Jesus and His Family
Jesus and His Family | Luke 8:19-21
PERSONAL REFLECTION
I do not know how to
deal with being in the receiving end of affection. That sounds so cold, and
perhaps it is. I suppose, that’s bound to happen when you grow in an
environment where emotions are a luxury; where you simply do not have the time
nor resources to feel things because you need to keep on hustling to keep up
with the things that life is throwing at you. Don’t be confused – I love my
family, and I know fully well that my family loves me back.
It’s just that we’re
not the type of people who dwell on emotions; much less, verbalize them. We
just live in trust that we love each other and we have each other’s backs no
matter what – and somehow, that had been enough to tide us over. But definitely
no expressions of affection whether on the giving or receiving end – no “I Love
You”s, no “I Miss You”s, no “I’m Sorry”s, and sometimes even, no “Happy
Birthday”s.
The aftermath of that
can be far reaching, and it had shaped the way that I relate with people: I
used to cry whenever someone greeted me “Happy Birthday.” I cringe at each
occasion of being affirmed, feeling overwhelmed by the attention. I panic when
somebody tells me they miss me, because that compels me to tell them I miss
them too, and saying so is too foreign even if I do miss them. I tend to reject
efforts to reach out to me to get reconciled because they remind me of the
fault inflicted on me and it hurts me even more. And then silly me, I look for
affection and intimacy in all the wrong places, when perhaps a hug from a
friend is all I need to feel better.
Brothers in today’s
selected reading, Jesus says: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the
word of God and act on it.” Effectively, Jesus is telling us what we need to do
if we want to become His brother. And who wouldn’t want that, right? Of course
we all want to partake in Jesus’ brotherly love. We all want to be showered
with the brotherly affection of this fantastic, divine being. But what strikes
me more is that in revealing the key to becoming His brother, he not only
reaches out to us, he also seems to want us to reach out to him; He seems to be
inviting us to also love Him back.
And so I pray I could
be like Him in that respect. I pray I could have the capacity to be like Jesus
on how He opens up himself to be loved back; on how he can articulate how He
wants to be loved. Because often I can be such a cold person – incapable of
properly receiving affection from others; and doubtful of the motivations of
those who are starting to crack through my façade. But in reality, I too am
just your typical emotional guy who tears up when greeted “Happy Birthday”, and
who needs a brotherly hug once in a while.
Amen.
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