"THREE PRODIGALS"

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4^TH SUNDAY OF LENT – C

Luke 15: 1-32

This parable revolves around three prodigals, namely the two sons who are recklessly wasteful and the father who is extravagantly lavish.  Each of them expresses his prodigality in a very peculiar way creating the tension and the drama which are interwoven into the colourful spectrum of the story.  But it is not just about three individuals in a short soap opera that we usually watch on TV but rather a mirror where we see our relationships with each other and with God.  This is our own parable which shows us how prodigal we are and at the same time the unfathomable mercy and the forgiving love of God our Father.  This is our life’s story with God….

Many exegetes (biblical scholars) say that this parable is a gospel within a gospel because it embodies the whole message of the Good News.  By telling this parable we see Jesus as a master story teller and St. Luke as a writer par excellence.  Henri Nouwen had written a book based on the text of the parable vis-a-vis Rembrandt’s famous painting of the same parable. For Nouwen, the return of the Prodigal Son was also a story of a homecoming.  John Paul II used this parable in his encyclical Dives in Misericordia by showing that the face of God the Father is the face of mercy and that Jesus is the embodiment of God’s mercy.   

In the parable, the father lost his two sons: the younger one by squandering his inheritance through a life of sin while the older one by living a resentful and selfish life.  The father who is the central figure in the story has to contend with the idiosyncrasies of his two sons: one who is outwardly sinful and the other who is inwardly selfish.  The father holds the balance between his two sons through his unconditional love and mercy. The parable shows that both sons are outside the father’s house which means that they are lost and they do not share the father’s joy and dignity.  The father has to welcome both into his house and clothe them once more with honour and dignity.  It is only inside the father’s house that one can be called his beloved child.  Outside his house is nothing but sin and misery. In the parable the father awaits for the return of the younger son and at the same time goes out for the older son and welcomes both back to his home. 

Sin is nothing but leaving the Father’s house which is our rejection of God’s will.  It is expressed in many forms of disobedience, rebellion selfishness as shown to us by the two sons.  In our own prodigality, we squander the gifts of God.  When it happens we destroy not only our identity as God’s children but God’s fatherhood to us as well.  Like the two sons we also feel this misery when this dignity is taken away from us.  God on the other hand becomes “incomplete” because His house is empty without us.   
Jesus became the prodigal son Himself to bring all the prodigal children back to His Father’s house.  When we are lost because of a life of sin and we return back to God again who welcomes us again into His House then this parable has come to life through us.  When we are inside the Father’s house we are whole once again and God’s fatherhood is complete once more.  This is the redemption brought about by Jesus.

TIMELINE

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3^RD SUNDAY OF LENT – C

Luke 13:1-9

  

If you have a facebook account, how is your timeline?

Whenever tragedies happen, we never think that the poor victims are sinners being punished by God, nor those who survived are more loved by God than others.  The tsunamis of Japan and the Southeast Asia, the hurricane in Florida, USA, the earthquake in China, the bushfires and floods across Australia and other natural catastrophes around the world did not happen because God wanted to punish the atheists, Buddhists or sinners.  Then why did they happen?  Because they are part of natural law,  they are beyond the control of human power.  When they happen powerful nations such as USA, Japan, China, Australia, etc. become powerless in terms of the loss of lives. But as Christians we see them as God’s signs for the world and for us that life on earth is mortal, fragile and at the same time mysterious.

The parable of the fig tree in the second part of the gospel this Sunday further explains the purpose of life.  Like any other fruit bearing tree, the fig tree is expected to yield its produce otherwise it is good for nothing.   That fig tree is us and we are meant to bear good fruit.  Each one of us is given a timeline on earth.  Unlike non-believers we just do not simply exist or vegetate or else what is the point of living?  As Christians we see life in the context of a faith journey which we call pilgrimage.  From the moment of conception inside our mother’s womb until we lay in our tomb, everything in between is a preparation towards the fullness of life with God.  Because we are on a journey our timeline progresses towards that final goal which is God.

        

Lent is the time in our life’s journey with the Church when we stop and evaluate ourselves.  This is the moment when we look at our timeline and ask:  “How much have I given back to life in terms of my contribution as a Christian in the history of salvation of which I am part of?  As a member of humanity, how much have I done for the betterment of the world?  Have I loved enough in as much I am loved by God?”

This is the fruitfulness that was being asked of the fig tree by the owner of the land it was planted on.  Otherwise if it has not borne any fruit, its uselessness will lead to its doom.  Success for the world is measured by how much power, wealth, security and fame one has gathered.  These are all the temptations of the Devil to Jesus and to us during the First Sunday of Lent.  It is all about the aggrandizement of the self and the deification of the ego.  Even if someone does not commit evil but if he/she does not do good either, his/her timeline is still empty.

