THE PARABLE OF THE ONE-PESO LOAN

Juan and Maria deposit their hard-earned peso in a bank. Government propaganda have convinced them that banks help the poor. So, being poor farm-folk, they have identified with bank commercials that go, "Ayokong maging dukha!" (I do not want to be poor!). The bank pays them 5% a year. That's 5 centavos less final tax of 20% so they net 4 centavos.

The economy being what it is drives the couple to ask a one peso loan from the same bank. Again, government sponsored info commercials that went, "Isip entreprenyur!" (Think entrepreneur!) helped. Their peso deposit serves as collateral. The bank charges them 30% on the loan. In effect, on the peso they deposited and actually loaned, the bank earned 25 centavos. From another perspective, Juan and Maria paid the bank 25 centavos for allowing them to use their own money!

It's no wonder banks are among the most profitable businesses in the world today. (Don’t get me going on the oil cartels that bleed our economies dry.). But let's go back to that one-peso loan of Maria and Juan.

The couple earns a peso so they go back to the bank to pay their loan. 30 centavos is used to pay for the interest. 70 is left for the principal. They still owe the bank 30 so they get another peso loan. 30 centavos of that is used to pay for the balance of the first loan. They leave the bank with 70. If this cycle continues, Juan and Maria will be perpetually making new loans just to pay their maturing loans. But what if tragedy strikes, in the form of land grabbing, pestilence, typhoons, sickness, COVID-19, or worse, death? They cannot pay their loan and the bank forfeits their collateral. Without collateral, loans require higher interests. The cycle continues at a much painful level: Maria and Juan take new loans just to meet the interest on their maturing loans.

This happens every single day: at the level of the 5/6 operators, at the local banks, in the IMF and the World Bank. Most people do not know that private banks actually run the economies of many countries. Study the financial system of Hong Kong, for instance.

Sunday's lection from Luke 4 is based on the "the acceptable year of the Lord's favor" which is the Jubilee Year. This vision is found in Leviticus 25 and it is probably one of the best pieces of Ancient Israelite legislation ever written. The celebration of the Sabbatical year--and more importantly, the Jubilee--is rooted in justice. Justice requires that all slaves are set free, that all lands are returned to their rightful and original owners, and all debts are canceled.

When the Bible says debts, they are really debts, not trespasses, nor sins. Indebtedness dispossess, displaces, disenfranchises, and dehumanizes. Thus, cancellation of debts, all debts, is a major proclamation of the Jubilee. Cancellation of debts is also a major plea in the Lord's Prayer.

It is heartbreaking but it is true. Then and now, Juan, Maria, farmers, fisher-folk, laborers, and indigenous peoples remain the most indebted people on earth.

“Scattered across the countryside one may observe certain wild animals, male and female, dark, livid and burnt by the sun, attached to the earth which they dig and turn over with invincible stubbornness. However, they have something like an articulated voice and when they stand up they reveal a human face. Indeed, they are human beings...Thanks to them the other human beings need not sow, labour and harvest in order to live. That is why they ought not to lack the bread which they have sown.”+

They ought not to lack the bread which they have sown. Yet in the Philippines, and in many parts of the world, they, unfortunately, do lack bread. And much more.

#IAmWithJesus
#JusticeForMyanmar
#FreePalestine
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#ChooseJustice
#StopTheKillingsPH

+Jean la Bruyere, French moralist of the late seventeenth century (cited in J.D. Crossan's The Essential Jesus (New York: HarperCollins, 1994), v.
*art, "Christ in the Synagogue," Nikolai Nikolaevich, 1868 (from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives).

US, THEM, AND ALL OF US

The pronoun “us” assumes belongingness; being a part of a whole. In particular, “us” are insiders. As far as the people of Nazareth were concerned, Jesus was “one of us.” Isaiah was “one of us.” The promises from Scripture were “for us.” Jesus’s proclamation of said promises fulfilled in their hearing was also “for us.” Ultimately, all these presuppose that God is always and only “for us.”

“Us” also presumes another group. Those that do not belong: them. The outsiders. The empire--built on privilege, power, possession and commodification--divides and conquers peoples. The empire creates “us” and “them.” Sunday's lection from Luke 4 presents both groups and posits an alternative.

Jesus proclaims the alternative to the Kingdom of Caesar. In the Kingdom of God, there is no "us", there is no "them"; there is only "all of us".

