tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36461289872337508742024-03-05T11:43:37.439-08:00The Cleric's SanctumIan Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-8017817937188469002015-04-05T22:05:00.000-07:002015-04-05T22:05:24.721-07:00The Risen King (Luke 24:13-49)To say that I haven't posted for some time is an understatement. And much has happened since I last posted here. Thus I commemorate and celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord with the reviving of this blog of my spiritual reflections. Here are my Easter reflections, shared at Jesus Christ Our Hope and Redeemer Church, one of the churches that I serve in.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">The Risen King (Luke 24:13–49) </span></h2>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">We celebrate Easter to commemorate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such commemorations bring out some questions: What did the Resurrection mean for the first disciples? What does it mean for us today?</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The King walks with the disappointed</span></b></h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">Two of the
disciples were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. We don’t know why they are
travelling. Maybe they want to escape the possible persecution by the Jewish
leaders. Maybe they want to go home after celebrating the Passover. Maybe, as their later words could show, they
left in disappointment, after seeing seeing their hopes and dreams of a
liberated Israel die with Jesus on the cross. </span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmM0eVBVlc-Ueji2jH2emdDSuGpr3_K6uhx415SQ1ObqSNFUX6P9jbJR0ncCJ8ro-88UtEcwccTaSri0gxS0D0i5evomlj6SADHnGY2EyRlLQUY7JO0yDFFAJHVQDk1rk762P08EvV28/s1600/tissot-the-pilgrims-of-emmaus-on-the-road-275x198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmM0eVBVlc-Ueji2jH2emdDSuGpr3_K6uhx415SQ1ObqSNFUX6P9jbJR0ncCJ8ro-88UtEcwccTaSri0gxS0D0i5evomlj6SADHnGY2EyRlLQUY7JO0yDFFAJHVQDk1rk762P08EvV28/s1600/tissot-the-pilgrims-of-emmaus-on-the-road-275x198.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="smaller">James Tissot, detail from "Pilgrims on the Road to Emmaus" (1884-1896),
watercolor on gray wove paper, Brooklyn Museum</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Then Jesus came
and walked with them. As they talked, the two disciples told Jesus about the how their Master showed Himself powerful in word and deed, but was arrested by their own religious leaders and executed by the Romans. They also told Him about their disappointment, after having hoped that Jesus would be the promised one who would liberate Israel from Rome. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">After listening to the disciples' heartbreak, Jesus told
them about what the Scriptures really told about the Messiah. After teaching
them, He went off to continue without them. But the disciples urged Him to stay
with them. Why? They were open to having their beliefs changed, after He
enlightened them. If they were not, they would have let Him go off alone. But no,
they wanted to learn more. And this openness was what Jesus wanted before
revealing Himself. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">Jesus revealed Himself in that most intimate of ways--sharing a meal. In many cultures including Filipino culture, sharing a meal is more than just eating together; it is a sign of close relationship. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The King who would break bread with us.</span></b></h3>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">After their encounter with the risen Christ, the Emmaus
disciples ran to back to Jerusalem, to where the other disciples were hiding.
They found the other disciples feeling a mix of fear and excitement--they were behind locked doors out of fear of being arrested by the Jewish authorities, but excited over the news of seeing Jesus alive again. Then Jesus appeared amidst
them, despite being behind locked doors. Then they were terrified, thinking
they were seeing a ghost. They know how Jesus died, so this must be a ghost. And knowing bitterly how they deserted Him, they probably think this ghost is here for some payback.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxULGPGX0cUAJk2GV2LnWW3sBl7p8AiglAHnppsF4ranQQGQ2TWbDKrJJ5JHn5pkNEjznmWRX5J9MpVCKPTZ5kANb6CdihM_FOXBbjvCudqzNYZaazlVjYWQJ29QoYsZ_w5Ky-UQzwBo/s1600/300px-Jesus-upper-room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxULGPGX0cUAJk2GV2LnWW3sBl7p8AiglAHnppsF4ranQQGQ2TWbDKrJJ5JHn5pkNEjznmWRX5J9MpVCKPTZ5kANb6CdihM_FOXBbjvCudqzNYZaazlVjYWQJ29QoYsZ_w5Ky-UQzwBo/s1600/300px-Jesus-upper-room.jpg" /></a><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>But Jesus, I imagine laughingly ask
why they are terrified. He then invited them to touch Him, to see His scars,
and see that it really is Him. To prove this point further, He asked if they
had anything to eat. He did this not only to show that He has a physical body
that can eat, but also as a sign of fellowship with them. And this was a big
thing for the disciples who ran from Him when He was arrested, put on trial,
tortured, and killed.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">After the disciples reasonably
believed that it was Jesus who was before them, He talked about how Scriptures
spoke of how He, as the Messiah, had to suffer, die, and rise again. He then
commissioned them to be witnesses of who He is and what He has done. </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">The King who is gentle but firm</span></b></h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">Jesus often
represents our hopes and dreams, that we sometimes forget who He really is. If we follow faithfully in His steps, we will see those hopes and dreams get
killed, crucified with Him on the cross. And then the doubts will come. We will
wonder if He really is God, if He really is in control, if He really does care
for us. This is normal for any follower of Christ, and a true test of faith.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">The
Lord Jesus, risen and glorified as He is, will meet us where we are. He will go
to great lengths to listen to us, explain to us where we went wrong and will
show us who He really is. He will show us that He is with us, that we can
relate to Him, and then point to who He is – the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. And His kingdom is unlike what we know of kingdoms and governments,
because it is the King who will absolutely provide, protect, guide, affirm and
give purpose. All that He wants from us is to believe in Him and love Him. And
He will give us new dreams and new hopes that are in line with His heart and
will. And if our former dreams were according to His will, He will resurrect it
with new power.</span>
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<br /></div>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US">Believe in Him </span></b></h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond",serif;">The Lord Jesus calls us to follow Him. And following
Him means walking the way of the cross. We will have to die to our loves, hopes
and dreams before Jesus can truly be King over our lives. And as He rose from
the dead, we, too, will rise to new life. And this is not just the life that we
can expect after we die physically, but our new life can begin today, now, as
our old selves die and we grow conforming to the image of Jesus. And it all
starts when we commit our lives to Jesus our King, when we confess that we have
sinned against Him, and trust Him to save us from our sin and bring us into His
kingdom, both here on earth and in the age to come. The path is difficult and
painful, but life is difficult and painful as is. He will be with us if we
follow Him, and He will give us all we need and desire in due time, when He
knows we are ready to handle it.</span></span>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-36117596586733681872012-12-16T05:42:00.001-08:002012-12-16T05:42:16.100-08:00A bloodstained Christmas: reflections on the Sandy Hook massacre<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rPtFQKrM8ksdqtk_qtERFNWRNiXsDF1jVjq0uCJl57SrpM5fZNjq9zFRFZvBkt-CBpD_PDrKEYfQfXVwgj8JhCF6887YE4habYcX3BGSD8REjVrSY_dmJiy3LBePhbhprufuSuzNRcc/s1600/school_2428330c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rPtFQKrM8ksdqtk_qtERFNWRNiXsDF1jVjq0uCJl57SrpM5fZNjq9zFRFZvBkt-CBpD_PDrKEYfQfXVwgj8JhCF6887YE4habYcX3BGSD8REjVrSY_dmJiy3LBePhbhprufuSuzNRcc/s320/school_2428330c.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<br />
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
Christmas is often characterized as
a time of great cheer. It is a long-awaited happy season when we look forward
to good times with family and friends, to gifts, to good food. And it’s all fitting,
because we should be celebrating in a way that is worthy of the King of Kings.
But this year, our Christmas preparation is stained with the blood of twenty
children and seven adults when a twenty-year-old man walked into an elementary
school and fired guns at them. Where is God in all of this? Why did God allow
this to happen? </div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">All
this has happened before</b></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lqty58MmAacbU8-OGexEHJ1DL5w97rdQM0h7xybJ-5oLjrq-SeJUeTa0ktrxCkL0qRXh1T9tXxaJD7PN81dcyaz3xEjmds52Zlbx13kip0zm3pBk3bfKB5Lpc2UIxR9Oa6EC7aQHonA/s1600/Reni.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lqty58MmAacbU8-OGexEHJ1DL5w97rdQM0h7xybJ-5oLjrq-SeJUeTa0ktrxCkL0qRXh1T9tXxaJD7PN81dcyaz3xEjmds52Zlbx13kip0zm3pBk3bfKB5Lpc2UIxR9Oa6EC7aQHonA/s320/Reni.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1611 painting by Guido Reni (1572-1642)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometime after the birth of Christ, King Herod
the Great was visited by magi from the east. Herod saw himself as the only king
of Judea, and will kill anyone, including members of his own family, if he sees
him or her as a threat to his throne. So when he was told by the magi and his
own scribes that the long-awaited Messiah, the prophesied King of the Jews, was
born, he lied to the magi to have them help him find the child and then move to
kill him. But the magi were warned by an angel to not return to Herod, and so
went home by a different road. When Herod heard this, he was furious and
ordered the killing of every male child in the Bethlehem area – two years old
and below, to coincide with what the magi told him. And so it was done.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> (Matthew 2:1-18) </span></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
But
the question remained: Why did God allow this to happen? Those murdered
children had nothing to do with the boy Jesus, except that they were roughly
the same age. They were no threat to Herod. They were innocents.</div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Where
was God?</b></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The most oft-asked question in the face of
tragedy is “Where was God?” The answer, at least in this case, is in one of the
names given to the promised Messiah – Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23)
Where was God when the boys of Bethlehem were being murdered? He was among them
who were marked for death. He was being pursued by a malevolent king who would
see no one as king except himself. God, in Jesus, suffered with those who were
killed, though He escaped death because His time has not yet come. But His time
did come, and He went to the cross willingly so that He might bring the Kingdom
where innocents no longer had to die. </div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">
Where was God in
the Connecticut Massacre? He was among those who died, taking upon Himself the
evil that this world would throw upon innocents. He was among the surviving
children, suffering the trauma of seeing beloved friends and teachers killed.
He was among the parents of the dead children, mourning and grieving the death
of those closest to their hearts. He was among the parents of the surviving
children, cherishing them all the more and offering up thanksgiving for sparing
their children. He was among all the people who sympathized with those who lost
loved ones, extending love and comfort when they needed it most. Above it all,
He is on His throne, holding on to His promise of returning to fully establish
His kingdom where no more innocents will suffer or die. And He longs to return,
even as His heart breaks for every tragedy that happens. </div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Challenge</b></div>
<div class="Standard" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Mangal; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-font-kerning: 1.5pt;">We celebrate Christmas
because we celebrate the coming of our Lord. Do we then, stop celebrating
Christmas because of this tragedy? Not at all. In fact, we should all the more
celebrate Christmas even as we remember this and other tragedies like deaths in the families of those around us, and the devastating typhoon "Pablo" (international name "Bopha") who hit Southern Philippines, killing many and destroying lives and properties. For it is
because of these tragedies that we long for God to come and intervene. And God
intervened on that blessed night in Bethlehem. We celebrate the hope that
Christmas brings, that one day, no more children will die at the hands of evil
people. And until then, we who believe in Him, who have that hope in us, should
extend His love and comfort to those who grieve, pointing to Him who is the
Comforter. </span>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-37794558871479396612011-10-03T02:59:00.001-07:002011-10-03T03:27:43.082-07:00What Storms Bring Out (Matthew 8:18–27)<span xmlns=""></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6A4G1g0jHFOl9ZPoMw8qWJ26ePy47XXlnvL1GlUROobTSMlCOaxCMzl8NxOdWtDG_VQQUmVp7CnPhtVCsuUeHQxAzpyz3PZ_1km1a7bi_gqVef0g3U_xHcE_N73ti6uxwDfN7EmjPis/s1600/typhoon-pedring-2011-students.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6A4G1g0jHFOl9ZPoMw8qWJ26ePy47XXlnvL1GlUROobTSMlCOaxCMzl8NxOdWtDG_VQQUmVp7CnPhtVCsuUeHQxAzpyz3PZ_1km1a7bi_gqVef0g3U_xHcE_N73ti6uxwDfN7EmjPis/s1600/typhoon-pedring-2011-students.jpg" /></a></div>
<span xmlns="">Last Tuesday, Typhoon Pedring hit our country, bringing death and destruction in its wake. And the question comes up the most is, "why does a loving God allow such storms to come upon people?" Do storms have some sort of redeeming value?</span><br />
<span xmlns=""><br /></span><br />
<span xmlns=""><b>What Jesus does to crowds (Matthew 8:18–22)</b></span><br />
<span xmlns="">Here, Jesus sees the crowds following Him. Instead of staying with them and ministering to them, Jesus "gave orders to go over to the other side." Now, this "other side" is "the country of the Gadarenes" (8:28) which is part of the Decapolis — Gentile country. This may have unnerved some of those following Him. But because of His growing popularity, many still followed. A scribe even came up and said that he will follow Jesus wherever He goes. But Jesus challenged him in his statement, saying that He does not have a permanent place to stay in, a place to call home. Presumably, the scribe was discouraged, for we no longer hear about him. Another asked for permission to first bury his father before following Him. Jesus saw the weakness of the man's commitment, for family ties still hold him. The man's request to "bury my father" is a euphemism for waiting until the father is dead before following Jesus. So Jesus challenged him in this, calling him to follow Him and leave such matters to others.</span><br />
<span xmlns=""> Why does Jesus do this? Does He not appreciate the fact that many follow Him? Of course. What Jesus wants is for all people to follow Him. But Jesus is not interested in half-baked commitment. Much as He wanted all to follow Him, He is not one to hide the cost of such discipleship. Jesus goes to places where we might not even dare go to. Jesus would forego comforts and security to fulfill what He set out to do. Would the crowds still follow Him? Would we?</span><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<span xmlns=""><b>The Storm (Matthew 8:23–27)</b></span><br />
<span xmlns="">Notice here that when Jesus got on the boat "his disciples followed him" (8:23). Where now is the crowd? Where is the scribe? Only His disciples followed Him to cross over into Gentile lands. </span><br />
<span xmlns=""> As they were crossing the Sea of Galilee, a storm came up and tossed their boat. The storm was so fierce that "the boat was being swamped by the waves" (8:24). And all this time, Jesus is asleep. This is what it means to follow Jesus: it means going through troubles and, throughout it all, He is asleep! </span><br />
<span xmlns=""> Let us go back to our original question, "Why does a loving God allow such storms to happen to people?" From this instance, we see that storms bring out our true selves: what we really think, what we really feel, what we really believe. In the middle of a storm, there rarely are any pretentions. We don't have the time to think about what we should say or do, or what we are expected to say or do. We only have time enough to say and do according to what we really are. And what the disciples did was wake Jesus, begging Him to save them from dying. From their reaction, we can see that they believed that they were about to die from the storm, and that Jesus can save them.</span><br />
<span xmlns=""> When Jesus woke, He asked them as to why they were afraid, and said that they had little faith. Little faith? They believed that Jesus could save them, right? Isn't that enough? Apparently not, for Jesus stood up and rebuked the winds and the waves and they became calm. To this, the disciples "marveled, saying, 'What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?'" (8:27). Had they remembered Psalm 18:15, they would have been able to answer their own question. The disciples' faith was little because, while they knew what Jesus could do, they do not really know who He is. So here we see other things that storms reveal: They show us who Jesus is to us and, if we are discerning, who Jesus really is.</span><br />
<br />
<span xmlns=""><b>Challenge: What Pedring showed us</b></span><br />
<span xmlns="">As the Typhoon Pedring hit, the hearts of many are revealed: people who would rather risk getting killed by the floods than let their unoccupied houses be plundered; leaders who were unprepared for the disasters; leaders who were prepared for the disasters and were quick to react; people who tried to contact loved ones who were far; people who prayed; people who saw the funny instances in the news; people who volunteered to help; people who lived their lives as if nothing happened. What about us? How did we react? Can we see the face of God in this calamity? Did He even come to mind amidst the troubles that unfolded? </span><br />
<span xmlns=""> In the midst of Pedring, did we see who God is to us? Did we see God in the midst of the storm? Are we, like the disciples, of little faith? Let us reflect on these questions and seek to know God more. For this knowledge of God is what will make us face storms like Pedring, as well as our own individual storms of life, with hope. Let us see Jesus as the Son of God who is our comfort, our shelter, our shield. Let us follow Him for He is our Lord, even into places where we don't want to go, where we will not be comfortable, and amidst it all put Him above all our loves and face every adversity with hope, even when He seems to be asleep.</span><br />
<br />
<span xmlns=""><span style="font-size: x-small;">This message was intended to be preached last 2 October 2011, at Jesus Christ our Hope and Redeemer Church in San Mateo, Rizal. But I had a bad attack of hypertension. I may still preach this when the time comes. Maybe not.</span> </span>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-18560295546262731742011-09-19T07:44:00.000-07:002011-09-19T07:46:35.173-07:00Holding on to the Birthright (Genesis 25:29–34; Hebrews 12:7, 16–17)<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
There was once a boy named Paolo. Paolo’s parents worked hard to
give their children decent lives and education. The father always told his children that their education is the only thing they could leave them, for they
owned no property or business. Soon, Paolo had a girlfriend. And because he
wanted to prove that he was a real man to his friends, Paolo slept with her. The girlfriend got pregnant. Because he didn’t want to shame his father further, he married
his girlfriend to give their child a proper family. But to support his new
family, Paolo had to stop schooling to look for a job. Because of his pride and
his desire to fit in, he lost the only inheritance his parents could leave to
him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
How
many of us are like Paolo? How many of us give up what is good because of the
pressures of this life? The pressure to belong? The pressure to conform? The
pressure to provide? The pressure to please others? The pressure to survive?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Esau despised his birthright (Genesis 25:29–34)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
Esau was the firstborn of the twin
sons of Isaac. As such, he was sole heir of everything his father owned.
