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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

Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 31, 2019

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

 

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most moving stories of Jesus and has been regarded as the all-time favorite. Why? I guess one of the reasons is the story of the Prodigal Son is also our story.

Let us look at some details of the parable especially the father and the younger son. The son demands his inheritance while his father is still alive and well. That’s a no-no! It simply means the son wishes his father’s death, and wills that he is no longer part of the family [see Sir 33:20-24]. The offended father has the authority to discipline the ungrateful son, but he does not! Because of his tremendous love for the son, he allows the son to get what he wants. Like the son, we often offend the Lord, wishing to be away from Him. We choose “the inheritance”, the good things God created like wealth, power, and pleasure above and over Him. We keep abusing His love and kindness, knowing that He is a Good Father.

However, the younger son’s action has a terrible consequence. The farther he is away from his father, the more pitiful his life becomes. The inheritance without the true owner is nothing but a passing shadow. The Jewish young man loses everything, and even becomes the caretaker of pigs, the very animal Jews hate! He becomes so low to the point of eating what the pigs eat. Like the younger son, without God, we become miserable. Yes, we may become richer, more powerful and famous, but we have lost our souls. We never become truly happy because these pleasurable things without God are mere addiction.

The son comes to his sense when he remembers his father and his life with him. Even the father is far away, it does not mean he is idle. He is drawing his lost son through good memories they share. No matter far we are from God, He is constantly pulling us back to Him through His mysterious ways. Yet, it remains our choice to heed the voice of our conscience but ignore it and plunge ourselves further into sin.

The parable also speaks about the father who is patiently waiting, looking forward to the day that his son returns home. The moment he sees his son from distance, without a second thought, he runs toward his son and embraces him and kisses him. The son never thinks that he deserves to be his son once more, and just wants to be treated like a servant. But, mercy precisely is to receive something we do not deserve. The father receives back his young man as his child.

Allow me to close this simple reflection with a story. In 1988, a terrible earthquake hit Armenia. In just four minutes, buildings crumbled, and thousands died. A man immediately ran to a school where his son studied. He had promised to his son that he would be there to fetch him. He saw that the school was now piles of rubbles. He rushed to the site where the class used to be. He started digging barehandedly. Some people tried to help him but stopped afterward. Some people discouraged him, saying, “It is useless. They are dead!” He refused to give up, and continue digging for hours. Then after more than 30 hours of searching, he heard a small voice from the rubble. He shouted, “Arman!” and he heard a response, “Father!” His boy was still alive, and together with him were other pupils. That day, the man had saved 14 children who got trapped. Arman told his friends, “I told you, my father will come no matter what!”

The parable of the Prodigal Son is so beautiful because it does not only reflect who we are but also reveals who our God is. He is a merciful Father who refuses to give up hope on us, however desperate we have become.

 

Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP