Giving Grace

We continue with our preaching series on Grace which is also our year long guiding theme. During our first Sunday we talked about Grace in the metaphor of water and the oceans. And then last week we continued still with water on how to live by grace in the same way we use water. Today we will be talking about GIVING GRACE, pero low key na muna tayo sa metaphor of water kasi baka umay na at over used na. After talking about LIVING BY GRACE, we proceed with GIVING GRACE. To some extent, natouch ko na a little bit as the closing part of last week’s preaching.

Thank you everyone and all the volunteers last week for a wonderful worship service lalo na music team last week. Thank you JT for reading my preaching and Jom for officiating communion. And to clarify, my preaching last week in its entirety or in parts does not pertain nor is it directed towards any specific person. Okay? Pero syempre kung kinausap ka ni Holy Spirit sa preaching ni Pastor and the shoe fits… well, that’s not on me ha. And if naman relevant sayo, then there’s no reason to be affected. Okay?

Preaching clock begins now direk.

A bit of a review – so if you are a Christian, then Jesus Christ is God’s grace in the flesh and the source of God’s grace. Whether you are progressive, conservative, moderate or somewhere else in the Christian spectrum, Jesus of Nazareth, a subversive peasant Jew is God’s living grace and our source of grace. Amen? Si Jesus ba ang ating Lord, Savior, Teacher, and Friend? Yes. Amen?

God’s grace like an ocean which no one can own or control exclusively, should be available and accessible to everyone whoever they are. And NO ONE is outside of God’s grace. Amen?

Jesus in the gospel writings telling us his teachings and us his example shows us how grace looks like. The Apostle Paul responding to community issues by writing to the Christian communities spread across the Roman Empire and under Roman oppressive system, brilliantly articulates the theology of grace. Both Jesus and Paul’s theology of grace are subversive and counter-cultural to the cruel and oppressive Roman Imperial system.

For Christians – GRACE – is no longer based on the cruel systems of the world, the empire, and of emperors and kings. Grace is God’s free and willing gift to all and no one can work to earn or deserve grace. Grace is based on love, compassion, kindness, and certainly common good for all.

Lastly, grace is something we receive and experience through each other’s giving of Grace. We are also God’s channel – alulod – of grace.

We give grace because we have received grace upon grace as per the gospel of John 1:16. Whoever you are, whatever your situation is then and now, in a unique and contextual way, you have received and experienced God’s grace. Masasabi nyo ba that you have always received and experienced God’s grace during or after difficult or painful moments?

And the only reason we are here week after week worshiping and volunteering together for 18 years is only because of God’s grace through the grace of each other? Tama? Amen?

Grace is not something horded or exclusively kept for ourselves. Eitherwise, like stagnat water it will rot. Give away whatever grace you have in many different ways and situations.

Pero how do we give or extend grace nga? What’s the first obvious thing to do to be able to share grace?

What is the definition of grace? – Loving Kindness – and loving kindness means doing or giving something good or beneficial to others, especially those who are struggling or in need without expecting anything in return or having other motives for helping.

Let us all together read the next slide taken from the gospel of Matthew chapter 25:35-36: for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

This is the closing parable of the 25^th chapter of Matthew and it has been titled by bible publishers as the Judgment of the nations or Judgement of humanity. This verse is one of the mostly quoted and used bible passages here in Open Table or at least by me. At the end of it all, the measure and judgement of our lives will ONLY be our concrete actions of loving kindness to anyone who is struggling, sick, and in need? Especially to those who are desperate and whose only hope is God. Have you heard that phrase before? Those whose only hope is God? It means and refers to people na wala na ibang makapitan at malapitan maliban sa Diyos. Sa sobrang hirap o bigat ng kanilang sitwasyon, na halos wala na silang malapitan, ang tanging lalapitan na lang ay ang Diyos.

Giving grace means to do or give something good for each other and for those in need when you are able without expecting anything in return nor any ulterior motive as reason for helping.

