"No time for bitterness."
"No time for bitterness."
In the scripture reading for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Jesus tells his disciples to keep his commandments, just as he had kept his Father’s commandments and remain in his love. He commands them to love one another as he has loved you. For there is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friends—considering those who keep his commandments as his friends. In the Gospel of John, the Glorified Lord exhorts his disciples to love one another. It is this love that sets Christ disciples apart from pagans. Jesus is telling his disciples that all will know that they are his disciples because of this love. It is a love that is selfless, willing to sacrifice for others, and unconditional.
Pope Benedict’s encyclical Deus Carita Est “God is love” emphasizes the unbreakable bond between love of God and love of neighbor: “One is so closely connected to the other that to say that we love God becomes a lie if we are closed to our neighbor or hate him altogether. Saint John’s words should rather be interpreted to mean that love of neighbor is a path that leads to the encounter with God, and that closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God.
Benedict explains very well in that encyclical the distinction between three kinds of love: eros, philia, and agape: “That love between man and woman which is neither planned nor willed, but somehow imposes itself upon human beings, was called eros by the ancient Greeks. Let us note straight away that the Greek Old Testament uses the word eros only twice, while the New Testament does not use it at all: of the three Greek words for love, eros, philia (the love of friendship) and agape, New Testament writers prefer the last, which occurs rather infrequently in Greek usage. As for the term philia, the love of friendship, it is used with added depth of meaning in Saint John’s Gospel in order to express the relationship between Jesus and his disciples.”
It is not true that Christianity rejected and rejects eros. According to Benedict: “First, there is a certain relationship between love and the Divine: love promises infinity, eternity—a reality far greater and totally other than our everyday existence. Yet we have also seen that the way to attain this goal is not simply by submitting to instinct. Purification and growth in maturity are called for; and these also pass through the path of renunciation. Far from rejecting or “poisoning” eros, they heal it and restore its true grandeur.”
There are of course people—we call them saints—who are called to agape—oblative love, described in Deus Est Caritas as expressing “the experience of a love which involves a real discovery of the other, moving beyond the selfish character that prevailed earlier.” Love as agape becomes concern and care for the other and no longer is self-seeking or a sinking in the intoxication of happiness. It seeks the good of the beloved: becomes renunciation, ready and willing for sacrifice.
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta spent her life tending to the sick, the disabled and the most destitute, or the so-called dregs of society. She spent her life in sacrifice without asking for anything in return.
St. Maximillian Kolbe offered his life in place of a Nazi cowwwncentration camp prisoner. This noble soul loved unconditionally, to the point of giving their own life for others just as what Christ did for humanity.
St. Paul the Apostle persecuted Christians but he more than made up for this when upon his conversion he assiduously spread the message of the gospel to the gentiles. For their heroic virtues and their unbounded love for God and others, these saints were raised to the altar of the church as saints.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus inspires us to live each day with an unshakable confidence in God’s love. “What matters in life,” she wrote in her autobiography entitled “Story of a Soul,” is not great deeds, but great love.” St. Therese wrote once, “You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.” She lived and taught a spirituality of attending to everyone and everything well and with love.
But what has love got to do with politics?
Everything.
Politics, as Pope Francis has frequently said, is one of the highest forms of charity because it serves the common good. This is explained very well in Deus Est Caritas:
“Justice is both the aim and the intrinsic criterion of all politics. Politics is more than a mere mechanism for defining the rules of public life: its origin and its goal are found in justice, which by its very nature has to do with ethics. The State must inevitably face the question of how justice can be achieved here and now. But this presupposes an even more radical question: what is justice? The problem is one of practical reason; but if reason is to be exercised properly, it must undergo constant purification, since it can never be completely free of the danger of a certain ethical blindness caused by the dazzling effect of power and special interests.”
After divisive elections, what does it mean to love God and love our neighbor?
I think it means above all forgiving, reconciling, and moving on.
This is not to say one should not protest if the elections were tainted with fraud and incompetence. This is not to say that one should tolerate unethical strategies and tactics—including vote buying, red-tagging, use of government resources, use of violence, etc. It is important to make our voices heard on the defects of our democracy, especially because they keep being repeated.
By forgiving, I meant something more personal—the family, members, colleagues, and yes literally one’s neighbors in some cases, which I fought with or hurt (and vice versa) because of our political differences. Long ago, with my family experience of politics, I know politics can break relationships and it can take years to heal. That is why I tell everyone willing to listen—never fight over politics with your loved ones. And especially not over politicians and even political ideas as politicians transform very fast while issues are ephemeral.
As for the country, for reconciliation and moving on to happen, I would follow my friend Gibo Teodoro (to many the President we should have elected in 2010 so we would not end up to where we are today) who posted in Facebook these wise words: “We should embrace and engage with those who are willing to listen and to learn. Hubris is not only arrogant but dangerous. Humility is indeed a virtue of a true leader.”
This piece of wisdom applies to both winners and losers. No gloating. No vote-shaming. No more personal attacks. No retaliation and settling of scores.
The election results were mixed. Heartbreaking losses but exhilarating victories, too.
There will be another elections in three years. In the meantime, let’s build this country. Its challenges are big. There is no time for bitterness.
Facebook Page: Professor Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs