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What do
some of our Church leaders do when a president and her
Cabinet conspire against the citizens?
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They
tell the people what the people already know:
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They
talk about the moral fabric of society being assailed.
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They
urge everybody to be vigilant and to seek the truth.
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They say
the government reeks of corruption and opportunism.
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They
suggest it is time for a concerted and collective
action.
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They
merely recite the mantras of order, Constitution and
democracy.
Yes, for
the most part, some of our Church leaders are inclined
to tell the people what the people already know.
How do
the people know? Certainly not primarily by reading
books or listening to sermons or lectures. The people
know because they have eyes and ears that see and hear
beyond the legalese and technicalities of court
hearings. They know because God has endowed them with
the magnificent gift of discernment. The religious call
it sensus fidelium, the voice of the Spirit
within them; the people simply call it obvious
Christ
precisely became one of us—to make the Will of God
obvious to the faithful. “Whoever believes in me,
believes not only in me but also in him who sent me.
Whoever sees me, also sees him who sent me. I have come
into the world that everyone who believes in me should
not remain in the darkness…Yes, because I have not
spoken on my own but the Father who sent me has
commanded me what I must say and speak.” (Jn.12: 44-49)
Christ
dwells in His people. And He makes known God’s Will to
the people who believe and accept His Word. And when He
wants to make known the Father’s will to the world, He
speaks also through the people, as indeed we all
understand by the phrase, vox populi, vox dei.
This is not to deny the authority and mandate of our
Church leaders to proclaim the Will of God to the
people. Rather, it is to stress that since God speaks
also through the people, our Church leaders likewise
have a similar duty to listen to God in His people.
The
words from the musical ‘Les Miserables’ expresses this
in a most poignant way:
“Do you
hear the people sing, Singing a song of angry men?
“It is
the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
“When
the beating of your heart, echoes the beating of the
drums
“There
is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!
“Will
you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand
with me?
“Beyond
the barricade, is there a world you long to see?
“Then
join in the fight that will give you the right to be
free!”
And the
Scriptures are even more urgent and more challenging:
“Is it
time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses
while this house lies desolate?
“Now,
therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your
ways!’
“You
have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there
is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is
not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no
one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put
into a purse with holes.
“Thus
says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!’
“Go up
to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple,
that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says
the LORD. [Haggai 1:4-8]
We
discern at least three basic questions that might
concern our Church leaders, as they concern all
believers in these most difficult and critical times:
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How
courageously and faithfully are you hearing the Will of
God in His people?
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Where/how do you see yourselves in relation to the
“barricade” that has for so long denied our people a
life of peace, freedom and dignity?
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What
more are you willing to offer/give up so that the God’s
Will might be heard faithfully and proclaimed fully?
In
concrete, we understand this to mean for our Church
leaders not to be content with the good things they are
already doing in service to our people; but rather to
become more active and committed toward being part of
the people’s present challenge:
Rebuild
the nation!
Replace
the corrupt usurper and her Cabinet!
Install
a transitional council of leaders!
Elect a
new leadership through a snap election!
Establish a working democracy!
Kaalagad
Katipunang Kristiyano
A member
of the Freedom from Debt Coalition-Philippines |
