Noah and the Flood

It has been raining for several days now here in Luzon and there is no typhoon. Rain day and night. Water is rising. Flood everywhere. This is how Noah and the people must have felt during those times it was raining and floodwater was rising. Beyond the theological point of the flood, I want to know how the people felt at that time. I want us to consider what we feel right now that rain is pouring and we are flooded.

What do we feel? Are we scared? Are we bothered? Are we happy? Are we gloomy? What are we feeling during these time?

I feel helpless.

And I wonder if what we feel right are the same emotions that run through the hearts of the people and Noah? Can we find a connection with Noah and his emotions? But how did Noah cope up? What was the promise he was holding that kept him going? What attitude did he exhibit? What kind of faith did he have? Can we have the same faith during this time? Can we hold on to the same promise of hope? Is not Noah's God the same God that we worship? We know the story of Noah and we know that at the end of the flood is a rainbow. I may feel down with all these rain and flood just like Noah and his family did. But I know that Noah's story ended happily and his emotions were high. I look forward to that day, when I will see a rainbow. And I know I will know how Noah felt when he stepped on dry ground.

Your Pastor is Crazy

Just for laughs, let me share you this.

In one group discussion I had with fellow pastors-to-be in seminary, we made fun about the need for pastors to have psychological tests. The logic behind the requirement was that only those who are mentally sound should be allowed to become Pastors. In that sense, no Pastoral candidate would pass their Psychological Test because only crazy people would want to be a pastor.

Who would want to work and sacrifice their time and energy for less than minimum wage? Only crazy people. Who would want to spend less time with their loved ones and more time with total strangers in hazardous hospitals and cold prison cells and still be unappreciated? Only crazy people. Who would want to spend an entire week reading books and write sermons to people who will not listen (if they would come to church) and be criticized for being sloppy? Only crazy people. Who would want to exert their effort, blood and sweat just to help another person and still be called ineffective? Crazy people. And who would spend their whole life SERVING others without expecting anything in return (indeed, they receive nothing/no pension when they retire)? Only crazy people.

Only crazy people who think as above can be pastors. They will not pass the psychological test. I guess I'm crazy. And if you want to talk to some more crazy person... go visit your Pastor. Hehehe...

Father At Work

Father at Work

(This sermon was preached in Kamuning United Methodist Church on Father's Day).

Today we read about two parables from the Gospel of Mark, the Parable of the Growing Seed and the Parable of the Mustard Seed. The Gospel of Mark is full of stories and images about the kingdom of God, about making God the king in our hearts, about making disciples of Jesus. That is our calling as Christians, to be disciples of Jesus and grow into Christ-likeness. The Parable of the Growing Seed is a story unique only to the Gospel of Mark and so this parable may emphasize an important message about our discipleship and growth as Christians after the seed of faith has been planted in our hearts. This theme is rightly so on Father’s Day. We know that Fathers want nothing less but for their children to grow in the right way and maximize their potential. Our Father in heaven definitely wants nothing less than to see the seed of faith planted in our hearts to grow and that this growth will lead us into Christian perfection. Let me be gender sensitive here, when we say heavenly Father to refer to God, we do not mean that God is a man for he has no gender. But I want to emphasize God’s Fatherly attribute of wanting nothing less than for his children to grow in faith to grow into holiness just as our Father in heaven is holy.

But how does the seed of faith grow?

The first parable is about the mysterious growth of the seed. The word “seed” in our Gospel comes from the Greek word sporos or spiro which also means “to scatter.” And Jesus was telling about the parable of the growing seed to describe the kingdom of God. What do we think or imagine when you hear the word kingdom of God. Not just any other kingdom, but the kingdom of God. And that kingdom of God is established here on earth. Maybe you think about castles in heaven. Or pearly gates. And not only glorious structures but also powerful and influential systems made up of strong, cultured and well-educated people. That’s what a kingdom looks like. And if that is the kingdom of the God of the universe, then it should be the best kingdom the world has ever known. To be able to build and grow that kingdom, you have to plan well. You have to strategize. You have to plan about your budget. Strategize how to raise that budget, what materials to use, when do you start and when will construction end. You have to organize what needs to be done and who are the point person in charge. You have to plan what should be accomplished within a timeframe? That is how you establish a kingdom. You have to plan, strategize, organize and think of a formula. And so imagine the shock of the people when they heard Jesus say, that the kingdom of God is like a little seed that you will scatter. “Ikakalat” mo. No plans or organizing needed. Ikalat mo lang. Building God’s kingdom should be almost in a disorganized, non-specific and non-systematic manner. Just plant the seed without plan, without strategizing where it will fall. At best, the sower can only plan to direct if he wants to scatter the seeds in the left or the right but he does not plan on which specific area the seed should grow nor how many feet away from the other seeds or other meticulous planning and strategizing. Imagine building a kingdom through a disorganized and unsystematic manner. That is an absurd idea. It almost guarantees that such kingdom will be a failure.

