God's universal banquet

All of creation is the banquet, and the host is the Creator Himself. He invites all to the banquet, on one condition — that they love one another as He loves them, and share what they are and what they have with one another, as He shares creation with all of them. But quite a number refuse to come to the Creator’s banquet. They would rather be their own hosts and have their own banquets — without the original Host. Not letting God be God. Instead, they search for money and more money, and what money can buy. This now is their god and their banquet. They ignore and neglect those who have no money to give. The poor. The downtrodden. The ignorant. This is what today’s parable is all about (Mt. 22: 1-10).

Our world will not be at peace unless we all respond to this invitation of the Creator. Letting God be God in our lives, our families, our work, our communities, our nations. But many human forces still refuse to accept, much less surrender to this divine reality and invitation. One tragic example of this is the global financial crisis we are suffering from right now.

No less than the secular Time Magazine of September 29 calls it as: THE PRICE OF GREED. This is what happened on Wall Street and Main Street, USA. “When greed exceeds fear, trouble follows. Wall Street has always been a greedy place and every decade or so it suffers a blow resulting in a bout of hand-wringing and regret, which always seems to be quickly forgotten.” It later quotes Treasury Secretary Paulson: “Raw capitalism is dead.” After a painful analysis was done, the question is now posed: “Where do we go from here? There’s no question that the crisis has gone so deep that it cannot be halted by one stroke….Rebuilding will take time, vast amounts of money and constant attention.”

The secular, Godless world of business. The ultimate victims are millions and millions of ordinary, innocent people. The report ends with the beginning of hope: “We all have to start living within our means — or preferably below them. If you don’t overborrow or overspend, you’re far less vulnerable to whatever problems the financial system may have.”

All this and more is a most humbling call for us to go back to God as our one and only God, and not make money as our God. The love of God and what God gives — and not the love of money and what money can buy. Out of love, God created us to love Him and to love one another, through a lifestyle of stewardship, simplicity, and sharing.

This brings us to what we are celebrating today: Indigenous Peoples Sunday. Let us allow our indigenous brothers and sisters from the remote areas of our country to share with us their ways. They are not greedy owners but humble stewards of God’s creation. They live simple lifestyles; and by second-nature, they share what they have with one another.

In his book, History of the Filipino People, Teodoro Agoncillo narrates that way back in pre-colonial times, our indigenous people led lives characterized by music and dance. This is a symbol that they were generally a peaceful and happy people.

The Negritos of Bataan and Zambales had their favorite musical instruments made of bamboo and abaca, and they created dances for different occasions. The Bontoc Igorots likewise had their own musical instruments, with which they sang and danced to the tune of their “Mang-ay-u-weng.” The Ilocanos had many songs to fit different occasions, accompanied by their unique musical instrument called the “kudyapi.”

Among the Tagalogs, the dance and music developed almost simultaneously with the drama, for the drama could not be staged without music and dancing. The “kumintang” was a dance-and-music performance that made Batangas famous, becoming known later as “la provincia de kumintang.”

The Visayans were well-known as good folk dancers and musicians. Their “balitaw” and “dandansoy” are popular, even to this day. And the Tagbanuas of Palawan had their musical instruments, like drums made from sharkskin heads, and colorful dances like the “macasla.”

Such is our heritage from our indigenous brothers and sisters, so that today, we Filipinos are known all over the world as a musical people. May this serve as our contribution to God’s universal banquet of love, justice, and peace.