Gospel Reflection

November 30, 2012

Friday – Year of Faith

Memorial of Saint Andrew, Apostle

by Rev. Fr. Jerome R. Secillano

Parish Priest, Nuestra Senora del Perpetuo Socorro (NSPS) Parish, Sampaloc, Manila

Lunch Mass, Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel, Greenbelt, Makati

Reading 1 Rom 10:9-18

Brothers and sisters: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,
you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. The Scripture says, No one who believes in him will be put to shame. There is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, enriching all who call upon him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news! But not everyone has heeded the good news; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what was heard from us? Thus faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. But I ask, did they not hear? Certainly they did; for Their voice has gone forth to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (10) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. (John 6:63) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
or:
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Gospel Mt 4:18-22

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.

HOMILY

Magandang tanghali po sa inyong lahat.

The Apostles of Jesus were dispersed all over the world to spread the faith, to preach the Gospel. St. Andrew, who was believed to be the first of the Apostles to be called, was credited for bringing the faith to Greece. Kaya nga po siya na-martir. Doon siya namatay. And he was nailed on an X-shaped cross.

I was reflecting on the life of St. Andrew and of the Apostles, at ito po ang tanong ko sa sarili ko. Bakit at paano kaya nakumbinsi nitong mga Apostles 'yong napakaraming tao para manampalataya sa Diyos? There were so many people who were converted to Jesus during that time when the Apostles preached the faith to them. Remember that these people did not have faith at all, and if ever they had faith during that time, it was a faith, not for Jesus, but on false gods. Usually, 'yong kanilang paniniwala ay sa mga diyos-diyosan. They were pagans or gentiles, and they had so many gods and goddesses. But when the Apostles came, they listened intently to the preachings, the explanations, the teachings of the Apostles. And so they were converted, and immediately embraced Jesus. 'Yon po ang magandang pangyayari noong mga panahon na iyon.

But fast forward to our own time, alam po ninyo, mukha yatang hindi na ganoong katindi ang reception ng mga tao pagdating sa proklamasyon ng Salita ng Diyos. There are even parishioners who would criticize, not only the Church as an institution, but the ministers of the Church, for that matter - the bishops and the priests. Even faithful parishioners, the lay people like you, would not just easily accept what the Church and the priests teach you. There are even parishioners who will stand up and walk away if he or she does not like what the priest is saying. Mayroon pong mga ganoong pangyayari.

When we listened perhaps to Archbishop Arguelles telling the media that he is going to campaign for the politicians who oppose the RH Bill, so many people reacted to his pronouncement. Sabi nila, ang Simbahan talaga laging nakikialam. Eh hindi na naman dapat sumasawsaw ang Simbahan. Nowadays, the preacher of the Word - the communicator or the agent of the Word - can just as easily be discredited, unlike during the time of the Apostles, when they were so credible in bringing and communicating the faith, that so many were converted to Jesus. Ano kaya ang problema?

We have so many credible communicators of the Church, one of which is our very own Cardinal Chito Tagle, who was elevated into the College of Cardinals last November 24. He is one of the many credible communicators of our faith. 'Yon nga lang, kung meron man ang mga taong nakikitang hindi credible na nagpapahayag ng Salita ng Diyos ay nilalahat na nila ang buong Simbahan bilang isang institusyon. Yes, we do not claim that all ministers of the Church are holy and so good that they are beyond sin, that they are sinless, we don't claim that. However, in the eyes of the people, the preacher, the minister, the priest of the Church, should be sinless, should be good, should be holy. Otherwise, people will not be believe that preacher to be credible enough to communicate the Gospel.

And so may I tell you, the Synod of Bishops which was held last October, precisely was looking for solutions at how to communicate the faith once more. Kasi nakita na ng Simbahan na mukha yatang kulang na ang paniniwala ng mga tao sa sinasabi ng Simbahan. And so the Church was now strategizing on what it can do so that the people will listen to the Church once more, so that the people may find relevance in Christ once more.