Planning and organizing has been essential part of our lives to ensure that our goals are met. Just think of the time when you were a kid and you were planning to be somebody when you grow up. You were planning to be the president of the Philippines, a well-traveled stewardess, an adventurous astronaut, a famous model, a professional basketball player or any other profession. The good father works hard to ensure that their kids will grow up to their potential. As we grow up we keep working out our plan to grow up the way we wanted to be. Because we know careful planning and organizing is key to achieving success. But Jesus said, the kingdom of God will grow without such plan and strategy. Just like the kids who did not end up growing as they planned, they still grew up to be fine man and woman because their father worked hard for their future. And so absurd as it may sound, God’s kingdom will grow even if there is no plan, even if it’s in a random and disorganized manner. Only because our Father is working, God is at work to grow the seed of faith.

And then we read that the farmer will sleep then wake-up and sleep again and do almost nothing, yet the seed will mysteriously grow although we may not see it. This is even more intriguing. How can we say the seed grew if we do not see evidence?

Alam niyo mga kapatid, we always fall on this trap. We always look for signs that a person has grown in his faith. We want to see the seed grow forgetting that the seed takes time to grow and the seed may in fact be growing underneath the earth away from our perception. Because we do not see the how the seed grow does not mean it is not growing. Even I fell on this trap. I lead a Bible Study group in my work place for three years now. And for the longest time I have been frustrated because I do not see any evidence that my co-workers are growing in their faith. I tried so hard to make the Bible Study interesting, I tried to encourage them to actively participate in our study, and sometimes I ask them to lead in the prayer or share some insights about the Bible. I gave my best effort hoping to see fruits that my co-workers are growing in their faith. Nut I still see no fruits. Well last month, I was away for almost a month, they told me that they missed the weekly Bible Study that we have. It turned out that our bible study group was the closest thing that they have to a spiritual family. And it was a venue for them to grow in their faith. I said, how can you grow in your faith when I do not see any fruit. I mean I do not see you volunteer to lead our bible study, or lead the group in prayer or any other similar signs. These are the signs I wanted to see. Because I do not see it, I thought they were not growing in faith. Two of them said, their actions may not have drastically changed but in their heart they felt the real presence of God in their life. Another one said, he has now been an active member of a Christian fellowship group in his residence since last year after being encouraged by our work. But one older doctor really had me reflecting, she said, “I don’t have confidence to pray aloud in our big group but now I always pray before meals.” And I realized that it was true. “Sya yung sumisigaw every lunch time namin, kasi sabay sabay kami kumakain sa office.” She would shout, “O pray na tayo.” I have taken that for granted when two years ago, it was a typical workplace where people would just grab a food and eat without praying. There are simple things that we do not see as signs of growth in the seed of faith in people’s hearts.

How does the seed of faith grow when we do not see it?

Most often we want to see the fruit before we say the seed has grown. Yet we forget that, even when we do not see it, even when slower than we expect, even when it was not to our expectations, our Father is working, God is at work to grow the seed of faith.

Here is another problem. Because we do not see the mysterious growth of the seed, we think our effort is necessary to help it grow. We think human work is important to build the kingdom of God. Our lack of understanding about the mystery of faith is exemplified at different levels with our typical attitude towards a person we think needs to grow his faith, needs to be changed and become Christian. And so we plot to do something so his faith will grow. When I was a UMYF, my professor was also my campus minister. I was so impressed by his passion in leading our group. He told me that campus ministry was his ministry. And so he asked me to invite some of my friends to attend an evangelistic night with an American Pastor. Someone that needs me to grow into a better Christian. When it was time for the altar call, the preacher said, “all those who felt that God is calling you, come to the altar.” Nung nakita nila yung baguhan kong kasama na hindi lumapit sa altar, the pastor went down from the pulpit and stood in front of us and said, “don’t be ashamed to come to God, just take that one step, and come to the Lord so you will be blessed.” I looked at my companion as if to signal him but he whispered to me, “hindi ko nararamdaman na tinatawag ako eh.” And so when my friend still did not come, when almost everybody who was new was kneeling in front, the pastor called some of the worship leaders and they circled around my friend as if they will gang up on him. So my friend was probably intimidated kaya sumama na din siya and he knelt in front. But that left a lot of question in my heart. What does the campus minister mean that this was his ministry? Isn’t it God’s ministry? And he was just taking part of God’s ministry? Bakit niya inaangkin na sa kanya yung ministry nay yun? And what did he mean that there are people who need me, my help to become better Christians? What can I do to make other people better Christians? Isn’t it God’s work to grow people’s faith? And what does it mean that the preacher almost wanted to drag my friend to come to the altar call? Was God too slow to change my friend’s heart that God needed the preacher’s help? This is an example of how ignorant we are to the work of God thus we try to put human effort to grow the seeds when faith is supposed to be the work of God.

In 1 Corinthians 3:5-7 we read, What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” It is clear that God alone grows and increases our faith. If there was human effort, it is nothing but part of God’s work. With or without the human effort, God will mysteriously work.

Our great Methodist founder, John Wesley said, that the growth of the seed is a growth toward Christian holiness and it is possible by God’s grace alone. Wesley said just as the earth will grow the seed into a shoot, an ear and a corn God’s grace will move us toward justification, then sanctification and ends with our glorification. Wesley understood that our faith journey to Christian perfection is only possible through the grace of God. No human response is possible apart from God’s grace. Similarly, the growth of the Kingdom of God is not dependent to human work. Human effort has nothing to do with growing the seed of faith. We are not the ones who will build God’s kingdom. So we ask ourselves, how does the seed of faith grow? God’s kingdom will grow not because men are at work. It is because our Father is working, God is at work in growing the seed of faith.

Not only does the kingdom of God grow regardless of human effort, the kingdom of God can grow and will grow even if it starts from something small.

The parable of the mustard seed tells us that even a tiny thing known to man is enough to build a kingdom. A mustard seed is a very small seed almost similar to the seed that we see in a burger bun. And that is the smallest seed known to the Jews during the time of Jesus. It is indeed amazing to imagine that such a small seed can make an entire farm field be covered with the mustard weed. Yet, the fact is that small seed will grow up and notoriously spread itself. When it has grown big, it will attract birds which in turn will help spread the mustard seeds to grow in other areas. As the new mustard seed grows and spread more birds will come and more seeds will scatter. And almost an entire field will be covered by this unwanted weed. It would be nice to think that the point of the parable is to compare the growth of the kingdom of God with the spread of the mustard weed. We must understand that the mustard seed grows into a weed, something that farmers don’t like. The Greek word for mustard seed is sinapi or sinomai which also means to sting or hurt. The mustard seed indeed grows into a weed that hurt and destroys the other crops in the field that is why farmers crop it out. And yet despite the cropping out of the farmers, despite the suppression it gets, the tiny mustard seed will continue to grow and spread. More importantly, the weed that is despised by farmers will ironically attract birds that will help it spread more its seed. Such is the kingdom of God. It will be unwanted and its growth will be suppressed by people, circumstances and events. They will try to weed it out to prevent its spread. Despite that, God is at work in growing the little seed of faith.

My dear brothers and sisters, there will be farmers who will try to weed out and suppress the growth of our faith, there will be people who will destroy our faith, there will be circumstances where our faith will be shaken, there will be events where our faith will be tested, there will be division among our churches, there will be quarrels in our congregations, hurtful words that will be thrown against us, there will be false accusations, there will be retaliations, there will be aggression, there will be violence, friends will stab us in the back, there will be broken relationships between parent and child or between husband and wife, there will be brokenness, we will hate church, we will hate church members, there will be hatred, there will be dwindling membership, there will be finger pointing, there will be losses, we will loss friends and family members, we will be discouraged, there will be temptations, there will be difficulties and challenges, in our lives, in our relationships, in our work, in our home, in our church, and all these will happen to destroy our faith – to suppress the growth of the tiny little seed of faith in our heart. How can the seed of faith grow and spread with all these difficulties? The good news my dear brothers and sisters, is that our Father is working. God is still at work in growing the little seed of faith in our hearts. And the little seed in your heart will, despite and inspite of everything, it will attract another person which will plant another seed of faith in that other person’s heart. And it will attract another person and the seed of faith will continue to spread. All this will happen because of a tiny mustard seed. All this is possible because God is at work.

My dear brothers and sisters, when we do not see the sprout from the seed, when we do not see the outcomes we have envisioned, when everything did not come out as we have expected, or when our faith is being destroyed, do not despair. God is not yet finished. Remember the good news you have heard today, our Father is still working, God is still at work.

The Circuit Rider

The Circuit Rider

Objective:

•       To discuss the biblical basis for the itinerant system of our church

•       To remind pastors the difficult but rewarding task of being sent in the name of Christ and their task of sharing the grace of God for the sanctification of the church

•       To remind churches of their task in continuing the ministry and maintaining the health of the local churches

Whenever I lead the Bible Study in our workplace, I always ask questions.  So to give a twist on this Bible reflection, I will ask some questions and raise your hands if you know the answer. So for the first question:

•       Who is the famous circuit rider, also one of the first American Methodist Bishops, that become iconic with the image of a horse rider?

a)      John Wesley

b)      Francis Asbury

c)       Thomas Coke

The correct answer is b.) Francis Asbury. John Wesley also rode the horse and he indeed travelled great distance to preach the gospel. Despite being credited as the founder of Methodism, Wesley was not an American Bishop. That distinction belongs to Asbury and Coke who were consecrated at the same time as Bishops of American Methodist. Although both travelled on horseback, it was Francis Asbury who became associated with the circuit rider. His iconic image of riding the horse is a monument found in Drew University.

The circuit rider has been a name used to refer to the early Methodist preachers in America. As the name suggest, they are riding a horse to move around their circuit, the circuit is composed of many congregations. For his part, Bishop Asbury travelled 6,000 miles each year to preach. Do you have any idea how far that is? The Philippines is 1150 miles from the tip of Luzon to the end of Mindanao. That means Bishop Asbury rode the horse from Luzon to Mindanao at least six times within a year. And to think he had to do that every year. The distance is already a very tiring task to imagine. Add to that the dangers of travelling in a forest, the exhaustion of the body, the loneliness, the discomfort and the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Yet, the circuit riders went on. Now, if being sent as a circuit rider was a difficult and challenging task the question begs to be asked:

•        Why did John Wesley sent Circuit Riders to preach the gospel?

a)      It was part of his theological understanding of doing the mission

b)      It was a strategy adapted from the Bible to reach the wide field for evangelism

c)        All of the above

In her Theology of Mission paper, Pastor Jody Spiak noted that John Wesley saw practical and theological reasons in sending circuit riders.[1]

John Wesley wrote in a letter in 1756, "We have found by long and consistent experience that a frequent exchange of preachers is best. This preacher has one talent, that another; no one whom I ever yet knew has all the talents which are needful for beginning, continuing, and perfecting the work of grace in a whole congregation.”[2]

She added that the itinerant system of sending preachers was Wesley’s practical solution to the Great Commission. It is Wesley’s Theology of mission.

The itinerant system is a Wesleyan Theology of Mission[3]. It is a response to the concept of Missio Dei – God is a missionary God. The task of the church is not to do mission but to be part of the mission of God. Just as God the Father sent Jesus, so are we sent to the world to do the mission of God. Do you remember where can we find this verse?

•       Where  can we find this verse, “Peace be unto you, as the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you?”

a)      John 20:21-22

b)      John 11:35

We are sent. That is clear in John 20. In that chapter, Jesus was about to leave his disciples. He showed himself to them after his resurrection and commissioned them.First, Jesus appointed them to go on with his work, spread his gospel, and set up of his kingdom. The disciples were sent the way Jesus was sent. But the question we need to ask ourselves, how was Jesus sent? If we are to be sent just like Jesus, we should know how Jesus was sent. And that will be the model we will follow in performing the mandate that was given to us. So let us look, how was Jesus sent?

Read John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38

In Henry’s Commentary, Jesus was sent, not to be ministered to, but to minister. Jesus was not to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him – the Father. He was not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fill them up. As the Father sent Jesus to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, so he sends us into all the world to find the lost. This is how we must also behave if we are to be sent like Jesus was sent.

Read John 8:29; 2 Cor. 5:9-11; Eph. 5:10; 1 Cor. 7:32; Phil. 3:7-8

In the following verses, we see that Christ was sent not to please Himself, but to please His Sender. In a posted Biblical reflection, the author noted that the danger of doing mission is we try so much to reach out to people by pleasing them when in fact it displeases God. [4] He then continued the reflection with the following verses.

Read John 3:34; 7:16; 12:49-50

Here we find in these verses that Christ was sent into the world, not with His own words and doctrine, but with the words and doctrine of His Sender.[5]

Read John 8:29; Matthew 28:20

         After Jesus was sent, he elaborated that the one who sent him did not send him alone. The Holy Spirit was always with him and so it will be with those Jesus will send. These verses are very comforting knowing that the mission we are tasked to do is difficult and full of challenges. The itinerant system that we Methodists go through every year is met with anxiety both by the “circuit riders” and the “parishioners.” There will be dangers and trials  to where we will be sent but as Wesley said, “the best of all, God is with us.”

        As we end our holy conferencing and go to our different church appointments, let me leave you with these words for reflection. Pastor Spiak asked these similar question but let me frame it in our present context. Despite a strong missional theological basis for our itinerant system, we have focused too much on the system of “sending/appointments” to which we resist so much. I believe that we only resist the system because we “forgot” the theology behind it. Now, my challenge is - how can we re-claim the missionary purpose of itinerancy? In the same way, how can the local churches reclaim its active participation in the missionary purpose of our itinerancy?

---

[1] www.mm-umc.org

[2] The Encyclopaedia of World Methodism, Vol 1. 1974

[3] John Nuessle, www.gbgm-umc.org

[4] www.middletownbible.org

[5] Ibid.

Had to go... take charge here!

John 17:6-19
17:6 "I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
17:7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;
17:8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
17:9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.
17:10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
17:11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
17:12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.
17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
17:16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
17:18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Today’s Gospel reading is about Jesus praying to God to protect us from the evils of the world. Jesus is about to go back to the Father and he is making sure that when he leaves this world that his followers will be guided on how to carry on the work. It is just like how we work here in our department here in the hospital. Our chairperson has other stuff to attend to and we know that she can’t be with us all the time. But before she leaves the office in the morning, she instructs those who will be left on what to do the rest of the day and the following days that she won’t be around. Our chairperson makes sure that the activities and services offered by the department will continue smoothly despite her absence. Our chairperson knows that problems may arise in the course of our work and so she prays that we will have the wisdom and courage to overcome them. Just like how Jesus prayed to the Father to ask for protection from evil. We must continue to do our work and not be delayed by problems and challenges we face. Us residents are given different tasks to make sure that the work must go on.

As Christian doctors, we are also given by our Head Doctor (that is Jesus) what we need to do to continue his ministry during his “absence.” The first thing that Jesus asks the Father in heaven is to protect us from potential evils that we will encounter that may delay or prevent us from doing our work. What challenges do we face in our workplace that sometimes pushes us to quit and not do our job? What evils have made us stumble in our responsibilities as Christian witnesses? What evils have made us neglect our duty to become the extension of God’s healing ministry?   

  When Jesus called us to be his instrument of healing, he had a tasked us to do his work. Just as Jesus had given work to the disciples when he went back to heaven, we are also given work to accomplish. What are the task that Christian doctors must continue to do? As Christian doctors, what concrete ways can we witness to our faith?

As we continue to celebrate Eastertide, let us not forget that the resurrection of Jesus does not end in his victory over death. Christ victory means our victory. It is the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise.  The return of Jesus to the Father also highlights to us the task that has been commissioned to us. Just as the Father has sent Jesus, so are we being sent to continue the work of God. Just like what our Chair reminds us as she leaves, I hear Jesus saying, "had to go... take charge here!"

Tell me about your friend

Tell me about your friend

The Gospel text this week is from John 15: 9-17. It is the story about Jesus calling his followers as his friends. He gives a distinction about how they used to be slaves who do not know about what is in the mind of their master to becoming friends of Jesus who knows his plans. I want to highlight here the shift of the followers from slaves to friends. They are the same people. The followers did nothing in themselves to warrant them to be called friends of Jesus. These followers did not win the lottery or became richer. They did not get promoted or had top level jobs. They are of the same stature from how Jesus knew them until that moment. Yet, Jesus recognized a change of his relationship with them. They were no longer slaves but now his friends. The shift could mean many things but obviously it means as slaves, they belonged to a lower relational level with Jesus but now elevated to a higher relational level of being Jesus’ friends.

It is an interesting thing to ask the reason for the shift in the relationship. Looking closely at verse 16, Jesus said that he chose and appointed his followers to be his friends. It was not from their own doing. In his commentary, Barnes said that Jesus calling his followers as friends “refers here, doubtless, to his choosing or electing them to be apostles. He says that it was not because they had chosen him to be their teacher and guide, but because he had designated them to be his apostles.”

I am interrupted by a thought from a fellow co-worker, “so what does this mean to us?”

It is often the most difficult part. As pastor and friend of Jesus, I am expected to offer some insights to my colleagues how does the Gospel speak to us today.

I was thinking this. As Christian workers in the hospital, we are the followers of Jesus. Jesus called us to be his friends not out of our own reasons or doing. We are his friends because Jesus chose us to be his friends. Not because we are doctors. Not because we have helped many sick people. Not because of our good deeds. Nothing from our own merit is the reason. It is simply because of Jesus.

Now I realized, I do not have to be the one always sharing reflections on the Bible. We are all friend of Jesus and you all also have the same mind of Christ. So, FRIENDS, tell me… what does the text mean for us today?

BV (Branch of the Vine)

This weeks Gospel lesson is from the Gospel According to John 15:1-8.
15:1 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
15:2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
15:3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
15:4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
15:6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
15:8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

Becoming a better Christian in the workplace has many unique challenges especially in the hospital. One of the common scenes we find in our job as doctors is the trust and appreciation our patients, especially when they get cured from their illnesses, give to the word MD (Medical Doctor). Don’t get me wrong, it is not wrong to trust and appreciate the doctors, in fact trust is important and the appreciation doctors receive is also appreciated. But what become problematic are the overflowing trust and the never ending appreciation that encourages doctors to begin looking at themselves highly for having an MD attached to their name. For oftentimes, an MD seems to give doctors license to glorify themselves.

Doctors are supposed to improve the health of people, cure the sick and heal those hurting. This is the task that the general population expect us to do. Of course, as MD we will do that. But for us Christian doctors, we know that we are mere instruments of God’s healing ministry. It is the touch of God that heals the brokenness of the human body. It is the One True God of Medicine who is the Ultimate Physician where we only take part. We doctors should not glorify ourselves for having an MD because we know we are just BV (Branches of the Vine). It is only through the vine where we the branches can bear fruit.

As Christian Doctors, we are reminded that our task (healing) in the workplace is to be part of the healing ministry of Jesus – to be the branch of the vine (BV). The overrated recognition of the doctors’ superb knowledge and skills in treating patient neglects the fact that the doctors’ gift is possible only because of God. The Christian Doctor knows that the good fruit of healing the sick comes only from being a branch connected to the vine who is Jesus Christ. The recognition the doctor receive should be given back to the source of the gift. Glory must not be to us doctors but we should tell our patients and their family to bring back all the glory and praise to God. For it is only being connected to the vine of Jesus that we doctors, the branches, can bear good fruits. The text reminds us as we bear witness of our faith in the workplace, that an MD does not give us reason to glorify ourselves rather it is our witness that we are a BV.