Reflections on Romans 10:9-18 / Matthew 4:18-22
by Frank Savadera, SJ
I don’t know if you agree … but
nowadays, we’ve been introduced to a barrage and variety of new
superheroes. When in the past, we only had the likes of Superman, Batman and Robin,
Captain America, Mighty Thor, Spider Man, the Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman,
Darna, Captain Barbell, Lastikman, etc. … nowadays … we hear of characters like
the POWER RANGERS, the INCREDIBLES, the X-MEN, the SHE-HULK, DRAX THE
DESTROYER, the ANT MAN, MS MARVEL,
SQUIRREL GIRL, etc. (Lola Nidora and AlDub had become popular but I don’t know
if they are superheroes). Mind you, I
don’t know them all anymore. Maybe you
know better than I. The common element
among these superheroes, if we notice is that they all possess some kind of
super powers not available to ordinary creatures like you and me. Consequently, as encapsulated by Spider Man
in his popular line: With GREAT POWER
COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY … and not only that … with GREAT POWER comes GREAT
POPULARITY as well.
I call your attention to the statement
we read from the Gospel today: “They
were casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. And He said to them,
“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately, we may think … Oh, our Lord as bestowing
on these simple folks some kind of power that will give these men SUPER HERO
and ROCK STAR STATUS. On one hand … we
say … YES … they’ve been handed some form of power. Saint Andrew came to evangelize parts of
Greece and he was martyred there. Yes …
the apostles have in a way become popular … popular enough that we celebrate the feasts
of saints every so often. But how are
Jesus’ apostles or how those whom he had called … different from the usual
SUPER HEROES?
They were fishermen and they were asked
to be fishers of men. The CALL comes
with an understanding of who and what we are … my IDENTITY as a person. I think this is where the CALL, the POWER and
ROCK STAR and SUPER HERO status lie:
Maybe God will not call us BEYOND our LIMITED CAPACITIES or expect or
endow us with EXTRA ORDINARY skills … but HE
CALLS US AS HE KNOWS US. The
question is: do we find time to know
more about ourselves. Minsan kasi …
banat lang ng banat. Suntok lang ng
suntok. Eh madalas … wala tuloy tayong
tinatamaan. Sometimes, we are just so
excited to get into a project yet not making an inventory of my capacity to
comply with requirements for the said project.
What happens to us? We can actually
end up NOT finishing well, right? Worst, we can get very very frustrated with
ourselves. The apostles were fishermen
and they were called to be fishers of men.
The Call is very much hinged on how God knows us and how we had gotten
to know more of ourselves. Kung SINO KA at ANO KA… dyan at ganyan ka tatawagin at gagamitin ng Diyos. That is where your SUPER HERO and ROCK STAR
status lies.
How are we then to be helped in
understanding this person whom God is calling? Paul in his letter to the Romans
asked: How can they believe in him of
whom they have not heard? FAITH COMES FROM
HEARING! Our ears must be constantly
attuned to the sound waves of God … else we get caught up with the bewildering
variety of noises around us. We have to
hear and listen to how God speaks even if what we hear may be totally different
from what we expect to hear. Saint Paul
again says: “How can they call on him in
whom they have not believed?” Hearing
and listening must bring us to believe.
The are two ways to do so in the first reading: TO BELIEVE IN OUR HEARTS and BELIEVE WITH OUR
HEARTS. Believe in our hearts more than
in our heads: This asks us how do I
feel? Am I at peace? What emotions come to me? Believe with our hearts: a certain FIRMNESS
and COURAGE to manifest what I believe against all odds. Believing with one’s heart. And lastly, we FOLLOW and PROCLAIM/ CONFESS
with our MOUTHS what we believe.
Imagine this line from the 1st reading: Their voice has gone forth to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.
We are SUPERHEROES in our own right as
we see God’s call as totally hinged on our understanding of who and what we
are. We fortify and nourish such a call
by constantly finding time to HEAR & LISTEN to God’s Word; having the
courage to risk and believe with passion to proclaim God word to the ends of
the earth. RockStar ka!
