Pagpapakumbaba sa harap ng Diyos

Homily on July 23,  2018

Mikas 6:1-4.6-8

Mateo 12: 38-42

St. Peter Church, Commonwealth Avenue

Ang pagtitipon natin ngayong hapon ay pagtitipon ng mga taong handang manindigan para sa bayan. Ngunit alam natin na upang maging matiyaga at mabisa sa ating panindigan, kailangan muna tayong maupo at lumuhod. Maupo upang magnilay at makinig sa Dioyos na nagsasalita sa atin. Hindi Siya walang kibo sa ating kalagayan at hindi siya manhid sa kahirapan ng ating bayan. Alam niya ang nangyayari sa atin at siya ay kumikilos din sa ating kasaysayan. Pakinggan at suriin natin ang direksyon kung saan niya tayo ginagabayan. Kailangan din tayong lumuhod, upang magpakumbabang humingi ng tulong sa kanya. Ito po ang ginagawa natin ngayon. Nandito tayong umuupo at lumuluhod sa simbahan upang mamaya may tapang at lakas tayong tumindig sa lansangan.

Ano ba ang sinasabi ng Diyos?  Alam po natin na sa Banal na Kasulatan nagsasalita ang Diyos. Ano po ang mensahe niya sa atin ngayon? Si propeta Mikas ay nanawagan sa mga tayo noon na makinig sa kaso ng Diyos sa kanyang bayang Israel. Tinatawagan niya ang mga kabundukan at mga kalangitan na maging mga saksi sa sakdal ng Diyos laban sa kanyang bayan. Hindi sinabi ng Diyos kung ano ang masama na ginawa ng Israel, pero talagang masama.  Kaya siya ay nagtanong sa kanila. Bakit ninyo ito ginawa? Ano pa ba ang hindi ko nagagawa upang ipadama sa inyo ang aking pag-ibig? tanong niya. Ano pa ba ang kanyang pagkukulang? Pinalaya na sila sa pagka-alipin sa Egipto, binigyan sila ng mga leaders na sina Moises at Aaron. Saan pa ba ang Diyos nagkulang sa kanila?

Nabagabag ang mga tao sa akusasyon ng Diyos kaya nagtangka silang magbago. Kaya ang tanong nila, “Ano ba, O Diyos, ang gusto mo upang maging katanggap-tanggap kaming uli sa iyo? Ano ba ang maihahain namin sa iyo? Ilang mga toro ang gusto mong ialay namin? Ano mga dasal ang sasabihin naming?” Sa pananaw ng mga tao maging katanggap-taggap sila uli sa Diyos kapag naghain at nagdasal sila.

Hindi iyan ang gusto ng Diyos. Ang gusto niya ay pagbabago ng ugali—maging makatarungan at maging maibigin sa kapwa, at maging magpakumbaba sa Diyos. Ito ang gusto nating gawin, at ito rin ang hinihingi natin sa ating pamahalaan. Inaabangan natin ang SONA ng president. Inaasahan natin na iulat niya sa atin ang tunay na kalagayan ng ating bayan at magbigay siya ng mga programa na tutugon sa kalagayang ito. Sana tunay na kalagayan ang kanyang sabihin—just tell us the bare facts, however ugly they may be. We want to know the real score of government action, or inaction, or wrong action, of the past year and even the past two years, however ugly they may be. Tama na ang pang-iinsulto, pagmumura at pagbibintang. At gusto nating marinig kung ano ang balak niyang gawin upang tumugon sa kalagayang ito. Gusto nating malaman paano magkakaroon ng katarungan ang mga naging biktima ng mga pagpapatay – mga 23,000 na ang mga pinatay. Ano na ang resulta ng mga libo-libong killings under investigation? Paano ba magkakaroon ng katarungan ang mga manggagawa na patuloy na mababa ang suweldo, patuloy na nagdurusa sa ENDO? Ano ang katarungan ng mga katutubo na nasa evacuation centers dahil sa militarisasyon ng kanilang mga eskwelahan at communidad?  Paano iyong mga mangingisda na hinaharas ng mga Chino sa ating karagatan? Naghahanap kami ng katarungan!

Pag-ibig sa kapwa. Ang minimum na hinihingi ng pag-ibig ay paggalang. Gusto sana naming maging magalang ang presidente namin sapagkat bilang mga Pilipino, magalang naman tayo bilang bayan. Itigil na ang pagmumura! Ayaw naming marinig iyan sa aming mga anak, at lalong ayaw naming marinig iyan sa namumuno sa amin.  Kung iyan lang, ang pagtigil ng pagmumura, ay hindi niya kayang magawa, hindi siya karapat-dapat na mamuno sa amin. Kailangan din ng pag-ibig ay paggalang sa karapatan ng bawat isa – ng mga kababaihan, at pati na ng mga pinaghihinalaang lumilihis sa batas. Ang bawat tao ay may karapatan na dapat igalang ng autoridad.

Pagpapakumbaba sa harap ng Diyos. Ibabagsak ang lahat ng mayayabang. Nakakalungkot na wala namang laman ang mga pahayag ng president kundi kayabangan. Sana po magbago na siya sa SONAng ito.  Bahagi ng kababaang loob ay ang pag-amin ng pagkakamali. There is nothing wrong in apologizing when one is clearly wrong, sa halip na pagtatakpan pa ang pagkakamali. Kawawa naman ang press officers ng palasyon. Nabubulol na sa pagtatakip ng kamalian. Aminin na lang na nagkamali. Justice, love, humility. Ito po ang ibig ng Diyos at ito rin ang ibig natin.

Sa ating ebanghelyo nagalit si Jesus sa mga Pariseo na patuloy na humingi ng tanda sapagkat ayaw nilang maniwala.  Mabigat na mga salita ang binitiwan ni Jesus sa kanila: “ Lahing masama at di-tapat sa Diyos!” Hindi ba ganyan din ang humingi ng selfie kay Jesus para maniwala sa kanya? Nandiyan na ang tanda ni Jonas--ang muling pagkabuhay ni Jesus. Sa halip na humingi ng tanda, pakinabangan na natin ang nasa atin na nahigit pa kaysa anumang inaasahan natin. Higit pa si Jesus kaysa kay Jonas, kaysa Reyna na galing sa Timog. Si Jesus ang pinapahayag natin sa ating pananampalatayan. Manalig po tayo. Nakataya na si Jesus na atin. Hindi niya tayo pababayaan. Higit pas siya kaysa anong pamahalaan, kaysa pamahalaang ito. Kaya huwag tayong matakot at huwag tayong maduwag. Hindi natin kinatatakutan ang ulan, hindi natin kinatatakutan ang mga trolls, huwag nating katakutin ang mga pagbabanta, ni ang mga mamamatay tao. If God is for us, who can be against us. Let us just be sure that God is with us. Kaya tayo lumalapit sa kanya ngayon, lumuluhod sa harap niya, tatanggap sa kanya sa banal ng komunyon at magmamarcha sa mapayapa at mahinahon na paraan. Naninindigan tayo sa katarungan, kapayapaan at kaayusan. Ito ang ating hinihingi, at ito ang ang ating pamamaraan.

Federalism, the Trojan Horse

THE story of the Trojan Horse is interesting. After years of siege, the Greek could not penetrate the city of Troy, until they came up with an idea of making a big horse as a peace offering. They left it on the shore and sailed away, admitting their defeat. The Trojans were so happy at this turn of events. They brought the big wooden horse inside their city and celebrated whole night. While they were celebrating, soldiers came surreptitiously out of the horse, opened the city gates to let in their hidden comrades who stealthily sailed back, and attacked the drunk Trojans. Thus the great and impregnable city of Troy fell to the Greeks.

Duterte is presenting federalism as the magic wand to bring about prosperity to the whole country. This claim is at best dubious. But the way to bring about federalism is the change of the present constitution, Cha-Cha, in short. I see that federalism is the Trojan horse, the smokescreen in order to bring about Cha-Cha, which is the formula for total control of the country. It is a control that is backed up by the new constitution they are proposing! We do not yet know this new constitution but knowing the people who are behind this—Duterte and his minions—and knowing who will craft this – the present congress convened as constitutional assembly—we can already guess where this is heading. It will spell disaster to the Filipinos.

We say no to Cha-Cha at this juncture of our history! Although our 1987 Constitution is already hailed as a very progressive constitution together with that of South Africa, it is not perfect. It can still be improved, but not at this time and not with this present congress and president.

Not at this time:

1.  The atmosphere in the country is not conducive to critical participation. There is a culture of fear and bullying promoted by Duterte.

2.    There is the haste to make the Cha-Cha. They want the plebiscite to be done this year.  So there is no time for transparency, proper consultation and discussion. But why the haste? There is a strong suspicion that the haste is to avoid the election of 2O19 so that those in the office can remain.

Not with this present administration.

1.    Duterte is out for power. We do not believe his “promise” to resign if the Cha-Cha for federalism is already passed. He already had so many “promises” to resign—if traffic in Manila is not solved in 3 months, if ENDO is not taken away in 6 months, if the problem of illegal drugs is not solved in 6 months, etc., etc. If he is true to his word, he should have resigned long ago! But he is one who is “strong”—and flimsy—in words but very weak in deeds. Who can believe him?

2.    The Lower House is no longer independent. It is just a rubber stamp of the palace. The congressmen and women there no longer represent the people but their own families and political interests. They do not have the good of the people at heart. They cannot be trusted. Nor are they qualified too for changing the charter!

3.   The present government is no longer seen as independent from foreign influence. China is seen as a real threat, and with the connivance of no less than Duterte himself.

The country is faced with real problems, like the runaway inflation, the rise in prices of the basic goods, the atmosphere of lawlessness with the continued killings of the poor, of church people and of politicians, the loss of our territorial sovereignty, the weakening of our democratic institutions, the anger at the controlled and uncalled for ranting of Duterte, etc. These should be addressed by people in government now, not Cha-Cha nor federalism!

A Reflection on Psalm 94

THE Book of Psalms in the Bible is a collection of prayers. It is not only prayed by the Jews but also by Christians for hundreds of years now. Being the Word of God, it is always “living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 New American Bible)

While praying this psalm one day I noticed how appropriately it mirrors our time.

                1 LORD, avenging God, avenging God, shine forth!

It calls on God to act, to set right, to avenge his persecuted people.

                2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; give the proud what they deserve!

                3 How long, LORD, shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked glory?

                4 How long will they mouth haughty speeches, go on boasting, all these evildoers?

The enemy is described as the proud, the wicked, mouthing haughty speeches, always boasting. It does not take much imagination to think of Duterte and his cohorts here.

               5 They crush your people, LORD, torment your very own.

               6 They kill the widow and alien; the orphan they murder.

Oh how they kill, and they kill the helpless! In those times the helpless were the widows, the strangers and the orphans. Now they are the pedicab drivers, the teen-aged youth, the tambays, the lumads. These are the people who cannot fight back. They are the very people that Jesus identified with, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me,” (Matthew 25:40 NAB) when he taught the parable on the Last Judgment.

              7 They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice."

Why they do they continue to do these injustices? Because they believe that God does not care. They have no fear of God anymore. Just because they can continue doing these things does not mean that God will not act, that He does not know. The psalm continues

              8 Understand, you stupid people! You fools, when will you be wise?

              9 Does the one who shaped the ear not hear? The one who formed the eye not see? (Psalm 94:1-9 NAB)

God sees. He knows. And he will act. So the call: Rise up, O judge of the earth; give the proud what they deserve! [Psalm 94:2]

              14 For the LORD will not forsake his people, nor abandon his inheritance.

              15 Judgment shall again be just, and all the upright of heart will follow it.

 (Psalm 94:14-15 NAB)

In front of these abuses and oppression, we continue to hope. God will not forsake his people. Judgment shall again be just. In fact this psalm ends:

              23 Who [God] will turn back their evil upon them and destroy them for their wickedness. Surely the LORD our God will destroy them! (Psalm 94:23 NAB)

How appropriate this psalm is for our time. It truly describes what is happening to us in the Duterte administration these days. But in front of this evil we do not lose hope. We heed the call of Scriptures: “Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’" (Romans 12:19 NAB) So we do not allow ourselves to be conquered by evil but we conquer evil with good. (cf. Romans 12:21) We do not lie, we do not curse, we do not threaten, as they do. We pray and speak the truth. We use the words of Jesus:  “You belong to your father the devil and you willingly carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks in character, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44 NAB).  

Tamaan na ang tamaan!