FAITH and PERSISTENCE

FEAST OF ST. JOSEPH PIGNATELLI, SJ
Reflections on Luke 18:1-8

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

A woman ... a WIDOW ... a powerless persona in Palestine; who lost her husband; PESTERS an UNJUST JUDGE to render judgment about her case;  what is the case about?  We are not sure ... but it can be IMPLIED that it may have something to do with her becoming a WIDOW; in the olden days ... a WIDOW is bound to lose everything ... all the properties left by her husband;  and so ... this is not just an ordinary WIDOW ... she was a DESPERATE WIDOW ... she was BATTLING for HER LIFE and SURVIVAL. This explains her PERSISTENCE.

PERSISTENCE IN THE GOSPEL today is LINKED CLOSELY TO FAITH.  At the end of this parable,  Jesus asked:  But when the Son of Man comes, will he find FAITH on earth?  The same FAITH as that of the widow’s?  The same PERSISTENCE as that of the widow’s?  FAITH is related to persistence.  Are we persistent enough that when the Son of Man comes ... today  ... will he find FAITH on EARTH?

I easily associate PERSISTENCE with the little that I know about SAINT JOSEPH PIGNATELLI, known as the protector and restorer of the Society of Jesus during the difficult time of the SUPRESSION.  He was from Zaragossa, Spain where the Jesuits then were very powerful.  He himself was accused of plotting to depose the government administrator in his municipality.  He belonged to a rich and noble family.  He could have lived a comfortable life with his family but instead chose to be in exile with his brothers.  EXILE means moving about … taking the boat or long land trips to friendly territories (AND this means a lot, travelling with the old, sick and infirm … and in the case of Joseph Pignatelli, having perhaps the vision to bring along with him, documents, books and articles of Jesuit heritage that he can save).   Thus, he was moving to places like Corsica, Ferrara (N. Italy), Bologna, Pharma and eventually to Russia.  All throughout the ordeal of the Supression, he kept contact with his brothers exiled all over the world.  He was thus remembered not only for his kindness, humility, gracious manner but more so for his undaunted courage in keeping his exiled companions united in spirit.  He is, in some respects, almost regarded a second founder of the Order.  If that is NOT PERSISTENCE … I don’t know what it is?  FAITH is PERSISTENCE and a quote from Joseph Pignatelli echoes this faith and persistence:  "My God, I do not know what must come to me today. But I am certain that nothing can happen to me that you have not foreseen, decreed, and ordained from all eternity. That is sufficient for me."  If Joseph Pignatelli was not PERSISTENT, the Society of Jesus could have totally been wiped out.  As we read in the parable of the persistent widow ... and remember Joseph Pignatelli,  may we also manifest a certain PERSISTENCE IN OUR FAITH.

PERSISTENCE IN FAITH also means KEEPING THE FAITH BY REMEMBERING OUR FIRST OR HONEYMOON ENCOUNTERS WITH THE LORD.  In one of his homilies at the Papal Residence in Rome, Pope Francis talked about the GRACE OF MEMORY.  He asks us to REMEMBER our “first encounter” with Jesus – the encounter that “changed our lives,” that allowed us to take the LEAP of FAITH, the decisive encounters that prompt everyone to never forget one’s own first encounter with Christ.  If I may paraphrase Pope Francis, he says: God never forgets, but we often tend to forget our encounters with Him. And this would be a good assignment to do at home, to consider: ‘When have I really felt that the Lord was close to me? When have I felt the need to change my life, or to become better, or to forgive someone? When have I felt the Lord asking something of me? “When did He say something to me that changed my life, or invited me to take a step forward in my life?” When have I encountered the Lord?’  Our faith is an encounter with Jesus.  This, says the Pope, is the foundation of our faith: I have encountered Jesus,” as the apostles did.   Friends, there will be a lot of DEBACLES in this life.  We continue to be PERSISTENT with our FAITH as we receive the GIFT OF MEMORY, always remembering our first SIGNIFICANT and MEANINGFUL ENCOUNTERS with the LORD.

PERSITENT IN OUR FAITH also means NOT BEING COMPLACENT in EXPRESSING OUR FAITH. I even would wish to think that God will often times SHAKE US FROM OUR SENSES so we will not be complacent in our FAITH.  In Rio de Jainero Pope Francis even suggests that faith is not genuine unless it is tinged with a trace of doubt. “The great leaders of God’s people, like Moses, always left room for doubt. We must always leave room for the Lord and not for our own certainties. We must be humble. Every true discernment includes an element of uncertainty open to receiving spiritual consolation.”

At the end of the Synod for the Families, Pope Francis talked about ‘scheduled faith.’  I understand this to be a sort of a PRE-PROGRAMMED FAITH, a FORMULAIC type of faith … a ready to eat, ready to be consumed type of faith.  The Pope says:   “We are able to walk with the people of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother.”  I think this is COMPLACENCY, being TOO FIXED and NOT leaving space for new and wondrous works by the Spirit.

Today, we pray to be MORE PERSISTENT in our FAITH;  to continusly BEG for the GRACE of REMEMBERING our FIRST ENCOUNTERS with the LORD;  and AVOID COMPLACENCY by allowing space in our hearts to be AWED by the new and wondrous works of the Spirit.

Meriting Esteem from Our Companions at Table

30th Week of Ordinary time (Saturday 2015)

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, SJ

Reflections on Romans 11:1-2A, 11-12, 25-29 / Psalm 94:12-13A, 14-15, 17-18 /  Luke 14:1, 7-11

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

Firstly, something about St. ALPHONSUS RODRIGUEZ, SJ: He was a Jesuit brother; married with three children; entered the Society at age 40 yrs;  had academic deficiencies; He stayed in the Jesuit House at Majorca and was porter there for 46 years.  What a saintly life?  

The first reading asks:  Has God rejected His people?  For those of us with issues of rejection and abandonment, the thought can be quite disturbing, right?  Sometimes we say:  I’ve been rejected by many already … wala lang …. for many things … maybe because of the way I eat, for not regularly brushing my teeth, for not cleaning my room, for the way I intrude into conversations, for being too functional, overly work-oriented, having no time for friendships, for the way I demand too much affirmation from others, for my DARK past and history, for being poor or for being rich, for being outspoken, for often been too defensive or overly dramatic, nag-iinarte, etc.   People reject us, right? And the thought of being rejected by God Himself can be, for some, the mother of all rejections?    Saint Paul asks this question:  Has God really really rejected His people?  Saint Paul interjects:  OF COURSE NOT!  (said TWICE in today’s first reading).  We will not be rejected by the Lord.  He will not reject us nor allow us to completely fall … though He may allow us to stumble in life a lot.  

There’s a saying:  Sometimes we have faces only our mothers can love!  We have to acknowledge that not everyone will like us or love us.  But even if our own mothers will reject us,  God will never abandon His own people (and that’s our Psalm for today).  How do we know?  Saint Paul himself experienced it.  This is not a mere spiritual thought.  We will, in prayer need to experience God’s DEEP and ABIDING LOVE and ACCEPTANCE of us, no matter what or how we think of ourselves.    

How therefore do we sometimes think  of ourselves?  Jesus talks about a parable, about party guests who thought of themselves in a somewhat over-inflated way.   They wanted the best seats in the room … the places of honor … only to be EMBARRASSED and publicly at that … and REJECTED … when the host asks one to GIVE WAY to a more distinguished guest.  As the story goes, with embarrassment, this guest seeking the best seat had to move and take the lowest place in the room.  He caused EMBARRASSMENT to himself, right?  What we can learn from the Gospel is this, sometimes WE INDEED EMBARRASS OURSELVES!  Nagmumukhang kawawa tayo dahil rin sa ating mga sarili.  We unknowingly embarrass ourselves.  A reflection we can make about the parable is;  Our Lord will not embarrass us.  Let us not also cause embarrassment for ourselves.   Always, I think the call is to learn from our mistakes. 

