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The Lord Is My Chef Simbang Gabi Recipe-7, 22 December 2016
1Samuel 1:24-28//Luke 1:46-56
The following is a text message sent by a woman to her former suitor:
Dear Tikyo: Pnagcchan ko pgbasted syo, tnetesting ko lang pacencia mo nung sbihin ko saksakan ka ng pangit, wala kng kwenta at sinusumpa kta. Bawat segundo ikaw nasa isip ko, kahit sa panaginip. Tanggap ka tlaga ng magulang ko. Mahilig lang silang magbiro nung habulin ka ng itak n tatay at sinabuyan ka ng mainit na 2big n nanay. D ako mabubuhay ng wala ka. Nagmamahal, Tecla. P.S.: congrats nga pala sa pgkapanalo mo sa lotto. Lab u! J
A very funny text message but so true! Too often, we say and do so many things that are not really from our hearts. Christmas is a call for us to be true with our hearts, to examine our hearts, and empty our hearts to be filled with Jesus Christ. Yesterday we heard how Mary hastily went to visit her cousin Elizabeth in Judea to share with her the Good News she had received, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. After being praised by Elizabeth, Mary responded today not by praising her cousin as we would always do as members of a “mutual admiration club” and instead praised God for His great love in doing all these wonderful things of finally bringing salvation to the world through their sons John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Ever the humble handmaid of the Lord, Mary’s Margnificat is clearly a song coming from her heart: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior… He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.” (Lk.1:46-47,51-52)
Once again we find in this scene the artistry of St. Luke in weaving a beautiful tapestry of salvation history through Mary’s Magnificat. Although it reminds us of Hannah’s song in the Old Testament with the birth of Samuel which is the context of today’s first reading, Mary’s Magnificat is more of her own experience and interpretation about the Gospel Jesus Christ she had received in her womb. It is indeed the song of her heart that we all ought to sing too because at its very core is the question of what is in our heart?
When we examine the structure of the Magnificat, the late American biblical scholar Fr. Raymond Brown explains that it was written by St. Luke in relation with his version of the Beatitudes of Jesus during the “Sermon on the Plain” (Lk. 6:20-26). Unlike St. Matthew’s Beatitudes from Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” that is more straightforward with “Blessed are,” St. Luke’s version is shorter and more direct with a thesis-antithesis format of beatitudes then woes. Hence, when Mary sang “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior,” she mentions how God blessed and uplifted the poor and lowly while interspersing these with how God put down the rich and powerful. At the center of this series of thesis-antithesis is the human heart where God truly comes. Unless we have a change of heart, unless we heed the Advent call for conversion, it would be very difficult to experience the birth of Jesus not only this Christmas but every day of our lives. DWBR-FM radio used to have a station plug that says “music is the food of the soul.” This is so true with the Magnificat that shows us the beautiful soul of the Blessed Mother Mary. And here lies the challenge to us this Simbang Gabi: can we also own the Magnificat as the song of our heart and soul?
Two weeks ago I have noted how we Filipinos are so fond of rushing Christmas, always beginning our countdown every September first. But the problem is, while we hold the world record of having the longest Christmas season, our daily life is best described as a Good Friday without any Easter in sight! From the horrendous traffic and obsolete modes of transportation as well as infrastructures to the shameless forever waiting for plate numbers and drivers’ licenses plus the dismal services by some in the government not to mention the corruption still rampant, we wonder what kind of Christians are we in this part of the world? Add to these the last six months of darkness of EJK’s where 5000 have been killed with a promise to execute more criminals with the return of capital punishment next year. Maybe it is about time for us to truly examine our hearts of how we could interpret in our very lives the coming of Jesus Christ.
In its pastoral letter for the Year of the Parish last November 27, the CBCP declared “The answer to the power of evil in the world of our time can only come from the transformation of the heart, through faith, hope, and love; through penance and conversion.” But how can our hearts be transformed when we even in the Church continue to fill it with so many other things except Jesus Christ? How do we interpret the Gospel with the people that they would truly feel the singing of the angels on that first Christmas night, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests (Lk.2:14)”?
It is sad that there are times in the parish when we are so focused on so many things like building so many structures and implementing so many programs that we miss the most essential which is sharing more of Jesus Christ with the people. When Mary visited Elizabeth yesterday, she only had Jesus with her. Now she sings the Magnificat because it is still Jesus who is in her heart. Can we own and sing Mary’s Magnificat? Perhaps, the great tragedy in our Church today is the long time it is taking for us priests and bishops to adopt the radical ways of Pope Francis of going back to poverty and simplicity since his election in March 2013. We just can’t let go of our extravagant lifestyles and close associations with the rich and famous for more power and fame, rarely for Christ and the poor. It has been three years since Pope Francis tried so hard “to walk his talk” and yet, we in the Philippine clergy and hierarchy are still far from taking the Pope’s examples maybe because we have a different interpretation of the Gospel that unfortunately is now revealing to be far from the Truth as we have seen the erosion of our credibility and respect among the people. May this Year of the Parish enable us to sing joyfully Mary’s Magnificat by transforming our hearts and filling it with Jesus Christ.
Fr. Nicanor F. Lalog II
Parokya ni San Juan Apostol at Ebanghelista
Gov. Halili Ave., Bagbaguin, Sta. Maria, Bulacan
