EASTER 2021: EASTER IS ASSERTING LIFE AT ITS BEST

EASTER 2021: EASTER IS ASSERTING LIFE AT ITS BEST

Our symbolism for Easter is the empty cross with white cloth hanging on the horizontal element of the cross. This is the same multimedia wall painting as earlier describe in my Good Friday post. The photo file is edited using photoshop express and an overlay was applied to get a cubism effect of the background of the painting. The colorful halo symbolizes the innate spiritual power that the sufferer on the cross possesses. The light blue surgical masks signify the immense challenge of the spike in infections of Covid-19 virus in the country. In many ways the pandemic impacted expressions of faith and witness of Christian communities. 

Tonight, on Black Saturday, the Presidential Spokesperson of the Office of the President of the Philippines has announced one more week extension of the Enhanced Community Quarantine in the National Capital Region (NCR) and the surrounding provinces or Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, and Laguna. The reason is centered on lessening the number of cases of medium to severe Covid-19 infections, so as to relieve the bourgeoning number of in-patient hospital occupancy. The DOH data for today show that over 7,274 or 20.7 percent of 35,143 tested was positive. Meanwhile the total accumulated number of infections for several days have reached to 15,310. The almost one week EQC that controlled people's mobility has reduced the percentage of infection but another week of extension as advised by experts will help in curving the spread of infections. 

On Wednesday March 31, a radio-tv station interviewed a Mambabatas or Congress person from Region-6 who happened to be a medical doctor by profession, was inquired whether the government failed in its Covid-19 response or it has done its best, but their best wasn't good enough. She responded that government has been doing too little too late. At the onset of the Covid-19 infections in the country, the government should have conducted free mass RT-PCR testing to immediately isolate the positive ones from the rest. Contact tracing strategies were not effective, the vaccination started too late in comparison to its ASEAN neighbors. Also the health care system has been overwhelmed last year, but no additional facilities were built and no additional benefits for health care workers were afforded. 

Now here we are again: lock down in many communities, punishment are meted out for those violating the quarantine protocols. So, individuals and families, are hoping against all hopes that after two weeks of observance of ECQ, the infection graph curve will flatten. But many cast doubt about the effectivity of the present stances of government IATF and the DOH in managing response to Covid-19 Pandemic. The doubts can be possibly true when the socio-economic life of the Filipinos living in congested areas in the National Capital Region is left unaddressed. 

Basic Health Care System should be dome through empowerment of the barangay level community based response program by employing health and medical personnel to provide health services that are accessible to the people, systematically operationalize the primary and secondary health care centers where mass testing, vaccination and preventive health care education and services are delivered to the people.

Easter Day for Christians is the victory of God's power over the reign of darkness or evil that thrive through state aggression and the systematic exploitation of the poor and the marginalized. In the Easter day narratives from the Synoptic Gospels, we can gather the emotional tremors of the disciples for they have been traumatized of the execution of Jesus on the cross outside the city of Jerusalem. 

In Luke-Acts account, we can empathize with the disciples anxiety and felling of desolation because the shocking experiences of betrayal of Judas, the Last Supper, the arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. The extent of human violence and inhumanity to others, particularly on the poor peasants and artisans who were followers of Jesus was unprecedented. 

They have encountered the iron hand of Imperial Rome in the person of Pilate and the religious-cultural predominance of the Jewish leaders. It looks like that the heavens fell on those at the foot of the cross and on the disciples who were hiding somewhere for fear for their lives, trying to connect the dots of faith and perseverance in the midst of violence and death. 

The resurrection of Jesus Christ overcomes the power of death and challenges the imperial and coercive state powers like in the Philippines to do justice and set free the people from the bondage of powerlessness and oppression. We bring good news of new life, not just today, but in our everyday life in our homes, in society and the world. We should assert the value and dignity of life in our society, articulate the live-giving programs for the people. Let us make our faith alive in prophetic witness, articulating new ways of doing our mission so that fear of disease, death and even of tyranny will be vanquished. May the vision of God's kingdom made clearer in our experience of Easter Day. Amen. +++FJH+