It is still Christmas this Sunday here in the Philippines as we celebrate today the Feast of the Child Jesus known as Señor Sto. Niño. The feast reminds us of the most central teaching of Jesus Christ which is to be like a child for He said that “unless you become like children, you shall never inherit the kingdom of heaven.”
One distinct quality of being a child like Jesus Christ is to be always filled with love for everyone. In this age of modern technologies, how sad that we have become more technical than personal that slowly, real love has become so rare among us. Too often love is not only abused and misused but also misunderstood as mere feelings alone. No! Love is always a decision, a choice we make after the interplay of our mind and heart that leads to growth and maturity. And the more we stand on that decision and choice to love, the more it is deepened and perfected in God. So often, love is symbolized by the heart but its truest meaning can only be found in the great sign of the Cross of Jesus where we can find the perfect expression of Christian “childlikeness” and Christian maturity when we choose whatever is more painful and more difficult because we have found someone to love more than our self.
This is the child-like love that Dianne Reeves tells us in her 1987 crossover hit “Better Days” also known as the “Grandma Song” where she spoke of her grandmother not only teaching her but making her experience love that leads to better days. We find in the song her grandmother somehow portraying to us what we have said as Christian “childlikeness” and Christian maturity so that in the end, she peacefully joined God because she had always been faithful and loving as a child of the Father like Christ. That is also the challenge to us of this Feast of the Sto. Niño: to remain children of God even as adults like Jesus Christ. Or Dianne’s grandmother. If only we can be child-like like Jesus or Dianne’s Grandma, we can be assured of better days too not only here but in eternity.
Photo by the author, Dominican Hill, Baguio City, 18 January 2019.
It’s the first Sunday of 2019 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. 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. 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.
While praying over the scriptures for today’s celebration, one song kept playing at the back of my mind, “Waiting for Love” by Sergio Mendes and the Brazil ’77. Composed by Randy McNeill, it is from their 1974 album “Vintage 74” that features for the second time around the vocals by Gracinha Leporace and Bonnie Bowden. It is a very beautiful song with a haunting music because it is so true with many of us who are so afraid to love, afraid to follow our stars, and perhaps afraid to fail and get hurt in life. “Waiting for Love” challenges us like the Epiphany if who among us are wise enough 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? Matthew tells us how the whole Jerusalem along with Herod were greatly troubled upon hearing the magi looking for the newborn king of the Jews as indicated by the bright star! This is what the song “Waiting for Love” is saying, of how often that “(And) it seems I’ve spent my whole life, Waiting for love, And when it comes, I always run away.” This 2019, stop being “afraid of being close where I need to be the most” – follow and believe in the bright star of Jesus Christ! Cheers to more love this 2019!
The second Sunday of Advent reminds us that it is not enough to be open for the coming Jesus Christ; we have to create a room for God in our hearts, in our lives for Him to truly come inside us. It is only when we create a space for Jesus within us that we can truly experience His “intense presence” not only this Christmas but every day of our lives. Creating a space within us for God means allowing Him to possess us, to dwell and reign within us so that we are transformed into better witnesses of Christ’s coming like John the Baptizer. It is impossible to meet God when we are so filled with things of the world and of ourselves. Like John, we have to withdraw to the wilderness, we need to do some fasting, of self-emptying to create that room for Jesus in our hearts. It is only then can we truly experience Christ’s coming and loving presence, mercy and forgiveness, kindness and grace.
For our Sunday music, we have Diane Reeves lending her soothing vocals to David Benoit’s “Land of the Loving” (co-written with Mark Winkler) from his album This Side Up released in 1986. I have always loved this song, especially after watching David Benoit played the piano for this song in 1990 at the PICC with Ms. Jinky Llamanzares doing the vocals. After becoming a priest, I have always seen a more spiritual meaning in this song that speaks exactly of creating a room for Jesus Christ, of staying inside with Him in my heart, of being possessed by the Lord Himself. It is in being caught in the arms of Jesus, when we let Him possess us right in our own small room inside our hearts when“Finally my life has a meaning of its own; here in the land of the loving I am home.” Follow the lyrics from YouTube and as you immerse yourself into this beautiful music, think also of those days when you felt so blessed, you felt so close with God… rejoice and believe that He is coming again to redeem us. A blessed week to everyone!
Today we begin the new year in our Church calendar with the Season of Advent, the four week preparation for Christmas. It has two aspects: today until December 16 our focus are set on the Second Coming of Jesus at the end of time, and from December 17 to December 24, we turn our attention to the first Christmas when Christ was born more than 2000 years ago. According to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, between these two comings of Christ is His Third Coming in the present. And that is why Advent is the presence of God among us in Christ. Advent challenges us to be daring in opening ourselves to Christ’s coming in the most ordinary as well as in the most trying and difficult moments of our lives. It is only when we dare to open our hearts to Christ’s daily coming can we truly experience the giftedness of each moment and day of our lives in God.
Let Edie Brickell help you to be bold in opening to God with her 1994 hit single “Good Times”. Edie’s music is very refreshing and natural but bold in its message and lyrics where we find her openness to the presence of her loved one whether in “good times or in bad times.” That is the challenge of Advent to us: if we cannot dare to open ourselves to God in our good times and bad times, we would never have that space for Him in our hearts where He truly comes every day. Dare to open your heart to God, give a space for Jesus to come and that is when Christmas happens regardless of the date and time.
You don’t even have to try
It comes easy for you
The way you move is so appealing it could make me cry
Go out drivin’ with my friends
In bobby’s big old beat up car
I’m with a lot of people then, I wounder were you are
Good times, bad times gimme some of that (3x) Ooh woo ooh
I don’t wanna say goodbye
Don’t wanta walk ya to the door
I spent a little time with you, I want a little more
Good times, bad times gimme some of that (3x) Ooh woo ooh
And baby really, I don’t have to
I have to go anywhere right now
You want some more, you want some more of this
Anywhere where, were ever you want baby, just,
Say it…. Ah…. Just say it
Good times, bad times gimme some of that (3x) Ooh woo ooh
Now want those good, good ,good times
And got those bad, bad, bad times
I want those good, good, good ,good times
Gimme some that
*Photo by author, Advent wreath at the Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan, 02 December 2018.
LordMyChefSundayMusic//Solemnity of Christ the King-B//25 November 2018
What’s on your mind, Who’s in your heart?
The trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate occupies a very important role in the gospel of John which is also full of symbolisms like our Sunday music by Sting of the Police. Unlike the other three evangelists, John mentioned only in passing – just a sentence – that Jesus was brought to the high priest Caiaphas (Jn.18:24) and spent great details in narrating to us His trial before Pilate. This is the first time, and the only time in all gospel accounts that Jesus is face to face with a representative of the world’s political power to show us that His kingdom is “in this world but not of this world.”
Jesus Christ is king when in our hearts He reigns supreme, when we see Him among others as our brothers and sisters in Him. More than our thoughts and ideas, more than our feelings and assumptions are persons to be loved and respected. To recognize Jesus our King is to follow Him by taking up our cross because His kingdom is based not on force or power but on love expressed in humility, kindness, patience, and mercy that are often seen as weakness in the world. Yes, one may say His kingship is out of this world but that is exactly what the world needs these days! Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe because He is also the “king of pain” who bore all sufferings for us because of His immense love for us.
“King of Pain” was written by Sting from their album “Synchronicity” released in 1983. Sting admits that “King of Pain” is about the pains of his separation from his first wife. To heal his soul, he went on a vacation to Jamaica and while looking at the sun with a friend who is now his second wife Trudie, Sting remarked “There’s a little black spot on the sun today.” He then paused a few minutes and said, “That’s my soul up there.” He went into his room to write its lyrics that evoke love and submission to pain, something not far from Christ’s call to us all that whoever wants to be great in His kingdom must be the slave of all like Him who came “not to be served but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many” (Mk.10:44-45).
There’s a little black spot on the sun today
It’s the same old thing as yesterday
There’s a black hat caught in the high tree top
There’s a flag pole rag and the wind won’t stop
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running ’round my brain
I guess I’m always hoping that you’ll end this reign
But it’s my destiny to be the king of pain.
