TURNING TO THE LORD IN TIME OF TROUBLE
6th Sunday Year B
February 15, 2015
TURNING TO THE LORD IN TIME OF TROUBLE
People shun the company of others for various reasons. Many
years ago, before the age of “deo-lotions” and “skin whitening products”, “Mum”
and “Veto” warned us of the dire consequences of not heeding the advice (not
the order) to worry “if it’s you they’re talking about.” Yes, you would most
likely be the equivalent of the biblical leper if you had some bodily trait
that people are talking about, and I don’t need to be specific here.
Yes, there are lepers and there are lepers, and all of them
are avoided by the crowds. But crowds now can actually mean more than a throng
of people in one geographical space. One could be avoided now by different
cause-oriented groups, or by different political colors and all sorts of
political leanings and affiliations. In the Philippines, one could be red,
yellow, green, or other defining (or damning!) political color. Or one could
belong to one of the innumerable Facebook pages and communities where “trolls”
and “flamers” abound, not making any secrets about anyone not being accepted by
other groups, or downright rejected by everyone in the loop.
Flamers and trolls do worse than what biblical peoples did
to lepers. The crowds in the Bible only required the outcast leper to carry a
bell and shout for everyone to hear: “unclean, unclean!” Flamers actually call
others unsavory and unprintable names, hiding behind fake names and avatars,
taking comfort in the relative anonymity provided by the internet.
Judging by what goes on in our midst in these days, we have
to admit that we are an even more sorely divided and fragmented people. We take
refuge in various groupings and online communities. It is not far fetched to
say that we have become, of late, much more divided, and a lot, lot more
unwilling to give an inch to those whose ideas and convictions run counter to
our own.
On account of so much disunity and division, made worse by
our laggard economic situation and state of massive corruption, we could very
well fit the mold of the biblical leper, shunned and avoided by our neighboring
countries, bullied by the biggest power this side of the globe, manipulated by
a fellow ASEAN member country, and despised by at least two other ASEAN
countries.
We seem powerless before manipulative and bull-headed
countries. We could not even protect our own forces before rebel enemies. No
matter what your position about the whole carnage in Maguindanao three weeks
ago is, one cannot but accept the fact that 44 young lives were left to die a
brutal and cruel death, with no help and reinforcements coming their way, when
the fighting protracted on for at least 11 hours.
The nation is in grief. I, personally, have been in sorrow
and doing my level best to come to the aid of those who have been treated
unjustly.
The response after the first reading, for me, is a perfect
prayer for our suffering and grieving nation, never mind if our grief continues
to be disenfranchised by a callous and self-centered government. We turn to the
Lord in our grief and pain: “I turn to you Lord in time of trouble, and you
fill me with the joy of salvation.”
This is the only thing that lepers then could do – turn to
the Lord for help. This is the only thing now that we neo-lepers could also do
– turn to the Lord for guidance and solace. Lepers then were those who, on
account of their various skin diseases, were avoided by everyone. Lepers now
are those who, on account of their pedigree and position in the economic
ladder, have no one else to turn to for precious little help except God.
The Lord shows the great mercy and compassion of God – in
action … in vivo … not in mere words, but in and through his saving presence.
The Lord did not do any finger pointing and blame throwing.
He did not ask the leper why he had to badger him. He did not tell the hapless
leper that it was all his fault. He did not argue with the leper and tell him:
“Buhay ka pa naman, di ba?” (What are you complaining about? You are still
alive, aren’t you?”) He simply said: “I
do will it. Be made clean.”
Lord, in this time of national grief and sorrow, I turn to
no one else but you. People who rule over us apparently would not listen. No
one from the powerful elites would seem to take the side of the fallen heroes
and their grieving families. The voice of those who are not on their side is,
for all intents and purposes, largely unheard, and if heard, are simply
ignored.
Please cleanse us from the leprosy of indifference. Save us
from the leprosy of moral poverty. Pull us out of the miserable leprosy of drug
addiction, addiction to power and position, the leprosy of our moral handicaps
and pretended ignorance of what is right, true, just, and honorable. For you
alone are our healer. You alone are our Savior. And you alone are Lord, God,
forever and ever. Amen.
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