Mark 13:33-37 - First Sunday of Advent (November 30, 2014)

Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. 

It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. 

Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’ ” 

Gospel Trivia:

The central character in the parable is the doorkeeper.  While it mentions that there are other servants with their assigned tasks, only the task of the doorkeeper is stated: to be on the watch.

In biblical times, a house is separated from the road by a walled courtyard, and there are common cases where there are more than one house protected by the courtyard.  In such cases, a doorkeeper is necessary either to open the door when the master comes late at night, or to protect against robbers.  

The key responsibility of the doorkeeper is to be watchful.  Watchfulness is mentioned three times in this very short parable -- in the beginning, middle and end.

The "master of the house" is a common reference to Jesus.  This could only be an allusion to Jesus' ascension and long absence.  The other "servants" refer to the disciples engaged in their work of spreading the message of Jesus to other communities.

It is likely that there may have been occasions when Christians expected the return of Jesus to be much sooner, and some were likely anxious of when this event would take place.  To these people, the message of Mark is to be watchful for no one knows the hour of his return, and to continue to the mission of spreading the gospel.

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1987), pp. 11-13.

Matthew 25:31-46 - Feast of Christ the King (Last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, November 23, 2014)

Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, in whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’

Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’

And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Gospel Trivia:

Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and the year ends with the proclamation of Christ as King.  All of creation and history have one destination -- the Kingdom of God, where God reigns as king. 

Matthew provides the criteria for which all men will be judged.  Note the use of the phrase "all the nations" indicates that the criteria are not only for the disciples and the believers, but include pagans and unbelievers.  It applies to everyone, suggesting therefore that the Kingdom of God welcomes everyone, provided they pass the criteria.

And the criteria are simple and basic: Did you feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, welcome a stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the prisoner?

The criteria do not mention: converting a multitude to the faith, donating huge sums to the Church, publishing volumes of theological books, achieving awards which recognize religious efforts, nor even living an extraordinary saintly life.  

The criterion is simply, did you at least extend the simplest care for those who needed your care?  It is not a big deal; it simply asks, did you at least give a glass of water?

The gospel also suggests that the Kingdom is not reserved for Catholics and saints, but to all men and women of goodwill.

Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Parables for Today (Makati: St. Paul's Publications, 1987), pp. 128-132.

Matthew 25:14-30 - Parable of the Talents (33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 16, 2014)

Gospel:

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one – to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

Immediately, the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter. So out of fear, I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’ ”

Gospel Trivia:

Today's gospel is NOT about being industrious, nor about being hardworking, and nor about never playing it safe. 

In understanding this parable, we should note the following:

- Jesus was telling this parable to his disciples, but he was targeting the Pharisees and scribes, who were the expert in the numerous laws of Moses (613 totally) and how each should be interpreted.  The scribes and Pharisees intentionally made the laws complicated to provide them undue advantage, especially since very few (estimated at less than 5%) of the Jews could read and write.

- The third servant symbolized the scribes and Pharisees, with their narrow and rigid exclusivity, who had kept for themselves the treasure of the Law.  Instead of the laws being used to help guide Jews live good lives, it was instead use to provide importance and status to those who can interpret the laws.  More seriously, Jesus was against reducing one's faith to merely following the letter of the law and being able to navigate its complexity.

- Matthew, among the four evangelists, is particularly against the scribes and Pharisees.  This same parable also appears in the gospel of Luke, but Luke uses "pounds" instead of talents, and the latter are sixty times more valuable than a pound; suggesting that the impact of the offense of the third servant is that more serious.

- the words "demanding person" is a perception of God by the Pharisees, but Jesus' message is that God is like our father; in fact, the master rewards over-generously by inviting them to eat with him (the meaning of "share your master's joy).

This is the message of the gospel: woe to the Pharisees who have taken advantage of their knowledge of the law and misappropriated it only to themselves.

John 2:13-22 - Jesus Gets Angry in the Temple (32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, November 9, 2014)

Gospel:

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there.

He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

At this the Jews said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?”

But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.

Gospel Trivia:

The following context would help us understand this gospel passage better:

- This happened just before Passover, and during this time, Jews from all over Israel would make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to visit the temple.  When visiting the temple, a pious Jew would offer a sacrifice (ox or sheep if you were rich, and doves if you were poor).

- The priests in the temple would "corner the market" by requiring that they or their representative vet the sacrifice to make sure that the offering is "unblemished" or fit for offering; for a fee, of course.  The animal had to be bought using "temple money"; which means they also made money on the exchange from local money to temple money.

- The above were what caused Jesus anger because:

a. the Jews have reduced temple worship to the ritual of offering animal sacrifices (instead of real conversion of the heart), and

b. the priests, who were supposed to lead the people to holiness, made a profitable business out of this practice

It should be noted that the temple incident appears in all four gospels.  But, in Matthew, Mark and Luke, this incident happens towards the end of Jesus' ministry, right before Passion week.  In John, it appears in the beginning of his ministry.

Which is sequence is correct?  There are a good number of biblical scholars who defend each position, so it is hard to say.  Suffice it to say that, whether John's version is correct or not, John had a specific purpose in deliberately putting this incident at the beginning of Jesus' ministry.

Those who defend this position say that, at the outset, John's theology wanted to establish the end of the Jewish mindset which equated being righteous before God with simply following a set of rules and laws, without the requisite internal conversion required for authentic love.

The Jewish temple rites are now replaced with the worship of Jesus (his body now being the temple) by his community in the breaking of the bread.

Finally, a comment on the verse: "He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables."

Does this suggest that Jesus used violence against the money changers, and that such violence is justified?  A more careful analysis of the Greek text by some biblical scholars indicate that a more accurate translation of the verse is:

"... he drove them all, namely the sheep and the oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers..."


Reference:

- Nil Guillemette, SJ, Hungry No More (Manila: St. Paul's Publications, 1989), pp. 41-47.

John 6:37-40: All Soul's Day (November 2, 2014) What are Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory?

Gospel:

Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Gospel Trivia:

As it is All Soul's Day, this article will present explanations to better understand the notions of "heaven", "hell" and "purgatory."  These explanations are based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) and the Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC).

As Christians, we firmly believe that life does not end in death; that there is a reality after death.  Unfortunately, no one has returned from the world after death to tell us all about it.  We have a rough idea of what awaits us through the Resurrection of Jesus.  I say a "rough idea" because Jesus' disciples did not have a video camera at that time, but the gospels provide us clues as to what happened to Jesus after his death.

What happened in the Resurrection?

The Resurrection of Jesus is not just a resuscitation (as in the case of Lazarus, who eventually died), but that of transformation (Jesus lives forever).  Resurrection refers not only 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 recounts that “the doors were locked” (stated twice, in fact); 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 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.  

I’m afraid that is as much as we can know about Jesus Resurrected presence.  But one thing we do know: Jesus was not just resuscitated; he was transformed to a glorious presence.


The closest analogy I can think of is that of a caterpillar that is transformed to a butterfly. It dies as a caterpillar and transforms to something totally new.

Heaven

Since we are creatures bound by time and place, we often think of heaven as a "place."  We imagine heaven as something out there, filled with clouds and perhaps angels singing and playing the harp.  

I believe this is such a limited view of what heaven could be. Scripture encourages us to extend our imagination and think of heaven as:

- instead of a place, a condition of being with the Lord (CFC 2068), or as the beatific vision, i.e. the vision that makes happy (CFC 2069);

- an eternal life, not in the simplistic sense of survival and living forever, but a new quality of life that we cannot even imagine; Scripture can only describe such a life in images that connotes and connects with what is dearest and most joyful to us, such as: a kingdom where God reigns, wedding feast, a new heaven and new earth, a perpetual light.  (CFC 2063, 2065)

This mystery of a condition of being with God is beyond all understanding (CCC 1027).  "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Cor 2:9).

Because we communicate in human language, we are necessarily limited by the words and images we used.  We should therefore be conscious that the words that we use to describe "heaven" are, at most, feeble attempts to describe what it could really be.  

For example, when we say that heaven is where we see God face to face, we do not mean that we would be inches away from God's face. It suggests that if God is the powerful loving and merciful Father revealed to us by Scripture, then being intimately close to him must be such a special and overwhelming experience which would last for a long, long time.

I recall when I first saw Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.  We were a good 50 meters away from him, but just seeing this man who is so close to God and whose holiness is almost palpable, filled me with awe, inspiration, a sense of humility, and realization of goodness in this world -- all rolled into one ball of such wonderful feeling.  Can you then imagine what it would be like when we "see God"? 

Hell

If heaven is a condition of being with God, then hell would be where God is totally absent.  If God is absolute and unconditional love, then hell is the absolute absence of love.  

God does not send someone to hell, for how can a loving God send his most loved creature to eternal fire?  God loves freely, and our Father loves so freely that he allows us to reject that love.  If someone chooses to live a self-serving, self-centered life that results in ultimate irrevocable self-exclusion from God and from all other creatures, then that person himself/herself chooses to go to hell.  

The fundamental choice that this person has taken in his/her life is a total rejection of God and of a life filled with love.  Thus, upon death, God allows that person to be where that person prefers to be -- in hell.

I mentioned above "eternal fire".  Again, this is a product of our limited language and imagery.  No one knows that hell is filled with fire, but fire is a symbol of being consumed; so hell is a condition of one being totally consumed by one's self.

Finally, note that while the Church proclaims saints, that is, those that she is certain is definitely in heaven, our Church does not proclaim anyone to be definitely in hell. We do not judge, and we always leave room for the mercy of God.

Purgatory

Scripture provides only scant hints of purgatory, e.g. in 1 Corinthians 3:15: "He himself will be saved, but only ... through fire."  However, much of human tradition -- whether Christian or not -- have always included a "connection" with one's dearly departed in a condition that is neither heaven nor hell.  Ancient liturgical practices have also always included offering prayers for the dead.

Finally, the Council of Trent (mid-16th century), proclaimed the doctrine of purgatory and defined it as the "state of final purification." (CFC 2072)

We do not know exactly what, where, or how purgatory is (just as we do not know exactly what, where, or how heaven or hell is), but there is a condition that is neither heaven nor hell, and where one undergoes a purification prior to the condition of heaven.  

This doctrine was intended to achieve two things:

- to MODERATE the teaching of final judgment, i.e. to calm excessive anxiety among those who lived very generous and loving lives (CFC 2072).  In other words, "Do not be anxious if you make a mistake or two in your generally good life; you will not lose heaven, but you will have to undergo purification."

- but also to STRENGTHEN the teaching on final judgment, i.e. to gain heaven does not simply require a passing mark ("pwede na"), but a radical and total obedience to Jesus's command to love one another "AS I have loved you."  In other words, "Do not think you can just coast through life, avoiding major transgressions, and be qualified to experience heaven; if so, then there is still a final purification that you have to go through."