens in consecration. In philosophical terms, the outside form is referred to as the “accidents” and the internal elements as “essence” or “substance.” In this way of explaining, the accidents (externals) of bread and wine do not change but the essence of its reality is no longer just bread and wine, but the body and blood of Christ.

What do we mean by the “body and blood of Christ”?

The “body and blood” of Christ is our way of saying the total person of Christ. Thus, we do not refer to the bread being “just the body” and the wine as “just the blood” of Christ. Both species, that is the bread and wine, contain the whole personal presence of our Lord.

However, the “body and blood” of Christ present in the bread and wine is NOT the physical body of Christ, but his glorified and Resurrected body. This points us to yet another kind of change.

The third kind is that of total transformation, where everything (both the inside and outside) changes. This is how we look at what happened to Jesus in his Resurrection.

What happened in the Resurrection?

An understanding of the Resurrection will help us understand what happens during consecration.

We regard the Resurrection of Jesus as not just resuscitation (as in the case of Lazarus, who eventually died), but that of transformation (Jesus lives forever). Resurrection refers not just to a physically risen Jesus, but to a spiritually Risen Jesus.

Our Risen Lord was no longer bound by time and space. He could walk through walls. In the account of the “doubting Thomas” in John 20:19-29, the evangelist emphasizes by saying twice that “the doors were locked,” and yet Jesus suddenly appeared to them.

In the story of the two men on the way to Emmaus in Luke 24:1-53, we learn other aspects about our Risen Lord. We know that the tomb was empty and so his body rose and changed (24:12). His body changed because when Jesus appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus, he was not readily recognizable (24:32), and yet he could be seen and touched, and he ate bread and fish. We also know that he was recognized when he started to talk about the Scriptures and when they broke bread (24:35), and that this encounter with him brought about much excitement and joy (24:33 and 41).

I’m afraid that is as much as we can know about Jesus Resurrected presence. (The disciples did not have a video camera then, so they could not be any more helpful). But one thing we do know, Jesus was not just resuscitated; he was transformed to a glorious presence.

The close analogy I can think of is that of a caterpillar that is transformed to a butterfly. It changes to something totally new.

The Resurrection and Consecration

During the consecration, we believe that the bread and wine changes into the “body and blood” of Christ, but NOT his physical body/blood but to his glorified, resurrected, and spiritually risen body/blood. (Again, think of body/blood as “total person”)

This is the same glorified, resurrected, and spiritually risen Jesus that is present “whenever we pray and there are two or three gathered in his name.” But we regard his presence in a very special way in the blessed Sacrament.

The different ways one or something can be present

Finally, I’d like you to be aware of how one or something can be present. There is the physical kind of presence, just as a computer is proximately near me as I type this article. Someone can also be next to me and be just physically present but his or her mind is somewhere else.

There is also the personal kind of presence where a person is present to another through sharing of knowledge, affection and love. It is this kind of presence that we refer to when we say that Jesus is present in the bread and wine.

The Church wants us to avoid two extremes in explaining the presence of Jesus in the eucharist:

- a crude, materialistic understanding of the change of bread and wine into Christ’s earthly “flesh and blood” which would make communicants equivalent to cannibals, and

- the opposite extreme of a merely symbolic interpretation of the change, which would reject the real eating and drinking of the Lord.

Implications in our daily life

We believe that Jesus (in his glorified, Resurrected and spiritual presence) is everywhere. Jesus is present when “two or three are gathered in his name,” when we perform works of mercy, when we preach the Word of God, and most effectively, when we celebrate the Eucharist.

We become intimately united with him when we receive him in communion. Christ is in us. We know we will share in this glorified, Resurrected and spiritual presence one day.

But we need not wait until that day. We live the way we live because Jesus himself is already in us.

In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.  Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.” (John 14:19-21)


Sources:
- Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC)
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Patambang, Myra A., Salibay, Esteban T., Jr., and Valera, Felinore Angelica H. Sacraments, Marriage And Family Life. Manila: Navotas Press, 2001.

