WYD Special - WYD (D+2) Reflection

WHO DO YOU SAY I AM?

A recent internet poll on the WYD official website cited "meeting the Pope to be" the most popular reason amongst pilgrims going for the WYD. The truth be told, that seems to work for the majority, except me. : ( My main intention for this trip was to explore Sydney since I haven't been there. um...Pope, WYD was secondary.

Today, we arrive at Barangaroo to attend the opening prayer service with the Pope. As usual, our walk to the venue was filled with much energy, passion & joy! Pilgrims marching side by side, singing our hymns, raising our flags high. Prior to the opening mass, I still can't figure out why the fuss about meeting the Pope. But on reaching the site, I realised that our group actually got the prime space, near the stage! Wow...I find myself eagerly weaving into the crowd to get nearer to the stage. Strangely, I too, was hoping to get a good picture shot of the Pope & (maybe) even shake his hands! Yes, with all the on-site excitement from the crowds, the 60" projector screens highlighting the cruise of the Pope to our destination, I found myself succumbing to the atmosphere & sensation. Yes, crowds were screaming & slight jostling was experienced when we finally caught sight of the Pope on stage. I dare say that the reception for the Pope is definitely not beneath those accorded to top celebrities walking down the red carpet for their Oscar awards.

However, as the Pope was delivering his message to the audience, I could barely hear him. The sound system wasn't too clear and to make matters worse, the crowd was filled with chattering. Um...this seems like a fan club gathering! Isn't God's message more important than the vehicle who delivers it? This really kept me pondering if there's a need to purify our motive to attend the WYD. Shouldn't we be there to encounter God, rather than to meet the Pope? I wonder... Why are we hankering to get good shots of him and not to press our ears for a line/phrase that may touch/inspire our hearts? Is our Holy Father, the "vicar of Christ" that we proclaim or is he merely a celebrity that is framed in the pictures that we take?

But this reality reminds me of the familiar Gospel scene 2000yrs ago. Many crowds followed Jesus. They must have witnessed the numerous spectalcular healings, exorcisms which He carried out in His ministry. Even King Herod was a fan of Jesus. But when Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the ordinary Bread from heaven, many left. Many a times, Jesus must have experienced the popularity, the pressure from the crowd - to be made their King. But at the height of all this sensation, Jesus ask only 1 question : Who do you say I am? This is the same question I find myself asking during my last pilgrimage to Israel (@Caesarea Philipi) last year. Who is Jesus to me? It is a personal question that demands a personal answer.

Today's crowds do not differ from those 2000yrs ago if we lose sight of our focus on the message (instead of the vehicle), and the role that God wants to play in our lives. God did not come as someone sensational or who is a projection of our own imagination - a hero, a miracle healer, modern day Santa Claus (granting wishes), a scapegoat (someone to blame when things go wrong). He comes to us in the midst of life's montony, to journey with us. He encounters us in the person of our father/mother, friend, colleague, boss, subordinate, brother/sister, son/daughter, when we carry out our mudane responsibilities. And so, can I embrace the fact that He is not confined only to the high sensation that one gets in a powerfully charged retreat, or a healing miracle that we witnessed or the close friends that we have bonded in the WYD experience? But that Jesus is all things for me in the ordinary lives of the people I meet in my routine day-day living. A God, just like one of us. Someone ordinary, but who loves in such an extraordinary way.

There is nothing profane here below for those who have eyes to see. Everything is sacred. The entire creation, including every person, is a sacrament of God because within each and every thing, in some way, God is hidden.

~ Ilia Delio : The Humility of God (a Franciscan perspective)