REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had… There was no one in the group who was in need.” — Acts of the Apostles 4:32-34

Post-election Scenarios

Election in our country is a very divisive political exercise. After every election time communities and even churches, sad to note, are divided more than ever before, especially if they have supported opposing candidates. Often times, the supporters of opposing candidates are the ones quarrelling against each other even after election.

Of course, election is supposed to be a democratic way of choosing the best leaders to serve our people. But sad to say, election in our country has become more of an economic family enterprise, an easiest and surest way for rich families to become even richer. According to the latest media report, most of our elected officials have come from political dynasties and have doubled their riches after a year or two based on their reported SALNs. Certainly, they became richer not because of high salaries(salaries of elected government officials are not comparatively high) but because of the so-called SOPs and pork barrels ,or simply graft and corruption.

No wonder politicians would do everything they could, by hook or by crook, and employ every available political gimmick and tricks, dirty or otherwise, in order to win. No wonder in our country there are more people killed during election than during revolution. During election time, authorities have to count not only the votes that were cast, but also the lives that were sacrificed. No wonder very few losing candidates would concede, because in our country no one is lost in elections; one either won or cheated. Consequently, communities remain divided even after election. They would find it quite difficult to really unite and to live together as one people.

Spirit of Babel

In the Scriptures, we find two kinds of spirit that animated the people of God: the spirit of Babel (Gen.11) and the spirit of Pentecost (Acts2). The spirit of Babel is the spirit of division and discord, while the spirit of Pentecost is the spirit of unity and community. The spirit of Babel is the spirit of pride and self-centeredness, while the spirit of Pentecost is the spirit of humility and selflessness.

First is the spirit of Babel. The story of the Tower of Babel is recorded in Genesis 11. It is a simple story of a people who wanted to build a tower that would reach the sky in order to make a name for their ownselves. But as they built the tower, it came to a point when they could no longer understand each other. Their community was divided and the tower wa sconsequently left unfinished.

This old, old story was believed to have been written by scribes hired by King Solomon to preserve the oral traditions of the Israelites. Biblical scholars called them Yahwist Writers, because they used Yahwe has God’s name.

Actually, the story is a critique of the so-called Solomonic Era characterized by massive infrastructure programs. It was during King Solomon’s time that the legendary Solomon’s Palace and the grandiose Jerusalem Temple were established, not to mention the numerous shrines for the gods and goddesses of KingSolomon’s one thousand wives and concubines.

Apparently, the Yahwist Writers were not happy with King Solomon’s massive infrastructure projects and economic policies, because they were carried out at the expense of the people. The people had to pay high taxes and had to bear the burdens of conscripted labor. King Solomon was rich, perhaps the richest king of Israel as they say, but the people were poor or made to be poor.

Indeed, the palace had a different language from that of the people. The language of the palace was a language of greed for power, riches, and fame. The language of the people was a language of poverty and oppression. Thus, the palace and the people could no longer understand each other even though they spoke the same language.

Certainly, the Yahwist Writers believed that God does not condone such oppression. They believed that King Solomon was putting up those infrastructures not to glorify God as he claimed, but to glorify himself. And such spirit would certainly destroy the unity and community of people. The spirit of Babel, indeed, is the spirit of pride and self-centeredness. It is the spirit of division and discord.

Spirit of Pentecost

On the other hand, we have also the story of Pentecost in Acts 2. By the way, we are now in the Season of Pentecost in our church calendar. As the story goes, the Early Christians were gathered in Jerusalem waiting for the coming of the Lord. Then, suddenly the Holy Spirit, appearing like tongues of fire, descended upon them accompanied by strange sound. And though they spoke different languages, the Christians understood each other. They were united as one loving community, sharing each other’s burdens and concerns.

As the Scriptures say, “The group of believers was one in mind and heart. None of them said that any of their belongings were their own, but they all shared with one another everything they had… There was no one in the group who was in need.” (Acts of the Apostles 4:32-34).

This is the spirit of Pentecost. It is the spirit of unity and community, the spirit of humility and selflessness. It is a different kind of spirit, indeed, different from the spirit of Babel. That’s why it is called Holy Spirit. The word “holy” literally means “different” or set a part.

I do believe this is the kind of spirit that we need in our time. The spirit of Babel – the spirit of division and discord, of pride and self-centeredness-animated so much our electoral politics. If we want to move on as a people and as a nation, we need to exorcise and drive away the spirit of Babel from our political life, and give way to the spirit of Pentecost – the spirit of unity and community, the spirit of humility and selflessness. # nordis.net