Lighted by LIGHT

John the Baptist was sent by God “to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to testify to the light.” (From today’s Gospel reading, Jn. 1: 6-8, 19-28). What John was missioned to do was tough, indeed, for his testimony was unpopular and unwelcome, which demanded a lot of sacrifice on his part. “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord…(v. 23). But in testifying to the LIGHT, he himself received light. The price was high, but was worth it.

This is the mission that God is giving to each one of us. This is the true meaning of Christmas for our inner selves, and not just the external gift-giving of material things. “The most precious gifts we give are gifts that demand sacrifice on our part, gifts that require something from ourselves besides a credit card charge, gifts that change us as well as the receiver…. Our thoughtfulness of the needs of another at our sacrifice is the real manifestation of the love of God in our midst.”

God became man to be one among us, and not over us. He shared Himself with us, going through our human ups-and-downs, lived a simple life of a carpenter, reached out to anyone and everyone, suffered opposition and persecution all the way to the end. This was the original, historical meaning of Christmas, which Christ passed on to the next generations, all the way to your generation and mine. Unconditional love and compassion as the one, true meaning of Christmas.

Recently, a son of an ordinary family made a self-sacrificing decision to donate one of his kidneys to his younger sister who needed a kidney transplant. This is his most meaningful Christmas gift to her. When asked by a friend how he was able to do such a heroic act, he simply said, with tears in his eyes: “I love my sister very, very much!”

How about this 25-year-old Filipina who is very much attached to her family, as most of us are. But because of extreme necessity, she decided to go abroad as an OFW, and found a job as a private nurse of a couple’s newly-born baby. Even as she was lonely and homesick, she did her job with dedication and care. Until one day, her employer seduced her to have sex with him. She vehemently refused, ran away, and lost her job. After a month of heartache and confusion, she was able to find another job through the help of her Filipino friends. This will be her first Christmas away from home, but she is doing all this for love of family. What a most meaningful Christmas gift for her father, mother, brothers and sisters.

It is in this context that we choose now to focus on the recent Bagong Bayani awards for outstanding overseas Filipino workers. They are no less than our contemporary heroes, who represent so many other Filipino overseas workers all over the world. They are lighted by testifying to the LIGHT.

Let us start with four outstanding caregivers in Japan. In the words of the vice-president of the Bagong Bayani Foundation, Inc. (BBFI): “Despite the danger and risk of exposure to nuclear radiation during the earthquake and tsunami calamity that rocked Fukushima in March this year, (they) elected to remain in their jobs and continued to provide care and companionship to their Japanese elderly patients.” They are Mercedes Aquino, Sandra Otacan, Gemma Juanay, and Juliet Copatan.

The following month (April), a fishing boat caught fire in the Pacific Ocean. Filipino seafarers on the MV South Islander rescued on less than 27 crew members. An even more admirable situation involved Filipino crew members who risked their lives by keeping their ships afloat during the major earthquake and tsunami in Sendai City, Japan. “Faced with imminent danger, their heroism and competence as seafarers saved precious lives and properties and averted potential environmental disaster that would result from oil spills.”

On a highly professional level, Dr. Eduardo Malagapo was awarded for “bringing to Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries the professional board examination for mechanical engineers, which has considerably contributed to the professional growth of our mechanical engineers in that part of the world.”

We salute the many other outstanding overseas Filipino workers who were given the Bagong Bayani awards, and the many more who were not given the public awards, but quietly continue their dedicated and humble service overseas for love of their families who are here in our country and physically separated from them.

What about us who are not overseas Filipino workers ? how are we testifying to the LIGHT? Each one of us is missioned by the Lord to discern what gifts we are to give this coming Christmas. Gifts that come from our hearts and not just from our pockets. To love more in word and action that demand personal sacrifice on our part. Let us keep listening to the inner whisperings of the Christ, His wake-up calls that will lead us to experience the real meaning of Christmas. Amen.