Jesus' Power over Demons

In today's Gospel, Jesus drives out a demon from a man. This is Jesus' first miracle as reported by Mark. Immediately, Mark presents Jesus driving out a demon at the outset of his public ministry. Why? Because Mark wants to show that Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom by word (as announced by Jesus a few verses earlier) is accompanied by a proclamation by deed. If indeed the Kingdom of God has come, then the kingdom of Satan, prince of demons has come to an end. This episode shows that. In Jesus, the reign of Satan has come to an end. Even the demon knows who Jesus us: the Holy One of God!

Let us allow Jesus to come into our hearts and lives. Let us allow God to truly reign in our hearts and lives, that the demons inside us may be driven away. For only Jesus has the power and authority to drive them out...by His words.

Let the responsorial psalm be our earnest prayer: If today, you hear His voice, harden not your hearts!

Being Nourished by the Word

This week is National Bible Week. Although we are to be conscious of the central importance of the Bible the whole year round, this week are asked to reflect more intensely on the power of the Bible, the Word of God, to nourish our souls. To be nourished by the Bible, three things are essential: Read the Word, Live the word, Proclaim the Word.

READ THE WORD. It is a beautiful practice to read the Word everyday. Just as we feed ourselves with physical food to strengthen our bodies for the day's work, so must we feed ourselves with the Word of God to strengthen our souls. Each day, we have to face many trials and tests, and only with the Word of God read at the beginning of each day can we weather these tests of faith.

LIVE THE WORD. It is not enough to read the Word. If we only read the Word, then we make it no different from a textbook or a magazine. Living the Word is the way to let the Word penetrate our hearts and allow it to shape our hearts. This, of course, is a grace from God. However, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit is there to assist us in this process.

PROCLAIM THE WORD. Finally, the reading and living of the Word of God issue into proclamation. This means announcing to others what we have discovered as we read and live the Word of God. This means telling them as Mary Magdalene did to the other disciples on Easter morning: "I have seen the Lord!" It is to allow others to have a glimpse of the mystery and beauty of the Word.

Read the Word. Live the Word. Proclaim the Word. May the Word of God burn in our hearts that we may be light for the world and draw others to the true Light which is Christ Himself!

I NEED YOU. I TRUST YOU. I LET YOU.

Feast of the Sto. Nino
(Mark 10:13-16)

Why is there a “second childhood”? Is it a second and last chance to enjoy the things we were not able to enjoy much on our first childhood? Or is it a second and last chance to learn what we failed to learn during our first childhood? Or is it the second and last chance to be “like a child” as the Gospel says, so that we could enter the Kingdom of God?

What does it mean to be “like a child?” What does a child do which an adult should imitate? Presumably because the adult does not do such a thing, or no longer does it or does not want to do it. But only in doing it can one enter the Kingdom of God. I guess, a child, unlike an adult, has no difficulty saying, “I need you. I trust you. I let you.”

I need you. A child needs his/her parents to live, to survive, to have a decent and human life. From the very beginning of its existence, it depends on its mother for its nourishment. It can not do without the mother, and later on, the parents. A child does not hesitate to express its needs. But when the child becomes an adult, he ceases to need other people, and rightly so perhaps, because he/ she has to grow as an independent individual. But many succumb to the tendency to declare total independence from others, from the world, from the environment, and ultimately, from God.

I trust you. A child trusts that his mother will take care of him. She trusts that people around him care about her. The child experiences his first frustrations when he suddenly realizes that the people he trusts has betrayed him. When the wounds of these betrayals are not healed, the adult becomes suspicious of other people, of the world, of God. He lives in paranoia, trusting no one, not even himself, not even God.

I let you. Because a child realizes that he could not many things, he lets other people do it for him. He allows people whom he trusts to provide for his needs, to help him in tasks still beyond his capacity to complete. He acknowledges his needs. He trusts. He lets go and lets be. But an adult who has become self-sufficient, who has because suspicious of everyone would not let anyone, even God, to do anything, to be anything for him/her.

To be a like a child? It is to be able to say, to others, to God: “I need you. I trust you. I let you.”

Talk of Being Starstruck

Epiphany of Our Lord
(Mt. 2:1-11)

In the Philippines, "Starstruck" is a reality search on TV for new young stars. There, hundreds of young people audition to get a chance to be included in the Magic 14 who will be qualified for the Finals. The show’s motto is “DREAM, BELIEVE, SURVIVE!” Indeed, these young people are there because of their dream. And they do believe that their dream will come true. That is why they try to survive the various challenges along the way to stardom.

Is it possible that the wise men from the East who traveled in search of the Christ were starstruck too? But they were starstruck in a different sense! And so, their motto is not "dream, believe, survive", but DREAM, BELIEVE, SURRENDER!

DREAM: The wise men said that they had seen the star of the Messiah rose in the sky. This means that they had been watching out for this star. In a way, they had been dreaming of seeing one day the rising of this star, for they knew what it meant. The rising of star means the fulfillment of the age-old promise of Messiah for Israel and for the whole world. Their lives have been shaped by this dream. And they did not stop until their dream would be realized.

BELIEVE: Not only did the wise men dream. They also believed that the sign of the star was pointing to a reality. They believed in the promise of God, so they eagerly awaited for the rising of the star. They believed that by following the star, they would be led to the Messiah. They believed that they would find the Christ even if it meant leaving homes, traveling through dirt roads and cold nights, even if it meant facing King Herod who would be threatened by their purpose.

SURRENDER: The wise men’s search and the finding of the Christ-child was not to be a game of survival. It was not of their own efforts alone that they would find the Messiah. That is why they have to be led by the stars and by advised by the experts in Jerusalem. They would have to surrender to powers greater than themselves. And upon finding the Child, they bowed down in adoration, a gesture of surrender to the majesty of the King laid on the manger.

DREAM, BELIEVE, SURRENDER! On this solemnity of the Epiphany which brings us closer to the end of the Christmas season, and as we begin a New Year, let us be starstruck, not by fame or fortune, but by Christ Himself, the Star of our lives.