gawa ng ini-ibig ni nakikipagtalik sa oras
FOREWORD: The following is an obituary. It is an obituary to JESUS CHRIST. The writer’s thoughts are of course highly contestable. However, the writer asks the READER to please take time and digest the thoughts presented in this paper prior to any violent reactions and comments the title might provoke. This is an obituary. And if you know what an obituary means, you’ll read this through.
Newspapers (at least in certain newspapers) could not miss or scrap out the obituary section. Some consider this possible the best part of the newspaper: it displays the BEST possibilities of a particular human being. It exposes that GOOD in every man. It makes known to humanity the greatest achievements that specific individual has ever contributed to humanity. But in a way, these obituaries are more often than not left out – singled out – for entertainment, front page, etc. I am not saying this is a bad attitude or mentality. I am saying that people should also try to see and consider this section of the newspaper. Who knows? It might help change one’s outlook of life.
This note, as already mentioned above, is an obituary to Jesus Christ. Yes. Jesus Christ is dead. Jesus Christ is no longer. This is a very brave statement coming from me. But I take up my courage and say once more: YES, JESUS CHRIST IS LONG DEAD. As an effect, people’s reaction is in question form: what made me say so? In addition, a more intellectual person would ask: how did Jesus die? The first question may be answered in many ways. Some would say that basing upon my statement, I am an atheist. I am a thinker, yes, but undeniably I am a Christian – a Roman Catholic as I write this note. People may brand me with words like: agnostic, non-believer, atheist, cult-member, etc. I don’t care. Really, I don’t. What matters is how the second question is answered. And that I will discuss in length in the succeeding paragraphs.
How did Jesus die? This is an intriguing question. A literal man would answer: by Pilate’s hands, or by the chief priests’. These are not satisfactory answers. Let me rephrase the question (and I hope in rephrasing the question, the subject matter might shed some light on this discussion). Why did Jesus die? The answer: Because we KILLED him! Yes. We killed him by our own hands, by our own hearts, and more specifically by our own minds.Who was Jesus Christ? Let me simply state: he is God, and was man. He is the second person in the Holy Trinity: the Son. And he was man through Mary and Joseph. But now, he is dead. Christ preached several things to the “chosen” and not-chosen people alike. He performed “miracles” to both. There is no place he’d be unwilling to go so long as there is something necessary to do there. After having some acquaintance and a good deal of followers, he caught attention. His service was cut short. In the end, he was crucified. It is believed that after 3 days he rose again. After that, he left humanity an example: a Christian example, a mark specifically designed by Jesus Christ himself. This time, this mark is no longer exclusive for the “chosen” people. It is open, free-for-all. However, after some centuries, he died again. This time, there were no chief priests nor Pontius Pilate behind the scenes. This time, his people killed him.
People have already forgotten the significance of Christ’s teaching.True, there are a number of them. Then, there came a few more additions by the Alteri Christi (other Christs – forgive my Latin if it’s wrong). But by essence, his teaching could be summarized in two – if not reduced: Love your neighbor as you love YOURSELF (1), and The least you did to your brethren, you did it to me (2).
A mentor of mine told me of three great philosophers who have ever lived on earth. Yes. Christ was one of them. I have my prejudiced philosophers. And YES, Christ is one of them! Make no mistake: he is a thinker – a great thinker at that – and as a thinker I speak of him.
What about his teachings? Simple: it could have drawn out the best possible of Earth, of this world we live in. Christ taught man to love his neighbor as he loves himself. Never did he taught to love your neighbor less than you love yourself. It does not speak, also, of loving one’s neighbor ABOVE one’s self. It simply asks man: Love you neighbor AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF. I believe the principle is highlighted already. And for the sake of goodness, please, stop distorting the teaching. So, altruists, and those other preachers of morality who use religion as an avenue to ask man to denounce themselves and live for others, as a mask to counteract the shame of such a betrayal, and as a vanguard to shield your contradicting premises, THINK AGAIN!
The second one is more controversial. People have forgotten that religion ought to make this world a better place to live in. However, things have turned around. Now, it is more of suffering more on earth so you’d reap your rewards on the other world. Let me clear myself: I don’t really care if such other worlds exist. But I am aware of the fact that this land my feet set on is real. And that I ought to take good care of it.
