Our Restorative Ministry in the New Normal

Sermon:  “Our Restorative Ministry in the New Normal”

Scripture texts:  Isaiah 56: 1, 6-8; Matthew 15: 21-18

Salakot Ecumenical Church, 32^nd Anniversary Celebration

UTS, Dasmarinas, Cavite

20 August 2023. 

 

Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

56Thus says the Lord: Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come, and my deliverance be revealed. 

 

(²Happy is the mortal who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil.

³Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and do not let the eunuch say, “I am just a dry tree.” ⁴For thus says the Lord: To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, ⁵I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.)

 

⁶And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenant— ⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. ⁸Thus says the Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.

 

Matthew 15:21-28 (NIV)

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”

²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

²⁵ The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.

 

Sermon Outline

Introduction

Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. Warmest greetings of love and joy from the office of the President of Union Theological Seminary. I greet you leaders and members of the Salakot Ecumenical Church a happy and meaningful 32^ndAnniversary. We are grateful, as a local community of faith that God has sustained us through the 32 years of collective life and ministry in this part of Dasmariñas, Cavite. I am happy to know that there are many Protestant churches in Cavite Province and the fact that UCCP has two Conferences here, the Lowland Cavite South Manila Conference (LCSMC) and the Upland Cavite Conference (UCC), shows that the province’s population has been steadily growing. 

 

Based on the Census Year 2020 Census of Population, CALABARZON now has 16.2 million residents, the largest in the country. The population of Region IV-A increased by 2.48 percent annually from 2015 to 2020. By comparison, the rate at which the population of the region grew from 2010 to 2015 was higher at 2.58 percent. 

 

Among the five provinces comprising Region IV-A, Cavite had the biggest population in 2020 with 4,344,829 persons, followed by Laguna with 3,382,193 persons, Rizal with 3,330,143 persons, and Batangas with 2,908,494 persons. Quezon had the smallest population with 2,229,383 persons. 

 

Cavite was the fastest-growing province in the region with an annual population growth rate (PGR) of 3.57 percent from 2015 to 2020. It was followed by Rizal with a PGR of 3.07 percent, Laguna (2.30 percent) and Batangas (1.62 percent). Quezon posted the lowest provincial PGR of 1.04 percent. (source: PSA 2021 CPH) [1]

 

This presents a very promising future for the Church because of the social and economic growth of the CALABARZON or Region IV-A. On the other hand, there is a concentration of factories and other industries that have migrated from Metro Manila and Rizal Province. Pockets of “informal settlers” have increased and more working-class people are crowding the precarious places of the sub-region, such as seashores, river banks and enclaves and in the countryside are farm workers and subsistence farmers are losing their occupation and land itself because of the concentration of land holding in the hands of oligarch families and large realty corporations.

 

O N E

Reflecting on the Scripture texts from the book of Prophet Trito Isaiah chapter 56:1, 6-8, arouses (pumupukaw) in me enthusiasm of the vision of restoration of God’s people into their own land, but not in the old and familiar dispensation, or in the way people lived and how their lives were spent.  Restoration, is greater than providing palliative solutions to people’s real situation. It is the work and ministry that does not only relieve the symptoms but deals with the causes of pain, misery and deprivation. 

 

Looking back at Deutero Isaiah, chapter 40, seeing and knowing the misery of God’s people in captivity, says: 

Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double for all her sins.

 

God intends that God’s people will be comforted, but that is telling them that their captivity will soon end. Biblical history informs us that Israel was freed from captivity from Babylon returned to their land in the 4^th century BCE. We can say that that their return to their homeland is considered a new normal. Their new normal restoration period and process was not easy, it was not given on a silver platter. It was challenging, full of dissension and struggle between leaders and groups of people. They had to establish new relationships with the remnant who stayed on the land, and they have to start their organizing work, which included non-Israelites into their communities, Isaiah emphasized that their faith in Yahweh and their obedience to the covenant are central to the restoration work.

 

The new normal in the Philippines, our very own experience of the pandemic and post Covid-19 pandemic has left us with too many uncertainties and fear of the future. Too much suspicion on the ability and competence of the political and economic leaders in providing sustainable livelihood, employment, medical and social services. The new normal is conditioned on fear, such as always wear face mask, and previously wear face shield, keep social distancing and other petty protocols. The new normal in education is the introduction of the multi-modalities in teaching-learning process like modular learning, online classes, limited in-person classes and others.

 

The new normal in our country still remains characteristically “abnormal” in terms of social justice and sustainable peace. Basic civil liberties, human rights and human dignity have been curtailed by the state by instituting anti-insurgency strategy (NTF ELCAC, ATL, AMLAC, etc.), following the national security policy. This put those who express dissent on government policies in precarious situation, through redtagging, filing trumped up charges, demonizing church leaders and institutions who concretely do their prophetic ministry manifesting Christ’s compassion and compassion for the poor, deprived and marginalized.

 

The new normal raises many theological and ethical issues such as how can our care for our loved ones infected with Covid-19 have been taken over by the government and in their death beds, no proper religious rituals and sending off to the after-life was curtailed. Families whose loved ones died because of Covid-19 infection are still nursing their pains and their agony of losing their loved ones. The value of human life and human dignity has been raised and asserted by many religious communities. 

 

T W O—

Trito-Isaiah’s imagination of the Israelite homecoming from captivity is the inauguration of an inclusive community, that only requires faith and trust in Yahweh and observe the Sabbath—the social reversal of the Israelite social organization as God’s people and people’s economic equity that benefits not just the Israelites but also the eunuchs, foreigners and the marginalized people living with them. 

 

Samuel Giere, in his exposition of the text from Isaiah 56: 1-8, mentioned the essence of being a part of the religious community of restored Israel, saying:

 

To the eunuch who keeps Sabbath, the Lord promises full inclusion, recognition better than that given to a son or daughter, and “an everlasting name which shall not be cut off.” To the foreigners who keep Sabbath, these the Lord will bring into His presence, make them joyful, and accept their offerings. This is not peripheral inclusion. Rather, the Lord invites from the margins to the center of the covenant and to the center of Israel’s cultic life and worship.

 

What is a eunuch? A eunuch is a person who has been castrated, typically males, often for specific social, religious or political purposes. They were employed as servants, guards or officials in the royal courts due to their perceived loyalty and reduced sexual desires. They were prohibited in the Israelite religious community based on the Deuteromomy 23:1, “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut-off shall enter the assembly of the Lord. 

 

There are no contemporary equivalents of eunuchs as castration is no longer practiced, but parallels of their functions are trusted servants, administrators and advisors to royal courts such as personal assistants, advisors or high ranking officials in government or corporations.

 

Moreover, he said, It is pretty clear in Scripture that eunuchs are not permitted to enter into the assembly of the Lord³ and that foreigners are an abomination.⁴ Yet the Lord flips this up-side-down. For those who keep Sabbath. That is, for those who live in the everlasting covenant, the house of the Lord is open. Why? “ … for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus says the Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered” (Isaiah 56:7b-8). So it is that the Lord’s “steadfast and sure love for David” spills over into the world. The everlasting covenant is not about exclusion. It is about inclusion. Radical inclusion. An inclusion so radical that it reinterprets Scripture.

 

The Philippine Psychological Association has issued a statement in 2020 about respect for LGBTQIA+ persons mentioning that Filipinos in general have negative attitude towards gay and lesbians:

 

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Filipinos continue to experience stigma, prejudice and discrimination in Philippine society. This stigma is manifested in actions such as: bullying, teasing and harassment of LGBT children and adolescents in families, schools and communities; media portrayal of LGBTs as frivolous, untrustworthy and even dangerous or predatory; denying transgender Filipinos entry into commercial establishments; pigeonholing LGBT Filipinos into particularly limited roles and occupations; or curtailing their rights to participate in the political sphere.

 

Thus, they recommend the following to members of their association especially and to the general public:

 

Filipino psychologists should not discriminate against or demean persons based on actual or perceived differences in characteristics.[2] In order to eliminate stigma, prejudice, discrimination and violence against LGBT, the PAP resolves to support efforts to: 

• oppose all public and private discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and expression;
• repeal discriminatory laws and policies, and support the passage of legislation at the local and national levels that protect the rights and promote the welfare of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities and expressions;
• eliminate all forms of prejudice and discrimination against LGBTs in teaching, research, psychological interventions, assessment and other psychological programs;
• encourage psychological research that addresses the needs and concerns of LGBT Filipinos and their families and communities;
• disseminate and apply accurate and evidence-based information about sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to design interventions that foster mental health and wellbeing of LGBT Filipinos.

 

UCCP has issued the statement “Let grace be total”, an initial articulation of the Church’s openness to the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons in its communities and no discrimination for them who want to become members nor are already members of the local church.  The Faith and Order Commission  (FOC) has started drafting a follow-up statement to sharpen theological and ethical articulation on LGBTQIA+ issues and concerns.

 

UCCP Statement “Let Grace Be Total” section 5. What the church can do to address the concerns of The LGBT, first paragraph, mentioned:

…The church needs to address the prejudices of society against the LGBT(QIA+) by engaging in educational seminars and fora on this issue for both members and the wider community. A program on Gender Sensitivity that will include issues related to LGBT(QIA+) concerns may be launched on the conference and local church levels. Such program may focus also on the LGBT(QIA+) struggle for justice and equality of treatment and against prejudice, discrimination and rejection. 

 

Also, our community of faith should be able to join the struggle of our economically deprived and oppressed people in the immediate and larger contexts of our ministry and mission. UTS has collaborative ministry in Lupang Ramos, the marginalized farmers in Cavite. As a community of faith we are representatives of our economic and social sectors and there are among us in this region who are living in poverty situation. The Philippine Statistics Authority has gathered that 

 

Based on the preliminary results of their 2021 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), the poverty incidence among families or the proportion of Filipino families in CALABARZON with incomes that are not sufficient to buy their minimum basic food and non-food needs was estimated at 7.2 percent. Moreover, poverty incidence among population was at 10.2 percent or about 1.7 million poor Filipino residents of the region. Subsistence incidence or the proportion of Filipino families in CALABARZON whose incomes were not sufficient to meet the basic food needs was recorded at 1.6 percent or about 66 thousand families. In terms of number of persons, about two in every 100 Filipino residents in the region was not able to meet their food needs in 2021.[3]

 

These are indications of inequality in our society that needs to be addressed by the government, but in many ways, we ourselves, as individuals and families are left to find our means to live in society where there are only few of the 110 million Filipinos control the national economy. A situation that is the concern of God and by God’s people, the Church.

 

T h r e e—

Restorative ministry entails confronting oneself of the immense need for wholistic healing, such as the Jesus and Canaanite women encounter. This not only challenged us to think outside the cultural and ethical box, but of appropriately responding to the “right here, right now.” Release of people from bondage of symptoms of illness should lead to dealing with the root causes of such illness, which may not be necessarily medical but relational. Yet even when the causes are medical, our restorative ministry is overwhelmed, such as making referrals to compassionate doctors and other health personnel we can access for services. 

 

Herein, the miracle story of the healing to the Canaanite’s daughter aptly and significantly connects with the health situation in our country. 

