ONLY in Christ, of course, can we find true justice and peace. Outside of him, forget it. We can only have, at best, some appearance of justice and peace, but not the real ones. In time, the consequences of the counterfeit justice and peace will surely be exposed.
We are reminded of this truth of our Christian faith in the readings of the Mass of Tuesday of the First Week of Advent where we are told that “a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom, and of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge, and of godliness.” (Is 11,1-2)
And in the responsorial psalm of that day, these beautiful words are said, which describe the effects of how the spirit of God will have on this rod out of the root of Jesse: “Justice shall flourish in his time, and fullness of peace for ever.” (Ps 72,7)
We should just try our best that we base our search for true justice and peace on Christ, the personification of the “rod out of the root of Jesse” that was foretold in the Book of Isaiah. We have to be wary of our strong tendency to rely mainly on our own estimation of things, on our ideologies and philosophies, in our search for justice and peace.
As we can see now, especially in the so-called developed countries that have all but abandoned God and religion in general, and are simply depending on their own ideologies, there is clearly a quagmire of acrimony and finger-pointing.
Even the commonest of common sense is contradicted as when some people claim that they have a right to abort, or kill, a baby at birth. Politics is not anymore a pursuit for the common good, with God as the ultimate common good, but rather a brazen conspiracy to acquire power and to keep it as long as possible. Of course, it would just be a matter of time before violence, and even war, would erupt.
We need to make a shout-out for the need to return to God if we want to have true justice and peace. With him, as taught and shown by Christ in the Holy Spirit, and as promoted consistently by the Church, we are sure to find justice and peace in spite of our unavoidable differences and conflicts. With him, we can still hold on to the power of love that knows how to keep the unity in the truth among ourselves despite our differences and conflicts.
Obviously, to be able to return to God, we need a lot of faith. We just cannot depend on our reasoning and estimation of things. Thus, in the gospel of the day, Christ told his disciples how lucky they were because they knew Christ. “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see,” he said. “For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Lk 10,23-24)
We should always make Christ as the beginning and end of all our efforts to find true justice and peace in this world!
Costly
Entertainment in the upper house of congress is becoming a regular feature as senators bare their calibre in the debates that are more personal to those hogging the spotlight on mainstream media. Most of the subjects that are brought on the senate hall are reactions to various issues that happen in the countryside. We recall for instance the investigations purportedly in aid of legislation. The discussions are without direction and are often halted before any final resolution on any issue is reached. In most instances, the discussions are diverted to senseless talks that delve on personal concerns.
People witness senators on national television and live streaming on social media defending themselves and their colleagues from the investigation being pursued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). While there is a move from the lower house suggesting that the magical president restore the country’s membership with the ICC, there are those who are questioning such move. Self-preservation is the clear motive on the part of the war on drugs chief implementer and now senator Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa who has vowed to serve and protect, not the people but his president who is now private citizen Rodrigo Roa Duterte.
There too is senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, another loyal servant who won a senate seat but has acted more as a private close-in secretary and spokesperson of the former president. He it was who failed to grab the opportunity to disprove former senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV on his allegations that the former is involved in the drug trade. People would recall that former senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV challenged senator Bong Go to show his back during a senate investigation on the war on drugs as it allegedly bear a tattoo of the Hong Kong Triad. That could have proven the allegations of former senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV false or true and cleared the issue once and for all.
Not to be outdone is most popularly voted senator Robinhood Ferdinand C. Padilla, well known as the bad boy of Philippine cinema for portraying anti-hero gangster roles in movies. He has showed his politician side as a neophyte senator by acting as if he knows the constitution and laws more than the lawyers in the senate and lawyers invited as resource persons, including the experts attending senate hearings. He bared his true self when he engaged in debates regarding the role of the Philippine Coast Guard and whether coast guards are civilian or military in nature. He was unconvinced with the explanation of the coast guard officials and expressed disbelief in a manner unexpectedly unbecoming of a senator.
Taxpayers must bear the cost of such highest paid pupils using the august halls of congress as their classroom. Until when shall people bear theatrical antics that are so costly.
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