“Sent to bring glad tidings”

THIS was said of Christ. (cfr. Lk 4,18) If we are true to our desire to follow Christ, if not to be “another Christ” as we should, then we should also have this concern to bring glad tidings to the poor who actually are all of us. That’s because, although we have different social and economic status, we are all poor since we all need God. That is what is meant by one of the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” (cfr. Mt 5,3) 

 Bringing glad tidings to the poor can be carried out in many ways. But for sure, one way is to continually impart and inspire gospel values in all our temporal affairs, especially in those areas that are vulnerable to go wild, as in politics, business, entertainment, etc. 

 We need to make the world of public opinion, for example, human and Christian in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts. We, of course, are all free to express an opinion on any public issue at hand. In fact, this should be encouraged, since this will help in ferreting out what is truly helpful to the general public. 

 We just have to do it as responsibly as possible, which means that we should study the issue very well first, avoiding off-the-cuff comments that can cause unnecessary distress and acrimony among the people, and express our views as clearly as possible and with charity always. 

 Let’s always remember that our freedom of speech and expression can never do away with the requirements of charity. Even in the bitterest of our conflicts, we should always be charitable, ready to understand the others, to ask for pardon if we commit some mistake and to forgive when others commit them, etc. 

 For this to take place, we should first of all live out our Christian faith that would lead us to show gospel values like love, compassion and forgiveness in our daily life. We should try our best to be a good neighbor to everyone, irrespective of how they are to us. In whatever we say or do, we should do so with charity, kindness and respect. 

 We should use the social media wisely, sharing inspiring content, stories of hope and messages of love. We should engage in respectful dialogue as we actively participate in online forum and discussions, offering thoughtful and charitable insights. 

 What can also be helpful is to organize community events, like conferences and workshops, that promote gospel values and Christian spirit. Faith-based initiatives that especially serve the needs of the marginalized, promote social justice, and foster community life should be encouraged and supported. 

 Definitely, to be effective in “bringing glad tidings to the poor,” we should all pray first for guidance, seeking God’s guidance and wisdom to be able to inspire others. Also, regularly assessing our initiative and efforts to see their effects and impact on others should be done. This way, we can hope to inspire public opinion and make a positive difference in our community. 

 What we should avoid is to fall into extreme biases and prejudices that would compromise a healthy dialogue. Matters of opinion can lend themselves to different views and positions, all of them valid and legitimate, with their share of strong and weak points. 

 No one should claim that he has the last word in any issue or question. In matters of opinion, no one can claim that he has all the good, true and beautiful in his views. One should always be open-minded to the views of the others, no matter how different and conflicting they are to his. There is always some truth to what they say. We can always learn something from them.

Deep and solid trust in God’s providence

THAT’S what we need in our life here on earth. Given our limited, not to mention wounded, condition, we should see to it that whatever happens in our life, we should have a deep and solid trust in God’s providence. We are always in his hands, and even in situations where we cannot find anymore solutions in this world, we should never doubt that God has assured us that everything would just be all right as long as stick with him. 

 This was once dramatized in that gospel episode where Christ’s disciples were buffeted by big waves while they were in a boat. Christ appeared to them, walking on the sea, reassured them that it was he and not a ghost, and miraculously the tumultuous water became calm. (cfr. Mk 6,45-52) 

 God will always provide for our needs and limitations. He will, in fact, do everything to snatch us from the worst evil that can happen to us through the most effective and wise redemptive work of Christ. 

 God always provides for our needs. He is a very compassionate God who cannot tolerate to see people suffer. That gospel story has a very happy, uplifting ending. 

 And yet, if I may, we can ask the question—that if God is that compassionate and generous, then why is there so much suffering, poverty and misery around? It would even look like God is completely indifferent to this sad condition worldwide. It would look like many people are left to rot in their miserable condition. 

 The answer, of course, is that, yes, God is always compassionate. He cannot tolerate seeing people suffer. He will always provide for all our needs. He even went to the extent of becoming man in Christ who had to offer his life to attain the greatest need of mankind—our salvation. With that supreme act of compassion and generosity freely done, what other need do we have that would not be taken care of by God? 

 The truth is that God has provided us with everything. From our life with all its natural endowments to the air and water, to the abundant food from plants and animals and other resources, he has given them all for us to use and to live with the dignity of being children of God. 

 The problem is that we do not know how to manage them, how to care and help one another. There is so much indifference and self-indulgence, the germs that would develop into a worldwide pandemic of social injustice and inequality. 

 And when we are faced with our limitations and a state of helplessness, we should just be ready for them and know not only how to deal with them but also how to derive something good from them. In these instances of the hard predicaments, for example, when we seem to be at a loss as to what to do, we should just see at what God does, after we have done all things possible to solve our problems. 

 We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death on the cross.

All the way to the limit

THAT gospel episode about the multiplication of the loaves and fishes where Christ shocked his disciples when he told them to feed the big crowd with the very few things they had on hand (cfr. Mk 6,34-44) clearly reminds us that we should just give whatever we have, all the way to the limit, in pursuing God’s will for us. That’s because, as often said, we should just do our best and God will do the rest. 

 We should not be afraid when we would already find ourselves at our wits’ end, knowing that we are always in God’s hands. He knows what to do when we would already feel we are at our breaking point or at the end of the rope. 

 Let’s keep this truth of our faith alive so we can continue moving on despite whatever difficulty or failure may come our way. We should never give up. We should put away all forms of doubts and hesitation. With a sporting spirit and good sense of humor which should be the effects of our living faith, we know that even the impossible becomes possible. Christ proved it, and the saints who followed him closely did the same. 

 The important thing is for us to always keep in touch with Christ who is always around, ever eager to help us. Let’s hope that we can sincerely echo St. Paul’s words: 

 “Nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8,38-39) 

 We should just give and give. That’s the real language of love that is supported by a deep faith and a working hope. No matter how melancholic or phlegmatic our temperament may be, there should be in our mind and heart something that burns and drives us to action all the time. 

 We just have to train ourselves how to give our all, which is a tall order. But what is clear about this matter is that it is actually a call to enter into the will and ways of God which are supernatural. We are being asked to go beyond, but not against, our natural self. This is a call for us to approximate our identification with Christ. 

 If that pursuit for identification with Christ is strong in us, for sure we will also feel assured that everything would just be ok since Christ himself said: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” (Mt 19,29) 

 We need to beg God’s grace to be able to meet this Christian standard. We just cannot rely on our human powers to abide by it. It actually is an invitation for us to take a leap to the supernatural world of God where God wants us to be, since we are his image and likeness, meant to share in his very life and nature. 

 We need to develop a keen sense of generosity and self-giving that is also a result of detachment. Let’s never forget that whatever we have comes from God who wants us to work for the common good. Thus, we hear St. Paul saying, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor 4,7)