FAVORITE PLACES

Second Sunday of Lent

Gn 15: 5-12. 17-18 / Ps 27 / Phil 3: 17-4:1 / Lk 9: 28-36

We all have our own choice of favorite places. We go to these places more often because we encounter either something or someone that gives us joy. That is why for some, a buffet restaurant is a place to go because they encounter food which gives them joy. For others, a sari – sari store which is “debt – friendly” (okay lang ang utang) is a favorite place because they encounter a stress free and no worry store. Well, I wonder why the Mactan Bridge or the roof decks of buildings are the favorite places of the brokenhearted. We favor these places because they give us favorable experiences and meaningful encounters.

In our Gospel today, Jesus went up to his favorite place which is the mountain. He usually goes up to the mountain in order to pray and during moments of decision making. In the earlier chapter of Luke, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray before choosing his twelve collaborators, his disciples. Today, Jesus went up to the mountain to pray because he will now open another chapter in his ministry. From Galilee, he will now move to Jerusalem to fulfill the plan of God. And it was on the mountain, while he was at prayer, that his plan of moving to Jerusalem was confirmed and strengthened in his dialogue with the two great men of the Old Testament, Moses the Lawgiver and Elijah the Prophet. It was on the mountain that he gained strength in pursuing with his Jerusalem ministry. It was on the mountain that he encountered divinity.

My dear friends, as Christians we too have our own favorite place. And what is our favorite place? It is the Church. Yes, the Church! And I am not only referring to the building but the Church as the People of God. We who are gathered here together in the Eucharist. And why the Church? Benedict XVI reminds us in Deus Caritas Est that our religion is not a lofty idea or a result of an ethical choice but an encounter with an event, a person who gives life meaning and a new direction. The Church is our favorite place because it is in the Church where we can truly encounter the Lord who gives meaning and direction to our lives.

This is therefore our challenge that we who are part of this favorite place called the Church must become Christians who allow others to encounter Christ through our life witness. Our Church today must be a reality that consoles and inspires others so that they too will make the Church as their favorite place. And this we can do by living out in daily life our encounter with the Lord. If in the Church, you encountered a God who is generous, then, be generous. If in the Church, you encountered a God who is forgiving, then, be forgiving. Only when you make concrete your encounter with God will others consider to make the Church their favorite place.

Who can forget the sharing of Ms. Sarindhorn from Thailand during the recently concluded 51st IEC. At 20 years old, she earned a degree in Businees Administration from the US. At 25, she co-founded a finance company in Thaiand. At 30, she was the biggest stockholder of the company. According to her, she was “on top of the world!”  Then lightning struck her life. Since the stock exchange crashed in Thailand, she has to sacrifice herself in exchange of the savings of the depositors who were mostly Catholic schools. Exhausted from work, she resigned. When the new bank director took over, she was grilled. She was falsely accused of stealing almost 7.8 million dollars. With all the problems in life, she reached the point of ending her life. She was empty handed! Then on December 25, 1989. She had her faith experience with God. She realized that God was touching her life. And so such experience with God led her to forgive her enemies. 

Ms. Sarindhorn’s favorite place was her occupation. However, such occupation gave her the worst experience in life. She almost lost her mind. But it was also through her worst experience that she encountered the Lord. How about us? How about you? What is your favorite place in life? Has such place given you the experience of encountering the Lord? If not, please leave such place right now. Amen.

Photo taken from stjoenbtc.org