Beyond ‘kapamilya, kababayan’ and ‘kapartido’

Sent by God to stand before the people and deliver the divine message, the prophet fears being crushed and rejected by the people. But his strength is from the Lord who is with him (Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19). If God’s spokesman has something always timely to tell us even at the risk of rejection, it is that God does not conform to our narrow definition of charity and service, which is basically an inadequacy in faith (Luke 4:21-30).

Known, dedicated, appointed

These opening verses of the book of Jeremiah localizes the prophet’s era of activity in the service of the Word of God as during the last three kings of Judah prior to the Babylonian exile. His more than 40 years of prophetic involvement began with the call from God. This initial dialogue with God and the visions set the stage for everything that follows.

The prophet’s whole life is directed by God; he was destined to the task of a prophet. It was revealed to him that God “knew” him, i.e. loved and chose him, before he was even “formed” in the womb, as the first human was formed by God in the account of creation (Genesis 2:7-8). He was set apart and dedicated to the service of the Word of God even before birth. He was appointed no less than by God to be a prophet, discerning and interpreting the divine will to the nations. Jeremiah’s protestation of youth and inexperience (he was not yet 30 years old) was noted but not counted. “To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.”

A fortified city, a pillar of iron, a wall of brass

The cost of Jeremiah’s commitment to the Word of God would be enormous in terms of suffering. The prophet himself was warned to be prepared for the coming struggle, “with his loins girded,” ready for action and to fight. For the most part it would be a persistent battle with a people disinterested and resentful of any interference from anyone. Jeremiah was told to “stand up and tell them all” what God commanded him.

And he should not allow himself to be crushed on their account. God certainly would not permit that he be crushed before them. He promised to make His prophet strong, like “a fortified city, a pillar of iron and a wall of brass,” against the whole land, Judah’s kings and princes, priests and people. Jeremiah would need courage and stamina to proclaim the Word of God to them. They would fight against him but would not prevail over him. For the prophet would not be alone: the divine assurance is “I am with you to deliver you.”

Marveled at and scorned

As part of Jesus’s inaugural appearance at the synagogue in Nazareth, the gospel account narrates the home-base reaction of people to Him. At first they marveled at the gracious words He spoke, but soon after the people were so angry at Him they wanted to push him off a cliff. Like Jeremiah, Jesus experienced scorn and rejection for saying what he knew the people must be told.

The people had their own expectation of Jesus, being the son of Joseph and therefore one of them. Charity begins at home, they thought. He should be doing in Nazareth what they heard he had been performing in Capernaum. Jesus confronted this demand of his townmates with the deficiency of their faith (Mark 6:5-6): they were a proof that indeed no prophet is accepted in his own town.

It is God’s will that His prophets should go even to the Gentiles to proclaim His word and not only to the people of the covenant who failed to believe. God’s wonderful word is for all who would accept it like the widow of Sarepta in Sidon during the time of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17:7-16) and like Naaman the Syrian army commander during the time of the prophet Elisha (2 Kings 5:1-19). God does not play favorites; real faith is necessary. The people might be furious at being told this, nonetheless Jesus was determined to continue his mission and walked away from them.

Alálaong bagá: Jesus would weep for His people who scorned Him and so rejected the messianic promises fulfilled in Him (Luke 19:41-44). This notion of rejection loomed large from the outset of Jesus’s ministry, as it did in the mission of the Church (Acts 13:44-50). But God’s Word is not to be stifled and made empty “without carrying out God’s will and succeeding in what it was sent out to do” (Isaiah 55:11).

The mission of the Church in the Philippines today must be understood in the same light and carried out with the same determination. The Word of God will not always be popular in town. Filipinos have other priorities like the family and other vested interests. Some have also their chant whenever convenient like the separation of Church and State. Ultimately, the Christian faith Filipinos boast to have shall be judged.

‘Lack of transparency and disclosure tends to throw sand in the cogs of infrastructure and undermines the Philippines’ national competitiveness,” says a paper presented before a recent forum urging the passage of a Philippine version of the US Freedom of Information Act.

The month of January has been the month of predictions for the year 2007. The manghuhula have had their say. Their stature in the Philippines is such that they make predictions about nearly everything. They are taken just as seriously as their counterparts in political science, economics, business and finance.

Sometime in 1938, a young boy was to graduate at the top of his elementary class in the fishing town of Hagonoy in Bulacan. It was to be one of the happiest moments in the life of Felix Ople, a tradesman, and his wife, who, despite their own limitations, had nurtured the boy’s keen interest in reading and learning more about the “world out there.”

Sent by God to stand before the people and deliver the divine message, the prophet fears being crushed and rejected by the people. But his strength is from the Lord who is with him (Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19). If God’s spokesman has something always timely to tell us even at the risk of rejection, it is that God does not conform to our narrow definition of charity and service, which is basically an inadequacy in faith (Luke 4:21-30).