John 6:51-58 - Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus (June 22, 2014)

Gospel:

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.

Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Gospel Trivia:

You might have the same question asked by the Jews: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"  Firstly, it should be recalled that the gospels were written several decades after the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Specifically, John's gospel was written sometime between 90-110 AD.  Jesus was long gone (in the physical sense).  

However, he continues to be present among the disciples NOT physically, but spiritually through His Eucharistic presence when Christians gathered together in "prayers and breaking of bread" (which is how the Mass was referred to at that time).  This passage then is one occasion of emphasizing that the presence of Jesus is real in the bread and wine.  

(Click here if you want to read more about what happens during consecration and the presence of Jesus in the consecrated bread and wine).

Secondly, the phrase "flesh and blood" is a Hebrew idiom for the whole person, conveying that the union between Jesus (who is present in the bread and wine) and his disciples (who "drinks and eats" them) is not just a sacramental union but also a personal union.

In this particular passage, however, the main message is not so much the real presence of Jesus in the bread and wine.

The key message is his IMMANENT presence among his disciples.

The key verse in this gospel is John 6:56: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood REMAINS -- or "ABIDES" -- in me and I in him.  The verb "abides" is one of John's favorite words and used it 40 times in his gospel (compared to three in Matthew, two in Mark and seven in Luke).

It suggests that two beings achieve the closest possible union without either person losing his personality.  John emphasizes that Jesus is IN his disciples and the disciples are IN Jesus.  Thus, the phrase "eating and drinking" captures this point vividly -- WE BECOME WHO WE "EAT".

Sources:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Manila: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 90-101.

- James McPolin, SJ, John (Manila: Daughters of St. Paul), pp. 106-107.

John 3:16-18 - Jesus and Nicodemus (Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2014)

The concept of the Trinity is complicated enough,
which may be further complicated by a visual.

This aims to explain this "central mystery of the Christian faith," a mystery not too many Catholics understand, much less able to explain to others.  

But before you start reading, I suggest you get a cup of coffee and a comfortable chair because this is not an easy read, but may be worthwhile in trying to understand what "three persons in one God" means.

Can you explain the Holy Trinity to others?

The mystery of the Holy Trinity “is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the hierarchy of the truths of faith” (CCC 234).  How would you explain this mystery to a Muslim, for example?  

When asked by our fellow Christians, our response is usually “it means there are three persons in one God.”  When probed what exactly that means, we are likely to say “I can’t really explain that, that’s why it’s a mystery.”

There are religions who recognize their God as creator of all things and source of all life.  But these religions depict their God as “one-person.”  Unlike this “one person” concept of God, the God revealed to us (by God himself) is a God who is Trinitarian, i.e. “three persons in one God.”  

Our God is a communicating God.  God wants to make Himself known to us.  God does not want to be mysterious and unknown.  On the contrary, God knows that when we truly know him, we will fall in love with him.  Thus, the whole Bible is about how God continually communicates himself to us.

So how does God reveal himself?

Answer: God first revealed himself as Yahweh.

Very early in the bible, there was a point when God communicated to men and women the name by which he wanted to be known: Yahweh.  It means “I am who am.”  In Tagalog, it could translate to “A, basta.  Ako si ako.”  It means  that God is simply being, being in its fullness, or unlimited being.

Biblical scholars who study the nuances of language believe that the more accurate translation of Yahweh is “I am who will show myself to be by the actions, which I will do on your behalf.”  This translation suggests two things:

- God wants to be known progressively, not in a one time kind revelation.  This means that the God of the Old Testament must be known also through what is revealed by God in the New Testament.

- Secondly, the translation suggests that God will be known by the actions that he will do for his people.


What do we know about who God is and the nature of God based on the actions that God has done?

- God liberates the Jews from slavery.  The Jews could not help but marvel at what Yahweh has done.  Imagine, they were previously a bunch of slaves oppressed by the Pharaoh king of Egypt; and they became a people with their own king and land!

