Burning Hope

 

Lenten Reflection #17

 

“We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” – Psalm 33:20

 

A couple of days ago, I heard the phrase “burned by hope” for the first time. The term was new to me, but the meaning was familiar. You start with so much hope for your plans and your dreams only to be disappointed, frustrated and depressed when they don’t happen or don’t happen when you want them to. You end up not wanting to hope in anything anymore. My heart bled for those who have been burned by hope, me included.

 

Then it bled some more for Little James in my to-watch Jesus story yesterday. In The Chosen, he is portrayed by Jordan Walker Ross who is handicapped in real life. His having a limp was woven into the story including the fact that complete healing cannot happen. When Jesus sent the apostles two by two with the ability to heal the sick and lame, Little James wrestled with his emotions – anger, bitterness, resentment. Jesus had not healed him, but he was being asked to heal others.  

 

Jesus answered: “But think of the story that you have, especially in this journey to come if I don’t heal you, to know how to proclaim that you still praise God in spite of this; to know how to focus on all that matters so much more than the body; to show people that you can be patient with your suffering here on earth because you know you’ll spend eternity with no suffering…So many people need healing in order to believe in me, that doesn’t apply to you. MANY ARE HEALED OR NOT HEALED BECAUSE THE FATHER IN HEAVEN HAS A PLAN FOR THEM WHICH MAY BE A MYSTERY…when you discover yourself finding true strength because of your weakness and when you do great things in my name in spite of this, the impact will last for generations.”

 

That made quite an impact as many viewers who have not been healed and whose prayers have not been answered saw themselves in that scene.  

 

In the Aftershow, Jordan explained how he connected to Little James: “I’m a big believer that if anyone has anything they perceive as a weakness can find a way to use that as a strength and use it to inspire or uplift other people…it helped me to be more loving and accepting of who I am.”

 

But dashed hopes need not burn us. This morning, as I listened to the talks in Rise, The Feast Alabang’s Holy Week Recollection, my hope for the hopeless was rekindled and kept burning by these:

1.   1. The winds of adversity cannot break us if we bend like the palm tree.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree” – Psalm 92:12

2.   2. Just say “Yes” to Jesus. His grace will be enough to change your situation.

3.   3. We may not be in control of our situation, but we have a God who is.

 

And as we sang “Even Now” during worship, unbidden tears of hope and supplication trickled down to my face mask as I sent a mental hug to all those who have been burned by hope and to the Little Jameses of this world.

 

Even now when my hope is gone
Even now when there seems no way
Lord, I know You can do all things
You can roll the stone away
Raise me even on the fourth day…

 

References:      The Chosen Season 3 Episode 2 – “Two by Two”

                        The Chosen Aftershow S3 E2

                        Rise, The Feast Alabang’s Holy Week Recollection

                        “Even Now” by Veia Lim Viñas & Vernon Lim for Feast Worship

Do Not Be Anxious

 

Lenten Reflection #16

 

 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life…” – Matthew 6:25

 

John the Baptist: “In all that He said to those thousands of people, there was something just for you…for what you are going through. What was it? Something that stuck with you.”

 

Andrew: “Don’t be anxious.”

 

Andrew was me as I faced anxieties brought by our new situation at home. My 92-year old Papa’s yaya had to leave to attend to her own family. My elder son and I have to cope with taking care of Papa and doing the housework. I also have to contend with the expenses, documentation and dealing with government agencies related to some property matters. I was afraid the stress would trigger another amnesia episode like the one I had at the beginning of the pandemic.

 

It was timely that the Jesus story I watched was The Chosen’s “Homecoming” about the Sermon on the Mount. The conversation above happened when Andrew visited John in Herod’s dungeons. And just like Andrew, “Do not be anxious” was a bullseye for me.

 

Timelier still was that the Didache reflection for today was my own. It was about our family’s trials during the Christmas season of 2021. Let me share it here:

 

Many times, what we need to banish our anxieties is a reminder of how God had taken care of us in the past.  I remembered during that time what calmed me down was the vision of Jesus walking before me, beside me and behind me.

 

 

Reference:       The Chosen Season 3 Episode 1 – “Homecoming”

Refocus on God with a Capital G

 

Lenten Reflection #15

When Jesus saw him lying there and was aware that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to get well?” – John 5:6

It’s been several days since I wrote my last reflection because my time has been consumed by other gods. By other gods, I don’t mean they’re all bad just “anything other than God” as Fr. Cris Cellan said in his homily several days ago.  The only god I’d categorize under bad would be the one who only collects estate taxes from small fry like us and leaves 203 billion uncollected (sorry my pocket just had to rant about that). In short, it’s been a hectic week.

Going back to Fr. Cris’ homily, he said, “Many times, though we are Christians, we worship different gods (career, material things, anything other than God). The gospel for that day was about the Pool of Bethesda which bore traces of pagan practices. The man who had been sick for 38 years was invoking a different deity to heal him which was tantamount to idolatry. “The call to repentance for this 40-day penitential journey is to refocus on Jesus who can truly heal us. Jesus alone is the Divine Healer. He alone can restore our relationship with the Father.”

Again, it’s another God-incidence that my self-assigned Jesus story for that day was about the Healing at the Pool of Bethesda (The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 – “The Perfect Opportunity”). In the Bible Roundtable for that episode, the Bible experts were discussing Jesus’ question to the paralytic, “Do you want to be healed?” I was struck by what one of them said, “In our pastoral ministry there are people who enjoy poor health. They identify very much with their own weakness, their own failure. Some people prefer to stay where they are.” Sometimes, “the pool” or our other gods become part of our identity and we don’t want to leave it.

 

Maybe that’s a question we should ask ourselves this Lent. “Do you really want to be healed or are you using that weakness/illness/failure as a crutch, as a sympathy magnet?” If you sincerely want to get healed, refocus on Jesus, on the God with a capital G.

