Spirit-Empowered for Greater Things

HOMILY: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 1:1-4; 14-21

23 January 2022 

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

There is this scene about ambition from a 90’s American sitcom. The dad tells his teenage son to have big dreams. They stop outside this fancy restaurant and look at the diners through the glass windows. He calls his son’s attention to the beautifully-dressed customers and tells them they are famous people, executives and high-ranking government officials enjoying delicious meals prepared by a Michelin chef.  Then he says, “Son, one of these days you will find yourself here… serving these people.” Ay sus, waiter pala ang pinakamataas nyang pangarap para sa anak niya. (Oh my, all he wanted for his son was to be a waiter.) 

This Sunday’s gospel relates to us what Jesus has come to bring to God’s people. As the Anointed One, Jesus’ mission is “to bring glad tidings to the poor, liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed.” In other words, Jesus declares “a year acceptable to the Lord.” The expression year of the Lord’ calls to mind the Jubilee Year when “debts are forgiven, when the forfeited lands are returned to their original owners, and when those imprisoned because of financial adversity are freed.” Hence, it is a year anticipated by the disadvantaged for it is a time of deliverance for them. What Jesus came to bring is nothing more than the fulness of life for everyone.     

Furthermore, Jesus makes a bold claim in the gospel: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21) Filled with the Spirit, Jesus inaugurates this time of deliverance for God’s people. But this work of bringing glad tidings to the poor continues in the persons of all the followers of Jesus themselves. Since the Spirit of God also dwells in each one of us, we are also tasked to bring glad tidings to our families, our communities and our society as a whole. As St. Paul reminds the Corinthians that the reception of the Spirit in baptism has concrete implications for their lives. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13) As the “Body of Christ”, they are now called to proclaim Christ to the world as Christ’s ambassadors in whatever state of life they are in. 

This is worth emphasizing because most of the time we interpret this mission of bringing “glad tidings to the poor” as a task solely of those in positions of power or wealth towards those in situations of poverty. In this task, the poor are seen solely as beneficiaries rather than as partners in the mission. This attitude of inferiority is what Paul tries to rectify as he emphasizes that every member of the Body of Christ is needed for the body to be whole and to function as one. 

We see this defeatist mentality operative in our lives. Isn’t this also a common attitude among us Filipinos? The poor would say: “We are poor. We have not finished college. We are squatters.” — which is tantamount to saying: “We have nothing to give because we are nobody, because we are poor.” This is what we call the “poor-mentality”. We are the Body of Christ and, as its various members, we are valuable and are called to do great things. We all have been empowered to proclaim glad tidings to those in our midst.  We have to constantly strive to reach our full potential so we can best accomplish our life’s purpose. 

I have a friend who told me that when she was in kindergarten, her classmates dreamed of being doctors and lawyers, whereas her ultimate dream was to be a nanny (yaya). To her surprise, her classmates in an exclusive girl’s high school revealed they had similar dreams for themselves as kids. Despite the opportunities in life they had, one initially wanted to be a streetsweeper (metro-aide), another a laundrywoman, and another a housemaid.  They were smart and their parents could pay for their education so it was funny that they initially failed to see the extent of their potential.  As members of the Body of Christ, we have a responsibility to make sure it works at its best. We can only do that if we are at our best, making use of all our God-given talents and the opportunities He sends our way. 

It is also important that we recognize that God, our Father, wants the best for us and He will help us achieve our potential if we make the effort and work hard.  Someone shared with me that she and her siblings liked to watch real estate brokers sell beautiful mansions on Youtube. Sabi niya sa kapatid niya, “Ayoko ng ganyang bahay…  mamamatay ako sa kakalinis niyan. Walang maniniwala na tayo ang may-ari… mapagkakamalan lang tayong caretaker o katulong diyan.”  Kung ganyan ang paiiralin nating pag-iisip, paano tayo aasenso?  Do not think you are unworthy of better things! God our Father is rich. He owns everything we see and He is generous to His children. Hindi Siya nagmamaramot kung ating pagsisiskapan. 

Last night I did not miss the Presidential Interviews of GMA 7 hosted by the respected journalist Jessica Soho. I would say it was a good venue (the mainstream media) for both the candidates and the electorate beyond the propaganda and fake news usually found in the different social media platforms like Tiktok, Facebook and the like. The presidentiables were given the chance to talk about their take on different issues as well as their plan for our country. On the other hand, the electorate are given the chance to listen to them and thus helped to make an informed choice come May 2022. This election is crucial! We have to choose well. Pumili ng kandidato na hindi puro porma, pangako, at pambobola. Umiwas sa kandidato na mapangamkam sa yaman at kapangyarihan.  Filipinos deserve better. Dream bigger for the Philippines. We have so much to give the world in terms of talents, skills, and resources. We need a good leader who inspires us to maximise the potential of our systems to benefit all of us Filipinos and still be able to make a contribution to humanity on a global scale. 

Ating tandaan, tayo ay anak ng Diyos at ang hangad Niya ay ang ating kabutihan at pag-unlad sa buhay. We are heirs to the riches of His Kingdom!  Huwag din natin maliitin ang ating sarili. God created us beautiful and good. He has blessed each of us with special skills and talents that make us worthy members of the Body of Christ. Let us not limit ourselves or be discouraged by our circumstance. Let us glorify God by finding our purpose in life and by striving to be the best we can be.