Ahead

They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went ahead of them. Mark 10:32a

Jesus and his disciples were going up to Jerusalem. They were moving from one place to another. They were traveling from town to town. However, this is different. Beyond this verse, Jesus predicts He will be handed over to church authorities and bring Him to His tragic death. In this part of the journey, as with other journeys, Jesus went ahead of them. As opposed with other travels, Jesus knew what is ahead and He still walked ahead. Not as much as difficult as compared with other ways they have walked, Jesus knew His men needed Him to be ahead. They let Him walked ahead. Peter or John or James or any other disciple did not have the guts to take the lead. And nobody should.

Including us.

Are you on your way to some place where you are going up? To a place that may have resemblance like Jerusalem. A place where you maybe ridiculed. An event where your faith will be mocked. A situation where you know life will be hard fought. A family concern where death is on the front page. An employment which drains your passion away. A community life where some things are very uncommon. Your pair of feet steps with difficulty as you are going up. Allow Jesus to go ahead. Let Him take the lead. Let Jesus guide us. Allow Him to show the way. More than anytime, you need Jesus to go ahead. More than any place, you need Jesus to take the lead. More than anybody, Jesus knows what is ahead.

Going up to Jerusalem must have Jesus, no other else, going ahead.

Keep Calling

And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me." Mark 10:48

He kept calling. They want him silent. They tried to make him quiet but not quite. All the more he kept calling Jesus. He called Jesus again and again and again. Many, not only one or a few, rebuked him. Many may have thought he was not worth of His time because these many have not given him time. However, Bartimaeus' focus was on the One he was calling not on the many who were blocking. It is as if he kept redialing the same number up until the other side of the line answers. It is as if there were other parties on the line yet he kept redialing.

Bartimaeus kept calling because he kept trusting.

We should do this, too. Keep calling Jesus all the more. Doubts may rebuke you. Worries may silent you. People may come up in your face and say, "It's not possible!" You, yourself have dark clouds of skepticism your prayer may not happen. Circumstances all around you shouts a clear NO. In spite of these many, keep calling. Keep your knees bended. Keep your eyes on the One who makes impossible possible. Keep calling on the One who makes a way when there is no way. Keep calling Jesus who multiplies a lunch into the grandest of feast. Keep calling Jesus who supposedly swam but walked on water.

Keep calling Jesus...for righteous living in an unrighteous world, for faithfulness in an unbelieving society, for grace and strength over your weakness, for a sibling or a friend to give his/her life to God, for a job you dream of which you wrote on that elementary slum book, for a bedridden parent to stand up again, for a lack in finances to be filled up, for a mission still impossible.

We keep calling because we keep trusting.

First is Last

..."But many that are first will be last, and (the) last will be first." Mark 10:31

He was superman. Dwight Howard came to play. 32 points, 16 rebounds and 5 block shots playing for forty three minutes. He was dominant. He dunked the ball. He rebounded. He followed up his or his teammates' misses. He was almost perfect in his post plays. His foot work was simply spectacular. He was unstoppable before a Boston Celtics known physical defense. His team, Orlando Magic, was one defeat shy of being booted out from the playoffs and he made sure to cancel that. He played his heart out. This is the Dwight Howard everybody was waiting for.

As the best player that night, Dwight was interviewed over national television. The court side reporter asked him about his superb performance on court, before any comments, Dwight gave glory to God. Before he boasted of his stats, he boast of God's performance. He elevated God with his elevation. He put God on the box score above his name. His numbers spoke of him yet he spoke of God.

Dwight was first tonight based on what he did. Dwight was last tonight based on what God did.

Jesus said, "..many that are first will be last..." Dwight Howard is one of the many.

May God give us the grace to be one of those many.

