19th Sunday in Ordinary Time. August 13, 2017 [Matthew 14:22-33]
“O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Mat 14:31)
Ocean is a gift to humanity. For many of us, ocean means a great variety of seafood, a place to spend our vacation. When we imagine a vast sea with beautiful beach, we are ready to enjoy swimming, snorkeling or diving. However, for millions of fishermen and seafarers, sea simply means life as they depend their lives and their families on the generosity of the sea, the resources it offers, and the works it generates. Unfortunately, the sea is not always merciful. The sea is home to powerful storms and with its giant waves that can even engulf the biggest of ships. With the effects of global warming, massive sea pollution and destructive ways of fishing, it is getting hard to get a good catch. Novelist Ernest Hemingway in his book “The Old Man and the Sea” narrates a life of fisherman who after risking his life to catch a giant fish, brings home nothing but a fishbone as his catch was consumed by other fishes. Majority of fishermen who continue struggling with lingering debt and difficulty to get fuel for their boats, become poorer by the day. These make fishermen and seafarers a perilous profession.
The Sea of Galilee is not a sea at all, but technically a lake. Certainly, it is a lot safer than the open sea, but the Gospels constantly tell us that the lake can be deadly sometimes even to seasoned fishermen like Peter and other apostles. Like Peter and the apostles, Filipino Dominican missionaries to Babuyan group of islands at the northern tip of the Philippines know well what it means to be at the mercy of the ocean. To go to their mission stations, they have to cross a sea strait by a small boat for around 4 to 8 hours. It might be a tiny strait, but it is a wild and dangerous one because it connects to two great seas, the Pacific Ocean on the east and South China Sea or West Philippine Sea on the west. When the sea is rough and the boat is hit and tossed by the giant waves, it is the time when our missionaries and all others in the boat to pray, and perhaps it is their sincerest prayer ever. When at the mercy of the ocean, we begin to realize that what matters most in life is actually life itself, and as only this life that we hold dear, everything else seems to be trivial and passing.
However, there comes the paradox. In the midst of raging ocean, holding on to fragile life, we begin to be closest to the creator of life Himself. The mighty sea washes away those things that stand between us and God. All those things that add layers upon layers to our lives are swept away. As we achieve wealth, physical beauties, educational attainments, physical beauties, possessions and honor, we tend to be full of ourselves, and become more independent from God who grants us those blessings. Like Peter, our faith becomes little, relying too much on ourselves. Then, when the storm comes and we begin to sink, we realize that all those achievements will not save us.
What are those things in our lives that stand between us and God? Are we like Peter, a man of little faith? What are the stormy sea experiences in our lives? How do you encounter God in these stormy sea experience?
Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
This Sunday, the Church is celebrating the feast of Transfiguration. The word ‘transfiguration’ comes from Matthew who writes Jesus transfigures before the three disciples, Peter, James and John, his face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as light (17:2). The word “transfigure” is the direct transliteration of the Latin Vulgate Bible “transfigurare”. It is a combination of two words “trans” meaning to across, and “figura” meaning figure. Thus, transfiguration literally means the change of figure. It is a fitting word to describe what happens to Jesus.
From today’s parables, we learn that Jesus appreciates human labor, the use of technology, and economic activities. The parables speak of men buying and selling land, merchants making transactions, and fisher folk catching and selecting the fish. Yet, the appreciation comes with a particular condition: the activities have to be honest and just.
From the several parables that Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus is keen on how nature works. He observes how seeds of wheat and weed grow, and how the yeast would affect the dough in the process of baking. Jesus also is observant of human ingenuity in working with nature for the benefit of the human community. Men and women till the land, are observant to the cycle of nature, sow the well-prepared seeds, take care of the growth and then harvest the result for the good of community. The use of yeast for baking is a very ancient method of cooking. Women would place yeast in dough, and the microorganism would interact with the carbohydrate in the flour, creating carbon dioxide, and as an effect, the leaven dough would expand. Though unleavened bread will last longer, this yeast would make the bread softer and tastier, making it more enjoyable for human consumption.
Looking carefully into the parable, we find something strange. The agrarian land in Palestine was not as fertile and arable like many other countries like Indonesia and Philippines. It was expected that some seeds would fall into stony grounds, or be outgrown by the thorny plans. Yet, the Israelite farmers knew very well that seeds were their lifeline and wasting three-quarter of their seeds was just unthinkable. To add to this oddity, Jesus assured that this waste of seeds would be compensated with super abundant result of thirty to hundredfold harvest. A seasoned farmer recognized that an ordinary wheat seed planted in the Palestinian soil would yield just enough for the family. Thus, many of Jesus’ listeners would wonder, “What is he talking about? He is just a carpenter, and now he is talking to us from a boat about agriculture?” Even His disciples were puzzled and approached Him for clarification.
Yoke is a device, usually of wood, placed on the shoulder of animals or persons to carry a burden. In agricultural settings, a yoke is used to pull a plow to make a furrow on the ground so that the soil will be ready for the seed planting. But, a yoke can be used also to drag a cart and transport various goods. Because its primary function is to carry a load or burden, a yoke turns to be a symbol of responsibility, hard work, and obligation. In our seminary in Manila, a leader among the brothers is called a decano. In the beginning of the formation year, we elect our decano, and as he assumes his responsibility, he ceremonially receives a wooden yoke from the outgoing decano. The yoke reminds him of responsibility and great task that he has to endure through the year.
When God calls us, God does not only call us privately and individually. In the Bible, God also calls us with our family, our community. God created the first man and woman not only to complete each other, but also to “multiply” or to build a human family. Noah entered the ark together with his wife and children. They were saved as a family from the flood. Abraham and Sarah were called from the land of Ur, and establish their own family and clan in the land of Canaan. When God called Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery, God also called Aaron and Miriam, Moses’ brother and sister, to assist him in his mission. Finally, the life of Jesus of Nazareth would not be complete without the family of Mary and Joseph of Nazareth.
St. Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel all time. When necessary, use words.” He correctly points out that preaching is not only the job of the priests in the pulpit, or lay preachers in the prayer meetings. Preaching the Gospel is the mission of all of us. The preaching can happen in the family, as we show our children the meaning of true love, fidelity and respect. Preaching can take place in our workplaces as we uphold honesty, hard work, and dedication. Preaching may manifest in our daily life as we do justice, service to the needy, and kindness to our neighbors.
Eating is essential to our life. Nobody would deny that eating is a matter of life and death, but there is always significant different between a beggar sitting by the gate of St. Domingo church and most of us who can enjoy a full meal three times a day. The beggar will ask himself, “How can I eat today?” While, we will inquire ourselves, “Where am I going to eat today? Is the ambience of the restaurant welcoming? Is the food as tasty as Filipino delicacy? Is the food safe from any cancer-causing substance?” For some, eating is about survival, but for some other, this phenomenon has evolved into something mechanically sophisticated. The society provides us with almost unlimited options of what we are going to eat, and seemingly we are masters of these foods as we possess the authority to choose what we like and shun what we don’t. But, we actually are slowly turning to be slaves of our appetite as we shift our focus not on the essential but on the trivial, like how we satisfy our fickle cravings.
Today, we are celebrating the Mystery of the Most Holy Trinity. This Mystery is rightly called the mystery of all the mysteries because the Holy Trinity is at the core of our Christian faith. Yet, the fundamental truth we believe is not only extremely difficult to understand, but in fact, it goes beyond our natural reasoning. How is it possible that we believe in three distinct Divine Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and yet they remain One God? Many great minds have tried to explain, but at the face of such immense truth, the best explanations would seem like a drop of water in the infinite ocean. Yet, we believe it precisely because the mystery is not coming from the human mind, but is revealed to us by God Himself.
