Month: September 2022

Lazarus and Theophilus

On By bayuopIn English, Ordinary TimeLeave a comment

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
September 25, 2022
Luke 16:19-31

One of the main characters of Luke is that he tends to be ‘pro-poor’ and harsh towards the rich. This can be easily seen in the various teachings and parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke. One of the highlights is the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. Yes, this rich man ended up in a bad place. Now, the question is, “Why was Luke so hard on the rich? Did Luke hate people who have great wealth?”

Let’s take a closer look at today’s parable. Poor Lazarus went to restful place with Abraham, while the rich man went to the place of torment. Yes, the rich man is the villain, and there is no other place for him, but a place of punishment. Certainly, this rich man was punished not because he had enormous wealth, or that he did anything evil. Even though he had great wealth, wore extravagant purple garment, and partied every day, he didn’t lift any finger to help suffering Lazarus. He was in a place of torture because he refused to help his fellow man. The core lesson is that it is not enough to avoid doing evil to others, but we also need to do good to others.

Even more interesting is if we look at the bigger picture of Luke’s Gospel. At first, Luke dedicated his gospel to Theophilus. Who is this Theophilus? We are not entirely sure, but one interesting theory is that Theophilus was a rich man who supported Luke. At that time, production of a book required enormous resources. Papyrus and parchment alone were rare and expensive, not to mention other expenses. Luke may not have been able to fulfill his gospel writing assignment due to a lack of resources, but Theophilus then came to the rescue, so that we now have the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles.

However, despite the tremendous help of Theophilus, the rich guy, Luke did not make his Gospel to please Theophilus. Luke did not write the parable of the rich man going to heaven, or teach, “Blessed are the materially rich, for they will become richer.” Luke still wrote what had to be written, the parable of the rich man who went to the place of fire. The question remains: Why was Luke so bold?

The first reason is that Luke did convey the authentic teaching of Jesus, and for that reason, he could not change it to please some people. However, the second reason is that Luke wanted to wisely point out that Theophilus is the opposite of the rich man in the parable. Unlike a rich man who kept his great fortune to himself and ended up losing everything, Theophilus freely and generously shared his wealth to support the writing of the gospel, and ultimately, he got the most important thing in his life, Jesus Christ.

Through these parables and other teachings of Jesus, Luke constantly reminds us of the dangers and (also function) of worldly riches. Wealth is always a means, and not an end in itself. Failure to see this can endanger our souls. However, when wealth is seen as both a blessing and a means to do good, it can help us grow in holiness. We must learn from the rich man in the parable as well as from Theophilus.

Rome
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Be Wise for the Eternal Life

On By bayuopIn Uncategorized1 Comment

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
September 18, 2022
Luke 16:1-13

Jesus’ parables are not as simple as they appear. In the previous chapter (Luk 15), we listen to Jesus’ three parables, that are, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost sons. At first, they seem ordinary stories with usual lesson, yet as we go deeper, we realize they contain values that even go beyond the human logic (see previous Sunday’s reflection). Now, we encounter another Jesus’ parable that challenges our normal human way of doing things: parable of dishonest steward.

There is a steward who had been entrusted by his master to take care of his master’s house and possession, and yet, instead doing his job, he prefers to squander his master’s wealth and betrays his master’s trust. Angered master fires his useless servant. Yet, upon this impending judgment, the servant realizes that he is not able to dig, meaning he cannot labor in the farmland or at the construction sites. He is also ashamed to become a beggar. Then, he engineers a way out. He calls all his master’s debtors and cut into half all their debts by manipulating their letter of agreement. By doing this, he is doing a favor to them and making them as their friends. This is to secure way to survive after his expulsion. Surely this is manipulation and corruption, and yet he is praised for doing so. What’s going on?

Firstly, Jesus is not making the steward as the model of literal imitation. He is not asking us to steal other’s people wealth and involve ourselves in corrupt practices. Through this parable, Jesus employs ‘compare and contrast’ technique. The lesson looks like this: if a wicked man knows how to manipulate wealth and money to save his life on earth, so we, the followers of Christ, should be wise enough to use wealth and possession to clear our path to heaven.

Jesus also adds the sense of urgency in His parable. The steward was desperate for his life and how he transformed his attachment to wealth to a means to his earthly salvation. Thus, we are called to free ourselves to this attachment to earthly possessions and use our wealth to make desperate attempts for our eternal salvation. As children of light, we should make eternal life as our end, and the rest will be means to it.

Surely, eternal life is coming from the Lord only, and we can never bribe God to open the door of heavens. Yet, the Lord also wills that we freely participate in His work of redemption. One of the ways is to properly use the material blessings to help us grow in holiness, to assist other people and to support the evangelization mission of the Church. From the parables of chapter 15, we have seen the Lord who loves us and look for us even with efforts beyond human logic, and now, we are called to throw everything to respond to His love.

