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Homily for Wed of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time, 11Jan 2023,, Mk 1:29-39
“FOR THIS PURPOSE HAVE I COME.” These words remind me of that best-selling book entitled “The Purpose-driven Life” written by Rick Warren. It became very popular during the first few years of the third millennium.
Mark tells us Jesus had been busy the whole day until evening. But the morning after, he rose up “very early before dawn and went off to a deserted place where he prayed.” He could do with very little sleep but he could not do without solitude and prayer.
Mark says the disciples were looking for him. And when they found him they could not hide their tone of excitement about his growing popularity: “Everyone is looking for you.” In short, “You’re in demand!” But his answer is, ‘Time to go. There are other people in other villages waiting for the good news. It was for this purpose that I have come.”
I therefore invite you today to reflect on this word: PURPOSE. Purpose seems to be also the main point of the first part of the Gospel about the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law. As soon as the fever had left her, Mark tells us she immediately got up and waited on them. She was also focused on her purpose.
This is what I often find myself asking people when they express to me their wishes and ask me to pray with them that their wishes be granted: to pass the board exam, to get a clean bill of health after a medical check-up, to be able to secure a visa to the US, etc. I am sure Jesus himself had many wishes in his heart, but he made sure that he submitted them to prayer in his moments of solitude before the break of dawn.
When I was still a little boy I learned a nursery rhyme. I learned it in Kapampangan but I heard later on from my Tagalog friends that it also had a Tagalog version. It is a poem that about a man making a wish to the moon and the moon answering repeatedly, “What do you want it for?”
It begins this way,
“Buwan, buwan, Hulugan mo ako ng sundang.” (Moon, oh moon, would you please give me a bolo?)
And the moon answers, “Aanhin mo ang sundang? (What will you do with a bolo?)”
Wisher: “Ipampuputol ko ng kawayan.” (I need to cut some bamboos.)
Moon: “Aanhin mo ang kawayan?” (What will you do with the bamboos?)
Wisher: “Ipanggagawa ko ng bahay,” (I will build myself a house.)
Moon: “Aanhin mo ang bahay?” (What will you do with the house?)
Wisher: “Lalagyan ko ng palay.” (I will stock my rice grains in it.)
Moon: “Aanhin mo ang palay?” (What will you do with the rice grains?)
Wisher: “Kakainin ko habang buhay.” (I will eat it for the rest of my life.)
It goes on an on but the question remains the same: “WHAT DO YOU WANT IT FOR?” Sometimes people confuse between wants and needs. It is this confusion that eventually fuels a compulsion towards consumerism. Like, you go to the mall because there is a sale. It says 50 percent off. You engage in a buying spree using only a credit card. You come home with a whole load of goods and ask,”What did I buy this for?” Worse, you ask yourself, “How will I pay for all this?”
Gone are the days when people went to market with an exact list of things to buy and an exact amount to pay for them. It could be a mother who has saved for the school supplies needed for her daughter schooling. Sometimes it pays to be poor and have limited resources. The poverty makes you focus on your purpose.
It is then that you realize what Jesus may have meant when he said, “How blessed are you who are poor, for the reign of God is yours.” Look, Jesus did not have much, but he has managed to give the world so much.
