Browsed by
Author: Romo Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno OP

Doubt and Faith

Doubt and Faith

Second Sunday of Easter [B] – Divine Mercy Sunday
April 11, 2021
John 20:19-31

Thomas, one of Jesus’ apostles, was celebratedly called ‘the doubter.’ His skeptical attitude sprang when he was absent from the Sunday’s gathering, and he missed the most important event that took place on Sunday: Jesus’ resurrection. From here, we can learn an important lesson: do not be absent on Sunday’s mass!
Being skeptical or doubtful is part of our human nature. In fact, a certain level of skepticism is healthy and necessary. When we encounter unusual claims or information, we do not immediately trust them and put a certain skeptical distance. The doubt invites us to investigate and verify the veracity of the claim. When all reasonable doubts are removed, we can be sure of the truth.
Specific claims indeed must not be accepted at face value and be verified. If a man is accused of stealing, he has the right to the legal proceedings, and based on the evidence, the competent judge will pronounce the verdict. Not only in the court of law, fields of science also have rigorous methods to prove a hypothesis. The Church also adopts the same attitude. When the Church receives a claim that a person has seen the Lord or the Blessed Virgin Mary, she will investigate it. Is the person having a mental problem or simply hallucinating? Is the evil spirit involved? Is the private revelation going against the Church’s teachings? After clearing the reasonable doubts, the Church shall declare her position on the claim.
Going back to Thomas, at first, Thomas’ doubt seemed to be a reasonable one since he heard a spectacular claim from his brothers. As a Jew, Thomas may believe in the resurrection of the dead, but this would take place at the end of time. Jesus’ resurrection was unexpected. Thus, Thomas demanded proof, and it was given. However, if we see Jesus’ words to Thomas, “…do not be unbelieving [Gr. apistis] but believe [John 20:27].” Jesus pointed out that what happened to Thomas was not a simple and honest doubt but willful disbelief. While genuine doubt can be removed through reliable processes to achieve an objective truth, belief, on the other hand, is a free decision to accept that specific claim to be true. The problem is that what one believes does not always correspond to the objective truth.
Thus, when someone already decided to accept a particular claim as his subjective truth, he will not give up on the claim, however erroneous it is. Ideally, our belief corresponds to the objective reality. St. Thomas Aquinas puts it that the truth is the correspondence between the mind and reality.
After Jesus showed Thomas His wounds as evidence of His resurrection, Jesus moved to the next and most crucial step. He asked Thomas to believe. Thomas eventually accepted the truth of resurrection as his own. Jesus is indeed Lord and God, but only when Thomas received the truth as his own, could he say, ‘my Lord and my God.’
One way or another, we may reflect Thomas. We may learn the Catholic faith’s truth since we are young, but do we honestly believe them? We may confess Jesus is our God, but do we trust Him in times of trials and difficulties? We may say that God has redeemed us, but do we live more like the redeemed people?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Keraguan dan Iman

Keraguan dan Iman

Minggu Kedua Paskah [B] – Minggu Kerahiman Ilahi
11 April 2021
Yohanes 20: 19-31

Tomas, salah satu rasul Yesus, disebut sebagai ‘orang yang ragu’. Sikap skeptisnya muncul ketika dia tidak hadir pada pertemuan rasul hari Minggu, dan dia melewatkan hal terpenting yang terjadi pada hari Minggu: kebangkitan Yesus. Dari sini, kita dapat memetik pelajaran penting: jangan absen pada misa hari Minggu!
Menjadi skeptis atau ragu adalah bagian dari kodrat manusia kita. Bahkan skeptisisme pada tahap tertentu itu sehat dan perlu. Ketika kita menemukan klaim atau informasi yang tidak biasa, kita tidak langsung mempercayai hal itu dan juga meragukannya. Keraguan mengundang kita untuk menyelidiki dan memverifikasi kebenaran klaim tersebut. Ketika semua keraguan dihilangkan, kita bisa yakin akan kebenaran hal tersebut.
Ada klaim-klaim yang memang tidak boleh diterima begitu saja dan harus diverifikasi. Jika seorang laki-laki dituduh mencuri, ia berhak mendapatkan proses hukum, dan berdasarkan bukti-bukti, hakim yang berwenang akan menjatuhkan keputusan. Tidak hanya di dalam pengadilan, bidang ilmu alam dan sosial juga memiliki metode-metode ilmiah yang ketat untuk membuktikan sebuah hipotesis. Gereja juga mengadopsi sikap yang sama. Ketika Gereja menerima klaim bahwa seseorang telah melihat Tuhan atau Perawan Maria, Gereja tidak langsung percaya dan akan menyelidikinya. Apakah orang tersebut mengalami masalah kejiwaan, atau hanya berhalusinasi? Apakah roh jahat itu terlibat? Apakah wahyu pribadi bertentangan dengan ajaran Gereja? Setelah menghilangkan keraguan, Gereja akan menyatakan posisinya atas klaim tersebut.
Kembali ke Thomas, pada awalnya, keraguan Thomas tampaknya sesuatu yang wajar karena dia mendengar klaim spektakuler kebangkitan Yesus dari para rasul yang lain. Sebagai seorang Yahudi, Tomas mungkin percaya pada kebangkitan orang mati, tapi ini akan terjadi pada akhir zaman. Kebangkitan Yesus sungguh tidak terduga. Karena itu, Thomas meminta bukti. Namun, jika kita melihat kata-kata Yesus kepada Tomas setelah Dia menunjukkan luka-luka-Nya, “… jangan engkau tidak percaya [Yunani: apistis] lagi, melainkan percayalah. [Yoh 20:27]. ” Yesus menunjukkan bahwa apa yang terjadi pada Tomas bukanlah keraguan yang alami, tetapi ketidak percayaan yang disengaja.
Sementara keraguan alami dapat dihilangkan melalui proses verifikasi untuk mencapai kebenaran obyektif, di sisi lain, keyakinan adalah keputusan bebas untuk menerima klaim tertentu itu benar. Masalahnya adalah apa yang kita dipercaya tidak selalu sesuai dengan kebenaran obyektif. Jadi, ketika seseorang sudah memutuskan untuk menerima klaim tertentu sebagai kebenaran subyektifnya, dia tidak akan melepaskan klaim tersebut betapa pun salahnya hal itu. Idealnya, keyakinan kita sesuai dengan realitas objektif. St Thomas Aquinas secara sederhana menyatakan bahwa kebenaran adalah korespondensi [kecocokan] antara pikiran dan realitas.
Setelah Yesus menunjukkan kepada Thomas luka-luka-Nya sebagai bukti kebangkitan-Nya, Yesus menuju ke langkah berikutnya dan yang paling penting. Dia meminta Thomas untuk percaya. Thomas akhirnya menerima kebenaran kebangkitan sebagai miliknya sendiri. Yesus memang Tuhan dan Allah, tetapi hanya ketika Thomas menerima kebenaran ini sebagai miliknya, dia bisa berkata, ‘Ya Tuhanku dan Allahku.’
Dalam hidup ini, kita mungkin sama seperti Tomas. Kita mungkin mempelajari kebenaran iman Katolik sejak kita muda, tetapi apakah kita benar-benar mempercayai dan menghidupinya? Kita mungkin mengakui bahwa Yesus adalah Tuhan kita, tetapi apakah kita benar-benar percaya dan berpegang pada Dia pada saat pencobaan dan kesulitan? Kita mungkin berkata bahwa Tuhan telah menebus kita, tetapi apakah kita hidup seperti orang-orang tertebus?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Easter Joy

Easter Joy

Easter Sunday [B]
April 4, 2021
John 20:1-9

Jesus has risen! Alleluia! He is indeed alive, and we have reason to celebrate and rejoice exultantly. From Palm Sunday till Good Friday, we have witnessed the most excellent drama at the center of our faith. Jesus was received as a king by his people, who would eventually condemn Him. He gave up His body and blood to His disciples and brothers, who ultimately sold, betrayed, denied, and abandoned Him. He was innocent, yet He was condemned as a criminal and suffer horrible death on the cross. He is God, but He was buried just like any man. Yet, these dreadful things are not the end of the story. There is a marvelous twist! He rose from the dead and conquered death—his love triumphs over hatred and sin.
The good news is that Jesus’ story is real. His story is radically different from the box-office-hit movies like the Marvel series. The Avengers may dramatically defeat Thanos and resurrected the missing half of humanity, but they remain the great work of fiction. Jesus is real, as even more real than all of us. And because He has risen, our faith in Him is not in vain. We are saved, and we are redeemed. This is the unshakable foundation of our joy! Blaise Paschal, a Catholic French Philosopher, once commented, “Nobody is as happy as a real Christian.”
Yet, what does it mean to be joyful in our world now? Many of us are still struggling with pandemic covid-19, and we are not sure when this will end. Some of us are losing our beloved ones, and others must face an uncertain future due to economic meltdown. We are becoming more unsure of our lives. What should be joyful? We need to see that joy of redeemed people is not simply fleeting good feelings or outbursts of emotions. If we know this kind of sensation in the Church, we may get disappointed.
To have faith in Jesus means we believe that our lives will eventually make sense in Jesus. Thus, our joy is coming from following Jesus, participating in His drama of love and redemption, including in His cross and death. Jesus’ suffering is not the suffering of a helpless victim but a courageously loving man. Jesus’s death is not the death of a sore loser but a total sacrifice of the lover. Jesus loves us to the fullness, and absolute love demands death. In Christ, our suffering is not a sign of our weakness but our radical love. Our joy is following from the truth that we discover that in Christ, we are created beyond ourselves, but for the infinite love, for God Himself.
In this time of crisis, we may endure more uncertainties, but we may have this moment to die to our illusion that wealth, position, and power can save us. In this time of trials, we may face more hardship, but we can turn this opportunity to love deeply and even to offer ourselves in Christ.
On March 27, 1996, seven Trappist monks were kidnapped from the monastery of Tribhirine, Algeria, by the extremist group. All eventually murdered. They had been warned to leave the monastery as Algeria’s situation worsened, but they refused to go because they wanted to be with the people they served. Brother Christian, the leader, wrote in a letter, “I am certain that God loves the Algerians and that He has chosen to prove it by giving them our lives. So then, do we truly love them? Do we love them enough? This is a moment of truth for each one of us and a heavy responsibility in these times when our friends feel so little loved.”

Happy and Blessed Easter to all of you!

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Sukacita Paskah

Sukacita Paskah

Minggu Paskah [B]
4 April 2021
Yohanes 20: 1-9

Yesus telah bangkit! Aleluya! Dia benar-benar hidup dan kita bersukacita. Dari Minggu Palma hingga Jumat Agung, kita telah menjadi saksi drama terbesar di pusat iman kita. Yesus diterima sebagai raja oleh rakyat-Nya yang pada akhirnya akan menghukum Dia. Dia menyerahkan tubuh dan darah-Nya kepada para murid dan saudara-Nya yang akhirnya menjual, mengkhianati, menyangkal, dan meninggalkan-Nya. Dia tidak bersalah, namun Dia dihukum sebagai penjahat dan menderita kematian yang mengerikan di kayu salib. Dia adalah Tuhan, tetapi Dia dikuburkan sama seperti manusia lainnya. Namun, hal-hal mengerikan ini bukanlah akhir dari cerita kita. Ada kejutan yang luar biasa! Dia bangkit dari kematian dan menaklukkan kematian. Kasih-Nya menang atas kebencian dan dosa.
Kabar baiknya adalah kisah Yesus itu nyata. Kisah-Nya sangat berbeda dari film-film box-office seperti film-film Marvel. Avengers mungkin secara dramatis mengalahkan Thanos dan membangkitkan separuh umat manusia yang hilang, tetapi mereka tetap merupakan karya fiksi. Yesus itu nyata, bahkan lebih nyata dari kita semua. Dan karena Dia benar-benar telah bangkit, iman kita kepada-Nya tidak sia-sia. Kita diselamatkan dan kita ditebus. Ini adalah fondasi yang tak tergoyahkan dari sukacita kita! Blaise Paschal, seorang Filsuf Prancis Katolik, pernah berkomentar, “Tidak ada yang sebahagia umat Kristiani sejati.”
Namun, apa artinya bersukacita di dunia kita sekarang? Banyak dari kita masih berjuang dengan pandemi COVID-19 dan kita tidak yakin kapan ini akan berakhir. Beberapa dari kita kehilangan orang yang kita cintai, dan yang lain harus menghadapi masa depan yang tidak pasti karena krisis ekonomi. Kita menjadi lebih tidak yakin dengan hidup kita. Apa bisa kita bersukacita? Kita perlu melihat bahwa sukacita kita bukan hanya perasaan enak yang cepat berlalu atau sebuah luapan emosi. Jika kita hanya mencari sensasi seperti ini di Gereja, kita mungkin kecewa.
Beriman kepada Yesus berarti kita percaya bahwa hidup kita pada akhirnya akan memiliki makna di dalam Yesus. Jadi, sukacita kita datang dari mengikuti Yesus, berpartisipasi dalam drama kasih dan penebusan-Nya, termasuk dalam salib dan kematian-Nya. Penderitaan Yesus bukanlah penderitaan korban yang tidak berdaya, melainkan penderitaan manusia berani. Kematian Yesus bukanlah kematian pecundang, tapi pengorbanan total. Yesus mengasihi kita sepenuhnya, dan kasih total menuntut kematian. Di dalam Kristus, penderitaan kita bukanlah tanda kelemahan kita, tetapi dari kasih radikal kita. Sukacita kita mengalir dari kebenaran yang kita temukan bahwa di dalam Kristus, kita diciptakan melampaui diri kita sendiri, tetapi untuk kasih yang tak terbatas, untuk Tuhan sendiri.
Di masa krisis ini, kita mungkin menanggung lebih banyak ketidakpastian, tetapi kita bisa menjadikan momen ini untuk mati terhadap ilusi kita bahwa kekayaan, posisi, dan kekuasaan dapat menyelamatkan kita. Di masa pencobaan ini, kita mungkin menghadapi lebih banyak kesulitan, tetapi di dalam Kristus, kita dapat mengubah kesempatan ini untuk mengasihi secara mendalam, dan bahkan memberikan diri kita sendiri.
Pada 27 Maret 1996, ada tujuh pertama Trappist diculik dari biara Tribhirine, Aljazair, oleh kelompok ekstremis. Semua akhirnya dibunuh. Beberapa bulan sebelumnya, mereka telah diperingatkan untuk meninggalkan biara karena situasi Aljazair memburuk, tetapi mereka menolak pergi karena mereka ingin tinggal bersama dengan orang yang mereka layani. Brother Christian, pemimpin biara, menulis dalam sebuah surat, “Saya yakin bahwa Tuhan mencintai orang Aljazair dan bahwa Dia telah memilih untuk membuktikannya dengan memberikan hidup kami kepada mereka. Jadi, apakah kami benar-benar mencintai mereka? Apakah kami cukup mencintai mereka? Ini adalah momen kebenaran bagi kami masing-masing dan tanggung jawab yang berat di saat-saat ini ketika teman-teman kami merasa sangat sedikit dicintai. ”

