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