September 30, 2018, 19th Sunday after Pentecost* Lest we fall into the unquenchable fire of his judgment

The Rev. Noel E. Bordador, Episcopal Church

http://pinoyweekly.org/new/2017/03/artista-para-sa-kapayapaan/

PS 19:8, 10, 12-13, 14
NM 11:25-29
JAS 5:1-6
MK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward. If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:38-50, NRSV)

 

 

The opening verses of our Gospel reading today reminded me of Dorothy Day, the soon to be sainted founder of the Catholic Worker Movement. She was often criticized by church people for having friends who were “godless” socialists and communists. She retorted back by saying that she admired her leftist friends because they fed the poor and hungry, they sheltered the homeless, they clothe the naked, they comforted the prisoners, they often took to the streets to protest grave injustices and war, and they organized and unionized workers against greedy businesses (Okay, she did say “capitalists”). In the meantime, she lamented that many so-called religious and church people often did nothing to help the poor and victims of injustice, or worse, they collude with evil powers in the oppression of God’s people. Isn’t that the truth even now? Dorothy simply believed that those who take up the cause of justice and mercy – even those who are not Christians, churchgoers, or non-believers whatsoever- are all doing the work of God. So she excoriates Christians and the Church to seek “concordances” with others who do not share the faith but nevertheless were seeking justice. There are people of goodwill who are not of the Church. . It would do us well to remember what Jesus said, “I have sheep that are not of this fold.” (John 10:16) Let us link arms together with those who do not share our faith yet share in our passion of exorcising the world of its demons of injustice and oppression. Whoever is for justice is not against us. Whoever is for justice is for us. “Whoever is not against us is for us.” (9:40)
Let us try to situate the Gospel reading for this Sunday in its larger context. Just before our text, Jesus predicted his arrest and death (9:30-32). This is followed by the story regarding an argument among his disciples as to who among them was the greatest. Jesus responded that those who assumed the lowest position as servant of all would be the greatest. (9:33-35) Then comes the episode in which Jesus embraced a little child, saying, “Anyone who welcomes a little child welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the One who sent me.” (9:36-37)
Jesus intends to indicate that his passion and death is the crowning moment of a life lived as a servant in the service of God’s people. In keeping with the apostolic preaching (see, e.g., Philippians 2:5-11), Mark here presents Christ as the Servant who lovingly laid down his life for God’s people, even if it meant that Christ had to forsake his divine privilege, status and power to assume the lowest position as that of a servant (in Philippians, Gk. doulos, literally, “slave”). Greatness for Jesus has nothing to do with worldly honor, social status, wealth or power, but of freely choosing to be a servant of the people in the service of justice and love. But to whom did Jesus dedicate his life ? Of course, we want to say that he laid down his life for the whole world, and that is true. But in this context, he meant something specifically when he took a child in his embrace. Jesus did not choose a child simply because the child was cute. The great NT scholar John Dominic Crossan wrote that in Jesus’ time a child “was quite literally a nobody unless its father accepted it as a member of the family rather than [abandoning] it in the gutter or rubbish dump to die of abandonment or to be taken up by another and reared as a slave. In that world, a child was a nothing, a nobody, a non-person.” [1] In Jesus’ time, a child was treated as a property. One could simply abandon it or kill it, or care for it. In the Greco-Roman world, the pater familias (father of the family) could sell the child away to slavery. If redeemed by the family, the father could simply resell the child. In other words, the child occupied the lowest status among the oppressed. When Jesus embraced a child, he was indicating by his action that he was siding with the most oppressed, delivering a bombshell with these words: “Whoever welcomes such a child welcomes me and the One who sent me.” Far from symbolic, some of the Church Fathers said that Jesus made an “ontological” identification between himself and the oppressed and marginalized. That is, Jesus is simply not “like” the poor. The poor is not merely a symbolic mirror of Jesus. Jesus IS the poor; the poor IS Jesus. Therefore, if we want to serve God (and Christ), there is no escaping the service of the poor, and the vulnerable of society. It is for the sake of the poor and victims of injustice that Jesus primarily (though not exclusively) came to offer his life.
This concern for the little child is linked thematically with his concern for the thirsty who belong to Christ (v 41) and the “little ones” who believe in Christ (v 42). At first glance, it appears that his concern is not universal but limited to Christian believers. But understand that at the time this Gospel was written (second half of the first century) Christianity was subject to prejudice and persecution. It was a marginal religion, soon to be considered by the Roman Empire a religio illicita, an illicit religion. Soon it would be an underground religion. It had no legal basis and protection to exist. Christianity was not yet the religion of the Empire. That came about three hundred years later. So, again here, like his concern for the child, Jesus’ concern was not parochial but could be interpreted as a universal concern for all the legally unprotected, persecuted, and vilified by society’s powerful. [Who in our Philippine society must we defend and protect?] Jesus’ warning was rather severe: those who go against the “little ones” will be met with the severest judgment and punishment (in the Gospel symbolized by the image of worms and unquenchable fires of hell).
The pericope ends with a warning and exhortation: “For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves.” In the Hebrew Testament (see, e.g., Leviticus 2:13), a sacrifice is offered with salt and fire as these two are said to be purificatory. Salt and fire cleanses the offering of impurities. Moreover, salt is only useful because of its preserving and seasoning power. Salt loses its purpose when it becomes adulterated with impurities. This is an exhortation and warning to the disciples who offer themselves as a “living sacrifice”. They must constantly cleanse themselves of impurities that could lead them towards a life unbecoming of their calling in Christ. The “world” itself is filled with temptations that could lead the disciple to collude with the “world” – in its violence, greed, injustice- so that he or she abandons his or her commitment to a life of peace, compassion, mercy, justice and charity of God and his or her neighbor.

 

One cannot season the world with the salt of justice and mercy if one’s commitment to righteousness is compromised. History is replete of instances in which liberators abandon the path and become the oppressors. The Church is filled with people who go through the motions of worshipping God and paying lip service to love while oppressing their neighbors. As a priest, I am heartbroken by Christians in the Philippines- clergy, religious and lay- who are either silent about or support the immoral War on Drugs that has killed thousands of poor people, our own brothers and sisters! I am deeply saddened by Christians indifferent to the sufferings of the poor and the oppressed, and bearing the Name of Christ, they themselves go on oppressing others. I am deeply discouraged by Christians in our government who commit theft of public resources, who continue to craft unjust policies that lead to further suffering and death among our people, and who disregard the Constitution and rule of law for unjust political and economic gains. The Gospel today calls our nation and Church to repentance. Let us purify ourselves with the salt and the fire of the Gospel of love and justice of our Lord Jesus Christ lest we fall into the unquenchable fire of his judgment.##
[1] See John Dominic Crossan, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography (1994, 2009, NY: Harper Collins), specifically pages 70ff.
_________

September 23, 2018, 18th Sunday after Pentecost*The Greatest Among You

Bro. Ritche Salgado, O.Carm

Psalm 54: 3-8
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
James 3:16-4:3
Mark 9:30-37

 

 
MK 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once, inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

 
Reflection

On April 16, 2018, at 2:15 in the afternoon, six officers from the Bureau of Immigration knocked on the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion looking for 71-year old Sr. Patricia Fox.

She was asked to accompany them to the Bureau of Immigration for questioning. But when the 71-year old nun arrived at the BI office in Intramuros, Manila, she was threatened of detention and deportation as ordered by Commissioner Jaime Morente, because she was an “undesirable alien.”

The fault of the 71-year old nun?

According to President Rodrigo Duterte, the nun has a “foul mouth.” He said, “You come here and insult us, you trample with our sovereignty. That will never happen.”

But what really happened?

In the 27 years that Sr. Pat was in the Philippines, she helped the poor Filipinos in the countrysides – the farmers and the indigenous people. She empowered them, she helped them defend their rights (she’s a lawyer), she helped them become more self-reliant. In other words, she proclaimed to them the Good News of the reign of God’s Kingdom.

“The wicked say: Let us beset the just one because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law
and charges us with violations of our training.”

Familiar? Sr. Patricia was the just one, and people were afraid that her performance of her responsibilities as a missionary as a true servant of God is a threat to their plans, which is to let evil and darkness permeate into all corners of Philippine society.

What right does Sr. Pat have to protect the indigenous people from foreign mining companies who are harassing and even killing them for their land? Indeed she is a threat to the ruling class and big business because she is curtailing the destruction of the Philippines for the sake of profits for the foreign capitalists and their local greedy partners.

Today’s Gospel taken from Mark 9:30-37 presents us with the second announcement of the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. It seemed that despite the gravity of the announcement, they refused to listen and to understand, instead, they were preoccupied with the prospect of leadership, of who was the greatest among them.

And so today, Jesus has given us the model of a true leader – the last, the servant of all, and those who receive the least.

Sr. Pat’s life in the Philippines has been about living the life that Christ has prescribed for us Christians. She humbled herself in order for her to serve those in the margins. She chose to give up the comforts of the convent and to live a life fitting of her stature, and even for her age. She continues to go to the communities who needed the light of Christ. In other words she was responding to what the Asian Bishops reflected on in its 7th Plenary Council in Thailand, which goes: “The Christian community must search with a sense of urgency and diligence for those areas of human existence where the power of the gospel must be proclaimed and respond to the need. Failing in this means these areas become the reign of the evil power.” (FABC 92j).

Despite and exactly because of her efforts to overcome the reign of evil in the depressed communities of the least, the Philippine government branded her an undesirable alien, still, she continues with her mission for she knows that her mandate comes from someone greater than the rulers of this land.

