Rejoice and be glad!

Gospel Reflection

Jesus said to Nicodemus:

“Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,

so must the Son of Man be lifted up,

so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might not perish

but might have eternal life.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but that the world might be saved through him.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,

but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,

because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

And this is the verdict,

that the light came into the world,

but people preferred darkness to light,

because their works were evil.

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light

and does not come toward the light,

so that his works might not be exposed.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,

so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

- John 3:14-21

Magalak tayo’t magdiwang. 

Let us rejoice and celebrate!

Mga kapatid, ang linggong ito ay tinatawag nating Laetare Sunday, laetare isang salitang Latin na ang ibig sabihin ay magalak. At totoo nga, marami tayong rason na magsaya at magalak kahit pa man na tayo ay may pangamba sa gitna ng walang kasiguraduhan sa pandemya. Tayo ay magalak kasi may kasiguraduhan tayo kay Kristo. 

Brothers and sisters, today is called Laetare Sunday, from a Latin word that means "to rejoice." And it is so true because we have plenty of reasons to rejoice despite the fear brought about by the uncertainty of the pandemic. Let us rejoice because there is certainty in Christ.

Sa ating unang pagbasa na mula sa ikalawang aklat ng mga Cronica, pinapakita sa atin na dahil sa kasamaan ng mga Judeo, dahil sa kanilang patuloy na pagsuway, pagtalikod, at paglayo mula sa kanilang pakikipagtipan sa Diyos, sila ay nakaranas ng matinding kahirapan. 70 years na sila ay sinakop at hindi na makapagsimba sa Panginoong Diyos, hanggang sa makita nila ang kanilang kasalanan at magsisi, at pinadala ng panginoon si haring Cyrus, hari ng Persus, upang ibalik sila muli sa kanilang bayan at makapagsamba sa Diyos. 

In our first reading from 2 Chronicles, we were told that because of the evil of the Chosen People, because of their constant disobedience, of turning their backs on God, and their departure from their covenant with the Father, they are now experiencing extreme difficulty. 70 years of living in captivity, unable to pray and worship God, until they realized their sins and repented. And so God sent King Cyrus, the king of Persia, so that they could return to Jerusalem to worship God. 

At sa ating pangalawang pagbasa naman, ipinahayag ni San Pablo ang isang napakalaking sekreto, ang napakalaking plano ng Diyos para sa sankatauhan, ng magkaisa tayong lahat sa pamamagitan ng ating Panginoong Hesu Kristo. At ito ay dahil sa matinding awa at habag ng Diyos para sa atin, ito ay sa kadahilanang mahal na mahal tayo ng Diyos. At ito na nga dahil mahal na mahal na mahal tayo ng ating ama, ipinadala niya ang kanyang kaisa-isang anak para tubusin tayo mula sa ating mga kasalanan at upang maranasan natin ang kaginhawahan na dulot ng kagandahang loob ng Diyos. 

And in our second reading from the letter of Paul to the Christians of Ephesus, St. Paul revealed an extremely important secret, God's wonderful plan for all of humankind, that we be united through our Lord Jesus Christ. And this is because of God's great mercy and compassion for us, and this is because He extremely loves us. And surely this is because our Father loves us so much that He sent His only son to save us from our sins and for us to experience the salvation brought about by the goodness of God.

No, no, no… hindi tayo maliligtas dahil sa ating mga gawa. Kahit anong bait pa tayo, 'pag wala ang diyos sa ating mga puso, ang kabaitang yan ay hindi totoo. Nagiging mabait ka lang dahil may gusto kang makuha. At hindi din tayo maliligtas dahil lang na tayo ay nananampalataya kuno sa diyos pero hindi naman nakikita sa ating gawa. Wala tayong awa at malasakit para sa ating kapwa. Hindi yan totoong pananampalataya, naninigurado ka lang, pero sabi ko sa inyo hindi ka pa rin maliligtas… 

Nah, we won't be saved through our own effort. No matter how good and kind we might be, if God is not in our hearts, this goodness is not genuine. We are good because at the back of our minds there is something that we could get from it. And we surely would not be saved simply because of our faith in God, if this does not translate into action. When we have no mercy and compassion for others, that is not true faith, we are just trying to make sure that we would be saved in the last days.

Ang ating kaligtasan ay isang grasya ng Diyos na nagmula sa kanyang pagnanais na tayo ay maligtas dahil tayo ay mahal na mahal na mahal niya at dahil dito, lagi tayong pinaalalahanan ng kanyang krus, kung gaano niya tayo kamahal hoping na sa tuwing tayo ay titingin dito tayo ay ma-inspire na magmahal sa ating kapwa gaya ng pagmamahal nya sa atin. 

Our salvation is a grace from God, coming from his desire to save us because he loves us so much and because of this, as well, we are always reminded of the Cross. That is how much he loves us, hoping that every time we look up on the cross, we would be inspired to love our fellowmen, just as He loved us.

Harinawa ito'y maging panalangin natin. Amen.

May this be our prayer. Amen.

Photos: Jackson David and Neal E. Johnson of Unsplash