indonesian catholic online evangelization

Senin, 3 Juli 2017

 

BERSYUKUR ATAS ANUGERAH IMAN

 

Pesta Santo Thomas

Yohanes 20:24-29

 

Iman kepada Yesus Kristus adalah anugerah dari Allah. Artinya iman tersebut bukan diminta tetapi dianugerahkan oleh Allah. Inisitifnya adalah Allah sendiri. Oleh karena itu siapa yang percaya dan mengikuti Kristus bukan orang “sembarangan” karena Allah telah memiihNya untuk dijadikan murid Nya. Dengan demikian sangatlah berharga orang yang percaya dimata Allah. Allah telah menentukan dan mengkhususkan menjadi anak-anak Nya.

 

Oleh karena itu kita yang telah menerima anugerah panggilan sebagai murid Kristus sudah selayaknya bersyukur dan memuliakan Allah dalam hidup.  Jika kita menyadari anugerah iman yang begitu agung ini maka tidak mungkin kita mesia-siakan anugerah tersebut.  Orang akan lebih bersemangat hidupnya jika ia senantiasa menyadari anugerah iman dari Allah.  Kesadaran terebut juga mendorong kita untuk mau berkurban demi melaksanakan kehendak Allah dengan cara hidup baik ; rendah hati, adil, murah hati, setia, dan taat pada kehendak Nya. Buah-buah iman ini bisa dirasakan oleh orang-orang yang disekitarnya dan bagi masyarakat yang lebih luas.

 

Iman kepada Yesus Kristus adalah sumber kebahagian sejati. “…Berbahagialah mereka yang tidak melihat namun percaya.” (Yoh 20:29). Bahagia bukan karena sesuatu yang profan namun sesuatu yang abadi yang menjamin keselamatan kekal. Iman bukan mendatangkan kesenangan namun iman mendatangkan suka-cita, damai dan keselamatan. Oleh karena itu tepat sekali yang dikatakan oleh Yesus; Berhagialah mereka yang percaya.  Kebahagian yang kita terima dari Allah tidak akan disimpan untuk diri sendiri akan tetapi selalu mendorong kita untuk siap berbagi kepada sesama terutama kepada mereka yang menderita dan lemah.

 

Marilah berdoa,

Allah yang Maha kasih, kami layak menerima anugerah iman ini, namun biarlah kehendakMu yang terjadi atas hidup kami. Kami serahkan seluruh hidup kami dalam tangan Mu. Pakailah kami menjadi alat-alat kasih Mu untuk menghadirkan belas kasihMu kepada sesama kami. Demi Kristus Tuhan dan pengantara kami. Amin.

 

 

Bigger Family 

 

13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 2, 2017

Matthew 10:37-42

 

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Mat 10:37).”

 

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. 

Surely, it is a good news for family-oriented persons. For many cultures, like Filipino and Indonesian, family is at the center of our value system. When I ask some of my Filipino friends, “If your house is burning, what are the first things you will rescue?” Their answer is not money, important documents or jewelries, but family pictures! In 1977, the Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, one of the most prominent African figures during that time, visited US and talked before the African students who studied there. Before them, he criticized those Africans who received much support from their families and clan, yet refused to go back after their studies. It was an act of cowardice and betrayal to Africa.

However, if we read today’s Gospel, Jesus made a tough demand for His disciples. In preaching the Kingdom, they had to love Jesus more than they love their family. In ancient Israel, like many Mediterranean societies, respect and honor of the parents was a sacred duty of every child. It was in fact enshrined in the Decalogue as the fourth commandment.  To the point that if a child failed to honor their parents and brought nothing but headache, he would be punished severely by the community (see Dt 21:20-21). As a Jew, He knew this too well, yet He insisted that His disciples had to be committed first to Him and His Gospel before their families. Does Jesus want to cut us from our families? Is Christ-centeredness opposed to family centeredness? Does following Jesus mean leaving our family behind?

God indeed calls us with our family and as a family, but He does not call us only for our family. As old proverb goes, “Charity begins at home, but it does not end there.” We surely love our families, but as Christians we are called to serve a bigger family of humanity and even our mother Earth. It is impossible to serve others, if our allegiance is for ourselves and a small family. Many corruptions take place because we want to enrich our families and clans at the expense of other people. To serve the bigger family of humanity, we are called to first love God who is the merciful and just Father to all, who pour rains and gives sunshine both to the good and not so good. Jesus does not want to destroy families because surely He loves Mary and Joseph, yet He loves His Father most, and this love empowers Him to give His life for all.

 

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP