God’s Love Transforms

Sixth Sunday of Easter

May 1, 2016

John 14:23-29

“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him (Jn 14:23).”

One day, I had an opportunity to converse with one of our security personnel at our convent of Santo Domingo. I asked him if he sees God, what question would he ask of God? His answer went beyond my expectation. In Filipino, he would say, ‘Panginoon, Mahal mo ba ako?’ [Lord, do you love?] Surprised by his question, I inquired further, ‘Why that question?’ He replied in Filipino, ‘Brother, I am poor person with a lot of problems. Sometimes, I don’t really feel His presence and love.’ I realized that his question is not only single isolated case, but question of many people.

At times, we are asking the good Lord, why is life full of suffering and problems despite our faithfulness to God. We attend mass every Sunday, we pray the rosary everyday, and we never fail to be good Catholics, yet our lives seems never getting better. We continue to face many problems, from financial problems, health issues to relationship brokenness. We then ask God, ‘Lord, do you love me?’

The Gospel constantly tells us that God loves us. But, often we do not see how God loves us. Why? Because we expect a different kind of love. We expect that if we are good, we are obeying His rules, then everything will be fine. But, God is not like a spiritual ATM that grants instantly our wishes as we insert correct spiritual card of prayers and place the right spiritual code of living. But rather, God’s love works deep inside us and transforms us into His own love. God is not created in our image, then we need to stop forcing Him to be like us. Our prayers, our good works, and our faithfulness to God does not mean to give us an instant solution to our problems, but they are God’s ways to gradually form us to be like Him.  

Jesus’ love did not liberate Israelites from the oppressions of the Roman Empire, nor He give them prosperity that the Jews longed for. His love rather transformed those people around Him to love like God. The disciples, despite their weakness and sufferings, gradually became more and more loving, and finally made a final sacrifice for the love of Jesus and others. Peter, the leader as well the most problematic apostle, denied and ran away from Jesus, but he progressively learned to love like Jesus. When the final moment came, he gave also his life for Christ and the Christians in Rome.

As I bide a goodbye to Manong guard and went back to seminary, I handed him a food I brought from the mall. Upon receiving the food, he said to me, “Can I share this food with some of the poor kids outside the Church?” His gesture astounded me and yet was heartwarming. Being a security guard in Metro Manila, was a dangerous job with little earning, plus so many problems I had to carry, yet his poverty did not prevent him to share a little blessing he had, a little love he received. He questioned the love of God, but he himself never stopped loving others. This simple man has become the embodiment of God’s love for others. The love of God transforms us more and more into His image, and without realizing it, we also have become the embodiment of His love to others.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Be a Good Shepherd

Fourth Sunday of Easter

April 17, 2016

John 10:27-30

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me (Jn 10:27).”

One of the loveliest images of Jesus is the Good Shepherd. It is even more beautiful when we try to bring ourselves to Palestine in the time of Jesus.  Life as a shepherd is tough and tiresome. Grass was scarce and the sheep constantly wondered. Since there was not protective fence, the shepherd was bound to watch his sheep for all time, otherwise the sheep would go astray. The terrain in Judea was rough and rocky, and these forced the shepherd to exert extra energy. Not only constant, shepherd’s duty was also dangerous. Wild animals, especially wolfs, were ready to attack and devour the meek sheep. Not only wild predators, robbers and thieves were eager to pirate the sheep. 

The sheep in Judea were raised primarily for wool. Thus, the shepherd shall live together with his flock for years. No wonder if he knew well each individual sheep, its characters, and even its unique physical features. He would call them by name like ‘small-feet’ or ‘large-ears’. Because of the intimate bond between the two, the sheep were so familiar with the voice of the shepherd. H.V. Morton, a bible scholar, once narrated his encounter with two shepherds who shared the same cave to shelter their flocks at night. How would they sort them out? In the morning, one shepherd stood some distance and simply voiced a peculiar sound. His sheep recognized the sound immediately, and they ran toward him, while the sheep belonged to the other shepherd remained in the cave!

 Good shepherd is a symbol of providential care, sacrifice, and true love. No wonder if ancient Israelites saw God as their shepherd. Psalm 23 is one of the loveliest poems in the bible, describing God as the Good Shepherd. Remember that some great leaders of Israel were actually shepherds. Moses was tending to his father-in-law flocks when he was called by God in the burning bush (Exo 3). David also was taking care of his father’s sheep when Samuel came and anointed him king (1 Sam 16).

  

Jesus understood this and He took this identity upon himself. Not only any shepherd, He is the Good Shepherd. He knows us individually as unique and precious. He takes care of us constantly, and search us if we go astray. He protects us from any harm and danger. Even He is willing to give up His life just to save us.

Now, we are not merely animals just like any other sheep. We are human being, with intellect and freedom. To be the sheep of Christ takes another profound form. It means that we are also called to become a good shepherd. A priest is a good shepherd to his faithful. A husband or wife is a good shepherd to each other. Parents are good shepherds to their children. Fr. Gerard Timoner, OP, our provincial, once reminded us that ‘brother-shepherding-brother’ should be our spirit of our formation. 

Being a good shepherd is never easy, just like Christ, we shall give our all to others. But, only in giving ourselves that our lives finds its meaning. John Maxwell, leadership guru, once said that the success of man is not how many people serve him, but how many people whom he serves. Meanwhile Zig Ziglar, great American inspirational speaker, reminds us that we can get everything in life we want if we help enough people get what they want. Fundamentally, we were created in the image of God, and if our God is the Good Shepherd, we are the image of the Good Shepherd. It is our purpose and mission in life to be a good shepherd and grow our sheep.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Do You Love Me?

Third Sunday of Easter

John 21:1-19

April 8, 2016

Reading today’s Gospel in original Greek, we get to appreciate more the dialogue between Jesus and Peter. In English translation, both Jesus and Peter expressed themselves in the same word ‘love’, but in Greek, the word Jesus employed is ‘agapao’ while Peter’s is ‘phileo’. ‘Agapao’ or ‘agape’ refers to unconditional and radical love that every Christian should exemplify. This love is based on freewill and discipline, not just affections. This love empowers to love, to forgive and to have mercy even to our enemies. While ‘phileo’ or ‘philia’ is the reciprocal love of friendship. It is coming from both natural liking as well as firm decision. We make friends with whom we feel close, yet we exert also efforts to get close and understand them. As an old adage say, ‘friend in indeed is friends indeed.’ 

Jesus asked, “Peter, do you unconditionally and radically love me?” yet Peter answered, “Lord, you know that I love you as my friend.” Jesus demanded radical love of 'agape' for three times, and for three times, Peter could only give Jesus love of friendship or 'phileo'. This seems another Peter’s outright denial of Jesus. But, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI humbly defended his predecessor that at that very moment, ‘phileo’ was his very best.

The dialogue of love between Jesus and Peter is also our dialogue with the Lord. Jesus demands from us that radical and selfless love for Him. But, it is difficult. It is hard to give time in service in the Church, when we are also struggling with our daily life and financial status. A friend told me how he has desire to serve, yet he is the ‘breadwinner’ of the family and has to work 12 hours a day. It is also difficult to love God, when our lives are in mess. How can we love God, when our marriage is falling, when our children entered rehabilitation due to drug-addiction or in jail for their juvenile delinquency? How can we love when our job or business is falling apart? How can we love God if we are betrayed and hurt by persons we love so much? We stop loving and enter into our own self-confinement.

Yet, when Peter failed to meet Jesus’ hope, Jesus was not angry. He never said, ‘You are a failure. You are a mistake.’ Rather, He gave Peter a tremendous responsibility, ‘Tend and Feed my sheep.’ Jesus knows well it is difficult to love. He himself has to die the most brutal death just to prove His love for us. Yet, He does not see us as a failure despite our shortcomings and difficulties in loving. He who has given us the ability to love, knows exactly our potential to love. Indeed, Peter who was struggling to love Jesus, finally proved his love to Jesus as he tended His sheep to the last moment of his life. Peter was crucified upside down, because he refused to abandon Jesus’ sheep in Rome. 

When we fail to love God, He did not abandon us, and in fact, He gives us even more mission to love because Jesus is aware that only through this hardship, we may expand our ability to love. Love without trials and tribulations is shallow and weak kind of love. St. John reminded us that God is love (1 John 4:8). Thus, when we struggle to love through thick and thin of lives, we shall remember that it is not us who love, but God himself.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP