Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Bible Text: “I have made your name known to those you gave me from the world”
John 17.1-11
Jesus is delivering His farewell prayer before He finally ascended into heaven. He was overflowing with happiness and excitement as He is about to be reunited with his Father in eternity. The gist of His prayer is very simple “I have made your name known to those you have given me in this world”. One of the most important missions of Jesus is to proclaim to the people that the Supreme Being who created everything in this world is not just God but He is our Father. He is truly a Father because He is ever ready to share all that belongs to Him to us who believe in Him. As Jesus is about to ascend, He is looking forward for our coming to share in the life and happiness in the kingdom of the Father.
The challenge that the gospel is giving to us is the same as what Jesus Himself did. As Jesus time on earth is over, we are tasked to continue exactly what Jesus had accomplished. We have to make Jesus known to the world especially to those who are close to us. We are being called evangelizers which mean bearers and speakers of the good news. We have to tirelessly proclaim Jesus wherever we are. Perhaps what can prevent us to speak about Jesus passionately is that we are afraid to be persecuted by being ridiculed, ignored, mocked and criticized. Jesus is God but was never spared from this kind of odd situation in fact it was severe. The apostles too experienced the same kind of treatment and it was also harsh but it did not discourage them. We have this kind of faith right now because we have forefathers who are happy and determined to proclaim Jesus even when they persecuted. The gospel gave me some insights. Honestly, before I feel worried posting my reflections because I know there are a lot of daily reflections that make sense that we can find in social media. Beautiful homilies delivered by eloquent preachers available online. However, I just wanted to be happy fulfilling my duty even when it might not appreciated by all. This is not only my duty but for everyone. When our Church has faithful people who have the same motivation and attitude of Jesus and His apostles the word of God will surely penetrate the hearts of people.
Today, we are celebrating the memorial of Saint Philip Neri, a saint who believed humour and cheerfulness encouraged faith. We should not only feel good when appreciated by people but be fulfilled with the joy given by Jesus when we have accomplished proclaiming Jesus. I know, many of us are very good in this aspect. Bring them on to tell the world of God’s love.