Christ the King (B)

My kingdom does not belong to this world.
(Jn 18:33b-37)

In a few weeks’ time we shall be celebrating Christmas. The prevailing mood of Christmas is one of joy. That is why Christmas carols are joyful. Is it any wonder that one Christmas carols goes this way? “Joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king.”
But we are so used to the joy of Christmas that we forget the possibility that the first Christmas was anything but joyful. Consider how desperate Joseph was looking for a place not for lodging but a place where Mary could give birth. In the end, Mary had to give birth in a place where no human ever gave birth—in a stable—because there was just no available space. A king born in a stable? Kings are born in palaces.

The King grew up in Nazareth, an insignificant place. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” was not just the opinion of Nathanael. It was a commonly held opinion. But kings do not grow up in obscure places. Prince William and Prince Harry certainly were not bundled off to one of the far-off islands of the United Kingdom.

At 30 years of age, the King became an NPA. No permanent address because he became an itinerant preacher. To one who wanted to follow him, Jesus said: “Foxes have lairs, birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” But kings are not homeless. They have palaces all over their kingdom. I heard one Filipino OFW who worked in Saudi Arabia. He was employed in the mainte-nance of the palaces of the Saudi King. He said that when the king was to stay in a particular palace, they had to go there a month ahead in order to prepare the palace for the king. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head.

At the age of 33, the King did not die peacefully in a royal bed. He did not die a glorious death while leading his army against the enemy. He died like hardened criminal—on the cross. When Pilate presented him as a king before the people, his crown was not of gold encrusted with precious jewels. It was a crown of thorns. His mantle was not made of ermine, trailing several feet long. It was the coarse mantle of a Roman soldier. His scepter was not made of gold either but was a reed with which the soldiers hit his head.

And when he died, he was buried in a tomb that was not his own. He was not born in his own home. He was not buried in his own grave.

If that was the end of the story, then the story of Jesus would have been a Greek tragedy. In a Greek tragedy the hero dies or is defeated at the end.

But the story of Jesus does not end with his death and burial. It continues with his resurrection and in fact, will go on until the end of time when Jesus returns as King of the Universe. The story of Jesus then is not a Greek tragedy, but a Greek comedy. In the Greek comedy, the hero is initially defeated but later recovers from his defeat to become victorious in the end. The ultimate victory of Jesus is what the Solemnity of Christ, the King, is all about.

But what does the victory of Jesus mean for us? The victory of Christ has some-thing in store for us for the future and for the present.

For the future. If we hold fast to Jesus, our story will also be a Greek comedy. No matter how bad, bleak or sad our past has been, no matter how terrible our pre-sent is, we know and sure what the future holds for us. We will rise to life and be with Jesus forever in heaven. And the ending of fairy tales will become a reality for us, “and they lived happily ever after.”

For the present. Because we are sure that in the end everything will turn out al-right, we are able face anything that life may throw at us. Consider this story. A man decided to bring his family to the countryside. He bought a farm which had been abandoned by its owner. The family was not thrilled by the change. One day they came to look at their future home. They entered the barn. There was fresh manure near the entrance. And they almost stepped on them. The reaction of everyone but the youngest was one of disgust. In contrast, the youngest got all excited and asked his dad, “Where’s the horse?”

Because we are sure that in the end everything will turn out alright, we are able to face anything that life may throw at us.

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory. (Mk 13:24-32)

"In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky.

The prediction by Jesus of the end of time (and with it, his second coming) and of the destruction of Jerusalem is so mixed up that sometimes it is difficult to know which prediction is about the destruction of Jerusalem and which one is about the end of time.

The other evangelists speak of the second coming as imminent. In fact, the destruction of Jerusalem seem to be the sign that it is about to happen. Luke, however, sets it at a later time after the destruction of Jerusalem which he calls the age of the gentiles.

The nearness of the second coming (Parousia, in Greek) was so widely believed among the early Christians that some of them stopped working. Why tire yourself when the end of time was just around the corner? The problem had become so pronounced that St. Paul had to write to the Thessalonians: “Let him who does not work, not eat.”

Nevertheless, Jesus insists that no one knows when the end of time will come: “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Hence, Jesus counsels vigilance.

The language used for the end of time is apocalyptic, that is, in terms of destruction of cosmic proportions Hence, Jesus speaks of fearful events involving the sun, the moon and the stars. For this reason fear is always associated with the end of time. This is unfortunate because the end of time is supposed to be a grand and glorious event as we read in the following verses.

And then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in the clouds' with great power and glory, and then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds.

I would compare the Parousia to a grand and solemn event as the coronation of a monarch or the swearing in of a President. I would compare the gathering of the elect to a happy event such as a graduation or the oath-taking of new nurses.

But that is not all. The Parousia will also usher in new heavens and a new earth. The old will pass away. Everything will be transformed because all creation will be perfected. Our own bodies will be changed. We call it the resurrection of the dead. What happened to the body of Jesus at his resurrection will also happen to our bodies at the resurrection of the dead.

LESSON

As I have said, the Parousia (Second Coming), th end of time, and the end of the world should not be met with fear and trembling. For these events promise us that there will be a happy tomorrow awaiting us. They assure us that there is something to look forward to. They are a guarantee that no matter what happens, everything will turn out alright. For these reasons, the Second Coming, the end of time and the end of the world should be met with joyful expectation. They should give us hope.

We need hope. Without hope, it is impossible to survive.

During World War II, Viktor Frankl witnessed many prisoners rush to their death by purposely getting entangled in the electrified fence. These prisoners saw no end to their suffering. They gave up the possibility of being freed. They had lost hope.

