BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION AND RECEPTION IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION AND RECEPTION IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH     

                                           

Fred Vergara. St.James Episcopal Church, Elmhurst, New York. 4/26/2015

On the occasion of the baptism of Sebastian and Ashley and the gospel reading on the Good Shepherd, I would like to turn this sermon into a teaching moment on baptism, confirmation and reception in the Episcopal Church.

In the Episcopal Church as in most mainline churches, baptism is the required entrance into the Christian faith. It is what makes you to be called a Christian, a follower of Christ. Baptism is done by the priest, and in cases of emergency, can be done by any baptized Christian. The formula for baptism is the administration of water, with the words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Emergency baptism is done when a person is in danger of death and this is the case of Ashley. According to her mother, Roseline, Ashley was born prematurely at 6 ½ months and she weighed only 2 pounds. As they feared she was not going to make it, while being incubated, an emergency baptism was done by the chaplain at Elmhurst Hospital on December 26, 2004. 

When you look at Ashley today, you will never think that she was almost given up as dead while in her mother's womb, then she suddenly moved and the doctor's performed a c-section on Rosaline, and when taken out, she weighed only 2 pounds. Thanks be to God who gives her life and have it abundantly. She is a survivor from the very start.

It is a practice that an emergency baptism be followed by a public celebration in the church once the person survived---and ten years, later today, we are here regularizing Ashley’s baptism. But because baptism, whether emergency or non-emergency is an “unrepeatable act,” we want to avoid any action that might be interpreted as “rebaptism.” 

The rubric from the Book of Common Prayer provides “that the Baptism should be recognized at a public celebration of the Sacrament…and the person baptized under emergency conditions together with the sponsors or godparents, taking part in everything, except the administration of the water” (BCP, page 314).So Ashley will join Sebastian in all the baptismal vows and proceedings but will not have the repeat of the pouring of water.

Baptism is a sacrament, meaning “an outward or visible sign with an inward or spiritual grace.” Water is the outward sign and the inward grace has a three-fold meaning, namely:

1.      

         In baptism, we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection. This is aptly demonstrated in the baptism by immersion with the image that when a person is submerged in water, she virtually died with Christ and when she rose up from the water, she rose again with Christ.

2.      In baptism, we become members of God’s family, the Body of Christ, the Church. In the Episcopal Church, the sacrament of baptism is the only requirement to partake of another sacrament, the sacrament of the Holy Communion. You need not wait for Confirmation, another traditional sacrament, in order to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ. 

I will talk about Confirmation later, but for now, it is sufficient for you to know that when you are baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), you may already partake of the Holy Communion.

3.      In baptism, we receive forgiveness of sins and new life in the Holy Spirit. In the baptismal covenant, the person being baptized is asked to renounce Satan or the Devil, the evil powers and the sinful desires that draw her from God; and after renouncing them, she will be asked if she accept Jesus Christ as Savior and obey Jesus Christ as Lord. Then she will go through a Baptismal Covenant in which she recites the Apostle’s Creed and make vows to “persevere in resisting evil, proclaim the Good News of Christ, love neighbor, strive for justice and peace and respect the dignity of every human being.”

So baptism is really a rite of passage from death to life, from darkness to light, from old birth to new birth. This is being born again! It is a passage from the old life of sin to a new life in Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to the old Nicodemus, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”(John 3:6)

For this reason, St. Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). 

St. Peter also inspired the Christians with these words, “For you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

Nowadays, many young people pride themselves with the words, “we are spiritual but not religious.” What they mean is that they believe in God and do good things but they do not want to belong to a church. What they do not realize is that the context of new birth in the Spirit is tied to baptism in Christ and membership in Christ’s Body, the Church. St. Teresa De Avila aptly said, “We are not material beings with spirits; we are spiritual beings with bodies.” She further said, “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”  

Now let me speak briefly about Confirmation and Reception. In the Episcopal Church, there are seven (7) sacraments. Two are called gospel sacraments: Baptism and Holy Eucharist. They are called Gospel Sacraments because they are expressly mandated by Jesus Christ. The other five---Confirmation, Ordination, Marriage, Reconciliation of the Penitent, Unction of the Sick---are traditional sacraments practiced by the church for generations.

Confirmation, from the meaning of the word itself, is an action of confirming all who have been baptized. The Bishop visits the parish and all those who have been baptized are confirmed by the laying on of hands and the bishop praying, “Strengthen, O Lord, your servants with your Holy Spirit, empower them for your service and sustain them all the days of their life”(BCP, page 148).  

Usually, a Confirmation Class is held prior to the Confirmation by which the candidates for confirmation learn more about the doctrines or teachings of the Church. The Book of Common Prayer (pages 845-862) contains the basic catechism or Outline of the Faith that is taught in Confirmation Classes.

 

Reception is an additional rite by which those who have been baptized and confirmed in other churches, like the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church or other Trinitarian churches and who have decided to affiliate with the Episcopal Church are formally received by the Bishop. The Bishop may lay hands on the candidates for reception or would simply say, “ (Name), we recognize you as a member of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, and we receive you into the fellowship of this Communion” (BCP p. 418).

Reaffirmation is another additional rite for those who have lapsed in their commitment to the Church and have decided to return and renew their involvement and commitment. Now again, the Bishop may lay hands on them or may simply say the words, “ (Name), may the Holy Spirit, who has begun a good work in you in the service of Christ and His kingdom” (BCP 419).

Conclusion                                                                                                                                                             

Now, our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Lawrence Provenzano, will visit our church on Sunday, July 26, 2015 and he does every year when we celebrate our church anniversary. When he comes to visit, we normally submit candidates for confirmation, reception and reaffirmation. Now I am glad that over the year, we have gained new attendees to our Sunday Worship. If you have not yet done so, I would like you to consider confirmation, reception or reaffirmation. There are three things I wish to emphasize on these rites:

1.      First, the decision for Christ maybe private but the rite or ceremony is public. Jesus expressly says in the Bible, “"Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

2.      Second, the importance of learning the faith. Hosea 4:6 says, ”My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” For this reason, I would like to announce that we shall have a Catechism, as we normally do, for those who are to be confirmed, received and would reaffirm their faith. Please watch out for the start of catechism sometime next month.

3.      Third, the significance of tradition. In the Episcopal Church, we believe in the three-legged stool of understanding our faith and they are: Scriptures, Tradition and Reason. Scripture means the Holy Bible, both the Books of the Old and the New Testament. As Episcopalians, we are also called “the people of the books.” Reason, according to our Anglican ethos, is "the governor of man's life, the very voice of God" (Archbishop Robert Runcie). 

Tradition, even in these fast-changing world is not to be tossed aside like a baby in bathwater. We, in the Philippines has a saying, “Ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan, hindi makarating sa patutunguhan” or "those who do not remember where they come from could not arrive at where they are going." Tradition or magisterium has a place even in contemporary times.

The example of Jesus in Matthew 3:13-17 is worthy of our emulation. He was God incarnate but he came to John in the Jordan River and asked to be baptized. John who said he was not worthy even to untie Jesus’ sandals, tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. And as soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

THE GREATEST VERSE: AN EVANGELISTIC SERMON

THE GREATEST VERSE: AN EVANGELISTIC SERMON

(Winfred Vergara. St. James Episcopal Church, Elmhurst, New York. 03.15.2015)

Let me begin my sermon with Bible Trivia. What is the shortest verse in the Bible? It contains only two words. Answer: John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”

 

What is the longest verse in the Bible? Answer: Esther 8:9. It contains 90 words: ”'At once the royal secretaries were summoned--on the twenty-third day of the third month, the month of Sivan. They wrote out all Mordecai's orders to the Jews, and to the satraps, governors and nobles of the 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush. These orders were written in the script of each province and the language of each people and also to the Jews in their own script and language.'’ 

And what is the greatest verse in the Bible? Answer: it is in today’s gospel and it is  John 3:16  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”  

Why is this called the greatest verse?  Answer: Because it captures the essence of the whole Bible. 

Martin Luther, the German monk who started the religious reformation in Europe in the 16^th century and paved the way for what is now the Lutheran Church, said that John 3:16  is “the whole gospel in miniature.” It is said that even if all the contents of the Bible will be erased and this verse is the only one left, we will still understand the biblical message.

So everyone, let us all try memorize this verse together: “For God so loved the world that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16)

If we are writing a book, we can outline this verse into three parts:  Part I: God, the Greatest Lover ; Part II: Jesus, the Greatest Gift; and Part III: Eternal Life, the Greatest Promise.

1.     God, the Greatest Lover

This verse begins with “For God so loved the world that He gave”. This is the whole essence of love. Love is giving and not getting; Love is forgiving and not avenging; love is surrendering and not attacking.

