“God’s People Live His Life”
September 15, 2013
The 17th Sunday of the Christian Season of Ordinary Time/Kingdomtide/Time of the Church
=AND=
The Nineteenth Anniversary of the Consecration of the First CEC Bishop of Asia
Exodus 32: 1; 7 – 14/Psalm 51: 1 – 10/Timothy 1: 12 – 17/ Luke 15: 1 - 10
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
We celebrate today the Nineteenth Anniversary of the coming into the lineage that brought us into the wholeness of the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is that which we see as God seeking His people, bringing them into that oneness of His Church. It is not an earthly Church; it is a heavenly Church. It is not a denomination; it is that which God has set, through Christ, for the whole world.
The temple includes all of His creation. Nothing is left out of His temple. Man tries to duplicate it and man tries to bring it into a reality; but in truth, the Church is universal. The Church is one; in unity; in harmony; and she walks in that harmony. This is the truth of the Church. True, there are divisions we see with our natural eyes, but there is only one God, one Son, and one Holy Spirit. We all come together in that unity and in that greatness. We thank God for helping us understand and to see the greatness of His kingdom and of His glory.
Today also is the 2nd Anniversary of Bishop Ariel. We thank God for another Bishop here in the Cathedral to bring us to that point wherein we can bring glory, honor and praise to our God.
The gospel for today challenges us. It sets a pattern from God. We see in Luke 15 the three parables. I do not know why we left out one, but there are three parables in this chapter. Probably because they represent the Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They, in unity, have one goal in their minds and in their hearts, and that is seeking the lost.
The first parable talks about the shepherd. The shepherd leaves the ninety-nine and goes out to find the one that is lost. This parable alone is sermon material to bring out what this means to us. The shepherd’s heart is to bring the people, the sheep into harmony. A shepherd would never divide his flock. A shepherd would never bring division among his people and would never send people away. A shepherd brings them into the fullness of the unity that God gives to us.
We have a challenge before us; a model of Christ given to us. As a shepherd, one sheep was lost. In the past, I have read this parable, and I could not believe that the shepherd was responsible. Why would the shepherd leave ninety-nine in the fields to go find the one? Human reasoning says that ninety-nine are much more valuable than one.
God shows His heart. In the ROTC, we have been challenged by the extravagance of God; the perfection of God; the excellence of God. He does not want even one to be lost. When the shepherd finds the lost, he just doesn’t say, “Come, we will go back home.” He picks him up and puts him on his shoulders and he carries him home.
We see here the shepherd in mercy reaching out to the sheep. We do not see that he punishes the sheep. We do not see that he evens get angry with the sheep. What we see is his love, his compassion, his grace and his mercy. It is not just to bring back the sheep but he carries him.
Here is the picture of Christ going to the cross to bring the world back into the fold of the Kingdom. He carried the sin of all mankind. He knew no sin, but He brought the sin upon Himself so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We see this picture in this parable – the greatness of God and how that the shepherd carries and, in mercy, reaches out. He seeks the lost.
One area of understanding that I came across in preparing is that the ninety-nine really is the creation of God. It is the heavens and the earth and all the other things that God has created who have no ability to go astray. The one sheep is humanity; the wholeness of humanity, and how that God sent His Son to redeem us and to bring us back to the fold. God sets for the Church a pattern: seeking the lost.
In the second parable, we have the woman who had ten silver coins. She lost one. Ten, in Scriptures, is a perfect number. Having lost one silver coin, the woman was in trouble because she did not have perfection. If you understand the tradition of marriage, if the woman lost of those coins of the necklace that was given to her in marriage, it could mean separation because she did not protect what was given to her.
She goes through the house, sweeping every corner, looking for the one coin. She had nine coins left, but so important, so valuable to her was the one that was lost. She spent her time going through the house, seeking for that coin, the one that was lost, until she found it. She calls for her friends and says, "Come and celebrate with me. I have found the lost coin."
The completion; the fullness; all of creation brought back together; the seamless unity. This is the Church; the Kingdom. This is what Christ has given to us. Perhaps, the woman represents the Church; she intercedes for the lost. She takes her broom and she goes through the whole house in every corner. She moves the furniture to find that one coin. She will not give up; she intercedes until she finds the coin. We find a challenge to us: what is the task that we have?
