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Third Sunday of Easter [May 5, 2019] John 21:1-19

If we observe the Gospel readings of the past days and Sundays, we will notice that most of them are speaking about the risen Christ’s appearances to His disciples. One unnoticeable yet interesting feature in these stories is that of the presence of food.

The two disciples who walk to Emmaus, invite Jesus to have a dinner. Jesus takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks it, and gives it, and He disappears. The two disciples come to their senses, and realize He is Jesus [Luk 24:30]. When Jesus appears to the Eleven and other disciples, they are terrified. To dispel their doubt on His resurrection, Jesus presents His body and eats the fish given to Him [Luk 24:42]. And in today’s Gospel, Jesus invites His seven disciples to a breakfast at the shore of the Lake of Tiberias. After another miraculous catch, Jesus prepares bread and fish for the disciples who are no longer baffled by the appearance of their Master [John 21:13].

We may ask, “Why bread and fish?” These are simple food that are often available at Jewish household. Yet, looking deeper, bread and fish possess a profound meaning. Bread and fish are earliest symbol of Christ and Christians. Bread, especially the breaking of the bread, is the technical biblical name for the Eucharist. In the Acts of Apostles, the first Christians gather around the apostles for the teaching and breaking of the bread [Acts 2:42]. On a Sunday, Paul leads the community of Troas in worship as he preaches and breaks bread [Acts 20:7]. Fish, in Greek, is “Ichthus” and it stands for “Iesous Christos Theos Hyios Soter”, meaning Jesus Christ God Son [and] Savior. The symbol of fish was scattered inside catacombs of Rome as a sign of Christian gathering in time of persecution.

The question lingers: why does the risen Lord ask for food and invites the disciples to eat? Firstly, eating food is one of the most basic activities of human being. It points to our biological functions that sustains our bodily life and growth. The spiritless body neither consumes food, nor the bodiless spirit enjoys meals. Jesus shows His disciples that his resurrection is not a matter of spiritual enlightenment, but truly a bodily reality. His disciples neither see a spirit floating in the air, nor simply believe that their Teacher is alive in their hearts. The tomb is empty because Jesus, including His body, has risen.

Secondly, eating together does not only satisfy our tummy, but it also brings people closer together. While we are enjoying food, we cannot but share our thoughts and hearts to each other. Eating together builds not only the body, but also the dialogue and community. One of my favorite activities in the convent is the meal time, not because I am fond of eating, but we share a lot of stories and opinions. We practically speak about anything under the sun, from the latest movie, Avenger Endgame, the current political issues, to theological discussion on St. Thomas Aquinas. We also tell our joys, concerns and worries in our ministry and our future as a community. Simple food, yet great bonding.

Upon the simple reality of eating together, Jesus builds His community. In a shared meal, He retells His stories of painful passion and shameful death, and unearths its profound meanings especially as the fulfillment of the Scriptures. The events of his death used to be absurdity and loss of hope, but in the dining table, the risen Lord restores the faith, hope and love that go dim.

Jesus leaves us the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread, the sacred meal. Like the first disciples, it is here that we discover the risen Lord who shares His body as a spiritual food, and His Word as the meaning of our life. In the Eucharist, we are assured that the worst of this world does not have the last say, and the battle against absurdity has already been won.

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Second Sunday of Easter [Divine Mercy Sunday] April 28, 2019 – John 20:19-31

Today is the Divine Mercy Sunday. From the Gospel, Jesus institutes the sacrament of reconciliation as He bestows His Holy Spirit upon the Disciples. He grants them the divine authority to forgive (and not to forgive) sins and charges them to be the agents of Mercy. While it is true that only priests can minister the sacrament of confession, every disciple of Christ is called to be an agent of Mercy and forgiveness. Yet, how we are going to be the bearers of Mercy and Forgiveness? I think we need to understand first the dynamic of fear and peace.

Fear is one of the human most basic emotions. It makes us flee from impending danger and normally, it is good and necessary for our survival. Yet, what is unique with us humans is that the object of fear is not only physical real danger like an earthquake, fire, or venomous animals, but it extends to moral judgment. When we commit a mistake, we are afraid of the judgment as well as the consequences. Quite often too, fearful of the judgment and condemnation, we are run away and hide. In fact, the story of fear is a primordial story. We recall our first parents, Adam and Eve. After they violated the Law of God, they realized that they have terribly sinned against the Lord, and afraid of God’s judgment, they hid.

After the passion and death of Jesus we find out that Jesus’ disciples themselves are afraid and hiding. The disciples lock themselves inside the room because they are afraid. However, the real fear is not from the Jewish authority or the Roman troops, but from Jesus’ judgment. We remember that Judas handed over Jesus to the Jewish authority, Peter, the leader, denied Jesus three times, and most of the disciples were running away. Even before the crucial moments of Jesus, they have deserted their Master and Messiah. In a court martial, a soldier who deserts his army, especially during the pick of the battle, is considered a traitor not only to the army, but to the entire nation, and he deserves no less than capital punishment. The disciples are hiding because of fear that Jesus will bring His severe judgment, and get back on them. The disciples are afraid that Jesus may come anytime, condemn them, and throw a fireball on them.

