OUR IDENTIFICATION CARD

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 14: 21 – 27 / Ps 145 / Rv 21: 1 – 5 / Jn 13: 31 – 33. 34 – 35

What makes a Filipino, a Filipino? What distinguishes a Filipino from other nationalities?

A blogsite provided me with 115 ways to know if one is a Filipino. "You are a Filipino," the blogsite says, "if you point directions using your lips." Then it continues: "You are a Filipino if your reason for coming late is the traffic. You are a Filipino if you say 'Colgate' every time you buy a toothpaste." And I do not know if you agree with this, the blogsite suggests, "You are a Filipino if you suddenly smile for no reason at all." Indeed, one’s identity distinguishes him or her from the rest.

Our Gospel today took place on the night Jesus was betrayed. It happened a few hours before our Lord left his disciples in order to embrace his passion and death. And before they parted ways, he reminded them of their identity as His followers. 

“This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” No wonder for his disciples to remain faithful to their identity, Jesus made loving (or to love) as a commandment, something which they need to do in order to prevent an identity crisis.

And since this love is a command, then, such love must be something visible. It must be felt and experienced by others. Pope Francis in his latest book, The Name of God is Mercy, has this to say, “Mercy is God’s identity card. God of Mercy, merciful God. For me, this really is the Lord’s identity.”

My dear friends, love seen as being merciful is the Lord’s identity. Thus, as followers of the Lord, we too are called to remain faithful to our identity by making love concrete through our works of mercy. To be a Christian, it does not simply mean being able to pray all the novenas to the saints or being able to recite all the mysteries of the Rosary every day. To be a Christian means being able to love, to show mercy to others.

As we draw near towards the national elections, I hope and pray that our Christian identity is over and above our political identity. I know you must have chosen already your candidates. But I hope you will not allow your political ideology occupy your way of thinking and doing. It is sad to hear stories of friendships destroyed and families in trouble simply because one prefers to be yellow, or red, or blue, or black. Always remember, after May 9, some candidates will win while many will lose. I hope you will not lose your mind if ever your candidate will not make it because by then, you must have also lost your identity.

A priest from a northern parish of Cebu once shared to me a story of one of his parishioners. Despite being an active church volunteer, a wife was experiencing difficulty with her family life. She was a battered wife and her two sons were drug addicts. Even if her friends suggest that she leave her husband, she would simply say, “Ako man 'ni siyang gipakaslan, busa, ako sad 'ni siyang pakamatyan.” True enough, at the deathbed of her husband, she was there beside; she served him until his last breath.

My dear friends, such is an example of a person who has not lost sight of her identity. Despite the difficulty, she never let go of her identity to love and to be merciful even if others are not and will not.

Now, what makes a Filipino, a Filipino? But the more important question for us would be: “What makes a Christian, a Christian?”

“This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Our identity which is also our mission is to transform love into mercy, “for mercy is love that seeks to extinguish the pain of the beloved.”

So, if someone will ask you today, "What makes you a Christian?" What will be your honest answer? Amen!