“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

It is hard to describe the past two weeks. Our neighbor was infected with the virus bringing the reality of the pandemic right to our doorstep. We live in a relatively small building with only four apartments on each floor, sharing the same common area with our neighbors and also the elevator. Therefore, it was recommended that all of us remain in strict quarantine. For more than two weeks, we had hardly any contact with the rest of the world. Nevertheless, we could hear helicopters and police sirens to remind us of the civil unrest in the streets. There were the protests and riots. They happened all over the world and here they were due to the threat of a possible military dictatorship. It seems more imminent as the times goes by. As the news of our situation began to spread all the over world, a childhood friend from Singapore got in contact with me. He was concerned about our welfare and he asked the pivotal question, “Is this the end of times?” It seems like everything is falling apart. It’s possible that the end is near. No one can know for sure even though I have my doubts. Most likely it has always been like this and we are just beginning to see how things as they really are. Maybe more of us are seeing what some people have experienced their whole lives. Everything is coming out into the open. This may not be necessarily bad. It might be the first step towards the Truth.

The first few chapters of Genesis give us more information of our humanity than any news media or political analyst. Not because these are not good sources of information, they just don’t see beyond the superficial. Religious myth goes deeper into the depth of our humanity. Adam and Eve are not just our distant parents. They mirror us, ancient and modern human beings. They testify to our desire to usurp God’s place in our lives and in this world. The world was perfect, according to the story, with perfect harmony in nature. However, humanity was not satisfied until everything was under their dominion without giving any role to God. Cain and Abel tell us how we cannot stand it when our brother or sister is considered better than us. We would rather see them destroyed than let them be more successful than us. In the Flood narrative, we are warned how easy it is for us to be so lost in our willful desires that we fail to see the signs of our self-destructive habits. The tower of Babel reveals the deep rooted desire in humanity to stretch the limits of their power and knowledge without acknowledging God.

Human desire to be god is greater than our desire to live in a harmonious world. This is the reality in which we find ourselves. This is our weakness as human beings although some might consider it their strength. Despite what we think, we know in our hearts that we are not god. We might feed on lies telling us that we can do everything. The result is what we are seeing now; this present turmoil in the world. Gratefully, we are assured that the situation is not hopeless. It is exactly in this kind of circumstance that Jesus tells to acknowledge His presence before all peoples. We have to be careful here. We are humans who can take powerful and life transforming words and twist them until they become banal. I know because I have done this before. After all, I live in this world too and I share humanity’s desires to be god. I have the ability to reduce these powerful words of Jesus to superficial acknowledgement of Jesus in this world so His divinity and authority has no influence in my actions. I did it many times even when I served as missionary to the children and teens. Now, it is time for a change. Not a mere change but a total and utter transformation. I have to figure out what Jesus is asking of us when He told us to acknowledge Him in this world. There are only two options available to us. Either we acknowledge Him or deny Him. However, before we proceed, it is good to heed the words of Jesus when He said,

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

Being religious is not the same as acknowledging Jesus’ presence in this world. The Pharisees were extremely religious yet Jesus tells us that we need to be better than them. Therefore, we need to look elsewhere to learn how to acknowledge the presence of Jesus in this world. If we look at another fellow human being, we know it will be just a question of time before we will be disappointed. After all, we are all the same and subjected to the corruption and deceitfulness of this world. Therefore, we need some serious help. There is no simple solution that is going to work for everyone. Maybe this is the best place to start. Spiritual laws or practices cannot be universally applied to all peoples in any situation or time. It is incumbent on each individual to seek what it means to be His testimony in this world.

Thankfully, Jesus did not just leave us without any aid. He lived His life as a constant testimony of God’s love. He served those whom the world neglected and continues to neglect. He did not take His place among the kings and high priests of His society. He did not choose reality from their perspective. Instead He made His bed with those whom society considered as worthless, or rather, whose lives did not seem matter. He ignored the “generous” donations of rich patrons of the temple and paid attention to the sacrificial contribution of a nameless poor woman. He ignored the rich man and honored the beggar, Lazarus in his parable. He acknowledged the unconditional love of the Samaritan instead of the bulwarks of religion of His time. The list is long and it is all there in the gospels. Therefore, we have to heed the words of Jesus when He tells us, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master.” This only means that the people He chose to be with and support and heal are the ones whom the disciples should seek to be in His Kingdom.

Jesus has given us a powerful and life transforming example to follow. An example to serve us in all times and seasons. An example to help us in our consideration on how we are going to act in the situation in which we find ourselves. Presently, we find ourselves in a time and place where sickness and injustice and utter disregard for the human life are seemingly becoming the norm. In this environment, we have to move in the opposite direction. We cannot seek to maintain the peace and ignore anti-Christ attitudes. It is a time for prayer and courage to act and live in a way that acknowledges the presence of Jesus in our lives. We hope that at the end of the day, Jesus will also joyfully acknowledge us before the Father.