The third parable is the parable of the prodigal son. How that son takes part of the inheritance, goes off, and wastes it. He doesn’t lose his sonship. He is still a son. He realizes and remembers that if he was at home, even just the servants would be better off than him. He really dropped very low because for the Jews to be in the pigpen, that was a violation of clean living. He decides he is going home. He is going to tell his father to make him a servant.
The father everyday is out on the road watching, waiting for the son to return. When the son is finally seen in the distance, the father runs to the son. He doesn’t wait for the sun to come; he runs to the son and embraces him. Before the son had much opportunity to say what he wants to say, the father had already pulled him close. Yes, he was smelling; yes, he was dirty, rugged, unkept. The father did not care. The most important thing was that he had come back. He calls for the best robe because it represents his position of authority in the community. He puts it on his son; calls for the ring of the family and puts it on his finger. He tells the servants, “Prepare. We are going to have a celebration. My son has returned.” Here is the father involved in reconciliation.
We see the Trinity at work. The shepherd, the Son, pays the price and carries in mercy the sin to bring us back. The Church, the Holy Spirit brings the intercession to a point of fulfillment and intercedes for us. The Father reconciles. We have the fullness of what God has given to us. We have the extravagance of God. He would leave ninety-nine to find one. Extravagance but love and compassion. Searching the whole house to find one coin. He has nine others, why is He so concerned for one? For even one missing deletes unity and the fullness that God has prepared. The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.
In the Old Testament shows Moses interceding for the people. He had brought them out of Egypt. He had risked his life to bring them out of Egypt. He stood before Pharaoh many times. He could have been killed. He gave his life; he gave his pride to bring them out. Yet, they forget the sacrifice that was made to set them free. They turned to another God.
How shallow our thanksgiving is many times. When those around have given their all to redeem us, to bring hope to us, to restore us, then we forget. Sometimes, not only do we forget, but we turn against them. Demonic and evil. When good has been given, how can other things come forth? This is the patience of God being given to us as a people.
Paul would not have been what he was if it was not for Ananias and Barnabas. They were willing to take a chance. Paul was cruel and mean. He was destructive, but God chose him.
Thirty-three years ago, a ministry was begun in Manila Garden Hotel. There were Catholics who were finding that they had something from God – a gift of the Holy Spirit; a manifestation of the presence of God with them, yet they did not feel comfortable going into a Protestant Church. There was this gathering to give them a place to be together with those who had received the same gift from God. It began the ministry. It began to grow and many things began to happen and take place.
The greatness of God began to be seen. Miracles were taking place and growth was tremendous. As a group of people, we called ourselves in the beginning, “Makati Christian Center.” We then change to “Christian Life.” We were busy reaching out to the lost.
I wrote down a few of the things that I could remember. It is only partial and I recognize that. We were interested in touching the lives of people. The “Makati for Jesus Rally” – we went out on the streets of Makati to proclaim the greatness of God. There were the times we had the Feast of Tabernacle around the city. We would move from one part of the city to another city, setting up a stage, moving musical instruments and sound systems. We would go and share the good news in Quezon City and Tondo and many others.
We were concerned for others. I remember the time we went to celebrate the Passover, at a place near Tanay. I remember thirty-five Bibles Studies in government offices every week reaching out and touching lives; bringing forth a witness of God’s greatness. I remember one time, in the midst of a typhoon, when we, as a congregation, walked from Magallanes Theater to Luneta in a typhoon. We were soaking wet when we got there. When we arrived, the sun was shining. It was as though God was putting His blessing upon the fact that we were making a declaration of His greatness and His love for the people.
I remember “The Bride”. How many thousands of people did we minister to, sharing with them the good news? We spent several millions of pesos with all the costumes and everything. Such an awesome proclamation! “The Philippines, Our Heritage” which proclaimed the favor of God upon the Philippines, how we were blessed the way God created us to be and how that He gave so much for us. So powerful was that that even Imelda Marcos came. She couldn’t believe it and she said, “Who did this? How could you do this? Where did you get the money to do this? Impossible!” She took out a checkbook and wrote a large amount to help us.
