May 15, 2022
5TH Sunday of Easter (Year C)
Acrs 14; 21-27/ Rev 21:1-5 /PS. 145; 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, Jn 13:31-35
THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT
Word: When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. (If God is glorified in him,) God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once” (John 13:31-32).
The message of today is Love. This Love spoken of is a special Love. It surpasses all loves that are human in origin. It transcends all that is natural. It is the supernatural Love that we had to be shown, that Jesus came to embody, that Jesus calls upon us to possess and give away and share with others. The Love of God is deep and rich and pure.
o0o
Order: When originally I wrote some reflections on this passage, the sun had already gone down on the western side of Tagbilaran Bay and some rain was gently falling outside the newly-cemented, ascending road that leads toward the side of the Cathedral’s Rectory. A loud, strident noise from a public address system mounted in a multi-cab had announced a “miting de avance”. We had been living in a terribly noisy circumstances just few days before the May 9 Elections.
The raindrops now covered the brown foliage that surrounded the small dwellings along the Tagbilaran-Totolan causeway and had begun to accumulate on the rooftops. “This is the Lord’s Place,” I thought to myself, “Here in this place we would honor the Lord and have Christ Reign supremely.”
The unusual, summer rains continued to fall and I was at peace, knowing my Lord reigned. The loving kindness he showed in sending the rain has gifted us the water of life that we need all over the city when summer heat became just too much to bear. Much of water from the upper grounds went towards the bay into the water cycle that, for all ages and for all seasons, has worked so well for the benefit of all people, whether they love God or not.
God’s grace goes forth toward all of humanity, as the rains and the water of the bay, a picture of our Life (Jesus Christ) reaching out to us to give us life in him and through him. Now, I am reminded of Judas, a tragic figure who followed Jesus for a while. Then, when it no longer suited him to stay, he left the cenacle.
How much like the rain and bay water is the Love of God. It reaches out to all, everywhere, like the raindrops that are flowing through every hill and valley; and as the waters that cover the seas. How much like the Love of God is water, water that sustains us in life, because we are close to 80% in our bodies—water. It is our make up. To go without it, we would die! Yet, too many choose to live without this LOVE of God, Jesus.
Back to the elections. This lesson seems to be forgotten. Too many politicians and party supporters had been, during the days of the campaign period, throwing foul dirt instead of clean water to their rivals. Many well-meaning individuals have been confused whom to give credence to. Who is telling the fact; and who is narrating to us mumbo-jumbo of falsehood.
o0o
Realities: The carpenter’s tools were having a conference. Brother Hammer was acting chairman. But the group informed him that he had to leave, because he was too noisy. He said, “If I leave the carpenter so then Brother Screw must go with me. You have to turn him around and around before you can get him to go anywhere.”
“Okay, I’ll go,” said Brother Screw. “But then Brother Plane must also leave. All his work is on the surface, there is no depth to him.”
To this, Brother Plane replied, “Well, then, Brother Ruler, you will have to leave, too. For you are always measuring folks as if you were the only person who is right.”
Brother Ruler complained against Brother Sandpaper, and said, “He should leave because he is rougher than he ought to be. He is always rubbing people the wrong way.”
In the midst of the heated discussion, the carpenter walked in. He put on his apron and walked over to his workbench. One after another he used the hammer, the screw, the plane, the ruler, and the sandpaper. When the day’s work was over, he had completed a pulpit from which the Gospel would be preached. (William Barclay, TOOLS IN THE LORD’S HAND)
o0oDirection: Mary, our dear Mother, embrace us with your maternal care. We pray, through your intercession, in your maternal guidance dting the 2022 Elections. For it is in voting responsibly that we receive the fruits of true democracy, and it is in dying as a seed to our selfishness that we are born to eternal life, AMEN.