Backdoor Strategy

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 22: 34-40 “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”


A little boy was standing before a shoe store, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, “Why are you here?” The boy replied, “I ask God to give me a pair of shoes.” The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get a pair of shoes for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. Then she lovingly helped the boy wear the new shoes. As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her. ‘Are you God’s wife?’ She smiled and said, “Why did you say that?” The boy smiled and said, “Because you answered my prayer.”

In our gospel for today, when a scholar of the law came to Jesus asking what’s the greatest commandment, it was not to trap Jesus, but to find comfort from the burdened of following 613 Jewish laws (365 are prohibitions and 248 were actions to be done). It was already difficult for them to remember and teach 613 laws, how much more to follow them to the letter as imposed by the Pharisees. Jesus knew their burden. “They are heavy yokes that oppress and weary the people” (Matthew 11:28). And so Jesus replied by quoting a verse from the Book of Deuteronomy, “You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Every Jews knows the verse by heart for they say it twice in their morning and evening prayers.

For the Jews, “to love God” means to offer Him sacrifices and prayers. For the Pharisees, it means strictly observance of Sabbath rules and worshipping God in the temple -. at the expense of ignoring the needs of people. And for us, we sometimes express our love to God by attending the Sunday Mass, praying the rosary, attending the novena in Baclaran and Quiapo, a pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes, praising God in the weekly prayer meeting, attending the Quiapo and Antipolo midnight processions and other liturgical celebrations. They are important part of our Christian tradition but these are not enough.

Loving God by doing these things alone will not make us a “true blooded Christians.” We need to show to our God that our love for Him is not just a skin deep. We need to do something more tangible and liberating as we recall God’s word: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” (Matthew 12:7). And so Jesus gave us the second but equally important commandment by quoting a verse from Book of Leviticus: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18). We see that neither of these two commands is original to Jesus. But then neither is the placing of them both together unique to Jesus. In certain Jewish writings they are placed side-by-side in a sort of parallelism. Thus, loving God and loving others are intrinsically connected. They are inseparable. But for the Jews, when we think of neighbours, it means a fellow Jews and not a stranger. But Jesus widens the definition of neighbours to include everyone including our enemies (Matthew 5:44). John in his first letter even remarked, “Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. (1 John 4:20)

In the good old days when iPod and internet are not yet invented, for a gentleman, to court a lady is to court her parents as well. If a gentleman can get the approval of the lady’s parent, he can easily get the sweet “yes” of the lady. That’s backdoor strategy and it works: fetch water, cut fire woods, chocolates for the grandchildren and win their hearts. A friend of mine won the heart of a beautiful young widow by playing and spending time with her son. Backdoor strategy! An Atenean student who fell in love to a varsity player suddenly finds interest in reading a sports magazine and starts thinking of becoming a varsity player too in the hope that her crush will notice her. Enter into the heart of your beloved by loving what’s in his/her heart. That’s backdoor strategy!

The same thing is true for God. If we really love God and wants to please Him, we should love the people He loves (including his enemies). When Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God, he cannot help but to reveal what’s inside his heart: the poor, the sick, the neglected, the marginalized and the sinners. Thus, he said, “You shall love your neighbour.” Love the poor and Jesus will be extremely happy. Backdoor strategy! But to make this loving of others more true and sincere, Jesus added “love your neighbour as yourself.” For the way we love ourselves is a good norm to love others. That’s a tough act to follow and Jesus recognized it, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

To love God and to love our neighbour looks like a very simple concept. Jesus however shows how challenging this is. His love of the Father led him to reach out to the outcast, tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes, and others. For Jesus there is no distinction between these two commandments. One naturally flows from the other. Love is not love unless it is free and spontaneous.

What Jesus proposes are not just commandments or rules to follow but a whole approach to life and to our relationship with others. It is His way of life. Jesus identifies himself with those in most need of love and compassion. We should also naturally identify ourselves with Jesus’ way of life. It is also our way of life … and our Christian identity.

