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WWJD

Victory

Final
VIDEO

CARLO ON CAM:

AUDIO
P. CARLO:
The Lenten Season is a special occasion for us
Filipinos. It is that time of the year when we celebrate
the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus. Pero
ano nga ba ang kahulugan ng Semana Santa para sa
ating mga Pinoy? Ano ang mga nakukuha natin sa
paggunita nito? Is it a simple reminder of our Lords
suffering or is there something more? I am Carlo
Panlilio. Lets talk about the Holy Week and Christs
Victory on the Cross.

WWJD OBB
P. CARLO:
Malaking bahagi ng kulturang Pilipino ang relihiyon.
Ayon sa mga survey, ang Pilipinas ang nangunguna sa
buong mundo pagdating sa paniniwala sa Diyos. But
how come there are many forms of religious
expression amongst Filipinos? Dr. Jayeel Cornelio, head
of the Development Studies Program in the Ateneo de
Manila University, reveals the intricacies of religion in
the Philippines.
JAYEEL:
2:25 It's a very complex situation, I must say. I think
when we think about the religiosity of Filipinos today,
we cannot really come up with just one category or

just one explanation to account for the complexity.


Why? For various reason. One, we are not just talking
about just the Catholics. We're talking about
Evangelicals now and we're talking about different
denominations. We've got Muslims around also. We've
got new religious movements and so on and so forth.
And then even within Catholicism, we know that there
are...there's a variety of religious expressions there. So
I guess if you ask me for just one qualifier, I would say
it remains vibrant but, at the same time, it is evolving.
So while we may still see some old people, for
example, who are very serious about their piety going to mass, going to church, we also see a lot of
young people who are expressing their religiosity in
other ways. So there are young people, for example,
who are involved in outreach activities. They're
involved in Gawad Kalinga and they're participating in
youthful Evangelical organizations like Victory Church
or CCF where they can express themselves more
freely. We see, in other words, across the generations,
changing religious patterns or patterns of religiosity.
P. CARLO:
Pastor Noel Pabiona gives us a better understanding of
what happened and where our Christianity today came
from. Ayon sa kanya, may sariling paniniwala na ang
ating mga ninuno noong dumating ang mga Kastila.
NOEL:
2

1:52 Ang Religiosity ng mga Pilipino is a form of


syncretism e. Naghalo yung what we call traditional
Christianity with traditional beliefs at ito yung inabutan
na natin kasi mula pa ito nong araw ng pagdating ng
mga Kastila, may inabutan na sila ditong mga tao na
may kanya-kanya ng paniniwala. At ang paniniwala
nong araw ay, ang buong mundo ay punong puno ng
buhay. Ang puno ay may buhay at may espiritu, ang
mga hayop ay may buhay at espiritu at nang
dumating dito ang mga Kastila, ang pinakamainam na
ginawa ng mga Kastila para maihalo ang mga Pilipino
don sa kanilang paniniwala ay ipinaghalo ito. At ito
ang naging... ito ang naghugis ng tinatawag nating
traditional Christianity that we know of today
JAYEEL:
4:10 Good point. Okay. Would you like to be a bit more
specific? (A little bit siguro. Yun nga yung bakit kasi
may penitensiya.) Mga ganun? Parang yun yung
konteksto natin noh? Yung Holy Week kasi. Well, truth
be told, Christianity in the Philippines has always been
a hybridized form of religiosity or a hybrid form of
religiosity. I do not think, even in the history of
Christianity itself, there is a...one pure form of
orthodoxy that was downloaded to us, right? If you
think about it, even Christ, in His time, there was no
such thing as Christianity as we understand it today,
right? We can very well argue that Christ never
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established a religion. It was Paul who did, right?


Coming up with the Presbytery and the bishopry and
all that and the structures. But even that already is an
interpretation of what he thought Christianity should
be like. And it was, of course, patterned after the
bureaucracy of the Roman Empire and, later on, the
Roman Empire adopted it as the official religion. And
with all the regalia of the Roman culture, now we have
Roman Catholicism, right? So even Christianity as we
understand it, Roman Catholicism, it may purport or it
may be seen as the emblem of pure Christianity - the
religion which argues that it has been there since the
time of Christ, St. Peter - is in itself not a pure kind of
institutional religion. That's one level of understanding
the complexity of Christianity. Historically speaking,
there is no pure form of Christianity..
Therefore, when we look at how Christianity arrived in
the Philippines, by default, it had to assimilate, it had
to incorporate local elements. That's why in the time
of the Spanish period, many local Catholics, so they
were going to mass but at the same time they were
hiding amulets. They had all these what we consider
superstitious elements to their faith. Amulets with
Latin inscriptions or shirts with Latin inscriptions that
they believe, in Cavite, for example, or some parts of
the Tagalog region, they believe that by wearing these
outfits, they are protected from bullets or from harm.
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Many of these things you could already trace from


animistic practices. But it just so happened that
when...Catholicism became a source of power, so to
speak. So the fact that you have Latin inscriptions on
these amulets would already show that there's some
mystery and power that underpins some of these
elements. So by drawing from these supposedly
Catholic rituals, nagkakaroon ng mas matinding
kapangyarihan yung anting-anting, for example. This
has been documented by historians. Professor Ray
Eleto in his book, Pasyon and Revolution, would talk
about how this came to be
P.CARLO:
But while Christianity and superstition together might
seem off to some, Dr. Cornelio urges us to not simply
dismiss this as blind religion.
JAYEEL:
(Naghalo-halong kalamay na siya.) Oo, naghalohalong kalamay but not in a very...meron kasing
konsepto sa theology, yung tinatawag na cafeteria
Christianity or cafeteria Catholicism na turo-turo lang
ang mga Pilipino. They're very selective of what they
want to believe in. It's a mistake and I'll be brave
enough to say this, it's a mistake to use that category
because it assumes that there's an official set of
doctrines and beliefs that you need to subscribe to
wholesale. Tapos 'pag 'di ka nag-subscribe dun, 'pag
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naniwala ka sa mga superstitions or sa mga certain


practices during Holy Week that don't seem to be
sanctioned by the church leaders or the pastors, then
ang tingin sa'yo, you're a bit heretical or you're a bit
off. Sociologically speaking, that's my training, we
need to consider why people believe in such things,
why they practice. So, in other words, the approach
that we take as sociologists, instead of viewing them
from the point of view of the church, the official
doctrines, you view them from the perspective of the
people and then it makes sense from their world view.
P.CARLO:
Next, well take a closer look at how Filipinos view God
and the problem all religious leaders face so stay
tuned!
MOS
(What is your
religion?)
GAP 1
MOS
(Who is God to you?)
GFX:
What Is The Problem?
P. CARLO:
Alam na nating may mas malalim na dahilan kung
bakit tayong mga Pinoy ay napakarelihiyoso. Sabi ni
Pastor Noel, ang ibat-ibang gawain na ito ay ang ating
paraan para mapalapit sa Panginoon.
NOEL:
4:04 Ah, kasi yung traditional Christianity if I may say
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Roman Catholicism no... Ang naging concept kasi ng


God is a transcendent God, malayo siya e, no. Kaya
GFX:
1. We think of
God as distant.

kinakailangan mo ng maraming intermediary, no. Para


maabot ang ating Diyos. Yun ang una. Pangalawa,
yung concept natin ng God and spiritual life ay iba
yung spiritual life, may dichotomy between the

2. Our spiritual
life is separate
from our daily
life (?)

spiritual life, the private life and public life. Kaya ang
nangyari po sa atin, bagamat... Kapag nakita mo yung
survey nong Social Weather Station, tayo ang may
pinaka-mataas na belief in God. 93% versus the other
countries of the world. It's even higher than Italy, It's
even higher than USA, which is called the Christian
Nation, no. So, yung belief natin sa Panginoon, sa God,
mataas. Tayo ang pinaka-highest pagdating sa
churchgoing, yung attendance, no. Pero nakalulungkot
na bagamat ganun ang paniniwala natin na existing
ang God, nagsisimba tayo. Tayo rin ang isa sa pinakacorrupt na bansa sa buong mundo. Kasi po, hiwalay
ang tingin ng Pilipino sa kanyang private life, at sa
secular life. Kaya mayron tayong mga Sunday
facesna tinatawag. Pumapasok sa simbahan,
mananalangin, mangungumpisal, kaya lang paglabas,

3. We are only
hearers, not doers, of
Gods Word

ito na hinawalay na buhay, at hindi nila naipapamuhay


kung anoman ang narinig nila sa loob ng simbahan,
no. Pangalawa, sa Protestant minster naman, ang
approach kasi karamihan ay... kalimitan ay cognitive,
no. Makinig ka, mangangaral, lahat nasa utak. Pero
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hindi..wala sa puso. Hindi naipapamuhay. Nawala yung


turo ng ating Panginoong Hesu-Kristo na Christianity is
something that is lived in our lives because we are
actually expressing the love of Christ that is abundant
in us. Ang madalas na turo sa atin ng mga
mangangaral ay mahirap intindihin ang Bibliya,
marami ang kailangan aralin para... at marami
kailangan mga batas na kailangan sundin, mga utos.
Pero ang totoo nito, sin-umarize ito ng Panginoong
Hesus-Kristo, e. Nakakapagtaka nga dahil nabansagan
na si Kristo is the greatest teacher of all time yet if He
is the greatest teacher of all time, why is it that people
who say they follow Christ find it hard to understand
what He teaches on scriptures. Sino may diperensiya,
ang nangangaral o yung taong nagbabasa ng kanyang
mga pangaral. Ang may problema don tayo. Paano
tayo pinangaralan at paano natin inaral ang Salita ng
Diyos. Simple lang, e. Sinabi ng Panginoong Hesus, no.
This new commandment I gave to you, that you love
one another, no. Love one another, that is not natural
and that is not normal. And the greatest
commandment from -- is our love for God with all our
heart, our soul, our love for Him with our entire being.
So, hindi natin naituro na ang Christianity is expressed
in love. No matter how noble your deeds are, no
matter how great the things you do, kapag hindi love...
it's not motivated..the motivation is not love, the Bible
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says, it profits you nothing. So, ang nangyari satin,


pangaral, sa ulo lang, cognitive. So, we have a lot of
rules, a lot of things to understand. Nagiging legalistic
tayo. Pag-transcendent naman ang Panginoon, private
life..parang iba yung private life ko sa public life, e. So,
hindi natin naipapamuhay ng tama yung ating
paniniwala na private kasi it's a private thing between
me and God. So, ang nakikita mo is yung disjoint
between what we claim to be and how we really
behave in real life.
P. CARLO:
This is even more evident in the way we celebrate Holy
Week. Isang popular na gawain tuwing darating ang
Mahal na Araw ay ang Panata at iba-iba ang dahilan ng
mga tao kung bakit nila ito ginagawa.
JAYEEL:
9:59

There are several ways to answer that. Panata

is a pretty complex word anthropologically-speaking in


the Filipino culture. We may easily think na panata is
for some people, those who don't practice these kinds
of devotions or those who don't practice these kinds of
piety, fanaticism, parang mindless religiosity. They're
hurting themselves, they believe in superstition, they
don't need those things and they do them anyway. If
you don't understand them. But panata is very
complex. For some people, they're doing it not for the
sake of repentance, not for the sake of forgiveness but
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because they have experienced a miracle 10, 15, 20


years ago for which they are still very thankful. So,
inasmuch as it happens only once a year, it's longer
than we are capable of seeing, we're able to see.
That's old-school panata. It's my devotion based on
what I have experienced in the past. But, for other
people and this is why I'm saying religiosity is
complex, diverse, for some people they are doing it
because they want to appeal to the Lord for
forgiveness. So by hurting themselves, they feel that
they are cleansing themselves from whatever
iniquities they have accumulated for themselves in the
past year. So if you think on those terms, then you
realize that there really is no disconnect. They're
thinking of 'One day I'll be asking for forgiveness and it
is during Holy Week that I would do that. So whatever I
did in the past year, I'm sure God is merciful enough to
forgive me.' So there's that sense of continuity. But I
see where you're coming from in the sense na, 'Should
faith not be more pervasive than that?' This is a
perennial Christian question. To what extent is
Christianity influential in my life? Well, not much, if you
think about it. It is answerable to a certain extent.
Faith influences life, everyday life to a certain extent.
Why? Because our morality is not necessarily fully
informed by our faith. Moral decisions are informed by
contexts. That's why people are willing to steal money
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because there is a value that they think is higher than


theft. So some people would say, for example, that 'It's
okay to steal because what I'm doing is for my sick
child anyway.' So there's a higher value that seems to
offset the evil act that I am about to do. So in that
sense, you realize that moral decisions are not
necessarily just about Kant-ian view of the universality
of morality. It's not eh. It really is case-to-case basis for
people which is why we have people, we have
politicians, we don't even have to talk about just the
ordinary believer. Politicians who are so Catholic or
who are so Christian with at least how they behave in
public life but we know that they're also involved in
corruption.
0:41

The key word is being able to offset, offsetting,

compensating. And I think it runs across much of our


popular piety. We flagellate to compensate for the sins
of the past. That's one interpretation. And that informs
much of the morality. I hope I don't lose you. When
some politicians would be willing to exercise corruption
because they know that they can use that money for
other people also. Di ba there's that pattern eh?
Because politicians are...inherently, they might not
necessarily be rich. But because the structure forces
them to dole out as much money as they can. In the
morning, they have people who would already queue
outside their houses. They would be asking help for
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kasal, binyag, libing, and all sorts of help. Namatay


yung lolo, akala mo namatay last month, namatay na
naman pala so therefore you have to help this person.
If you are not rich and yet you are the mayor, you are
forced to outsource your funds, so to speak, or to look
for sources outside your ordinary budget allocation.
What does it mean? Corruption becomes encouraged
in the system. And so we have politicians, for example,
who would justify their PDAF by saying that 'What
about my scholars? What about the people I send to
school?' precisely because that is where they think it
should go. Corruption therefore becomes a justified
mechanism supposedly to help other people not that
they're not pocketing. Obviously, they are pocketing.
We know that we are bleeding billions of pesos every
year in corruption. But there are people, there are
mechanisms in our culture that would make politicians
feel na compensated naman kahit papaano if I use this
money to help other people maybe the Lord will accept
me. You see? You know what I'm saying? Our own
popular piety allows for the compensation of the
mistakes of the past, a very different world view from, I
don't know, medieval Christianity which sees sin as sin
and it needs to be punished. In 20th-century
Philippines, it might be very different. May
compensations. You're willing to compensate for that
through flagellation once a year.
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P. CARLO:
Maaaring mabuti ang hangarin ng mga gumagawa ng
panata taon-taon, pero ayon kay Ps Noel, hindi na
natin ito kailangang pagdaanan.
NOEL:
8:35

Yung mga panata na yun, alam mo, hindi

naman natin kailangan magpanata sa Panginoon, e.


Except, ang hinihingi lang ng Panginoon sa atin na
panata is that, I died for you, my son or my child. All I
want from you in return is your life. Yun yung panata.
Give Him your life. Giving your life to Jesus Christ.
There are little miracles that will happen in our lives,
even greater from falling off from the 10th floor and
surviving. There are people who survived cancer,
serious accidents and everything. Do you think God
will require something from them for that? no way!
God is such a good God. That He exercises grace and
goodness to all. To whom so ever he wills. And He will
do that... Hindi niya gagawin yan para magpanata ka,
para mag-sacrifice ka? hindi e. Ayan na naman,
pinanggalingan na naman niyan ang luma nating
paniniwala. Naalala ko noon, mayrong isang diskusyon
na mga iba't ibang klase ng relihiyon at paniniwala.
Lahat ng relihiyon nag-present at may nag-present
from evangelical Christianity, teaching them about the
God of the Bible who dealt with us in love. Alam niyo,
mayrong nagtaas ng kamay na isang pinuno nang
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isang one of the major religions. Ang akala niya ay


aatakihin yung kanyang paniniwala sa Panginoonng
Diyos at sa Biblia. Sa halip sinabi niya, "I've listened to
all the discussions about the different religions
including Judeo Christianity. And it is only the Judeo
Christian God that deals with His people purely out of
love. The rest of the gods deal with their people in
anger. You have to appease them, ,magsasakripisyo
ako kasi kapag hindi ako nagsakripisyo, baka
magpadala ng ulan, masira ang aking ani, no.
Magpapakabait ako, kasi kapag hindi ko na appease
yung diyos na yan, baka ako ay parusahan at ako'y
magkasakit. Lahat siya is an act of a god that avenges,
a god that is angry. Pero na notice ng lahat, Judeo
Christian God, anything that He does with His people is
done and is motivated out of love. Kaya hindi mo
kailangan ng panata. Kasi yung mirakulong binigay ng
Panginoon sa buhay mo, that is done out of love. He
doesn't require you to do anything back for Him...
except to love Him with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your strength.
P. CARLO:
Sunod, kilalanin natin ang grupong sinimulan ni Fr.
Archie Guiriba, kaya diyan lang kayo!
MOS
(How do you
celebrate Holy
Week?)

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GAP 2
MOS
(What do you get
from your devotion
during the Holy
Week?)
P. CARLO:
We might think that Shalom only means peace in
Hebrew. But Fr. Archie Guiriba knows better than that.
Its real meaning goes way beyond just peace and that
is the reason he chose to name his group Shalom
International Catholic Charismatic Foundation.
ARCHIE:
12:12

The Shalom ministry is actually inspired by you

know, the Hebrew word, Shalom which is very


comprehensive in its meaning, it means, not only peace
but prosperity, welfare and everything. And being a
Franciscan, most of the places in the holy land were
really evangelized by the Franciscans. Kaya yung mga
nagtuturo doon, makikita niyo yung mga brown. Dito po
sa Pilipinas we can use the white habits ----they have
the brown. Most of them. You go to Bethlehem, you go
to Nazareth and all of that are Franciscans. So, I was
inspired that even if you greet anybody in Israel or in
Jerusalem, Shalom! Everything is there, peace, joy,
contentment, everything is there. So, we call it Shalom
Catholic Charismatic. International Shalom Catholic
Charismatic Ministry.
13:20 Really our mission is to be able to reach out to
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many many people as much as possible, not only here


in our country for that matter but even in other
countries. So, in the words of Paul, the more we can
reach out, the better. Be a Roman to the Romans, a
Greek to the Greeks if possible. And then be able to
reach and share the Word of God to others. That they
may experience the glory of the Lord.
P. CARLO:
With this goal in mind, Fr. Archie and his congregation
came up with a strategy to reach more people for God.
ARCHIE:
0:20

The ways we do is to... we spread different

preachers to other provinces, other chapters like that


and we have at least once a week prayer meeting, and
then also maybe in the middle of the week, we have
what we call the prayer warrioring intercessory
prevailing prayer na talagang nakatutok ang mga tao
don and then para sila'y ganahan at lalong... they can
soak themselves into the Word of God more. So, yun po
ang ating ginagawa and it is... in Hongkong we also
have good, trusted workers who can, you know, be able
to spread the Word of God. And also in London, kasi I
had the opportunity to preach also in almost all Catholic
churches doon. E di ang ganda. Punong puno yun.
Nagla-lay hands ako don and you know, iba-ibang
nationalities and preach to them. Ang diperensiya lang,
kapag ako nag-misa, hindi lang 1 hour, umaabot ng 3
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oras. Dahil you know, ang ini-emphasize ko talaga is the


Word of God. And laying of hands and all of that. And
they loved it. Punong puno ang simbahan.
P.CARLO:
Shaloms gatherings differ from most traditional
masses. Rather than being solemn and somber, they
celebrate with much singing and dancing.
ARCHIE:
2:02

Syempre nagagalit sila, maybe for a time.

Noong buhay pa nga si Cardinal Sin po, off the record.


Nong buhay pa siya, he wrote me many love letters of
you know, "what are you doing?" yung mga ganun ba..
But I said, "this is our way of expression of praising the
Lord, because I believe na kung ang tinatawag mong,
Eucharistic celebration, e dapat talaga celebration,
hindi yung parang mga tuod na nasa loob ng
simbahan." you know, and kailangan talaga yung
participative ang ating mga congregation. They dance
unto the Lord. Ang ganda, ang sarap, ano? They
dance, they play music, they bring the tambol. Minsan
nga inimbitahan kami sa isang simbahan, e. Dala-dala
namin yung gitara at tsaka tambol. Hindi na naulit.
Yung parang nadala sila, no? Kasi ano bang klaseng
misa anya ito? And I said, "di ba ang sabi mo
celebration? therefore, we should celebrate and enjoy."
Hindi yung para tayong mga, you know. Parang it's a
funeral dirge or a funeral march.
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3:32

Ngayon, medyo participative na sila. Kahit nga

yung mga... Even the younger priests now are more


exuberantkung baga in their celebration of the
Eucharistic the usual way. And what is so good, is that
after Vatican, you will recall 1965, 1970s', aba yung
Latin Mass doon, naging English na, naging tagalog.
So, people can understand what is going on in the
celebration.
P.CARLO:
Naturally, this carries on to how they celebrate Holy
Week. But Fr. Archie encourages his people to live in
celebration every day of the week, all-year round!
ARCHIE:
4:10

The way we influence, kami lang ang maingay,

kapag you know, Huwebes Santo, Biyernes at tsaka


Linggo. We have it live on television. Nakakatuwa kung
paano si Lord mag-provide. It is very hard now to have
a live telecast with 20 at least 21 hours given to you, 7
hours a day. Oo, mahal ho yun. Pero we make use of it
as much as possible. Nandon ang celebration and the
past years, we use to do it in Araneta Coliseum which
is very expensive, and pero ang sarap dahil si Lord
talaga nagpo-provide. It is not a joke to do that.
4:58

Oo, sinasabi ko sa kanila na, you're dancing not

only during the time of Holy week celebration o kapag


mayron tayong fellowship. It should be your everyday
lifestyle, di ba? na hindi lang masaya.. sabi ni Lord sa
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Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord, always! e doon


palang, tapos ka na. If you will obey. If you will obey.
P. CARLO:
So how does one become a part of their growing
community?
ARCHIE:
7:51

Simple lang, attend our weekly celebration.

And then we usually write their names as included in


the part of the ministry. Sometimes they become the
usherettes or you know, administra... prayer warriors
and follow up ministries. It's a little bit departure from
the usual. Pero everybody has a role to play kaya
madali naman mag-attend sa amin.
8:51

They have to read the Bible regularly, you

know. And talagang makita mo na sila ay part ng


Christian family. Hindi lang sa salita kundi sa gawa. So,
makikita mo sa pagu-ugali kung nagbago na ba yan o
hindi, you know. And through that, unti-unting napapamahal sila sa ministeryo and therefore, they become
instruments too for reaching out, pag-aakay ba ng
mga kaluluwa, kailangan yun.
13:20 My dear, friends, wow! We are so very very
glad, and you know, enlightened by this opportunity to
be able to invite you, wherever you are, whatever
religion you may belong, every Saturday po, nariyan
po kami sa Quezon City Circle every Saturday. We
celebrate there with music and dancing and preaching
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the Word of God most of all. Yan po ay Sabado, mga


bandang alas 4 po ng hapon. Everybody is welcome.
P.CARLO:
A lot of people are probably rethinking how they
celebrate Holy Week and the rest of the weeks of the
year. How about the Cross? Do we need a new
perspective on Christianitys famous symbol? Find out
after the break!
MOS
GAP 3
MOS
(Why did Jesus have
to die on the Cross?)
GFX:
What Can We Do?
P. CARLO:
Ang krus ay ang sagisag ng Kristiyanismo. Makikita mo
ito sa lahat ng simbahan. May mga taong binabandera
ito sa kanilang alahas, kasuotan, at minsan ay sa
mismong katawan. Ngunit nauunawaan ba ng lahat ng
Kristiyano kung ano ang kahulugan nito? Bakit nga ba
kinailangang mamatay ni Hesus? Naghirap lang ba
siya para sa ating mga kasalanan o mayroon pang mas
malalim na rason?
JAYEEL:
12:46 Well, we may want to re-think what the Cross is
about. It's Holy Week so we may want to re-think what
the Cross is really about. For some Christians, it's

20

really all about suffering. And if that's your theology,


you will accept that all life is suffering. But if you
realize and recognize that Christianity does not end on
Good Friday, then you realize that there's so much
more to your Christianity than meets the eye. There's
so much more to flagellating yourself every Holy Week.
There's so much more to fasting so that you inhibit
pleasure from yourself to meet the favor of God
precisely because Christianity doesn't end on Good
Friday. In fact, it begins on Easter Sunday. It becomes a
totally different world view altogether that Christianity
is no longer about suffering.
Jay07 0:00 Suffering is part of it and therefore we
may have to go through moments of suffering, one
way or another. But we know that it does not end
there. For some reason, by the grace of God, there is a
moment called Easter Sunday. And to me, there's an
important question that needs to be answered, I asked
just now, 'Who Christ is to us?' 'What the Cross
represents to us?' The third question I ask is, 'What
does the resurrection of Christ mean to Filipinos
today?'
NOEL:
12:38 Siguro ang naging dahilan, yung holy week
kasi, ang lagi nating emphasis is the suffering of
Christ. Puro suffering, and in turn parang yun lang
yung iniisip natin, namatay siya. Pero the gospel story
21

doesn't end with the suffering of Christ. It didn't even


end with his death. But it ended with His resurrection.
Because with His resurrection, He defeated death. So,
dapat yung holy week, sa totoo lang, that is a
celebration, a victorious and a joyous celebration. So,
in other words, I don't need to repeat the sacrifices
that Christ made during the holy week. I don't need to
remember just His suffering because the entire story
of the coming of Christ, His suffering, His death and
resurrection is His love story towards men. Love story
siya, e. Could you imagine somebody dying for you?
and that someone like you and me is not worthy of this
kind of love.
P.CARLO:
Nakakakilig! Pero hindi lang tayo pinapakilig ni Jesus sa
lahat ng Kanyang pinagdaanan. Hindi lang siya
namatay para sa atin. Pinagtagumpayan din niya ang
kamatayan at binigyan tayo ng kakayahan na manalo
sa buhay.
ARCHIE:
8:53 The essence of the death of Jesus is precisely
GFX:

because He was the only one who came to this earth


to die, and that was the ultimate victorious --- to
speak, because it was through His death, that He paid
the price of our salvation. Not only that, after dying,
mabuti na lang, hindi nakapako sa krus forever. Place
in the tomb, and He rose again from the dead. Patay
22

ang diyablo diyan. And that is the resurrection, yung


Easter Sunday na sini-celebrate natin? yun yun, e. Ang
problema lang, maraming mga Katoliko hanggang
pako na lang, notice? Kaya makikita mo sa mga
simbahan, nakapako. Aba'y tumigil ka na sa
kamatayan. That's it. But they did not go further.
Meaning, hangang sa resurrection ni Jesus. Malinaw po
yan, Romans chapter 10 verse 9 and 10, sabi niya, if
you confess with your mouth, that Jesus is Lord and
believe with all of your heart that He rose from the
dead, you shall be saved. Napakalinaw, yun po mga
kapatid ang passport papuntang langit. Romans
chapter 10:9 and 10. Naku, ako ay enjoy na enjoy
mag-preach diyan dahil simple lang ang Salita ng
Diyos, e. Pero naroon, e.
12:15 Aba, from glory to glory ka na. Oo, makikita sa
pamumuhay mo, how you live life. There is joy, there is
victory, di ba?
GFX:

P. CARLO:
Yun naman pala. Pero ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng
buhay na matagumpay? Ano ang kailangan nating
gawin upang makamit ito?
ARCHIE:
11:25 Yes, you have to be immersed into the Word of
God. use the resurrection power, practice it day by
day. Kung ano magagawa mo, praktisin mo. Kung hindi
ka palangiti, mag-practice ka sa harap ng salamin,
23

ngumiti ka araw-araw. Para paglabas mo ng bahay,


automatic na yun. Pagpunta mo sa office mo, high na
high ka. I believe in that, I don't know. Yun po ang
aking fighting spirit about that and so make a long
story short, it dwells down into the real encounter with
Jesus. Totoo talaga natanggap mo, hindi plastic. Hindi
kasinungalingan.
NOEL:
0:44

Ah, because Christ rose again, He guaranteed

victory over death and over sin, So that anyone who


believes in Him, sabi nga, will not perish but have
eternal life. Sabi nga sa Bible ng 2 Cor. 5:17, therefore,
if anyone be in Christ, He is a new creature, all things
are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
Papaano maging totoo yan in our everyday life? You
just have to realize that that verse means that I was
transformed by Christ, no. Ang magandang halimbawa
dyan is yung transformed kasi comes from the word
metamorpho... metamorphosis, no. At ang laging
ginagawang halimbawa diyan ay caterpillar. The
caterpillar versus a butterfly. Ito yung old nature mo,
the caterpillar. The caterpillar, anything that it does is
destructive, when it eats, it destroys plants, it is an
ugly creature, it is a creature of the ground. But once it
is transformed, this ugly creature, becomes a thing of
beauty. This thing of the ground, becomes a thing that
flies in the air. This thing that eats and destroys each
24

time the butterfly eats, it pollinates. So, it's


productive. That's the difference. Now, paano mo
ipapamuhay yan? Ito yung dati mong buhay, e. You'll
be transformed, you are now a butterfly. You are a
creature that has the love of Christ, and the promise of
Christ in your life, and you know that in anything you
do, sabi nga sa Bible, no. Mayron tayong pagsubok,
may mga darating na pagsubok, may darating na
suliranin, may mga darating na problema, but these
problems are treated as challenges and trials in life.
Pero kapag binasa mo sa Romans 8, di ba? May in all
these things we are more than conquerors. Hindi lang
tayo conquerors, we are even more than conquerors
through Him who loves us. Why? because we are
powerful? hindi e. Again, love. Kasi nilagay don e, why
we are more than conquerors? becausenothing can
separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Death. life, famine, war, whatever, that
cannot separate us from the love of God. In other
words, these thing happened, problems, challenges,
difficult circumstances, but through all these things,
the love of God remains constant. You need not feel
defeated by these things but you need to feel
victorious knowing fully well that God's love is there
holding you.
ARCHIE:
10:40 Aba, you need that resurrection power to be
25

able to sustain while you're working. Ang dami dami sa


office na bugnutin, nakasimangot, my goodness! Yung
iba niyan babad pa sa Salita ng Diyos daw. Pero
nakasimangot. That's a very good witnessing of the
real power of God, no. Kasi dapat nakabaon na yun
sayo, e. Na masaya ka lagi, kahit anoman mangyari,
napakalinaw, count it all joy when you encounter all
trials. So, they have to hear. They have to hear.
P.CARLO:
At kapag tayo ay namuhay ng matagumpay, hindi
lang tayo ang panalo. Magkakaroon din ng malaking
pagbabago sa mundong ating ginagalawan.
NOEL:
3:54 Well, if people started living victoriously, ang
ganda, di ba? Kasi number one, mawawala na yung
may victim mentality, no. Na lahat na lang kapagka
may nangyari na kawawa naman ako tapos lagi na
lang malungkot, lagi na lang nakadepende sa iba, o
lagi naninisi ng iba. Mawawala na rin yung mga tao
na gagawa ng kaparaanan para manglamang ng iba.
Kasi that is a very defeatist attitude e. Kasi kailangan
kong gawin ang mga bagay na ito kasi kapag hindi
ako nandaya, hindi ako makakauna sa iba. Yun yung
concept ng victory na napakababaw at nakakainis,
no. But a person with a victorious mentality because
of Christ knows and believes that there is a God of
love that wants the best for that person. So, whether
26

mas mayaman itong taong ito at ganito lamang ang


estado ko, it doesn't mean that he is more victorious.
I am victorious because this is where God placed me
and I will do my best for His glory in whatever
situations He places me or in whatever positions. So,
mawawala ang mga sinasabi nating victim mentality,
paglalamang and everything. Kasi ang taong
victorious, ang motivation mo sa lahat ng iyong
ginagawa ay walang iba kundi ang kasiyahan at ipraise ang ating Panginoon. Why? because He alone
deserves to be praised because He is the only one
who lifted you up from a life of sin and gave you
hope and not only in this life, but in the life to come.
P. CARLO:
Christianity is not just about saying prayers, reading
the Bible and going to church. More than religion, it is
a relationship built on faith. Faith in the God who came
to earth, suffered a brutal death, and resurrected on
the third day. The Cross is not a symbol of defeat but
of victory. Whenever we see it, we are reminded that
Jesus died so that we may live victoriously. Paul said,
24

Dont you realize that in a race everyone runs, but

only one person gets the prize? So run to win! We are


already destined to win in this life. All we have to do is
run after Him.
If Jesus were here today, What Would Jesus Do?

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