As we reflect on today’s Gospel let us ask ourselves, have I been arguing on my greatness or have I learned to embrace the last, the least, the forgotten, the voiceless, and those who are living in darkness?  Do I share with those who despite the persecutions, the difficulties, and the harassment still hope for the coming of the reign of God’s Kingdom? Am I willing to share in the sufferings of Christ?  Must I take inspiration from  Sr. Pat, just so the reign of evil will be overcome?##

An Invitation for A – Nine- Day Prayer and Action ( Sept 13-21) . Never Again To Martial Law! No To Rising Tyranny!

Ugat Lahi https://lakansining.wordpress.com/2016/12/18/university-of-the-philippines-quezon-city-ramon-magsaysay-avenue/17-2001-ugat-lahi-1/

Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,

Uttered or unexpressed,

The motion of a hidden fire

That trembles in the breast.

•     -James Montgomery, 1771-1854

 

 

The dark era of Marcos dictatorship imposed in 1972 is a historical memory that should never be forgotten and must not be erased in our consciousness as Filipino people.  The sacrifice of the many combined with the dedication of our martyrs and heroes–who worked both underground and in open resistance as activists and civil libertarians–paved the way toward the toppling of a dictator.  The tradition of memory pulses in our veins to summon our commitment and resolve in saying, “Never Again to Martial Law,” even as it hovers over our country once again.  We are a people who value and embrace the gifts of freedom and democracy. We are a people ready to fight to defend democracy.

Martial law in Mindanao has wrought havoc on the people, including displacements of communities, extrajudicial killings of farmers and indigenous peoples, arrests or harassments of activists. The economic crisis and deep-seated corruption in governance have manifested as rice shortages and spiraling prices of commodities.

On a nationwide scale, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte has not lifted a finger to reverse policies that run contrary to the people’s desire of socio-economic reform. With record-high inflation, foreign indebtedness, unemployment, increased taxes, and unresolved poverty, the toiling majority clamor for economic relief. The only response has been violent and strong-armed threats and policies, which not only promote a culture of death and impunity but concretely lead to widespread killings of both activists and the poor.

Curtailment of democratic rights have crept in around us. Dissenting voices and political opposition endure persecution.  Under the brazen destruction and manipulations of Duterte administration, the integrity of institutions of democracy from the Supreme Court, to the House of Representatives, to the Executive office have been primed for a dictatorial rise.

The Church and the Church people have not been spared:  we are habitually and frequently attacked and maligned because of our prophetic witness. The President attacks and seeks to undermine our pronouncements and actions that align us with the values of life, justice, freedom, and democracy.

The situation at hand is alarming: another dictator is clearly on the rise. Pres. Duterte has revealed himself as an anti-poor and anti-people president. His rants and rebukes unmask his dangerous intentions toward tyranny and authoritarian rule. His proposed ChaCha aims to consolidate all powers to him, even as he has demonstrated his disregard for the interests, welfare, and rights of the people. The return to public power and influence of the Marcoses and Arroyos with his cooperation reveals his intent to erase or revise history’s judgment against dictatorship.

But the history that we must revive and reinvigorate on September 21 is not only about the horrors of a dark past that is resurrecting today, but also the testament of our power as a people.

As a church, we can manifest our testimony of prophetic witness. We celebrate our faith imperative that brings us to love our neighbor and to stand with the poor, to do justice and to love mercy.  We pursue acts of justice and acts of mercy manifested in prayers, solidarity support to the afflicted, and the pursuit of righteousness and abundant life. We raise high our prophetic voice to add strength to the movement of people, calling and acting to pursue the cause of justice and peace in our land.

 

Nine Days of Prayer for Life, Rights and Justice

We call on the Christian faithful to join together for nine days of prayer, leading toward September 21, a day significant as it reminds us of the formal declaration of Martial Law by Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.

The dark years of Martial Law saw many tortured, persecuted and killed as activists and dissenters.  However, this period of Philippine history also converted many church people to prophetic activism. Religious, clergy and lay church people offered and shared faith resources to support and participate in the clamor of masses for peace, justice and democracy.

Our current situation is dangerous, with additional looming threats.  As we come to terms with indications that the return to power and influence of the Marcoses and Arroyos is part of Duterte’s scheming, we must take stock of our current reality and prepare for the struggle ahead.  Prayers can move mountains.  We pray not only as an act of faith, but also to consciously prepare our hearts and minds to act and advocate on the issues and concerns of the toiling majority our beloved homeland.

We will encourage churches and congregations to include special intentions in their masses and services that will focus our desires for the respect of life, human and people’s rights, and justice in our country.  This will be a auspicious opportunity to enjoin our parishes to the call for participation in and support of a united people’s action against dictatorship on the anniversary of the declaration of martial law.

