This reflection is based on John 1:29-34.
Humility seems to have gone out of fashion these days. Just look around and listen to all the talk around you. It seems to me that on any given day, brashness trumps humility. Somehow the louder you speak, the more confident you come across, the more blatantly you flaunt your power, the more people–in spite of themselves–sit up and listen.
So today’s portrait of John the Baptist is, frankly speaking, quite astonishing.
This reflection is based on Matthew 2:1-12 for the Epiphany of the Lord.
As the Gospel reminds us today, it was an angel that advised the Wise Men against reporting back to Herod. Contrary to the promise made to them, Herod was not at all interested in paying homage to the newborn King, but to eliminate him.
This homily is based on Luke 2:16-21 on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
How do you mother God? Philosophers would be quick to point out that the question makes no sense. God would have no need for a mother: If God is infinite, He would have no beginning. And if He is all-powerful, He wouldn’t require anyone to nurse Him or raise Him.
Except, of course, that for us Christians, God decided to become human. And He didn’t just show up on the face of the earth as a self-reliant grown-up. God opted to go through the entire tedious process of becoming human so that He emerged in our world in much the same way each one of us does–as a helpless baby dependent on and in need of a mother.
So much for the silent and peaceful Christmas. Here we go. Life happens. Things go wrong. People do wrong. And others suffer the consequences–in this case, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.
This homily, which is based on Luke 2:1-14, was delivered for the Christmas Midnight Mass at the Cor Jesu at the Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu on 24 December 2019.
This Christmas eve we are reminded of a familiar story. We’ve heard this story countless of times before, but the story never gets old. It is always new. If we let it, it never fails to touch our hearts because it is so simple yet so beautiful.
We’ve met all its characters before, but each time we meet them again, if we let them, we end up loving them more.
