Brothers in Christ 2nd
Anniversary
Keeping
the Pledge
“He
must increase, but I must decrease.”
[Jn 3:30]
Keeping the
pledge we made of living the way of love is largely contingent upon the grace
of God and how we, as Christians hold on to it. We are able to carry out the good acts that we
do only through his grace and never through our own capabilities.
This generation
where we live is preoccupied with achievement and self promotion, a generation
obsessed with doing something out of one’s own power, in order to be noticed
and recognized. The many popularity contests on TV, the hundreds of social
network sites where being ‘liked’ or ‘followed’ by the most numbers of fans becomes
a status symbol, or the attention grabbing posts, wall photos or profile
pictures are a testament to this
“instant celebrity” culture that pervades our generation . Young people are anxious to receive all the possible
attention and approval. We have made all
efforts to draw attention to ourselves and to what we can and have achieved. Regrettably
and ironically while we try in vain to focus our life to ourselves, we end up
with our lives derailed, obscuring the one who gives the real meaning to our
lives – Jesus Christ himself.
We find an
opportune time in this another milestone in the brotherhood to stop and reflect
on this reality. Are our efforts to live
the Gospel, however wanting, aimed at proclaiming Jesus or at just promoting
ourselves?
We have
chosen St. John the Baptist as our patron in celebrating our second year. John the Baptist reminds us of our baptism
where we receive our share in the missions of Christ, the very foundation of
our Code of Honor. As we commemorate the
day on which we etched this brotherhood in our hearts, allow me to lead you into
reflecting about St John the Baptist and on one of our Christian missions, our
being a prophet.
John the Baptist knew that his mission was to prepare the way for Jesus. He lived his life, not to promote himself, but to promote the Lord. This does not mean that John the Baptist was unimportant, he sure is. But there’s a big difference between being important and self-important. John the Baptist bears witness to that.
Reflecting
on Johns’ Gospel [John 3. 22-30] focuses
our attention to one of John’s role: John
prepares the way for Jesus, here the analogy of a wedding feast is used to
describe this role: John as the best man and Jesus as the bridegroom. During the time of John and Jesus, a best man
plays a very important role at a wedding. He was instrumental in arranging and
inviting people to the wedding. And once his jobs were done, he willingly and
graciously fades from the picture. He had a prominent place, but he was not
center stage. John the Baptist knew that
this was his role. John understood that
his ministry, his moment in the limelight, and his waning fame, were all a part
of God’s sovereign plan. John showed no tinge of jealousy, no hint of insecurity,
no suggestion of bitterness, for he knew clearly what his role was. Jesus must be pre-eminent. John must fade.
John is an important
witness for us and he challenges our society’s preoccupation with
self-promotion. He reminds us that Christians shouldn’t aspire to be a
celebrity, but should strive to be a servant. We should live lives that shout
not “Look at me!” but “Look to Jesus.” (Msgr. Charles Pope, June 23, 2012. blog.adw.org)
As brothers,
we could learn a great deal of humility from John for he was a sort of person
who knew how to think outside his self.
But thinking less about one’s self does not mean one is not important,
rather, it means being aware of the other people around us – of their status,
of their need, of their longings. If we
think less of ourselves, we are able to love others more. Thinking less of
ourselves allows us to empty ourselves of selfish ideals so that we may have
more room in our heart & mind for others. Thinking less about ourselves
helps us gain the courage to say, “He must increase and I must decrease”.
These help
us realize that power, achievement and fame are nothing if they are used only
for self-promotion just as how Pope Benedict summarized: “Human logic, however, often seeks self-realization in
power, dominion, in powerful means. Man still wants to build the tower of Babel on
his own to reach the heights of God, to be like God. The Incarnation and the
Cross remind us that full realisation is found in conforming our human will to
the Father, in the emptying of one's selfishness, to be filled with love, God’s
charity and thus truly be able to love others”. (Audience, June
27, 2012)
We do not
claim to be perfect people fulfilling the will of the Father. We are not
saints, at least yet. Rather, we are sinners who hope, through the
grace of God and with this brotherhood to become saints in God’s time by
discerning the His holy will and fulfilling it in our time. We mirror the
characteristic of the church just as the Holy Father aptly described in his
homily as being “not a community of the
perfect, but a community of sinners, obliged to recognize their need for God’s
love” (June 29, 2012 Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul,
Imposition of Pallium)
Brothers, we
do not keep the pledge to draw attention to ourselves but to proclaim
Christ. Our aim for keeping this pledge
is clear from the very beginning: Our brotherhood is not about achievements, it
is never about popularity; it is plainly about following the will of the Lord
and being truly able to love others. I
urge you then to remain faithful to the pledge we have made at the foot of the
cross by seeking to follow Jesus in the ordinary tasks of our daily lives. May Mary, our mother of Perpetual Help who
followed every footsteps of Jesus guide us, through this brotherhood to become better Christians.
Cathedral Shrine & Parish of
the Good Shepherd, August 24, 2012.
Kuya DEXTER C TIRO
Brothers in Christ
