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
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