First Sunday of Lent*Feb 26,2023* Temptations

Dss. Norma P. Dollaga, KASIMBAYAN

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Gn 2:7-9; 3:1-7

Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17

Rom 5:12-19

Mt 4:1-11

Magical. Spectacular. Powerful. Center of Attraction.  Rock Star.

Are they bad?  Is it bad to dream to be on the top?

In seeking answers to these, maybe a question can be posited: “para saan, at para kanino?”   (for what and for whom?).

You want to be the wealthiest person in the world? At whose cost? You want to be the super imperialist country with sophisticated weapons? To whose benefit? You want a charter change? At whose value? You want a position of privilege and power in the bureaucracy? At whose gain? You want to control the supply and trade of onions? At whose profit? You want to be popular? At whose sacrifice?

We all have wilderness episodes in our lives. The sharpening of contradictions as we take options in life’s journey shapes our being. The contradictions could not be such a  cool,  enjoyable moment – but perhaps, a lamenting period in our journey,  loaded with intellectual, spiritual, and emotional components and yes with a political tone. After all, the choice we make reveals a political standpoint.

This year, we are remembering the 37th anniversary of People Power. We celebrate the courage, tenacity, and wisdom of those who led us to victory. But, I am sure that those who sacrificed and genuinely served the interest of the people had their moments of “wilderness experience.” The threats, the risks, and the dangers may have swayed them to doubt the effectiveness of what they do.  The temptation of non-sustainable food relief rather than pursuing economic salvation from neo-liberal policies, fame ( to be worshiped by the masses)  , and instantaneous victory,  were the things they must have confronted. They have overcome those doubts and emerged victorious. Now, those threats, risks and dangers were real to many activists as they were before.

An activist, a revolutionary, and a prophet must have gone through a series of “wilderness” experiences, and each must have gone through the process of personal and political remolding to achieve the deepest and highest service to others.  Those who chose not to remain silent over the atrocities of the dictator, knew that to achieve a people’s victory, a process of organizing and mobilizing people cannot be done in haste. That was why those who participated in defying and resisting Marcos the dictator went through the arduous, painful, and difficult process of immersing with people- to humbly learn with them, and take courses of action with them. It cannot be like  “throwing yourself down  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone even as angels will protect you.”   There was no deception. No magical spectacular show of self-indulgence.  They who smelled like sheep knew what it is to be hungry and persecuted with people.  

Jesus, in his journey, was confronted with temptations. As anyone who genuinely loves the people, Jesus tested himself –how far his inner strength would overcome his vulnerabilities.  Personal ambitions can often distract the ability to carry on the mission. This temptation is real and part of the growing pains.  Anyone who had an experience of overcoming this can share how she or he addressed it without guilt-tripping or blaming the people surrounding him.  Facing the contradictions of an activists life inevitably come and has to be confronted. The gift and power to choose and take action are determined by the depth of love one gives to the very people who have been victims of oppression and exploitation.

It is also true that the agents of evil are always around and within.   They can use poverty,  hardships, threats, the family, and loved ones as hostages so that the followers of TRUTH will give up. The agents of evil can use laws, prisons, the militaristic scheme to harass today’s prophets, activists,  and even revolutionaries and tag them as terrorists. The wilderness moments are indeed around and within.  Our prayers, solidarity, and our oneness with the oppressed are helpful in these days of torment and terror.

Feb. 19,2023*Sunday in Ordinary Time*Pag-ibig at Pakikibaka

Rev. Israel Alvaran, United Methodist Church

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Lv 19:1-2, 17-18

Awit 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13

1 Cor 3:16-23

Mt 5:38-48

³⁸ “Narinig ninyong sinabi, ‘Mata sa mata at ngipin sa ngipin.’ ³⁹ Ngunit sinasabi ko sa inyo, huwag kayong gumanti sa masamang tao. Kung sinampal ka sa kanang pisngi, iharap mo rin sa kanya ang kaliwa. ⁴⁰ Kung isakdal ka ninuman upang makuha ang iyong damit, ibigay mo ito sa kanya pati ang iyong balabal. ⁴¹ Kung pilitin ka ng isang kawal na pasanin ang kanyang dala ng isang milya, pasanin mo iyon ng dalawang milya.”Mateo 5:38-41

Malimit natin marinig na ang Diyos ay pag-ibig. Itinuturo nga naman ni Hesus na ibigin natin ang ating kaaway. Ngunit ano ang tugon nating mga mananampalatayang Kristiyano kapag tayo ay humaharap at nakakaranas ng pang-aapi at pagsasamantala? Ibig sabihin ba nito na palalampasin natin ang pagyurak sa ating mga karapatan? Ibig sabihin ba nito na yuyuko na lang ba tayo at mananahimik? Mayroon bang ibang paraan na harapin natin ang kawalan ng hustisya na may pag-ibig? Ang pakikibaka ba at pag-ibig ay maaaring magkasama bilang tugon sa abuso at diskriminasyon?

Ang mga talata mula sa Ebanghelyo ayon kay Mateo 5:38-42 ang ginagamit ng marami na nagtuturo na dapat tayong maging mapagbigay kahit may pang-aabuso. Ito nga ba ang tamang pagbasa at pagunawa sa mga sinabi ni Hesus? Kung ito ang ating pangunawa sa mga talatang ito, binibigyan natin ng dagdag na kapangyarihan ang mapang-abuso – kinukunsinte natin ang kanilang kasamaan. Hindi lang ito mali, ito ay insulto sa Diyos na tumitindig laban sa ano mang pang-aapi. Ang Diyos ay pag-ibig ngunit sya rin ay Diyos ng katarungan.

Upang maunawaan natin ang mensahe ng mga talatang ito, balikan natin ang kasaysayan ng mga Hudyo noong panahong nabubuhay si Hesus.

Nasa ilalim ng imperyo ng Roma ang malaking bahagi ng mundo na kinagisnan at pinamuhayan ni Hesus. Kasama dito ang kanyang bayan ng Israel. Sa ilalim ng makapangyarihang mga Romano, naghihirap ang mga Hudyo dahil sa mga buwis at kawalan ng sapat na karapatang pang tao. Karaniwan ang mga karanasan ng pagsasamantala ng mga sundalong Romano: pananakit, pagpapahirap, pagnanakaw, pangaapi. Kung hindi ka Romano, wala kang sapat na karapatan kahit sa mga korte ng hustisya.

Ito ang konteksto ng buhay ni Hesus at ng kanyang mga katuruan. Ang kanyang mga parabula at kwento ay laging nagbibigay ng kahalagahan ng pagtatatag ng pamamayani ng Diyos, ng komunidad na may pag-ibig at katarungan. Ang kanyang mga katuruan ay laging laban sa ano mang pang-aapi ng mga may kapangyarihan at mayayaman – ng mga Romano at ng mga kaparian ng kanilang Templo.

Tingnan nating muli ang mga talata at alalahanin natin ang katayuan ng buhay ng mga mananampalataya noong panahon ng pananakop ng mga Romano. Sa pagsasaliksik ni Walter Wink, isang manunulat at guro ng pagaaral ng Bibliya, binubuksan nya ang posibilidad na basahin at unawain natin ang tugon ni Hesus sa harap ang pang-aapi – na ito ay hindi tugon na may takot at pagwawalang bahal sa kawalan ng hustisya. Ang utos ni Hesus ay tugon ng pag-ibig na nagpapa-alala sa mapang-api sa kasaamaan at kamalian ng kanilang mga aksyon. Isa-isahin natin ito.

“Kung sinampal ka sa kanang pisngi, iharap mo rin sa kanya ang kaliwa.”

