Forgiven and Loved

How many of us really pay attention to the responsorial psalm in the liturgy? It is repetitive and, if read in a sing-song manner, can be distracting. The priests, most of the time, explain in their homilies the Gospel and the 1^st reading (or 2^nd reading for that matter) but seldom touch on the responsorial psalm. But the Psalms are as equally important as the other liturgical readings. It may talk about Israel’s successes and failures, their victories and defeats, sinfulness and restoration, rise and fall as a nation – but the psalms can become our own as well. Jesus, being a faithful Jew, must have known the psalms by heart. For our reflection, let us meditate on today’s responsorial psalm.  Prayerfully and repetitively read the verses. Allow the words to be your own life’s psalm.

The Word from the Vine: Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8

R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

The Word Made Fresh (Reflection)

The first image that comes to mind upon reading the psalm is that of a beggar in dire need yet patiently waiting for passers-by to drop a tiny penny on his tiny tin can. The psalmist must have been pushed to the edge and so with utter pain he cries out: “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD, hear my voice!”  How many times in your life have you experienced a crisis moment – when instead of hearing God’s voice for consolation, you hear nothing but deafening silence? And yet despite this, you continue to hold on to your faith in Him; You to turn to Him because you know deep in your heart that God has never abandoned you.

Sometimes the problem with us is that we fail to recognize how God has quietly worked in and through our lives. He works in ways we cannot see, as the popular Don Moen song goes. In the Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius includes in his Contemplatio ad Amorem a meditation on how God continues to labor in one’s life so that when one eventually makes the offering of self, “Take Lord receive my liberty, understanding and entire will,” he also recognizes how he is God’s work in progress.

This brings me to a second point about forgiveness. The psalmist is humble enough to acknowledge his iniquities before the Lord and makes a plea to him, “If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?” It may appear as a way to appease God’s wrath but to me, it is an affirmation of God’s boundless and unconditional mercy. We find it hard to believe this reality but when I say his mercy is unconditional, IT IS UNCONDITIONAL. Period.   

Most of the time, we tend to sulk over our state of sinfulness and think that God cannot forgive us. We raise our personal standard high enough that it becomes much stricter than God’s own. Mas mataas pa ang standard natin kaysa sa standard ng Panginoon; eh di para na rin tayong Diyos sa lagay na ‘yan. Instead of sulking over our sinfulness, why don’t we bask in His abiding love.

Karl Rahner writes it poignantly, “It is both terrible and comforting to dwell in the inconceivable nearness of God, and so to be loved by God Himself that the first and last gift is infinity and inconceivability itself. But we have no choice. God is with us.”

Go over the psalm a second time and then listen to this song by Jimmy Needham:

The God of the Broken

The Word from the Vine: Luke 5:27-32

        After this he went out, and saw a tax collector, named Levi, sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he left everything, and rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house; and there was a large company of tax collectors and others sitting at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured against his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

The Text Made Fresh (Gospel Parallels)

Matthew 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32

        This text is a good example of a triple tradition that generally agrees with one another. Here are some important points and slight differences found in this text:

• This is about the call of a man “sitting at the tax office”. In Matthew, his name is, of course, Matthew while in Mark and Luke, he is called Levi. Mark adds a simple detail, “Levi, son of Alphaeus.
• The three agree on the manner in which Levi responded to Jesus when he asked him to follow him. “And he rose and followed him.” There is one important detail though found only in Luke 5:28, “And he left everything, and rose and followed him.” It is believed that Luke’s community is composed of middle class and wealthy Gentile converts who have become complacent in the practice of their faith. Luke perhaps includes this tiny detail to emphasize one’s readiness to freely drop everything, even material possessions, in order to follow Jesus. 
• Levi then prepares a ‘party’ in his house and invited other tax collectors and ‘public’ sinners. The Pharisees attack this, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” The three gospel writers agree, almost verbatim, as to Jesus’ response to the Pharisees, “οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες ἰατροῦ ἀλλὰ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες” (Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.).
• The typical Matthean writer once again makes reference to the Hebrew scripture, this time from Hosea, by exhorting the Pharisees to learn what this means: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” 
• Luke makes a distinct last-minute appeal to his community in Luke 5:32, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

·         For our prayer consideration, let us reflect on how Jesus calls us to repentance and invites us to follow him. Spend a minute or two in silent reflection and then watch this video:

 

The Word Made Fresh (Reflection)

I find it strange how Jesus immediately saw Matthew while passing by the tax collectors’ office. Matthew must have been sitting outside their office. Ang galing namang tumayming ni Hesus.

We know that tax collectors during the time of Jesus collaborated with Roman authorities and therefore considered enemies by the Jewish people. Some collectors levied additional ‘taxes’ on the people which made life harder for most of them. So if Matthew was sitting outside their office, he made himself an easy target of people’s aggression. But he risked it anyway. Bakit kaya?

