USAPAN LANG NAMAN . . .

One day in Novemver 2005, my friend received a text message which I liked, so I copied it:

‘Who should be blamed when a leaf fell from a tree?
Is it the wind that blew it away?
Or the tree that let it go?
Or is it the leaf itself which never held tight?’

We reflected on it for a while . . . . maybe there’s no one to blame . . . . or it depends . . . . if the tree is the Lord, and the wind is the circumstances and situations happening around, and the leaf is the person, definitely the Lord can not be blamed, situations can not be either . . . .

Well, we just joked about it and left the message alone.

The next morning when I read in the Holy Bible the readings for the day, I was struck by a passage:

‘……Because of our sins we are like leaves that wither and are blown away by the wind.’ ISAIAH 64:6

The moment I read this, I remembered the text message yesterday. I was beginning to think there was a connection. What was it? Or is there any?

As I continued to read the other Scriptures, I mistook a Scripture to be one of the readings for that day . . . . is it a mistake . . . . or I was led to it. Guess what! :

‘When one of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos” – aren’t you acting like worldly people? After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God’s servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plant, but it was God who made the plant grow. The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because He makes the plant grow.

There is no difference between the one who plants and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done. For we are partners working together for God, and you are God’s field. You are also God’s building. Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each of you must be careful how you build. For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.’ 1 CORINTHIANS 3:4-11


Wow, now I believe in my heart that there is definitely a connection. So I asked, “What, Lord? What’s with the leaf and the plant? What is Your message? What do You want to tell me?” It was a puzzle for me . . . .

After I ate my breakfast, I thought of watching tv. It was a long time now since I did this. When I entered the community last year, I very seldom watched. Never got the time or I just want to sleep or read.

As I turned on the tv, there was this cartoon gundamforce. I love watching cartoons even when I was still a kid . . . . so I watched it. Well, hope you bear with me and read on.

There was this city where humans and robots (mobile citizens) who live together in harmony until the evil mobile citizens (MC) came and launch a brain control device that all the good MC became evil and the whole city was threatened. Gundamforce to the rescue! It was a team of robots, with a head robot called captain and together with them is a boy.

They zoomed in to the city, but the enemies tried to stop them at the gates. The other members of the team volunteered to sacrifice themselves to fight these enemies and told their captain to proceed with his mission. He has to reach a device called the captain system which can give Him more power to fight the evil scheme.

As the captain and the boy neared their destiny, two evil MCs came and tried to stop them. As the boy was in danger another member of the team came. He was hurt, but he still rescued the boy and told the captain to proceed and he fought the enemies. As the kid asked him if he can still go on, he said with full confidence, “I am part of the team and I will do all I can as long as I can.”

The captain reached the captain system and started to operate it but his energy is not enough. Then came the other members of the team and released all their energies without thinking of themselves. Not a single amount of energy was left in their system. The device powered up to its maximum and the captain had the access to the systems of all the robots in the city, knocked down the brain control device in each of them . . . . they won the battle. They brought back the good mobile citizens to being good again. THE END.

THE END. What’s with the story? Is there a connection in all these from the leaf to this. Weird . . . . I really found it weird. Robot cartoon was one of my favorites, but I never cried over them . . . . Weird because I found myself with 2 or 3 or 4 teardrops in my eyes. All I could ask God : “What have You done to me? Why am I crying over a seemingly senseless robot cartoon? I felt so weird? This change You made in my heart, sometimes I do not understand it. Why do I see differently at times even in such simple, uncomplicated things?”

You know what I saw as I watched this cartoon? I saw a TEAM of good creations . . . . robots and humans alike . . . . with differences from each other but possess one heart. They have the determination to fight evil no matter what. They have the hope, the zeal, the enthusiasm, the courage, the unity. They are willing to sacrifice everything, even if it hurts them, just to save the citizens and for their mission to succeed.

The weird thing for me here is I saw the community in place of the TEAM. Different people, with different points of view, different characters, different gifts and talents. I have seen dedicated people in this community just like the members of the gundamforce. Dedicated, committed people who are willing to sacrifice anything for the success of whatever tasks God had entrusted to them. There are different ministries, different areas of service, different members . . . . equipped, molded, empowered, gifted . . . . by the Holy Spirit. For what??? To be The LORD’S TEAM in this world . . . . to be His instruments to fight evil to save humanity . . . . the citizens. The Lord needs a TEAM whose members are full of hope . . . . so enthusiastic in doing their part . . . . so zealous in bringing Him to the hearts of His people . . . . willing to go out of their ways and sacrifice for each other and for God for the success of the mission . . . . willing to support and help each other with love in the hearts . . . . understanding the differences of each other . . . . using the gifts the Lord has given . . . . being a model of courage, obedience and humility to one another . . . . willing to do all they can do . . . . because they are part of the TEAM . . . . The LORD’S TEAM.

In the text message and Scripture passage, the tree is the Lord. He is the source of everything. He is the root that is deeply planted on the ground. He stands firm and can never be toppled down. He is our strength. He holds on to us. He will not let go. He will always be there for us to rely upon. He will always be our Source. The wind is our sins, our doubts, fears, temptations . . . . all that causes us to let go of the Lord. If we allow the wind to affect us, if we give in . . . . we will wither away and lose our grip on the branch.

In our service, we have to stay focused on the tree and not on the wind. The Lord is our Master. He alone is the One we serve. It matters not what others will say. It matters not how big or small or what kind of service we give . . . . what matters is we do our part and give it all we’ve got . . . . what matters is we serve with commitment and dedication as a TEAM, as different parts of the TEAM in one body . . . . but what matters most is God. Whatever success we achieve, it is not because of me, or you, or him, or her or anybody else . . . . It is because of God. We serve for the glory of the Kingdom of God. We serve for the salvation of our sisters and brothers. We serve for the victory of good against evil. We serve because we love God and we are willing to sacrifice, to get hurt, get tired, get out of our comfort zones for that. All for God. What matters is God . . . . But we have to serve as a TEAM with understanding, humility, love . . . . and willingness to support and serve each other.

Weird????? I don’t know . . . . The next cartoon I watched after gundamforce doesn’t have an impression on me. I watched it just like the others way back before. But hey……I am not promoting this cartoon . . . . its not really good especially for kids because of the fightings.

Well . . . . usapan lang naman . . . . I just shared a weird, kiddie, mind twisting, serious, mababaw experience of mine on a Sunday morning . . . . It doesn’t happen every Sunday you know.

-luisadelacruz