[REFLECTION] Advent and hope for victims of social injustice

The season of Advent is a season of waiting. In the Christian liturgy, the Advent season is the time to prepare for the Lord’s birth on Christmas Day. The four weeks of Advent serve as the waiting period. In the same way the prophets and saints of old waited for the birth of the Messiah, Christians in the present time await in commemoration the dawn of salvation brought by the child Jesus.

The act of waiting is done in the spirit of prayer, charity, and sobriety. Sadly, this disposition is often lost since Filipino culture has the tendency to celebrate Christmas as early as September! Nonetheless, Advent remains as a significant reminder to all of us that we are in the period of waiting for the coming of Christ not only at Christmas, but at the end of the current world wherein “new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17) will be created.

These days, we are waiting for so many things. Some are waiting for the long break. Others are waiting for family reunions during the holidays. Others are waiting for the new year. Others are waiting for a better life and a possible uplifting from poverty. Others are waiting for new opportunities that might come as they transition into a new phase in their lives. Others are, for sure, waiting for the end of the political turmoil devastating Philippine society. I believe that we all generally wait for goodness to triumph over evil and misery.

At times we realize that what we are waiting for seems to be far from reality. We can fall into despair as we face the gravity of our desired outcome in the world. Realistically speaking, the future can be perceived as bleak. In particular, waiting for social justice seems to be elusive in the eyes of the victims. Waiting can be painful. Pessimism can be a valid option, especially if one dwells so much in the hopelessness of realities.

Last December 5, I joined the Eucharistic celebration on the fourth day of the nine days of hunger for justice campaign of the Molbog and Palaw’an people. These indigenous people arrived in Manila last September 13 to raise awareness about the 50-year land struggle in Balabac, Palawan. They came from Mariahangin in Bugsuk Island, Palawan.

What they desire is none other than social justice. They are crying out to the government to return to them the 10,821-hectare ancestral land awarded by former president Ferdinand E. Marcos to one of his cronies, Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., during Martial Law.

The nine days of prayer, fasting, and nonviolent protest in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform was organized by the SAMBILOG – Balik Bugsuk Movement. According to the press release, the “campaign is not just an act of resistance — it is a spiritual movement, a cry for dignity, and a call to action. By uniting faith and advocacy, the Indigenous Peoples of Bugsuk Island, alongside their allies, seek to inspire lasting change and justice for future generations.”

I highly appreciate the blending of spirituality and sociopolitical action of the group. In addition, most if not all the indigenous people who participated in the campaign are Muslims. This shows the spiritual and social force of interreligious dialogue of action. Our distinct faiths unite us to work for a just and peaceful world.

What Dietrich Bonhoeffer said about Advent resonates with their condition: “Our whole life is an Advent season, that is, a season of waiting for the last Advent, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.” These indigenous people, victims of social and ecological exploitation, are waiting for their ancestral land, which represents salvation for them, to be given back to them.

Listening to their testimonies was a heavy experience for me. I felt like they were a whisper among the cacophony of powerful voices. The hunger strike was their way of amplifying their voice so that their plight would be heard and become visible. But they have not given up yet. Amid the complexity of the situation, they keep on hoping for a bright future. They are witnesses of Advent hope.

For Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero, the message of Advent is “joyful hope.” “Even without escaping from the harsh reality in which we live, our Christian hearts are full of joy, expectation, and fortitude. Nothing can take away from us the joyful expectation of the Lord,” preached Romero. Advent hope is not an opium. It doesn’t sugarcoat the woundedness of history, but it impels us to find the joy of Christ in our struggles no matter how difficult it is.

This is the reason why Advent is also waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. While waiting for Christ, “we discover that he’s already living among us and we fail to recognize him,” said Romero. Our selfishness can blind us from seeing Christ in our brothers and sisters. Pessimism can dampen our hopes.

We must not forget that through the mystery of the incarnation, the heart of our Christmas celebration, God has fully entered our broken and at the same time graced history. Consequently, in our waiting and hoping for salvation, God is already accompanying us, especially the victims of injustice.

Saint Oscar Romero exhorts us to be in solidarity with the poor and the oppressed in the light of Advent:

“Advent should enable us to discover the face of Christ in every sister and brother we greet, in every friend whose hand we shake, in every beggar who asks for bread, in every worker who seeks to exercise his right to organize a union, in every campesino who looks for work in the coffee groves. If we recognize Christ in them, then we won’t rob them, deceive them, or deny them their rights. They are Christ, and whatever is done to them Christ will take as done to him. This is what Advent is about, Christ living among us.”

At the heart of Advent is Christ’s loving presence. In our waiting, struggles, and anticipation, we put our faith in the Word made flesh. In the end, we hope to be reconciled with God, with each other, and with our common home. We await God not passively, but actively by recognizing Christ in the face of others. – Rappler.com

Kevin Stephon Centeno is a Jesuit scholastic. Born in Oriental Mindoro, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and spent five years of seminary formation at Saint Augustine Seminary in Calapan City. His views do not represent the position of the entire Society of Jesus.