Political spirituality

What we are commemorating these days is none other than our political spirituality as a nation. Twenty-five years ago, we courageously responded to God’s call in driving mammon away. As Christ tells us in today’s Gospel reading, “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” (Mt. 6: 24). Mammon is the false god of riches and avarice. Wealth and power as the objects of greedy pursuit, and a blind, inordinate attachment to them. This was what the marshal law regime was all about. And God’s little people, with no less than His leadership, put an end to it through an active, non-violent revolution.

The cultural qualities of our people, considered as weaknesses, had been taken advantage of by the marshal law regime. But at Edsa I in 1986, these were the very qualities that facilitated the unprecedented revolution. From non-asser-tiveness to active non-violence. Mahinahon, ayaw ng gulo, hindi basag-ulero, easy-easy lang, puedeng areglohin, pagda-salan ng rosaryo, mapagtiis, mapag-pasensiya, maka-Diyos. These were very evident not only on the part of the people in the streets but also on the part of the military. In their hearts, many of those soldiers were really mahinahon. In their heart of hearts, many of them were really ayaw ng gulo. The passive trait became a virtue. Like a two-edged sword or the two sides of the same coin. Our weakness can also be our strength.

The passive endurance under the twenty years of dictatorship turned into active endurance at guarding the ballot boxes after the February 7 elections and at the human barricades during the revolution. I can recall my trips and hours of vigil at the municipio of Makati, where I saw and talked with people who had been there for three days and three nights watching the ballot boxes. They were being fed by relatives and friends, but they were there, just there, keeping vigil. When it comes to a contest in endurance, when it comes to a contest in tiis, it is very hard to beat the average Filipino, because he is used to it. And it was precisely the very thing that was taken advantage of by the dictatorial regime. They knew how to manipulate the collective, Filipino psyche to their advantage. Of course, side by side with tiis, which we also witnessed with our own eyes was an amazing human quality of the Filipino: a striking sense of humor. The typical Filipinos can laugh at anything, even at the most serious, the most painful, the most hurting. I joined rallies and demonstrations about the most serious issues. And our people would be there, smiling, laughing, joking, with placards carrying the most imaginative play on words. Yes, fiesta demonstrations. This used to turn me off. Until we made history by turning all this into a fiesta revolution. And what was so incomprehensible to the rest of the world was that it worked. This brand of people power succeeded in deposing a dictator! How God used the foolish to confound the wise is a miracle in itself. And how a plain, simple housewife unseated an astute, powerful political dictator was an even greater miracle. Yes, God was in it all.

But mammon never gives up. It is again all around us, under the guise of foreign materialistic culture, human luxuries and conveniences, supermalls in the midst of poverty, and what-have-you. Simplicity of lifestyle is most needed in our country today, which we discern as God’s design. But again, mammon constantly tempts us to go the opposite way.

Recently, we conducted a Christian Parenting for Peace and Justice seminar, and a fourteen-year-old daughter shared this story by reading it to her family:

“A rich dad took his son on a trip. He wanted to show him how poor someone can be. They spent time on the farm of a poor family. On the way home, dad asked, ‘Did you see how poor they are? What did you learn?’ Son said, ‘We have one dog, they have four. We have a pool, they have river. We have lanterns at night, they have stars all around. We buy food, they grow theirs. We have fence and walls to protect us, they have friends. We have encyclopedia, they have bible.’ Then the boy added, ‘Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are!’”

In an earlier CPPJ seminar, a fifteen-year-old son wrote this to his family and read it to them during the dialogue: “This session was so far the best for me because it talks about simplicity. Only when you are simple can you find true happiness. I learned in this session that my greatest treasures are my family and friends. This session makes us realize how to respect nature because it is God’s gift to us and it is our responsibility to take good care of it. It also shows us the importance of sharing and not to overindulge in material things. Happiness that material things give you is just artificial and not permanent. You will feel happier if you gain friends with your own simple personality than with showing off or using your money to gain friends. Simplicity can find you real happiness which is unconditional, compared to any other things which are sinfully delightful for only a short period of time.”

The wisdom of the young comes from God. There is hope for our country. Amen.