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LESSONS FROM
LAMENTATIONS
(Part 3)
THE POOR AND THE PURE
Our mission is to
proclaim the full gospel of Jesus, with its spiritual and social
dimensions. Our basic mission is evangelization. An important collateral
work is our so-called work with the poor. One of our core values is
“Living a preferential option for the poor.” We participate in
building the Church of the Poor. In this, aside from bringing people to
Christ, we also look to their material needs.
Because of widespread poverty throughout the world, because of such
patent injustice to the greater majority of people, this work with the
poor is urgent and crucial. Our love for Jesus and transformation in
Christ should lead us to love our neighbor, especially the least among
them. If we have faith but not works, then such faith is dead (Jas
2:14-17).
But here lies a danger. It is to get so involved in helping the poor
materially that we miss out on the more important aspect of helping them
spiritually. Those who embraced the theology of liberation ended up
going the way of violence in order to fight poverty and injustice. In
our own work, some of those who were doing the wonderful work of GK
ended up marginalizing Christ, partnering with those who violated
Catholic values (such as pharmaceuticals with contraceptives), and even
bringing New Age into the work.
The Lord did warn us about such veering away. At the center of our
covenant is Jesus, and anytime we stray away from that, we will be in
deep trouble.
The reflection last April 2, 2007, in “40 Days of Lamentations,” the
readings of which are also the readings for today, is very relevant. It
is worth revisiting, as we now do.
*
* *
Day 35
Jesus at the Center of our Covenant
“The Lord is my
light and my salvation”
(Psalm 27:1a)
April 2
Isaiah 42:1-7
Psalm 27:1-14
John 12:1-11
Isaiah 42:1-7 is the
first of four “Servant of the Lord” oracles in Isaiah. These
prophecies find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. This passage also
teaches us about the purpose of our covenant, sealed by the blood of
Jesus on the cross. Jesus is the center and focal point of our covenant.
“I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people” (Is 42:6).
Jesus and his relationship with the Father is our model in our own
relationship of covenant with God. Just like Jesus, those whom God calls
into covenant are those who are chosen to be His Spirit-filled servants,
who become pleasing to Him and who are sent to renew the world according
to His ways. “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with
whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth
justice to the nations” (Is 42:1).
Jesus’ work is to bring justice to the world (Is 42:1,4,6). Justice in
biblical usage is about righteousness and about giving every person what
is their due. To God is due worship. To every person is due recognition
as having dignity as children of God. To the poor is due an equitable
share of the world’s goods. In other words, Jesus’ mission is to
establish the kingdom of God as God intended for it to be. It is a
restoration of paradise. Of course the fullness of that restoration will
only be fulfilled in the new Jerusalem at the end of time.
For us, as part of our covenant and in living out our vocation to be
God’s people, and in following the way of Christ, we are to be “a
light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out
prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in
darkness” (Is 42:6-7). This is our work of global evangelization,
proclaiming the good news in its fullness, including its spiritual and
social dimensions. Through this work, the sorry situation of people in
the world will be reversedthe blind shall see, the prisoners will be
freed, and those in darkness will see the light. This work is all about
salvation and liberation.
That is quite a task. It is the work of God Himself. The powerful enemy
will certainly oppose it. There will be hardships, trials, oppressions,
persecutions, pain, crosses. We need to be able to persevere. We need to
carry on in spite of seeming defeats. We need to depend on strength that
is beyond our own. We need to place our hope in God.
Psalm 27 gives the reason why we hope in God (our theme this year from
Lamentations 3:24). The essence of our hope is our trust in God. Why do
we trust God?
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Because He is our
light, our salvation and our life’s refuge (Ps 27:1).
-
Because He will
deliver us in time of trouble and from our enemies (Ps 27:5-6).
-
Because His love for
us surpasses even the love of our own parents (Ps 27:10).
Now if we trust God, then
we must not be afraid. In fact, fear and trust are opposites. “Though
an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear; though war be
waged against me, even then do I trust.” (Ps 27:3).
We can carry on, whatever the circumstances in our life and in our work.
We do so because God called us to this work, God gave us the privilege
of our covenant, and God assures us that He will always be there for us.
God will show us the way, God will not abandon us to the will of those
who oppose us and His work, and on top of everything else, we shall
enjoy the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living (Ps 27:11-13).
There is nothing else then that we need.
Now in doing our work of liberation, there is one critical point. For us
to enjoy all the blessings of covenant, for us to truly have hope, we
must always be focused on Jesus. Again Jesus is the center and focal
point of our covenant. Because of this, it is critically important for
us to realize that Jesus is the one priority before everything else,
including the mission he gives us to do.
Jesus’ mission is to bring glad tidings to the poor. That is our
mission as well. But when Judas was complaining why Mary used costly
perfumed oil to anoint Jesus’ feet rather than selling it and giving
the money to the poor, Jesus said, “You always have the poor with you,
but you do not always have me.” (Jn 12:8). Here they had a choice: to
sell the oil and give the money to the poor, or to honor Jesus by
anointing his feet with it. Jesus’ words make the choice clear to us.
We must first and foremost be focused on him, giving him the honor,
praise and worship that is his due. Then, if we are truly focused on
him, if we are living our lives in him, we will certainly go forth and
help the poor. Indeed, it is Jesus himself who sends us out on such a
mission.
This is a very crucial point in our life and work. At times, in our
enthusiasm for our work with the poor and given so much to do, we may
neglect our spiritual foundations of prayer and community life. In our
desire to give money to build homes for the poor, we may deprive
community and its mission by taking the money from our tithes. In our
focus on providing for the material needs of the poor, we may neglect
their spiritual needs. In our passion for liberation of the body, we may
miss out on salvation of the soul. In doing a great humanitarian work,
we might not be carrying out the very plan of God for CFC.
Let nothing of that happen, as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
The kind of God we
have: A God we can trust.
Covenant response: Be a light to the world.
Lamentations action: Examine your ways in doing your share of our
work with the poor, in relation to community life and mission.
-
Do you fail to attend
your households, prayer assemblies and major CFC events because you
choose to rather do some GK work?
-
Do you take your
contributions to GK from your tithe to CFC?
-
Do you consciously
and urgently try to bring our beneficiaries and partners to our CFC
renewal programs?
-
Are you just doing
some great humanitarian work, or are you carrying out the very plan
of God in allowing CFC to give birth to GK, in order to bring
God’s light, justice and peace to the world?
Lamentations
prayer: “Hear my voice,
Lord, when I call; have mercy on me and answer me. ….. your face,
Lord, do I seek! Do not hide your face from me; do not repel your
servant in anger. You are my help; do not cast me off; do not forsake
me, God my savior! ….. Lord, show me your way; lead me on a level path
….. Do not abandon me …..” (Ps 27:7,8b-9,11a,12a). Lord, I believe
I will enjoy your goodness in the land of the living; I will wait for
you, Lord, I will take courage; I will be stouthearted, I will wait for
you (Ps 27:13-14). Amen.
Because of our veering
away, CFC was plunged into crisis, with the eventual split. This is
something that must not happen again. God already restored CFC (with
CFC-FFL), and we must never veer away again from our covenant and
God’s call.
How do we ensure that?
We must learn the lessons God wants to teach us. These are the lessons
of Lamentations. In this Lenten season, I again bring you to another one
of the many lessons of Lamentations (from Forty Days of Lamentations).
Lamentations 121
– Social without spiritual
God calls us to be instruments of both salvation (spiritual
dimension) and liberation (social dimension). The two are two dimensions
of the one gospel. At times, those who work for renewal think only of
the spirit, while neglecting the social. But faith without works is dead
(Jas 2:17). Indeed, the very mission of Jesus is to bring good news to
the poor (Lk 4:18). So the work of renewal is not complete unless the
social dimension is included.
But at times the problem is the other way around. Some work for social
liberation but neglect the spiritual dimension. Some are so passionate
in fighting poverty, injustice and oppression, but in losing track of
the things of the Spirit, fall into the so-called theology of liberation
or into the gospel of prosperity. This is liberation without Christ at
the center. If we freed people from captivity but are not able to bring
them to Christ, then that would not fulfill God’s will.
There are many Christians also doing good works but not based on prayer
and the word, or are not undergoing sufficient formation in the faith.
Now even atheists do a lot of good work. But this is not enough. Our
ultimate task is to bring people to Christ and to build God’s kingdom
on earth. We are to be witnesses, by the way we live out lives, in
holiness and righteousness.
In CFC-FFL, we continue
to do our work with the poor and work for justice through our Social
Ministries. We continue to build communities among the poor, looking to
their shelter, health, education, livelihood and other material needs,
without neglecting the all-important aspect of bringing them to a
vibrant relationship with Jesus and providing a spiritual environment
for their growth in faith.
We are also doing prison ministry. Among other places, we are working
with inmates of the Maximum Security Compound of the National Bilibid
Prison. According to the world they are the scum of the earth. But to
Jesus they are his beloved brethren.
In a way, these prisoners are much worse off than those poor who are
homeless.
First, they have no freedom. This has been taken from them and they are
incarcerated, their movements severely restricted.
Second, they have no family. They have been separated from their
families, and for many of them, some of whom are serving life terms,
they have been abandoned and forgotten by their relatives.
Third, they hardly have any future. They have lost everything. Even if
they are eventually released, they carry the stigma of being an
ex-convict. Many are afraid of being near them and would not hire them.
But what they can have is a vibrant faith. In Jesus they can look to
love, peace and joy in their lives. We are privileged to be Jesus’
instruments for proclaiming this good news to them.
There is much injustice in the world, causing poverty amidst the
bountiful resources provided by God. This is not God’s will.
We in CFC-FFL have been called “for the victory of justice,” and
Jesus has grasped us by the hand and formed us, entering into covenant
with us, so that we might bring his light to the nations (Is 42:6). We
are privileged to be given our mission, the very mission of Jesus, “to
open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and
from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” (Is 42:7).
Liberation and salvation. The social and the spiritual. The poor and the
pure. Two sides of the same evangelistic coin. Both intended by God as
the authentic and full gospel of Jesus.
May we truly understand, and live out our calling.
(April 6, 2009)