Indeed, Jesus comes to them, but he brings not condemnation but the gift of peace, “Shalom”. This peace only ensues from forgiveness. This peace, however, is not the absence of judgment, but rather it presupposes one. Unless the disciples recognize and own up their terrible mistakes, they will not appreciate Jesus’ forgiveness and mercy. The peace will be just a mirage, and fear still reigns.

To become an agent of Mercy, we first dare to pronounce judgment. If we pretend that the sin never happens, and keep telling ourselves that everything is just fine, we deceive ourselves and never become sincerely peaceful. Indeed, it is difficult, but as we cannot heal unless there is prognosis, we cannot truly forgive unless there is judgment.

Just last week, several suicide bombers blew themselves up at several churches in Sri Lanka and killed hundreds of Christians. A religious sister, who lost several of her community members in the explosion, wrote an open letter to the perpetrators. She judged that what they did was an act of terrorism, pure evil. Yet, she reminds them that Christians will not be cowed and afraid because we know how to forgive. She said that the Catholic Church remains an open-door Church because she is not afraid to welcome everyone including those who tried to destroy her.

There is no peace without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness and mercy without true judgment.

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Easter Sunday

April 19, 2019

John 20:1-9

Mary Magdalene is a female disciple that loves her Teacher deeply, and being a woman, there is something that she teaches us. Luke describes her in his Gospel as a woman “from whom seven demons have come out” [see Luk 8:2]. It must be a terrible experience to be tormented by seven demons, and when Jesus heals her, she expresses her deep gratitude by following Jesus. As one of Jesus’ disciples, she is proven to be the most faithful to her Teacher. When many followers of Jesus are running away to save their lives, and even Peter, the leading figure in the group, denies Jesus, Mary follows Jesus in His way of the Cross to the end. She received the insult Jesus receives, she bears the humiliation Jesus bears, she carries the cross Jesus carries. In fact, she is standing beside the cross together with the mother of Jesus and John the beloved.  

However, Mary’s love is even bigger than death. She is the first person who visits the tomb early in the morning. We recall that after Jesus died on the cross, his body was hastily brought to the tomb by Nicodemus and Joseph Arimathea because the Sabbath was drawing near. During Sabbath, Jews are not allowed to bury the dead. Mary knows that Jesus’ body was not taken care properly, and she wants to make sure that Jesus deserves the proper burial. She comes to the tomb to express her love for the last time for the Teacher by anointing the body of Jesus. Yet, she only sees the empty tomb. Fear seizes her. She may think that some bad guys stole, inflicted further damages and desecrated the body. Instinctively, she runs towards the men of authority after Jesus Himself, Peter and John.

After checking the tomb, Peter fails to understand, and he goes back to the house. She also does not understand and weeps for the lost of her love, but unlike Peter, Mary stays at the tomb. In utter confusion and meaninglessness, Mary does not abandon Jesus. Indeed, the Savior does not disappoint and gives Mary Magdalene a singular privilege to witness the resurrected Jesus. Her great love and fidelity lead her to the joy of Resurrection. 

In the Gospel, often female disciples are depicted as a model of love and perseverance. God created man and woman as equal in dignity, but they differ in characters. Indeed, men like Peter, are the figures of authority, but women excel in what often is lacking in male disciples. I have visited many places in Indonesia and the Philippines, and I give talks and reflections, but one thing in common from these places, is that women often outnumber the men. I am newly assigned in Redemptor Mundi Parish, Surabaya, Indonesia, and a simple gaze will prove that more women are attending our daily morning masses. Mary Magdalene, a woman disciple, shows to us that it is possible to love and to be faithful when things got tough and rough, when life throws us its trash, and when confusion and meaningless seem to reign. Mary is those women who unceasingly pray for the priests despite so many failures they have made Mary are those mothers who make daily sacrifices for their children despite being unappreciated. Mary is those religious sisters who serve the poor committedly despite many setbacks and problems. We must thank many Mary Magdalene around us. They show us that there love truly conquers death and that there is resurrection in even the senseless empty tomb.

Blessed Easter!

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

April 14, 201

Luke 19:28-40/Luke 23:1-49

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord (Luk 19:38).”

One of the greatest gifts to humanity is the gift of memory. It gives us a sense of identity. Biology teaches us that almost all our bodily parts are being replaced through the years. One-year-old Stephen is biologically different from thirty-year-old Stephen. All bodily cells, with the sole exception of his eyes’ lens, are changed. What unites thirty-year-old Stephen with his younger self as well as his future self is his memory.

Not only does memory enable us to connect to ourselves, but it also relates us with other people. We are able to recognize our parents, siblings, and friends because we remember all the good thing, we have received from them. Our memories shape who we are. Thus, the illness that ruins our memories like Alzheimer, is one of the most heinous. Persons with Alzheimer gradually can no longer remember persons who love them; they even cannot recall doing their basic functions like eating and going to restroom.

One of the uniqueness of human beings is that we do not have only individual memory, but we have communal memory. These common memories are passed through generations, and these form the identity of a group. We are Indonesians, Filipinos, Indians, Americans, or other nations because we have common memories that unites us as a nation. When a nation is inflicted by a kind “alzhaimer” that destroys its common memory, it begins to lose its identity as a nation. Cardinal Robert Sarah from Guinea reminds that the Europe is in crisis and in danger of dissolution. He argues that the reason is that the European people began to forget their historical and cultural roots, their common memories.

We Christian share the core and fundamental memory. Palm Sunday or Jesus’ entrance to Jerusalem marks the beginning of the most important drama of the Gospel, the drama of the Holy Week. The memory was so significant to the early Christians that the episode was recorded in all four Gospels with great details (Mat 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, and John 12:12-19), though with some different emphases. We may even say that the Holy Week especially the Last Supper, the Passion and Resurrection are the core and foundational memory of every true Christian.

This explains why the Church celebrates Holy Week every year, not because she simply wants to have big events, but because this celebration reconnects us with the core memories that make us as Christians. Yet, we do not only remember the events of the past; we are not just spectators. Through the power of the liturgy, we relive the fundamental stories of Jesus Christ. Together with Christ, we enter Jerusalem. Together with Him, we celebrate the Passover. Together with Him, we are persecuted, crucified and we die. Together with Him, we are buried in the dark tomb. But together with Him, we are raised from the dead.

However, it is our choice whether to follow Him or go against Him: to become people who shout “Hosanna” or people who cry “Crucify Him”; to become a disciple who walks the way of the cross or disciples who run away from Him; to be crucified with Jesus or to crucify Jesus. But it is only the true followers of Jesus who can together with Him be raised from the dead. Holy Week is our time to make that choice : to follow Jesus or to go against Him.

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Rusneo, OP

5th Sunday of Lent

April 7, 2019

John 8:1-11

Adultery is a serious sin according to the Law of Moses. It is a violence against the Basic Law, the Ten Commandments. It is in fact, one of the few crimes that are punishable by death [Lev 20:10]. Why so cruel? It is a grave sin because adultery profanes the holiness of marriage and the gift of sexuality. In the Book of Genesis, God has willed that man and woman through marriage and their sexuality participate in God’s work of creation and caring of creation. Since marriage is a sacred calling, violation to this holy mission is an utmost insult to God who calls man and woman into marriage.

Some Jewish people bring a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. It is a tough dilemma for Jesus who knows well the Law of Moses. If Jesus agrees to stone the woman, He upholds the Law of Moses, but He is going to invalidate His preaching of mercy and forgiveness. If Jesus refuses to condemn the woman, He violates the Law of Moses, condones the evil committed by the woman, and denies the justice of God. Stoning means he is not merciful but refusing to stone means he is not just. “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t”.

Jesus then begins to write on the ground. The Gospel does not specify what Jesus writes, but we may come up with an intelligent guess. In original Greek, to write is “grapho”, but in this episode, the word used is “katagraho”, and this can be translated as “to write against”. Jesus is writing the sins of the people who brought the woman. Jesus says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her (Jn. 8:7).” After Jesus reveals their sins, they realize that they themselves deserve to be stoned. They go away, leaving Jesus and the woman.

The Law of Moses states that both man and woman caught in adultery shall be punished, but where is the man? Jesus points out that she is merely a pawn used to trick Jesus, and some are ready to sacrifice this woman just to get what they want. Her humanity is disregarded, her identity as a daughter of God is trampled, and she is treated as a mere tool. Manipulating our neighbors, especially the weak and the poor, for our own gain is a graver sin than adultery!

Jesus knows that the woman has committed a serious sin, but she herself is a victim of injustice and more serious sin. Jesus surely hates evil, but He forgives the woman and gives her a second chance because He understands what has happened to her. She has fallen into sin because of her human weakness and temptation, but God is greater than all ugly things that has befallen her, if she just repents and goes back to God.

There was a movie entitled “Malena”. It was the story of a beautiful woman in an Italian rural village during World War II. She received news that her husband died in the war. After this, her father, her only family, also died when the German planes bombed their village. Because of the poverty and desperation to survive, she was forced into prostitution, even to serve the German soldiers. After the loss of German forces, the villagers condemned her not only as a whore but also as a traitor. She was expelled from the village with humiliation. Surprisingly, her husband came back to the village, alive. He learned of what happened to his wife. Instead of condemning his wife, and looking for another wife, he fetched his wife and brought her back to the village. He proudly walked with his wife around the village as if telling everyone, “it is not her fault that she becomes a prostitute. She is still my faithful wife!”

Mercy gives justice is the beauty. With mercy, we see the bigger picture of our own and other people’s failures. Mercy empowers us to be patient with others and ourselves.

 

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP