MAY 26, 2008: MEMORIAL DAY HOMILY

In my culture, the dead are very much part of our lives. Even though we grief their passing away, continue to keep their memories fresh in our lives. We do this by giving their names to newly born children in the family; we bury them in our compounds to signify their ever presence with them. Whenever we look at their graves, we remember the time they spent with us and the wonderful influences they had in our lives.

Our celebration of Memorial Day is a reminder of the lives of the many men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. We also remember our loved ones who have died. In many parts of the world today, millions of people are living under political and economic bondage. There are people who are still enslaved today and there are those who have been denied the choice to make decisions for themselves. The government decides for them and usually this is not good for them. We have been so privileged in this country to have freedom. Our freedom did not come easy, it came at a great cost. It came about because many persons in this country decided to offer their whole lives for the service of country. We have our freedom because many men and women chose that fundamental principle “I am my neighbors keeper” and they were ready and willing to die that we might live in freedom. We must respect their generosity to our country. Their actions show the depth of their love for every one of us. Jesus Christ tells us, “no greater love than one has for his friend than to lay down his life for him.” This is what our men and women in the military did in the past for us and are continuing to do for us.

Our freedom is not freedom from God, but it is freedom for God. It should lead us to build a civilization of love around the world. President George Bush told us in 2003, “Freedom is not America’s gift to the world, it is God’s gift to the world.” It is the will of God that everyone in the world should live in freedom and peace. While most times we have to employ our military might to protect ourselves from our enemies or those who wish us harm, it is not always the answer. The answer is building a civilization of love everywhere in the world, so that in all the continents, the people may know the peace and freedom that has been offered by Jesus Christ.

The primary cause of the wars, ethnic violence and unrest in many parts of the world is as a result of poverty, illiteracy and disease. The rich dictators and political Lords in these regions use the most vulnerable members of the society to cause unrest for their own political or economic benefits. In order to live, the poor do all that they are led to do. It is very unfortunate because most of the victims are young people who should be the light into the future of these countries. The insecurity in these regions of the world, affects our own security. No amount of military power will bring us the security that we need. If we can build peace through a civilization of love throughout the world by aggressively ending poverty, disease and illiteracy, we can then enjoy the freedom that Christ has given to us.

Sunday April 20, 2008: Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12

In the gospel of John, Jesus Christ uses different imageries to describe himself. Last week, Jesus Christ told us in the gospel that he is the “Good shepherd” and also, that he is the “door.” In today’s gospel, he says to us, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” This revelation of Jesus to the people is important, given their pitiful situation. This revelation, assures a suffering people that they are making a right choice following him. At the very beginning of the gospel, he tells them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, you have faith in God; have faith also in me.” These words speak to the circumstances of many people in this country today. I don’t know about you, but when I look at all that is happening, my heart is troubled. My heart is troubled because I am afraid of the economy; my heart is troubled because I am not sure if before the beginning of the summer, we will be paying $5 a gallon at the pump; my heart is troubled because people I know are losing their jobs or benefits; my heart feels troubled because our soldiers are dying every day in Iraq and we haven’t got a solution yet to the problems in Iraq and most of the middle East; my heart is troubled because the cost of health care is going up and many people cannot afford health insurance and are dying in silence. There are many things to be worried about.
The words of Jesus in the gospel, are words that bring me peace of heart. These words calm my fears. It is the same words I want to share with you today, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” When we encounter fears in our lives, there are two things we can do: we either hope or despair. There is a voice always saying to us, “things cannot be better, they can only get worst.” This voice leads us to be so worried. We worry so much that the things we could have even done properly, we do them improperly. This voice tells you that Jesus cannot help you in your situation. You begin to ask, what is the essence of prayer? This voice is not from God. This is the voice of despair. There is also another voice, the voice we heard in the gospel of today, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.” This is the voice you need to listen to. It is the voice of hope; it is the voice of faith. Faith is what sees you through, during your times of tribulations. We listen to this voice because we can always count on God to be there for us. As St. Augustine tells us, “God is not a deceiver, that he should offer to support us, and then, when we lean upon Him, should slip away from us.” He always keeps to his promises and his promises are always of good and not of evil. Today’s gospel invites us to come and lean on Jesus with our troubled hearts. Why should we lean on him? Jesus tells us the reason in the gospel. He is “the way, the truth and the life.”

