“A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.” Then some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying to us, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me,’ and ‘because I am going to the Father’?” They said, “What does he mean by this ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing among yourselves what I meant when I said, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. When a woman is in labor, she has pain because her hour has come. But when her child is born, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me. Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
Scripture Reading
John 16:16-24 (NRSV)
The preaching from Pastor Joseph last week is titled Grace through Impermanence – Temporality. Ang pagiging “fleeting” o panandalian ng lahat ng mga bagay, mga sitwasyon, mga tao at mismo ng buhay. Isa itong magandang balita kase kung lahat ay nagbabago at magbabago. Kung walang permanente, mas nagkakaroon ng kulay ang buhay. Mas interesting mabuhay.
Kung mabuti yung nararanasan mo, diba mas nagiging espesyal sya dahil hindi sya palaging ganun. Imagine if everyday is your birthday or everyday is Christmas, Easter or New Year. (Pause) Hindi ba mawawala yung pagiging espesyal nya kung sa loob ng 365 and ¼ na araw sa isang taon ay araw araw mo icecelebrate ang isang espesyal na okasyon. Imagine if you’re in a relationship and never kayong nagkaiba ng gustong kainang restaurant, panooring movie, sisimulang hobby, susubukang sex position or any major life decision ng partner mo. (Pause) Medyo boring diba? Kailangan ng konting spice. Need ng konting diskusyon at compromise paminsan-minsan para yung moments na parehong-pareho kayo ng mga trip sa buhay ay maaappreciate mo pa rin ng lubos.
Kung masama naman yung nararanasan mo, mas madaling tanggapin at matuwa na walang permanente sa mundo. Syempre. Wala naman sigurong nakakaranas ng hirap ng buhay tapos ang dasal eh manatili sya sa ganung estado. Lahat ng hindi kagandahang nangyayare sa atin ay natatapos – one way or another. We always welcome that change from negative to positive.
Whether it’s from a scientific, Buddhist or even Christian standpoint, as discussed last week, change is inevitable. Kung tuusin, ang pagbabago ay kaakibat ng pagiral. Change is a fundamental part of existence. Sabi nga ni Benjamin Franklin – When you’re finished changing, you’re finished. Wala na. Done ka na daw.
While impermanence is good, the changes it brings are not always pleasant. Minsan chaka talaga sya. Minsan mas chaka pa sya sa ex mong cheater or sa kadate mong hindi ka sinipot sa first meetup nyo. May mga pagbabago talagang hindi komportable, masaya o nakakainspire na pagdaanan. Kahit anung iwas at takbo mo sa kanila, hindi mo sila matatakasan lahat. One way or another, you will have to go through some of them. So if I were you, pagdaanan nyo na yung mga kaya mong daanang chakang changes sa buhay especially while you are still young and very able-bodied. Nakakabuild din talaga yang mga yan ng backbone so you will be ready to face bigger life challenges in the future.
Of course, hindi naman lahat ng changes ay chaka. Meron din namang magagandang pagbabago. Ganito yung mga changes na usually pinagdiriwang natin at sinasabi nating nakakadagdag sa pagkatao natin – Nakagraduate ka. Natanggap ka na sa trabaho. Nagkajowa ka na. Nakabili kang bahay. Nakabili kang kotse. Nakatravel ka sa mga dream destination mo. Nakapagtayo ka ng negosyo. Nakagawa ka na ng foundation mo. Natikman mo na finally si crush.
In our Gospel reading for today on Grace in Progress, we also see significant life-changing transtions. The setting of the story is somewhere in Jerusalem, likely a day or some days before Jesus’s betrayal and capture courtesy of Judas Iscariot. Sabi ni Jesus sa mga disciples – “A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.”
This is of course a prophesy of his coming death and resurrection.” It’s a very frightening and dismaying event followed by a glorious one that the disciples and all of Jesus’ followers had to go through. Imagine if you are one of Jesus’ followers during this time. Yung pinakaleader ng inyong pagaaklas laban sa emperyong Romano na kasakasama nyong lumalaban biglang ipapako sa krus at mamamatay. Paano ka kaya magrereact kung andun ka at isa ka sa masugid na tagasunod ni Hesus?
And yet the difficult times, did not last. Jesus eventually resurrected after 3 days. Jesus even reassured them before the nasty things started going down – “Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.”
Think of the following for a little bit.
- Do you think there will be a resurrection if Jesus didn’t go through all his pains and sufferings leading to his death on the cross?
- Do you think any of his followers completely understood how important it was that Jesus die so he can eventually come back to life?
