FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio

Easier to be like Judas Iscariot than like Christ

As we enter the New Year 2007 let’s pause for awhile and examine ourselves and ask: Which character do I represent – that of Christ who chose to be tortured and crucified to death than to deny the Truth that He is the Son of God or that of Judas Iscariot who sold his soul to the Devil for 30 pieces of silver? Consider that Christ resurrected from the dead and lives while Judas hanged himself to death forever. It’s indeed very hard for many people even to those who profess their Christianity or Roman Catholicism to have the character of Christ because the nature of man tends to satisfy the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

Let’s say that you read the Bible or Prayer Book everyday, go to Mass or Service every Sunday, and you really try to live the life of a true Christian. While walking alone one night, a gunman held you up and threatened to shoot you if you will not deny that you love Christ. What will you do, save yourself from death or deny Christ? What is given is this scenario is that the gunman will kill you if you don’t deny Christ. Now examine your inner self and find out what’s truly in your character.

Remember Simon Peter, one of Christ’s disciples, who cut the ear of one of the Roman soldiers sent to arrest his Master. He was the one who denied knowing Christ to protect himself from arrest. When he heard the cock crowing, he remembered his Master’s warning about his denial and repented from his sin. Christ forgave Peter for his first and last failure in faith for Peter later became a man of strong faith. . This happened a long time ago before the completion of the Scriptures and I believe we cannot do again what Peter did.

Though Jesus Christ is a forgiving Lord and Master, He knows what’s in every person’s heart.

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The May 2007 congressional and local elections in the Philippines may be the last hope for democracy to survive in that Southeast Asian country. In a democracy, the will of the people reigns supreme unless it’s thwarted by undemocratic elements such as large scale mechanized election cheating similar to what infected the 2004 presidential elections, disenfranchisement of large number of voters, and suppression of the people’s freedom of expression, through speech or the press.

If the May elections come out to be an honest and clean exercise of the people’s right to choose their representatives and servants in the government, the results would clearly serve as a verdict on the questionable presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

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