A newspaper carried the report of a terminally-ill cancer patient leap out of the window of a government hospital. She couldn’t bear the pain anymore. She saw no chance of recovery. She had lost hope.

Filipino seamen were recently involved in mishap. Their ship sank in the cold waters of the Atlantic. Since not all of the survivors could fit in the life boats, some had to stay in the water while holding on to the side of the raft. One of them grew tired and told one of his companions who was on the raft that he could not longer hold on. This companion kept encouraging him. Later he told his companion who was on the raft: “Tell my wife and children that I love them.” And he let go. He had lost hope.

We need hope. Without hope, it is impossible to survive.

Let me share with you two quotes that have helped me go on when things turn out bad. They have helped me go on. They gave me hope.

1. God will not lead you where his grace can not keep you.
2. This too shall pass.

God will not lead you where his grace can not keep you. If God allowed this to happen to me, it is because he knows I can handle it. Why I should I despair? Why should I lose hope?

This too shall pass. This trial, this difficulty will not go on forever. Someday it will end. If I hold on long enough, I will survive. Therefore, why should give up? Why despair? Why lose hope?

Two frogs fell into a can of milk. The opening was too high. If the milk was solid, it would only take one jump for them to get out. But the milk was liquid. They kept on swimming, trying to think on how to get out. But after a while one frog gave up. There was no way out. He stopped swimming and drowned. But the other kept on swimming. “There must be a way out,” he kept on telling himself. And sure enough after hours of treading on the milk, the milk turned into butter. With a single bound, it leapt out of the can.

We need hope. Without hope, it is impossible to survive.

32 Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

This poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. (Mk 12:38-44)

A poor widow also came and put in two small coins.

The two small coins are called lepton in Greek. The lepton is the smallest denomination. The widow, therefore, was really poor.

It is also interesting to note that in Israel there are two kinds of persons that are often in dire straits: orphans and widows.

I remember a saying that goes this way: Give until it hurts. It hurt the widow to give even such a small sum.

What is Jesus teaching us today?

What value is he reminding us? I believe Jesus invites us to be generous with God, to be "bukas-palad" (literally, open hands). Nay, he is inviting us not only to be ready to give our "things" to him but more than that to surrender ourselves completely to him.

This reminds me of someone who said that the ability to give (and generosity for that matter) is a sign of maturity whereas selfishness is a sign of immaturity. To bring his point across he pointed to the baby. The baby is selfishness personified. When it is hungry, it will wail and won't stop until it is fed. Never mind that it's parents are tired and fast asleep. When it needs a change of diaper, it will cry its lungs out until its diaper is changed. It expects everyone to be at its beck and call. Notice the hands of the baby. They're closed. Its hands symbolize it's "selfishness".

But the baby's hands do not remain closed. As it grows older, its hands gradually open up. And that should be the natural development of human beings, too--from selfishness and self-centeredness to generosity and the ability to care for another.

How generous does God expect us to be? What degree of self-surrender does God demand from his disciples?

I remember many, many years ago I attended a retreat. Our retreat master was involved in the charismatic renewal. In the evenings he invited us to what we call now LSS (Life in the Spirit Seminar). The night before the last night of the retreat he invited us to undergo the baptism in the Holy Spirit (which others prefer to call release of the Holy Spirit in order to avoid confusing it with the Sacrament of Baptism). But he said that there was a very important requirement. We must be able to surrender ourselves completely to God. Concretely, he said we must be able to tell God and mean it: "Lord, if you want strike me blind now I am ready."

An advertisement for a bed says: I want 1/3 of your life. Jesus is not satisfied with that. He says: "I want 100% of you." Are we ready to give him that?

31th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Which is the first of all the commandments? (Mk 12:28b-34)

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"

For the devout Jew all the commandments were to be kept with equal care, but there is evidence of preoccupation in Jewish sources with the question put to Jesus. Hillel summarized the whole law thus: “What you hate for yourself do not do to your neighbor. This is the whole law. The rest is commentary. Go and Learn.” Akiba had already taught: “Love your neighbor as yourself. This is the greatest, general principle of the Law.” Simon the Righteous for his part says: “On three things the world stands – on the Law, on the worship, and on the works of love.”

Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!” is the shema. It is the imperative of the verb “to hear”. It is the first word of the sentence. The shema is the creed of Judaism.

Islam has a counterpart, the Shahadah: “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God.”

“With all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” The love of God must engage the total person. This implies that our love for God can not be like that of platonic friendship, without feeling and without passion. Our feelings are important too because our feelings are part of us. And when I say feelings, I don’t mean sentimentality. To illustrate. St. Polycarp was a disciple of St. John. In his old age he was arrested and brought before the judge. This was the exchange between them. But when the magistrate pressed him hard and said, "Swear the oath, and I will release you; revile the Christ," Polycarp said, "Eighty-six years have I been His servant, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" There is feeling and passion here, but no sentimentality.

The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."

Jesus goes beyond the extent of the question put to him. To the greatest and the first commandment he joins a second, that of love of neighbor (Lev 19:18). In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus explains what he meant by neighbor, that is, anyone who is in need even if he were an enemy is a neighbor and should be helped.

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘And 'to love him with all your heart….and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Parable of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite did not come near the victim for fear that he might be dead. If they touched him, they would be rendered unclean and therefore would not be able to perform their duty of offering sacrifice and burnt offerings. But Jesus agres with the scribe when he says that it was more important to take care of the victim than worry about being unable to offer the temple sacrifices due to uncleanness.

Conclusion

For many it is perhaps easier to love God than a fellowman. After all, God doesn't step on your toes or irritate you with bad breath or body odor. It is perhaps why St. John considers the love of neighbor as the acid test for love of God. He says: “If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1Jn 4:20)