The Manila Times Internet Edition | OPINION > Are we fake Christians or true disciples?

Sunday, March 20, 2005

REFLECTIONS
By Fr. Shay Cullen
Are we fake Christians or true disciples?

In some ways the Philippines today is not unlike that in the Palestine of Jesus. There are the despotic rulers that exploit the poor others that impose their rule with blood baths of mayhem and murder as the Roman occupiers did to the protesting Jews.

As Holy Week come closer we cannot forget the recent deaths of the farmers at Hacienda Luisita in Tarlac, the bloody repression of the rebellious prisoners, the exploitation of the natural resources by logging and mining that cause landslides and untold suffering, and acts of incredible love and redemption.

In this Holy Week the reminders of human suffering will be all too apparent. It is not a time to flee to the resorts for forgetfulness and pleasure; it is a time to reflect and understand our situation. It is a time to find inspiration in the example of Christ to empower ourselves and others to reduce hunger and poverty and make this a better society. We can be so hungry for power that we forget the purpose of life as even the disciples of Christ did.

We can chase empty dreams of material kingdoms when we need strong spiritual value to guide and direct us. We can misunderstand the meaning of Christianity itself and end up with empty rituals and sound like gongs and tinkling bells and have no love or ability to serve the poor.

Has Christianity failed in the Philippines? How can there be such injustice and inequality when we proclaim ourselves pious and righteous? That was how the persecutors of Jesus saw themselves.

I grew up believing that Palm Sunday was the glorious acceptance of Jesus by the people of Jerusalem. Even the disciples were overwhelmed with the sudden popularity of Jesus, and mistakenly believed that he would be proclaimed Messiah by the people. It would be the end of the tyrannical regime of hypocrites and religious bigots that oppressed the poor they thought. How wrong they were. As Jesus said in exasperation, “How long have I been with you and still you do not understand.”

The disciples were so convinced that victory was theirs that a power struggle broke out between them. The mother of the disciples James and John, ambitious for her sons, intervened and asked Jesus to appoint them to high office in the Kingdom, one to sit on his right and the other on his left. They were filled with delusions of grandeur. We can all be easily carried away with the enthusiasm of the moment.

Other disciples also argued about who was the most important; little did they know that in just a few hours all their false notions would be dashed and the truth would be revealed. There would be no earthly kingdom over which Jesus would reign. There would be nothing but rejection, arrest, torture and execution.

This is the most heartbreaking day in the story of Jesus and the church liturgy. The palm-waving crowds were not filled with faith in Jesus as a holy man or a great leader and liberator; they had just heard about the miracle of the raising of Lazarus from the dead and they wanted more of it. They were miracle seekers as Saint John tells us in his account. “That was why the crowd met him, because they had heard that he had performed that Miracle.” (John 12:18) Within hours where was hardly anyone found to defend him when he was falsely accused and condemned?

Even his own followers were denying they even knew him. What greater pain can there be than to be rejected and denied by your own friends, by those that you believed were your faithful followers?

Most of us have felt this pain and hurt and it can haunt us for the rest of our lives. It is a deep wound that can hardly ever heal unless the one who hurt us accepts the wrongdoing and asks forgiveness. Even if that does not happen, we can forgive them in our heart and cheerfully get on with life and pray for justice, their understanding and repentance.

True lasting faith is does not come from the emotional euphoria of discovering the stupendous love that Jesus has for each and every one of us. It comes from living the values and teaching of Jesus.

There are any number of eloquent preachers and leaders who claim to be the voice of God or the people Jesus said it all so clearly as reported by Saint Luke; “The rulers claim the title, “friends of the people,” Jesus said (Lk:22. 25 ff) . . . . but it must not be like that for you, the greatest among you must be like the youngest, the leader must be like the servants. I am among you as one who serves.”

It is when we do our very best according to our resources abilities and circumstances to care for and help others, never oppress, hurt or harm another or the creation that sustains all of life will we experience, like Lazarus, a resurrection in heart and mind. What our nation needs is a resurrection, a new lease of life, no matter how bad it is we must never give up hope of changing what we can.

With faith and determination, and working together social justice can be established.

Those who Lord it over others exploiting them, or abusing power and position are the Judas people of this world. They are most in need of redemption and resurrection. Those who work for justice and love and strive to protect the helpless and vulnerable are truly the doers of the word and in this they find lasting happiness.

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