Sunday, August 31, 2008: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27

A few weeks ago, I met a successful business man in Ohio who had decided to sell his business and devote his life fully to doing God’s work. He felt God calling him to ministry. His family could not make any sense of this. They thought he was crazy. As I listened to his story, I remembered my own experience when I was discerning my vocation to the priesthood. Some of my family members who today are very supportive of my vocation tried to convince me not to follow this path. They reminded me of my dream of being a medical doctor. They also told me how I could save many human lives as a doctor. At the time, they could not understand why I will chose to become a priest rather than a medical doctor. They thought they were doing me a favor by offering their strong advices against my decision. They were doing what they did because they loved me and they wanted to protect me from any future frustrations choosing a very difficult and less “rewarding” vocation.


St. Paul in today’s second reading warns us not to conform ourselves to this age but to discern the will of God in our lives. The will of God for our lives is not always rosy and so when we compare it to the wisdom of this age, we will think it is foolish. Neither the family of the Ohio business man nor some members of my own family understood what the will of God was for me. Their discernment was the wisdom of this age and not the wisdom of God. St. Peter in today’s gospel fell into the same trap. In the gospel last week, he professed Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God. Jesus told him that it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to him but the Father in heaven. It is obvious that this profession was not the wisdom of Peter; it was the revelation of God. This is clear in today’s gospel. He doesn’t understand the true kingship or the Messianic role of Jesus. His understanding of it is solely in human thinking. He calls Jesus Christ aside and tries to advice him against the way of the Cross. At this point, Peter takes on the role of the tempter, offering Jesus Christ a different path. Peter is persuading him not to follow the true path, which is the way of the Cross. He is offering him an easy way. He does this because he loves Jesus and wants to protect him. There is a strong message here for every one of us. Your tempter might be the person who loves you the most. Satan will use your closest friends and the people you love to tempt you. In this case, it was Peter. In your case, it might be your spouse, your child, and your boss at work or a close co-worker. Always keep your eyes open when you are called to a different path apart from the one you think God has called you to. Do not assume that because this is from someone I love, it must be the right path. Also, we need to careful how we offer people different paths. While we have a responsibility to make sure family members are making good Christian decisions, don’t always respond with your head but give strong prayerful considerations and careful discernment before you offer the person a different path.


Jesus tells Peter to get behind him. Origen one of the Father’s of the church suggests that this means, He (Jesus) is leading the way and not Peter. This makes sense. Peter is not the way to the Father. It is Jesus Christ. He has no authority to show Jesus Christ the true way. We must always keep this in mind in our own lives. We are not leading the way. Jesus Christ is leading the way. This means, we must always ask him to show us the way that we might follow. His way is not always rosy. His way is the way of the Cross. We too must take up our crosses and follow him on this way. If we follow this way, we may never go astray and this way will lead us to eternal life with him in heaven.

Sunday August 24, 2008: Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20

I have never been a Muslim and have no intentions of becoming one. However, I love studying Islam. Having grown up in a small town with a sizeable amount of Muslims, I came to know about the religion and some of their rituals. When I went off to college, I took classes in Islam and enjoyed every bit of them. I became very much interested in Islam and its relationship with Christianity. One of my major graduate papers was on Muslim – Christian relations. After graduate school, I have continued to research on Islam. I consider myself to be very knowledgeable about Islam and Mohammed, yet I have no personal knowledge of Islam or Mohammed. My knowledge of Islam and Mohammed is what I have read in the books and have learnt from Muslim friends and neighbors. I cannot make any faith claims based on this kind of knowledge.


The first question posed by Jesus Christ to his Apostles needed a response from the head. They needed to tell Jesus Christ what is out there about him. What they have learnt from people about him. The response to the first question is very easy. I can give that kind of response about Islam. The second question, “Who do you say that I am?” is the more challenging question and this is personal. It requires a deep faith. In the context of Islam, I cannot answer such a question. It is a question that moves us from the head to the heart. Christianity is not knowing about Jesus Christ, but, it is, knowing Jesus Christ personally. It is a heart to heart relationship with Jesus Christ. This knowledge of Jesus is life-changing. It changes not only our faith lives but it also changes our whole worldview. You no longer look at Jesus Christ as a nice guy, a good man, a humble person, even though he has these virtues, but you will look at him as truly what he is to you, a personal savior. There is a movement from the general to the particular. He is no longer a healer, but my healer; no longer a redeemer, but my redeemer; he is no longer the great provider, but my great provider. He becomes 100% personal and this influences how you look at the whole of your reality.


This personal knowledge of Jesus leads us to our personal freedom. You will find out how comfortable and relax you are in his presence. You would begin to see yourself no longer as a slave but a rightful son or daughter of God, fully adopted and with full rights and privileges and you dine with him not as a servant but as a co-heir. This enables you to freely share with him all your joys and sorrows, your happiness and pains, your successes and failures and you can freely ask him to help you with your challenges. You will find out that you are always in the “moment” with him and you can proceed into the future without any fears because you are confident that he will care for you.


Knowing Jesus Christ personally helps us to live out fully God’s will for our lives. The bible, the rituals of the church and the teachings of the church can only give us tools to know Jesus Christ. They do not replace our relationship with Jesus Christ. You need to know Jesus personally in order for you to know what he wants you to do. That is the only way you can be a good Christian. You need to discern God’s will for you daily. It will be a mistake to think that you know all that God wants you to do. You need a personal relationship with him to be able to discern his mission for you.


The gospel this week challenges us to go and build a relationship with Jesus Christ. We know Jesus by reading our bible; we know Jesus by being with his family every Sunday; we know Jesus by praying. Let us use all these tools he has given to us to establish a solid relationship with him. If you have never asked yourself before, spend some time this week and ask yourself, “Who is Jesus Christ to me?” Continue to ask him until he answers you. You will be surprised what you will hear and how that will change your life.

Sunday August 17, 2008: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7; Romans 11:13-15, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28

The story of the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel reminds me of the story of one of my favorite movies John Q starred by my all time favorite actor, Denzel Washington. John Q’s son needs an organ transplant and his insurance will not cover it. John Q doesn’t have the money to pay in order for the child to get on the list of those waiting for an organ. When all attempts to persuade the hospital failed, he decided to hold everyone in the hospital hostage. At some point, he is so desperate that he decides to take away his own life so that the son will live. The woman in today’s gospel was so desperate and was willing to take all insult in order for her daughter to be healed. She first was ignored, then was told she is an outsider and if that was not enough, Jesus Christ called her a “dog” a very negative association. This will not necessarily be our expectation of Jesus Christ. This Jesus looks mean and unkind towards this woman who is in great need. Some scholars have tried to argue that Jesus’ use of the word “dog” for her was not derogatory because the kind of dog Jesus was referring to was a pet. This kind of interpretation misses the point that Jesus Christ is trying to communicate in this encounter. This is a teaching moment for Jesus Christ. He uses this incident to teach the woman humility and persistence and to teach the apostles about faith and to introduce them to a universal mission.

When this woman called on Jesus, she was first ignored. Jesus Christ did not ignore her because he did not care about her. Jesus knew her heart and was going to minister to her. St. Augustine tells us that this woman was not ignored so that mercy will be denied but that desire will be enkindled and not only that but also so that humility will be praised. If Jesus Christ had immediately responded to her and give her what she wanted, her great value would have been diminished. Jesus Christ stretched her and pulled her from her safe zone. Her persistence shows her great desire. There is a difference between the actions of Jesus and that of the apostles who wanted to get rid of her. She was a nuisance to them. Jesus Christ on the other hand wanted to engage her and bring out the value in her, which is her great faith. While the poor need our handouts, they treasure most our engagement with them and entering into their world. I personally don’t just enjoy handing out money to beggars on the street. I try to engage them. Unlike the Canaanite woman in today’s gospel, sometimes the beggars walk away from me because they feel like if I am interrogating them. While I will want to help, I am not ready to feed their alcohol or drug addictions either. The woman in today’s gospel was very sincere about the help she needed. This encounter of need teaches humility. We can say this woman was a humble woman. She was willing to accept all insults for the sake of her daughter.

Jesus Christ credits this woman great faith. In last week gospel, Jesus Christ described Peter as man of “little faith.” In today’s gospel, “great faith” is credited to this woman. What the Jewish Peter did not have, the gentile woman had. This will not be the last time Jesus will credit a gentile with great faith and it will not be the last time he will refer to his closest Jewish followers as having little faith. This woman stands as a model of faith not only to the apostles who wanted to get rid of her but also to all of us Christians. It is unimaginable that a Canaanite woman would be set as a model by Jesus Christ for his disciples. Canaanites were enemies of Israel and in Exodus 23:23, God even called for the extermination of the Canaanites together with the Amorites, the Hittites, etc. Jews were not to associate with them in anyway. Here, Jesus Christ is not only associating with her, but he is presenting his faith to us as a model of true faith.

This woman is also an example of Jesus Christ’s outreach to the gentiles, his universal mission. Although Jesus Christ came for the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he understands his mission as having a more universal significance – Israel here being those that believe in him. The first reading of today echoes that sentiment. The saved are not only the people of the Old Israel but also the new Israel which will comprise of a lot of foreigners would also be saved if they keep the covenant of God. That Covenant now is Christ. It is not given in Sinai but it is given in the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and we enter into it through baptism. The story in today’s gospel comes between two feeding accounts. The first feeding account is in Matthew 14 where Jesus feeds 5000 and the second account is in Matthew 15 where Jesus Christ feeds 4000. Some scholars have argued that the second account and the first are a repetition of the same account. I do not accept this reading because the second account has a nuance that is not in the first account. The second account is a symbolic representation of the gentile mission. In the second account, the initiative to feed these 4000 is that of Jesus. Since Jesus Christ performed this miracle in Galilee and for Matthew Galilee is made up of Gentiles, it will be proper to understand this account of Jesus’ feeding of 4000 gentiles. These are the people that Jews were not to associate with. Jesus is opening up a new outreach to them. Since food sustains life, Jesus Christ is offering them not only earthly life but also is interested in their salvation. These outsiders, foreigners, the undeserved of salvation, etc. are being ministered to by Jesus Christ. He commands in Matthew 28:19 that as his apostles, we need to go out and minister to these people.

We all have people we consider outsiders. They are either outsiders because of their moral problems, religious affiliations, political leanings, ethnic background, color of their skin or choices. These outsiders may be family members, friends, co-workers or even members of our community. We do not treat them as one of us. Jesus Christ invites us to reach out to these “outsiders.” We have made them outsiders for too long. Jesus Christ made the woman in today’s gospel an outsider but he brought her right back in. Those people we have made outsiders, we are challenged by Jesus Christ today to go and bring them back inside.

Thursday May 15, 2008: James 2:1-9; Mark 8:27-33

The great questioned posed to the Apostles by Jesus is, “Who do you say that I am?” It is the same question Jesus asks every one of us today. Who is Jesus Christ to you? Is he some nice great guy that once lived in this world? Is he one of the great prophets that lived? Who is he to you? Have you ever asked yourself this question? It is an important question every Christian should honestly try to answer. If we do not know who Jesus Christ is to us personally, it would be difficult to develop a concrete relationship of love with him. If you do not know your spouse, how can you build a long life relationship with him? For me, Jesus Christ is a brother, a friend and redeemer. I can always count on him being there for me through both difficult and easy times; joyful and sorrowful times. I can count on him to lay down his life again for me any moment and any time. I will not hesitate to do same for him.

Who is Jesus Christ to you? Can you give of your life for him?

Matthew 16: 13-23 (Thursday, August 9, 2007)

Who do you say that I am? Who is Jesus Christ to you? This is a very important question every Christian must sincerely answer. Peter’s response to Jesus is not an intellectual response derived from scholarly studies. Peter’s response is that of faith revealed to him by God. That is the reason Jesus says to him, “It is not flesh and blood that has revealed this to you.” Given our knowledge of the Christian faith, it would be easy to give such responses as “the messiah, the savior, the redeemer, the Son of God, etc.” We have learnt all these titles of Jesus in our Catechism or in the Bible. This is important knowledge. However, do you truly believe that Jesus is your savior? That He is your redeemer? When faced with challenges and difficulties, do you call upon him as your savior? When sick, do you truthfully invite him as the greatest healer? Until you truly understand who Jesus is for you, you can never know his plans for your life. It was after Peter’s confession that he started revealing to them his plans for the journey to Jerusalem and the subsequent persecutions.

I want to invite you to spend some time today and sincerely ask yourself who Jesus is to you. Acknowledge his presence and let him reveal his plans for you.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, you have revealed yourself to us in the scriptures as the Son of God, the Messiah and the redeemer. It is difficult for us some times to claim you in our lives. We want to invite you to reveal yourself once more to us and help us to know your plan for us. We absolutely believe that your plan for us is of good. We want to live according to your plan.