backpack
OF A JESUS-SEEKER
… following in the footsteps of
the original Jesus
Carlos
H. Abesamis
book
one
Mary Mediatrix of Lipa
Anthony of
Alfredo Obviar of Lipa
Chrsitine Tan
of the Good Shepherd
Papa and Mama …
… you who have sought and found
… and
whose backpacks are full only of blessings for others
… please accept this manifestation of thanks
and devotion.
For helping to put together this
backpack, many grateful blessings to:
Socio-Pastoral Institute and MISSIO-Muenchen
Dominador Santiago
Agnes Cacayan
Bert Cacayan
Chic Ramoso
Amador Abundo
Greg and Ivy Barcelon
Alberto Catangcatang
Zak Damo
Tony Ferrer
Lina, Mameng and Sita Hilado
Ateneo
HS Class ‘50
Jolan
and Grace Lumawig
Rowena Maquiling
Reinhard Neudecker
Cris
Pine
Ever Recio
Vir Montecastro
Zeny Gan
Eddie and Rorie Sevilla
Cover: Pia A. Guerrero
Graphics
and Layout: Nonoy Rodriguez and Glesor
Moreno
the backPack CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING:
DEAR
READER
1. stuff old and new in a
backpack
2. the what and wherefore of ‘a
Third Look at Jesus’
3. two ‘essentials’ of jesus
4. LESSONS A pOSO (ARTESIAN
WELL) TAUGHT ME
5. the mission
6. mel gibson and Filipino
Catholicism: soul-mates?
(mel gibson’s incomplete
jesus)
7. there Has to be Durian In heaven
Dear Reader
Welcome!
This book is a sharing of my study, reflection, and prayer on Jesus.
Thank you for letting me share it with you.
It is some kind of a sequel or a follow-up to my earlier book, A Third Look at Jesus[1]. Although it might be useful to have read that book, it is not necessary.
Like that earlier book, Backpack of a Jesus-Seeker is not written to convince or convert you.
But I do hope that the Jesus I have encountered through serious study and quiet prayer will have some meaning for you. In my case, this Jesus has turned my life around 180 degrees.
This book will be a conversation among three main characters. One character is myself, Carl Abesamis. Another character is called a ‘Seeker.’ In this present context, the Seeker is one who has been in search of the original Jesus (and has found him, albeit, like other seekers, continues to search). The third main character is a Backpack. Yes, a backpack, a bag carried by a strap on the shoulder or back!
***
You will discover that the Backpack has a rich ‘personality.’ It is like a piggy bank, a gift from your Ninang,[2] into which you can put fresh coins, but in which you already find gold coins which your Ninang had previously plunked in.
Or it is like your ongoing diary, onto which now your ballpen scribbles fresh entries, but where you find precious thoughts which your Parker pen had inscribed in the past.
Or it is like a treasure chest, holding jewels old and new.
***
There will also be some other occasional guest-characters along the way.
A warm welcome to you.
Carl H. Abesamis
1. stuff old and new in a backpack
A dialogue among three characters:
Carl Abesamis
A Jesus-Seeker
A Backpack
SEEKER: I read your book, A Third Look at Jesus. A guidebook
for finding the way back to the original Jesus, the biblical Jesus.
It stood me on my head …
CARL: I am sorry about that.
SEEKER: It’s ok. I am back on my feet again!
CARL: Was it a bad experience?
SEEKER: Well …. No. In fact I resonated well with it.
CARL: That makes me very happy. You see, the book does not appeal to everyone…
SEEKER: It is, as you said,
a guidebook along a road least
traveled. It is a road few people travel or want to travel …
CARL: And so the book is not meant for everyone. It is meant for seekers, for people
who in some way are already seeking that kind of Jesus.
SEEKER: That’s right! I was not satisfied with the Jesus I learned in catechism. I had questions about that Jesus. A Third Look at Jesus gave answers to those questions. Yes, I am a SEEKER. Yes, I was seeking … and, well …I found … or better perhaps, as with any life-shaping insight, it found me.
CARL: Your humble witness is inspiring.
***
SEEKER: You know, I have become so enamored of the biblical Jesus, as he is portrayed in A Third Look at Jesus, that I would like to gather more stuff about this Jesus and put them in a …
CARL: …in a what?
SEEKER: … in a backpack!
CARL: A backpack?
SEEKER: Well … yes, a backpack. Mountaineers have their backpacks.
Workers have their backpacks. Students have their backpacks. I would like to
put together a ‘Backpack of a Jesus
Seeker.’
CARL: I am intrigued … ‘Backpack of a Jesus Seeker’ …?
SEEKER: It is A BACKPACK WHICH I, A JESUS-SEEKER, CAN TAKE WITH ME IN MY JOURNEY THROUGH LIFE.
CARL: What will be the contents of that backpack?
SEEKER: Well, this will be a different sort of backpack and the contents will be different. It will not contain clothes or picnic supplies or food or books, etc.
CARL: What then?
SEEKER: The backpack will contain INSIGHTS ABOUT THE ORIGINAL JESUS,
It will contain realizations, reflections,
practices INSPIRED BY THE ORIGINAL
JESUS.
IT WILL CONTAIN STUFF
WHICH I, A SEEKER, WILL FIND VALUABLE AS I FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE
ORIGINAL JESUS.
CARL: And the present book will be that backpack?
SEEKER Exactly! Book One will touch on the main points of A Third Look at Jesus, making it unnecessary for the present reader to read that book. Moreover, it will make further explorations into the original Jesus.
CARL: I am warming
up to your idea.
SEEKER: Good! A backpack which will hold stuff in some
way related to the real Jesus will be invaluable for a life-long search.
Each article, each
story, each paragraph, each word, each idea in it will be an item in the ‘Backpack of a Jesus-Seeker.’
Every insight, old
or new, in my backpack, will be a treasure and gem for me.
CARL: Will the backpack be your private personal
possession?
SEEKER: It need not be. That
is why we are sharing it now with others who might find it useful, too.
***
CARL: Fine. So, a backpack it is … and you have some idea of what it will contain.
Who will contribute to its contents? Who will write those reflections,
insights, rediscoveries, practices, etc. related to the original Jesus?
SEEKER: You, Carl, of course.
CARL: Oh, I see. You are giving me an assignment …
SEEKER: Well, you will not be alone …
CARL:
Well, so who else?
SEEKER: Me! I can also contribute my bit. After all, as one who has found, and, have made the Third Look a way of life, I think I know enough to be a contributor.
Eventually, other people too who have sought and
found-- they too might want to contribute …
CARL: That sounds exciting. Ok, let us give it a shot.
***
BACKPACK: (Sheepishly) Please
consult me, too …
CARL and SEEKER: So
sorry, Backpack, for overlooking
you. Would you want to have and
to hold the contents of Backpack of
a Jesus-Seeker?
BACKPACK: Glad to!
CARL and SEEKER: Even if the contents are not always first class stuff?
BACKPACK: Sure, is that not what good spirituality is? I
think it is called availability.
CARL and SEEKER: Great!
BACKPACK: Hmmm (somewhat hesitatingly) …May I let you in on a secret?
CARL and
SEEKER: Sure! What is it?
BACKPACK: Carl, uh
…you did not notice me, but uh …I was
strapped to your back and shoulders when you were writing A Third Look at Jesus!
CARL: Wow! Whew! No wonder. I always had a
suspicion that by myself I could not produce an original idea!
You must be the Holy
Spirit! Or an instrument of the Holy Spirit!
So I drew it all out of YOU!!
BACKPACK: At your
service, M’Lord!
Shall I get off your back now?
CARL: Oh please, no! Stay!
SEEKER: Hey, Backpack, you have been around longer
than myself or Carl!!
CARL: You are like a piggy bank with coins old and new … or a diary
with entries old and new …
SEEKER: Or you are the treasure chest of the Holy
Spirit, storing jewels old and new!
BACKPACK: I suppose you can say that.
CARL: Oh Backpack, sorry for not noticing you.
BACKPACK: No
problem! Waste not a tear!
CARL: And thanks, many thanks, for being on my
back!
BACKPACK: My
pleasure!
SEEKER: Well, what are we waiting for?
CARL, SEEKER and BACKPACK: What a team! Let’s go!
***
BACKPACK: Oh, but wait. I think we
ought to make a few things clear to our reader.
First, who are the presenters in our book? Who
are the addressees?
SEEKER: The presenters are the three of us:-- Carl,
Backpack and Seeker.
CARL: And it is to our reader that we are
addressing, or better, sharing our reflections.
CARL, SEEKER, BACKPACK: We will help
one another and take turns to share what we know.
SEEKER: So,
it will be something like what I think they call the ‘socratic method,’ where the inquirer posing a question, assumes
that the inquiree knows the answer.
CARL: Yes, something of that nature.
SEEKER:
So, we will take turns being ‘teacher’ and ‘learner.’
BACKPACK: What are
our ‘credentials’ as presenters?
SEEKER: Carl has spent some time seeking,
and finding something about, the biblical Jesus.
I have spent some, though less, time doing
the same.
And you, Backpack, it appears that you have been
in existence longer than Carl and myself, a treasure chest of the Holy Spirit,
from which seekers can find and draw riches old and new!
CARL: We should also inform our reader that our
book is not a systematic treatise or a story where one chapter builds on
another.
BACKPACK: Yes, rather it is a
collection. It is a collection of conversations, on various occasions, among
the three of us, now shared with the reader.
SEEKER: There will therefore naturally be some repetitions,
due at times to the different contexts in which a certain topic is found.
CARL: Or again, the importance of a certain topic
will, we hope, also justify a certain overlapping.
SEEKER: Shakespeare never repeats himself, but, with
the indulgence of the reader, we will.
BACKPACK: This is Backpack Book One. Does that mean it will
be followed by a Book Two and so forth? Well, we dare hope so. And we hope that
eventually our present reader will be among the contributors.
***
SEEKER: There is one more important word before we
begin.
CARL: I think I know what you are going to say. Is
it about a ‘way of life’?
SEEKER: Correct! Making explorations into the
original Jesus and following that Jesus is not a theology or a book or a
seminar or a course. It has become for us a way of life.
BACKPACK: As our reader will see, the biblical Jesus,
in a nutshell, if we may so speak, is first, a Jesus who is soaked in prayer, and second, flowing freely with energy
for total salvation …
CARL:
Learning about that Jesus and following him cannot but be a way of life.
BACKPACK:
And, in the same spirit, we share it with friends -- as a way of life.
CARL, SEEKER, BACKPACK: Well, it is time
to hit the road!
2. the what and wherefore of ‘a Third Look at Jesus’
Characters:
Carl Abesamis
A Jesus-Seeker
A Backpack
We
Need a Third Look
CARL: As we tread our spiritual path, it is not enough to keep going back to the same Jesus time after time, simply taking a second look at Jesus. We need a third look.
SEEKER: There are at least three ways of looking at Jesus.
CARL: The First Look is the way Jesus looked and understood Himself.
BACKPACK: The Second Look at Jesus was the way generally the Graeco-Roman and Western eyes later regarded Jesus, his life and his work. It is the view we have inherited for the last 2000 years. It is the package you usually get in catechism, theology classes, seminars, and homilies.
***
CARL: The Third Look is a look at Jesus, his life and his work—by and through the eyes of the poor. However, not any kind of poor, but particularly, the awakened, struggling and selfless poor, who want to create a just, humane and sustainable world. Jesus and the poor stand on the same ground and view life from a similar vantage point.
SEEKER: The eyes or eyeglasses of the poor are similar to that of Jesus, as we will soon see.
BACKPACK: Even their backpacks are similar …
SEEKER: The First and Third Looks are first cousins. The Second Look is a distant relative.
***
BACKPACK: But it can be
asked: is the Second Look wrong?
CARL: No, it is not wrong. In fact, with it people have reached heroic levels of zeal and holiness.
SEEKER: Yet today, we must say that by itself it no longer vibrates with the rhythm of our people’s lives.
BACKPACK: The Second Look can no longer provide answers to many of your pain-laden questions.
SEEKER: Yes. It is time for a Third Look.
Contact
with the Poor
CARL: Hey, Seeker, you really ought to be called ‘Finder’ or ‘Founder.’
SEEKER: Oh? Why?
CARL: Because the Third Look really seems to have gotten under your skin already. You really seem to have internalized it.
BACKPACK: Yeah, it is no longer in an ordinary backpack only. It is in Seeker’s heart!
SEEKER: Well, as I said, it has become a way of life for me… But let us continue to call me ‘seeker.’ We are seeking all our lives long, aren’t we?
CARL: Ok. You and Backpack and I are a fine team together
SEEKER: Salamat.[3] That would be great! I hope we can meet other Seekers and Finders. I am excited.
***
CARL: … To continue, what then do we do to understand Jesus properly?
SEEKER: We need to see Jesus through the eyes of the poor in struggle. Without significant contact with the poor, knowing Jesus is a most difficult task
BACKPACK: Yes, even for people who have attaché cases full of Christology hand-outs and have given to Jesus much thought and study …
***
CARL: And by the way, contact with the poor is not the same as concept of the poor.
SEEKER: Some serious form of immersion in the lives of the poor can cleanse, nourish, and refresh our often uninteresting spiritualities.
BACKPACK: Trying to know Jesus without immersion can be dangerous. The danger is not that you will not understand. The danger is that you will understand without insight.
what
we need for the road least traveled
CARL:
There are tools for interpreting
the Bible …
BACKPACK: Yes. There are bag-fulls of the normal scholar’s tools for interpreting the Bible.
SEEKER: We make use of those tools. But we add: the Third Look.
CARL:
Our main tool is the Third Look. It
is a set of eyeglasses, if you will,
that looks at Jesus through the prism of
the
One’s world-view, perspective, standpoint—all this makes a difference in one’s interpretation of Jesus.
BACKPACK: The eyeglasses of the poor, of all the
instruments for biblical interpretation, are by far the most important …
CARL: … and the most neglected.
SEEKER: It is such a set of eyeglasses that we are using in this book.
***
CARL: A Third Look reading has one big enemy, fear. We have grown up with a certain tradition in our homes or in the seminary. We are secure and comfortable in it.
BACKPACK: Human beings normally fear something which does not look quite like the tradition they have in their theological back-packs, even if it is shown to be inadequate.
***
CARL: The road back to the original Jesus is ‘a road least traveled.’ To take that road, we need ...
BACKPACK and SEEKER: …. (1) an open and discerning heart;. (2) a critical mind; (3) a spirit of prayer.
CARL: Along the road, the biblical data will be our signposts.
CARL, SEEKER and BACKPACK: Once more, indispensable for our journey are the Third Look eyeglasses, or, looking at the biblical texts with the eyes of the poor.
Knowing
without Knowing.
CARL: There is also a way of knowing Jesus beyond the mind. It is being in touch with ‘the Christ who lives
in me’ (Gal
SEEKER: This silent way of ‘knowing without knowing’[4] is infinitely superior. There is no authentic knowing of Jesus without it. Be still and know …
BACKPACK: We will see a little later how one may practice this way of knowing….
3. two ‘essentials’ of jesus
Characters: Carl, Seeker, Backpack
Also: Mountain Stream, Artesian Well, Tree,
And also: Jesus’ Knapsack, A Holy Night, Crickets,
CARL: Let us talk
about that ever-enduring question: Who
is Jesus? What was He all about?
SEEKER: Our approach is to ask: what are the two important things to know about Jesus?
BACKPACK: If Jesus were to be asked, He probably will not give the answers that you usually find in catechetical backpacks:
‘God and Man’
‘Messiah-Savior-Redeemer’
‘Teacher of Love and Forgiveness’
‘Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets’
‘Friend and Lover’
‘Model for Human Living’
‘Teacher of a Way of Life’
***
SEEKER: He would most likely point to two other things, two essentials:
(1) Like a mountain stream that is connected with the original spring, Jesus was connected with the Source, His Father.
(2) Like a mountain stream, He flowed to give life in all its forms, that is, He poured Himself out in mission for total salvation.
First ‘essential’: connected with
the source
‘Connected’! said the Mountain Stream, Artesian Well, Tree, Battery
BACKPACK: Let us invite a mountain stream to be a catalyst for understanding this first essential of Jesus. With the mountain stream, let us invite an artesian well, a tree, a battery also.
MOUNTAIN STREAM: Jesus can be compared to me.
ARTESIAN WELL: …
and to me.
TREE: … … and to me.
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL, TREE,
SEEKER: Let’s see …You are all life-giving.
MOUNTAIN STREAM: Right! But I think my friends, the artesian well, the tree, the battery will say something else.
ARTESIAN WELL, TREE,
SEEKER: Oh, I get it! You are connected to a source!
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL, TREE, BATTERY: Korek ka diyan! [5] This is an important point.
***
SEEKER: Your connection to a source has helped me to
understand the first essential. Jesus
was intimately connected to the Source. The Source was His Father.
CARL: Jesus can be compared…
...to a mountain stream, directly in touch with the original
spring.
… to an artesian well, connected with the water source.
… to a tree whose roots drink from the water veins beneath
the earth.
… to a battery connected with the power source.
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL, TREE,
BACKPACK: …than the overused phrase, ‘union/communion with God.’
CARL and SEEKER: Hopefully too these images may stimulate our consciousness to this very important first essential of Jesus.
In the morning, while it
was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
(Mk 1:35)
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL: …in other words, ‘and
there He connected.’
Immediately he made his
disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to
TREE, BATTERY … to connect.
Energy: Not For Sale
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL, TREE,
BACKPACK: … The point you are making is that first of all …
MOUNTAIN STREAM: … because I am connected, I am fresh
ARTESIAN WELL: because
I am connected, I am alive and full of life
TREE: because I
am connected, I am green and healthy
SEEKER: So too, Jesus. Jesus was full of life, freshness, energy (before He could be
life-giving)—because He was connected!
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL, TREE, BATTERY: Korek ka diyan, again.
***
CARL: Being connected with the Source, Jesus’ inner being was fully charged with the Divine.
BACKPACK: Let us ask Jesus’ Knapsack about Jesus’ energy.
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: Yeah! Being strapped to Jesus’ back, I could feel the ‘voltage’ of Divine Energy. Even His outer aura was luminous with the Divine. I felt that even I was radiant with Jesus’ energy.
BACKPACK: Yabang![6]
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: Even the fringe of His garment[7] was charged with Energy.
MOUNTAIN STREAM, ARTESIAN WELL, TREE,
BACKPACK: More blandly speaking, Jesus was a Spirit-filled person.
The Holy Night Heard Only The Crickets
SEEKER: I am curious. How did Jesus connect?
HOLY NIGHT: Let me introduce myself. I am the Night which witnessed Jesus praying all night.
Now during those days he
went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent
the night in prayer to God (Lk.
Jesus connected with the Abba, most likely through silent communion.
CARL: Why ‘through silent communion’?
HOLY NIGHT: Even I have to guess. But how else could a night-long prayer be? No thoughts, no words. Just awake. Just alive, Just alert, Just aware. Just centered. Just connected.
BACKPACK: That is a good educated guess. Besides, Jesus counseled against the use of many
words in prayer.[8]
HOLY NIGHT: I heard Holy Silence … and the crickets!
CRICKETS: Us too:-- we
heard only what the Holy Night heard.
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: And
me too … I heard only silence.
And the village road said no.
SEEKER: But was Jesus not full of Divine Energy because He was Divine?
VILLAGE ROAD IN
SEEKER: But He was God, was He not?
VILLAGE ROAD IN
Listen attentively:
Do you
not believe that I am in the Father and
the Father in me? The words that I
say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me
does his works. Believe me that I am
in the Father and the Father in me; or else believe me for the sake of the
works themselves (Jn
When Jesus performed His healings, I do not remember that He claimed He was doing it because He was God. Listen again:
On one
of those days, as he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law
sitting by, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from
Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord (Yahweh) was with him to heal (Lk
5: 17).
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: I agree 100 percent.
VILLAGE ROAD IN
The Spirit
of the Lord (Yahweh) is upon me … to proclaim good news to the poor (Lk
The Spirit
immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness
forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels
ministered to him (Mk
SEEKER: Yes, in these passages, Jesus is referring
to the Breath, the Power, the Energy of
His Parent, Yahweh. And this was the Source that energized Jesus …
***
ALL: The first
essential of Jesus, then; is this: Jesus was one who was (1) in touch with the Source, in vibrant communion with His Father (2)
in silence (3) and was thus exploding with Divine Energy.
The second ‘essential’: JESUS WAS
Poured Out in Mission
CARL: We have just finished reflecting on the first
‘essential’ about Jesus: -- He was in touch with the Source.
SEEKER: The second ‘essential’ about Jesus is this: -- He was totally poured out in mission. And, we hasten to add: His mission was for total salvation, human and cosmic.
BACKPACK: We will explain this momentarily, but first, notice something which Jesus’ Knapsack noticed.
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: Yeah! Notice the passion and vigor with which Jesus plunged into his life’s work!
