"This applies in living our personal lives—and choosing our next batch of leaders."
"This applies in living our personal lives—and choosing our next batch of leaders."
Palm Sunday is the day Christians commemorate the triumphant entrance of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, the eternal city. It is the start of the Holy Week, which is the week before his resurrection.
On this day two millennia ago, Christ, astride a donkey, entered the Holy City and was met by a throng of worshippers, laying palm leaves and spreading their cloaks along the path and crying out in acclamation Hosanna! "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel." He was the Messiah, the long-awaited Ruler of Israel, and the culmination of all of God’s promises to his people. The people, aware of the miracles and wonders he had been performing, believed that he is the messiah, the promised savior who would free Israel from the Roman oppressors.
The entry into Jerusalem came after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. No small wonder the multitude was awestruck. They must have thought that if Jesus can raise a man from the dead and heal the sick, he can also drive the Romans away. But fickle as they are, this very same crowd will condemn him to be crucified and cry out for his blood, choosing Barabbas, a murderer and a known robber, to be freed. Pilate offers them a choice between a known criminal over a failed Messiah and they chose the former. Disenchanted that a while ago he was performing wondrous deeds but now before the Sanhedrin and before Pilate, he is utterly helpless and cannot defend himself from his malicious accusers. Even Peter and the disciples who accompanied him during the three years of his earthly life, dare not lift a finger in his defense.
How the Jews of that time were sorely mistaken. Little did they know that the meek man before them was the Savior foretold by the prophet Isaiah who in 8th century B.C. described him as the man oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. But Jesus did not enter Jerusalem to be worshipped as an earthly king; in fact, it is the opposite—he came to be scourged, abused, spat on, mocked, rejected and finally suffered the humiliation of being nailed on the Cross like a common criminal. His kingdom is not temporary and finite but one that is everlasting. He promises a kingship that will free man from the bondage of sin. His throne is the Cross. He does not promise the absence of physical pain and hardship, but promises to liberate his followers from selfishness, greed, envy, and other vices. By his resurrection, man became free.
Looking around, we readily discern why Christ allowed himself to suffer and die on the Cross. Love of power, hatred, violence, economic conflicts that prey on the less fortunate, greed for money and power, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation! Jesus on the Cross took it upon himself to carry the weight of man’s iniquity and with the force of God’s love he conquers it, he defeats it with his resurrection. Christ’s Cross, while unappealing to those who hate and do not love, if embraced with humility and meekness with love leads to joy, to the joy of being saved.
In our desire to uplift our material and physical well being we often clutch at straws by clinging to false promises, singing Hallelujah to people who profess to serve our interests and instantaneously solve our problems. Yet in doing so, we readily cast aside the Cross of Christ and to quick fixes and fast solution but destroy the sanctity of human life and environment. In the end, there is only misery and sadness.
One instance—in our desire to rid society of the scourge of drugs and criminality, many are more than willing to take the short cut—destroy life of the so-called undesirables and take recourse to barbarity; or even slaughter the unborn in the name of material prosperity. Never mind rule of law and the intrinsic value of human life that, as a civilized people, we ought to respect. In a country that professes to be the only Christian country in this part of the world, it is a paradox why many acquiesce to impunity and wanton destruction that is diametrically opposed to everything we supposedly believe in.
If there is one important lesson that Palm Sunday teaches, it is to tell us that life often offers a myriad of choices; either choosing the quality of leaders, or the way we comport ourselves in private and in public, and in general how to live our lives. Making a choice is not easy. But the best choice can be achieved only if we allow the Spirit and wisdom of God to guide us. That’s true not only for our personal lives but also for our political choices where the choice between Barabbas and Jesus confronts us.
Last Jan.28, 2019, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines pointed out that 2019 is not just an ordinary election year. According to the Bishops in a statement entitled “Seek the Common Good’: “The midterm election on May 13 is in itself already crucial. In our country today the checks and balances in the government are being undermined. So far the Senate is the institution in the government that is holding out as our country is inching towards total control. It is very crucial therefore that we elect public officials who are principled, courageous and who have the common good as their main concern and not their own political interests. We encourage voters to be very discerning in their votes.”
The CBCP statement goes on to encourage lay groups to “engage in discernment circles to help one another know the candidates well and choose the candidates with the common good of the whole country in mind and not according to what the candidates promise, much less according to what voters have received from these candidates”. Quoting both Popes Benedict and Francis, the Bishops emphasized: “Participation in politics for Christian lay people is not just to be limited to non-partisan involvement. Christians are also encouraged to engage in principled partisan politics. This means that they can campaign for good candidates as an exercise of their Christian faith.”
In this regard, an interfaith People’s Choice Movement PCM) developed a criteria—GabayKristo—that people could apply to select who to vote for in May 2019. The PCM, led by Catholic lay and Christian evangelicals looked at the character and honor, competence and abilities, faithfulness to public service, and faithfulness to God, Constitution, and the law of the candidates for the senate. Applying the criteria, the group endored all candidates in the Otso Diretso opposition slate plus Grace Poe and Neri Colmenares. They also said that labor leader Leody de Guzman and former Senator Serge Osmeña were also considred but were not included so people would still be able to add other names in their final list.
Personally, I am not ready to endorse all the names in the PCM list as I am also considering a few names from the Hugpong and PDP-Laban list and will definitely be voting for De Guzman and Nancy Binay. But for sure I endorse the GabayKristo as a way of discerning one’s choices not only for the Senate but also for the local elections.
Whether in our personal lives or in the way we choose our leaders, let’s choose Jesus and reject Barabbas.
Facebook Page: Professor Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs