Silliman University Church Reflections

Mark 8:31-38

The Season of Lent is upon us. Time to reflect on our ultimate commitment to Jesus words: If anyone will follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. (
8:34)

“If you want to follow me, take up your cross!” My guess is, today, that kind of sales pitch will turn most people away. Right away, we are told, following Jesus will cost us something, in fact, our lives. Then, Jesus warns, “he who saves his life will lose it, he who gives his life for my sake will find it… What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?  How should we understand Jesus words today? Do we need to bear the full cross, being ready to give our lives for Jesus everyday? Or half a cross, some days?

No Cross for us please. Maybe tithes, yes. But no cross. Or maybe Half a Cross? …Peter is a wonderful case study about how to learn to take up our cross. He begins his journey rejecting the cross.

1.       In the beginning, Peter rejected the cross

When Peter heard that Jesus would die on the cross, Peter was furious. The burly guy took Jesus aside and “rebuked” him.  I gave up fishing, gave up my wife, to be with you my Lord, my king. I don’t want a dead king! He loved Jesus, he liked the miracles Jesus performed, the Sermon on the Mount. But a cross? No cross please.

The Cross didn’t fit in Peter’s commitment nor in his theology. What a shameful thing for Peter to follow a king who will die.

What did Jesus say? “Get thee behind me Satan!” He said in Mk 8:38 “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

2. Peter learns to carry Half a Cross

When Jesus called Peter “Follow Me”, Peter immediately left his livelihood, as a fisherman. He left his wife in Galilee and followed Jesus. It was a sacrifice, walking for days, sleeping in other people’s houses, eating leftovers. He wanted to follow Jesus all the way, but when it came to carrying a full cross, he retreated.

When Peter denied Christ 3 times before a servant girl who recognized him, he was evading a full cross, and he realized it, (Mt. 26:74 “Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter went outside and wept bitterly”

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Up to this point, Peter can only carry half a cross. We can empathize with Peter — there are areas in our lives, which we cannot completely give over. And it is a sign of our Christian life, that we find the Holy Spirit coming back to these areas time and time again until we surrender them. We find ourselves like Peter wanting to be totally committed, yet holding back.

We say, God let me do what I can do to glorify you. Let me faithfully attend church, give my tithes, serve the community. But don’t ask me to die for you. Don’t ask too much. Don’t embarrass me with an ethical dilemma. Should I receive an award I don’t deserve? Should I receive a commission for work that I am already being paid to do? Should I personally profit from my job? Should I love you, with all my heart? Lord, I confess that you died for me, but don’t ask me to die for you.

3. Peter carries a Full Cross – After the Resurrection and following the Pentecost event in Acts 2, we see a totally different Peter. We see Peter bearing a full cross.

He was bold to preach the risen Lord, even before the High Priest. When they threatened to beat him, he replied: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have heard” (Acts 4:19)

Here we see a very different Peter. When he set aside his ½ cross – his ministry and his prayers became real. Tradition has it that not only was Peter crucified, he was crucified upside down.

Let me end with another full cross story. Maximilian Kolbe was a Catholic priest imprisoned by the Nazis in Auschwitz in May 1941. There, he would share his meager rations of food with other prisoners.

One day a man in Kolbe’s section escaped… To punish the prisoners, the Nazi officers selected 10 men to die by starvation.

One of those selected was a Polish soldier. He begged to be spared because his family would not be able to survive without him.

As he was pleading with the commandant, Fr. Kolbe was touched by compassion and stepped forward. The commandant turned to him and asked, “What do you want?” Kolbe said, “I am a Catholic priest; I would like to take his place, because he has a wife and children.” The commandant stood in disbelief for a moment. Then he pushed Fr. Kolbe to take the soldier’s place in the starvation cell.

Each day the guards removed the bodies of those who had starved to death. When the condemned men grew weaker, Fr. Kolbe led in singing and praying. When he himself had grown too weak to speak, Kolbe whispered his prayers.

At the end of 2 weeks, only 4 prisoners were left alive including Fr. Kolbe. The guards came and gave all 4 a lethal injection. In Aug 1941, Kolbe paid the ultimate price for following his Master. That was 66 years ago. He glorified God, by surrendering his whole life to Him. Even today, his story glorifies God. What if Fr. Kolbe had not carried his full cross, would God have been glorified as mightily?

“If anyone, will follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”…What kind of cross are we able to carry? I don’t think anyone who believes in Jesus is ashamed to carry a cross. But are you holding back, like Peter before the servant girl? Or would you deny yourself, step forward, like Fr. Kolbe did, and joyfully die for Christ, giving glory to God?

Sermon delivered March 8, 2009, SU Church

Mark 1:21-29
 
The Scripture text for the University Christian Life Emphasis Week in Eph. 5 says, “be careful how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil”. The UCLEW theme reminds us of the reality of evil today. And so in many Bible Study groups this week, we looked at evil once again, to recognize it, name it and confront it. Not surprisingly, it is not a very easy nor comfortable   topic. To paraphrase Alexandr Solzhenitsyn “If only evil people were found somewhere committing evil deeds, and we only have to separate them from the rest of us and then destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart? 

The ministry of Jesus’ apart from preaching, teaching, and healing confronts the ugliness of evil. Strangely, the ugliness is not always found outside of our four walls, but within our midst. The ugliness and the darkness, is often discovered in ourselves. The unclean spirits are within us.  

David Hume. “He who is willing to prevent evil, but is not able, is impotent. He who is able to prevent evil, but is not willing, is malevolent. Isn’t man both able and willing to prevent evil? So where does evil come from?

Its true. Look at any individual, how each one is a bundle of contradictions, of good intentions and often, bad actions. One of the exciting discussions in UCLEW this past week which I want to share with you is people’s understanding of evil.

1. What is evil and how do we deal with it?

Horrifying examples abound in daily life in Dumaguete. For example, how could a gang of young people rob an innocent couple and strip the earrings off their baby’s ear? How could anyone be so inhuman slashing the ear of a baby? How can someone so young want to kill another for fun? There are other horrifying examples. In drug abuse, how can a pusher, consciously sell a drug that he knows distorts the mind and does damage to another’s personality? How about those who cause unwanted teen pregnancies? How can one love and yet be so irresponsible and destroy the future of another person?

Is throwing trash on the street evil per se? Is cutting a tree evil per se? No. But when drainage systems are clogged and soil erosion cause floods and loss of lives, nobody is to blame and everybody is to blame. Talk about the Big E. Global warming. We all play a part in global warming. We are all energy consumers. If the weather creates havoc, kills and destroys property, who is responsible? Are we part of the evil of the world? What do you think?

In one Synthesis report: “Every attitude that prevents the community from experiencing the presence of God is evil. It includes obsession with work, pride, hate, sloth, lust, selfishness, greed, impatience and sin. An insensitive remark, may scar a person for life.

The opposite attitudes of humility, love, self-giving, generosity, patience and forgiveness enable the community to experience the presence of God.

2. What needs to be changed?

One of the major problems about evil is our inability to recognize it in ourselves. Note that the man who is possessed by a demon, encountered Jesus at the synagogue. He was a church goer. He knew who Jesus was. He heard the word preached by Jesus. He called Jesus the Holy One of God. Yet, he was found with an unclean spirit.

If we were honest we will all acknowledge that we have some unclean spirits in us — some evil, wicked ways. We have some habits that we just can’t kick. Some lifestyles we just can’t get away from; some compulsive natures that we can’t control. That is why we keep coming back to church.

We come to pray, Lord deliver us from evil. Deliver us from our impulse to lie and our fear to confess the truth. Deliver us from the spirit of robbery-our desire to steal whether it be money, office supplies, or university time. Lord, deliver us from our murderous natures- our abilities to assassinate each other’s character with ridicule, criticism, and scandal. Lord, deliver us from this evil- the desire to always do things our ways and go by our feelings and what we think rather than walking by faith and your word. Lord, deliver us from this evil coming to church, bringing our own agendas and plans. Deliver us from evil, Lord – our proneness to worry, our anxiety to always be in control, our refusal to worship you on account of our enemies in church, our excuses for and reasons for keeping our arms folded, lips tight, and legs cross when we should be up giving you praise and glorifying your name. Lord, deliver us. Deliver us, Jesus.

 3. How do we transform the groaning creation?

First we must learn to REPENT and respond to God’s word with immediacy or urgency.

 Jesus approached his ministry as though time was short. It really was. People responded to his word, as though they were running across the finish line. And that’s how we have to approach ministry. We have to respond as if this is the last day.

To be a disciple means to have contact with that which seems unclean. Ministry cannot be done from a distance. But rather ministry has to be done up close and personal. We have to get involved with people who project themselves to be clean. Jesus sought them out, so should we. I came for those who are sick, not those who are well. Jesus sought to make the filthy fit for the kingdom. And that is what he is calling the church today to do. Let us reach out to those who are untouched because they are unclean.

What’s amazing in this story is no one was shocked that there was a man with an unclean spirit in the church. No one was surprised at the presence of sin, even in church. It was just the way things were. We are accustomed to it. We accept it. We’ve learned to live with it. We have become objective towards sin rather than having authority over it.

Discipleship is personal. One can’t handle God’s ministry and not get personal. You lose your authority and you are no longer in control, but you are under control. And that’s a problem. We are no longer in control but we are under control. And to do ministry, you have to be in control. You see, although it did not surprise anyone that a man was with an unclean spirit in their church, it did surprise them that Jesus would use the authority to cast this demon out.

We too have been given authority to confront evil in our lives and around us. Jesus who encountered those unclean spirits long ago, is alive today, speaking, the good news today. Jesus declared to your unclean spirit, “Be silent, and come out.” Talking to those spirits of selfishness, jealousy, dissension , idolatry, and sloth “Be silent and come out.” To the spirits of drunkenness, rebellion “be silent and come out” To the spirit of doubt, fear, worry, and anxiety- I order you- be silent and come out. To that spirit of prejudice, hatred, and bigotry- be silent and come out. To the spirit of depression, the spirit of obesity, eating disorders, and nervous disorders- be silent and come out. To that spirit of sickness- AIDS, Cancer, Lupus “Be silent and come out.” To the spirit of addiction-cocaine, nicotine and caffeine, “be silent and come out.”

The days are evil. The evil is often in us. Let us not get used to these. Let us confess and confront evil today. Let us say “be silent and come out!” And let us pray for God’s grace. This evil is more than we can handle by ourselves. We are saved by God’s grace alone.

 
(Sermon delivered 10 am, Feb. 8, 2009, Silliman U Church)

Mark 1:14-20

Today we continue with stories of persons who encounter Jesus, & who experience an Epiphany. The close encounter with Jesus is life changing.

Last week’s sermon, was about the call of Philip and Nathaniel. Jesus had called Philip and Philip had told Nathanael come and see Jesus. At first Nathanael doubted saying “can anything good could come from Nazareth”, but when he came at close range and personally encountered Jesus, he believed and recognized the Son of God.

In today’s gospel lesson, we have another encounter between Jesus and four fishermen from Galilee. Our text says, “he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

This is a close encounter between fishermen and Jesus. The encounter overturns their lives. They leave their fishing nets and follow him immediately, urgently, unquestioningly.

This story could have ended quite differently. They could have scratched their heads and discussed the pros and cons with each other, their families and neighbors.

“They could have said,”well let us think about it for awhile, maybe God will change His mind

Maybe a big school of fish will come and what a waste if we do not pull them in. Maybe our wives won’t let us. Maybe our friends will make fun of us for leaving our jobs, our home and our families to follow a guy who walks around the country side preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand.

But when Jesus called these fishermen there was none of the above, they didn’t question his call, they didn’t think about it, they didn’t consult their families, they didn’t look for anything better to do, they just followed him.