At first, those who listened to Jesus read Isaiah were happy. Then, as they listened to him interpret the challenge of the Jubilee, they metamorphosed into a mob bent on throwing him off a cliff! Why? Because Jesus dared to change the beneficiaries of God’s jubilee. Leviticus 25, the year of the Lord’s favor, proclaimed land, liberty and cancellation of all debts. Jubilee meant gospel to those whose only hope is God; good news to a people suffering under Roman occupation. Jesus challenged their interpretation of “us” to include “them.”

For Jesus, there is only “all of us.” If God is our parent, then we, all of us, are God’s children. We are all sisters and brothers. Not just his fellow Nazarenes. Not just his fellow Galileans. During the time of Elijah, when drought and famine ravished the land, there were many widows in Israel, yet God sent Elijah to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, yet none of them were cleansed except Naaman the Syrian. For Jesus, God’s children include the widow at Zarephath in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian.

For Jesus, the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed and everyone waiting for the year of the Lord’s favor were not just “us” Israelites but also “them,” the Gentiles, who were poor, captives, blind, oppressed and everyone waiting for the year of the Lord’s favor.

Thus, the jubilee, then and now, is not just for “us” but also for “them,” and therefore for “all of us.”

#IAmWithJesus
#ChooseJustice
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#FreePalestine
#JusticeForMyanmar
#SavePatunganNow

*art, "The Poor invited to the Feast," JESUS MAFA 1973 (from the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives).
 

THE WEDDING AT CANA

New Testament scholars--among them Rudolf Bultmann, Raymond Brown, and several members of the Jesus Seminar-- have argued for a hypothetical "Signs [Semeia] Gospel" or tradition that is embedded in the Gospel of John.

There are no miracles in the gospel. Instead, there are seven signs which scholars say resonate with the seven days of creation in Genesis 1. The Gospel is expicit on which one is the first sign: the creation of wine from water during the wedding at Cana.

Yes, my friends, God has not stopped creating. Aside from creating wine from water, what else were created during the wedding at Cana? The water put in those six 20-30 gallon stone jars were for purification and cleansing purposes. They were not for drinking. They were to be expelled in the ritual process. Jesus more than creates wine from water; he creates wine for drinking, for taking in, from water dedicated for throwing out.

Jesus more than creates wine from water. In doing so, he creates a new community that privileges servants over masters. The servants were the first to experience the sign, then the chief steward, and then the bridegroom. The servants, who toiled yet did not even get to eat during feasts and weddings, were the first recipients of the best wine.

Finally, the creation of wine from water births a discipleship of the unnamed. Many times we forget that the most dedicated disciples of Jesus in the Gospel of John were unnamed: the child with five barley loaves and two fish; the Samaritan woman at the well; the Beloved Disciple; and Jesus's mother.

Many times we forget the role of Jesus's mother in this creation narrative. Many times we forget that the most dedicated disciples that God works through as God continues to create are people who remain unnamed, unrecognized, and uncelebrated.

We forget but God does not.

God always remembers.

#IAmWithJesus

#JusticeForMyanmar

#FreePalestine

#ChooseJustice

#EndTheCultureOfImpunity

#StopTheKillingsPH

*art, "The Wedding At Cana," (JESUS MAFA, 1973) available at the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives.

CROSSING THE JORDAN

We know what we are supposed to do: help change the world. But before we even think of changing the world, we need the world to change us.

Thus, integration with communities-- immersion into different ways of life--is a prerequisite. The late Fr. Carlos Abesamis, in conversation, said that having the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other is not enough. Newspapers will never be a substitute for immersion. Nor will television, radio, or social media.

Immersion transforms people! Immersion has done so for many of us! In the fullness of time, even God went on immersion. Immersion changed God.

Sunday's lection reminds us that one of the most powerful images of immersion in the Bible is baptism. Baptism is about taking sides. When John baptized people in the Jordan, they crossed from one bank to the other; from one side to the other side. They re-enacted the crossing of the Jordan.

It is about doing what Ernesto "Che" Guevarra did: swimming from one bank to the other bank of the Amazon River; knowingly putting himself at risk of a deadly asthma attack and/or drowning, yet choosing the side of those whose only hope was God.

Baptism is crossing the Jordan: choosing justice and taking possession of liberty, land, and fullness of life that God wants for all people, especially for occupied peoples. Crossing the Jordan can lead to death. John the Baptist crossed the Jordan and was executed by Herod. Jesus crossed the Jordan and was crucified by the Romans.