A visitor to the New Bilibid Prison Hospital watched a young volunteer dressing an infected bed sores of a dying prisoner. The visitor was horrified by the bed sores but admired the volunteer who seemed not affected by the bad smell of the sores as he was cleaning the wound. “I wouldn’t do that for a thousand pesos.” said the visitor. “Neither would I,” said the volunteer, “but I am doing it for God.”




Fr.Willy M. Samson, SJ
Fort Pilar Shrine
October 26, 2008

A Piece of Heaven

Homily for the Wedding of Marissa Gallego and Jobert Delos Reyes
John 15:9-13

One Sunday, Pedro visited his grandparents. His lolo was delighted to see his favorite grandchild. In his excitement, lolo shouted, “Honey! Honnneeyy, your favorite apo is here!” Pedro smiled, “Lolo, you are very sweet, at the age of 80, you still call lola honey!” His lolo smiles and winks at him, “Ssssss…hush! Keep quiet. I’m calling her honey because I already forgot your lola’s name.”

We may be laughing or smiling now. But there is a pinch of reality in the story. Some marriages are on the rocks because couples who promised to hold each other’s hand and be faithful to each other “till death do us part” have forgotten their wedding promise. If there is a global economic meltdown, there is also the crisis of “marriage or family meltdown.”

In your chosen gospel for today, Jobert and Marissa, the Lord is exhorting you to remember the following words: REMAIN IN MY LOVE (John 15:9-13). It is also one way of saying, REMAIN IN EACH OTHERS’ LOVE. When a new couple is married, sometimes we have so much expectation from each other. But be aware that love will have a different color and expression after the wedding. Your marriage will be tested to its limit, but if you genuinely love each other and you have accepted one another, your marriage will stand and survive the test of time.

Today, as we witness this celebration of love unfolding in our midst. Jobert and Marissa, allow me to walk you through this “walk to married life” and spare you from possible marriage or family meltdown. Don’t forget our gospel for today: REMAIN IN GOD’S LOVE… REMAIN IN EACH OTHER’S LOVE. Too much expectation from each other can be blinding. Do not be blinded by the Korean and Pinoy tele-novela love stories, where all love stories should end in “kissing and ringing of bells and they live happily after.” The End.

In marriage, real love story begins when your own “movie-like” love story ends. For you Joebert and Marissa, we know that fate brought you together in Yubengco Mall through the courtesy of SMART’s “Text a Friend Promo.” Smart’s job is done.
When Joebert said, "Will you marry me?" last April. Everything falls into place. Marissa said yes and everything went so fast. Now both of you are here. Ready to tie the knot. THE END. Nope, it is not the end but the beginning of something more real and profound – two unique souls becoming one.

All feet on the ground, Joebert and Marissa. The Smart Love Promo is now over. You need to do your own promotion now ….Promote your married life now. Face the reality, so that you will not be disappointed. Marriage life is like having a cell phone… sometimes you don’t have enough load, sometimes you don’t have enough money or resources. Sometimes it seems there’s “no signal,” then move and do something, find your signal and communicate. Sometimes its low bat … then time to recharge your marriage … returning to your wedding day promise today … for better or for worst, till death do us part. More unfolding of self to behold and to enjoy as you walk together and build your own family. The beauty of married life is in journeying together. It is in your journey you will experience different moments of falling in love, falling out love and choosing to love. Married is a roller coaster ride, it has ups and downs, but do not be afraid, just open your eyes because God is journeying with you. This is the promise and blessing of the sacrament of matrimony.
Your journey together as married couple may not always be “a walk in the cloud.” There are lots of challenges in married life and in raising a family. But God is journeying with you, like the Emmaus disciples, you will also say, “Where not our hearts burning while we walk together?” – burning of hearts means falling in love everyday! To fall in love everyday and to choose to love is the secret of a happy and lasting marriage.