I specifically like the line from the Gospel today:  the people there (in the party) were observing Jesus carefully.  They were observing Him for a lot of reasons … ie. to listen to him, to entrap him, etc.  In our case, I think it will serve us well … to truly and most attentively OBSERVE JESUS CAREFULLY … how he moves in our lives, how He speaks, how He calls,  how he acts.  In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about the host who RAISES UP THE LOWLY:  ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’  This is MOST IDEAL, isn’t it … rather than causing embarrassment for ourselves.  The humble will always be raised.  We ALLOW JESUS TO RAISE US RATHER THAN WE RAISING OURSELVES.   Then, as the Gospel pictures the scene:  You will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

ENJOYING THE ESTEEM OF COMPANIONS at TABLE … isn’t that what we pick up from the life of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez.  He never occupied a place of honor in any Jesuit House.  A mere PORTER, DOOR KEEPER … he who welcomed guests and ministered to their needs.  He must have suffered a lot of rejections in life also (he almost didn’t make it into the Society).  And yet for 46 years, he must have been simply observing Christ carefully … carefully enough to recognize that it will be Jesus who eventually will raise him up to enjoy the esteem of his companions at table.  We pray that we be delivered from our propensities to seek PLACES of HONOR and EMBARRASSING ourselves in the eyes of God.  We allow Jesus to raise us up rather than us raising ourselves.  And much like the example of St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, may our good deeds merit for us the esteem of our companions at table.  

Fig Trees And Root Knot Nematodes

Reflections on Romans 8:1-11 / Psalm 24:1B-2, 3-4AB, 5-6 /  Luke 13:1-9

by Frank D.B. Savadera, SJ

The Gospel today talks about a fig tree … so let’s talk about figs.  Recently, I’ve tasted a FIG … the fruit itself.  The fruit is almost the size but a bit smaller than your regular santol or chico … green in color but a bit reddish inside. The taste is almost a cross between and among a guava, a watermelon and a kiwi fruit.  Oh it was SWEET … at least those I’ve tasted.  What is so amazing about FIGS, as I observed it was they GREW ABUNDANTLY.  We were picking from the trees … and we were allowed to pick from trees ... precisely because there were just so plenty enough for everyone.  Free for all … pick a fig! 

    

My observation about figs is confirmed by professional gardeners in the net.  They say: “These fruit trees are among the easiest of the fruit trees that can be grown. They grow happily in both the ground or containers, making them perfect for all kinds of gardeners.”  Adding to this, the report says: “Fig tree maintenance is not a lot of work. Fig trees like full sunlight and adequate room for growth. You can plant your growing fig trees about 15 to 20 feet apart. If you are going to train your trees to be bushes instead, plant them 10 feet apart. Either way, there is little fig tree care you will have to administer.”

Huh!  Fig trees are easy to grow and maintain?  What’s with the Gospel?  There’s a fig tree standing there in the orchard and not bearing fruit.  What’s the problem? 

Again, we turn to professional agriculturists who suggest that non-fruit bearing fig trees may mean SERIOUS INFESTATION.  There is such a thing as a ROOT KNOT NEMATODE, apparently a parasitic, microscopic WORM that invades the soil and the roots of the plants in the soil.  A root knot nematode infestation, the report says … is probably one of the least talked about but very damaging of fig tree pests.  The pernicious effect of these pests almost always render the tree completely FRUITLESS.