Jesus Christ is not just the one that shows us the way, he is himself “the way.” I know we men don’t like asking for directions. I must confess that I do not like asking for directions. The reason is because most times I do not trust the directions I will receive. My GPS even does not help either. Two weeks ago, I was celebrating Masses in Bluefield and Princeton, West Virginia. My navigation system was able to find the Church in Princeton on Saturday. On Sunday morning, it could neither found the church nor the street in which the church is located in Bluefield, West Virginia. It took two people giving me directions to get me to the church. I felt frustrated looking for the church that morning because I was running late. Supposing someone came to me at the time of the frustration and said to me, “you are looking for the way to the church? Don’t worry, I am that way. I will bring you right into the church.” I cannot imagine how peaceful I would have felt that morning. That is the offer Jesus Christ is giving us today. He is saying to you this morning, “ I am the way to your salvation; I am the way to your financial breakthrough in life; I am the way to your professional success; I am the way to peace in your family; I am the way to your academic success; I am the way to happiness in your life.” Don’t be afraid that he will not have resources for you. His resources are limitless. There are many mansions in his Father’s house, so there is enough for everyone.

We have a fundamental human craving for the truth. We desire to know the truth and sometimes we are afraid of hearing the truth. Pilate asked Jesus, “What is truth” The Truth was standing right in front of him and he will not acknowledge it. Many of the problems we face are as a result of someone failing in his or her own duty of truthfulness. Jesus Christ was crucified for being the Truth and it will take many more crucifixions for many of our problems to be solved. We are afraid of being persecuted for the Truth, and thus we work harder to be politically correct, than being what we stand for. I see the Church being crucified every day in the media for what she teaches and we as the people of God must embody the identity of our teacher – the Truth. We need to know the Truth in order to be able to walk in the way of the Lord. The Truth is Jesus Christ. We are not speaking of an intellectual knowledge of Jesus, but a total acceptance of Him as your redeemer and savior. When you do this, you will begin to see him more present in your life and you will be able to cast freely your burdens into his care.

Jesus Christ offered his life on the Cross of Calvary for us that we might not perish but have life. This is the greatest love one can show to his friend. Yet, St. Paul tells us that when he did this for us, we were still sinners. This is the most compelling reason why our hearts should not be troubled. It is always said that, “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” Jesus Christ has shown us that he is truly a friend. When we were in need of salvation, Christ offered his life for us, how much more the challenges of our earthly life? We can always trust that he will be there for us. All that is required of us is that faith in him. We need to let go and let him do his job. He is God and we are not.

I leave you with these words for the week, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.”

Luke 19: 1-10 (Tuesday, November 20, 2007)

Zacchaeus story is an invitation to stretch out to the Lord. He wants to encounter the living God and nothing will stop him from encountering Jesus. He does not let his height stop him; he doesn’t let the crowd stop him; he doesn’t let his riches stop him; he would not let his life of sinfulness stop him. All he wants is to see Jesus. He fought all barriers that would have stopped him from seeing Jesus and he was victorious. The moment he encountered Jesus, he received the gift of salvation. In our own lives too, sometimes we want to see Jesus but we cannot because of certain barriers: disease, family, poverty, wealth, our jobs, sin, etc. Like Zacchaeus, we must keep stretching, keep making efforts and we must overcome all these barriers and proclaim our victory. If we stretch hard enough, we will see Jesus and in his presence there is healing, joy, peace, happiness, and above all, the fullness of love.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, we want to see you. We want to be in your glory. Give us the courage and the power to overcome all that stand our way and prevent us from seeing you.

Malachi 3: 19-20a; 2Thessalonians 3: 7-12; Luke 21: 5-19 (Sunday, November 18, 2007 – 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Today’s readings point us to the things that would happen during the day of the Lord. We hear that they would be earthquakes, kingdoms divided, massive destructions, epidemics, wars and rumors of wars, false prophets, persecutions, etc. All these signs have been with us for more than 2000 years. The early followers of Jesus saw these signs and thought that the day of the Lord was almost at hand. St. Paul will tell the people of Corinthians who are not married to stay that way because it is useless to get married when God is almost here.

When Jesus spoke about the destruction of the temple in the gospel of today, the apostles were overwhelmed with fear. The destruction of the temple meant a lost of everything they have. The temple was the one most important thing for Jewish people. This means that they were going to be down to nothing. What they did not understand is that God is going to be up to something in their life. God made a promise to them, I will be with you and I will help you through all this time of suffering. Not even a hair in your head will be hurt. All I ask of you is perseverance and endurance, at the end you would be victorious. At the end, the “Son of Justice” is going to be up to something in their life and that would be the victory over evil as the first reading of today tells us.

Christians today like the early apostles are always afraid about issues of the last judgment. Some preachers read the signs of the time and argue that the day of the Lord has started. They even fix dates when it started. Hal Lindsay in 1970 wrote in his book, “Death of the Great Planet Earth” that, the day of the Lord started with the creation of the state of Israel. As Jesus tells us in the gospel, no one knows the time that this will come. The only motto for Christians should be “Always be ready.” I often ask people what they will do if they knew the Lord was coming tomorrow. I usually get interesting responses. Some will say they will spend the whole day in the church praying; others will say they will confess their sins and ask for forgiveness, for others, they will reconcile with all those they have wronged or who have wronged them. My response is that you don’t want to wait to know when the Lord will come before you begin to do these things. You have to start leaving your Christian life as you should, so that when the Lord comes he will find you doing the good work you always do.

Jesus does not delude his followers that their life would be easy. It would be a challenging life. They will be persecuted because they have chosen to follow him. The evil people would seem to be the ones that are succeeding and they will Lord it over the Christians. Christians would even be called to give testimonies. Jesus says, don’t worry about what you have to say. All Christians need is endurance. All they need is perseverance. If they endure and persevere, they would be victorious. The Cross is Christian victory. When all the battles are over, God is going to restore us to where we belong. We do not belong to this world. The “Son of Justice” will bring us healing from all our diseases that seem incurable; He will bring peace upon us; He will give us love and destroy all divisions. He will be the all in all of our lives.

Let us persevere. Let us endure. Let us not be afraid of the day of the Lord. In fact, let us anticipate it. Rather than bringing us destruction, it will bring us victory.

Luke 17: 20-25 (Thursday, November 15, 2007)

In the Lords prayer we pray, “thy kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven.” What do we pray for? We pray that the glory of the Lord shine upon this earth, as it is in heaven; we pray that the peace of the Lord reign upon this earth, as it is in heaven; we pray that the joy of the Lord radiate this earth, earth as it is in heaven. Jesus tells us in the gospel of today that the kingdom of God is among us. God’s kingdom is here, but we are not seeing it. It is here in the Eucharist we share; it is here in our brothers and sisters, members of the ecclesia. In fact, we are the kingdom of God today. We should not look at the kingdom of God as an ideological concept; as something out there. We should look at it as something here with us. We all have the responsibility of bringing that kingdom to other people. Whatever Christian thing that we do furthers the realization of that kingdom here on earth.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, through our lives and work, may your kingdom come upon this earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 9: 28b – 36 (Monday, August 6, 2007 – Transfiguration of the Lord)

Sometimes we wonder how heaven will look like. We look forward to seeing family members who have died. Unfortunately, I have not died and returned to tell the story of what heaven looks like, but fortunately, the scriptures is able to help us have a view of the experience of heaven. The experience of the transfiguration is an experience of heaven in its magnificence. Peter, James and John are able to have a glimpse of heaven – seeing the glory of the Lord. This experience which is beyond words is just so powerful that all Peter could say is, “Master, it is good that we are here.” Even though the apostles were terrified, they knew that is just where they want to be. They just want to stay forever in this presence of the Lord. Their clothes changing colors is merely a human way of describing the transformative moment of experiencing the glory of the Lord.

The presence of the Lord is where we all want to be. We all want to experience the glory of the Lord. Contemplating the scriptures daily is one of the most effective ways of being in the presence of the Lord. We should strive to be in that presence because in his presence, there is love, joy, peace, healing and forgiveness.

Prayer:
Lord, we just want to be in your presence. We want to experience your glory. Only you can bring us to that moment of transformation. We ask you to give us the spirit of patience and silence that we will daily contemplate your scriptures.