“Excellent Role Models"
September 30, 2012
The 18th Sunday of Ordinary Tine
A.K.A.
Kingdomtide
and
Time of the Church
Numbers 11: 4-6; 10-16; 24-29/Psalm 19: 7 – 14/James 4: 7 - 5: 6/
Mark 9: 38 43; 45; 47- 48
His Eminence
The Most Reverend Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
and
Primate
of the
National Church in the Philippines
and
the Territorial Church of Asia
International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church
The Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time. We are into the Season of the Church whereby the Church is challenged to use the gifts that God has given us to bring them out in life not just in what we believe but in what we live. This is so that our lives speak as a witness to others of God’s favor, of His blessings.
St. Paul writes to us in Ephesians1 explaining God’s favor in our lives: blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. We cannot ask for more because we’ve received it all. Not only did he express this, but he said, “I want you to understand this: from the very beginning of time, whenever that was, God chose you before the foundation of the earth that you should be holy and blameless before Him.”
Do we have any comprehension, any security, hope, faith in what God has done for us? He has predestined us as the adopted sons; freely bestowed upon us grace, ability, and power. Redeeming us through His blood according to the riches of that grace which He has lavished upon us.
Truly, we are a blessed people! Chosen, royal, holy, God’s own people. God says, “You will be My people, and I will be your God.” What more could we ask for? What more could we be given? Scriptures says about the life that He has given us, “Everything pertaining to life and godliness; every good thing.”
Jesus says in His own words, “You shall be My witnesses.” The questions that come are: What is the witness that we are giving the world around us? Does the world around us see the hope because they see in us the new life that God has given to us? Do they see in us the peace? Do they see in us the security? Do they see in us the joy? Do they see in us the confidence? Do they see in us the lack of fear? This is what God has provided for us. This is that which we’ve been given.
What are we demonstrating to the world? Why has the world not turned to Christ? Why do major portions of the world hate Christianity? Is it because of what Christ did? His dying on the cross for us? Shedding His blood, taking our sin, going to hell and conquering our sin? Disarming the forces of evil? Will that make the world angry at Christianity?
In the Old Testament, we have a story of Israel. The story that we read is a time after God has delivered Israel from Egypt. Israel was taken into Egypt at a time when there was famine in the whole world. God has prepared for Egypt to be their salvation. He sent Joseph there even though it was under distress and not necessarily under his agreement. God sent him there to prepare the salvation of Israel, so that Israel would not pass out in the midst of the famine; but that Israel would have what they need to prosper.
Israel was God’s people. He had chosen them to be the witness to the whole world that He was protecting them and watching over them. After Joseph died, after the Pharaoh died, a new Pharaoh came in and there was a lot of conflict between the Egyptians and the Israelites. The Israelis were growing fast, they were expanding. They were following the principle of God: be fruitful and multiply; and they were multiplying.
Egypt came to a point where they were fearful because there were so many Israelites. They were becoming more populous than the Egyptians. And for some reason, they had favor upon their lives. Egypt was fearful of what might happen, so they put them into slavery.
Over the years, as slavery progressed, they became crueler to them, making it more difficult for them to do the task that they were supposed to do. They did not help them at all. In the end, they demanded them to do everything; and at the same time, not slack off on the goals that were set for them.
Israel was in torment. They were persecuted, they were beaten, and they were under tremendous pressures. Egypt was giving them a hard time. Israel was crying out to God in their misery and asking God to deliver them. Had they gone home after the famine, this wouldn’t have happened. We are not told why they stayed, but for some reason, they saw Egypt as their Messiah. They saw Egypt as the answer to their needs. So they remained in this land of plenty, but eventually this land of plenty became their master, and they became the slaves.
Four hundred plus years in slavery. Every year was becoming more and more intense in the persecution and in the demands of the masters. Israel was crying out to God for deliverance. God sent Moses to deliver them. Through a chain of miracles and a chain of events, Egypt finally told Moses to take the people out of here and take everything they want. They took all the wealth of Egypt and they left.
It wasn’t long until fear and anxiety came upon them because they came to the Red Sea. They were wondering how they were going to get across the Red Sea. There were no boats, there were no bridges. They began to murmur and complain, “Moses, you brought us out here to die,” because they could see behind them the army of Egypt, because Egypt had woken up and said, “Wait a minute, we’ve lost everything. We need to go get it back.”
God told Moses to strike the Red Sea, and he did. It parted; Israel went across on dry land and Egypt came to the sea when it was parted. They thought they too could go across in their horses and chariots, but when they got into the middle of the sea, God pulled back the restraints of the waters. Due to their heavy armament, they all went to the bottom and they were killed. There was nothing left.
God delivered Israel. He set them free from four hundred years of slavery, so they had a party. It tells about them singing, dancing, and rejoicing because they were free. One year later, they are murmuring and complaining, and they want to go back to Egypt. “We want the garlic, we want the cucumbers. We want the fish; we want all those things that we want to eat.” Moses says, “What about the slavery? Have you forgotten it already? Are you allowing these little things like what you want to eat and go back to slavery to be beaten and persecuted? No future, but slaves? Do you want that just so you can have something that you like to eat?”
This makes us really stop and think. Do these things really have much of an effect on our lives? Are we so consumed with the temporal things that we forget the fact that Christ has delivered us from our sin? He has delivered us from bondage and has given us new life. And yet many times, we long to go back to the old life. We want the happiness and joys of the old life. We forget the claw, the thorns, the bondage and slavery that it included. Being freed, we forget the joy that came when Christ took away the sin and gave us joy and peace instead.
We are to be the role models for the world. They should see in us the peace, security, and the joy. They should see in us in the way we handle our businesses, the way we handle our jobs, and that there is something exciting about what we do. There is something different about what we face when a problem arises or a need comes, and persecution is knocking at the door.
Do they see a change in us? Do they see that we respond differently than they? Is there a reason why they would be drawn to Christianity? Is there a reason why they would want to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of their lives? Is there a witness that comes from us?
The Scriptures says that Jesus said that we will be His witnesses. We are to be the witness of His salvation. We are to be the witness of the freedom that He has given to us. We are to be the witness of the blessings that are ours. Instead of holding and scheming, holding to ourselves, do we show the blessings of God in the giving of our lives? In the giving of compliments? In the giving of peace, comfort, understanding and compassion?
Do we find ourselves touching the lives of others with the assurance and the confidence that comes because Christ is within us? The power of His Spirit dwells within us that strengthen us that we can face whatever problem may come our way. True, we may momentarily be stricken and shaken; but in the moment that our feet are back on the ground and our shoulders and our heads high, we are ready for the battle, whatever it may be because Christ is with us.
This is the hope that we are to have that others can see when they have a problem. “I remember my officemate, my classmate, my neighbor going through a difficulty and yet it did not seem to affect their lives. They seem to keep their feet on the ground and they seem to have the full awareness of things around them. They were not consumed by the difficulty. I wonder what their answer was. Why did this happen? Why did it seem like everything works for them? Why did it seem like everything is fine?”
Israel was in the desert; the people of the other side of the Jordan River had heard the news. Israel had gotten there because of what God did for them, delivering them from Egypt and taking them across the Red Sea, destroying Egypt, and giving them the wealth of Egypt. This was a witness to the people on the other side of the Jordan that their God is great and strong. “We better be careful. We need to be afraid.” But yet, Israel was downtrodden. They were anxious and fearful. They were unhappy. Then events caused the rest of the world to have respect for them, but they did not have respect for themselves. They have been given everything, but yet they were fearful of this.
In our lives, we have been given everything. Yet many times, we lose sight of what God has given to us and what He has done for us. In the midst of the trial, we act just like the rest of the world – fearful, anxious, angry, upset, fighting back, revenging, destroying – rather than understanding, “God is with me. These things can’t be against me. They can’t function that way because God is my protector. God is my strength. God is my life.”
This is supposed to be what we demonstrate to the world. We are blessed! Christ has done so much for us. He has taken away the guilt. Romans 8:1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation.” God is not condemning us. The Scriptures are not condemning us. The enemy can’t condemn us because he has lost his power. Yet, for some reason, we keep these fears in our lives and we find ourselves downtrodden rather than joyously being the witness that God intended us to be – reaching out and comforting those in sorrow; touching the lives of those who have need; a kind word perhaps; a compliment, something that would lift them up and help them realize that somebody cares and somebody is interested.