During the last night of “The Philippines, Our Heritage,” the coup began and for some, they blamed us for initiating the coup. We didn’t; we were initiating the kingdom of God among the people. We wanted to tell the greatness of God.
How many times were we involved in the midst of disaster? In Baguio, Ormoc and Sorsogon? I remember that I flew into Sorsogon in an army helicopter. The door was open in the hallway. There was a time I was wondering, “Am I going to fly out the door?” It was the military who would help us in those days and we would minister to the people in Sorsogon. In Infanta, Quezon, we were taking the trucks, putting them on barges and getting them across the water to get the goods to the other side. We got stuck in sand dunes. We had to have help getting out of there.
This was the Church! Drug Rehabilitation Center; prison ministry; street children; television programs like “Let there be Light.” We still have a desire that would be revived. “Upon This Rock.” Our problem is many of you have committed to support this program, but very few are doing the work. We make commitments but we don’t fulfill them.
Do you remember, “Galak Namin”? On Christmas Day, the day when we thought we should be with our families celebrating Christmas holiday, we decided that we were going to feed the military that were living in squatter areas. We challenged the people to forsake their family celebration for that day and come to Bulwagan. We cooked food all day long. People came and gave of their time and their efforts to serve. We had a beautiful plan set out. We served 2,500 people a full Christmas day meal and we were sacrificing in order that they could celebrate.
We did not let our family get in the way. Scriptures says, “Unless you hate your family, you cannot be a part of the kingdom of God.” It did not mean in the exact words that came forth, but it meant that you can’t put your family before God. You can’t put your family before the work of God. The family is a part of the Church. The family is a vital cell within the Church. When you pull one cell out of the Church, for whatever reason it may be, you weaken or cripple the work of the Church.
It is amazing how that young couples who had been very busy in the work of the Church, once they get married, they back-off the work of the Church. It should be the other way around. In marriage, we should be giving more, more and more efforts and time. As we have more children, we get them all involved in the Church because this is the most vital part of life. But we have been pulled out by the things which God blessed us with rather than using those blessings to build our thanks and our praise to God!
On that day, we gave up our families and fed 2,500. Every hour, we were bringing hundreds of more people to feed them. The children were fed by people who were there to help so that the families could eat. We had to get them through quickly. We sacrificed. When they finished eating, they were taken out back out of the Bulwagan because we set up a tent there. In that tent, they were given a basket to take home. It wasn’t just that we were feeding them, but we were blessing them.
This was the Church. We were so excited. We did not hear any complaints. There was more joy, more excitement than there was murmuring and complaining. We have done that here were we fed about five hundred.
What happened? When we came into liturgy, it seems as though our evangelical branch died. We put all of our efforts into the liturgy. We wanted to make sure that everything was fine. We had the ambience of the Sanctuary. We put so much effort into making it so beautiful. Now, we have an orchestra. No longer having to carry the instruments back and forth. Now, we have a place where the orchestra can set up and where they can do the greatness of God’s praise and worship for us. Now, we have the acoustical instruments.
We have the knights. We have the high altar candles. We have icons. We have the lighting. We have all of these, but what is these for? For us? We focus upon ourselves and we have forgotten to seek the lost. We have forgotten to put the efforts into making certain that we could touch the lives of others.
It is not completely gone. The Birthing Clinic is the greatest example of love that the Church has today. Helping those who find themselves in difficult situations – no condemnation; no judgment. It doesn’t matter whether or not they are married. We still treat them all the same. We minister to them. We bless them. We encourage and we help them. Yes, we still have one TV program. We still touch lives and we get many results from that. Some of the communities have built a ministry. Thank God for that!
My question: where are the things that we used to be? Where is the concern for the world around us? When we lose reaching out and we think only of ourselves, eventually having lost the desire to touch the lives of others and redeem others, seeking the lost, we eventually turn against each other. We are not giving of ourselves, but we are being selfish in wanting everything our way. We eventually begin to gossip about each other, judge one another, and condemn one another.
Instead of being the ministry of love and compassion, instead of being the ministry of the Church, we take upon the character of the enemy. We destroy one another when in fact the Church is supposed to be that which builds life and protects life. The Church covers the wrongs. No time for all of these things if we are really reaching out to the lost. When we have lost our desire to touch others, we begin to destroy.
