Who Can Separate Us from the Love God?

The first ever Mindanao Region Bible virtual symposium was done last January 24, 2022, which started with the simple but meaningful Bible enthronement by the members of the Archdiocesan Bible Apostolate of Davao (ABAD). The most awaited event was the talk proper given by the Archbishop of the Ozamis, Most Reverend Matin S. Jumoad D.D. He is the same time the director of Paul VI Biblical Center of Mindanao and the Vice-Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on the Biblical Apostolate of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines.

Prior to the main talk, His Excellency Romulo G. Valles the Archbishop of Davao gave the keynote address. The Archbishop cited three points to deepen our understanding of the importance Word of God: first, he quoted the popular dictum attributed to Saint Jerome “Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ”. He gave the profound understanding that the saying of Saint Jerome is very relevant in doing our mission “in making the bible apostolate to keep us vibrant in the faith of Jesus and in the Church”. Second, he mentioned the Document of the Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium no. 7 quoting, “To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations…. He is present in His word since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church.” He elaborated that this part is an important teaching and guidance for us. Lastly, he quoted the Pope who met with members of Catholic Action from France who meets the Pope annually for their pilgrimage telling them that the Word of God is the blueprint for their ministry. Archbishop Valles continued to say “to be effective apostles of today one should be deeply rooted in the Word of God.”

His Excellency Martin Jumoad, D.D., introduced his sharing of the theme by reading the Book of Lamentation 3:22-24, which generally speaks of the infinite love of God. This love is not about any kind of superficial attraction. It is a love that will never change, a love that is given freely and forever by God who has chosen sinful men and women due to his love. He further continues that the love of God greatly manifested in the biblical passage of the Gospel of John 3:16, which speaks that because of love, God sends his only begotten Son into the world. God did no longer speaks to the patriarch, prophets, and kings but through his Son Jesus Christ, that love Incarnated in the very person of Jesus.

Archbishop Jumoad used the book of Ronald Rolheiser entitled “The holy longing, the search for a Christian Spirituality” which speaks about God becoming human: “God takes on flesh so that every home becomes a church, every child becomes the Christ-child, and all food and drink become a sacrament. God’s many faces are now everywhere, in flesh, tempered and turned down, so that our human eyes can see him. God, in his many-faced face, has become as accessible, and visible, as the nearest water tap. That is the “why” of the incarnation.” The person of Jesus the image of the invisible God, the God who is somewhere and now being with us fetching His tent among us. The beautiful passage that Archbishop Jumoad presents, that our Lord has taken our humanity in order for us to be capable of loving just as our Lord is love.

Archbishop Jumoad further challenged all of us to become the hope of healing in our wounded humanity so that by our very presence the people who are in suffering may be alleviated. He quoted the passage of Saint Theresa of Avila that “we become the body, hands, eyes, feet, and mouth of God. We become the instrument of God; to touch, to see, to walk, and to talk on his own behalf towards others.”

He further explained that “the love of God heals a suffering world through us though we are unworthy, yet we are also chosen instruments.” In his deep reflection, Archbishop Jumoad said, “we cannot heal the wounds if we ourselves are not healed; if our wounds are not healed and then we try to heal the wounds of others, it would only result to greater wounds.” In the same way, Archbishop Jumoad continued saying that, “we can only share the love of God to others if we are convinced of the love of God.”

With the Incarnation of the love of God in the person of Jesus Christ, we are able to give healing to those in the state of suffering and in pain in a different manner. With the lowering down of himself as God, we are able to participate in the process of healing the world’s suffering.

Lastly, Archbishop Jumoad quoted the famous text of Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. The all-conquering power of the love of God has astounded every obstacle to Christians’ salvation and every threat to separate us from God. With that power manifested itself fully when Jesus Christ the Only Begotten Son of God was delivered up to death for our salvation. Through Jesus Christ, Christians can overcome all the afflictions and trials in this world. (Bro. Soren Abellanosa)