Recognizing God

 Shades of Grey

Fr. Ferapont's musings on life

In my father's house, there are many rooms.

It will go ill with you, Chorazin! And just as ill with you Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in your midst had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have reformed in sackcloth and ashes. It will go easier on the day of judgement for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Are you to be exalted to the skies? You shall be hurled down to the death! He who rejects you, rejects me. And he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me.(Luke 10:13-16)

I remember riding a tricycle into school on my third day in college. I shared a ride with a gentle unassuming gray-haired adult who asked me, “Nag-aaral ka ba dito?” I remember telling the person proudly (in fact, rather swaggeringly) that yes I was a freshman and I chose to study at Ateneo because I heard it was a very good school. The nice man got off at the administration building while I asked the tricycle driver to bring me to the covered courts for the last day of my orientation seminar. The Orientation Committee had my block seated way in front right next to the stage so imagine my surprise when the emcee called up the Dean and it turned out to be the man I shared a tricycle with!

I never imagined that the Dean of a school I admired as much as I did the Ateneo would be riding into school on a tricycle, wearing a (black/grey?) t-shirt (though he was in a barong or a polo by the time he got to the stage) and talking casually to students like me.

There are several instances like these when we fail to recognize someone in authority or someone we admire. I heard that an acquaintance of mine who idolized George Benson braved the typhoon that whipped through Manila to travel from Marikina to the Folk Arts Theater in really bad weather just to watch George Benson’s concert. He arrived really early so he and his friend decided to drop by the Philippine Plaza hotel for a drink. The bar was empty most of the time until two casually dressed African-Americans dropped by for a drink. My friend didn’t pay too much attention to the two African-Americans but noticed that after these African-Americans were gone, the bartenders and waiters started whispering among themselves. Imagine then my friend’s surprise during the concert to find that one of the African-Americans was George Benson himself! He had passed up the perfect opportunity to meet or at least see up close his musical idol.

There are two senses in which we use the word “recognize”. First, we recognize people for their achievements or for their positions. I recognize the authority of the Dean and my friend recognizes the talent of George Benson. We “recognize” honor students and people who have rendered distinguished service to the community through various convocations.

Second, we simply “recognize” people, in Filipino, “nakikilala natin sila”. I didn’t “recognize” the Dean and my friend didn’t “recognize” George Benson. Last weekend as we were walking through Shangri-la I “recognized” Ogie Alcasid and his wife on the escalator opposite us.

I think it’s the same for our religious life. By and large, I think we Christians and Jesus’ countrymen recognized God in the sense that we acknowledge it when God says, “I am your God and you are my people”. We “recognize” God in that we worship God through prayer and through the sacraments.

The problem is that we do not always “recognize” God in the second sense. Hindi natin siya nakikilala kapag kaharap na natin siya. Jesus’ compatriots didn’t recognize Jesus as God-with-them. There are several stories in the Bible of God’s Chosen People rejecting Christ or the messengers of Christ. The people of his hometown, Nazareth, expelled him after Jesus’ provocative speech at the synagogue (Luke 4:28-30). A few verses before today’s Gospel reading, Luke describes the rejection of James and John from a Samaritan town. In Acts 13:51, Paul and Barnabas were evicted from Antioch by their fellow Jews. Of course, the ultimate rejection of Jesus by the elders and scribes was his crucifixion.

I guess part of the problem was that they didn’t think that God would become incarnate much less as a carpenter’s son. So while Jesus’ compatriots worshipped God, they failed to recognize that God was already in their midst.

Jesus indicted the Jewish towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum because they failed to recognize him inspite of his teachings and inspite of the miracles he performed in these areas. If he had done what he had done in these towns to the Gentile towns of Tyre and Sidon, Tyre and Sidon would have instantly recognized, at the very least, that some form of divine intervention was at hand. The irony of it all was that Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum worshipped God but failed to recognize Him when he was in their midst.

A couple of verses ahead of today’s Gospel readings Jesus tells his apostles that they were lucky to have seen and befriended Him. I guess we are the others Jesus refers to when he speaks of those who would have given much to actually live during the time he lived. The challenge is different for us today as we try to recognize God or at the very least, the Good, in the situations we face.

I’ve met so many people, for example, who try to look for companionship but often fail to realize that the person who would probably be best for them is already their good friend. They seek the man or woman “of their dreams” and end up taking for granted those people who are already always there.

I’ve also seen a lot of Ateneans involved in apostolate work who have great angsts about being able to do something “grand” for their areas. They sometimes fail to appreciate the children tugging at their shirts or fail to talk to the manangs of the areas who once triggered, are usually willing to talk incessantly.

I guess there must be a million other situations where we fail to recognize God already in our midst. In the end, we can only pray, “Paumanhin Panginoon, hindi kita nakilala” and ask with the song that we see Him more clearly in our lives day by day.