Marahil marami sa mga tagasunod ni Hesus ay mahihirap at mga alipin. Alam ni Hesus na ang pananakot at pananakit ay ginagamit ng mga makapangyarihan at may-ari ng ng alipin. Sa panahon ni Hesus, ang pagsampal ay pagpapakita na hindi magkapantay ang sumasampal sa sinasampal, lalo na kung ito ay alipin lamang. Upang sampalin ka sa kanang pisngi, gagamitin ng nananakit sa iyo ang likod ng palad ng kanyang kanang kamay. Kung magkapantay kayo – mayaman at may kapangyarihan – ang gagamitin ng nanampal ay ang kanyang kanang palad mismo – hindi ang likod nito. Ang kanyang kanang palad ang tatama sa iyong pisngi. Kaya nga noong sinabi ni Hesus na kung sampalin ang alipin sa kanang pisngi ay ibigay mo ang iyong kaliwang pisngi. Hindi ito pagpapakumbaba kundi paghamon sa amo na tratuhin ka na kapantay. Upang masampal ang kaliwa pong pisngi, mapipilitan ang amo mo na gamitin nya ang kanyang palad. Ang turo ni Hesus na ito ay paglaban sa kawalan ng pagkakapantay-pantay at pang-aalipin. Ito rin ay paraan upang ipakita sa nangaapi na ikaw ay kapantay nya dahil ikaw ay anak din ng Diyos.

“Kung isakdal ka ninuman upang makuha ang iyong damit, ibigay mo ito sa kanya pati ang iyong balabal.”

Ang pagsampa ng kaso sa mga korte ay ginagamit ng mga mapang-api upang maliitin at ipahiya ang mga mahihirap. Kung ikaw ay magsasaka o manggagawa, at pinapautang ka ng may mataas na interes, hindi ka talaga makakabayad. Kaya nga kukumpiskahin ang damit mo. So tama ba ang turo ni Hesus na ibigay mo din ang iyong balabal? Kung hindi natin nauunawaan ang pag-iisip at mga katuruan ng mga tao nung panahon ni Hesus, gagamitin natin ang talatang ito upang ituro ang pagpapakumbaba at paghaya sa mga ginagawang kasamaan ng mapang-api. Kaya kung isakdal ka upang makuha ang damit mo, ibigay mo na pati balabal mo. Ibig sabihin at hayaan mo na umalis kang hubad sa korte. Dahil nga ikaw ay walang damit, maari kang magkasakit at hindi makapagtrabaho – kaya walang kikitain ang amo mo. Isa pang epekto nito ay ang pagpapahiya sa mga nagsampa ng kaso at nagnanakaw ng damit mo. Sa turo ng mga Hudyo, ayaw nila na makita ang isang hubad na tao. Kaya ang tugon ni Hesus na maghubad ka sa korte ay hindi tugon ng pagpapakababa sa harap ng pang-aapi. Ito ay tugon na nagpapahiya sa nagsakdal sayo sa korte.

“Kung pilitin ka ng isang kawal na pasanin ang kanyang dala ng isang milya, pasanin mo iyon ng dalawang milya.”

May batas sa imperyo ng Roma na nagbibigay ng kapangyarihan sa mga sundalo na utusan ang mga nasasakupan na magdala ng ano man ngunit hanggang isang milya lang. Kilala ang mga Romano na maglagay ng mga palatandaan ng milya sa kanilang mga kalsada sa buong imperyo. Ilan dito ay makikita sa Inglatera kahit sa panahong natin ngayon. Hindi katakataka na mautusan ng sundalo ang mga nasasakupan na magdala para sa kanila ng kahit ano na ayaw nilang dalhin. Minsan ito ay paraan ng pagpaparusa. Ngunit may batas din ang mga Romano na hanggang isang milya lang ang dapat pagbitbit ng sino mang kanilang mautusan. Kapag lumampas sa isang milya, mapaparusahan ang sundalo. Kaya ng ituro ni Hesus na pasanin mo pa hanggang dalawang milya, hinahamon mo ang kapangyarihan ng mga sundalo na umaapi sayo dahil sila ay parurusahan. Ito ay hindi paghaya na yapak-yapakan ka ng mapang-api, kundi paghamon sa kanilang kapangyarihan.