 

 

• Short testimonials from direct victims or sectors suffering from the different issues mentioned can be arranged.
• Special intentions can also include the remembrance and honoring of martial law victims/martyrs from the different churches and inspiration of their bravery.
• Prayers for each issue will be provided.
• A flyer invitation to Sept 21 event can be distributed
• Alternative would be a public action, such as candle-lighting, outside the church.

 

Sept 21 United People’s Action for Justice, Freedom and Democracy

2pm Mass at San Agustin Church, Intramuros, Manila

2pm Ecumenical Service at Central United Methodist Church   Cor.  Kalaw  St and Taft Ave, Manila

3:30pm Salubungan Roman Catholic and Ecumenical Churches

March to Luneta for United People’s Action with Multi-sectoral Organizations

 

 

Date and Day	Topic/Call
September 13, Thursday	Martial Law in Mindanao
September 14, Friday	Stop the Killings
September 15, Saturday	Persecution/Church Attacks
September 16, Sunday	Sovereignty/Chacha
September 17, Monday	Prayer Against Misogyny
September 18, Tuesday	Poverty
September 19, Wednesday	Workers and Urban Poor
September 20, Thursday	Integrity of Creation and Peasants
September 21, Friday	Dictatorship/Justice and Peace

 

 

Day 1   Sept  13   Martial Law in Mindanao and Tyranny

Prayer or Hymn Singing : Stand Up for Justice

(Tune: Stand Up Stand Up for Jesus ,Geroge James Webb)

God our Peace,  We offer to you our  Worries  and Anxieties

We offer to you our commitment to pray , to reflect and to act upon

As we affirm the meaning of our faith in today’s  challenges

Bless our desire as we sing or utter our  prayer saying:

 

1. Stand up stand up for justice

We people who love Peace

Armed conflict will continue

If roots are not addressed.

The rains of bombs and weapons

Attacking farms and people

Destruction, fear and terror

Does not bring Peace at all.

 

2. Stand Up Stand Up for Justice

We people who love Peace

The war on drugs must end now

We rise up for the poor.

We see them how they suffer

From woes and pain and loss

The orphans and the widows

Seek justice and true peace.

 

3. Stand Up stand up for Justice

We people who love Peace

Our faith must now remind us

That Truth will be our guide.

 

The mem’ries of fascism

Repression and suppression

The martial law is evil

We say never again.

 

4. Stand Up Stand Up for Justice

We people who love peace

The laws of greed and plunder

Their rule must end and cease

 

We pray for all our people

Who suffer unjust war

We join the pilgrims’ journey

To rise against empire.

 

5. Stand Up Stand up for Justice

We people who love peace

We struggle on with courage

As hope and faith increase.

 

Like soaring mighty eagles

Our strength will be renewed

We run but will not faint

Our God, will see us through . AMEN ##

Norma P. Dollaga, KASIMBAYAN

 &&&

 September 14, Friday           Stop the Killings

Leader:            We come to you loving God, as we raise our concern on the people needlessly killed, viciously executed, callously stigmatized.

ALL:               OUR HEARTS ARE FILED WITH PAIN FROM A NATION THAT HAS TURNED THEIR BACKS

TO THE SUFFERING OF THE POOR.  OUR HEARTS ACHE FOR THE MANY THAT HAVE DIED. OUR MINDS SHUDDER AT THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THOUSANDS OF FAMILIES DRENCHED IN PAIN. LORD HAVE MERCY.

 

Leader:            We have been made vulnerable.

 

ALL:               OUR POVERTY HAS BEEN USED AGAINST US, OUR HARDSHIPS BELITTLED.

OUR DESIRE FOR CHANGE MANIPULATED. OUR HOPES E EXPLOITED.

WE WERE TRICKED BY THE EVIL HAND OF DESTRUCTION AND DEATH. CHRIST HAVE MERCY.

Leader:            We confess that we have failed to act with kindness.

 

ALL:               FORGIVE US THAT WE HAVE BEEN WEAK AND SLOW TO COLLECTIVELY STAND FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS.  FORGIVE OUR SELF-CENTERED CONCERN FOR OWN COMFORT, THAT HAS AT TIMES MADE US “BLIND” TO REALITIES OF GREAT CRISIS AND SUFFERING, GRIPPING TERROR,  AND UNFAIR SHAME FOR OTHERS.  LORD HAVE MERCY.

Leader:            We have failed to do justice.

ALL:               OPEN OUR EYES, SO THAT WE MAY SEE YOUR POWER, O CHRIST.  THAT AS SCRIPTURE HAS PROMISED, OUR FAITH CAN MAKE US WELL.  RAISE US UP AS PEOPLE OF COURAGE.  REDEEMED THROUGH OUR COMPASSION AND STRIVING TO BECOME BETTER.

