Pag-asa and Katatagang Rising from the Post-Haiyan Philippines

The Calamities in the Central Philippines, 2013 – The Calamities in the Northeastern Japan, 2011

From November 7 through November 8, 2013, a Category-5 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) pounded and razed though the Philippines, crossing the central Philippines from the east to the west, with the destructive energy of multiple Hiroshima-size atomic bombs and the 600 km diameter, leaving at least 1,200 people confirmed dead by November 9, countless number of homes destroyed, and infrastructures severely damaged in many municipalities. As search and rescue operation is now in progress, the number of the dead is predicted to reach as high as 10,000 in one province alone.

This is, indeed, a greatly tragic disaster. And, Typhoon Haiyan brought calamities to the central Philippines, in particular, the Vizaya region, where a M. 7.2 earthquake brought severe destructions on October 15, 2013. The monster typhoon destroyed even more lives, homes, and towns, without giving those who have been affected by the earthquake enough time to recover. 

Because of the devastating earthquake and tsunami-like water disaster from the typhoon, on top of wind damages, the disasters in the central Philippines remind me of the horrible 2011 Eastern Japan Great Disaster, whose impacts still put many affected people  in struggles.  

In Japan, it was a M. 9.0 earthquake and more-than-10-meter-high tsunami on March 11, 2011. In the Philippines, it was a M. 7.2 earthquake on October 15, 2013 and then a Category-5 typhoon with 235 mph wind speed and tsunami-like flooding. Both of these disasters brought extreme catastrophes and traumatic consequences of long-lasting impacts. 

As a Japanese national, whose beloved nation has sustained great catastrophes of 2011, cries of the Filipino people amidst the calamities this year are juxtaposed to these of my country people two years ago.  As my heart went out to the affected people in the Philippines, I had a flashback of how my heart went out to those who were affected by the 2011 Eastern Japan Great Disaster. Certainly, Typhoon Haiyan was not a matter of a remote place to me, because some of my friends’ families in the Bohol-Cebu-Leyte region have been severely affected. They lost their homes to the earthquake in October and the Typhoon Haiyan. 


Philippines 2013   Dondi Tawatao / GETTY IMAGES

Japan 2011        EPA


Post-Disasters Challenges – Post-Exodus Challenges

Now the storm has passed and given way to the sunshine, blue sky and calm sea. But, the way that towns and villages look now gives stark reminders of how destructive the Typhoon Haiyan was.

On the surface, the vast affected areas look absolutely horrible. The scenes of the destruction even make the chill run through the spine, as it was the case with the scene after the March 2011 great earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Because infrastructures mangled, not only utilities services are cut off but also there is no food and clean water. Because roads are destroyed and bridges are washed away, deliveries of water, food, and other necessary supplied are delayed. As the delay prolongs, people began to lose not only patience but also their confidence in those who have promised to help. As their patience begins to wane, frustration and irritation begin to rise.

This situation after the super typhoon may be compared to a situation in the Desert of Sin during the Exodus (Exodus 16:1-3). 

With the hope for a better life in a new place, the Israelites escaped the oppression in Egypt upon Passover, sustaining the powerful strike of God in Egypt. This deliberation from Egypt was with God’s compassionate response to the Israelites’ suffering as slaves under the Egyptian oppression. God chose Moses, assisted by his brother, Aaron, to act on His behalf, in leading the Israelites in the Exodus journey and communicate His messages to them. But, God did not give a shortcut route through the Palestine for their Exodus journey. Instead, He chose a desert route to cross the Red Sea to settle them in the new land in Canaan. With Moses’ leadership, entrusted by God, the Israelites successfully managed the challenge of crossing the Red Sea. But, a problem began to emerge after crossing the Red Sea, when they walked in the Desert of Sin for many days without water and food. 

To put this biblical narrative in the context of the current post-Haiyan hardship in the central Philippines, the government authority is like Moses, under whose leadership people prepare for and respond to the disaster. Those who successfully escaped the Egyptian oppression with Moses over God's powerful storm, Passover, can be compared to the survivors of the earthquake and typhoon in the Philippines. And, the fact that the Israelites did not take a shortcut may correspond to the fact that the survivors of the disasters in the Philippines are not getting necessary water, food, shelter and other materials immediately. 