When Jesus thru the Holy Spirit encounters us today and calls us to follow him, does he tell us ok think about it, weigh it carefully, study the pros and cons, talk to your family and friends, and then when everyone agrees, follow me?

When Jesus calls us it is a matter of utmost urgency. Jesus is erupting into our lives with such a force that we have no choice but to decide now, not tomorrow or the next day, but now, at the time of the encounter.

Our elders today tell us of the faith of their ancestors. My grandfather was converted here at Silliman church. When he graduated, he built a church in Butuan, his hometown. The first DS graduate Rev. Angel Taglucop, after college went home and built a church and a school in Agusan. Rev. Angel Sotto was called to Negros, Rev. Feliciano Ursos to Dumaguete. Rev. Malahay to Guihulngan and many others. “Why can’t we build churches like they built today? Why can’t we build strong churches like they built? The answer? “They had convictions; we have preferences.”

Isn’t that true? The convictions the early Christians had for their God seems missing today. Many people have preferences not convictions. They believe in God when it is convenient, or when there is nothing better to do, or when it is socially acceptable, or when they sense they need a favor from God, but there is no conviction to give ones all, ones whole self, ones whole life over to him.

The difference between a conviction and a preference, is this. A preference may be a very strong belief, held with great strength. You can give your entire life to serve your preference. You can give all your money for a preference. You can also energetically convert others to your preference. You may teach this belief to your children, but this is still a preference. A preference is a strong belief that may be changed under the right circumstances like: 1) peer pressure; if your beliefs are determined by your friends, that is a preference, not a conviction, 2) if family pressure, 3) inducements; 4) lawsuits, 5) jail, 6) threat of death, changes your belief, what you have is a preference.

A conviction is a belief that does not change. A conviction is not something that you discover, it is purpose planted in your heart. Convictions on the inside will always show up on the outside, in a person’s lifestyle. To violate a conviction is to commit an unforgivable sin.

The early believers showed their conviction by giving their best sons and daughters to the seminary. Nowadays, they will say Jose, my son, you are at the top of your HS class, you take up law. Maria, you are the valedictorian in class, you take up Nursing. Juan, you have difficulty getting a passing grade, you go to the Divinity School. When Jesus encounters us, he doesn’t want our preference, he wants our conviction that he is the Lord of life, that we are his servants. He is the Master. We are the followers. We are his children, he is the Provider.

Jesus call us to a life of conviction, calling us to a task, a job. He calls us to do something with what he has given us. He calls us to share, he calls us to give to others what he has first given to us, his love, his caring, his forgiveness.

A Christian is one who shares the love of God with others while he lives on this earth.’ Sharing the Word, is the sign of a follower of Jesus. Sharing our faith, sharing our resources, sharing a part of ourselves with others is what this life is all about as we follow the Master. Jesus calls us to a life of conviction, to a life of urgency, to a life of sharing, to a life of proclaiming his good news to others. Jesus calls us to love the unlovable one. Jesus calls us to reach out to the lonely, to the hungry, to the sick, to the ones in prison, to the disabled, to the forsaken, to the needy, to all who need to hear that God loves them. Close encounters with God are Life changing events.

Jesus came into Galilee preaching that the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus encounters us and calls us to a life of conviction, a life of urgency, a life of reaching out with love and forgiveness so that people’s lives are changed. Ready?

Sermon delivered Jan. 25, 2009, Silliman church

Ephesians 5:15-21 and Romans 8:18-22  

Let us begin our reflection with Romans
8: 18-22 – “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The Creation waits in eager anticipation…of liberation from its bondage of decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth.” // Paul is describing a mother’s infanticipation:

1. “Creation waits in eager anticipation, like a mother groaning in pain of childbirth.”

What is fascinating about Paul’s words is not only the sense of eager anticipation, but in verse 26 the sense that “we do not know what we ought to pray for…we do not know exactly what will happen.”

Like the feeling of graduating students as they step out into an uncertain future. Thus our UCLEW theme…”Seeking…

That Creation is groaning is demonstrated by cries of alarm over global warming. But groaning also in the sense that the largest and most stable banks and corporations in the world, need to be bailed out by taxpayers money. In the midst of greed, there is great hope in the birth of a new economic order that is more eco-friendly and that reins in human greed.

Our times combine possibly a period of great suffering and death, millions losing money and jobs, and a period of unimaginable rebirth! Do you sense then, that as in Paul’s time this is a time of extraordinary crisis and of opportunity? In any case, whether the future is crystal or cloudy, Paul’s attitude is described in his words, “be filled with the spirit, speak to one another in songs, always giving thanks to God.”

2. In these groaning times and time of expectation of rebirth, we are to make the most of every opportunity, being filled with the spirit, singing songs, being responsible for one another, and giving thanks to God.

I like the way KJV puts it: “See then that ye walk in wisdom; Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Eph. 5:16

What is time and how should it be redeemed?

There are two concepts of time in the NT. Chronos (chronology),  – time of succession of events time that measured the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and Kairos, appointed time of God. Our text refers to Kairos, God’s time as opposed to “evil times”, times of empire, chronos time. This is a time in which the community is to be a sign of God’s eternal presence today, when chronos is redeemed through Kairos time.

There is a line in a song of the 90s that may illustrate how chronos time can be redeemed, Sung by the Corr’s it goes “don’t say you love me, unless forever.” // This could very well be God’s summary invitation to love and live with God in Kairos time. If you say you love God, then stay with God now and forever. What you value most and spend your time on, is your life. You cannot say you love God and spend little time with Him. Then again you may spend a lot of faithless, chronos time with God. Both are a great waste of time.

I reckon that most of us spend our lives in chronos time for worldly concerns. In that sense we have lost time for God. We need to redeem lost time by living in Kairos time.

What do we mean, these are days of evil? When we say evil, we always think of other people, doing evil to us. But global warming is not the evil of one man. We have all contributed to it, by being wasteful in the use of limited energy sources; by living beyond our means. When we cry about joblessness, we think the AIG or Lehmann Brothers created it. We have acquiesced in depending on jobs overseas, instead of caring for and improving our agriculture, and agro based industries like other neighbors have done, by preferring easy solutions to economic problems and by living beyond our means. Days of evil mean that we have not stood strong against corruption, preferring to criticize those in national government, while looking the other way when classmates cheat in exams. We are partly responsible for the crisis. We have lost time and not lived righteously.

But we can redeem lost time. Surrender the time to God. Live in Kairos time. Spend time with God in worship, serve God and strengthen God’s fellowship. Abide with God.

Listen to the wisdom of John: Jn 15:4-7 “Abide in me, and I will abide in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

3. Be filled with the spirit, speak to one another in songs, submit to one another in reverence for Christ, always giving thanks to God.

How about putting God back into the picture, living a life of the spirit. Sometimes we have to suffer enormous pain before we put God back into the picture. When we submit to God we become more willing to obey. When we submit to each other, we make loving the neighbor possible.

The prophets have time and again warned that the human race has been unwise in putting its self ahead of God’s purpose. More boldly and specifically, we as Christians have been unwise in thinking that we can build kingdoms and say this is of God when all we want is to dominate the world with economic models that destroy nature and relationships. In contrast: Be filled with the spirit, speak to one another in songs, submit to one another in reverence of Christ, is to live in Kairos, with God today.

Don’t say you love me, unless forever, reminds us, if you truly love God, redeem the time of faithlessness, live now with God and forever in Kairos time.

(sermon delivered Feb 1, 2009, Silliman church)

I received a text message not too long ago saying, “L8s m8 2nyt 7 BO Elders opus Ccil dccion.” You can imagine my alarm. This looks like a coded war message. It turned out, someone had given my cellphone number to someone from another church, and wrong sent the message to me. So I txtd back, hus dis pls? In these times of instant communication, we often receive text messages and phone calls from complete strangers. It is now possible for anyone to call or txt another person, anytime, anywhere, if one knows the other’s phone number. And how easy it is now for phone numbers to be circulated through business card. Messages are transmitted so quickly now we have to be sure, who is calling please? Hus dis pls?

The problem is easy, a matter of putting on the right channel, or texting bk, or asking who is calling please? Technology solves this problem quickly. But to know when God is calling, is a different problem altogether. For many people young and not so young, God is just not on the screen. Not on the same wave length. Not on the same channel. God is far out. So to sense that God is calling, you have to be tuned in. You should have some background, sensitivity, skill, to hear God. Be somewhat weird.

The boy Samuel had no background. It was weird 3 times being called “Samuel, Samuel”. 3 times he goes to Eli thinking he is calling him. 3 times he is told, I did not cally you. Go back to sleep. Philip knew Jesus before he was called. But Nathanael did not, and so he doubted at first can anything good come from Nazareth?

How do we discover we are being called? How long does it take for us to decide to accept or reject the call? What actions do we take to respond to the call?

Step One. Discovery

Samuel heard someone calling him 3 times. 3 times he went to Eli. 3 x Eli said I wasn’t calling. Samuel wondered: Who’s calling please? Finally Eli realized God was calling Samuel. So he gave him instructions on how to discover the purpose of God’s call. Philip was discovered by Jesus and called him follow me. And then Philip found Nathanael and told him about Jesus, and called him come and see. And before Nathanael could do anything, Jesus called to him with information about him, where he was, what kind of person he was.

Notice, it is God who calls first. God discovers us as we are, where we are and calls us to serve him. God acts first, then we respond. The first step is to discover God in your life. And for most of us that begins at baptism. It is at Baptism where God first encounters you. The process begins there.

And that beginning is important. The first step is an important step. Having a relationship with God is a very important step. It is God who begins this process, God comes to you, God discovers you as a baby, when you know nothing about God yet. God calls first.

Step two, the Decision.

Most of us have been called into a relationship with God through Baptism and then the next step is what are you going to do with that baptism? What happens next in that relationship? You have to make a decision.

Philip made a decision to follow Jesus’s call. When God called Samuel the 4th time Samuel knew it was God. He decided to answer, he said, “Speak, for thy servant hears.” And Samuel began to be a great prophet.

And what of us? God has discovered us at our Baptism, he has called us to be his, what is our decision? What do we do with that call?

Some have called those who sit on decisions, as tire-kickers. People who go shopping for a new car, they discover the cars, go from one car to another. They kick a lot of tires, but they never buy. There are many tire-kickers, who visit churches. They see and hear, and even once in a while are moved by the words and experience, but they never intend to buy, never intend to grow in their relationship with God. Discovery is meant to lead to decision. Our discovery of God’s action, leads us to decisions that make us grow in faith.
 
And as we move from beginning to the next decisions, we realize how firmer we believe.

Let me illustrate this through a story. An Olympic diver was driving his car over a bridge when he saw a young woman jump into the dark river. Nobody recognized the Olympian. He could have just pretended to be blind. But he stopped his car, looked over the edge at the dark water below, saw the girl, said a prayer, and dove into the water. That is the feeling when we let go of ourselves, to become more than tire kickers, but buyers, to make a decision to let go of my life and allow God to have full control? It is faith, faith in God’s promise that allows us to develop a fuller and richer life with God.

You have seen this in people who give more of themselves to others. Husbands loving wives more. Parents loving children more. Students become more responsible. Teachers becoming more diligent. Patriots loving country more.

Step 3, the action.

Samuel and Philip put their decision of faith into action. Samuel said to the Lord here I am send me, and Philip asked Nathanael to come and see the Messiah. And Nathanael made a declaration of faith, saying: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Acting on faith is exhilarating. Once we learn to dive, we become more confident and sure. When God’s grace is shared, God is pleased and the spirit fills us to do more.

Being attuned to God will allow us to live our lives differently, our actions will be less selfish, we desire to love more, we desire that people know more that God is in their midst. And changes begin to happen. People become less skeptical. They learn to be more faithful. No, we can’t always be a loving person. But the more we try the more we become. Sometimes we will fail, sometimes we will turn people off, sometimes we will misunderstand the message, we only need to ask, who is calling please?

There are times when the word of God, becomes a thorn in people’s side. Maybe God intends it so. We need to keep challenging ourselves, to continue to grow and mature in faith. God is always calling. Maybe its time to ask, who is calling please? Maybe you need to decide what to do with your baptism? Maybe you need to keep trying to be brave.

(Sermon delivered Silliman Church Sunday Jan. 18, 2009)

The Radical John Baptist

Mark 1:4-11

The Gospel writer Mark, begins his story with John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Mark does not have a birth story of Jesus. The other Gospels begin with Advent and Christmas. Mark begins with Epiphany when Jesus is manifested as God. That’s when a voice from heaven said “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” And the heavens open and the Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove. …

Imagine John the Baptist being a bishop today and visiting Silliman. What would he say to us?

He wouldn’t be wearing the bishops purple shirt and white clerical collar for sure. You would see a rugged man with a dishevelled look and matted hair. And to be honest, he’d probably look more like a Japanese straggler than a nicely dressed professor.

And if you asked him if he had any dietary preference, he would tell you he’s vegetarian. He will say “Well actually I only eat locusts and honey.” And the Cafeteria will be at a loss. Where can they get locusts in Dumaguete?

He wouldn’t be comfortable in Silliman Alumni Hall either. He sleeps in caves or under the skies. I wonder what his topic of conversation would be with you over the dinner table.

John the Baptist had few social graces. When the Pharisees and Sadducees came, did he welcome them as honorable persons of the religious establishment?

Did he smile and exchange pleasantries over breakfast? Did he try to engage them in conversation about their work and their own perspective on religious matters? Did he meet with them at the Bethel Guest House to further ecumenical unity.

No! But he did call them a bunch of poisonous snakes that were soon to be consumed by the flames of hell?

Not the way to make friends was it?

And his sermon in Silliman church, would he have told us simply to go on “loving one another?”

Or would he have preached a message of repentance - with fire and enthusiasm.

He wasn’t a conformist. John the Baptist was not a conformer. The world, in which we live - demands conformity. It demands that we think and act just like everybody else. Those who have the courage to resist may face great opposition and ostracism in their life.

Henry David Thoreau the great American writer once said: “If a man does not keep pace with his peers, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.”

Do you hear a different drummer? Are we listening to the voice of God inside of us. We are called, as Paul says, not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may discern what is the will of God.

John the Baptist called a spade a spade. And when he talked to King Herod, he told him bluntly, Herod you are committing adultery, you should stop.

And that eventually cost him his head. But he didn’t care to please the King. He cared only for God.

He came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mk 1:4)

He washed them as if they were dirty. But wasn’t that the message? In God’s sight they were dirty – because God has absolute standards.

Remember what Jesus said: If you look at a woman lustfully – you have committed adultery with her in your heart. (Mt 5:28) God has high Standards. Even your thoughts count.

There are three R’s associated with repentance.

1. The first is Recognizing our sinfulness

God has high standards and we need to recognize that we fall short of them. That’s recognizing our sin. V5“The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him, confessing their sins and were baptized in the Jordan River”

We too have confessed our sins in our Prayer of Confession. “ O God our Redeemer, save us from all the sins into which we so easily and so continually fall

2. The second R is Receiving God’s forgiveness. God Almighty forgives me despite all my imperfections. Because of Christ, my sins are gone. God holds no grudges, He keeps no record of wrongs. He forgives me completely.

The people that came out to John received God’s forgiveness. Today, this same forgiveness is available to you and me.
That’s what the Assurance is all about: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine…Know you are forgiven and restored…

3. The final “R” of repentance is a Reformed life.

 “In your mercy, forgive what we have been, help us to amend what we are and direct what we shall be”

I don’t see how kissing the foot of the Black Nazarene can change anything. Do you? Reformation can.

Conclusion: If John’s challenge is going to mean anything today, I need to recognize my own sin…To receive God’s forgiveness and to reform my life…

The question I need to ask myself – and perhaps you might like to ask yourself is:  “Where have I fallen short of God’s standards in my life? “

Have I loved God, with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind and with all my strength?

Perhaps we can look back just this week on our actions, on the way we have dealt with people around us.  Am I challenged to renew my relationship with God. To think about the time – or lack of time, I devote to Him?

Do I only spend time with God because I have to? Or do I really love him enough to listen to his word, to find out his will for me in my life. To spend time with my heavenly Father, each day?

John the Baptist’s message is radical. It is revolutionary because it is meant to bring change. But we need to recognize our sins…Receive God’s forgiveness and to reform our lives. Happy New Life!

(Sermon delivered Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009, 8 am Udarbe Memory Chapel)

Luke 2:8-14 

Christmas is a season of hope. We all have a great hope, or some hopes, at this time. But how do we reconcile our divergent hopes?

To businessmen Christmas is the busiest time of the year. Stores stay open longer, & hire extra people to accommodate all the shoppers. Businessmen hope for more sales, a turn around, in this economic crisis.

Employees hope for a Christmas bonus, a little more money in their pockets to do things they want to do.

Families hope for a reunion, reconciliation and fellowship. Children are hoping for gifts.

Warring states hope for peace, but their peace is at the expense of the other. How do we reconcile our hopes? Well if Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, how about understanding God’s hope in the birth of the Son?

It’s Jesus birthday and it’s a time to remember what God hoped for in Jesus birth. The fact that God first gave the message to shepherds helps us to understand the real meaning of Christmas. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,” was first announced to shepherds.

Was that significant? The message was significant. But why announce it to shepherds first? Shepherds lived in the fields with their animals. They were politically insignificant. But it is to them that the announcement is made “Unto you is born this day in the city of
David, a Savior who is Christ, the Lord.” In that one simple announcement, God says 3 things.

