theology i - topic 1.1 the everyday

8/17/2019 Theology I - Topic 1.1 the Everyday

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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [1]

TEACHER’S INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL

Code Number: TH111ECourse Title: "SEARCHING FOR GO IN THE !ORL TOA "

CHAPTER I: GOD’S REVELATION IN AND THROUGH EVERYDAY E XPERIENCES

1#1 T$e %E&er'd(') or t$e %Ordi*(r')(3 hours)

I*trodu+tio*

Note to Teacher: As you show the

slide below review so!e "ey ideas

o# the $rst topic on “Our %earch #or

&od and Theolo'y.” (ou can use thenurturance #or the $rst )ui* as

recapitulation o# the previous topic.

Then connect this lesson with a

short introduction as posted on the

slide +1 reiteratin' the !ethod o#

see,discern,act-pray

%lide + 1/

To,i+ 1#1THE %E-ERA ) OR %ORINAR )

Ob.e+ti&e: A/ter t$is lesso*0 t$e stude*t ill be (bleto re2e+t o* o*e’s e3,erie*+e o/ e&er'd(' li/e0es,e+i(ll' o* ( %de,t$ e3,erie*+e)


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%lide +0/

LET US “SEE”

A# T$e %E&er'd(') or %Ordi*(r')4# %e,t$ E3,erie*+es) i* t$e E&er'd(' or Ordi*(r'

A# T$e %E&er'd(') or %Ordi*(r')

A religious educator by the name of John Hall wrote:

%lide +/

%I/ e t$i*5 t$eolo6' $(s *ot$i*6 to do it$e&er'd(' li/e0 t$e* e do *ot 5*o t$eolo6' (t (ll#)

78o$* H(ll9

John Hall’s statement is a provocative (or challenging), don’t youthin you so! "et’s loo at his words again, and ponder on what he

wants to say# $hat do you thin is he trying to say to us!

Note to Teachers: Ta"e so!e ti!e to

allow the students to recite on what

they thin" is the !eanin' o# 2all3s

state!ent. A#ter which the teacher

brie4y shares his own reaction to the

state!ent. 2ere3s !y story.

%he &rst time ' read Hall’s statement, about years ago, it

shoo me a bit# $hy, you may as# $ell, ' burned my eyebrows

studying theology to earn a *aster of Arts in four years, and then '

went to +elgium to earn a doctoral degree for si years from the

-atholic .niversity of "ouvain# ' read so many boos, which ' had to


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary []

read over and over again /ust to understand it, and many times ' failed#

' wrote so many papers, which my professors returned bac to me full

of red in of corrections, and ' rewrote them again, and again, and

again, till my professors were satis&ed# And now, Hall would say those

words! 0osh, what did ' study in those ten years! 't is as if a part of my

life is being thrown out of the window1

2n the other hand, the words of Hall seem consoling# ou now, '

was not a seminarian4 ' did not plan to become a priest# ' am a 5lay

person6 lie all of you# ' got married at 7uite a late age to a beautiful

and brilliant woman, who ' met in +elgium, and with whom ' share a

son, who is now seventeen years old# $hen ' read Hall’s statement, it

maes me feel a8rmed, because our language at home is about food,

cooing, washing dishes and clothes and ironing, gardening, doing the

telenovela, befriending girls (and their parents), the rising costs ofwater, electricity and gasoline, getting sic and old, and many more

5trivial6 or 5petty6 things#

9ow, those are not necessarily 5religious6 or 5spiritual6

eperiences, right! et, it is in those moments of 5everyday life6 that '

often thin about what life is all about, what had happened to me in

the past, and what’s still in store for me in the remaining years of my

life# ' have been happy and afraid, sure and doubting, whether ' did the

right or wrong thing# At my age of , ' still have lots of 7uestions

about life, and yes, about 0od# 'f there’s anything ' pray to 0od every

night, it is the plea that ' may live for another day, because ' want to

grow old to see my son reach his dreams in life#

-ome to thin of it, when ' read the boos of the -hristian +ible,

they appeal to me because they spea not of the out;of;this world

miraculous events but of small, ordinary events, many of which ' can

relate with# 2r, when ' go bac to the wors of big names in

-hristianity, lie


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+ut ' sense that Hall is saying something more in his statement#

=ut it this way, if we want to now theology, we must now what the

5everyday6 is all about too# 't seems that it is in the 5everyday6 that

we raise 7uestions about life, as well as 7uestions about faith#

emember *aria and her story! Her 7uestions are 7uestions of

everyday living#

$hat is the 5everyday6! 'n diBerent cultures, the words for

5everyday6 or 5ordinary6 are:

%lide +5/

• T(6(lo6: pang-araw-araw, pangaran!wan

• Cebu(*o: a"#aw-a"#aw, $a%ag-a"#aw

• C$i*ese: , r&'()ng

• M(l(': *+(ar!-(ar!

• Fre*+$: "+ %* #+* .r*

• 8(,(*ese: , n!'(!./

• ore(*: 일상의 , !#*ang-!

• S,(*is$: '%!"!an

• 4urmese: Na0 T!n+

• L(o: T % $+

• Urdu: ; ;


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' wonder how your everyday loos lie# Here’s a list of my

everyday:

Note to Teachers:

7a"e your own list. This is 8ust an

e9a!ple.

%lide +/

%his is /ust a list of my everyday in the &rst few hours of the day# 'can mae it longer through the day and night# -an you write down on

your noteboo or /ournal a list of your everyday routine of activities!

(5outine6 refers to things you do regularly or as a matter of habit#)

Note to Teachers: &ive the

students about 1;,16 !inutes to do

this seatwor".


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary []

9ow, show your list of everyday, ordinary activities to a

seatmate# After that, move around to see also the everyday of your

classmates# %hen, go bac to your seats and let’s tal#

Note to Teachers: %how the )uestion

and 'et responses #or each )uestion

controlled ani!ation/. (ou !ay want

to start it o< by !odelin' so!e

responses.

%lide +=/

19 !$(t $(&e 'ou *oti+ed i* 'our o* list or i*t$e e&er'd(' li/e o/ 'our +l(ssm(tes

B9 Ho do 'ou /eel (bout 'our e&er'd(' li/e o'ou *d 'our e&er'd(' $(,,'0 e3+iti*60 bori*60u*i*teresti*60 et+# !$'

D9 I/ 'ou ere to (dd (*'t$i*6 i* 'our e&er'd('li/e0 $(t e&e*t or (+ti&it' ould it be !$'

Crom the eperiences, it appears the everyday, includes the

following:

%lide +>/

t$e .o'/ul (*d t$e +elebr(tor' eleme*ts o/ ourli&es0

t$e tiresome (*d t$e bori*6 t$e e3+iti*6 (*d t',i+(l t$e di+ulties (*d troubles our /e(rs (*d (*3ieties0 $o,es (*d dre(ms


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [=]

%he fact is, many people dislie the everyday or the ordinary# Day

after day, they feel that life is moving in a circle of the same events or

activities# "ie them, we try to escape from the ordinary by looing for

something new or diBerent, or for the etra;ordinary or special#

As Hal *iller, another religious educator, says of our eperience:

%lide +?/

%!e disli5e t$e ordi*(r'0’ t$e e&er'd('0’ t$erouti*e#’ !e t$irst /or t$e e3+iti*60 t$e diere*t0 t$ee3$il(r(ti*6# To ,ut it brie2'0 e’re tr(*s+e*de*+e

.u*5ies# !e li&e i* t$e $o,e o/ some 5i*d o/e3+iteme*t 3 to 6i&e us me(*i*6 (*d &it(lit' i* (orld o/ 6r(' (lls (*d s+$edules (*d meeti*6s# !e(5e u, e&er' mor*i*60 ,r('0 t(5e bre(5/(st0 6o tos+$ool0 +ome $ome0 do t$i*6s (++ordi*6 to s+$edule0t(5e di**er0 (t+$ T-0 (*d slee,# It’s t$e s(merouti*e e&er'd('#) 7H(l Miller9

$e can add that even seeing the face of our teachers (or of our

students) in casual glance has become routine, monotonous, with no

ecitement#

And when you loo at the list of everyday life of your classmates,

does a 7uestion come to you, lie why your life can’t be any better lie

another person! And because we can’t be another person, we loo for

things that can mae our everyday diBerent#


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [>]

for the 5eciting6 by cutting classes or doing other things inside the

classroom than listening to our teachers#


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [?]

0od’s gift of healing is being controlled and eploited by eternal

human forces# 'n the famous line in the movie, Elsa eclaimed:

%lide +1;/

“1a#ang (!$a#a2 Ang (!$a#a a0 na*a a%!ng p*”7T$ere is *o mir(+le T$e mir(+le is i* our $e(rts9

$e would lie to use Elsa’s words to spea about 5depth

eperiences6 in our everyday, ordinary life# 'n the routinary,

monotonous, boring activities of our everyday, we tend to loo for the

5miracle,6 the 5special,6 the 5supernatural6 outside of the ordinary#

Elsa is probably right4 maybe we’re approaching our everyday allwrong# =erhaps, instead of assuming that there is nothing important or

signi&cant in our everyday, we should entertain the possibility that it is

often in the routine, as routine as getting up in the morning and going

to sleep at night, that the 5miracle6 is happening#

'n the ordinariness of our everyday life, we have a feeling that

there is something 5more6# %he fo in the novelette ittle Brince of

Anton


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [1;]

$e loo for something that is important, for the worth of things

and events# 'n the ordinary, we long to feel and see the 5etra6# Elsa

and the fo tell us a truth of living:

%lide +10/

T$e e3tr(’ is *ot outside o/ t$e ordi*(r' t$e e3tr(0t$e s,e+i(l0 t$e diere*t0 t$e s(+red0 t$e di&i*e is !n

t$e ordi*(r'# T$(t’s $' e o/te* s('0 somet$i*6e3tr(ordi*(r'’ $(,,e*ed i* m' li/e tod('#

$e can call this Fetra’ in the ordinary as 5depth eperience#6$hat is this!

Note to Teacher: %how the bullets one,

by,one 'ivin' each an elaboration

#ro! your own e9perience.

%lide +1/

%e,t$ e3,erie*+e)

Amo*6 t$e m(*' ordi*(r' e&e*ts t$(t $(,,e* to

us e&er'd('0 t$ere is o*e e3,erie*+e 7or ( set o/ rel(ted e3,erie*+es9 $i+$ st(*d out (mo*6 t$erest#

It is still (* e&er'd(' or ordi*(r' e3,erie*+e0 butit t(5es more me(*i*6 or t$(t m(5e us t$i*5(bout oursel&es0 our li/e or t$e li/e ot$ers0 or o/t$e orld e li&e i*#

Su+$ (* e3,erie*+e re&e(ls de,t$s o/

si6*i+(*+e 7i* Fili,i*o0 “$a0 #a#!$” or “$a0


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"a%!ng”9 i* some (s,e+ts o/ our li&es t$(t e,re&iousl' +o*sidered u*im,ort(*t (*d it$out&(lue or me(*i*6#

Or0 it bri*6s i*to Juestio* t$e &er' e3iste*+e o/

(*' me(*i*6 /or $um(* li/e#

't is this 5depth eperience6 that the heart sees a 5miracle6, the

5special,6 the 5etraordinary6, not apart nor separate from the

everyday, but embedded in the ordinariness of everyday life# 'n fact,

the 5depth eperience6 is so ordinary that it taes an etraordinary

character, because it poses 7uestions or insights about who and what

we are as persons and the ind of the world we live in#

"et me share with you this anecdote:

Just some minutes ago while ' am writing this essay, the lights

went out in our house and the neighborhood# 9ow, this brownout is

unusual in our place, so this not the ordinary where ' &nd the

etraordinary# *y encounter of a depth eperience was when ' got out

of the house in total darness# $hen ' wor, ' often get up from my

seat every hour to rela my eyes by ga?ing at ob/ects other than my

laptop, and to stretch my body by taing a small wal in our smallgarden# %hat was ordinary for me to do#


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How about you! $hat’s your story!

%lide +15/

Loo5 (t t$e list o/ 'our e&er'd(' li/e# Is t$ere (*' o*ee&e*t or (+ti&it' $i+$ $(s ( diere*t im,(+t o* 'ou0o*e t$(t m(5es 'ou t$i*5 (bout $(t’s $(,,e*i*6 i*'our li/e or t$(t le(ds to re2e+t or m(5es 'ou re(liKe( &(lue or me(*i*6 i* li/e 7is+uss t$is %de,t$e3,erie*+e) it$ o*e o/ 'our se(tm(tes#9

ou may as, how does an ordinary, everyday routine activity

become a 5depth eperience6! Actually, it is you who will turn theordinary into an etraordinary# ou need to be attuned or sensitive to

what’s going on inside and outside you, and allow yourself to thin,

feel, and re@ect about your eperience# $e can learn from -laude

*onet, a famous artist who loved to paint gardens of @owers# He said:

%lide +16/

It’s o* t$e stre*6t$ o/ obser&(tio* (*d re2e+tio* t$(to*e *ds ( ('# So e must di6 (*d del&e

u*+e(si*6l'# 7Cl(ude Mo*et9

%o be aware of our 5depth eperiences6 in the everyday life, we

must continually observe and re@ect on life, to 5dig and delve

unceasingly6 in our 5depth eperiences#6 %his is the way to ourselves

and the world around us, our gateways to discover the etraordinary in

the ordinariness of living#

"et us turn to what the -hristian story has to say#

“CD%@EN”

%lide +1/


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LET US “DISCERN”

T$e Stor' o/ 8esus o/ N(K(ret$

Do you remember our lesson last time, that in our %heology

classes we are using the methodology of 5see;discern;actGpray6! 'n this

current lesson, we went through the step of 5see6 when we discussed

the 5everyday6 and 5depth eperience#6 2ur net step is to 5discern6#

'n this section, we try to now what we can learn from the +ible and

the -hristian %radition about the 5everyday6 and 5depth eperience6

so that we can be enriched in our understanding and practice#

$e will have more time to tal about Jesus, 0od’s


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$hat do you see in the picture, what is this place, who could the

people be, what are they doing!

%he painting shows ordinary people (men, women, young andold) of a small village or barrio# %hey are doing what they do ordinarily

in the everyday > standing, sitting, bending, waling, taling, woring,

digging the earth, playing, pulling horses, carrying things, cleaning,

washing clothes, eating, and many more# ou can say that, lie our

own everyday, life in this small village has become a routine, and

possibly monotonous and boring#

+ut there is something in this painting that tells us, in the

ordinariness of everyday life, a 5depth eperience6 is occurring# -anyou guess a detail in the picture that shows something diBerent within

the everyday life of people!

Here it is: near the bottom of the painting is a woman sitting on a

doney#


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Note to Teacher: Fse ani!ation to

brin' out the white circle in %lide +1=.

Does the picture remind you of some people or something! Cor-hristians among you, you might recogni?e that the woman is *ary,

the child is baby Jesus, and the man is Joseph# $ould you agree!

+reughel, the painter, entitled his wor, 5-ensus at +ethlehem,6 when

*ary and Joseph registered their newly;born child at the town hall#

+reughel is trying to say something 5more6 or 5deep6 in his

painting# He is telling us that Jesus came to our ordinary, everyday

world, among ordinary people doing their everyday routine# His coming

to our world was also ordinary that, lie in the painting, that we wouldnot notice immediately his presence, because it was, simply, ordinary#

et +reughel might have intended to 5hide6 as it were the

signi&cant feature of his painting, until we were ased to loo closely

and discover something deep or rich# 't needed from us to closely

observe the painting, which allowed us to discover the 5depth


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eperience6 in the ordinary, everyday life# And what was our reaction >

“AhhhG” “(es D see itG.” “There it isG.” “Hhat a beauti#ul thin'G.”

%hose reactions come from the reali?ation that, indeed, the etra;

ordinary, the special, the “hi!ala” (miracle) is in the ordinary,

everyday life#

Cour things can be said about Jesus in relation to our topic on

5everyday6 or 5ordinary6 and 5depth eperience#6 %he &rst is this:

Note to Teacher: Iro! here on as you

elaborate the "ey ideas you !ay

want to add other visual aides such

as ppt pictures/ or audio aides son'

!usic etc./ to connect to your

personal style o# teachin'. 2oweverstay #ocused on the nu!bered

state!ents because they are the

!a8or concepts that should be learned

by the students.

%lide +1>/

19 8esus (s bor* i* ordi*(r' (' to ordi*(r' ,(re*ts(t (* ordi*(r' ,l(+e (*d ordi*(r' time#

Are your surprised by this statement! $e hope not# His father,

Joseph, was a wood;worer, who probably had to wor hard, day and

night, to help his family# %he pregnant *ary had to carry the heavy

child in her womb for many months and went through labor pains as

you mother did when you were born#

Jesus did not fall from the sy4 he came among us, from us, with

us, among ordinary people, lie our fathers and mothers whoeperienced both ecitement and fear of bearing a child# (As your

mother at home how they felt when you were in her womb, and you

would appreciate better the life of *ary#)

-hristian %radition says Jesus was born in +ethlehem, and the

0ospels also say that Jesus spent most of his growing up years in


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [1=]

9a?areth# 9ow, there are two versions of the event that too place

when Jesus was born# %he 0ospel of *atthew (chapters and ) says

he was born in a house, while the 0ospel of "ue (chapter to chapter

:) says he was born in a manger# $hatever the case is, Jesus was

born, not in a temple or church, or in a famous place, but in a small

ordinary place, in an ordinary time of the day (or night)#

$hat about the neighborhood! %here were no &rewors, no

drining of beers or li7uors, no videoe, no dancing, no lechon on the

table > things and activities we do during our 5special6 days# 'n Jesus’

neighborhood, probably people were doing their house chores and

woring day and in out /ust to survive, /ust lie the people in the

painting of +rueghel#

%lide +1?/

B9 8esus $(d (* ordi*(r' li/e (s ( bo'0 li&ed t$ee&er'd(' i* its ordi*(ri*ess0 (*d 6re u, it$

di+ulties (*d dre(ms (s ell#

Ecept for one story found in the 0ospel of John (when Jesus was

in the temple, arguing with the teachers), we now very little about hischildhood and adolescent years# He didn’t have an C+ account on

which he could write his own timeline, right! +ut we can imagine his

world if we put ourselves in his shoes or sandals#

During his time, years ago, in a small village called

9a?areth, the houses were small with enough space for sleeping# *ost

of the activities of the people were done outside the houses, cooing,

washing clothes, woring, and even chatting with one another, which

they did under the trees, in the streets, or in small sari;sari or

convenience stores# Jesus probably played with other children of hisage, and lie any other Jewish (Judaism is their religion) boy, he went

to the synagogue once a wee to read their +ible and listen to the

preaching of their religious leaders#


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [1>]

$hen we say that Jesus 5grew up with di8culties and dreams as

well,6 we include his searching for meaning in life and for 0od# %he

0ospel of "ue puts it this way:

%lide +0;/

%A*d 8esus i*+re(sed i* isdom0 i* st(ture0 (*d i*/(&or it$ God (*d ,eo,le) 7L5 B:B9

Jesus was a person of his time in his view of the world and the

language he spoe to see that world# Cor those of you who are familiar

with the stories about Jesus, don’t you notice that when Jesus speas,he uses images or metaphors taen from his rural environment, lie

plants (eample, mustard seed), trees (eample, &g tree), animals

(eamples, goats, sheep, fo, etc#), and ob/ects (eamples, coin, net)

when he speas about life, the world, and 0od#

Jesus was also dependent for his formation on the in@uences

around him# He probably learned the traditions of his culture and

religion from his parents, community, and teachers# He may have

listened intently to his elders, but we also now he ased a lot of

7uestions and even argued at times# Just lie you, you come to class

everyday, you are sitting there but you may many 7uestions in your

mind#

'n his growing up years, Jesus gradually 5increased in wisdom, in

stature, and in favor with 0od and people#6 He struggled with his

personal identity, his ethnic belonging as a Jew, his gender as a male,

his being a poor person# He probably had to go through the years of

5identity crisis6 lie what you are going through > who am '! what is

my purpose in this world! what are my hopes and dreams in life! His7uestions are not diBerent from us today#

et we can say Jesus was a remarably perceptive and insightful

person# He lived an ordinary life, with its routine, but he also probably

closely observed the events in his life, his surroundings, the people he

encountered, and in his society# And he re@ected on it, 5digging and


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [1?]

delving unceasingly,6 as our painter -laude *onet told us earlier#

2bservation and re@ection ; these led Jesus to discover the 5depth

eperiences6 in ordinary things, persons, and events that reveal the

5etra;ordinary,6 5the diBerent and new,6 the 5sacred,6 the 5divine6#

ou remember Elsa, 5the miracle is our hearts,6 or the fo saying to the

"ittle =rince, 5what is essential is invisible to the eye#6

$ith the eyes to see or the heart to feel, Jesus developed insights

or wisdom that made others thin that he was a man of authority# His

authority did not rest on o8cial status (lie, he was not a barangay

captain, or a licensed medical doctor, or a president of a company)# His

authority came from inside himself, because his insights about life, the

world, and 0od were borne of real;life struggles in life in order to

become a man of 0od and for others# He spoe with authority, which

made people either respect him or fear him, because people see in hima person of 5depth eperience#6

%lide +01/

D9 8esus immersed $imsel/ i* t$e li&es o/ t$e ordi*(r',eo,le i* ordi*(r' ,l(+es0 (*d m(de t$em /eel t$e

%e3tr(ordi*(r') i* t$eir li&es#

Jesus was not only a person of 5depth eperience6 in his own life,

but he helped people reali?e that there is something 5more6 or

important and valuable in their lives#

"oo at the men and women Jesus invited to accompany him in

his mission# %hey were &shermen, ta collectors, “ta!bay sa "anto”

single and married, young and not so young# %hey were not individuals

who stood out in public, political leaders, big names in the community,nor did they thin they would become founders and leaders of

communities of faith at a later stage of their lives# +y calling them to

follow him, Jesus saw their 0od;given gifts or potentials, not their

weanesses or frailties# Jesus gave them importance by believing in

them, that they were also called to become better men and women

who would do good things to other people#


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [0;]

Jesus immersed himself in the lives of people# He did not loc

himself inside his house4 he went out, waled and waled, visited

villages along the way, and crossed laes# %hat was important for him#

He had a mission from 0od, but he did not eep this mission to a few

and within his circle of friends# He went out, sought people, especially

the marginali?ed and underprivileged4 he conversed with them

wherever they were and what they were doing, and sometimes he

slept in their houses# He preached or taught, and often we read that he

did this while eating and drining with people# He waled with them,

wored with them, and rested with them#

"oo at the people Jesus healed and forgave# 't is striing that in

the +ible the stories of his healing and forgiving occurred in ordinary

places, often outside the synagogue (where they study their +ible) andtemple (where ritual sacri&ces were done)# Here are some of those

places and events:

%lide +00/

E&e*t l(+e

He(li*6 o/ t$e ,(r(l'ti+ $o(s brou6$t b' $is /rie*ds

I* ( $ouse it$ $ole i* t$eroo/

He(li*6 o/ ( m(* bor* bli*d 4' t$e side o/ t$e ro(dFor6i&e*ess to ( om(*(++used o/ (dulter'

I* ( ,l(K( 7or *ei6$bor$oodb(s5etb(ll +ourt9

He(li*6 o/ to bli*d me* (tC(,er*(um

O* t$e street

Te* le,ers At t$e e*tr(*+e o/ ( &ill(6e

He(li*6 o/ ( bli*d ,erso* I* (* (lle' or sm(ll dirt ro(d

He(li*6 o/ ( om(* sueri*6

/rom $emorr$(6e 7i*ter*(lbleedi*69

I* ( +roded ,l(+e

During the time of Jesus, many were sic and ill of various

ailments and diseases# %hey believed that their sicness is due to the


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curse that 0od gave them because they something wrong or

committed sin# he felt their pains, anguish,misery, suBering, not only by their sicness but also by the way other

people treated them# “7ay sa"it na n'a itinata"wil pa n' lipunan” >

distraught by sicness, the sicness is also marginali?ed by society#

Jesus healed them, not because he agreed with their thining of 0od’s

punishment4 on the contrary, Jesus epressed his empathy at their

helplessness and hopelessness, and he showed his solidarity by

touching them# %here were many healers during that time, yet in Jesus

people felt a diBerent ind of healer# =eople may have thought, 5't’s

truly a /oy to be with this guy16 'n the healings of Jesus, people

eperienced that 0od is not a 0od of punishment, but a 0od of /oy# %he5gospel6 of Jesus is truly 5good news#6

He touched them1 Against the grain of his society that looed

down at the sic people, Jesus touched them# Just imagine the

emotions running through the scenes where Jesus healed# 'magine the

sic people being touched by a man they hardly new# 'magine


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yourself being 5touched6 by Jesus in your hearts even if you feel

5dirty,6 doubting him, 7uestioning him, angry with him, or don’t bother

to believe him# He has no second;thoughts and he has no pre;

conditions > Jesus simply, generously, freely feels us and touches our

lives with love#

Jesus healed their sicness, but more importantly, he restored

their human dignity and their importance to 0od# +y doing the healing

acts in public places, Jesus showed that the 0od who loves and cares

can be eperienced by people in the ordinary places in the world# $e

do not have to loo for big 5miraculous6 events, for the miracle of the

saving presence action of 0od is happening already within us or around

us if we have the 5eyes6 or the 5heart6 to see it#

9owadays, we thin that we can only feel the presence of 0odinside churches or other religious places# 2f course, we can feel 0od’s

presence there, yet it is not only in those places where 0od wors in

our lives and in the world# $ho nows, the person beside you in the

"% or /eepney, the person you meet on the street, the one who sells

or buys food in the store or maret, our co;bed spacer in the boarding

house, or friends and classmates we don’t give much attention,

including our everyday chores of cooing, washing and ironing clothes,

listening in classrooms > all of these are potentially or in fact, spaces

where 0od is present, KGL of our lives# ($e shall learn more fullyabout this 5truth6 two lessons from now#)

$e eep repeating the necessity of observation and re@ection to

mae see the 5depth eperience6 in our life# Jesus was a een observer

of events and he immersed himself in the lives of people, to feel them,

and be 5moved6 by their plight# %here is still another element that can

help us understand better our 5depth eperience6 in our everyday life#

Jesus can show us the way:

%lide +0/

9 I* mome*ts o/ sile*+e (*d solitude0 8esus s( $is%de,t$ e3,erie*+e) (s (* e3,erie*+e o/ i*tim(te

rel(tio*s$i, it$ God#


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Note to Teacher: This section is si!ply

to e!phasi*e the value o# prayer or

silence or solitude to !a"e sense o#

the !any thin's that happen in the

everyday o# the student. Avoid 'ivin'

a lecture brie# or #ull on how to

prayer. He will deal with that in

another lesson. The #ocus in this

lesson is the “everyday” and “depth

e9perience.”

'n his moments of silence and solitude, he developed an intimate

relationship with 0od, a 0od who is actively present in his life and in

the world# He did not leave us any blueprint on the procedure or stepsor eercises of prayer# $hat we now from the stories is that he valued

prayer as the moment when he could be with 0od alone, away from

the public# He seemed to have preferred praying in private (or 5private

prayer6), in contrast to some religious leaders who prayed in public yet

their lifestyles and ways of relating with people were still the same,

unaBected by their prayers# Jesus prayed in public too, lie when he

thaned 0od for the food they received as narrated in the story of the

5feeding of the multitude#6

$hether it was in private or in public, Jesus spent some time of

his everyday to get in touch with his own eperiences and to see it in

another way, from the eyes or heart of 0od# He did many observations

and re@ections, and immersion with people, during the day, and it

helped him to be silent and communicate with 0od# $e can imagine

this, because after praying, the 0ospels tell us that he met people

again, healed, and preached with renewed strength and conviction#

%here are many inds of prayer4 we /ust want to emphasi?e here

the importance of being alone with our selves, with a higher being orcause, or 5with emptiness,6 or with 0od# Everyday, we are busy with

diBerent sorts of things# $e meet many people, hear lots of sounds,

see many shapes and colors, smell a variety of odors, taste diBerent

food, and touch a multitude of ob/ects# +eing alone in silence can help

us go over our everyday and &nd those moments that have

signi&cance to our life#


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't’s lie having our hand &lled with peanuts# %hey all loo the

same, but there could be one nut or two that stand out because, for

one reason or another, they lead us to re@ect about our life and

relationships# *oments of silence are opportunities for us to pic out

those eperiences with worth or value, and to muse over them#


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) $e introduced our lesson with this 7uotation from John

Hall ; 5'f we thin theology has nothing to do with

everyday life, then we do not now theology at all#6

) 'n the 5


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Cirst, Jesus was born in ordinary way to ordinary

parents at an ordinary place and ordinary time#


27/28

Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [0=]

D9 U,o* +lose obser&(tio* o/ t$e e&e*t0 $(t (re 'ourre2e+tio*s0 i*si6$ts or re(liK(tio*s (bout 'oursel/or 'our li/e

9 Is t$ere (*' (+tio* or ( be$(&ior t$(t 'ou t$i*5'ou must do i* +o**e+tio* to 'our %de,t$e3,erie*+e)


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Topic 1.1 The “Everyday” or “Ordinary [0>]

eperiences (past andGor present) as they clearly connect betweenthe topic and what is learned from life;eperience

c) %el# Jintrospection: demonstrates open, honest, non;defensiveability to self;appraise, discussing both growth and frustrations, orchanges and blocs to changes as they relate to learning in class4riss asing probing 7uestions about self and to answer these4paper is medium for epressing serious personal learnings or

growthd) D!plication o# Dnsi'ht-earnin': oBers signi&cant insights or

learnings drawn from the topic by concreti?ing actions orbehaviors or practices in real life (e#g#, practices that the personwill 5stop,6 5start,6 and 5continue6)

Caira) Fnderstandin': acceptable understanding the ey conceptGidea or

valueGvirtue in one’s own words

b) @onnection to li#e: gives so!e detail eplaining some speci&cideas or issues in life and maes 'eneral connections betweenwhat is learned from eperiences and the topic#

c) %el#,introspection : somewhat cautious or sometimes defensive orone;sided in one’s analysis (eample: mostly 5good6 or 5pleasant6aspects)4 ass some probing 7uestions about self, but do notengage in seeing to answer these4 paper attempts to be

epression of personal growthd) D!plication o# insi'ht-learnin': oBers setchy or broad insights orlearnings drawn from the topic and somewhat eplores behaviorspractices in real life

3

9eeds'mprovement

a) Fnderstandin': merely repeats or restates ey conceptGideaorvalueGvirtue in the teacher’s words or in the worboo

b) @onnection to li#e: identi&es some 'eneral ideas or issues fromreal life eperiences4 gives factual enumeration of eperiencesthat arti&cially or vaguely connect one’s eperiences and the topic

c) %el# Jintrospection: self;disclosure tends to be super&cial andfactual, with minimal self;introspection4 defensive of one’s positionor eperience that does not consider other angles4 minimal ris toeplore 7uestions or issues about self in relation to the topic (e#g#,speas about other people rather than one’s life in relation topeople)4 paper seriously lacs substance as epression of personal

growthd) D!plication o# Dnsi'ht-learnin': l7cing ability in drawing insights

or learnings4 uneplained implications for behaviors or practices

=oor (or$ea)

a) Fnderstandin': inade7uate or incorrect summary of theconceptGidea or valueGvirtue

b) @onnection to li#e: 7uestion;answer or one;line answer with verylittle connection between life eperience and the topic

c) %el#;introspection: no self;introspection4 no evidence to show ofself;analysis4 enumerative without eplanation in writing style4paper is submitted merely as re7uirement

d) D!plication o# insi'ht-learnin': no stated implications orapplications4 5motherhood statements6 with no bearing on one’spersonal life or commitment

9on;submission

theology i - topic 1.1 the everyday

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