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16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]

July 19, 2020

Matthew 13:24-43

The parable of the wheat and weed is one of a kind. If we survey the details, we are supposed to raise our eyebrows. Firstly, if you become a person who will destroy your opponent’s field of wheat, you know that there are several other effective ways to accomplish that. We can simply set a small fire on the wheat, and the entire field will eventually turn to be an inferno. But, the enemy chose unorthodox tactic: to sow seeds of weed during the planting period. While the weed may disturb the growth of the wheat, they will not sufficiently damage and stop the harvest.  So, what is the purpose? What is surprising is that the decision of the field’s owner. When he was notified about the presence of the weed, he immediately knew the culprit, and instead to act promptly and protect their wheat, he decided to allow the weeds to thrive among his wheat.

As expected, the disciples were puzzled by the parable, and when the disciples asked the meaning of this parable, they found another mind-blogging answer. The owner of the field is God Himself and He allowed the children of the evil one to grow among the children of God both in the world and in the Church. Yes, God allows that! He allows His children will not have a smooth journey and growth in the world. God allows His children to be harassed, bullied, and even persecuted by the evil one. God allows His children to experience trials and difficult moments. The question is why?

We may take the cue from St. Paul. He once magnificently wrote, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose [Rom 8:28].” God allows bad things to happen because these are for our good! What kind of goodness why we may ask? From our human perspective, perhaps it is nothing but absurd, but from His vantage point, things fall into its proper places.

Jesus invites us to call God as Father, and letter to the Hebrews reminds us, “for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts [Heb 12:6].” Trials and difficulties are God’s pedagogy toward whom He loves. As parents, we know care and discipline have to work hand in hand. We are well aware that true discipline is also a way of loving. If we want our children to succeed in their lives, we need to teach them to delay their gratification. We allow them to experience pain and difficulty first before we give them a reward. My parents used to ask me to study and finish their homework first before I could enjoy watching television. It resulted not only in good grades, but also my acquired habit not to run from problems, but to endure it.

I do believe that it is also the same as our Father in heaven. He loves us by allowing us to endure the pain in this world so that we may truly appreciate the spiritual gifts. Allow me to end this reflection, by quoting St. Paul, “We also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character [as children of God], and character produces hope,and hope does not disappoint us..” [Rom 5:3-5]

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]

July 12, 2020

Matthew 13:1-23

In today’s Gospel, we observe the reaction of the disciples after Jesus spoke His first parable. They were puzzled and confused. Why? because Jesus took a sudden change of method. In previous chapters, Jesus taught them plainly, like in the sermon of the Mount [Mat 5-7], and His teachings were as clear as broad daylight. Yet, Jesus made an unexpected turn that make many people and including His disciple lost. What really happened?

To understand parable, we need to see that parable has been used even before Jesus, in the Old Testament. One of the classic examples is the parable of prophet Nathan addressed to king David [See 1 King 12]. King David has done unthinkably grave sin by committing adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrating the murder of her husband, Uriah. Then, prophet Nathan confronted David, yet indirectly by narrating him a parable. It was about a rich man who forcefully robbed an ewe of a poor man. Listening to the story, David was infuriated and declared that the rich man should die. Then, Nathan dropped the bomb: “David, you are the rich man!” Fortunately, David was a kindhearted and faithful king, and he repented when he was reminded.

That is the power of parable. It is an indirect and concealed message to make people think deeper about themselves. Jesus began to talk in parables as Jesus realizes that the opposition of the Pharisees and the scribes were worsening, and many people who just want to be entertained rather than to follow Jesus.

Thus, the parable of the sower expresses the real condition of Jesus’ ministry. The elders and the Pharisees were like the pathway. They heard Jesus’ preaching, but still chose to be under the influence of darkness, and sought to destroy Jesus. Many people were like the rocky ground because they simply looked for Jesus to satisfy their needs. Other were like soil filled with thorns because they followed Jesus for a time, but when the trials came, they abandoned Jesus. Lastly, the rich soil was the disciples.

The parable of the sower is not reflecting different kinds of hearers of Jesus during His time, but it is also revealing the reality of our time. Some of us are like the pathway, perhaps we were baptized Catholics, but we never live as such, and still living in sin. Some of us are like rocky ground. We treat Jesus and His Church as place of entertainment, and we simply look for ourselves rather than God. Some of us are like soil filled with thorns. We are elated of being Christians, but we do not go deeper in our faith, and when the trials or doubts hit, we easily leave the Lord. And hopefully, many of us are like the rich soil. We do our best to receive God’s Word and see to it that it will grow and bear fruits.

The good news is the word of God is exceedingly powerful that even it can bear fruit is the rocky ground. Yet, the initial grace is free but it is not cheap, and we need our part. It is our mission to transform even the rocky ground into the rich soil for the Lord.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]

July 5, 2020

Matthew 11:25-30

From the previous two Sundays, we learn that Jesus lays down the cost of following Him, how to become His disciples. And they are extremely tough. One has to follow Jesus wherever He goes. One must love Jesus above anyone else. One must be ready to suffer persecutions and hardships, carry his cross, and give up his life for Jesus. It is Jesus or nothing at all. However, following Jesus is not all about hardship and sacrifice. Today we hear that to walking with Him, we receive certain “perks” that others cannot even dare to offer.

Today’s Gospel is one of my personal favorites. Here, Jesus is presenting His other side. Last Sundays, we witness Jesus, who is firm and resolve in following the Father’s will, and He demands the same thing from His disciples. Now, He is showing Himself as one who is gentle and humble. He even promises to give rest to those who come to Him. Yet, there is an interestingly powerful point that Jesus makes: that in order to have rest, we need to carry the yoke of Jesus. A yoke is a device placed on the shoulders to carry weight. For Jesus, rest is not throwing away the yoke. We need to carry our yoke, our daily responsibilities, and mission in life. Yet, despite carrying the yoke, it will be easy. How is that possible?

We remember that Jesus is a carpenter’s son and Himself a carpenter. He knows well that a yoke that does not fit the shoulder will only add more burden and hurt. Yet, the yoke that is designed perfectly to fit the shoulder, will feel easy and even comfortable. This is the yoke of Jesus, a yoke that fits each of us.

The second point is that there is a kind of yoke that can be shouldered by two animals or persons, “a double yoke.” I do believe that this is a kind of yoke that Jesus offers to us. Why double yoke? Because Jesus will bring together yoke with us. He shoulders the yoke with us. And when we feel exhausted, that’s the time He takes over and we find rest.

But, wait, there is more! In the Gospel of Matthew, twice Jesus instructs His disciples to carry something in their shoulders. The first one is to carry the cross [Mat 10:38, and the second thing is the yoke [Mat 11:29]. Jesus seems to make a real connection between the two: His yoke is our cross. If this is true, then the implication is massive. Our daily cross is actually easy because it perfectly fits us and even, Jesus is carrying it with us. I do believe most of the time, it is Jesus who carries our crosses. At first, Jesus sounds exceedingly tough with His nearly impossible demands, especially to carry our cross, but looking our Gospel deeper, we realize that most the time, it is Jesus who shoulders our crosses. That is the reason only His cross, we find the true rest and consolation.

If we find ourselves still burdened and exhausted with our lives, we may ask: Are we carrying the cross of Jesus? Are we bringing the yoke alone and relying solely on our strength? Are we shouldering unnecessary burdens that should be unloaded a long time ago?

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time [A]

June 21, 2020

Matthew 10:26-33

Jesus never promises that the disciple will have easy and prosperous lives. Jesus demands the opposite. After being chosen, the twelve disciples are sent to preach that the Kingdom is at hand, and yet they will not go like any royal emissaries with their military escort. No! They will travel as simple men going on foot and carrying minimal provision. They will rely on the generosity of their hosts, and the worst part is that they are going to face rejection.

Naturally, humans as they are, they are growing fear. Yet, Jesus tells them that this mission is just “on the job training,” because they are going to undergo something even deadlier in the future. True enough, after the Pentecost, they will preach that Jesus is Lord, and they are facing severe rejection, terrible persecution, and even gruesome death. As Jesus teaches them, “the disciples are no greater than their master.” If Jesus, their master, is rejected, insulted, and condemned to death, the disciples will share the same path. Peter is crucified upside down, James, brother of John, is beheaded, and James son of Alpheus, is stoned to death.

Jesus understands their human and natural fear, but Jesus tells them that they shall not fear. Why? The answer of Jesus is simple. Why should we fear dying if we will perish anyway? The choices are whether we die as a witness to Christ or die running from Christ?

