COLUMN | WEEKLY REFLECTIONS
The author is a professor and former President at the Union Theological Seminary-Philippines. He holds a doctor’s degree in Theology and Religious Studies from the University of Leeds, England.
By REV. LUNA L. DINGAYAN
“But I will make the king stubborn, and he will not listen to you, no matter how many terifying things I do in Egypt. Then I will bring severe punishment on Egypt and lead the tribes of my people out of the land.” — Exodus 7:3-4
The Declaration
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had finally declared a state of national calamity relative to the oil spill tragedy along the Guimaras Islands. According to the President, she did this in order that we could address the problem nationally. Environmentalists regarded the oil spill as a great environmental disaster that would perhaps take ten to fifteen years to recover given our country’s inadequate technology.
Actually, what happened at Guimaras Islands is just one of the series of environmental tragedies since President Arroyo came to power. The most recent of these were the Guinsaogon and the Dingalan tragedies. While these calamities are environment-related, they are not purely natural calamities. Investigations show that humans have something to do with them. In the case of the Guinsaogon and the Dingalan calamities, loggers, legal or illegal, are seen to be responsible. In the oil-spill tragedy, human error is also seen as a culprit.
But at the bottom of all these is the greed for material wealth. Apparently, God is simply teaching us a painful lesson on the consequences of human greed that we seem to find it quite difficult to learn as a people.
The Plagues
The stories about the plagues in Egypt during Moses’ time underscore to us the faith that God, indeed, is the one in control of nature and of history (Ex.7-11). They would show to us not only God’s power working through His chosen servants, but also the stubbornness of political leaders who are clothed with power and authority to realize and to accept their human limitations and to listen to peoples’ cry for justice and freedom.
Needless to say, the plagues in Egypt were actually direct consequences of the oppression and injustices committed against the Israelites who were then considered the marginalized sectors of the Egyptian society. God made it clear to Moses and his brother Aaron that the plagues were meant to manifest God’s justice and love: punishment for the oppressors, and liberation for the oppressed. The plagues were God’s way of responding to peoples’ cry. They are signs and wonders of God’s living presence among the people.
The Calamities
How do we view calamities in our time? The plagues in Egypt during Moses’ time were understood as God’s way of pressuring the stubborn Pharaoh to listen to the oppressed people’s cry for justice and freedom. This was God’s way of intervening in human affairs in order to bring deliverance and salvation to a people who were so desperate and helpless.
The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 was interpreted in many ways. But one very interesting theological interpretation is that it was God’s way of responding to the cries of countless victims of the presence of the US military bases in our country, that for many years their cries were never listen to by the powers-that-be. While it is true that the Senate legally terminated the agreement, the massive destruction brought about by the Mt. Pinatubo eruption hastened the bases’ closure.
But then apparently, the Pharaohs of our time seem to have not learned their lessons. They brought back the military bases in another form: through the visiting forces agreement. Pharaohs then and now are indeed stubborn.
Again, we are visited by series of calamities. It is interesting to note that calamities happened in places where many innocent, helpless, and powerless people are brutally killed, abducted and tortured, or simply disappeared, all in the name of national security. Perhaps, their desperate cries for justice have touched the heart of the God Almighty who is in control of nature and history.
God, indeed, is speaking us through these calamities, calling for justice to prevail, as He did in the past! But who would listen? Does Malacañang listen? Does congress listen? Does the military establishment listen? Do the courts in the land listen? Yes, do the powers-that-be listen?
History shows that it is when people are stubborn and refuse to listen that calamity strikes to remind us that God still remains in control of nature and of history. This is our hope and our courage to be. #
2 MIN READThese “businesses” that are actually losing millions of pesos are the big hotels and event venues, like the five-star Baguio Country Club. Maybe the big restaurant chains are also losing profits due to the declining number of tourists with purchasing power.
5 MIN READFrom early Christian communities to liberation theology and the Philippine Theology of Struggle, the thread is clear: ethical faith demands action.
3 MIN READThe Sunflower Parade aims to remind the world that women and children have rights that need protection and deserve it, and to affirm that these Filipino women are not alone.
2 MIN READDahil walang tuloy-tuloy at transparent na aksyon ng mga kinauukulan kontra sa mga sugalan, lumalabo na ang linya sa pagitan ng kapabayaan at pakikipagsabwatan.
