'Hello...Tilala!'

THE STORY is told about an interviewer who asked: "What would you do if one morning you woke up and found beside you $1 million?" The American responded that he would go on a world tour. The Japanese said he would put up a luxury hotel. The Chinese said he'd put it all in stocks. The Filipino said he'd sleep again, so that when he woke up he'd have another million.

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We Filipinos have a deep faith in life after death. Because of our belief in resurrection, many of us see death as going to sleep and waking up to receive our reward from God. In today's Gospel (Jn. 11, 1-45), Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. God has power over death itself, for love is stronger than death. Have you thanked God for the gift of eternal life? Do you accept that God loves you so much that He wants to be with you forever? Do you accept with all your heart that you are meant for heaven? Death is not our end. Eternity is waiting. But are you ready to go in?

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We have a 90-year-old retired German missionary, Fr. August Herbers, SVD, at our retirement house. He may have forgotten even his name already, but this priest manages to greet everyone passing by with a melancholic "Hello." But instead of ending his greetings with "Goodbye," he concludes them with "Tilala," a Pangasinan word which means, "Let's go." The more I reflect on what he says, the more I realize the meaning of life.

"Hello" is a beautiful reminder for us to be grateful that we were born in this world. "Tilala" (Let's go) is a beautiful invitation from Father Herbers, reminding us to go to heaven someday. This simple, hardworking missionary, who spent most of his priestly life in Binmaley and Urdaneta, Pangasinan, is a living reminder that our "Hello's" don't end with goodbyes, that all "Hello's" should end with "let us go." Yes, let us move on and let us continue to go and to let go, till we reach heaven, our home.

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I had the privilege to interview Fr. James Reuter, SJ recently for our Sunday TV Mass and talk show (Studio 23, 7 a.m. every Sunday). Listening to this 88-year-old gem was such a refreshing and inspiring experience. Father James exudes so much life. There is fire in his words, and there is passion and compassion when he speaks. You'd think he'd be talking of days past.

Yes, he has plenty to say about that, but he is so aware and involved with the present, and so hopeful about the future. His optimism for our country is inspiring. He says that we in the Philippines don't have the money, but we have the heart. And he talks of death without fear, almost saying that he'll just go through it, and then wake up, and be in heaven. Just like that.

Yes, there are people who, by their very lives, continue to point not at themselves but at the Lord, and the beautiful life that awaits us. Thank God for people who lead us and point us to home. Tilala! Let's go!

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I will be in Roxas City on March 14 to join the family of my classmate Fr. Tony Barriatos, SVD who died in Paraguay as a missionary some 10 years ago. Every year, I join them to remember, to pray, to be grateful and to be hopeful together that someday we all will meet again. We will celebrate the 5:30 p.m. Mass at the Roxas City Cathedral. If there were no resurrection, Father Tony's sacrifice in a foreign land would have no meaning, and his death would have been all in vain. A life well lived is in itself its own reward, but heaven completes the reward.

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Somewhere along the way, all of us had a "Lazarus moment" when we were healed from a sickness, spared from an accident, relieved from a burden or, perhaps, simply experienced a liberating insight. All these should make us grateful, and remind us that we must go on (Tilala!) because we still have a mission. Are you one who has been healed? You were healed for a reason, for a mission. Are you one who has been blessed much by God? That, too, has a reason, and you too have a mission.

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Inviting you all to our Annual Palm Sunday Recollection (organized by the Mission Angels) at the Meralco Theater next Sunday, March 20, 2005 at 8 a.m. till 12 noon. We have Fr. Lino Nicasio, SVD to give a talk. Sharers for this year will be Maria Paz Weigand, Maritess Temple, Vic Di¤o and Rona Ledesma and Fatima Soriano, with the special participation of Cocoy Laurel and company and the Oasis of Love Music Ministry. Let us start the Holy Week right by really spending time to listen to God.

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Let's end with the story I heard about a girl who asked a guy if he would still love her even if she had a past. And the guy's answer was: "That's okay. I don't have a future either." Yes, we all have a past. But the great news from our Lord Jesus is that we all have a future!

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A moment with the Lord:

Lord, remind me that life is not only a constant hello, but also a constant "Let's go," and a continuous letting go. Amen.

E-mail jorbos@manila-online.net