We live in a world of isolation. We live in a world of individuality. In this world, the fears, the hurts, the pains are suffered individually. No one cares. No one will stop to help someone else at the moment of trial. No one will put themselves out to lift someone up. Instead, we hold back not wanting to get involved. “It is not my problem. I’ve got enough of my own.”
If we look at Jesus, we see Him meeting the needs of all. We see Him concerned for the circumstances of people. He came to be a role model for us. He came to speak to us to let us know greater is He who is with us. He even says to us, His people, “The things that I have done, you shall do.” Yet in our own lives, the fear, the unbelief, the anxiety keeps us even from the simple things much less even the greater things instead of proving the greatness of God in our lives; instead of following what the Scriptures says, “Do things with all your might. Whatever your hand finds you to do, do it with all your strength. Everything you do, do unto the glory of God. Do it for the glory of God to receive glory in what you do.”
What happened to our drive, our initiative to let the people know around us that great is our God? We sing the song. What hypocrites we are to sing a song and then murmur and complain because we don’t have what we want! The singing of the song is not going to change the circumstances. The change will come in our heart. Do we really believe that God will bring this to its fullness? Will He bring it to its hope and its provision in our lives? Will He bless us as He said He would? Will He meet all of our needs? Will He heal the sickness in our bodies? Will He do all of these things?
The answer is yes, if we believe. We need someone that we can look at and see, “They did it then I can do it.” “Something is great about their lives and I want to be like them. I don’t want to give up. I don’t want to run. I don’t want to suffer. I want to rise up.” If that is our desire, what about others who don’t know the fullness of Christ? Of all that He has given to them? Can we not be that witness to them? Can they not find the hope in us?
Christ gives us a great example. He brings our feet back on the ground. He brings peace back to our hearts. He brings confidence into our thinking. He brings assurance into our thoughts. When we stop and look at the life of Christ for a moment, we see how He faced His issues and His difficulties, and He overcame. He conquered, yet He was flesh. Some would say, “Yes, He came from God.” This is true, but where did you come from? Where did I come from? We came from God. God is the Source of life. God is the very essence of all we are and ever could be. That hope is ours; it is there within us. If only we will put our faith and our confidence in it.
It doesn’t mean that we won’t have the conflicts every once in a while. It won’t mean that momentarily we lose faith. But when we stop and we are shaken we say, “Wait a minute, this is not me. This is not what I want. This is not what I am going to do.” We find ourselves stabilized. It doesn’t change the problem necessarily. It doesn’t change the circumstances, but it gives to us that assurance, that confidence, that security that things can’t go that way very long because God is with us.
If only we could put our faith there, we will find hope. We will find assurance. Even myself at times, I get discouraged. There are times that I want to give up. You work hard, you give of yourself completely, and the response is so little. People are finding excuses not to attend Church, not to give their offerings – any little thing.
I think, “Why do I give so much? Why have you sacrificed so much? Is it worth it?” Sometimes even the Staff, they come to work and they sleep. This is not for sleep. We don’t pay people to sleep, but they do. Sometimes, they don’t do their job. I end up having to do the job for them. I say, “Why do you give such? Why do you keep them here? Why do you pay them?”
Last Friday was one of those days. As I was going home, I made up my mind and thought, “I was going to call Bishop Ariel and I was going to tell him to prepare for Sunday. I am not going to be there anymore.” I came to a point where it wasn’t worth it – the anxiety, the stress, struggling to make certain that the Staff gets their allowances – and yet other things aren’t going the right way. They are not doing what they are supposed to do. The priests sometimes sleep while you are ministering. Is it worth it?
As I was changing my clothes after getting home, all of a sudden, it was like something came in front of me: Jesus did not give up. Even though His disciples at times never seem to get the message, they lived with Him. He took care of them and yet they did not understand. I thought, “Oh yes, I can’t give up.” Jesus did not give up. There was a witness that was something in front of me, something I could follow.
Had Jesus not been there, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I don’t think the people care. I see them doing other things on Sunday. They have business meetings and other things rather than putting Christ first in their lives. Deacons don’t do their jobs. Offerings don’t meet the bills. Sometimes you wonder, “Is it worth it?” Then, you look at Christ. What did He go through? What was the price He paid? Did He give up, hanging on the tree, humiliated, falsely accused and beaten? What did He say, “Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they do.”
