For What Do They Live and Die?

 

Many people believe in some kind of “God,” that which they worship in their own way, which they make the priority of their actions, pursuing their God. It can be money, power, wealth, property, prestige, drugs, alcohol, pleasure, possession, domination, violence, abuse, control. These are their “Gods.”

 

They are not alone: they are members of a fraternity or a syndicate, a gang, a political clan, a military or police unit. They obey the code never to break the bond of silence. They will seldom spare anyone that stands in their way. Their “God” is first over all others. They have fanatics to help them fulfill their desires.

 

There are those that desire little, content with their lot in life, indifferent to social evil. They have no serious purpose in life; they have no goal to serve others beyond themselves and family. They are the indifferent “godless” who live in a state of apathy. The ruling elites encourage them in their mediocrity and unbelief.

 

There are those believing in the “God of wealth and prosperity.” They are highly educated but driven to succeed in business or in a profession. They are driven to pursue success, social status, comfort and yet without commitment to change society and bring about social justice. They strive to be an elite. Their “God” is themselves.

 

Then there are those like Neptali Morada. He believed in purpose, he desired goodness, he longed for a just society that would be free from oppression and exploitation of the vulnerable and the poor. He believed that change was possible even in a corrupt society ruled by a powerful elite.

 

He lived in hope and he, and many thousand of Filipinos like him, believe in the values of equality, justice and human dignity. He lived a life dedicated to these values. He was an active committed Christian. He lived out his belief and trust in Jesus of Nazareth and His teachings for he had found his “God.” He believed in the ‘power of one’ united with many more.

 

I say, was, because Neptali Morada, is now dead. He was assassinated, shot dead by gunmen last 17 June, 2019 in Naga city on his way to work. He was a member of the United Evangelical Church of Christ, a former coordinator of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines and chairman of the Federation of Christian Youth in the Philippines. He was a man of faith. He loved the truth, social justice, and spoke and worked for them. For this he was killed. The worshipers of other “Gods” could not allow him to live. His life and his “God” was a challenge to their wrongdoing. Their “Gods” were opposed to his.

 

Nardy Sabino, general secretary of the Promotion of Church People’s Response, said the killing of Morada was allegedly part of a "state-sponsored campaign to silence dissent." Daniel Kenji Muramatsu, spokesman of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, condemned the "senseless killing.” Neptali was not the only human rights worker murdered in June. Ryan Hubilla, 22, and Nelly Bagasala, 69, was shot dead last 15 June in Sorsogon. They too believed that if you pursue justice and goodness, you must act to help your neighbor to achieve a life of greater equality and peace.

 

Karapatan secretary-general Cristina Palabay said, “"We have every reason to believe that those who killed them are military death squads." 

 

On June 16, gunmen on motorbikes also shot Nonoy Palma, 57, a member of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines in Bukidnon province on the southern island of Mindanao. Dennis Sequena, a community worker and labor organizer, was shot dead in Cavite province on 2 June. He believed in the rights of the citizens to a life of dignity. He organized exploited workers, taught them their labor rights to get better working conditions and pay. He disturbed the system that rules and controls the poor and uses them to enrich their clan.

 

The sociologists and researchers say it seems that .0001 percent own 70 percent of the wealth in the Philippines. The rest of the 107 million must scramble for the leftovers. Many of the poorest of the poor eat “pagpag” to survive, the boiled scrapings of the restaurant dinner plates of the rich.

 

In 2015, statistics shows that 21.6 percent of the population lived below the poverty line. The Asian Development Bank says the causes are “low economic growth, a weak agricultural sector, increased population rates and a high volume of inequality.” This is changing but very slowly.

 

Statistics shows that around 3.6 million children from ages 5-17 are child laborers in the Philippines. Thousands of street children are jailed and abused, ignored by many local authorities (with some exceptions) that support the sex industry and jail children.

 

Human rights workers are an endangered species. There are many more killings of innocent people in this resource-rich country.

 

This is the Philippines- if one threatens the corrupt elite, they will eliminate that person. They know the “power of one” that is committed to the righteous “God,” for even one who believes in justice and equality can turn the world upside-down.

The Man from Nazareth

A great blessing came into the world over two thousand years ago. Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. He was a humble leader, prophetic, articulate and a prodigy with a profound compassionate understanding of the sick, the poor and oppressed. He sought equality and a society, or kingdom, with no super rich, no dire poor and with fairness, social justice, love, and compassion for all. That is what he taught, lived for and was killed for.  He was a friend to all.

He was loved greatly by the poor, the fisher folks, the farmers and craftspeople, women and children. But the rich, the elite rulers, religious and civil leaders were not pleased with him or his message. He was not silent about the injustice and hypocrisy that surrounded him. He spoke out against the oppressors with sharp words of rebuke. He was challenged, spied upon, reported to the authorities, threatened, criticized, wrongly accused, and then tortured and executed. He forgave them all. He left behind a Meal of Friendship for us to remember him by.

What an extraordinary life he lived. He lifted up the spirits of the poor with encouragement and hope and gave them their true value and dignity as people of all races and religions and those without and for us in the whole world. He taught that we have inalienable rights, deserving of profound respect and equality. He stood in solidarity with the poor, and with us, a poor man himself, rejected by the innkeepers and then born in an outhouse with the burden of poverty, stale food, the smell of animals and unwashed clothes. His parents were threatened by the tyrant and became refugees, fled Bethlehem, became migrants and travelled on foot to Egypt, a feat that is impossible today.

When he became a man, he had an exhilarating message of Good News, that the poor had rights to a better, more just life where there was fairness and equality for all, where women were honored and respected and would overcome evil, where children were the most important of all, where the poor would, with justice, inherit what was rightfully theirs. The wrong-doers and abusers would be held accountable, called to confess and admit their crimes, repent and accept their penance and let justice be done.

The workers would have fair wages and benefits and the elite rich and powerful would be invited to change their ways and attitudes and would be challenged to ask forgiveness, to pay restitution, like Zaccheus, four times what he had stolen by his corrupt ways. They could help bring social justice or continue in their corrupt ways and be held accountable and sent away empty.

In the society where justice prevailed, the people would have their voice and vote and rule themselves through just leaders. That is the Good News that everyone had a right to dignity, justice, equality, the truth, and a happy life and a right to work and struggle for it without discrimination, racism, or exclusion.

This is the message of Jesus of Nazareth, his vision. His mission of two thousand years ago is still a message calling us to friendship and inviting us to live the values that have the power to change each of us and society if accepted and practiced. This is the Good News that is to be proclaimed from the housetops and still stands today calling all to embrace and live life in the spirit that he brought into the world. 

That powerful message of love, justice, compassion, non-violence and freedom in community is mostly unheeded, ignored, and forgotten. Most times, the church’s ministers forget the vital message that is lost in a maze of unexplained rites and rituals and secular interests. The true believers are ready to die living and implementing them. Without them, there is dire poverty, chaos, violence, crimes against humanity, war crimes and hundreds of thousands killed. 

In the challenging world of today, that same strong hope and belief among many people that goodness will overcome evil, that justice will prevail and freedom from oppression will come to be. It is hope that burns bright and the struggle for justice goes on all fronts. People are being enlightened by truth against lies and deception. Great good is being done daily. Hundreds of thousands are being saved and helped.

Human rights workers suffer the vindictive brutality of the tyrants as they suffer injustice and struggle against oppression. They stand up and speak out when they are told to kneel down and remain silent. They are strong when they are insulted and diminished, they risk all for others. They serve the poor without seeking a reward. They live lives of integrity and wisdom. The power of compassion and caring will  triumph.