Because we are talking about time, it passes by as it exists; it dies away moment after moment until we practically run out of time and before we know it our time is up.  But even if our  timeline loses itself after we pass by it, it leads us to walk towards the future full of hope. This is what Lent is all about, it makes us hope that no matter how useless and fruitless we were at the back of our timeline, there will always be an Easter awaiting ahead of us.       

GOD'S MASTERPIECE IN BECOMING

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2^ND SUNDAY OF LENT – C

Luke 9:28-36

To listen/download as podcast: http://cradio.org.au/talks-and-resources/homilies/fr-vladimir-echalas-solt/listen-to-him/

     We were all created in the image and likeness of God.  Sharing in God’s image, we carry in ourselves the reflection of God’s essence and beauty; sharing His likeness, we were gifted with the qualities of God.  All of these were destroyed by sin.  Adam and Eve realized that they were naked after they sinned.  Right after the Fall, God promised to send the Saviour who will clothe once more the nakedness of humanity with dignity as children of God. 

Last Sunday, we saw the Temptations of Jesus which were three shortcuts to glory, as  if the devil was tempting Him not to go through the cross.   After Jesus announced His Passion to the Apostles, they could not believe and Peter even rebuked Him.  Like a tempter, Jesus called Peter ‘Satan’.  Because they were slow to understand the meaning of His impending death, Jesus was transfigured to prepare the apostles for the scandal of the cross.   In as much as the Trinity manifested themselves before the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, the same manifestation happened in the Transfiguration before the beginning of His passion.  The Father’s voice was heard confirming that Jesus was His beloved Son and this time addressed Himself to the apostles “Listen to Him.” The Father’s voice ushered in a new way of “listening” not anymore to the Decalogue (The Torah) of Old Testament but to Jesus the Living Word.

          From the beginning of creation up to this day, everything around us keeps on changing and moving.  Science calls it Evolution. Inanimate objects and living things are in continuous flux because molecules are in constant motion.  From the first moment of our conception, we never stop growing and transforming.  But our personal transfiguration has already begun at the moment of our baptism.  When we were baptized, we were con-figured to the image of Christ and are constantly being transfigured moment after moment until we reach the fullness of our being in Christ.  St. Paul reminds us of this beautiful movement: “We all grow brighter and brighter as we are transfigured into the image that we reflect; this is the work of God who is Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:18).

         Whenever we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, the Transfiguration that happened on Mt. Thabor is happening once again here and now.  If Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the prophets of the OT and the three apostles Peter James and John represented the NT, each one of us represents the present time.  We do not just become mere spectators of this spectacular event but we actively participate in it as if we are there.  This is why, we are also transfigured together with the Christian community and the Church when we participate in the Transfiguration of Jesus in the Eucharist.    

When I saw with my eyes the marble masterpieces of Michaelangelo like the Pieta or David, I imagined God as a sculptor.  Like Michaelangelo, God does not just see us as a piece of marble but rather as masterpieces in becoming if only we let Him chisel away the unnecessary in us so that He can transform us unto His very own image.  At the end we will realize that we are the masterpieces of God.

        

THREE SHORCUTS TO THE CROSS

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1^st SUNDAY OF LENT

Luke 4:1-13

To listen/download as free podcast: http://cradio.org.au/talks-and-resources/homilies/fr-vladimir-echalas-solt/overcoming-temptation/

  

            After the baptism of Jesus, He was ready to inaugurate the Kingdom of God through His public ministry.  But He needed to prepare His strategy for the next three years so He went into the desert for a 40-day retreat.   It was important for Jesus to be in communion with His Father before He embarked on His public ministry.

         During this time of prayer and discernment, the Devil tempted Jesus by offering Him shortcuts to glory.  The three temptations in the desert would represent all the temptations and trials throughout the life of Jesus as well as our own temptations in the present time.  They were in a way instant solutions promising redemption without going through the cross.  And what else can best appeal to the senses than the appetites which every human being craves for: survival, security and social acceptance.

         Lent is the translation of the Latin term quadragesima (Italian quaresima, Spanish cuaresma) which means forty days. This is the season in the Church when her members enter into a forty day spiritual retreat just like what Jesus did in the desert. 

For a hungry person, nothing matters but food.  The way of the world is survival of the fittest!    When the resources are scarce, one has to result to violence even to the point of killing most especially when the other person becomes a threat to one’s survival.   For some, crimes become the norms to get that food into one’s mouth or into the belly of their dependents.    Others may justify saying ‘Never mind if it’s illegal or immoral as long as we live.’   These and many other modus operandi are the present day temptations to us when we are hungry and all around us are stones of opportunities that promise survival.

