The Greatest Commandment

“The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”Mark 12:29-31

We are one.  We believe in one God.  The Lord is our God, and the Lord is one.  This is how the greatest commandment begins.  It's a statement about unity, and it's something that perpetuates throughout the rest of the statement.  Jesus preaches to us in every single word he says.  So, then, what is our issue?

Today, we have so many divisions in our churches, our congregations, and even our separate communities.  When we come together, we like to bring our prejudices and hatred into the sanctuary.  You know, the kinds where you look at that one lady from the corner of your eye because you know of what she has been doing.  It's that decision you make to avoid participating in the church just because of a petty argument one morning.  It is holding a grudge against that one person who disagreed with you before breakfast.  It's running away because there was that one musician you don't like.  But, we supposedly believe in the one God.

Jesus was always aware about the different issues among Jews and outsiders.  He commanded us many times to remember the more important issues, such as our devotion to God, as opposed to our personal opinions on matters of ceremonies or rituals.  In the same way, Jesus tells us about the greatest commandment in the best way possible.

In the middle of all the 'do nots', Jesus commands us to do one thing:

Love

Love the one God who unifies us, and love the ones who are already loving God.  Bring God to every single person around us in the best way possible: love.

After Jesus tells us this, the scholar who was talking to Jesus went on to explain that this love is far greater than any offerings or sacrifices.  The love for God and the love for our neighbors is one that is greater than just our 10% every week (or so), or our one hour and a half (depending on what time we wake up), or our (sometimes mindless) recitations of prayers.  And this is very important for us, for it takes our personal devotion to God into one that creates a community.

Even though Jesus retreated many times throughout the gospels to pray and meditate, he always commanded us to live in community with one another.  He tells us to go out and make disciples/students/friends of other nations.  He tells us to welcome those we may not feel so comfortable about.  He tells us to break down our walls to each other and find some common ground.  And, he gives us the common ground: the love for God.

When we truly love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, there is no room for anything else:

• When we give our whole heart to God, we begin to understand the complete love that God has for us.
• When we give our whole mind to God, we begin to understand what God is telling us through the living word.
• When we give our whole soul to God, we feel the Holy Spirit drive us in ways we could never have imagined.
• When we give our whole strength to God, we pick up the tools and stones, bricks, wood, and metal to build up the Kingdom of Heaven on earth.

We love ourselves in the best way possible when we give ourselves to God, for there is no greater solution to all of our problems we face on this earth.  After we learn to love ourselves through the nourishment that God provides, we can express our love and fellowship to each other, thereby strengthening us all into becoming a community.  For we are one in Christ.

God Hates Figs

"Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, [Jesus] went to see whether perhaps he would find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard it."
Mark 11:13-14

This passage has troubled me for a long time, for it is a harsh curse from Jesus.  Now, don't get me wrong, Jesus does use many strong and harsh statements throughout the gospels, but, for some reason, this one seems to be among the harshest.  Maybe it's because of the fact that it's to a tree, which, in my experience, kind of just does its own thing (of course, my gardening skills are sub-par at best).  Maybe it's because the tree ended up withering away very soon after (Mark 11:20).  Jesus kills a tree with his words.
But, then I remember, God has the final word: the word is Jesus.  So, this has to have some sort of meaning for me, right?  God, Love, speaks to me through Jesus, but I feel stumped with this passage.
In my attempts to understand this, I have turned to other sources to "check" if my own suspicions are right.
But, of course, this unschooled guy here thinks of something that is totally off from what the authorities teach: that this is a prophecy against Israel for not producing fruit.
I don't want to let this passage to be just a prophecy for the Jews of their impending tribulations.  I feel that it speaks to me in this way:
A great tree that bears a promise of good fruit (fig newtons, anyone?) is replete with leaves well before fig-season.  What a gift it is for that tree!  I would be so excited if I saw something like that when I was hungry.  And now we have Jesus, about whom the gospel writers rarely state that he is hungry.  And, he goes to the tree, and there's nothing but leaves.  I already hear the words of a parable, where the sprout of the Gospel grows too quickly with such a small root that it dies out, for that is what this tree is: lots of growth with little to offer.  The tree is just showing off for no reason.  The tree deceives.  And so, Jesus commands the tree to die.  Now, there is no longer a deceiving plant, but shriveled pride.  

"He who has little will have it taken away from him."

The thing that punches me, though, is that Mark writes that Jesus replies to the tree, as if the tree were a person and had spoken something to Jesus. (Frequently, in Mark, whenever Jesus replies to his disciples or anyone else, the Greek phrase ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν 'he said in response' appears.)  So, now we have a tree that's like, "Jesus, here I am in all my glory.  Go away from your path and come to me."
Then, I think about how I am.  God has given me many talents, and many times I feel like I am just using them for my own gain.  Sometimes, when I pray, I feel that I am asking for something that is just for me and not for my job in life.  God works through each of us with our talents.  However, God counts on us making a good use of our talents.  So, instead of showing off our talents to lead others astray, wondering why they aren't good enough or why they don't have what another might have (despite lacking in their hearts), we should work together to cultivate each other's talents and incorporate them into the great garden that is the Kingdom of God.  For, we are all seeds that are wandering and beaten through the chaos that is this world, but we have one in heaven who is waiting with a watering can and a shovel to cultivate us into a wonderful tree with many fruits to offer.

Sam van Aken "Tree of 40 Fruit"

My Lady, My Mother

Ὅ τι ἂν λέγῃ ὑμῖν ποιήσατε
"Whatever he says to you, do it."
John 2:5

This message must be pretty interesting to hear, considering that the final phrase is now a meme or a slogan, whichever you choose.  And yet, it has been with us for nearly two thousand years.  What have we learned?
Today, we have many churches, many faithful people, and many services.  However, are we still fulfilling this command?
"My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior."
These are the start of a hymn of praise that Mary says before the birth of Jesus Christ.
Throughout the gospels, Mary appears in some significant moments in her son's life, such as his birth, his first miracle, and at the foot of his cross.  These are a longstanding example of a great mother, one who loves her son before all else.
The Virgin reminds me of my mother, especially after seeing that she was present at most of the significant events in her son's life; for my mom has been at all of the significant events of my life.  She sings, just as Mary does, and she loves me very much, both through all the good and bad.  Alongside being a great mother, she is also someone who has pointed me to God.
My mom's greatest message and advice to me is, "Get on your knees and pray."  She always points me to God, just as Mary does in the Gospels.  When there was a shortage of wine in a wedding feast, she states the solution: Whatever he says to you, do it.
After seeing these parallels, I can only imagine what a great mother Mary was to Jesus, especially after witnessing throughout my whole life the great mothering from my Mama.  Mary must have sung to him many things, and she must have done so much for him throughout his childhood, just as my Mama has.  She was there with him throughout times of great glory, such as the miracle at the wedding feast, and times of sadness (which approaches embarrassment), the crucifixion.
I intentionally chose to have an ambiguous title with this.  In one sense, Mary, my lady, is my mother.  She has shown a life as an example of pure love and devotion in Christ.  In another sense, there are two women in this post, my lady, Mary, and my mother, Sandra Montes.  And, in yet another, I have my lady and mother, who has never left my side, always leading me to Jesus, just as the Holy, Blessed Virgin Mary does.

Not Losing Ourselves

"τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον κερδῆσαι τὸν κόσμον ὅλον καὶ ζημιωθῆναι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ;
τί γὰρ δοῖ ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ;"
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Mark 8:36-37


Today's Gospel reading has inspired me to bring this blog back up after quite a long hiatus of inactivity.  I have not lost my faith, and, in fact, in the past few weeks, I feel that I have gotten closer to God.

The idea of gaining the whole world is one that can seem distant from us.  "Of course it wouldn't apply to me, for I only make a small salary and have a very small savings account, if any at all."
However, gaining the whole world, even in this context when Jesus is talking to the crowd, is an ideological gain.  This is a gain of people.  Why not just make life easier so I can fit in?  Why not just tell people what they want to hear so I can be their friends?  Why not just have friends of the table and not of the truth? Friends of the internet and not of reality?


I've slowly been learning that many of us just like to put on different faces in front of different people just to satisfy them for the moment.  I learned a lot about it when I was in a summer program, Freedom Ride, just a few weeks ago.
The message here, in the gospel, is that we need to be ourselves.  In fact, the word that gets translated into "soul" in Greek also means "self".
"What help comes from gaining the whole world and losing one's self?


Alongside learning about different aspects of the history of civil rights in the United States, South Africa, and Botswana.
The idea of "separate, but equal" really spoke to me when I saw every single example, with living spaces, schools, public spaces, and even laws.  Different people in power (or claiming power) were lying to themselves and to others just to gain the world: a following.  Even today, we still have people who do this on a daily basis (I shall avoid politicians, for it is, in fact, the beginning of the presidential race).  I have some acquaintances that I know who will tell one person one thing and another another (in fact, it becomes entertaining for me when the different people from completely different circles come together before me so I can witness these differences).  I am guilty of the same thing.
However, we also have people doing the opposite as well.  I have met some great people who have taught me that I do, in fact, have a voice and that I do have the same power that some whom I may see as my enemies wield.  One of my new friends taught me to get in touch with different emotions when I write.  Another told me to speak out at any given moment.  Different people told me that I have many different ways of becoming active for the cause of unity and love among all of our people, our community, our church.
As a result of finding these abilities, I wrote two poems in the program.  In the first one, I decided to reinterpret a memory.  In the second, I stated my feelings about events that have transpired in the past two months regarding marriage equality in the United States and in the Episcopal Church.  

What will a person give in exchange for her/his self?"
Jesus tells us that he loves us just the way we are.  We do not need to judge others or to put others down.  What we need to do is to follow Jesus in all that we do.  Through all of our challenges and struggles we will get even closer to him.