“Waiting for Love” by Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’77 (1974)

The Lord My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 07 January 2024

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, in Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 13 September 2023.*

It’s the first Sunday of 2024 and we are celebrating in the Church today the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord used to be known as Feast of the Three Kings. Today is the final Sunday of the Christmas season which closes tomorrow with the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus before we go into the Ordinary Time the following Tuesday.

From the Greek word epiphanes that means appearance or manifestation, today’s celebration reminds us that Jesus came for everyone especially those forgotten and unloved, the poor and marginalized, the sinner and those lost.

Most of all, Christ became human like us except in sin so that it would be easier for us to find God who loves us so much without any reservations. In fact, it is actually God who searches for us and always finds us. Whenever we think we are looking for God and have found Him, it was actually God who first sought us and found us.

It was God who moved the magi from the East to search for Jesus Christ born in Bethlehem and they found him. Ironically, it was the people of Jerusalem, especially King Herod along with the scribes and priests who knew where the Christ would be born were the ones who did not find him because they were not really interested in finding Jesus.

Christmas is being “out” with Christ when we think less of ourselves within like the magi from the East who went out of their ways, of their comfort zones and even ivory towers to find Jesus in Bethlehem… Yes, Jesus is out there, manifesting himself daily in so many ways but we could not recognize him because we are locked inside our own beliefs of the Christ, held captive by our many fears like King Herod and the people of Jerusalem.
https://lordmychef.com/2024/01/06/our-questions-our-epiphanies/

This is the second time we are featuring on Epiphany Sunday Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’77’s classic “Waiting for Love” composed by Randy McNeill from their 1974 album Vintage 74. One good thing with social media today is how we are able to unearth or discover so many wonderful things about our music in the past like the impressive talents behind this lovely song with vocals from the lovely Bonnie Bowden who collaborated with many other albums later with Mr. Mendes as well as Jazz artist George Duke. Jazz legend Dave Grusin was the conductor and arranger for the orchestra music of the album with some acoustic guitar renditions by another legend Antonio Carlos Jobim.

What we like most with Waiting for Love that rings true to everyone of us is the fact how very often we are so locked inside – with our past pains and hurts, even sins and failures as well as presumptions on everyone and everything that we could not find Jesus and love itself outside in other people.

Was it something in the rain
Or a chance of love again
That made me explain
The secrets of my soul
I guess I only needed
Someone to hold

But I was gone without a trace
And the rain blew away

And it seems I've spent my whole life
Waiting for love
And when it comes
I always run away

Was it something on a dream
That touched my memory
Or a picture I didn't know I'd seen
That made me stop and stare
And then I lost him,
If he was ever there

Waiting for Love challenges us like the Epiphany to be wise like the magi to recognize and follow Jesus appearing daily in our lives in many occasions and circumstances. Surely, there were other people who have seen the bright star of Bethlehem when Christ was born but why only the three magi from the East came to follow it and search for Jesus?

This 2024, stop being “afraid of being close where I need to be the most”to start following and believing in the bright star of Jesus Christ found in people who come to us daily. Cheers to more love this 2024!

Here is Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’77…

From YouTube.com

Our questions, our epiphanies

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, 07 January 2024
Isaiah 60:1-6 ><}}}}*> Ephesians 3:2-3,5-6 ><}}}}*> Matthew 2:1-12

I have been thinking these past days after Christmas at how ironic when we rejoiced on the Lord’s birthday, we also unconsciously left him behind our celebrations. It seemed that the more we celebrated Christmas, the more we think of our very selves, the more we forget Jesus found in other people, especially the little ones.

This is perhaps the problem with our prolonged Christmas season in the country that as we try so hard to be “in” beginning September, the more we actually push Jesus “out” of Christmas! We are so concerned with everything new and beautiful – from our clothes to our gifts and decorations, food and parties when Jesus actually came for what is old and worn out like the sinful, the outcasts, and the marginalized. Christmas is being “out” with Christ when we think less of ourselves within like the magi from the East who went out of their ways, of their comfort zones and even ivory towers to find Jesus in Bethlehem.

This is what Epiphany or Manifestation of the Lord to the Nations of the world is showing us today in this last major celebration in the Christmas season before we shift into Ordinary Time on Tuesday after the Feast of the Lord’s Baptism tomorrow.

Yes, Jesus is out there, manifesting himself daily in so many ways but we could not recognize him because we are locked inside our own beliefs of the Christ, held captive by our many fears like King Herod and the people of Jerusalem.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
Matthew 2:1-4

If somebody today would come inquiring where is the newborn king or lord and master of Christians, how would we feel? Would we feel “greatly troubled” like King Herod and the rest of Jerusalem?

Don’t you find it odd that when the magi asked about the newborn king of the Jews, Herod and the people were troubled instead of at least first asking for clarifications on who was the king they were looking for? The least they could have done was looked up to see the star that brought the magi there in the first place so that instead of being troubled, they could have felt perplexed or baffled, with the familiar reactions of “what?” or “duh…” or “huh” or as we would always say, “ha, ano daw iyon?”

This is what I meant of Christmas as a celebration of going out to check on others like the magi and their star: Herod and the people of Jerusalem went inside themselves and got locked in their beliefs and presuppositions as well as fears! They were troubled because they felt the status quo would be disturbed that could throw them off their comfort zones. And the biggest irony is that they who have the answers in the scriptures remained locked inside their own selfish worlds, refusing to get out and meet the newborn king!

But there is another side to this reality of our refusal to go out, to meet and recognize Christ in his manifestations. This is a more dangerous expression of being locked inside ourselves when our motivation in asking questions is dubious. Why do we ask and inquire on someone or anything? Is it because we want to learn and know better or is it because we want our beliefs validated and affirmed?

The magi were clearly searching for the truth, for an answer to their queries. They wanted to know because they knew very well that they knew nothing or so little about the newborn king of the Jews that is why they asked questions in Jerusalem. See their sincerity and humility in finding the truth that they they went out of themselves. And they were not disappointed for eventually, they were filled and fulfilled with Jesus.

King Herod on the other hand inquired about the birth of the Messiah because of his sinister plans against him. He was filled with pride and conceit, locked inside himself without any intentions of truly learning and knowing, of relating with Jesus nor with anybody else. He felt he knew everything so well without realizing he knew nothing at all. Herod and the rest of Jerusalem were troubled precisely because they were not interested with Jesus Christ.

It is said that a person is known by the questions he/she asks. Very often, our questions are a manifestation too of who we are.

Let us not be complacent that this happened only to King Herod and the people of Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago for it continues to happen to this day in many instances in our lives, in our families, and in our parishes and the Church when we no longer search for Christ Jesus as we are busy pursuing many other things for personal fame and glory.

How often does it happen with us in our parish, in our Church, in our families that we are so stuck into our old beliefs even traditions that we refuse to go out and meet Jesus Christ Who have come to set us free from all forms of slavery caused by sins?

Jesus fulfills the longings of the people since the Old Testament time as heralded by Isaiah’s prophecy in the first reading which St. Paul beautifully explains in the second reading as “the mystery made known by God to him.” Mystery in this sense is not something hidden but revealed so that in Christ Jesus, the mystery of God, His plan for us is revealed or made known for everyone not only the Jews but for all peoples of the world represented by the magi.

Are we willing to be like the magi who dared to leave everything behind, unmindful of the long and perilous journey to make in order to meet Jesus Christ? In meeting the Lord like the magi, are we willing to give up everything we have especially the most precious ones and offer these to Him? Most of all, upon finding God, are we willing to go back home by “another way” like the magi as instructed in a dream never to return to Herod? The Lord continues to manifest Himself to us in so many ways every day, often in the simplest occasions and things. May we have the courage to meet Jesus Christ so that we may see the light and beauty of this New Year He has for us. Have a blessed week ahead!

“Lord Jesus Christ, 
give us the courage 
to leave our baggages of 2023:  
the pains and hurts, the sins, 
the failures and disappointments 
so that we may meet You this New Year 2024.  
Teach us to give up our worldly treasures 
so that we could truly ask honest
and sincere questions to know You, 
to love You, and to follow You 
in Your many epiphanies 
of truth and realities,
of love and kindness, 
of mercy and forgiveness 
through the people we meet.  
Amen.”

Our amazing God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday before the Epiphany of the Lord, 05 January 2023
1 John 3:11-21 <*((((>< + ><))))*> John 1:43-51

*Photo by Dra. Mylene A. Santos, MD, at Tagalag, Valenzuela City, 18 November 2023.*

How wonderful on this fifth day
of 2024, O God our Father,
that you amaze us
first on what is truly 
amazing...

"Do not be amazed, then,
brothers and sisters,
 if the world hates
you"
(1 John 3:13).

Many times we are amazed
at the evil men and women do;
we are amazed and surprised
in the negative sense
like shocked,
appalled,
even embarrassed
when others speak
and act shamelessly
against what is true,
good, and beautiful;
to be amazed in the negative sense
makes us withdraw
to examine our very selves
if we too have become callous
and shamelessly evil.

What is truly amazing,
worth of our surprise
is when we are amazed
in the positive sense
like Nathanael:
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?"
Philip said to him,
"Come and see"
(John 1:46).

Only what is truly good,
very true, and really beautiful
is amazing; nothing can make
our hearts leap even in 
momentary disbelief 
and amazement like Nathanael 
to hear or see or experience 
something so good and all good;
and that is YOU, O God, 
the most amazing of all
now brought nearer to us
in Christ Jesus;
in him, we have realized
and experienced that
"God is greater than our hearts"
(1 John 3:20) because you,
O God, your love and your truth,
your mercy and your kindness
are all beyond our grasp;
nothing can be so amazing,
loving Father, for us to experience
your love far beyond anything
we could expect for ourselves;
make us believe,
let us be amazed
in you.
Amen.

What are you looking for?

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday before the Epiphany of the Lord, 04 January 2024
1 John 3:7-10 ><]]]]'> + <'[[[[>< John 1:35-42

*Photo by author, La Mesa Forest Park at the back of Our Lady of Fatima University-Quezon City, January 2023.*

The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
John 1:37-39

Thank you very much,
dear Lord Jesus in helping us
find new directions in life
this fourth day of 2024;
 your question to Andrew
and his companion still echoes
to us in this time,
confronting us for an answer,
for a response.

Lord Jesus,
enlighten our minds and our hearts
with your Holy Spirit
this beginning of the year;
we are constantly in search
of so many things but mostly
not essential;
thank you in giving us Andrew
and companion as guide
on what to look for -
you and nobody else!

Teach me, dear Lord,
to always first ask that important
question what matters most to me
that I am looking for
because it reveals who I am,
where I stand before you, my Lord,
and before others.
Many times,
we merely follow you
but when the going gets tough
and rough, we leave
and stay behind;
many times,
we merely follow you
without truly searching
where you stay,
where can you truly be found,
Lord Jesus
because you are never idle
nor confined in a book nor a place
nor a kind of person;
very often,
you stay dear Jesus
where it is difficult,
even agonizing,
and disturbing.

Let us come to you,
and see you,
dear Jesus,
to personally experience you
even in the most surprising
ways for there is no
place nor person nor situation
where you cannot be found.
Amen.

Jesus makes every family holy – even Firefly the movie!

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday in the Christmas Octave-B, 31 December 2023
Genesis 15:1-6, 21:1-3 ><]]]'> Hebrews 11:8, 11-12, 17-19 ><]]]'> Luke 2:22-40

After the birth of the Christ in Bethlehem and the visit of the shepherds, Luke tells us how the Child was circumcised on the eighth day and given with the name Jesus. A short while after that, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to God in the temple.

And that was when more exciting and wonderful things continued to happen to Mary and Joseph when two elderly people filled with the Holy Spirit, Simeon and Anna, took the Child Jesus and spoke great things about him to his astonished parents.

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them… There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple… And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:33-34, 36-38

See again the artistry of Luke in showing to us in this scene how Jesus Christ makes every family holy. In narrating to us the story of Christmas, Luke had earlier shown us that Jesus comes first in every family, in every husband and wife and their children.

Clearly we see Luke’s consistency in telling us that in this season and beyond, our focus must always be centered on the person and mission of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, our Savior who makes every family holy like his! How they unfolded through Mary and Joseph is worth reflecting this Sunday.

I have always been amazed since our 30-day retreat in 1995 with this gospel scene of the presentation of Jesus at the temple. The situation of the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus was simply an ordinary one with hundreds of other families making the same journey to the temple with nothing unusual happening.

Then all of a sudden, the unforeseen and unforeseeable take place amid all the crowds in the temple on that day. A great revelation by God not only for people at that time but also for us today is made known which allowed us too to perceive the hidden Jesus coming daily in our lives. See the obedience of Mary and Joseph to their Laws and customs. Most of all, their continuing openness to the many revelations still unfolding about their child Jesus.

*Photo by author, Nazareth, Israel, May 2019.*

It was not a case of exceptional grace to exceptional couple of Joseph and Mary nor to individuals like Simeon and Anna whom I always wondered how were they able to recognize Jesus as the Christ being offered on that day in the temple.

Again, we are invited to be attuned and opened always to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, of keeping that spark of faith within us like Abraham in the first reading who “put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Here we find how God guides us in our steps and those of others in our long and often circuitous journeys in life to have faith in him in finding Jesus the light of our salvation and fulfillment. But faith is more than simply putting ourselves blindly in the hands of God, just moving on with life with a bahala na attitude.

Faith is more than believing and trusting God and persons. It is entering into a communion, a bond with God as our Lord and Master or anyone we love so dearly like our family. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews stressed this aspect of faith as a communion and a bond in our second reading which we find not only in Abraham but also in Joseph and Mary as well as in Simeon and Anna, too.

Recall those moments when you felt like Abraham who was already too old, when you felt it was already “game over” for our plans in life, the end of your rope or when you felt everything is down the drain that you simply accepted it as the reality when suddenly, because of that firm faith and union in God, something happens like a twist or a turn when everything in your life just falls into its right places!

Remember those moments in the past when we dared to walk in the right direction of Jesus – full of humility amid the pains and sufferings of his Cross – when we find later on how his words jibed perfectly with our experiences, so intertwined with our dreams and aspirations along with other people especially with our family that eventually get fulfilled – if not in us, in those next to us. This is the gist of the beautiful movie Firefly.

*From GMA Films and GMA Public Affairs.*

Firefly is one exceptional film in every aspect. Everything is so good. Watching it convinced me of a renaissance in Filipino film industry. It is a fantasy movie everyone must see this Season because it is a Christmas story, a Christ-film in fact.

Its main character is a small child named Tonton who lost his mother at a young age and embarked on a long journey to bring his mother’s ashes to her birthplace in an island in Bicol said to be inhabited by fireflies.

All Tonton had was faith and love for his mother played by Alessandra de Rossi. His map was actually his scrapbook of his colorful illustrations of the story narrated to him by his mother. Along the way, he met three individuals living in the darkness of their past, uncertain of their future: an ex-convict heading home, doubtful if he would be accepted by his wife and son; a broken-hearted man cheated by his girlfriend at a loss what to do with her name tattooed on his bicep; and a lovely lady on a backpack trip with a camera and some envelops she used to scam money from people for her supposed outreach programs for kids.

They all found the light of life through the life and words of Tonton whom they helped reached his mother’s home island where he too eventually came to terms with his own ghosts of the past.

I won’t tell you any details any more. Do watch the movie and be enthralled with its attention to details, the many symbolisms, most of all, of the good news about the beauty of this life made manifest by the Child who opened our eyes to see the light of love and life. Amen. Have a blessed family in Christ Jesus this new year of 2024!

A short poem I wrote after watching Mallari and Firefly:

Two fantasy movies, 
One so scary
The other a thing of beauty!

The best in cinematography
Indeed is Mallari: 
How they sew together seamlessly
Fiction into a true story so eerie 
Of the evil reality
But sadly sank deeply
In vicious circle of sin
And infamy.

But if you have to see
A movie do not miss Firefly
Everything is about beauty
Despite the ugly reality
Of life we all see;
The slum by the sea
The kid and his bullies
The story of his mommy
Led him into a journey
Intertwined with a many
Treading blankly from each one’s past
Into their present 
afraid of what will be
Only to see through this kid’s story
That many times a fantasy
Is in fact the reality
We refuse to believe
That is why we can’t see;
How lovely is the movie
Though not about history
Or social malady
But deep theology
Of how a child brought
Fire and light 
And made us see
We are loved so immensely 
So that someday 
We too can rise and fly
High to the sky.

When we make Christmas not merry

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Feast of St. Stephen, First Martyr of the Church, 26 December 2023
Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59 <*{{{{>< + ><}}}}*> Matthew 10:17-22

Every year, dear Jesus,
you remind us a day after your birthday
to always remember the Cross looming behind
your manger in Bethlehem with the feast of
our first martyr, St. Stephen;
you remind us how in your coming
life will be more challenging
for us as your disciples.

“You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 10:22

Every year also, dear Jesus,
on this day we remember and reflect on
the many times life has been so difficult
for us, especially in witnessing your
Gospel in words and in deeds;
but so often, we forget how we ourselves
your disciples cause so much pains
and sufferings among other disciples
when we ourselves are the ones who
"hand over" or betray out loved ones
with our infidelities, jealousies, and greed;
so often we forget how we your disciples
"hand over" or betray our own family 
members to so much agony when 
couples are unfaithful to each other,
when parents disregard thier children
for their various pursuits in the guise of loving them,
when children quarrel with each other,
when children disobey their parents,
and so many other sins that make
our loved ones not be merry at all
especially this Christmas.

For all our sins,
of running away from your Cross,
dear Jesus,
in making others Christmas not merry,
forgive us and have mercy.
Amen.

So, this is Christmas and what have you done?

The Lord Is My Chef Christmas Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, 25 December 2023

Of course, that is the opening line of John Lennon’s 1971 song Happy Xmas (War Is Over) he wrote and recorded with his second wife Yoko Ono. It is actually a protest song against the Vietnam War.

It was not an LSS for me because I have not heard it played anywhere except inside my mind ever since the start of the Simbang Gabi when I was visiting our patients at the Fatima University Medical Center in Valenzuela City where I serve as a chaplain. Soon, even during my prayer periods, I would hear and later hum those lines even in my office, in my room, and in the elevator. That is why I thought of making it my homily this Christmas.

Most likely, aside from being a fan of John Lennon (and Paul McArtney and the Beatles), one reason I felt Happy Xmas (War Is Over) so strongly during Simbang Gabi was due to the war in Gaza which is a Palestinian territory like the West Bank where Bethlehem is located, the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

“So this is Christmas 
and what have you done? 
Another year over, 
a new one just begun… 
A very merry Christmas 
and a Happy New Year, 
let’s hope it’s a good one 
without any fear.”

*Photo by author, Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the Holy Land, May 2019.*

I find those opening lines so powerful, searing one’s heart amid this cold season, probing deeply our very person, examining our sense of personal responsibility and accountability in the light of all the troubles going on in the world and in our selves.

Lennon reminds me of God’s question to Cain after he had killed his brother Abel, “What have you done! Listen: Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil!” (Gen. 4:10).

It is the same question God is asking us on this birthday of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: ”So, this is Christmas, what have you done?“

Have you been like Joseph thinking more of the welfare of Mary when he found her pregnant, choosing to “quietly divorce” her before being told of the whole story by an angel in a dream or, have you jumped into conclusions and spread lies especially in social media of certain stories of people you have not verified?
Have you been like Mary lovingly saying yes to God’s plans, trusting God through your parents and those above you or, have you been stubborn and rash in your decisions that have hurt so many other people in the process, only to find out you have been misled by your friends, and now abandoned by everybody else except by those closest to you like your family and friends who dared to speak the truth to you?
Have you been like Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, who chose to go into seclusion to be silent to pray more on the wondrous things done to her by God or one who refuses to be separated from all gadgets, living practically in media, without any concern for persons and nature?
Have you been like any of those innkeepers who refused to provide room for Mary and Joseph for the birth of Jesus Christ, becoming deaf and blind to the plight of the poor and marginalized around, thinking only of one’s self and welfare that despite your wealth and fame and everything, you still feel empty and unfulfilled inside?
Have you been like a Caesar Augustus or a Quirinus, acting like an emperor or governor today lording it over everybody else especially on the road madly raging against other motorists or, insisting on using the EDSA bus lane to get ahead of others or, simply having a power trip anywhere to impose your authority and superiority over others especially the weak, manipulating them for your selfish motives?
Have you been like those pretending to be the light of the world, influencing others with your false beliefs in the name of equality and freedom of expression you espouse on glossy pictures and illustrations, lively music and empty words and promises being liked and followed in social media?
Have you been like the shepherds living in the margins of the society, in the darkness of sins and evil who led others into the light of Bethlehem, listened to the calls of the angels from above to give peace a chance to look for the Mother and Child in a manger or, have you been a shepherd without any regard for your flock except your comfort and well-being?
Have you been like John the Baptist who made a stand for the weak and disadvantaged, who spoke the truth, tried to be simple and humble, most of all just and fair with everyone because with us always is the Christ whom we do not know?

I leave up to you, my dear friends, to continue the list of what have you done this Christmas.

*“The Adoration of the Shepherds”, a painting of the Nativity scene by Italian artist Giorgione before his death at a very young age of 30 in 1510. From wikipediacommons.org.*

And so this is Christmas (War is over)
For weak and for strong (If you want it)
The rich and the poor ones (War is over)
The road is so long (Now)
And so happy Christmas (War is over)
For black and for white (If you want it)
For yellow and red ones (War is over)
Let's stop all the fight (Now)

Notice in this last stanza how Lennon – like Luke in his Christmas account – sounded in the present moment, in every here and now, challenging us to make Christmas happen even if it is not December 25.

Most of all, the will – if you want it – to keep Christmas and its message vibrantly alive amid the great darkness enveloping us.

It has been reported that Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem, the Lord’s birthplace, have been cancelled due to the war in Gaza. Though the news is very sad, there still some sparks of light bursting from the darkness there because only the festivities are cancelled but not Christmas.

Red Letter Christians partnered with artist Kelly Latimore of @kellylatimoreicons to create this new icon, “Christ in the Rubble,” which illustrates the prophetic message that if Jesus was born today, he would be born “under the rubble.” *From Facebook 23 December 2023.*

Christmas is never cancelled and can never be cancelled no matter how miserable our lives would be because that is also when it truly happens: Jesus came to bring us light and life, comfort and res, peace and mercy the world badly needs, then and now. Whether we do something or nothing, Christmas happens because Jesus will never leave us. That is has always been the truth as the fourth gospel tells us this Christmas:

All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:3-4

But, why not do our part like Joseph and Mary, the shepherds, including Zechariah and Elizabeth and their son John the Baptist – the ones who have done so much – to make Christmas truly a happy and merry one as God willed it so. Come and do something to share Jesus our light, especially where there is darkness and death, where there is war and rubble. Amen. Have a blessed Merry Christmas!

Here is John Lennon. Happy listening too!

From Youtube.com.

Advent is making Christmas happen

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Saturday, Misa De Gallo VIII, 23 December 2023
Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:57-66

*Photo by author, Church of St. John the Baptist (birthplace) also in Ein Kerem, other side of Church of Visitation, May 2019.*

We Filipinos always thought prophets are “fortune-tellers” who predict the future because “prophecy” is wrongly translated as “hula”; thus, when somebody says something would happen and becomes fulfilled, it is often described as “prophetic” because “nahulaan niya”.

But a prophet is neither a fortune teller nor someone who sees the future: a prophet is first of all a spokesman of God. The great prophets of Israel like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Elijah even Moses all spoke for God. It was in their task of speaking for God that they seemed like seers when everything they have spoken happened – but not because they saw the future but more because they made God’s words happened.

Being a prophet or prophetic is making things happen not seeing what is going to happen. This is the meaning of our sharing in the prophetic ministry of Jesus as baptized Christians when in our speaking and standing for the truth of the Gospel, we make Jesus present in the world.

Hence, in that sense, advent is actually making Christmas happen! And that is why John the Baptist is considered a prophet because in preparing the way of the Lord, he already made Jesus present in his time that he was mistaken to be the Christ.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, “No. He will be called John.” So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
Luke 1:57, 59-60, 62-64, 66

*Photo by author, apse of Church of St. John the Baptist also in Ein Kerem, other side of Church of Visitation, May 2019.*

In our first reading, we have heard the prophet Malachi declaring the coming of the great prophet Elijah, later understood in the time of Jesus as a reference to John the Baptist, with all the functions of a precursor of the Christ.

Malachi is the last of the prophets in the Old Testament who showed us the transition into the New Testament through John the Baptist that Luke beautifully employed in presenting Zechariah and Elizabeth as links from the Old Testament like the patriarch Abraham and Sarah as well as Elkanah and Hannah, parents of another great prophet, Samuel.

Recall the annunciation of John’s birth that was reminiscent of the annunciation of the birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah while the Temple setting was very similar to the annunciation of Samuel’s birth to Elkanah and Hannah who then prayed in the Lord’s tent who was mistaken for a drunk by the chief priest of that time, Eli.

That is the artistry of Luke who portrayed to us this Old Testament links of John the Baptist so that in some Eastern churches until now you find above their entrance doors murals of the Baptist followed by the Blessed Virgin Mary at the middle and then Jesus to show how St. John marked the end of the Old Testament leading to the New Testament that started with Mama Mary when she accepted Jesus in her womb. It is the reason Jesus himself acknowledged John the Baptist as the greatest person ever born by a woman.

*Photo by author, altar of Church of St. John the Baptist in Ein Kerem, shortly before its closure for restoration, May 2019.*

We today are prophets too when we link the past with the present by continuing the work of Jesus Christ, making him present in this world. We are all bridges, linking and linked with one another in Christ.

Furthermore, the naming of John in itself was very prophetic because his parents made it happened to be fulfilled as God planned it wherein Elizabeth insisted to her neighbors “John” would be his name while Zechariah who was mute at that time affirmed his wife by writing “John is his name.”

That is our mission in this world – to be a prophet who makes things happen by fulfilling God’s plans for us. As prophets, we must be open always to God’s work among us, to always listen to his words in people and events so that we make his words realized. When we become prophetic, we shall hear people say what Luke noted at the end of our gospel today, All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, “What, then, will this child be?” For surely the hand of the Lord was with him (Lk.1:66).

As we move closer to Christmas Day, the birth of John the Baptist reminds us of our prophetic role in this world of making that future a present reality by fulfilling God’s words and holy will in us.

If we would just persevere in our prayer life, of immersing ourselves in prayer, the more we become sensitive not only of God’s presence but also of everyone like this very short story I recently found on my friend’s wall in Facebook shared by a certain Therese Williams Hudson last December 15, 2023. She wrote….

"I heard my mother ask the neighbors for salt. 
But we had salt at home. 
I asked her why she asked the neighbors for salt. 
And she replied: "Because our neighbors don't have much money 
and they often ask us for something. From time to time 
I also ask them for something small and economical, 
so that they feel that we need them too. 
That way, they will feel more comfortable 
and it will be easier to keep asking us for everything they need.

And that's what I learned from my mother."

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 08 December 2023.*

Lovely, is it not? The author added at the end of her story these words: “Let’s build empathetic, humble, supportive children”. Let’s join her but not just to have emphatic, humble, supportive children but most of all, prophetic ones, those with heightened sensitivity of God and of others made possible only by a deep prayer life where we can all be a “JOHN”, a graciousness of God who makes his divine plans realized. Amen.

The songs we sing, the music we dance

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Misa De Gallo VII, 22 December 2023
1 Samuel 1:24-28 <*[[[[>< + ><]]]]*> Luke 1:46-56

*Photo by author, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.*

As a chaplain of our university with six campuses and two medical centers, I have always emphasized to our deans and program coordinators that I strongly advocate a “one-party system” every December – just one Christmas party each day for me!

You know very well that we are really back to normal with the many parties going on since the start of December though, we are still strongly urged to take all necessary precautions for COVID is still with us.

Next to all the food and raffles in every party, there are always the singing and dancing that make these occasions so wonderful.

But I hope that amid all these fun and celebrations, we do not forget the other side of Christmas, of those in pain and suffering this season: those who are sick or taking care of a sick loved one, those grieving at the loss of a beloved, the poor and marginalized.

*Photo by author, Fatima Avenue, Valenzuela City, 13 December 2023.*

That is why I cannot stop sharing with you too the beautiful gesture of our Administrators last Monday in hosting an Appreciation Dinner last Monday for our employees in their senior years, those 60 and above still working, still teaching. I was not able to join them but have heard feelings of fulfillment, deep joy, and gratitude with a lot tears rolling in the eyes of those honored for their service, dedication and passion all these years. They all felt so special that aside from our Christmas party last December 8, there was another party hosted in their honor.

I remembered how when I was still assigned in our diocesan school in Malolos 25 years ago how we taught our students to set aside a certain amount of their budget for their Christmas party so they can host a party too for students in some selected public schools, complete with gift-giving. We wanted to instill in them the spirit of love and charity by thinking always of others during this season.

While we are singing and dancing in our Christmas party, let us not forget those who could not even go to parties because of their poverty, sickness and other limitations. See how the Blessed Virgin Mary taught us this important aspect of sharing Jesus Christ concretely during this Christmas when she visited her cousin Elizabeth.

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day, all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and to his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55

In a certain sense, the Visitation was like a Christmas party of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her cousin Elizabeth. There was great rejoicing in their getting together as we have reflected yesterday.

Today we heard Mary singing her praises to God in Magnificat as a response to the praises she received from Elizabeth on her Visitation. Notice that instead of returning Elizabeth’s gesture like most of us would do in our “mutual praise club” especially during parties, Mary praised God through her Magnificat his outpouring of love not only to her and Elizabeth but to the whole nation of Israel.

Actually, the Magnificat was composed by St. Luke he placed on the lips of the Virgin Mary. It is a part of his artistry, of putting songs on the lips of some of his Christmas characters like Zechariah after John’s circumcision and later on Simeon at the Presentation of Jesus in the temple.

Why? Because singing, like dancing, is the highest expression of our feelings to the one we love. Mothers sing lullabies to their infants, suitors compose and sing songs to their beloved, and we Filipinos sing and dance in whatever mood we are wherever we may be! There is always music in us from the simple gesture of washing the dishes, ironing of clothes to driving and taking a shower. When we sing and dance, we show what’s inside us as well as who we are.

In singing the Magnificat which St. Luke patterned after a similar song by Hannah at the birth of her son the Prophet Samuel who’s story we heard in the first reading, the Blessed Virgin Mary expressed her joy and gratitude in the nearness of God among us not only with the coming birth of her Son Jesus Christ but also through her!

All those great things done by God to Israel as per the Magnificat – “mercy on those who fear him, showing the strength of his arm, scattering the proud in their conceit, casting down the mighty from their thrones, lifting up the lowly, filling the hungry with good things, sending the rich away empty, coming to the help of Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy” – happened not only in the coming of Jesus Christ but every time we share and proclaim him in words and in deeds like Mary.

The late Fr. Raymond Brown, one of the great biblical scholars of our time noted in his classic “Birth of the Messiah” that Mary as the first Christian is teaching us the essential task of every disciple of the Lord, that is, after hearing the word of God and accepting it, we must share it with others, not by simply repeating it but by interpreting it so that people can see it truly as the good news.

How are we interpreting the message of Christmas this Advent so that people would realize Jesus has come?

I hope this beautiful poem from another blog I have found a long time ago could help you sing and dance like Mary the Magnificat this Christmas.

1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style
by Sharon Jaynes 
(https://sharonjaynes.com/1-corinthians-13-christmas-style/

If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, 
strands of twinkling lights, 
and shiny glass balls, 
but do not show love to my family – I’m just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, 
baking dozens of Christmas cookies, 
preparing gourmet meals, and arranging 
a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, 
but do not show love to my family – I’m just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, 
carol in the nursing home, 
and give all that I have to charity, 
but do not show love to my family – it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce 
with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, 
attend a myriad of holiday parties, 
and sing in the choir’s cantata 
but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn’t envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn’t yell at the kids to get out of your way.

Love doesn’t give only to those who are able to give in return, 
but rejoices in giving to those who can’t.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails.  Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust.  
But giving the gift of love will endure.

Amen. May you have and share Jesus Christ always.

What’s inside you?

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Misa De Gallo IV, 19 December 2023
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25 <'[[[[>< + ><]]]]'> Luke 1:5-25

Here’s another beautiful story I got from a blogger I recently followed from Spain at wordpress.com. It is actually an analogy which may sound simple but very true.

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. 
Why did you spill the coffee?

"Because someone bumped into me!!!"
 
Wrong answer. You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea. Whatever is inside the cup is what will spill out.

Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you - which surely happens all the time - whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled. So, we have to ask ourselves, "what's in my cup?" When life gets tough, what spills over from me? 

(see, https://pkmundo.com/2023/12/17/i-love-this-analogy/comment-page-1/#respond)

*Photo by Mr. Boy Cabrido, Quiapo Church, Misa de Gallo, 17 December 2023.*

My dear friends, we are now on the fourth day of our Misa de Gallo and I find that story/analogy so appropriate with our readings today.

How interesting that Zechariah with his wife Elizabeth – according to St. Luke – prayed so hard all their lives to have a child but when God was about to fulfill it, Zechariah doubted it despite being told by an angel from God. Like in that story/analogy we presented above, Zechariah was “rattled” by the angel’s good news. “What was inside Zechariah that he doubted the good news”?

Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the days these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”
Luke 1:18-20

*Photo by author, Wailing Wall of Jerusalem, May 2017, the section of the remaining parts of the temple closest to the Holy of Holies where priests used to incense once a year.*

Advent is the presence of God but sometimes when we are overburdened with so many things like anxieties and problems in life, frustrations and disappointments, sickness and death in the family, we become unaware of his divine presence even if we continue to pray and do our religious duties and devotions. Too often we lack the conscious awareness of God in our lives that we take him for granted, considering him more as a given than a presence and a reality.

This is exactly what we told you yesterday about some of us pretending to be real disciples of Christ when in reality we are merely dreaming in a sleepwalking existence. It is a kind of spiritual immaturity due to our lack of honesty and sincerity with one’s self and with God that we remain a spiritual dwarf. Like Zechariah who happened to be a priest who must be more attuned and rooted in God, we too hardly notice God’s coming or even doubt him and his powers because we want to hold on to our comfort zone or insist our own agenda.

God is never put off by our queries in life but what “irritates” him is when we question him, when we doubt him, when we ask about his character like Zechariah. That is a lack of faith in God, a lack of trust, and lack of personal relationship with him unlike St. Joseph in our reflection yesterday, truly a righteous man.

Contrast Zechariah with his wife Elizabeth who is presented by St. Luke in a better position despite her being barren. In the Bible, barrenness is a sign of lifelessness and absence of God’s blessings. Worst, it was seen as a punishment from God for one’s sins.

Yet in this opening scene of St. Luke’s infancy story beginning with the annunciation of John’s birth, we find God’s power at its fullest when we are most emptied which is exactly the imagery of Elizabeth being barren and old. She had nothing at all to be proud of unlike Zechariah who still had duties to perform as a priest.

As we have reflected yesterday too, we burst in great rejoicing actually in those moments filled with negativities, with a lot of “no” answers of rejections and failure. That was how Elizabeth felt after being pregnant with John.

After this time, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she went into seclusion for five months, saying, “So has the Lord done for me at a time when he has seen fit to take away my disgrace before others.”
Luke 1:24-25

Earlier, we asked what was inside Zechariah that he doubted the good news of the angel; now, we imagine what was inside the barren Elizabeth who welcomed the good news rejoicing by voluntarily going into a seclusion?

The story of the elderly couple Zechariah and Elizabeth finally being blessed by God with a child shows us God’s consistency not only in keeping his promises but most of all in working best even in our worst conditions, in the most unusual circumstances. In these two stories, one from the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we find the importance of being filled with God always.

Recall our story/analogy above. What is inside us that comes out when we are shaken? What spills over from our cup, is it joy, gratitude, and peace? Or, anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions long festering within?

In starting his Christmas story with the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist, St. Luke is telling us an important aspect in celebrating this blessed season – the need to fill ourselves with God.

See how Zechariah was forced to be silent and made mute so that he could spend more time listening and rediscovering God anew in his heart, of filling himself with God. On the other hand, Elizabeth opted to go into seclusion also to contemplate God already dwelling in her though she may have never known before that is why she wanted to listen more intently to his other plans with the gift of John. Similarly like her in the first reading was the wife of Manoah who remained silent and open when a man of God told her she would bear a son to be called Samson, saying that “I did not ask him where he came from” (Jgs.3: 6). Advent invites us to simply be still to be filled by God, with God.

The other day I joined my nieces and nephew for lunch. After dropping me off at the parish, they asked for a nearby Starbuck’s because my nephew had to buy a coffee mug for his exchange gift in their class. When I asked him why he had to give a Starbuck’s mug as gift, it turned out that is now the way it is in class Christmas party – your exchange gift partner can make a wish for the gift to receive for as long as it is within the agreed budget by the class.

Anyway, our life gives us the cup or the mug. We make the decision, the choice to fill it with coffee or chocolate or tea, in the same manner we fill ourselves with joy or bitterness, anger or serenity, gratitude or complaints. Or God.

Like Zechariah in the gospel today, we could be so tired already of doing so much, of banging our heads on the wall to solve everything, to answer everything. In this final stretch before Christmas, let us empty our cups or mugs of our selves and fill it with God who alone can truly fill us with life despite our dryness and barrenness. Amen. Have a blessed Tuesday!