There’s a little black spot on the sun today, that’s my soul up there
It’s the same old thing as yesterday, that’s my soul up there
There’s a black hat caught in a high tree top, that’s my soul up there
There’s a flag pole rag and the wind won’t stop, that’s my soul up there
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running ’round my brain
I guess I’m always hoping that you’ll end this reign
But it’s my destiny to be the king of pain.
There’s a fossil that’s trapped in a high cliff wall, that’s my soul up there
There’s a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall, that’s my soul up there
There’s a blue whale beached by a springtide’s ebb, that’s my soul up there
There’s a butterfly trapped in a spider’s web, that’s my soul up there
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running ’round my brain
I guess I’m always hoping that you’ll end this reign
But it’s my destiny to be the king of pain.
There’s a king on a throne with his eyes torn out
There’s a blind man looking for a shadow of doubt
There’s a rich man sleeping on a golden bed
There’s a skeleton choking on a crust of bread
There’s a red fox torn by a huntmen’s pack, that’s my soul up there
There’s a black winged gull with a broken back, that’s my soul up there
There’s a little black spot on the sun today
It’s the same old thing as yesterday
I have stood here before inside the pouring rain
With the world turning circles running ’round my brain
I guess I’m always hoping that you’ll end this reign
But it’s my destiny to be the king of pain
King of pain
King of pain, king of pain, I always be king of pain
LordMyChefSundayMusic//Week XXXIII-B//18 November 2018
And Life Goes On…with Love
What matters most in this life is not really what we have achieved but what we have become: have we been more loving, more understanding, more forgiving? Today’s gospel reminds us of the end of time. It is something we must not be afraid of but actually anticipate with joy because eventually, we all die. But we do not simply die by ourselves. We die in Jesus Christ. And to die in Christ is to live in love. The moment we come to terms with life, then, we come to terms with death because that is when we start living in love. Love is the only measure of life as expressed in this beautiful music from the rock opera “Rent” of 1996. Enjoy your Sunday with a lot of love with everyone! A lovely Sunday and week ahead of everyone!
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets
In midnights, in cups of coffee
In inches, in miles
In laughter, in strife
In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure a year in the life
How about love?(3x)
Measure in love
Seasons of love
Seasons of love
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand
Journeys to plan
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure the life
Of a woman or a man?
In truths that she learned
Or in times that he cried
In bridges he burned
Or the way that she died
It’s time now to sing out
Tho’ the story never ends
Let’s celebrate
Remember a year in the life of friends
Remember the love (3x)
Measure in love
Measure, measure your life in love
LordMyChef Sunday Music//Week XXXI-B//04 November 2018
Asking Jesus
We are known by the questions we ask, not by the answers we give that are often wrong or far from truth and reality. Asking the right question leads us to the right answer and solution to our problems. Even if we cannot find any ready answer to our questions but for as long as we are asking the right ones, we find clues for their answers as we move on with our lives. The questions we ask often reveal who we really are, indicating our focus or distractions in life.
Been thinking of a song about questions but this piece popularized by the Carpenters in 1970 composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David kept on playing in my mind with the opening lines “Why do birds suddenly appear, Every time you are near? Just like me, they long to be close to you.” Well, the song is about getting closer to a beloved, exactly the meaning of the question asked by the scribe to Jesus in our gospel this Sunday, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” (Mk.12:28). We can easily identify with that scribe with his honest question because it is more than the most important commandment to follow but about God Himself! It is a deep longing and desire to rise above, to be closer to God, to find God amidst all the many laws and requirements being asked of us most of the time, just like the song (They Long To Be)Close To You.
For our LordMyChef Sunday Music today, we have chosen the more jazzy cover by the late Gwen Guthrie released about this time in 1986. Enjoy the beat, feel the music, and keep asking questions, keep searching. We may not have all the answers right away but we have a loving and merciful God who knows all the answers to our questions, who listens and answers them always in His own time.
Photo by the author at Malagos Bird Sanctuary, Davao City, August 2018.
LordMyChefSundayMusic//Week XXX-B//28 October 2018
Jesus Calls Us In Our Blindness
Our LordMyChefSundayMusic is for all the Bartimaeus shouting and longing for love and attention. Today’s gospel tells us the story of the blind Bartimaeus who was a beggar at the roadside of Jericho. When he heard Jesus passing by, he began to cry out to Him, saying“Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me!” Jesus stopped, called him and eventually healed him. He then followed Jesus to Jerusalem.
The story of Bartimaeus happens daily in our lives, in our modern Jericho when we are blinded by so many things that we forget the people around us who merely want to be loved and cared for, asking for just a little attention or smile from us. Listening closely to the sad but warm melody of Carole King’s “So Far Away” we also find the same situation of Bartimaeus: the emotional distance between lovers, among people that is more painful than physical distance. Like Bartimaeus, we sometimes feel to be so near yet so far from others because they refuse to “see” us as another person.
This Sunday Jesus is assuring us that unlike most lovers or people in general, He is never far away from us for He always comes to stop by our side to comfort us with our afflictions including our many blindness that prevent us from seeing the more essential things in life like love, kindness, and simple joys of being alive. Be a Jesus to the many Bartimaeus around, especially those nearest to us at home or the family.
So far away
Doesn’t anybody stay in one place any more?
It would be so fine to see your face at my door
It doesn’t help to know you’re just time away
Long ago I reached for you and there you stood
Holding you again could only do me good
Oh how I wish I could but you’re so far away
It is a beautiful Friday, loving Father in heaven! As I prayed over your words for today, I can’t help singing the last stanzas of Bob Dylan’s Blowing In the Wind:
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
We have always considered the weather as very erratic that we spend so much time studying everything about it to make a more accurate prediction of how it is going to be the following day. And we have been succeeding all these years, especially with the help of modern technology. Yet, Jesus Christ’s observations 2000 years ago remain true to this day: “we can interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but we cannot interpret the present time.” (Lk.12:56)
We have always been so concerned with the world outside us, forgetting your “call within each of us to live in unity with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love.” (Eph.4:1-2)
Most of the time in our lives, we are more erratic than the weather. We destroy our unity rooted in your Son our Lord by refusing to see for ourselves what is right (Lk.12:57). We always insist to look more at outside appearances that we miss the more essential within us, our “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Eph.4:5-6)
Teach us to reflect more on what we believe because it is our faith that determines what we do, regardless if the weather would be fair or stormy, warm or cool at any given day. AMEN. Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, Parokya ng San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista, Gov. F. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan 3022.
*Photo by Mr. Raffy Tima of GMA-7 News, Batanes before typhoon Ompong, 14 September 2018. Used with permission.
This song is my earliest lesson on the universality of music: I was in elementary when I first heard it played by my elders totally ignorant of its lyrics and meaning except that the melody is so lovely, so moving. The music had stayed on with me since then and how glad to finally have it as our Sunday Music after mentioning Che Guevarra in my homily (https://lordmychef.wordpress.com/2018/10/20/jesus-is-a-radical/).
“Guantanamera” as a song was first recorded and popularized in 1929 by Cuban singer Joseito Fernandez. Its lyrics were based on the poem by Cuban poet Jose Marti that eventually became a patriotic song in Cuba. In 1963, the late American folk singer and social activist Pete Seeger recorded it during the Cuban Missile Crisis, eventually becoming a staple in the protest and peace movements of that time into the early ‘70’s. The song speaks well about the radical kind of love and service Jesus asks us in today’s gospel. It is actually the heartaches of a “truthful man” in Guantanamo, Cuba who was deeply hurt at how powerful and rich countries have destroyed his lovely native land. But despite these, he still offered peace and goodwill, a “white rose”.
And for the cruel one who would tear out
This heart with which I live.
I cultivate neither thistles nor nettles
I cultivate a white rose.
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
I know about a fatal evil
Among the unspeakable shames:
The enslavement of human beings
Is the great shame of the world!
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
With the poor people of this earth,
I want to share my lot.
With the poor people of this earth,
I want to share my lot.
The little streams of the mountains
Please me more than the sea.
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera
*Photo from Google, Pope Francis celebrating Mass in Havana during his pastoral visit there in 2015.
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