Jesus our light & fulfillment

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, 02 February 2025
Malachi 3:1-4 ><}}}}*> Hebrews 2:14-18 ><}}}}*> Luke 2:22-40

“Presentation at the Temple” painting by Italian Renaissance artist Andrea Mantegna done around 1455; Mary holding Baby Jesus while St. Joseph at the middle looks on the bearded Simeon. The man at the right is said to be a self-portrait of the artist while the woman at the back of Mary could be his wife. Photo from wikipedia.org.

We take a break from our regular Sunday cycle of readings today being the second of February, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple which is also 40 days after His birth. That is why it is technically the end of Christmas when Joseph and Mary left Bethlehem to bring Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is one of the earliest major feasts celebrated by the Church in Jerusalem in the third century that reached Rome 300 years later with the designation as the Purification of Mary. Years later as it spread to France, it came to be known as Chandeleur, or Candlemas in English speaking countries and Candelaria in Spanish when the blessing of candles with a short procession was incorporated into its liturgy due to that part of Simeon’s Canticle calling Jesus as the “light of the world” (gentiles). Following the reforms of Vatican II in 1969, St. Paul VI brought it back to its original title as the “Feast of the Presentation of the Lord” due to its Christological emphasis while retaining the traditional rite of the blessing of candles and short procession into the church.

In the Eastern Churches, this Feast is called the Encounter or the meeting of Jesus with the two elderly Simeon and Anna who were both promised by God to witness the coming of His promised salvation before they died.

One thing remains clear in its long history of celebrating the Lord’s Presentation is the beautiful assurance and sign of Jesus Christ’s presence among us enlightening us, lighting our paths, meeting us most especially in our old age as our fulfillment in life.

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel” (Luke 2:25-32).

*Presentation in the Temple painting by Fra Angelico from fineartamerica.com.*

For our reflection, let us identify ourselves with Simeon as we dwell on his actions and words in that momentous Presentation of the Lord in the Temple.

From our long gospel account this Sunday, we get a picture of Simeon as an old man; however, not just chronologically speaking in age but also in his feeling isolated and weak deep inside, waiting for so long in faith and in hope for the coming of the Christ who would bring salvation and peace to a troubled world and a troubled self like us. Let us now reflect on Simeon’s action:

"he took him into his arms and blessed God" 
(Luke 2:28)

Look at the artistry of Luke as a storyteller and a physician who knew so well how people felt when approaching death whether due to an illness or old age like Simeon and Anna. See how Luke had assembled in one scene the two old people meeting the eternally young Son of God in the temple as if telling us not only to meet Jesus Christ but also to take Him into our arms to embrace and carry Him!

To embrace and carry the Infant Jesus like Simeon and Anna is a call for us to transform and level up our way of looking at old age as a reality we must accept and appreciate than hide or avoid with many illusory tactics that only make it more difficult and leave us more fearful.

Be proud of your grey or white hair like George Clooney and Meryl Streep. Don’t be ashamed of those wrinkles for they are our badges of the many wars and battles we have fought in life, regardless whether we have won or lost. One thing is clear though and that is we are still alive. Laugh it off when our memory fails, when we get slow in everything because life is not a race nor a competition but an art that is perfected as we age.

*“Simeon’s Moment” by American illustrator Ron DiCianni. From* http://www.tapestryproductions.com

Taking to carry Baby Jesus like Simeon and Anna is embracing old age called “ageing gracefully” – a modern virtue that calls us to deepen our prayer life as we realize and accept the fact that it is now our “boarding time” for the final Encounter with the Lord in eternity.

In my previous parish assignment, there were three elderly men I have become friends with until their death. As they declined in their health, they came to me so often and later called for me to hear their Confessions whenever they would suddenly remember sins they have committed when they were younger. It must have been a unique grace from God to have that “Simeon moment” of carrying and embracing Jesus to be cleansed and purified before they have died. And I am convinced in my four years as a hospital chaplain that everyone is gifted with this “Simeon moment” to carry Jesus just before our final Encounter with Him in the afterlife. To carry Jesus is to cultivate a spiritual life centered in prayer like Simeon and Anna and those three friends I had.

Inversely, the young are blessed too with “Simeon moment” when like Mary and Joseph they share the Christ in them with those who are old and weak by accompanying them, understanding them, and bearing with them in their old age. It is only after we have “taken” the Child Jesus into our hands to hold and carry and embrace can we sing praise to God like Simeon:

"Now, Master, you may let your servant 
go in peace, according to your word, 
for my eyes have seen your salvation"
(Luke 2:29-30)

*A painting of Simeon with the Child Jesus from the dailyprayerblog.blogspot.com*

To age gracefully by carrying and embracing the Infant Jesus like Simeon is realizing deep within us that getting old and weak is also part of our celebration of life because that is when we enter Life Himself and when we also let Him enter us completely.

How did Simeon recognize it was the Savior that the two poor couple with a pair of turtledoves or pigeons were presenting in the temple that day?

Long before Joseph and Mary came to offer Jesus at the temple that day, Simeon had already entered into God’s presence in his long period of waiting through prayers and sacrifices. When Mary and Joseph came to the temple to present Jesus, God entered Simeon through the Holy Spirit to recognize the coming of the awaited Christ. Simeon’s prayerful singing of his praise to God while holding the Infant Jesus on that day was the fulfillment and expression of his long fidelity to God, of his being attuned to the Divine presence and promptings all his life.

In this age of instants, nobody waits anymore because many think that waiting is empty, a weakness and a poverty. A waste of time and energy.

*The Fourth Joyful Mystery portrayed in the Presentation Chapel of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.*

But Simeon shows us the exact opposite in his Canticle. It is in our waiting for God amidst the darkness and nothingness when Jesus really comes like that day in the temple. God is most present and closest with us when all we can do is cry “Lord” or “Jesus” because His very name is already His presence. If we keep that in mind like Simeon, we will surely find and embrace Jesus wherever, whenever.

As we celebrate the Jubilee of Hope this 2025, let us be reminded of Simeon along with the Prophetess Anna who were both Pilgrims of Hope who never lost sight of Christ in the midst of their long waiting. The first and second readings this Sunday assure us that God is coming, God has come in Jesus amid our many darkness and nothingness, weakness and decline.

Like Simeon and Anna, let us await to approach Jesus always for He alone matters most in this life found within us, among our family and friends and the people around us, expressed in love and mercy, kindness and forgiveness, and joy. Just be patient and wait, Jesus will appear for you to take Him and embrace Him in your arms like Simeon. Tell that to Jesus now with your other deep longings and you will not be disappointed. Amen.

*Photo by author, sunrise bursting through thick fogs over Taal Lake in Bgy. Dayap Itaas, Laurel, Batangas, 17 January 2025.*

Keeping our confidence

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. John Bosco, Priest, 31 January 2025
Hebrews 10:32-39 <*((((>< <*(((>< + ><)))*> ><))))*> Mark 4:26-34

*Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.*

Remember the days past when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a great contest of suffering… Therefore, do not throw away your confidence; it will have great recompense (Hebrews 10:32, 35).

Thank you,
O God our loving Father
for another month past
this new year;
there is indeed no other path
to take but forward
in you and with you
through Jesus.

How amazing,
dear Lord as I look back
to my many setbacks and problems
hurdled in the past,
the more I look forward
into the future!
The more I am excited
of the coming days ahead
because if I made it through
in the past,
through the long, dark nights
of trials and sufferings,
you are always with me
in Jesus.

*Photo by author, St. Scholastica Spirituality Center, Tagaytay, August 2024.*

Keep me faithful, Jesus;
let me not lose that confidence
in you, Lord, like the farmer
in your parable:
let me keep on sowing your
gospel in words and in deeds
especially among the young and 
the underprivileged like
St. John Bosco whose memorial
we celebrate today;
let me do whatever good 
I can do today;
most of all, 
like St. John Bosco,
let me love without measure
without claiming anything at all
except as your work, Lord Jesus
in sowing seeds until they
sprout to life and grow
until harvest time.
Amen.

