Sept 1,2019*22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time ( 12th Sunday after Pentecost) *

Sr. Gemma Dinglasan, RGS

https://pastoralponderings.wordpress.com/tag/luke-147-14

Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Psalms 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24

Sun, the superpower of the solar system and its central figure energizes and gives direction to the gravitational force of all the objects that orbit it still has the time to provide the plants energy needed for photosynthesis – in my own words, I call this process “greenifying” the leaves.
This Sunday’s readings are talking about humility. The first reading – Book of Sirach, says that God favors those who humbly listen with an attentive ear, and in the New Testament, Jesus states explicitly that those who humble themselves will be exalted. Reflecting on this, I immediately thought of the Sun – the main source of planet Earth’s energy. Excuse me for being too simple or too naive for using the most ordinary and common facts. Humility for me is – when the “superpower” looks at each one equally and provides with a great deal of equity. The quality of what the moon gets from the sun equates with what a bunch of bananas need to ripen, as if the sun has nothing else to do.

Humility is when we are using our talents, our abilities and all our resources for the benefit of all – equally but first characterized with equity.
Sad to say that this idea of humility is no longer working in today’s world. Everyone wants to be first, to be on top. Humility is becoming more and more a strange word, a forgotten virtue. To get ahead in life, one needs to be aggressive and get the approval of those in power. And we allknow that this is the value of the current socio-economic-political scenario of the Philippines.
Humility is not for those who want to be known but for losers. Unlike the sun that shines both to the good and the bad, today’s “superpowers” shine only to those who can be seen
neglecting those who have no voice, those who are not nice to look at, those who are a threat to their position. May we learn the lesson given by the sun- to treat each one equitably rendering justice according to natural right specifically freedom from bias or favoritism before treating each one equally where everyone starts at the same level.

To us and to those who forget the value of humility, I got this poem written by Matshona Dhliwayo:
“Before you are a champion you are an amateur.
Before you are a general you are a warrior.
Before you are a politician you are a constituent.
Before you are a president you are a citizen.
Before you are a pastor you are a parishioner.
Before you are a pope you are a priest.
Before you are a teacher you are a student.
Before you are a guru you are a disciple.
Before you are an inventor you are a scientist.
Before you are a judge you are a lawyer.
Before you are a maestro you are an apprentice.
Before you are a coach you are an athlete.
Before you are a genius you are a talent.
A humble amateur is better than a proud champion.
A humble warrior is better than a proud general.
A humble constituent is better than a proud politician.
A humble citizen is better than a proud president.
A humble parishioner is better than a proud pastor.
A humble priest is better than a proud pope.
A humble student is better than a proud teacher.
A humble disciple is better than a proud guru.
A humble scientist is better than a proud inventor.
A humble lawyer is better than a proud judge.
A humble apprentice is better than a proud expert.
A humble athlete is better than a proud coach.
A humble talent is better than a proud genius.”
The real superpower are those who humble themselves for they will be exalted…and will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.##

 

August 25, 2019, 11th Sunday after Pentecost*A LIFE WELL-LIVED

Levi  Viloria Albania, United Methodist Church

Psalm 117
Isaiah 66:18-21
Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Luke 13:22-30

It was shortly after sunrise last Monday that I was scanning through the local news when I’ve read about the death of Ms. Regina Paz “Gina” Lopez. She was a popular philanthropist and environmentalist having been a long-time chairperson of ABS-CBN Foundation and was a former Environment Secretary. For the next few hours and days, I have been reading accolades, tributes, and eulogies given by people close to her and even those who admired her from a distance. What caught my attention was there were a number of mentions that she “had a life well-lived”. Many of us are aware that she comes from an ultra rich family but chose to live the life of a missionary for twenty years. Upon joining back her family and their multiple businesses and interests, she had already built a strong commitment to serve those who were out of her “class”. She was an heiress who chose to be a people’s servant until the day that she died. Indeed, she had a life well-lived and she was well-loved.

The gospel today invites us to reflect not only on death and salvation but more importantly about living and living well. “Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”. Wearing my hat as a teacher, if I hear such a question today, I would be quick to infer that the person asking is quite competitive that she or he would be interested to know however irrelevant the answer to it might be. But, Jesus was also quick to reply and re-focus the question to what is essential.

Trying to put to heart what this story is telling me, I recall how several times I am quick to believe that I am saved simply because I have been a believer for many years. It is very easy for us Christians, or for the Jews during His time, to have the wrong sense of entitlement to believe that somehow God is compelled to save us simply because it was written in the Bible.

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to…”. The gospel proceeds to tell about people’s frustration about being rejected despite claiming to have heard or seen, or in our time, read about Him. I believe that it is quite clear that God is reminding us that Jesus is the only the way to salvation. The reward to eternal life greatly depends on how much we know Him. It is not enough that we claim we have been baptized in His temple. Remember, even those who claim that they have spent time with Him were not assured of heaven.

Focusing on the narrow door is quite similar to aiming for God’s Kingdom. Focusing entails the resolve to follow Jesus in every way. The quality of our relationship with Him will greatly depend on how much we seek Him, read about Him, believe in Him, introduce Him to our friends, perform acts of mercy to all of His people, and to do best what we were called to do every day. These, among other things, are what it entails to follow Him and be His disciple.

To be his disciple today would require us to reflect on what would Jesus do if He were physically with us now. During His time, He would speak out on what was wrong in the church as well as in society. He did so neither to abolish the law nor to bring chaos but to establish order based on God’s great plan for creation. Today, to follow Jesus means one must muster all the courage to speak the truth, because society is not always keen on believing the unpopular, dissenters, and those who are critical. To be his disciple today means to be Christ’s voice and His hands reaching out to others today and every day.

The gospel invites us to enter the narrow door today. This door leads to Jesus, it leads to a genuine conversion and an intimate relationship with Him. In that special place, there is no room for judging or discriminating people because of their expressions and beliefs. Beyond that door, there is enough room for everyone to be saved. As you enter the narrow door, you would be happy to know that there is a different measure used about following Jesus and taking up His cross and it is completely out of this world. What I am completely ecstatic about is in that room, we can see all sorts of expressions in glorifying God by serving all of His creation. Indeed, if we simply focus our lives on that narrow door, it shall be a life worth-living.

Today, let us rid ourselves of the anxious, or, selfish question of how few will be saved in this life. Instead, let us continue to focus on following Him who gives life to all who seek Him.

Live, Jesus, in our hearts forever!##

 

August 18, 2019, 10th Sunday after Pentecost*Compassion and Courage

Rev. Cathy Chang, Presbyterian Church

 

Psalm 40:2-4,

18 Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Hebrews 12:1-4

Luke 12:49-53

 
What do we do when our own life is caught between life and death? What can we say and do when we see many lives of our very people, who are caught between life and death? Who can we turn to? Who do we trust? How do we honor those who have gone before us? How then do we live?
Even before we have opened the pages of the Bible, many are asking similar questions and seeking answers.
Today’s Scripture lessons introduce to us the people who are caught between death and life, and their specific life and death situations. Zedekiah the king and Jeremiah the prophet, while they might seem like historical figures, remind us of people and behaviors from a contemporary context. Jesus who stood in the face of opposition and even death, teaches his followers to do the same. Even Ebed-melech, is remembered by name and for his actions to save Jeremiah’s life so that he can continue to speak the word of the Lord. The Psalmist gives voice to a person recalling God’s faithfulness, after being rescued from the brink of death.
While there is compassion and courage in these Scriptures, maybe we’re looking for something more. Maybe it’s not enough to sing after we’ve been rescued. It’s not enough knowing that today’s martyrs could become tomorrow’s cloud of witnesses. Could it be that most unlikely people become the likeliest people to demonstrate compassion and courage, when caught between life and death?
As an Ethiopian eunuch working for the King Zedekiah (his name means “servant of the king”), Ebed-melech’s life was never his own. And yet, he risked his life to plead for Jeremiah’s life to be spared from the cistern where King Zedekiah intended for him to die. Before his life and his allegiance might have been devoted to Zedekiah, but this time, Ebed-melech was serving another King. And still Zedekiah wouldn’t listen to Jeremiah’s prophecies about the impending destruction of Jerusalem and eventual exile to Babylon.
Jesus knew this all too well: no matter how much Jesus talked and ministered to the people, some would never turn from their ways and listen to him. Jesus created more division than peace among people, because not everyone enjoyed justice and dignity.
If Filipino families are anything like that my Latin American in-laws, we don’t understand politics and discuss history in the same way: some generations will praise previous presidential administrations, while others will be critical of them. Today some generations will see no human rights violations, while other generations will become human rights defenders.
Indeed, many Filipinos have lived full lives and bestowed legacies of serving the community, country and a cause greater than themselves. What about the Filipinos who never experienced the fullness of their lifetimes, because of forced disappearances and extra-judicial killings? Have they not bestowed similar legacies? In the wake of their deaths, many have already embodied compassion and courage in their remaining years, such as the daughter of a human rights lawyer; the mother of a student leader; the women whose sons and husbands mistaken as drug addicts or pushers; family members of farmers; and the list goes on.
Like Ebed-melech, many are still working towards the fullness of life for all people, in the face of life-threatening or life-destroying circumstances that are justified as government policy, hailed as economic reform, rationalized as national security. In life and in death, their actions might be tagged as sedition, terrorism or being hard-headed children. Fear could prevent and paralyze them from standing up and showing up, instead they are showing us what compassion and courage look like, in life and in death.##

August 4, 2019, 8th Sunday after Pentecost*God will Triumph, Not Capitalism or Greed

Fr. Delfo Canceran, OP

https://beyond-the-political-spectrum.tumblr.com/post/96870727731/yes-15-an-hour-may-be-a-little-too-much-to

Ps 95:1-2, 6-9

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23

Col 3:1-5, 9-11

Luke 12:13-21

The gospel passsage speaks of inheritance and greed. People become greedy by taking the big pie, if not all. Greed destroys relationship because it turns into the self and revolves around itself. There is forgetfulness of others and even separation  from others.

Just recently Pope Francis characterizes capitalism as terrorism to humanity. Capitalism is the plenty of the rich and the void of the rest. It rests on accumulation and the expansion of wealth at the expense of labor and environment. It threatens human existence on earth. The impoverished and the indigenous peoples are mostly affected by this terrorism.

The environmental degradation is an evidence of the limitation of wealth. The capitalists endeavor to amass more wealth through their profit. They exploit not just the availability of cheap and insecure labor but also the abuse and neglect of the natural environment. They forget that they get their wealth from the earth and labor.

The veto of the security of tenure (sol) of labor is the triumph of capitalism under Deterte administration who made a campaign promise to end endo. He has failed labor and sided with capital. The laborers are asking for just share in the wealth creation or production but capitalists refuse to share or give their equitable share.

Capitalists proclaim the triumph of capital and the end of labor in their monopoly of wealth and greed of profit. They refuse to sacrifice for the sake of labor. They continue with their luxurious lifestyles and indifference to the plight of labor and the earth. They disconnect themselves from their relationship.

The gospel passage ends with death and judgement. There will be an end to capitalism and irruption of the Reign of God. God will triumph, not capitalism or greed. The Reign of God is the domain of generosity and hospitability. Everybody is invited to partake in the banquet but everyone who attends it must do the will of God.##