Isang Panalangin

AWIT 27:1, 4, 7-8

Mga Gawa 1:12-14

1Pedro 4:13-16

Juan 17:1-11 

 

Ang mga bagay na ito ay sinalita ni Jesus; at sa pagtingala ng kaniyang mga mata sa langit, ay sinabi niya, Ama, dumating na ang oras; luwalhatiin mo ang iyong Anak, upang ikaw ay luwalhatiin ng Anak: Gaya ng ibinigay mo sa kaniya ang kapamahalaan sa lahat ng laman, upang bigyan niya ng buhay na walang hanggan ang lahat ng ibinigay mo sa kaniya.3At ito ang buhay na walang hanggan, na ikaw ay makilala nila na iisang Dios na tunay, at siyang iyong sinugo, sa makatuwid baga’y si Jesucristo.4Niluwalhati kita sa lupa, pagkaganap ko ng gawa na ipinagawa mo sa akin.5At ngayon, Ama, luwalhatiin mo ako sa iyo rin ng kaluwalhatiang aking tinamo sa iyo bago ang sanglibutan ay naging gayon.1

6Ipinahayag ko ang iyong pangalan sa mga tao na ibinigay mo sa akin mula sa sanglibutan: sila’y iyo, at sila’y ibinigay mo sa akin; at tinupad nila ang iyong salita.7Ngayon ay nangakilala nila na ang lahat ng mga bagay na sa akin ay ibinigay mo ay mula sa iyo:8Sapagka’t ang mga salitang sa akin ay ibinigay mo ay ibinigay ko sa kanila; at kanilang tinanggap, at nangakilala nilang tunay na nagbuhat ako sa iyo, at nagsipaniwalang ikaw ang nagsugo sa akin.9Idinadalangin ko sila: hindi ang sanglibutan ang idinadalangin ko, kundi yaong mga sa akin ay ibinigay mo; sapagka’t sila’y iyo:10At ang lahat ng mga bagay ay iyo, at ang mga iyo ay akin: at ako’y lumuluwalhati sa kanila.11At wala na ako sa sanglibutan, at ang mga ito ay nasa sanglibutan, at ako’y paririyan sa iyo. Amang Banal, ingatan mo sila sa iyong pangalan yaong mga ibinigay mo sa akin, upang sila’y maging isa, na gaya naman natin.

 

Ama ,ingatan Mo Sila

 

Sa kalaliman gabi ng Mayo 23, 2017, isang nakapangingilabot na pahina ang naidagdag sa ating kasyasayan…muling pagdedeklara ng batas militar sa lupain ng Mindanao.

 

Binalot ng pangamba ang aking dibdib. Higit na nag-aalala sa kalagayan ng aking pamilya, mga kaibigan, ng lipunan. Bagama’t hindi niloob ng Diyos na ito ay direktang kong maranasan dahil sa kamurahan ng aking edad nung ito ay unang itinaas ng rehimeng Marcos ng taong 1972, buong-buo ang loob at walang pag-aalinlangang ito ay tahasang kinokondena. Marahil nang dahil sa maraming buhay ng estudyante, manggagawa, magsasaka  ang inutang nito at libo-libong mga ama, ina, anak ang iniwang ulila at patuloy na nananangis magsahanggang ngayon.

 

Ang deklarasyong  ito ay hindi sumisino at rumirespeto tagapagtaguyod ka man ng kapayapaan o naglilingkod sa kabanalan ng paniniwala. Ikaw man ay nagsisilbi sa higit na aba o nagtuturo ng kamulatan sa karapatan ay itinuturing na subersibo, kalaban ng estado at marapat na supilin. Katuruan sa simbahan at paggampan ng gawaing banal na pakikipamuhay sa piling ng mga dukha at maralita ay pilit sinasawata,tinututulan. Naghahasik ito ng lagim sa pamamagitan ng mga kalunos-lunos na pagpapahirap, pagpaslang at pagyurak sa mga pantaong karapatan.