If Stephen Covey has “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” allow me to share my own “Seven Habits of Highly Happy Marriage” It’s a way of life on how to REMAIN IN EACH OTHER’S LOVE and avoid marriage meltdown. The Seven Habits of a Happy Marriage are: to see, to listen, to touch, to chat, to pray, to walk, and to live.

To see – Learn to see each other by understanding each other in the eyes of love. Try to see the “You and I” each other … that from now on, in married life, you are forever united and cannot be separated. You are one flesh.

To listen – Learn to humbly listen to one another. There are still so much to learn from each other. To listen is to know and to know is to understand. Conflicts of ideas may still arise but listen and you will survive any trials of your married life.

To touch – Be sensitive enough to each other and spend time together. Anything you can feel, you can heal. Learn to be sensitive to the needs of each other and you will heal and forgive each other. Console each other when crisis comes and celebrate each other’s joy in times of victories.

To chat – Learn to share stories to one another, even the mundane and boring stories. Marissa, listen to Joebert how he plants and harvests vegetables. Joebert, listen to Marissa how to run after and trap stray cats in Ateneo campus for Biology students’ use. The problem with married couples now is they don’t know how to listen to each other’s stories. There are lots of “us” to know in the ordinary stories of life.

To pray – Learn to pray together. What you decide in prayer together will determine the quality of your family life. Remember to consult God. If there is a third party allowed in married life, it is HIM. Remember that old sayings, the family that prays together stays together.

To walk – Always walk and work together. After this wedding ceremony, everything you do is a “family project.” There’s no “I” in married life but always “us” and “we.”

To live – Enjoy married life. It is not just raising a family. It is still you Joebert and Marissa. It is unfortunate that many couples forgot their friendship when already married. They are so caught up in raising their children. Once in a while find time to do things you love to do together. Watch movie together in Mindpro or attend Mass at Ateneo together. Go to the Cawa-cawa at sunset and eat balut. Swim to Bolong beach together. Do things you enjoy doing together even if you have already kids. Your friendship is too beautiful to forget after today’s ceremony. After all, your friendship is the foundation of your married life.

Learn to choose to love and fall in love everyday. Remain in each other’s love and in God’s love. Say YES to each other everyday. And before you know it, years from now, your children will come and embrace you, thanking you both for giving them a loving parents and a wonderful family.

It is true that not all marriages are made in heaven. But with your constant and unwavering love and by remembering to see, to listen, to touch, to chat, to pray, to walk, and to live together daily, you will make your marriage and your home, a piece of heaven here on earth.


- Fr. Willy M. Samson,SJ
Our Lady of Perpetual Parish – Guiwan,, Zamboanga City
October 18, 2008

Paluwagan

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 22:15-21 “Give to God what is due to God”


One day Pedro prayed, “God, I need money, promise, I will give you 50%.” And God replied, “You will find a wild horse outside this church. Sell it.” True to his promise, God sent a wild horse to the church. He also surprised Pedro by giving him a chicken. Pedro was delighted by God’s generosity and went to the market to sell the animals. A farmer came and asked how much is the horse. “It’s only 30 Pesos,” Pedro replied, “but you can’t get the horse without buying the chicken as well.” The farmer replied, “How much is the chicken?” “It’s P10,000.” The farmer exclaimed, “That’s ridiculous!” But he still bought the chicken because he wanted the horse so much. Pedro returned to the church, “Lord, as I have promised, 50% of the horse’s price will go to you. I sold the horse at P30. Here’s P15 for you.” And he smiled, “By the way Lord, I will keep the P10,000 I earned from selling the chicken, anyway we don’t have an agreement with it.” And Pedro left the church with a naughty smile.

Today's gospel is about ingratitude. The Pharisees, having heard Jesus about God's compassionate and reconciling love, remained closed to the good news. They saw Jesus as a threat to their authority and social status. So they planned to trap Jesus with the issue of paying taxes. If Jesus answered taxes shouldn't be paid to Caesar, then the Romans could arrest Him. If he said that the taxes should be paid, then he would be denounced by the Jews. It’s was a win-win situation for the Pharisees. But Jesus wisely avoided their trap and laid down a rule of thumb that has served well every since.

