Emptied Himself to Fill Us Up

“Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness.”

Philippians 2:6-7

First published April 2, 2023 as Emptied to the End.

Every Palm Sunday we read the Passion Narrative, journeying with the Lord from the Last Supper in the Upper Room to the hill of Calvary where Jesus breathed His last. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week that leads up to the Paschal Triduum — Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday (Easter Vigil), the three holiest days of the liturgical year. Today we are invited to walk with the Lord on this journey, a journey that begins with singing and praising and that ends with the Resurrection but not without first the pain and suffering of death. Will you walk with the Lord?

On Palm Sunday we commemorate the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem triumphantly, being treated as king, with the people waving palm branches and paving the road with their garments. Although the people were singing and smiling, Jesus knew deep down that this was the beginning of what would be the most painful and excruciating trip into the Holy City, a journey He had made plenty of times in His lifetime, but this time would be different.

Jesus loved us to the very end. For three years He taught and preached and performed numerous miracles while walking on this earth. Many believed but others wanted Him gone. Jesus’s love was the visible expression of the eternal love with which God has loved us. From the healings and miracles to the final sacrifice on the Cross, those were all expressions and manifestations of God’s unconditional love for us.

From the moment God became man to the moment Jesus breathed His last on the Cross, Jesus’s entire life was one of “kenosis” or self-emptying. God chose to empty Himself and condescended to earth leaving the glory of Heaven, being born in the most humble of states. God loves us so much that He was willing to assume our lowly human nature, experiencing all that we do as humans (but sin) so that He might truly understand us but at the same time so that we might dare taste the glory of His divinity. When God assumed our humanity, humanity was forever changed. But this was not enough.

Jesus willingly suffered threats, humiliation, scourging, ridicule, and crucifixion. On the Cross, Jesus was emptied of every last drop of blood and He breathed His last. In breathing His last and giving over His Spirit, Jesus breathed life into the Church. In dying, Jesus gave us life. In emptying Himself to the very end, Jesus fills us with new life.

Watch this week’s reflection below.

Go and Sin No More

“Then Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you.
Go, and from now on do not sin any more.’”

John 8:11

First published April 8, 2019 by Philip Cheung.

In the Gospel we are presented with the incident where a woman was caught in the very act of adultery, and the Pharisees have seized the woman and is about to carry out the consequence that such an act warranted: stoning. In an attempt to test Jesus, they asked Him what they should should do for the Law of Moses said to stone her. Jesus' initial response was silence.

I love this silence. Oftentimes it is the silence that speaks the loudest. Think about it. What could the Pharisees have been thinking: "why isn't He saying anything...?" Then Jesus bends down and begins to write something with his finger on the ground. Scripture doesn't tell us what He writes. The people couldn't deal with the silence so they asked the question again and Jesus said, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." What a statement. The people began to gradually disappear one after another. Soon, it was just Jesus and the woman. Jesus asked the woman where the people were and if anyone threw a stone at her in condemnation of her. She said "No one, sir." Then Jesus said these words of love and invitation to her: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."

In loving her, Jesus does not condemn her but affirms her belovedness. In challenging her, Jesus invites the woman to a new way of life. Every encounter with God is similar: we are always reminded of and affirmed in our belovedness - the Father says to us: "You are my beloved son/daughter" - and we are also challenged to be better, to live radically, to embrace the Truth, and to share this with others. When we feel shameful and guilty and embarrassed by our sinfulness and mistakes, God does not look at us in condemnation. Rather, he lowers Himself to us, meeting us where we are, telling us that He loves us, and then raises us up with Him. Today, God is saying the very same thing to you: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore."

Let us ask the Father for the grace of trust in God's love for us and the courage to live an authentic life of freedom.

We Have a Father

“While he was still a long way off,
his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.”

Luke 15:20

First published as “Foolish in the Eyes of the World” on March 11, 2023.

As you may have guessed by the famous painting of Rembrandt that is sprinkled throughout the website, the Parable of the Prodigal Son holds a very special place in my heart. Today’s Gospel reading is this parable. We have the privilege of hearing this parable at Sunday Mass every three years on the Fourth Sunday of Lent. This parable is really a masterful love story about a father whose mercy is so boundless that it appears foolish to the world, but that does not stop the father from loving and forgiving.

The parable begins, “A man had two sons…” where the younger decides that he’s had enough of home and dares ask his father for his share of the inheritance, virtually saying his father is dead to him. The father seemingly foolishly divides his estate up and gives it to him. Without a word of gratitude, the younger son sets off on his “new life” of debauchery and drunkenness, wasting every last penny of his share of the inheritance. When push came to shove, he’d rather hire himself out to foreigners to do work that no Jew would or could lawfully do instead of returning home. Isn’t this the story of many of us? Even when we have made decisions that we knew were bad and as the consequences were slowly manifesting, we remain stubborn and obstinate, refusing to ask for help or to admit to our wrongdoing. Instead we convince ourselves, “I’ve got this,” not from a spirit of trust in God’s Providence, but rather a spirit of excessive pride. Thankfully (and hopefully) the scales from our eyes and the locked door to our hearts eventually fall and unlock, and we come to accept that we have not always been right and we “turn around” and reach out to those whom we know will always answer us when we call. No surprise, the younger son in the parable also eventually came to his senses when he was literally fighting pigs for food. When he makes it home, his father embraces him and kisses him. His father sees only his son and not the hurtful things he may have said or done. All that matters is that his son is home. The same goes for God, our Father in heaven.

At this time I will not explore too much of the parable, but if you are interested, you can read, listen to, or watch the different reflections and conferences I offered on this beautiful encounter.

Let us always remember that we have a Father in heaven who is like the father in this parable who loves us so deeply that He seems like a fool to those without faith. He patiently waits for us to come home and when we do, He does not scold us or scream at us, rather, He embraces us and reminds us of our truest identity: His beloved sons and daughters, and nothing — no sin, no evil can ever take that away from us. How blessed are we!

Watch this week’s reflection below.