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Sunday, April 16, 2006
Luab: Easter Sunday - our dawn
By Evelyn R. Luab
Light Sunday
WHEN Jesus hung on the cross, He was stripped of everything except Love. His words, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” sums up His eternal care for us.
The beautiful thing about dawn is that as the first light breaks into our horizon, there is the awakening, the unfolding of a new day.
This particular Easter Sunday could be the awakening of a new life.
Once upon a time, when carriages were still roaming our streets, my grandmother, the late Filomena Rama Rodriquez would bring her “entourage” to the pier to watch the sunrise. During her younger days one could still go fishing at the pier, and according to her, she could still buy fresh fish from fishermen. Today, the pier is no longer safe for anyone to go fishing. My grandmother has long passed away but she used to describe to us, the butterflies, flitting from flower to flower as the morning dew glistened in the new light.
Most of the people in my generation can still describe the kadlawon (the dawn). Early Christmas masses especially in the barrios brought us youngsters shivering in the cold, walking one to two kilometers to church. When mass was over, the joy of seeing the rosy sky glow, while we were sipping hot chocolate amidst the chatter of friends, always invigorated us to start the day with zest.
Maybe that is how we need to prepare ourselves for what is to come this year. Lent was a time for reconciliation not only with God but with ourselves and with our neighbors. We cannot go on distrusting everyone and being hopeless about our future.
Yesterday, while I was waiting for my husband to come out of the restroom at SM, I was engrossed in admiring an infant while it was gurgling with joy as his yaya played with him. Suddenly I noticed a young man, using Japanese slippers and wearing a single dangling earring. Instinctively I clutched my bag closer to me and walked hurriedly away. He followed me to the counter where I was looking at T-shirts. With my heart in my throat, I rushed to where my husband was coming out. I didn’t even know the young man. He could have been waiting for someone too. How tragic it is when we can’t trust anyone anymore.
I’m not saying, “drop your guard”. What I’m saying is perhaps we can start trusting our own family, our relatives and even our employees.
When your husband says he is going out with friends, let him. It will not really matter whether they are male or female friends. If he lies, that’s his problem, not yours. Anyone who cheats is not worth keeping.
When an employee makes vale (I.O.U.), if you can, give him the advance. It is useless to try to find out what he will use the money for. If he wants to lie, he will, regardless of the interrogation he will have to undergo.
It’s time to let people be! How they run their lives is their problem. We have enough on our hands just taking care of ourselves. Why control others as well?
Maybe, just maybe, we have become a nation of meddlers. We want to have a finger in every pie.
We even want to control the spending of our neighbor. When they get a new car, our eyebrows go up “Why! Their old car is only three years old? What a waste of money!” Or when our neighbor goes on a trip to the Holy Land, we shout and say “My golly that’s $3,000 (pocket money included). That’s enough to start a business!”
Perhaps it’s time to just concentrate on our respective lives. Let’s live in the present with joy no matter how hard life may seem.
I’ve long since stopped counting my pennies. They can’t seem to add up anyway to a sizeable sum. Instead, I spend a little extra today and then make up by cutting on expenses in the next two days. This way, I don’t overspend and still enjoy life.
We have been bickering and quarreling over how to run our government. Don’t you think it’s about time we allow our leaders, the very ones we elected to run the government the way they should? If our mindset is such that we feel we can do better, then by all means, be a candidate in the next elections. That’s the best thing to do.
Today it is enough that we can say Easter Sunday is the dawn of a new lifestyle. Let us open ourselves to new possibilities, new opportunities and live life in the “now”.
Father Mina of the Redemptorist Congregation, in his homily at the 7 a.m. Sunday mass last Apr. 2, said something worth remembering.
“Be the candle who allowed itself to be the light for others! Be the salt who allowed itself to be a flavor for others.
Let our “giving” be the dawn for others, too. Happy Easter.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 16, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here.
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