The Cycle

Once it begins, it goes around, and around. It never stops -- only because it is following a cyclic path.

"Agko amta no akin et pinatey da may unaan." An authority in the town remarked as he referred to the unkown motive why a murder was committed in the town.

San Fabian is a peaceful, rural town. Almost idyllic. It is located along the shores of the famous Lingayen Gulf. It has pristine beaches. Calm seas. People frolicking in the beaches during weekends. San Fabian has beautiful mountains, too. Hills still covered by large trees. Rivers from the Cordillera Mountains continously flow, irrigating her farmlands. Providing the much needed water in these times of dry spell.

"Balet, saya so kumadua so ginawa et petang na ulo!" Again, referring to the second death, barely two weeks after the first. He was saying that the second death was done out of anger.

There may be more deaths coming. Who knows?

But as long as the cycle of violence continues its murderous path, death being sought in anger and out of revenge, more blood will flow in this otherwise idyllic, peaceful town. The violence can go on and on because it follows a cyclic path. Death is met by death. Life for life.

But there is a better way.

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. (Mt. 18, 21-22).

karma

The day after the verdict, everybody was talking about it. "Erap guilty of plunder" was the headline of one newspaper.

"Father, a-karma si Erap, awa?"

"This goes to show that whatever you sow, you will reap." Added another "philosopher" parishioner .

"What ever evil you do will haunt you, if not in this life, then in the next!" Declared another "theologian" parishioner .

"Talagan a-karma si Erap, Father." It was said with finality.

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Karma is a concept in Hinduism which explains causality through a system where beneficial effects are derived from past beneficial actions and harmful effects from past harmful actions, creating a system of actions and reactions throughout a person's reincarnated lives.

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Of course, we Christians do not believe in the Law of Karma. Although we believe that we are responsible for our actions, and the consequences brought about by those actions.

But we believe in God, not in Karma. When we fail and when we sin, our God listens to our cries of repentance.

"Lord, have mercy". We cry to God.

In His mercy and love, God forgives us.

Karma as a Law is never personal. It can not and will never forgive.

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John 3,16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

"Losing" Jesus

The story is told about a man who was searching for a lost key. He had been at it for quite a while, looking under the bright light of his room. He looked around every nook and corner of the room. Still no key.

A friend came.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I lost my key. It must be here somewhere" He replied.

The friend then started to look for the missing key, helping turn over books and papers. Still no key.

After a while, the friend said," We have been looking for that key for several hours. Where did you lose it anyway?"

The reply: "I lost it in the other room. I am here looking for it because the other room is dark."

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We can "lose" Jesus. He has been with us when we were young; when we grew up. Then, we realize, we have "lost" Him. We lost him when we entered politics and compromised our Faith. We lost him when we became businessmen and started to steal. We lost him when at the height of our power, we destroyed other people. We lost Him in drugs. We lost Him in gambling.

Now we wonder. Can we still find Jesus?

Where will we find Him?

If we lost Him in politics, we can find Jesus by serving well our people. If we lost Him in our business dealings, we can find Jesus still in being honest and true in our business ventures. If we lost Jesus in a failed relationship, we can find Him by learning to trust more people and caring for them.

We can find Jesus where we "lost" Him!

Away from the Light

He insisted that there was nothing wrong with his white shirt. That it was clean. In fact, he said out loud, "It is so clean, I can not see a single dirty spot nor any stain on it!"

He stood in front of everybody,smiling. Proud of his immaculately white shirt.

However, everybody was straining to see the shirt. Their eyes squinting. How could they see the shirt when it was dark?

"Will somebody turn on the light, please." Somebody at the back requested.

The lights were turned on. Enveloping with glaring light, illuminating all and everything in the room. Including, of course, the immaculately white shirt.

Which when seen against the light, the shirt was not after all clean and without stain. Against the light that illumined everything, the shirt was clearly seen as dirty and needed to be washed.

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The closer we are to the Light, the more we see how unclean we are. The closer we are to the Most Holy God, the more we realize how sinful we are.

The farther we are from the Light, the less we are able to see how unclean we are. The farther we are from God, the Most Holy One, the less we acknowledge our sinfulness.

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"Father, forgive me for I have sinned. It has been ten years since my last confession." The voice on the other side of the box murmured nervously. I said to myself: "This would be a long confession".

"I told lies. I disobeyed my parents. I spoke bad words. These are all, Father."

Ten years of being away from God. Ten years but no sin to confess.

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I wonder why when we veer away from the sacraments and away from God, suddenly we have "no sins" at all.
But people who have experienced the holiness of God see how unworthy they are in their sinfulness.

Just enough!

"Mapangasi so Dios tan maabagey!" It was a statement of faith shared by those who were in the prayer meeting. God is so merciful. God is so good.

"When we prayed for the rains that we truly need, God answered our prayers!"

"Mapangasi so Dios tan maabagey!" The group again nodded in faith.

"But it seems, God overdid it!" One of them said in jest. "Adelap-delap met iray arum a pasen. Tan wala ni ra so inatey!"

The others laughed with him in agreement as they listened to him enumerate the places which were flooded, the dikes breached, and human lives and crops destroyed.

"Why?" The old man in the circle asked the group, to no one in particular. "Why would people die and suffer because of the rains we asked from God? The rains are blessings from God. They are sent by God for our good. Our lands are blessed too by the rains. Now we can plant."

"God gives us what we need. Always."

"I've been asking for money, why have I not received one yet? "

Everybody laughed at that statement.

Silence.

"It's because that is not what you need. You only like it. But not what you truly need", the old man said again.

"Then why are their floods because of the rains we asked from God?"

Silence.

The old man: "God gives us what we need. God always gives us just enough rain for us to plant and for our plants to grow and nourish us."

Silence.

The old man, again: "The floods came because of man's misuse of nature."

Somebody quipped, "Our canals are already clogged by plastic and garbage."

Another: "The money that is to be used for the dikes is diverted to the pockets of our politicians! That is why, every time typhoons and storms come, the dikes collapse".

Still another: "Greed. This is the cause of the floods. And the death of innocent people."

"Lack of concern for the others."

God gives us everything we need. But we have lost almost everything because we believe we are not accountable. We are not responsible.