         Next to survival is the basic need of security.  We work hard to secure our future and the future of our loved ones.   Though many of us live by the day from the fruit of our daily labour, some are more fortunate than us by having more than what they need.   The world has always measured success by the fortune or wealth one has accumulated.  Because “fortune favours the brave”, we tend to take the risk to be successful.  These risks are the many forms of temptations in our lives to take in anything that glitters or everything that give us pleasure.  Like the temptation of survival, it does not matter if we live immoral lives or go through illegal means just to possess that blanket of security.

         The third temptation was about social acceptance.  Isn’t it true that we resort in doing many tricks to be accepted by others?  Because of pressure, incoming members of a fraternity/sorority are asked to do impossible things in the process of initiation towards the spirit of brotherhood/sisterhood.    Some may tend to grab attention from others because it is good to be noticed, affirmed and applauded.

         Temptation in itself is not bad because it is part of our human nature.  It becomes sinful when we give in to the temptation.  Jesus as a man was tempted but did not sin because He did not give in to the Devil.   Oftentimes when we are able to overcome temptations, we just do not become triumphant but we become better persons.  It is because in times of trials, our values are tested and if we are victorious it is not because we are that strong but because we depended on the strength provided by God.

FISHERMEN TO FISHERS OF MEN

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5^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – C

Luke 5:1-11

To listen/download as free podcast: http://cradio.org.au/talks-and-resources/homilies/fr-vladimir-echalas-solt/responding-to-gods-call-in-your-life/

       The liturgy this Sunday is about Vocation.  It tells us the calling of Isaiah, Paul and Peter.  The three of them have different background: Isaiah probably a member of the royal court, Paul a highly educated Pharisee, Peter a simple fisherman.  They all felt their unworthiness in receiving the call:  Isaiah was unclean, Paul used to kill Christians, Peter considered himself a sinful man.   God gave them grace:  Isaiah’s lips were touched by a burning coal, Paul encountered Christ and became converted, Peter saw the miraculous catch of fish.  They were called for a mission:  Isaiah became one of the major prophets, Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles, Peter became the first pope of the Church.

           

In the light of the universal call to holiness according to Vatican II, each one of us has a vocation story which is inter-connected with the rest of humanity.  Each one responded the call by embracing the different states of life we are in.   I was seventeen years old when I responded to God’s call to the priesthood  and since then my vocation has affected my family, friends, strangers and the rest of the world.

Let us reflect on the calling of Peter in our gospel.  After Jesus preached in the boat owned by Peter, He asked Peter to put out into deep water and lower the nets for a catch.  Here a carpenter who had never been to fishing all his life was telling a master fisherman how to catch fish and during the time of the day when a catch would be more impossible.  The command seemed ridiculous and may even sounded pretty stupid.  All night long, Peter failed to catch a single fish but in obedience he said “If you say so, I lower the nets.”   The result was the incredible miraculous catch of fish.   In the sight of such extraordinary incident, Peter fell at Jesus’ feet and felt his unworthiness saying “Leave me, Lord I am a sinful man.”  Jesus assured Peter: “Do not be afraid” and pronounced the new vocation of Peter: “From now on you will be catching people.”  Together with James and John, they left everything and followed Jesus.

           

Like Peter, we are masters in our own right through our career, trade, skills and craft.   It will be very hard for us to accept the advice of other people coming from other orientation most especially if we are challenged in performing our skills.   Like Peter, sometimes we also experience our own inadequacy and fruitlessness despite our effort and dexterity.   These are times when we simply want to give up most especially when everything seems to fail and we become hopeless.   Those who find difficult to cope may even enter into depression and withdraw from the reality of life.  Worst are those who find life meaningless and some even commit suicide because of despair.

           

Indeed life is futile without Christ.   Like Peter, we may be masters in many different ways and even if we want to control our life the way we want it, fullness of life does not depend in our proficiency and accomplishments.    By all means, we need God. The difficulty lies in our dependence on our own self-sufficiency most especially when we think we can live on our own without depending on God.     This is  true to those who refuse to believe in God because they do not see the need of God.   Since these people continue to exist without believing in God, they fall into self-deification (making the self a god) which is one the greatest pitfalls of secularization. 

There comes a time when God asks us to do something which may sound ridiculous and illogical according to our judgment.    It takes our gut to step outside our comfort zones to venture into the unknown but our obedience to God will always be rewarded with amazing results beyond our imagination such as the miraculous catch of Peter.   If ever we are rewarded with a good fortune in life, it is not all because of our effort or self-mastery.  Like Peter, we should be humbled by the thought that God in His mysterious ways will always lead us towards the great surprises  of  life.   In the light of our faith, we call it grace.

After the miraculous catch of fish, Peter, James and John followed Jesus and left their boats to become fishers of men.    We are always called to follow Jesus but our following of Him is expressed in the ordinary lives we live in.   Some follow Jesus more radically than others by embracing the religious life, entering the convent, seminary or monastery.   They continue to be the living icons of life which may not be fashionable in the eyes of the world but nevertheless they are signs that life is worth living for the sake of God.