July 16, 2017, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (5th Sunday after Pentecost )* The Victim Speaks

 

painting by Boy Dominguez. Philippines 

Psalm 65:10-14

 

Isaiah 55:10-11

Romans 8:18-23

Matthew 13:1-23

Jesus and the Crowd

Always that in Matthew’s rendition of the Gospel, whenever the crowd appears something significant is about to unfold.

In the first verse of Matthew 13, we were told that Jesus went out of his house and was sitting by the sea. The image verse 1 conjures is placidity. Jesus may have intended the day to be just a day of introspection, quiet, and serene by the seashore.

Then we were told in verse 2 that a large crowd gathered around him. The placidity drew up on verse 1 immediately faded. The presence of the crowd jumbled the scene. The crowd overpowers Jesus so much so that from where he sits comfortably he has to stand and move towards the sea, dip his feet, stand at the boat, and preach to the crowd. What a surprise for him.

The crowd in Matthew’s gospel plays a dual-face. The same crowd that warmly welcomed him in Jerusalem is the same crowd who shouted crucify him in the same city (26:47). The same crowd is referred to as the “sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), implying pity, But the same crowd who was spoken in Chapter 13 as having an “eyes that cannot be perceived, and ears that cannot understand,” implying rage against the crowd.

Using the agricultural language- the language of the crowd- Jesus taught a parable:

“Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up because they had no depth of soil.⁶ But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell ^[b]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ And others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Jesus speaks about the receptivity of the heart of the crowd to the message of the “Kingdom”.  Some hearts are rocky, some are thorny, some are roadside soil, they differ in descriptions but all drifts towards the soil’s rejection of the message. Only one kind of soil was favored and this he called the “good soil”.

The Kingdom of God in Matthew’s Account

What exactly is the message of the Kingdom of God in Matthew? Jesus said “he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it” (5:17). This is a fundamental shift. The Kingdom of God is not anymore founded on the letters of the law but from the sacrificial victimization of Jesus. No longer the letters of the law shall be the basis of the people’s relationships, instead of the sacrificial act- the victimization of Jesus- should be the basis of their relationship. This relationship is founded on compassion, self-denial, and justice (5: 21-48). Jesus is the center of this relationship and not the law.

Philippine’s Unjust Laws

The prevalence of poverty in our country is an indication that unjust laws are in effect. Let me cite examples. A few months ago, the Kadamay occupied a housing project in Pandi, Bulacan. Under all circumstances from the “laws” perspective, they would have been persecuted and jailed. The event in Pandi and the persecution of people who fight for housing rights is not isolated. I remember an urban poor leader in Catmon, Malabon, where I lived, was gunned down by scalawags. The organization pushed for socialized housing. The Malabon government and the so called owners did not give in. it resulted in the murder of the urban poor leader.

The Mining Act of 1995 provides provision for big mining companies to extract mineral resources of our land and mountains. But to the detriment of the indigenous peoples whose lives and culture are intimately linked with their ancestral lands. I remember Fr. Fausto, PIME  a staunch advocate of IP rights, who was murdered in Arakan.

The labor laws promote contractualization of human resources, it allowed for the increase in profit of businesses but to the detriment of the people who need employment to maintain dignity. The Philippine laws promote labor-export policy making the government the biggest recruiter of the labor force to other countries. But to the detriment of migrant workers who from the eyes of the law are commodified goods. Their humanity is downgraded. I remember Flor Contemplacion, and other “bagong bayani” whose were murdered in other countries. Had their been sufficient employment in the Philippines, their tragic stories will not be told.

The Filipino people are themselves the victims of the unjust laws. The indigenous peoples, urban poor, migrant workers, young people seeking meaningful employment, they are constantly and legitimately murdered and sacrificed under the pretext of the prevailing laws.

Jesus is the Victim

In Matthew’s Gospel account, Jesus is the victim of the crowd’s accusation. Under the law of Roman empire, Jesus deserves to die, and the crowd affirmed the decision.

It is the same crowd that listens to him when he preached the Parables. The crowd, at that moment, s actually listening to their victim. But his message, some fell on rocky spots, some on thorny portions, some on the road where many passes by. It did not grow, but the good soil received the message and the message grew.

Listen to the Victim

The parable teaches us to listen to the Victims of the present unjust laws. Their suffering, murder, and victimization has to inform and shape our relationships with one another. It should also inform and shape the laws of our land. As we listen to the voices of the urban poor, indigenous peoples, migrant workers, and the young people, may our hearts be a good soil to receive their message.  May it yield meaningful critical participation. Our participation leads to the construction of a society where the victims are no longer victims. Our listening ears necessitates critical examination of our attitude towards the victim. It also necessitates not just empathy to the victim but the conversion of ourselves from our selfish worldview to the worldview of the victims, from the worldview of the crowd to the worldview of Jesus Christ.

Let them who has ears listen. ##

 

Pastor Ariel Siagan

IEMELIF

Yonsei University,

Seoul, South Korea

 

July 9, 2017*Sunday Reflection:Growing Each Day, In Wisdom and Spirit

Divisoria by Wing Garibay 

Matthew chapter 11: 16-19, reminds me of my faith journey.

“But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another, 17“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;  we wailed, and you did not mourn.”

