IN the gospel, many are the instances where Christ had to correct the leading Jews at that time for their too strict and too literal interpretation of their laws. (cfr. Lk 13,10-17) These Jews acted as if they had the exclusive possession of what is right, moral and legal just by citing their laws. Obviously, they themselves could not follow those laws to the letter. And Christ pointed that out to them.

We obviously need to craft laws to guide our life in common. But we need to understand that since these laws are human laws, they cannot capture everything involved in man’s life that can also involve spiritual, let alone, supernatural realities. Even in the level of our ordinary human affairs, complicated situations can take place that can go beyond the purview of our legal system. Depicting justice as a blindfolded woman with a weighing scale tells us a lot about this predicament.

We should be wary of our tendency to fall into legalism, formalism and political correctness. Thus, Christ bewailed this common danger among the leading Jews by saying, “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others. Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.” (Lk 11,42-44)

We should always be on guard against all these forms of inconsistency, always rectifying our intentions and also regularly editing our life, much like what writers do with their work before they are submitted for publication. That way, we can monitor how things are going and can have the chance to make appropriate corrections, improvements, revisions, etc.
Our human laws are meant to lead us to our ultimate goal which is none other than to be with God, to be holy as God is holy, etc. Irrespective of their immediate temporal purpose, our laws should lead us little by little to become God’s image and likeness as we are meant to be. They in the end should serve the fundamental religious purpose of our life. That should always be the constant purpose of our laws.

All the other objectives of our laws, let alone their technical requirements, serve only as an occasion, a reason or motive for this ultimate purpose. Setting aside this ultimate purpose would empty our laws of their real legitimacy, making them rife for all kinds of manipulations and maneuverings by some shrewd men who may enjoy some power at a given moment.

We have to realize that it is Christ who ultimately gives the real meaning and purpose of our laws. We have to disabuse ourselves from the thought that our laws can be based only on our common sense, or on our own estimation of what is good and evil according to the values of practicality, convenience, etc., or on our traditions and culture, etc.
While these things have their legitimate role to play in our legal and judicial systems, we have to understand that they cannot be the primary and ultimate bases. It should be God, his laws and ways that should animate the way we make laws as well as the way we apply and live them. After all, being the Creator of all things, he is the one who establishes what is truly good and evil.

Before I got the chance to visit this town for the first time, I’ve been kind of skirting it, just skirting it, on my way to Southern Leyte and back. I saw the signboards declaring that it was the town’s territory, or that we were exiting from it, but I didn’t see the town proper itself.

It’s all because I, together with some companions, was just passing through the diversion road. The town is sort of confined into a secret enclosure one will never see it unless one will decide to visit it. Nevertheless, I had this feeling that this town is somewhat magical, hoarding with it some secrets that could potentially entice newcomers.

My first impressions of the place were provided by the enchanting beauty of rice fields, with their assorted colors, against the magnificent mountains in the background. The captivating sceneries that had inspired the painter Fernando Amorsolo come into view as we drove down the mountains to settle on the plains below. With the sunrise or sunset as the background, the scene becomes even more pristine and lovely.

Birds, butterflies, flowers, bees, and other enablers of beauty swarm along the way, singing their hearts out in praise of their abode, proudly declaring the unquestioned charm of the place with their songs.

Every time I passed by this place, I always take pictures of the flashing scenery, trying to capture the most attractive angles of trees and plains, and mountains combined. The pictures turned even more enchanting with the blue skies and cloud formations for backgrounds. With the sun in there, the photos looked superb, indeed.

From those elegant scenes, my attention was grabbed by the friendliness and natural kindness of the townsfolk. So the next thing that I fell for was the people of this place. That’s when I finally visited there in person. They seem to showcase that attitude of barrio folks in their most civilized version: hospitable, friendly, helpful, sincere, and generous. With their obvious mestizo and mestiza looks—thanks to the American soldiers who had improved their race—visitors like me could not help but admire them.

And you know what, when I heard their town hymn for the first time, I admit I really fell in love with it. From the place to the people, and to the hymn—yes, that’s right, I fell for all these. The melody is very Filipino, so melodious and touching; and the lyrics, oh boy, poetic at that and full of love, literally. It made me wonder how in the world did they come up with such a beautiful hymn that expresses their culture, dreams, passions, and aspirations.

Not many towns in the country had impressed me that much. But this town did not just impress me—it endeared itself until I fell for it. The peacefulness of the place coupled with its bountiful harvests are enough to draw anyone to it. If you add all of the above, moreover, you might decide to relocate to this place and make it part of your life. It’s a place called, Abuyog.