*Photo by author, Northern Blossoms, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.*

Finding Jesus hidden within us

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Thursday, Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 30 January 2025
Hebrews 10:19-23 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Mark 4:21-25

*Photo by author, sunset in Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.*

Many times, O Lord Jesus,
I feel you "hide" from me
not because you are avoiding me
but simply because you want me to
find you.
And be surprised 
because that is how it is
really with you and the Father
and the Holy Spirit: 
you want us
to experience that sense 
of awe and wonder 
of Jacob in Bethel 
when he dreamt of your stairway
to heaven that upon waking up,
he cried out in joy, "Truly, 
the Lord is in this spot, 
although I did not know it!"
(Genesis 28:16)

*Photo by author, Mt. Olis Park, Atok, Benguet, 27 December 2024.*

Many times in the gospel
you have asked those you have
healed not to say anything
about you to anyone but
the more they talk about you,
dear Jesus;
and this is what you are
telling us today,
that we cannot hide a shining light
or lamp;
any good will always shine
will always be known
and be seen.
And that is YOU,
Jesus.

When I examine my life,
I have experienced many instances
when you, Jesus, had broken
through the surface after being "hidden"
for a long time deep within me;
and what a joy until now 
especially when I am confused,
when I feel alone,
when I see nothing
but darkness,
that is actually when you are "hidden",
 waiting to reveal yourself
 in the simplest occasions,
giving me with "more"
even though I already have
received so much from you
just in finding you!

Grant me the grace, Jesus,
"to approach and seek you
with a sincere heart and in
absolute trust... let me hold
unwaveringly to our confession
that gives us hope for you are
trustworthy as I rouse one another
to love and good works"
(Hebrews 10:22, 23, 24).
Amen.

*Photo by author, sunrise at St. Paul Spirituality Center, Pico, La Trinidad, Benguet, 06 January 2025.*

Forgiving & listening

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Wednesday, Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 29 January 2025
Hebrews 10:11-18 ><]]]]'> + ><]]]]'> ><]]]]'> Mark 4:1-20

Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer offering for sin (Hebrews 10:18).

How lovely and reassuring
are these words from the author
of the Letter to the Hebrews today,
Lord Jesus Christ;
thank you for coming 
to save us from our sins,
for forgiving our sins,
for teaching us to forgive others
most especially by being more
loving.

Thank you, Jesus,
for being the Sower,
always coming out to
scatter seeds of love and mercy
to us; open our ears, Lord,
that we may ought to hear
you: forgive us for being hard
and harsh in our ways and words,
forgive us for being easily
pricked and agitated,
forgive us for not listening
at all to you, Jesus.

Let me open myself to you,
Jesus, by opening myself too
with others to listen to their
points of view in order 
to understand them, 
not to judge them;
open myself to your healing
words so I may also soothe 
others pains and hurts
than add salt to their injuries.
Lastly, let me do your will
Jesus by always listening
and forgiving.
Amen.

To be one with God

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Tuesday, Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest & Doctor of the Church, 28 January 2025
Hebrews 10:1-10 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 3:31-35

*Photo by author, St. Joseph Friary, Order of Friars Minor Conventual, Tagaytay City, 16 January 2025.*

Lord Jesus Christ,
I pray for one thing today:
for us to be made whole again,
for us to be one in union in God
in you and through you;
forgive us O Lord
for being so fragmented,
so divided with each to his/her own;
everyone insisting one's self
and many beliefs and views
often truncated and far from you.

Make us realize that in 
your life, death and rising again,
you have greatly changed
the way we look at everything
that was so fragmented before
but it seems, we have returned
to that situation again;
worst, many of us have chosen
to be separated,
to be on our own,
to remain fragmented.

Brothers and sisters: Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year…Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He (Jesus) takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will”, we have been consecrated through then offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (Hebrews 10:1, 9-10).

Like yesterday in our prayer,
let us put on your lenses, Jesus
so that we can see life and persons
in your light not in our distorted
and colored views;
open us to see more 
of you and of your will
so that "whoever does the will
of God is my brother and sister
and mother" (Mark 3:35)!

Grant us the humility and simplicity
of St. Thomas Aquinas,
the Angelic Doctor whose memorial
we celebrate today
that we may always turn away from sin
in order to be in union with you always
so we may have that peace
because as he had taught us,
 "from the union of different appetites 
in man tending towards the same object 
that peace results"
(Unio autem horum motuum
est quidem de ratione pacis)
Amen.

On being good as a Catholic

Quiet Storm by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 26 January 2025

The Vatican recently invited several journalists from all over the world last January 24, 2025 to celebrate the Jubilee of Communicators in Rome.

Traditionally, the Pope issues on that date which is the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, the Patron of Catholic journalists and writers, his message for the coming World Communication Sunday celebrated every Ascension or Pentecost Sunday. As far as I can remember, that tradition has been broken perhaps twice when Pope Francis was delayed in releasing on that date his messages for the World Communication Sunday.

But, that is another story… we write this in reaction to a very disturbing message of Rappler’s Ms. Maria Ressa in her interview after her speech at the Vatican gathering last Thursday (correction: this interview happened before her speech).

We do not question Ms. Ressa’s credentials as a journalist for 39 years, having worked with the CNN and before establishing Rappler, was for a long time the head of ABS-CBN News.

We wonder why of all Filipino journalists she was the one chosen by the Vatican is something only the Archangel Gabriel could explain. There are so many other competent Filipino journalists and writers who are good, practicing Catholics who could have shed more light in the celebration of the jubilee of communicators. We name some of whom we personally know like former Inquirer editor Lito Zulueta, Facts First host and Inquirer-ABS-CBN veteran Christian Esguerra, and Prof. Felipe Salvosa II who stood against his bosses at the Manila Times and resigned for the sake of truth and decency when he disagreed in the publication of photos of Sen. De Lima’s affair with her former driver. Two other strongly-grounded Catholics in the field of communications we wished were invited to the Vatican are EWTN’s head in the Asia-Pacific Edwin Lopez and Cambridge-trained lawyer and Business World columnist Atty. Jemy Gatdula who defends our Church stand against divorce in Congress and other halls of discussions.

Due to our aforementioned reasons, I never bothered to read nor listen to Ms. Ressa’s speech at the Vatican gathering; however, my conscience was bothered, even revolted after listening to Ms. Ressa’s interview by her Rappler reporter Peterno Esmaquel II before her speech at the Vatican. Click this link and wait for her final statement.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Qmkpk2uqw/?mibextid=wwXIfr

*Photo by author, Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, Dumaguete City, November 2024.*

When asked for any message for Filipino Catholics, Ms. Ressa minced no words that betrayed her unCatholic stance: “Stay away from dogmas and be good.”

We understand how most journalists are “positively ignorant” about the Catholic faith and her teachings. They do not even know what is the Holy Mass or what is a parish or the distinctions of basilica, cathedral and church.

Most likely, Ms. Ressa along with most journalists take dogmas as teachings of the Church like the ones in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as well as the various writings of the Holy Fathers we also refer to as doctrines.

All dogmas are doctrines but not all doctrines are dogmas. Dogmas are solemnly defined doctrines we have to believe in. There are only two solemnly defined doctrines as dogmas, the Immaculate Conception issued by Pope Pius IX in 1854 through Ineffabilis Deus, and the Bodily Assumption of Mary defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950 through Munificentissimus Deus. Related to these, there are four Marian dogmas we believe: the Motherhood of God (theotokos), her Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity and her bodily assumption.

Going back to Ms. Ressa’s message to Filipino Catholics last week from the Vatican that we “stay away from dogmas and be good” is very wrong no matter how you look at it in whatever angles.

*Photo by author, Nuestra De Guia Church, Manila, November 2024.*

One cannot be good without obeying the teachings of the Church that are based on Jesus Christ’s teachings and the Sacred Scriptures.

