Birthing the ‘Other’

“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1: 1-2
 In “the World of the Trinity” of Jurgen Moltmann, he tries to explain how God can create from a formless void when God was understood as omnipresent and omnipotent. As all powerful and ever present, how can there even be a time and space where God was not present? According to Moltmann, God’s ‘self-limiting’ in the act of Creation to create “the Other” and allow the other to evolve with freedom explains our capacity to reason and act independently, the suffering which is the consequence of individual sin and structural evil; and the characteristics of our relationship with God which is consensual, liberating and empowering. 

 Pursuing this discourse, I would like to articulate from a feminist perspective: God is like a good mother who conceives a child in her womb, infusing the unborn with all her gifts, creating from the best characteristics and possibilities. God is pleased with the creature in God’s womb. It exhibits God’s fertility and God knows the child is of God. But God does not conceive to hold, to possess and to control. God creates out of love and to liberate. And so God suffers in the birth of “the Other” in a moment and in a space where there is uncertainty and vulnerability. At birth, God looks at “the Other” and sees that which has been created is unique and separate even if is in the image of God. God expresses love so that the Other can respond in love. God honors and respects God’s creation so that the Other can honor and respect in return. God liberates so that the Other can also be liberating. But God does not create the Other for God alone. God creates so that the Other can also love, honor and liberate other Others. 

 

We often characterize God as powerful, willful and in control. This discourse of a self-limiting God is a profound theological understanding. God denies self, creates space for others, honors the evolution of the Other and liberates. To be in God’s image is not just hold power and perfection but also to limit self and to be vulnerable. For the males and females, elder and youth, leaders and followers, this way of relating enables egalitarian, mutual, and life-affirming relationships where the power is not possessed by one but shared. In Moltmann’s discourse of the Doctrine of the Trinity and Creation, God does monopolize power but empowers. This is an important theological understanding for church and society today.

 Pregnant Woman doula by AlishaVernon

What must I write about…

What must I write about?
Must I speak of the terror that I see with my eyes
Must I tell the world of Armageddons that threaten generations to come
Must I pronounce unknown pains and sufferings too many in the world endure
Must I repeat the cries of the broken and bare the fears of those we have made obscure

But will it be better if I wrote…
Of a home filled with laughter at the dinner table and reunions no one wants to miss
Of families who celebrate little triumphs and cry together in defeat
Of a love that is like no other and will endure for eternity
Of a life that has been well lived worthy of honor and immortality.

Then perhaps I will also speak of what is hidden…
Of crimes too violent they are only spoken in whispers by those who remember
Of dreams too great they must be shared only with those who are brave and dare
Of vengeance and of battlescars both evident and unseen
Of passions and imaginings that ignite the fire within

There is just so much in this world that one must declare and make known..
When we come upon a new learning and begin to sing a new song
When we meet a soul who makes us feel that we finally belong and have come home
When the children’s cries seem deafening and the world remains undisturbed
When we rise up with clenched fists because it is only in solidarity that our voices can be heard

Thus we must write and speak even when no one seems to comprehend…
For we must unearth the voices long buried in the earth
For we must pronounce the names forgotten for the revolutions they have birthed
For there are empires and powers that must be brought to its knees
For there are children and creatures for whom this world can be bliss

Beyond Israel, Beyond Eden

David and His Women
I am not a great fan of David, the so-called “Greatest King of Israel.” In fact, one of the biblico-theological reflections I have written and am most proud of is on David and is entitled “The Conspiracy of a Dynasty.” It scrutinizes the rape of Tamar, the only daughter of David, by her half-brother Amnon, who was the heir to David’s throne, who was eventually killed by Absalom, another brother and second heir to the throne, who initially silenced Tamar to protect the dynasty, but eventually killed Amnon so that he would be the next in line to the throne. (Game of Thrones ang drama dito!) I then asked the question, “How could this happen to David’s household? How could David, the greatest king of Israel, have raised a rapist and a murderer?” The paper ended pointing to an earlier narrative where David himself raped Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah. The narratives expose how the males in a household, even in the household of God, rape women and murder their own to protect and perpetuate their power.

Bathsheba is not the only woman in David’s life and if you look closely at the stories you will feel uncomfortable about how he treated women. He was given Michal as a reward by her father, King Saul, “at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines.” (2 Sam. 3:14). The text explicitly says, “Saul’s daughter Michal loved David” (1 Sam. 18:20) Nowhere in the text does it say that David loved Michal. In fact, soon after, in Chapter 25, David woos and marries another woman, Abigail, the wife of Nabal, who David wanted to kill when he was not given the proper respect by Nabal. Furthermore, in 2 Samuel 3, six sons were born to David by six different women. The birth of the six sons of David meant that the House of David was strengthened. And as both of the children of King Saul, Michal and Jonathan protected and took the side of David, the House of Saul weakened. David had wives, sons, Jonathan and Michal. With the turn of events, Saul, the charismatic king is rejected as king, even by God.

From a tribal confederacy under Saul, David’s military prowess and political ambition created a dynasty. According to the narrative, God establishes the dynasty of David saying, “… I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. …Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me, your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16) David became the “it” male. The ultimate heterosexual lover, the virile king, the supreme male, the chosen one.

Yes, David was a great lover. But not of women.

David and Jonathan
In 1 Samuel 18:1, after David defeated the Philistine, Goliath, the text reads, “…the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” In 1 Samuel 20, Jonathan, the son and heir of Saul, made a covenant of faithful love with the house of David, to his father’s detriment and his own. He surrendered his father’s monarchy and his own right to the throne. This exhibited his great love for David. The text explicitly reads, “Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life.” (v. 17) After Jonathan revealed to David his father’s plan to kill David, the text reads, “…and they kissed each other, and wept with each other; David wept the more.” (v. 41) In 2 Samuel 1, after the death of Saul and Jonathan, David mourns for Jonathan saying, “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.”

Seven women loved and bore sons to David. Jonathan and Saul both loved David. But David loved only Jonathan.

David is the “it” male. The ultimate heterosexual lover, the virile king, the supreme male, the chosen one. He was all that in Israel. He was all that for Israel. Israel and it’s monotheistic God required this ultimateness, virility and supremacy.

Beyond Israel
As a feminist, I have always taken the side of Bathsheba, Michal, and Abigail. These women’s lives were sacrificed in the creation of the greatest king of Israel. But an effort on a queer reading of the text reveals that, to be the ultimate, virile and supreme males, in the obligation to keeps wives and concubines and in the reproduction of sons and heirs, male lives are also sacrificed.

Beyond Israel David did not need to be king.
Beyond Israel David did not need to have wives and concubines.
Beyond Israel David was not burdened with producing sons and heirs.
Beyond Israel David could love Jonathan fully.
Beyond Israel David did not need to be ultimate, virile and supreme

Going beyond Israel is about resisting power and patriarchy.

I would like to end my critique on David with his acts of violence against the sons of Saul. The story in II Samuel 21: 1-14 begins with a famine of three years during David’s reign. In the narrative, when David asked God what caused it, God said that Saul was guilty over the killing of the Gibeonites. David, then, asked the Gibeonites what it is that he can do so that they may have justice, and they answered, “let seven of his sons be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the Lord….” (v.6) David, the king, handed them over. The king took the sons of Rizpah, the concubine of Saul, and the five sons of Merab, the daughter of Saul. And the Gibeonites impaled them, a form of torture where a victim’s body is pierced with a stake, like an animal for roasting. Seven sons from the house of Saul were tortured and killed.

Going beyond Israel is about resisting power and authority, and alongside it, the inclination towards violence and oppression. In a final act of ultimacy, virility and supremacy, David annihilated the sons and heirs of Saul. Perhaps it can be said, when males are consumed by the need for power and authority, they lose their own humanity. How much kinder would David have been if he had no desire to embody the power of Israel? How much kinder this world would be if males (and females) could allow themselves to become human, vulnerable, and, yes, sexual? How much kinder David could have been if he knew that there is a world beyond Israel?

The second part of my sharing is about escaping Eden.

Escaping Eden

The Perfect Garden
The Garden of Eden is a construct. In the Christian traditional interpretation of the text, Eden is the perfect place created by God. The perfect place with the perfect couple – Adam and Eve. In Genesis Chapter 2, the narrative gives an account of how Eve is created so that Adam, the man, “should not be alone.”(v18) Then, not only is her creation a response to another being’s need but she is a derivative. The origin and host is the male. (v22-23) Finally, the text reads “a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (v24) The man, of his own free will, leaves his parents and becomes a separate entity, while the woman is subsumed and loses her self-identity and self-determination. In the creation myth in Chapter 1, the narrative states that humankind was created in God’s image and God created both male and female. (v26-27) Then, both are blessed and given stewardship of creation. (v28-30) In the creation of humankind in Chapter 1, there is no essential difference that separates the male from the female. This a sharp contrast to the Adam and Eve narrative where Eve is created second only to Adam, is a product of Adam’s body, and is then made one-flesh with Adam. In this creation story, there would be no Eve if there was no Adam.

With a critical perspective one can really posit some very relevant questions: Why should Eve be merely a derivative of Adam? Why could they not have been birthed or brought forth from a tree at the same time like in the myth “Si Malakas at si Maganda?” Whoever said that Adam and Eve are made for each other or must remain together just because their lives began together? What if they were not attracted to each other? On another note, why would they want to spend their life naming animals and plants; sustaining and nurturing them? What if they wanted to do something else? Finally, what if the garden was too small for them? What if they wanted to experience life beyond Eden? What if this departure from Eden is not as a punishment by God but an act of resistance of Adam and Eve? What if Adam and Eve escaped from Eden?

The idea that someone wants to escape from Eden is not new. Lilith, in Jewish myth, was the first wife of Adam. She, according to the Midrash, was created in the Genesis 1 narrative where males and females were created together. Lilith believed that she and Adam were created equal. One day, Adam, to assert his power over her, insisted that she be beneath Adam during sexual intercourse. She resisted, because she believed they were equal, and escaped from him. Adam, both angry and lonely, asked God to send out three angels to bring her back. They found her in the Red Sea but she did not want to go back to Adam. In response, the angels threatened her that hundreds of her children will die everyday. The myth ends with how Lilith is the spirit that causes infants to die.

Escaping from Eden is not a new idea. But, then and now, escaping Eden is considered a sin.

Beyond Eden
Marcella Althaus-Reid, spoke of “beyond Edens” in her book, Queer God. She says that we have limited God’s presence to Eden. Eden, to us, may be family, marriage, heterosexuality, a doctrine or the church. Eden represents all that we hold sacred. The problem is God is contained, limited and held captive. She argues that God can be found beyond Eden, wherever we experience life and fullness. And then she says, God is in the alleyways, inside the closet and in the darkest space; in the wilderness, the deserts and the most treacherous places. God is not just in the Garden of Eden. God can be found beyond Eden.