Shrink

...for I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God. Acts 20:27

This is not a good situation. You are trying to wear a pair of pants which you just wore a week ago. Seven days ago, it perfectly fits you. Now, after laundry service, the trousers are two or three inches short of your legs' length. It shrunk. It shortened. When it's fine it covers what it suppose to cover. When it shrunk, it does not serve it's purpose. It can't wrap what's suppose to wrap. Generally this happens when the washing instructions are not followed. Some clothes require cold washing. Some must be immersed in hot water. A clothing will surely shrink if you don't follow the instructions.

This is not the situation of Paul. He told his audience, "I did not shrink from proclaiming to you the entire plan of God." He did not shrink as a messenger. He covered everything that has to be proclaimed. He spoke with completion. He begun and ended without leaving any details for his listeners to hear. He took every opportunity as his last stand when he declared God's plan. His message did not shrink. Paul proclaimed the entire plan of God. A message with no postscript. A paragraph without footnotes. A book without references. His message about God's plan is complete. The key here is this - Paul followed the instructions.

May we be like Paul. Messengers who will not shrink. Servants who will complete the service. Servants who will start and finish the race. Servants who will cover the uncovered.

May our message be like his. May our lives spell God's plan from A to Z. May our words and works reflect His face, fully not partly. A message where God is a God who completes.

Be sure we don't shrink, let's follow His instructions.

Openness

When they came to him, he addressed them, "You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia." Acts 20:18

Privacy. We treasure it. We keep it. We procure it. It's one thing everyone would like to store. You don't share your address to everyone. We don't share our pictures on Facebook to anyone. We put walls in our internet usage. Passwords are controlling entry to your email or computer. Life locks are alpha-numeric or conventional. Whether you are rich or poor, it's one resource which keeps us secure.

In the secular society, this makes sense. In living with the people of God, it doesn't.

Public life not privacy drives our church and community. Paul lived this way. "You know how I lived among you the whole time from the day I first came to the province of Asia.", he said.

• Ephesians knew how Paul lived. They knew him. They knew how he lived amongst them. How he worshiped. How he followed Jesus. How he is empowered by the Spirit. They knew where he lives. They knew his daily activities. He told them about his passion. He shared to them his life. They knew how he lived the Gospel.
• Paul opened his life for them, the whole time. There was consistency in Paul's publicity of his life. Paul was always showing the Ephesians each minute, each hour, day in and day out. He did not leave any second for his life not to be known and not to be shared. He did not kept a secret.
• He did this from the very first day he came to them. Now that's the test for openness. First day at school makes us awkward. First day at work makes us careful. Paul's first day in Ephesus? He begun to make his life known. Not awkward but forward. Not careful but careless.

Make your life known among the brothers and sisters. Share your life. Inspire them by showing them how you live. Be open to bring to the light the darkness in your life.

Our closeness to God's people depends with our openness.

Gifts

Father, they are your gift to me. John 17:24a

This is a scene from Victorious, a show over at Nickelodeon.

It was Trina's birthday. Her sister Victoria or Tori prepared a song for her on her big day. Tori was accompanied by a band and back-ups, all her friends. It was a good song sung by a good singer. "Where's my gift?" Trina asked after Tori went to hug her. "It was the song?" Tori explained. Trina replied, "The song?" Tori said, "Yeah, I hope you like it." Then Trina enumerated, "Can I wear it? Can I eat it? Can I flaunt it? Can I use it? Will it make me feel good?" Tori thought she made music for Trina.

This is a scene from our daily life.

You wake up with your imperfect spouse. You eat breakfast with your clumsy kids. You walk by your grumpy neighbor. You push the car breaks for a driver who cuts your way. You sit with your insensitive co-worker. You deal with your demanding boss. You get an email from a stubborn brother in community. You receive a news about a friend gossiping about you. You think these are not good gifts from a good God. "Where's my gifts?" you asked God. God answers, "You met them. You heard from them. You bumped into them." You enumerate to God, "Gifts? Them? Can I flaunt them? They did not make me feel good." God thought He made music for you.

Jesus acknowledged the Father's gifts for Him. Fishermen and some ordinary men. Judas who will betray Him. Peter who will deny Him three times. Thomas who will doubt about His rising. Crowds who are by His side during miracles but absent during His suffering. He called them gifts. He accepted them as gifts. Jesus knew God's gifts will help fulfill God's plan.

Every person in our life is a gift from God. We don't dictate from the Giver who will be given to us. The Giver of the gifts knows whom we need to shape His plan for us. They are His gifts to us. There are some whom we want. There are some whom we don't want but we need. However, every gift makes music in our lives.

Loved

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. John 15:12

My siblings taking turns to arrange and prepare the burial. My siblings taking turns to give my wife some good company. My siblings providing for our needs.

My wife's relatives keeping her alive and kicking.

My boss nodded as I asked if I can work at home in the afternoon to look after my daughters who were out of their classes at two o'clock pm.

Two elderly neighbors whom I have not met came to console.

Four neighbors, one at a time, knocked on our doors to bring a dish and a cheer for our family.

My Facebook page was swamped with sympathies and pledge of prayers.

Brothers and sisters asking us what they can do for us, willing to stand-by if needed.

A family, friend of our family, invited us for a dinner and cooked our breakfast for tomorrow.

A card in the mail, coming from my office mate, with comforting message.

My relatives at the other side of the coast called and soothed our situation.

A Filipino nurse gentle yet effective in caring for Praise at the emergency room.

Friends came to help me for Bless' hair arrangement for her first communion and accompany us in the ceremony.

At the moment we heard the death of my mother-in-law, love flooded our hearts. Love knocked on our door. Love gave way for our schedules. Love gave time. Love prayed. Love supported. Love inspired. Love took time to cook a dish or two for our family. Love called over the phone to check us out if we are doing all right. Love assured. Love one another.

Have they heard of the commandment? Maybe, maybe not. One thing is sure, they practiced it. And we were loved.

Unknown God

Then Paul stood up at the Areopagus and said: "You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.' What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you. Acts 17:22-23

Now that's surprising.

People in Athens were religious yet they follow an unknown God. They were faithful in their church services. They were in presence in every religious activity. They faithfully prayed. They expectantly worshiped. They reliably followed. They have in their hearts a passion for serving one another. They were religious. However, Paul discovers they have do all these things for and to an Unknown God. They prayed to an unknown God. They worshiped an unknown God. They followed an unknown God.

Is that really surprising?

No.

We find ourselves in those situations at times. We maybe faithful and religious. We seem to know God yet we do not know Him. We know He has provided in the past, now that there is a present great need, we slide and make His giving unknown to us. We learn from our experience God works out all things on our behalf, now that there is an imminent concern, we give up what we know about God's faithfulness. We received God's grace in our struggles of yesteryear's, now that there are other mountains to climb, instead of expecting of what God will do this time, our hearts and minds magnify the mountains. We forget. We don't remember. We suffer amnesia. We pluck the delete button. A God whom we know becomes unknown.

Let's follow Paul's path in Athens to know an unknown God. Walk around your life. Look carefully in your heart, mind, family and lifestyle. Discover uncovered parts of your being. Proclaim a known God.

Goal

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. John 15:12

I was watching ESPN Sportscenter with my daughter, Bless. She was stunned the way they dunk the ball. She made an "oooh and aaah" when she saw an alley oop. A four-point play was featured and she gave her nod. The team scorer created an acrobatic shot to which Bless said, "He's good!" Her eyes twinkled when a fastbreak was perfected and completed. I never saw her like this. I never heard her say these things. I was in for more. Upon realizing all these plays, she concluded, "The basic thing in basketball is knowing your goal." It dwarfed me.

It's the same thing in life. For sometimes, I am immersed with what I have to do. I have to work at the office. I have to work at home. I have to cook for them. I have to mow the lawn. I have to remind them to brush their teeth. I have to wash the dishes. I need to attend to the laundry. I need to call the repairman. I have to take care of their schedules. I dunk it. I pull an acrobatic shot. I complete the fastbreak. A four-point play on the way. Jesus reminds me of the very basic goal - love one another as I love you.

