How do we live by grace in a world that still struggles with cruelty, hatred, and greed? Paano tayo magpapatuloy na mabubuhay at maglalakbay bilang mga progresibo Kristiano sa mundong patuloy na meron kalupitan at pagsasamantala? Anong magagawa natin bilang indibidwal at bilang isang maliit na simbahan? Parang powerless tayo or that what we do has little impact? And maybe that is partly true, however, let us not underestimate a small group of people 2000 years ago who lived by the grace of Jesus of Nazareth, a peasant Jew they proclaimed as Lord and Savior. Let us not underestimate the impact we can have in how we live and serve today in this community AND serve AS community.

Living by grace in our world today is like using water in our daily lives

We use water for hydration and nourishment. We also use water for cleansing and washing, and in many ways cleansing is a form of healing. Lastly, we use water for recreation and play. Ang tubig ginagamit para maglaro at magsaya. Let us learn how to live by grace by these 3 uses of water in our lives.

Pero bago yun let us remember that Jesus is our fountain of grace – the source of our spiritual water as Christians. A reading from the gospel of John:

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart* shall flow rivers of living water.’

Si Jesus pa rin talaga. As we talk about grace in the metaphor of water the gospel of John describes Jesus as living water. we keep in mind as we go through our discussion today, that Jesus is our living water, the source of God’s grace.

Let us begin. Our first point of learning today.

Living by grace is first like drinking water and being nourished by it.

We all need water to drink. It has been said, and it is scientifically proven that you can survive only with water without food between 2 to 3 weeks or up to 40 to 50 days depending on your body composition, health, and training.

Life is a journey as they say, and in the marathon of life, we need to regularly slow down or stop for a while to drink water – God’s grace – to rehydrate us and to strengthen us. Ang buhay ay parang isang marathon. Hindi sya minamadali at ito ay matagal at mahabang lakbayin. Tulad nang isang marathon where we need to pace ourselves – kalingan din natin bumagal o tumigil sandali para mag-replenish nang tubig – nang grasya ng Diyos. Kasi nakakapagod ang paglalakbay sa buhay na ito lalo na sa mundong ito na maraming paliko-liko at sira-sirang daan, may mga obstruction or obstacles. The road of life like literal roads in the Philippines are not pedestrian and PWD friendly. Our walk, run, or marathon in our country or the world are rarely ever smooth. This takes a toll on our bodies, hearts, and souls. We lose grace like losing water as we journey. We lose patience and hope. We get tired and sometimes we want to give up. Hence, just like in a marathon or any other journey, we need to replenish water from the source, Jesus, so we can continue on living, loving, and serving. How do we this? Where do we get this living water of grace?

As Christians struggling to live, love, and serve today, the way we replenish the living waters of grace is of course with prayer and rest. Progressive Christians sometimes have a difficulty with prayer and sometimes even with rest. What’s the point of prayer anyway? Does it really it work? How can I rest with all the problems of the world? Prayer is not only wishing good things to come and expecting it all to happen. Prayer is a way to internally nourish ourselves with the grace of God. Prayer is more of listening and receiving grace through silence and rest rather than ranting to God. Of course, you can rant to God from time to time but for today as we learn about grace, let us look at prayer as one of those main faucets where we get clean water to drink. It helps if we use prayer practices or rituals that aid our prayer life. There are a million ways to pray. Find one that feels right to you. Light a scented candle and incense when you pray. Hike a mountain with a mountaineering group and as you hike focus towards prayer. When I go to the gym during leg day, I pray the Jesus prayer. Every painful step is a prayer. Sunday worship is a community ritual, a source of weekly grace. Prayer and Ritual both as an individual and with a group must be intentional the same way we intentionally get a glass of water to drink. You must rest both in body and in spirit when you are tired from the many journeys and struggles of this life.

We can also drink the living waters of God’s grace in and through our relationships and communities; Not perfect but good relationships and communities. Grace is never in isolation. Grace is received and experienced through the relationships we have and communities we belong to. Yes, church community is a source of God’s grace, but it is not only in here. Yes, grace is also with our Christian friends and family, but not only with them. Open Table has always encouraged everyone to encounter and experience God in so many other places, peoples, and other activities other than church or religious activities. We need to drink God’s living grace from different relationships and communities. We need to share God’s grace with other peoples and places. Go out and spend time with your friends and family. Volunteer here in Open Table MCC or kung di nyo bet dito, pwede naman sa ibang organizations because God is equally present there. Engage other sectoral groups to learn more and make friends with the other oppressed. God’s living grace is also with cosplay groups. Drink God’s grace by cosplaying. Grace is something we receive and experience in and only through our connections – the relationships we have and communities we are a part of.

Drinking water is essential to live and to continue journeying while at the same time, it has been said by many doctors that a lot of bodily issues can be addressed when we drink enough clean water daily. Ang problema kasi ang marami sa atin, mas sanay tayo sa soft drinks or other drinks na mataas sa asukal or kemikal. A lot of us do not drink enough plain clean water hence issues with our organs at a young age. In the same way, sufficient amounts of grace through prayer and rest, good relationships, and good communities are needed for our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Lastly on the matter of drinking grace similar to drinking water, we have to choose carefully where we get our grace the same way we get our water. If we drink contaminated water, we get sick. We must be careful with the relationships and communities where we think we can get grace. We have to also question previous religious practices that we thought to be clean water but actually like soft drinks taken for too long damages our organs. Careful of relationship that are parasitic. Careful of toxic churches claiming to be welcoming. Careful of jowas who will not only drain your energy and patience but also your bank account. 2025 na mga accla. Wag delulu at hopiang panis. Careful also that you drink too much social media and doom scrolling, it is like drinking too much alcohol too often – like alcohol, social media can be addictive but depressive. Too much social media causes you to feel detached and depressive with all the terrible things happening in the world, and it can cause you other mental health issues. Everything you drink into your system impacts your body, mind, and spirit. Choose carefully the different kinds of water you put into your being. Are this living waters of grace or are these toxins that damage you?

Our second lesson for today: Grace is also about cleansing and washing. Hindi maganda ang pakiramdam pag hindi ka naligo lalo na kung ilang araw na. Sa ating mga paglalakbay importanteng naliligo tayo. Importante ang naglilinis diba bottoms? Amen ba? In the continuing journey of life and in the many things we do, we need to wash ourselves from dirt, oil, sweat, grime, and bad smell. Similarly, in the same journey of life we need to cleanse ourselves with all the spiritual, emotional, mental, and social dirt we have accumulated. We wash with the waters of Jesus Christ. In Matthew we read…

And there was a man with a skin disease who came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be made clean!” Immediately his skin disease was cleansed.

A person with a skin disease came to Jesus and asked, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Of course, Jesus wants to make us clean similar to the man. Jesus tells us, I am willing. But notice, the man made an effort to come to Jesus clea...