Making Space
“MAKING SPACE”
Homily for Fri. of the 1st week in OT,
12 Jan 2024, Mk 2:1-12
The annual preparation for the ritual of the traslacion of the image of the Black Nazarene must a be nightmare for security people especially those in charge of crowd management. Have you ever wondered why, in spite of the millions of people who come for their annual devotion to the Nazareno, all wanting to come near to the image to have a glimpse of the “Poon” passing by or just to get their handkerchiefs to touch the image, we have so far avoided a stampede? Actually, the ritual has all the factors and elements present that could lead to a tragedy similar to what happened in Seoul, Korea two years ago now where hundreds of young people who were attending a Halloween party died of stampede.
Today’s Gospel gives the answer to my question: MAKING SPACE. It is when people cannot make space for each other anymore that a stampede in a crowded place is bound to happen. This is true, not just physically, but also spiritually—as in the attitude expressed silently by scribes in the Gospel story about the paralytic at Capernaum.
The creative way in which the four people had even been allowed to bore a hole in the roof to be able to bring in their paralytic friend near to Jesus is no different from what the Nazareno devotees do when they see some of their fellow devotees who seem more desperate about finding space near the image. They actually help each other. Even a centimeter of space would help. They are very much like the crabs that find their way out of the bucket.
I sympathize with these poor creatures which have been unfairly portrayed by some Filipinos. I mean those who apply what they call the expression“crab mentality” on those who tend to pull others down in order to reach the top. That unfair to the crabs! Why? Because the crabs don’t do that. They don’t really pull each other down; they actually pull each other up. The ones below allow themselves to serve as a ladder for the ones above