Rome
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Beyond Human Logic

On By bayuopIn Ordinary TimeLeave a comment

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
September 11, 2022
Luke 15:1-32

Luke 15 is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and heart-moving chapter in the entire Gospel, even in the entire Bible. In this chapter, Jesus narrated three unforgettable parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the all-time favorite, the parable of the lost sons (better known the prodigal son). The three parables are given to answer the self-righteous Pharisees who questioned Jesus, ‘why is He close to the sinners?’

By Jonny Gios

Surely, there are countless life-transforming insight in these parables, yet if there is one unifying theme is that extreme and unfathomable joy of repentance. The joy even goes beyond ‘human logic’. In the first parable, the shepherd was overjoyed for his found sheep after perilous rescue operation and even possibility of risking the life of other sheep. Yet, human logic tells us that losing one or two sheep is just normal, and the shepherd should focus his effort on the remaining sheep. In the second parable, the woman was rejoicing exceedingly for her discovered coin, and even invited her friends to celebrate the discovery. Yet, human logic tells us that missing pennies are normal, and throwing party with friends will cost even larger sum of money. It does not worth the effort.

The third parable even gives us a more outrageous figure. Human logic tells us that a man who demanded his inheritance while his father still alive, and cut ties with his family, no longer deserves to become part of the family. Even if he returns, and if his father receives him back, it is normally expected that the father would educate and discipline him. Even the lost son understands this well, as he goes back with intention to become a slave and save his life from hunger. Yet, the father does something beyond human imaginations. He joyfully welcomes his lost son and throws a big party. This outrageous act provokes the human logic of the elder son who angrily refuses to be part of the homecoming.

The real question is that why did Jesus give us three parables that defied human logic and expectation? The reason is that the value of repentance itself. From the human perspective, the three parables are illogical or at best, weird, but from the God’s eternal view, it makes perfect sense. There is immense joy in repentance because the value is, simply put, eternal. When one returns to God and perseveres to the end, he will have the life and happiness that are eternal, and other things are nothing compared to this end.

We are invited to become the shepherd of the lost sheep, the woman of the lost coin, and the father of the lost sons. Our mission is to bring people who are dear to us closer to God, and often this requires unparallel sacrifices. Yet, at the end, there is no greater joy to know we together with our beloved ones share the eternal life.

A Roma
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

To Love or to Hate our Family

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23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
September 4, 2022
Luke 14:25-33

Once again, we stumble upon the hard sayings of Jesus. “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” This statement indeed makes us wonder deeply. Did Jesus really want us to hate someone we should respect and love the most? Why did Jesus ask to hate our parents, but He teaches us to love even our enemies? Is He not contradicting Himself (once again)? How do we need to understand Jesus’ tough saying?

The first thing is to consider the meaning ‘hate’ in the context of the Bible. ‘Hate’ does not mean to do harms or evil things to someone. ‘Hate’ simply means to ‘love’ someone ‘less’. A good example is in the case of Jacob, Rachel and Leah. “So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah… When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb… (Ge 29:30–31)” Jacob ‘hated’ Leah, means that he loved Rachel more than Leah. Thus, when Jesus said that in following Him, we need to hate our family, this means that we have to love Jesus more than our family. This is indeed a just demand. If Jesus is our Lord, then we should love Him above everything, including our beloved parents, siblings or children.

The second important thing we need to see is the immediate context. Jesus was in His way to Jerusalem, and there, He would face His cross. If the disciples really decide to walk in the footstep of His Master, then they have to ‘hate’ their family, their works, and even lives. Otherwise, if they remain attached to their family, possessions and earthly relations, they would not be able to bear the sufferings as consequence of following Jesus. No wonder in the previous chapters, Jesus even said to those wanted to become His disciples, “let the dead bury the dead!”

From these two perspectives, Jesus’ hard teachings makes sense. However, what is interesting is that in real lives, the more we love Jesus, the more we love our family. In truth, there is no competition between Jesus and our family, because Jesus is loved through loving our families. The key is that our love to our family has to be Christ-centred. The fathers of the family love God by leading their families closer to God, and educating their children to honor God and love the true faith. The mothers love God not only by caring and raising their children, but by teaching them the genuine devotion to God. Finally, parents consecrate their children to as their best offerings.

While it is true that some Christians decided to follow Christ in more radical and total way, like the priests, religious man and women and even the lay missionaries, it does not mean we stop loving our families. In fact, we are offering them in our prayers and Mass.
To love God and to place Jesus as the center of our lives and families put everything in proper order. And, when things in order, we find the true happiness and fulfilment in this life.
A Roma
Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP