Go into the Deep

 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

06 February 2022

 

First Reading: IS 6:1-2a, 3-8

Responsorial Psalm: PS 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8

Second Reading: 1 COR 15:1-11

Gospel: LK 5:1-11

 

Reflection

By: Sem. Carlo Alexis R. Malaluan

 

I love walking through labyrinths. The first time I walked through a labyrinth was over five years ago when I was invited for a personal retreat in Tagaytay. I was drawn to the slow pace to which the pathway lends itself and to long rests sitting in the center praying. As you go along the path, deeper realizations and reflections would arise. Sometimes, the path could be too confusing or overwhelming but a labyrinth is a spiritual encounter - an invitation to journey to the very center of our hearts where God awaits.

This is the very invitation of Christ to the fishermen of Galilee - put into the deep! I could imagine the reactions of these skilled men upon hearing the instruction of the Lord. Of course, they have mastered the sea. It has been their life. They could tell whether or not they could catch fishes. But Christ was insistent - duc in altum! Most of the time, we have thought that we already mastered our own seas - our lives, our relationships, our work, our priorities, our dreams and desires. We thought we knew the deepest recesses of our hearts only to find out that we have been casting our nets on the wrong side of the sea. We have been overly familiar with the world we create for ourselves thus we end up being frustrated and lonely because it is not our reality. But Christ sees us through. Christ looks tenderly on the things we fail or choose not to look at. Time and time, He invites us to go deeper - to put ourselves into the depths of our being and to see our own reality, our own brokenness and woundedness.

In the Camaldolese Constitutions, there is a passage that I like very much. It reads: "We are frequently cast out from our hearts as the sea casts out a dead body." We don't like going into the deep. We go into our hearts and are pushed out. We cannot take it. We cannot stay. We cannot be still because we know that the depth of our being and the silence of our hearts reveals only one reality - that we are broken. And that truth is very uncomfortable. However, it is liberating one - an intimate moment of spiritual breakthrough. This is the same experience of the people of God. Isaiah admits that he is a doomed man with sinful lips and Paul tells that he is not worthy to be called as an apostle. And with Peter we could only say with great humility - "Depart from me, Lord, for I am sinful man."

When we are able to enter into the depth of our hearts and accept the reality of our being - conversion begins. When Isaiah acknowledges his sinful lips, God gave him the faculty to proclaim His message to His people. When Paul and Peter admitted their unworthiness, they were given grace to become witnesses for Christ. Christ already knew how deep our seas were. Christ already knew the unexplored depths of our hearts yet Christ invites us to immerse ourselves in the reality of our lives no matter how shameful, how ridiculous and wounded they are.

When we are able to go into the depth of our hearts - we will only find one thing: the love of Christ that loves us even in the darkest deepest reality of our lives.

Prayer

Lord, You know my heart and my whole being more than I do. I offer You the entirety of my being most especially the parts where it is painful or shameful for me to look at. Grant me the grace to journey into the deepest parts of my soul ever consoled that I would find Your unchanging love in the brokenness of my heart. Amen.

 

Shepherds

“ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. “

First Reading: Acts 13:14, 43-52

But they passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisid'ia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. And when the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God.

         

But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, and reviled him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, `I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

         

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Ico'nium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Psalm: Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 5

Second Reading: Revelation 7:9, 14-17

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence.They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their  shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Gospel: John 10:27-30

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one."

Reflection
By Benj Santiago

“My sheep hear my voice;


I know them, and they follow me.

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.

No one can take them out of my hand.” (Jn: 27-28)

In today’s Gospel, I vividly see an image of a loving, caring shepherd. The “Good Shepherd” who is willing to lay His life for His flock. And His flock is not just the chosen people. His sheep are those who hear His voice, those who follow Him. Even the Gentiles (non-Jews) are part of His flock. When Paul and Barnabas spoke to the Gentiles: “The Gentiles were delighted when they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the Lord continued to spread through the whole region.”

In Jesus’ time, to be a shepherd is a low level job. Even in today’s standards, the shepherds are still low level farm hands. Whole day you take care of nothing but your flock. That could be boring and tiring. If you do not really care about your flock, they get to stray away or is lost and you don’t do anything about it for what you care about is just the pay you get from it. But Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He continues to show us that He is even willing to give up His life for us. The Psalmist says “The LORD is good: his kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. We are his people, the sheep of his flock.” The question is do we know Him? Do we hear His Voice? Do we follow Him? How?

I have been consistently attending the Light Of Jesus Community for more than 4 years now. I attend the weekly gathering which is aptly called “The Feast” at PICC. Weekly, I get a dose of inspiration from Bro. Bo Sanchez; the Spiritual Leader of the community. I have deepened my relationship with our Lord through the love filled, and most often down to earth and funny sharing of this wonderful person, called Bo. It is where I learn to know more about Jesus, hear His Voice through the sharing, and follow Him by doing what I am inspired to do for my fellowmen. The disciples had Jesus as their Shepherd. The Gentiles had Paul and Barnabas as their shepherd. I have Bro Bo as my shepherd. Now, I am doing my best to be worthy to shepherd people too to the right path, the greener pasture, to “springs of life-giving water.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You and glorify You for You have given us Your only begotten Son to be our Good Shepherd. May we continue to hear His voice and follow Him in our day to day activities. May we know Him more dearly so we can follow His example of being a good shepherd to our own family, our friends, our entire community, and most especially to people who do not know Him yet. All this we ask in the mighty name of our Good Shepherd, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen!

Rejoice in God

3rd Sunday In Advent
13 December 2009


Come, let us worship the Lord, the King who is to come.


First reading Zephaniah 3:14-18

Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,
Israel, shout aloud!
Rejoice, exult with all your heart,
daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has repealed your sentence;
he has driven your enemies away.
The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;
you have no more evil to fear.
When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:
Zion, have no fear,
do not let your hands fall limp.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a victorious warrior.
He will exult with joy over you,
he will renew you by his love;
he will dance with shouts of joy for you
as on a day of festival.

Canticle Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people

Second reading Philippians 4:4-7

I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near.
There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.

Gospel Luke 3:10-18

When all the people asked John, ‘What must we do?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’ There were tax collectors too who came for baptism, and these said to him, ‘Master, what must we do?’ He said to them, ‘Exact no more than your rate.’ Some soldiers asked him in their turn, ‘What about us? What must we do?’ He said to them, ‘No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!’
A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, ‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’ As well as this, there were many other things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.


Reflection
By Jeanne Therese Hilario-Andres

Shout for joy! Sing joyfully! Cry out with joy and gladness! Rejoice in the Lord always!

What marvelous superlatives. What extreme emotions. What a superabundance of exclamation points. I can almost picture Zephaniah, Isaiah and Paul scribbling smiley faces and putting dancing emoticons onto their divinely-inspired manuscripts.

Sometimes, it is effortless to rejoice in God and shout for joy, especially when things are going our way, or when we are giving thanks to God with others. It is easier to get caught up in the moment and to feel joyful and exuberant when we have just gotten some good news, or as we listen to other people’s triumphs. We laugh, sing, dance, clap our hands and feel an emotional high.

But then we go home and return to daily life. We see our dwindling funds and worsening economy. We deplore rising crime and political turmoil. We weep over broken relationships and family problems. We mourn our losses. We regret the past. We worry about what is to come. And then, easily, unwittingly, we forget to give thanks, to rejoice, to cry out with gladness to the Lord. Instead, we brood, we plan, we devise ways to survive our daily lives and be in control of our future.

In my mind, the opposite of thanksgiving is not ingratitude, but anxiety. Fear. Disquiet. Useless concern. The moment we stop trusting in the Lord, we stop giving thanks. We stop rejoicing. We stop celebrating.

Confidence and courage in God naturally leads to extraordinary joy which surpasses the fleeting pleasures offered by the world. Joyful remembrance of God’s past faithfulness leads to childlike trust and an impenetrable shield of hope. It is a beautiful, nourishing, life-altering cycle which produces a deep-seated peace that no one can steal.

What chains of worry and anxiety are binding you? What is restricting you from surrendering all your cares on the Lord? What is keeping you from dancing and crying out for joy to God at all times, in all circumstances, in all situations? Surrender them all to Him. Cast them all at His feet.

As we enter deeper into this season of Advent, no matter what may be happening in the world around us, let us rejoice and cry out with joy to the Lord, for He is our Saviour, Protector and Provider. In Him, our joy is forever renewed.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are my joy. You are my hope. You are my shield. Grant me grace to rejoice in You and to trust in Your power. Give me lasting joy and the peace that transcends all understanding. I surrender all my fears, chains and burdens to You, Lord. For You are my God, and all my hope, all my joy, all my trust is in You. Amen.

Next week on God-speak
The Lady with the Blackened Feet