Are you buddies with the Shepherd?

(This Bible Reflection was done in Ospital ng Maynila - Department of Family Medicine)

Opening Prayer

Our most loving God

You are the good shepherd

Who leads us to the green pasture of life

Guide us today in our study that we may be nourished in our spiritual life

Amen

Gospel: John 10:11-18

Reflection:

The Gospel text tells of Jesus describing him. Jesus uses the story of a shepherd and the sheep. Who is the shepherd and who are the sheep?

It is understandable that sheep are common animals in Jesus time but there should be a reason for Jesus to use them as an image. Now there are different characteristics of sheep, what are some that you know? Of the many traits of the sheep, Jesus points to one particular characteristic of the sheep that defines the relationship of shepherd and sheep, the recognition of the sheep of their shepherd. Jesus said, “I know my sheep and they know me.”

Now, here is the assumption: we are all Christians here. If Jesus is the good shepherd, with us being called Christians, we are the sheep. The question for us now, how well do we know our shepherd? Are we really like the sheep that Jesus said “know me (Jesus)?”

To know Jesus means to be close to Jesus. Imagine your best buddy in high school; you can say that you know that person inside out because you are close to him/her. How did you get close to him/her? You probably spent most of the day with your friend. You constantly talk to your friend about any stuff. You may even be conversing or talking in the phone until dawn. You probably did stuff together, especially the crazy stuff of your teenage life. But how about now, are you still as close to your friend? If your best friend already has a family of his/her own or is now living abroad, you probably felt you are not as close as before. Although once you get together during reunions, it’s like the old times again. To know someone is to be close to that person. But how close are we to Jesus?

John Wesley, an Anglican priest and founder of Methodism, used a spirit meter to gauge one’s closeness to Jesus. He uses this meter everyday to reflect how he fared in his journey towards Christ-likeness. From the spirit meter, he can better assess his efforts in responding to God’s grace. Let us try to use the same meter and see how close are we to Jesus today? One is farthest and ten is closest to Jesus.

 

Now, in the midst of our work and in the middle of the week, most of us will answer that we are 5 or 6 in our spirit meter. Obviously, we want to say our score is 10. That is our goal, to be super close to Jesus. How can we be closer to Jesus to say that we know him?

To be close to someone means to know how one speaks, thinks and act. To know someone well, we have to be constantly exposed to him, communicates with him, acts like him and be with him. This is also true with Jesus. We need to dilute ourselves of Jesus like joining in Christian fellowship and attending mass, we need to talk to him – by praying always and reading the Bible, and we need to act like Jesus like doing random acts of kindness. Let us always be in the presence of Jesus to know our good Shepherd. We need to be buddies with the shepherd to say we know him. We need to spend a great time with Jesus to be close to him and to know him even more. That is our challenge – exert more effort to spend more time with Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Our most loving and gracious God

You are the Good Shepherd

Who have called us to the good pasture to feed us with your living Word

Nourish us with your love and wisdom with what we have learned from our Bible study today

That we may be able to know you better. Amen.

He is alive!!!

(This Bible Reflection was done in Ospital ng Maynila – Family Medicine Department)

A Reflection on Luke 24:36-48.

Opening Prayer:

Jesus our Lord and Savior,

You are the eternal and Living God,

Who rose up from the dead on the third day

Make us recognize your living presence in our midst

That we may become your witnesses from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Amen.

How would you react if you see somebody you knew was already dead? Imagine the patient you just pronounced dead a few days ago is now alive and up on his feet?

This is what the disciples experienced. Jesus died three days ago and now Jesus appeared before his disciples. The Gospel of Luke says the disciples were surprised, why? Would you be surprised too?

And then to prove to his disciples Jesus is really alive and it is really him, he shows his nail marks and wounds. And then after doing these, Jesus asks for food, can you tell me why?

The Gospel tells us that Jesus is alive. That is the good news. We have a risen Christ, he is not dead!

But, what does it mean to have a Living Lord? What does it mean to you?

As Christians in the workplace, we are like the disciples of Jesus. We are scared because we think our Lord is dead. And so our faith is also dead. It shows how we manifest our faith in our workplace. Can you tell me how do you show your Christian faith in your workplace?

Is your faith dead like you worship a dead God, or is your faith alive appropriate for a living God? As Christians in the workplace, our task is to be witnesses to our workplace – our own Jerusalem, that Christ is alive. My favourite analogy about Christian living is that our Christian life here on earth is like a training of what our life is in heaven. We start learning here on earth what we will be doing in heaven forever. If we have a living faith, we should act, speak and think everyday like Jesus would, then we get to experience a little of heaven.

Showing our faith is like prescribing medicine. We prescribe a certain Brand A of Co-Amoxiclav because we trust this medicine to be effective. Our trust in the medicine could be due to many reason. On the other hand, we do not prescribe the other Brand B because we know it will not be effective. Similarly, we show our Christian faith because we truly trust and believe that Christ is risen. If we have some doubts about Christ being the Son of God or of Christ being risen from the dead then we do not proclaim it just like we do not prescribe untrustworthy drugs. Therefore, we are witnesses thate Jesus is alive because we believe it to be so.

We can be witnesses of a living Christ through showing of a living faith. One Christian discipline demonstrating a living faith is prayer. But, how often do you pray? A living faith prays every time, everywhere. And so my brothers and sisters; be witnesses that Jesus is alive by showing in your workplace that you have a living faith. Practice being a Christian to show a living faith. Pray always.

Now, who wants to be a witness that their faith is alive? Who wants to lead us in closing prayer?

Closing Prayer:

Eternal and Living God

Who is the giver of all life

Breath unto us your Holy Spirit that our faith may once again be alive and dynamic

Awaken our sleeping souls and send us to become witnesses of the risen Christ starting in the Jerusalem of our workplace throughout the ends of the earth. Amen.

Prayer for Hire

I went to see a patient today who was dying of Gastric cancer, stage 4. Her daughter asked me to pray for the patient because she is now delirious and incoherent with her BP going down. The attending physician said the patient's prognosis is not too good. Part of the pastoral care was to intercede in prayer for the patient and her family. So, I asked the daughter and the sister of the patient what was their prayer request? The patient's daughter simply said, "just do your thing and pray."

At the back of my head, I was reflecting on what those words meant? What did she mean by that? She called mo to intercede, to pray WITH them in their difficult time but it turned out prayer was just "MY" thing. Yes, not "THEIR" not even "OUR" but "MY" thing. Was it because people do not know how to pray anymore or people do not want to pray? No, I think it was because people no longer see praying as part of their task as Christians. Praying now has become the thing only for those providing "spiritual care." People see praying as a task reserved only for the "religious workers." It seems prayers today are for hire.

Of course, prayer can be a complex thing. Just grab a book that talks about the theology of prayer and you wonder how can a simple conversation with God can become so complicated. But it is never difficult to pray. A heart that genuinely talks to God is in prayer. No matter what talk.

I called the daughter to come close. I asked her again, "do you want to pray to God and ask that God will comfort your mother especially in her pain?" She said, "Yes." I asked the daughter to come closer and hold her mother's hand. I said, "God heard your prayer and is comforting your Mom through your hands."

Jesus enters Jerusalem, Jesus enters our hearts

As the Lenten season ends and as we enter the Holy Week, let us reflect on what we have done during this Lent. The Gospel of according to Mark gives us a beautiful text to reflect upon.

When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying it, some of the bystanders said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” They told them what Jesus had said; and they allowed them to take it. Then they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it; and he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut in the fields. Then those who went ahead and those who followed were shouting,

“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our ancestor David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

Then he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple; and when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. - NRSV

As doctors and healthcare providers, we have consciously reminded our patients about healthy diet especially this Lenten season. But that's it. We have treated the Lenten fast as a way to diet instead of a spiritual discipline. We have obviously lost the meaning of the fast, worst, the meaning of Lent. Instead of preparing ourselves and disciplining ourselves during Lent, we have made it a reason to feed on our other desires. Example, since we wanted to fast on meat during Lent, we have made it an excuse to eat seafoods (despite being expensive) all the time. Obviously, seafoods taste much better and it feeds more our desire for (comfort) foods.

The Gospel text tells us of Jesus planning to enter Jerusalem. As Jesus plans to enter, his followers prepare for this event by looking for a colt that Jesus will ride on. The followers obeyed Jesus and prepared for his entry.

As Jesus plans to enter this Holy Week in the Jerusalem of our lives and our hearts, what preparations have we done? The Lenten season was the season to remind us to prepare ourselves, our lives and our hearts for the entry of Jesus. As we remember the great love of God that saved us from sin and death, how did we prepare ourselves? As Christians, we are supposed to be the followers of Jesus tasked to look for the colt for him to ride. Did we follow his plan? Did we go look for the colt for him to ride? Did we follow his plan? Did we obey Jesus? What concrete ways did we do this Lent to prepare for the entry of Jesus?

The way we treated this Lenten season is a testament to how we value and give worth to the grace and love of God highlighted this Holy Week.

Cleaning the Temple

What do we do when the Holy Ground becomes dirty and filthy? This is the Bible Study topic we discussed this week. The Gospel from John 2:13-22 tells us:

13 tThe Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus uwent up to Jerusalem. 14 vIn the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make wmy Father's house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, x“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

18 So the Jews said to him, y“What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, z“Destroy this temple, and in three days aI will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,1 and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about bthe temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, chis disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed dthe Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (ESV)

Let us examine closer the text and think about these questions:

-Where did Jesus go?

-What did he find there?

-What was the reaction of Jesus?

-Why was Jesus upset?

-What was the temple Jesus was referring to?

-What were the people doing to the temple Jesus was referring to?

As we try to answer these questions, let us not forget that we are in the Lenten season. This is the season where we discipline ourselves to refrain from doing evil. Jesus Christ referred to his body as the Temple, what is the body of Christ today? If we say that it is the Church then let us this be our Lenten reflection:

What are we doing with the body of Christ today, the Church? Are we also desecrating it? Is Jesus happy with our works or is he going to whip us too?

This Lenten Season, as we prepare ourselves and move towards Christian perfection, what should we do to the body of Christ/ to the Church? How can we keep the temple clean? What actions should we initiate to keep the temple holy?

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday. But how many among us observed this? How many United Methodist Churches have an Ash Wednesday service? I will leave for another essay a discussion on the significance of observing Ash Wednesday or the lack of it.

But today, many among us will start to fast until the Holy Week. Today, I was asked by my colleague what will I give up this Lent? The Biblical text in Isaiah 58:1-12 is an appropriate start to how we understand fasting and Lent.

Verse 6 says... "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?"

We are indeed fools to think that our fasting or giving up something will please God. The prophet Isaiah reminds us the sins we have committed and the good things we have left undone. We fast to gain favor in the eyes of God as if we can buy God's grace with our own actions. And so this Lent, how do we fast? What kind of fasting do we do?

Do Christian Doctors need to study the Bible?

Let me share with you a hypothetical story about a hypothetical person working in a hypothetical hospital under a hypothetical department of medicine. Let us call her Dra. Lison. This Dr. Leson shamelessly shouts out to everybody that she is a Christian and that she goes religiously to this popular Christian Fellowship every Sunday. But then on Mondays, when she reports for work in the hospital, the Christian in Dra. Lison cannot be seen. And it becomes less visible as the week progresses on. Her typical day starts with a frown in her face that makes her look like the devil more than the angel she professes she is. (Okay, I'm exaggerating!) Her day continues with her taunting the clerks for being stupid and cursing the nurses for not doing their jobs. She makes her rounds with her patients scolding them for not being healthy and for not complying with the medications she had prescribed. The relatives are not spared as Dra. Lison blames them for not sacrificing enough to help the patient. They could only be thankful that Dra. Lison visits them for a minute or two. In the afternoon, Dra. Lison is in the OPD and she receives referrals from other departments. She then makes derogatory remarks against her colleagues and how incompetent the other doctors are for all they ever do is refer to her their patients. At the end of the day, when she is about to take her rest, Dra. Lison does not forget to pray. She prays and thanks her God for not making her like the stupid medical students, the lazy nurses and the incompetent other doctors. She ends her prayer with the hope that God will make every other person in the hospital like her.

The first question I would like to ask, are you that person? If you say no. Then maybe you ARE that person. For she fails to recognize her flaws after being blinded by her religiosity and self-declared goodness. If you say yes, then we can start talking about the need for us to study the Bible. For this lesson, when I say "NEED to study the Bible" I simply mean we NEED to be taught and we NEED to be corrected. If there is still a need for us to learn, it simply mean we are not yet complete. We are not yet perfect.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:48 that "you need to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." The problem is that, as Romans 3:23 reminds us, "for all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God." As doctors, we are not exempted from this shortness of God's glory. We are not perfect. We still need help about our imperfections as persons, Christians and as doctors. Dra. Lison is an example of a Christian that still needs improvement to reach her potential. She still needs to study the Bible.

What do you think is wrong with Dra. Lison? Why is she acting the way she does, considering she claims to be a Christian? If you were her, what will you do?