THE GOOD SHEPHERD

Seven of the more popular shepherds in the Hebrew Bible are Abel, Rebekah, Rachel, Moses, Zipporah, David, and Amos. In the New Testament, shepherds are the first to receive the good news of Jesus' birth. In many Christmas pageants, young children usually play shepherds or sheep.

Many of us grew up with Sunday's "Good Shepherd" lection from the Gospel of John. Many among us grew up with allegorical interpretations of this passage. The shepherd is not really a shepherd. The sheep are really not sheep. The passage is really about something else.

I am not doing that today.

Sheep do know the voice of their shepherd. Sheep do follow their shepherd in and out of the sheepfold. Sheep do run away from those whose voice they do not know. Sheep are smart. Ask any shepherd.

Both sheep and shepherd know that life in all its fullness is not inside the sheepfold. Never has been, never will be. There's no grass, no springs, no freedom. All these are outside of it, in the wilderness. This is why shepherds call out the sheep by name and lead them out, into the wilderness. This is why shepherds go ahead of the sheep and they follow them; into the wilderness, into the quest for life. Life in all its fullness.

P.S.
And then there are those who think that the Good Shepherd is the Communist Party and the Sheep are those who are behind the Community Pantry. I have often heard that if you're far enough to the right, everything will look left to you--even shepherds and their sheep.

#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#IAmWithJesus
#CommunityPantryPH

*art, "The Good Shepherd," (JESUS MAFA), available from vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

ANG JEEPNEY, ANG PANTRY, AT ANG MASA

Kwento sa atin ng mga lolo't mga lola, Pagkatapos ng digmaan, bayan nati'y nakadapa. Bagsak ang ekonomiya, transportasyon sirang-sira. Sistema ng gobyerno, nakatali sa kapitalismo. Sunud-sunod na pangulo, sunud-sunuran sa Kano. Para makabangon ang bayan, ang jeep ginawang jeepney. Pandigmang sasakyan, ginawang sasakyan ng bayan. Motorsiklo't bisikleta, ginawang tricycle at tri-sikad. Kapag kumilos ang masa, nabubuhay ang pag-asa.

Puna sa sa atin ng mga lolo't mga lola,
Isang taon ng pandemya, bayan nati'y nakadapa.
Bagsak ang ekonomiya, milyon-milyo'y walang-wala.
Sistema ng gobyerno, nakatali pa rin sa kapitalismo
Nakaupong pangulo, ang bossing ay Tsino at Kano.
Para may makain ang bayan, community pantry ay isinilang.
Ang hamon: magbigay ayon sa kakahayan,
Ang tugon: kumuha batay sa pangangailangan.

Kapag kumilos ang masa, nabubuhay ang pag-asa!

#CommunityPantry
#COVID-19
*Image from Rappler

GOD KNOWS

We always imagine the resurrected body. I have heard long discussions on how resurrected bodies are supposed to look, including what superhuman abilities these new bodies will have. Sometimes, our imagination gets the better of us.

Of this, I'm sure: despite their differences (and there are a lot), the four gospels all tell us that the Risen One has a body. In Sunday's lection Jesus tells his disciples, "Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." He further adds, "Have you anything to eat?"

The Risen One has a body, and that resurrected body still bears the marks of the crucifixion. God knows who is responsible for each wound. Jesus said, "Look at my hands and my feet... see that it is I myself."

My friends, God will never, ever, forget the crucified. God will raise up each and every one of them. God always remembers the marks of each crucifixion.

And God knows who is responsible for each wound!

#EndTheCultureOfImpunity

#IAmWithJesus

#StopTheKillingsPH

#JunkTerrorLawNow

#JusticeForMyanmar

*art, "Jesus appears at Emmaus," (JESUS MAFA) from vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

SET LOOSE OR BIND?

Many scholars agree that Sunday's lection contains John's Pentecost. If the Acts' version happened 50 days after Jesus’s resurrection, John's happened on Easter evening. 

I would like to share my take on verse 23. 

Sin is legislated. Resistance is criminalized. Dissent is demonized. The merger of political and religious power predates Pontius Pilate's and Joseph Caiaphas's conjugal dictatorship. If we read our Bibles and pray everyday, we will grow, grow, grow in this realization: sinners are, more often than not, synonymous with the poor, oppressed, and marginalized in the Gospels. Who can afford the offerings in the temple? Who has the resources to bribe authorities? Who writes the law and for whose benefit?   

Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus sins (against the Sabbath) and heals sinners. Over and over in the Gospels, Jesus declares sinners forgiven...to the consternation of the people who legislate sin. 

In John 20:23, Jesus commands his disciples to forgive and not to forgive. A better translation, echoing Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, is worded "to set free or to bind." 

Jesus' command has not changed. Set free the poor. Bind the powerful who keep them poor. 

#IAmWithJesus 

#EndTheCultureOfImpunity 

#JunkTerrorLawNow 

*art, Jesus appears to Thomas (JESUS MAFA) Vanderbilt Divinity Library digital archives 

THE EXECUTED GOD

It is very disconcerting to celebrate Easter Sunday apart from the horrors of the Friday before it, but many people find nothing problematic about this. The crucifix has become a fashion accessory for a lot of folks. They can do their Easter egg hunts, play with Easter Bunnies, enjoy their Easter sunrise services, and preach about a risen, triumphant Lord without any thought that the God we proclaim as risen was actually murdered on Calvary. Jesus of Nazareth did not die. The empire killed Jesus.

He was illegally arrested late night Thursday, then beaten, stripped naked, brutalized, flogged, and crucified by morning of Friday. He was a victim of state-sanctioned terrorism. We who call ourselves Christian actually follow an executed God.

Millions of our sisters and brothers have died from COVID-19. Majority of them were defenseless against the virus, ravaged by the systemic violence of poverty, hunger, and the inequitable distribution of the world's wealth. Every day in our beloved country, in Myanmar, in Palestine, in many parts of Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the rest of the world, people are being crucified, victims of institutionalized oppression—cultural genocide, racism, gender injustice, capital punishment, global capitalism, extra-judicial killings, militarization, and marginalization. Every single day so many of our sisters and brothers are killed, like Jesus, and they do not even get a burial. Their bodies withheld by their killers.

What does it mean to proclaim a resurrection faith in the midst of all these?  What does it mean then for us, who are among these crucified peoples, to proclaim Jesus as risen from the dead?

Easter Sunday's lection from Mark tells us about a young man at the empty tomb. He tells the disciples that Jesus has been raised up and that "he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”

JUST AS HE TOLD YOU!

The Gospel of Mark ends in verse 8: the disciples were silent and afraid. Like many among us. We are afraid to speak truth to power. We are afraid to carry the cross and follow Jesus. We are afraid to go to Galilee. We are afraid to be executed like him.

What do we have? A promise of resurrection. God's promise. Jesus’ word. The young man said so: "Just as he told you."

Jesus’ word. Is this enough for us to continue?

#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#StopTheKillingsPH
#JunkTerrorLawNow
#Easter2021

FAITH AND FEAR

There are Christians who grew up knowing that the Bible declares "Do not fear" 365 times. For them, this means there is no reason to be afraid every single day. (Except on February 29th, every four years.) But with the current state of lawlessness perpetuated by those sworn to protect and to serve us, people are afraid.

Fear paralyzes people. Fear impairs judgment. Fear forces someone to flee, fight, or even freeze. Fear is the powerful's most effective weapon against dissent and resistance. The Roman Empire maintained peace and order using the fear of imprisonment, exile, and crucifixion. The Romans crucified those they tagged as "enemies of the state." Up to 500 state-sanctioned executions in a single day. All legal!

Fueled by years of patriotic, anti-communist, and anti-Semitic rhetoric, tens of millions of Christians did nothing as Hitler and his minions imprisoned, persecuted, and executed "the insignificant few" who actually numbered in the millions.

Fear permeates the Gospel of Mark. Why did Peter rebuke Jesus? He was afraid for Jesus. Why did Peter deny Jesus? He was afraid of being identified with Jesus. Why did all the male disciples flee when Jesus was arrested? They were afraid of being arrested with Jesus. Why did the women disciples at the tomb not share the good news that Jesus has been raised from the dead? They were afraid! Their fear of being crucified like Jesus was greater than their faith in the promise of the resurrection.

Faith conquers fear. We know this.

But how do we conquer our fear when our faith seems not enough? With someone else's faith. My faith conquers your fear. Your faith conquers my fear. Despite the culture of impunity, perpetuated by Duterte and his ilk, that pervades our land, there are people who believe in us even if we are afraid. There are people who will stand with us even if we are afraid. There are people who will die with us even if we are afraid! Their faith is enough for all of us!

Was Jesus afraid when he faced the cross? I believe he was. His prayer to God in Gethsemane shows us how scared he was. But he faced the cross anyway because one person had faith in him and in the promise of the resurrection: the unnamed woman who anointed him with oil before his death. Why? Because she believed there would be no body to anoint after. She believed his tomb will be empty. She believed God will raise him up.

And God did.

When we are afraid and our faith is not enough, let us take heart.

There are people whose faith is enough for all of us!

#EndTheCultureOfImpunity

#StopTheKillingsPH

#IAMWITHJESUS

#DefendSouthernTagalog

#BecauseHeLives

*art, "Christ in Gethsemane," JESUS MAFA (vanderbilt divinity library digital archives)

ALONE IN THE WILDERNESS?

Several posts ago, I mentioned that the heavens were torn or ripped apart in Mark during Jesus's baptism while in Matthew and Luke they were opened. A stark contrast.

The contrast continues in Sunday's lection.

The Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness in Mark. In Luke and Matthew, the Spirit leads Jesus. Being driven and being led are very different descriptions. The former conjures an image of Jesus going with hesitation, even reluctance. The latter paints a picture of readiness and willingness.

Wilderness conjures up a lot of ambivalent images for us who study scripture. God appeared to a hardheaded Moses through the burning bush in the wilderness. The Israelites wandered almost aimlessly in the wilderness for decades. Many of them died there, including Moses. John the Baptist was a "voice of one calling in the wilderness." The wilderness does not seem like a very hospitable place. Yet, God's surprises abound in the wilderness!

And then there is the number 40, a long time in scripture. It rained 40 days and nights during the time of Noah. Forty years separated the crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan River. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. Matthew and Luke add that he fasted. This narrative is the basis for the 40 days of Lent.

Most of us grew up imagining that Jesus was alone in the wilderness during those 40 days. He was not. Jesus had company. Wild beasts. Angels. And Satan. God's surprises do abound in the wilderness!

My friends, let us never forget. Satan did not betray Jesus. Judas did. Satan did not deny Jesus. Peter did. Satan did not plot to arrest and kill Jesus in secret. The chief priests and scribes did. Satan did not abduct, torture, and murder Jesus. The Romans did.

Satan is not behind the Anti-Terror Law, the War on the Poor, the War on Drugs, the culture of impunity that pervades our land, the relentless red-tagging of peace activists, the deaths of Baby River and Baby Carlen, or the recent "rescue" of the Lumad Bakwit Iskul children in Cebu City. We all know who are responsible and should be held accountable for all these.

Lent began last Wednesday. Who among us wants to spend 40 days in the wilderness with Satan? Jesus did.

art, "Jesus is Tempted," (JESUS MAFA) from Vanderbilt Divinity Library digital archives