Not even death.

May ilang mga bagay sa ating buhay ang nagdudulot sa atin ng pagkabagabag. May ilang mga bagay na ang dala ay kalungkutan, panghihinayang, o panghihina ng kalooban. There are things that weigh us down; things that bring us sadness and grief; things that break our heart.

What can be more heart-breaking than death?

May hihigit pa ba sa bigat na dulot ng kamatayan?

When death comes, it brings to an end the life we love. It puts to a halt the world we know. It robs us of the relationships we nourished. More often than not, when we face the reality of death, our own or of a loved one, we are brought to our lowest. Oftentimes it engenders the darkest moments of our lives. Sometimes it begets helplessness and hopelessness.

Good Friday reminds us that God died on the cross. God united himself to us in death. Thus, accompanying us in the most serious predicament that we shall have to face. He joined us in our lowest, in the darkest moment of our life. By dying, God joined us in our helplessness, in our hopelessness.

In Jesus Christ, God took upon himself the sting of death and conquered it by rising again. He died alone, but he led us all in rising from the dead.

Namatay ang Diyos. Sinamahan tayo sa kadiliman ng kamatayan. Sinamahan tayo sa hapdi at karimlang dulot ng kawalan. Sinamahan tayo sa pinakamabigat na pagsubok na di maiiwasan nino man. Sinamahan tayo sa kamatayan upang akayin tayo sa kanyang buhay na walang hanggan.

If God willingly joined us in death, the most serious condition in which we can find ourselves, will he not be with us in less weighty challenges in life? 

And so with St. Paul we proclaim, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Not even death.

Who could've imagined...

Who could've imagined that suffering the lot of a thief and dying the scandalous death on the cross was a way to life and victory. The disciples thought it was defeat. They thought it was failure. They thought it was over, so they ran away. They hid themselves.

But somehow Mary knew better. Maybe not clearly. Maybe not totally. But she knew that there was something more. So, she stayed. She stood at the foot of the cross.

And she was right. What we could not have imagined happened: there was new life on the cross, there was victory in suffering.

God's ways are different. He will always be mystery.

TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST

"so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

These were the words of the gospel of John in describing how the Son of Man shall bring eternal life to those who believe in him.

A wholistic view of the Johannine gospel reveals to us that “to be lifted up” means two things: crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus the Christ was “lifted up” when he was mounted on the cross, nailed to it and left to die. He was lifted from the earth and hunged on the cross. The Son of Man was lifted up on the cross. Also, Jesus the Christ was “lifted up” when three days later, he rose from the dead. He was lifted from the bondage of death, to the glory of the Father’s love. The Son of Man was lifted up to heaven [although this statement may be taken as referring to Ascension alone, the mystery of Ascension forms part of the wider mystery of the glory of Jesus that begins in his Resurrection]. For the gospel of John, to be lifted up is to be crucified and to rise again. The death and the new life of Jesus, this is the act of being “lifted up.” This union we find in the cross. On the cross Jesus died. Through the cross he rose again.

The cross which was a sign of death, shame and injustice, was transformed into a sign of life, hope and salvation. Death and life become one in the triumph of the cross of Jesus Christ. As formerly the Jews are afraid of the cross, today, we Christians, embrace the cross, for in the cross we find new life, strength and courage. In the cross we find freedom, victory and triumph. For united in every cross of this world, in every trial, pain, suffering and poverty, is the promise of hope, “inheritance of the land,” life eternal and salvation.

The cross calls us to face squarely the hurts and challenges of this life. But we do not face them with eyes closed, or with trepid hearts. We face them with faith and love for we know we shall overcome; we shall be “lifted up.”

PAGPASAN NG KRUS

Sinumang hindi magpapasan ng kanyang krus at sumunod sa akin ay hindi maaring maging alagad ko.

Malinaw ang sinabi ni Jesus sa ebanghelyo. Ang pagpasan ng krus ay bahagi ng buhay ng bawat Kristiyano. At naniniwala akong ang katotohanang ito ay kailangang ulit-ulitin, dahil hindi ito ang tawag ng buhay dito sa mundo. Kailangan ito laging ipaalala, kung tinig ng mundo ang papakinggan wala lugat ang krus sa mundo.

Para sa buhay natin sa daigdig na ito, mas madali mas okey, mas maikli mas okey, mas maginhawa mas okey.

Bakit may mga estudyanteng nandaraya sa exam para pumasa? Bakit may mga estudyanteng bumibili ng leakage, gumagawa ng kodigo para pumasa sa board? Dahil mas maikling panahon sa pag-aaral pero pagpasa din ang resulta. Mas madali, mas maganda.

Bakit may mga dalaga, maganda ang career, maganda ang kinabukasan, matalino, pero pagnabuntis ng hindi kasal, naiisipang ipalaglag ang bata? Kasi mas madaling ipalaglag ang bata kesa magbuntis ng siyam na buwan, mapurnada ang mga plano sa buhay, at mag-alaga ng sanggol. Mas madali mas maganda.

Bakit may mga taong gagawin ang lahat guminhawa lang ang buhay? Mga taong magnanakaw, mandaraya, kukuha ng hindi kanila, mangungurakot para guminhawa lang ang buhay. Dahil mas maginhawa mas maganda.

Walang krus dito. Dahil ang krus kailanman hindi madali, hindi maikli, hindi maginhawa. Ang krus kailangan ng sakripisyo. Subalit tandaan natin, sa krus ni Kristo dito tayo nakatagpo ng buhay, dito tayo naktanggap ng kalayaan, ng yakap ng Diyos na pumawi sa anumang paglaugmok natin sa kasalanan, sa kamatayan, sa pag-iisa. Ang krus ni Kristo ang ating buhay.

We are not afraid of the cross because in the cross is our life. Jesus showed us that in suffering there is redemption, there is meaning, there is light. If we want a satisfaction that is temporary, a satisfaction that the world gives and also takes away, then listen to the voice of this world. But if you yearn for a joy that lasts, a joy that no suffering and pain can take away, then listen to Jesus, take up your cross daily and follow him.

Ganyan ba talaga ang buhay Kristiyano? Puno ng krus? Super-hirap? Alam naman nating lahat na “walang ligaya dito sa lupa na hindi dinilig ng luha.” Hindi tayo takot na magpasan ng krus dahil alam natin ito ang daan sa tunay na kaginhawahan. Ito ang ipinakita ni Jesus, at ito ang ating pinananaligan. Amen.

SAKRIPISYO

Kilala nating lahat si Manny Pacquiao. Kahit naririnig nating siya ay sabungero, malakas pumusta sa bilyar, at sabi ng iba babaero – ang isang kahanga-hangang bagay sa kanya ay ang dedikasyon niya sa pag-iinsayo. At hindi niya ito magagawa kung hindi siya marunong magsakripisyo. Sakripisyo muna sa ibang bagay, ang ibuhos ang lahat ng atensyon sa paghahanda para sa laban. Dahil ang daan sa tagumpay ay pagsasakripisyo.

Kilala ba natin sa Rex Barnardo? Siya ay disabled; naka-wheelchair. Dahil sa kanyang kapansanan hindi siya pinapasok ng kanyang mga magulang sa elementarya at sa high school. Subalit siya’y tinuruan ng kanyang mga tiyahin ng pagbabasa at pagsusulat. Sabi sa artikulo ng Inquirer [www.inquirer.net] hinihiram niya ang mga libro ng kanyang mga kapatid para basahin at madalas mas nauuna siyang makatapos kaysa kanila. Sa bandang huli siya ay nakatapos ng Kolehiyo, Psychology. At nakatapos ng masters in development management. Kahit may kapansanan, ang daan tungo sa tagumpay ay ang pagtahak sa landas ng pagsasakripisyo.

Ito rin ang paalala ni Jesus sa ebanghelyo: walang sinumang makasusunod sa akin ng hindi pinapasan ang kanyang krus. Walang sinumang makakasunod kay Jesus ng hindi marunong magsakripisyo.

Ang daan ng Krus ay taliwas sa daan ng mundo, dahil ang daan ng mundo ay kung ano ang madali, magaan, at maginhawa. Hindi ito ang daan ni Jesus. Hindi ito ang daan ng Krus. Kung nais nating makamit ang tagumpay ni Jesus, kailangang pasanin ang krus, kailangang matutong magsakrispisyo.

WOODSTRUCK: Tatamaan ka!

On March 6, 2007, the World Youth Day cross was welcomed by the diocese of Cubao. Young people from the different suffragan dioceses of Manila gathered together in music, dance, sharing and liturgical celebration to rejoice in the visit of the cross.

The title of the event, WOODSTUCK, made me think. It was in obvious reference to Woodstock – a gathering of yuppies in the 1970’s that celebrates with a marathon of music and party. It is also associated with the popular talent search on TV, Starstruck, with a creative twist. I guess the “wood” refers to the cross and “struck” refers to what the cross can do to those who will accept it.

But who would be willing to be hit by a cross? Who in his or her right mind would accept to be “woodstruck”? We, humans naturally run away from the cross. We avoid hardship and pain as much as we can, but the event was an invitation not to run away from the cross but to let oneself be “struck” by it. What does the wood of the cross bring us?

The cross is where the Son of Man died. In Jesus, the cross which was an instrument of shameful death was transformed into an instrument of a surprising rebirth. When we run away from the cross, when we turn our backs from it, we are running away from a possibility of growth, of life, and maturity. I’m not saying that we should all seek the cross, no. But the road to genuine happiness and lasting joy is necessarily pass through the cross. We do not have to look for it, to burden ourselves of it. To follow the Lord is to take up the cross daily.

To allow ourselves be “woodstruck” or to accept the cross of Christ [i.e. tamaan ng krus ni Kristo] is to be transformed into hopeful and joyful citizens of the Kingdom passing through this world. No amount of suffering and pain can take this joy and hope away for the cross has already been transformed in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Kapagsineryoso mo ang pagsunod kay Kristo na ipinako sa krus sigurado tatamaan ka! Tinamaan ka na ba?