Furthermore, Jesus reveals the real reason why we should not be afraid: we have God, who is a loving and caring Father. Jesus gives a lucid yet simple explanation: how God treats a little sparrow. Sparrow is a kind of vertebrates that is practically worthless in the eyes of merchants, but for God, this little bird is His creatures, and when He created something, He has a good plan for it, and He sees to it that this plan will unfold providentially. In the word of Christian Philosopher Peter Kreeft, even God loves mosquitos. If God cares and loves the sparrow, would He not care and love for us? Again, Jesus points out a lovely truth: God knows better than we know ourselves, even He counts our hairs!

When a sparrow falls and dies, it is part of God’s perfect plan, and so when the disciples are experiencing rejections, trials, and even death, it is also part of God’s providence. Yes, often, our sufferings can be absurd. Why do we have to lose someone we love? Why do we suffer from incurable sickness? We do not understand, but even these terrible things in life are also parts of God’s providence.

We may not see it now, but perhaps we may see it at a later time, or perhaps, we never discover the reasons because of our too narrow minds. Yet, in God’s eyes, it is totally making sense. The gruesome death of martyrs, for example, is unthinkable. Still, Tertullian, a Christian apologist in 3^rd century, saw it in a deeper perspective and wrote, “We spring up in greater numbers the more we are mown down by you: the blood of the Christians is the seed of Christianity.”

Jesus does not call us to enjoy a prosperous life but to be His witnesses. Though things may turn against us, Jesus tells us not to fear and worry because, in the end, all will work according to His beautiful plan because He loves us.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Solemnity of Body and Blood of Christ [Corpus Christi] – A

June 14, 2020

John 6:51-58

The solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ takes its origin from the initiative of St. Juliana of Liege, who asked his bishop and his friends to honor, in special way, the institution of the Eucharist, and the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The institution of the Eucharist itself took place in the Last Supper of the Lord, and every Holy Thursday, the Church celebrates this event. However, since Holy Thursday is an inseparable part of the Easter Triduum, the attention is given to the mystery of the Passion and Resurrection of our Lord. Because of its rootedness in Holy Thursday, the solemnity of Corpus Christi is celebrated on Thursday after the Trinity Sunday. Yet, in several countries, the celebration is moved to the next Sunday to accommodate the greater participation of the faithful.

 In the Gospel, Jesus insists that His body is real food, and everyone who wants to have eternal life shall consume His body. We may wonder: why does in His infinite wisdom, Jesus decide to give His body as food for our spiritual nourishment? Why not infuse the grace directly to our souls? The answer may surprisingly simple. It is because our body is real and good. God created man and woman in their fulness human nature, including their bodies, as something very good. Though our body comes from the ground, it has been marvelously designed to receive the bread of God, the spiritual life. Our bodies are fundamentally good, and so good that our bodies are inclined to grace. In the word of St. Augustine, “Capax Dei” (capable of knowing and receiving God).

Since the earliest time, the Church has battling perennial heresy called Gnosticism. In essence, gnosticism teaches there is dualism in our creation, and that the spiritual realm is good and the material world, including our body, is evil. Thus, any material aspect of our humanity has to be disposed of. The Church vehemently opposed this because God has created our material world as good and beautiful. The battle continues in time of St. Dominic de Guzman, the founder of Order of Preachers, who fought the Albigensians [the middle age adaptation of gnosticism). Gratefully, the Albigentians were no more, but unfortunately, the gnosticism lives on.

As Christians, we carry the battle of the Church against the modern-day gnosticism. The kind gnosticism is surprisingly simple without any need to learn a complex system of belief. When we consider our body a mere instrument to achieve success, when we abuse our bodies to feel instant pleasures, when we treat our bodies as mere economic gain, when we say that my body is my right, we unconsciously fall into the trap of this heresy.

But wait, there’s more! The feast of Corpus Christi brings us even greater truth of our body. By becoming man and finally giving His body, Jesus teaches us that body is not only capable of receiving grace, but it is also capable of becoming grace and love for others. In the Last Supper, Jesus has given as a supreme expression that is to offer His own body in love. And yet, to be shared, it has to be broken, and yet despite broken, it is offered in thanksgiving.

In this time of the pandemic, we are not able to attend the Holy Mass, and we miss a lot the Body of Christ. Yet, the good news is that it is our time also for us to become the Body of Christ for our neighbors in need. Only through sharing our body in love, we fulfill our purpose as bodily creatures created in His image.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP