March 2021: God's Unexpected Plan

Hope comes from God. Hope means the impossible can happen if it's God's plan. The story of Saul shows us that we might have plans that is different from God. Saul has other plans different from God but it is God's plan that happens. Everything happens according to God's plan. The news of the vaccine coming to the country through the generous donations of other countries wasn't even possible last week. Now, in just a matter of days we were told to implement the national Vaccination Plan. Well, it is always better to have an implementation than a plan remain a plan. The hope of eliminating Covid-19.

God has a plan that we do not expect. The first dose of Covid-19 vaccines were given today and I was one of the first batch to be given the dose. Despite the hesitancy of many people because of the uncertainty on the vaccine, leaders must lead by example. We got the Sinovac and almost all of us did not have any untoward reactions. By God's grace, the vaccination will help us achieve herd immunity to help end the pandemic. 

February 2021: The Wedding

 It is not difficult to find stories in the Bible experienced in real life. The wedding in Cana was a memorable story about God's bounty and Joy. But people forget that Cana could just be but a symbolic place. There was nothing special about the place in Cana but it was witness to the first miracle that Jesus performed written in the Bible. 

We would have celebrated our anniversary abroad renewing our vows in symbolic and historic churches. But the quarantine only allowed us to stay within the city. We planned of celebrating in the chapel in Callao Cave but it was close to the public. We ended up renewing our vows in a very symbolic location - under the heavens and with God as our witness.

Callao Cave is a beautiful setting of many weddings. It is witness to the vows of love of couples. Most importantly it is witness to the blessing of God as the center of the relationship. 

January 2021: Hair Cut

Counting change as the year 2021 ushers in. 

We love Bible stories because we can relate to them and learn important life lessons. This year, I will share some Bible Stories that relates to some important situations we encounter in this year as we face the Covid-19 Pandemic. I hope this will help us center ourselves in God's story despite the current pandemic.

 Samson had his hair cut by Delilah. Samson was a Nazirite - set apart. People forget that Samson and Delilah is a story from the Bible. And people forget it is not a love story but about God enabling us to fulfill the work God called us to do.

I grew my hair long. It was not intentional. It was symbolic of how long this pandemic has affected our lives. This pandemic caused us to be in quarantine, lockdowns, businesses closed including barbershops since last year. The haircut I got today from my wife will be the first since last year. She is not Delilah, but my wife did cut my hair. 

Barya sa Panahon ng Pandemya

Ang halaga mo ba ay ganito lamang?

Barya-barya lang ang turing ng lipunan?

Sana maalala hindi 'sang araw lang

Ng taumbaya't kabataang pinaglaban

Sa panahon ng pandemya tulad ngayon

Isa kang frontliner, sigurado na yun

Dahil dugong bayani, buhay mo'y ihahain

Yan ang halimbawa mo na dapat gayahin

Paano nga kaya masusukat sa ngayon

Ang iyong halaga sa ganitong panahon

Kanser ng lipunan, ngayon pandemya'ng kalaban

Ang halaga mo'y barya sa gutom na taumbayan

#RizalDay #HealthWarriorOriginal

#Pandemic

The Word Became Flesh

 

Text: John 1:14

Theme: Salvation Comes to the World

Preached virtually on the 24^th of December 2020 in the last Morning Watch of Tuguegarao UMC

Good morning and Merry Christmas. I am PasDoc Neki Soriano and I bring you greetings in behalf of my family. I am thankful for the opportunity to share with you the good news this Morning Watch. In this time of pandemic, I usually bring the bad news to people telling them that they are sick, but I am happy that for a change, I can share with you the good news of the birth our savior Jesus Christ. 

We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus. But that birth is not just a simple birth. It is very complicated that we may never truly comprehend. It has many implications to the world and in our lives.

But for many non-believers, Christmas is non-sense. They even think Christianity is a belief on something very simple, ordinary and foolish just like believing in Jesus who was born on Christmas day. The birth of Jesus may not have meaning to us especially at this time of pandemic. We do not see how God can save us through Christmas, some may not even see God at all because of the situation we experience and this weakens our faith.

But the birth of Jesus is a very complicated matter that might need more than our ordinary minds to be stretched. The birth of Jesus is something that is not as simple as we often think and we might never understand fully. That is okay because our ways are not God’s way and our mind may not fully grasp the mystery of God. Yet, we must be able to appreciate the importance of Christmas when we recognize the complicated meaning of the Gospel verse we have read today. Only if we recognize the complicated birth of Jesus can we make sense how salvation comes to the world.

Our text comes from the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John usually focuses on the common theme about the relationship between humans to God through the person of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of John is a unique Gospel that focuses on the message that Jesus is divine. The word was in Jesus and this Word became flesh and blood in Jesus.

I read in one article by Rev. Kevin De Young, he believes that the verse should look closely on the meaning of the words “only” and “dwells” to emphasize the message of the writers of John.

Why was this the message during that time?

There are rumors during that time that Jesus is just human. As the early followers of Jesus, they also have confusion on what is the person of Jesus.

False teachings make people confuse and weakens our faith in God. A misunderstanding of Christian belief can lead to unfaithfulness and other harmful actions. So the Gospel writers have to describe the origins of Jesus. In John 1:1 he says, “in the Beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…. Then in verse 14 it says, “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”

Even among early Christians, just several years after the death of Jesus, there are rumors that God did not yet send the messiah. And that God did not come to the people in the flesh through Jesus. In verse 14, Jesus is described as having the glory of the one and only son. In the original Greek, the word “one and only” is a translation from the Greek word “monogenes.” This word was used 5 times all in the Gospel of John. The most popular verse where the Greek word “monogenes” was also used was in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave his “monogenes” son.” What does the word mean?

Even among early Christians, they try to understand what the birth of Jesus means. The Arian controversy is one of the significant concerns on false teachings about Jesus being born as the Son of God. The Arian controversy discusses the relationship God the Father to God the Son. Questions are asked:

o   What kind of relationship do they have?

o   Is Jesus just a common human being or is he divine like God?

o   Are they similar or are they the same in substance?

o   Was Jesus made out of nowhere or does he exist forever?

o   Was Jesus just an adopted son of God or a real begotten son?

The Arian controversy lead us to the Nicene Creed. Most of written in the Nicene comes from the Gospel of John. That is in the Nicene Creed we emphasize the Trinity of God. We, United Methodists and other mainline Christians articulate our belief as written in the Nicene Creed. It is found in your United Methodist hymnal. We profess and declare that:

-          We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

o   There is no other Son of God. False teachers will claim that they are the Son of God.

-          eternally begotten of the Father,

o   They have a relationship of Father and Son. Jesus is called the Son because of his relationship with the Father.

-          God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,

o   Jesus is true God. Jesus is divine. Not like the other group who does not believe in the divinity of Jesus.

-          begotten, not made,

o   Begotten, not made. The origin of Jesus is therefore not temporal. There was not a time that there was no Jesus. Jesus is eternally begotten from the Father.

-          of one Being with the Father;

o   Jesus has the same being as the Father. As the Father is God and Holy, so is Jesus. The Logos is the same Logos in Jesus.

-          through him all things were made.

o   The Logos when spoken created the world. When God spoke, it was created through Christ. When God said, let there be light and there was light. It was created through Christ.

-          For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

     was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human.

o   If Jesus is not divine, then Jesus cannot save us from our sins. Our salvation will not happen.

o   If Jesus is not divine, he is no longer with us is that God is distant and far from us.

 

We appreciate better the message of Christmas when we have a better recognition on the meaning of Jesus as the Word becoming flesh. Jesus became human to connect us to God. We hear this often every Christmas. But I wonder if we really appreciate the importance of this verse especially at this time of pandemic.

In the text, we read that “he dwells among us.” Now, “dwelling’ in the original Greek, “skene” means pitch a tent or tabernacle. God is pitching a tent among humans. Pitching a tent in this sense is not temporary, it means staying for a long time. Israel, when they pitched the tent, their intention was to be with the presence of God everytime. So when they were wandering, they pitched tent so they could house God and be with God everytime. Then it became a temple. So pitching tent means staying forever. Pitching a tent also means closeness with one another especially with daily activities. Also, pitching a tent is becoming one of them. He is not a stranger to us. He is one of us. God dwelling among us is a very important message at this time of pandemic.

What is the most common problem and dilemma asked today?

This pandemic makes us think that God has abandoned us. Just like the early Christians whose faith was weakened by false teachings, the pandemic can weaken our faith. Our circumstances make us doubt our faith.

Or you could be like me. When I became sick with Covid, and I was in the hospital bed with the oxygen and having difficulty breathing, I was having a spiritual crisis. I was not doubting the presence of God, in fact, I was actually leaving God out at this time of pandemic. I relied on science. I relied on medicines and the health workers. People were telling me na “magpalakas ka.” “Kaya mo yan.” And so I thought that I can do it “on my own.” I do not have to be connected with God.

This pandemic has made us disconnected with God in either way. Either we think that he abandoned us or we think that we do not need God. Either way, we do not recognize that God is with us. God is someone distant. God do not understand us. God is somebody different from us. We do not recognize God among us.

But the Good News my dear brothers and sisters: is that God became incarnate and became human born as a baby on Christmas day so that God can dwell among us humans. God wants to be in our ordinary lives, in our daily activities, in our everyday struggle, in the midst of all our busy lives, God is with us.

That is reason enough for all of us to be thankful even at this time of pandemic, suffering and chaos. That is enough reason for us to be grateful to God.

If we recognize the significance of the Word becoming flesh, of how a God that is divine will choose to become human in Jesus so that we can restore our broken relationship with God the Father as his children, we are able to appreciate and be thankful to God.

Is there something we can be thankful about at this time of pandemic? God became flesh and stayed home with us. That is something we should be grateful because we are not alone. God has lived and dwelled among the unholy and broken world.

Salvation came into this world on Christmas day when the Word became flesh. That is reason for us to celebrate, worship God and invite everyone to "come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant! O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; Come and behold him, Born the King of Angels: O come, let us adore Him, (3×). Christ the Lord."

Sharing with Joy to the World

There is always Joy to the world. This month, I was invited by an old friend and fellow previous NUMYFP leader, Joy Bohol, to share my thougths and experiences about Covid-19 for the World Council of Churches. Joy Bohol has been a missionary for the GBGM in various countries and now serves as missionary assigned to the WCC youth sector. You can support missionaries like Joy and others thru their Advance GBGM account. I was honored to be able to share with the global church God's goodness even at this time of pandemic. 

Part of what I shared in the WCC talk was the challenges and inequities that frontliners encounter. I also shared my thought on how the global church can help address this problem. The entire webinar is available in Youtube through this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0WhkuanGII 

Thoughts at The Time of Covid19

There are many United Methodists who became infected with Covid-19. When I heard their story, they inspired me as they shared how God used their lives to bless others. One of them was Kuya Arnel de Pano who was one of the those who encouraged me and lifted my spirit during the time I was sick in the hospital. My prayer is that, just as other people's story blessed me, may God make me a blessing to others as well.

This verse from Lamentations reminds me that '“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul. “Therefore, I have hope in Him.”'

When I got back to the hospital on the first Monday morning of September, I was informed that I got exposed to a doctor who may be positive. The next day, I was monitoring myself. On Wednesday, I was not feeling well so I went home early because I thought it was just a migraine. The following day, I self-quarantined after learning that some of the other doctors had tested positive for Covid19. I returned to the hospital to have my swab test later that afternoon. I kept monitoring my body temperature as it was persistently going high up to 37.5 degrees C. Later that Thursday night, my body temperature was already at 38 degrees so I immediately went to the hospital and was advised admission.

It was nerve-wracking to think what could happen next. I was at first feeling Ok because I only experienced fever the first few days. Yet, I was worried because I heard one of the doctors who got infected now has pneumonia. So, I tried to exercise too and eat well and do my best to make sure my body can cope. I told myself that I should get past the first 10 days without any breathing problems. They said the worst Covid19 symptoms are in the first 7 to 10 days. Unfortunately, even on the 8^th day my fever was still present and I was beginning to catch my breath even with the short distance to the bath room. Also, radiographic tests showed I have severe pneumonia. The nurses gave me oxygen but I refused hoping that I can teach my lungs to adapt and cope to the situation. The next day, my oxygen saturation was going below the acceptable level of 90. I was having short shallow breaths but putting the oxygen did help me breath better. Different thoughts started to fill my mind at that point. I was still within the 10-day period where most of the morbid cases of Covid-19 usually takes place. In those moments, I just stared at the window. In an instant, the doctor is now the patient.

I was in a situation where I was not just a patient trying to recover physically but was also struggling emotionally and mentally. I was thinking how health workers affected with Covid-19 may have felt knowing they were at a critical condition and could die. I did not fear death but there was sadness in me. I was lamenting. I was also thinking how my Uncle, the elder brother of my father, may have felt during his own hospitalization. He knew he had Covid19 and he knew he was in critical condition. No one was with him while he was in the hospital. What were his thoughts then? My uncle died the next day after he was confined. Not one family member was with him when he died and when he was buried. It was emotionally stressful for me. Our family could not even grieve properly for his death. I was also thinking of the patient in the next room. I can hear the beep of his ventilator. For several days I wake up at night to the sound of that beep. But one afternoon, the nurse called code on him. My next room neighbor did not make it. He was another death case from Covid19. I can imagine the grief of the family. It seemed an eternity of mental and emotional stress for me. Even if I am a clergy, I was in a spiritual crisis. If I do not make it, I would have many unaccomplished goals. I would be leaving my wife and kids with nothing. I would not fulfill my promise to my family. I would let my friends and colleagues down. I felt the gift of life is wasted. I turned to God.

The lamenting became questions. How can I get past this situation? When I asked God, I realized what was the problem. I reflected on my attempts trying to protect myself from Covid19? How hard am I trying to heal myself from Covid19? Ilang tao ba ang nag message and told me with good intentions to keep myself healthy? Pero, where is God in all of those efforts? Maybe I trusted too much on my own strength? Have I forgotten to put everything on God alone? Is not God the God of everything? Then why am I trying to make things happen? Since this pandemic started, I was trying to fight the virus by myself. This concept was fed by messages of “kaya mo yan” (you can do it), “palakas ka”(just be strong), “ganito gawin mo, ganyan” (do this and that). Because of the messages I received I got the idea that I can fight the virus with my own effort, I just need to do some things for my body to resist it. But I realized that I have left out God in the equation. Because I was centered in my own effort I have notincluded God part of the healing. That was wrong. God should be the one to heal me. God will let it happen what God wants to happen. God will use all the T cells in me, even the medicine and technology if God so desires, not me. I should surrender all to God and let God. No effort from me to heal me but my only effort is to surrender to God. It will be God at work, all the time.

Things got better and it made me hopeful. On the 10^th day, I told myself to take it one day at a time. I will be improving only by God’s work. I am not yet out of the woods but there is hope. I will get pass the critical period. The pulmonologist visited me and told me that my laboratories were improving but I needed to shift to new antibiotics. That was great news for me. It made my spirits high. It boosted my morale. Only by God’s miraculous work can this happen. I never lost hope in God. Even when I was thinking the worst that could happen to me, that is when my hope in God was greater. I understood that hope is when everything is impossible, you still believe something good can happen. Hope is the only thing left. Hope is the only thing that keeps a person alive in the worst situation.

I love seeing the break of dawn in my window every morning. I make sure I listen to hymns played in YT.  The lyrics speaks to me  “When you don’t understand, when you don’t see His plan, when you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart.” I am remind by this song to hope only in God. I love the prayers of healing from family, friends and church communities. I remember people who overcame this illness inspired me and strengthened my hope. Worrying makes it difficult to get by everyday with all the  negative thoughts and “what ifs” without having hope. I reminded me to never lose hope or I will not survive. When I couldn't breath, I just prayed. I know I cannot do it. But I have hope in God that God can do it for me. I have hope that in God’s perfect time I will be healed. I held on to that hope. When I can just easily give up, hope is the only thing left to keep me focused on recovering and getting better. I have high hopes because I have a great God. I never doubted so my faith in him never wavered. My hope of recovery was never lost because I know God can do it. I can continue the fight because God is my hope.

Update: On November 1, 2021 my mother succumbed to Covid-19 after several days in the hospital. My hope in the resurrection inspires me that all those who suffered will be at peace with God.