Abellanosa: Aguinaldo amidst darkness

CHURCHES once again are literally packed with people for the traditional Misa de Gallo. The overflowing attendance is phenomenal. Apparently, the voters and supporters of Tatay Digong did not listen to his instruction to “stop going to church” and “just build a chapel at home instead.”

Whenever I pass by churches filled with people, I cannot but ask why such a scenario never gets translated into the country’s socio-political life.

On the other hand, people worship under one roof, and they pray the same prayers. They give each other the sign of peace, and before Communion, they hold hands together invoking the guidance of one Father in Heaven. On the other hand is a contrasting reality of a people divided in terms of political alliance.

A number of those who say “forgive us our sins” have difficulty accepting that though their fellow men are flawed and sinful still they deserve justice and due process. More ironic is the fact that the same people who communally pray that the Church be brought “to the fullness of charity” continue to defend a president who wants critical bishops beheaded. Indeed, it is incomprehensible how such Catholics can continue to pray in communion with a clergy they do not trust in the first place.

Admirable may be the religiosity of many Filipinos especially when they exert so much effort to express piety and devotion. But I also cannot hide that sense of disappointment that up to now church attendance does not equate to the Christian ethos, especially justice and charity, which our country needs.

Christmas, that season which most of us anticipate, was at first not merry. Jesus was a marginal Jew born in the fringes of the Roman Empire. He lived in a land that was dominated and subjected to exploitation by foreigners. The local leaders were more concerned with their political gains and the maintenance of their privileged position. Religion in Jesus’ time was more of a burden rather than a liberating force. It was in fact part of the whole gamut of oppression and exploitation.

Many of the traditions we think about the first Christmas are not historically certain. No solid evidence, for example, can establish that Jesus was born on December 25. The Infancy Narratives were not written on the spot by an eyewitness. In fact they were stories that gained wider acceptance after the resurrection. Meaning to say, the story of the first Christmas was used in order to highlight the divine provenance of Jesus who is not only a historical figure but in the faith of the early Christians, the Son of God.

All historical questions about Jesus’ birth are important. From the perspective of faith however, they may be important but not necessarily defining. What is definite is the significance of the person of Jesus himself. “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and upon his shoulder dominion rests. And His name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah, 9:6).

Christmas is meaningful only because it is an encounter with a real person who is embraced as a living symbol of one’s hopes for humanity and its future. One who truly believes in the meaning of Christmas understands that our ultimate hope does not rest on political institutions and their promises of change. It means furthermore that one believes in a salvation that can only be given by God. Christmas is a celebration of God’s initiative to act in human terms. In the end it is also an invitation for humanity to act according to the values of God in Jesus so that, to rephrase Saint Augustine, we may become what we are not through God’s becoming of who we are.

In a country where darkness literally and figuratively hovers people’s day-to-day living, the celebration of the Aguinaldo Masses remains an irony. It remains a symbol of contradiction among people divided by contrasting opinions and confused moral convictions. May our prayers and wishes of a merry Christmas also mean a decisive choice to follow the values of him who is the reason of the season.

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