Lord, make them good; punish them!

The grandson of one of my mentors, when he was a small boy, prayed for an adversary who had offended him in some way “Lord, make him good, punish him”. Out of the mouths of babes, wisdom! For he knew from his brief experience on earth that being punished for bad behaviour led to either a change of heart or as a boy at least a temporary change in behaviour.

It was interesting to learn that an eminent exorcist used a rather similar prayer during an exorcism where the demon was reluctant to obey his commands. So he prayed to God the Father to “punish him in a way he has never been punished before” Moments later, agonising howls of anguish, impossible for Hollywood to simulate, emanated from the demon as he was punished and then became compliant and submitted to the commands given by the Priest.

A few weeks ago I spent the night in the historic town of Taal in Batangas, in a house where the freedom fighters who began the liberation of the Philippines from Spanish Colonial rule, used to meet and make their plans. It made me reflect on how quickly idealism and self-sacrifice can decay to abuse of power, self-interest, and the corruption that Filipinos have become accustomed to since full independence barely 80 years ago.

Some commentators theorise that whilst having the appearance of government, with a senate, congress, governors etc. it is now essentially a failed state. More akin to a loosely affiliated entrepreneurial criminal enterprise of political dynasties, land owners and business people whose sole task is to harvest cash from the public purse by any and all means with complete disregard for God, country or people. 

Everything in heaven and on earth operates on authority. Even if the votes have been purchased illegitimately, those in power have been given authority by the people. And perhaps this is why ‘people-power’ has no real effect as the on-going pantomime performances in congress and senate illustrate. However there is one avenue left to explore for real change which is to appeal to the One who has complete authority over all. ‘Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”(Matt 28:18) And the church and its members have the task of enforcing it by prayer. Often we hear in church petitions asking God to make leaders honest, or humble or to have integrity… that’s nice, but to get the job done we need more than a suggestion we need the prayers of the young boy  and the exorcist  “Lord, Make them good (or compliant); Punish them” and then watch Him work.

                                                                                                                                              

Economics of Corruption

I had the opportunity to join a medical mission recently, just as a roadie, moving supplies and equipment but I was able to see the best and worst of humanity all in one place.

The doctors, dentists, and nurses were giving their time and expertise for free to the poor community and a wealthy sponsor paid for the medicines and transport. Several hundred people came and received whatever treatment they needed but could not afford… which was a wonderful thing to see. As Christians the motivation of the workers was really to bring the love of God to the people through sharing their skills.

The venue was a primary school and we set up shop in the different classrooms for the various services on offer. I couldn’t help noticing how run-down the place was though. In the classroom I was based in for example there was only 1 light fitting that still worked, the ceiling fan was broken, the roof in the bathroom was full of holes and as it rained that day was unusable. The only classroom equipment was a broken cassette tape player with the door missing and a circa 1990’s computer which I am sure had little purpose.

In the afternoon a convoy of brand new, top of the range, 4x4 vehicles descended on the site. The local politicians had arrived for an impromptu photo shoot, to pretend to their constituents that the medical mission was their initiative. Suddenly it was clear where the budget for the school had gone. Low level politicians receive a minimal salary but, as Cardinal Tagle put it recently (at the Eucharistic Conference in Cebu), they often use the budget as their own ‘piggy bank’. Even the cost of one of these 4x4’s would be more than enough to cover the repairs needed by the school, fans and light bulbs, corrugated iron roofing and enough left to fill it with books and computers. As a friend pointed out, ‘the politician’s children don’t go to that school though’

It was a stark contrast for me to the see selfless service of the medical teams up close to the rank self-interest of the officials.

Here in the Philippines, So few, steal so much, from so many.