So let us love one another, since He loved us first. – 1 John 4:19

Bilog (circle). That was how my circle of friends in college was called since we occupied the circular cluster of pebble wash seats at the university. We were an odd mix coming from different schools with diverse personalities, values and temperaments. The only thing common among us was our Engineering course.

       After college, we each pursued different careers and achieved different levels of success. Some emigrated while the rest remained here. Some remained single, some became single again, one is now openly gay, while others got married to different nationals. We each have stories worthy of MMK (Maalaala Mo Kaya), the long-running TV show.

       It’s been 27 years since graduation. Our differences have become even more magnified by our divisive positions over the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. Yet, we are still together. “The best part about Bilog is that we can be whoever we choose to be and still be accepted by the group,” one of us rightfully observed.  There is respect and acceptance. That is love.

       If only there are more Bilogs in the country where every individual — no matter how different they are from each other — can coexist, then we can have peace. Marie Franco (mariefranco_pie@yahoo.com)

Reflection: We were all born in the image and likeness of our Creator. We are not better than the other.

Teach me, O God, to accept my neighbor despite our differences so that I can be Your instrument of peace.

St. Adrian of Canterbury, pray for us.

St. John makes it crystal clear that hatred for another person is never a part of the Christian way of life. Hatred is totally antithetical to it. Thus, we must strive to overcome even our dislike for others, lest it grow into hatred. Let us be aware that, no matter how much we may disapprove of another person’s deed, this never gives us a right to hate the person. Yes, hate the sin, but love the sinner. This is the way of God and so it should be our way as well.

1 O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king’s son; 2 he shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. (R) 14 From fraud and violence he shall redeem them, and precious shall their blood be in his sight. 15 May they be prayed for continually; day by day shall they bless him. (R) 17 May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness. (R)

Jesus knows who He is and He is aware of the mission ahead of Him. How well do we know ourselves? How aware are we of God’s call upon our lives? It is always important to open our hearts to God’s love and Word so that He can reveal these two aspects of a disciple’s life to us. We should never seek to live the Christian life alone as we are doomed to fail if we try it this way. Let us not make grandiose plans in how we will serve God; likewise, let us not limit what we expect of Him in our lives.

The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor and to proclaim liberty to captives.

14Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. 15 He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. 16 He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read 17 and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” 20 Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. 21 He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.

think:  We should never seek to live the Christian life alone as we are doomed to fail if we try it this way.

Who is He? After listening to evangelists Matthew and Mark — what they have to say about who the Incarnate Son of God is and why He became man — the Church presents us today with a reading from the Lucan Gospel. Jesus is back in Nazareth, where He grew up. He attends the Sabbath service in the synagogue and is asked to read one of the readings. Was it accidental or intentional that, of all the 66 long chapters of Isaiah, He read these verses? The very first sentence of the quotation tells us that it was not accidental: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit appeared upon Him during baptism. He was so Spirit-filled that nothing was accidental in His life.

       And so He reads the program of His ministry. In His life and ministry He fulfills what the prophet wrote centuries ago. Thus, Luke answers our question about Jesus’ identity clearly: He is the fulfillment of the prophecies of old. The prophets actually spoke about their time and their imminent future; they did not think of Jesus Christ yet. But they were inspired by God’s Spirit so that the oracles they uttered for their time turned out to have a much more profound meaning and would be fully fulfilled only in Christ.

       The program for Jesus’ ministry is clearly outlined in Isaiah’s words. Here we have the answer to our second question: Why did the Son of God become man? Jesus came to proclaim the Good News, to free us from the captivity of sin, to open the eyes of the blind. Whatever Jesus did after this proclamation, He saw to it that people would be reminded of Isaiah’s prophecy and recognize in Him the One humankind was waiting for.

       But what about after He ascended into heaven? The answer is simple: Where He left off, we are called to continue. His program becomes our program. We have received the Holy Spirit in baptism and confirmation. We can say that the Spirit is also upon us. This enables us to continue the great work of Jesus. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you aware that you are called to make Christ’s program your program in life? How can you do this effectively?

Lord, You have given us a great task, the task to continue Your work on Earth. With the Holy Spirit in us, we can do this.