- Ilang beses ba na habang nasa kalagitnaan ka ng isang napakachakang ganap sa buhay mo ay naiintindihan mo kung baket mo kinailangan pagdaanan yung ganap na yun? Kadalasan naman diba hinde.
Negative things will happen, in fact I think they are necessary in some situations, TO BRING ABOUT SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS. From death to resurrection. From labor pains to child birth. From sunog ng kilay sa pagaaral to graduation. From Open Table Dark Ages to Open Table Renaissance. From kayod sa trabaho to sweldo para may pang EUT – Eat Unwind Travel.
Syempre hindi naman pwedeng puro maganda lang or puro panget lang. Balance lang ba balance. Kinakailangan din ang mga hindi maganda or so-so lang na pangyayari dahil may pwede pa rin silang idulot na mabuting pagbabago or PROGRESS lalo na kung may natututunan tayo.
According to the Collin’s English Dictionary, progress is the process of gradually improving or getting nearer to achieving or completing something. Honestly napaisip ako ng malala dun sa “something” sa definition.
Anu nga ba yung ultimate something ko sa buhay na ito that I want to progress in and eventually complete. May naiisip naman akong sagot pero medyo complicated at baka isang buong preaching ang kailanganin para maexplain ko ng may konting kaayusan so wag na lang.
On a daily basis, we aim to progress numerous things in our lives. Andami nating iba’t ibang responsibilidad sa pangaraw-araw. Pero aside from all these things that you need to achieve and complete, what is your life’s ultimate something. I’m quite certain that we have different answers to this question. The question is basically – What is your PURPOSE in life? That’s difficult to answer because that’s one of the biggest philosophical and existential questions of all time. What is your purpose in life that you need to achieve or complete?
We all have different somethings/purposes in our lives that we want to progress in. I will not stand here in front and pretend that I have the slightest idea kung anu yung something or purpose na yun para sa inyo. Truth be told there are many days I don’t feel sure kung anu yung akin. Gusto ko na lang siguro imaintain yung pagiging perfect ko throughout my life! Char lang! Panuorin nyo yung preaching ko two weeks ago sa mga hindi nakagets.
Kidding aside, I think this topic on Grace in Progress is an important part of our Lenten series on Grace through Imperfection. Kase nga kung nasa perfect state na ang kung sino man at anu man, anu pang progress ang kinakailangan mo? Wala ka nang kailangang pagdaanang pagbabago. Perfect ka na kase. Bakit mo pa babaguhin ang perfect na diba. Being perfect means you already know your life’s purpose and you’ve already fulfilled it. No need for any progress.
I will share a little bit about my life progress for the past half year of my life. Promise very short lang ito and patapos na rin ako. The latter part of September 2023, I was promoted in work at a Singaporean company so there was a very significant salary increase. That was a very good month of course. At the same time, I lost time for my Sun Life business, so I was not able to meet my annual sales quota. As a result, I lost my second professional financial license in November. That was my license for selling Mutual Fund investments. Buti napagbigyan akong ikeep yung insurance license. Nagpromissory note muna ako na gagalingan ko pa ang pagbebenta sa 2024 ng insurances. Ang super stressful nun para sa akin kase ang hirap ng exam sa SEC to get that second license ha. November rin nagkaroon ng falling out yung two people that are part of my innermost circle. Up to now, I’m still upset about that. November rin nangyare ang retreat ng Batch 2 – Batch Resilience ng MCC. Syempre super happy naman yun. Mid-December I started dating someone an acquaintance. January we became official partners kaya mas happy. Also in Janaury, inannounce na magsasara ang aming project sa Singapore kaya ayun super stressed na naman ako. Imagine kakapromote ko lang a few months ago. Di pa nagiinit pwet ko tapos isasara na kagad. Kainis noh? Also in January, I received an opportunity to be part of the MCC Board. Challenging yung new role as I learn more about the responsibilities and tasks pero sige keri. Holy Spirit Activate uli. I attended the historic implementation of the F2BMe Project. February need na magtipid tipid sa gala kase last month of work ko na sa Singapore. We closed Feb 15. It took me only last week lang to get a very promising work opportunity that I want to pursue kase work-from-home tapos 50% more than my last pay nya. I have my second interview this Tuesday so please pray for me. Please please please. Thanks!
As you can probably imagine, the past 6 months have been a rollercoaster ride for me too. I’m sure marami sa inyo ang makakarelate. Whether it’s for work, church, relationships or even personal health and finances, andaming ups and downs. Those I’ve mentioned are but a few of the major changes that I had to go through. May maganda, may chaka at may so-so lang. Through all of those, I still see significant progress. If I will plot each day since September 2023, it would really be full of sudden positive spikes and negative ditches, but generally it’s still an upward trend. I’m sure yung mga mahilig sa mga graphs dyan would easily relate. Pataas pa rin ang trend ng buhay ko pero I have to admit that an optimistic mindset played a big role for me to still see it that way. If I only look at particular months, may mga di talaga maganda but if I look at the bigger timeline, I have a better view of the progress I’m making kahit may times na marami ring hindi magandang nangyayare. Hindi ako exempted sa chakang life events.
Unfortunately for us human beings, we only see but a tiny fraction of our entire story, our complete timeline. Wala tayong powers ni Dr. Strange para makita ang mga outcomes para makapili tayo ng ating best case scenarios. Humans are not designed to see and appreciate the bigger picture of things that are still relatively far in the future, especially when we’re going through the rough patches in life.
Think about this. In a study in the US, they found out that about 25% of Americans never think about what life will be like five years into the future, and over 50% never think about life in thirty years.
Studies here in the Philippines have also demonstrated that we “Filipinos are known to follow a Natural Clock or Organic sense of time- doing things in the time they feel is right. They are present-oriented: which means that one attends to a task or requirement at the time it is needed and does not worry much about future engagements. This allows the Filipino to adapt and be flexible in doing the tasks at times not bound to a particular schedule or timeframe. This allows them think on their feet and be creative in facing whatever challenge or task they have even when it is already right in front of them.” In short madiskarte daw tayo.
Syempre kung ikaw ay kailangan kumayod araw-araw para lang may makain, hindi mo iisipin ang mga bagay na malayo layo pa sa hinaharap. Eh di lalo na kung 5, 10, 20 years in the future pa ang usapan. Ang una mong iisipin at bibigyan ng atensyon ay yung pagkain, tubig, renta, kuryente, tuition, gamot, etc. Yan ang difference ng 1st world at isang 3rd world developing countries.
It’s harder for many of us to see difficult times as part of progress especially if we have to fixate on the present to make ends meet. Naturally, we’ll see the situation as very dark and hopeless. At kahit anong sabihin ng ibang tao sayo na okay lang yan, na matatapos din yan, na wala yan kumpara sa kung anu mang sitwasyon, usually hindi naman talaga nakakatulong yung sinabi nila. Aminin nyo yan masarap lang din talaga na may napaghihingahan ng mga bitbit natin sa dibdib.
The latter part of the verse for today reads “So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you will ask nothing of me.”
Jesus never really gave the full details of what’s going to happen to him and to his followers. He didn’t lay out the specifics of the how, when, where and who of everything that he will go through after he entered the gates of Jerusalem. All his followers had to watch him go through agonizing pain and humiliating death on the cross. All they had was his promise that their hearts will eventually rejoice. Of course, they indeed rejoiced when he resurrected. I can only imagine many of them thinking na eto na ang panahon. Kaming taumbayan naman ang bida. Susugod na tayo. Lalaban ako. Lalaban tayo. Char! They were hoping for the fall of the Roman Empire in the hands of the true Son of God. Hindi yung taga down south na hinahabol ni Uncle Sam at ng double chambers naten. Kaso ayun nga, as we all know the rest of the story, Jesus didn’t really stay with them as they expected. He didn’t topple the Roman Empire the way they probably imagined he would. Ang ganda na sana eh. Happy na sana ang mga early Christians pero Jesus had to leave. He left but he sent the Holy Spirit to dwell on his followers, then many of them got persecuted and killed because they were spreading his teachings. Christ’s followers knew in some ways that they will be persecuted and yet many of them still went on their way.
But you know what, there is still another promise given by Jesus. In the Gospels, he promised that he’ll one day come back for good so our joy will finally be complete. I still strongly believe in this even if I don’t know when and how it will all come down. I’m sure that many of us here today in the chapel and online still believe in the same promise. We can still hold on to that whatever gets thrown at us while we’re progressing through this life.
In ending, I pray that this Lenten Season remind us that pain, suffering and difficulties are part of this journey called life. They are part of progressing in life as much as the joy, pleasure and comforts we experience. Whatever your purpose may be in this life, take comfort that Jesus, the one we follow and celebrate, knows exactly what we need and when need it, however positive or negative we may perceive something. And despite all our individual differences, he prepared the best for us, we only need to progress towards becoming versions of ourselves modeled through Jesus’ love. Amen.
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