Jesus was of course, talking about the fig tree in the context of those asking and pressing him to make a judgement about those who perished violently in recent upheavals of their time.  Those who suffer misfortune, Jews believe, deserve their fate because of their own sinfulness.  In the same way as we say:  Ayan nasagasaan kasi tatanga tanga!  Kasalanan nya!  A lot of misfortune happens to a lot of people, isn’t it?  In the case of the Gospel, some Galileans were killed by the troops of Pilate, their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices.  Some were also just unfortunate to be under the tower of Siloam when the tower fell.  Do we say: Kasalanan nila dahil tatanga tanga sila?  Jesus says this is FRUITLESS!  This is SERIOUS INFESTATION!  You will need to repent and turn away from your OVER-RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENTS of others … and this is FRUITLESSNESS and you will be cut-down and perish!  

Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans today also says:  “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”   This statement struck a very sensitive chord in my heart as I pondered:  Do I really wish to belong to God?  Do my actions, my words and my thoughts correspond to an almost trite and automatic assertion … that … YES … I wish to belong to Him.  How easy to say … and even easy to claim that we wish to belong to God … to serve Him … to minister to His Church … to perform wondrous deeds for the Lord and the Kingdom.  Ang Ganda … di ba?  But do we really belong to Him?  How is it like to belong to God?  Friends, I think we are asked to guard against SERIOUS INFESTATIONS of our ROOTS.    

There is also what we call PASSIVE NARCISSISM and AGGRESSIVE NARCICISSM …  both quite debilitating!  We can tend to isolate ourselves and/ or cause people so much pain by controlling and manipulating them.  This is FRUITLESSNESS that we cannot afford to live with … else we see ourselves slowly slowly dying. 

I think this is why our Psalm today can be quite   helpful a prayer and meditation for us:  Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.  We wish to focus on the face of Jesus … he who dares not pass over-righteous judgments on others … and instead wishes and desires the fig tree to grow and bear fruit more abundantly. 

A fig tree is easiest to grow and maintain.  What a joy to ponder on how it can bear fruit most abundantly … more than enough for others to share.  FREE FOR ALL … PICK A FIG.

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

28th Week of Ordinary Time (Saturday 2015)

Reflections on  Romans 4:13, 16-18 /  Luke 12:8-12

by Frank D. B. Savadera, SJ

Of course, we know that the great Protestant Reformer and former Catholic priest Fr. Martin Luther was a scripture scholar who specialized in and read thoroughly Saint Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians.   He lived at a time of great corruption in the Church when rituals, practices and even the sacraments were administered to rampantly ensure the fattened pockets of a Church that wished to project itself as “colossal” in influence.  We have heard, of course of the dictum:  “At the sound of every silver coin that is dropped into the collection box, a soul in purgatory is saved.”   We all have our mistakes, don’t we … but Martin Luther’s reading of the Letters to the Galatians and our 1^st reading today, to the Romans made him to overly stress a notion of FAITH ALONE … SOLA FIDEI … Grace Alone … SOLA GRATIA as enough to ensure our salvation.  It was NOT through the law … not the rituals and practices … that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith (alone?). This is why we often hear our Protestant brothers and sisters asking and blurting:  DO YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST as your personal Lord and Saviour?... as if this ALONE … FAITH ALONE matters.  We are quick to always rebut however by saying that expressions of faith, for us, remain important. We refer as well to Scripture … in the Epistle of James in saying that FAITH without WORKS is USELESS.  Example:   I am convinced … and I have FAITH ... yet I do not participate in prayer … I do not engage in the life and ministry of the Church.  Faith without works and practice, we wish to assert … is USELESS.

It is in this context that we would like to interpret our Gospel today.  There is such a thing as an UNPARDONABLE SIN.  The evangelist Luke says:  Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the HOLY SPIRIT will not be forgiven.   What do we mean when we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?  In Scriptures, Jesus claims that he performs His miracles with the power of the Spirit yet those who do not believe claim that he performs these with the help of Belzeebul.  Such persons,  Jesus claims BLASPHEMED against the Holy Spirit.  You can speak against the son of Man and be forgiven but those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 

Of course, we know that we are here to constantly discern the WILL of the SPIRIT.  Is that still true?  And our experiences must always speak to us about how the Lord is leading us, right?  (This is why we do the examen).   Can we also be guilty of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit … and eventually incur an UNAPARDONABLE SIN? 

