November 24, 2019, Christ the King/Reign of Christ*Pangangalaga Sa Sarili

Floyd  Castro, United Methodist Church

 

Wing Garibay’s KAGANAPAN https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/emmanuel-garibay-1962-kaganapan-26-c-4a9461a9a6

 

Awit  122:1-5

2 Samuel 5:1-3

Mga Tga Colosa s 1:12-20

Lucas  23:35-43

 

 

Self-preservation. Pangangalaga sa sarili. Sariling kaligtasan. Ito ang hamon ng “crowd” kay Hesus habang siya ay nakapako sa krus.

Bukod sa hostile ang mga taong nakapaligid kay Hesus, nasa dehado siyang kalagayan dahil kahit ang karamihan sa kanyang mga alagad ay takot at marahil ay kasalukuyan nang nagtatago.

Mahirap ilarawan ang sakit at panghihinang nararamdaman ni Hesus. Marahil alam niyang kung hindi maiibsan ang sakit mula sa mga bugbog at sugat, ito na ang kanyang ikamamatay.

Naka-program sa utak nating mga tao ang pangangalaga sa sarili. May instinct ang bawat isa sa atin na tumutulong upang manatili tayong buhay o ligtas mula sa kapahamakan. Halimbawa, hindi natin kailangang isiping huminga dahil alam ng utak natin na kailangan itong gawin ng regular para mabuhay. Automatic nating binibitawan ang mga bagay na mainit o nakakapaso. Lumalayo o umiiwas tayo sa mga lugar at taong pinaniniwalaan natin maaaring magpapahamak sa atin.

Maraming mukha ang self-preservation sa lipunan. Nagsusumikap ang marami sa pag-aaral para makasigurong magiging maayos (o nakabubuhay) ang kinabukasan. Naghahanap-buhay ang mga tao sa iba’t ibang paraang kaya (kasama ang mga itinuturing na “iligal”) upang may mapagkunan ng pagkain, inumin, at iba pang pangunahing pangangailangan. Namamalimos, nangunguha ng pagkain sa basura o nagnanakaw naman ang iba; isinusuko ang dignidad o “moralidad” para lang maitawid ang pang-araw-araw na pangangailangan ng katawan.

Nagiging mas mahirap para sa isang pangkaraniwang empleyado ang mamasukan sa Kamaynilaan kung palaging mabigat ang trapik – kaya kailangang paalisin ang mga street vendors. Nagpapalala sa sitwasyon ng kalsada ang mga jeepney drivers na walang disiplina kung magmaneho kaya kailangang i-phase-out ang mga gamit nilang sasakyang nagbubuga ng maruming usok.

Kailangang tanggalin sa trabaho ang mga empleyado bago mag 6 na buwan para masigurado ng may-ari ang tina-target na kita. Magiging mas affordable ang pagkain kung hindi magkakaroon ng limitasyon ang pagpasok ng imported rice. Kailangang gumanda ang political image ng mga nanunungkulan kaya gumagastos ng malaki para sa media/social media campaign imbes na bigyan ng pansin ang serbisyong panlipunan.

Para maprotektahan ang mga taga-lungsod mula sa tagtuyot o kakulangan sa tubig, kailangang gumawa ng mga dambuhalang dam. Labis na pagmimina naman ang magsu-supply sa highly computerized at connected na lifestyle ng marami para sa kanilang kabuhayan at entertainment.

Makikita natin sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng lipunan ang banggaan ng pangangailangan at nais ng mga tao kung saan mas lalong nawawalan ang halos wala, humihina ang mas mahina, natatalo ang hindi nakikiagaw.

Hindi malayo sa inaasahan ang hamon ng mga tao kay Hesus dahil natural lang na gawin ng isang taong may kapangyarihan ang lahat upang mailigtas niya ang kanyang sarili mula sa kapahamakan. Ginagamit ng tao ang kakayahan na mayroon siya upang mabuhay o ma-secure ang buhay na may kasiguruhan. Mananamantala, makikipag-agawan, mandadaya; tatanggap o mangunguha ng hindi para sa kanya kahit pa tapakan ang pagkatao ng iba. Sa kabilang banda, mayroon namang sinasagad sa pagod ang katawan sa pagtatrabaho, magpupuyat at pagtitiisan kahit ang tratong di-makatao kumita lang ng sapat para mabuhay.

Ngunit may alternatibo sa self preservation. Totoong mahalaga ang pagmamahal o pangangalaga sa sarili kasama ang mga itinuturing na bahagi ng sarili (gaya ng pamilya). Pero ipinakita ni Hesus na kahit sa pinakamasakit (o tila mababang) bahagi ng kanyang buhay, ang pag-igpaw sa sarili upang magbigay ng buhay at pag-asa sa iba ay ang katangian ng totoong may kapangyarihan. Para kay Hesus, hindi lang para sa sarili ang taglay na lakas o kakayahan. Ang kaharian ng Diyos ay hindi nasasaksihan sa pagpapakita ng lakas at lalong hindi ito nakakulong sa pagliligtas ng sarili. Tulad ni Hesus, sa pamamagitan ng ating taglay na lakas maaari nating makita at maunawaan ang kalagayan ng iba at gagamitin ito upang samahan ang isa’t isa sa hinahangad na “paraiso”.##

November 17, 2019* 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday before the Feast of Christ the King Two Sundays before Advent!*Of Signs, Warnings And The Coming Of A King

Weena Salvador Meily, Association of Women in Theology (AWIT)

 

https://jtbarts.com/gallery/believers-road-series-2/rooted/

November is the month of praying for our beloved departed (at least in many churches) and I created a collage of photos of my ancestors ca. 1930s to the 1980s.  I want to remember them. A way of honoring those who have contributed to who I am now. I can’t help it, the most number of photos are my mother’s.  Her memory lingers. There are departed who we remember always and still even celebrate their lives.  But there are those forgotten. Those who remain cold tombstones in cemeteries. Not even a single memory.  There are unnamed, unknown, unidentified. It is these unknown ones that I would like to celebrate.  I would like to invite you dear reader, that we reflect on this together.  I like making connections.  Let’s try to connect things here. These Sunday Readings, November-Month-Of-Beloved-Departed, our ancestors, the unknown ones, unknowing, signs, Life, Death and glorious anticipation of the Birth of the Savior.

 

It is good to notice that the readings are all in anticipation of a celebration of the Kingship of Jesus.  This is the last remaining days of the celebrations or feasts in our Church Calendar. Next Sunday will be the Feast of Christ The King.  How fitting to begin a Calendar of the coming of the Babe in the manger with a dramatic passionate life as the in-betweener, and a glorious resurrection, triumphant, and victorious overcoming death! If only we know all of what the  details are.  But we do know some.  And that is the good news. The good news is that the word of God is not mere words.  They are meant to act on.  Yes, to act on our words.  I remember mom, when somebody promises her something, this feisty woman would always say, “May God be in your words!” When we read Jesus’ life, we read a very ordinary man who lived his life extraordinarily, dangerously, always at the risk of disturbing the comfort zone of the people and shaking the status quo. I remember a Muslim friend once told me, how genuine a prophet Jesus was. And so it was. Being put to death isn’t an easy thing to accept.  And living a life of constantly unfolding the Truth, definitely is not easy.

 

The Gospel this Sunday rests on some very disturbing words. And one that can shake your knees literally.  Jesus’ words sound like a creepy voice coming out of some live oracle from an ancient temple. But sorry, not a fan of those things.  Not a fan of future-telling ala Nostradamus inflicting fear on gullible souls ready to plunge into anything to be freed from chastisement.  Nope, not my cup of tea.  Rather I would dwell on the message as clear as clean running water, not taken literally of course, but taken after a thorough listening “with the ear of the heart”; after a stillness and silence, something like coming out of a long deep rest where you feel refreshed and renewed…

 

To be able to gain a perspective, may I invite you to look at the two “bookends” that hold our Sunday Gospel together.  Let’s go back a little further.  Let’s check out Lk. 21:1-4, a set of verses before this Sunday’s.  We read about the “widow’s mite”.  Very briefly, the good news goes straight to the heart. Out of the widow’s poverty, love pours out.  Wonderful news even more for those who are poor, and yet did not know that, yes, God sees your heart. Not your fat bank account! On the side,  remember, the widow is an Unnamed One. This Unnamed One, becomes a sign for all to see.  A sign for all to learn from.  Then comes our Sunday reading, where we read about scary signs of destruction. And after a series of warnings, Jesus assures us that he is the One who will stand for us in the midst of this crises. He becomes the Sign of Life in the midst of Death (vv.14-15).  Then a warning again, and finally the reading ends with another invitation to trust our own self, our “patient endurance”, that which will save us.

 

Save us from what?  If Gospel is for everyday life, how do I translate this to my daily walk, my daily journey with my family, my colleagues, my classmates, my friends and most particularly, the unlovables in my life?   To save us means to heal our brokenness and make us whole.  To make us see again the love that holds us together.  In the Psalm reading or Responsorial Psalm, the writer assures us that God is faithful, that ALL have seen God’s saving power   (v. 3).  I would like to take this as saying that God is indeed inclusive. Yes, ALL. God has revealed LOVE to ALL.  God’s might rests on including ALL. God is faithful to ALL. How comforting! No wonder, the Benedictines emphasize the “welcoming heart”, the “hospitable heart” of God.

 

Now, in the next set of verses, still there is mention of signs (vv. 20-27 and ff); terrible ones. That will mean the world is groaning.  The earth weeps at catastrophes and its destruction.  But, in the end there will be “the Son of Man, coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (v. 27)  See the bookends and the in-between?  The widow’s mite (out of poverty comes great love), the warnings and more terrible signs (our Gospel Reading today), and the promise of the coming of a Savior.

 

There you have now a wonderful threefold presentation of another way of looking at the coming of Jesus the Christ.   Yes, we are warned.  A great warning for oppressors. A warning for those depriving workers of their just wages.  A warning for those killing the young, the fathers, the mothers, those who have already been condemned without due process. A warning for those manipulating laws to serve their personal interests.  A warning for those who deplete our Mother Nature in the name of profit.  A warning for those who abuse the youth, the women, the land, and all of life.  Jesus comes.  And he comes urging us to be seekers of truth and to stand for this truth.  His Mother, Mary of the Magnificat is aware of these oppressors, when she said, “the proud will be pulled down from their thrones, the hungry will be filled and the rich will be sent away empty”.  Because out of the Poverty of God, Love poured out in the human Jesus who offered his life so that we may learn how to live.

 

Those who are killed out of the greed of others, they are me,you, us.  Those who are treated unjustly as workers, those who die without a face, who are born without a face in society because of poverty.  They are unknown. And they are us. No matter how disconnected persons may seem because of indifference, of lack of concern and unpeace, they are you, me, and us. We are called to be ready to stand and be transfigured by the “encounter with direct connection with the Holy” (cf. Mirabai Starr); with the God of lovingkindness; with the God who disturbs; with the God who welcomes us to unknowing, because it is in unknowing where we become open to the Truth.

 

 

Let me close this reflection with a prayer attributed to the German Woman Theologian, Dorothee Soelle…

 

Dream Me, God

 

It’s not you who should solve my problems, God,

but I yours, God of the asylum-seekers.

It’s not you who should feed the hungry,

But I who should protect your children from

the terror of the banks and armies.

It’s not you who should make room for the refugees, but

I who should receive you, hardly

hidden God of the desolate.

You dreamed me God, practicing walking upright and learning

to kneel down more beautiful than I am now, happier

than I dare to be

freer than our country.

Don’t stop dreaming me God.

I don’t want to stop remembering that I am your tree,

planted by the streams of living water.##

 

 

 

 

November 10, 2019, 22nd Sunday after Pentecost*May Your Reign and will be done on earth as it is in heaven!

