A Cubao Christmas

The District Denizen's Fringe Reflections for December

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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Welcome to A Cubao Christmas: The District Denizen's Fringe Reflections for December, the first, Filipino retreat manual in cyberspace!

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A Cubao Christmas

A CUBAO CHRISTMAS:
The District Denizen’s Fringe Reflections for December
A Personal Retreat Book in Cyberspace
By Tony Perez

Authored September - October 2013

Posted in cyberspace October 2013

Classification: For General Reading Public

Category: Religious

IPR of Tony Perez

Important Notes:

This is the only legitimate, electronic version of this cyberspace book.

This cyberspace book does not exist in any other format.

This cyberspace book may not be reproduced or adapted in part or in whole without the written or electronic permission of the author.

All rights reserved

2013

Introduction

This personal retreat book, to be used over seven days of Christmas, was developed for Christians and non-Christians familiar with the Bible story of the birth of Jesus. (Please keep on reading despite this opening-line turn-off.) It was specifically written for jaded Christians, non-practitioners of structured religion, the skeptical, the callous, and the indifferent. (Now you’re saying, “That isn’t me,” right?) My objective is to take the readers out of their normal thinking boxes and look at old scenes from new vantage points, and to provide focus on the relevance of the season to all of humanity, not just to a chosen few.

As time plods on it becomes increasingly difficult to dissociate the Christmas season from materialism. Even in countries where Christians are not predominant, Christmas is “celebrated” as a non-Biblical, holiday occasion, especially in commercial centers, the sole purpose there being to attract tourists and shoppers to purchase commodities. People splurge and go into debt for more money, gifts, food, new clothes, new appliances, new electronic gadgets, new toys, new everything especially since the Christmas week precedes the “New” Year. The last thing everyone ever asks for is the gift of spirituality, though it is given free of charge, wrapped or not.

To confuse the scenario, Christmas—to children and adults alike—is all about Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, elves, snow (considering that it never did and probably never will snow in Bethlehem, unless Earth changes accelerate), White Christmases, Frosty the Snowman, sleds with sleigh bells, silver bells, Winter Wonderlands, chestnuts roasting on open fires, fireplaces and chimneys, stockings (and stocking-fillers), ghosts of personified Christmas tenses, lanterns and lantern competitions, gift games, corporate celebrations, decoration contests, carolers, the colors red and green, candy cane, holly wreaths, mistletoe, the twelve days of Christmas, trees with boxes and bags of goodies underneath, reunions, drinking sprees, and others.

Here, then (or so I hope), is a Christmas book that makes a difference to persons who can detach themselves from the madding crowds and who are able to pause briefly from their favorite maelstrom for at least seven days. It is for the worker on call who is compelled to function as part of a skeletal staff and has to forego his vacation leave; for the urban employee who goes home to a lonely, rented room at the end of the day and has nothing but a tablet or a cell phone for company; for the overseas worker who is far away and unable to be with family (but who, serendipitously, can be reached in cyberspace); for the denizen of Cubao, a district of faceless transients; for the generic loner.

A Cubao Christmas was designed for all of the above, for those who have little time to spare and are unable to go to church or attend services due to work duties or disability (or sheer laziness). The reflections for seven days of Christmas that follow are deliberately light and short. Each reading and spiritual exercise can be accomplished in 15 minutes. And all of this can be done alone, whether in bed or in a coffee shop.

As in my master’s thesis and book Pagsubok Sa Ilang: Ikaapat Na Mukha Ni Satanas (Temptation in the Wilderness: The Fourth Aspect of Satan) (Anvil Publishing Inc., 2005), I drew heavily from the Gospel of Luke. Scholars point out references to the coming of the Christ as early as in the Old Testament’s Book of Isaiah. The actual narratives of Jesus’ birth, however, are in the New Testament’s Gospels of Matthew and Luke, with more explicit details in the Gospel of Luke. (The Gospels of Mark and John use the ministry of John the Baptist, immediately prior to the ministry of Jesus, as their point of attack. The narrative of the birth of John the Baptist is also in Luke, and again with more explicit details.)

In composing this personal retreat book I employ a textual approach to passages in Scripture, using the narratives therein as springboards for reflection. The text is taken literally, and then raised to a higher level or taken down to a deeper level (which mean the same thing, surprise, surprise!). Scriptural references are indicated, but I avoided the inclusion of quotations (paragraphs peppered with such often tend to be disconcerting). Finally, I reveal my hopeless bias toward Luke because I perceive his works (yes, plural, since he also wrote The Acts of the Apostles) as person-oriented (as opposed to concept-oriented) and psychological (a true endomorph, he). This is fascinating to me since “modern” Psychology did not exist at the time that Scripture was written (Sigmund Freud had not yet been born), and the complex psychology of the ancient Hebrews is within the multi-volume Mishnah, a treasure trove not many Christians bother to explore.

I hope you’re getting hooked by now.

--Tony Perez
October 1, 2013

How to Use This Personal Retreat Book

This cyberspace retreat book is divided in seven Days. The Days are to be read and accomplished over the seven days leading to Christmas Day (December 19 – 25).

Each Day is comprised of an initial reading, followed by a set of spiritual guideline questions for reflection.

Anything is best read, of course, without distractions such as music or the TV blaring in the background. Remember, true solitude blooms in silence. And silence encourages the solitude of the mind and the solitude of the heart.

Is it December 19 yet? Let’s begin!

Day 1 (December 19): The Dreams of Christmas

Never has there been a profusion of dreams by different characters in the Bible as in the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. In a dream, an angel advises Joseph to take Mary as his wife; the child she conceived is from the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). The wise men are warned (by whom is not indicated) not to return to Herod (Matthew 2:12). Also in a dream, an angel appears to Joseph and urges him to take his family to Egypt in order to escape the wrath of Herod (Matthew 2:13).

The season of Advent is a period not only of anticipation but of deep intuition, a knowledge and an acceptance of the divine that are both endowed by the Holy Spirit.

Contemplate the coming birth of Jesus before sleeping, and pay attention to your dreams.

Do you remember any significant dreams on or about Christmas from your past? Your psyche celebrates Christmas on the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious levels. As the designated date of Jesus’ birth approaches, a rebirth or a renewal of your Self is impending.

What important changes in your Self and in your life do you foresee occurring simultaneously with the birth of Jesus?

Day 2 (December 20): The Angels of Christmas

As with dreams, never has there been a profusion of angels in the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. The angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and informs him that his wife, Elizabeth, will bear him a son (Luke 1:11-20). The same angel appears to Mary and informs her that she is to bear Jesus, and then informs her that her cousin Elizabeth is with child (Luke: 26-37). An angel appears to shepherds in the fields and informs them of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9-12). This is followed by a vision of a host of angels praising God (Luke 2:13). In koine Greek (the street language the New Testament was written in), the word for the translation “angel” is aggelos, meaning a messenger, a delegate, or a representative—human or non-human—bearing an important message from above.

If angels can appear to shepherds, surely they can also appear to you.

When was the last time an aggelos came into your life? Was this aggelos a relative, a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, an acquaintance, a stranger? What was his or her message?

What impact did the message have on your life, and how did this affect your relationship with God?

Day 3 (December 21): The Feminine and The Masculine of Christmas

In Luke 1:46-55, Mary sings a song of praise to God, a passage popularly known as the Magnificat. It is the longest and most poetic speech that Mary ever delivers in Scripture, and is all the more telling about the importance of womanhood and motherhood in that Joseph, the foster father, has none. Whenever Mary appears in other scenes her dialogue (so to speak, pun intended) is prosaic and practical.

Because the hub of Advent is the birth of Jesus, we seldom see that the first song of Christmas is the song of a woman, a mother-to-be, Mary. While her song magnifies the glory of God it is also a reflection of the full happiness of a woman not only at the coming of a savior but at the coming of her own son.

The song is preceded, in Luke 1:68-79, by another poetic passage, Zechariah’s prophecy, but then again that is for the birth of John rather than the birth of Jesus.

While honoring the birth of the masculine savior, how have you also honored the feminine of Christmas? How do you relate with the women who surround you, and the special women in your life, when Christmas Day approaches?

Day 4 (December 22): The Location of Christmas

The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy of the House of David (1:1-17), establishing the royal lineage of Jesus and setting in stark contrast the exact place of his birth.

The location of Christmas is not a royal “House” of David. It is a manger (presumably one outside the inn), because there was no room for Joseph and Mary and their forthcoming child in the inn they sought refuge in (Luke 2:7). That the innkeeper had “no place for them” was not necessarily rudeness on his or her part. The offer of the manger may have very well implied that linen, water, food, and other amenities were kindly provided.

The manger is the heart, and the star of enlightenment shines above it.

Remember the times when you were offered only the second best—or the worst—for whatever reason. Did you resent what was offered, or did you accept what was offered with humility?

Remember the times when you offered others only the second best—or the worst—for whatever reason. Did the recipients resent what you offered, or did they accept what was offered with humility?

The manger is your heart. What is the star of enlightenment that shines above it?

Day 5 (December 23): The Wise Men and The Shepherds of Christmas

The contrast between “royal house” and manger is echoed in the personages who visited Jesus immediately after his birth. The first visitors were wise men (Matthew 2: 1-11), not necessarily three (the apocryphal Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar). In truth, it is never mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew that there were three wise men, or magi—there could have been more of them. The number may later have been indicated to personify three continents. Alternatively, the number may have been inferred because there were three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (or did Matthew really mean myrrh oil?), all of these appropriately given to a king.

The second visitors were the (poor) shepherds in the field (Luke 2:8-15). Despite the cozy crèches created over the years, it is not explicitly stated in Luke that they deposited one or more than one lamb or sheep from the flock they were tending at the feet of Jesus. (They were hired hands and did not own the flock they were tending, after all).

Are you a wise man/woman or a shepherd during Christmas? Which aspect of your personality is a wise man/woman? Which aspect is a shepherd?

What do the gifts of the magi represent to you, when you offer these to Jesus?

Day 6 (December 24): The Massacre of The Innocents of Christmas

Herod has all children massacred—male and female, two years of age and below—because the wise men deceived him (Luke 2:16-18). Herod’s reaction to a major threat to his power and his holdings is presented as a counterpoint to the Gospel of Matthew’s thrust, the solidification of a Christian ecclesia (community or church) no longer controlled by the likes of Herod.

This massacre of the innocents is parallel to the unenlightened Self’s random massacre of the contents of the dark unconscious, which contains all things hidden, mysterious, threatening, and unknown. Whenever the ego is uninformed and insecure it tends to wipe out everything within its reach, in reflex action, to preserve its interests.

How many times have you been deceived or betrayed by those whom you trusted? How did you react to the deception or betrayal?

In times of great anxiety, how do you harm others? How do you harm yourself?

Who or what are the “innocents” you typically “massacre”?

Are you willing to step out of your turf from time to time to see things, including yourself, from the points of view of other people? Have you taken this risk in the past?

Day 7 (December 25): From Dreams of Christmas to The Reality of Christmas

The prophet Isaiah indicated that the savior would be named Emmanuel (Matthew 1:22-23). The child born of Mary was named Jesus (Luke 2:21). Both names have divine meanings, essentially that Jesus is the Son of God, the savior, the messiah—and that the kingdom of God is already among and within us.

What is the meaning of your own name? Why were you given that name? Do you like your name, or would you change it if you had the opportunity to do so? If you would change it, what would you change it to?

Know that, whatever your name is, the name of Jesus is also within you, as long as you have faith in the love of God and as long as you love others as you love yourself. On every Christmas Day, Jesus is born to remind you of this. Christmas is your birthday too.

“Merry Christmas” is for you.

Love yourself. You deserve it.

Love others. They deserve it too.

Post-Retreat Fringe Reflections

So let us end this personal retreat with those two tired and overused clichés, “Every day is Christmas” and “It is better to give than to receive.” Because, despite whatever the authors of those lines originally meant, they really aren’t true.

Every day is not Christmas because Christmas is a special day, and should remain that way.

It is also best to give and to graciously receive, whether to and from others or to and from yourself.

Always look forward to Christmas Day, and to living Christmas in spirit with your whole mind, your whole heart, your whole soul.

That is the way to true fulfillment and happiness.

You never walk alone.

Our Lady of the Assumption Parish Church, Dauis, Bohol, July 10, 2012

Photo by Evelyn Cutab Silva

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TONY PEREZ is a creative writer, playwright, poet, lyricist, painter, portraitist, fiber artist, and psychic journalist and trainer. He is one of the 100 Filipino recipients of the 1898-1998 Centennial Artists Awards of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. His other awards include the 13 Artists of the Philippines, the Gawad Pambansang Alagad ni Balagtas from the Writers Union of the Philippines, four National Book Awards from the Manila Critics Circle, a FAMAS Award for Best Story, five prizes from the Cultural Center of the Philippines Playwriting Contest, the National Fellowship for Drama from the Creative Writing Center of the University of the Philippines, the Irwin Chair in Creative Writing from Ateneo de Manila University, and a prize in photography from the Children’s Museum and Library, Inc. He was a member of the first official Philippine delegation to the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali, sponsored by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, in 2010.

Some of Mr. Perez’s works in Filipino have been translated into English, French, and Polish. His artworks have been showcased in 21 individual and group exhibits curated by Marian Pastor Roces, Nonon Padilla, Bobi Villanueva, Judy Sibayan, Lalyn Buncab, Nilo Ilarde, Ernie Patricio and Jun Veloso, Chari Elinzano, Reverend Father Loy Divino (CICM), and Raven Villanueva.

Mr. Perez holds an A.B. in Communication and a Cand. M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Ateneo de Manila University, an M.A. in Religious Studies, magna cum laude, from Maryhill School of Theology in New Manila, and certificates in Publication Design and Production from the Department of Journalism at the University of Wisconsin and Fundamentals of Graphic Design from the University of California at San Francisco. His master’s thesis, titled Pagsubok sa Ilang: Ikaapat na Mukha ni Satanas, was awarded the National Book Award for Theology and Religion by the Manila Critics Circle in 2006.

In 2013, Mr. Perez decided to post all of his new and old works in cyberspace so that they could be available not only to Filipinos but to the entire world.

Mr. Perez has been working as a full-time Cultural Affairs Specialist at the Public Affairs Section of the Embassy of the U.S.A. in Manila since 1979. He conducts workshops titled “Writing from The Heart”, “Writing from The Creative Unconscious”, “Dramatherapy”, “Community Theater”, and art classes nationwide.

Mr. Perez has two sons, Nelson I. Miranda and Chito I. Miranda, and four granddaughters, Angelique Pearl Miranda, Nielsen Tegelan, Aubrey Rose Miranda, and Chevy Keith Miranda. His daughters-in-law are Agnes Tegelan and Ivy Vercasion. They live in Cubao, Quezon City, where Mr. Perez has resided since 1955.

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