Jesus continues to perform a lot of miracles in our lives.   Those originally with LONG FACES … now have HAPPY FACES.  Those who used to have happy faces … I don’t know if they are still happy.  But … everyone can actually observe that sometimes, we can be more QUIET and reflective.  I would like to believe that we are growing to be more PRAYERFUL. Is this true?  Some of us are able to challenge ourselves to do a lot of those crazy things that we thought we were incapable of doing in the past.  Isn't it a miracle to claim also that we are slowly slowly ... if we give ourselves the chance ...  getting to know more about ourselves and why we do the things that we do.   Are those miracles?  We would like to attribute these to the work of the Holy Spirit.   And more … the Gospel says:  Don’t worry about what you will say or do …. because the Holy Spirit will teach you what to say or do at each moment.  We also believe that the same Spirit leads and moves us to some direction that for now may not yet be too clear.  In trust and in faith, we would like to believe that we are getting there.  We cannot sin against the Spirit and deny all these things happening. 

Saint Ignatius of Bishop of Antioch was sentenced to be killed because of his beliefs.  But his torturers brought him, placed him in a cage with lions and wild beast and they all traveled to bring him from Syria to Rome.  LONG TRIP.  He says:  “From Syria even to Rome I fight with wild beasts, by land and sea, by night and by day, being bound amidst ten leopards, even a company of soldiers, who only grow worse when they are kindly treated.”  He was a very old man. How was he able to endure this trip, write letters to Christian communities  and eventually accept his faith to die a martyr's death at the Colloseum in Rome.  We also know the Jesuit scholastic RICHIE FERNANDO speaking to us about his experience of Cambodia.  With great conviction, he says:  Now I know where my heart is! 

I guess the point is for us is this … we can not afford to incur the UNPARDONABLE SIN.   We can always believe in the Holy Spirit moving us and performing miracles in our lives.  What we can not deny however is that the Spirit calls us to go and move to someplace ... some state where He will ask us to do some mission of sort.  It will be blasphemy,  a source of our great sin NOT to listen to the prodings of the Spirit.  Much like the examples of the saints, we are called to march bravely toward where the spirit leads us. 

Examining the Depth and Quality of our Commitments

10th Week of Ordinary Time - Saturday 2015

Reflections on 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 /  Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 / Matthew 5:33-37

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Last May 31, we witnessed some of our Jesuit brothers making an oath to a life of poverty, chastity and obedience in the Society of Jesus.   Given this context, the message of the Gospel can be quite confusing.  The initial commandment ... DO NOT TAKE A FALSE OATH was revised/ updated by Jesus saying DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL.   Jesus reinforces the commandment by saying DO NOT SWEAR AT ALL ... NOT BY HEAVEN nor by the EARTH; NOT by JERUSALEM; and NOT by your HEAD.  

Oaths and vows reflect our pledges of COMMITMENT.  Commitments remain important.  WE ARE ASKED TO EXAMINE THE QUALITY and DEPTH of our COMMITMENTS.   The Gospel exhorts us: Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’     Why do we commit to things?  What is the DEPTH/ QUALITY of saying our YESes or NOs???  What small commitments do we make?  Do we think of them seriously? Are these SMALL COMMITMENTS FOR REAL???  What is the DEPTH and AUTHENTICITY of such commitments? 