I. Jesus birth is significant news to the nobodies

When God comes the Lord makes His announcement to shepherds, who were society’s “nobodies”, He is also saying to us, “Your life is significant. It is My gift to you. Therefore live every golden moment of it. Your life matters to Me.”

Every life matters. We are meant to change something or someone. We live to influence somebody in one way or another. We are meant to influence events, either for good or for bad. A baby changed the world. We too can make a change. We are significant! First message: “You are not a nobody, you are somebody.”

II. The savior is for you because God loves you

Every single life is significant and important to God.

Scripture is biased for the poor and insignificant.  Paul writes, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world & the despised things” (1 Cor. 1:26-28a).

So when God decided to select a mother for His Son, He goes to an insignificant village called Nazareth. He finds a peasant girl. She did not have sophisticated education. But she was pure, & God selected her to be the mother of His only begotten Son.

So when Christ comes, He is not born in a Hospital. But rather, He is born in a stable. He is wrapped in swaddling clothes & laid in a manger.

The world says, “That’s foolishness.” But Paul says, “The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, & the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)

This foolishness is consistent with Jesus sermon on the mount, “If God cares about sparrows & lilies, then He cares about you.” If God cares about shepherds, He cares about you!

Unwed mothers need to hear that. Drug addicts who run away from their homes need to hear that. People who are lonely need to hear that. Husbands who have lost their wives need to hear that. Church people who feel useless & empty need to hear that.

We all need to hear that. All of us have known feelings of rejection. All of us have known feelings of being left out. But Christ has come as the hope whose message is: “You are loved. I made the announcement to shepherds, & I make it to you. Unto you a Savior is born.”

 III. Faith is the way to God’s love and Salvation

Finally, the reality that you are significant and loved depends on your faith. Shepherds were chosen because they were simple men of faith.

They believed in a Messiah. They prayed over & over again, “Let the Messiah come. Let Him come today!” They prayed for hundreds of years. Sometimes they wondered, “Is our faith worth anything? Does God hear our prayers? Does God keep His promises?

Many have quit praying. Many have quit their faith. But on Christmas, God says “Your faith is not in vain. I am a God who hears & who keeps His promises. Now the Messiah has come. I have kept My promise.”

How about us? Don’t we sometimes grow weary? Don’t we wonder if it is worthwhile believing? Don’t we wonder if it is worth sacrificing for God?

God’s hope at Christmas is that we understand: We are significant to God. God loves us. Keep the faith.

(Sermon delivered at SU church, 4 pm Dec. 28, 2008)

Matt. 1: 18-25

How do you see Christmas? You will be surprised at so many variations of views there are about Christmas.

I’ve heard some people say that Christmas is boring!  What is Christmas but commercial songs (You better watch out…Santa Claus is coming to town) that invite us to shop at the mall as early as September. Christmas is when you hear a commercial jingle bells, it is no longer a surprise! Even Wowowee dancers are wearing Santa’s red bonnet as they make giling giling and alog alog.

But Christmas must first be a celebration of faith. It is a time to see with eyes of faith, much like a child discovers the wonders of life. It is a celebration of the unexpected; it is a festival of surprises.

This reminds me of the story of a man who was blind for 50 years. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black room of sounds and smells. He stumbled in darkness for 50 years. And then, one day a skilled surgeon performed a complicated eye operation on him and, for the first time, the man could see. He found it overwhelming. “I never would have dreamed that yellow is so…yellow,” he exclaimed. “I don’t have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can’t believe red. I can see the shape of the moon–and I love seeing a an ant carry a load and greet other ants along the way. And of course, sunrise and sunsets are unbelievable! And at night I look at the stars in the sky and wonder how far they are. You cant imagine how wonderful everything is.” 

Sometimes we need to suffer terrible blindness before we can appreciate Christmas. Imagine yourself being blind and deaf for 50 years. And then suddenly you gain sight and someone takes you to
Bethlehem on Christmas eve, would you be surprised?

Christmas was the night when shepherds were surprised by the songs of angels; when a star – brighter than Jupiter – lightened the night sky and guided travelers. Christmas is when 3 wise men go on a surprising trip, bringing gifts to a Prince they had not seen, to a country they have not visited before.

This is the night when one small donkey bears the weight of the world’s future, and a cow is surprised to play host to the Lord of heaven.

This is the night when we are told to seek our King, not in a palace but in a stable.

Was there ever a house more topsy-turvy, dirty and smelly, than the House of Christmas, the cave house where Christ was born?

And as we push open the little door of the stable, and enter, we find in the arms of a Mother, who is a Virgin, a Baby, Who is God!

But the greatest surprise of all is this. When Jesus was born on earth, Earth became Heaven. Heaven was here. God ruled his vast kingdom of the universe from planet earth. The universe turned upside down. Down is up and up is down. The angels and the stars look down on God who made them and God looks up at the things He made.

This is why someone said: the only way to understand Christmas properly is to stand on one’s head.

There was no room in the inn for Him who made room for us in the Milky Way; and where God is homeless, all men and women have found a home and a family.

We were promised a Savior, but we never dreamed that God himself would come to save us.

We knew that He loved us, but we never dared to think that He loved us so much as to become like us.

But that is the way God gives. His gifts are never quite what we expect, but always something better than we hoped for.

We can only dream of things too good to be true; God has a habit of giving things too good to be false. That is why our faith is a faith in the unexpected, ours is a religion of surprise.

Now more than ever, living in times so troubled, facing a future so uncertain, we need such faith. We need it for ourselves, and we need it to give to others. We must remind the world that if Christmas comes in the cold of December, it is so that there may be an Easter of harvest in April.

Isn’t that the way we should see Christmas? But Christmas is surprising only if we see it with eyes of faith. Instead of seeing it as a time of happy happy, eating eating, giling giling.  

How do you see Christmas?

Sermon delivered on 21 Dec 2008 at Silliman Heights chapel. (Adapted from an essay on Christmas surprises)

Jesus Visitation

Jesus came to town today

visited our homes and haven

He met our families gathered in prayer

saw Christmas presents given.

