The Immensity of God's Heart

A young man of seventeen secretly left his home to work in the big city. He was tired of his parents’ authority. Freedom was all he ever wanted; to make decisions on his own, free from parental restrictions. He took offense that they were not willing to support the college course he wanted to enroll. So he left to find a job and live the way he wanted. Upon learning that he was gone, his father searched for him. After several months, he found him in his workplace. The father surprised the son by his presence and pleaded for his return. He was even willing to break the family rule just for him to come back. And the son did!

The story of the prodigal son is one of the best and the most endearing of Jesus’ parables. It reveals so much about every man or woman’s desire for uncontrolled freedom. Each of us has this longing to control everything about our life. Just to do what we want without rule or restriction. But it also gives us a hopeful insight of God’s enduring quality: He never gives up on us, no matter what. He is willing to move heaven and earth to lead us back, to bring us home. God fully knows that there can never be real fulfillment and joy away from home.

From this parable we realize that we have a much better inheritance than “earthly treasures” that does not run out. We do not fully understand what eternal life means. We have no idea that this is to be preferred thousand times over than what we can have in this life. That is why Jesus had to come and reveal our real inheritance; moreover, he came to tell us the greatness of God’s heart. The Greek word salvation or “soteria” includes wholeness, completeness, peace, health, welfare, safety, prosperity, rest, harmony and perfect satisfaction.

The prodigal son reminds us that when we try to find happiness and contentment in the world, we will always be disappointed. The things in the world are not life-giving and will always leave us empty. Its joys are short-lived and transitory. The true joy that never fades is found at home. The loving embrace of the Father is something worth running back. His love is the source of our wealth, our dignity and peace.

God's Unending Patience

Socrates was a Greek philosopher who laid the groundwork for Western systems of logic and philosophy. Little is known about his life except what was recorded by his students, among them Plato. Though he was a fearless soldier, he was more known for his interest in the intellectual development of Athens’ youth. He attempted to establish an ethical system based on human reason and taught that the ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself. During Greece’s political turmoil, he was sentenced to death in a trial where he must have said: “the un-examined life is not worth living.”

Lent is a season that invites us to self-introspection. It is an interior process characterized by sincerity in order to recognize who we are and what our priorities are. By looking deep into ourselves we examine whether we have been fruitful or not. Such process of self-examination invites us to repentance. Metanoia is the Greek word for repentance. It implies not just regret of the past but a turn-around of one’s lifestyle in order to take on a new road that leads to betterment. It is not a one-time change of heart but an ongoing, daily transformation of our lives.

Today’s gospel reading is a parable about God’s patience. The fig tree has been barren for years despite the best attention given to it.  The owner decided to cut it down because it was a waste of time and investments. But the gardener pleaded to give it one more chance, one more year. On deeper examination, the fig tree is a parable about ourselves. Though we have been barren, yet God gives us unending chances.

Jewish rabbis taught that repentance or teshuva required five elements. Recognition of one’s sin as sin; remorse for having committed the sin; desisting from repeating this sin; restitution for the damage done by the sin and confession. These elements are also included in Jesus’ call for our personal repentance. We need to seriously consider his words “if you do not repent, you will also perish as they did.” As Psalm 95 says: “if today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Powerful Memory

I used to bring young people on the mountain of Mantalongon, Dalaguete for retreats or camping. A mountain experience is already memorable and spending it on the heights of Mantalongon is doubly fascinating. Mantalongon is called the vegetable basket of Cebu; also its summer capital because of its cool temperature even during the warm summer. It is famous for Osmeña Peak rising 3,325 ft above sea level which makes it the highest in the island. Moreover, one beautiful sight on this mountain are the fireflies. Young people are mesmerized to see them at night.

When dusk sets in and everything around turns dark, the stars are clearer and the fireflies gleam. It is only when shadows appear that fireflies are noticeable. They glow brighter in the dark. Every young person scamper to catch one and bring it home. You rarely see fireflies in cities. Either they don’t survive or there’s just too much artificial light. Fireflies glow from the inside. It is produced from a chemical reaction inside their bodies that allow them to light up. The glowing firefly reminds me of the transfiguration of Jesus.

Jesus’ transfiguration is a great glorious vision. For the first time in their three years of staying with him, the disciples caught a glimpse of his true self. He allowed them to see beyond the trappings of his human personality the Son of God that he was. He glowed from the inside and became brighter than the sun. He wanted them to contemplate his divinity and experience a hidden side that would give them hope in the dark days ahead.

In our journey of faith, every day will not always be bright. There will also be moments of darkness, sunsets and shadows. There will be moments of difficult climb on top of the mountain. Sufferings and sacrifice will be part of our struggle. But let the glow of Jesus’ transfigured face sustain us in those difficult days. Let it be a beautiful encouraging memory that gives us strength and courage never to give up in climbing our own Calvary.

The Devil's Wiles

Sin and temptation are human realities. Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals. If life is a journey, our destination is towards the house of our heavenly Father. Temptation diverts us from this goal. Often, the temptation comes from the devil, but sometimes we just freely decide to turn away from God. In fact, sin is not committed by anyone else but ourselves misusing of our freedom. Even Jesus was tempted but he fought the devil’s wiles. Daily we are seduced to be selfish, greedy or lazy. Yet we always have a choice.

Cardinal Josef Spidlik, a Jesuit theologian said: “everyone possesses his or her own paradise; it is the heart created by God, the heart in a peaceful state. Every person also experiences the snake which in the form of an evil thought enters into the heart in order to lure us.” How does temptation work? It begins with a seemingly innocent suggestion. If we don’t ignore it, it becomes insistent. Once entertained, the snake finds a window to show us something more irresistible. How much time and energy we spend giving it a space in our lives! Like Eve, we make a long conversation with the snake and find his arguments convincing. Finally, sin is committed. The battle is lost. We freely choose to do the evil we abhor and lose paradise. As a result, like Adam and Eve, we realize we are naked and feel ashamed. This shame reflects the loss of union with God.

We cannot fight the devil. He is just too strong for us. Only Jesus can tame him. The writer Mark Twain wrote: “there are several good protections against temptation, but the safest is cowardice.” The Book of Sirach further says: “flee from sin as from a serpent that will bite you if you go near it. Its teeth are lion’s teeth destroying the souls of men.”

Temptation to sin is a given. It should not surprise us thus we need to be prepared for it. In order to resist it, first of all, we need to accept our human frailty. The devil can easily dupe us. The only way out is to escape, to run. Finally, we need to believe in God’s unconditional love and never doubt it. We need to trust deeply in the Lord.

Producing Fruits

There is an online deadly viral challenge known as Momo Challenge that targets the mentally vulnerable children. It uses an image of a grotesque doll with big bulging eyes to throw a series of dangerous tasks encouraging kids to self-harm to the point of committing suicide. It is a form of cyberbullying spreading through social media such that if someone refuses to follow the instructions, the Momo intimidate them with dire consequences.

The perpetrators of this terrifying suicide challenge monitor the status of people on social networking websites to find out people with suicidal tendencies. Parents, therefore, should be more alert in monitoring what their kids are doing online. They need to teach their child to say no with confidence and learn to listen to them, instead of talking to them all the time. This social media challenge cannot be taken lightly because there are really people out there who are intent in destroying others or try to disturb our children.

Our gospel today (Lk 6:39-45) tells us that “a good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.”  Hence, each tree is known by its fruit. When a driver is honest, we know he is a good person. When a kid causes trouble in school, we recognize he has a troubled home. The fruit reveals a person. The creator of this Momo Challenge greatly reveals a troubled relationship. But a Christian, because he has the spirit of Jesus, ought to be a positive influence in the world. He brings sunshine and joy to others.

We need, then, to take care of our hearts because the good we do come out of the store of goodness in our hearts. On the contrary, the evil we commit is the product of the store of evil in our hearts. We are shaped by our thoughts. In the process, we become what we think.