Moreover, he was second-in-command to Isaac over the whole estate. On top of
all that, he is to be heir to the covenant promises that God made to Abraham
passed down to Isaac, despite the fact that Abraham had seven other children
(Genesis 25:1–2, 5–6). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a> But
one day, after an unsuccessful hunting trip, Esau came home very hungry. Jacob
was cooking some stew. When Esau saw the food, he asked for some. Jacob,
cheater that he was, asked for Esau’s birthright in return for the stew. Esau
readily gave it to him, swearing that Jacob now has all the rights and
privileges of the firstborn.<br />
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But
notice here that it was not just a matter of hunger that made Esau give up his
birthright. It was his attitude. He really didn’t care much for his family
except for what he could get out of them. We can see this later, when he was
forty years old, when he married two Hittite women against the wishes of his
parents (Genesis 26:34–35). These women made life miserable for Isaac and
Rebekah.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What this means for us today (Hebrews 12:7, 16–17)</b></div>
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Esau sold his inheritance, his
rights, his privileges, and the promises of God for a meal. Stupid you say? But
this scenario plays itself out day after day, week after week, year after year,
millions of times! When? How many times have we cheated other people when it
comes to giving change for payments, justifying it by saying life is hard these days? How
many times have we doctored up documents so we can get that job, or that
position, or because not doing so would mean trouble for us? How many times
have we indulged in excess, even sin, justifying it by saying we deserve a
break from this hard life? </div>
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Life
is hard. And being a Christian does not make it easier. Sometimes it makes it
even harder if you truly want to follow Jesus Christ. Such was life that the
author of Hebrews points to Esau to show what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">not </i>to do: give up what has been given to us despite the hardships
we encounter. But oftentimes, we are tempted to look at our former lives,
seeing those days as easier, lighter, even more pleasant. And this is what the
Jewish converts were tempted to do. They were persecuted and were pressured to
return to the Jewish faith. Esau’s life serves as a warning to them not to give
up their own birthright for a little comfort, a little relief; for Esau sought
what he lost later on but was refused. As it was for Esau, so it could be for
the Jewish believers, so it could be for us.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Our Birthright</b></div>
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If we put our faith in Christ, He
gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). As children of God, we would have our sins
forgiven through the blood of Christ. We would have a right relationship with
God, and no longer fear His judgment. We would have the Holy Spirit with us, to
guide us and strengthen us as we go through this hard life. We would have hope
for a good future that God has secured for us, possibly for this life,
definitely in the next life. All the good that we do is seen by God and we will
have our reward. We would have peace in our hearts, regardless of what is
happening to our lives at present. We would never be lonely for God is always
with us and would always love us. Through trials and troubles, God would mold
us into holy images of His Son, disciplining us so we can live a good life not
dependent on externals. And when Christ comes, our present sufferings are
nothing compared to the glory that will be revealed to us (Romans 8:18), a
glorious life that our present sufferings are preparing us for (2 Corinthians
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This
is our birthright if we put our faith in Christ. Is this not worth giving up a
few comforts for? Is this not worth enduring persecutions for? Is this not
worth living a clean life for?</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Challenge </b></div>
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Brothers and sisters, Christ came
to earth and died to give us the chance to share in His birthright. Let us put
away all sin and sinful acts and turn to God who would sustain us in the
troubles of this world. Let us not be proud in thinking that we have already
accepted Christ so we can take it easy from now on. No. Let us strive to know
God more and live for God more, for it is not those who start well who will be
saved, but those who are faithful to the end (Matthew 10:22). Let us help one
another and support one another so we will all grow in the Lord as we wait
excitedly for the glory that will be revealed in us.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Message given on 9 September 2011 at Jesus Christ Our Hope and Redeemer Church, San Mateo, Rizal</span> </div>
Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-73750892678258072262011-09-12T22:17:00.000-07:002011-09-12T22:25:25.119-07:00Shamcey Supsup's Miss Universe Answer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42dz1leHMUAAzBQ7m-GWBcRYV59sXfOgawMC0tPodebqQF1RRb70kv5TDydPvzklhU4bDbLmovPa_3fZ1OJ9Sskjv5psr8dGONtNJvb_iTNoORZOnBba1LCTtIfnlxCImT78v2dQR7kM/s1600/supsup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42dz1leHMUAAzBQ7m-GWBcRYV59sXfOgawMC0tPodebqQF1RRb70kv5TDydPvzklhU4bDbLmovPa_3fZ1OJ9Sskjv5psr8dGONtNJvb_iTNoORZOnBba1LCTtIfnlxCImT78v2dQR7kM/s320/supsup.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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News floated on the Net about the unfolding events at the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant. Miss Philippines Shamcey Supsup's answer to a question made me proud to be a Filipino Christian.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">During the question-and-answer portion, judge Vivica A. Fox asked
Supsup, "Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you
love? Why or why not?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Supsup answered: "If I would have to change my religious
beliefs, I would not marry the person that I love. Because the first
person that I love is God, who created me. I have my faith and my
principles, and this is what makes me who I am. If the person loves me,
he'll love my God too." </span><br />
<br />
May many more Christians have such conviction in this postmodern world. <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo and quote from</span><br />
<a href="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/09/13/shamcey-supsup-ms-universe-3rd-runner-179077">http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/09/13/shamcey-supsup-ms-universe-3rd-runner-179077</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"> </span></span></h6>
Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-78303065369345608292011-06-27T21:22:00.000-07:002011-09-12T19:34:18.027-07:00When God Wants to Drill a ManI first heard this poem from a radio message by Ravi Zacharias titled "Is There Not a Cost?" I was so encouraged and scared at the same time that I searched for it in the web. I repost it here for I know it will help a lot of suffering Christians undergoing various trials.<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"> When God Wants to Drill a Man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">When God wants to drill a man, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">And thrill a man,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">And skill a man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">When God wants to mold a man</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">To play the noblest part;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">When He yearns with all His heart </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">To create so great and bold a man </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">That all the world shall be amazed, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Watch His methods, watch His ways! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">How He ruthlessly perfects</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Whom He royally elects!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">How He hammers him and hurts him, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">And with mighty blows converts him </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Into trial shapes of clay which</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">Only God understands;</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">While his tortured heart is crying </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">And he lifts beseeching hands! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">How He bends but never breaks </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">When his good He undertakes; </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;">How He uses whom He chooses,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"><span lang="EN-US">And which every purpose fuses him;</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"><span lang="en-us">By every act induces him</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"><span lang="en-us">To try His splendor out-</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"><span lang="en-us">God knows what He's about.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"><span lang="en-us"> -Anonymous</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica;"><span lang="en-us"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: As there is no one yet who has come forward to claim this poem as their property, I post it here. However, I am only too glad to give credit to whoever wrote this wonderful poem, and I am willing to remove this from my blog should I need to do so.</span></span></span></div>
Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-46131311678671928502011-06-01T19:47:00.000-07:002011-09-12T19:39:22.166-07:00On Eagles’ Wings (Isaiah 40)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
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A few years ago, a good friend of mine shared one of her favorite verses to me when I texted her about my troubles: Isaiah 40:31. I was encouraged by that. Now, in the midst of my current personal problems, I revisited that verse and went backwards seeking how is it that those who hope in the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord</span> will renew their strength.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A prophecy of comfort</b> </div>
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Isaiah 40 is a message of God for His people who are exiled into Babylon. It speaks of the forgiveness of God (v.2), and the coming of God Himself for which repentance is needed (vv. 3-5), as fulfilled with the coming of Christ as heralded by John the Baptist. It is meant to comfort them in their troubles. But how is the message comforting? </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God the Eternal (vv. 6-8)</b></div>
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According to this passage, people are temporal like grass. They don’t last very long. This is hopeful because this means that oppression by people will end because people themselves end. This is true of the Marcos dictatorship when it was toppled by the People power Revolution of 1986 with Cory Aquino sworn in as President. This is true of all the troubles that we are experiencing in this world: they will all end someday. But the Word of God, the promises of God, will stand forever because God Himself will stand forever. So even if people called by God to do His will on this earth pass away, like Pastora Fe, and all of us who serve Him here, rest assured that the God we serve will stand forever and His purposes will come to pass, even if we who serve Him pass away. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God is a mighty and caring God (vv. 9-11)</b></div>
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God comes with might and He will rule with power, rewarding those whom He will reward (v. 9-10). He is also a caring God, who will tend to His people as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. He will not just lead them, but He will even carry them in His arms and in His bosom. This is how tenderly God loves us. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">God the Almighty, the All-Wise, the All-Encompassing (vv. 12-26)</b></div>
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God created everything that exists, and here He displays His absolute power over all creation. He is also all-knowing and all-wise. He is also bigger than anything that our eyes can see. Therefore, He can do anything, He knows what is best, and He is in control of everything.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Conclusion of the matter</b></div>