Koko Alviar, Kalipunanag  Kristinong  Kabataan ng Pilipinas

 

Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8,15
2Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
2Thess 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38

 

I set foot on Eastern Visayas for the very first time in my life back in September 2017.

The National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) had sent me there to interview the Yolanda survivors in Salvacion, Basey, and Odoc and Ferreras in Marabut, two of the most heavily-pounced towns in Samar. The super typhoon that pummeled the Visayas on Nov. 8 six years ago is still the country’s deadliest typhoon, claiming around 6,300 lives (maybe more).

All the interviewees had a singular claim about the NCCP response. I posted on Facebook a week later, already back in Manila: “The Yolanda engagement helped people uplift themselves, the survivors said. True enough, the people realized the accountability of the government and the community; the chronic poverty and landlessness that make them more vulnerable to crises; and the need to prepare for ‘the unexpected.’”

The response stood out, the people claimed. When they thought the organization came to give them relief packs, they received “dignity packs.” When they thought the group would leave immediately, NCCP helped them build their homes and livelihoods, even joined their fiestas. When they thought the group was trying to save them, NCCP clarified that they were there merely to accompany them as they pulled themselves together and lifted each other up.

A few months after, NCCP launched with Roman Catholic and Evangelical humanitarian workers a uniting platform for faith-based work. I was part of the team that authored the unity statement, which read: “We may hold diverse theological and doctrinal opinions and traditions, but compassion and love, above all else, call us to transform our faith into action… Our work prompts us to seek out peripheral communities and journey with them as they reclaim their dignity.”

Touched by fellowships with the awesome humanitarian workers at NCCP, I began exploring ecumenism in its full breadth and depth. To this day, I consider my work with them “salvific,” saving me from being an armchair Christian and transforming my heart for greater service. I continue to reap the rewards of being with Christians who, driven by a faith above denominations, see the world’s pain and go there with true compassion. Those humanitarian workers continue on their ministries, helping the disaster-stricken so that they become more than survivors; so that they become advocates for all the others who face vulnerabilities.

So, imagine my disbelief when on Nov 5, as I scrolled Twitter, I discovered that Major General Reuben Basiao, Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, said in a meeting of the House committee on national defense and security that NCCP and 17 other humanitarian organizations were “Communist Terrorist Group Front Organizations.” The AFP and the Department of National Defense were now indiscriminately red-tagging legitimate civic organizations, never mind their solid track record.

There’d been “clarifications” in the succeeding days, as more organizations rose up to hit the claims. Major General Antonio Parlade of the National Task for to End Local Communist Armed Conflict said that, indeed, NCCP was on the military watchlist but not in its entirety. Damage has been done, however (and, in Biblical standards, a sweeping accusation that alleges even the innocent is a grave sin!). Following raids, public pronouncements and more, one would be remiss to say this effort was not part of a bigger smear campaign criminalizing “good work” and legitimate dissent in this country – all to break the spirit of democracy with fear and violence.

I take all these into my reflection on this week’s readings. The present context has, in fact, helped me connect what may otherwise be seen as disconnected stories: The texts remind me that we serve because we are all ultimately bound by our relationship with God and that, even if we suffer in our servanthood to God, God’s mercy and grace endure steadfastly.

Speaking to me loudly was the reading from 2 Maccabees. I had this mysterious urge to read the tragic story of the mother and her seven children in full. Shortly before the revolt of Judas Maccabeus, Antiochus IV Epiphanes arrested the household and tried to force them to eat pork, a symbolic act to reject their Jewish faith.

One by one, the children refused and were tortured to death. Each one saw their trial as an opportunity to affirm their faith. The mother, whom the writer calls the most remarkable of all, encouraged the children to be steadfast in the middle of the trial and, in doing so, “combined womanly emotion with manly courage.” The mother is known variously in Catholic and Orthodox annals – including as “Hannah,” the name of a good Methodist friend of mine who has served at NCCP for years now.

Perhaps the divine was that mysterious urge to read the text. After reading, I immediately thought the mother reflected what NCCP has been in my own life.

Ecumenists like myself are not new to suspicion and branding. People have asked ecumenical individuals at different points what has kept us on the ministry and, like the children in 2 Maccabees, we would say the same things with different wordings (some would mock us for using the same tropes again and again – abundant life, salt and light, love thy neighbor, etc.). But, like all other Christians, we can do no more or less than take our Bible-based faith. The only difference I see is that we choose to enrich the Word with the experiences we absorb from being with the underserved, abandoned and destitute.

To me and many others, NCCP has been the parent taking on many gender roles and physical forms to empower us in empowering others. It has come to me as Hannah or Snap or Cheekai, Father Edoi or Bishop Rex or Elmo, Tita Minnie or Kuya Ed or Ylah, among others. Because of NCCP’s presence in my life, I know that God has been with me, giving me that “eternal encouragement and good hope” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians – watching me and guiding me, sustaining me and lifting me up as I do good work.

“Don’t be afraid of this butcher,” the mother told her youngest son in the reading. That, to me, is NCCP: faithful and bold and encouraging. No one in my life has come to make me experience such a genderqueer imaging of parenthood – and of God – better than NCCP, in its entirety.
They say that ecumenists have been brainwashed, that we grew different, that we ceased to be Christian. At my very core, I have rather become informed, reformed and transformed; become more purpose-driven. Ultimately, above and beyond the twisted standards of this plane of existence, God will welcome those who bear the Cross, what the Gospel according to Luke refers to as “children of the resurrection.” Seeing how my faith grew with ecumenism, that prospect excites me and challenges me.

Despite the misjudgment and misinformation, NCCP continues to serve vulnerable communities with compassion and love, regardless of their creed and standing in society, and focused on the divine gift of dignity and the mission of abundant life. It also continues to reach out to government and nongovernment organizations seeing the work of greater equity and enduring peace as the work of all.

I can only hope we stop being dismissive of ecumenical work and, as churches and church people, pick up learnings from how NCCP has worked in spite of the misconceptions and other trials. Truth be told, not many organizations will claim to work with the same moral and administrative consistency. Six years after Yolanda, two years after I met the villagers in Samar, when most organizations have left, as we forget that the government still has not fulfilled its promise to “build back better” in many places, as Eastern Visayas persists to be among the poorest regions in the country, NCCP continues to be there. But I have said enough.

In NCCP’s continuing stand for abundant life, in its sincere try to establish Heaven here and now, I stand with it. I approach God with the closing prayer of the FBO PH statement: “‘May Your Reign and will be done on earth as it is in heaven!’ Amen.”

November 3, 2019* 21st Sunday after Pentecost *Take Side As Jesus Did

 

                                     Faith Justice S. Sanchez. Untitrf Church

 

https://truthbook.com/jesus-pictures/zaccheus-the-chief-publican-happiness-picture

Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4
Psalms 119:137-144
Isaiah 1:10-18
Psalms 32:1-7
2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12
Luke 19:1-10
All of us for sure agree on one thing, that Gospel stories have always been so interesting and memorable ever since. The gospel is the story of Jesus and the characters He met as well. We know Jesus in His conduct with people He met. By then, that is how we appreciate Jesus and as we continue to hear the stories, our knowledge eventually widens and we try to define the characters in us with Jesus’. Here, we say that by examining such, we get to know more about Jesus and people and about ourselves.

In the gospel reading for today, I believe this is one of our favorites — The story of Zaccheaus (Luke 19:1-10). Familiar as it is, he was despised by his fellow Jews for being an agent of the Roman State. He was branded a “sinner” for being a traitor to his own people and forsaking the laws of God. As a tax collector, he collected revenues as well as briberies, and thus he abused his position through extortion. By the time he met and talked with Jesus, he made an about-face transformation in his life and work! He gave directly to the poor and returned what he owed to those whom he had cheated and gave back what he took from them. The instance of giving not directly to the temple is presented in this story instead those in need were given directly. This has always been a very applicable lesson to all of us – we give and share. This practice has been evident to many – giving directly to those in need. In the Gospel, this kind of giving is Zaccheaus’ ‘turned about‘, he stopped from cheating people. He followed Jesus Christ. It was a radical change.

