An Image of a Mature Faith

Feast of the Sto. Niño Jan. 16, 2011 (Mt 18:1-5, 10)

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

Jesus' childhood is forever immortalized in the popular image we call the Sto. Niño. This image, a common sight in homes and even in business areas, is often dressed up to portray different personalities. While it is merely a popular tradition to dress up the Sto. Niño as a farmer, as a fireman or as a construction worker, it serves as a reminder of Jesus' Incarnation, of the fact that He lived among us. Jesus indeed became a true human child as an act of humility and out of love for humanity. He lived a full human life, from childhood until death, precisely to demonstrate to us how to live as true children of the Father. The different portrayals of the Sto. Niño serve to remind us that regardless of who we are and what we do in life, we are children of God.

Jesus reminds us to remain humble, like little children. No matter how old we get and how mature and experienced we think we may be, we are still God's little children. We would never have achieved anything without His grace and we definitely cannot, by our own maturity and wisdom, save ourselves. Salvation requires a recognition of one's sinfulness and a humble, dependence on and surrender to God's fatherly love.

As we go on facing many responsibilities and accomplishing new achievements in life, we must never forget to remain humble before God. We must not forget that, as children of God, we should always remain obedient to His will and dependent on Him.

Our devotion to the Sto. Niño must not be a mere taking care of a statue as if it were an actual child that needs to be cleaned and dressed up all the time. The very point of immortalizing Jesus' childhood through this image is precisely to awaken the child in our hearts that has grown up and has rebelled against his Father, the child that has been fooled into thinking that he can survive without God. Maturity in faith is different from the maturity that the world values. While maturity and independence mean relying on one's ability to accomplish one's responsibility, maturity in faith means doing one's best while recognizing that one cannot succeed without God's help.

Jesus showed us His humility in becoming an innocent and dependent human child. And as He grew up, He remained obedient to the will of His heavenly Father. We must follow His example by being obedient children of God even as we grow up. As Jesus grew in wisdom and in age, He remained to be the Sto. Niño, the holy and obedient child of the Father, even until His death. We too, must be holy and obedient children of God no matter how old we may grow up to be. In growing up, may we not grow apart from God and apart from His heavenly kingdom, which is open only for children.

Anointed with Water

Feast of the Lord's Baptism Jan. 9, 2011 (Mt 3:13-17)

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?"

Jesus said to him in reply, "Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him.

After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

John the Baptist's baptism of repentance was a preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God. In the advent of God's kingdom, John called the people to be in the proper disposition. This is what the baptismal ritual symbolized. One arises from the Jordan River a new person; he has emerged from the river and has let it wash away his sins. This resolve to turn away from sin prepared the way for the radical message of conversion that Jesus will bring.

But why would Jesus have to be baptized? Did Jesus have to prepare Himself for the coming of God's Kingdom? Actually, yes He did. He needed to prepare because it was Him who was to usher in the coming of this Kingdom. He was "bracing Himself" for the task ahead. His baptism, therefore, is the beginning of His mission, His commissioning, so to speak. With the Father and the Spirit, He begins His work of proclaiming God's Kingdom. But more than that, His baptism is a revelation that the work He will do is divine. The Trinity manifests itself and declares that they are about to work wonders.

Like Jesus' baptism, our own baptism also symbolizes our participation in the coming of the Kingdom. Our baptism bestows upon us the privilege of being children of God. Yet it also gives us the responsibility to live up to the name Christian. We must, therefore, live our lives as Jesus showed us, and our lives must be a testament that God is King over us. In short, we must live as obedient children of God.

Aside from living up to our mission as baptized Catholics in our personal lives, we must also recognize that we are part of the Church, the community of the baptized and the sacrament of God's Kingdom here on earth. Most Catholics do not go to church anymore. They do not join the assembly of the people of God. They must recognize the fact that, although personal devotion is good, worshiping God as a community is very important. The assembly gathered in the church is a sign of God's presence on earth. Christ Himself assured us His presence wherever an assembly gathers in His name.

Our Baptism reminds us to be true children of God, obedient to His will and participative in the mission He entrusted us with, that of building His Kingdom here on earth. Let us no longer be Catholics by name, but by the very life we live. May the waters of baptism remind us that we have been washed and that, therefore, we ought to remain clean. In the end, may we also hear the Father tell us, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

No More Hide-and-Seek

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Jan. 2, 2011 (Mt 2:1-12)

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: 'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star's appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage."

After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother.

They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.

Today we celebrate Jesus' revelation to the Gentiles, represented by the magi. The Solemnity of the Epiphany is a celebration of God showing Himself to humanity. The invisible God whom no one has ever seen has now manifested Himself in the manger.

Man is in constant search of God. It is really quite frustrating to search for Him who is spirit and is, therefore, invisible. To be realistic, finding God usually meant to be in a good relationship with Him and to live one's life according to His will. But even so, finding God is still a difficult task. But, out of His wisdom, God has ended the hide-and-seek game and has made Himself visible to man. Yes, it was unthinkable, but to God, it was possible. He became man and showed us His glory in the person of Jesus. And Jesus, God Himself, showed us also how to find Him.

God knows the difficulty of our situation and the weakness of our human nature. Jesus is proof that God wants us to see Him. The star in today's narrative is another proof of this. God doesn't want us to have a hard time looking for Him. He Himself showed the way and He is the way.

All we have to do is to want to find Him. He has already revealed Himself in many ways in our lives. The presence with which He graced the magi is the same presence with which He graces us in the Mass. We see Him there in the sacrament. We see Him in the people around us. We hear Him in the loving advice of a friend. We feel Him in the comforting embrace of loved ones. We feel His presence in the people who help us in life. All we have to do is acknowledge His presence and allow Him to be part of our lives.

Like in the Gospel narrative today, there are different reactions to the news of Jesus' birth. Herod sought to kill the child as he considered Jesus a threat to his kingdom. The magi sought to do Him homage and to offer Him their gifts. We too, have our different reactions to Jesus' manifold ways of manifesting Himself to us. At times, we ignore Him and simply live as if we do not even have a God. Sometimes, like Herod, we are threatened by a new king. We want to be our own kings, to rule over ourselves and to live as we please; we therefore reject Jesus. The Gospel today shows us the better response to Jesus' manifestation. The Gospel invites us to accept Him and to try our best to get closer to Him.

Jesus makes His presence felt in our daily lives. He makes it easier for us to find Him. But the key to having an encounter with Him is to try look for Him. There is no encounter if we do not acknowledge His presence, even though He is just there revealing Himself. In God's act of manifesting Himself, we find out that it is not only man who is seeking for God; God is also seeking to be with us, for He loves us.

May we always make that effort to look for God, for it is no longer that hard to find Him. He no longer hides so it's easier to seek for Him. But the important thing is to seek Him and not to ignore His presence.

So let's not play hide-and-seek with Him anymore, because He Himself is looking for us.