Gospel for August 29, 2015 (Saturday) Beheading of John the Baptist

Jn 14:1-6

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.  John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.  Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody.  When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.  She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.  Herodias' own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.  The king said to the girl, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."  She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"  She replied,  "The head of John the Baptist."  The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me a once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."  The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.  So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head.  He went off and beheaded him in the prison.  He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.  The girl in turn gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The Word in other words

During my college days, I worked in a non-governmental organization which fought for the rights of poor farmers.  I wrote the press releases and joined others on street rallies.  We put up barricade-tents in front of contested farm lands.  We were harassed by private armies and well-known political families.  Guns were aimed at our faces.  I was then very idealistic and willing to put my life in danger.  When my father heard this, he was more concerned with his son's life.  He told me, "Fighting for justice is good.  But there are more victims than victors in our country, where life is disposable.  Who is going to fight for you when those criminals shoot you?  It will be your parents."

As the church celebrates today the beheading of John the Baptist as a feast, it is not about the morbid delight of getting oneself killed.  It is about the martyrdom of John who gave witness to the truth.  He was not silent before the evil surrounding him.  He went against the mainstream who's rather play safe.  The prophet John said the right thing, even if it was at the wrong time and place.

Being prophetic is dangerous to one's health.  That is why there is a saying: "Play it safe."  Nobody wants to rock the boat.  It is better to shut up, so that nobody will bother you.  This survival instinct can, however, be dangerous in a situation of injustice.  Ninoy Aquino bravely went home to the Philippines despite repeated warnings that his life was in danger.  He said, "The Filipino is worth dying for."  Many less-known political prisoners in our country have the same conviction.  Nelson Mandela, also an ex-political prisoner, said: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."  He triumphed like John the Baptist, who may have lost his head, but won his soul for standing for the truth.

Readings and Gospel for July 26, 2015 (Sunday) Fil-Mission Sunday

First Reading 
2 Kgs 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing the man of God twenty barley loaves from the first fruits, and fresh grain in the ear.  Elisha said, "Give it to the people to eat."  But his servant objected, "How can I set this before a hundred?"  Elisha again said,  "Give it to the people to eat, for thus says the Lord:  You will eat and have some left over."  He set it before them, and when they had eaten, they had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Second Reading 
Eph 4:1-6

I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace; one body and one Spirit, as  you were also called to the one  hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all an in all.

Gospel 
Jn 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (of Tiberias).  A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.  Jesus went up on the mountain and there he sat down with his disciples.  The Jewish feast of Passover was near.  When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?"  He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do.  Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little bit."  One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?"  Jesus said, "Have the people recline."  Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.  So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.  Then Jesus took the loaves of fish as they wanted.  When they had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted."  So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.  When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world."  Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountains alone.

The Word in other words

The story of the Multiplication of Bread (Jn 6:1-14) has a special touch.  John brings in a boy with five loaves and two fish.  He fascinates me.  Among the multitude who followed Jesus the reader's attention is caught by this nameless boy with his merchandise, whom Andrew mentioned to Jesus (v9).  Surely he was there to do business.  Young though he might be, he would have been the breadwinner of his family; and his poverty made possible the Multiplication of the Bread.

Years ago, while yet working in Brazil, I came across a family of 7 children.  The eldest then was 13 years old; and their age gap averaged to a year and a half.  They all lived in a single parents' home with their mother.  At first, I thought they were all adopted; but in time I discovered that all were children of the same mother, but each one from a different father.  I struck a friendship with them, so that one evening after Mass, Marlene, the mother, briefly told me that when she first got married, her thoughts were that marriage meant forever.  But it was not even after a year that her first husband found another woman and left her.  She needed a companion to raise Roberto, her first born.  She found her second partner who left with her second child.  The story was repeated until the 7th child was born.  She was God-fearing, no doubt; regrettably, she took time to make an informed judgment.  No doubt she loved her children, for whom she worked her heart out as a laundry woman.  But it time she had to get her children take a share in the earning of their bread.

I was to travel by bus to the capital city one evening, and was about to embark for the twelve-hour journey when suddenly three of the children greeted me.  Each carried a couple of bags of fruits to sell.  We chatted for a while but I soon called their attention to the time of the night and advised them to go home.  In reply, Roberto, the eldest, said: "We have to sell all the fruits before we can go home."  Sadness became real in my heart and it left its indelible memory.  It was then 9:00 p.m. and it was winter.

I vividly recall this event as I write these lines.  Like the boy in the multiplication of bread, there are still  today myriads of children lost in the multitude finding a way to earn a living, and many become breadwinners at an early age.  On the other hand, the disciple Andrew (Jn 6:8) in the gospel story, found that the boy with the five loaves and two fish and brought not only his merchandise but also the boy himself to the Lord.  That boy was among the principal witnesses to the miracle of the Multiplication of the Bread.  His presence, as well as his bread and fish, were essential for the miracle to happen.  Yet, we should not forget that there was a disciple who brought him and his merchandise to the Lord.  Both characters together with the Lord produced the miracle.

When out of our poverty we are willing to give the best we have, and when someone recognizes what it can bring about, God can make a miracle that can transform scarcity into abundance.

              -  Fr. Bernard Espiritu, SVD (New Zealand)

Gospel for July 8, 2015 (Wednesday)

Mt 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out to cure every disease and every illness.  The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.  Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.  Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As you go, make this proclamation: "The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

The Word in other words

Jesus called His twelve disciples, gave them authority over unclean spirits and all manner of diseases and commanded them to go out and proclaim the Good News: "The Kingdom of God is at hand."

During His time on earth, Jesus gradually revealed the vision and demands of the Kingdom of God.  God's Kingdom brings transformation, especially the transformation of human relationships.  It grows gradually as people learn to love, forgive, and serve one another.  With the outpouring of the Spirit at baptism, we are empowered to proclaim and witness the Good News of God's Kingdom.

Another important aspect of God's Kingdom is its universality.  It is everyone's concern- individuals, communities, parishes, families and society.  Working to establish God's Kingdom means acknowledging  and promoting God's activity in everyday life.  As we say in the Our Father, it is about forgiving one another and working for liberation from all forms of evil.

We are called through baptism to be disciples of Christ.  Being a disciple of Jesus is about the values we live by, the attitudes we have as we go about raising a family, earning a living, or being involved in church or community activities.  The transformation of society doesn't just take place in the church.  It happens also in the marketplace where people are meeting, doing business, debating, and even relaxing.  We can ask ourselves if we, as believing followers of Jesus, are putting into practice our commitment to the Gospel or if we have an impact on any sphere of life.

All of us have been given a share in the same Spirit, at baptism and confirmation, to enable us to be disciples, announcing the Good News, in our day, time, and place.  The context of each one's life is unique but it contains the opportunities for living out the faith, witnessing to the presence of Jesus in our lives an in our hearts and, as a result, influencing whatever sphere of life we are in.

                                  - Fr. Alex Muana, SVD ( South Africa)