 

 

References:      Mass Homily – Fr. Cris Cellan: Pool of Bethesda

                        The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 – “The Perfect Opportunity”

                        The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 Bible Roundtable

H.A.L.E.

 

Lenten Reflection #14

H – Higher

A – Appreciation

L – Lower

E – Expectation

Compassion and forgiveness. These are two among several things that I’m asking God to help me with especially this Lent. This morning, at mass, the priest gave the HALE formula to enable us to be more sympathetic to the plight of others and have greater patience with their mistakes.

Do you have a makulit aged parent who acts like a child now? HALE. Remember when you were young and the roles were reversed.

Do you have a child who keeps failing in Math? HALE. He might be brilliant in languages or the arts.

Do you have a husband who keeps forgetting important dates? HALE. He likes spending time with you and the kids rather than with his friends.

Do you have a wife who can’t cook if her life depended on it? HALE. She gives the best massages.

Do you have a barkada who forget to call you for group outings? HALE. They do listen to you talk for hours about your problems.

You know who else needed to have HALE? The apostles in The Chosen’s “Matthew 4:24” episode (my self-assigned Jesus story for the day). In the episode, the apostles were discussing what it’s like to follow the Messiah, what their expectations were. They were having difficulties because it didn’t look like what they expected.

Then Mary Magdalene said, “I guess I haven’t had any expectations. It’s probably why it’s easier for me.”

So, appreciate more, expect less. It will make following Jesus easier.

References:      Mass Homily – Fr. Jose Elmer Ilao

                       The Chosen Season 2 Episode 3 – “Matthew 4:24”

                       The Chosen Season 2 Episode 3 Bible Roundtable

Living Water

 

Lenten Reflection #13

“but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:14

I feel it’s a God-incidence (not coincidence) when the gospel and my self-assigned Lenten video to watch for the day are about the same bible story. Not only do I get visuals to make the gospel come alive but also a confirmation of what my reflection will be about. Today’s story was about the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well. The homily gave me a lot of insights:

There are different kinds of wells that we think will quench our thirst: marriage or a relationship (like the woman who has had 5), addictions, wealth, power and other earthly things. But all these things will not completely satisfy us. We will still be left dry and desolate. We will thirst for more.

We thirst to be saved, known, understood and to be loved without being judged. The woman in the bible was nameless but Jesus knew her and her sins. He still thought her worthy to receive His living water, to reveal Himself as the Messiah. As Timothy Keller said, “To be fully known and truly loved is a lot like being loved by God.” That is how the well of Jesus will satisfy. His love for us will never run dry.

Reflect on this for Lent: “From what well do you drink?”

References:      Mass Homily – Fr. Eric Salazar

                       The Chosen Season 1 Episode 8 – “I Am He”

“Follow Me”

 

Lenten Reflection #12

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may attain eternal life.” – John 3:16

What would you do if today Jesus tells you, “Follow me”?

In “Invitations” (The Chosen Season 1 Episode 7), Jesus invited Nicodemus and Matthew to follow Him.

Nicodemus struggled, “To give up who I am?” Jesus understood that he has a position in the Sanhedrin, a family and was getting advanced in years. But Jesus still hoped he would come. (Spoiler alert: Nicodemus chose to go back to his life in the next episode.)

Matthew, on the other hand, just got up and left everything – money, protection by the Roman praetor, the good life.

For many of us, doing a Matthew would be too drastic but unlike Nicodemus, we would still want to follow Jesus. This Lent how about being an in-between:

·        Be humble, forget your lofty position.

·        Give as you would to your family.

·        Serve as much as your aged bones or restricted schedule will allow.

·        Sacrifice by not indulging in the good life.

In today’s homily, Fr. Dave Concepcion issued another invitation for us this Lent: observe your family and friends. If there is one among them who are in dire need, ask yourself what you have done to help them. Ask them how they are. Do not be too full of yourself that you become insensitive to their situation.

 

References:      Mass Homily – Fr. Dave Concepcion

                        The Chosen Season 1 Episode 7 – “Invitations”

In Secret

 

Lenten Reflection #11

“Your almsgiving must be done in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you.” – Matthew 6:4

In yesterday’s mass, Fr. Cris Cellan gave a timely reminder: “As we continue our 40-day penitential journey, we are called to be humble. We must do the spiritual exercises of prayer, fasting and almsgiving without fanfare. The Father sees in secret, and we will be amply rewarded in due time.”

I had always connected the above passage with only the last two spiritual exercises. Fasting and almsgiving must be done in secret to make it sincere. That prayer must share the common denominator of secrecy was an “Oo-nga-ano” moment for me. After all, prayer IS a personal conversation between us and God. It does not need fanfare too.

I had another “Oo-nga-ano” moment while watching my self-assigned story yesterday. In The Chosen’s Season 1 Episode 6 (“Indescribable Compassion”), Jesus said, “It’s better to go into your room, shut the door and pray to your Father who sees you in secret…Give generously without thinking about it. Do not do it for show to impress others. DON’T EVEN CONGRATULATE YOURSELF IN PRIVATE. Give in humility.”

In our country where many donations (using taxpayers’ money) and services (by officials paid by the people to perform that exact same service) are trumpeted by attention-grabbing tarps, DON’T EVEN CONGRATULATE YOURSELF IN PRIVATE is a tall order. This Lent, let us rise above all that and do our penitential journey in secret where only God can see. Maybe you can include as your Lenten sacrifice a prayer for these tarp-loving officials. 😉

References:      Mass Homily 3/7/2023 – Fr. Cris Cellan: Humility

                        The Chosen Season 1 Episode 6 - “Indescribable Compassion”