Remembering kings today

Tomorrow, January 9, work will stop for the millions of devotees who will join the Traslacion in Manila, the annual procession of the Black Nazarene of Quiapo. Doesn't it strike you as ironic that today, the Epiphany of our Lord, as the gospel reminds us of many kings- the Three Kings who followed the star to the birthplace of Jesus the King of the Jews whom the wicked King Herod saw as a threat to his kingship- tomorrow we honor the same "King of the Jews" who would be King of Kings, wearing a bloody crown of thorns and carrying a cross He would be crucified on? From King to victim- isn't there a disconnect somewhere?

Cynics would call them "religious fanatics" but the "mamamasan", the devotees who carry the Poong Nazareno image year after year, surely are driven by a fervor they believe to be God- given. I may not want to be a "mamamasan" myself but I do intuit a link between their devotion to the Black Nazarene and the potential solution to society's ills. If the devotion is authentic, the "mamamasan" would regard Jesus Christ as their King, obey His commands, and bow to no other king. Being a true subject of this King is a heavy burden to bear, but in a ( symbolic) way the "mamamasan" out of faith, hope, and love for Jesus desire to unite their suffering with His- thus, they long to bear on their shoulders not only Jesus Nazareno's image, but also, indirectly, the cross He Himself carries on His shoulder.

Being one with Christ in suffering transforms us Jesus followers in more amazing ways than we can imagine, and by the grace and mercy of God, the change within us in time changes the world around us. We testify to this truth, because we know that Jesus' cross led to a glory beyond Golgotha.