Leader:            Christ is our Redeemer, our Hope, and our Provider.  In Christ, healing will come! And JUSTICE will be ours! AMEN ##

Rebecca Lawson, Ecumenical Voice for Peace & Human Rights

 

&&&

 

September 15, Saturday       Persecution/Church Attacks

Create in us the splendor that dawns when hearts are kind,

that knows not race nor station as boundaries of the mind;

that learns to value beauty, in heart, or mind, or soul,

and longs to see God’s children as sacred, perfect, whole.

-S. Ralph Harlow

 

We are Your humble servants

who once again this day, ask you

to send us, to lead us, and to shepherd us.

You have called us to love You, God;

You have sent us to serve Your people.

 

Our prayer by night and day

has been that we hold fast

to our commitment

to our faith

and to our pledge to love unceasingly.

Hope in You has been our abiding strength and guide.

 

We come to You, Gentle and Radical God,

You who first commissioned us to missionary service:

to be with the poor as they struggle for justice

to be one amongst them in hope and in aspirations

to lift up the lowly and to celebrate their victories

to be humbled in their wisdom

and respectful of their capacity to fight for their rights.

Give us courage to continue to witness with them the power of the Magnificat.

 

God who called us for missionary work

Incline our ears toward the cries of the poor

to weep and mourn with them when their dignity has been disgraced

to stand with them in the face of abuse and persecution

and to rise up with them in their struggle, hope, and victory.

Embolden us to act with mercy, compassion and justice in the places where we are sent.

 

We pray for the church and its mission who have heeded the call, “Go ye, therefore into the world…”

to become salt, integrated fully among the lives of the people

to be light, shared with the people, even in the darkest of nights

and to seek for truth, righteousness, and justice so that peace will reign.

Guide us, protect us, and energize us, O God.

 

As disciples who listened to Your call,

as a collective church we experience rejection and persecution.

Just as the downtrodden are wronged, they too are mistreated.

Give us  the power of COURAGE to never give up their HOPE.

 

We pray for church people who stand with the poor

As  they pursue enduring peace

Work in solidarity for social justice—

Fill us with courage to remain steadfast.

 

We pray for our church that we will not forget

That the seed of our being came from the One who subverted DEATH

That in his Resurrection we will carry the mission whenever and wherever we are led

 

Strengthen our collective resolve

to continue the mission

no matter the costs

And  give us  the courage to fight evils of tyranny and injustice.

This we pray, in Jesus’ name, AMEN.##

 

Norma P. Dollaga,KASIMBAYAN

 

 

&&&

 

September 16, Sunday          Sovereignty/Chacha

God of our ancestors, Lord of mercy, who by your word have made the universe,  and in your wisdom have fitted human beings to rule the creatures that you have made, to govern the world in holiness and saving justice and in honesty of soul to dispense fair judgment (Wisdom 9:3)…

Grant our government leaders, especially our law makers Wisdom that they may judiciously discern before railroading charter and federalism. We are wary that the Constitution may be amended and revised just to suit the interests of the clans and dynasties in Congress.  We pray, that in their deliberations and decisions, may the preservation of human rights and the protection of our sovereignty and patrimony be their true and utmost aspiration.

In the face of the many dehumanizing realities in our midst: the interminable systematic killings of alleged drug addicts and pushers; the incessant conflict and bombings in Mindanao, the insidious attacks on human dignity and human rights, particularly on the Lumads; the increasing inflation rate exacerbating poverty, and the weakening of our democratic institution, we are restless as a people.

Grant us, the Filipino people Wisdom to know and uphold the truth in the midst of partisan politics and fake news which have sown seeds of suspicion, mistrust, and division. Enflame our patriotism to be active participants in seeking truth and genuine change, in asserting and defending dignity, sovereignty and democracy.

We have come a long way on the journey to democracy, freedom and sovereignty.

Lord, inspire us to be assertive and courageous to safeguard our democracy and independence. Fill our hearts with renewed faith and moral responsibility, and ignite our lives with faith that seeks justice, truth, peace and liberation. Amen.##

Ms. Jeff Vito, Religious Discernment Group(RDG)

 

&&&

September 17, Monday        Prayer Against Misogyny

 

O Diyos ng hustisya at kapayapaan

HayaanMongiluwal ng iyongsinapupuanan

Ang ‘buhay’ napag-asa

Ang diwangmagwawakassakalupitan

Ang panibagongdugonadadaloy

Upangbuhay ay mailuwal.

 

O Diyos ng hustisya at kapayapaan

HayaanMongipanganakmuli ng Iyongsinapupunan

Ang maramingbuhaynapinaslang ng pamumunongito

Ang mgaanak, ina, ama, lolo, tiyahin at tiyo, mga mahal sabuhay at kabitbahay

Ang mgabuhaynakinitil ay maipanganaknawamulinamin

Sa bawatpagsigaw at paghiyaw, sabawatpagtangis at panalangin.

