God who is Faithful

Feast of Presentation of the Lord

February 2, 2014

Luke 2:22-40

“…or my eyes have seen your salvation…(Luk 2:30)”

 

God is faithful and shall fulfill His promises. In the today’s Gospel, Simeon and Anna saw with their own eyes how God brought about His words in their lives. “He should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord”, and the baby Messiah was revealed to Simeon and Anna. In fact, the Scripture is all about God’s fidelity to His beloved people. Yet, we should take note that God’s ways to realize His promises are not ours to expect. The most unlikely means God uses, in fact, unveils His might all the more. Simeon and Anna were practically dying when the Holy Infant was presented to them. Abraham was grey-haired and Sara was barren when God gave Isaac. Israel was a tiny and bullied nation when God delivered her from the strong Egyptians. Finally, God liberates the entire creations from the sin and death through Jesus who was executed on the cross.

One of the reasons why I persevere in this vocation is because God is faithful to His promises. When I recall back my stories, I just marvel on how God’s fidelity and providence. I had no solid plan to become a priest until suddenly my close friend invited me to take an entrance exam for minor seminary. Four years after I entered, my original blueprint was going back to my own diocese, but it was once again altered when unexpectedly, Fr. Adrian Adiredjo OP, came and conducted vocation promotion on Dominican Order. Another surprising twist! And currently in my theological study, I determined to focus on my intellectual formation, but it was once again changed when in the most bizarre circumstances, I was elected to become a coordinator of a youth group. My life is so thrilling and full of surprises. It is also challenging and difficult, knowing that all my plans eventually come to ruin. Yet, one thing that I am sure of, that every time I said yes to His invitation, God is ever-faithful to His promise: He will be with me through thick and thin of life.

Therefore, when people ask me why I am still in my vocation, the answer is simple: it is not because I am faithful, but because God is faithful to me. If spouses can be loyal to their partner for better and for worse, it is not because they are good, but because God is good to them. The foundation of human relationship and basis of any human community is the word “I do”, not of any human being, but of God to His people. Perhaps this is why late Bishop Fulton Sheen once said that marriage is not difficult, but it is just humanly impossible!

This is actually the same cause why at times we fail, not because God is not faithful, but because we do not entrust ourselves His loving providence and we fall short to remember the way God has fulfilled His words in the past. Remember the words of God in Isaiah 49:15, “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.”

I am aware that my future is no longer mine to decide, but one thing I am certain, that God is always with me. As St. Paul would assure all of us, “I am confident of this, that the One who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6).”

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Allah yang Setia

Pesta Yesus dipersembahkan di Kanisah

2 Februari 2014

Lukas 2:22-40

“…sebab mataku telah melihat keselamatan yang dari pada-Mu…(Luk 2:30)”

Allah setia pada janji-janji-Nya. Dalam Injil hari ini  Simeon dan Anna melihat dengan mata kepala mereka sendiri bagaimana Tuhan menggenapi janji-Nya kepada mereka berdua. “Dia tidak mengalami kematian sebelum ia melihat Mesias dari Tuhan”, Simeon dan Annapun memeluk sang bayi Mesias. Bahkan, seluruh Kitab Suci adalah tentang kesetiaan Allah kepada orang-orang yang dikasihi-Nya. Namun, kita harus mencatat bahwa cara-cara Allah untuk mewujudkan janji-Nya bukanlah dengan cara-cara yang kita bayangkan. Simeon dan Anna sudah lanjut usianya ketika Sang Bayi Kudus diberikan pada dekapan mereka. Abraham sudah berambut putih dan Sara mandul ketika Tuhan memberikan Ishak. Israel adalah bangsa kecil dan lemah ketika Allah membebaskannya dari bangsa Mesir yang kuat. Akhirnya, Allah membebaskan seluruh ciptaan dari belenggu dosa dan kematian melalui Yesus yang mati di kayu salib.

Salah satu alasan mengapa saya bertahan dalam panggilan ini adalah karena Allah setia pada janji-Nya. Ketika saya mengingat kembali perjalanan hidup saya, saya hanya kagum pada kesetiaan dan penyelenggaraan ilahi. Awalnya, saya tidak punya rencana yang solid untuk menjadi seorang imam, sampai tiba-tiba teman dekat saya mengajak untuk mengambil ujian masuk di sebuah seminari menengah. Empat tahun berselang setelah saya masuk, rencana awal saya setelah lulus adalah kembali ke keuskupan saya sendiri dan menjadi imam projo, tapi sekali lagi rencana saya berubah ketika tiba-tiba, Rm. Adrian Adiredjo OP, datang dan melakukan promosi panggilan tentang Ordo Dominikan. Dan saat ini, saya bertekad untuk fokus pada formasi intelektual dan theologi saya di Manila, tapi sekali lagi rencana saya berubah, ketika dalam keadaan paling aneh, saya terpilih menjadi koordinator kelompok kerasulan kaum pemuda. Hidup saya begitu mendebarkan dan penuh kejutan. Hal ini juga menantang dan sungguh sulit karena semua rencana saya pada akhirnya hancur berantakan. Namun, satu hal yang saya yakini, bahwa setiap kali saya mengatakan ya pada panggilan-Nya, Allah akan selalu setia kepada janji-Nya: Dia akan berserta saya melalui suka duka hidup.

Karena itu, ketika orang-orang bertanya kepada saya mengapa saya masih bertahan dalam panggilan saya, jawabannya sederhana: ini bukan karena saya setia, tetapi karena Allah setia kepada saya. Jika pasangan suami-istri bisa setia kepada pasangan mereka dalam suka dan duka, sehat dan sakit, kaya dan miskin, ini bukan karena mereka baik, tetapi karena Allah itu baik pada mereka. Mungkin ini sebabnya Uskup Fulton Sheen pernah mengatakan bahwa pernikahanlah tidak sulit, tapi hanya secara manusiawi mustahil!

Ini sebenarnya penyebab yang sama mengapa kadang-kadang kita gagal, bukan karena Allah tidak setia, tetapi karena kita tidak mempercayakan diri kita pada penyelenggaraan-Nya yang penuh kasih dan kita gagal untuk mengingat bagaimana Allah telah memenuhi firman-Nya di masa lalu. Ingatlah firman Allah dalam Yesaya 49:15, “Dapatkah seorang perempuan melupakan bayinya, sehingga ia tidak menyayangi anak dari kandungannya? Sekalipun dia melupakannya, Aku tidak akan melupakan engkau.”

Saya menyadari bahwa masa depan saya tidaklah lagi dalam gemgaman, tapi satu hal yang saya percaya, bahwa Tuhan selalu bersama saya. Seperti St. Paulus menyakinkan kita semua, “Akan hal ini aku yakin sepenuhnya, yaitu Ia, yang memulai pekerjaan yang baik di antara kamu, akan meneruskannya sampai pada akhirnya pada hari Kristus Yesus (Flp 1:6).”

Frater Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Vocation and Action

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 26, 2014

Matthew 4:12-23

“At once they left their nets and followed him (Mat 4:20).”

A classic question: “How do you know that you are called?”  This inquiry falls under category of ‘classic’ not only because people always post it to me, but because it is so generic that I can throw it back to almost everyone. “Are you sure that she will be a good and faithful wife for you?” or “Do you believe that being teacher is your best lifelong profession?”

Contemplating on the issue for years, I have to admit that I do not know the precise answer. Some people possess the special gift through which they are able to see or hear the Lord instructing them what to do. Some other have developed a certain skill of discernment. Some other weight the practical sides: material benefits, health reasons, family priority, etc. But, in the final analysis, when we are confronted with two or more good options that will alter our lives radically, most of us have no idea of what to choose.

Yet, learning from today’s Gospel, we can see that it is not primarily about ‘certainty, knowing, or weighing’, but about firm decision making and concrete action. I believe we need to read this episode from a very human perspective. The first four disciples, Peter, Andrew, James and John had not known Jesus as God the Son, but perhaps as an itinerant prophet and probable Messiah. When the invitation was thrown to them, they could see that to remain with their job and grow as skillful fishermen was as good as following this charismatic preacher and a future Jewish king. Yet, time was of the essence. Jesus was leaving soon and there was not enough time for veering right and left. Then, they made up their mind.

Their journey is not about whether they have the vocation or not, but whether they make their vocation a fruitful reality or a regrettable move. Like the disciples, every time we face several life-changing choices, we steadfastly pick one and make it our own vocation. It is not about ‘weighing’, but to concretely act on our decision and pour forth our passion into it.

Definitely, it is easier said than done. The disciples banged a bumpy road. They encountered a Master who liked to speak in parables. They had to follow extremely difficult teachings of Jesus. They faced the hostility of the Jews. Eventually, they needed to accept the bitter reality that Jesus ended his life on a cross. Yet, these were precisely what transformed their vocation into deeply meaningful. They acted to follow Jesus through thick and thin of life, and they were made ready to see the Resurrected Christ. Like the disciples, we have to give our lives in our chosen vocations despite all, so that we may discover the fullness of life.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP