The story is told about a husband who came home one day, to reclaim his power as the man of the house. He banged the table and told the wife: “From now on, you will not order me around! You will prepare my food, then wash the dishes, and clean the car. And guess what? Who will dress me up and comb my hair tonight?” The wife gave him a sharp look and said: “The funeral director!” End of the attempted coup d’état.
Today is the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe. In today’s Gospel (John 18:33-37), Jesus talks about His kingdom that does not belong to this world, and a power that is greater than all worldly power, the power of truth. Truth may be belittled, stifled, manipulated, or muffled, but it will come out, and triumph in the end. In this world so full of power play, let us not forget that truth is powerful. Truth power!
It is disheartening to see how lies and half-truths seem to be prevalent these days, to see how liars, thieves, cheaters, and sweet talkers seem to be favored, and go unpunished, and simply get away with it. We must believe and keep on believing in truth power, and not lose heart, and continue to be on the side of Christ, our Lord and King, the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Drugs, violence, corruption, fraud, which belong to the kingdom of darkness, go against the kingdom of Christ which is a kingdom of peace, justice, goodness, and righteousness. Which side are you on? Do you belong to the darkness or to the light?
More than ever, we need good, honest, and able Filipinos who will bring light into the dark world of politics, “to testify to the truth,” and be at the service of Christ, our King and Lord, who is greater than any drug lord, gambling lord, smuggling lord. Impossible? No. All we need is a few good men and women who will tenaciously embrace the truth, and not be swayed nor be corrupted by the forces of evil and darkness.
“Mabuti pa ang tanghali… tapat.” “Mabuti pa ang Edsa, may forever!” (traffic), “Mabuti pa ang Boracay, may closure.” These hugot lines somehow remind us how honesty has become such a lonely word these days. These also speak of the inner desire in each one of us to be honest and true. It is time we make a decision to be on the side of the truth, and to let truth power take over, and get the upper hand.
We must be in touch constantly with Christ our King, to listen to His instructions and our marching orders. It is through prayer that we connect with our King, and it is through good deeds that we serve and please Him. We must pray more, pray much, pray often, and never tire of doing good.
We all will meet our King someday. When we stand before Him face to face, heart to heart, what will He tell us then? Will we hear Him say “Welcome to my heavenly kingdom, for when I was hungry, you gave me to eat…” or, will we hear Him say “Depart from me, you unworthy servant, for you blew it, and you missed your chance to be good and to be loving.” The answer is, so to speak, in your hands.
Think about this: “Service to others is the rent we pay for our stay on earth. We have not really lived if we have not done something good for others, and have not served our God and King.”
May we all strive to spend a life of thanksgiving, a life that is full of thanks, and full of giving.
A moment with the Lord:
Lord, help us not to be involved in truth decay in any way. Amen.
jorbos@inquirer.com.ph