He saw himself remembered in a manger.

Jesus came and saw us eating

potato salad and Christmas cake

He heard fireworks, revelry and drinking

and endless singing at the gate

saw lights all day and night a-twinkling

But Jesus also saw our town

of grimy kids whose hands stretched out

to take the coins dropped on the ground

as people quickly turned about

to mumble something of the meltdown

Jesus came to church this evening

and heard our songs of praise

children acting out the birth scene.

He came our spirits to raise

to join us in our joys and aching

Well, Jesus joined the jail visitation

Saw many prisoners whose families were absent

they came to receive our gifts in celebration

of the love of the One who was present

when we were yet without expectation.

 Poem written by Pastor Noel, Dec. 26, 2008

A Celebration of God’s Faithfulness

Texts: Psalm 46:1-11; Mark
10:42-45

by Rev. Noriel Capulong
 

Good morning! Allow me first to greet you together with my family on this historic occasion of your 97^th founding anniversary as a congregation of our church. I am deeply honored and humbled by this privilege of being invited here to preach before you on this very special occasion.

This is also a joyous opportunity for me to express my continuing thankfulness and gratitude for God’s faithfulness and gift of healing. Because of this gift and because of the prayers and support of so many of you I am able to stand before you to share with you the word that needs to be proclaimed on occasions like this and in situations like ours today.

I was told that the theme of our anniversary this year is “A Celebration of God’s Faithfulness”. Ninety seven years is certainly more than enough reason to celebrate! Surely each one of you has a story to tell about how God has remained ever faithful in your life and in the life of this church.// We can only imagine how blessed you are as a church community in spite of the challenges and trials you have faced along the way if you compare our situation with those of our brothers and sisters who worship and witness in even more trying  conditions, such as the churches in parts of Africa, in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and in parts of Indonesia where being a minority religious group puts them at times in situations of great risk and danger to their own safety.

In spite of the challenges of the times, God has been so good and so faithful to Silliman Church with its atmosphere of serenity and the pristine natural beauty of its setting, so conducive to both study, reflection, worship, prayer and a meaningful church life, and serving as the soul and center of a Christian university.  //But to talk of faithfulness is actually to talk of being in a relationship in which faithfulness is required of the partners. Being faithful is being true, being loyal to the terms of a relationship. It is being loyal to the partner and to the interests and welfare of the partner. It is being unconditionally committed to a lasting covenant relationship.

In our relationship with God, however, it is us who often fail to come up to the demand for faithfulness. More often than not, it is us who have fallen into a kind of “covenantal amnesia”. That is, we tend to forget that we are in a covenant relationship with a God who has called us and blessed us as a church community.// But, the amazing thing is that, in spite of our own human tendency to be unfaithful to our God, it is God who remains faithful to us no matter what. It is the creator being more faithful to His own creatures rather than the creatures becoming faithful to the demands of the creator.

Analogous to this God-human relationship, this is similar to the superior party being more faithful to the inferior party. It is like the boss being more faithful to the employees than the other way around. It is like the master being more faithful to his own slaves. This is quite the opposite of normal, traditional expectations, where employees, subordinates are expected to display utmost loyalty to the company and to their bosses and superiors in order to gain favor and security in their positions.// But here, it is that faithfulness of God that is willing to come down to the level of the creatures, to the level of God’s own children, to be with them, to be Immanuel to them.

This kind of faithfulness of God to us, in spite of our inability to be faithful to His covenant demands is what we call Chesedh, that wonderful, amazing, steadfast love of God. This is the basis of the persistent invitation through the book of Psalms to “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy or chesedh endures forever. For his unfailing love and wonderful deeds, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!”

To talk of God’s faithfulness however is also to experience the sustaining grace of God especially in the midst of the most depressing and tragic realities we can ever go through in life. It is to affirm and assert that God is in control even when events appear to be so chaotic and confusing for us already. To talk of God’s faithfulness is to talk about hope even in the midst of the most catastrophic and painful tragedies we can experience in life. It is to talk of hope even in the midst of the most hopeless of situations that we can ever face. // This is precisely the point being raised and affirmed in our text in Psalms 46. “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help, a very reliable help in trouble.” This abiding faith affirmation was even used by Martin Luther in composing the classic hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

Unfortunately, so many of our people in their days of trouble and crisis have not heard that there is a refuge they can go to, that there is a source of strength they can appeal to, that there is a source of help that they can call upon.// A mother in Laguna, out of extreme poverty and wanting to end it all, poisoned her own three children before committing suicide herself. Another mother just a few days ago, so desperate over her failure to find food to appease their hunger, hanged her own young child and then killed herself. A young school girl in Mindanao committed suicide because in the face of the poverty of her family, she found no hope of a better future./ Hope is fast fading in the hearts of millions of our people these days.

Our nation is supposed to be the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia. Yet, we have to bear the stigma of being perceived as the most corrupt in Asia and one of the most corrupt countries in the world. This only indicates a very serious erosion of the spiritual and moral fibre of the nation. This has been the subject of the talk of Jun Lozada last Thursday right in this pulpit and the source of his deep anguish to the point that he sounded like a man who has already lost hope. He voiced out the conviction that our people, in the various corruption scandals that he had personal knowledge of, had been robbed, not only of billions of pesos of precious resources that could have decisively improved their living conditions and provided a better future for them. They have been robbed of their hopes and ability to dream.  

The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Bishop Angel Lagdameo, formerly assigned here in Dumaguete, described the observance of Human Rights Day last Wednesday as A Day of Shame in the Inquirer headline that day owing to the long list of unresolved human rights violations record of the government. This includes the case of the murder of my younger brother Noli. No one’s been arrested, no one’s been brought to court, no one’s been convicted and put in jail for any of the more than 900 cases of extra judicial killings and involuntary disappearances that has occurred under the present government.

These are also days of continuing wars and conflicts between peoples and nations in various parts of the world, and even in our own neighboring Mindanao, where anyone or even every one, even innocent civilians can become targets of violent attacks.

Indeed, we live in an age of growing hopelessness, fear and loss of the spiritual and moral moorings of so many of our people. We live in a time of growing insecurity and fear over what the future may bring. Headline after headline in the newspapers these days contain almost nothing but bad news that forebode more of bad times to come. With the global financial meltdown afflicting every major developed nation of the world, and now threatening to spill over right into our own backyard, threatening the jobs of thousands of our own overseas Filipino workers, we cannot but feel the growing fear and anxiety of many families these days.

But what if we still add the almost regular occurrence now of natural calamities that come with more devastating impact than ever before, whether it is here in our country or in many other countries. We now have more powerful and destructive typhoons, and deadlier floods and landslide and mudslides burying entire villages, but much warmer and drier and longer summers, and fast melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, all brought about by global warming.  It is all happening now. // It is, as if, as our text says, the earth is indeed changing and the mountains are shaking in the heart of the sea, the waters are roaring and the mountains trembling with its tumult.

 Kingdoms and nations are in uproar, the environment is fast becoming a desolation. // Yet, our text affirms this one basic truth, the Lord God is still the one in control. God is still the Lord of all nations and He can make wars and conflicts cease. God can break the bow and shatter the spears of those waging war against each other. God can transform this world into a new earth and a new heaven.

And there is a way by which this abiding truth can be discerned and experienced by us. It says in v. 10: “Be still, and know that I am God.” “Be quiet, stop for a while, cease for a moment from your normal routine and know that I am God!” In the midst of all the turmoil and the tumult all around us, we need to pause, stop, and reflect prayerfully to discern and hear the voice and will of our God. God would want to be known by us in the stillness and serenity of the quiet moments. //We may have been used to so much noise and so much tumult around us. We are in the season of making noise, the noise of the past fiesta, the noise of the coming Christmas, the noise of parties all over, and of course the far greater noise of the New Year.

As the Psalmist has said, it is good to praise and thank God with a joyful noise. But there is danger of overdoing it, as the noise may eventually drown out the divine voice and thus we fail to hear what God is really saying to us in times like this. It may also serve as a means to escape from the need to be sensitive in listening to the voice of God emanating from the situation of those who suffer and are in need of compassion and our caring response in this time of turmoil and crisis.

Even before we have known and have acknowledged it in prayer and songs, God has already acted in all faithfulness. God has already displayed how amazing is the kind of grace God has showered upon us all. This is all because of Jesus and his coming as a baby born of a poor and socially insignificant family, and his ministry of preaching and healing, exorcising demons and evil spirits, restoring even the dead, confronting the powers that be in his society. Jesus came and gave hope to the hopeless, faith to those in despair. He came transforming the lives of people, sharing a vision of a new world, God’s kingdom where dominant values will be reversed, where those who have always been last will now be first, where those who have been always in the margins, will now be put in the center of God’s concern, where the mighty and the powerful will be brought low, where the least are the ones to be raised, and those who want to be greatest, according to our gospel text, would have to be servants of all, and where service to the lowliest of the lowly even to the point of sacrifice and martyrdom becomes the mark of faithfulness among his followers.

This is how amazing is this kind of faithfulness shown by God to us through his Son Jesus. But it is also just as amazing the kind of faithful response our God demands from us who would want to become His disciples.

On your 97^th anniversary, as you journey on towards your centennial year, and in response to the manifold blessings you have been receiving, you are being called as a community of the faithful, towards a ministry of bringing hope for the many hopeless and despairing people in our community, to the unreached, the unchurched, those who hear and experience nothing but bad news in their lives, and who need to hear the good news, that we have a God who is a refuge and a source of hope and strength even in these very troubled times.

Certainly, it is in these days of bad news and rising fear that we need to hear the good news which the church needs to proclaim with even greater vigor, just like what the angel said to the shepherds: “Fear Not, I bring you glad tidings of great joy!”  // You are being called to a ministry of faithful witnessing to the dawning of a new world, where our environment that is truly hurting now will finally experience healing and renewal because you as a church have the faith and the courage to speak about it and  do something about it.

You are being called to a ministry of moral recovery and spiritual renewal, to help transform the self-centered and highly materialistic values that are at the root of the endemic corruption that had plagued and further impoverished our nation, and to uphold, defend and protect the sacredness of every human life as a child of God. // As you have done before, you can still produce and nurture leaders for our society and nation imbued with gospel values, who can provide the modeling of a leadership that we can emulate and be inspired by, who know clearly what is right from wrong, what is good and beneficial to all from what is destructive and self serving, who know clearly what it means to fear God when entrusted with power and authority.

You are being called to a ministry of peacemaking and reconciliation, to be agents of dialogue between conflicting parties in our community and in our nation;  because people would always look up to the church, especially Silliman University Church for moral and spiritual guidance when the moral leadership of those who govern begins to fail them.// You are being called to challenge, and empower those who otherwise would not care, those who would rather remain apathetic and unconcerned, those who think they can just remain as members without being involved, to awaken in them a faith that can make a difference in the life of others, for them to also become active bearers of hope in our community.

Finally, we are being called to a ministry of listening and active discernment of the will of God in this world that is full of noise and troublesome tumult. That is,  to listen to the voice of God calling us all towards greater involvement in the mission of our Lord Jesus, in ushering in the reign of God in this part of God’s kingdom, proclaiming and witnessing to the coming of a truly new world that God has prepared for all us. As we respond to these calls, in faith and in trust, only then can we experience the real joy of serving and obeying our God. Thus, events like this would then become a real celebration, a celebration of hope, a celebration of God’s steadfast love, of God’s faithfulness to us all. May your celebration of the 97^th anniversary of SU church be truly meaningful and full of blessings not just for you but for many others too in this community and beyond.  Amen.

Rev. Noriel C. Capulong  SU Church 97^th Anniversary Service//  Dec. 14, 2008.