 

O Diyos ng hustisya at katarungan

Hayaan Mo pong maipanganaknamin ang lipunang mas kumikilala

Sa pagkatao at dignidad ng tao

Mailuwalnawa

Ang lipunangkumikilalasakasarian at pagkakapantay-pantay

Tulungan Mo kamingmgakababaihanna mas lumahok pa pakikibaka ng sambayanan. AMEN ##

• Pastor Carleen Nomorosa, Association of Women in Theology (AWIT)

 

O God of justice and peace,

may your womb birth new life which gives hope.

A new creation which will end oppression.

Where the blood and tears shed will not be in vain because new life begins.

 

O God of justice and peace,

may your womb rebirth the many lives destroyed by those who have power –

Sons and daughters; mothers and fathers; family and friends; neighbors and strangers.

May these lives broken be rebirthed when we pray and protest; resist, rage and rise up.

 

O God of justice and peace,

May we conceive a world which upholds life and dignity.

May we birth anew a society where every individual is embraced while recognizing differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious and political beliefs, and others.

May we embody unity and equality.

And may we who birth and have been birthed by mothers; we who are daughters, sisters, wives and mothers; we who nurture life commit anew to defend life and struggle for justice and peace for our nation and the Filipino People.AMEN ##

English Translation: Rev. Lizette Tapia-Raquel, Union  Theological Seminary

&&&

September 18, Tuesday        Poverty

God of the hungry

You do not only hear the cries of our hearts

But you listen closely to our intestines that have nothing grind

You know very well, that in hunger and homeless

In suffering under the rule of the rich and wealthy

The poor who carry the cross of taxes and high cost of commodities

The  promise of imago dei would  impossible to see

 

God of the hungry and God of the full

Tell us  how to celebrate life

While there is  feast on the table of those who are  lavishly full

There are so many  with no table and food at all.

 

We were taught once that you love   both the sinners and the saints

Must we  believe  too that you  love both  hungry and the full?

Teach us  to know, the way to Your heart

While  many are  hungry, thirsty and  homeless.AMEN.##

 

Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR)

&&&

September 19, Wednesday   Workers and Urban Poor

God, our Bathala, you are a Manggawa too

You are in every worker  whose muscles and brain

Are sold for a cheaper price called wages

You are in every worker  who is exploited by law

You are in every worker who would never live in the mansions he himself built

But will rest his beaten body

In shanties under the roofs of dilapidated homes.

 

You are in very worker who  construct dams and  industries

You are in every worker who build highways and pathways

A civilization indeed that  measures trade speed

Projects  and developments  that would destroy his own home

No matter how humble

You are in every worker who makes the capitalist go rich

You are in every sob and sigh, cry , torment , agony and insecurity

With every  work contract’s end.

 

You are in every worker who is actually unpaid or underpaid

By the power of contractualization, they are taught to deny their rights

You are also in every worker who would stand up and fight for dignity.

 

You are in every worker who has to leave her own children

To go to a far-off land to care for other women’s children.

You are in every child laborer who plies the streets

To hawk sampaguitas for a few centavos, and not able to go to school.

 

Our God, and God of the struggling people accompany us on this journey

Give us the power to reclaim the dignity of workers and human beings

Give us strength so we would unlearn the ways of  weariness and  hopelessness

Be with us, and keep on reminding us to work in solidarity with the workers & urban poor. AMEN##

Sr. Ailyn Binco, RGS

&&&

September 20, Thursday      Integrity of Creation and Peasants

For every broken dream and vision…

Hear our lamentations and vision Bathala!

For every soil untilled and possessed by a landlord

A farmer could have brought forth grain.

For every forest made bare

An old man could have taken shelter in sunshine and in rain.

For every river poisoned

All mothers could have filled their children’s hunger and thirst.

For every mountain mined and plundered

An entire community could have lived simply, safe and sustained.

For every indigenous leader killed to be silenced

A community will rise to seek justice amidst pain.

For every youth leader abducted to sow fear

A new generation will rise, remember and resist, again and again

For every child torn from a mother’s arms by raging floods

Another child will be born to embody hope, faith and love.

For every mother grieving and hurting

A sister, mother or daughter will raise her up to embody God above.

For every human being denied of human rights

Another must find courage to protest, resist and demand dignity for all.

For every child still hungry in the midst of plenty

A community must find compassion to nurture and heed their silent call.

For every people oppressed by the few and powerful

 

 

A leadership must rise up to be a true servant of the poor and dispossessed.

 

Lead us God of struggling people …

For every broken dream and vision

We must rise again to seek new revelations, amidst our protests

If revolution would be an option of the masses, who are we to stop it?

But we must stop the revolutionary government of Duterte that spells dictatorship.

