Bend down

One Sunday evening, on my way to our dining room, I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket and a P500 bill fell down. Just then, a seminarian was passing by, and I asked him to help me pick it up. Something told me to give the P500 bill, and he received it in tears as he told me how much the money meant to him. It was a grace-filled moment, a short conversation that made us connect with each other and with God, right then and there. Well, the word must have gotten around, that now, I notice seminarians following me whenever I walk by!

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In today’s Gospel (John 8:1-11), we hear of the encounter of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery. It was a life-changing encounter that made the woman feel God’s love, mercy, and compassion. It was a moment of kindness that gave her so much meaning, hope, and happiness. May we have more GEMs—God Encounter Moments, and may we all become a GEM—a God Encounter Maker.

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“Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with His finger.” This simple gesture of bending down was Jesus’ way of saying that He was not higher, but that He was one with the woman, at level with her on the ground. It was a very affirming and assuming gesture. May we, too, learn to bend down, and stop that “better-than-thou,” “holier-than-thou” feeling, whenever we encounter and deal with other people.

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“But when they continued asking Him, He straightened up…” Jesus stood up for the woman. He defended her from the evil intentions and malice of her accusers, and went on to say: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” We ask ourselves today: would I leave my comfort zone when the Lord calls me to stand up, and speak up to defend others who may need me?

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“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” Jesus called her “woman,” the very same word He uses when He addresses His own mother. It was Jesus’ way of giving respect and honor to the woman that was about to be stoned in a very shameful situation. We ask ourselves today, in a world so full of hatred, disrespect, and mudslinging: Am I one of those who throw stones at everything and to everyone? Am I a stone thrower, a judgmental person specializing in character assassination?

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There is a Latin saying: “Flectas nec frangas.” It means, “Bend so that you do not break.” The bamboo tree tells us that, too, as it survives the strong winds, because it knows how to sway and bend with the wind. It is the trees that stand tall and proud, that often break and fall down.

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Some years ago, I accompanied pilgrims to Japan. I tried to help the pilgrims by arranging their shoes whenever we entered a church and I thought I was going the “extra mile” for them, till I saw Fr. Roberto Solis, SVD, a Filipino SVD missionary in Japan, bending down, and removing the shoes of an elderly pilgrim! Yes, we all still have so much to learn about bending to each other, showing more respect and love for each other. Bend pa more!

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Aside from learning how to bend, we must learn how to stretch our patience as we encounter all kinds of people, and all kinds of situations as we journey on. We become more patient if we put God’s will, God’s way, God’s time, over my will, my way, my time! Patience pa more!

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Sharing with you something I read lately: “Four things you can’t recover—the stone after the throw; the word after it is said; the occasion after it is missed; the time after it is gone.

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This is my personal chant which I pray whenever I feel stressed: “Jerry, go slow, stay low, para hindi magulo ang buhay mo (so that your life will be peaceful and mellow).”

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Inviting you to our anticipated Palm Sunday Mass and recollection on April 12, 2025, Saturday at the Mary Mother of Hope Chapel, fifth floor, Landmark, Ayala Center, Makati. Recollection starts at 1:30 p.m., and the Holy Eucharist at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free. (Join online via Fr. Jerry Orbos, SVD Facebook page and YouTube channel.)

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