Reach out

The story is told about three men who arrived at the gate of heaven almost simultaneously. St. Peter asked them how they died, and the first one said: “When I entered my room, I saw that my belongings had been ransacked, and in a fit of anger I threw the heavy cabinet out of the window, and I had a heart attack.” The second one said: “I was just walking when a cabinet came falling down from above.” And the third one said: “I heard footsteps, and I went inside a cabinet to hide.”

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In today’s Gospel (Mt. 15, 21-28), Jesus tells the Canaanite woman that it is not right to throw the food of the children to the dogs, and she responded that even the dogs eat the scraps that fall down from the table of their masters. Upon hearing her response, Jesus could not hide His admiration for her great faith, and He is moved to give in to her sincere and humble request. Yes, God will not spurn a humble and contrite heart.

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“But Jesus did not say a word to her.” Take note how Jesus did not respond to the woman’s continuous plea right away. In fact, the disciples wanted her to be sent away, and even Jesus refused her, saying that He was exclusively sent to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. But she persisted. She did not give up. May we learn to pray, pray unceasingly, and just pray on even when the Lord seems to be silent, even when the crowd and so-called friends deride and discourage us.

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Sharing with you this inspiring text message: “Just keep praying, keep pleading, and someday your wish will come true. It may not be the exact package you wanted, but it will be according to what God thinks is best for you, all according to His time. Keep believing that God has a plan, and He is in command.”

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“Lord, help me!” Have you ever said this prayer almost in desperation? If so, then you know what real prayer is all about. When we reach out to God in humility, in trust, and acknowledge our helplessness and total dependence on Him, then we have come to the very core of prayer. It is the final prayer before we sign off from this world. Better practice and memorize it well now.

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More than the “chickensad” phenomenon this past week, what made us sad was the death of the highly admired comedian actor Robin Williams. Here was a man who was giving so much joy and hope on the outside, but unknown to us, had so much sadness, or despair perhaps, in the inside. Who are we to judge? Who are we to know? But his lesson is that we should not presume that all is well with people for whom we care. Let us reach out, listen, take time, even if we give only some scrap of our time.

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Speaking of scraps, don’t you get angry and disgusted when you hear how much money our government leaders and officials are handling and stealing, and how little our people are getting? It is time for our people to stop being dependent or beholden to our so-called public servants, and be empowered to claim what is rightly theirs. Enough of patronage politics. It is time we made servants out of our public officials.

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Pope Francis riding in a small Soul Kia during his pastoral visit to South Korea was a very inspiring, if not humbling, sight. He is showing us the way, and leading us to the real straight road (daang matuwid!) by his very words and example. When he comes here in January, who knows, he might choose to take the jeepney, or the tricycle, or even the MRT.

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The Pope was right on track when he called on the Asian youth to not be too focused on material things, but, rather, to make room for spiritual and cultural values in their lives. He also pointed out the “inner sadness and emptiness” that afflict many of our young people growing up in affluent and materialistic societies. I spent four years as a missionary in South Korea, and saw the rapid progress of this country, along with the negative side effects. Thank you, Holy Father. “Kamsa hamnida” for your important reminder!

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I wonder what the Pope will tell us as a nation when he comes to visit us in January? I wonder what he will tell us as a Church during our day and time? Let us listen to the voice of God, our true Boss, speaking to us through His vicar on earth. Yes, let us give faith a chance.

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Dialogue is a big word today. All of us must be open to dialogue with people who are not of our color, status, faith, or political affiliation. There are no shortcuts. We must continue to reach out, talk, listen, and not give up on each other.

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Think about this: The Lord reached out and dialogued with the Canaanite woman in today’s Gospel. The Pope is in Korea reaching out to its people. How about you? Are you reaching out to your family member, your neighbor, your coworker? Dialogue is not there and then, but here and now.

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, remind me that along with my desire to reach my goals, I must not forget to reach out to You and to Your people. Amen.