- However, the Israelites frequently disobeyed and turned away from Yahweh many times in their history as a nation.  They would worship other gods, commit acts of injustice to their own people especially the poor, widow and orphans, and disobey the laws given to Moses.  But despite all these, Yahweh never gave up on them.

Through these actions, Yahweh became known not just as a powerful God, but a God “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.”  His justice is tempered with mercy.  It is not a vindictive kind of justice, but a saving kind of justice.  

The people would backslide, yet Yahweh never gives up on the sinner.  “For a brief moment I have abandoned you, but with great tenderness I will gather my people.  For a moment, in an outburst of anger, I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I have had mercy on you, says Yahweh, our Redeemer.” (Isaiah 54:7-8)

The disobedience continued; but Yahweh’s persistent love also prevailed. Then, one day Yahweh did the most unexpected and undreamed of action of all time.  Yahweh no longer spoke through signs, but through a Son, Jesus of Nazareth.

“God has spoken in the past to our ancestors through the prophets, in many different ways, although never completely; but in our times he has spoken definitively to us through his Son.”  (Hebrews 1:1-2)

What did the words and actions of Jesus reveal about who God is?

In his ministry, Jesus speaks of Yahweh in a very unusual way. He calls Yahweh: “Father.”  This is a radical idea since this invokes an intimate relationship with God, something akin to the relationship of father and child, and not king and subjects as the Jews were used to.  In fact, Jesus says that we should use the word “abba,” which is the way a little child endearingly calls its father.  Throughout his life, Jesus speaks and acts in a way which suggests a personal and intimate relationship with God as Father.

Jesus also reveals the Spirit of God which came down upon him during baptism.  He promises the Spirit to his disciples at the Last Supper, saying that the Father will send him, and that he (Jesus) himself will send him (John 14:16-17, 25; 15:26; 16:7-14).    But the Spirit is given only after Jesus has been glorified (John 7:39).  Then Jesus gives the Spirit on the day of the Resurrection to the disciples, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).  And in Pentecost, there is the outpouring of the Spirit to Mary and the disciples gathered in the upper room.

Through the words and actions of Jesus, the name of God has changed.  It is no longer “Yahweh,” (the God who will reveal who he is through the actions he will do for his people).  After God becomes man in the person of Jesus, and the sending of the Holy Spirit in Pentecost, God’s name is now: “Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

So what is the Holy Trinity?

Through his actions and words, we now know that God has a Son, who was with him in the beginning, and who was God like him.  It is this Son who became flesh and lived among us.  God does not only have a Son, but also a Spirit.  This Spirit is the one who pours out the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5).  


Can you tell us more about the Holy Spirit?  I don’t have a mental picture of the Holy Spirit, unlike the Father and the Son.

This Spirit is not the Father nor the Son but is sent by them both not as another spirit like an angel, but as their common Spirit, and thus God like them.  

The Spirit is first of all, a spirit and is a person.  He does not have a material body, and yet he is someone.  He is someone who performs spiritual functions, acts of the intellect, for example.  Christ said that the Spirit would lead the disciples to all the truth (John 16:12), that the Spirit would also bear witness regarding him (John 15:26), and would speak for the disciples when they faced the tribunals (Matthew 10:19-20).  

The Holy Spirit is Love in Person.  It is because he is Love in person that the Holy Spirit can pour forth into our hearts the love of God when he is given as gift to us. (Romans 5:5)

(My own mental picture of the Holy Spirit is a “spiritual presence” who is with me wherever I go).

So God changed his name from Yahweh to the Holy Trinity?

Yes, the name of God is now Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  It is in that name we are baptized.  We enter into the life of one God-Community of Persons.

In other words, the one God really exists as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  From all eternity God is a Trinity of Persons, but this truth was revealed only through the sending of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit.  So in God, there is one What and three Who’s. 


What is the implication of the Holy Trinity in my life?

The fact that now we are told by God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, that God is a communion of Persons bonded together by love, means that we human begins are called to live in a communion of love with each other.