As Moses led the Israelites through the Exodus journey, it is the government authority that directs and coordinates the post-disaster programs to help its people journey through the challenging life after the disaster. 

As the hope and patience of the Israelites began to wane , while wondering through the Desert of Sin without water and food for days, now those who lost their homes to the earthquake and typhoon in the central Philippines wonder when they can get water, food, medicine and other necessary supplied as the government authority promised. These survivors may be feeling how the Israelites in the Desert of Sin could have felt.

As such a hardship with thirst and hunger prolonged in the Desert of Sin, the Israelites began to complain to Moses, “Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat b our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us into this desert to make the whole community die of famine!”(Exodus 16:3). And later on, in Rephidim, the Israelites complained again to Moses, “Give us water to drink”(Exodus 17:2), and “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of theirst with our children and our livestock?”(Exodus 17:3). 

Similar to this, those who have survived the disasters in the Philippines are now complaining to the government authority about still not having water and food, as their health is now threatened with advancing thirst and hunger. As the Israelites felt betrayed by God, projecting their frustration with God at Moses through the complaints, the survivors of the disasters in the central Philippines are voicing their frustration with the government authority. 

It is so difficult to see those who have been severely affected by the earthquake and the typhoon, growing in their frustration and resentment, as their thirst and hunger advances to a degree to threaten their health. And, I certainly hope that the government authority soon responds as God responded to such Israelites’ plights by sending the manna from heaven (Exodus 16:4-36) and giving water from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7). I am confident that the survivors of the disasters in the Philippines will not lose their hope and manage to endure this hardship so that their lives will improve with the water, food, and other necessary supplies finally reaching out to them, as they keep their faith in God.

Rising Sign of Katatagang and Pag-asa Amidst Hardship – Joy to Be Found

Though the survivors of the disasters face this post-disasters hardship with frustration and resentment, there is something so unique about these deadly scenes, because a sizable number of affected people still smile and wave as reporters’ cameras find them, even though they have lost their homes and probably some of their loved ones. While some people are acting frantically, these people rather remain orderly and calm.

Usually, we think these affected people to exhibit very sad, confused, panicked and lost looks. We would rather think to see people crying than smiling in such situations. But their smiles amidst the hardship remind us of something very important, spiritually and existentially.  The smiles certainly defy the gloom atmosphere of the ravaged life by the disasters.

At first, we may become tempted to ask them, “Aren’t you feeling sad?, wondering if they were in denial of sadness. But then we come to realize that it is a manifestation of their unique resilience rather than a psychological denial. 

What their smiles amidst horrible post-disaster living condition invoke is Paul’s extraordinary resilience, which enabled him to find peace and joy amidst his hardship.  In Paul’s case, his resilience was attributed to his steadfast faith in Christ and his salvific power. For example, in writing from a prison, Paul said, “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved”(Philippians 4:1). Rather than pitifully complaining his hardship in captivity, Paul was always in joy – even though his life appeared very hard to anyone’s eyes. But, Paul sees himself beyond what others see. He sees his ,what the Filipinos call “loob”, inner self, essential self,  in the inviolable freedom, only found through his steadfast faith in Christ. 

I wonder if those who smile and wave amidst their post-Haiyan hardship share the same joyful sentiment of Paul during his hardship under persecution. But, given how spiritual most Filipinos are – even since before Christianity was brought by the Spanish conquistadors during the 16^th century, I believe that it is a manifestation of the Filipino spirituality. 

According to a Filipino Catholic theologian, Jose DeMesa, the Filipino Catholic spirituality has been built upon the indigenous Filipino spirituality, serving as a vessel holding the Catholic spirituality brought by the Western colonizers.  Even before the Catholicism was brought from Spain, the Filipino people, mainly in Tagalog, based their spirituality in their faith in Bathala, the all-mighty and compassionate supreme deity. The Tagalog expression, “bahala na” which is loosely translated as “leaving it to Bathala’s care” really shows that Filipino’s humility and trust in the power of the greater being - God. 

