No pain, no gain Fr. Jerry Orbos Philippine Daily Inquirer
July 05, 2009
THE STORY is told about a guy who sits at a bar looking at his drink, when a bully comes in, grabs his drink from his hands, and gulps it in an instant. The guy starts to cry, and the bully apologizes for his rudeness. “It’s not that,” the guy says, “it’s just that because of my miserable life, I decided to end my life tonight. I put poison in my drink so I could die, and even that to me has been denied.”
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In today’s Gospel (Mk. 6, 1-6) we hear of Jesus, who went around preaching the truth and doing good deeds, being ridiculed and criticized by many who heard Him. Such is the fate of prophets who disturb comfort zones and who point to broader horizons.
There will always be prophets, and there will always be bullies who persecute prophets. Let us examine ourselves today: Do I bully our modern-day prophets, just because I am not one of them? Do I prevent or retard truth, growth and real moving on?
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How far easier to keep quiet, and not go against the crowd! Why indeed rock the boat when one can just enjoy the ride? Why? Because, as someone aptly put it, our prophetic role as Christians is to comfort those who are disturbed, and to disturb those who are comfortable.
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As it has been in the past, today too, fear and/or favor is used to silence prophets and by prophets, we don’t mean just religious prophets. How many in government, in the military, in civil society have been silenced by fear, intimidation, torture and even death? And how many have been muted because they were given money or juicy positions, contracts and commissions? We salute those who hold on to idealism and truth, prophets who continue to tell, and who are not for sale.
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Take note: When bullies want to hit a prophet, they don’t carry the fight on the level of ideas (“What kind of wisdom has been given him?”), nor on the level of their actions (“What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!”), but on the personal level (“Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary...?”). In other words, the fight can become unfair, dirty and ugly and include the family. Really, it is not easy to be a prophet. Why indeed be a prophet when one can easily slide into the world of comfort and profit?
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A note for those who bully prophets: Truth cannot be silenced. It can be manipulated or hidden for a while, but God will raise up again and again truth-tellers and prophets until the truth becomes as clear as day. Sooner or later, the truth will prevail. Fighting for the truth may be a painful, difficult, and often an unprofitable fight by worldly standards, but fighting against the truth is a useless, futile, demeaning, and finally, a losing fight.
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We may come out with all sorts of reasons to bully other people, but the bottom line is that bullies are those who are insecure with, and are threatened by, the truth. Bullies are those who, in their excessive thirst for power, have become so drunk with power, and have forgotten that there is such a thing as people power, prayer power and divine power. People who forget these powers are bound to fail.
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One’s days of glory are numbered. Such is the human condition. The biblical age is 70 years, and most of these are filled with emptiness and woe. Even the Lord experienced deprivation, persecution and death.
If we look at our own lives, we can count only a few shining moments, and we accept that such is life. But those who relentlessly seek shining moments and wish to stay in the limelight and prolong the partying are fools, simply because such is not life. We all have our entrance in the world. We do our role. Then we exit from this world. That’s it. No one stays on the center stage forever. And, as we came to this world with nothing, we also leave this world with nothing, except the love that we have shared.
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For those who have been misunderstood, maligned, or even persecuted because of the Lord and because of Gospel values, be comforted today by the Lord himself who said in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are you when men hate you, and insult you, all because of me.”
So be it! Amen. As for those who carried out the persecution, be warned.
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PHILIPPINE SVD CENTENNIAL MOMENT: In the 1950s, many SVD missionaries were expelled from China at the height of persecution by the communists. Many of these SVD fathers and brothers were “exiled” to the Philippine SVD Missions. Among them was Fr. Peter Yang who, along with Father Tsao and Father Chu, started St. Jude Catholic School. In Dagupan, Pangasinan, Father Schmitz and Father Ning also started St. Therese Academy. Indeed, along with persecution come the temporary pains that eventually bring forth lasting gains.
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Calling on all Sienna College, Quezon City graduates: The Grand Alumni Homecoming will be on July 25, 2009. Mass will be at 2 p.m. and then dinner. For further details, please call 7123668.
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A moment with the Lord:
Lord, remind me again today that there can be no real gain without pain. Amen.
