ROMAN GUEVARA Daily Devotional Reading “The Death of A Neighbor”
ROMAN GUEVARA
Daily Devotional Reading
"The Death of A Neighbor"
Luke 10:25-37
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
27He
answered: " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]"
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30In
reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when
he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes,
beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34He
went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he
put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
35The next day he took out two silver coins[c]
and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I
return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
I know, it’s kind of spooky to start the day, to the start the week, discussing death.
Not many people are comfortable with this subject.
Yung iba nga, hanggang ngayon, sa mga burol, e, hindi kaya tumingin sa kabaong.
O dinaman kaya e, takot na takot pumunta sa sementeryo, kahit sa liwanag ng araw.
Ako may sawa na sa ka kagamit nito bilang illustration sa aking mga preaching at devotional readings.
Kaso,
sa mga nakalipas na araw at buwan, e naging sunod sunod ang pagbisita
ko sa mga burol ng ilan sa mga mahal sa buhay ng aking mga kaibigan at
kakilala.
And just when i thought tapus na ang funeral season ng 2008, e, e2 na naman si kamatayan!
And this time, it went closer to home. About, umm, 3 floors below my house exactly.
I
live in a (5) storey building. Each of the floors has about (10)
housing units. Not all the housing units have been filled up. Specially
my floor. And that is why the residents of the building kinda know
almost everybody, whether they like it or not. We bump on each other
almost everyday. Buy at the same grocery, eat the same nearby
"carinderia", and walk through the same lobby and stairs.
But i don’t know many of them.
I’ve
lived there for almost (7) years, and since i’ve been in the ministry
for quite some time, having people always around you, asking for this,
asking for that, i kinda decided i wanted to have some privacy where i
live. And not knowing much about my neighbors was part of my "privacy
plan".
All this changed one thursday of August 2008.
I was
excited that morning to go to a TV guesting on a major network. It’s
part of our promotion for my band’s new worship album "RISE UP". Kaya
when my companion arrived at my house to pick me up, we just walked
down the stairs like we use to all the time.
My companion
and I were talking as we were going down. Discussing the TV guesting
among other things. When we reached the second floor, hindi ko
mapigilang magreact sa bantot ng aking naamoy. I stopped for a few
seconds. And I remember telling my companion, "ano yung amoy nayon? Ang
baho naman! Siguro meron na namang hindi nagtapon ng basura nila." But
i noticed that the smell was far worse than decomposing garbage, or
even worse pa sa amoy ng patay na daga. It was something else.
Fast
forward sa hapon ng mga 5pm. Nakauwi na ako mula sa TV guesting. At
bago ako umakyat sa aking unit, e, kinausap ako ng isa sa "very few"
neighbors i spoke to at the building. Si nanay. Bantay siya ng
nagiisang grocery on the first floor. And she is also one of the few
that knows that i am a Pastor. She said to me "Pastor, nabalitaan niyo
na po siguro?" Sabi ko, "ang ano po Nay?". Sabi niya, "Yung namatay po
sa taas, sa second floor".
I thought it was just one of those
people that die of a heart attack or something, and that they had to be
rushed to a hospital, and then they died. But as Nanay was making
kwento, i discovered the following.
First, yung namatay is only in his mid or late twenties.
Second,
yung nangangamoy na mabaho sa second floor? E, siya pala yun. It wasnt
decomposing garbage, or a dead rat. It was a decomposing man. A dead
young man.
And his name was Archie.
He lived alone in his
unit. Very quite. Interacted with only a few people in his floor and
throughout the building. But like me, Nanay of the grocery, knew him
enough, to worry, that it’s been about three days since he was last
seen buying at that lone grocery stop, which was also at the entrance
of our building. Kaya nung bumaho na ng sobra sa second floor,
nagpautos na si Nanay sa mga bata sa building na pasukin ang kanyang
unit. Nung nabasag na ang bintana ng kanyang bahay, hayun, nakita nung
mga bata ang kanyang bangkay. Sa takot, e, nagtakbuhan ang mga bata, at
hindi na linakad ang hagdan. They just jumped for it!
Initial
investigation by the police indicated that there was no foul play.
Which was quite a relief for everybody in the building. Many believed
that he must have died in his sleep. Ang "tsismis" e, namatay sa
bangungot. At baka nung lunes pa. Kasi nga, dun nagsimula ang amoy.
Bumaho nalang ng bumaho, hanggat sa hindi na kinaya ng mga kapitbahay.
Ano ang napulot kong lesson dito?
Actually, i was surprised myself, na marami rami ang lessons ko sa pangyayaring ito.
First, rebuke.
The bible says "LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF".
As
a preacher i have preached on this passage on many levels. Sometimes,
even to my own standards, very deep ang naging interpretation ko nito.
To deep na nga, to the point, na, namiss ko na ata ang kanyang most
basic at simplest meaning. Which is?
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.
Masyado
na pala ako nablinded ng aking desire for privacy, na najustify ko na
kung bakit hindi ko kinikilala ang aking mga kapitbahay, and as a
result, kung di ko sila kilala, edi, hindi ko sila ma e evangelize o
mawi witnessan! Ang katwiran ko nga before, e, ang dami ko namang Bible
Studies, ang dami ko namang speaking engagement. Minsan sa ibang bansa
pa. Kaya siguro, ok na ke Lord na, deadma nalang ako sa mga taong
nakapalibot sa akin.
Pero that thursday of August 2008, changed everything.
I was wrong. God was telling me something.
Call
me being too spiritual, call me whatever you want, but things happen in
our life, things beyond our control, events that surprises us, catches
our attention. Sometimes, it’s God’s way of telling us something.
Imagine,
the only reason na nalaman ko ang pangalan nung Archie, e nung,
namamaho na ang kanyang decomposing body. Dun ko lang siya napansin.
Dun lang ako napahinto sa dami ng aking ginagawa at iniisip, to think
about that young man living on the second floor of my building. And
then, as the people began to talk about him, who he was, what he looked
like, i suddenly remembered him, and the times na nakakasalubong ko
siya sa grocery, sa carinderia, sa hagdanan, and so on.
I felt guilty. I just didnt care.
We all deserve some privacy.
Specially
people who work so hard during the day, people who have very public
activities like ministry and business. Siyempre gusto naman natin na
paguwi at ease kana at walang iniintindi. Kung baga, time na for you
and for your family. But it wouldnt hurt kung kilala man lang natin ang
ilan sa pinakamalapit nating kapitbahay. Enough to know. Enough to care.
Ako
kasi, i thought, na dahil wala naman akong inaabala, wala naman akong
pineperwisyo, e ok nayon. Ayoko ko kasi nung, "pahiram naman ng
martilyo, ng lagare, ng long nose" na mga kapitbahay, tapus di naman
sino sole. Ayoko rin ng marami silang alam tungkol sayo. Ang mga
tsismoso panaman sa atin e pakakalat kalat lang sa planeta.
Kaso
nga lang, panu na ang witnessing? Me privacy ka nga, napunta naman sa
impyerno ang mga kapitbahay mo? Ano sasagot ko ke God pagnagkita kami?
"Sorry Lord, alam mo naman, kailangan ko ng privacy?"
Tuloy, i
learned a second lesson besides the rebuke. It was also a challenge.
Yes. I was convicted that day to know. To know my neighbors. Their
names. Where they come from. What is their religion. How can i help. To
care.
I know it’s a lot to ask for people whose lives are already complicated in itself.
But we are christians. And christians are the salt and light of the earth. Even in our neighborhood.
Sino ba ang neighbor natin?
Hindi
lang naman ang kapitbahay. Nandiyan ang mga classmates natin. Katrabaho
sa opisina. People we see almost everyday, who may or may not be part
of our lives, yet.
Maybe some of them are trying to get our attention already.
Some of them have real problems. Many of them, they are looking for God. For people who care. For us.
Aantayin
pa ba natin na mangamoy sila tulad ng isang namamahong bangkay, bago
natin malaman ang kanilang pangalan, bago tayo magka interes na
makilala sila?
Minsan naghahanap tayo ng ministry. Naghahanap
tayo ng mga taong madadala natin sa Lord. E, yun pala, kapitbahay
palang natin, e, madami dami narin yan, na mapag p pray at madadala sa
Panginoon.
Bakit ba minsan ayaw natin sila makilala?
Bakit ba minsan ayaw natin maging "close" sa ating neighbors"?
Bakit ba minsan ayaw natin mag witness sa kanila?
Let the Lord speak to your heart.
I believe he has a message for all of us today.
MAKE THIS YOUR PRAYER FOR TODAY.
Dear
Jesus, thank you Lord for this wonderful day. It is wonderful because
you are amazing. It is wonderful because you made it to be. It is
wonderful because i know you have great plans for my life. And i see
it, each time i read your words. You make it clearer each day. And i
ask Dear Jesus, that you would enable me to fully comprehend your
message for me through this devotional. Help me Lord to understand and
to interpret this correctly. And more importantly, give me the courage
and the faithfulness to apply the lessons learned today in my daily
pursuits. Teach me Lord to love my neighbor as i love myself. I commit
my neighbors to you. Give me a genuine burden for them. Guide me Lord
as i reach out to them. And show me how each day i can glorify your
name, as i bring people to the feet of Jesus Christ. All these things i
pray, in the most precious name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus, amen.
IF
YOU’VE BEEN ENCOURAGED BY THIS DEVOTIONAL AND OTHER DEVOTIONALS BEFORE
THIS ONE, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO RECOPY, REPOST, OR LINK THEM AT YOUR OWN
MULTIPLY SITE, GOD BLESS.