With Catholicism’s introduction to the Philippines in the 16^th century, the concept of the Triune God of Christianity was made sense in place of Bathala, especially the Father in Trinity. Thus, the Filipinos who always trusted Bathala have accepted the Triune God as their supreme being - as their ancestors had accepted Bathala. 

As I discussed in my 10/26/13 blog entry, Pastoral Psychologist’s View on Life with Suffering and Enduring Resilience – Reflecting the Recent Earthquake in the Philippines and the 29th Sunday Year C Gospel Reading in Light of Morita Therapy, Paul Tillich’s “Courage”, Viktor Frankl’s “Tragic Optimism” and Sikolohiyang Pilipino, “bahala na” is also associated with the Filipino’s unique resilience, “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob”, in reference to Alfred Lagmay’s and F. L. Jocano’s constructive interpretation of “bahala na”, paralleling to my argument for a corresponding concept in Japanese, “shikataganai”, which is translated as “it cannot be helped (by our own efforts alone)”.  

It may be difficult for many people to find “bahala na” or “shikataganai” as a psychospiritual factor associated with resilience, because these concepts in Tagalog and Japanese often appear negatively as a fatalistic pessimism. But, if you happened to interpret these in such a negative way, then, you would also find Christ’s death on the  Cross as a mere defeat – simply because it looked like a failing blow. This is how the jeering mob, who saw Jesus as a failure, mocked him on the cross, saying, “…save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”(Mark 15:30). 

Of course, Jesus did not release himself and come down from the Cross to “save himself”.  If you happened to think like the mob, then, these last seven words of Christ, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”(Luke 23:46) is a statement of fatalistic failure. 

But, if you have faith in Christ, these Jesus’ last seven words on the Cross in Luke 23:46 should sound like “bahala na” as I, along with Lagmay and Jocano, explained in the aforementioned my blog article.  As you find Jesus’ trust in his Father through his last seven words, you also recognize a sense trust in “bahala na”.  It is also important to note that Jesus’ agony gave its way to peace upon these last seven words of his. Likewise, persons who can say “bahala na” as Jesus said “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” can reach peace – and perhaps the kind of peace and joy that Paul experienced, given his faith in Christ mirrors Jesus’ trust in the Father. 

Christians appreciate these last seven words not as a defeat of Jesus but a necessary condition for the Christ’s victory and for our salvation. With these words of Jesus, the Son submitted his complete self to the great power of his Father in order for the Father’s power to take its greater role – namely, the Resurrection. But, it did not take place immediately as it happened on the 3^rd day from Jesus’ death on the Cross. 

When I see smiles and waving that those who have been affected by Haiyan amidst their hard life, I also sense some peace that we can experience when we relinquish our own control, leaving everything to a greater being, namely God. As in Buddhist teaching, giving up our own control, which is ego's desire, leads to freedom from worries. This is how Buddhists are to overcome kleshas, and the same psychospiritual paradigm is also in Jesus' example on the Cross. Thus, those who relinquished their ego's desire of control of their own have less struggle – at least not having to struggle with their own egos.  “Bahala na” is also an indication of relinquishing our egos to the greater being – God, in order to be benefitted better from God’s care.  Our egos often get in the way of God’s care. 

Of course, it is not to say that we can just sit and do nothing. “Bahala na” simply means surrendering our egos to God in order for God’s power and wisdom to work through us more effectively. Thus, it means that we can discern God’s will for us better and more clearly. It also means that we can act according to God’s intention for us better as we let God have His total control over us.  And, who won’t be in joy when we clear out our ego and let God’s will and wisdom fill us? 

This joy is found in these words of Paul, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”(Philippians 4:4-7). Again, these words were written during Paul’s extreme hardship in prison captivity.  

If Paul had said “bahala na”, obviously, it is not to his persecutors – the Roman Empire, but to God in Christ to let His power be made strong in him.  Paul further said, “And He (Christ) has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me”(2 Corinthians 12:9).

People, like Tomas Andres, seem to interpret “bahala na” as a sign of weakness. But, when Paul speaks of weakness, it is not the kind of weakness mistakenly assigned to “bahala na”. Weakness in this context means humility – weakness of ego.  This is similar to how we are to interpret “poor in spirit” in Matthew 5:3.   In teaching beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). And, “poor” in the original Greek text is “ptochos”( πτωχός). 

This Greek word not only means “poor” but also “humble”, with a connotation of  “beggar”.  Thus, “poor in spirit” means that being reduced to be a beggar – having our egos stripped to be dependent on God’s mercy, being left with nothing but our humility.  Thus, when we say “bahala na” in Tagalog (or, “shikataga nai” in Japanese) with steadfast Christian faith, it is an expression of our humility to beg for God’s strengths to be made perfected in our humble being,  as “katatagan” and “katatagang-loob”, drawing upon its relevance to Matthew 5:3; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Luke 23:46.   

Not to mention, “loob” is imago Dei reflection deep within us in the Christian context. Then, when God’s strengths is perfected in us for being egoless, our sadness and pity can give their ways to joy amidst our hardship, as found in Paul’s testimony in Philippians 4:1, 4-7.  So, this can be what is behind the smiles and waving found among those who have been affected by the Typhoon Haiyan – in spite of their hardship.

In addition to  understanding “katatagan” and “katatagang-loob” in light of “bahala na” biblically with the Pauline concept of finding joy and strengths amidst hardship, such Filipino resilience can also be discerned in interpersonal connections, in particular “pakikipagkapwa-tao” (interpersonal relationship that cares each other) and “pakikiramay” (compassion). 

As the Japanese are more oriented to families and groups, rather than being individualistic, so are the Filipinos. Similar to the way the Japanese concept of self is heavily influenced by one’s family and group affiliations, the Filipino concept of self is highly relational, as Jose DeMesa points out, in reference to Filipino way of understanding Trinity.  One way to understand Trinity is three persons (“person” is used as a metaphor) in one, in the Greco-Roman context. With this, we really cannot understand “loob” of the Triune God unless we really understand not only each of the three persons (beings) but also how these three are related to each other. With this appreciation of Trinity from interpersonal perspective, the typical Western "three persons in one" can be also understood as "one person in three-fold", focusing on "loob" of the Triune God and how "loob" can be expressed in three-fold. In other words, understanding the interpersonal relationships of the three in Trinity is indispensable in understanding the essence (loob) of the Triune God. 

Given this Filipino orientation to interpersonal connections in finding who they are – namely association between “ kapwa” and “loob”,  Filipino’s “katatagang-loob” is certainly found not in an individual alone but individuals in relationships. That is why Virgilio Enriquez argues the Filipino sense of self is “kapwa”, which is to understand who we are in relation to others. 

To put this in the Western psychodynamic concept, Enriquez’s argument for “kapwa” is a self-concept in object relations in the Filipino cultural context. And, Jose DeMesa further argues that even inner self-concept cannot be understood with an individual in isolation as the individual must be in relationships with others. In other words, “loob” cannot be understood without “kapwa”. This DeMesa’s view also echoes Leonard de Castro’s these words, ”loob lies inside but it can only be manifested and perceived externally. 

In a way, it is ‘what-lies-within-that-lives-without’”(Kagandahang loob: Love in Philippine bioethics, Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 9 (1999), 39-40). Thus, “loob” is not just to be buried within but to be manifested outwardly through “kapwa” to be manifested in “kagandanhang-loob”(inner beauty to be shown, interpersonal attraction, ethical sense) to form interpersonal connections, in “katatagang-loob”(inner resilience), the resilient spirit to sustain not only individual self independently but through the communion of interpersonal relations with “pakikipagkapwa-tao”(interpersonal relationship that cares each other) and “pakikiramay”(compassion). 

This aspect of finding “katatagang-loob” within the relational context of “loob”, “kapwa”,”kagandahang-loob”,“pakikipagkapwa-tao”, and “pakikiramay” through interdependent interpersonal relationship is also similar to how Japanese find resilient strengths in the context of “yorisoi”(interpersonal mutual support – parallleling “pakikipagkapwa-tao”) in what Takeo Doi calls “amae”(interdependence), also invoking the Pauline theological concept of the ekkesia as one body with many interdependent body parts (1 Corinthians 12). In this ekkesia-like web of mutually compassionate interdependent relations, the Filipino practice ” bayanihan”(neighbors helping with each other on a communal level) and discern “katatagang” as well  as “katatagang-loob” through “pakikipagkapwa-tao” and “pakikiramay”. 

With this understanding of unique aspect of “Sikolohiyang Pilipino”(Filipino psychology) on “loob”, we can now better appreciate “katatagang-loob” in the context of interpersonal connection –  in order to fully understand that “katatagang-loob”, “pakikipagkapwa-tao”, and “pakikiramay” are closely associated with one another. Therefore, besides Filipinos finding their unique “katatagan” and joy through their faith - humble relationship with God, through “bahala na”, even amidst their sufferings and hardships, they draw “katatagang” and manifest “katatagang-loob” through their practice of “bayanihan”  in the context of a web of ekklesia-like interdependent relationships. 

The Post-Haiyan Philippines and the Post Exilic Salvific Hope

Obviously, amidst the horrible scene of the earthquake and typhoon double calamities in the central Philippines, there has been a sure sign of new hope with the “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob” rising, as simile and waving are observed among the survivors practicing “bayanihan”. In this, there is also a sense of joy among these survivors demonstrating their “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob” during this post-Haiyan hardship, as similes and waving are witnessed among the survivors in struggles. 

Though the prolonging delay of the arrival of water, food, medicine, and other disaster aid materials certainly frustrates and angers more survivors, as compared to the Israelites during Exodus, it is important to recognize sure signs of rising hope above the post-disasters debris in the affected regions and hardship of the survivors. Realizing such signs and responding to them in ways to transform these signs of hope and resilience into the new reality is a sure way to transform the post-Haiyan Philippines into the new Philippines. For this new hopeful prospect of the Philippines, salvific images of the post-exilic Jerusalem from the Old Testament prophetic books can offer inspirations for the ongoing efforts of recovery and restoration. 

In bringing a comparison of the post-Haiyan situation of the central Philippines to the post-exilic period in the Old Testament, I want to make sure that there is no misunderstanding that this is not to associate the calamities in the Philippines to God’s will or God’s punishment.

The authentic biblical scholarship views the Babylonian seize of Jerusalem in 587 BC and the 70 years of the Babylonian Exile as God’s punishment of the Israelites for their unrepentant sinfulness. This and other accounts on calamities in the Old Testament have been often used to attribute misfortunes and sufferings among us to victims’ sinfulness – whether it is founded or simply unfounded and speculated. When Japan had to sustain M. 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunamis, back in 2011, some Protestant fundamentalist Christians argued that the calamities in Japan was God’s punishment for sinfulness of the Japanese. They were even bold enough to assert that they hope the “God’s punishment” of Japan would prompt the surviving Japanese to “convert” to Christianity, Japan becoming a Christian nation. 

Such an attributive argument on calamities and sufferings is what I call “bad theology”, stemming from narcissistic abuse of the concept of God. Such an argument is not accepted in the authentic Christian theology, because it totally dismisses God’s expressed mercy during the post-exilic period,  to show that God is not the God of vengeance but the God of mercy. For example:

“Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;
And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;
But you will forget the shame of your youth,
And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.
“For your husband is your Maker,
Whose name is the Lord of hosts;
And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
Who is called the God of all the earth.
 “For the Lord has called you,
Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
Even like a wife of one’s youth when she is rejected,”
Says your God.

“For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you.
“In an outburst of anger
I hid My face from you for a moment,
But with everlasting lovingkindness I will have compassion on you,”

Says the Lord your Redeemer

“For this is like the days of Noah to Me,
When I swore that the waters of Noah
Would not flood the earth again;
So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
Nor will I rebuke you.   (Isaiah 54:4-9)

In fact, beyond the time of the Old Testament, Jesus, as God’s salvific plan, made it clear that human sufferings are not necessarily attributed to sin and taught us to focus on what we can do in response to the sufferings in the world. 

As he passed by he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."  (John 9:1-5)

Pathological “faith”, mainly due to narcissistic ego’s attachment to literal or fundamentalist interpretation of the biblical text, often makes us blindly obsessed with the notion of vengeance God. And, religious practice based on such pathological “faith” often imposes unnecessary fears and neglects the most important fact about God: love, mercy, and compassion. Those who are lost in their fearful image of the angry God are often unable to engage in necessary works that Jesus taught us to engage in John 9:4-5, cooperating with God’s grace. 

Not to mention, those who attribute the calamities in Philippine, in Japan, and elsewhere there have been cataclysmic disasters and sufferings, to God’s anger and punishment fail to understand why Jesus, the Son, was offered up to redeem us through his Passion in Calvary.  Through his death on the Cross, God will not inflict calamities, catastrophes, and any forms of sufferings on us as a form of punishment. And, a healthy mature Christian faith enables us to focus on our meaningful response to calamities, catastrophes and any forms of sufferings in the world, drawing upon God-bestowed gifts within us and cooperating with God’s grace and mercy.  This is also to reflect Jesus’ statement in John 9:4-5: We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Now that Jesus in flesh is gone upon his ascension - until parousia. Thus, we cannot literally interpret John 9:4-5. However, this message of Jesus should be taken as his encouragement to do his salvific works in this world to our best abilities before the time of parousia (Christ’s return to complete the apocalyptic prophecies of the Book of Revelation). For this, we must dedicate our practice of “ora et labora”, in the spirit of James 2:14-24 (faith without work is worth nothing) and 1 Corinthians 1-13 (work of faith without love means nothing) in our response to the catastrophic sufferings in the Philippines during this post-Haiyan period. Additionally, Pope Paul VI’s 1965 encyclical, Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) can guide our work of love to transform the rising resilient hope amidst the post-Haiyan hardships into salvific reality, echoing the post-exilic salvific image, further prophesized in the arrival of the new paradise in the Book of Revelation.

Now, with this understanding of the authentic Christian theology, let’s explore the source of “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob” in “pag-asa sa Kristo” (hope in Christ) in some post-exilic impressions of the scriptures. 

The catastrophe of the Category-5 Typhoon Haiyan was brought to the Philippines from the east, and the calamity in Jerusalem during the Babylonian seize in 587 BC was also brought from the east. On March 11, 2011, M. 9.0 super earthquake and more-than-10-meter-high massive tsunami waves hit northern Japan from the east. Given these what seems to be coincidences, we may associate east with a direction where calamities come from. But, let’s also remember that east also symbolically means in the Bible where good things come from, as the sun rises in the east.  For example:

"Who has aroused one from the east Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before him And subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, As the wind-driven chaff with his bow.” (Isaiah 41:2)

The above except is Isaiah’s prophecy that Cyrus the Great, the King of Persia, will bring his army to defeat Babylonian Empire in 538 BC, prompting the release of the Jewish captives from Babylon. Historically and biblically, it was, indeed, the defeat of Babylonia by Persia that contributed to the end of the Exile, bringing the captive Israelites back to Jerusalem. In other words, the empire from the east – east of Babylon, Persia, helped to end the hardship of the Jewish exile in Babylon.  

Furthermore, Jesus himself associates east to an salvific impression as to echo Isaiah 41:2;

"For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Matthew 24:27). 

Just as storms can come from the east, as in the case of the super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the Son of Man, Christ the Messiah, will return from the east. This is Jesus’ own prophecy of parousia, indicating its eastern origin. 

The sun rose again from the east in the sky of the severely affected regions after Haiyan. It has rained again, making the rescue and restoration efforts more challenging. But, the sun will rise again from the east every day, whether visibly or invisibly, in spite of more rains and storms to come. And, ultimately, it is also from the east where salvation comes, as symbolized with the Messiah’s return from the east in this biblical verse. 

Now, this biblical verse can be also taken to inspire the survivors in struggles throughout the most severely affected areas, the eastern region of the central Philippines.  It is because the rest of the survivors struggling can find powerful inspirations in witnessing “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob” among the most affected survivors of the eastern parts of the central Philippines. In this regard, though their burdens are the heaviest, “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob” of the most severely affected people in the eastern part of the central Philippines can really boost “katatagang” and “katatagang-loob” of the rest of the survivors throughout the vastly affected areas in the central Philippines – from the east to the west. 

