St. Thomas More was not only a famous scholar and writer; he was also a public servant, a judge, a diplomat, a member of the King of England’s private Council and king’s favorite. Above all, he was a person whose fidelity to God and commitment to justice and truth could not be compromised even under threat of death.
In 1527, King Henry VIII who was legally married to Catherine of Aragon decided to marry Ann Bolyn. In March 1534, he coerced the parliament to pass a bill stating that what he did was right and all those who were asked to do so must publicly declare that it was right. Thomas, a godly man and a prominent public figure was told to make the declaration. He insisted and publicly disobeyed the King’s manipulation. He was executed.
Jesus uses strong words in today’s gospel: “I have come to set the earth on fire…Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, but rather division.”
“Fire!” Fire can do many different kinds of things. Fire can make something strong; that is why we put pots on fire. Fire can make something soft; that is why we put a piece of iron into the fire, it turns red and then you can bend it. Heat piece of wood and you can bend it too. Fire gives us light… as in candle, kerosene lamp or electric bulb.
Fire takes away pain. If you have sprained ankle or swollen hand, put it close to the fire. Heat helps the pain to go away. But do not play on fire it can destroy you and your property.
The message of Jesus is like a fire because it changes, it purifies and refines us. This message of Jesus makes us loyal to Him.
You know what, when I watched that incident last May 1, 2001 when the pro-former Pres. Estrada loyalists marched from EDSA Shrine and stormed the Malacanang Palace, I was reflecting on it and told myself: “It’s good for former Pres. Estrada he had loyalist who are ready to defend, protect and die for him, but nobody is ready to die for Jesus. If there is, it can be counted by our fingers. We can remember Him when we are sad and have problems but when we are happy, we seldom remember Him.”
Christianity is loyalty. It is not a theory or an ideology, but it is a faith in the person of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God. It is the imitation of His life, teachings and sacrifice on the cross. Our faith is not like a dress that if we don’t like it anymore we give it to somebody or through it away. Faith is a way of life; it is our own identification card that we constantly profess in our lives.
Are we loyal to Jesus Christ? We are living in the age of secularism and materialism. It is characterized by an attitude of having things easily and immediately. The market is flooded with instant commodities: instant coffee, instant soup, everything is instant even instant baby you can have it without the blessing of the sacrament of Matrimony.
The danger of instant things is to think also of instant salvation. We can be thrown into the devil’s trap of bringing ourselves away from the difficult commitment of faith and the sacrifices it entails.
Are we loyal to Christ? You know I experienced that when people saw me, it seemed they were afraid of me. “Keep quiet, Father will get angry,” they said. Priest is Alter Christus or another Christ or he takes the place of Christ especially when he celebrates the sacraments. That is why even if the priest has immoral life, sacraments still have valid effects and give us the graces we need. We are afraid of priests may be because as someone had said: “We are reminded of our loyalty to Jesus and of our sins.”
Are we loyal to Jesus? Just like Jesus who denounced all the evils in the society during His time, we too must denounce. But what happen? When someone especially, especially church leaders, speaks of injustice, graft and corruption in the government and even in the church, poverty, unequal distribution of wealth and many others, we say that priests should not mix politics with religion, that there should be a separation of Church and State, that the church’s only concern is the spiritual aspect. If this is what we want, that only the spiritual aspect, then, when we enter the church and attend mass or pray, please leave your body at the entrance of the church and only your soul should enter and attend the Mass. I know it could not be. We do not ignore all these things. But Jesus denounced all these things in His lifetime, are we following Him and doing the same as He did?
Let us bear this in our minds that the socio-economic, cultural and political spheres have moral dimensions. When such moral dimensions are at stake, it is the duty of the Church, as guardian of the faith and morals, to speak out with prophetic courage.
“I did not bring peace on earth… but rather division.”