I was once of those professing followers of Christ who were unresponsive to the calls of the “other children and to the sound of their flute. “

My earliest recollection of Jesus was when I was a small child. My aunt used to gather my siblings and I at night (especially whenever we experience brownouts) she would  read to us some Bible stories from a colorful book. One of my favorites, of course is the Christmas Story. I remember Jesus being introduced to me in that story as a cute babe in a manger and he was many times smaller than I was. Jesus was nice, quiet, calm, innocent, still , and domesticated like the cows and the sheeps in that manger scene. Jesus was white and he was safe.

Later on, I was introduced to a local church. I became very involved and active with youth leadership in our Annual Conference. I was  involved  to some Christian youth movements. I was committed and passionate in sharing Jesus to other people and was very determined to get them “churched” so that they could be “saved” as according to the teachings I’ve learned from within the church.

Together with my friends in the church, we try our best to create programs and activities that we thought were “spiritual” and that would  bring the people closer to God. We were active in Bible studies, youth services and we were very eager in  honing our praise and worship skills. Once in a while there are people who will approach me and challenge my personal theological stance and political positions about some certain pressing issues happening around us. They constantly invite us to participate and engage with protests  against  human rights violations, corruption, human trafficking, environmental plunder   and many injustice issues. I was also being invited for outreach programs  through immersion and exposure with communities. Most of the time I would just shoot them off because I did not see the importance and urgency of those matters to my personal salvation. Yes, I was very conservative to the point of vilifying other leaders who do not share the same ideologies or theologies with me. We try not to give them voice in our meetings. We try not to give them key positions in leadership and we try to keep them away from other young people in our flock.

One time, I was tasked to lead a short devotion before our Church Youth Leaders and I delivered a topic about “Choice”. It says there that, “Life is series of Choice. You are who you are today because of the choices that you made yesterday. And that is not your fault if you were born poor but it is definitely your fault if you’re still poor when you die. Everything that happens to you is all because of the choices you made from your past”. After delivering that message, one of our youth advisers and Pastor sconfronted me saying, “No! Not everything that you do is because of your choice. Choice is a privilege and not everybody especially in our setting here in the Philippines has the privilege of choice”. I was rebuked. It made sense to me. That got me thinking. And from that day on, I realized, there are differing narratives inside the church and our society.

I started asking questions; Tough faith questions. I began to seek for a deeper meaning and significance in everything that I do as a church person. To find out the answers, I have engaged myself to the people. I have started talking and walking with them; those who were struggling, the national minorities, those who are voiceless, those who have been robbed of their rights and dignity, those people who are at the peripheries of the church and society. As I journey with the people, they have taught me well and it dawned to me that there really is a powerful force that is intentionally victimizing the weak and the poor and I am not actually exempted from this oppressive system that enslaves us all.

As I grew I started to notice the pictures in my Children’s bible and it became clear that Jesus did not remain a tender babe in swaddling clothes. Most of the pictures were of a grown man with a full beard and a determined look on his face. Jesus was always on the go, purposely walking on land, walking on water, riding on boats, riding donkeys, calming storms, healing people, teaching people preaching about the kingdom of God, inviting himself to dinner in people’s homes, blessing children, arguing with angry religious leaders, knocking over tables and then getting whipped and nailed to a cross. He was a man of action. I didn’t understand why he was driven, why he looked so loving and also so serious , why some people didn’t like him healing the sick, why religious leaders argued with him, or why those Romans killed him. I wanted to know why.

The Philippine’s situation is not that far-fetched from the context of Jesus’s time. The ruling class, the elites, the oligarchs, they have a mechanism of silencing those who go against them.

Since the Spaniard’s Colonization to US the imperialism up until now, we are being played by the powers that be. We, especially the church together with other agencies have been cultured to protect and safe guard the interest of those who are at the center of power. And those who are outside of that center is vilified and demonized to point of being murdered.

18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, “He has a demon”; 19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax-collectors and sinners!” Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

There are obvious struggles in the people that need to be addressed yet the elders condemn the peoples’ leaders. John the baptizer came as a puritan.  Yet, his opponents called him a “demon.”  Jesus came “eating and drinking” but that didn’t suit his opponents either so they attacked him personally as well, calling him a “glutton and a drunkard.”

This is typical of the approach the powers-that-be often use to manipulate public opinion.  When someone criticizes you, attack them personally.  Assault their character.  Drag their name through the mud.  Accuse them of different things and give them names.

I’ve come to the point where I’ve seen a lot, but realize i have much more to see and learn. The world is a place where doing one thing or another gets you scrutinized and criticized. What matters is being aware of which side are we serving. Is it the oppressed or the oppressors? It is indeed dangerous to imitate Jesus’ exemplification of resisting the powers-that-be, but this is what it means to fully follow the will of the Christ.

In the end, blessed are you when people resist your commitment to the Kingdom of God and slander you with lies. Blessed are you because this indicates that you are with God in your work. This is what has happened to the prophets of old and this is what you should expect. But do not lose heart because God will endorse you and support you and bring you in to the new heavens and the new earth where the peace and justice that you have worked so hard for will finally be on full display.##

 

Bong Dalisay

United Methodist Church

NCR, Philippines