Jesus, my Hero

Binhi sang Pagtuo

August 31, 2009

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from Iloilo City!

The Filipinos are celebrating National Heroes Day today in honor of the heroes of yesteryears. The Tagalog word for hero is “bayani” in which the root word is “bayan.” This means that a “bayani” does or did something great for the “bayan.”

Our reflection for this week is about Jesus, my hero.

Jesus, my hero, had a cause. The central message of Jesus’ ministry was about the Kingdom of God, or in some translations, the Reign of God. Luke 4:43 says, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God…because that is why I was sent.”

All the parables of Jesus were about the Kingdom of God. After the resurrection, Jesus also preached about the Kingdom of God.

Jesus, my hero, organized people for the cause of the Kingdom of God. He rallied his disciples to preach and teach about the Reign of God. These disciples left their work and made the cause of Jesus their priorities. Jesus said, “deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me.”

Jesus, my hero, challenged the status quo of his time. The cause of the Kingdom of God became a threat to the religious leaders, and the ruling class. Jesus liberated God by his actions. God was imprisoned in the temple, in the Holy of Holies and in other religious places. But Jesus said to a Samaritan woman, “worship neither in the mountain or in the temple but worship God in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus, my hero, died for the cause. Everybody that became uncomfortable by the message of Jesus plotted to kill him. They eventually captured him during the night to evade the multitude of his followers. They put him in a mock trial. They forced him to recant. But in his silence, he showed them what loyalty to the cause is all about. It was a deafening silence; a silent protest that was so loud that they have to kill him.

Jesus, my hero, never died. Jesus resurrected from the dead. A godly cause cannot be killed. When Jesus showed himself to his disciples, they were at first frightened, but later they were empowered and emboldened to declare to the whole world why Jesus came and what Jesus died for. Later, these early disciples were persecuted and put to death for the cause of Jesus. They gladly gave their lives.

Is Jesus your hero also? Let us follow in the footsteps of our hero.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely yours,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on

Assistant Chaplain

Are we worth dying for?

Binhi sang Pagtuo

August 24, 2009

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from the campus!

Last August 21, 2009, we celebrated Ninoy Aquino Day to commemorate his death and martyrdom for the Filipino people. One of the famous last words of Ninoy were “The Filipino is worth dying for.” He died for the cause of freedom and democracy. Although his death was just one of the many deaths during Martial Law, it became the rallying cry of the Filipinos to topple the dictator. Ninoy became an icon of the struggle of restoring democracy.

More than 2,000 ago, Jesus was also killed for a cause. He died not only for the Filipino people but for the whole humanity. Mark 10:45b says that Jesus came to “give his life as a ransom for all.” Jesus is our Lord and Savior.

Let me share with you a poem entitled “One Solitary Life.” The authorship is attributed to Dr. James Allen Francis, 1926.

“Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where he worked in a carpenter's shop until he was thirty. Then for three years he was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He never set foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.

While He was still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends deserted him. He was turned over to his enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for the only piece of property he had - his coat.

When he was dead, he was taken down and laid in a borrowed grave.

Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure for much of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of people on this earth as powerfully as this One Solitary Life.”

As we reflect on the sacrificial death of Jesus, let us ask ourselves this question “Are we worth dying for?”

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Assistant Chaplain

Be a leader like Jesus

Binhi sang Pagtuo

August 17, 2009

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from the campus!

Our reflection for this week comes from John 13:1-17.

Nowadays, Philippine television is full of info-commercials advertising a politician. They are promoting themselves to be the next leaders of the country.

Our text is teaching us a kind of leadership exemplified by our lord Jesus Christ in the night before the last supper. In this instance, Jesus is illustrating his kind of leadership by taking off his outer garment, wrapping a towel on his waist, getting a basin of water, and started washing his disciples’ feet.

He is reminding us that to be Christian leader one must have humility, a service oriented mind and above all, love to whom you are serving. He wants to instill in our hearts that there is no scarcity of feet to wash. He is also trying to let us know that a person who wants to lead must also learn how to follow.

There are a lot of leadership lessons that Jesus is teaching us. I will just share three things.

Fist, a leader must be a pathfinder. He must have a vision and a mission. He knows where to take his group. He leads them in a path towards the goals and objectives of the organization. He plans as if he will live forever and work as if there is no tomorrow.

Second, a leader must be a manager. He knows how to identify and put people where they really belong. He understands the personalities of his followers and gives them roles wherein they are happy and can develop their potentials. He does not force the individual to do the task that he is not cut in to do but tries to help that individual in learning what he is called to do and develop the skills and abilities that God gave him.

Third, a leader must empower his people. He gives them the power to do. He knows where to push the right button of an individual and also knows where to put the key that unlocks the drive of an individual to do great things.

Let ask ourselves this question: What kind of legacy can I leave to those who are coming after me?

May this be the challenge that will always haunt us. Let us envision an epitaph that depends on our response to this challenge. Let us remember that there is a cloud of witnesses above us that are always expecting us to rise up from the challenges they have left.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Assistant Chaplain




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Chaplain's Office Website: http://www.cpu.edu.ph/chaplain
Audio Sermons of Binhi sang Pagtuo: http://binhi.4shared.com
Blog: http://cpuchaplain.blogspot.com

Be Wise

Binhi sang Pagtuo

August 10, 2009

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from the Chaplain’s Office!

Our reflection for this week is from Luke 6:47-48. In these verses, Jesus was reprimanding his audience why they are calling him “Lord, Lord” but no do what he says. He then proceeds to remind them that those who call him that title must put into practice what they hear from him.

I remember a time that CPU put up a banner that says, “Jesus is Lord of CPU.” I don’t know why it was taken down but the message of that banner brings a lot of accountability to the CPU community.

Perhaps, it would be important to ask the question about what we mean by "lord". The lord is one who commands our attention, our loyalty, our fidelity. The lord is one who makes claims on our lives, to whom we yield authority.

In a parallel verse on Matthew 7:24, Jesus is telling us that one who obeys his commands is like the wise man that built his house on the rock. When the flood came, it was not able to shake the house because it was founded upon a rock.

Therefore, Jesus teaches us to be like that wise man. For Him to be wise is:

Firstly, to say the right thing in times of persecution and examination. We would sometimes break down in times of suffering and would be willing to say anything that will make us get out of adversity. Jesus commands us to stand in the right way even if it would get us to trouble.

Secondly, to make the choice for the betterment of humanity. Inherent to us is the attitude of selfishness. One only likes to advance his/her own agenda and forget everyone around his/her. Filipinos has this ‘crab mentality’ which we like to pull down those who are ahead of us. Jesus mandates us to work for the prosperity of all and to deny our own selfish desires.

Thirdly, to accept that the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men. I’m convinced that we are getting tired on the wisdom of the world. The Lord of Wisdom is letting us know that the intelligence of people is no match to that of God.

Today, Jesus commands us to act upon what we have heard. Let us remember that a person who hears and does not obey is like the foolish man that built his house on the sand. When rain came down and the flood arose, the house fell with a great crash.

May God bless us all!

Sincerely yours,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Assistant Chaplain



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Chaplain's Office Website: http://www.cpu.edu.ph/chaplain
Audio Sermons of Binhi sang Pagtuo: http://binhi.4shared.com
Blog: http://cpuchaplain.blogspot.com

Teach me to live my days wisely

Binhi sang Pagtuo

August 3, 2009

Dear Centralians and Friends,

Greetings from Iloilo City!

As we mourn the passing away of the first woman president of the Philippines, Cory Aquino (National Day of Mourning and non-working day on August 5, 2009), and as we continue to experience Typhoon Jolina that brought flood to Iloilo City (President Teodoro C. Robles declared no classes early this morning), our reflection for this week will center on our finitude, our mortality.

Psalm 90:10, 12 says “Our lifetime is seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years, Teach us, then, O Lord, how short our lives really are so that we may be wise and live according to your purpose.”

When someone dies, we usually pause and reflect of when will be our appointed time to pass away also. It is on this moment that we take account of ourselves. It is on this moment of accounting when we will realize what kind of life have we lived and if we want to continue living that kind of life.

Two things to ponder upon:

First, when we know that life is short, we start living responsibly and become good stewards of our God-given resources.

The Parable of the Talents is a good reminder to all of us to invest our lives on things that can give glory to God. We have to know that life is different from existence. Life is being alive with a purpose.

Second, when we know that life is short, we start living a life that becomes a preparation for the next life.

I remember a nursery rhyme during my Sunday School years that says, “Magpili ka sining duwa, langit impierno diin ka? Mapa langit gid lang ako kay gahulat ang Ginoo.”

Let me share with you a familiar poem entitled “I Will Never Pass This Way Again

I will pass this way but once
And if there's any good that I can do
Let me do it now
For I'll never pass this way again

I will see this day but once
If there's any kindness I can show
Let me show it now
For I'll never see this day again

Tomorrow may be too late my friend
To do all the good that you planned
So reach out to those who need you
And lend them a helping hand

I will know this world but once
And if there's any love that I can give
Let me give it now
Oh Lord, please show me how
For I'll never know this world
I'll never see this day
I'll never pass this way again

May God bless us all!

Sincerely,

Pastor Francis Neil G. Jalando-on
Assistant Chaplain


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Chaplain's Office Website: http://www.cpu.edu.ph/chaplain
Audio Sermons of Binhi sang Pagtuo: http://binhi.4shared.com
Blog: http://cpuchaplain.blogspot.com