What is beyond Eden? In an effort to answer the question, I found a poem I wrote entitled “Wild and Free.” It reads –

If I feel the wind in my hair,
I must be flying free
If I can see beyond the borders
I must have gone where I have always wished to be
If I can run with the eagle above me,
I must have been riding strong.
If I no longer feel the ground beneath me,
I must be wild and to the universe belong.

All creatures have a wildness in them
Before they are tamed and caged.
They see a world without any borders
Follow the voice within and feel brave.
And then they find someone who steals their spirit
Possessing the wings that once soared
They are forced to the ground to kiss the earth
And feel fear as sharp as a sword.

The hunger for freedom is a wound that never heals
It summons the spirit to find courage.
It begins with a dream and a vision,
And it is nurtured by a healing spirit or a deep rage
All creatures have a wildness within them,
With a song they will weave courage and strength
The moment will come to leap and stride again
To feel the wind, to run free, in a journey that has no end.

That is my proposition, there is a wilderness and wildness beyond Eden. And we want to escape Eden because it places us on a leash, in a cage, in a box. It domesticates and tames us. We lose our powers and our very identity. We deny who we are and all we can be.

In the field of psychology, Clarissa Pinkola-Estes, a Jungian analyst and a cantadora or myth-maker, celebrates the ‘Wild-Woman’ as the archetype of wholeness for the modern woman. She says,
A healthy woman is much like a wild wolf: robust, chock-full, strong life-force, life-giving, territorially aware, inventive, loyal, roving. Yet separation from the wildish nature causes a woman’s personality to become meager, thin, ghostly, spectral. We are not meant to be puny with frail hair and inability to leap up, inability to give chase, give birth, create life. When women’s lives are in stasis, ennui, it is always time for the wildish woman to emerge; it is time for the creating function of the psyche to flood the delta…It means to establish territory, to find one’s pack, to be in one’s body with certainty and pride regardless of the body’s gifts and limitations, to speak and act in one’s behalf, to be aware, alert, to draw on the innate feminine powers of intuition and sensing, to come into one’s cycles, to find what one belongs to, to rise with dignity, to retain as much consciousness as we can.

The Garden of Eden narrative has been interpreted as a source of truth for centuries even when there are un-truths in it. It defines that male and female are created for each other, that human beings are sinful and in need of God’s grace, and that we are stewards of the earth. But feminist theologians have pointed out how Eve being created from Adam’s rib is a direct inversion of reality. Everyday, women give birth to bring forth new life. Men do not. In the narrative, God says that anyone who eats of the fruit from the tree of life will die. Adam and Eve eat but do not die. That was not true either. Actually, the serpent, the very embodiment of evil in the narrative, was the only one who was genuinely truthful in the story. The serpent promised that they would become wise and that they would not die. These two were proven to be true. Our constructs of Eden and sin has denied us all life and dignity. We must re-capture our wildness and, more often than not, we will find that it lies beyond Eden.

Lilith escaped from Adam and she is a symbol of those who want to be wild and free. Eve remained with Adam and is a symbol of those who will defend marriage and patriarchy. And I have been asked the question again and again of how I want the next generation to be. So I wrote down this poem entitled “Lilith Eve.” I don’t know if you will agree with me but this vision of a girl-child also brings to mind a boy-child that many of you may have wanted to be. I hope that as I read it, you will know that we have a shared vision for tomorrows children to be true to themselves, to dream beyond Israel and escape Eden for a more loving and fuller humanity.

LILITH EVE
Lilith Eve is the child of our tomorrows and eons past,
The daughter of Eden and earths beyond it.
She is the fruit of souls touching, of sacred pleasuring,
and of dreams of an unlimited universe.

She will be warmed by her mother’s fire
and lulled in the waves of her father’s song.
She will burn with passion for those whose only hope is the Divine
and slowly erode the oppressive lies and structures with both
gentleness and fierceness.

She will dance like a flame and enchant like her mother.
And inspire people of different ages like her father.
She will play with goddesses and mortals
and welcome them in the sanctuary of her universe.

Lilith Eve is the child of the universe.
She whispers to the stars, kisses the flowers,
touches the tenderest creatures, and charms the strong and the wild.

She will run to the mountains and explore the deepest seas,
sleep under the moon and swing on the boughs of trees.
At times she will be restless and want to be alone and free.
But there will be many moments when she comes to lay between you and me.

Poster by Metropolitan Community Church in Quezon City, Philippines

I am…

I am your mother, sister, lover or daughter
I am adored, derided, enslaved, and empowered
I am the one you know and you must know that we are many
Our numbers are unfathomable but we are not counted because of patriarchy

We close our eyes to build a world beyond the boxes
We peek through our lashes and whisper a cry through the crevices
We listen to the voice in the soul we once silenced
We walk away from the places we once believed were made for our existence

We thought the journey towards the unfamiliar
Would be lonely, terrifying and full of despair
But we became sisters and danced together in the moonlight
We were never alone, not even when the path was barren and bare

We are mother, sister, lover and daughter
We are birthed. We bleed. We conceive and sustain the earth.
We step down from our pedestals and rise up from bended knee.
We lock arms and stand shoulder to shoulder so that every woman can be free.