Reference:


The two main sources used in this article are the Catechism of the Catholic Church (or CCC) and the book of Bishop Teodoro Bacani entitled From Yahweh to the Trinity (Manila: Gift of God Publications, undated).  In many parts of my article, I quoted complete sentences verbatim from Bishop Ted’s book without citing them in footnotes.  I am hoping that this citation will suffice in acknowledging his ideas).

Gospel:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might no perish but might have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might e saved through him.  Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

John 20:19-23 Pentecost (Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2014)

Gospel:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Gospel Trivia:

This gospel account for Pentecost Sunday does not jive with what we recall as the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.  It was supposed to have happened fifty days after the Resurrection when the disciples were gathered in the upper room. The latter account is actually this Sunday's SECOND reading (Acts 2:1-11).

Yet, in today's Gospel, Jesus breathes on the disciples and says, "Receive the Holy Spirit" and this took place on the night of Easter Sunday.

Is there a conflict in the recording of the events?  Or are these two events: one is the sending of the Holy Spirit right after the Resurrection (according to John's gospel), and another time when the disciples were in the upper room (according to the Acts of the Apostles, written by Luke)?

Biblical scholars interpret these as the same event, but reflect two different theological perspectives of the two authors.  (Recall that in last Sunday's gospel, we pointed that Matthew's account of the Ascension does NOT mention anything about Jesus ascending to heaven; and that is because of the different intended message of Matthew's gospel).

What, then, is John's intended message in his gospel account of the sending of the Holy Spirit?  There are three:

- The coming of the Holy Spirit marks a new creation.  Jesus BREATHES on the disciples as he says, "Receive the Holy Spirit."  The word used for "breathes" is reminiscent of the creation of humankind in Genesis: "The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and BLEW into his nostrils the BREATH of life, and so man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7).  Soon, Jesus will disappear physically; but his presence remains with the disciples through the Spirit that will guide them in their mission of proclaiming a new way of life and relationship with God.

- The Holy Spirit brings peace.  "Peace be with you" is the traditional Jewish greeting.  In this account, Jesus says this greeting twice; thus, the close association between the Spirit and the peace that it brings.

- The sending of the Holy Spirit coincides with the sending of the disciples.  "As the Father has sent me, so I send you," Jesus says.  The disciples' mission is a continuation of Jesus' mission and, and they will be accompanied by Jesus' continuing presence in the Spirit.  It will bring them sustenance and peace despite the travails and trials they will face.

Reference:

*Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Manila: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 255-259.

Matthew 28:16-20 - The Ascension (Ascension Sunday, June 1, 2014)

There is a major difference between Matthew's account of the Ascension compared to that of Mark and Luke.  In Matthew, there is no mention of Jesus being "taken up to heaven."  (John, on the other hand, does not have an Ascension account).

This is not an inconsistency of facts, but a difference in the message that Matthew wishes to emphasize in his gospel.  For Matthew, Jesus already "ascended" from the shame of his inglorious death when Jesus resurrected.  The key messages at the end of his gospel are now the following:  

1. Jesus comes TO his church - he is no longer present physically, and rather than emphasize His "going up to heaven", Matthew reassures the disciples that Jesus will continue to be present until the end of ages.

2. The disciples must continue the mission - Jesus commands them to GO, but also provides them the resources because "all the power in heaven and on earth" are now behind this command.

3. The mission consists of three things:

- it is to "all nations", not just to Jews and Israel;

- it is through the "baptism of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit", not through the Jewish circumcision;

- it is based on the "commands" of Jesus, and not just literally following the Mosaic laws (which the Pharisees have used to reduce righteousness to simply following rules and practices).

Other Trivia:

It is interesting that Matthew does not mention the mountain where Jesus meets his disciples for the last time.  The biblical "mountain" represents God's presence and revelation: it is in the mountain where Jesus conquers Satan during the temptation, where He preaches the sermon on the mount, and where He feeds the 5,000.

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Makati: St. Paul's Publications), pp. 256-258.

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Matthew 28:16-20

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”