 

Paul Neuchterlein in his reflection on the miracle story explained: The encounter with the Canaanite woman initiates this extension of mission beyond the “house of Israel.” Perhaps even Jesus himself has his mind changed by the “great faith” of the Canaanite woman. It makes more sense to me, though, as an intentionally acted-out parable for the sake of his disciples, anticipating the subsequent mirroring of ministry to Jews with Gentiles. Jesus knows that the Canaanite woman will show great faith, letting himself be ‘conquered’ in this exchange, revealing a very different Joshua. More deeply, it is an acted-out second conquest of Canaan in which this Joshua reveals a God of mercy, countering the “no mercy”-god of the Joshua who led a conquest of Canaan a millennia before.

 

It is indeed astonishing to know for persons, especially those who are quite new to the new modalities of Christian ministry and mission. History and tradition inform us that mission work is within the economic and political powers of Churches from industrialized countries that can support huge amount of financial and material resources to their missionaries overseas. The critique of foreign mission of north American and European Churches and mission agencies that alongside or the undergirding motivation of doing mission is colonialism or neo-colonialism in guise of poverty alleviation projects or even children sponsorship program. 

 

During the Asian Churches Assembly at the WCC General Assembly last year, I gave a brief introduction of myself and proceeded to talk about my perspective of the ongoing WCC assembly, mentioning that me and my wife were missionaries to South Korea for 15 years and we ministered to migrant workers there. When I came down from the podium, a Chinese delegate, commented to me, saying, “It is interesting that Filipinos are doing mission in Korea. It is quite new. I know that South Korean churches are the ones sending missionaries abroad.” I answered him that this is a new modality of reverse mission. We ministered to Filipino migrant workers and other nationalities who seek help through the Korean migrant workers centers.

 

Christian mission is no longer the monopoly of churches from industrialized countries. The kind of Christian ministry mission workers proclaim and do from the global south are embodiment of Christ’s life and immersion into the sufferings and hopes of the migrant workers. In ministering to OFWs we also encounter the challenge to be in solidarity with migrant workers from Bangladesh, Myanmar, China and others. 

 

In encountering with the Canaanite woman in public, Jesus was challenged by the need for healing and restoration, particularly for her daughter, but in the broader perspective the healing of humanity. I like the way Sarah Dylan explained how Jesus changed his mind in his encounter with the Canaanite woman: (I quote)

 

What's about to happen is that Jesus is going to give in to her. She challenged him, and by answering, Jesus made her his equal in the eyes of the crowd. But then, after acknowledging that she is not an Israelite, Jesus engages her in more argument ... and Jesus gives in. He loses the argument. He changes course at a woman's word, and commends her for challenging him. I think we're on more solid ground in thinking that what was going on was this:

Jesus was changed in that encounter. He chose to listen to someone whom others would have ignored, and he chose to act in compassion in a situation in which no one would have faulted him for moving on. His choosing to listen and to heal, to change his mind when doing so would cost him honor in the sight of others, demonstrated for us how a true leader discerns mission. The kind of discernment we're called to exercise is not about certainty -- especially not when certainty threatens to trump compassion. (unquote)

 

Conclusion

As we celebrate the 32^nd anniversary of Salakot Ecumenical Church, may we be able to discern new ways of doing Christian ministry and mission in Dasmariñas City, the region, the country and the global community. I believe that God will continue to empower us to participate in the different facets of the Christian ministry. We join prophet Trito-Isaiah in envisioning a future when the only criteria for membership is our faith in God. May our understanding of an ecumenical church lead us in strengthening our cooperation and unity. May God grant us wisdom to God’s mission in the years to come. Happy anniversary! Mabuhay ang Salakot Ecumenical Church! Amen  and Amen.+++

 

 

 

__________ ____

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) the data on workers are as follows;

 Highlights

• Total labor force population in 2021 for the region was estimated at 7.1 million. With about 11.4 million estimated population 15 years old and over, labor force participation rate was at 62.6 percent.
• Total employed persons were approximately 6.3 million in 2021 or an annual regional employment rate of 88.9 percent.
• Total unemployed persons in 2021 reached 795 thousand or an unemployment rate of 11.2 percent.
• Underemployment rate was recorded at 18.2 percent or approximately 1.2 million persons in the region were underemployed.

 

 

 

 

 

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Reference: Paul Nuechterlein

http://girardianlectionary.net/reflections/year-a/proper15a/

 

Opening Comments: Elements of a New Reformation

A poignant title for Matthew 15 might be “Canaanite Lives Matter.” Jesus — or Joshua, as his name is rendered into English without going through the Greek rendering — encounters pockets of Gentiles and performs a redo of the first Joshua’s conquest of that land more than a thousand years earlier. The first Joshua’s marching orders are horrifying to us today, in light of a century of genocides:

 

When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations — the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you — and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. (Deuteronomy 7:1-2)

 

The Black Lives Matter Movement intends for America to be honest about its own genocides that lay at the foundation of our birth as a nation. We stole the labor of Africans and stole the land of Native peoples in order to build our democracy, with tragic irony, on the ideal that all human beings are created equal. BLM asks that we more truthfully see the foundation of our nation as built on devaluing the lives of people of color. Under the banner of Manifest Destiny, white people carried out a theft of this land that showed people of color “no mercy.” And we believed that our God truly wanted us to do this, because our God values our lives above those of others.

 

Black Lives Matter gives us the opportunity to repent of our past and to move forward by making sure that we rebuild our institutions with reparations in order to give full and equal value to the lives of people of color. We might also recognize that people of color are acting in great faith to nonviolently persist in the call to finally get things right.

 

I believe that in Matthew 15 Jesus is showing his disciples an opportunity to similarly renew their understanding of their past and hence their faith in God, too. They cannot move forward in Israel’s true mission unless they understand with Jesus, a second and more important Joshua, a God of mercy, not a god who commands “no mercy.” Jesus will go on to heal Gentiles in this chapter (Matt 15:30-31) and then perform the same miraculous feeding among the Gentiles (Matt 15:32-38) as he did among his fellow Jews (in Matt 14). (A crucial clue in contrasting the two feedings on the basis of Jew and Gentile is the number of baskets of leftovers: 12 in the first one for the twelve tribes of Israel, and 7 in the second one for the seven nations referenced above in Deut 7:1-2.)

The encounter with the Canaanite woman initiates this extension of mission beyond the “house of Israel.” Perhaps even Jesus himself has his mind changed by the “great faith” of the Canaanite woman. It makes more sense to me, though, as an intentionally acted-out parable for the sake of his disciples, anticipating the subsequent mirroring of ministry to Jews with Gentiles. Jesus knows that the Canaanite woman will show great faith, letting himself be ‘conquered’ in this exchange, revealing a very different Joshua. More deeply, it is an acted-out second conquest of Canaan in which this Joshua reveals a God of mercy, countering the “no mercy”-god of the Joshua who led a conquest of Canaan a millennia before.

 

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Reference: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20/commentary-on-isaiah-561-6-8-5

 

Commentary on Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

 

Samuel Giere

 

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Many people have sound reasons for disregarding or leaving church, not least of which is the insidious line-drawing done by Christians.

 

Favoring of our own judgment of who is in and who is out, we too often displace the Lord as sovereign of all that is. Whether it’s politics done in the name of “justice” or religion painted over with a thin veneer of “righteousness,” faith is disregarded in favor of exclusive quackery that displaces God as Lord of all. Not unlike the 6th century BCE when the Lord spoke through the prophet, so today God’s embrace is far wider than many Christians tend to imagine.

 

“Thus says the Lord … ” (Isaiah 56:1a) starts the third major movement in the book of Isaiah. Rather than getting caught up in trying to reconstruct the historical Sitz im Lebenof Isaiah 56-66, consider reading this final movement of Isaiah as suggested by John Oswalt: Isaiah 56-66 “serves as a reprise of the opening themes of the Isaian symphony … they are written to show how the theology of chapters 40-55 fits into that of chapters 1-39.”¹

While Isaiah 1-39 diagnoses the problem of Israel’s lack of trust in Yhwh, with foci on Israel’s faithlessness and Yhwh’s judgment, and Isaiah 40-55 provides a witness to God’s redeeming disposition (e.g. “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem … ”) and promise to restore, Isaiah 56-66 returns to a basic question: With the diagnosis and the renewed promise both in view, what now?

 

The first movement in this “what now?” is Isaiah 56.1-8. It addresses the reality that God’s blessing spills over the boundaries assumed by God’s people — the insiders.

Reread Isaiah 55 as the segue into this Sunday’s pericope. In particular recall:

Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. See, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. See, you shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you (Isaiah 55:3-5).

 

Note that central to the reestablishment of this everlasting covenant with David² is that the covenant will spill over to “nations that you do not know.” The covenant with David as the everlasting covenant is transformed from one of safety from enemies toward their welcome (2 Samuel 4:11b).

 

And so this third movement of Isaiah 56-66 begins by exploring the spillage of the everlasting covenant against the backdrop of the religious practice of drawing lines in particular lines that exclude the foreigner and the eunuch. (Yes, the preacher is encouraged to include the whole of Isaiah 56:1-8, as the donut hole created by the lectionary weakens the force of the text.)

Note that the strong language used here is not about offering an “olive branch” to the “other.” This is not about some kind of associate membership.

 

To the eunuch who keeps Sabbath, the Lord promises full inclusion, recognition better than that given to a son or daughter, and “an everlasting name which shall not be cut off.” To the foreigners who keep Sabbath, these the Lord will bring into His presence, make them joyful, and accept their offerings. This is not peripheral inclusion. Rather, the Lord invites from the margins to the center of the covenant and to the center of Israel’s cultic life and worship.

 

It is pretty clear in Scripture that eunuchs are not permitted to enter into the assembly of the Lord³ and that foreigners are an abomination.⁴ Yet the Lord flips this up-side-down. For those who keep Sabbath. That is, for those who live in the everlasting covenant, the house of the Lord is open. Why? “ … for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus says the Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, I will gather others to them besides those already gathered” (Isaiah 56:7b-8).

So it is that the Lord’s “steadfast and sure love for David” spills over into the world. The everlasting covenant is not about exclusion. It is about inclusion. Radical inclusion. An inclusion so radical that it reinterprets Scripture.

 

This Isaiah text resonates well with the gospel for today, Matthew 15:10-28, in that Jesus challenges established boundaries that some might consider both “just” and “righteous” (cf. Isaiah 56:1b).

Consider rereading John 5 in preparation for preaching Isaiah 56:1-8, especially in relation to this radical inclusion that reinterprets Scripture, in particular keeping Sabbath, the very thing that Isaiah 56:1-8 uses as a common denominator of inclusion. Note that at the outset of the chapter Jesus breaks Sabbath and commands the now-healed fellow to do the same, and then at the end of the chapter he says: “If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?” (John 5:46-67).

 

Lest any of us Christians think that we’ve finally discerned the boundaries of God’s “steadfast, sure love for David” or that we’ve fully discerned Gods justice and righteousness, Jesus calls us to himself and to his cross where any boundary that we Christians might want to construct around God’s steadfast, sure love are shattered.

 

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Reference: Sarah Dylan, https://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2005/08/proper_15_year_.html

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[1] https://calabarzon.denr.gov.ph/index.php/about-us/regional-profile

[2] Filipino psychologists should not discriminate against or demean persons based on actual or perceived differences in characteristics including Philippine Journal of Psychology, 2011, 44 (2), 229-230 Copyright @ 2011 Psychological Association of the Philippines gender identity and sexual orientation (Ethical Standard III-A and C; V-B.8). -https://pap.ph/position-paper/11

 

 

[3]  https://rsso04a.psa.gov.ph/article/highlights-2021-full-year-official-poverty-statistics-calabarzon#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20preliminary%20results,was%20estimated%20at%207.2%20percent.