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Homily for Chrism Mass,

Maundy Thursday, 6 April 2023,

Lk 4:15-21

May isang kanta si Basil Valdez na ang pamagat ay KRISTO. There is a part in that song that says, “Ikaw ang tunay na kaibigan, Ginto ang puso’t kalooban, Ngunit hindi lahat ay may alam Na KRISTO ang iyong pangalan.” (You are the true friend we long for, a friend with a heart of gold; however not all people know who you are, that your name is CHRIST.) It sounds nice but it makes me laugh. Especially that part that says “not all people know who you are—that your name is Christ.”

No, his name is not CHRIST but YESHUA; in English, his name is JESUS, not CHRIST. Nobody in his right mind would have dared to call himself by that name in Jesus’ time, because it was too dangerous. In fact, Christ is not a name but a title—it means “The Anointed One”, the Savior, the Deliverer, the Champion. But the good news is this, it is no longer just a title but a mission that we have been empowered to share when we received the grace of baptism and were anointed by the Holy Spirit to become part of the Body of Christ.

Maybe that is why we call baptism the moment of Christening; not Christianizing. And binyag ay hindi lang tungkol sa pagiging “Kristiyano” kundi tungkol sa pagiging KRISTO. It is about the grace of participation in the Life and Mission of the CHRIST as an anointed people. It is what this Chrism Mass is supposed to remind us about: THE ONES WHO RECEIVE THE CHRISM BECOME CHRIST.

I know that many of you have are familiar with the word Christify, which we often sing at Mass. It is probably a better word, if we extend its application not just to the bread being transformed into the body of Christ at the Eucharist but rather to us his community of disciples—being CHRISTIFIED ourselves, meaning, being transformed or configured to Christ, that as members or part of his body, we now bear the DNA of Christ.

This is the reason why I feel uneasy when I hear that part of the song that says, “Kristo, Kristo Kulang pa ba ang pag-ibig na dulot mo? Bakit ba ang mundo ngayo’y gulong-gulo, Ano’ng dapat gawin, Kami’y tulungan mo, O, Kristo?” It is as if Christ had not come; it’s like we’re back to square one, looking again for a savior, a champion, a superhero.

This Chrism Mass should be an answer to that song. We received the Chrism so that we could be Christified. We received the holy anointing ourselves so that we could get awakened by the grace of the Holy Spirit we received, to stop waiting for a Messiah like he never came among us. We are part of a messianic community; a people anointed precisely to participate in the life and mission of the Messiah, the Christ.

Today I suggest that we listen again to the song Kristo as a challenge being addressed to us by Jesus? Instead of us asking Jesus, can you imagine Jesus asking us who share in his anointing and have been Christened or Christified, “Kulang pa ba ang pag-ibig na dulot ko? Bakit ba ang mundo hanggang ngayo’y gulong-gulo? Anong dapat n’yong gawin? Ako’y samahan n’yo, Kristo, Kristo.”

ANOINTING is about being prepared for MISSION. We are not anointed just to be saved but to save; we are Christified, not to be served but to serve, not just to be blessed but to be a blessing, not just to be redeemed but to give our lives to redeem the world. In the Gospel that we heard from St. Luke, Jesus is borrowing words from the prophet Isaiah to define the mission which we are called to participate in through our holy anointing:

Sabi niya, “Sumasaakin ang Espiritu ng Panginoon, dahil hinirang niya ako. He has anointed us! Para saan?

-upang ipangaral sa mga dukha ang Magandang Balita.

Sinugo niya ako, para ano?

-upang ipahayag ng paglaya sa mga bihag, at upang mabuksan ang mga mata ng mga bulag,

-upang mabigyang ginhawa ang mga inaapi, at

-at maiparanas na dumating na nga ang panahon ng pagliligtas ng Panginoon.”

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit tayo nagsusumikap na maging isang simbahang sinodal—nakikilakbay kay Hesus, nakikibuklod sa kanya upang makiisa sa kanyang buhay at misyon bilang Kristo sa daigdig.

Ito rin ang madalas ipaalala ni Pope Francis sa atin lalo na kapag ang mga parokya natin ay nasa maintenance mode na lang. Hinamon niya tayong lumabas sa ating mabilis na kumitid na pananaw. Kaya nga tayo nagsumikap nitong mga nagdaang mga panahon na magtagpo-tagpo ng pananaw at gawain: parokya, mission station at BEC—para ituon ang simbahan sa lipunan, sa misyon natin sa daigdig bilang asin at ilaw, bilang lebadura ng paghahari ng Diyos.

Magandang pakinggan kapag nagbo-volunteer ang ating mga parokyano sa iba’t ibang mga ministries—worship and liturgy, education and lay formation, social service and development para “maglingkod sa simbahan.” Pero iyon na ba ang partisipasyon sa misyon? Hindi pa. Kaya natin pinaglilingkuran ang simbahan upang ang simbahan ay maglingkod sa lipunan, maging daan ng pagpapanibago sa daigdig.

Masyado tayong nasanay sa ministry bilang serbisyo sa simbahan. Pero ang tunay na mahalaga ay ang ating mga ministries bilang serbisyo sa lipunan. Ministry is not just about serving the Church but about serving the world, as part of a servant Church. Hindi naman kailangang lahat ay maging lector, katekista, altar servers, o choir members. Hindi ba maganda kung ang ipaglingkod ng marami sa atin sa gaigdig ay ang pagiging farmer, mason, karpintero, accountant, driver, nanay, katulong, basurero, abugado, duktor, pulitiko, negosyante, atbp., at gawin nang sama-sama ang mga gawain ng pagpapaunlad, pagsasaayos sa daigdig bilang partisipasyon sa buhay at misyon ni Kristo?

Hindi naman kailangan manatili lang sa nga ministries na alam natin. Ang iba, basta’t kailangan at udyok ng Espiritu Santo ay imbentuhin natin! Dare to create new ministries! Ministries for the proper use of digital technology for communication, not for disinformation? Ministries of accompaniment of people with mental health issues, ministries of human rights, of rehabilitating people with addiction, of promoting the proper management of our solid, liquid and gaseous wastes?

Hindi ba maganda ang mangarap ng isang lipunan na patas at makatarungan, lipunan kung saan hindi lang kaunti ang nakikinabang pero dehado ang karamihan? Hindi ba magandang mangarap ng lipunan kung saan walang nasasantabi, naiiwan, nakakalimutan o napapabayaan? Hindi ba magandang mangarap ng lipunang makatao, mapayapa, hindi marahas, maunlad pero hindi nakasisira na kalikasan at kapaligiran? Hindi ba magandang maging daan ng pag-uusap at pagkalasundo kahit magkakaiba ng kultura, relihiyon at salita?

Ito ang ibig sabihin ng Krismang tinatanggap natin upang makaisa ng Kristo, upang maging bahagi ni Kristo, upang maging daan ng pagsasaayos ng mundo nating gulong-gulo, upang magpahayag ng mabuting balita, upang mabuksan ang mata ng mga bulag, upang magpalaya ng mga bihag, upang iparanas sa kapwa na ang Diyos ay hindi malayo—narito siya, kumikilos, tumutubos, nagliligtas sa pamamagitan ng bawat isang tinawag niyang maging kanyang kaibigan at kapanalig.