Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Frater Anthony Yangon SVD – Divine Word Seminary of Tagaytay
Wednesday 1st Week of Advent
If you were to be welcomed by Jesus at the pearly gates of heaven, what would you have Him say to you? This was a question that I and my students had to ponder on one catechism class.
One student blurted out, “I would like Him to say, ‘Mike, how was your trip to heaven?’
“It’s really nice to be remembered by your name.”
Another chipped in, “Edwin, here’s a key to your heavenly mansion!”
“That’s the perfect welcome for me!”
But one that really brought the students laughing their hearts out was the answer volunteered by Ike, the class’ clown and self-proclaimed “merienda master”. He says, “The best welcome for me would always be, ‘Kumain ka na ba?’ ” (Have you eaten?)
Curiously, these kids may have within their innocent and humorous spontaneity the key to what our Gospel passage is offering us today. When Jesus comes to meet us, He meets us knowing each and every bit of our joys and sorrows, our triumphs and ailments, our shortcomings and our deepest needs. For every bit of hunger that we feel, for every ache of abandonment that we suffer, for every wound that has bruised our bodies, no matter how small it may seem… Jesus would know about it and would attend to all these. Nothing is so small, nothing is insignificant for Him.
Just read the Gospel for today, while the disciples were too busy attending to the “really BIG chores,” Jesus was sensitive enough to be able to say, “Kumain na ba sila?”
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