In history, in 1870, Rome was coming after Jerusalem. The armies of Rome had surrounded Jerusalem. They were expecting a battle to overcome Jerusalem. They had to have ladders to go over the wall because the gates had been locked. When they got inside Jerusalem, the Jews had killed themselves. Their bickering, their anxiety, their anger with each other, their divisions brought them death.
It challenges us to revive that concern for others: the lost; those who have not heard the good news. This is what the gospel today is challenging us with: even one causes all of heaven to rejoice! Are we concerned with our officemates? Are we concerned with our neighbors? Are we concerned with the nation? Or are we more concerned about things which are for us? When we would give all that we had to make certain that we could touch the lives of others?
We did not sell tickets for "The Bride". We paid for it. It was in the millions, but the people gave because we wanted to touch lives, and we did. Because of that, there were a number of Christian groups that began to work in theater and drama. We challenged them. We got things moving for them.
What happened to us? Why have we given up on these things that we used to begin in the beginning to keep things going? Is liturgy important? Yes, but its importance is to strengthen us to go out and do more! It is the power of God shared with us so that we can be the light to the world. So that we can cause the world to wake up and realize there is hope!
Yes, we know that there is fear in the Middle East. We know that there is unrest in Mindanao. We know that Congress and the Senate, maybe even the higher up, have been stealing from us. But if we are busy doing the kingdom’s work, these things will not touch us. They will not cause anxiety for us. Even the failures of others around us will not cause us anxiety because we are doing the work of God.
This is the challenge that comes to us. We can't let anything get in the way. As the Bible says, even the family cannot be that which separates us from the Church. You cannot separate from the Church and be a Christian. It is the unity; the oneness that brings the power. The Church is so divided today. You’ve got to come back to the unity, the provision. It is not in a denomination but in Christ. It is in the Holy Spirit. The other things are not wrong. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying, but they are not going to bring unity. It is God who is going to bring the unity. It is Christ who is going to bring us together. He and He alone. When our hope is in Him, then we will see the greatness and the provision of God.
May we take these three parables today and may they challenge us as a Church. Not just the Cathedral but all of us. Some of the Churches in the Diocese are doing things which the Cathedral should be listening to and also following. Concern for all. When someone is absent, we should be concerned for them. “What is the problem? Can we help? Do you need help? Can we pray with you?” There should be this concern for each other.
May we listen today. As we celebrate what God has done, He has brought us into the fullness of His kingdom. His extravagance in what He has given to us! Perfect in His work! Where are we? Why are we not demonstrating the perfection? Why are we not demonstrating the extravagance? Sometimes, we put twenty pesos in the Offering and we think, “I did my part.” No, you did not. You just brought a new car. You just got a new ring. You just got an Ipad, Ipod, Iphone. These things are for self we don’t think about, but the thing that is more important is the kingdom of God.
What are we doing for the Kingdom? You cannot worship if you haven’t paid your tithe. God won’t accept it because you are stealing from Him. God told Israel in the past that the men had to come to Jerusalem three times a year. He told them, “When you come, don’t come empty handed. You come with an example of My blessing that I placed upon your life. I have blessed you. You should be a proclamation of that blessing. Then, I will receive your worship.” Otherwise, the worship is empty. It is not received by God. It doesn’t matter how emotional we get. It is empty because we have not given of ourselves. We have stolen from God.
God loves us. As we begin the 20th year, it is time that we see things turned around. We see our commitments to seeking the lost. It doesn’t mean that our liturgy is going to be any less. If anything, it should increase because the more it increases, the more power, the more ability we have to go out and touch the lives of others. None of these things are wrong in their proper place. When we put them where they belong, God gets the glory and the honor.
As a people, Happy Anniversary! May we be challenged in the midst of it to be what God created us to be! His people; blessed by Him; a new creation blessed to be glorious in the sight of God, Amen!
LET US CONTINUE OUR REFLECTION
WITH
CARDINAL OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH
AND
VENERABLE PRIMATE
OF THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH
WITH
CARDINAL OF HOLY MOTHER CHURCH
AND
VENERABLE PRIMATE
OF THE PHILIPPINES
THROUGH
THROUGH
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento