“Demonstrating Excellence”

Wednesday Community Night – February 01, 2012

Deuteronomy 18: 15 – 20/Psalm 111/1 Corinthians 8: 1b – 13/Mark 1: 21 – 28

Fr. Leo Yanguas

We are in the Fourth week of Epiphany.  Epiphany is a time wherein God reveals Himself to us. In the gospel, God reveals Himself; a desire to reveal Himself to us as a teacher, as someone who brings new things in our lives, and the God who sets us free.  We can see the heart and the attitude of Christ in the few verses of Mark 1 where it says that He immediately went to the synagogue and began to teach.

We can see the heart of God towards us. Christ was excited to set aside everything to be able to enter to the synagogue of our lives and reveal Himself to each one of us.  It is such a privilege.  We should really learn to listen because it is God’s desire.  We can see His intention, His zealousness that immediately, at the Sabbath, He went to the synagogue to teach.

Deuteronomy 18 says, “I will raise up a prophet whom you will listen.” The context of this writing is that as the people were entering the Promise Land they were told, “Do not listen to the witches, the sorcerers, the mediums; and do not even listen to those who consult the dead.”  In our society, the temptation is there to get the opinion and consult the dead.  We consult those things that don’t bring life; we ran after those things that are dead.

God has already removed these things and says, “Why do you bring it back to your lives? This is why I am raising up a prophet to whom you will listen.”   It is important for us to realize the importance of listening and setting aside things in our lives which are not really important.    The most important thing is our relationship with God.  We can see the life of Christ – He exemplified a relationship with God that even in the different situations that He faces, He is walking with God in the cool of the day conversing with Him.

Perhaps, this is the attitude of Christ when He came to the synagogue as written in Psalm 111, “Great are the works of the Lord; splendid and majestic is His work.  He has made His wonders to be remembered.”  All these things overflowed in the heart of Christ.

Psalms 111:1 says, “Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the company of the upright and in the assembly.” “In the company of the upright and the assembly, I will praise the Lord.  I will proclaim the greatness of God.”  This evening, let us listen to our Community members who will proclaim the greatness of God in our midst, in the synagogue.  It is important that we listen.  When we gather together, there is an exhortation, a psalm, an encouragement, and teaching.  I have asked three from our communities to share with us – whether it is an exhortation, a testimony, a witness an encouragement, or even a teaching.

Bro. Cyril Bunuan:

In our gospel this evening, Jesus is teaching about authority.  Authority is not just something about being the highest, but something that shows the excellence of God.  Authority is a big responsibility for us.  In the beginning, God already gave us the responsibility over all things.  Why are we afraid of anything if we are above it?

Last year, I had Dengue twice; but it did not stop me to serve God because I knew I had authority over sickness.  Through His power, I became a conqueror of Dengue with the authority God gave me.  Authority is a way to show the excellence of God.  If we ask people in the world about authority, the first thing that comes to their mind is the government.  Right now, the government is the highest in this country, but for us, the highest authority is God.  Through Him, He gave us the authority over all things in this earth.

Roman 8:31 says, “If God is with us, who can be against us.”  It shows authority and the responsibility to show how great our God is.  Through authority, we have been made conquerors. Through authority, we can do all things; not to show ourselves high but to show that our God is great.

In the beginning, God gave us the authority.  It is something that we have to multiply. Authority is not just work but a responsibility to show God in our lives.  By showing God, we can show to the people outside that our God is great through the authority we have.  By the authority, we can show to the government that our God is the highest.  Some of the people in the government use authority in a wrong way because for them, authority is something wherein they can do anything.   For us, it is something that will show the excellencies of God.

Fr. Leo:

It says in the gospel that Jesus taught with authority.  As shared with us, authority comes because we experience God.  Bro. Cyril shared how he overcame dengue.  He was one who was always in the synagogue, especially when he was in High School.  He was serving during the daily Masses as an acolyte.  Even in the midst of his bout with dengue, he still wants to come and serve.  Having experience God in that way gives him and us something that no one can take away.

God allows new things that we face in our daily lives because He wants to teach us to make what we read and what we meditate on as something real in our lives.  If it is something real in our lives, no one can take away that reality because we have experienced to have authority if we don’t give in to the situations of our lives.

Sis. Samantha Danan:

I don’t like speaking in public. When Fr. Leo asked me to do this, the first thought that came to my mind, “Why me?”  I did my best to wiggle my way out of this.  During the Mass last Sunday, I was already thinking of an excuse not to do this tonight; but I was immediately confronted with the gospel about Jesus speaking with authority.

My experience is simple for some of you, but I hope you would still learn from it.  I was dwelling on how Jesus spoke with authority and how He was able to cast out the unclean spirit.  Then, I remembered back in my college days when cheating was the “in” thing.  It is like the natural thing to do.  When my batch mates would see me, they are afraid to do it and I don’t know why.   I even remember one of my friends saying, “Let us study. How embarrassing it is to Sam.”    I am not the type of person who confronts people.  I don’t wear a cross to school.  I just wear the regular school uniform. When they are with me, I feel like that they are afraid to do something wrong.

I also experienced this in the work place.  When people say bad things or bad words, they often apologized to me.  It is not that I wear a Christian shirt to work, but I believe it is because we have the presence of God in us that people recognize.

In the gospel, the unclean spirit recognized Jesus and was afraid even before Jesus rebuked him. I believe this is the authority we all are given and even just by our presence, because of the perfect work that God has done for us, we could all demonstrate His excellence.

Fr. Leo:

Our presence is more than enough to show the authority of God in our daily lives.  Sometimes, we don’t notice this because we always look for the great things like raising the dead or the great miracles.  If they happen, praise God; but sometimes, we neglect the life that we live daily as an image of God that will be a light to the Gentiles.  Epiphany shares with us, “The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising.”  It is the light that is being recognized in our lives.

The next person who will share is a one who always prayed.  Back in our Rohi days, if there is an emergency and you have to call her, or even if God Himself has an emergency and He has to call this person, He has to wait until this person is finished with her prayer.

Sis. Nancy Lopez:

My standing here is already a demonstration of God’s excellencies in my life. His Spirit has given me the boldness, the sound mind, and the confidence, not the spirit of timidity or fear.

I consider commitment as a demonstration of the excellence of God in my life. I remember the time when I was still new at Christian Life Fellowship in Magallanes Theater.  I would ask the late Sis. Dee Velando, “What is the envelope that they give?”  She explained to me about the tithe and the offering.

During that time, we had the teachings about Financial Plan; and I read in the Old Testament about the Israelites that only the Levites are not given an inheritance so that eleven tribes gave their share. I obeyed, and by faith gave my tithes gladly even when the time came that I had financial problems.  I then was a guarantor of credit cards and gift cheques.  Some of my sub-guarantors who also had their own sub-guarantors and cardholders weren’t able to pay so I wasn’t paid also.  I was the one who shouldered all these debts and my capital of buying gift cheques was depleted.

Despite of this, I gave the three percent to those who invested in me because I know that through the teaching of the then Pastor Tom, if I do what is right and that I don’t have to follow those who don’t acknowledge their payment, God will be the one to deliver me out of this problem. Even if I have a small amount of sales every fifteenth and thirtieth of the month,   I always give my ten percent tithe by faith.  I do not stop giving even if the whole picture shows that my capital is negative and I have to pay all my investors.

It came to a point that God delivered me out of this, not returning to those uncollected, but God stopped this task from me.  I sold my townhouse unit to pay all my investors.  I then got myself employed by my sister-in-law and also had a little business.  My daughter asked me to stop my job to tutor my grandchild.  She gave me an allowance for this.  In all of that allowance, I always set aside my tithes and offering.

With regards to the offering, I heard from someone that if possible, the amount of offering that you give should be equal to the tithe you give.  By faith, I obeyed this and I do it until now.  It came to a point I stopped doing things to do the works that Lord led me to do.  I thank God that in all of these, He is the great Provider and I never run out of resources.  After I received my monthly allowance, I set aside everything for my Wednesday, my Fridays, and Sunday offerings.   What is left I divide into four weeks and I could not imagine how I could survive with that amount.  Yet through all of this, God has provided.  I don’t know how, but He really is my Provider.

Last night, I felt pain in my body.  It was so painful but I told myself, “Lord, don’t allow this.”  I slept and when I woke up this morning, I thank God that the pain was minimal.  I am glad that I can be here today.

Another demonstration of God’s excellence in my life is His love.  Without His love, I could not forgive, love, and accept the failure of the one person that betrayed me.  I give glory to God for this!

Fr. Leo:

What Sis. Nancy shared is more than enough – an experience, a testimony of tithe and offerings, and commitment as far as finances is concerned and manifesting the love of God.

In all of the sharing tonight about the gospel, we can see authority, commitment, love and faithfulness as our response to God and our relationship with Him.   Most of the things that hinders us from excellence as St. Paul says in 1Corinthians 8:4, “There is no such thing as idol and there is no such thing as gods.”  We have a lot of idols that control us, that we focus on like idols of sickness, poverty, unforgiveness.   St. Paul says that these idols have no authority to control us.  In the synagogue, Jesus shows that these things that seemingly control us are really powerless against us in manifesting His excellencies.

We have heard from Christ’s teaching from our Community members who experiences their life in Christ. As Psalm 111, “They praised the Lord and gave thanks to God in the company of the upright and the assembly.”

May God be praised and may we be encouraged in their lives and continue in our faithfulness and commitment to God that we can proclaim the excellencies of God.