Belonging to Jesus

HOMILY: Thanksgiving Mass, University Week, West Visayas State University

La Paz, Iloilo City

(Memorial of St. Frances de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)

24 January 2023

Gospel: Mark 3:31-35

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA

Alumnus 1992, BSED-English College of Education

It is so nice to be back at our alma mater! It warms my heart to see so many familiar faces, albeit more mature faces, of people who figured in my life as a student. I have had many fond memories in this school and this is where I first experienced a sense of family outside of my own  relatives. I am pretty confident that you will share my sentiments. We owe a debt of gratitude to this institution for providing us with an amazing experience. 

Today’s gospel passage also talks about family that is forged by something other than ancestry and genetics. Jesus changes the definition and constitution of His own family from one that is defined by blood, to one that is defined by allegiance and obedience.  When He is advised that His mother, and brothers are there to see Him, He answers “whoever does the will of My Father, is my brother, sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35) This must have been a shock to those listening! Even today, some misinterpret this as blatant disrespect. How can this be? Suddenly belonging to Christ is not about being related to Him by lineage! Jesus reveals that He genuinely considers anyone obedient to His Father as His very own brothers and sisters. Obedience to God’s will becomes the true mark of belonging to Jesus. The Son surrendered to the Father and effectively obtained for us salvation from sin. It is following the example of Jesus that merits assimilation into God’s family. Each one of us is invited to mirror that surrender in our own lives, making the will of God our own. It is only in doing so, that we will experience total liberation and become united as one with Him.

We cannot buy our way into God’s family the same way we are able to bribe our way into someone’s favour and good graces by lavishing them with whatever they enjoy — food, drink, jewelry, gadgets, money etc. In the Letter to the Hebrews we hear the irony that the best sacrifices offered on altars do not fully please God — “in burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight”.  (Hebrews 10:6) The passage proposes that it is our total union with the will of God that is the highest form of sacrifice. In the same way, our unfulfilled promises of repentance, extreme displays of self-mortification, grand gestures of generosity, even the rubbing of elbows with the top ranks of church heirarchy mean nothing if we do not personally submit to the will of God.

To call ourselves Christians, we have to be attuned to God’s will in our lives in order to submit ourselves to it. How do we know what GOD wills for us? We need to establish a relationship with God and nurture it consistently through daily prayer, reading and studying scripture (which is His Word) and Sunday worship with the rest of the Church body.  Submitting to the will of God allows us to enter into an intimate relationship with Jesus. We look to Mother Mary as an excellent model of perfect obedience to the will of God. Her FIAT (her YES to God) brought her into the closest of relationships with Jesus. She may not have understood the repercussions of her role in God’s plan but she gave an unconditional “yes” and never withdrew it. It was enough for her to know that it was God’s will for her. 

At the start of this reflection, I mentioned that throughout our tenure here and up to this day for you dear students, we consider ourselves part of the WVSU family. If we continue to choose to be proudly identified with this school, we owe it to our alma mater to embody the ideals it upholds. The diploma we hold and the pictures we have saved from our school days are just pieces of paper that could burn or disintegrate over time. However, if we consistently live by the standards our school has instilled in us, people will always recognize us as WVSU graduates! I invite you to recall our school hymn and mull over the lyrics with me.  “West Visayas State University… let genius bridge the earth and boundless sky. Set the youth to task half-begun, seek their rightful place ‘neath the sun… Till the youth their tasks fully done, find their rightful place ‘neath the sun.”   Clearly we have been primed to aim high, perceive the boundless possibilities, ensure we finish what we have begun, and make a mark for ourselves in the world!  This year’s homecoming theme emphasizes precisely that — transcending excellence through creativity, talent and innovation! My dear fellow alumni and students, excellence is the mark of WVSU that we must leave on everything we do. This is what forever binds us to the WVSU family. 

How we live out our profession, our vocation, and our lives in general, impresses on other people to whom we belong in this world. By our works, the way we treat others, the way we communicate are but a few ways of how we are indentified as part of a family — whether it be our clans, our provinces, our schools, and even our religion. Let us be mindful of this so we never forget who we are and what makes us what we are today. Let us be mindful of this so that each mark we leave in this world becomes a beautiful testament to the families to which we belong, most importantly our membership in God’s own family. 

In closing, I ask you all to pray with me our responsorial psalm and really mean it.  “Here I am Lord! I come to do your will.” (Psalm 40:7-8) Together we ask God to help us be obedient to His will in our life, in imitation of Jesus’ submission to the Father’s will and Mary’s Fiat. Lord, grant us sensitivity to Your voice and the courage to always do what is pleasing to You!