Jesus asked for a coin and said, “Whose image is this?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that Jesus said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is due to Caesar.” (Matthew 22:21).

The usual interpretation of this verse is - one must give what is due to all. That’s justice and fairness. Give what is due to the State, to your family, to your prayer group, to your company and to your friends! No one is an island. All of us are part of a society, a community, a family or a parish. We are intrinsically connected to one another because we are social beings. Thus, we have the obligation to give or return what is due to one another, including paying our BIR annual income tax, annual membership fees, and even our village or condominium’s annual dues.

But there is a deeper meaning in our gospel today. Jesus did not just affirm our duty to contribute to the common good. He adds something more profound and liberating “Give back to God what is due to God.”

Give back to God what? Just as the coin has to be returned to Caesar because it bears his image, so we must also return to God anything that bears his image or “mark of ownership.” Recalling the story of creation, it was explicitly stated that we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We are God’s property! Therefore, we need to return to God everything that we possess including ourselves.

Unfortunately, sometimes we forget that all people bear God’s mark; therefore God is the sole owner of all of us. We can’t claim anything as ours, including ourselves. Even the whole creation is God’s because He created everything. We can’t say, “I can do what I want with myself,” or “This is my forest, I can cut all the trees here.” We don’t have the right to exploit, oppress, or abuse anybody or anything. It is fair enough that anything “stolen from God” or “not being returned to God” must be given back to God.

Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Therefore, a drug addict has no right to abuse his body and a prostitute cannot sell her body. We are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, an employer cannot exploit his workers or a husband cannot physically and verbally abuse his wife. The earth is the footstool of God (Isaiah 66:1). Therefore, we cannot just throw our garbage in the river, cut trees indiscriminately, and kill endangered animals. A woman has no right to abort an unwanted baby… for it is the Kingdom of Heaven belongs (Matthew 19:14). Open your eyes. Be responsible. Respect and preserve God’s property. Give to God what is due to Him.

On the other hand, giving to God what is due to God is not only in the area of preserving, respecting and protecting people and the whole creation. In gratitude, we also are expected to share our God-given talents, time, and treasure to others. Be generous enough to spend some of your time in personal prayer and community liturgy, listen to people, reserve your Sunday for your family, do some corporal works of mercy, or be involved in any meaningful apostolate. Be a joyful giver. Donate something from what you have and not from your excess. Be a volunteer and share your talents. Find opportunities to serve or create one! Let’s faithfully give to God what is due to Him. God has given us time, treasure and talent. They are free gift. It is easy to share when we realized that everything is a gift from God.

Our gospel reminds me of the paluwagan (credit system by pooling money where members take turn in bringing home the accumulated amount every week or month). The funny thing with paluwagan is we are consistent and on time in giving our contribution only until we receive our sahod (take home money). After receiving our sahod, we become forgetful, lazy or late in giving our contribution. We need to be reminded that our daily or weekly contribution is not an option but an obligation. We have enjoyed and used others’ money in the paluwagan system. It is just right and fair to return the same privilege by faithfully giving our contribution until everybody received their sahod.

We are also in a paluwagan system with God. God is so gracious that He agrees to be the last to receive the “sahod.” God gave us gifts – time, talent, and treasure - for us to enjoy life. But after benefiting from all these gifts, it is just right and fair to return the favor when God’s turn to collect comes. This is our way of showing our gratitude to God. We need to give back to God what is due to Him. It is not an option but an obligation.

In 2002, a strong typhoon flooded the Bicol region. The Jesuit Scholastics spearheaded “Operation Bicol” to gather donations from Manila. Food in bulks and cartons from big companies and rich villages came quickly. The lobby of Loyola House of Studies became an instant bodega. While my brother Jesuits were busy receiving those donations in big boxes, an old woman came to me and handed one small plastic bag of food. She said, “Kaunting tulong po.” It was a bag of two instant noodles and 3 sardines. I know its nothing compared to the bulk and boxes of donations coming in. But I know it’s big in the eyes of God. It’s widow’s mite (Mark 12:38-44). The old woman knew her responsibility: Give what is due to others and to God.

