It’s God in Him Who Said “Para, Boss!”

This article describes the events that transpired on one simple day last month. This will probably be the one article in my blog site, which will have the least number of hits, maybe because it’s about God.

Anyway, if you are interested, scroll down the pic (but don’t ignore the pic, please) and click on the word below it.

Sacrifice

I just finished work, and I was on my way home already. The whole journey home involves two jeepney rides, the first headed for the town, the second headed straight from the town to the apartment that we rent in Aurora Hill. The former will be the one that will matter.

The trip for the town proper takes about 20 minutes from EPZA, where our office is located, and this whole journey could stretch to what seems like an hour, due to too much stress and exhaustion from work. I hailed a jeepney bearing the sign “Kias - PMA - Plaza” immediately after signing off on the logbook of the security personnel, because I was too groggy already. Upon sitting inside the PUV, I almost automatically held the bar attached to the roof for support, leant on my arm, and was in a trance already. This half-sleep was suddenly disturbed by someone inside the jeepney yelling something that I did not understand then, but I later decided as, “Mga kapatid!”

The man, who I think is a Baptist Church pastor, was wearing a blue long-sleeve polo and a black slacks, and was holding a Bible open in one hand, and grasping the bar opposite mine. He began telling us all sorts of stories from the Book, from the Great Temptation to the Apocalypse. After each brief story, he gave us some of his ideals about them, and how those lessons would apply to here and now. I started listening about halfway through already, because I was too sleepy then to even keep my eyelids open. I thought, Let’s give the man a chance, which caused me guilt and which I later regretted.

The other passengers in the same jeepney were indifferent. They seemed to be ashamed of what the man was doing. That made me want to continue to listen, and look the brave man in the eye. I hated most of the people in the vehicle. One young lady even took her cellphone and headsets out of her purse, and put them on, and listened to some useless MP3 file. The rest, like I was, were sleepy as well, but a few, a chosen few, listened. I was listening intently on the last part, because the preacher was discussing ways on how to be saved (who isn’t interested about being saved, right?). He finished it and then came the final moment. He asked all of us to bow our heads, and do the sign of the Cross. I’m Protestant, so I didn’t perform the latter. And then he said a brief prayer. A very brief one, perhaps the shortest prayer I heard in my life, but the most meaningful. The prayer said that we should thank God for everything, and it asked us to pray for others, as well, for the salvation of tha majority.

I really am not sure, until now, what made me bow my head. The other passengers just looked outside the window, perhaps waiting for a non-existent accident to happen to stop the whole thing, I’m not so certain though. I only saw them in my mind’s eye. I think it was because of humility under the face of God, which made me do it, really not sure, sorry. And I prayed. And that was all that mattered then.

And in that moment of silence, while my head was bent down and my eyes were closed, I felt it. God was with us in the jeepney! He was using that man to say what he wanted to say to us, and I felt those word seep through my skin, into my heart. I felt the greatest guilt in the world for all of my sins. That time seemed to stretch into infinity, until I heard some people murmuring “Amen”… And I was shocked to hear that same word come out of my mouth.

The man/God finally said “Para, boss!” to signal that He reached His destination already. I saw Him get out of the vehicle, and I really admired the courage that He showed. Maybe He’s really like that, even before when he was still in his original Body. He showed courage in the face of the enemies, and He did the Great Sacrifice without any conditions. He must be more than a Superman to do those things. I saw Him hail another jeepney; I know, a few more people will be blessed today if they only let Him.

Moments later, I was already at Lower Session, on my way to the jeepney terminal headed for Aurora Hill. Home sweet home, at last. I walked with a smile on my face, decided that nothing could ruin my day. It’s the first time I fully appreciated how beautiful Session Road is. It’s the first time I felt very, very clean. It’s the first time I realized how magnificent life must be to bring about all the colors that we see. I felt love. I’ve never had such a beautiful morning in my life.