Art by Tamara Adams

A poor mother’s cry…

I am thankful for the morning
I am thankful for the day you were born
I am thankful I can watch you in your hammock
I am thankful that I can watch you grow

But I am not thankful for the poverty I cannot escape
I am not thankful for a house I can never own
I am not thankful for the security and fullness
Only the rich in this land can know

What must it be like to raise you in a community
Where I am not fearful for tomorrow and what it may bring?
What must it be like to be a mother
Who can shower her child with every good thing?

When I was a child I knew we were poor
And I wished I could study and play
So I strived and labored to have a better life
But my dreams seem to have been snatched away

Too many who grew up alongside me
Have known darkness, fear and despair
How many young women have been forced to sell their bodies?
How many more will die so meaninglessly because no one seems to care?

When I look upon you each morning
And I reach to hold you when you cry for me
You banish all the pain and suffering
And for you alone I will strive…

To escape the shackles of poverty.

Photo by Jonathan Sta. Rosa

The Last Challenge

John 19:26-27

“When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

We are all familiar with the events preceding this exchange. About a week earlier, Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem as “the king of the Jews.” On this day, the day of his crucifixion, he was again hailed as the “king of the Jews,” but this time there was no triumph. The Jews no longer praised him, they cried out, “Kill him! Crucify him!” To be hailed as the king of the Jews is to be a rebel, to challenge the emperor of Rome who was considered the son of heaven and who alone held power in Israel. In fact, the emperor had power over what was called as the Roman Empire which included what we know today as Morocco, Algeria, Britain, Romania and part of Hungary, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Assyria – which includes present day Iraq, Arabia and what we know now as Jordan. As a rebel, an enemy of the empire, Jesus’ human rights were violated. It was not enough that he be imprisoned or executed. He was crowned with thorns, paraded naked, whipped in public while carrying a heavy cross, tortured with the long and slow death of crucifixion, publicly humiliated and denied dignity. The humiliation of those crucified did not end at death, they were denied proper burial as their remains are taken apart and eaten by wild animals. According to the historian Josephus, as many as 500 people were crucified in one day by the Roman Empire. Jesus was just one of the many victims of state killing. They were subjected to this brutality to instill fear and hopelessness. Many of those who were crucified were abandoned by those who knew them. They died alone.

But not Jesus. Jesus did not die alone.

In the midst of the violence and anger, there were four women including his mother Mary, and the beloved disciple, John, standing near the cross.

I have heard sermons on the third word and several times, it has been interpreted as Jesus’ way of ensuring the well-being of Mary, his mother. This has been the experience of many of us who have lost our loved ones to long-term illnesses. While laying on their beds feeling very sick and weak, they would remind us, “Take care of yourself. Take care of your children, your siblings.” Despite their own pain and suffering, their concern is not for themselves but for others. Jesus’s words to Mary and John have been thought of as his ‘last words’ to his lived ones. But were they just ‘last words?’

In the written text, I need to point out that “Woman, behold your son,” and “Behold your mother,” both end with an exclamation point. When Jesus uttered his words, it was said with urgency and in a commanding tone. Jesus knew he was dying and despite everything that he had taught the twelve disciples and many more who followed him, despite the healing and forgiving he gave to those who came to him, despite the commandments and parables he shared with those who cared to hear, he would still leave behind a world that is not much better when he came to it. On the way to the cross, Jesus must have searched the crowd for the faces of his disciples and followers. Jesus needed to know that they still believed in him and everything he stood for. Jesus needed their compassion but more than this, he needed their passion to go and continue what he had begun.

Jesus’s words were not merely ‘last words.’ They were the ‘last challenge.’

By being at the foot of the cross; by not allowing Jesus to die alone, the four women and the beloved disciple gave Jesus hope for the future. Even without him. And they were not alone. They had each other. And because they had each other, they can continue the ministry of Christ together.

Jesus’ last words to Mary and John was a challenge to continue a partnership and to continue Jesus’ ministry. It was a call to action – together.

At Jesus birth, he was called Emmanuel – God with us. Not God with Me. The gospels could have narrated Jesus’ death without the last words to Mary and John. But the inclusion of this account points out that in life and in death, Jesus was not alone but valued partnerships that would empower others for genuine service to the people and to God.

How about us? Who is our John? Who is our mother? Who are our partners as we continue the ministry of Jesus Christ?

Who is our Christ today? Who is being persecuted, violated and crucified in our midst? What are the problems in society which fill us with urgency and move us to find partners who will respond?

Finally, at birth, in life and in death, it was not easy to follow Jesus. Very few people came to see his birth amd fewer stood by him near the cross. But even the son of God needed someone to be with him in his life, death, and resurrection. Today, we must ask ourselves if we really are following Jesus. Are we truly able to put ourselves on the line by standing near the cross. Or are we just watching. Looking but hiding where we are safe and protected. The challenge of Jesus to John and Mary was never to save one’s self but to take part in the saving of others.

This last challenge is not just for Mary and John. It is for us, too.

Lizette Galima Tapia-Raquel
Union Theological Seminary
April 2014

If I can write into being…

If I can write myself into being
I would be born to a land where no one weeps and despairs
I will be nurtured and loved by a community whether I am male or female
I could speak, dance and sing – my own thoughts, my own rhythm, my own song
I would be safe when I walk on a narrow road, and journey on my own
I will not be afraid whether I am beautiful or ordinary for I know I have my own gifts
I will live a long and joyful life, and know truly who I am and what I seek

If I can write my people into being
We would never be slaves again and all people would be truly free
We would raise our voices and walk the streets at every injustice, and demand truth and integrity
We will find that all children have safe homes and have enough food to eat
Where all can find rest and sleep at night, and rise up in the morning with hope and dignity
Where farmers could plant and fisherfolk can fish and taste the fruits of the land and sea
Where governments do not care to profit but will seek the good for all creatures and humanity

If I can write peace into being
It will be a time that will come not tomorrow, but today
It will be as the common people imagined, a time of plenty for not a few but for all
A place where there is equality: water for all who thirst, healing for all who are broken
A shelter, a sanctuary for every body, where no bullet can be heard and no curse is spoken
A peace that creates circles of compassion. A peace that seeks justice for the oppressed.
A peace that is built by prayers and action. The peace that the prophets professed.

Art by Karol Bak

What must it be like…

What must it be like to wait for the violent waters to drown you?
What must it feel like to be slapped on the face by winds so strong?
Is there a more fervent prayer to God than when you wish you could protect the children who cling to you?
Is there a deeper anguish when those you love cannot remain where they have always belonged?

Do we put behind all we have lost when we are gifted with a brand new morning?
Do we hold the picture of loved ones in our memory and do we beg them to help us forget someday?
Do we find comfort when we give shelter to child who has lost his mother and all his younger siblings?
Can we find reasons to believe that tomorrow will be a better day?

How does a people rise when they are crushed to ground, in the paradise they have always known?
How do they raise their children to have hope and faith, and to believe that one is never alone?
I do not know the answers. I only know that people have survived and will fight for another day to live.
I can no longer cry out to a God for their salvation and protection, I must reach out to them and give.

Photo not taken by me. From one of the leading local newspapers….

Pangitain, Pakikibaka at Pagdiriwang

Isang dialogical keynote
Para sa Ecumenical Women’s Jubilee Conference 2013 ng NCCP

Ngayong umaga, bahagi tayo ng isang makasaysayang pagdiriwang. Sa gitna ng pagdadalamhati ng bansa dahil sa karahasan sa Zamboanga, sa pagkasira ng mga bahay at mga buhay sa Bohol, at sa napakasakit na karanasan ng napakarami nating kababayan dahil sa bagyong Yolanda, sandali nating alalahanin ang ating mga pinagtagumpayan, upang magbigay kalakasan sa bawat isa. Sa maraming nang naisulat tungkol sa kapanganakan ng mga bansa, mga kuwento ng mga bayani at mga rebolusyonaryo, mga parangal para sa mga nagtatag at nagpatibay ng mga iglesia, mas madalas sa hindi na ang bahagi ng mga kababaihan ay hindi binibigyan ng pagpapahalaga, at kung minsan nga’y hindi pa naaalala. Sa Bibliya nga, sa animnapu’t anim na libro, dadalawa lamang ang nakapangalan sa mga babae: ang Ruth at Esther. Sa maraming relasyon: bilang mag-asawa, bilang mga diakonesa at pastor sa iglesia, bilang kamanggagawa na babae at lalaki sa mga secular at relihiyosong mga institusyon, madalas natin’g hinihintay ang pagkilala ng mga kalalakihan sa ating mga kababaihan. Ngayong umaga, makasaysayan at makahulugan na tayo bilang mga kababaihan mula sa iba’t ibang iglesia, iba’t-ibang sektor ng pamayanan, at iba’t-ibang edad at antas sa lipunan, ay nagdiriwang hindi na ayon sa pamantayan ng mga kalalakihan kungdi ayon sa ating pakakahulugan sa ating buhay at ministeryo bilang mga babae sa gawain na pang-ekyumenical at lipunan. 

Tayong kababaihan ang kalahati ng lipunang Filipino. Hawak natin ang kalahati ng mundo. Kalahati tayo ng gumagawa ng yaman ng bansa, kalahati tayo ng pwersang magbabago ng mundo. Nararapat lamang na tayo ngayon ay magsama-sama’t magdiwang bilang kababaihang may sariling buhay at natatanging pangangailangan at karanasan

Sa mahabang panahon, ang kahalagahan ng mga babae, maging sa Bibliya, ay nakakabit sa pagkatao ng mga kalalakihan:
Kay Eba na ayon sa kuwento ay nanggaling sa tadyang ni Adan. Kahit na sa araw-araw ay alam natin na sa sinapupunan ng babae nabubuo ang isa pang tao, at tanging ang babae lamang ang nagluluwal ng tao at hindi kailanman nakakapanganak ang mga lalaki.
Kay Miriam na naaalala natin na kapatid ni Moises na hinirang upang maging bayani ng bayang Israel, samantalang nakakalimutan natin na tinawag si Miriam na propeta sa Exodo kung saan siya ay sumayaw matapos ang pagpapalaya sa mga dating alipin.
Kay Esther na naipagtanggol ang buhay at dignidad ng mga kababayan bilang reyna, habang siya ay nanatiling alipin ng isang hari at asawa na sinusukat ang kanyang pagkatao batay sa kanyang kagandahan at kakayanan na aliwin ang isang lalaki.
Kay Ruth na pinaniniwalaan natin na pinili ang tamang Diyos sa pagsama niya kay Naomi, samantalang iniwan niya ang kanyang sariling bayan at tuluyan nang kinalimutan ang kanyang pinanggalingan nang kanyang sinabing “Ang inyong bayan ang magiging aking bayan.”