The only reason I can think of was that Matthew probably had had enough – he wanted to change his lifestyle but didn’t know how to go about it. A perfect opportunity came when Jesus walked towards him and told him simply yet powerfully, “Follow me.” Kumbaga, marunong talagang tumayming si Hesus.

Jesus comes to us in moments and places where we least expect him to be. His presence is most felt and his call most audible when we are at a crisis point in our lives, when we are most vulnerable, when we are most, perhaps, sinful. These moments are ‘perfect’ opportunities for his healing love to take its full effect. Such is his presence that, like Matthew, we simply drop everything when we hear his gentle, loving call. He came not for the righteous but for sinners and broken people like you and me. He is after all the God of the broken.   

Who do you say that I am?

The Word from the Vine: Luke 9:18-22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

The Text Made Fresh (Gospel Parallels)

Matthew 16:13-23; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-22

The gospel text for today is classified under what scripture scholars call, Triple Tradition. This means that this particular gospel text can be found in all three synoptic gospels, namely Matthew, Mark, and of course, in Luke. This too means that they basically share the same material, i.e. sayings of Jesus, events, parables, etc. But if one looks closely, that is synoptically, one sees more and more the glaring differences found in the three accounts.

Here are some of the significant differences:

       • When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” (τίνα με οἱ ὄχλοι λέγουσιν εἶναι) Peter’s reply varies in all three. In Matthew 16:16, he replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (σὺ εἰ ὁ χριστὸς ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος). In Mark 8:29, however, Peter simply answered him, “You are the Christ” (σὺ εἶ ὁ χριστός). Luke 9:20 had Peter strangely identifying him as, “The Christ of God” (τὸν χριστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ). “χριστὸς” or Christ is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name for Messiah. It means the ‘anointed one’ and has been used in Hebrew Scriptures to refer to those who were given a special role in Israel.

        • Matthew has a distinct Matthean material (that is, a material uniquely found in Matthew alone) in verses 17-19. Here, the Matthean author establishes the primacy of Peter as the head of the Church, “You are Peter (Pe>tros), and on this rock I will build my church…”

        • All three mention how Jesus will suffer rejection at the hands of the elders, the chief priest, and the scribes. It is only in Matthew (v.21), however, that there is specific reference to Jerusalem – “that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things…” This is perhaps the Matthean writer’s own theological appropriation of their newfound faith in the light of their situation at that particular time. There are two commonly-held assumptions that support this idea: (1) the Matthean community was mainly composed of people who were deeply steeped in Jewish traditions, thus the frequent reference to prophetic literature and that (2) the book was most likely written after the destruction of Jerusalem.

        • The Lukan account does not include that part when Peter “took Jesus and began to rebuke him” for predicting Jesus’ own death. It seems rather odd that after confirming Peter’s role in the church, Matthew and Mark then had Jesus rebuking Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” A good number of Scripture scholars agree that, of the Synoptic gospels, Luke was written last. This omission may be attributed not to an editorial fatigue on the part of the writer but on the redactor’s (following Redaction Theory) important task of bringing in his own theological insight to the material at hand. In this case, the writer perhaps felt it important to emphasize the unity of the church under the leadership of Peter. By omitting this latter part of Matthew and Mark, the Lukan writer addressed a pastoral need of his community.

         • For your prayer consideration, you may contemplate on this gospel text – to imagine that you are either Peter or Jesus or one of the disciples. Imagine Jesus asking you, “Who do you say that I am?” How would respond to him? Spend a few minutes for this prayer exercise. Then watch this video:

The Word Made Fresh (Reflection)

In one of my contemplations during the long retreat, I remember so vividly how, like Peter, Jesus asked me point-blank, “Who do you say that I am?” But unlike Peter, I was too stunned to reply. I forced myself to parrot the same words in scripture but knew deep within that it really meant nothing. Instead I broke down, knelt in front of him and fired loaded questions one by one, “Lord, where were you in all these? Where were you when I badly needed you?” Without me realizing it, I was recalling painful experiences in the past. There was nothing but silence. He held my hand so dearly yet silently. I could not stand the silence. I was about to let go of him when he finally uttered what would perhaps become a turning point in my prayer.   

“I am Jesus the Christ,” he said gently but meaningfully. I recalled right at that moment how the Lord has reached out his hand when I was deep in the mud, how he lifted up my spirit when I was down low, how he turned my personal failures to hopes, how in his silence he was most present. 

“I am Jesus the Christ.”  It dawned on me that when he asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?”, he probably was not looking for a profound reply from Peter. Surely, Peter’s confession was a consequence of his deep friendship with Jesus. Jesus rather wanted Peter to be open to his self-revelation. Are we open enough to acknowledge Jesus' loving and healing presence in our lives? Allow him to reveal himself to you, “I am Jesus the Christ.”