Those of us who read our Bibles and pray everyday, know that God is a God of surprises. Each person, each plant, each snowflake, each butterfly, each pebble is different from the rest. Our Bible has 66 books that offer us 66 different ways of articulating faith and faith experiences.
But God has the last laugh. God always has the last laugh. God raised Jesus up from the grave. And he is loose. Laughing because death has no hold on him. Not anymore.
Filipinos, according to research, are among the happiest people in
Filipinos have the last laugh. Maybe it’s a gift from God. The Spaniards taught us the pasyon to domesticate our broken spirits, but we used the pasyon to ignite revolution. The Spaniards used bamboo poles to punish and to drive Indios to and from the fields, but we used bamboo poles to create a dance of celebration, and called it tinikling. The Americans banned the singing of the Philippine National Anthem and the unfurling of the Philippine Flag and sentenced those who disobeyed to prison; we used the American’s principle of separation of State and Church to bring both the anthem and the flag into our worship life. The American’s built the jeep as a weapon of mass destruction. We turned it into a vehicle of Filipino culture—and called it jeepney. We always have the last laugh.
For over 100 years, we have been forced to speak, to think, to believe, to worship, to sing, to make love, to pray, to be… in English. Constantino, in his “The Mis-Education of the Filipinos,” said, “For a sprinkling of English, we sold our souls.” Frantz Fanon and Paulo Freire said that the worst kind of colonialism is when the colonizer has possessed the colonized’s soul.
We need an exorcism and, as I have been arguing for a few minutes now, laughter plays a critical role in our collective decolonization.
English is the imperial language. It is the language of our theologies, our liturgies, our books of discipline, our confessions. English is the master’s tool. We all know this. We also know that one of the best ways to dismantle the master’s house is to use the master’s tools. Any student of peasant revolt theory and the different schools of tradition on resistance, from passive to active non-violence, to armed revolt, know that the colonized has over four centuries of tradition to draw from. I will offer one simple model. In postcolonial studies, this is called THE SCRIPT AND THE SUB-SCRIPT, more specifically, mis-pronunciation as deconstruction.
In the Pentateuch, Moses requested to see God’s face, but God said, those who see God’s face will die, so God allowed Moses to experience God’s back FART. When the Israelites were fleeing from Pharaoh and was trapped between the Egyptians and the
In the letters of Paul, we are challenged to celebrate the church as the body of Christ. The body is composed of many FARTS and each FART is as important as the other. No FART can say to another FART that it is more needed or more important. Each one of us therefore, has a FART to claim, to share, to be proud of.
As a laughing people, we worship a God who laughs. Let us go continue doing so…. Let us always affirm what God has done and what God is doing, and commit to what we can do, as communities and as individuals, celebrate God’s FART and the unity of our FARTS.
4 comments:
Questions Reaction Paper on GRP-MILF Forum
1. The Visiting Forces Agreement, more specifically the Balikatan Exercises, has turned Mindanao into the US’ Armed Forces “new base” in South East Asia. Questions were raised during the forum on America’s involvement in the negotiations between the GRP and the MILF. What do you think is the United States’ agenda in all these?
From a single agenda item, MILF subsequently drafted nine sub-themes, which were eventually narrowed to three: (1) security, (2) rehabilitation, and (3) ancestral domain. Interim agreements have been signed on the first two agenda items and the parties are now set to tackle the third, ancestral domain.
Ancestral domain is the single most important and, arguably, the thorniest issue that is still to be negotiated by the MILF and the Philippine government before they can reach a political settlement. Ancestral domain refers to Moro demand for territory that will constitute a Moro homeland; sufficient control over economic resources on that territory; and a structure of governance that will allow Moros to govern themselves in ways that are consonant with their culture and with minimal interference from Manila.
I think US should not get in other countries affairs. I feel this way because it makes the U.S. look like they caused all the wars and fight just to gain more power. This was the mind of the U.S. trying to gain that they didn’t belong to them. They wanted to be on the top of other territories. I feel like the U.S. should stay out of other countries affairs.
2. Mindanao has traditionally been called “The Land of Promise.” Unfortunately, the years have shown that what the Moslems and Lumads have experienced are a bunch of broken promises. Moreover, most of the island’s real estate is controlled by trans-nationals and the landed-rich, What do you think can the churches do to respond to the Moslems and Lumads’ clamor for land and liberty?
With a population of 16 million, Mindanao is the second largest island and is seen by many Filipinos as a frontier — a dangerous place but also a land of promise. It evokes contrasting images of bounty and want, of war and peace, of rapid development amid the increasing impoverishment of its people.
Lumads have a traditional concept of land ownership based on what their communities consider their ancestral territories. The historian BR Rodil notes that ‘a territory occupied by a community is a communal private property, and community members have the right of usufruct to any piece of unoccupied land within the communal territory.’ Ancestral lands include cultivated land as well as hunting grounds, rivers, forests, uncultivated land and the mineral resources below the land. Unlike the Moros, the Lumad groups never formed a revolutionary group to unite them in armed struggle against the Philippine government. When the migrants came, many Lumad groups retreated into the mountains and forests. However, the Moro armed groups and the Communist-led New People’s Army (NPA) have recruited Lumads to their ranks, and the armed forces have also recruited them into paramilitary organizations to fight the Moros or the NPA.
For the Lumad, securing their rights to ancestral domain is as urgent as the Moros’ quest for self-determination. However, much of their land has already been registered in the name of multinational corporations, logging companies and wealthy Filipinos, many of whom are settlers to Mindanao. Mai Tuan, a T’boli leader explains. As they are the original land owner, we should not blame them for their action against the Philippine Government. However, it would be better for both the Government and MILF to have peace-talk for the result of war is destructive.
3. What concerns raised during the forum challenged you? Please share at least three and discuss how you intend to address these challenges?
The first concern that challenged me at the forum was the word “peace”. As Christian, If we affirm the gospel of peace at the level of basic beliefs, then that truth must be close to the center of the church's message and mission. Peace is not something tacked on after the gospel is proclaimed; it is an integral part of the offer of salvation. Calling forth peace convictions, grounded in biblical theology, should be as basic as talking about Jesus, the Bible, and the meaning of salvation
The second concern that challenged me at the forum was the word “sovereignty”. It is the concept of the MILF that the government possesses full control over its own affairs within a territorial or geographical area or limit. As a democracy country, everybody should have the right to get what they should. Now the original land owner cannot get any authority in their own land because of the total sovereignty of the Philippine government. This makes me think that the government also should give the people the right they have to say and get.
The third concern that challenged me at the forum was the word “liberty”. Actually, the MILF is not a group of terrorist, they are just fighter for liberty. Terrorism can and must be fought without sacrificing our human rights. It must be resentful for them to be regarded as terrorist. As human being, they cannot bear with living under the sovereignty of others in their own land. So fighting for liberty is not violation of the world human right, but just self-protection.
4. What does the phrase “one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter” mean in the light of the Mindanao crisis and America’s “War on Terror”?
As one author writes, “defining terrorism is a difficult task.” It is true, for example Several countries throughout the world consider the United States, several Western European states, and Israel as undertaking terrorist actions. So we should keep in mind that one group’s ‘freedom fighters’ may be another group’s ‘terrorists.’ In the case of Mindanao, the US and the philippine government think of the MILF as terrorist group. However, the terrorist gourp for them is a freedom fighter for the land, which is thought as the promise land. So it is natural that one cannot be good to all, in the same way one can not be bad for all.
5. How do we integrate all these concerns in our Sunday schools and Bible studies? Which specific biblical passages would help inform our group discussions?
As Christian, the gospel not only offers us deliverance from our enemies, it also sets us free from the destructive cycle of violence at all levels of life. Knowing that one belongs to the family of God, the believer is enabled to live out the call to justice, peace, service and selfgiving. “Only those who know they are loved and rejoice in that love can be true peacemakers, because the intimate knowledge of being loved sets us free to look beyond the boundaries of death and to speak and act fearlessly for peace.” The specific reference for encouraging peace making is in Matthew 5:9.
Great essay sir. I agree that our ability to laugh, as Filipinos, in the midst of poverty is indeed a gift. It’s like an anesthesia that dispels for a while our ability to feel pain, which most of the time we throw it back to God in our “whys”. I know it was never the perfect will of God, being a good and perfect God, that his creations would experience evil and suffering, but since human fell, then God would resort to using his permissive will, so human can cross the bridge, limping though.
But our ability to laugh at our mistakes and weakness is also a form of faith which allows God to work, leaving him the things that we can’t do anymore. We know not what lies ahead and it’s only logical to leave it to someone who knows everything. When we do, we discover that there’s more to a mere suffering, there’s glory even beyond pain. Like we could have not known that a bamboo can be used in a beautiful tinikling dance have we remained to its dreadful historical function as tool used to drive indios to the farm. And we could not have a cheaper transportation through our beloved jeepney have we remained to think emotively on its original usage. We see that our response of willingness to accept of our apparent ordeal is actually a form of liberation, much better than subverting or repealing it.
We know God has so designed us to move forward even if it’s against the flow of the norm. He provided us faith to help us see what lies ahead. God has done God's Fart, now it's our fart to act in response to our faith.
Good day to you sir. And thanks for your style of teaching us. They invoke us to think more.
Marlon Diaz
MDIV II
This very appreciative essay shows the uniformity of divided cultural traditional regions and pictures the uniqueness of “Juan De La Cruz” to other countries on how Filipino face the challenges he encounter whether in different aspect and stages of life of the Filipino nation. Truly the Filipino faces the reality of challenges by the power of laughing and in fact because of this Filipinistic attitude of the Filipino, the legendary Pinoy singer named, Freddie Aguilar, wrote and interpreted song entitled “TAWANAN MO ANG IYONG PROBLEMA” “laugh your problems” bringing the Filipinos into its mirror of self identity as Filipino the way he face various challenges.
In relation to this, truly we always have the last laugh; actually, other countries’ wastes are their main problem on how they make solution to this, but the thing is that other countries bring their wastes in the Philippines and the funny thing is that common most Filipinos are innocently and gladly accepted it just to repair and to be sold to other as second hand the same as the “ukay-ukay” or the used-clothes. In fact, the Filipinos are rushing in buying in mass bargain and they will choose to buy in the “ukay-ukay” or “second-hand” store rather than choosing Super market or boutique. Moreover, they have the shot of displaying boastfully the things they bought in “ukay-ukay” on their friends and relatives.
If we lens the whole imagery of Filipino on its daily basis of life, it has the best attitude among other races. Maybe this unmatchable laughing ability and attitude of Filipino is the reason why Filipinos are very suitable for working across the sea. In working abroad, truly he/she can alone survive longer than the other races. Filipinos are not just hospitable but the fact is that his/her ability of laughing all various condition of life makes his/her life enjoyable and colorful. The laughing attitude of the Filipinos in the midst of challenges is designed by God in order to see the power of God who gives strength to Filipinos. Perhaps that laughing is one of the outlets established by God to show the God –given- joy for the Filipino who needs more strength in facing the challenges. Truly laughter is the best medicine and after all laughter makes Filipino young in physical and young at heart.
jonathan E. gabuay
bre-v
Ang mga pinoy ay likas na masayahin sabi pa nga ng mga komento ng mga komentarista. natala pa nga tayo bilang ika-walong bansa na may pinakamasayang mamamayan. naalala ko ang isang pelikula na pinamagatang
"akin ang huling halakhak" di ko na matandaan kung sino ang bida nun. karamihan sa mga pinoy kapag nakarinig ng maling pronounciation ay natatawa at inaakala niyang napakagaling na niyang magsalita ng iningles. tapos kung mapapansin rin natin na kapag ang nakikinig sa atin ay mga kano, mas naiintindihan pa nga tayo. may naalala rin ako sa bibliya na tumawa ang Panginoon na nasa kaitaasan dun sa mga kaaway niya.
bilang mga "kristiyano" sabi ni pablo, "rejoice in the Lord, always, and again I say rejoice." ano nga ba ang dapat ikalungkot ng mga anak ng Panginoon? marami. ngunit pinapaimbabaw pa rin natin ang pagiging masaya. masaya sa tambayan, sa inuman, sa tsismisan, kakulitan atbp.
"tumawa ka, tawanan mo ang iyong problema, hahahahahahaha!!!!"
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