I think this is why St. Paul’s exhortation in the first reading is important:   BE RECONCILED TO GOD!  "To reconcile" means to coexist in harmony; or to make or show to be compatible.  Be reconciled to God!  BE GOD’s NEW CREATION.  Whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.   TAKE ON THE PERSPECTIVE of CHRIST: His way of committing. His way of loving. His way of expressing mercy and forgiveness. His way of promising and committing Himself to us.  BE RECONCILED to GOD!  Take on His unique perspective!  There is such a thing as an AUTHENTIC COMMITMENT.    Vowing to a life of POVERTY, CHASTITY and OBEDIENCE or simply committing to the DAILY GRIND ... our regular activities of the day ... are very possible COMMITMENTS.   JESUS shows us what that means.   WE HAVE THE CAPACITIES TO COMMIT OUR LIVES TO something important … to JESUS ... precisely because Jesus FIRSTLY SHOWED US WHAT THAT COMMITMENT MEANS.  But then, we will have to experience that … don’t we … that EVEN WHEN MOST PEOPLE CAN’T … there is someone … JESUS … who is professing His commitment to us.  We have to experience such … so we may know that commitment is possible.  There is a God who is truly truly expressing his commitment to you and me.  Be reconciled with such a REALITY. 

But ….  no matter how hard we pray that we be reconciled to God in our commitments … remember also that WE FAIL ... WE FALTER.  The Lord is kind and merciful.  That our COMMITMENTS can simply SERVE our SELFISH MOTIVES.   As our Psalm today tells us:  God pardons all our iniquities,  he heals all our ills.  He redeems our life from destruction,  he crowns us with kindness and compassion.   INDEED,  the Lord is kind and merciful.  Even as we FAIL and FALTER ... we are asked to have a sense of GOD’S COMMITMENT TO US THROUGH HIS MOST PROFOUND MERCY.

Today … we examine the DEPT and QUALITY of our COMMITMENTS.  Do we say YES when we mean YES or NO when we mean NO.

Take on the PERSPECTIVE OF CHRIST.  Be reconciled with Jesus’ brand of commitment.  Commitment is possible because Jesus firstly commits to us. 

Lastly, even if we fail and falter … we also remember:  The Lord pardons all my iniquities,

he heals all my ills.  He redeems my life from destruction, he crowns me with kindness and compassion … because HE IS INDEED KIND and MERCIFUL.  

ENTRANCE DAY 2015

Reflections on  SIR 51:12 CD-20 

by Frank Savadera, SJ

Friends, today’s reading from the Book of Sirach tells us:  “My soul was tormented in seeking her (“her” being WISDOM). My hand opened WISDOM’s gate and I came to know her secrets.”

Today as we know from previous years, we would be closing the gates later on and there will perhaps be crying, wailing and perhaps even gnashing of teeth (as we bid our new brother novices our temporary goodbyes!)  BUT always, we know that this is also HAPPY OCCASION. Are you happy?  NIMEN KWAE LA MA? No one is forced to be here, right? 

It is a happy occasion precisely because after much time of discernment (mind you some of them really took time)  toiling and tormenting their souls in seeking WISDOM … as the Book of Sirach tells us  … they have finally finally found themselves before WISDOM’s GATE.   Huh … is this it?   And slowly slowly they will come to know more about her secrets.  What secrets lie beyond the gates of Sacred Heart Novitiate?  Would you like to know?  Secret nga eh! 

What we know is that GREATER WISDOM will be within their reach!  And because of this, we would like to be happy for them and with them … and GREET them …  DOM, BIEN, KAYBEE, IRVIN, JOHN, CHRISTIAN JAMES, WEIPANG,  SHUXIN, MINGFEI, XUNGBO, ERIC and PHILIP … even if it torments your souls … SEEK GREATER WISDOM … we don’t even need to say it because you know what WISDOM is  … and  “who” wisdom is.  Wisdom is God.  Seek Wisdom.  Many of her gates will open before you.  Be not afraid to know more about her secrets!