The challenge of a witness. What is your witness? What are your officemates, your classmates, your neighbors think of you? Do they see you living out your Christianity? Do they see you holding your head up in the midst of a storm? In the midst of a conflict? Are we being the witness to the nation that we should be? Are they seeing in us a hope they can’t find anywhere else? Are they seeing in us the peace that comes in knowing God is with us? Are they seeing the wisdom that comes because the Holy Spirit lives with us, dwells in us? Do they see that we have the answers to the situations? Do they see that we have the confidence that even though things may be wrong right now, we say, “We are going to make it through this?
We are not going to be in the wilderness for long. We are going to the Promise Land. The blessings of God are going to overcome the circumstances and the situations. Whatever I find my hand to do, I am going to do with all of my might so that people will see that greatness of God’s ability in me, His provision in me.
This is what the Scriptures want us to know. In the eighteenth week of Ordinary Time, we should already be the witness to the world around us. Do they need encouragement? Do they need hope? Do they need healing? Do they need a kind word? We are the ones to give it to them. We can’t pray and say, “God send them an answer.” No, we are the answer. God in us, the hope of glory. Glory to their presence of God. Can we see ourselves in such a way?
Momentarily, we may struggle with something. Momentarily, we may think we are ready to give up, but if only there is a witness, if only there is that challenge to us saying, “That is a wrong thought. I can’t accept that. I am going to be what God made me to be. I am going to hold my head high. I am going to show that God is with me. He won’t fail and He won’t forsake.” Never mind the circumstances. “I may not have garlic, leeks, or fish. The manna is what I need because it strengthens me. It empowers me. It gives me life because it is bread of heaven, and it won’t fail.” It may not be the lavish layout of food in front of me, but it is that which gives me the strength to do the work needed.
Empowered with God’s character and with God’s kingdom. We are challenged to be role models, witnesses. We are that which people can look at and say, “If you need an answer, that person over there can give you the answer.” “If you need some help, find them, they can help.” “If you need somebody to pray for you, they are the ones. They have a contact with God. They have an insight and they can be the answer for you.”
Is that what people say about us? Or do they see us just like them, facing the difficulties, the problems, the issues and fear, anxiety and worry? We have God with us. It should flow out of our lives. It should come with strength. It should come with confidence. It should come with conviction because “I believe.” This thing is only for a moment; it will pass away because God is with me. It will not go any further.
This is what we are to challenge to be today: the confidence in knowing Him and lifting our heads high and not being in fear. I received an email from the U.S. Embassy warning me about a plot. It would be very natural to hide, to run, but I stand publicly because God is with us. His protection is with us. Fear has no place in life. God is the great One. He does not fail, and He will not fail. We can have that confidence and that assurance in Him.
May it be the very source of our lives and may it be the strength of our lives. May we begin to be what God created us to be. He has taken away our sin. We don’t need to worry about that. He has taken away the power of the forces of evil. We don’t need to worry about them. James 4 says, “If you just resist the evil, it will flee.” It doesn’t say you have to fight it. It doesn’t say you have to have war. It says, “Resist evil and it will flee.” How can we say, “The enemy is so powerful. I can’t control myself.” This is not true!
James 4 says, “Submit yourselves to God. Resist evil and it will flee.” This is my hope! God says to humble yourselves and He will exalt you. Let Him be the Source of life. Let Him be in us what He wants us to be. Then, let us be the witness of God’s presence with us and the new life He has given to us.
May we be the witness we are supposed to be. May we be tired of just being tossed to and fro. May we stop looking at the circumstances around us thinking, “Things could be better on the other side.” No, they can’t be and they won’t be.
Our Overseas Workers go abroad because they think things are better abroad. Things would be much better if they would stay at home and we would correct the problem here. We would have a country that would rise to the top. Instead we run away. They call them heroes. I don’t call them heroes. I call them deceived and I call the government deceptive because they don’t want to take the responsibility. “Send them away. Let somebody else they care of them.” God has blessed this nation. We are blessed and it is time that we stand and be a witness to the greatness of God.
Let it be known that God has blessed us and we are His people and He is our God.
LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION
WITH
HIS GRACE, THE MOST REVEREND ARCHBISHOP LUIS ANTONIO "CHITO" GOKIM TAGLE D.D.
ARCHBISHOP OF MANILA AND VENERABLE PRIMATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH
THE WORD EXPOSED