Tayo ay nagdiriwang dahil sa ating kalagitnaan, sa limampung taon ng ekyumenical na pagkilos, ating naigpawan ang limitadong pagkilala at pagpapahalaga sa atin bilang mga babae.

Tayong kababaihan ay bahagi ng gumagawa ng kasaysayan.

Bago dumating ang mga Espanyol, mga babaylan ang ikatlong haligi ng mga sambayanang Pilipino. Sila ay nanggagamot, ang nagsasabi kung kelan magtatanim at mag-aani. Sila ang tulay ng tao sa mundo ng mga espiritu. Sila ang repositoryo ng kaalaman ng buong angkan. Inusig, pinaghuhuli’t pinagpapatay sila ng mga Kastilang mananakop.. Sila ay nag-alsa upang ipagtanggol ang komunal na pamumuhay ng kanilang pamayanan.

Patuloy nating nilababanan ang dayuhang pananakop.

Si Gabriela Silang, ang unang Heneralang Filipino. Pinamunuan niya ang hukbong naiwan ng asawang si Diego laban sa sobrang pagbubuwis ng mga Kastilang kolonyalista. Kabilang sa Katipunan si Agueda Kahabagan, ang tanging Henerala sa Hukbo ng Republika ng Tagalog, si Teresa Magbanua o Nay Isay, ang “Joan of Arc ng Bisaya”, si Trinidad Tecson, ang Ina ng Biyak na Bago. Nandiyan rin si Gregoria de Jesus, lakambini ng Katipunan.
Kabilang sa mga sundalong namatay sa pagtatanggol ng Pilipinas sa mananakop na mga Amerikano ay mga Filipinang nakadamit at nakagupit lalaki na ikinagulat ng mga Amerikanong sundalo.
Si Valentina Vidal ng Colorum at si Salud Algabre ng Sakdalista ay kabilang sa mga sa mga nag-alsang magsasaka dahil sa lupa sa panahon ng commonwealth.
Ang unang aksyong military na inilunsad ng Hukbalahap laban sa Hapon ay pinamunuan ni Felipa Culala alyas Kumander Dayang-Dayang.
Nandiyan rin sa Lorena Barros, ang tagapagtatag ng MAKIBAKA or Malayang Kilusang ng Bagong Kababaihan, na napilitang mamundok nang ideklara ni Marcos ang Batas Militar.
Hanggang sa kasalukuyan, tayong kababaihan ay nasa unahan pa rin ng maraming laban – para sa lupa para sa magsasaka, kontra-kontraktwalisasyon, para sa pagpapababa sa presyo ng bigas at iba pang bilihin, kontra-VAW, para sa pagbasura sa Visiting Forces Agreement ng US.

Ipinaglalaban natin ang mga isyu ng ating sector habang hinaharap ang ating mga isyu bilang babae sa isang lipunang malakolonya pa rin ng US kung saan ang ekonomya sa kalakhan at agraryo’t atrasado..

Ang tekstong pinagbatayan namin sa pagkilala sa naiambag ng mga kababaihan sa ekyumenical na pagkilos ay Hukom 4 hanggang 5. Isa itong kuwento kung paano ang isang babaeng propeta, hukom at mandirigma, na nangangalan ng Debora, ay kumilos upang palayain ang Israel mula sa dalawampung taong pangaapi ng Hari ng Hazor na si Jabin. Ang hukbo ni Haring Jabin, na pinangungunahan ni Sisera, ay may siyam na raang karwahe ng bakal at libo-libong mga kawal. Kung paano pinagtagumpay ng Diyos ang bayang Israel sa pamamagitan ni Debora ay isang patunay sa tatlong kalakasan ng mga babaeng matapat na tumugon sa ekumenikal na pagkilos. Ang tatlong kalakasan natin ay nakapaloob sa tatlong P -Pangitain, Pakikibaka at Pagdiriwang.

Pangitain
Ang pangitain ni Debora ay isang karunungan na bunga ng tatlong mga intentional na  mga hakbang: 
Una, Si Debora ay nagsuri sa kanilang kalagayan. Sa kanyang kaugalian na maupo sa ilalim ng palmera kung saan siya ay pinupuntahan ng mga tao upang magpasya sa kanilang mga usapin, napagtanto na ni Debora ang paghihirap ng kanyang mga kababayan at ang kanilang kahandaan para lumaban tungo sa kalayaan. Malinaw din  kay Debora na kalooban ng Diyos na mapalaya ang Israel. 
Pangalawa, dahil si Debora ay nakababad sa kalagayan ng mamamayan, alam niya ang kalakasan ng kanyang mga kababayan. Siya ang nagsabi kay Barak na pumili ng sampung libong kawal. At malinaw niyang ipinahayag na sila ay magtatagumpay. 
Ikatlo, buong-buo ang kahandaan ni Debora para sa pakikibaka. Nang sinagot siya ni Barak ng pupunta lamang siya sa pakikipaglaban kung kasama si Debora, may kasiguruhan ang tugon ni Debora, “Kung gayon, sasama ako, ngunit wala kang makukuhang karangalan sapagkat si Sisera ay ibibigay ni Yahweh sa kamay ng isang babae.” (4, 9) Ang pangitain ni Debora ang unang hakbang tungo sa pagbabago at pagpapalaya ng bayan.

Ang Pilipinas ang may pinakamabilis na lumalaking ekonomya sa Asya. Pero, Bakit 3 sa bawat 10 Pilipino ang walang trabaho? Bakit 3 sa bawat 10 Pilipino ang nabubuhay ng “below poverty line”? Bakit ang nadagdagan na naman ng isang milyong ang dami ng pamilyang nagugutom? Bakit pito pa rin sa bawat 10 magsasaka sa ating bansa ay walang sariling lupa?

Dahil ba ang 60% ng kita ng bansa ay napupunta sa 16% ng pamilyang Pilipino samantalang ang natititing 40% ay pinaghahatian ng walumpu’t apat na porsyento?
Dahil ba ang kaban ng bayan ay kinukurakot ng mga nasa katungkulan at pati ang pera para sa mga disaster na dulot ng lindol at bagyo tulad ni Yolanda?
Dahil ba mga dambuhalang dayuhang korporasyon ang nagpapasasa sa malawak na likas yaman ng Pilipinas na sa kanilang pagmamadaling ubusin ay nasisira nila ang kalikasan?

Tayong kababaihan ang mukha ng kahirapan.
Sa pagtaas sa kwarenta pesos ng presyo ng bigas, sa dagdag na P1.24 sa bawat kilowatt hour ng kuryente ngayong Nobyembre bumaba ng ating kakayahang pakainin ng sapat ang ating mga anak.
Ang demolisyon ng ating bahay ay kawalan ng silungan at proteksyon mula sa sakit para sa ating mga anak;
Ang kawalan ng panlipunang serbisyo tulad ng serbisyong pangkalusugan dahil sa napinpintong pribatisasyon ng mg ospital ng pamahalaan ay karagdagang pasanin sa ating balikat.

May bigat ring dulot ang patuloy na dumaraming insidente ng karahasan sa kababaihan o VAW.
There is the writing on the wall; may nasusulat sa pader at ito ay dapat nating bigyan ng pansin.

Walumpu’t walong porsyento sa ating kababaihang Filipino ay mula sa batayang sector ng magsasaka, manggagawa at panggitnang uri. Ni katiting ay hindi nila nadama ang sinasabing pag-unlad na ito sa ekonomya ng ating bansa. Sila ang nagbibigay tapang, tagtag at komitment sa mga organisasyon ng kababaihan tulad ng GABRIELA na pursigihin ang pagbabago ng lipunang Pilipino.

Ang kasunod ng bawat Pangitain ay – Pakikibaka
Ang pinakamahalagang pangyayari sa kasaysayan ng Israel ay nakasulat sa libro ng Exodo, at ito ay nagumpisa sa isang pangitain kung saan nakita ng Diyos ang pagkaalipin ng Israel at Siya ay nahabag sa kanila. At ang pangitain ng Diyos ay nagbunga ng isang pakikibaka. Isang pakikibaka tungo sa pagpapalaya ng bayan ng Israel. 

Ganun din sa kwento ni Debora. Ang kasunod ng mga pangitain ay pakikibaka. Ang pagtanggi natin sa pakikibaka tungo sa pagpapalaya ay pagtanggi sa kalooban ng Diyos. Sa teksto, si Debora ang nanguna sa pakikibaka. “Sinabi ni Debora kay Barak, “Lusob! Ngayon ang araw na itinakda ni Yahweh upang gapiin mo si Sisera. Pangungunahan ka ni Yahweh.” (4, 14) Pinangunahan ni Debora ang pakikibaka ng bayang Israel. Subalit ang pakikibaka ay hindi lamang pang-kolektibo. Sa kuwento, may isa pang babae na hindi inaasahang maging bayani. Si Jael.  Kung si Debora ay lantaran na naging magiting na tigapanguna ng isang hukbo, si Jael ay matahimik at palihim na isinakatuparan ang layunin ni Debora na tapusin na ang pangaapi sa bayang Israel sa ilalim ni Sisera at Haring Jabin. 

Paano tinapos ni Jael ito? Nang nakatakas si Sisera,ang pinuno ng mga hukbo ni Haring Jabin, sa hukbo ni Barak at Debora, napadpad ito sa isang tolda kung saan nakatira ang isang babaeng nagngangalang Jael. Inimbitahan ni Jael na sumilong si Sisera sa kanyang tahanan, dahil magkaibigan ang hari nina Sisera at ang asawa ni Jael, pinainom niya ito ng gatas at saka pinatago ang pinuno ng hukbo sa likod ng tabing. Nang ito ay makatulog sa pagod, nang ito ay walang kamalay-malay, nang ito ay walang kalaban-laban, kumuha si Jael ng maso at tulos ng tolda, ipinukpok ang tulos sa noo ni Sisera hanggang bumaon ito sa lupa. Si Jael, isang babae, ang di inaasahang pumatay kay Sisera na naging hudyat ng pagtatapos ng pangaapi nila. Ang pakikibaka para sa pagpapalaya ng Israel ay inumpisahan ni Debora, at tinapos ni Jael. Isinasakatawan ni Sisera ang kalakasan at kalupitan ng kanyang bayan, at ang kanyang kamatayan ang tanging panukat sa tagumpay at kalayaan ng bayang Israel. Dalawang babae ang isinakatuparan ang pangitain sa pamamagitan ng pakikibaka ng  buong puso at pagkatao.