Selamat Paskah!

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

The Colt

The Colt

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion [B]
March 28, 2021
Mark 11:1-10; Mark 14 – 15

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week, a most sacred week in our liturgical year. This year’s celebration may be different from other years because of the pandemic, but this does not stop us from having a solemn and meaningful celebration. One of the usual questions people ask about the celebration of Palm Sunday: “Why did Jesus ride a donkey?” Jokingly I replied, “well, an online taxi was not yet available during that time!”
The standard answer to this question is that Jesus would like to show Himself as a meek and humble king, rather than a power-lust and war freak general who rides a stallion. This answer is correct, but it does not give us a complete picture. If we try to go deeper into Mark gospel alone, we will unearth the Old Testaments’ fulfillments.
The choice of the colt is deliberate on the part of Jesus because He is fulfilling the prophecy of Zachariah. In essence, the prophet Zechariah foretold that someday a gentle, yet victorious king will enter Jerusalem, riding a colt [see Zec 9:9]. Yet, there are more!
If we go back to the Old Testament, we will find a king of Israel who indeed rode this humble animal. He was Salomon, David’s son when he was ascending to his throne [1 Kings 1:33]. By riding a colt, He signifies that He is the new Salomon ascending to His new throne, the cross.
Mark is telling us also that people are spreading their clothes also before Jesus. Going back to the Old Testament, we also discover a king of Judah whose ascension to the throne received this kind of gesture also from the people. His name is Jehu [2 Kings 9:12]. Aside from that, Mark is informing us that people welcome Jesus with leafy branches. Again, if we go back to the old testament, green branches were used to receive Judas Maccabeus, who retook Jerusalem from the enemy’s hands [2 Mac 10:7]. Jesus is indeed a gentle king, but He is also a victorious conqueror of His enemies. One more thing is that Mark added the expression ‘… our Father David…” David is undoubtedly not one of the Israelites patriarchs [Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob]. Still, the people of Israel recognized king David as the nation’s father, a king that protects and provides for his people.
From here, we can draw a stunning conclusion on this Palm Sunday. Jesus is riding on the unridden colt to show that He is Messiah King in the line of David, in the likeness of Salomon and Jehu, as well as a victorious king who will conquer His enemies. Yet, there is something even remarkable. Mark gives us a unique detail: this colt is untamed and untrained. Jesus’ choice to ride this wild animal shows His mastery over wild beasts and nature. He is not just the king of Israel, the king of humankind, but He is a king of all nature. Indeed, a colt is a good ride for the king of the universe.
However, we must not be happy too soon. There are more secrets to be opened and more prophesies to be fulfilled as we enter the drama of Holy Week.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Translate »