Carrying out Social Responsibility

Handout #2

A. Jesus and the Reign of God

Jesus was born in one of the most turbulent centuries of

Jewish history. The Gospel were written in these socio-economic and
political context. The Palestine of Jesus’ time was an occupied country.
The causes of unrest can be summed up as follows.

 Occupation by the foreign troops.

 Class conflicts
 Social banditry
 Religious fanaticism
 Revolutionary prophets and messianic pretenders
 Misconduct on the part of Roman Officials
 Strife between the various factions of revolutionaries
 Taxations
 Bitter hostility between Jews and Samaritans

B. The Reign of God in Jesus’ Buhay-Pagpapatotoo

People experienced the liberating presence of God and His
kagandahang-loob in Jeus’
buhay-pagpapatotoo. He concretely made present the Reign of God in
the many aspects of his life
-witness.

1. Jesus’ Proclamation of the Reign of God

2. Jesus’ Healings and Great deeds
3. Jesus’ Table fellowship with the poor and the outcast
4. Jesus’ Forgiveness of Sinners
5. Jesus’ Total Giving of Self

C. Faith response
As Jesus’ disciples, our buhay-pagpapatotoo must be guided by
the gospel values and
the moral and social teachings of the church as we participate and get
involved in political life:

 Our basic standard for participation; pursuit of the common

good
 Our participation be characterized by a defense and promotion
of justice
 Our participation be inspired and guided by the spirit of service
 Our participation be imbued with preferential love for the poor
 Our process and goal be the empowerment of the people (PCP II,
351)
 D. The Spirituality of Buhay-Pagpapatotoo: Lay Spirituality
In witnessing to Jesus’ buhay pagpapatotoo in the church and
society today, we are
invited to develop a kind of spirituality that is attuned to the cries of
the poor, the signs of the times,
the appeals of the church, and the urgent demands of the earth
community.