And you and I are called by our baptism to cross rivers of Jordan wherever we are. Every moment of our lives, we need to choose justice. May we have the courage to do as John and Jesus did.

#IAmWithJesus
#ChooseJustice
#StopTheKillingsPH
#FreePalestine
#JusticeForMyanmar
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity

*art, "John baptizes Jesus," JESUS MAFA, 1973 (available at the vanderbilt divinity library digital archives).
 

THE INCARNATION

 

The four gospels begin their narratives in four different ways. Mark begins with an adult Jesus who is baptized by John in the Jordan. Matthew has a birth narrative that features Magi who spent about two years searching for the child. Luke's has shepherds who visit Jesus as a baby. John's origin story, which is Sunday's lection, begins in "The Beginning."

Incidentally, a lot of people who memorize Bible verses know John 1.1 (with Genesis 1.1 and, almost everyone's favorite, John 3.16). The Word became Flesh and lived among us. God has stopped watching from a distance.

Stories of Gods taking on human form abound in many of the world's mythologies. Many of the heroes of ancient peoples were demigods or super humans. For the Gospel of John, when the Word became Flesh, the Word was totally and fully Flesh. In other words, God was not Superman disguised as Clark Kent. God was Clark Kent.

For the Gospel of John, God Incarnate gets tired and thirsty; eats and drinks with family and friends; experiences love and loss, and cries, like all of us. God Incarnate takes the side of the poor, feeds the multitudes, experiences betrayal, and suffers torture and crucifixion by empire. Like many among us.

And then God dies. Like all of us will.

My Friends, to believe in the incarnation is to embody justice, accompaniment, solidarity, and life-giving, like Jesus did. The incarnation requires warm bodies: yours and mine.

Today, more than ever. 

#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#JusticeForMyanmar
#FreePalestine
#StopTheKillingsPH
#ChooseJustice

*"In the Beginning" (relief sculpture at Westminster, London), photograh by Diane Brennan. Vanderbilt Divinity Library image collection.

THE STRANGER AND THE ONE-ROOM HOME

Let us point out what Christmas Day's lection does not say.

The text does not say that Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem when Mary was about to give birth. The text does not say that Jesus was born in a cave or stable where most of us imagine he was born. The text does not say that Jesus was born among animals. More importantly, the text does not say that Bethlehem was unwelcoming of the Holy Family. It doesn't say that they were sent away by an innkeeper.

Most of what we imagine about the passage are exactly that: imagined. We need to address this right now. This means many of the things we do during our Christmas pageants and plays are not in the Lukan passage. This also means that many of the sermons we’ve heard about this passage are not even based on what the passage tells us.

Now, what does the passage actually say? And what do decades of archeological, sociological, and anthropological research about Ancient Palestine tell us?

There was a census and everyone went back to his or her hometown to register. Joseph went with a pregnant Mary to Bethlehem because he was a descendant of David. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn, a son, wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no space for them in the guest room. (The Greek term is kataluma. The NIV translates it correctly as guest room, not inn. Kataluma is also used to refer to the upper room in the Last Supper.)

Pregnancies, births, the rituals related to both, and the dynamics of kinship that permeate all these have, more or less, remained the same for most communities throughout the centuries and across cultures, especially among those where the ideas of personal property and individual ownership are alien, anathema, or frowned upon.

Joseph and Mary go from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They travel about 150 kilometers. She is pregnant so the trip probably took a while. They get to Bethlehem, Joseph’s hometown. I’m pretty sure a relative or two would have welcomed them in his or her home. This act of hospitality is as true today as it was then, especially among peasants. Don’t forget, Elizabeth, Mary’s relative lived nearby in the Judean hill country. They could have stayed with her and Zechariah if there was no room in Bethlehem but they did not. Joseph’s relatives had space. But not in the guest room.

Archeology has shown us that most peasant homes in Ancient Palestine were a one room affair. There was a yard usually shared with other homes where cooking was done. The immediate space through the main door of the house had a mud-floor where animals were brought in at night to keep the home warm and the animals safe. A manger or feeding trough was part of this area. The animals were let out first thing in the morning.

Side note: When Jepthah in Judges 11 vowed to sacrifice the first thing that comes out of his house, he was thinking of the animals being brought out first thing in the morning. Not his daughter.

The main family section, oftentimes a bit elevated from the animal area, was where the family did most of its affairs, mostly resting and sleeping. Homes, in those days, were really shelters because most chores were done outside or on the roof. Stairs to the roof were outside the house. Many homes had space for guests in the main family section or a small guest room, sometimes, for those who can afford, on the roof (hence, the upper room).

When Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem, the home of Joseph’s relative was filled, the guest room occupied, so they stayed with the family in the main room. When the time came, the animals were brought out of the house, the manger cleaned and prepared, and served as a crib for the newborn.

Why is this story more true-to-life than the centuries-old tale we have heard and performed over and over and over again?

It fits the general theme of the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel for Luke is good news to the poor. When Jesus is born he is born among the poor in Bethlehem. Poor shepherds receive the good news and they find the Messiah among people like them. Don’t forget that when the shepherds find Jesus, they tell everyone there (not just the parents) what the angels have told them. There were others celebrating the birth.

My friends, the first Christmas happened when Palestine was under Roman Occupation. Life was very, very hard. Fifteen percent of the population was unemployed. Half of the people survived on a thousand calories a day which meant they were slowly starving to death. Average life expectancy was 28.

But despite all these, many remained faithful to what Yahweh required of them: to welcome the stranger. There should always be space for the guest. A meal of fish and bread, and a place to lay one’s head. Jesus was born among those whose only hope is God, among peasants who shared a small house, among the poor who offered the best to a pregnant couple, among kin who opened their simple, one-room home to welcome the birth of the Messiah.

Today, life is very, very hard. Palestine is under Israeli Occupation. Half of the world’s population survive on 2 dollars each day (100 pesos). Millions take “altanghap” meals to survive. Tens of thousands of children, 5 years old and younger, starve to death every day. And thousands of our Moro and Lumad sisters and brothers are displaced, disenfranchised, dispossessed, and have nowhere to lay their heads. Fear, indifference, despair, and depression grip our communities. The culture of impunity that pervades the world has left a trail of unfathomable suffering and senseless killings, not to mention COVID-19 and the tragedies brought about by our wreckless exploitation of Mother Earth.

But, despite all these, among farmers and fisherfolk, among our indigenous sisters and brothers, among our poorest communities, there is always space for guests. Welcome for the stranger. A meal of fish and bread. A place to lay one’s head. A one-room home to welcome anew the birth of the Messiah.

My Friends, millions among us are dealing with joblessness, homelessness, and hopelessness. In the midst of these, how do our lives proclaim, Immanuel? How do we actualize "God is with us"? How do we welcome God who comes as a stranger?

#IAmWithJesus
#EndTheCultureOfImpunity
#GospelForThePoor
#FreePalestine
#StopTheKillingsPH
#JusticeForMyanmar

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

Last week I argued that John the Baptist was one of the two mentors of the Galilean Jesus. This week, we will discuss the other one: Mary of Nazareth.

But first things first: There's something about Miriam we often overlook. We usually say she's Moses's sister. Miriam was a prophet. There's something about Mary we often overlook. We usually say she's Jesus's mother. Mary was a prophet as well. There's something about Miriam and Mary we often overlook. We usually say their names come from the same root. That root is actually Egyptian and many scholars say it means "rebelling against a bitter system."

Mary's Magnificat is probably one of the most powerful prophetic passages in the New Testament. This young woman from Nazareth followed a God who scatters the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; who brings down the powerful from their thrones and lifts up the lowly; who fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty.

This young woman from Nazareth followed a God who takes sides, a God who takes the preferential option for the poor, a God who brings down kings and kingdoms, a God who weeps with those who weep and who cries with those who cry.

This young woman from Nazareth is alive today. Yet the proud, the powerful, and the rich who pretend to venerate her fail to see her among the lowly and the hungry as they struggle against life-negating and death-dealing forces. They fail to see her at work in Sarah Jane Elago, Amanda Echanis, Reina Mae Nasino, Lady Ann Salem, and other women whose lives are dedicated to helping bring about peace based on justice and the realization of God's reign on earth.

Moreover, the proud, the powerful, and the rich who pretend to venerate her tag so many who are working for "life in all its fullness" as enemies of the state or as communists, as if communism were a crime in the country. It is not. Worse, they criminalize dissent and illegally arrest so many on trumped up charges like murder and illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

So, Jesus had John the Baptist as teacher. But before there was John, there was young Mary of Nazareth: The Prophet. And she taught her son well. Very well indeed.


#Advent2021
#FreePalestine
#JusticeForMyanmar
#StopTheKillingsPH
#IAmWithJesus
#ChooseJustice

*image "The Annunciation. Gabriel and Mary." JESUS MAFA (Vanderbilt Divinity Library digital archives)