Who will come?

General Douglas Macarthur stands tall on the shore of Palo, Leyte.

In life he survived the war and fulfilled his promise made immortal by the words: “I shall return”. Recently MacArthur once again showed his strength in the form of a bronze statue standing his ground against the direct assault of Typhoon Yolanda.

It might be said that the “Old soldier (that) never dies” consistently makes his appearance right after disasters of epic proportions, first in the battle for Leyte and now in most powerful storm of recorded human history. However, there is another story involving MacArthur that is little told but seems to jump out of the pages of history begging to be retold, demanding even, for someone to repeat the call he made many decades ago. 

Sometime after the Japanese Imperial Army surrendered to the Allied Forces, MacArthur immediately got involved with the reconstruction of the nation. Japan was not only obliterated, the nation had lost its pride and was in shock to hear their Emperor-God “confess” that he was nothing but a man. That combination was clearly so deadly that MacArthur worried about the future of the nation. On the side he also worried that such conditions would be so ripe for communists to come in and offer the defeated nation something else to believe in.

This concern led the 5-star General of the US Army who was also a devout Episcopalian to reach out to various churches both Catholic and Christians. MacArthur has been quoted as saying: “ There is a spiritual vacuum in Japan. Send me 1,000 missionaries. 1,000 businessmen. Send Bibles, Bibles, and more Bibles”.

As far as the warrior was concerned the battle was only half won until you win the souls.

During my stay in Tacloban City, those very thoughts struck me. They say that the faith of the people are strong, but what happens when the shock wears off and they get off survivor mode and begin to question why they lost their children, their spouse, their parents, their siblings or all of the little possessions they have in life? Even Job’s wife did not have such great faith, nor did Job have deep understanding of his misfortune. How much more for people who are not made out to be “heroes of the Bible”? Misery and loneliness often create spiritual vacuums.

In a place where people are very much convinced that PNoy and his government abandoned them in their hour of need, how difficult would it be for political and spiritual “communists” to step in and convince the bitter and the angry to turn against the national government?

The entire world had come to our backyard to help us in the hour of need but once that hour passes as it has begun to, who will stay behind to be “our brother’s keeper”? Who will be around to comfort the widows and orphans? Who will be there to stand in the gap to prevent people from committing suicide? To paraphrase a song: Will they even know it’s Christmas in Tacloban?

This may sound a bit melodramatic for those with stone cold hearts, but many of those who volunteered in Tacloban and listened to the tragic tales of survivors know only too well that the worst and most difficult times are yet to come. Yes, Filipinos are resilient but only to a point. Resilience does not see you through nightmares recalling how you lost your grip and watched your children slip away screaming and drowning.

Yes, we showed the world our strength in the face of overwhelming destruction, but the world and the media that heralded our character have moved on to cover the political protests in Thailand, the continuing conflict in Syria, even a helicopter crash in Glasgow, Scotland is more interesting. Our media value has faded but the pain and suffering of the people in the Visayas is just about to escalate mentally and emotionally, particularly around Christmas. Even the President and his people are shockingly “back to normal mode” in terms of their appointments and events as if we had just gone through another garden-variety typhoon.

In my conversations with Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez, he has made it clear and has even mentioned it on radio, that Tacloban is an “Open City” for churches, Pastors, Priests and religious workers who are willing to help, to give aid, to comfort the afflicted and to cover the city in prayer. As the leader and “political father” of the city, Romualdez has chosen to do what many of our national leaders have failed to do, to recognize the value of prayer and the power and authority of God.  His declaration is very much aligned with the thoughts of General Douglas MacArthur who saw and lived in a devastated Japan.

The question now is: Who will answer the call?

Will you be one of one thousand missionaries who will spend ten days or ten months to bring the good news? Will you be one of the 1,000 businessmen who are invited to give direct aid, create jobs and thereby give hope? After the storm many of us sent out teams or were part of small teams to “spy out the land”. But now that the bodies have been mostly buried, now that the streets have been cleared, now that the police have finally arrived, it is now time for each and all of us to decide if we will cross our “River Jordan” as a nation, as a people or even just as a church to aid those in need of help and of hope.

Now is the time to walk the talk, to practice what we preach and to be the friend that is closer than a brother. If you claim yourself to be a follower or believer in God and the Bible, please don’t compartmentalize this challenge and try to fit it into your schedule as if it’s another entry to be made on your “To Do List”. For once can you just DO something for someone else that’s never been on your list?

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