A People United

The huge crowds of people at the International Eucharistic Congress events in the city remind me of an incident while attending the high school graduation of my friend’s son a few years ago. The gathering proves how a common cause can bring everyone together. It proves, too, how a fervent ideal can move a person to do something quite unexpected – like daring scorching sun, and managing through head-breaking traffic and the dense multitudes.   

I did not have to be under scorching sun or face a traffic jam or squeeze myself through the crowd at the graduation I was attending. And I was there only because my friend, the graduating boy’s mother, would take it against me if I said no. But it turned out to be a most memorable day for every one of us present.

The graduation rites didn’t start on time. The invited government officials from the city came late. We waited for about an hour before the ceremonies could finally begin. But nobody seemed to mind the delay, not the graduating students, for sure; they filled their waiting time with happy chatting, like it was their first time to meet after a long while or as if it was their last time to be together.

When the programme finally started, I was getting hungry and wished it would finish quickly. I had not the slightest inkling that something was about to unfold that would warm my soul forever.

At a certain point of the rites, the graduating students were called one-by-one to the stage to receive their diplomas. There was no letup in the applause from the audience, who were mostly families and friends. The cheering only paused when one name was called and no one stood up.

“Mandag, Joselito!” the name was called again. Still no one stood up. Everybody looked around. I did too, although I didn’t know who I was looking for.

After a few seconds, a boy in his graduation robe stood up from the back row. The cheering went up again. But the boy didn’t go up the stage. Instead, he waded through the front row and, upon reaching the middle, squatted down.

When the boy stood up again, a crippled classmate was clinging to his back. The lame boy couldn’t go up the stage by himself, so his friend carried him! I couldn’t help my tears watching them; I had never been emotionally moved in my life in quite the same way.

The sight of the two boys made me think of Jesus and his set of rules. I thought of the stories Jesus told. There was one about a shepherd who cannot rest as long as even just one sheep is still missing, despite the 99 of the herd that are there. There was another story about a father who eagerly waits on the road, hoping for his lost son to come home, although he has one son with him who is serving him with utmost loyalty. And still another about a king who will not start the banquet until every place at the table is filled.

Back in my college days, in the locker room of the athletic team hanged a sign: “We are all in this together—nobody wins until we all do.” Jesus best exemplified this ideal. Despite the thunderous noise of anger and hatred around him during his trial, and the pain and the misery he was subjected to during his crucifixion, he maintained his love for all, even for his accusers and executioners.

The Lord stated many times that he came for all, not to judge but to save. Yes, Jesus came for all, that even those responsible for his crucifixion may still find redemption. Those Roman judges and soldiers might have been just mere instruments so that what was written would come to pass. In that sense, everyone was just part of the cast of God’s grand production.

In the final analysis, we are all Jesus’ executioners because he died for our sins. His crucifixion is our salvation; all of us, not one less. He died to give us all life everlasting; he allowed himself to be defeated on the cross to offer us eternal victory!

Was that boy at the graduation rites consciously thinking of Jesus’ example as he carried his classmate up the stage? I don’t know; maybe not, maybe so. But I believe that deep in his being that boy understands that “we are all in this together—nobody wins until we all do.” His young humanity may have been imbued with the very essence of Jesus’ mission on earth.

The same moral principle also holds true in a practical sense. A machine works best when all the parts are there. Each component has a particular role to play in the overall operation. One element out of order or missing and the whole process will falter, even crash.

We are strong and powerful when united and whole. Divided, we are just tiny, insignificant crumbs. The prayer of a people united in faith and amended of their wicked ways God promises to hear from heaven and heal their land.