At daybreak he departed and went
into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached
him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, “I
must proclaim the good news of the
***
SEEKER: Let us now re-read the Scripture to piece together this mission of Jesus for total salvation.
CARL: I start with
my childhood catechism. For me, then, the mission of Jesus was to die
to save my soul from sin, to give me sanctifying grace
in this life, so that when I die, I may go to heaven where I will see
God face to face.
Now that I am grown up, I find that formulation of the mission of Jesus to be correct but too narrow.
***
SEEKER: The over-all lifework and mission of Jesus was, as one would expect, the proclamation of salvation. But what was the salvation Jesus proclaimed? Jesus proclaimed a new world and a new history for humankind and creation.
BACKPACK: In biblical language
Jesus’ salvation is called ‘
SEEKER: Jesus preferred the term ‘
CARL: In a nutshell, Jesus’ salvation referred to
a
…. filled with
life-blessings
…. with
liberation from all evils, personal, social, historical, cosmic
… for humans and
creation
… present in the
First Coming of Jesus …
…to be
consummated at the end of history, at the Coming Again of Jesus.
SEEKER: We will expand on
this Second Essential in a later conversation.
4. LESSONS A pOSO (ARTESIAN WELL) TAUGHT ME
[corresponding to the first essential]
Characters: Carl, Seeker, Backpack, Poso
Also: Jesus’ Knapsack
O POSO, YOUR WATER WAS MALINAMNAM!
CARL, SEEKER, BACKPACK: The next item in our backpack is our conversation with an artesian well.
SEEKER: It
is really an interview with an artesian
well (yes, an artesian well!) in which we ask it about some lessons in
life.
CARL: Ok. Visualize water continuously leaping out of the ground through a spout. It was the artesian well in Peñaranda, a little town in Nueva Ecija, where I spent my boyhood. We called it the ‘Poso.’
BACKPACK: It is the kind of well where barrio folk came
to fetch water – for washing, for cooking, for bathing, for drinking, right?
CARL: Right. It was the water from this well that I drank. It was the water from this well that gave me life when I was a young boy.
BACKPACK: Ah, Water, Water, the milk that humans suck
from the breasts of the Earth!
SEEKER: Let us begin our interview with the Poso …
***
CARL: Salamat, O Poso, for being part of my childhood days and giving me your water to drink.
Your water, O Poso, was nature-fresh, sweet, pure. Malinamnam.[9] I can still see it with my imagination. You were tasty and sweet, especially after being cooled in the tapayan[10] Clear as crystal. Soft yet crisp. So refreshing for our summer goli.[11]
BACKPACK: I can also imagine the women, exhausted from planting rice in the fields, bending down and sipping … no, gulping down your fresh, fresh water in their cupped hands.
POSO: Thank you for your kind words, Carl and Backpack.
CARL: O Poso, since it was your water that gave me life and health when I was a boy, now that I am grown-up, please give me some pointers about the life and health of any serious Jesus-follower.
POSO: Gladly. And thank you for allowing a lowly artesian well to give you some lessons in life.
***
SEEKER: We are all ears …
POSO: But before talking about you as a
Jesus-follower, I want to talk about Jesus first.
CARL: Sige,[12] tell us what you want to say about Jesus.
POSO: Jesus can be compared to a well.
Jesus is like a well
whose water is fresh. Jesus is a person whose energy is fresh. His energy was nature-fresh
and rich, clear and pure. His spiritual energy … his physical energy …
his apostolic energy … was
nature-fresh, rich, and pure.
BACKPACK: Yeah! Yeah!
POSO: You too, Carl, a Jesus-follower, are a well or like a well.
Your well must be like Jesus.
You must be a person whose energy is fresh. The water that comes out of your well should be nature-fresh, rich and pure. Like my Poso water and Jesus’ water, your energy should be nature-fresh, rich and pure. Your spiritual energy … your physical energy … your apostolic energy … should be nature-fresh, rich and pure.
Sandy, Salty, Muddy Water
CARL: O Poso, your water was always fresh and uncontaminated. But I understand that other wells yield muddy water, or salty water, or sandy water.
POSO: Korek ka diyan! Jesus’ water was of course neither muddy nor salty nor sandy.
BACKPACK: As the gospels portray the pharisees and chief priests,[13] their energies were like salty, muddy, sandy waters. Why?
POSO: It could be because their Egos were the source of their energy.
SEEKER: Yes, if the source
of your energy is your Ego, your energies will be like salty, muddy, sandy
waters. In fact it could be like water
polluted by industrial waste.
BACKPACK: Sadly …
CARL: What do you mean by
‘Ego,’ Poso?
POSO:
Or:
‘Sabbath is more important than the human being and human life’ – is the
Ego speaking.
POSO and
BACKPACK: Or, another example could be: When you, Carl, speak or write, you want to
make an impression, to manipulate people, to fear rejection of your message. That
is your Ego.
CARL: Indeed, dear Poso and
Backpack. You are really dear friends. You are straightforward and frank. Yes,
a Jesus-follower, like me, can also be salty water. Muddy water.
POSO: Yes, unfortunately… if your energies proceed from the Ego.
CARL: The call for me and all Jesus-followers then is to be fresh water.
BACKPACK: Korek again!
Jesus’ water: Fresh Because in Touch
CARL and SEEKER: Why were Jesus’ energies fresh? Because He was divine? Because He was God?
POSO: No, that is not what the gospels say.
BACKPACK: I agree.
SEEKER: Because He attended seminars? Read the latest
books on spirituality? Because He listened to a talk by Carlos
Abesamis?
POSO: None of the above.
***
SEEKER: Why then?
POSO: Let me answer that indirectly by, pardon me, talking about myself.
CARL: Ok. Tell us, O Poso, why is your water fresh and pure?
POSO: Well, briefly because I am in touch with the source. I am connected with the source. In fact, the source and I are ONE. My water comes from the mother spring beneath the earth. I am the child of the mother spring.
BACKPACK: There are two things to notice about you, then, O Poso: First, your water is fresh. Second, it is fresh because it is connected to the fresh source.
***
CARL and SEEKER: And Jesus, too, was fresh water, because He was in touch with the Source. Is that what you are saying, O Poso?
POSO: Exactly. He was connected with his ‘Abba.’ He was in intimate communion with His Father.
He drew His freshness from the Source (capital ‘S’).
In
the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted
place, and there he prayed (Mk
Immediately he made his disciples
get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to
BACKPACK: He went to a deserted place or the mountain
and there He …
CARL and SEEKER: … there
He connected.
POSO: Right you both are. Jesus’ energies were fresh because He was in touch with the Source. He was in vibrant communion with His Father.
How Can My Water be Fresh?
CARL: I too, like Jesus, must be in touch with the Source. I too must be connected with the Divine Energy. My water must come from the Well, from the Mother Spring.
POSO: Well
said, my friend. And that is a simple
truth that you will do well to engrave in your heart. Carve it in your heart in big bold letters.
BACKPACK: Yes, that is true! The only way to be fresh water is to be connected with the Source of pristine unadulterated water.
***
POSO: That pristine water is God. This energy of God is your one indispensable lifeline.
Without it you are nothing. With it you have everything.
Being in touch is the one assurance that your water will be fresh.
Simple (not complicated). Yet not simple (for our human nature).
Your calling is to make your energies divine.
Drink then. Drink from that Source. Drink till you are
drunk!
CARL: Thank you, Poso. I will follow your advice. I will carve this truth in my heart. But do remind me when I forget.
SEEKER: Remind me too, please. Poso.
POSO: OK. One does
tend to forget …
How Do I Connect?
CARL: The question is ‘how?’ How do I connect with the Divine Energy?
SEEKER: Yes, how does one connect?
POSO: … through the sacraments … especially the Eucharist … prayer … devotions … retreats … other spiritual activities and practices[15] …
(Of course, we can gather energy also from parishioners … friends … family … rest and recreation … even good seminars, books … being linked with the poor. But here I am talking about a more direct way of connecting with the Divine.)
Apart from that, there is no one uniform formula for all. Each has his own way to God.
***
But I would make this suggestion: the simpler, the better. Examples:
At the adoration chapel… send love energies to the sacramental Lord … receive energies from the sacramental Lord … exchange energies with Jesus … without using words … without using thoughts … just be there, presence to Presence, energy to Energy.
Connect with the energies of nature … the trees, the sun rising, the sun setting, the sea and sea breezes … no need to talk …just connect with the cosmic energies that flow freely in nature … connect with the cosmic Christ that fills all things.
You connect when you live in the NOW of God’s presence, not pulled into the past by guilt; not pushed into the future by worry.
Some people know how to connect through simple breath-awareness.
Others, through body prayer. You pray not with your words or thoughts. You pray with the gestures and movements of your body. Even dancing can be meditative.
BACKPACK: And even in the busiest city, I know people on the go, who connect with the Divine Presence in their heart. Backpacks like me can feel the throb of a meditator’s breast in the busiest marketplace.
POSO: Anyway, connect and stay connected. The practices I just mentioned are not prescriptive. They are just examples that suggest themselves when I talk about simple ways of being connected. Connect in a way that you know best.
Up and Down, Center and Periphery
CARL and SEEKER: O Poso, We are curious to know about how you connect! Perhaps it can give us a good lesson on how to be in touch.
POSO: OK. Well, for me it is simple and natural. I have a surface. And I have a depth. I am always connected to that depth. I am always in contact with the original spring. I stay connected beyond the sand, salt, mud, down to the source of my fresh water.
***
POSO: You too, CARL and SEEKER, have your surface self.
You have your normal thoughts, feelings and
other activities. That is your surface self. In that surface self you reflect,
you plan, you judge, you decide, you worry, you repent, you rejoice, you love.
Normally you act out of your surface self.
That surface self is good.
Although that surface is good and the grace of God works there, it is also there that your Ego thrives – the Ego of desires and attachments, the Ego of fears and insecurities. Although that surface crust is good, that is also where the sand, mud and salt are lodged.
All that is your surface self.
But you also have a deeper self.
You have a core that is beyond your surface self.
… Beyond mind and feelings.
… Beyond the noise of words and thoughts. Indeed we can discover in each of us something deeper than words, thoughts and feelings. We have a core that is beyond words, thoughts, feelings. We have a center that is beyond words, beyond mind, beyond heart. We have a depth that is no-words, no-mind. It is a depth whose wisdom the mind can never fathom, whose silent joy the heart cannot reach.
Just awake. Just alive. Just alert. Just aware. And therefore, no thoughts, no words. That is our core, our center.
(This is not theory. This is not doctrine. This is the experience of people who have discovered this silent space in their being.)
CARL and SEEKER: … Hmmm.
***
POSO: Well, enough for
now. I have talked too much for the day. I will share some more tomorrow.
BACKPACK: Wow! This is one time I wish I were not what I am …
POSO: What do you mean?
BACKPACK: I wish I were a Poso … But, of course, to wish what you are not is not good spirituality…
POSO: You are precious, Backpack …
One with the Spirit, Crying ‘Abba.’
CARL: O Poso, I could not wait for today. Please tell me more about my ‘core’ that is beyond my surface self.
POSO: Now, watch what happens in that core. It is to that core of yours that the Spirit has been sent (Gal 4:6) crying ‘Abba Father!’[16]
Try to absorb this fantastic
reality (It is not theology, it is not doctrine, it is not theory. It is the
experience of
● You have a core in you.
● The Spirit has been sent there.
The Spirit lodges there. The Spirit has taken up residence in your
heart. In fact, your core is the natural habitat of the Spirit.
● And the Spirit prays, ‘Abba, Father!’
Or better: the Sprit prays through you, ‘Abba, Father!’
Or: You pray through the Spirit …
Or better: You and the Spirit are one. And you pray, ‘Abba, Father!’ I repeat: You, one with the Spirit, pray.
In your deepest core, you are one with the Spirit, crying ‘Abba, Father!’
CARL, BACKPACK and
SEEKER: Fantastic!
POSO: Well, yes. But it
should really be a common and normal enough reality.
SEEKER: In my deepest core, I am one with the Spirit, crying ‘Abba Father!’ More
accurately, you are crying to the Divine who is both Father and Mother.
POSO: Tomorrow, I will
share with you how one can do this …
BACKPACK: I am also eager to know. I think I also know people who do it …
And how do you cry ‘Abba’?
POSO: Good morning!
CARL, BACKPACK,
SEEKER: Good
morning, Poso.
CARL: I am eager to resume from yesterday. So, in my deepest core, I am one with the Spirit, crying ‘Abba Father!’ …
BACKPACK: Me too!
SEEKER: Me
too!
POSO: Yes. And how do you cry ‘Abba Father!’?
In words of supplication? In words of praise? In words of thanksgiving?
No! ‘In sighs too
deep for words’ (Rom
No words. In silence, therefore. Just alert. Just
alive. Silent. Silently alert. Silently aware.
***
That is why just being alert, alive, wordless, just aware, is the prayer of the Spirit.
That is why just being at your center, silent, relaxed, playful-- is the prayer of the Spirit.
BACKPACK: … And that is why just being alert, alive, wordless, before the Blessed Sacrament, exchanging silent energies with the sacramental Lord is a prayer of the Spirit.
POSO: (Thanks for the help, Backpack.) … And that is why connecting with the energies of nature, no mind, no words, flowing with the energies of the trees, the rivers, the rocks, the birds –– is a prayer of the Spirit.
***
BACKPACK: Perhaps too – any practice in which mind is less involved, or not involved, is some kind of prayer of the Spirit:
Listening to the chicken in your backyard and to the crickets at night … Touching the lumot[17] that clings to the adobe walls of your ancient church
POSO: And so …just being aware of sounds and sights while waiting at a bus station or riding in a boat… or walking in the busiest place in town where people are shouting and horns are blowing
BACKPACK: Then too, strumming the guitar … being totally in the strumming … just here, just now, just this -- not pulled into the past; not pushed into the future.
POSO: All well said. In summary, we have a surface self. Be beyond that surface! Touch that underground spring! Draw water from the Source!
SEEKER: Wow! As you said, for you it is simple and natural.
***
CARL: Your surface, O Poso is always naturally connected to the depth. You are connected with the original Source. You are beyond the sand, salt, mud, down to the source of your fresh water.
Can we humans also be beyond the surface and be at the depth? Can we make contact with the original Source? Can we be beyond our surface self, beyond the sand, salt, mud (our Ego), and be where the Pure Water is?
No words. In silence, therefore. Just alert. Just alive. Silent. Silently alert. Silently aware.
SEEKER: Can we just be alert, silent, just wordlessly aware and thus be connected ‘in sighs too deep for words!’
Can we humans do that too?
POSO: Definitely! Some have done it. You try!
And Jesus, How Did He Connect?
CARL: And Jesus -- how did Jesus connect?
SEEKER: What did He do to be connected with the Source?
POSO: The evangelists say that He prayed all night. I think Jesus’ Knapsack can attest to this. Otherwise, the gospels are reverently silent.
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: Korek ka diyan. Jesus would lay aside His knapsack and then … connected all night.
SEEKER: Dear Poso, if you were a well next to where Jesus prayed, do you think you could have done some spy work and witness how He prayed?
POSO: Let me guess. Why, He would be doing nothing! No words. No thinking. Just centered. Just aware. Just connected. Just here, just now, just this. Is that right, Jesus’ Knapsack?
JESUS’ KNAPSACK: I think you are right.
***
.
BACKPACK: And, you know, I think your guess is as good
as any. After all, when Jesus taught prayer, He said not to use many words (Mt
6:7).
POSO: Then too, it is difficult
to conceive a night-long prayer other than a prayer of silent communion.
CARL: And come to think of it -- Jesus was not far
from the
If You are In touch, you can never
be a loser
POSO: If you are in touch, you can never be a loser.
You are a dynamo. And your power is God.
You are a battery. And you are fully charged.
You are a sponge. And you are drenched and soaked in God.
You are a cloud. You are seeded and pregnant with the Divine Essence.
You are a robust tree. You drink the Water (capital ‘W’) below and devour the Sun (capital ‘S’) above. All you have to do is keep your lips to the ground to drink and stretch your arms to the sky.
How can you lose?
You are a torch on fire and your fire is the Divine! You do not have to light it. It is already lighted. All you have to do is to nurture, nourish, nurse that fire so that it becomes white heat.
You are the moon that reflects the light you absorb from the Sun.
You are the Mayon[18] volcano, seething with the Fire from the core of the earth.
You are the bamboo flute, playing the Divine Music.
You are a mirror that displays the image of the Divine.
You are a piece of paper, wet with the signature of God.
You are the gong in whose atoms are stored the sounds of the Divine.
You are a temple whose walls are about to explode from the force of the Divine Presence within.
You are the child of Father/Mother God—flesh of His flesh, bone of His bone (so to speak) if indeed you have ingested Him and digested Him in your moments of intense communion with the Divine.
CARL, SEEKER: It is overwhelming!
POSO: No, it is simple …
CARL, SEEKER and BACKPACK: Wow! Thank you, dear Poso.
5. the mission
[corresponding to the second essential]
Characters:
Carl, Seeker, Backpack
SEEKER: Let us now expand on the Second Essential, namely the
CARL: This conversation
will be lengthy… But everything we discuss here belongs to the mission of
Jesus.
what were you busy about, Jesus?
SEEKER: Dear
Backpack, what should be said about
the mission of Jesus?
BACKPACK: Ok.
Briefly, the mission of Jesus was to
proclaim the
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good
news [gospel] of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near;
repent, and believe in the good news” (Mk 1:14-15).
***
SEEKER: That sounds all right. But wait a minute. Someone could ask: how come the words ‘dying for sin’ are not found in those biblical signposts?
Did not Jesus come to earth with a mission to die for my sins, to gain divine grace for my soul in this life, so that after death my soul may go to heaven,
where it will see God face to face?
BACKPACK: To die for sin, etc. was Jesus’ mission on the cross.
But before the cross, His mission was to
announce the
CARL: But it can
be asked: is not the
BACKPACK: Well,
the answer is ‘no’ The
Pointing to His Kingdom-works
of healing and exorcising during his
lifetime and before his death, Jesus told the pharisees that the
Once Jesus was asked by the
pharisees when the
If it is by the finger
of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you (Lk.
11:20= Mt 12:28).
CARL: So, the
BACKPACK: Yes. Thus we should say: On the cross, Jesus’ mission was indeed to die for sin …
SEEKER: … But
before that, in an earlier phase in
his career, His pre-crucifixion mission was the proclamation of the
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
BACKPACK: That leads us to the question: What then is the Kingdom of God?
SEEKER: And that
is an important question, because, surprisingly perhaps,
CARL: Yes. Certainly, it is not enough to look up the dictionary under ‘Kingdom’ and ‘God.’
***
BACKPACK: At this
point we can offer a provisional description: -- the
SEEKER: And let it be noted, it is not heaven…
***
CARL: Furthermore, this new earth is filled with life-blessings. We contrast ‘life-blessings’ with ‘spiritual grace.’ Life- blessings are rice, fishing grounds, fish, education, good health, and spiritual well-being—in short, any and every blessing that gives any form of life.
BACKPACK: Life-blessings include, but are not limited to, spiritual grace, divine life, sanctifying grace, or beatific vision. Many of these blessings can be conveniently stored in a backpack.
***
SEEKER: And these blessings are for human beings (not for disembodied souls) and for the rest of creation (nature, the earth, birds, trees, etc.)
***
BACKPACK: So the
- new
world on earth, to be
consummated at the end of history
- filled with life-blessings
- for human beings and for the rest of creation
KINGDOM OF GOD
CARL: Let us now
explore the meaning of
***
BACKPACK: We
should note, first, that in Jesus’ culture ‘salvation’ and ‘
***
SEEKER: Next, it is the second part of each beatitude that contains different facets of salvation or
First Part Second
Part
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Mt)
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for
you will be filled. (Lk.)
Blessed are those who hunger
and
thirst for righteousness, for
they will be filled (Mt)
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. (Lk.)
Blessed are those who mourn, for
they will be comforted. (Mt)
Blessed
are the meek, for
they will inherit the earth. (Mt)
Blessed
are the merciful, for
they will receive mercy. (Mt)
Blessed
are the pure in heart, for
they will see God. (Mt)
Blessed
are the peacemakers, for
they will be called children of God. (Mt)
Blessed are those
who are persecuted
for righteousness’ sake for theirs is the
Kingdom of heaven (Mt)
***
CARL: So, kindly spell out the
SEEKER: Starting
with ‘for they will inherit the earth,’ we see that the
Being God’s children (for they will be called children of God.)
Seeing and experiencing God directly (for they will see God)
Experiencing compassion (for they will receive mercy)
Consolation and laughter (for they will be comforted. for you will laugh)
Food for the hungry (for you will be filled)
Justice and liberation for the poor (for yours is the
BACKPACK: Now, that is a shopping list, I would be happy to fill myself with!
CARL: Thank you. The
***
BACKPACK: Just a question or remark: I notice that you omitted discussion of two or three beatitudes.
SEEKER: In order to avoid unnecessary discussions at this point, we took up only those beatitudes, which are more likely to be original sayings of Jesus (rather than Matthew’s later changes).
***
CARL: And can we summarize a bit? The
BACKPACK: a new earth and a new history… It is a world and history where the oppressed poor of our present human history will have justice, liberation, joy; will inherit the earth; will be satisfied; and where people in general will experience compassion; will have a direct experience of God and will be called children of God.
SEEKER: Bull’s eye! ‘Sakto gyud!’
KINGDOM OF GOD
SEEKER: So,
Backpack, you have just said that the
CARL: And you
said that the
BACKPACK: Yes, we will talk about a new world first, and after that we will talk about a new history.
***
SEEKER: So
then, we reflect on the
CARL: It is really mind-blowing.
BACKPACK: Let us first look at 2 Pet 3:13.
But,
in accordance with his [God’s] promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness [justice] is at home (2 Pet
SEEKER: Wait a
minute. Our inquiry is about the
BACKPACK: ‘New Heaven(s) and New Earth’ and ‘
CARL: ‘New Heaven(s) and New Earth’? What is that? Please explain.
BACKPACK: Scripture had
a pre-scientific view of the world/universe. The earth is flat. The
firmament above is seen as a dome or roof.
This dome or roof they called ‘heaven’
or ‘sky.’
In Scripture, heaven-and-earth
means the world or the universe.
***
CARL: On the other hand New-Heaven-and-New Earth means
SEEKER: …
BACKPACK: Yes indeed! Let’s add a little note here: Sometimes the roof is thought to have not one, but several, layers, thus, ‘heavens.’ And so we find the expression, ‘new-heavens-and-new-earth.’
According to 2 Pet
SEEKER: That is quite enlightening … and possibly provoking and upsetting …
***
BACKPACK: And there is more. Look now at Rev 21:1-5.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first
earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying,
‘See, the home of God
is among humans.
He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his people,
and God himself will be with them;
he will wipe every tear
from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and
pain will be no more,
for the first things
have passed away.’
And the one who was seated on the throne
said, ‘See, I am making all things new’
(Rev 21:1-5).
SEEKER: I see a new world in which there is a new capital city, radiant as a bride…
BACPACK: … And do not fail to notice that this city is coming down to the new earth!
And on this new earth God will dwell.(Therefore,
it is implied that it is on this earth that the
And God will have a
special bonding with his humankind (‘I will be their God and they will be
my people’).
SEEKER: Wow – and God himself will wipe away every trace of suffering, pain and death!
CARL: And He will make all things new after the old universe will have passed away!! Whew!
BACKPACK: Whew
indeed! But what we want to concentrate on for the moment is:-- The
***
SEEKER: Since, we
as Church, are not generally familiar with this way of looking at the
BACKPACK: Yes, here are some more:
And I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a
kingdom, so that you may eat and
drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Lk 22:29-30).
Jesus
said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the
renewal of all things, [in the original: transformed creation] when the Son
of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also
sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of
These two statements, one by Matthew and the other by Luke, are two slightly different versions of one and the same saying of Jesus. You will notice that what Luke calls ‘Kingdom’ is the same as Matthew’s ‘renewal of all things’ or transformed creation!
CARL: Let us note in passing that justice (king and judge were supposed to execute justice) -- is singled out as its attribute.
SEEKER: And what is this ‘renewal of all things’?
BACKPACK: The
original word (paliggenesia) means re-birth, transformation, re-creation. The
whole creation undergoes a re-birth. The whole created universe is transformed.
CARL: So, the firmament and the earth, the whole nature and human beings, this world of hunger, disease and decay, all will be totally transformed into a new world and new history; there the king of justice will reign!
SEEKER: It is
beginning to sound like this
CARL: It is beginning to sound cosmic!
***
BACKPACK: It is!
Look at this scenario and the others to follow. All of them are different
portraits of final salvation or
Jesus … must remain in heaven
until the time of universal restoration
that God announced long ago through his holy prophets…. (Acts
CARL: After His resurrection/ascension Jesus remains in heaven until He comes back at the ‘universal restoration.’ All reality then will be remade, rehabilitated, rejuvenated! It is a new universe at the end of history.
SEEKER: One can almost hear the dance and re-assembly of the planets in the sonorous original words, apokatastasis pantoon.
CARL: Wow! It is all embracing! Panoramic! You cannot put it in your pocket … not even in an ordinary backpack!
BACKPACK: The cup of your palm is too small for it!
***
CARL: At the
culmination of history, the plan and purpose of God is to embrace all things into a unity through Christ –
all things in heaven-and-earth.
He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to
his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of
time, to gather up all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth (Eph 1:9-10).
SEEKER: It feels like God’s Divine Energy is seeping into all of reality.
***
BACKPACK: Your sixth sense is working well! Yes, it will be a universe soaked in God.
Then comes the end,
when he hands over the kingdom to God
the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For
he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy
to be destroyed is death. For ‘God has put all things in subjection under his
feet.’ But when it says, ‘All things are put in subjection,’ it is plain that
this does not include the one who put all things in subjection under him. When
all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to
the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all (1 Cor 15:24-28).
SEEKER: At the end of history, Jesus will have
subdued all evil powers, the last enemy being death. Then He delivers the
Kingdom to his Father. The Son himself will then be subject to the Father. At
the end ‘God will be all in all.’ The
Divine Energy permeates the whole of the universe!
CARL: It appears that not only we humans, but also the rest of creation will enjoy this fantastic ‘euphoria.’
BACKPACK: Right again!
***
SEEKER: Rom 8:19-23 reports that creation itself—not only humans but also the mountains, forests, rivers, trees, birds—will experience salvation.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing
of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its
own will but by the will of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from
its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the
children of God. We know that the whole
creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the
creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies
(Rom 8:19-23).
BACKPACK: It appears that the whole of creation—both human and natural—long for full salvation.
CARL: Yes. We humans, who already possess the Spirit (first fruits) in our hearts, groan inwardly, longing for our bodily resurrection (the final harvest) and thus become children of God.
BACKPACK: And you are right: not just humans. Nature too.
SEEKER: The biblical signpost says that nature has been subjected to meaninglessness, perhaps by God, but not without hope. Creation itself will be set free from its enslavement to decay and it too will obtain the glorious liberty that we humans will enjoy as children of God. In the meantime, the whole creation has been groaning like a woman in the birth pangs of labor, longing for its liberation.
CARL: So,
nature and humans will obtain
liberation; we humans, from death;
BACKPACK: …the
rest of creation, from decay;
CARL: we humans, towards our resurrection; nature, towards its transformation.
SEEKER: Whew! I
am out of breath! The signposts do point to the
BACKPACK: And Jesus said it quite simply … and splendidly in the beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the EARTH’ (Mt 5:5).
KINGDOM OF GOD
SEEKER: Jesus and His culture envisaged the
BACKPACK: What does that mean? Is that something I can put in one of my pockets?
CARL: Well, not quite, as you know, my
friend!
Rather, the Jews around the time of Jesus spoke of ‘two ages.’ This referred to two epochs, eras or histories. There is
‘this age,’ the presently ongoing history of
In their search for salvation, they looked forward to the end of this presently ongoing history and to a different and new history in the future, an ‘age-to-come,’ where there would be justice, peace, life, health, joy.
BACKPACK: So,
SEEKER: Yes. And of course, it will be a history of or on this earth,
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left
house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my
sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and sisters,
mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life” (Mk 10:29-30).
***
CARL: How about Jesus’ beatitudes, how do they envision this new history?
BACKPACK: In the beatitudes the age-to-come will be characterized by justice and liberation for the poor, food for the hungry, earth for the meek, laughter and consolation, compassion, experience of God, being called God’s children.
SEEKER: So, are we to understand that the journey of salvation is from this old history to that new history on this earth?
BACKPACK: Exactly!
***
CARL: How different gali[20] from our usual thinking, indi bala?[21] Again, quite refreshing … and upsetting …
BACKPACK: Yes, the biblical age-to-come provides a whole new dimension to ultimate salvation. It provides the dimension of history.
SEEKER: Ultimate salvation then is a new and different history for nature and for humankind, collectively and individually – and here on earth or in our universe!
CARL: And so, like Jesus, we become history-conscious!! We are concerned not only for personal story -- mine and that of others -- but also for the history of our people, of the peoples of the world.
SEEKER: And so we involve ourselves in the history of our time to help shape it into a
more humane story for humankind!
BACKPACK: I like the feel of leaflets and reading
materials in the backpacks of human rights advocates. These are
history-conscious people.
SEEKER:
***
BACKPACK: How come the average Christian, whose stuff an ordinary backpack carries, is not familiar with this biblical age-to-come?
SEEKER: One reason is that the term ‘age-to-come’ occurs seldom in the
New Testament (but it is there).
Secondly, sometimes it is translated
incorrectly as ‘world-to-come.’
CARL: So, I suppose, a little more mindfulness is needed …
***
BACKPACK: Let us note here that we have so far encountered the following biblical words for salvation, and they all mean the same thing:
·
· New-heaven-and-new-earth (highlighting the aspect of world or earth)
· Age-to-come (highlighting the aspect of history)
· Eternal life (highlighting the aspect of life)
SEEKER: And not one of these expressions refers to ‘heaven’ or ‘going to heaven’!
CARL: Four years of theology in four lines!
BACKPACK: How I wish all catechists and seminarians
would have that in their backpacks… and in their hearts!
***
CARL: The
ground we have so far covered in our chat
is this: First, the mission of the
Church is the proclamation of the
SEEKER: Second,
the
CARL and BACKPACK: Approved!
LIFE-BLESSINGS OR TOTAL WELL-BEING
BACKPACK: For
ordinary folks, the
SEEKER: … such as decent homes, security, education, jobs, nutritious meals, the sea-breezes, spiritual well-being, the energy they get from the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, friendships-- these are all life-blessings.
CARL: … in short, to repeat what we said above, any and every blessing that gives life.
SEEKER: Life-blessings
include, but are not limited to, spiritual grace and divine life.
BACKPACK: I like it when the priest uses a backpack for
his mass kit.
The smell of tuyo-kamatis-kanin[22]
in a worker’s knapsack makes me happy too. But a knapsack with nothing more
than a little towel to dry his pawis[23]—this
makes me sad.
CARL: In short, we are here talking about total well-being.
***
BACKPACK: Let us see how Isaiah’s and Jesus’ salvation or
SEEKER: If you
have the time, look up Isaiah[24]
and you will discover that Isaiah talks of the irruption of God’s Reign or God’s Kingdom in the history of
·
eyes of
the blind shall be opened
·
ears of
the deaf unstopped
·
the lame
leap like a hart
·
deaf
shall hear
·
eyes of
the blind shall see
·
‘anawim' (poor and oppressed) find joy
·
poor
rejoice
·
good news
to the poor
·
liberty to
the captives
·
opening
of the prison
·
year of
the Lord’s favor or jubilee year (release of slaves, rest for the land, recall
of debts, return of land, property and houses to ancestral owners – as in Lev.
25)
·
oppressed
go free
·
justice
to the nations
·
justice
on the earth
·
dead will
live, their bodies shall rise
CARL: In summary, Isaiah’s Kingdom of God means health for the sick, joy for the poor, good news (of liberation) for the poor, liberty for prisoners, freedom to the oppressed, redistribution of land, release of slaves, rest for the land, cancellation of debts, justice to the nations, the vanquishing of physical death.
SEEKER: Life-blessings indeed!
BACKPACK: Total well-being indeed!
CARL: Have you been to a farmer’s vegetable farm
bursting with a spectacular variety of vegetables and fruits? Isaiah’s vision
of the
***
SEEKER: But that is Isaiah, five centuries before Jesus. Could Jesus have had another and different idea?
BACKPACK: Jesus had the same idea.
In fact, Isaiah provided the source for Jesus’ understanding. Watch how the ideas, images, and words of Isaiah are
echoed in Jesus’ words:
‘Go and
tell John what you hear and see:
the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk,
the
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised,
and the
poor have good news brought to them.
And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me’ (Mt 11:2-6
= Lk
[Jesus
] stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because
he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has
sent me to proclaim release to the
captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’
And he rolled up the scroll,
gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue
were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been
fulfilled in your hearing’ (Lk 4:16-21; cf. Isa 61:1-2).
This
was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“Here is my servant,
whom I have chosen,
my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
I will put my Spirit
upon him,
and he will proclaim justice
to the Gentiles.
He will not wrangle or cry aloud,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
He will not break a bruised reed
or quench a smoldering wick
until he brings justice
to victory.
And in
his name the Gentiles will hope” (Mt
***
SEEKER: But the
words ‘
BACKPACK: They do not explicitly contain the term ‘
***
CARL: Conversely,
the term ‘
Now
after John was arrested, Jesus came to
Galilee, proclaiming the good news [gospel] of God, and saying, ‘The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has
come near; repent, and believe in the good news’ (Mk 1:14-15).
BACKPACK: Thus, even if Mark
***
SEEKER:
In a nutshell, then, what is the
BACKPACK:
Something like this:
|
Good news to the poor. |
Life and resurrection to the dead |
Release to the captives |
|
Justice to the nations |
Reign= |
Jubilee
year (restoration of land, release of slaves, rest for the land, cancellation
of debts |
|
health for the sick |
|
A
Spirit-filled emissary to proclaim all this |
SEEKER: In short,
CARL and BACKPACK: Amen!
***
SEEKER: In the Beatitudes, we see that the Kingdom of God is all about life-blessings.
BACKPACK: Yes, such as land, food, justice, vision of the divine sonship and daughtership, etc.
RICE, BREAD, CHAPATI, PITA!
BACKPACK: Talking
about life-blessings, we will do well to discuss the most striking life-blessing linked with the
SEEKER:
A good hint will
help …
BACKPACK: Hint: a lot of people carry it around often
in their backpack, especially workers and schoolchildren. It is available in abundance during barrio
fiestas.
SEEKER: A good guess is …hmmm … food!
BACKPACK: Yes!! Food! This was already included in the report on the beatitudes (Blessed are you who hunger, you shall be satisfied.).
***
CARL: But it is worth expanding on it,
first, because, from my own experience, it overturns
one of our misconceptions, i.e., that so-called ‘material’ things, like food,
cannot be part of spiritual salvation …
SEEKER: There goes somebody being stood up on his head again!
***
BACKPACK: … second, because food is a life-and-death issue in a world where millions of children and adults are malnourished and hungry …
***
CARL: But let us discuss these contemporary implications at some other time. Today, let us focus on the biblical data, the indispensable foundation in our search.
BACKPACK: Well, first, it is truly intriguing that food would be part of Jesus’ Kingdom scenario.
Then
people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the
SEEKER: Given our average mind-set, yes, it is truly intriguing.
***
CARL: AND furthermore, the Scripture not only incorporates food into the Kingdom scenario, it also does it so spontaneously, so casually -- as if ‘to eat bread’ is a typical, expected and normal activity in the future Kingdom of God!
“Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the
***
BACKPACK: AND furthermore,
it is so natural and so taken for granted that the blessing most frequently associated with the
“Truly
I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day
when I drink it new in the
“And I
confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you
may eat and drink at my table in my
kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel”
(Lk 22:29-30).
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled” (Lk
SEEKER: I like
the
***
BACKPACK: Me too. I carry food around a lot and I enjoy it.
CARL: And did you know that in the Lord’s Prayer, the
bread (‘Give us this day our daily
bread’) originally referred to the food
of the coming
***
SEEKER: To wrap it up, we Asians and Filipinos can say: The Kingdom of God is Rice!
CARL: Up here!
And rice, corn, chapati, bread, yam, cassava, kamote, in short, FOOD is a
significant life-blessing in the barrio fiesta of the
ANOTHER NOTEWORTHY BLESSING: JUSTICE
AND LIBERATION
BACKPACK: As I look around the streets of
There is no doubt that the greatest problem in the world today is the poverty of millions of human beings.
SEEKER: And the greatest challenge for society and for the Church is the liberation of the poor.
CARL: In other words: ... Justice and liberation …
***
SEEKER: That phrase Justice and liberation belongs to the common vocabulary of contemporary theology, and even of the Church, doesn’t it?
BACKPACK: And it means: justice for the poor and their liberation from poverty.
CARL: Or better: since ‘anawim’ means not just ‘poor’ but ‘poor and oppressed’ it means …
SEEKER: … justice and liberation for the poor and oppressed.
***
CARL: And involvement in justice and liberation is the foremost call and challenge to us as Church today.
BACKPACK: And a curious thing is that there was a time – and even today -- when people who have devoted themselves to justice and liberation have been labeled communists …
CARL: Yet it is at
the very heart of Jesus’ message and mission, even though the actual words ‘justice and liberation’ are not
found on the lips of Jesus.
SEEKER: Why did we not see this?
CARL: Partly
because for the longest time we neglected one innocent phrase in the gospels
…
SEEKER: What is that phrase?
BACKPACK: The phrase ‘good news to the poor’?
***
CARL: Yes. Furthermore, we have attached so many meanings to it except its real and original meaning. For example, we said Jesus did not refer to the really poor but to the poor in spirit.
Or-- that ‘good news’ or gospel to the poor meant the gospel of salvation from sin.
***
SEEKER: Well, was not Jesus referring to the ‘poor
in spirit,’ meaning -- you may be rich or not, but you are humble or
detached?
CARL: No, ‘Poor’
in the gospels always means the really poor except in the one case when Matthew introduces an editorial change, ‘in
spirit.’
BACKPACK: In his time Jesus was referring to beggars
(Mk
***
SEEKER: And does not ‘gospel’ refer to salvation from sin?
CARL: That is only
one meaning of ‘gospel.’
BACKPACK: There are many kinds of good news (gospel). There is good news for students, for teachers, for peasants, for mothers, for business people. For the poor there is still another good news specifically for them.
SEEKER: What then is the real and original meaning of ‘good news’ for the poor?
CARL: The original meaning is the most obvious meaning: food, home, land, education, health, rights and dignity … in short, justice and liberation.
BACKPACK: These are the issues which backpacks of justice-and-peace advocates carry.
***
CARL: Hey, up here! We are so used to equate ‘gospel’ with salvation from sin that we have not noticed that there is a particular gospel for the oppressed poor.
SEEKER: We have been so used to
equate good news or ‘gospel’
with the ‘word of God’ or ‘the Christian Faith’ or ‘salvation
from sin’ -- to the point where we do not see that it can mean
liberation from poverty and oppression.
***
CARL: Did Jesus talk about good news to the poor?
BACKPACK: Man, and
how! It was practically a mantra on His lips! Bukang bibig ni Hesus[25]!
SEEKER: It is the only Kingdom-blessing He always mentions in key-statements, His mission statements!
BACKPACK:
In Jesus’ mission statements there is one, and only one,
item which is always mentioned and never omitted: ‘good news or blessing to the
poor.’
Look:
The
blind receive their sight,
the
lame walk,
the
lepers are cleansed,
the
deaf hear,
the
dead are raised,
and the
poor have good news brought to them (Mt 11:2-6 = Lk
To bring
good news to the poor,
He has
sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and
recovery of sight to the blind,
to let
the oppressed go free,
to proclaim
the year of the Lord’s favor.’
And he
rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of
all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today
this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’ (Lk 4:16-21; cf. Isa
61:1-2).
Blessed
are you who are poor, for yours is the
Blessed
are the hungry …
… the
sorrowful
… the
pure in heart,
… etc. (Lk
***
SEEKER: Let us note that ‘good
news to the poor’ is given a
unique position, either first or last in the list!
***
CARL:
And notice that the other
blessings—for example, sight to the blind—is are mentioned in one
listing but not in another.
***
BACKPACK: There
it is, tattooed in Jesus’ consciousness and chafing to find outward
expression in His mission statements! And yet it is hardly a
passing thought in our present theology, preaching, and catechism!
SEEKER: This is one time when
you really have to be a Seeker in order to find, to understand.
CARL: Yes, you have to have
the Third Look eyeglasses to see the real meaning of ‘good news to the poor’
and how it was foremost in the consciousness of Jesus,
BACKPACK: If you don’t have the Third Look eyeglasses, if you
don’t have the viewpoint of the poor, all sorts of blinders -- personal,
theological, political -- can get in the way.
***
CARL: We can conclude, now, that although the words ‘justice and liberation’ are not found in the New Testament, they are at the core of Jesus’ message and mission. Jesus used another language: ‘good news to the poor!
***
BACKPACK: Let us take one step forward. Mission-statements, even those of Jesus, are words and nothing more, unless they are backed up by deeds. So what about Jesus’ actions -- were they good news to the poor?
CARL: As we watch him moving about, we see that in a sociologically depressed area, repeat, in a sociologically depressed area, like Galilee, the majority of the sick and ‘possessed’ and ‘multitudes’ and even the so-called ‘sinners’ were the poor.
SEEKER: Why do you say ‘sociologically depressed area’?
CARL: Because
it is in such a social context that we can understand how the sick, the possessed, the multitudes and the so-called sinners can
be understood as in fact referring to the poor.
***
SEEKER: The sick would have been the malnourished
poor, vulnerable to various illnesses.
BACKPACK: The ‘possessed’ would have been the mentally
ill, victims of malnutrition and poverty.
CARL: The multitudes:
these were mostly the unschooled poor of the land attracted by a popular
preacher and wonder worker.
BACKPACK: Many
of the so-called sinners would have also been, not necessarily
people of evil morals, but rather the poor. These were the people forced into dubious professions due
to poverty, e.g., prostitutes, and thieves. Or they would have been the uninstructed poor who did not know
their ‘catechism’ and who were looked
upon as sinners by the religious establishment.
***
CARL: Jesus’
Good News to the Poor did not then remain frozen in mission statements. People felt its warm reality in His deeds.
***
SEEKER: What about Jesus’ teachings?
BACKPACK: His teachings must have been good news to the oppressed poor. Listen:
He has blessings for the
poor and warnings for the rich. He comes in strong against
acquisitiveness and the consumerist spirit. He advocates sharing goods
with the poor (Lk
CARL: Read those words of
Jesus cited above. If you were among the ‘anawim
(the poor) in Jesus’ time, would not His words have a happy ring in your
ears?
BACKPACK: Jesus’
voice was a prophetic voice in the first century, not the methodical
analysis of a twenty-first century economist. But there is no doubt for whom
His good news was and is.
***
SEEKER: Let us conclude with
this observation: justice and liberation was an essential component of the
CARL: It was an integral part of the gospel of
Jesus!
***
SEEKER: Here is a Devil Advocate’s question: We have discussed ‘good news to the
poor’ at some length. Are we not beating the concept to death?
CARL: I am glad you ask a question to which, as usual, you know the answer:
First, poverty is not a
‘concept.’ It is the grinding reality for most of the world’s population.
Good News to them is not a ‘concept’ either.
Second, If ever ‘good news to the
poor’ was a dead ‘concept,’ it is so only in the normal Christian
consciousness.
SEEKER: … And the task is to breathe back life to it.
***
BACKPACK: Today, we certainly have heard of the phrase ‘social justice’ – which means justice in society, or, justice for the poor, women, children, indigenous people, nature, etc.
SEEKER: Did Jesus talk explicitly about social justice?
CARL: Again, the words ‘social justice’ do not appear in the Scripture. But ‘justice-compassion-fidelity’ is found, and this phrase means ‘social justice.’
Woe to you, scribes and pharisees,
hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and compassion and fidelity (Mt
SEEKER: How important was social justice for Jesus?
CARL: He referred
to it as the weightier matters of religion.
***
BACKPACK: A
happy observation: how refreshing to open the theological backpacks of priests, pastors, religious and catechists
for whom the weightier matters of religion are no longer simply the Ten
Commandments, dogmatic truths (much less fees for sacraments), but rather like
Jesus, social justice.
CARL: For Jesus certainly, it was social justice.
Loud and clear. And He berated the
religious leaders of His time for focusing on less essential matters!
***
BACKPACK: So far no word about the
rich. He appears to be biased for the poor.
CARL: He did indeed have a bias for the poor. That is what we find in the gospels. And we cannot re-invent another Jesus or another gospel.
***
BACKPACK: And this ‘bias’ should really be the basis for the avowed stand of the Church, preferential option for the poor.
***
SEEKER:
But how about the rich?
What was Jesus’ attitude towards them?
BACKPACK: The rich
in Jesus’ life seem to be one of the following:
1.
critiqued by Jesus,
e.g., ‘Woe to you rich!’
2.
challenged by Jesus to share, e.g.,
the man/ruler -- ‘Jesus looking upon him, loved
him’ – but whom Jesus asked to sell his possessions and share with the poor (Mk
3
converted and shared his/her riches, e.g.,
Zacchaeus (Lk 19:1-10), like a
significant few wealthy people in our time.
***
SEEKER: Did Jesus not die for rich and poor alike?
CARL: Yes, He
eventually died for rich and poor. But while He was living, He stood for justice and liberation for the
poor.
***
SEEKER: Did
not Jesus proclaim the good news of the Kingdom to all, rich and poor alike?
Was salvation not offered to all alike?
BACKPACK:
Yes, He proclaimed the good news of the
Kingdom to all alike and He invited
the rich and poor alike to the Kingdom.
But because of the nature of the Kingdom and its demands, it was often
uncomfortable news for the wealthy and powerful (e.g., Mk 10:21-22; Lk
14:15-24.).
***
SEEKER: Since Jesus also had solicitude
for the rich, should not the Church today also minister to the rich?
CARL:
Yes. The only question is ‘how?’ It is
not enough that the rich appropriate the merits of Jesus’ death in baptism
and nurture it in the sacraments. The rich must also be asked to live
according to the Kingdom challenges of Jesus.
BACKPACK:
And certainly,
ministry among the rich cannot be limited to playing golf, tennis or mahjong with them in order to save
their souls.
***
SEEKER: At the
Second Plenary Council of the
CARL: At the Council, there were several declarations, but the foremost is this:-- a Church dedicated to the liberation of the poor.
BACKPACK AND SEEKER:
That is marvelous! The Holy Spirit must
really have been with the delegates!
CARL: Yes, the
Spirit must have, because, you know, not all the delegates were necessarily
aware of the biblical basis for their
declaration!
BACKPACK: Yes, I heard that from my fellow backpacks whose owners attended the reunion of PCPII delegates ten years later.
***
SEEKER: And what is the biblical basis for the Church of the Poor?
CARL: The biblical basis is Jesus’ ‘Good news to
the poor.’
In other words, the solid base upon which stands our ‘Church of the Poor’ is Jesus’ proclamation of justice and liberation, couched in the biblical phrase ‘good news to the poor.’
***
BACKPACK: In fact, it provides not only the basis; it
also supplies the only possible serious meaning to the ‘Church of the Poor.’
CARL:
In other words, what
is the serious meaning of Church of the Poor? It is a Church that proclaims,
in word and deed, good news of justice and liberation for the poor.
BACKPACK: Otherwise, it is all a play with words.
***
SEEKER: How crucial then it is for us to realize how this ‘good news to the poor’ has been so neglected, misunderstood and peripheral in our consciousness and practice when it was a ‘core-belief’ and a ‘core-teaching’ of Jesus!
CARL: Right! Ten
years later the PCPII delegates had
a reunion. And according to them, to their embarassment, they could
not answer the following question in the affirmative: ‘Will the poor of
the
BACKPACK: And less so after EDSA III[26] … for we cannot be good news to the poor, unless we see the world from the eyes of the poor.
For Me, You, Us, Birds, Plants,
Rocks, Rivers!
SEEKER: So far the
BACKPACK: Standing out among these life-blessings is justice and liberation of the poor.
CARL: What is left for us to fill out is this: And
these blessings are for human beings (not for disembodied souls) …
BACKPACK: … and for the rest of creation (nature, the earth, birds, trees, etc.
CARL and SEEKER: Agreed!
***
SEEKER: It seems safe to say that, according to the average understanding, the business of the Church is about souls, saving souls.
CARL: And the
irony and the shock of it all is that Jesus
is not at all interested in souls!
***
SEEKER: He is very interested in …
BACKPACK: He is very interested in the total well-being of the total human person (whether individually or collectively) … and the well-being of the rest of creation (earth, birds, rocks, plants),
***
SEEKER: Actually this concern of Jesus and of the biblical writers is more than implicit in our chat so far, isn’t it?
CARL: Yes. So, in the beatitudes, the recipients
of Kingdom-blessings are human beings, not souls …
SEEKER: … the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, the
meek, the pure in heart, the peacemaker are human beings, not souls.
***
CARL: Scripture speaks not of souls being saved but of all reality – things in heaven and things on earth, humans and nature – being soaked with the Divine Energy.
BACKPACK: I
love it when people take me along on nature trips.
And I really love
this talk about not souls, but human beings, because as a backpack I find it
comfortable hanging on to some body’s shoulders.
SEEKER: … You will find it hard to hang on to a
disembodied soul! Tsk. Tsk. The sight would be entertaining … or scary.
***
CARL: And as
for Isaiah and Jesus, do you see bodiless souls flitting around
in Isaiah’s and Jesus’
SEEKER: Not at all!
BACKPACK: Not at all indeed, because there are none! Isaiah’s and Jesus’ Kingdom of God is packed with flesh-and-blood people, not souls: the poor, the lame, the blind, the deaf, the leper, the oppressed, the slave, the dead, the captive, the land even!
***
CARL: In the
barrio fiesta of the
***
SEEKER AND BACKPACK: So, God’s concern is not focused on souls but on whole persons.
CARL: Yes. We know somebody, who after he graduated from this world, did not become a disembodied soul or ghost! He was a full-bodied, full-blooded human being, radiant and glorious – and he ate inihaw na tilapia!
BACKPACK: Yes, you mean:-- Jesus, the Risen Jesus!
He ate broiled fish![28]
CARL: And like
the Risen Jesus, a resurrected person is not a disembodied soul!
BACKPACK: And a resurrected person in all radiance
and freshness is what God wishes for us!
the whole you-- radiant and glorious
CARL: That
remark of yours, Backpack, brings the discussion to resurrected people and the
SEEKER: What is our final destiny? Death? No! Salvation of the soul? No (with apologies to traditional catechism?)! Rather, it is the resurrection of the whole person at the end of time!
BACKPACK: In your average catechetical backpacks, the resurrection sounds more like an ornamental add-on at the end. The salvation of soul is the centerpiece.
CARL: Not so for Jesus. God destines us to the resurrection of the whole person.
SEEKER: Nothing shows more clearly than this that God is interested in the whole person and not in soul.
BACKPACK: Indeed!
On the last day of history, when the
final and full Kingdom comes, we, as total persons, will live again.
This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the
Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day. (Jn 6:40)
***
SEEKER: A little more explanation will help.
CARL: Scripture
does not talk about the survival of the immortal soul. Rather, the human being—that one, indivisible person
(not just the soul)—will live again, and indeed, in radiance, glory and power.
SEEKER: … in radiance, glory and power?
BACKPACK: Yes! Though in this our present existence we are fragile and corruptible, in the resurrection there is deathlessness, glory, power, and indeed not of the soul, but of the whole person.
CARL: The
risen person is so saturated with the divine Energy, the Spirit of God,
that he/she is a ‘spiritual body.’ The
risen person (not the soul) is animated and vibrates with the life and beauty
of the Divine.
But some one will ask, ‘How are
the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come…?’ What is sown is
perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory.
It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual
body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body (1 Cor
SEEKER:
Nakakatindig balahibo![29]
***
BACKPACK: I wonder whether backpacks will
be in use in the state of the resurrection. Hmmm. Not impossible. Where there
are bodies, there should be backpacks!
CARL: … Radiant and glorious backpacks perhaps?
BACKPACK AND SEEKER: But enough! Speculation is bad theology.
‘Pray for Pedro’s Soul’ or ‘Pray for Pedro’?
CARL: We cannot
exaggerate how important this is for us as Church: Jesus and the Bible are not interested in souls. They are interested in
human beings. They are interested in the TAO[30],
NOT THE KALULUWA, NOT THE KALAG, NOT THE KARARUWA[31].
kaluluwa, kalag, kararuwa = soul
SEEKER: And to really get a firm hold of this, it
will help to see the difference between our
contemporary backpack which holds our normal understanding of TAO, on the one
hand …
BACKPACK: … and
Jesus’ knapsack which holds
Jesus’ understanding, on the other.
CARL: Our normal understanding is that the tao is
made up of two parts, the soul (which is
termed ‘spiritual’) and the body (which is termed ‘material’). We inherited
this view from the Greeks and from the West generally.
SEEKER: Is that wrong?
BACKPACK: No, it is not wrong. It is different from Jesus’ view. And it can be problematic.
SEEKER: And what is Jesus’ view?
BACKPACK: Jesus looks at the tao and he doesn’t see two parts. He sees only one undivided entity.
***
SEEKER: Is it because in Jesus’ culture tao is one single entity?
CARL: Yes indeed, in his culture, the tao is
not made up of two parts. Jesus and
his culture did not have a concept of the person as having two distinct
parts, body and soul. The tao is ONE living being.
***
SEEKER: So, when Jesus healed, he did not heal the body of the sick. He healed the sick person! When Jesus forgave sins, he did not forgive the soul of the sinner. He forgave the sinner! Is that it?
CARL and BACKPACK: You got it!
***
SEEKER: Clear. But we have a problem. Someone will ask: how come even the Scripture talks of ‘souls’ and ‘salvation of souls’?
BACKPACK: That is a matter of mistranslation. The underlying Hebrew nephesh, means life, person, being, self. Nephesh, wrongly translated as ‘soul,’ refers to the total person.
SEEKER: So, when I read faulty Bible translations, I should mentally substitute ‘self,’ ‘person,’ ‘life’ in place of ‘soul.’
CARL: Exactly.
SEEKER: And for ‘salvation of soul,’ I should read ‘salvation of person,’ or ‘your salvation’—is that it?
***
CARL: Right! Compare the following. The first is the incorrect translation.
1 Pet 1:9
As the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls. – Revised
Standard Version.
… because you are achieving faith’s goal, your salvation – The New American Bible
James 1:21
Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of
wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.—Revised Standard
Version.
Strip away all that is filthy, every vicious excess. Humbly
welcome the word that has taken root in you, with its power to save you. – The New American Bible
Away then with all that is sordid, and the malice that
hurries to excess, and quietly accept the message planted in your hearts, which
can bring you salvation. – The New
English Bible
Mk 8:36
For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and
suffer the loss of his soul? –
Popular version
For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?—Revised Standard
Version.
***
SEEKER: I can see still another problem. I find the words ‘body,’ ‘flesh’, ‘soul,’ ‘spirit’ in the Bible.
BACKPACK: Again, it is a matter of knowing what each one means. Each of those words refers to the whole person from different perspectives. Here are the biblical meanings:
‘soul’ or kaluluwa
(psyche) = the human being, sometimes connoting
his/her interiority
‘spirit’ or espiritu (pneuma)= the human being, sometimes connoting
his/her interiority
‘body’ or katawan (soma)= the human being, connoting his/her exteriority--observable, perceptible, sensory, empirical, tactile. ‘Body’ has a positive connotation. Thus the body is the temple of the Spirit. It is something that can be offered as sacrifice.
‘flesh' or laman (sarx)= the human being, connoting his/her exteriority--observable, perceptible, sensory, empirical, tactile. ‘Flesh’ has a negative connotation sometimes— the natural self without the Spirit of God, weak, prone to sin, sinning …
***
Examples:
Evidently when Paul said that there were 276 of them in the ship, he did not mean they were bodiless ghosts (!). They were flesh-and-blood people:
We were
in all two hundred seventy-six persons [psyche. wrongly translated as ‘soul]
in the ship. After they had satisfied their hunger, they lightened the ship
by throwing the wheat into the sea (Acts 27:38).
And when Mary said,
‘My psyche magnifies the Lord, and my
pneuma rejoices in God my Savior’ (Lk
And when Paul said that
‘your body [soma] is a temple
of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor
***
SEEKER: I can see what you mean -- this matter can indeed be problematic.
CARL: The
real problem is when the Church keeps on wanting to ‘save souls,’ whereas Jesus is concerned for the total person and
his/her total well-being!
***
SEEKER: But do we see any improvement in the Church’s recent practice and language?
BACKPACK: Yes, in
the last few years some of us no longer want to save souls. We want to save body AND soul.
SEEKER: That is an improvement, isn’t it?
BACKPACK: Yes,
and that is brought on by Vatican II.
SEEKER: But what?
BACKPACK: … but it is good to note, at least for pastors, that that is not (yet) a biblical way of thinking or speaking. That is still a Greek way of speaking
CARL: After Vatican II in the 1960s, we started putting together body and soul. We realized that up to then we had put them asunder. We realized that we had been too preoccupied with the soul and downgraded the body. We began to talk about integral salvation and integral evangelization. We even talked about total human development. We said that we should be concerned not only with the soul but with body and soul together. Thus we arranged a re-marriage. Body and soul shall tie the knot again. We had a difficult time in the process, and still do.
***
BACKPACK: Jesus and his culture never had such a problem. The human being was never an assembly of two components. There was always the one human being, breathing, throbbing, alive. And Jesus’ Kingdom-blessings were for the human being.
CARL: Thus they were not used to the Greek way of speaking, ‘body AND soul.’
***
SEEKER: The Greek ‘body and soul’ has been with us so long that it is very difficult to understand and adopt the biblical ‘one living human person.’
CARL, SEEKER, BACKPACK: Yes. So, we think that the following observations are in place:
Regarding the biblical view –
It need not be prescribed to everyone.
It might be a welcome piece of information for pastors and catechists.
Knowing it, at least as background knowledge, will hopefully help church workers in their pastoral work.
Regarding the Greek view --
It is all right to use the language ‘body AND soul,’ as long as the ‘AND’ is never lost. Or some say, ‘Body-Soul.’
SEEKER: So you either have the biblical solo (the one human being of the Bible) or the Greek tango (the inseparable partners of traditional catechism).
BACKPACK: I could have danced all night …!
***
CARL: Well, at a wake, you really are down to one!
SEEKER: That’s
right. In both the biblical and the traditional views, there is only one that lives after death: -- for
the traditional, it is the soul, but
for the biblical, it is the person.[32]
***
CARL: In practical life, it is as easy as saying: ‘Let us pray for Pedro,’ instead of ‘Let us pray for Pedro’s soul.’
BACKPACK: Yes, and there are some who are beginning to do it that way.
The Aroma Or The Taste Or The Touch Of God’s
Spirit
SEEKER: This is a good time to get a clear idea of something far-reaching in our Church life and spirituality.
BACKPACK: I know what you are referring to. You are referring to ‘spiritual.’
CARL: Yes ... it is great of consequence in our Church life and spirituality – yet inadequately understood.
BACKPACK: It is something which some people erroneously think cannot be put in a backpack!
SEEKER: Once again, there is the Greek way of understanding it. This is the normal understanding we have in Church today. But there is also the biblical and original understanding, about which normally we are not informed.
***
CARL: Let us begin with the Greek understanding.
BACKPACK: Recall first, that for the Greeks, the human being is composed of two parts, body and soul.
‘Spiritual,’ in the Greek view, then, means something for or about or from the soul.
Thus, sacraments, prayers, novenas, speaking in tongues, holy water, incense – are spiritual. Food, land, wages are—in the Greek-inspired view—not spiritual matters.
SEEKER: This is not a biblical view!
CARL: This is not Jesus’ view!
***
SEEKER: And what is ‘spiritual’ biblically?
BACKPACK: The first thing to understand is that, of course, the root word is ‘spirit.’
CARL: That is an everyday word in religion. What does it mean biblically? What did it mean for Jesus and his culture?
BACKPACK: Let us pay attention to the following simple points:
· The basic meaning of ‘spirit’ is ‘breath’, ‘wind.’
· ‘Spirit’ – with a capital ‘S’ – refers to God. He/She is that invisible Breath that gives life.
· ‘spirit’ – with a small ‘s’ -- can refer to human beings.
***
CARL: With those simple preliminaries, we come to the biblical meaning of ‘spiritual.’
BACKPACK: Yes. Biblically, ‘spiritual’ simply means ‘where God’s Spirit is.’
SEEKER: Is it that simple?
BACKPACK: Yes, it is that simple … and that beautiful.
CARL: So, any entity that is in God or with God or through God or from God …
BACKPACK: …is spiritual!
***
SEEKER: Anything or anybody that has the aroma or the taste or the touch of God’s
Spirit …
BACKPACK: … is spiritual.
CARL: Prayers, retreats, masses are indeed spiritual.
SEEKER: …but so is a cup of water given to a thirsty beggar.
BACKPACK … or a nutritious baon[33] in an employee’s knapsack.
CARL: Treating your housemaid humanely or giving decent wages to your driver is generally spiritual whereas going to mass everyday need not be.
BACKPACK: Exactly!
CARL: A whiff of God’s breath on any creature is what makes our commonplace existence spiritual.
I appeal to you therefore,
brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
worship (Rom 12:1).
It is sown a physical body, it
is raised a spiritual body. If there
is a physical [read: natural] body, there is also a spiritual body (1 Cor
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal
***
SEEKER: Can we cite something beautiful, inspiring and possibly provocative, from the life and mission of Jesus?
BACKPACK: Yes,
the inaugural address in
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because
he has anointed me
to
bring good news to the poor.
He has
sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and
recovery of sight to the blind,
to let
the oppressed go free,
to
proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor’ (Lk
SEEKER: The works or fruits of the Spirit are spiritual, are they not?
BACKPACK: Yes! Well, in that inaugural address, The Spirit
of the Lord is upon Jesus. And what are the Spirit’s fruits? What are the
Spirit’s works?