People go to church every Sundays, and they go to hell the rest of the week. This is a statement of one of my mentors in the University. And in my years of “service” to the church, I have met a good deal of persons who live up and testify to this statement. These persons make it real. Despite the reading of the scripture, and interpretation of it, as if nothing happened in the Sunday Mass. People have forgotten that the church’s door is also one of the most important parts of the place: it is where and when one’s duty starts to take place. But as I said, people have forgotten of that basic principle. They have come to believe that being a good Christian means going to hear mass every Sundays, regular confessions, etc. These are just superficial. I won’t say what is expected of a good Christian. As a person, he or she is already given the tools needed for survival; these tools need only be realized.
For sometime already, the point of origin barely remembered, there have been shifts man has failed to notice carefully. It might have been a moment too late already by the time he realized such changes. One of the distinct shifts is the concept of service. Jesus himself was followed. He has couples of apostles and disciples at his beckon. But he did not demand too much service. Truth be told, these apostles and/or disciples are getting familiarized with Jesus’ teachings so as for them to continue what was started. But the following “successors” had distorted this by the institution of the church. From the original concept of doing God service through His people, the focus is now on God. (PERIOD) There is a neglect of the concern for the people. MOREOVER, there is detrimental attitude of forsaking one’s self for GOD. Question: If God is indeed perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, etc., does He really need to be praised and worshiped MORE THAN what is ought? (That is if God ever needed praise and worship.) More regrettable, however, is the fact that God is given more attention than the needs of his people. REMEMBER: God sent His only Son to redeem the world. But it was useless. The people have forgot the entire sense of it.
It seems that Jesus’ first teaching is forgotten: love yourself as you love your neighbor. Putting in priority God’s people or the people that Jesus consciously died for on the cross is not an act of idolatry. The term idol has more meaning to what the communal standards imply (for a more detailed discussion of this term, refer to my previous note). So, Jesus asks humanity to be an instrument of God’s love and peace by making this place a better place to live in. He never asked to be praised and worshiped for saving us. He asked that humanity VALUE his death on the cross. He did not ask anybody or anyone to establish a variety of institutions and interpret his death on the cross.
The least you did to your brethren, you did it to me. This statement, finally, does not mean that you focus on your brethren alone. This does not mean man is supposed to merge and indulge himself in communal living whatever and abandon that POWERFUL word – I – in exchange for the word brethren: WE. It must be remembered that one needs to love one’s self to be able to love your neighbors. Now, i ask the moralist altruist using Christianity or any religious institution for cover: How could you give yourself to your “fellow brothers and/or sisters” without having a self in the beginning? How could you ever imagine a community which practices self-denial in service of fellow brothers and/or sisters? And in such a community, who are those brothers and/or sisters when everybody serves one another? It does not make sense.
Praising and worshiping God (the Holy Trinity) does not reserve humanity slots in the Kingdom of Heaven. Praying the rosary alone (without taking care to live up to its meaning) will not make that claimed PARAISO one step closer to reality. Doing Taize or any sort of meditation without realizing the hierarchy of needs of yourself and your neighbors will not help in the development of your being. These superficial acts without ever realizing the nature and the reason behind it (if the reason is not available for SOME reasons, discovering the cause is enough), will bring distortion and confusion in one’s quest on earth.
Jesus would be sad. He willingly died on the cross to save the people just to see them fighting each other for another day. He consciously gave his human life just to see that the earth is still as war-torn as before. He shared his “spirit” just to see that his “representatives” make a good deal of distortion of his teachings. That is what is happening in reality. That is what you, the reader is experiencing in the present time. And most probably, that is what you are doing.
That is why this is called an obituary. This is a statement of what would have been called a Christ-ian world. This is a record of the foul interpretations and malpractices of certain individuals. If you ever have the feeling of getting mad, sad, and depressed after having read this obituary, but do nothing in return, shame on you. But for those who realize that something is to be done, that some things needed certain attention, let this obituary be a challenge – a challenge to stand up, a challenge to realize what was once a best possibility, and a challenge to rediscover the teaching of Jesus.
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