The more stories that I hear of people being ruthlessly “bathed” with water (let alone, ditch water) every June 24, the more that I am convinced that a lot of my people are still unaware of the real meaning of “worshiping God in Spirit and in truth”. I also began to wonder that if St. John the Baptist is still walking on earth today, what will he say about this feast that is supposedly held in honor of his name?
Heading home today, I rode a bus that passes by San Juan. For the first time, it took an alternate route which puzzled me. But when I saw children in the streets carrying pales of water, plastic bags with the same element and water guns, I already knew the answer. Today is June 24.
For the first time in my life, I began to think of the people who are affected by this feast. I was once a Catholic too but I used to not to care about these things. I used to mind my “own” business. But it was very different now that I am a Christian. God gave me the grace to think differently.
When I was still a Catholic and hear these “sad” stories every June 24 in San Juan, I knew there was something terribly wrong. Pleading not to be doused with water for valid reasons such as school or work is not being “killjoy” to the feast that is supposedly “holy” and “sacred”, in the first place. Also, Jesus spoke about mercy. Whatever happened to “holiness” and “mercy” every June 24 in San Juan?
Yes, I knew there was something wrong but I dared not speak against it when I was still a Catholic. Why? First, who am I to speak about the church’s traditions? It’s a taboo. Second, I am too busy to care. Third, I am just really too busy to care.
Boom! It hit me.
I used to say that I’m a Catholic and a follower of Jesus back then but I do reason like this? Shame on me.
Didn’t Jesus, himself, talk about the hypocrisy of the traditions of the Pharisees during his time? Did he also not preach about the importance of loving others as we love ourselves, the second most important commandment? What happened to these things that he fought for 2,000 years ago?
Shame on me.
I heaved a deep sigh. I spread the curtain of the bus open, as if protecting myself from the water-dousing people outside even though I am sitting inside a fully-covered air-con bus. I turned now my attention to the film being shown overhead. Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto. We are already in the scene where the lead character is about to be beheaded when the sun went dark and all of the captives, including him, were released. I wonder, how many heads were decapitated all over the world since the beginning of time because of traditions? How many innocent lives were killed as an offering to God? Was God truly honored in these rituals and traditions?
A year of becoming a Christian had me thinking about my people who are affected by this feast. The San Juan and non-San Juan locals who pleaded not be doused with water. The San Juan locals who seemed to be just enjoying the whole process of dousing water to anyone. The empty jeepneys of the jeepney drivers who rely on their daily income to support themselves and their families. The commuters who did not ride jeepneys that day out of fear of being doused with water. The children holding water guns and shooting passers-by in honor of a saint, which made me question how will this kind of activity form their young minds about the whole concept of honoring God. I even thought of the people in other parts of the world, thirsty for water, and the people who are fighting beside them, asking everyone to conserve it. I also thought of John. What will he say to the people who venerates him?
I thought of God. Is He truly pleased if I am doused with water every June 24 in San Juan?
Because if He truly is, then throw me to the oceans.
Bible Verses
• Worshiping in Spirit and in truth. “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4: 21-24)
• Good Order in Worship. “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” (1 Corinthians 14:33)
• Worshiping Saints.
o As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.” (Acts 10:25-26)
o When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. (Acts 14:11-18)
• John’s Testimony About Jesus. (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ ”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. (John 1:15-18)
• Thinking Differently. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
• Loving Others. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)
• Warning Against Hypocrisy. Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. (Matthew 23:1-7)
• Keeping the Traditions of our Parents. I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not follow the statutes of your parents or keep their laws or defile yourselves with their idols. I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” (Ezekiel 20:18-20)
• Causing the Children to Stumble. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)
