Tandaan natin na si Kristo ay nakaranas ng matinding mga paratang, paniniktik, pananakot, pag-aresto, pagtortyur, at pagpako sa krus hanggang kamatayan. Ngunit muling nabuhay na muli kapiling ng mga ordinaryong mamamayan tulad ng mga magsasaka, manggagawa, mga ulila, byuda, mga aping kababaihan at bata. Sa katunayan, sila ang mga pinapahalagahan ni Kristo- silang mga minamaliit at pinagtatabuyan ng emperyo. Ang mga tulad nila ang dahilan ng kanyang pagsasakatawang tao upang maisulong ang kaganapan ng buhay para sa lahat at hindi lamang sa iilan.

Carrying ones cross and to sacrifice is truly difficult. A prophet is not a fortune teller but somebody who has the courage and boldness to tell the truth in a particular context by announcing the good news and denouncing the evil that plagued that society.

Sa paglapag ng Banal na Diwa sa mga alagad ni Hesus na magkakasama sa isang lugar, nagsimula nilang maranasan ang kapangyarihang bigay nito. Kabilang dito ay ang kapangyarihang makapagsalita sa iba’t ibang wika.

By LEVI ALBANIA United Methodist Church Psalms 25: 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Genesis 9: 8-15 First Peter 3: 18-22 Mark 1: 12-15 12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.…

An immersed church is very much capable of taking the side of the poor, and those who have been wronged by the system. We need a Church that denounces the powers-that-be who have entitled themselves to an exclusive right to accumulate properties, profits, and personal benefits at the expense the poor.

The grumblings of the “firsts” maybe being popularly interpreted at present through the lenses of workers receiving and experiencing unjust wages and unfair working conditions and, thus, problematizes the employer in the parable itself. However, even in its conventional or traditional meaning, the parable is very clear about what it is saying about the republic of God.