A little request to our new novices … since you are leaving us at least temporarily … and you … we believe will come closest to wisdom … please pray for us!  Life will be different for us without you!  Pray for us that WE MAY MISS YOU!  Pray for us … that we may support you!  Pray for us that we may completely surrender you!  Pray for us to understand that as we gather here today … bitter sweet as the occasion may be … the Spirit may continue to challenge us each day to submit to how God may reveal His greater wisdom.  We anticipate this with JOY and GLADNESS!  Brothers, we welcome you to the Jesuit Novitiate.  We welcome you to the Society of Jesus.   

MY HEART DELIGHTS in wisdom!

Reflections on Sirach 51:12 CD-20; Mark 11:27-33

by Frank Savadera SJ

In our Gospel today, Jesus asked the scribes and elders one trick question:  "Was John’s baptism of heavenly or of human origin?"  If they say from HEAVEN, then people will say:  Why did you not believe him then?  If they say of HUMAN ORIGIN, then people will sneer at them since most if not everyone, thought of John as a prophet.  So how did the scribes and elders answer Jesus’ question?  They say simply: WE DO NOT KNOW!  ... a SAFE or if we must say an ESCAPIST kind of an answer!  We do not know!

I remember one seminar I took on customer service when I was still working in the world.  A customer asks: When will my new van be delivered?  And the person on the other line says:  Gee, sir ... I don’t know?  Ah ... Oh so with whom do I inquire about its insurance or warranties?  The staff answers:  Oh I don’t know sir, I’m not in-charge!  The customer asks again: What about the car plate ... who can I ask about it?  The person on the other line says:  Sir, why do you ask a lot of questions!  I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know!  I JUST WORK HERE!

In Tagalog, this sounds even worst:  HINDI KO ALAM! HINDI KO ALAM?  Upon hearing his staff, a supervisor once got so irked by such a response.  You don’t know!  Hindi mo alam!  Eh ... kung hindi mo alam ... bakit ka pa nandito!  If you don’t know then why are you here!  KUNG HINDI MO ALAM, ALAMIN MO!  IF YOU DON’T KNOW, THEN KNOW FOR YOURSELF! NOW! 

Remember that UP Law student who drove his car into a flooded road?  What happened to his car?  The car "sunk" into the flooded road, of course!  When he was being interviewed on TV, he was just so angry at people around him.  EVERYTHING was wrong!  EVERYONE was wrong! He blurts out: "I did not know about how deep the flood was, he said!  NO ONE TOLD ME.  I SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOLD."

The worst thing about the scribes and the elders is that ... it is not so much that they do not have the capacity to know ... THEY JUST DON’T WANT TO KNOW.  Why?  Because the reality of Jesus ... the authority of Jesus INTRUDES into their FIXED WAY of believing and of doing things!  And so ... this is how it is!  Nothing else can make me believe otherwise!  Eto na yun! 

Friends as we go on with our lives, we will need to constantly ask ourselves:  What new things have I learned?  Or to what direction is this event leading me?  The worst answer that I can give myself is … guess what:   I DON’T KNOW!  Friends, we wish to always challenge ourselves … SEEK TO KNOW.  Seek to know a new person each day. Seek to know their stories.   Do I wish to know?  Much like the scribes and Pharisees, BE ON GUARD AGAINST UNMINDFULLNESS … the SAFE and almost ESCAPIST I DON’T CARE TO KNOW ATTITUDE.   God reveals to us new things everyday … how can we even know the will of God for us … if we choose to be CLOSED and UNMINDFUL of things around us. 

This is why, I also like very much the message from the first reading today:  "When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom openly in my prayer ...  I will seek her until the end ... she flourished as a grape soon ripe."  My heart delighted in WISDOM.   Everyday is an opportunity to learn new things. May we tell ourselves always:  I seek wisdom!  MY HEART DELIGHTS in wisdom!  This experience is something new!  I’m learning!  I’m growing in wisdom!

GUARD AGAINST UNMINDFULLNESS … the SAFE and almost ESCAPIST I DON’T CARE TO KNOW ATTITUDE.

MY HEART DELIGHTS in wisdom!