Walumpu’t walong porsyento sa ating kababaihang Filipino ay mula sa batayang sector – babaing magsasaka, manggagawa, maralitang lungsod, peti-burges. Ni katiting ay hindi nila nadama ang sinasabing pag-unlad sa ekonomya ng ating bansa.
Bawat araw ng kanilang buhay ay pakikibaka – upang makaraos ng isa pang araw. Buong tiyaga silang nagtatrabaho upang makamit ang isang simpleng pangarap — magkaroon ng trabaho’s makakain tatlong beses isang araw, magkaroon ng masisilungan, mapag-aral ang mga anak, magkaroon ng magandang kalusugan. Subali’t ang kanilang pasensya ay may hangganan…
Sa mga komunidad, kasama ang kababaihang nakikipagtulakan sa demolition team, nambabato kung kinakailangan;
Kabilang sila sa mga biktima ng Pablo na sumugod sa DSWD sa Davao upang kunin ang relief na matagal na sa kanilang ipinangako pero patuloy na ipinagkakait;
Sinugod rin nila ang NFA at DA sa Quezon City upang hamunin ang pamahalaang ibaba sa P25 kada kilo ang presyo ng bigas
Marami-rami na rin ang sumunod sa yapak ni Gabriela Silang, Teresa Magbanua, Salud Algabre, Lorena Barros. Sila ay nag-armas upang makamit ang pambansang kalayaan at demokrasya.

Walumpu’t walong porsyento sa ating kababaihang Filipino ay mula sa batayang sector . Sila ang nagbibigay tapang, tagtag at komitment sa mga organisasyon ng kababaihan tulad ng GABRIELA upang pursigihin ang pagbabago ng lipunang Pilipino.

Pagdiriwang. 
Ang sumunod na kabanata sa ating teksto ay isang pagdiriwang dahil sa mga ginawa ng hukbo ng bayang Israel, ang namuno sa digmaan na si Barak, at ang dalawang babae na sina Debora at Jael. At nararapat lamang na alalahanin natin sila sa ating pagdiriwang ngayon. Ang bawat pagdiriwang ay karugtong lamang ng pagdiriwang ng mga nauna. Ang bawat tagumpay na ating nararanasan ay bunga din ng tagumpay na pinangunahan ng iba. Ang bawat kalayaan ay iniluluwal na may dugo at pawis ng mga nauna, at napapangalagaan lamang kung magpapatuloy ang pangitain at pakikibaka ng mga babaeng katulad ni Jael at Debora. Hayaan ninyo ako tumula sa ating pagpaparangal sa kanila –

Tinawag si Debora na ina ng Bayang Israel,
Isa din siyang hukom at tinawag din siyang propeta.
Isa siyang mandirigma na di natakot sa dugo at kamatayan,
Walang pagdadamot, buong buhay ang inalay sa kapwa at bayan.

Si Jael na inilarawan na isang asawa lamang.
May pangitain at tapang na hindi inaasahan.
Buo ang loob at matahimik na tinapos ang digmaan.
Pinatay si Sisera, ang kalayaan ng Israel ay ipinagdiwang.

Ang diwa ng mga babaing nagsakripisyo’t nagbuwis ng kanilang buhay upang para marating natin ang ating kinalalagyan ngayon ay nasa ating gitna ng ating pagdiriwang at pagtitipon ngayon. Ang kanilang matibay na paniniwalang makakamit rin natin ang isang magandang umaga kung saan walang umaalipin at nagpapaalipin, kung saan ang pagkapantay-pantay ay umiiral sa araw-araw na buhay ang ilaw na nagbibigay liwanag sa ating landas tungo pagbabago.

The writing is on the wall, may nasusulat na sa pader. May malaking pagbabagong nagyayari. Mabubuo ang basag na mundo. Maging bahagi tayo ng pagbabago na ito. Sama-sama nating tahakin ang landas tungo sa magandang bukas.
Kung saan may lupa ang lahat ng magsasaka
May industriyang Pilipino na nagbibigay trabaho sa lahat ng Pilipino
May pagkain para sa lahat ng nagugutom
May bahay para sa lahat ng walang masilungan
May pagkakapantay-pantay maski sa pagitan ng babae at lalaki
At may kapayapaan dahil may hustisya

Halina, ipagdiwang natin ang pagdatal ng langit na ito dito sa lupa.

Ni Gertrudes Libang at Lizette Tapia-Raquel

Life is a Gift

Life is a gift
And I have been gifted with many
For every person whose life touches mine
Has offered me a moment, a vision, some wisdom
An image of the Divine.

One must seek to be born again and again
For most children do not even remember the journey from the womb.
One must seek to be born again and again,
But every struggle, every pain, every labor must not be in vain.
For in our own birthings, we create new beginnings, new life, or just a new day.

One must choose what one remembers
What is embraced by the soul and what must be buried forever
To cherish what brings us laughter and joy unspeakable
To believe in the magic and memories we keep to ourselves or share with others.

One must choose life for it is the life of not one but many
For those who have gone ahead have offered their lives for this race to remain.
Generations of mothers have conceived, birthed, and nurtured children for tomorrows
Tomorrows which are today but will become yesterday.
Yesterdays which will be remembered to live just one more day.

Life is a gift
To taste, to savor and to be lived
For the number of lives and moments we come upon
Is determined by how much we have allowed ourselves to receive
And how much of ourselves we offer so that others may live.

Artwork from FaceBook, Artist unknown.