So help us God. ##

 

Prof. Lizette Tapia, Union Theological                                                                                  Seminary (UTS), Cavite

&&&

September 21, Friday           Justice and Peace

Almighty God, who through your prophets foretold of a day when swords would be beaten into plowshares, give us hearts for  seeking such fruition of peace in our land.  God of Love, who in Jesus Christ became instrument of PEACE , pour out your Spirit on all your people so that we may be delivered from hate, hostility, and self-interests, so that through reconciliation we find our peace in your will.

 

Help us to understand that genuine peace can only come when justice is served. Today we remember those who pray for peace:  peasants who remain landless, workers seeking employment when none is available, laborers who do not receive just wages and indigenous peoples displaced from their ancestral lands.  We pray that we will no longer be politically and economically dominated by foreign nations; we pray that we will no longer channel more money to the military than to basic social services; we pray that the causes of social unrest will be addressed.  We pray for peace in our land.

We remember today our collective desire for the resumption of the peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and pray for a meaningful and productive peace process for the Philippines. We especially pray for the on-going efforts to release of the political prisoners who are essential consultants and will contribute significantly to the Peace Talks. God our Shepherd, give guidance, assurance and moral fortitude to both parties that they may pursue a road to peace through principled negotiations that seek to resolve the roots of the armed conflict and that honor previously signed agreements.

Raise us up as reflections of your compassion and mercy and as instruments of your peace, so that your name may be hallowed, your kingdom will come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, through Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace. Amen##

-Rebecca Lawson, EcuVoice For Peace & Human Rights

 

&&&

Panalanging Bayan

Elito Circa  Pantabangan Resettlement

Diyos na saksi ng kasaysayan, sa iyong mga mata
Ang nakaraan, at ang hinaharap ay kasalukuyan
Ikaw ang lubhang maalam, at talos ang aming diwa
At ang bawat pintig ng pusong nagugulumihanan.

Dito sa mga pangyayari sa aming bayan kung saan,
Ang pagdanak ng dugo sa kabi kabilang estero at kalsada
Ng mga katawang walang buhay pagkat tadtad ng bala
ay nagpupuno sa aming mga puso ng lubhang ligalig.

Nakabibingi ang palahaw ng pagtangis ng mga ina
Pagkat ang kanilang mga anak sa lansanga’y nakahandusay
At walang buhay. Mga pulis at military nama’y walang pakialam
Paano’y sila din naman ang syang may kagagawan.

Nangunguyupapa ang sambayanan sa hirap ng buhay
Ang mga mangagawang tagagawa ng yaman ng bansa
Lugmok sa hirap, pagdurusay paano makakaalpas kung iilan lamang
ang nakikinabang at karamihan ay pinagsasamantalahan.

Mga magsasaka nama’y batbat ng gutom
sa gitna ng mayamang lupain, pagdarahop ang dinaranas
Mga katutubo sa kanilang lupang ninuno
PInapaalis. Marahas, tigmak ng dugo ang lupalop.

Batas militar ang itnugon ng pasistang gobyerno
Sa halip na buhay, kamatayan ang sumambulat.
Dios na walang hanggan, ikiling mo ang iyong mukha sa amin
Sa mga araw araw karahasan ang nararanasan. AMEN ##

Pastor Ariel Siagan. IEMELIF

September 16, 2018, 17th Sunday after Pentecost* Invitation To Follow Jesus

Pastor Hazel Salatan,  KASIMBAYAN- Union Theological Seminary in Cavite

 

Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9

Isaiah 50:4-9a

James 2:14-18

Mark 8:27-35

 

He called the crowd with his disciple, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. – Mark 8: 34-35

For almost a month Lumad Bakwit stayed in Union Theological Seminary.  They are students, teachers, parents and tribe leaders.  They shared their stories, struggles, and calls through cultural presentations and educational forum. The UTS community daily engagement with them allowed us and our theology to be concretized.  As an expression of theological articulation, we worked together for the daily needs of the Bakwit School. In their short stay with us, we are able to experience what does it take to build a loving community that aims to pursue justice and peace.

They are called Bakwits (evacuees) because they are being displaced from their ancestral land due to militarization intensified by Martial Law in Mindanao. Recent data shows that there are  150 affected Lumad schools. Parents and teachers were illegally arrested while more than 7,000 students were harassed. These painful experiences give them the courage to assert for their right even if it means risking their lives.

Their community is the same as the crowd that Jesus talked to saying “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it”.

Gospel of Mark talks about Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. To follow Him means taking side with the least, last and lost. A commitment to do this means carrying every day our cross. The same cross that the empire used to end Jesus life.

It is very clear that when we decide to follow Christ, it means our path is towards the cross.

Lumad is actually responding to this Christ’s invitation – to follow Him.

They carry their cross every day as they journey to bring us their stories. They were not only doing their quest for their tribe but for the whole nation. Lumad communities are surrounded with trees and mountainous terrain. Social services are denied of them, so they have also wanting in quality education, water, health, economic services.  The church, religious organizations, and people’s organization helped one another in order to build schools for the Lumad. But  Lumad children left their community including their families because of militarization.  Volunteer teachers also face framed- up charges, leaders are being tagged as rebels and some of them were killed in front of their community.