Now let us be clear – helping and doing good does not mean doing it stupidly or being gullible. Hindi yan yung nagpapauto ka sa kung sino man para bilhan mo ng mamahaling gamit or gadget. Hindi yan kakikilala nyo pa lang for a few weeks or a few months eh pinautan mo na ng libo-libong pera. Hindi yan yung gwapo o Magandang nakilala mo sa social media send ka agad ng GCash. Tapos pledge mo sa church 150pesos tapos hind imo pa makumpleto. Nung dark ages ito ng MCC. Sige kahit wag na sa church sabihin ginagaya ko ang pang-guguilt trip na ginagawa sa evangelical churches. Sige kahit hindi na sa MCC, sa ibang charitable organizations na lang… hindi makapagdonate or bigay? May pang ES walang pang offering or walang pang ayuda sa Pride Cares or Angat Buhay Foundation? Chariz. Not Chariz. Again, wala akong moral judgement sa mga ganap nyo mga accla. Don’t get me wrong also, personal nyong mga buhay yan at mga relasyon, and pinaghirapan nyong mga resources nyo. Hindi yun ang problema, ang problema mga desisyon nyo sa buhay na minsan pajulit-julit. Go and experience God in those private extra-curricular activities pero wag excessive and ayusin ang priorities gurl. Ang dami kayang katangahan, pardon the language, because of wrong priorities and wrong forms of kindness. Minsan talaga napapaisip ako – kung sa simbahan or pride cares na lang sana binigay or sa Angat Buhay. Daming naloloko, na-sca-scam at nakukuhaan ng malaking pera because of wrong priorities and motivations masked or justified as kindness.

Remember, Kindness is not something you do so that you can feel good about yourself. Kindness is not something you do or give EXPECTING love and intimacy in exchange. Generosity is not something you do or give so that you feel validated or affirmed.

Grace as acts of kindness is yoru response to the pain, suffering, or desperation of another human being. O baka may magalit, this is not specific to anyone, eto ay nangyayari naman talaga sa sangka-acclaan maski nga sa mga shibulibambam na nagkape lang bukas live-in na agad. Maski nga sa straight minsan nangyayari rin ang mga ito.

Aside from Loving Kindness, there are 7 other ways to give and extend grace.

Aside from loving kindness, the first tangible form of grace is presence or being present. To show up. This is also deeply rooted in the most orthodox Christian dogma of Incarnation of God becoming flesh – Immanuel – God with us. God’s presence and grace became flesh when God became physically present in the person of Jesus Christ. In the same manner we can give grace when we are present with others. When we show up when a friend is struggling or sick. Grace is when we attend the worship service pag Sunday kahit hindi ka volunteer for the day. Sometimes, just being present is enough. After all everything begins with physical presence. You cannot do anything or do very little if you are not present. Pag present ka maraming pwedeng gawin depende sa situation and need, and as I’ve said sometimes, just being here is enough.

Patience and understanding – one of the closest virtues to grace is patience. Sometimes Grace is used interchangeable with patience. For today I am not pertaini ng to patience in relation to waiting but rather, – pagpapasensya – and kasama niyang pagpapasensya ay pang-unawa or understanding. Giving grace means to try our best to be patient and understanding of others especially towards the imperfections of our loved ones,friends, people we work with, people in community, and people we encounter. As much as others have been patient and understanding with our imperfections, we should also be patient and understanding of others. Hindi pwedeng ikaw lang palaging pinagpapasensyahan at inuunawa. Ikaw rin dapat giving grace through patience and understanding.

Next is acceptance – pagtanggap and this is the closest thing we can relate to as queer people. One of the greatest expressions of grace in our life as queer people is when we are accepted by our parents and siblings, our friends, other people, and most especially our church. Yung pagtanggap sa kabuuan ng kung sino tayo at sino ang ating minamahal ay isang uri ng grace. Pero maski hind isa mga LGBT. Acceptance in general is one of the greatest forms of grace someone can receive and experience. And so for friends and allies, your acceptance of who we are is grace for us queer people. Pero sa atin rin na mga queer, we also have to accept other queer people. May mga sitwasyon na mismo pang LGBT ang hindi makatanggap sa kwpa niya LGBT. Kahit hindi mo naiintidihan yung ibang letra sa spectrum of sexuality and gender, tanggapin natin ang ibang queers na iba ang LETRA at respetuhin the way they are.

Next is Apology and Forgiveness – Medyo nabanggit ko na ito last week but it is necessary to repeat this twice because it is also a central theology and praxis of the Christian faith ano man and denomination or church tradition mo. Grace means the maturity and humility to give an apology and to ask forgiveness when you are wrong, have hurt someone, and failed in your commitment or broken your promise. Personal accountability, the initiative to apologize, and the effort to make amends – yung pagkukusa mong manuyo at ipakitang nagsisisi ka at magbabago – is a form of grace. Grace for yourself and grace for the ones you have wronged. Jesus tells us to be merciful so that we may receive mercy as well sabi nya sa gospel of Luke chapter 6 verses 36 to 30. So hindi tayo pwedeng humingi ng kapatawaran kung tayo mismo ay hindi willing magpatawad. And I will repeat what I have said last week, you cannot call yourself a Christian if you are not willing to forgive. Now forgiveness does not mean an erasure of what happened. Minsan hirap tayo magpatawad kasi parang feeling natin eh binabalewala o binubura yung nangyaring hindi maganda. No. Minsan interpretation lang natin yan. Forgiveness does not erase the past nor should it. Forgiveness also does not always lead to reconciliation. Depende sa sitwasyo. If reconciliation is possible then all the better pero if it is not, then that is okay. You can forgive without necessarily reconciling with the other person in the same manner na pag ikaw ang nakasakit sa iba at humihingi ka ng tawad, it doesn’t mean na pag pinatawad ka, you can go back to how you were together as before. For serious offenses lalo na criminal ones, forgiveness does not mean to say no longer serving your time in prison. And often than not, forgiveness does not have to be about the other person. It is about you processing and eventually letting go of the hatred, anger, and negative thoughs and feelings that is eating you from the inside out. Forgiveness is cutting your loses and moving on without forgetting what happened and its lessons. You can forgive and be forgiven while at the same time still accepting and serving the consequences of your wrong actions, words, and decisions. Lastly on forgiveness, no one can force anyone to forgive at any point in time. While I will preach and encourage forgiveness, no one, including myself has the authority to force any person to forgive. Forgiveness, however long or short it may take, is ultimately the decision, process, journey, and willingness of the aggrieved person.

Civility – Grace also means being civil with those you disagree with or have some conflict with. Siguro mas irelate natin ito dito sa church community natin or sa inyong mga trabaho. You do not have to be super close with anyone to work with them. You do not need to immediately resolve a conflict or a disagreement nor immediately reconcile to continue working together. Giving grace is to act professionally and to be civil with those you have differences with or even conflict because the work, the mission, the advocacy, the ministry, COMES FIRST. What we do is over and above any of our personal differences and disagreements na minsan ay mga drama at pettiness lang din naman. In the current LGBT network na kasama at nakikibahagi ang Open Table, meron tayong mga organizations and individual leaders na nakakatrabaho at nakakasama na hindi kinikilala ang 1994 Pride march as the first Pride March sa Pilipinas. Pero magpapaka-petty ba ako or ang open table dahil sa magkaibang pagtingin sa kasaysayan? We will always maintain and proclaim 1994 as the first pride march in the Philippines and Asia pero that won’t prevent us from working with other LGBT organizations and leaders who might think otherwise. Ilang beses ko na nakwento during the dark ages, ilang beses na kami nag-away ni Christopher Celeste. Ilang beses na rin nagkasagutan at nagsigawan si Celeste at si Jack, and then other pang mga awayan nuon, but none of those were more important than the ministry and advocacy that do together. Ang mga away na iyon na marami ay ministry related will never destroy our friendships that were forged by our shared struggles sa Open Table. Giving grace means being civil with people you work with even if you don’t like them and they don’t like you for any reason valid or not.

Volunteerism – Giving grace is to give our time, talent, and effort for worthy causes and in our cause for the our queer movement and the HIV movement in the Philippines. Volunteerism is a higher form of loving kindness because it is then responding not only to individual needs but it is responding to larger social-economic, socio-political, and socio-environmental cause. Nag-aambag at nakikisangkot ka sa mas malaking pangangailangan at gawain and that is giving grace.

Pero eto nga, ang ating volunteerism ay hindi lamang yung eme-emeng tree planting here and there and clean-up sa dolomite beach para lang mafeel good tayo once or twice a year. Our volunteerism must not only be consistent, it must also be rooted in activism. Sabi ko nga dapat ang volunteerism ay isang uri ng aktibong pakikisangot, pakikibahagi, at pag-aambag sa mga social causes in our country and the world. All together read the text on the slide, In our world…

Activism is how grace looks like in an oppressive world. Grace is not just personal, it is also social and political. Grace did not became flesh only for you. God became flesh to proclaim good news to poor, freedom to the oppressed and liberation to the captives. God’s grace is God’s unrelenting desire for every person and for all of creation to receive and experience LOVING KINDNESS through justice, equality, common good, and mutual compassion.

Did you not know that the prophets of old were your ancient activists? Pag binasa nyong buo ang mga sinulat ng mga propheta tulad ni Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and the 12 other prophets in the Hebrew scriptures, hindi nawawala ang kanilang CRITICISM of government including their call for justice and compassion for the oppressed. Activism is prophetic and Jesus was not only a healer and teacher, he was also a prophet. Activism and advocacy are essentially part of our faith and sacred scriptures.

Isang uri ng grace ang pag-attend ng protesta. Hindi natin kailangan katakutan ang protesta. Hindi natin kailangan demonize ito. All of the advanced countries, except for a few, ay merong vibrant na aktibismo. One example is South Koren. Diba ang hilig-hilig nyo sa K-Drama. Sa South Korea, mabilis magrally ang mga mamamayan pag merong kurapsyon at maling ginagawa ang kanilang national elected officials. Wala silang rally for unity. Rally against corruption sila. Ang France. Viva Le France. Some of you love na love and Le Miserable. Marami sa mga accla dream puntahan ang Paris without realizing that it has a history of peasant revolts, labor movement, and socialism, and up to now, anytime na merong hindi magandang ginagawa ang gobyerno laban sa mga manggagawa, they will protest immediately. Let us consider rin na kaya hindi umuunlad ang atin bansa hindi dahil sa tatlong EDSA rally na nangyari or dahil may mga aktibistang reklamo ng reklamo. Can we consider na kaya hindi umuuland ang ating bansa kasi kinukunsinte natin ang mga corrupt na pulitiko sa gobyerno at kulang na kulang pa nga ang ating pagproprotesta as compared to South Korea and France?

Protest is not the disruption of law and order. Society and government, and perhaps even some of the laws are DISORDERD that’s why protest becomes necessary.

How to give grace in a cruel and oppressive world – volunteer based on activism and do not be afraid to protest the injustices around us even if things won’t change immediately or will not happen within our own lifetime. Of course, I understand na may kanya-kanya kayong kahandaan at pang-unawa and I will never force anyone to join any protest nor support any political group. Open Table MCC while I’m its pastor, will never force, pressure, or manipulate any of its members and leaders to attend any rally. But I hope you will by your own informed choice when you are ready lalo na ngayong darating na women’s month and labor day.

How do we give grace?

Activism or advocacy work
Doing and gi ving something good
The gift of presence
Patience and understanding
Acceptance
Apologizing and in turn forgiving
Practicing civility
Volunteering

And we can only give grace and do so much good if we are together as a church community serving each other and contributing to our larger queer sector and Philippine society. Kung hindi man dito and bet nyo, there are other communities and organizations who are equally doing the work of grace in other ways and places. The point is we can do better and a lot when we give grace together the same way the early Christians did.

The book of acts gives us a glimpse both in chapter 2 and chapter 4 how the early Christians practiced and gave grace to one another. Acts 4 tells us:

Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them.

Having received and experienced grace, early Christians practiced and gave GRACE – Loving kindness – to one another in their communities despite systemic injustice, oppression, and later persecution. They persisted with their radically inclusive form of community and their proclamation of a crucified peasant Jew as Lord and Savior.

I hope, we can follow their example who continue to live by grace and give grace to one another despite the world and context they lived in, which frankly was much worse than we have. They remained joyful and hopeful in the midst of fear and anxiety, and even in the face of impending death. I hope like them, we will not be overwhelmed with the current problems and troubles of our world today but instead, like them, draw out strength, courage, joy, and togetherness from the deep well of God’s grace through Jesus. May we continue to grow by practicing and giving grace.

And then together with other organizations and networks, may we relentlessly demand for justice and denounce oppression. May everything we do as a community and as part of our sector, serve as our subversive act of resistance against the cruelties of this world. In Jesus subversive name we pray, may it always be so. Amen.