It's the same thing in church or community. You have those sometimes. You want to deliver to the best talk ever. You serve the brothers and sisters in a most effective way. You sing in the most diva manner in the music ministry. You lead the small group to make their life larger. You prepare the activity like a professional event coordinator. Efficient and effective. You dunk it. You create a shot for the poster. You lead the fastbreak. An extra point from behind the arc. However, do not be overwhelmed. Be reminded of the basic goal - love one another as I love you.

Don't be dwarfed. Be a giant. Know your goal. Love one another as I love you.

Still a Mother

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Isaiah 49:15a

It was one of the biggest boo-boos in my life. I purposely left her as I march into my high school graduation. She was supposedly walking beside me as I walked that aisle as an honor student. As a teenager who does not know who is valuable and not, I ignored her. Her is my mother. Imagine what she must have felt upon seeing other parents and other students stride towards their rightful places. Imagine what she must have felt upon realizing her son put her aside instead of being on her side. She was mad, really mad. She reprimanded with tears and questions. Asking why a son has done so. Asking what a mother did that a son has done so. I have no answer. I have no justification. But, after this moment, she still cared for me as if nothing happened. She still made sure I have food in front of me. She still turned my dirty clothes into clean. She still gave funds for my advancement. She still shared her joys in my victories and allowed herself to be involved in my failures. She was set aside by her son yet she is still a mother.

She just lost her mother. She cried and she cried a river. Her world was broken apart. She turned side by side yet her vision is blurred by the pain. She looked up and she looked down yet her face issued the same image of devastation. No words can console her. No embrace can calm her. At the time she divulged the sad news to her daughters, she amassed renewed strength. As her daughters shed their tears, she was there to console. She was there to embrace. Her mind was pulling her in different directions yet she gave the way to peace to her children. She was weak and she gave strength. She was in pain and she was healing others. She was startled and she was assuring. Her world shuttered yet she was building others' confidence. I saw all these in my wife. A daughter who lost her mother however a mother not at lost to her daughters. She is still a mother.

She received rejection. She experienced pain. She won't forget her children. She won't forget her call. She will never forget. In moments her identity is challenged, she is still a mother.

Love is a Speaker

I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

I was once invited by this charismatic community located at a small village in Porac, Pampanga to give a talk in their prayer meeting. Their leader was part of the campus maintenance group when I was teaching electrical engineering courses at Holy Angel University. The setting was a small chapel that had a loud speaker installed at the rooftop of the chapel which is a usual set-up for a not so large village having that size of chapel in the Philippines or maybe in our province. So, I gave a talk with the mercy and grace of God. I thought it was good and powerful.

Why? Well, the day after, one of my students approached me and told me she heard me speak about God. And she was not in the prayer meeting. She was at home in that village and she got to listen to everything through that loud speaker. Though she was not there, she heard. Though she was not present, she was informed.

Jesus commanded us to love one another. To love one another as He has loved us. He assures that when we love this way, His way, all will know we are His disciples. People will recognize we follow him when we love. People will know we are stepping on His tracks when we love. People will know we are tip toeing on His footprints when we love. No talk. No preaching. No teaching. No mouth doing repetitive close-open. No shouting or screaming. No invitations to a struggling not-so-holy preacher. But silent actions. Silent actions of love. A shoulder to cry on. Making ourselves less so we can make others be more. Listening to a sister or a brother with a concern. Helping a person who has no one by their side. Putting shelter on someone's head. Inserting bread on someone's pocket. Cheering encouragement to a discouraged heart. Sharing time to the pressured. And this is powerful.

For all will know. For love will be that loud speaker on that chapel rooftop. For silent actions of love are loud. Even when they are not there, they will hear. Even when they are not present, they will be informed.

Keep that loud speaker on the rooftop. Keep loving one another.