Today, the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, is for Filipinos the “real” start of ordinary time. Last Sunday was still an extension of Christmas with the Feast of the Santo Niño.
It is quite fitting that our Gospel today is the opening of the Gospel of Luke, the beginning of Christ’s public ministry.
Today’s Gospel jumps to the fourth chapter, where Christ sets his ministry within the context of ancient prophesies. He is the anointed one who will be accompanied by the signs of the coming of the Kingdom. He ends with a solemn declaration: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Given these two important “introductions,” let me invite you to reflect on the importance of context in our life—our family, our upbringing, our friends and the communities we live and work in, our religion or faith, our experiences.
In the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm, the process begins with a consideration of the person’s context. Ignatius was insistent on entering the world or “the door” of the people we wish to accompany. Enter their door, he says, but take them out from your door.
Let me share a few stories on the importance of context.
In 2003, I got an invitation from Don Enrique Zobel for lunch. In the meeting, he asked me to assemble a team to come up with updated multimedia materials on our Filipino heroes, with the Filipino youth as the main target market. He committed to fund the project.
Dream project
He talked about an incident that prompted this “dream project.” One time, while in Calatagan, Batangas, where he spent much time, he had a chat with a 10-year-old boy.
He asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and without missing a beat, the young lad said he wanted to be a mayor because a mayor has so much money. This both saddened and inspired Don Enrique to take on this project.
I immediately said yes because it was a concern of mine, as an educator, for our youth to have role models to look up to and to know their background to help them write their own stories. Heroes inspire and create nobility in the minds, hearts and souls of people, especially the youth.
Since I was then doing my course work for my doctorate and was flying back to Manila every six weeks, I proposed we begin the project when I returned in mid-2004. He agreed, but unfortunately he passed away before I could return.
The second story was in 2000, when a group I was working with commissioned a youth survey which, at that time, was the broadest in scope on heroes or icons. Jesus Christ and José Rizal did not make it to the Top 5—which was dominated by sports and entertainment personalities.
What I have learned is that this was the “new normal.” Media plays a major role in hero/icon making.
Why do young people identify with such icons who are very much so-called “creations of media”? But like Don Enrique, we must be proactive and do our share to represent to the youth our “traditional” icons and heroes in contemporary ways.
We must enter the context of people, especially the youth, and speak our message in ways that will resonate with them and inspire them to embrace the values and principles we wish them to emulate.
The third story is about emulation. In one of Tobey Maguire’s “Spiderman” movies, there is a scene where Aunt May, not knowing her nephew Peter Parker is Spiderman, tells Peter that Spiderman should not give up his crusading. As she put it, everybody needs a hero to look up to.
It is a natural longing of the human heart and soul—to be better, to be more, to be heroic. They seek “greater expectations” that will challenge them.
This is why those who know how to use media can either inspire and build a better society, or mislead, lie and perpetuate a dysfunctional culture.
Make or break
This is the value of context. It can make or break a person and, eventually, a community. This is why Luke goes through the effort of setting the context of his story, his Gospel. It is authentic, has integrity and thus has authority.
The same is true for Christ; in fact his story is the ultimate truth. He is the promised Messiah of ancient prophesies. He emphasizes the signs of the Kingdom that will accompany the coming of the Messiah.
There are two key points in this context. One, he is anointed with God’s Spirit. Two, he is the fulfillment then, now and forever of God’s promise: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
This fulfillment cannot be undone. With this, we live in confident hope and in the Spirit that, despite seeming evidence to the contrary, the mercy, compassion and love of God is the final word.
This is the context we now live in and must be inspired by. It is the context of mercy, compassion and love of God.
This context has inspired heroic lives. As Chris Lowney stated in his book “Heroic Leadership,” what is common in the men who achieved tremendous feats in history is that they were nurtured in caring environments infused with great love rather than fear.
Furthermore, this context was rooted and grounded in one singular desire: to know more, to love more and to follow more the Christ.
This is the challenge for us now as Christians: to build caring communities that will inspire our members to know, love and follow Christ with excellence, with a great heart and a great soul.
The greatness of heart and soul ultimately lies in the service of others and of God. Such greatness is inspired by stories of men and women who were loved into excellence, and have returned “love for love” in following Christ in their life.
This is the door where we must all exit in our journey, to follow Christ ever more nearly. The context our life and our communities provide is crucial to the path we will choose, the path that will lead us to the right door, a life lived with a great soul, cum magna anima.
May this reflection inspire you to build caring communities in your spheres of influence—caring communities where your members, especially the younger ones, are loved into excellence.
