Late last week, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour interviewed Donald William Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington. Discussing the statement from the recent Synod of Bishops on divorce, Cardinal Wuerl stated two points.
One, there will be no definite ruling on the issue until late 2015. Two, the church, in addressing such issues, is meeting the faithful where they are in their life situation and context.
This reminded me of Christ’s own response to the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians in this Sunday’s Gospel on the payment of the census tax to Caesar. It did not matter much that he was asked a tricky question. If he said it was lawful to pay, they would have denounced him to his people, the Jews, as a traitor. If he said it was not lawful to pay, they would have denounced him to the Roman colonizers as an agitator.
The past week, three of the daily Gospel readings for Mass from Luke 11 talked about Christ’s criticism of the religious authorities’ hypocrisy and corruption. He condemned them for distorting the law to their own advantage, while placing so much burden on the people they were supposed to serve and lead.
In the Gospel, Christ seems to make a distinction between what is of this world and what is God’s. But he’s really placing things in perspective and thus treating them as a whole.
Our Christian faith calls us to this engagement with the world with this holistic perspective. As this Sunday’s Alleluia verse succinctly exhorts us, “Shine like lights in the world as you hold on to the word of life.” (Philippians 2: 15d, 16a)
Grounded in Christ
We are to be in the world and “shine like lights,” actively contributing to build a just and compassionate society while remaining rooted and grounded in Christ, the Word of God.
Thursday night, I was discussing with a friend the epilogue of OD Corpuz’s “The Roots of the Filipino Nation,” in which the author contends that the “fading away of nationalism as the guiding spirit and paramount value in Philippine politics” started in the first decade of the 20th century.
No one, no group or party, has taken it up since—not the coalition that made Edsa 1 possible, since it began and ended with the anti-Marcos sentiment; not the extreme left, which seems to live in a time warp with its rehash of anti-American and antiestablishment rhetoric.
Then my friend pointed out that there is one group that can still reclaim our aborted journey toward nationhood—the Philippine Catholic Church. He cited Ileto’s classic work on the Pasyon and the Philippine revolution; there lies the possible key to unlocking a Filipino brand of nationalism.
Ileto talks about “history from below,” a view from the perspective of the masses; one review points out how Ileto establishes that the masses were not as ignorant as the elite would think them to be. They had their own world view and their own understanding of their situation and of the 1890s Philippine revolution.
Their articulation was different from the language of the ilustrado and educated class then. Their framework was very much their faith life, as seen in the story of the Pasyon. They understood their own story from the perspective of the Suffering Servant, the story of the Passion of the Christ.
This is the greatest engagement we, as a church, as a people and nation, as individual Christians seeking to live out our faith, are called to. It is to understand our shared story as a people, as a community, and give meaning to the perspective of the story of Christ—the story of suffering, yes, but one that leads to redemption and the vision of the Kingdom of God, of “the new heavens and the new earth.”
I was disappointed and appalled by the view of one political leader about current issues on corruption. In a press statement, he said that the ordinary Filipino was not capable of understanding the complex issues of overpricing and kickbacks and the intricacies of corruption.
Cold and detached
Such public leaders reminded us of the cold and detached attitude of Marie Antoinette who, in the midst of the growing restlessness of the French masses caused by hunger, said, “Give them cake.”
The elections are fast approaching and the political season is upon us. I agree with Corpuz that there must be someone, a leader or a group, who has to articulate a shared view of nationalism as a core value and force in our political exercise, beginning with, but not ending, in the elections.
The papacy of Pope Francis has reinspired the Church. Many, even non-Catholics, admire his leadership. As one non-Catholic Christian said, Pope Francis is truly the Vicar of Christ. He meets people where they are, and first shows his genuine desire to understand by not passing judgment.
Pope Francis has given voice to the marginalized, not just of the Catholic Church, but of the world. Giving a voice to people, especially those muted by history and circumstance, is making them believe again that they, too, have a story and are part of the bigger story.
Pope Francis’ leadership and inspiration open this bigger story to many possibilities, and reconnects us to the story of Christ, which in the end is what we wish to emulate and follow.
