Your Excellency, Most Reverend Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of Kalookan and CBCP President; Your Excellency, Most Reverend Mylo Hubert Vergara, Bishop of Pasig and Apostolic Administrator of San Pablo, and CBCP Vice President; Dear Brother-Priests and Deacons; Sr. Nathalie Becquart, our invited guest and speaker from the Vatican; Reverend Father Jason Laguerta, director of the Office for the Promotion of New Evangelization; dear seminarians; brothers and sisters in Christ:
We thank the Lord who, in our unworthiness and weakness, has loved us mercifully and entrusted upon us the stewardship of his mysteries. We thank him for gathering us today to become witnesses to the synodality of our Church and to discern ways that will renew our priesthood and the life of our parishes.
In the joy of today’s memorial of the holy friends of Jesus in Bethany, allow me to share three lessons that could help us foster the synodality of our parishes and our priesthood: the hospitality of Martha, the boldness of Mary, and the hope of Lazarus.
First is the hospitality of Martha. The Gospel of Luke narrates how Martha opened her home at Bethany and warmly welcomed Jesus and his companions. We can imagine this to be a logistical nightmare for Martha. She suddenly had to arrange her home in order to accommodate not only Jesus but also his entourage of disciples, and perhaps even the curious listeners and onlookers among her neighbors who heard about the visit of Jesus to their village. Martha and her household must have washed their feet, cooked their food, prepared their beddings, and listened to their woes. Nagkagulo siguro sa bahay nila, at nasira ang kaayusan na masinop nilang iningat-ingatan. But Martha was willing to let go of her systems, to let go of her arrangements, to let go of her “order”, so that Jesus can be fully welcomed as He is, as He wills, as He needs, and as He loves.
Such hospitality is also needed in order to foster genuine communion in our parish communities. We need to expand our tent and take off our sandals so we can be a welcoming Church. There can be no communion if we cling too much to our outdated conventions and unhealthy conveniences. If we keep saying, “We have been doing it this way,” we might be unconsciously pushing away the people who need our communion the most, people who often feel that they cannot fit in the Church, sinners, the poor, the marginalized.
I remember, two years ago, there was one participant in the synodal consultations here in Manila. He was a poor young man, and he gave a very striking response to the question, “Who is not being listened to in the Church?” He said, “God! The Church is not listening to God.” This is painful to read, but we must listen to it with compassion. While that participant represents the voice of the poor and marginalized, perhaps he also represents the voice of God. I interpret his response as a poignant question to us pastors and ministers in the Church: if we do not listen to the poor, are we even listening to God? If we do not welcome sinners, are we really hospitable to God? Let us learn the hospitality of Martha so that there is greater communion in the Church.
Second is the boldness of Mary. As Martha busied herself with homemaking, her sister Mary sat at the foot of Jesus, joining the men who were listening to him. At that time, only men could apply for discipleship under the rabbis. It was unusual, perhaps even shunned, for women to become disciples. The boldness of Mary to defy conventions seems to have distressed Martha, so that she asked Jesus to tell her sister to join her in the kitchen work, where women were expected to be. We can only imagine how relieved Martha could have been when Jesus assured her that she did not need to worry. Mary’s womanly boldness is welcome to him; she can be a disciple too.
And how bold Mary was when she symbolically predicted the passion of the Lord in the Gospel of John. She touched the Lord’s feet, which women were not allowed to do then. And then she anointed those feet, which was only done on a corpse. And she used lavishly expensive oil, which irritated Judas but also signified the generosity of the glory to be revealed in the passion of Jesus. Wordless though she was, unlike Judas the talkative thief, the boldness of her love manifested in her bent torso, her smeared hands, and her oiled-up hair.
This is the boldness we need in order to promote participation in our parish communities. We priests are often tempted to discount, or even suppress, the boldness of our parishioners, making them sheepishly dependent on us priests. But let us recognize and encourage their boldness as witnesses to our faith. The dedicated lay minister who crosses jungles and rivers to reach far-flung areas and lead the Sunday liturgy there, the devout mamamasan and voyador who brave the crowds to touch the image of the Nazareno and the Virgen de Peñafrancia, the patient devotees who wait for hours under the sun waiting for their turn to come near the Santo Niño, the vigilant PPCRV volunteer who keeps the ballot sacred despite threats and bribes, the honest civil servant who remains just and fair despite the prevalence of corruption, and the OFW who ventured into new lands to find sustenance for their family—all these manifest boldness of faith, prophetic boldness to participate in the building of the Kingdom. Let us include such voices and contributions in the life of our parish communities. Recall the renewal that happened in our communities during the synodal consultations, when we reached out to those who have often been neglected or marginalized in our parishes, when we allowed them to boldly speak their truth, and when we boldly welcomed their honest sentiments and wise insights. Let us seek the boldness of Mary so that there can be greater participation in the Church.
And the third is the hope of Lazarus. For a moment, let us try to imagine what Lazarus could have thought and felt when he heard the Lord call him by name and bade him leave the tomb. Siguro nahiya siyang lumabas pa, kasi nangangamoy na siya. Everyone knew that he had already died; it had been four days since he was declared dead. Maaring maisip niya, “Para saan pa na lalabas ako rito? Mabubuhay ako, pero papatayin din nila si Hesus. Babalik ako sa mundong mapait at mapanakit. Mabibigo lang ako, at mahuhulog sa tukso. Para saan pa? Mas mainam na lang dito sa dilim at pag-iisa ng libingan.” But Lazarus did not give in to desolation and despair. He loved Jesus his friend; he knew his voice. It was the voice of the Good Shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep. It was a voice that gives life, life in abundance. And so out he went, into the world, witnessing to the power of love and mercy, armed with the hope of Easter that is yet to come.
This is the Easter hope that we need in order to promote missionary impetus in our parishes, to become what Pope Francis calls “Iglesia en salida”, a Church that goes out. Let us not give in to those factions who say that our Church is dying, if not dead. The synodal consultations have revealed to us that the Church is alive! The Church may appear to be sleeping or having some difficulty waking up, but definitely, she is not dead. The Church is very much alive. She is alive in our dear lay faithful, who selflessly and joyfully offer themselves to the service of God and neighbor. She is alive in her servant-leaders—lay, consecrated, and ordained—who are intimately close to God and pastorally close to the people. She is especially alive in our beloved poor who touch us and challenge us, by their simple yet genuine faith. She is alive, not because we are able to keep it alive, but because God is merciful and faithful to us. Buhay ang Simbahan dahil binubuhay tayo ni Hesus. Kaya’t humayo tayo sa mundo, at magmisyon. Let us get out of our tombs of exclusivity and comfort. Let us proclaim to the world the hope of Easter. Let us embody the hope of Lazarus so that there can be greater mission in the Church.
Hospitality to foster communion, boldness to encourage participation, and hope to promote mission: we beg the Lord to grant us these graces so that synodality may be realized in our parish communities. Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, pray for us. Amen.
[July 29: Day 1 of the National Meeting of the Parish Priests for the Synod at the Manila Prince Hotel]
Comments