Unfair!

The Lord Is My Chef Easter Recipe by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Monday in the Octave of Easter, 01 April 2024
Acts 2:14, 22-33 <*((((>< + ><))))*> Matthew 28:8-15
Photo by author, Refectory of Sacred Heart Novitiate, Novaliches, QC, 20 March 2024.
My dearest Lord Jesus Christ,
while everyone's greetings
of "Happy Easter" have waned
due to Monday's usual grind
to the highest degree,
I found myself wallowing
in Your words today to thoughts
of things unfair
and feeling cheated;
In Tagalog,
madaya!

The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’ And if this gets to the ears of the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” The soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.

Matthew 28:12-15
Narra flowers cover paths at the Sacred Heart Novitiate, 20 March 2024.
And this story has circulated among the Jews to the present day.
O Jesus,
not only this story
but this vicious circle
of lies and cheating,
of being unfair
has continued to circulate
even among us your
followers right in Your
Church!
Everywhere
there is this glorification
of selves,
of dishonesty,
of excesses that result
in inequalities
and sadly
in desecration of Your liturgy,
of Your Body,
the Church made up of
so many who are misled
from You,
dear Jesus.
But this is why
You rose from the dead,
Jesus;
this is the reason there is Easter:
You turned over,
"binaligtad Mo, Panginoon
ang maraming pagkakataon
at sitwasyon
ng kawalan ng patas,
kawalan ng kaayusan" -
in Your rising,
You have given us more reasons
to persevere even amid
darkness and emptiness
like that early morning of Easter
because soon enough,
You are surely there at
the next turn,
at a corner,
awaiting those faithfully
seeking
and following You!
In this Monday
of Your Easter Octave
Jesus, help me pray
like the psalmist,
"Keep me safe, O God;
you are my hope."
Amen.
Photo by author, Sacred Heart Novitiate, 20 March 2024.

“Touch & Go” by Rupert Holmes (1976)

The Lord Is My Chef Sunday Music by Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II, 04 February 2024
Photo by author, Our Lady of Fatima University-Laguna Campus in Sta. Rosa, 19 February 2024.

Our gospel this Sunday speaks a lot about the importance of person-to-person communication, of the healing wonders of the sense of touch and its deeper implications in our relationships when Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Simon Peter.

On leaving the synagogue Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him about her. He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

Mark 1:29-31

See how the evangelist narrated in details the healing by Jesus who “approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.” More than the actual touching and face-to-face or actual encounter, the scene speaks so well of deep personal relationships among us. That is why we have chosen Rupert Holmes’ 1976 single Touch and Go.

Nobody said that
Life is always fair
Sometimes it clips your wings
While you’re in mid-air
But there’s a thread
Between your life and mine
And when you’re losin’ hope
This rope won’t unwind

REFRAIN:
Hold on tight
‘Cause life is touch and go
It’s sink and swim
But never doubt
If you’re out on a limb
I’ll get the call
To break your fall
I’ll never leave you
Even when life
Is touch and go
Or hit and run
We’ll never break
If we take it as one
I’m here to stay,
I pray you know
I’ll never touch
I’ll never touch and go

Someday you’ll find
There’s nothin’ in the night
That wasn’t there before
You turned out the light
Straight from your mind
The monster ‘neath your bed
The voices in the hall
They’re all in your head

A gifted musician with a knack in story-telling, Holmes’ songs are always imbued with his deep insights about life he had gathered from ordinary experiences like his earlier hit Terminal (1974) and his two hit singles Escape (The Piña Colada Song) in 1979 and Him in 1980. These three are all dashed with humor that can tickle our bones but disturb our conscience too.

In Touch and Go, Holmes goes philosophical, sounding a bit like Job in today’s first reading of how life can sometimes be unfair that “Sometimes it clips your wings while you’re on mid-air” while assuring his beloved of his deep love and dedication that no matter what happens, he would always be there by her side to save her.

That is exactly what Jesus tells us in the gospel this Sunday, of how he would always approach us, grasp our hand and help us up when we are down. The question is, are we in touch with Jesus too? Or, we always go and leave him especially when things are doing great in our lives?

If us humans like Holmes can boldly assure our beloved of always being there, of being in touch and connected especially in times of trials and sufferings, all the more is Jesus Christ who had come to empower us by connecting us with God and one another always in loving service (https://lordmychef.com/2024/02/03/real-power-empowers/).

It is a Sunday. Don’t forget to celebrate Mass or go to your places of worship to get in touch with God and with others in your community. Here is Rupert Holmes to help you chill more on this cool February Sunday amidst life’s many “touch and go, sink and swim” situations.

From Youtube.com.