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Monday, April 10, 2006
God is dead!
By Vincent Alocada
"AY abaw! Wala gid kamo gahalong. Kung mapilasan kamo subong, sunod pa na nga tuig mapali (Oh my! You kids are not being careful. If you cut yourself, it will take one year for the wound to heal)," said an old man neighbor to my friend when we were doing some stuffs using a knife. For someone who's only 5 years old, to be enticed to believe such a thing wasn't phenomenal. Though the reason given was something I'm not buying at this point of my life, I would exert effort to be extra cautious not to fall or cut myself on Good Friday. Why?
Well, God is dead and no one would heal it.
Two years ago, the usual bus trip of 5 hours going to Caticlan took almost 7 hours. I was sitting beside the driver (the bus was so crowded) and he probably noticed in the middle of the trip that I kept looking at my watch that he felt the need to explain why the trip seemed to take eternity. "Hambal nila, halong gid adlaw adlaw kung ga maneho. Pero triplehon mo gid kuno ang paghalong kung Cuaresma (They say, always be careful when driving but triple your cautiousness during the Holy Week). I just smiled at him and nodded but I knew what's going on in his head: We are accident prone for nobody's watching after us because...God is dead.
"Mas daku ni akon krus ya. Mas kulba-an ni ang aswang (My cross is bigger. The aswang will be more scared of this)," said my cousin while we were comparing our crosses made of palm leaves one Good Friday. For quite some time in my childhood, it was a practice of ours to make crosses out of palm leaves blessed during the Palm Sunday. Sometimes, we would even seek the help of older people in making a wooden cross. Though the thought of coming in contact with these folkloric creatures such as aswangs and kapre made us jumped out of our skins, getting hold of those crosses definitely made us think we would vanquish these demonic creatures. You see, my cousins and I thought we were the Charmed Ones, even years and years before Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige Halliwells came into existence: born to cause the demise of evil creatures. You know, the usual active childish imagination. However, I'd like to say that I thought I had the power of Wonder Woman, that being my favorite show during those times. Instead of the golden lasso, I had the cross tucked between my waist and shorts and a rosary around my neck. Why? Because we were made to believe that the forces of evil are strong during Good Friday---because God is dead.
Reminiscing those things that I did during my tender and innocent years, I can't help laughing at myself for thinking and behaving the way I did. If those were a crime, my childhood innocence and gullibility would definitely set me free. Any child who did and believed what I did and believed would be declared innocent. What is troubling here is that there are still certain people who have already lost their immunity provided by their childhood innocence but still believe that God actually dies again every Good Friday and the world is most susceptible to any misfortune on Good Friday. Great Hera!
Every society has its own set of superstitions but it's ironic how a country like the Philippines, the bastion of Christianity in Asia, can actually fuse superstitions and religious beliefs into one. Outside the churches we sometimes see believers selling amulets or concoctions of various roots and leaves that are believed to bring luck or protection to the wearer or user. I can't really question the beliefs of these people, whether they are superstitious or religious. But really, it's amusing how certain aged people can believe that God dies every Good Friday and is risen every Easter Sunday! If this were true, God would probably detest every Good Friday. How hilarious!
Pardon me but here comes the part where I know many of you would jeer: "Come on, fag. Geez. You give us the creeps whenever you write about these spiritual and religious stuffs. Content yourself writing about showbiz stories."
I know. I know. I know. I'm not the most suitable person to talk about religious articles but I'll do anyway. Why? Because despite of who I am and what I am, God has blessed me in ways a lot, lot more than one. The Son of God was incarnated in this world once and suffered in the hands of man. And the blood that oozed out of his body cleanses away the sins of whoever believes in Him.. He knows our innermost angst. He listens to the cries of our hearts. He loves the habitual sinners like me---and you. He doesn't have to die every year just to save us because according to the song I learned in elementary, "God's not dead, He is alive... and He is all over me." May this Holy Week be an occasion for all of us to seek God's guidance and thank Him for the gift of salvation.
(April 10, 2006 issue)
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