Si Obama, Ang Ladlad, at ang Kinabukasan ng LGBT Rights Movement sa Pilipinas

Bagamat ibinasura ng Commission on Elections (COMELEC) ang aplikasyon ng Ang Ladlad bilang isang lehitimong party list group, ang basa ko sa mga nangyayari (nawa'y mali ako), hindi magtatagal ay mabibigyan rin ng akreditasyon ang grupong ito. Kung hindi man sila makakahabol sa Mayo 2010, malamang sa 2013, pasok na sila.

Hindi maikakaila ang patuloy na paglakas ng suporta para sa gay rights movement dito sa ating bansa. Kamakailan ay nagpahayag ng suporta sa kanila ang Commission on Human Rights (CHR), iba't ibang mga bigating pulitiko, at iba pang mga maiimpluwensyang tao.

Malakas rin ang impluwensya ng kulturang kanluran sa atin lalo na ang Estados Unidos. Ang kanilang kasalukuyang Pangulo na si Barack Obama ay nagpapakita ng sigasig upang maisulong ang adhikain ng mga LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender). Ito ay bahagi ng kanyang pahayag:

"that's why I support ensuring that committed gay couples have the same rights and responsibilities afforded to any married couple in this country. I believe strongly in stopping laws designed to take rights away and passing laws that extend equal rights to gay couples. I've required all agencies in the federal government to extend as many federal benefits as possible to LGBT families as the current law allows. And I've called on Congress to repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and to pass the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act." (-Pres. Barack Obama)

Hindi lang mga karapatan ang ipinangako ni Obama sa kanila kundi ang pagtanggap sa kanilang mga relasyon bilang MABUTI at KAAYA-AYA:

"You will see a time in which we as a nation finally recognize relationships between two men or two women as just as real and admirable as relationships between a man and a woman..." (-Pres. Obama) (kasunod ay MASIGABONG PALAKPAKAN mula sa mga tagapakinig)

Ang paglakas ng puwersang LGBT rights sa Pilipinas ay mahahalata sa pananaw ng karamihan. Hindi na nila ito itinuturing bilang kasalanan o paghihimagsik laban sa Diyos na siyang may akda ng dalawang kasarian (lalaki at babae). Sa halip, ito ay ibinibilang na normal at kanais-nais. Isang patunay nito ay ang isang awiting namamayagpag sa himpapawid mula sa Dagtang Lason na pinamagatang Nagmamahal ako ng Bakla.

Ipaabot mo sa kanila ang iyong pagtutol sa kanilang mga pananaw at sila ay sisigaw ng "FOUL !!! Diskriminasyon 'yan". Malaki ang posibilidad na darating ang araw dito sa Pilipinas na kahit kasinganda't kasintalino ka ni Carrie Prejean, katakot takot pa ring mga pag-aalipusta, pangungutsa at pang-iinsulto ang tatanggapin mo dahil lamang ikaw ay tutol sa mga adhikain ng LGBT rights.

Psalm 12:8 "for the wicked seem to be everywhere, when people promote evil." (NET Bible)

Romans 1:32 "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (NIV)

related post: Gays in the Church (Mohler Stands for the Gospel at CNN's Larry King Live)

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Singing Songs of Hope Amidst Laments

Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I hope in Him!”
(Lamentations 3:22-24)

The verses above are well-known. Perhaps they are in your list of favorites. They are so popular that I could immediately recall two of the most treasured songs in Christianity:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
(Thomas Chisholm, 1923)

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
New every morning.
Great is Thy faithfulness, O Lord.
Great is Thy faithfulness
(Robert Davidson, 1975)

Perhaps you have sang them yourselves on a wonderful morning when the sunrise is breathtakingly beautiful and the fragrance of the trees’ blossoms fill the air as the wind blows gently. Birds tweet sweetly as if they were saying that all is well. Indeed, we should thank God for days such as these.

But could you sing those songs when you wake up in the morning and the sun is covered by dark clouds; the wind blows violently, the branches are broken the blossoms are scattered in the mud. Tweeting is heard no more as birds are nowhere to be found. Could you sing songs about the Lord’s love, mercy, and grace amidst the storms of life?

If we would understand the context of Lamentations 3:22-24, we can, yes we can sing not just when all things are bright and beautiful but also when the days are filled with extreme pain.

The early rabbis were the first ones to call this book lamentations—“loud cries”. The title in Tagalog bibles “Panaghoy” captures the idea perfectly. The book is composed of five laments (1:1-22; 2:1-22; 3:1-66; 4:1-22; 5:1-22). The writer (the scholarly consensus is it's Jeremiah) reflects it himself: “My eyes overflow with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people” (3:48).

Jerusalem was sieged by the enemy; there was famine in the city; the walls were broken and the enemy penetrates. The beautiful city was consumed by flames and the sacred things in the temple were looted.

It was such a very dark period in the nation’s history. Yet they deserved it. Jeremiah’s four decades of preaching and warning fell on deaf ears. They despised the word of the Lord for 40 years and now, they are paying the consequences.

Halfway through the laments, 3:22-24 appears as a ray of hope. Here, God reveals that though he must punish them, he did not abandoned them. I’m drawing three points from these verses:

1. The sustaining power of God’s mercy and love

“We are not consumed” because of his mercies. They were suffering much but they were not totally destroyed because of God’s sustaining love. We may go though all the pains but God does not intend destruction upon our souls. Restoration of hearts wounded by sin is what he has in mind (Jeremiah 29:11).

2. The Unending Supply of God’s Compassion

His compassions “never fail” and “they are new every morning”. God’s blessing yesterday was awesome enough. Yet The blessings he give are not drawn from yesterday. He doesn’t give recycled compassion but they are new every morning appropriate for our current situation.

3. The Sufficiency of God in times of Distress

“The Lord is my portion” says my soul (3:24). A portion usually means “landed property, which was foundational to economic stability in ancient Israel” (NET Bible). Jeremiah looked around and everything that he treasured is now gone. The economic glories of the nation and of the people had been reduced to ashes. Yet Jeremiah says he doesn’t need those stuff. All he needs is the Lord so he waits upon the Lord his hope.

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