One cannot be a good Catholic and yet believe and practice divorce and same sex marriage or premarital sex. We are not judging anyone here. Only God will judge us but we are morally bound to reiterate these teachings that came from the Lord Himself, including the fact that there are only two genders, “male and female, he created them” (Gen.1:27).

In my 26 years as a priest, I have witnessed so many Catholics especially those approaching death so bothered in their conscience for so long a time as they disregarded our many Church teachings like those against contraceptives and abortion. As a hospital chaplain, one of the greatest worries of many family and relatives with their patients is about euthanasia, making sure they do not commit it in dealing with their terminally ill patients.

Jesus Himself clearly said that we have to obey the commandments, the teachings found in the scriptures:

“Do not think that I have come to abish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill… Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17, 19).

Recall how on the issues about divorce and even the paying of taxes, Jesus would always direct us to the Sacred Scriptures, the very word of God to find His Divine Will. That is why, despite the many changes in the world, the Church has remained standing by its teachings because they are God’s teachings, not ours. Priests did not invent them and we are duty bound to stand by them no matter what – though there are some among us who have joined the modern trend in the world in the name of inclusivity and other woke thoughts which is sad. And shameful.

*Photo by author, Atok, Benguet, December 2024.*

One last note for this piece from that video clip of Ms. Ressa’s interview: she never spoke the word GOD (even in her speech at the Vatican, she just mentioned God once, not even directly as a point reference).

We talk about good because of God; excluding Him from the discussion is totally a fake, a budol. Any good is not good without God.

What are your thoughts with Ms. Ressa’s message to us Filipino Catholics to “stay away from dogmas” and simply be good?

Our colored lenses

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday, Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year I, 27 January 2025
Hebrews 9:15, 24-28 ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> + ><}}}}*> Mark 3:22-30

Lord Jesus Christ,
take away our colored lenses
that prevent us from seeing 
the real pictures in the world 
and of life; many times, 
our lenses are not only colored
but even defective
that make us see distorted images
as the realities when they are not.

Like the Pharisees,
we wear different lenses
that prevent us from seeing
your true self as full of good,
of love and mercy;
like the Pharisees,
our views of others are
distorted because we see
only ourselves as better
while at the same time,
still like the Pharisees,
we debate truth because we could
not accept others as better than us,
leaving us all trapped in self-condemned 
state of sinning that make us see
everything as hopeless,
worst, nothing is good at all
in the world even in our 
very selves which is the sin
agains the Holy Spirit.

Make us see through
your loving and merciful
lens our selves,
others,
the world around us,
and most especially YOU;
give us your lenses
to see we have been saved
and most of all,
worth saving because
we are loved by
YOU and the Father
in heaven.

Let us rejoice and
relish your saving power,
Lord, when You as the Christ,
"Offered once to take away
the sins of many,
will appear a second time,
not to take away sins
but to bring salvation 
to those who eagerly await
Him"
(Hebrews 9:28).
Amen.

“Stand by Me” by Ben E. King (1962)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 26 January 2025

*Photo of the cast of the 1986 film “Stand By Me” from goldenglobes.com.*

Glad to be back with our Sunday music after six months of absence! Hope you are doing well as we keep our good old music playing.

We cannot resist linking Ben E. King’s 1962 classic Stand By Me with our Sunday gospel about Jesus “standing” at the synagogue one sabbath day to proclaim the Sacred Scripture to his town folks in Nazareth. I have known the song all along having grown with old music at home but fell in love with it only in 1986 when it was adapted as the title of a coming-of-age movie called Stand By Me.

The song’s lyrics perfectly blended with the story of the movie based on Stephen King’s novella The Body, of how four teenagers in Oregon went on a hike to find the dead body of a missing boy. Though the song played only at the end of the movie as the main character closed his narration of what happened after to their friendship as young boys standing by each other, their hike was filled with so many misadventures and realizations that underscored the noble aspirations for fidelity and truth, love and care as well as importance of family we find exactly in the beautiful lyrics by King which is about his standing by his beloved.

When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No, I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

So darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountain should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No, I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand now
Stand by me, stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand now
Stand by me, stand by me

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Won't you stand by

We remembered the song Stand By Me while praying over this Sunday’s homily as we focused on Jesus always standing for what is true and good, what is just and fair and most especially, for His standing for each one of us always despite our weaknesses and sins. That is why we said in our homily that what matters most in life is not where we sit but where we stand (https://lordmychef.com/2025/01/25/standing-with-jesus-standing-like-jesus/).

As we go on a rest this Sunday, let us recall and remember our family and friends we have stood by all these years as well as those who stood by our side too while praying for those who have left us or betrayed us including those we have deserted too. Through all these standing and falling, there is always Jesus remaining, always standing by our side because He loves us, giving us all the chances to rise and stand again for Him and with Him through our family and friends. Have a blessed Sunday!

From YouTube.com, no copyright infringements intended except to enjoy good music.

Standing with Jesus, standing like Jesus

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, 26 January 2025
Nehemiah 8:2-4, 5-6, 8-10 ><}}}*> 1 Corinthians 12:12-30 ><}}}*> Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Doctors tell us that prolonged periods of sitting can lead to many health issues like increased risks of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers, obesity as well as depression. They have been sounding the alarm for several decades with the rise of “couch potatoes” and now had worsened as we get tied to our seats due to continuous use of computers and other gadgets.

Along with this worsening scenario of our prolonged sitting is the growing “competition” among us these days – consciously or unconsciously – for our places of seat in jeepneys and buses or airplanes, in classrooms and offices, on dining tables, in meeting rooms and in churches. People are so concerned where to be seated not realizing that what really matters in life is where we stand than where we sit!

The verb “to stand” evokes firmness and stability not only in the physical sense but also emotionally and spiritually speaking. Very close to it is the word “stance” that indicates our “stand”, of where we “stand” with our beliefs and convictions regarding issues. Before the coming of social media where we often make our stand while seated, there were placards calling us to “make a stand”.

In this age when most people prefer to sit than to stand as well as kneel to pray, our Sunday readings today are very timely as they teem with the words and images of standing for God.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written… (Luke 4:16-17).

*“Jesus Unrolls Book In the Synagogue” painting by James Tissot (1886-1894), brooklynmuseum.org*

We now dive into the Sunday Ordinary Time with Luke giving us a glimpse of how Jesus spent a typical sabbath day proclaiming the word of God by first “standing to read.”

It was not the first time Jesus stood to read as He always stood teaching and preaching to the people. Jesus was a man who literally stood for the Father, stood for what is true and good, stood for what is just and fair. Most of all, He stood for all of us that He died on the Cross.

This Sunday as He launched His public ministry in His hometown Nazareth in Galilee, Jesus made it clear that He is the “word who became flesh” as He stood to read the scripture, claiming what He proclaimed from the Prophet Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19).

Imagine present there. More than being spellbind, there must have been that feeling of fulfillment, of the true reality unfolding as Jesus clearly stood by the word of God because He is the word who became flesh.

Our Filipino word paninindigan evokes it so well like in Pinanindigan ni Jesus ang kanyang ipinahayag (Jesus stood by what He proclaimed). From its root tindig which is “to stand” in English, paninindigan is conviction. Jesus spoke with such conviction and authority that those in the synagogue were amazed with Him. Interestingly, our Filipino synonym for paninindigan is pangatawanan which is from the root katawan or “body” in English. Pangatawanan ang salita is to stand by one’s word, like Pinangatawanan ni Jesus ang Kanyang sinabi (Jesus stood by what He said).

See how our readings this Sunday are so interesting, so beautiful especially for us in the Philippines because the words of “standing” and “body” are related, capturing in our own language discipleship in Christ, our standing for Jesus and His gospel.

At the end of this scene in the synagogue, Luke told us how Jesus declared as He sat that His words were “fulfilled in your hearing” which amazed the people because Christ “walked the talk” even before this took place.

Anyone wishing to have any kind of fulfillment in life has to first make a stand for whatever he believes in. To walk the talk, one has to stand first. Nothing gets fulfilled by sitting. We have to make a stand for everything and everyone we care and love most.

Like Jesus, we can only bring glad tidings to the poor by standing by their side, standing with them to uplift them. In the same manner, liberty for captives and recovery of sight to the blind can only happen standing, by actually being present with them and never remotely from a distant office or setting where we are comfortably seated. The oppressed can only go free as we proclaim a jubilee like this 2025 when we stand for justice and truth instead of simply affixing our “like” to some posts “standing” for whatever causes.

*Photo by author, ambo in our Chapel of the Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzuela City, 25 December 2024.*

In the first reading we find the priest Ezra standing as he proclaimed the words of God from a book recovered after their exile from Jerusalem.

Ezra convinced the people so well in his proclamation of the scriptures that people cried and bowed their heads before finally prostrating themselves to God because they felt and experienced the Scriptures as so true.

The words “standing” and “stood” were repeated thrice to underscore not only the physical posture taken by Ezra and Nehemiah but most of all to indicate their emotional and spiritual bearings.

Going back to our gospel scene, see how before narrating to us Jesus in the synagogue, the Church had rightly chosen to include for this third Sunday the prologue of Luke where he laid down the reason for writing his gospel account – so that we “may realize the certainty of the teachings” about the Christ. In writing his prologue, Luke naturally sat but in mentioning that word “certainty”, he tells us a lot of standing he had to make in completing his two-volume work, the gospel and the Acts.

Here we find that like all the evangelists and saints for that matter, they spent much time standing than sitting, second only perhaps to kneeling or praying.

There is a beautiful prayer attributed to St. Teresa of Avila called “Christ has no body” which goes this way, “Christ has no body but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours.”

Can we make a stand for Jesus, stand with Jesus, and stand like Jesus to be His body as St. Paul explained to us in the second reading?

“Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ… Now the body is not a single part, but many” (1 Corinthians 12:12, 14).

*Photo by author, Chapel of Angel of Peace, RISE Tower, Our Lady of Fatima University, Valenzueal City, June 2024.*

As we embark into this long journey of Ordinary Time with Luke as our guide every Sunday, may we do the work of Jesus by standing along with our fellow believers and disciples.

Together let us make that collective stand for truth and justice, for decency and reason in this time when people are so fragmented, held captive by so many thoughts and beliefs propagated from the arrogant chairs of entitlement by some lazy minds influencing the world remotely. Together we stand and experience life as it is in Jesus Christ, even at His Cross. Amen. Have a blessed week ahead as we close January 2025!

Jesus wants YOU.

The Lord Is My Chef Daily Recipe for the Soul by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Friday, Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop & Doctor of the Church, 24 January 2025
Hebrews 8:6-13 ><))))*> + ><))))*> + ><))))*> Mark 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him (Mark 3:13).

How lovely to my ears,
to my heart,
 to repeat over and over
again as I bask into your warmth
O Lord Jesus Christ 
with these powerful account
by Saint Mark today: 
"summoned those whom he wanted
and they came to him."

Thank you, Jesus,
for the grace and courage
to answer your call,
to come to you,
to follow you
like the original Twelve;
forgive me,
Jesus when your call
gets into my head than
into my heart and arms
and legs;
forgive me,
Jesus when your want for me
inflates my ego to one extreme
and makes me doubt myself
at the other end;
bless me, Jesus,
to always cherish your call to me
using my name as I also renew my yes
to you; keep me faithful
in being close to you
so that I may share you
whenever you send me.

I pray also,
dear Jesus,
for all the others 
you want,
you call
but refuse to respond
and worst,
doubt if you really wanted
them; through the intercession
of your tireless saint Francis de Sales
we pray that you grant them 
the grace
to move on with life,
to let go of their past hurts
and sins for you are now
our perfect mediator of the 
perfect covenant (first reading);
may your kindness
and truth meet in them
finally.
Amen.