By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans. He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.” — Luke 1:51-53

The EDSA event

February 25 is set aside as an official commemoration of the EDSA Event of 1986 that ended the Marcos Regime. The Martial Law years is considered one of the darkest, if not the darkest, nights of Philippine history. About ten thousand people had been victims of human rights violations. They were imprisoned, tortured, summarily executed, or simply disappeared.

Through what was known as People’s Power, the Dictator was ousted from office and the Martial Law government came to an end. This peaceful process of “bringing down a mighty ruler from his throne” became a model for other democratic movements in different parts of the world.

Songs of EDSA

One of the songs my wife and I wrote and composed in the aftermath of the EDSA Event was entitled: The Hands of God. Following is the lyrics of the song:

The hands of God that make the whole creations new
That guide us through the path that we must tread
Hands that brought down the mighty from their thrones
And lifted up the lowly and the poor.

Refrain:
The hands of God that guide us through the years
From doubts and fears those hands have led us through
They call for faith and hope and love to reign in us
The hands of God are hands of you and me.

The hands that make the lame to walk and blind to see
The hands that work to set our people free
The hands that touch the sinners and the lonely
Are hands of God that work through you and me.

The hands of God that make the church to live and grow
That gave it power to face all fears and woes
The hands that make for peace to reign all over us
Are hands of God that work through you and me.

This is one of the ten songs my wife and I wrote and composed which are included in the UCCP Hymnal of Faith Journey. The meaning and significance of this song came to my attention when recently it was chosen as a contest piece in a choir competition at the Festival of Faith (Rambak ti Pammati) of the North Central Luzon Conference of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, wherein my wife and I were invited as speaker and judges in the faith celebration and choir competition, respectively.

The Magnificat

It is interesting to note that Mary, the mother of Jesus also sang a song now known as The Magnificat at the time when they were also dominated, oppressed and exploited by the powerful Roman Empire. In the midst of her people’s sufferings and hopes, Mary sung a song affirming her faith that God’s greatness had been shown through significant historical events. She said: “He has stretched out his mighty arm and scattered the proud with all their plans. He has brought down mighty kings from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands.” (Luke 1:51-53).

Mary believed that the rise and fall of powerful rulers of nations and empires are not outside God’s gracious concern. In fact, God’s mighty hands have been working to scatter the proud and bring down mighty rulers from their thrones and lift up the lowly. He has been sending away the rich empty and feeding the hungry. In other words, God is working to transform and make this evil world his kingdom. And he has been calling men and women through the ages to be his instruments, to be his hands, so to speak.

Theological interpretation

There are actually many ways of interpreting the EDSA Event. We could interpret it historically, politically, economically, ideologically or even culturally. But we could also interpret the event theologically and say that it was the work of The Hands of God. Through this song, we are affirming, first of all, our faith that God is a God of history. It is a God that guides the history of peoples and nations. Martial Law and the abuses of the Marcos Regime were not outside of God’s concern. God knew for sure the sufferings and hopes of those who lighted the candles of hope in the darkest nights of Martial Law.

Moreover, this song also declares the firm conviction that we are The Hands of God. That God, indeed, work in and through us. The people who participated in the EDSA Event to “bring down the mighty from his throne” are the hands of God. Indeed, those who are working for the transformation of church and society at their own risk are the hands of God.

Of course, the work of transformation is yet to be completed. True, in the EDSA Event the mighty was brought down from his throne, but the lowly are yet to be lifted up. In the EDSA Event the rich were sent away but not empty, and besides the hungry are yet to be fed. Hence, the song The Hands of God is a continuing challenge and call for us to be God’s instruments in our continuing struggle for genuine transformation of church and society. # nordis.net