God and law

Anyone with an objective, unbiased heart knows that the Spirit of God and His moral law of love and justice were what brought about Edsa 2. The moral forces and leaders of both were unquestionably God-inspired. The nonviolence of it all. The sheer spiritual courage and strength that fought for what was morally right and just are beyond doubt. Pentecost-events!

And anyone who insists on being constitutional about it all better consult the very Preamble of our Constitution, which states: "We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God . . ." Is this just pro forma, or do we really mean it? If we do, then how do we live by it in the context of the same Constitution, Declaration of Principles, Sec. 6: "The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable." Let us clarify this once and for all.

"Church" here means institutional religion, like the Catholic Church, or the Iglesia ni Cristo, or the Aglipayan Church, or the Muslim religion. And "State" means civil society and government. Thus, our Constitution is not to be biased in favor of, or aligned with, a particular denominational religion. But it definitely does not mean our state, our government, should divorce itself from God – the one Creator of us all and of all religions, and His universal law of love and justice. This is above all man-made laws, especially legalisms, as invoked by some lawyers for the self-serving motives of their clients, placing the letter of the law as supreme rather than the spirit of the law.

This is the context of today’s Second Reading, which says in part: "But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law" (Gal. 5:18).

When those Justices of the Supreme Court marched with us at Edsa 2, and swore President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo into office, they were led there by the Spirit of truth, as today’s Gospel message tells us (Jn. 16: 12-15). Those Justices were not there as partisan politicians. They were there as God’s messengers to implement above all the spirit of God’s law of justice and love for our people as well as the letter of the law.

What they did was not partisan politics. What they did was non – partisan politican action. Big difference! The historical Christ was a highly political leader in what he taught and did. He is our political role model. If Christ were present with us today in physical form, he would certainly be defending those Justices as moral leaders – against the forces maligning them and pressing impeachment proceedings against them.

Let us recall here the Moral Recovery Program of our ex-President Fidel Ramos. It was meant for all sectors of our society, and the overall thrust of the program was: "Maka-Diyos, first and foremost. "We urgently need to revive and implement this program.

The media recently reported an informal gathering of ex-President Corazon Aquino, ex-President Fidel Ramos, and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, with the past and present members of the Edsa People Power Commission. I pray to God that they consolidate and mobilize themselves, aided by prayerful discernment – to come up with a God-inspired candidate for the next Presidential elections. This is a crucial moral – spiritual – political event that we urgently need. So help us, God.