Along with this thought of radical transformation, is also the observation of the 21st Day of Pentecost. The Pentecost signifies the coming down of the Holy Spirit that empowers us to live out our hope by our words and in deeds – thus, courage-to-be and the power-of-being complete our victory over all the cares and burdens that have been pressing us to the ground. To the believers, the key to seeing the consequences of disobeying God’s design of moral social order has been given. The Christian flock has been given the mission of living out Jesus’ way of realizing God’s justice on earth.

In relation thereof, we are called to take action against moral injustice, as declared in Habakkuk 2:1-4 “Write the vision; make it on tablets, so that the runner may read it.” This verse, when considered within the context of the book’s focus on social iniquities and God’s justice, implores us not to stand idly by as society’s misfortunate are being exploited. We must speak out and bring awareness to these abuses.

As Church people, we have always been taught to follow Christ. We are reminded to always reflect and live, move on the empowering presence of the Spirit that enables the church to do mission work. It’s the Spirit that inspires and energizes the mission of the church. The main message of such is: the Spirit of God is poured forth to the church to enable the church to respond to this most basic of human needs.

Have these been done by our church? How about in our institutional offices, are these even lived out? In our own respective lives, how do these relate with our daily activities?

Relatively, as what Isaiah 1:17 says: “learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; defend the orphan, plead for the widow,” this highlights the very important role of following Christ. The Israelites have their practice of offering of their best to God, following laws strictly, etc. However, God was not pleased with their religious practices, i.e. festivals, burning offerings because the (people) failed to perform the more important obligation, which is to work for the reign of justice in society, as it is the right thing to do.

The challenge is still the same today for us until now, though in a different context. When do we say that we are doing good and is pleasing to the eyes of God? Singing praises to God, going to church every Sunday, attending Bible Study once or twice a week, joining camps and fellowships of the Christian organizations, etc – these are true. We recognize these programs and activities and we are glad that we have those kind of such in order to nurture and educate our church members. However, may we also be reminded of what is really pleasing to God, it is what you do to the least of your brothers and sisters . This would mean that we must not play blind and dumb of the injustices, oppression, extortion, and impunity experienced by our society today. Following Jesus is never easy. It is becoming selfless and always thinking of others who are really in need, those who need God the most.

It is never easy because as the book of Isaiah also has highlighted two factors; the people who are doing injustices and oppression against the powerless, and the people who have done nothing or refused to hand help and remained silent.

I remember a story shared to us during our YAPA (Youth Advocates for Peace in Asia 2018) by one of the speakers: there was a masculine man who saw a woman and planned to take advantage of her. A young man came to picture and saw the mysterious actions of the masculine man towards the woman. The masculine man then tried to insist himself towards the woman and was about to rape her.”

The young man may have chosen not to do anything and opted not to see or bother to help the woman. But I hope this speaks for us today, to take side and speak up for those who have been hurt and those who cannot defend themselves. Because not doing anything in times such these, is siding with those of the oppressor.

It is very important to note that in situation that our brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing, we should always learn to take side of those who are being exploited, oppressed and deprived of injustice. We should always be ready to discern of the things we are into and think of what we can offer to the most people who are in need.

It is indeed very important for us as church people to engage with the Scripture and not to stop only there but to live by it as well.

For as long as long as there is hunger, victims of injustice, convicted without due process, people whose dignity are abused are among us, as long as peace that is based on justice is not established here and now, we should take side as what Jesus did. He was with the people in the community, with the marginalized, with the lepers, with the disadvantaged, the vulnerable. He was in solidarity with them, feeling their pain, understanding their struggle, conversing with them and helping them. And so must we!##