Despite this, many are still choosing the path of justice and resistance against violations of human rights. This is a way they have received and accepted the invitation to pursue the justice.

Remember, they were not actually the followers of Christ (Christian) but portraying a respond that we Christian ought to do.

Jesus is inviting us to do the same, to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Amen.##

 

 

September 2, 2018, 15th Sunday after Pentecost *Essentials than Perfection

             Sr. Mary Jane C. Caspillo, MMS

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Pharisees, Oil on canvas, 1912.https://rzim.org/a-slice-of-infinity/pharisees/

PS 15:2-3, 3-4, 4-5  

DT 4:1-2, 6-8

JAS 1:17-18, 21B-22, 27    

MK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23      

    

 

 

Two weeks ago, my uncle who lived in Olongapo City passed away. This uncle of mine is my father’s brother-in-law from his younger sister. Since my father died in 2004, uncle became like a father to us even from a distance.  I was allowed by my community to be with my family during the wake until the interment. It’s been a long time since my last experience of having death in the family where the wake was usually at home. During this time, I was exposed again to the Filipino customs and beliefs on deaths. At the wake, food or leftovers should not be taken home. No cooking of chicken nor vegetables with stems extending on the ground. When visitor leaves, we were not allowed to bring him/her to the door. In other places, sweeping and cleaning of the funeral area is prohibited. My sister-in-law who is pregnant was not allowed to view the casket. Tears should not drop on the coffin, and so on. When I asked the elders why all these “should nots”, the only answer I got was “Masama yan!” (It’s bad!). No other explanation.

For the Pharisees in the gospel, eating with unclean hands, that is without washing them was a “no-no”.  Perhaps, most of us would agree with them. When we were at our pre-school ages, our parents and teachers taught us to wash our hands with soap and water before eating! We might not know and fully understood the reason. We just obeyed. As we grew, we learned that washing of hands before eating is for hygienic purpose. But for the Pharisees, the purpose was in keeping with the tradition of the elders. And so, when they saw that the disciples were eating with unclean hands, they questioned Jesus. Before this “eating” event happened, Jesus, the disciples, and the Pharisees were going around the villages and towns where Jesus had cured the sick. “And all those who touched him were saved” (Mk: 6:56b). If I were with Jesus, I would be hungry but happily tired after going around. But I would love to have meals with him after to fill the empty stomach, to celebrate the privilege of being with him and the healing power of God through him that cured the sick and saved lives. It is Jesus! It is to be in fellowship with Jesus! What a joy it would be. The Pharisees must have failed in or had no intention of honoring the presence of Jesus. They were more occupied with the traditions than enjoying and delighting a meal with him. (In my generation, we used to call this kind as “KJ or kill joy”). And so how sharp was Jesus’ answer to their questioning: “The people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. Their reverence of me is worthless; the lesson they teach are nothing but human commandments.”

Yet, the more important message that Jesus wanted to tell us in the gospel was not only about reverence on him. He was more concerned about the people, about us. On the second part of the gospel, Jesus reminded us that, “It is not what goes into the someone from the outside that make the person unclean; it is the things that come out of someone that makes that person unclean” (v.14). For it is for within, from the heart, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. (v.21-22). Yes, this message is more than 2,000 years old. What happens now to us, individually and collectively: as a family, community and as a nation?

Human beings have reached a kind of success beyond human imaginations. Intelligence and the desire for perfection have created a life of more wants and needs. Political, economic, social and cultural system serve our external convenience and pleasures more than rights: be it education, communication, transportation, food, etc. But at the expense of who, of what? In the Philippines, majority of the farmers are still landless. Indigenous People are forced to evacuate their ancestral land. Education is now a privilege more than a right. Laborers continue to demand for a just wage. Extrajudicial killings. Corruption. Violation of human rights. Destruction of natural resources. It is no doubt that Filipinos in general have continued the search for means for deeper connection and for ways to follow Jesus. But what would Jesus say to us now?

Nothing significant has changed in us that made this world a nurturing and a better place to live. After 2,000 years, situations seem to be getting darker and harder. I would like to think that Jesus will speak to us in a different way. He pointed out in verses 21-22 our human tendencies, the manifestations of our false or egoic self. Jesus will tell us now to let the good intentions from within emerge: love, compassion, justice, mercy, humility, forgiveness. As in the words of Yahweh through prophet Micah in the Old Testament, “You have already been told what is right and what Yahweh wants of you. Act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God.” (Micah 6:8) Imagine a world, a nation, a community when we let these intentions manifest in our day to day life, in our relationships, ministries, prayers and liturgies. And we can make manifest these intentions when we go back to Jesus and continue his mission. For the Lord has anointed him, to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, to the let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favor! ##