Sunday of rejoicing

Today’s liturgical readings are all about God’s Kingdom in two stages: the “already” and the “not yet.” But for so long, we Christians were taught to focus more on the “not yet,” a preoccupation with what is to come, namely, God’s Kingdom, a coming apocalypse, a fuller life in heaven — while ignoring or taking for granted that God’s presence is already with us, here and now. Not only did Christ come to be one among us, and lived, loved, died, and rose from the dead, but He assured us of the Holy Spirit as His omnipresence. “And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world.” (Mt. 28: 20).

Many of the pious ones among the rich, poor, and middle-class are tempted to focus on “getting to heaven,” neglecting in the process the very means that can bring them there: finding God in this world by working hard for the betterment of God’s creation, by their sharing of themselves and their God-given gifts with one another, and by their efforts in forming a real community of love and justice.

For instance, the poor and the oppressed are often fed with the dictum that “they will get their pie in the sky when they die,” not only by their oppressors, but at times even by some of their spiritual leaders. The initiatives, even among the poor, to work harder and to struggle for justice are thus dampened, diluted, emasculated. After all, they will have an everlasting reward in heaven as a result of their sufferings!

On the other hand, many among the rich try to buy their way to heaven by contributing to the building of expensive churches and other costly ornaments of worship, plus donating money for Masses to be offered for them and their dead relatives, with little, genuine compassion in their hearts, unable to share their land with the landless, unwilling to share more of their profits with their laborers and employees who have much less.

Could all the above be part of why there is continued underdevelopment in many Catholic nations and the unjust gap between the Catholic rich and the Catholic poor? Jesus gives us the answer: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation.” (Mk. 15: 15). Proclaim the good news in word and deed. The good news of brotherhood and justice in this world, to be continued and completed in the next. The kingdom as both “already” and “not yet.”

What gives me hope and inspiration is the ever-growing number of NGO’s and charitable institutions and programs in our country today, as manifestations of the “already” of God’s kingdom. I recently witnessed the anniversary celebration of one such program called REPRO (Resilience Program). This was founded and is led by two sisters who are professionally trained, one in psychology and the other in social work. I requested one of them to describe the program in writing as it is conducted these days. Let me quote her in part:

“REPRO is a strengths-based psycho-spiritual program which aims to discover and develop resilience traits in children and youth to help them prevail over hardships and prepare them for future adversities. Originally geared to serve rescued street children living in centers when it was began in 2006, REPRO has now expanded its served population to include community-based youth as well as single mothers, in response to requests from organizations now familiar with the program. REPRO started with a pilot study at Don Bosco in Makati and has since been conducted at Asilo San Vicente de Paul, Children’s Garden, Virlanie Foundation, Pangarap Foundation, Kaisahang Buhay Foundation (KBF), and a Gawad Kalinga community in San Andres Bukid.”

More than a hundred boys and girls from the different centers who have taken or are presently participating in the REPRO program attended that reunion. Quite a number were requested to share their REPRO experience. Let me quote some priceless ones:

“Naibalik ng REPRO ang aking pagasa sa buhay…. Nabuksan ang loob ko sa pagpapatawad na kahit mahirap ay unti-unti kong ginawa…. Marunong na akong humarap sa dumarating na problema dahil sa angking tibay at lakas…. Dati ang tingin ko sa sarili ko ay patapon, mga batang kalye, pero dahil sa REPRO nalaman ko na may halaga pala kami…. Akala ko wala ng pagasa kasi nagka-anak ako ng maaga, ngunit sa REPRO nabuhayan ako ng loob, ngayon may trabaho na ako…. Ang REPRO ay nagturo sa amin ng kahalagahan namin bilang anak ng Diyos at ang aming kakayanan pampaunlad ng aming buhay, kaya ngayon ay nagaaral na ako ng mabuti…. Nagpapasalamat ako sa REPRO…kahit ano pa yung hirap na pinagdadaanan ay naniniwala ako na may magagawa ako para pagandahin ang aking kinabukasan…. Dati paaway ako parati, sa REPRO natuto akong makisama sa kapwa; magaling na akong makipagkaibigan ngayon…. Dati ‘plastic’ ako at mga ngiti ko, ngayon ang nakikita ninyo ay ang tunay na ako…sa REPRO ko natuklasan ang aking tunay na sarili; may halaga pala ako….”

Indeed, for those children, youth, and many more like them, God’s kingdom is both “already” and “not yet.” Lord, you are truly our constant companion, here and hereafter.