 

Panalangin:

 

Ama, pawiin mo ang takot at pangamba na ngayon ay nananahan sa aking isipan. Muling pagningasin ang diwa ng paglilingkod ng walang alinlangan. Ang mag-alay ng panahon, kaisipan, lakas at buhay kung kinakailangan ay muli mong pag-alabin. Bigyan mo ako ng sapat na lakas na maihakbang muli ang mga paa patungo sa paggiit ng karapatan at buong tinig na pumalahaw ng kalayaan kaparis ng pakikipaglaban ng anak mo nuon upang mapalaya ang marami sa pagka-alipin. Ama, marami ang pumasan ng krus at sumunod sa hakbang ng pakikibaka at pagpapalaya. Marami ang yumakap sa tagubilin mong magmahal at kumalinga ng kapwa. Sa kabila ng katotohanang ang landasing ito ay masalimuot, masukal, nanalig na tagumpay ay matamis na makakamtan. Ama, lumuluha ako para sa kalagayan ng mga kapatid sa Marawi at buong Mindanao. Binabalot sila ng takot at kawalan ng pag-asa. Ang mga ina na hindi magkawari kung paano makakalasagan ng yakap ang kanilang mga anak at mga amang handang makidigma pamilya lamang ay mapangalagaan. Ingatan mo sila Ama at yakapin. Pawiin mo ang kanilang mga takot at patahanin. Ama, ingatan mo ang iyong mga lingkod at palakasin. Akayin sa pagpapatuloy ng misyong iniatang na pasanin. Ang maglingkod sa maralita at magsulong ng katotohanan ay gawaing makatao at makalangit. Ang magdusa at mag alay ng buhay ay isang matamis na kaloob sapagkat ito ay  ginugugol sa paglilingkod##

 

 

Liza  Adamoz Cortez

United Methodist Church

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 14, 2017, 5th Sunday of Easter* My Father’s House Has Many Rooms

Source  http://www.marciomelo.com/2009/index.htm 

Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19

Acts 6:1-7

1 Peter 2:4-9

 John 14:1-12

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Am I at home with God?
Is God at home with me?

In my tired and weary body
that works from dawn ‘til dusk,
my great grandparents passed on to me
the land that I do not own, but for which I am indebted.
I must work and till the land.
I await its fruits, which I must hand to the landlord,
whom my father and mother said is the master of this land.
Our hut, small and fragile,
shakes when the wind is strong or angry,
still this could be a home of Emmanuel.

As a newcomer to the city,
my home is made of scraps of woods
and pieced-together tarpaulin.
I have learned to rest my body amidst a cacophony of dirt and chaos.
My work seems to continue without end
even as I cry, “Why must life be this hard?”
Scavenging for bits with value both day and night,
I often blend in with the stench of the garbage though which I rummage.
We are called squatters and urban poor.
The unwise and arrogant call us lazy and unworthy.
The elite despise us, for we are eyesore in their sight.
They negotiate and bargain with government
to throw us away,
so they can instead build posh condominiums and lavish malls
in our place.
Come , Emmanuel, live in my shanty,
This is my home—are you at home with me?

The moonlight shines through a hole in my rotten roof,
as I read in the Holy Book:
“My Father’s house has many rooms;
if that were not so,
would I have told you that I am going
there to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2)

These are the words of a man who was executed.
I find it hard to believe that the government and religious
conspired to punish him like a robber or criminal.
Is this what they mean when they say ‘criminalization of a political offense?’

The house that he promised has many rooms
His place is not of thrones for the power-greedy,
nor of mansions built on a foundation of violence.
The house he promised is where GOD dwells
Love, Peace and Justice are found.

The man executed by the Empire was Jesus, Emmanuel-God with Us,
who comforted his friends and disciples
by telling them
that he would prepare a place
where there is enough for everyone.

I cannot help but believe
that this is a dangerous promise,
for a house with many rooms
would mean ENOUGH for everyone.
This is a vision which exploiters dislike.
They would not easily give up what they have robbed,
and would protect such stolen wealth with laws, violence and might.

Oh, the words of his mother, who sang a great prophesy,
leap and play like a lively waterfall in my memory:
“He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.” (Luke1:52-53)

There would be enough
for all, for everyone.

As I close the Holy Book,
I pressed my hands unto my heart.
Tomorrow I shall join
the great multitude with Jesus by our side,
in seeking Justice, pursuing Peace, and
demanding for the DIGNITY of those created in the image of God.
His spirit is amongst those who believe that
there should be enough for all.
Where God is, there Justice, Love and Peace must be.##

Norma P. Dollaga
Deaconess
United Methodist Church

Serve the People

 

Psalm 23

Acts 2: 14; 36-41

1Peter 2:20-15

John 10-1-10

 

Some of you may have seen in today’s facebook postings that says: “Lumad Alert!!!  Happening right now. Paramilitar ALAMARA is now sorrounding the lumads in Centro Iba, Cabanglasan, Bukidnon” The Lumad for so long a time feared for their lives. There has been numerous killings of our Lumad sisters and brothers in Mindanao, that brought forth crisis in the lives of the Lumad, and has been going around for some years already. The Alamara paramilitary elements are suspects to many lumad killings in Cabanglasan Municipality, Bukidnon and in many parts of Mindanao.

We  can imagine how threatened  the Lumads are right now.  For most of them, they must have sleepless night.  Two years ago, we remember the brutal  killing of Ka Emok, Datu Bello and Dionel Campus that brought forced evacuation to their entire community in Lianga Hayan, Surigao del Sur.  Greed, and a very corrupt leadership of the previous  Aquino government led to unabated killings of Lumad leaders in Mindanao, activists, and the detention of  those who dissent the government, the lumad communities suffered grief, fear, sorrow and pain.   They must have been like a sheep without a shepherd at that time because of the killings of their leaders.

But the courage of the Lumad and all indigenous people is immeasurable. Because of their sheer resolve to fight for their rights, land and life, they continuosly resists powers that be, powers that undermines their great love for mother earth. They are ever ready to collectively fight for  what is right, for what is just and noble. They have been consistently doing their job as  good stewards of creation in their historical strong resistance against the exploitation of our mountains, their ancestral and  sacred land and their culture, even in the face of death against land grabbers and large mining companies that  wreak havoc in their communities.

They persevere and slowly through the help of many groups and churches and organization who extend love and compassion to them, they were able to overcome it and slowly, start life anew. As an Indigenous Person myself, I know that it must be tough.  But they did not surrender.  They endured and overcome all of these obstacles.

What do we, as Christian believers  get from this experience?  That in the midst of pain, people must get up and face life anew with more courage and strength so that collectively we can fight against all kinds of oppression.  An inspiration from  Psalm 23:4  “Though I walk through the darkest valley I fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me.”

This is what Peter was saying when he addressed the crowd in Judea, reminding them to turn their back against a corrupt government.  Reminding them to  turn away from their sins and live life anew.  The 3,000 people  who believed were baptized and are now part of the ‘organized communities’ which is now also helping in the organizing work of the Apostles.

With the verses mentioned above, I also think about the pain and struggle the KADAMAY members went through when they occupied the empty houses unperturbed,  built by the National Housing Authority (NHA). But what pushed  them to go ahead and occupy the empty houses?  Do you think it is out of greed? Do you think they are just lazy? The answer is a big NO. In a society where impoverishment is a result of an unequal distribution of wealth to its people, and where class divides its people— making the rich richer, and poor, poorer, widening the gap of between the rich and the poor, fundamental change must happen. What the Kadamay have declared and decided to do is a clear assertion of their rights, and a clear manifestation of what they are truly fighing for— their life and dignity. In a country where corruption is flagrant in its government, with a very misinformed middle class, resistance and demonstration is a must. Under the heat of the sun, with no water and no electricity, they proceeded and ready to protect their ranks against any oppressive forces that may drive them away.  They organized themselves, created committees, put up systems so that everything will be protected and guarded, and to continouly fight for their rights, right to adequate housing, right to have a good life, and access to basic services, which in the first place must be given to any citizen in this country freely. They believed in their capacity to push changes, and create history together to change their dire situation, by holding on to each other, relying on community, and — from being helpless— they have empowered themselves—holding on to justice.

Reflecting from the scirpture, In all the references that we have taken as resource material in this Sunday’s reflection, we must be reminded of the Good Shepherd,  a  Savior –   feeder, leader, protector, cleanser, and restorer of His flock.  A Shepherd that leads and shepherds the sheep. He loves them as His own; therefore He must lead them to the green pastures and still waters. He must see that they are nourished and protected and given the very best care possible, and in every step of the way, God is with us, remains to work with us. God Immanuel.

To live out our faith and show to the people especially to the margins that indeed Jesus Christ  is the God of Life, Love, Peace and Justice, and that God will always be on our side, especially for fighting for what is  right, especially for fighing for waht is just. As God’s people, let us be with in solidarity of the people, especially of those whom Jesus loved first, the poor, the downtrodden and the marginalized. Can we be one of the Good Shepherds for the victims of injustices? Can we proclaim Jesus in ourlives to also take the cross in being with them?  Take the challenge.  Serve the people well, in truth, and in love.

 

Ofel Cantor

Secretariat

Ecumencial Bishops Forum