God is always good to us. His grace overflows … why keep it when you can share it!


Fr. Willy M. Samson, SJ
October 19, 2008
Sacred Heart Chapel
Ateneo de Zamboanga University

Maybe next time ...

28th Sunday in the Ordinary Time
Matthew 22:1-14 “My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding
garment?”


Today, we celebrate the "Fiesta Pilar", in honor of the miraculous image of Our Lady of the Pilar Nuestra Senora del Pilar de Zaragosa. We expect invitations for lunch and dinner today. Yet some of us will turn down these invitations for many reasons; and we have prepared conventional excuses such as: “I’m sorry, I need to finish some work in our office. Maybe next time…” or “I’m sorry I need to attend to some pressing business matters. Maybe next time.” But the funny thing is...we are always curious of what food they served and who came to the party. Then we regret for not coming and console ourselves with the words, “Maybe next time.” But it is already a lost opportunity. Sayang.

Our gospel today is like that. The parable is about a king who invited his guest for the wedding of his son but all of them ignored the invitation. The invited guests in the story were not interested to attend the wedding. They preferred to work in their farms and businesses rather than going to the wedding and enjoy the prepared sumptuous banquet. They were so engrossed with their personal and worldly concern that they become deaf to God’s invitation to celebrate life with him. The invited guests are not bad or immoral people. Like us, they are just too busy with so many things in life that they forgot the Giver of all gifts – God.

We are too busy with so many things of this world that we forget our own spiritual life and God’s invitation to a life in the spirit. William Barclay even said, “The tragedy of life is that it is so often the second bests which shut out the bests, that it is things which are good in themselves which shut out the things that are supreme. A man can be so busy making a living that he fails to make a life; he can be so busy with the administration and organization of life that he forgets life itself.”

There is nothing wrong giving time and effort to our material and worldly concern like earning more money. We need money to pay our electric, telephone, and other bills. There is nothing wrong working hard to get what we want in life like acquiring a beautiful house, good food, vacation, good education for our children, and other concern. They are also God’s blessings. But sometimes, we tend to forget the giver of all these gifts. We forget that God’s invitation to be with Him is far more important than any other things in this world. To be attached to people or to anything is normal and accepted, but it becomes unhealthy when we lost our desire to seek God and His kingdom. They become our inordinate attachments.

The image of the king punishing those who ignored the wedding invitation should not blind us to see the real message - not so much of the punishment but the guests’ lost opportunity to experience the joy of the banquet God prepared for them. The first reading and the gospel illustrate vividly what the guests missed in the feast: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything is ready.” (Matthew 22: 4)… “The Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.” (Isaiah 25:6).

Then the story continues. The king sent out his servants, not to the houses of wealthy and respectable people, but to the ordinary, neglected, and outcast people. And they happily came to attend the wedding. But when the king entered the hall to greet them, he immediately noticed one who did not dress appropriately to the occasion. The king asked, “My friend how is it that you came here without a wedding garment?” But the man was reduced to silence. He could not use his work and business concerns as valid reasons. And the king cast him into darkness.

What made the king furious was the man’s laziness to wear the proper garment. It was a direct insult to the king and his kingdom. We may think that the king is not kind enough to forgive the poor guy since he cannot afford to a wedding garment. But in the biblical time, wedding garments were available in the anterooms of the reception halls, much in the same way that dinner suits are available in some restaurants in the United States for those who inadvertently come without coat and tie. Therefore, the poor man has no excuse for not dressing up properly. I guess what made the king burst into anger was the poor man’s laziness to dress up! Dressing up properly is one way of giving respect to the king and to the wedding feast.

