A Christmas message

I’m in Gingoog, my hometown, for a last glance at  my sister Louella who passed away Sunday, and will be buried beside our father’s resting place today. She joins two other relatives, our sister Abigail, who left us two Decembers ago, and an infant daughter of our sister Milagros.

I liked seeing the relatives of the late Nelson Mandela dance and sing at the icon’s passing away – if I am correct, they were rejoicing at his being with the Lord. Some of my friends also tell me they’ll be happy to go, for they will be able to be with their Creator.

It is indeed a beautiful thought – that Louella will be with the Lord, for whom she played hymns on a portable organ  at the quaint United Church of Christ in the Philippines edifice in Lunao, a few kilometers away from Gingoog, and some 10 minutes by car from the cemetery.  Yet I can’t help feeling sad that she will no longer be physically present when I come to Gingoog for a short visit.

I will no longer taste the sugar-coated peanuts that she made to support her four children through school, and which she sold to shop owners in town. Nor will I have the pleasure of sitting beside her as she made tableyas out of the cacao beans she bought at the market, just a stone’s throw away from our house. I  would watch her make round patties of the moist grounded beans, place them on a winnowing basket until they became dry enough for me to take to my place in Pasig.  Nor will I  be able to partake of the suman latik that our mother had taught us to make for special occasions, and which Louella would make when I came home.  I felt good coming home and seeing her at the doorway as I got down from the rented vehicle that brought me from the airport in Butuan.

She was the quiet type, didn’t say much at our family gatherings. She didn’t pout or shout; she kept things to herself.  She would  not say anything but just sit behind the sewing machine or fry her peanuts or putter around her small garden at the back of the house.  But when she couldn’t bear my being taller and the declaimer in our school, she pinched me , which is why I called her “Louella Alimango”; her real name was Louella Amparo.

She was the second of nine children, the eldest of five girls.

 She was pretty, which was why boys looked at her, not at me, when we were walking down the street in our younger days.  At the Pilgrim Institute in Cagayan de Oro (129 kilometers west of Gingoog), she was the  class representative at a  beauty pageant.

She had many disappointments, one of which was her being forced to take up the commerce course when what she really wanted was to learn to be a pianist.  She  told me once her dream was to watch an opera at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, but because there were no cultural activities when she was in Manila, I couldn’t take her there. I now wish I had taken her there, show or no show. I wish I had been more caring, more loving, more gentle with her.

Once, when some of us siblings were together, we asked, who among us would be the first to go?  No one could say, each one of us had a pain here or there, but who could tell? Our sister Abigail, the brightest among us,  was the first to bid us goodbye. Then Louella. I’ll miss you, Manay.

***

The Christian world celebrates Christmas. How beautiful the sounds of carolers, the jingles played on the radio, the gift giving, the merry making, the feasts, the worship services in church.  The quarreling ideologues are temporarily stilled by agreement; for a while peace reigns, the crackle of gunfire is not heard. And we listen more aptly to homilies by our priests and pastors, during the Christmas season.

 My column today prints the Christmas message of Bishop Efraim M. Tendero, DD, national director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, and executive director of Philippine Relief and Development Services.

 Bishop Tendero describes the PCEC as “the largest network of evangelical denominations, local churches and parachurch and missions organizations in the country which seeks to disciple the Philippines for the Lord Jesus, and thereby help establish a society where peace, justice and righteousness reign; where everyone has a decent standard of living, and where Christ is recognized as Lord and Savior of all.”

Let’s heed the message of Bishop Tendero.

Christmas Brings Transformation

 By Bishop Efraim Tendero, D.D.

“It’s hard to have a merry Christmas when we see millions of people are still suffering from the series of calamities that hit our land: the Zamboanga standoff, the destructive Bohol earthquake, and the massive devastation and loss of lives caused by the deluge that is Typhoon Yolanda.

“This was how the shepherds felt during the Biblical times. In Christ’s day, shepherds stood on the bottom of the social ladder. They were deprived of all civil rights and could not fulfill judicial offices or be admitted in court as witnesses. Amidst such suffering brought by the stereotyping of their people, God honored them by choosing them to be the first recipients of the news of Jesus’ birth.

“These people who were marginalized by the social and religious elite were chosen to break the silence of centuries. In Luke 2:8-20, the shepherds’ encounter with the angels empowered them to become the first human heralds of Christ’s birth. From a life of despair and disdain they were so transformed to be effective witnesses that all who heard their message marveled at what God has done.  The angel brought them the good news of great joy that will be for all the people. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11).” Hearing such great news brought radical transformation in the lives of the shepherds.

 â€œWe, too can experience such transformation that the shepherds had if we, like them, will respond positively. As they did, we need to listen. We need to choose to overcome fear and listen carefully to the message God is telling us. Second, we need to believe and overcome doubt, as the shepherds decided to immediately go over to Bethlehem to see what the Lord has made known to them. Third, spread the good news, after they saw Jesus, they became the bearers of this good news to the people.

 â€œFinally, we need celebrate, like the shepherds who glorified and praised God for giving them the privilege to be the first witnesses and messengers of the Messiah’s birth.

“This Christmas, let the reality of the birth of our Savior help us overcome despair and discouragement brought not only by calamities but also by the diverse challenges that confront us. Let the birth of Christ that brings salvation and peace among those with whom He is pleased encourage and empower us so we can rise above the scourge of our suffering and grant us personal and even national transformation. Let us draw near to Christ and experience His love, care, peace and salvation. Merry Christmas!”

 Email: [email protected]