Mga kapatid, tumindig tayo laban sa mga kaaway ng katarungan. Ang pag-ibig at pakikibaka ang nararapat nating tugon. Hindi natin gagayahin ang kasamaan ng mapang-api sa paghihiganti kundi gamitin natin ang kanilang ginagawa upang ituro sa kanila na hindi nila tayo dapat saktan at apihin. Hindi tayo magiging tahimik o nagbubulag-bulagan sa kanilang kasamaan. Ang ating pananampalataya ay maipapakita natin sa pamamagitan ng pagtindi laban sa ano mang pang-aapi dahil ang Diyos ay makatarungan.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time*February 12, 2023*Wisdom in the least

Rev. Niza Joy F. Santiago, PCPR – Europe

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Sir 15:15-20
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34
Reading 2: 1 Cor 2:6-10
Gospel: Mt 5:17-37

Reading is one of the basic skills that we are taught as writing is a form of communication and expression. The mission works in the Philippines have always included literacy work because of the value put on the reading and studying the Bible. Vacation Bible Schools or Vacation Church Schools, Sunday schools and camps have included literacy training to be a vital part of the program. It is where the children begin to read the stories in the Bible for themselves. Reading then has become liberative as it empowers one to give voice to words and interpret them through one’s own lens. However, we cannot deny the influence our teachers and adults have with the way that we read. Which they were also influenced by their teachers and adults when they were younger. The lenses that we use in reading the Bible then have been greatly influenced by the ones who brought them to our islands in the first place, they were the missionaries, yet also our colonizers, the great conquerors of the world.
This week our readings speak of wisdom in the least. We are reminded to be mindful of our way of reading and which lens we are using. Are we reading with a white lens? Or with the lens of our colonizers? Or with privileged lens? Or are we reading with the lens of a people of the islands? Of a people oppressed and marginalized? Of the women and children? Of the least? We are invited to locate ourselves in reading and engaging with the Bible.

All of what was written are but subject to interpretation. Reading is interpreting. What we should be careful for is, the lens and voice that we are reading it with. We are reminded to read the Bible through the lens of justice, reconciliation and peace. As what Jesus has taught his disciples. Jesus was accused of abolishing the laws, as his teaching was different from that of the scribes and Pharisees. And because was Jesus calling them out for reading the laws through their privileged lenses. This could be dangerous reading though, dangerous in a world of greed and corruption, just as Jesus showed us. This is a reading that goes against the values of selfishness, dominion, violence – against the values of the Empire.

In the Gospel reading, Jesus adds a reading tip that is mostly taken for granted – mindfulness of the least. Jesus says that all that is written will not pass away until all is fulfilled, not even the smallest letter nor a single stroke (v.18). For in missing even the smallest letter and single stroke, we are losing the fullness of the meaning.

In this mindfulness of the least in reading, Jesus challenges us to read and interpret what is written especially in reading the Sacred Texts through the eyes of the least of the society. In Jesus’ sermon at the mount, Jesus invites the people to rethink and re-imagine what was commanded, re-think and re-imagine the laws and traditions handed down through generations.
In Jesus’ sermon concerning anger, one will not just be liable to judgment with murder but also with insulting one’s kapwa. Concerning adultery, even dirty thoughts and lustful desires towards one’s kapwa are as heavy as committing adultery. Concerning divorce, giving of a certificate of divorce does not suffice as one should mind the repercussions to one’s kapwa as well. Concerning oaths, one is not to swear by heaven nor earth nor even of one’s self for they are God’s but simply let your yes be yes and your no be no.

As I am reading this, I realized that we are to read the Bible and the commandments with the value of relationships, of community. In the first place, laws are written and decided upon by the whole community in order to guide and keep the good relations within, the well-being of the whole community. In our Filipino perspective, it is the value of pakikipagkapwa. The understanding of a shared self, where we see our kapwa as a part of our being and identity. More than strict and blind compliance to the rituals and legalities, the least is more concerned with one’s relations with their kapwa.

Time and time again, we are reminded of keeping our connections and relations with our kapwa. Just as the pandemic has taught us. Sadly though, it seems like the world is not learning and listening to the wisdom in the least. The world is still focused on producing more than what is needed, is fixated on owning and consuming more and more. Our modern lifestyle is contributing to the destruction of mother nature. We seem to be forgetting to see and hear our brothers and sisters that are hurting the most – the poor, the indigenous peoples, the farmers, the laborers, the women, the children. More and more women and children are still becoming victims of domestic abuse and sexual harassment. We, peoples of these islands seem to have forgotten the value of kapwa that is part of our spirituality.