In our present context, the wedding feast represents the life of holiness and the life in the Spirit God is offering. This life in the Spirit is being offered to everybody without any exception. It is a grace offered to all as a free gift from God. But this grace is not just a free gift to be taken for granted. It is also a responsibility. If God called us to a new life with Him, we must be clothed with holiness and a new way of living according to the precepts of God. The door of the kingdom of God is open to everybody, but it is not open for the sinners to come and remain sinners, but to remove the cloth of sinfulness and wear the cloth of holiness which is the appropriate garment for the feast.

Everyday, God is inviting us to commune with Him in prayer, in community prayer meetings, family meals and in the Eucharist. Yet we find ourselves saying “NO” for many reasons. We failed to see that each of our “Not at the moment, I am busy. Maybe next time” is a lost opportunity to enjoy God’s presence and love. It is not His lost but ours.

I am amused to people who immediately raises his or her hand to an invitation to eat or to go somewhere. We jokingly called them “kaladkarin,” but I am sure they are enjoying life. I wish to be a “kaladkarin” when God is the one inviting.

When God invites us, we should eagerly respond positively. “Maybe next time” is not an option. For we may run out of time and find ourselves uninvited anymore. Sayang.




Fr.Willy M. Samson,S.J.
Zamboanga Catedral
October 12, 2008

My Life as God’s Vineyard

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 21:33-43


One day the student said to himself, “I will make sure that my master will make a mistake. He brought a small bird in his hand and said, “Master, is the bird in my hand, dead or alive?” If the master will say it’s alive, the student will simply squeeze the bird to death. If the master will say its dead, the student will simply release the bird. But the master simply said, “The answer is in your hand.”

In our gospel today, one may ask how come that the tenants killed all the servants sent by the landowner including his son? What compelled him to do so? The reason is because the tenants have no produce to give to the landowner. The best way to escape from their responsibility is by killing all the servants of the landowner. The parable is a direct and blatant condemnation of Jesus against the Pharisees. Jesus told the Pharisees that God gave them the vineyard of God. They were trusted to do something for the kingdom of God but they did not bear fruit. The servants sent by landowner were the prophets of the Old Testament, but the Pharisees did not listen to the prophets. They even killed them. Jesus was the son in the parable. He was sent by God the Father, unfortunately, the Pharisees and the scribes did not listen to Jesus and even killed him.

It seems that our gospel is also challenging us to evaluate our own life. God also trusted us with our own vineyard and the name of our vineyard is OUR LIFE! We may even include our family, our work, school, or even our community as our vineyards. The question being posted to us is, “If the Lord sends his servants to us now, do we have fruits or produce to show?” Can we proudly welcome the arrival of God’s servants and tell them that we have something to show or to give to our God … the owner of our Life? Can we say that we are doing something for our family? For our school? For our work? For our country? We don’t know the reason why the tenants failed to produce fruits from the vineyard - maybe because of laziness, or irresponsibility and other reasons.

Our gospel reveals two important characteristics of God. First, God trusted us so much even to the point of leaving his vineyard to our care. He trusts us so much with our life, with our family and with our community, in the hope that we will do something productive and creative. Second, God is so patient and forgiving. It is surprising that the landowner did not react violently against the tenants after all his servants were killed. He even sent another batch to his vineyard but only to be killed. Finally he sent his son to convince the tenants to give their share of the produce. We do have a very patient and forgiving God - a God who continues to give us another chance to change and produce fruits. But it is good to note also that God’s mercy has limits. In the end, the justice of God will prevail especially for those who have no intentions of changing their lives, “Therefore I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produce its fruits.”

But how do we produce bountiful fruits in our vineyards? In our lives? The second reading says something about it: “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Put into practice what you have learned and received from me.” (Phil 4:8-9).

It is unfortunate that sometimes we blame God or we blame other people to the miseries and misfortunes in our life, in our family, or in our community. We should blame ourselves and not God. When we come to the Lord and ask him, “Lord, will my life or my family be miserable in the future?” The Lord will simply say, “The answer is in your hands… not mine.”