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Why then, do we say that God does not see, nor does He care? God is all-powerful, He does not grow tired and He knows our situation even better than we do, and He gives according to what He knows is best. “Waiting” for the L<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">ord </span>means holding on to His promises as we work and wait for their fulfillment. And He will fulfill them. Proof? This prophecy was written by Isaiah towards the end of his life at around 681 BC, about 100 years before the Jews were even exiled to Babylon in 586 BC. God was comforting them in advance! </div>
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It is this hope in God and in His promises that God uses to give us strength. As a parting note, eagles fly just by spreading their wings and letting the wind carry them, unlike the sparrows who keep flapping their wings just to stay in flight. Let us be like the eagle and spread our arms in surrender to our mighty and loving God and rest in His being God and in His promises, that He might carry us to heights we can’t even dream of. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is a revised version of the message I preached last 2 August 2009 at Jesus Christ Our Hope and Redeemer Church, San Mateo, Rizal </span><b><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></div>
Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-34792537997831127262011-05-24T17:02:00.000-07:002011-05-24T17:08:42.909-07:00True love waits with enough oil (Matthew 25:1–13)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b> Introduction</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">With all of the hoopla of the failed prophecy of Harold Camping and his Family Radio ministry (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/may-21-2011-end-world-judgment-day/story?id=13570426&sms_ss=blogger&at_xt=4ddc473cb041f2b1%2C0">May 21, 2011, the End of the World? 'Judgment Days' That Have Come and Gone - ABC News</a>), I am reminded of this message I delivered in June 2009. I eagerly await for Messiah Yeshua. May He come soon, even now.... </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">----------------------------------------- </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Who among you here would like to see Jesus now? Who among you here would want Jesus to come back now, and reign for all eternity? Why not? Let us look at a parable that addresses this situation.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The coming of the groom is a time of joy (v. 1)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Who among you here have relatives or loved ones abroad? When you receive news that they are coming here for a visit, what do feel? Do we not feel excited that this loved one is coming? And because that person is coming, what do we do? Do we not prepare the room where she will stay, plan where we could take her, clean up the house, plan the meals?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">Let’s take it one notch higher. To the men who are married, do you still remember the time when you waited for your bride at the altar, and the great joy you felt when you saw her walking down the aisle towards you? For the wives, do still remember your arrival, and as you enter, you see the man you are to marry waiting for you at the altar? How did you feel? How different did it feel from when you were just meeting for a date? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: .5in;">This is the kind of anticipation that the virgins, who were the bridesmaids, were experiencing. They were excited! Maybe the bride is their close friend or relative, maybe even a sister. And they were excitedly waiting for the man who will marry her and so complete her joy. The groom is not coming for an accounting, nor for judgment, but for love and a celebration of that love that is to be joined. This is a happy occasion, not a fearful one.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Weddings in the time of Jesus</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">To help us better understand the situation, let us look at the marriage practices of the time of Jesus. During that time, marriages were arranged by the parents of both the groom and the bride. The man may have chosen the bride, but it is the parents who do the negotiations. Then they are betrothed and they are wed soon after. On the night of the wedding, the groom and his groomsmen leave his house and parade to the bride’s house, where the wedding ceremony takes place. Then they all go to the groom’s home where the celebrations will be held. The wedding celebration lasts for three days up to a week, depending on how long the newlyweds can supply food and wine to the guests. All this during a time of great oppression; weddings are a welcome break from the hard life, and here the people really have a good time.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> Here, we can see a parallelism with our own relationship with Christ. Christ is the bridegroom, and we the Church is His bride. We are now betrothed to Him and we are His, but He has yet to come to claim us fully. And when He does, it is a celebration of cosmic proportions.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The bridesmaids sleep (vv. 2–4)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">There are two kinds of bridesmaids here: the wise who packed extra oil and the foolish who did not pack. The foolish are those who are so excited about the coming of the groom they cannot think of anything else. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">But the wise are those who are also excited, but are realistic enough to see what could happen and prepared themselves. By packing extra oil, they are in effect saying, “We are here for the groom no matter how long it takes.”</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> Looking at the wise bridesmaids, did they prepare out of duty, or obligation, or out of love? I honestly believe it is out of love that they have done so, love for the bride whom they serve, and for the groom whom they wait for. Isn’t it that we would go to great lengths for those we love without even a second thought?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> But the bridegroom was delayed in coming. The excitement wears off and the bridesmaids — all of them — fell asleep. Waiting can get very boring, even when the one we are waiting for is someone we love. Similarly for us who wait for the coming of Christ, as the months and years pass, we cannot help but fall asleep. We get bored, frustrated, discouraged. We even fall into sin.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The bridegroom comes (vv. 6–13)</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">The groom and his party finally comes, parading to the bride’s home for the ceremony. Thus the arrival would be announced. The bridesmaids get up and trim their lamps to light the way for the groom and his groomsmen. But they all saw that their lamps were going out. The wise take out the oil they packed and refilled their lamps. The foolish ones asked for some from the wise but the wise only packed enough for their own lamps. So they went off to buy from the dealers (At midnight?! Good luck!). While the foolish were gone, the groom and his party arrived and the wise were there to meet them. They performed the wedding ceremony and they all left for the groom’s home where they celebrated, and the doors were shut. The foolish bridesmaids, after finally getting some extra oil, proceeded to the groom’s home but he does not know them, since they were not there to meet him.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> In the same way, it is not those who “prayed to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior” who will be saved, but it is those whom He sees are trusting Him as their Savior and are following and obeying Him as their Lord when He returns. It is those who love Him so much that they eagerly await His coming and wish it was now, but they are also ready for a long wait, coming into a closer relationship with Him in spirit through prayer and the Word, and working hard in the tasks that He has entrusted to them. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"> Notice that I put the relationship first, for it is this relationship that drives us to work hard and faithfully for Him. It is our love for Him as manifest in our desire and preparedness for His coming that is important. It is not that we are perfect when He arrives, but that we are working to become like Him. And if we do not want to do this, if we don’t feel like preparing for His coming or, worse, we don’t want Him to come yet, we had better take a long hard look at our relationship with Him and what He really means to us.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Challenge</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">As we partake of the Lord’s Table, let us remember what Christ did for us on the cross so that we could freely come into His presence now and have fellowship with Him in the Spirit. Let us also remember that, as we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, we are having a taste of the heavenly banquet that Christ promised He would eat with us when He returns. It will be a celebration like no other, for it will be a celebration of the greatest love finally fulfilled!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Preached as a sermon on 7 June 2009 at Jesus Christ Our Hope And Redeemer church, San Mateo, Rizal</span> </div>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-32069151203113808462011-05-09T21:48:00.000-07:002011-05-09T21:48:28.841-07:00CHRISTIAN INTEGRITY: Out of the abundance of the heart (Matt. 15:1-20; 12:33-37)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">When you ask somene about what a Christian is, what do you hear? Goody-two-shoes? Unconcerned about current events and issues? Killjoy? Hypocrite? Narrow-minded? Exclusivist? Why do such definitions come?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our churches today are plagued by an ancient spirit, a school of thought that has been a thorn in the side of the Christian faith since the first century. This is the Greek philosophy of dualism, which blossomed into the heresy of gnosticism. This philosophy states<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that matter and essence are distinct from each other. Plato even spoke of the Ideal which is supremely superior to the physical objects that we have around us. This then gave rise to the gnoostic thought that the physical is corrupt and evil, as opposed to the spirit which is pure and good. Today, we see this still practiced by Christians in a different form: the separation of the secular from the sacred. We go to church, do quiet time, attend bible studies to feed our souls, but we do not see the need to translate that feeding into our “secular” lives. We are admonished to apply what we’ve learned in our daily lives, but as soon as we’re out the door we forget what we’ve learrned.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Witness: the importance of integrity</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Christ gave us the mandate to make disciples of all nations. Thus it is important that we maintain our integrity so that the message we bear will be believeable. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 that we are the letter of Christ, written by the Lord Holy Spirit Himself and read by everybody. It may have been Nietzsche who said “If Christians act more saved, then I might have believed in their Savior.” What Paul said to the Jews could very well be said of us, “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” If we do not walk our talk, if our faith is not translated into the good works prepared for us (Ephesians 2:10), then our faith is dead (James 2:26) and God Himself is shamed and blaphemed for we are not only made in His image, but are His children.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But we are honest and sincere, we do want to be Christians of integrity, glorifying God in word and deed. But we can’t seem to do it right. How can we?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Being: the heart of integrity</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">First, we have to go back to the message that we proclaim: Jesus Christ became man and died on the cross to free us from sin and death, and rose again that all those who believe in Him would rise with Him into new life in Him. Jesus did not say follow these and those rules; He said “Follow Me.” Jesus did not call us to join a new religion; He called us into a new and restored relationship with Himself. Why then are we treating this new relationship as if it were a religion? Because we believe that only the soul matters, that missions is all about saving souls, never mind the temporal needs of people. From this belief in the ultimate importance of the soul comes the belief that once we’ve gone to church, given our tithes, attended Bible study, and performed our church ministries we have done all that is needed to nourish our souls and bless the heart of God, and now we are free to do as we please.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now we raise that all-important question: What is it that we are pleased to do? What do we enjoy doing? The answer to this question is what tells us what is really in our hearts. Jesus makes a telling comment to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:33-37: A tree is known by its fruit. Good men bring out good things from their heart, and evil men bring out evil things from their hearts. And out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. I would endeavor to say that out of the same overflow the eyes see, the ears hear, the hands move and the feet walk. What we say and what we do naturally shows us what we really believe, over what we say we believe. For as the soul prompts, the body moves. Now based on what we love to do and love to speak about, what is really in our hearts? Who are we?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Christian integrity, then, is simply being a Christian. If you had been born again by the Spirit of God, if you had accepted Jesus’ offer of salvation, if you have submitted to the lordship of God in all areas of your life, if you are seeking to know Him, to love Him, and be like Him, then living a life of Christian integrity is automatic, for you are simply living out what you are and what you truly believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are truly a Christian, then you live as one who had been saved from sin, and hates sin and what it does to people. You live with a consciousness of God’s compassion towards you and thus extend that same compassion to others. You live with a knowledge of what sin did to you and thus treat others kindly and compassionately, familiar with their struggles from personal experience.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Christian Integrity: integration of all under God</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">In the eyes and the life of the Christian, Christian integrity is the integration of both the secular and the sacred under the lordship of Christ. A Christian is a follower of Christ whether she is in a church setting or in a secular setting. The values of a Christian does not change whether she is doing church ministry or working in an office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Christian does everything for the glory of God, whether it be work, studies, hobbies, ministry or recreation. Why? Because the Christian is a child of God regardless of where she is, what she is doing, or whom she is with. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But Christian integrity does not mean sinlessness or faultlessness. It means even in sin and fallenness a Christian is a child of God, easily admitting to failure or fault and seeking forgiveness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Christian of integrity is not a Christian without sin, for that is impossible this side of eternity. A Christian of integrity is a Christian who follows Christ such that, even when she falls, she gets up and continues to follow Him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Christian of integrity is not one who no longer sins, but one who refuses to let her occasional sins define her. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you feel you are not living a life of Christian integrity, one of two things could be the problem: Either there is something wrong with your relationship with God, or there is something wrong with what you believe the Christian life is supposed to be. Thus it is all-important to ask this question: Who is God to me, as opposed to who He is supposed to be to me? Am I a child of God? If so, why aren’t we alike? From this we can work on being a Christian by seeking to follow Christ. And as that relationship grows, so will we spiritually, socially, physically, and psychologically.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: This message was given at the 6th College Summer Break Camp held by Passionate Community for Christ, Inc. (PCCI) last April 2011 at Ifugao academy, Kiangan, Ifugao Province. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br />
</span></div><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-8030062757777383622011-05-04T23:30:00.000-07:002011-05-04T23:30:45.921-07:00Unfairly Treated Workers (Matthew 20:1–16)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Every Labor Day, we see labor groups marching on the streets, demanding for higher wages, better working conditions and more benefits. Sometimes they would call for the rollback of the prices of basic goods. Why do they do so? Are our workers really unfairly treated? Given that a lot of our workers are just contractual and thus are not given the benefits of full-time regular workers like SSS, health plans, vacation leaves, and sick leaves, we can say yes. Given that many workers are paid for less than they should given their skills and education, we can say yes. But are all instances of unfairness evil?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The “Unfairly” Treated Workers </b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">In Matthew 20:1-16, we see Jesus telling the parable of the laborers in the vineyard because of the pride shown by the rich person and by Peter in the previous chapter. Jesus said that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who went out to look for laborers to work at his vineyard. This means that the rest of the story wil reveal how God, as king, will treat those who would follow Him. He found some at 6am and agreed that they will be paid one denarius each for a full days’ work, which is what was the going rate during those days. He went out again at 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm to hire more workers and promised them to be paid what is right. At the end of the day, he paid each worker the same amount, regardless of how much time they spent working. Those hired first complained that they were unfairly treated because they were paid the same wage as those who worked for only one hour! But the vineyard owner said that he wasn’t being unfair, but simply being generous. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Looking closer at the parable, notice that he only negotiated with the first group, agreeing to pay them the minimum wage of those days. This is because these workers are the most able, the most qualified, the most hireable--thus these workers can command their wages. The later hirings hung on the promise that they will be “paid what is right.” If these day workers have not been hired yet at the time the vineyard owner came to them, then that means they weren’t that qualified. And being promised to be paid what is right means the best that they can expect is a wage based on how much time they spent working. Given that they weren’t hired before the vineyard owner came, they can’t demand much. Still, some wage is better than no wage. Now, who was unfairly treated?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Economy of God</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Who of these workers do you feel is unfairly treated? The answer to that question reveals how we view God and how we relate to Him. I confess that I feel that the first workers were unfairly treated. Shouldn’t those who work more be paid more? Isn’t Christ encouraging laziness in having the vineyard owner pay everybody equally? Yet God showed by this passage that I am wrong. The first workers were treated fairly because they were paid exactly what they agreed to be paid. The landowner kept his word. The workers who were paid the same for less work are the ones who are unfairly treated, because they were paid more for the work that they did. And all because they believed in the promise of being paid right. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This then is how God treats us. God is a just God. He will never shortchange anyone. He will give to all what they deserve. He will not withhold from anyone the good that is due to them. But beyond this fair treatment, God is free to be unfairly generous. He will give to those He would like to give, but he would never hold back what good is deserved.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Scandalous Grace of God</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This “unfairness” extends even to the salvation that He purchased for us at the Cross. How do you think would James and John feel when they, who walked with Jesus and worked in His ministry and supported Him and preached in His name, came into the Kingdom much later than did the convicted robber who was crucified together with Christ? How would you feel if you have served in church at the various ministries and yet the person you hated the most goes on to also be with God because at the last minute before she died she put her faith in Christ? Think of the worst person you know, historical or personal. Can you truly accept that Christ died to save such a person? Could you bear the thought that there is a very real possibility that you will be with this person for all eternity with the God you love?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But this is the love of God, that “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…while we were sinners, Christ died for us…while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son” (Romans 5:6,8,10). When we look at it, no one really deserves God’s love and salvation. When we look at ourselves we are undeserving of God. But God still extends His love and His salvation to us, just as He extends it to our enemies. When we are to be truly honest, we are all 9am, noon, 3pm and 5pm workers, completely depending on the promise of God because we know that if He gave us truly what we deserve, we will not survive. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here then is the good news in this parable: God in Christ is a gracious and generous God. If we follow Christ and labor in His vineyard, the LEAST we can expect is what we deserve, equal to the amount of work we put in. But knowing that our God is a generous God, He will give us more than what we deserve “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19; see also Romans 10:12). God is not our employer who gives us only what we are due, but our Provider who gives us according to His riches, His generosity, His graciousness, and His love. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Challenge: </b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Brothers and sisters, let us who believe in in the mercy of Christ also extend such mercy to all around us. Let us remember that none of us deserve Christ’s love, and may this thought give us the perspective we need to extend His grace and love even to those we would rather see in hell. Let us accept that it is only by His grace one can be saved, and thus rejoice when the most wretched of people, even people who have hurt us, come to put their hope and faith in Christ and are thus saved, and break bread with those who once broke us. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*preached as a Labor Day message last 1 May 2011 at Jesus Christ our Hope and Redeemer Church, San Mateo, Rizal </span></div>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-39655032968051530182011-04-22T06:04:00.000-07:002011-04-22T08:49:12.541-07:00'Behold, I make all things new.' A reflection on "The Passion of the Christ"<span class="Apple-style-span">Ever since I was young, Holy Week was characterized by presentations of the passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. From Fr. Patrick Peyton's Family Rosary Crusade productions (the one where Christ's face was always turned from the audience) to Franco Zeffirelli's <i>Jesus of Nazareth</i> to the film version of <i>Jesus Christ Superstar, </i>my Holy Weeks throughout the years were saturated with opportunities to watch and reflect upon the life of Christ.</span><br />
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</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">When I committed my life to follow Christ and trusted Him as my absolute savior in the early 1990s, I gained a greater appreciation for the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord, building upon the foundation that was built by those years of exposure to Passion presentations. Ironically, going into the twenty-first century, such Passion presentations have become scarce, if not totally dispensed with, on Philippine national TV. Going through the local channels this Good Friday morning in the hope of finding a Passion story, I was disappointed to find telenovela rerun marathons and Dragonball being played. Thank God for DVDs. I pulled out my copy of Mel Gibson's <i>The Passion of the Christ </i>and watched it, continuing my personal tradition of mass media reflection. I do this to bring my faith to a more tangible, even visceral, level. I don't want to just know in my head; I want to know in my heart.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Watching the film (albeit interrupted by technical problems where my player jumped several chapters forward) made me relive the horror of what Christ went through to save sinners like me. It was terrible, and brought back my old childhood fear of detailed crucifixes. But the horror of it made me realize the awfulness of my sinfulness, that the Son of God had to go through such an ordeal to pay for my sins, and the sins of the whole world. Thus I am all the more grateful and all the more compelled to extend grace to those around me.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">But something of bigger significance came to the fore. During the scene where Jesus was carrying His cross and His mother Mary came to Him, Gibson took some artistic license by putting to Jesus' lips words that can be found much later in Scripture:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">"Behold, I make all things new."</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">This quote from Christ can be found in Revelation 21:5 (the above wording is from the King James Version). Watching the accompanying features of the DVD revealed that the producers intended this line to be the theological backbone of the entire production. And it was fitting, because "in [Christ] the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through [Christ] to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:19-20 ESV). Romans 8:19-21 (ESV) says "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. . . in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">This is a big departure from the soul-centered salvation that many churches preach today, both Catholic and Protestant/ Evangelical. Yes, Christ died to pay the penalty of sin that those who believe in Him would have eternal life. Yes, souls of those who believe in Him are saved from eternal damnation as per John 3:16. But the salvation that Christ purchased with His blood did not stop there. As the passages from Romans 8 and Colossians 1 attest, the salvation of souls, of human beings is just the beginning of a cosmic plan to redeem and restore <i>all </i>of fallen creation. God wants His world back, the world that was cursed because of Adam's disobedience and rebellion (Genesis 3:17). He wants to purify it from all corruption and detestable thing so that He might live in it with His people and be truly God and Lord over all (Revelation 21:3). And such cosmic scale redemption and renewal began advancing in earnest at the beachhead that is the Cross.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">The Gospel as given in the Passion presentations reflect the Gospel as it is preached throughout the centuries: "that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV). This is to fulfill Christ's message that "the Kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15 ESV). Putting these together, Philip Yancey quotes John Howard Yoder as saying "The cross is not a detour or a hurdle on the way to the kingdom, nor is it even the way to the kingdom; <b>it <i>is</i> the kingdom come</b>."*</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Whenever I see a depiction of Christ being raised up on the cross, I now hear those reassuring words, "Behold, I make all things new!"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">May it be so soon, Lord!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br />
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</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">*</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Philip Yancey, <i>The Jesus I Never Knew </i>(Mandaluyong City: OMF Literature, Inc., 1998), 196. Emphases mine.</span></span></div>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-63785194933178471152011-04-19T17:27:00.000-07:002011-04-19T18:59:44.395-07:00When Unity Goes BadEvery time there is a crisis or calamity, people often unite to help those in need or to make a strong stand against evil in our society. When the earthquakes occurred in New Zealand and Japan, people from all over the world united to help those affected. Even during our own crises like Ondoy, people united to bring relief to the victims. United peoples toppled repressive governments in Egypt, Eastern Europe and our very own country the Philippines. But unity can also be a bad thing. A united people, if not under God, will only be successful in bringing destruction upon themselves. Let us look at what happens to a people if they are united in rebelling against God.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Story of Babel: Why did God Scatter Them?</span><br /><br />The descendants of Noah began to move out into the new world. When they found a good land, they decided to settle there. Having one language, they came to an agreement to build a city where they will live and a tower to make themselves great. Then God saw what they were doing and said that in their unity they are able to do this, then nothing will be impossible for them. So He confused their languages and they scattered all over the world.<br /><br />For the longest time this story troubled me. Why did God confuse the people when they were on the verge of doing something great? Was God insecure? Was God being a bossy lord where He is forcing people to follow Him or else? The people were not hurting anyone! They were just making life easier for themselves; is that sinful? The key is in what they built and what they built it for.<br /><br />The tower is like a huge pyramid and is meant to be their stairway to heaven.<br /><br /><a href="http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2350933120055940262zwbcQV"><img src="http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/46947/2350933120055940262S425x425Q85.jpg" alt="ur" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Ziggurat of Ur photo from http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/759360</span><br /><br />But this is not a stairway to reach God. No, this stairway was for something else entirely. The best description for their motive of building the tower can be found in Isaiah 14:13–14. This motivation to reach heaven is born out of the root of the very first sin (Genesis 3:5). They were not trying to reach God; they were trying to become God. They want to have dominion over the earth by means of this tower. They want to rule over the earth apart from God. And if they succeed in building this tower, God saw that whatever they plan to do they can accomplish. And since every inclination of their hearts is evil, even after the flood (Genesis 8:21), the “great things” that they are able to accomplish will also be corrupt. And by these accomplishments, they may very well destroy themselves and the rest of the world with them. And God, in His goodness, will not allow that to happen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Modern-day Towers of Babel</span><br /><br />Yet Man still continues to build his tower that reaches up to heaven, even to this very day. We see nations united in their production of oil which gives them control over such resources. Oil production brings fuels to power our generators and fuel our vehicles, but also pollute our air to the point of creating global warming, disrupting our weather patterns and bringing about floods and droughts in various parts of the world. Scientists united to create energy by splitting atoms and thus nuclear power is generated. From there, electricity is produced in many developed countries, but at the same time provided the material for weapons that could destroy the world many times over. Academics and philosophers united to push the idea that there is no God and there is no absolute moral truth, and thus we see our world steadily sliding into chaos. Government officials united to create a culture of corruption in government designed to enrich those in power, but plunged the nation into widespread poverty and social injustice. This is what happens when people are united in their pursuit to become gods themselves.<br /><br />But what of we who profess to know the Truth? We ourselves have built our own cities and erected our own towers. Just like those people who, by staying in one place, went against God’s purpose for people to fill the earth, we too have become comfortable in our own “saved” place and will not move from where we sit. Just like Peter who, upon seeing Christ in all His glory wanted to stay where he was to enjoy that glory for himself (Matthew 17:4), we are content to keep our Christianity within the walls of our churches instead of incarnating Christ to the unbelieving world. We are only Christians among Christians in church, but outside we are no different from everybody else. We who are meant to be the salt of the earth would rather stay inside the saltshaker. Even in our prayers, more often than not we seek to make God conform to our will instead of seeking His will and asking for whatever we need to fulfill that will. And often, we mistakenly claim His promise that “For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:20) without first seeking His will and thus be truly coming together in His name. Otherwise, in coming together with our own agendas, we are building our own spiritual tower reaching up to heaven with the express purpose of bending God’s will to conform to ours. Even if we are united in our fellowship and in our prayers, it is still God’s will that will be done on earth as it is in heaven.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Challenge: The Example of Christ</span><br /><br />Christ, who could have just stayed in heaven, came to earth and became like us in every way except sin. He showed us how it is to be like God by walking with God. And He who was without sin died on the cross so that we who sin could have life where we need not sin anymore. We need not build towers to reach the heavens because heaven came down when Christ was lifted up on that cross, suspended between heaven and earth. If Christ is truly in us, we need not build cities for us to be united, for Christ Himself is our unity. And wherever we go we will never be alone for Christ is ever with us (Matthew 28:20). And wherever there are fellow believers, we can find a home. Let us then stop building towers that reach up to heaven, but instead build our houses upon the Rock who is Christ, and be united that we might be a temple where dwells the Living God.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(Message given at Jesus Christ Our Hope and Redeemer Church, San Mateo, Rizal, 3 April 2011)</span>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-11691260774952374402011-04-12T00:19:00.000-07:002011-04-12T00:38:26.155-07:00Stewardship: The First CommandWhat is the first command given by God to human beings? We can find this in Genesis 1:28 where God commands humans upon being created:<br /><br />1. Be fruitful<br />2. Increase in number<br />3. Fill the earth<br />4. Subdue it<br />5. Rule over all other creatures<br /><br />These commands can be encapsuled into two general commands:<br /><br />1. Be fruitful<br />2. Be in control<br /><br />The role of humans is repeated in Psalm 8:4-8. Humans are meant to be stewards — lord-servants — of creation, rulers and managers of the whole created order as representative of God, the image of God. The invisible God is visible in His physical creation through His image. God rules over the earth through Man.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fall of Man brought mismanagement</span><br /><br />When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they did not lose their being as the image of God, that is, the mandate to be fruitful and rule; but they do so now under Satan, and thus the whole of creation was cursed. They were called to be fruitful, but they are now unable to be because they now have a corrupt sense of what being fruitful means. They are called to be in control, but they are now unable to control because they have a corrupt sense of what being in control means.<br /><br />And as they were, so are we.<br /><br />We are called to be fruitful, but we are unable to be because they now have a corrupt sense of what being fruitful means. We usually think of fruitfulness in terms of numbers: How much money we have, how many people have we shared the Gospel with, how many friends we have on FB, how many church members we have, how many gadgets we have, how many…, how much…. Thus we think we are being fruitful, but we produce no fruit in the things that really matter: good relationships with others, an unblemished name, changing of lives, a preserved ecosystem, justice, mercy, the things that God values.<br /><br />We are called to be in control, we are unable to control because we have a corrupt sense of what being in control means. We usually think that being in control means the freedom to do what we want, when we want, how we want. So we indulge. And then we find that what we want has enslaved us to the point that we can no longer do anything other than “what we want,” as any addict will attest.<br /><br />In addition, we often sacrifice one for the other. In our desire for more fruit, we sacrifice control, like the student who spends long hours studying to graduate with honors only to later find that she is getting sick from over-fatigue, alienated from her friends and family because of her withdrawn and irritable disposition, and depressed because of lack of sleep. Or the control freak team leader who wants to do everything himself, only to find himself hated by his team and their project in ruins.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Redemption of Man and Man’s original purpose</span><br /><br />The good news is God the Son came and became the Son of Man that He might reclaim for the rest of humanity the purpose that was lost at the Fall. When Christ was crucified, our greed for false fruit and our lust for control was crucified with Him. And when He rose from the dead, these stayed dead. So if we choose to follow Him, we are free to be fruitful and rule over creation in His name, as we are designed to be. For if we died with Him, we will rise with Him and reign with Him who is the Son of Man (2 Timothy 2:11-12).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Christian Stewardship: fulfilling the first command by obeying the first commandment</span><br /><br />But the full redemption of creation is still yet to come, and perverted fruitfulness and dominion still plague this world. How then can we be good stewards of everything that God has given us? First, we have to know Whose stewards we are. We have to acknowledge that it was God who gave us authority over everything, but our management has to be according to His will and to fulfill His purpose: the redemption of all creation. But to manage and bear fruit according to His will, we must know what His will is. And to know what His will is, we have to know who He is and for what His heart beats. And the only way to know this is to love Him. Thus the first greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength and mind, and have no other.<br /><br />But how does loving God make us better stewards? One of God’s favorite images for His desired relationship with His people is that of a groom with his bride. Anyone who has loved can tell you that it is a pleasure and a privilege to seek knowing what would make the beloved happy, and do those things, just to see that happiness. In the same way, loving God creates in us a desire to make Him happy, to do things His way, to be more like Him. Our view of time, money, resources, and people will shift closer to how He views them. Our sense of fruitfulness will conform to His purposes, and we will see our authority over creation as a trust that He has given to us.<br /><br />But how can we love Him? If we are honest, we are like Theresa of Avila who prayed, “I don’t love You. I don’t even want to love You. But I want to want to love You.” If we want to want to love God, we have to acknowledge that we can’t do it. But if we really want to, God Himself provides the way: “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) We are to receive His love, feel His love and let it overwhelm us. Look to the Cross and feel the love that would and did give all. Only then are we able to know Him, love Him, love others and this world as He does, and thus be the stewards that He intended us to be. Only then can it be said that we are made in the image of God.<br /><br /><br />Note: This message was given at the 6th College Summer Break Camp held by Passionate Community for Christ, Inc. (PCCI) last April, 2011 at Ifugao academy, Kiangan, Ifugao Province. I got some of the insights from Dr. Melba Maggay's talk on "Christian Writers as Channels of Social Transformation." during the Christian Writers' Fellowship last Feb. 25, 2011.Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-80304043108682778702010-11-07T18:27:00.000-08:002010-11-08T18:55:45.223-08:00The Extent of my Love(Church message delivered last 7 November 2010 at Jesus Christ our Hope and Redeemer Church, four days after Rita accepted the love I offered to her)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The love of a husband—a reflection of Christ’s love (Ephesians 5:22–33)</span><br /><br />Introduction<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Last Wednesday, November 3, is one of the happiest days of my life. On that night, the woman I have loved and pursued, Rita, accepted the love I so ardently offered, and gave me her own heart to hold and cherish and guard. It was a glorious night, full of joy and love. And yet if I am to truly walk in the way of the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord, </span>this love that was given to me has certain responsibilities attached to it. But if my love be true and pleasing before the <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord, </span>then these “responsibilites” are not so much hinderances or duties, but true manifestations and expressions of love, as first expressed by the Author of love Himself, our Lord <span style="font-variant: small-caps;">God. </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="">The charge to lead <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Turn with me to Ephesians 5:22–24, one of the most controversial passages in the Bible today. Here, wives are called to submit to their husbands just as the church submits to Christ. Why? Because as Paul pointed out, husbands are to be the head of the wife just as Christ is head of the church, which is His body. There cannot be two heads in a family. Otherwise, the family will be torn apart.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>But the head cannot make a decision without input from the body. And the head cannot decide only for itself, apart from the body. Whatever happens to the body happens to the head, and if the head were to be the sole center of decision-making, then the head is responsible for whatever happens to the body. The head enjoys all the good that happens to the body, and suffers with the body all calamities that come to it. Thus, as this passage calls wives to submit to their husbands as an act of obedience to Christ, so also does this passage calls husbands to step up and be the leaders that God called them to be. If wives are to follow their husbands, is it not only expected that husbands should be followable? Is it not only right that husbands should be respectable, decisive, and able to look after the well-being, fulfillment and overall holiness of his wife and children? If the wife is called on to trust the husband to make decisions for her and her family, then the husband is called to be worthy of that trust.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>But is this whole submission issue just a matter of duty and responsibility? I remember one lady speaker at a forum who presented a Christian feminist view of the story of Mary and Martha. When she was asked, “Don’t you, as a woman with feminist beliefs, find it hard to submit to your husband?” She answered, “I have seen my husband stand by me when I was at my worst. He took on all my arguings, my whining, and my unreasonableness, and still he stood by me. On top of this, he said that he loved me so much he would take a cannonball for me, and I know he would. Because of such great love, I cannot help but submit to him. I think any sane woman would gladly submit to a man like that.” And a man like that is a man who striving to be like Christ.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="">The call to be like Christ <o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">If the wife is called to submit to the husband as an act of obedience to Christ, the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loved the Church. And how did Christ love the Church? He gave Himself up for her, the greatest expression of which is the Cross. Christ died for the Church so that she may be cleansed of her sin, cleansed of her shame, and made holy to enable her to be with her Bridegroom. He gave her His Word that she may be able to follow Him. He came to earth and spent His life that she may become the people He inteded her to be. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>In the same way, husbands should love their wives so much that he would lay down his life for her. To the extreme, he is to die in her place should it come to that. If not, then he is to live his life devoted to his wife’s good. He should be the spiritual leader, making sure that she is growing in knowledge and relationship with the Lord. He should be able to teach her the Truth that would make her more and more into the image of Christ. He should strive to make her more pure, more righteous, more holy. And, possibly more painfully, he should nurture her to the point that she loves Christ more than she loves him. The husband should seek to lovingly correct his wife of her faults, so that none may find fault with her, and praise her for her good traits. But to do all this, the husband may be called upon to give up his ambitions, his dreams, his aspirations, even his lifestyle, so as to better care for his wife and make her happy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="">The call to provide and nurture<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Christ, as Head, cares for His Body, the Church. He feeds her with His Word and His riches. He provides for her every need, as we have seen in our church here. He gives her guidance as to what He wants her to do, that she may reach her full potential and be a glorious reflection of Christ here on earth, to be a channel of His love to the lost. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>In the same way, the husband should care for the needs and desires of his wife, as if he were caring for himself. He should see to her every need—physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual. He should support her in her pursuit of her dreams, that she may feel fulfilled as a person and as a child of God. When he does all these, she will be a gloriously beautiful reflection of himself, and moreso of God. In a profound way, this fulfills Genesis 2:24, for the condition of the wife and the family is a reflection of the character of the husband, just as the condition of the Church is a reflection of the Christ who saved her and brought her to Himself.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="">A living parable<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">You may be wondering why I speak of husbands and wives when I am just a boyfriend. It is because to me, a boyfriend is a husband in training, just as a girlfriend is a wife in training. For what is the point of being a boyfriend and having a girlfriend if I do not have marriage in mind for her? To think anything less is to make a mockery, a plaything, out of one of the most beautiful gifts given by God to us humans: romantic love. The courtship stage is a period where Rita and I explore the possibility of being married to one another, and thus we strive to know each other ever so deeply whenever we are together. We seek to build a deep friendship that would be the foundation of our love, so that when the fires of passion have cooled, we would still want to be with each other because we are the closest of friends. And above all, we seek to know God more deeply, for He is the author and perfecter not only of our faith, but also of our relationship that would glorify His name before all the world. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>I speak of this in the Spirit of God because I follow Christ. And if I were to love this wonderful daughter of the Father, then I must seek to become more like His Son Jesus. He has set for me the standard of Ephesians 5:22-33, and by His grace I will be up to that standard. And thus far, God has given me a love for her of such passion and intensity that I would be eternally grateful for the privilege of laying down my life to see that she be happy, fulfilled and well cared for. This relationship that God has given to us would be a reflection of God’s love to us and of our love for Him, and of how He loves each and every one of us.</p> <p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><b style="">Challenge<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Brothers and sisters, especially brothers, God calls us to become more like His Son, Jesus Christ, especially in our relationships with our wives and girlfreinds, as the case may be. Sisters, God calls you not to blind and mindless obedience, but to supportive and loving submission to your husbands and boyfriends—as the case may be—as your act of obedience to the Lord. To those of you who are waiting and looking for that significant other to be given to you, look to Jesus and how He loves you. May His love for the church be the standard by which we love one another, not just as romantic partners, but as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. </p>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-50369976122383109102010-06-14T17:18:00.000-07:002010-06-14T18:20:23.956-07:00I Love It When A Plan Comes Together<p class="MsoNormal">12 June 2010, possibly the happiest day in my recent history. On the surface, it’s just a day when three friends did some gaming and watched a movie, but for me it was far more. This is the day when my two best friends from high school, Robert and Bryan, and I had a nostalgia trip unlike any other that went before it. Possibly, we might not have anything like this ever again this side of eternity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The day started out normally enough. The plan was Robert, Bryan and I will play a round of Dungeons and Dragons-ish role-playing gaming. (I say Dungeons and Dragons-ish because we were using Bryan’s home-brewed rules system that borrowed from old school<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>D&D, the Microlite system and other things that he got from other systems or came up with on his own. But the genre is still medieval fantasy.) then later watch the A-Team movie. I drove with Bryan to Robert’s place where we played the game and had a blast. We were later joined by Dennis, another of my good friends from high school. We were playing a combination of silly and serious, a series of fumbles and failed dice rolls and some minor successes which lead to a good gaming session. But we had to cut it short because it was getting late in the afternoon and we still had the plan of watching the A-Team movie to execute. Dennis had to leave at this point.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We packed up or stuff, still talking about the events that transpired in our collective imaginations through the role-playing game that we played. Then we went to one of the nearby malls where Robert did some grocery shopping first before we all proceeded to the theater. Inside, we were rather disappointed that it looked like we were the only ones watching the A-Team! But, no matter. We were packed with our burgers and fries and drinks.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We had left behind for a little while whatever was troubling us. We were ready to be taken back to what we enjoyed more than twenty years ago. We were ready for The A-Team!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Boy, we were floored!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps it was God who arranged that it would only be us and a few other people in the theater because we were really laughing so hard at the movie it would have annoyed those around us. I know I was laughing hard! And it’s not laughing at the movie in the sense that it was so badly made that one couldn’t help but laugh at it, despite the fact that the makers of the movie did not intend it to be funny. Not at all! It was entertaining! It was funny in all the right places and serious in all the right places, faithful to feel and the spirit of the A-Team TV series that we grew up with in the 1980s. This modernized version is a true homage to John “Hannibal” Smith, Templeton “The Face” Peck, Bosco “B.A.” Barracus and “Howling Mad” Murdock. They got the characters right. They got the team spirit feel right, a far cry from what the revival of “Mission Impossible” became. They got the humor right. They got the overall feel right. And the suspension of disbelief is just right. A realistic film this ain’t, but that’s the way we like it! (I mean come on, if I wanted realistic action, I’d watch the news!) If the producers and the director of this film made any upgrades or improvements, they made all the right ones without taking anything from what made the original series still resonate with people of my generation even after two decades. Let’s see any present-day telenovela or TV series pull off that stunt! Even after the movie is done and we were driving home, we were still talking about it!</p> <p class="MsoNormal">That is when Bryan noticed it: we were re-living our high school days! During those more carefree days, we would role-play in the afternoon, and then watch TV shows like the A-Team in the evenings . . . and then copy the day’s assignments from more studious classmates before the bell rings for the first class. (Yes, we were not model students back then, but we did manage to graduate from high school and college, though with some wear and tear. But that’s another story.) The evening just turned into something truly memorable for us, especially for me. When we dropped Bryan off, he called to us, “Oy, may assignment pa tayo bukas!” to which I answered, “Kopyahin na lang bukas!” We laughed at that. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I just re-lived the past. I had just gone to a place where I could touch one point in time where I was truly happy. My then 14- to 15-year-old self may not know it yet, but it may be that is as good as it gets. It is being happy in an unadulterated way. It is true, though, that there were times when I felt happier, like those times that I fell in love with someone really special. But those episodes of happiness always had a mixture of sadness to them, a taint of ill feelings, a shadow of tragedy that ruins the ecstasy that could have been enjoyed. I so long for such carefree joys again, and God was gracious to let me have this one day with two of the best buddies a man could have. But one can only live in the past for so long. Though I could have days like this, in varied degrees of remembrance and joy, I know they will not last. Even now, as my energy level drops to dangerously low levels, I realize that those days are gone. Though I can recreate them, I cannot enjoy those days as I used to, for I am no longer the same person I was who once enjoyed such things. And there are some things that simply cannot be recreated. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">But those days can be remembered. And so long as those days are remembered, and remembered fondly, those days are not truly dead. At this point in my life where I have nothing to look forward to and thus am tempted constantly to despair, God, in allowing me this remembrance and recreation, shows me that it is possible to be that happy. At this time where I see that my future holds little promise this side of eternity—and I do so long for eternity with my Lord—God has let me touch base with my happy past, perhaps showing me that there is potential for happiness in the future.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Happy past and uncertain future merged this night in the present, and I am glad. God made His encouragement clear through Hannibal Smith when he said something like (I’m not sure of the exact words.) “When there seems to be no plan, trust that there is a plan at work.” From what little I know of God, I am certain that with regards to my life as well as the history of the world and the cosmos, He will one day say, “I love it when a plan comes together.”</p>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-9298399542977476662010-05-06T01:46:00.000-07:002010-05-17T17:21:04.105-07:00Something for JOkay, more Tears for Fears stuff. But this is different. When I heard them sing "Pale Shelter," it reminded me of someone who once meant something to me. It's been some time since we parted ways, but I think of J every now and then. I guess "Pale Shelter" sums up how it was for me when we were still friends. Maybe it was more "Memories Fade" especially the line that goes "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; ">Engulfed by you, what can i do when history's my cage? Look forward to a future in the past?"</span><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, arial, helvetica;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: -webkit-xxx-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-57237920535081359382010-05-04T18:46:00.000-07:002010-05-04T18:51:32.449-07:00Tears for Fears Concert setlistI'm still having a Tears for Fears hangover. Here's a list of the songs they sang that night. Special thanks to Lynna for posting it at Curt Smith's page (http://www.curtsmithofficial.com/)<br /><br />Mad World<br />Everybody Wants to Rule the World<br />Secret World<br />Closest Thing to Heaven<br />Sowing the Seeds of Love<br />Call Me Mellow<br />Mad World<br />Memories Fade<br />Raoul and the King of Spain<br />Quiet Ones<br />Floating Down the River<br />Everybody Loves a Happy Ending<br />Seven of Sundays<br />Billie Jean<br />Pale Shelter<br />Break it Down Again<br />Head Over Heels<br />Woman in Chains<br />Shout<br /><br />I'm waiting for my "Greatest Hits" DVD set to be returned.Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3646128987233750874.post-9610575726495968392010-05-03T18:37:00.000-07:002010-05-06T17:49:58.388-07:00Something Happened that I’m Head over Heels: The Tears for Fears Concert!<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />I should have left the house earlier.</span><p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">This is the thought that kept circling in my head as I inched my way into Araneta Center from P. Tuazon St. It was a bad sign that traffic was this bad this far from the Coliseum. The guards at the entrance of the newly-built SM parking building were already flashing signs that read “Full Parking.” As I drove around Araneta Center looking for a spot to park Ernie—and almost running out of gas in the process—guards everywhere were flashing “Full Parking” signs. All roads seem to lead to the Araneta Coliseum, and all people from my generation seem to have cars! After finally parking at the second level of Ali Mall, I sprinted across the new skyway into SM and crossed the street with the sea of humanity (One guy behind me said it was like being in New York City!) into the Coliseum. After looking for my officemate Marianne, I finally settled in the cheapest seats between Nixon and Marianne. But I had a good feeling all that trouble will be nothing compared to what lay ahead.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Boy, was I right!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The opening act was Sandwich who played one of their songs (that I’m not familiar with) and then their intro for their second song was so familiar, the whole coliseum thundered with cheers: “Just Like Heaven” by the Cure. I’m in a hall with about twenty thousand 80s babies! A similar thing happened when Ely Buendia came out and played “” from their Eraserheads days. Then the rest of Pupil did their front act, to less than spectacular applause.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Then the main event.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The mournful instrumental intro came in as the stage remained in shadow, but the crowd erupted to such tumultuous cheering that I barely heard Curt Smith begin to sing “Mad World” in that melancholic arrangement popularized by Adam Lambert. The whole coliseum was singing along! I was singing along! Heck, it was my all-time favorite song from the 80s! They then followed through with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” This will be a night to remember! </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The whole concert was just plain awesome! There were, of course, some down times as they sang some of their later, and lesser known, songs. Someone should have briefed Smith and Orzabal that their most popular albums here are the first two: “The Hurting” and “Songs from the Big Chair.” So, yeah, about forty percent of the songs they sang that night received less-than-spectacular applause. But the other sixty percent of songs received such applause that I wouldn’t think the down times affected the whole of the concert.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One thing that stuck in my mind was when Roland Orzabal, reacting to the tremendous reception they received, said, “We’ve been to many countries; we’ve gone around the world a couple of times, even going as far as Scandinavia. Why did it take so long for us to come here?!” Well, Mr. Orzabal, we waited 20+ years for you to hold a concert here, and it was worth the wait. Better late than never!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">They sang “Woman in Chains” and they pulled a big surprise: The high-pitched voice part was sung by a white bald guy! And he sounded like a big black woman! Tight underwear maybe?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">They sang “Head over Heels” and again it was like a videoke session with twenty thousand plus people singing along. The singing was so loud and so overpowering that Orzabal wasn’t able to sing the last words of the song and he just covered his ears. I can’t describe it. It’s like a whole generation, my generation, was keeping all this suppressed and now it’s time to let it all out! And speaking of letting it out, Tears for Fears capped the concert with—what else?—“Shout!” They weren’t singing the opening lines of “Shout” . . . we were! It was just awesome to watch everybody on their feet, waving their hands and singing! Words fail me in describing this.</p><p class="MsoNormal">I hope they come back. And if they do, I hope they sing more of their old stuff. I echo what the girl sitting behind us was shouting: "Change!" "Mother's Talk" is also something I'd like to hear live!<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <span style=";font-family:";font-size:12pt;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span style=""></span></span>Ian Magallonahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862023748177610489noreply@blogger.com0