Dangerous as it may be, as followers of Jesus and children of God, we are called to read the texts (letters, characters, symbols and all) around us through the lens of justice, reconciliation and peace. Guided by these values, let us read against selfishness, intimidation, oppression, violence, discrimination and dominion. Dangerous as it may be, we are not alone, for we have a broader circle of ecumenical families locally and globally as they are also a part of our self, our kapwa. Let us as kapwa Kristiano, kapwa tao and kapwa nilikha, identify with the least, recognize our smallness and read against the Empire.

Feb. 5, 2023*Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time*Letting the Light Shine Through

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Luke B. Gealogo, Redemptorist  Postulant

Is 58:7-10

Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

1 Cor 2:1-5

Mt 5:13-16

As I began reflecting on our Readings this Sunday, I cannot help but recall a  simple story about a kid who was asked during class by his teacher about what a “saint” is. The child – having seen and been amazed by their church’s colourful stained-glass windows depicting some of the most well-known, exemplary personalities of the Christian faith – gladly replied: “A saint is someone that the light shines through!”

Saints, then, must have lived very colourful and meaningful lives. Humans as they are, they had flaws, weaknesses, and shortcomings – yet despite all of these they chose to let their words and actions radiate the Light that comes from, and is, Jesus himself. They are those who committed and still choose to commit themselves into enkindling the sparks of God’s Kingdom – the extraordinary values of love, justice, peace, redemption, and solidarity – in the most ordinary circumstances and realities they are in. Mga karaniwang taong may di-pangkaraniwang pagmamahal at paninindigan.

They are those who “share [their] bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless” as the Prophet Isaiah mentioned in our First Reading. They are the many, nameless individuals, groups, and communities who had fostered and continue to foster social solidarity in the time of the pandemic and in today’s worsening economic situation, a culture of encounter and listening by opening avenues for conversations and integration with and among the poorest sectors of society. They humbly offer their lives as participants, who blend their aspirations and dreams  with the deprived and the oppressed, hence one with them in working  for  liberation. They receive the wisdom from below and  acknowledge the conscientizing   power of the poor. They are willing to be mobilized by the most deprived and oppressed  towards the attainment of their God-given dignity and rights.

They are those who keep on “remov[ing] from [their] midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech” especially at this time when our collective truth as a people is being distorted by those in power and deceitful tactics such as red-tagging are prevalent. They are the most ordinary people – workers, farmers, indigenous people, urban poor, youth, doctors, environmental and human-rights advocates, Church people who go out of “hiding from their respective cit[ies] set on a mountain” to spread the light of militant and defiant hope during these times of unrest and persecution.

They are, indeed, the Gospel’s salt of the earth and light of the world – adding an ever-new, ever-hopeful flavour to the overall quest of humanity towards the active waiting for the coming of God’s Kingdom here on earth, and shedding sparks of Plentiful Redemption in our “here” and “now.”

Saints are persons whose “light shines through.” This understanding of who saints are reminded me of the symbolic lanterns we carried during the Martial Law @ 50 Day of Remembrance last year. These bore the pictures of Fr. Rudy Romano, Fr. Tullio Favali, Carlos Tayag, Filomena Asuncion, the “Cassandra Martyrs,” and the many others who did let the Light shine through by going out of the comforts of their convents and offering eventually their lives in total and radical embrace of and solidarity with the poorest and oppressed of the time. During the night, the bulbs inside these very lanterns were lit; thus, highlighting their faces – and along with those, their life stories and the very cause which they spent their missionary zeal and died for: Having found the Light of Christ among the joys, struggles, and hopes of the people whom they were called to serve.

Sa bawat pahina ng kasaysayan

Ay gintong talang laging masisilayan,

At ang kahulugan sa mahihirap:

LIWANAG NG ISANG BAGONG BUKAS!