CHRIST-TELLER

Andrea Bocelli is a world-class tenor. He is also visually-impaired. His hits songs include “The Prayer” and “Con te partiro.” Before he was born on September 22, 1958 doctors advised his parents to abort him because they predicted that he will have a disability. But his mother overruled the doctors advise. He was born with congenital glaucoma.

As a child, he showed great passion for music. He started to play the piano at six. Soon he could play the flute, saxophone, trumpet, guitar and drums. At 12 years old, following a football accident that hit him in the eye, he became totally blind. Though blind, he studied at the University of Pisa and became a lawyer.

His break in music came in 1992. An Italian rock star requested him to record a demo of “Miserere” intended for renowned vocalist Luciano Pavarotti. On hearing the demo, Pavarotti was impressed by his voice. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the preliminary round of the 44^th Sanremo Music Festival, the most popular Italian song contest getting the highest mark ever recorded for a newcomer.

Today, he is an international superstar in music. His disability did not hinder him to be successful either as a lawyer or as a singer. His secret? His positive mindset.

Today’s gospel narrates the story of the visually-impaired Bartimaeus. He is from Jericho. He is a beggar sitting at the side of the road. If we picture him – he is languishing. He is deteriorating and decaying. He feels so helpless, powerless and useless. But one day, Jesus gave him hope. Jesus gave him a new beginning!

Three Lessons from Bartimaeus: 3 C’s

Concern. He had a special and important concern: he can’t see. He is blind. His lack of sight is a big minus in his life. It brought him a lot of trouble, worries and disturbance. His disability brought great discomfort, hardships and many insecurities. He was no longer at the center of life; he was merely just at the roadside of life.

Courage. He had extraordinary courage. One day, he learnt about Jesus. The murmur and gossip of the crowd informed him he was someone special. He had power! He resolved not to miss this once-in-a-lifetime chance. Jesus was passing. He might not return to Jericho again. So he shouted. He pleaded. He raised his voice.

He was scolded by the crowd. He prayed all the more; even harder. Here is a beautiful lesson here: don not let people intimidate you! Do not allow your circumstances to discourage you. Pray harder. Never sulk or make the blame-God game. Bartimaeus pray louder until Jesus took notice of him.

Cured. Because of his unstoppable and courageous faith, he received what he asked for. His prayer was answered. His prayer connected him to Christ. Something inspiring happened to him after his cure. He became an intentional follower of Christ. He believed in Jesus. From then on, he became a Christ-bearer. He became a Christ-teller. He brought others to Jesus. He became a connector of others to Jesus. This is what Mission Sunday is all about – connecting others to Christ.

Today, our gospel invites us to be like Bartimaeus. Bring your concern to Jesus – whatever it is. Have a courageous faith. Do not be deterred or be discouraged by fear, insecurities or any obstacle. Pray harder. Pray stronger. Be a Christ-bearer; a Christ-teller. Be an intentional follower of Jesus.

 

SERVING WITH GLEE

29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mk 10:35-45)

Alberto Marvelli (1918-1946) was a heroic young Italian who risked everything to serve the poor. At a young age, he learned to serve the poor through his mother. When a poor person comes to their home during meal time, she would say: “Jesus has come and he is hungry.” He grew up at the Salesian Oratory in Rimini. He became the president of the Catholic Action of the Diocese. While enjoying sports especially cycling, he also has a spiritual program of life. He would do half an hour of meditation and attend mass daily.

He was a shining light during the darkness of World War II. He put his faith into action. During the devastating bombing raids of the Nazi he would risk his life helping the wounded and serving those in need. He also released, with the help of friends, Jews and captives being shipped off on the trains to Nazi concentration camps.

Unfortunately, he died at 28 years old accidentally struck by an army truck. But his generous life and heroic charity was a real inspiration to many.

In today’s gospel, James and John expressed their ambition to share Jesus’ power. The other ten got angry because they also wanted to rise and be great. But for Jesus, greatness means service. “Whoever would be great must serve.” He invited his disciples to a paradigm shift because “the Son of Man came to serve and not be served.”

In fact, at the Last Supper, one of the most unforgettable lessons Jesus taught them was to wash their feet as an example. He pointed out: “If I, your Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, you must also wash each other’s feet. In other words, they have to put their faith in action. They are to serve generously and humbly.

Here is a criterion for our service; from the acronym S.E.R.V.E

S: Sincerity – service with sincerity. We are to serve honestly with the right motive and good intention; not out of pretense or deceit.

E: Enthusiasm – it is a privilege to serve. Thus, we serve passionately and excitedly; not with mediocrity and lukewarmness.

R: Responsibly – to serve responsibly means doing our task dutifully because we will be held accountable for its result and consequence.

V: Vision –to serve well, we need a clear vision and mindset. We need to have the paradigm of Jesus: The Son of Man has come to serve and not be served. It’s a mindset of servant leadership.

E: Example – serving becomes an example. It is how one walks the talk. A leader leads by example. It is how he puts his faith in action.

Service need not be big or grand. It begins with small acts of kindness with a smile. Even our prayer time can be a service to others. Imagine our small acts multiplied by millions of kind-hearted people. I’m sure it can brighten up and transform our world.

 

JOY OF HAVING JESUS

Francis of Assisi was born rich but chose to be poor. In the first 25 years of his life he was a care-free young man. He was handsome, pampered, spoiled, ambitious and vain. But one day, God touched his heart. He was moved to change. His imprisonment and illness caused him to re-evaluate his life and his values.

Suddenly, he lost interest in the worldly life. From a lover of party and pleasure, he decided to give up his possessions. Literally he became a beggar. But there was something different about Francis. He was poor but he was also joyful. He celebrated life! He had nothing, yet he lived as if he had everything. He wanted to mirror the lifestyle of Jesus.

Unexpectedly, he changed the world by his example. He was just a lay person. He introduced a revolutionary way of thinking: anyone can follow the Gospel. One can live simply. Christ can be your joy and he can fill your life!

Today’s gospel (Mk 10:17-30) presents a rich, young man. He felt something was missing in his life. Wanting to do more, he asked Jesus’ advise. But he was sad and hurt by Jesus’ challenge. He was so attached to his riches. He had no courage to give up his wealth. He had little love for Jesus.

We can learn 3 lessons from this young man.

Hesitant. Like the rich, young man we can also be hesitant to follow Christ. We tend to calculate and measure our love. We can be overwhelmed by fear over the future. We lack courage. We make excuses and alibis. We can be reluctant like Moses when God called him to be a leader of his people and was told to go back to Egypt. His first reaction was to hesitate. Feeling he was not qualified enough, he asked God to look for someone else. He doubted his giftedness. But God wanted him to shift from fear to faith. God assured him: “I will be with you!” We need to pray to overcome our hesitation.

Hard. The rich, young man found it hard to follow Christ. He realized he had to give up the things he most loved and cherished. He was hurt by the challenge of the Lord to sell what he had and give the money to the poor. He was not yet ready. He had no guts to obey. Indeed, following Jesus can be hard and painful.

A story is told about Teresa of Avila. One day, travelling to one of her convents, she fell of a horse while crossing a stream. She lost her balance and was almost carried away by the strong current. It cost her a sprain on her foot. In prayer she complained to the Lord: “Lord, why do you make it so difficult for me. I’m doing your work. Why do you need to make me suffer?” Jesus answered: “Don’t complain my daughter, that is how I treat my friends.” Teresa replied: “Now I know why you have so few of them.”

Huge love. The secret in following Jesus is to have a huge love for him. We need to have a big, large, enormous heart for Jesus. His demands are difficult. He requires that we love him with all our heart, soul, strength and will. He wants nothing less – to dedicate our lives to him! To love him more than anything else. When our love is small, we calculate and hesitate. We will give up when the going gets rough. But if our love is big, we can stay even at the foot of the cross. Love makes us do even the impossible. With such a love, Jesus becomes our joy because we know he can fill up our lives.

COMMITMENT TO LOVE

Imagine an 85-year-old man insisting on taking his wife’s hand everywhere they go. When asked why his wife keeps looking away he responds: “because she has Alzheimer’s.” When asked if his wife will worry if he lets her go? The old man replies: “she doesn’t remember anything. She doesn’t know who I am anymore. She hasn’t recognized me for a year.”

Asked why he has continued to guide her every single day though she doesn’t recognize him? He simply smiles and says: “she may not know who I am; but I know who she is – she is the love of my life!”

In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches us about the essence of marriage. Prompted by a question on divorce, he clarifies that Moses permitted it as a concession for the “hardness of the human heart.” But if we were to go back to God’s original, wonderful purpose of marriage and the family, it is meant to reveal the visible face of an invisible God who is love (Pope Francis). The Sacrament of marriage is the icon of God’s unconditional love for us.

The challenge of marriage is to love one another. That is how God intended it to be. God’s ideal marriage is a union that is binding until death; a commitment for life. Thus marriage requires a unique kind of love that reflects God’s own committed love for each of us. Love is the root and firm foundation of marriage.

I have an acronym on L.O.V.E that entails 4 things on how to put love in action in the married state:

L: Listen sincerely. The 1^st Reading (Gen 2:18-24) reveals one of man’s deepest need – connection and intimacy. Loving entails listening. Listening is an act of love. It is the basic ingredient of acceptance, trust and respect. When you listen, you learn more about the other person creating deeper connection. Listening answers one of man’s deepest longing for connection and intimacy.

O: Openness. Be open to each other earnestly. Openness requires humility in accepting one’s vulnerability. Transparency is necessary in any worthwhile relationship. Being sincere and honest in sharing your dreams, plans, problems even your financial statements. In this culture of openness, there will be a communion of persons. Wise couples do not allow secrets to get in the way to build a loving and joyful marriage.

V: Visibility. Be visible to each other constantly. Be there for each other. Be present. Don’t be a ghost. Spend quality time. Make your presence felt by communicating, talking, chatting, make a phone call, doing chores and taking home care responsibilities. Your visible physical presence clearly means incarnating love in the home.

E: Endure patiently whatever happens. Love with intentionality. Creating a home and a family does not happen by chance. You have to make that commitment work for it to last. Relationship last not because they were destined to last. Relationship last long because two people made a choice to keep it; fight for it and work for it.