Although I was not a participant during the Synod - of course, I am not a bishop and I am not a lay expert, I will give you an idea on what transpired during the Synod. By researching on the interventions of the different bishops coming from the different dioceses and archdioceses all over the world, mayroon pong magandang sinabi ang ating Archbishop Tagle. If you read his statement, ano ang sabi ni Archbishop Tagle noon? "We need to have a listening Church. We should listen to the people." Binaligtad niya ngayon. Noong panahon ng mga Apostol, the people listened to the Church, listened to the Apostles, and they accepted whatever the Apostles preached to them. Ngayon po sa panahon ngayon, ang sabi ni ArchbishopTagle, dapat ang Simbahan ay matuto ring makinig sa tao. See the reversal?

What was the point? Ang sabi ni Archbishop Tagle, the Church does not have solutions to all the problems, the confusions na maaaring nararamdaman at nararanasan ng bawat isa sa inyo ngayon. The Church does not have to pretend that she can actually offer everything - explanations, solutions - because that is not true. Kaya ang sabi ni Archbishop, mas maganda na ang Simbahan ay marunong ring makinig. At sa kanyang pakikinig, baka sakaling ang mga tao ay muling matagpuan si Kristo sa pagkatao ng mga pari o sa Simbahan bilang isang institusyon. Ang mga tao ay mayroong mga concerns, mayroong mga tanong. 'Yon nga lang, may mga pagkakataon na ang ino-offer na explanation o solution ng Simbahan at ng kanyang mga minister, baka sakaling hindi na ito rooted sa Salita ng Diyos. You may wonder - why are there priests teaching about politics, about bureaucracy, about the government? Baka naman kasi taliwas na ang ginagawa din ng pari. Kaya ang sabi ni Archbishop, makinig naman tayo.

Well I think the solution or the strategy given by our own Cardinal is practical enough. Kasi kapag ikaw ay pinakikinggan, you feel that you are important. Nararamdaman mong mahalaga ka. Pero iba din 'yong feeling na pinagsasabihan ka na gawin mo ito, ito ang dapat sa iyo, mali 'yang ginagawa mo. Di ba iba din? We feel that somehow lahat na lang yata ng ginagawa ko ay mali. Ano pa ang silbi ko sa mundong ito? But it is a totally different matter when the institution, the priests, listen to you. By listening to you, you feel that you are one with them, that you are part of this Church.

Pero sabi ng ibang mga bishops, lalong lalo na sa Europa, that strategy is not given nowadays. For them, the Church has to be more aggressive. Kung nawawala na raw ang pananampalataya ng mga tao, mas lalo na raw dapat maging agresibo ang Simbahan. At 'yong pakikinig can be taken as indifference. 'Yon ang pananaw ng mga European fathers. Pero sabi ni Cardinal, "Ah. You should come to the Philippines. You should experience how it is conducted in the Philippines. When bishops and priests just say and say things, you will notice that people do not anymore listen to them. In fact the priests in the Church are being criticized". So sa kwento ni Cardinal Tagle, even in the Philippines, hindi na sapat na ang Simbahan ay daldal lang nang daldal. Matuto ring makinig.

At idagdag pa natin 'yong sinabi pa ng isang Archbishop. You know him very well. He is now the Archbishop of Lingayen, Dagupan, Archbishop Soc Villegas. During his intervention in the Synod, ito ang sinabi niya. "The Church's mission or obligation or duty is not to impose the Word of God proudly, but simply to propose humbly." How does the Church do that? Going back to the Apostles, I think it was very clear to them that they were not the ones speaking, but it was Christ speaking on their behalf. They were merely instruments, that is why they think that they were so credible in the eyes of the people.

Reflecting on all of these, really, napakaraming dapat gawin ng Simbahan. At napakarami ring dapat gawin ang isang pari na katulad ko. To be credible in the eyes of the faithful is a challenge. To be credible in the eyes of so many believers is a very, very daunting task. How do we do that? Dadasalan po namin 'yan kung papaano. And you pray also for us that somehow, we may be able to do our job well. Just like St. Andrew and all the Apostles, may we also preach the Word of God credibly, honestly and truthfully. Amen. 

Saint Andrew – Pray for us

You mat also want to see: A Holy Life - Saint Andrew