Pit Señor to all who worship the Santo Nino!
Today is the Feast of the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu that we have been celebrating as the Sinulog Festival in the last 40 years. While we admit that in Cebu we always have those old men and women dancing the “Sinug” as requested by many people, it was never celebrated in the way we celebrate it today. In fact, before the Sinulog was conceptualized by our good friend David “Boy” Odilao Jr. my motorcycle group would do long trips to Kailbo in Aklan to celebrate the Ati-Atihan Festival in front of their church. But Kalibo didn’t have enough hotels, which is why when the Sinulog was done in Cebu, we stopped going to the Ati-Atihan. Our Gospel today is about the Greatest in the Kingdom that you will find in Matt.18: 1-5,10.
“1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”
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Actually, today for the rest of the Catholic world is the second Sunday in Ordinary Time which is about the Testimony of John the Baptist to Jesus that you can read in John 1:29-34. But we in the Philippines have been acknowledge worldwide that we celebrate the Feast of the Santo Niño de Cebu every third Sunday of the Year called the Sinulog Festival and it has become known as the most famous festival in Asia. Many Asian nations like India, Japan, or China have their own festivities, but the Sinulog Festival beats them all in attendance where once it brought three million people to Cebu.
In today’s gospel reading, our Lord Jesus was asked by his disciples “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” His answer to them was a bit shocking as he called a little child and brought the child in front of them and said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Why did this shock his disciples? Remember that during his time in Palestine, women and children had no title. Women were considered chattel, like a personal thing, while children had no role to play except when they have reached a certain age as an adult.
In Matt. 14:13-21 in the feeding of the five thousand, you will notice that this figure did not count the women and children who were also present in that great miracle when our Lord fed this huge number of people from five loaves of bread and two fishes. As we all know the emancipation of women only happened in the 18th century, although there were many times when women ruled their kingdoms like Cleopatra in Egypt. Of course times have truly changed since 2,000 years ago. However, there are still a few nations that follow this old practice.
Meanwhile, what our Lord Jesus is telling us is for us to have a “childlike faith.” If you study the characteristics of a child, he will always obey what his parents tell him. In a sort of way, our Lord is telling us to obey God, not our own understanding because God, like a good parent, will always take care of our needs.
Finally, our Lord gave his disciples a huge lesson to learn when he said, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.” When I’m with my grandchildren and knowing this particular passage from Jesus, it is a way for me to recognize that they are in the hands of God. So in the same way, we rely fully on the Señor Santo Niño for our physical and spiritual needs, which is why Cebu is so blessed! Pit Señor!
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