Theme: A Legacy of Mission: Proclaiming Peace, Welcoming the Kingdom
Salakot Ecumenical Church,
34th Founding Anniversary (First Sunday)
06 June 2025,
By Rev. Francisco J. Hernando, Ed.D.
Scripture Texts
Gospel Reading: Luke 10: 1-11; 16-20
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] othersand sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you.7 Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’
Luke 10:16-20
New International Version
16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
INTRODUCTION
Good morning my dear members of the UTS Salakot Ecumenical Church. I would like to welcome to the fellowship of the Salakot Ecumenical Church new and continuing students, in the different residential programs, from Bachelor of Theology, M.Div., MTh. and D.Min. We are happy to welcome our partners Rev. Kim SeungBum, our visiting professor sent by the Council for World Mission (CWM) and the Presbyterian Church of Korea for three years. Also we welcome Rev. Amelia Koh-Butler and Ms. Vickie….Program coordinators for the Training In Mission Program of the Council for World Mission. With joy we welcome as well the ten (10) TIM Fellows, who have joined us on campus and in our community life for three months.
Today is the first Sunday in the month-long celebration of the SEC 34th Founding Anniversary. I thank the Anniversary Committee for having me for today’s service. The organizational set up of the community of faith is unique but it is within the pastoral ministry and chaplaincy services of UTS. Its primary mission is to minister to the spiritual needs of the students, faculty, staff and the members from the immediate community of the seminary who chose to join the fellowship. In many academic community contexts, worship services alongside facets of the Christian Ministry like BIble Study, children and youth ministry are maintained. The theme for today’s first Sunday in the anniversary month is A Legacy of Mission: Proclaiming Peace, Welcoming the Kingdom. Reflecting on the theme, there are key points that I would like to meditate on.
O N E
First, the legacy of the mission. The community of faith was organized under the auspices of UTS made possible the regular weekly services, Christian education program and witnessing to Christ’s life in the immediate community.
The historical background of the Salakot Ecumenical Church mentions the initial development of the community of faith.
On January 12, 1961, Bishop Benjamin I. Guansing, the first Filipino President of Union Theological Seminary appointed Dr. Eugene and Mrs. Elizabeth Wonder Hessel, both faculty members of UTS, to spearhead the religious programs in the communities along the Tagaytay Highway (now Emilio Aguinaldo Highway). The Sambahan sa Nayon built its chapel in 1965 and made the space available to vital Christian ministries: a community hospital (1966), a kindergarten / daycare center for children in the community, and a worship space for seminarians in UTS until the Salakot Chapel was fully operational in 1973.
Then in March of 1991, representatives of the worshipping congregations of the Salakot Chapel and the Sambahan sa Nayon voted to affirm their "unity as a people of God" in campus and became the Philippine Christian Center of Learning-University Church (PCCL-UC). The members of the Sambahan sa Nayon who disagreed with this organic union left the campus and established an independent church outside of the seminary campus.
In 2013, Union Theological Seminary regained its autonomy and the merger with PCU, and therefore the Commission on Theological Education, was dissolved. A decade after the dissolution of the merger and the commission, the Philippine Christian Center of Learning-University Church changed its name to Salakot Ecumenical Church (UTS-SEC) on 25 June 2024 under the pastoral administration of the Rev. Sianne Gabor-Mendoza.
As a community of faith within the auspices of Union Theological Seminary, the SEC has its mission to the immediate and wider community in Dasmarinas, Cavite.
Mission as we all know has been used in the secular world, that every organization, institution and corporation have defined their mission and for many churches they have to define not only their mission, but also their vision, and goals. For our meditation, based on the Gospel text, we are talking about mission as missio Dei or the mission of God. Taking a clue from Luke’s narrative, Jesus sent the 72 for a mission, and it is a mission of bringing peace or shalom to the communities where they may find themselves.
Jesus instructed them that whenever they enter a town and its people welcome them, eat what is set before them cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever they enter a town and people do not welcome them, they have to go out into its streets and say,‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. And Jesus ‘emphasized that the kingdom of God has come near.’--The kingdom of God is revealed in a new reality for people to grasp, undergo metanoia –changed perspective in life, to a life that enable them to live a life of well-being and freedom.
Jesus sent the 72 in a socio-cultural context characteristically rural, and the first-century BCE Palestine, the setting for Jesus' ministry, was a complex region characterized by significant socio-economic disparities and the pervasive influence of the Roman empire.
Palestine was overwhelmingly an agrarian society. The vast majority of the population (over 90%) were peasants engaged in subsistence farming. These peasants struggled to produce enough food for their families, animals, and to also generate a surplus for various obligations. Their lives were often precarious, marked by small landholdings, marginal soil, irregular rainfall, and reliance on family labor. Many peasants were impoverished, living in small, often one or two-room houses, sometimes sharing courtyards with other families. Their diet lacked sufficient protein and vitamins.
Extreme Wealth Inequality and a Stratified Society: A small elite, comprising 1-2% of the population, held significant wealth and power. They resided primarily in cities and owned vast tracts of land in the countryside. These elites extracted surpluses from the peasants through rent and heavy taxation. This wealth funded their lavish lifestyles, large villas, and public building projects.
A smaller middle class included artisans (stone cutters, weavers, potters) and some who collected taxes for the Roman authorities or local rulers. Slavery was also a part of the social fabric, with some Jews being enslaved, particularly after Roman conquests.
Impact of Roman Rule and Taxation: Client Kingdom and Province: Judaea transitioned from a Roman client kingdom under Herod the Great to a directly ruled Roman province after his death (4 BCE), exacerbating the economic burden. Peasants faced multiple layers of taxation:
Temple and Synagogue: The Temple in Jerusalem was the central place of worship and sacrifice. Synagogues served as centers for prayer and study throughout Jewish communities.
Messianic Expectations: Many Jews harbored nationalist aspirations and longed for freedom from foreign domination, with various groups holding different expectations of a coming Messiah.
In essence, first-century BCE Palestine was a society marked by deep divisions between a wealthy urban elite and a largely impoverished rural peasantry, all operating under the demanding and often oppressive hand of Roman imperial rule. This context of economic hardship and political tension significantly shaped the lives of ordinary people and provided the backdrop for Jesus' ministry, which often addressed the plight of the poor and challenged existing social norms.
T W O
Second, Missio Dei or the mission of God has always been a mission of bringing about peace. Peace in the biblical-theological perspective is the well being of people, the experience of justice and life’s sustainability. Peace is very concrete because its manifestation is seen in the abundance of food, water, health and healing resources, social and emotional support are readily accessed by persons in need. Peace or shalom is the lived experience of trust and confidence between leaders and the people, that both in the perspective of covenant with God, protect the life and dignity of every person. The existence of oppression and injustice in the community are considered violations of the covenant —the fundamental moral law that binds people and their leaders to live as God’s people.
The psycho-social theory that asserts that in order for peace to be achieved, the obstacles in attaining peace and justice must be removed or eliminated is Johan Galtung's concept of Positive Peace, particularly in contrast to his concept of "Negative Peace."
Here's why:
Negative Peace is defined as the absence of direct violence (e.g., war, physical attacks).
Positive Peace goes beyond this, advocating for the absence of structural and cultural violence and the presence of social justice, equality, and harmonious social relationships. Structural violence refers to systemic ways in which social, economic, and political structures harm individuals or groups (e.g., poverty, discrimination, limited access to education or healthcare). Cultural violence refers to aspects of culture (e.g., religion, ideology, language, art, science) that can be used to legitimize direct or structural violence.
Galtung's theory, particularly the concept of Positive Peace, emphasizes that true and sustainable peace cannot exist simply by ending overt conflict. Instead, it requires actively dismantling the underlying obstacles and root causes of conflict, such as inequalities, discrimination, lack of access to resources, and power imbalances.
To achieve positive peace, the focus is on removing or eliminating these obstacles—addressing the root causes of conflict, promoting social justice, fostering equality, and transforming the cultural and structural conditions that give rise to violence. This involves peacebuilding efforts that go beyond ceasefire agreements to include addressing human rights, economic disparity, political exclusion, and reconciliation processes.
Sometimes it is discouraging to observe that many people in the country do not fully understand Christian mission of peace in our modern world. When Church leaders talk and involve themselves in peace talks and peace processes, the members would rather not endorse or support their leaders in the work for justice and peace in the land. Many pastors and members were accused of trumped up criminal cases for supporting basic sectors and indigenous people for their right to ancestral land and access to social services. Many of us were “redtagged” for being a prophetic voice in society. However, the growing awareness of people of the failures of governance and adverse impact of repressive laws on the quality of life of the people, have slowly changed the discourse on justice, peace and human rights.
The arrest and trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a test of the global understanding of human dignity and human rights of people, especially those extrajudicially killed. The culture of impunity is starting to be eroded by the surfacing of witness to the mass murder of more than 100 sabongero who were alleged to have been killed and their bodies thrown at the deep waters of Lake Taal in Batangas.
Philippine society, when likened to a dysfunctional person, can be similar to the character of Evan McCauley (Mark Wahlberg) in the film Infinite (2021).
Evan McCauley (Mark Wahlberg) is haunted by vivid memories and skills he’s never learned—hallmarks, he believes, of schizophrenia. Medicated and troubled, he struggles to hold down a job and self-medicates to stave off mental breakdowns. The film is a sci‑fi action thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua, based on The Reincarnationist Papers, blending high‑concept metaphysics with global stunts and intense visual effects.
But Evan’s life takes a dramatic turn when he’s approached by a secret society known as the Infinites—individuals who do remember all of their past lives. They explain that humanity is divided into two factions: the Believers, who use their reincarnated knowledge to help the world, and the Nihilists, who view endless rebirth as a curse. Bathurst (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a powerful Nihilist, believes life is suffering and seeks to end the cycle—by deploying a doomsday device called the Egg.
In the film, a moral dilemma is revealed:
If someone commits crimes in one life, can they be held accountable in the next?
- The Believers uphold a form of cosmic justice: using memory and accumulated experience to shape moral responsibility across generations.
- Bathurst challenges this, arguing that eternal memory without rest is cruel, and questions the fairness of suffering in one life for another’s mistakes.
This raises real-world philosophical questions:
Is justice cumulative? Or should each life be judged on its own terms?””
Empires and political regimes in the world, like the Philippines, are judged in the here and now in the measure of their impact on people and communities. People in their organizations and institutions like the churches can judge how justice has been disregarded and how peace has been mocked in the waging of wars of agression, genocide, mass murders and other forms of oppression and tyrany. Each political regime and empire’s lifetime must be judged accordingly.
T H R E E
Third, the announcement or proclamation of the kingdom of God is a radical if not a revolutionary task that Christians do in their bearing witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why is this revolutionary? Because living out our faith in God through Christ means witnessing to the new consciousness rooted in love and compassion.
The 12 disciples and the 72 were sent out maybe similar to our seminary students’ summer exposure program, but this is something more than just integration, they were commissioned to bring peace, healing and the heralding of the kingdom of God. They were sent by Jesus disturbing the status quo, or what the people have become culturally accustomed to. In this situation where the kingdom of God has come near, satan or the forces of empires intensify their oppressive and violent schemes against the people. People are on the defensive because their senses are numbed by the propensity of the empire’s violent schemes. The Gospel in its disturbing of the status quo is heard and considered as accusation and threat to their massive economic interests.
There is still observation of the tension in the communities where the 12 and the 72 were sent, which are present as well in our communities. We are hinted that there is a harvest, people long for meaning and freedom from the frightening and oppressive world in which they live. There is a hysteria just below the surface, that only waits for triggers to burst out. And yet we go to the fields with the good news—to our work places, our communities, our broader society, to speak in any way which challenges our cultural foundations and religious beliefs, and it is like being a lamb sent among the wolves. For, if we miss the love of God in Christ, or do not want the consequences of being loved, then the Gospel is itself an accusation. The empire and its cohorts will consider us enemies.
Jesus, rather than equipping the disciples for “holy war” against unbelievers, he de-equips them of the required travel paraphernalia: “Do not carry a wallet, a travel bag, or sandals; greet no one along the way.” The absence of standard traveling equipment and the ignoring of social customs in greeting people they meet, indicates the total trust and dependence of the disciples on Jesus Christ—the mission Sender.
Here at home, Jesus’ modesty and simplicity of doing mission has been mocked by government leaders, especially by the nonchalant or careless behavior of VP Sarah Duterte on the misuse of government funds. On the halls of Congress and Senate the debate continues whether to go ahead with the impeachment trial of VP Sarah Duterte. The spectacle is sensational but, still, only a fragment of the problem. The collective loss from misused public funds across every complicit politician from the lowest barangay level through Congress to Malacañang and the presidency runs into the hundreds of billions of pesos – these are stolen opportunities, stalled progress, and a deepening betrayal of public trust.
IBON Foundation says: (I quote) The country doesn’t have any headroom. Poverty, hunger, and underdevelopment, have gotten worse under the Marcos Jr administration. It is falling behind or even regressing in the majority of its own targets for the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs).
As of February 2025, halfway to the 2023 deadline, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reports that the country is off-track in 79% of its SDG targets – progress is lagging in 52% and actually regressing in 27% of targets. Amid so much hype about economic growth and progress, the country is on-track in just 21% of its commitments.
Poverty reduction according to official poverty lines is off-track, while the Social Weather Stations (SWS) actually reports poverty increasing to 55% or 15.5 million families at the start of April – with the slight decline to 50% or 14.1 million families at the end of April plausibly due to massive vote-buying as the elections neared. Progress is lagging in access to basic services, secure land rights and others – while casualties from natural disasters are increasing.
Food security and malnutrition are regressing. This is consistent with SWS reports that hunger has more than doubled since the start of the Marcos Jr administration to 27.2% or 7.5 million families by March 2025. (unquote)
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we read that the 72 returned with stories of victories, which I suspect reflect the experience of Luke's community, and can speak for us, "returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!"
I believe that demons submit to us when we persist in our prophetic ministry. We were distraught when many of us—church workers were redtagged on television by operatives of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTFELCAC), a government sponsored agency. We were thinking of filing cases in court against the persons who redtagged us, but many of us were adamant to go to court considering security and economic implications. But those in the ecumenical network filed cases in court and they won the cases of redtagging and the penalties were handed down by the courts.
Demons were believed as personified forces that had power to control human behavior. But society misunderstands them in two ways. One is to say that demons and malevolent spirits do not exist and it is all in the brain malfunction or mere superstition, and the second is to have a literal understanding that demons are disembodied beings not too different to you and me. I think demons and malevolent spirits are the evil and violent intentions of persons to harm and kill other persons. Thus, they are defeated when people collectively confront and expel them from their prominence in culture and in the socio-political realm in our society. The demons that the empire unleashed should be expelled in society and the world, so that justice and peace may be truly an experience of many people in communities.
Dear friends, the SEC 34th Founding anniversary is an opportunity for us to deepen our commitment to God in Christ in the doing of the mission in peace, justice and the proclamation of the kingdom of God. May God continue to bless and sustain the ministry and mission of the Salakot Ecumenical Church in the coming years. Amen.
Happy Anniversary at Mabuhay ang Salakot Ecumenical Church.
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