Of course, good will and its material assistance to help the affected are reaching out to the eastern parts of the central Philippines, where calamities are greater. And, this way of the Filipino and international disaster relief teams flow – toward the east of the central Philippines can be juxtaposed with the below post-exilic restorative impression of Jerusalem, after being destroyed by the Babylonians from the east.

Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was trickling from the south side.  (Ezekiel 47:1-2)

Water is one of the necessities that frustrated survivors have been crying for. Without clean water, their further survival will be at risk. Though it is taking painstakingly so long, water is coming to the east of the central Philippines, where such crying voices for waters are heard, including Tacloban in Leyte and Samal Island.

In the above excerpts from Ezekiel, the water flowing eastward from the restored Temple of Jerusalem can be interpreted as the spirit of bayanihan” with “pakikipagkapwa-tao”, “pakikiramay”, “katatagan” and “katatagang-loob” flowing from the hearts of Filipino people and people of the rest of the world – the hearts of agape, reaching out to the east, which symbolizes where the needs are greater. In this context, the restored Temple of Jerusalem is a metaphor for the healed heart of the Filipinos healing those whose hearts are still hurt, especially in the eastern Philippines. This is a way we can apply this post-exilic impression from Ezekiel to inspire and to draw meaning in the ongoing disaster response efforts for rescues and restorations.

It deeply saddens everyone to see the Philippines suffers from this super-scale catastrophic trauma. So many lives are taken and so many surviging lives have been shaken. But, their spirit of "pag-asa", "katatagang", and "katatagang-loob" are not broken, though they may be bent. Thus, like a bamboo, they will rise again and are already rising, in fact.  In this post-disasters time, there are some confusions and shocks. Perhaps, some numbness from traumas. But, even it’s a small indication, witnessing some survivors manage to smile and wave in spite of their indescribable hardship is a sure sign of salvific recovery, echoing merciful God’s post-exilic promise, in which we all can base our hope. 

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says the Lord who has compassion on you.

“O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.
 “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
And your gates of crystal,
And your entire wall of precious stones.  (Isaiah 54:11-12)

In the above words of God from Isaiah, we are reminded of the reality of impermanence, similar to the Buddhist teaching on this truth. Thus, in this reality of impermanence, where things on earth may come and go – even mountains and hills, perhaps, disasters like the M. 7.2 earthquake in the Bohol-Cebu area in October, 2013 and the super typhoon Haiyan in November, 2013, as well as the M. 9.0 earthquake and massive tsunamis in Japan, March 2011, are just part of this impermanent reality. That is why Shakamuni Buddha taught not to form attachment and to overcome our ego-driven tendency for attachment to be free from sufferings. Similarly, that is why Jesus also said:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;  for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Though Shakamuni Buddha said that we must be careful not to get attached even to his teaching, the Dharma, it does not mean that we are discouraged from valuing and treasuring the truth – whether it is called the Dharma in Buddhism or the words of Christ – the Gospel in Christianity. We certainly need to treat the truth as the treasure from heaven. 

Jesus further said:

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away”( Matthew 24:35).

In this post-disasters difficult time, we all need God’s mercy and words of Christ to invoke and fortify our resilience – “katatagan” and “katatagang-loob” – and our compassionate works – “bayanihan”. We cannot attain any of these qualities by ourselves alone.  We do need God’s mercy to make ourselves the hands of God’s salvific restoration during this post-Haiyan time.  For this, let us heed God’s voice of mercy now:

God is full of mercy, inviting those who are having difficult time.

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters;
And you who have no money come, buy and eat.
Come, buy wine and milk
Without money and without cost.
 “Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
And your wages for what does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,
And delight yourself in abundance.
“Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
According to the faithful mercies shown to David.
“Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
A leader and commander for the peoples.
“Behold, you will call a nation you do not know,
And a nation which knows you not will run to you,
Because of the Lord your God, even the Holy One of Israel;
For He has glorified you.” (Isaiah 55:1-5)

May God’s mercy and grace continue to nourish “katatagang”, “katatagang-loob”, “pakikipagkapwa-tao”, “pakikiramay”, “bayanihan” as the survivors of the earthquake-typhoon disasters work hard as your hands.  May God continue to bless these humble servants in the Philippines.