Category: Priesthood

Jesus Christ Alone Is Our Master and Lord

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Statue of Simon Peter kneeling before Jesus after the miraculous catch at Lake Gennesaret.  Photo by the author, April 2018.
The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe
10 February 2019, Week V, Year C
Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8///1Corinthians 15:1-11///Luke 5:1-11 

            For the past three weeks we have seen how Luke had been true to his intent of writing in an “orderly sequence” the events in the life of Jesus Christ so we may realize the “certainty of the teachings” handed down to us by the apostles (Lk.1:3-4, Jan. 28).  Taking off from the scene at the Nazareth synagogue, Luke showed us how Jesus is the “word who became flesh” when He told the people, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing” (Lk.4:21).  And like those people in the synagogue, we too are so amazed with the words of Jesus but likewise disturbed, even mad when He hits a soft spot within us.  That is how Jesus does His mission, always inviting us to listen and act on His word that is fulfilled in the “today” like in the calling of the first four apostles, the brothers Simon and Andrew, James and John.  After driving Him out of their synagogue, Jesus went to preach to the crowd who followed Him along the shores of Gennesaret.

            While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.  He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.  Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.  Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat (Lk.5:1-3).

            What a lovely sight to behold, my dear readers, of Jesus Christ borrowing the boat of Simon to preach to the people.  Imagine the Son of God, through whom everything was created, borrowing the boat of Peter?  Imagine how that boat of Simon must have looked like.  It must be so ordinary and most likely, even with some holes with nothing so outstanding – just like us!  Yet, here is the King of kings borrowing that boat from Simon.  Luke is showing us here a “parable in action” of how the Gospel is to be preached to all people with no exception.  It is a beautiful imagery of the Church gathered around our Lord and Master with Simon – like us – in supporting role.  Today, it is the boat of Simon being borrowed but later on, it would be his voice, his total self that Jesus would borrow, very similar with us too.

            After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”  Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”  When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing.  When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”  When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him (Lk.5:4-6,8,10-11).

             This is the climax not only of our gospel scene today but also of the whole series these three Sundays that started on a day of rest inside the synagogue of Nazareth when Jesus came to proclaim the word of God.  The actualizing power of the word of Jesus Christ fulfilled in every “today” when proclaimed and heard and accepted.  See how Simon was filled with fear that he fell into his knees after seeing the bountiful catch after obeying the words of Jesus, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”  Of course, the fish is always in the sea; the key to their great catch was the presence of Jesus Christ.  It is the same with our own lives when we work so hard in our jobs or career and in our studies and other pursuits but we are still left empty.  But after finding Jesus, we are so overwhelmed with so much blessings not really in material form but something more deeper and lasting.  The word of God is His very presence and its effect is always in the here and now, not later.  Like the other Sunday, we said it is not enough to enter the church but we enter the person of Jesus Christ.  And the moment we enter Jesus, we then become like Simon, filled with His presence that we no longer address Christ as Master or Teacher but also Lord.  Like Simon, we also experience a deepening in our recognition and relationship with Jesus:  at first, we relate to Him more as a Master and Teacher but later, we realize that He alone is our Lord.

             See how by placing the miraculous catch, the call of Simon and his companions, and their response at the beginning, Luke is teaching us the spirit that must guide us in proclaiming and listening to the Gospel Jesus Christ.  In these three Sundays, we have seen Jesus Christ as the central figure for He alone is our Master and Lord.  He alone is the one calling us all to be fishers of men and to follow Him means to leave everything behind like Simon and company.

               Here lies our problem today when we forget Jesus our Master and Lord.  So many times we in the Church, especially us priests and those in the hierarchy as well as some laypeople forget Jesus, usurping His Lordship that we speak and act like God.  Luke reminds us in this scene at the Gennesaret that we do not replace Christ!  In the first place, remember that people come for Jesus in the first place and only Him, always Him whom we must share to everyone.  How sad that so often, consciously or unconsciously, some priests create cults around their very selves, we become the standard of everything, we claim everything that people look up to us more than to Christ.  Like Simon who would be called as Peter later, our job is to lend our boat and our voice to Jesus and not to replace Him.  Like the prophet Isaiah, we are being sent forth by the Lord to bring Him among people, to make Him present among them.  As Paul explained also these past three weeks in his first letter to the Corinthians, the Church is the living body of Christ that we all build together.  There is the diversity of graces, gifts, and ministries that come from the Holy Spirit to complement each other.  Most of all, in proclaiming and listening to the word of God, there must always be love for without it, nothing would have value at all.  And that alone proves to us the centrality of Jesus Christ who alone is our Master and Lord, who calls us despite our many defects like Simon.  Jesus alone is the one we must love and serve, His very person and not only His call and teachings.  A blessed week to you!  Amen.  Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan.

 

Vacation and Vocation: A Reflection on the Caller, the Call, and the One Called

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Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 24 January 2019

            Vacation and vocation are two important realities for us priests.  In fact, the two are closely related because both are rooted in God.  Problems happen when we priests totally forget God both in our vacation and in our vocation.  And this has always been our problem because we have refused to go back, get closer and enter God Himself.

             Both vacation and vocation came from Latin:  the former is from the word “vacare” that means to be emptied or vacant while the latter has its roots in “vocare” which is to be called.  Every vacation is a sabbath, a resting in God who calls us to this priestly vocation.  This concept is beautifully expressed in our Filipino word “magpahinga” that literally means to be breathed on by God.  When we priests go on vacation, the more we are able to serve people better with joy because that is when we are filled with God.  Every vacation is a path leading us closer to God that is why priests are encouraged to go on sabbatical leaves, whether the usual weekly breaks or the yearly longer vacations.  This past week we have heard from the gospels in our daily Masses how the enemies of Jesus missed this important aspect of sabbath when they would always question His healings on days of rest, prompting Him to ask them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than destroy it?” (Mk.3:4).  God is always bigger than Sabbath because “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (Mk.2:27-28).  Even laypeople have fallen into this trap of emphasizing sabbath more than God Himself that we make many excuses of not going to Sunday Masses because bonding with family and friends is more important.  Every year, less and less people are going to Church celebrations of the Holy Week and Easter because they would rather take the opportunity to go on vacation as they try hard to convince themselves that God would perfectly understand them anyway.

             This problem with vacation takes on its most unfortunate turn when we priests deal with our vocation.  In my 20 years in the priesthood with the last seven years spent in direct interactions with seminarians as teacher and spiritual director, I have found something so wrong now becoming a trend that is probably one of the reasons why we are plagued with all kinds of problematic priests in the Church.  It is a new kind of idolatry when we have come to worship and adore more our vocation and priesthood than God Himself.  We have forgotten the great distinction between the call and the Caller.  When the one being called, whether a priest or a seminarian, gets so focused with the call forgetting the Caller, problems arise and not too far from the scene are evil and sin.

            “Brothers and sisters:  Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.  In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him:  You are my son; this day I have begotten you” (Heb.5:1,4-5). 

            Priestly vocation is always a gift and a call from God to be closer and be one in Him and with Him in Christ.  Vocation is the call of God but not God.  The Caller is always above and distinct from the call.  The one being called is meant to end with the Caller and not with the call.  It is a terrible problem when a seminarian insists on being ordained as if it is a right simply because he is called even if the seminary fathers do not see him responding properly to his priestly calling.  It becomes a tragedy when priests insist with their own beliefs and perceptions of things as part of their responding to their vocation, forgetting or even totally disregarding Christ as well as the norms and teachings of the Church, His visible presence (sacrament) on earth.  The sex scandals that continue to rock and deeply hurt the Church stem from this erroneous perception by some priests who cling to their vocation, unmindful of the Caller we all need to imitate in holiness so we can also embrace children and uplift women like Him in love and respect.  See how some of our churches have become like birthday cakes, malls and even dance halls when pastors pretend to be bringing the people closer to God with all their pomp and pageantry when in fact are just massaging unconsciously their bloated egos.  When priests get busy more with church constructions, fund raising and other social events without any time for prayer to be with God and His flock, they worship the call, not the Caller.  The height of this idolatrous worship of the vocation by priests is when we make up so many alibis and excuses to justify our various preoccupations like luxurious living, vanities that include too much sports and body-building, vices in all forms like addiction with telenovelas, engaging in businesses, frequent travels that Pope Francis had branded as “scandal of the airports”and yes, even adopting children!

            I wrote this not to put down my brother priests and students in the seminary but to contribute in whatever way that we can grow closer with Jesus Christ who calls us to be one in Him.  I am also a sinner, “a worthless servant of the Lord who tries to do my duty” as His priest (Lk.17:10).  Lately in our daily Masses as well as this coming Sunday we shall hear in the gospel of how Jesus would enter their synagogue in Capernaum on a sabbath.  It is a very simple scene but filled with meanings, asking me whether I simply enter the church or do I enter God?  How sad that until now there are people like the Magi from the East asking “where is the newborn king of Israel?” while inside our churches that have merely become a building but never the Body of Christ because what we only have is the call, or maybe just the echo of that call without the Caller.

*Photo by the author, chapel of Holy Family, Sacred Heart Novitiate and Retreat House, Novaliches, Quezon City, June 2015.