So many stories were written about love; so many songs were sung about love; so many poems were spoken about love. But nothing can compare with the love of God for us. The First Epistle of John verse 3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we shall be called children of God.” John made it clear that all love, real love, authentic love, agape love, eternal love, begins with God’s love.  We love because God first loved us.

I think the saddest part of the 21^st century is the resurgence of hate groups. According to recent survey, in the United States alone, there are over a thousand active hate groups. There are racist groups which peddle hate against another race; there are sexist groups that peddle hate against women or gay; there are religious bigotry groups which peddle hate against other religious people and other cultures.

With the increased efficiency of social media and cyberspace technology, many of these hate groups are enticing young people. We are shocked to see some cops, who instead of doing their duty “to serve and to protect,” would have no restraint in killing suspects. It is shocking to learn that young people even from England, Europe and the United States have been enticed by the ISIS, one of the most notorious hate groups in the world today, to become hateful avengers. Recently, ISIS posted a video of a boy who turned into a junior jihadi. In the video, he executed a hostage, firing point blank, cold-bloodedly,  on the head of an adult victim.

It is my prayer that God who is Love, will soon multiply love groups so that hate groups will become a very small minority and would lose their significance.  St Augustine wrote: “What does love look like? It has the hands to help others; it has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy; it has the eyes to see misery and want; it has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows.”

 If we must make a difference in this world, we must proclaim that God is love and invite the world, especially the young people, to join love groups.

2. Jesus, the Greatest Gift

“For God so loved the world that He gave…” What did God give? “He gave His only begotten Son.” And who is this Son? Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Graeco-Roman world of Jesus’ time, was, in essence not different from the world in our own time. Punishment for crime included beheading, hanging and crucifixion. There were hate groups, religious bigots, racists, sexists, homophobes. The world was yearning for peace. The poor cry for justice; the widows and orphans suffer neglect and social apathy; there was corruption, oppression and wickedness in the land.

Into this world of darkness, the light of Christ broke forth.  Jesus came as the fruit of love, the love that was impregnated in the womb of a Virgin by the greatest lover in the power of the Holy Spirit. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, begotten not made, one in being with the Father.

Into this world of hate, Jesus came to proclaim the message of the Father’s love. He came to seek and to save the lost; to destroy the power of darkness; to bear witness to the truth. He came to die for the sins of the whole world so that by His death humanity may no longer live in hate but in love.

Martin Luther King, Jr. our American hero and follower of Jesus Christ once said, “Darkness cannot overcome darkness; only light can. Hate cannot overcome hate; only love can.” I Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ suffered for our sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us back to God.” Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God, the greatest lover proved his love by giving us the greatest gift, the most precious gift of all, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

3. Eternal Life, the Greatest Promise 

God, the greatest lover. Has given us the greatest gift; his only Son Jesus Christ. For what? What is the motive of the Giver? “That whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” 

This is the greatest promise. All human beings, no matter how good and great, have “sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All human beings, no matter how strong and healthy, are mortal and formed of the earth. From dust we came and unto dust we shall return. All human beings are like grass and flowers in the field. The grass withers and the flower falls---and all human beings will have the same fate.

But in the fullness of time, this greatest Lover, gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to save us from sin and give us the promise, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. And He became the first fruit of that promise. For on the third day after his death, Jesus rose again from the dead. And because He lives, we can face tomorrow. We can live life abundant on earth, and in the age to come, life everlasting. 

He said it out before he was to ascend unto heaven, “In my Father’s house are many mansions; I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and bring you with me, so that where I am, there you maybe also.”

The Book of Revelation 21, says it like this:

“Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Then I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

This was the faith of the early Christians. Believing in the promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ, there was no longer any fear in their hearts. They dispersed from Jerusalem, to Judea, to Samaria and to the ends of the world proclaiming the love of God in Christ Jesus. Many of them were martyred for their faith. Some were tortured, beaten up, beheaded and crucified like Jesus. But on their lips, in their hearts and in their minds were  written the words of  John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

Prayer:

I know there are some of you here who are not yet Christians or who have not yet truly believed. I want you to consider making this leap of faith by praying this prayer with me: 

“Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me so much that you gave your Son Jesus to suffer and die on the cross for my sins and the sins of the whole world. Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. I believe that you die for my sins; and because you live again; I can face tomorrow. I ask you to come into my heart and be the Lord of my life. Give me the Holy Spirit to guide me, to teach me and to comfort me. I receive your promise of abundant life on earth; and in the age to come, life everlasting. Amen.”

THREE ELEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

THREE ELEMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

(The Rev. Dr. Fred Vergara, St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church,  Seaford. Long Island, New York. 4.4.15)

Kurt and Valerie, this day so long desired by you has now come at last when the Lord will bless and keep your love. As your priest and friend in Christ, it is my hope and my prayer that God will fill you with love, joy and peace as you begin a new chapter in your life together.

There are two schools of thought with regards to marriage. First school of thought is that marriage is very difficult. My friend, anthropologist Stuart Schlegel compared marriage to that of “learning how to play the violin.” It is very hard and challenging but when you master it, you can play the most melodious music.

The other school of thought is that marriage is very easy.  Comedian Rodney Dangerfield said, “marriage is like a vacation: I married my wife as a last resort.”

A man was having a Shakespearean question: “to wed or nor to wed.”After consulting many books and counselors, he came to an existentialist philosopher by the name of Soren Kierkegaard. Kierkegaard said, “Young man, by all means, gets married. If you marry a good wife, you will be happy; if you marry a nagging wife, you will become a philosopher.”

There are three elements, on which Christian blessing is invoked. These elements, when present and practiced, will make marriage last and enjoyable.

1.     The first element of marriage is the hope for permanence.

A wedding is for a day but a marriage is for a lifetime. In a certain village in Philippines, there is a tradition that after the wedding, the bride and groom do not immediately go for honeymoon. Instead, they go to the market and buy two clay pots. They tie the pots together by the neck and throw them into the river. Whatever happens to the two pots---they may sink in the water or be carried by the streams down to the sea---the two pots stay together.

In this marriage, there are at least two symbols of this desire for permanence. You will make a vow to one another that says, “for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”  You will affirm this vow with the giving and receiving of a ring.  Marriage is indeed difficult and challenging and it is not always easy to keep the vows in the midst of trials and tribulations. But I pray that you will strive for this ideal, the ideal on which Christian blessing is invoked.

2.     The second element of marriage is the desire for mutuality.

In the Book of Genesis, God said:”it is not good that man should be alone. I will make a partner fit for him.” So he caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man and out of his rib, God made the woman. Someone said the woman was not taken from a man’s foot so that she should be trampled upon, nor from the head so she should dominate over him; she was taken from the rib, close to the heart, so that she should be loved, cherished and respected.

In a sense, the role of the husband is simple: make your wife happy. And the role of the wife is just as simple: make your husband happy. How do you make it happen? In the Book of Ephesians, the Bible says: “Husband, love your wife as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her. Wife, see to it that you respect your husband.” 1^st Corinthians 13 defines love as “patient and kind…believes all things, hopes all things.”

One of the most commonly asked question by newly-weds is, “who is in-charge? Is it 50-50?” In Filipino culture, we often say, “the husband is the head but the wife is the neck---so whenever the neck goes, the head follows.”

Mutuality in marriage does not destroy personality but rather enhances it. Marriage that is founded on mutuality nourishes two distinct personalities into their fullness in the spirit of mutual love, inspiration and respect. The poet Khalil Gibran says, “Let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of the heavens dance between you…Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music... And stand together, yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.”

Kurt, I trust that you will continue to love, cherish and honor your wife, Valerie, Valerie, I trust that you will love, cherish, and respect your husband, Kurt  so that together you will live life to then full.

3.     The third element of marriage is unity.

The Book of Genesis summarized it this way, “therefore a man leaves father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh…what therefore God has joined together, let no man  put asunder.”

One plus one equals one. What an amazing theology, what a wonderful poetry---and what an awesome arithmetic! It is like saying “two lips plus two lips equals one kiss.”

Marriage is a joining together of two persons in a mysterious and mystical unity. Jesus compared it to the unity of Christ and the Church.  It is covenant between two personalities who bring together their gifts and talents into a wonderful tapestry of intimacy. The biblical injunction of “leaving and cleaving” has to do with far more than the physical. It has to do with the unity of diversity of body, mind and spirit.

Kurt and Valerie, today God will unite you in marriage. It will be further symbolized by the unity candle. Your two small candles will unite into one large candle so that together your light as husband and wife will shine brightly and help lighten the darkness of this world and become a witness to the light of Christ.

As you live up to the ideals of permanence, mutuality and unity; I pray that your marriage will not simply endure but prevail---and become truly the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Amen.

WAY OF HUMILITY: A PALM SUNDAY SERMON

WAY OF HUMILITY: A PALM SUNDAY SERMON

(A Sermon on Palm Sunday by the Rev. Dr. Winfred B. Vergara, St. James Episcopal Church, 84-07 Broadway, Elmhurst, NY 11373. 03/29/2015)

There are many lessons we gain from the episode of Palm Sunday but foremost among them is the lesson on humility. While it is often dubbed as “the triumphal entry of Jesus to Jerusalem,” it is actually a prelude to his humiliation and defeat. 

As he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, he would be met by the crowds shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Later the same crowds would shout, “Crucify him!” As he drove away the money changers from the temple with a whip, he himself would later be whipped and tortured by the Roman soldiers.

In all these shaming, Jesus as the Son of Man and Son of God, showed extraordinary meekness and humility and never used his power to exact vengeance upon those who rejected him, mocked him, spat upon him and crucified him. So if there is anything that we can learn most from Jesus, it is his humility. 

What is humility? Humility is the opposite of pride. In Christian ethics, pride is one of the “seven capital sins” (pride, greed, lust, sloth, gluttony, envy, wrath,) from which many of us needs redemption.

It is ironic that we, who are Christians and so-called “servants of God,” also have pride. I must confess that I am guilty of this myself. How is pride manifest in our lives?

1.     First, pride manifest itself in self-worship.

When you love yourself too much that you are no longer sensitive to the needs and feelings of others, you are falling into self-worship. 

In Greek mythology, there’s the story of Narcissus. He was so handsome and so attractive that when he looked at the pool, he fell in love with his own reflection, that he remained fixated to the water and drowned. 

In the Bible, there was Lucifer, the most beautiful of all the angels that he was called the “morning star.” Lucifer was also the most talented musician. It is said that whenever Lucifer moved, there was music. But with his beauty and talent, Lucifer wanted to occupy God’s throne and make himself “like the Most High” and so he was cast down from heaven.

The worship of self, this “narcissistic” or “luciferous” temptation, is often marketed in our modernistic, consumerist and me-generation. We love to take “selfies” with our iPhones or iPads and put them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  In movies and television, we call actors and actresses as celebrities and starts. We are crazy about the American Idol, the Voice, and Dancing with the Stars. Even in the games such as Football, considered to be a “team sport,” some players would dance in self-congratulation---even before reaching the end zone. A teenager was asked what her dream is and she said, “I will be the next American Idol!” 

In Philippine culture, we even had degrees of stardoms. We call actress Nora Aunor as the “superstar;” singer Sharon Cuneta as the “megastar”; and actress-dancer Vilma Santos as “the star for all seasons.”

In the Bible, Jesus was asked by Pilate, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus was silent. The character of Leonardo De Caprio in Titanic proclaimed, “I am the king of the world!” But this “King of kings and Lord of lords,” the “Maker of heaven and earth,” “the One” who owns the world and everything in it, kept silent. That must be the loudest silence ever!

2.     Pride manifests itself in false modesty.

While pride manifests itself in self-congratulations, pride likewise manifests itself in self-devaluation. This is called false modesty. 

Many people, especially coming from situations or marginality or oppression, often do not want to be complimented. This may be due to “internalized oppression.” They have been used to being put down and so when someone makes a compliment, they feel uneasy. They are experts on what is called “self deprecation.” For instance, when someone said, “you’re beautiful,” instead of saying, “thank you,” they would say “No, I’m not beautiful; as a matter of fact, I’m ugly.” When someone says, “you have a beautiful dress,” they reply, “this dress? This is cheap; I bought this in the clearance sale.” 

False modesty is not humility. We are created by God in His image so that we can shine in human dignity. It does not do God any glory by us playing less than what we are created for. We should not worship or idolize ourselves but we should also not dishonor our human dignity by failing to be light of the world and salt of the earth. 

One of the baptismal vows in The Episcopal Church asks, “Will you respect the dignity of every human being?” And our response is “I will.” But respecting the dignity of every human being means respecting our own dignity as well. This is similar to what Jesus said, “Love your neighbor as (you love) yourself.” 

Jesus bore all humiliation but when he saw merchants and money changers in the temple cheating other people, Jesus was filled with righteous indignation. He took a whip and drove away the money changers and overturned their tables. He shouted at them, “My Father’s house is a house of prayer but you made it a den of thieves!” We should not keep silent when the human dignity of others, especially the poor and oppressed,  and ours are being trampled upon.

3.     Pride manifests itself in racism and cultural arrogance.

Individual pride hurts relationships but communal pride hurts the whole society. When one race or culture exalts itself as superior over the others, it becomes racism. Racism is a systemic sin not only by individuals but by people. 

What is racism?Racism is prejudice plus power. For instance, almost every racial-ethnic person has certain amount of prejudice over others. White maybe prejudiced against black, black maybe prejudiced against brown, brown maybe prejudiced against yellow, yellow maybe prejudiced against red. Sometimes there is even prejudice within a racial-ethnic group. Thus Filipinos maybe prejudiced against other Asians; Chinese maybe prejudiced against Indians; Mexicans maybe prejudiced against Cubans. Sometimes Filipino immigrants who have become U.S. citizens are prejudiced against Filipino immigrants who are undocumented.

So it is common to have prejudices but when you act out that prejudice with power, then it becomes racism.  Just as example, the employee who is black or brown maybe prejudiced against his employer who is white but he has no power to execute his prejudice. But his boss who is white has the power to fire his employee whom he is prejudiced against. So racism is prejudice with power---and in this country, the United States, the so-called “white privilege” is embedded in our political systems and social structures.

In this country, the natives are the Indians, our indigenous brothers and sisters. We are all immigrants--Anglos, Europeans, Asians, Middle Easterners, and to certain degrees---Latinos. The origin of Black History is one of African slavery and so racism by white against black is deeply imbedded in history. That is why the struggle against slavery is a struggle for human dignity, a struggle for human equality that God has given all of God’s creation. 

In God’s economy, no race can arrogate superiority over other races. God created all human beings equal in His sight. And so we, who are Asian Americans, Latino Americans and Anglo Americans as well, owe it to our Afro-American and Indigenous brothers and sisters, the struggle to free us all from any racial-ethnic superiority and to see ourselves equal as we are equal in God’s sight.

So the coming of Jesus on Palm Sunday was an extraordinary example of humility to show to us that God humbled himself and became a human being so that human beings would treat one other with equal worth, status and dignity.

4.     Pride manifests itself in Sexism, Homophobia and Bigotry.

When I was in Israel studying “The Palestine of Jesus,” I learned that “sexism, homophobia and bigotry” are the lot of the “scribes and the Pharisees” who rejected Jesus and whom Jesus called “hypocrites.” The typical “Pharisaic prayer,” goes like this: “God, I thank thee that I am a Jew, not a gentile; a Man, not a woman; a Son, not a dog.”

Sexism is gender discrimination and prejudice; homophobia is an irrational fear or hatred against gays and lesbians; and bigotry is an irrational intolerance of diversity of ideas or perspectives. On the whole, they are “pharisaic” attitude that accepts only one orientation, one perspective and does not have an open mind nor embraces the diversity and plurality of human natures.

I must confess that the Church of our generation, as in past generations, needs liberation in humility and openness to God’s continuing revelations. Some strongly conservative and fundamental Christians need to be freed from sexism, homophobia and bigotry; others need to come closer to the embrace and celebration of God’s amazing diversity. By oppressing, marginalizing and demonizing the gays and lesbians--and those different from them---they have unwittingly allied themselves with the scribes and the pharisees.

This is also true to the arm chair liberals. For a long time, many of us who call ourselves “balanced Christians” have skillfully avoided celebrating sexual diversity. Our tacit policy with regards to GLBTQ (gays, lesbians, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer) was one of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. While we have known many friends and family members who are GLBTQ, we keep them under wraps, seemingly hiding from shame. While we proclaim being open and tolerant, we do it from a safe distance, from the theology of convenience and from the security of our comfort zones. 

On Palm Sunday, Jesus did not enter Jerusalem riding on a horse, a symbol of certainty, strength and superiority. Instead, he entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, a symbol of vulnerability, weakness and humility. Come holy week, He would be despised and rejected; betrayed and denied; beaten and tortured. He would be acquainted with grief and sorrows, he would be stripped naked, crowned with thorns, bearing our shame---and crucified for our sins. 

The Bible says Jesus did not use his power as God, a thing to be grasped but he humbled himself in human form and became obedient-- even to death on the cross. Therefore God, the Father has highly exulted him and given Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess---that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Father’s glory.

So the lesson we have on Palm Sunday is that our dignity, our honor, our standing with God is attainable through a life of humility.A wheat that is full of rich grains, stoops down; but a weed that is empty and has no grain, stands up. The richer the grains grow, the lower the wheat bends. So it is with us, God’s created beings. If we are rich because of God’s grace, we humble ourselves; if we are empty because of human pride, we are arrogant. May we learn from the way of Christ, the way of humility?