Lenten Reflection: Endgame
27 Mar 2025 | Office for Mission and Identity (OMI)
Recent events in the country and in the world involving those who can affect our life in unique ways invited this thought in some people’s minds: what’s their endgame? Is it power? More money? Absolution? A good legacy to leave behind? Security for those they love? And perhaps directing such questions to ourself may also be useful. What is it that I am aiming for? What impact do I want to make? How do I want my story to finish when the time comes?
It may not be easy to answer because our context, disposition and desires can change. At the same time, having a clear final goal may decide the day-to-day, shutting out options and ways that will not fit it. What can be worst is that focusing on one outcome may result in greater broken heart should we fail to accomplish it, leaving us to see all the work we put go to waste. But the other side of it is that an endgame gives us purpose, meaning and identity.
God made it clear what His endgame was: love. Are we not lucky that it meant love that includes us? And are we not blessed that even His way of proceeding reflected that? Does that not invite us to aim for the same? In these days of Lent as we hopefully realize more that we have a Lord whose endgame is nothing less than the purest, noblest and greatest for us, may we ask ourself such important questions like where we are heading and how we are living.
Dahil sa mga kaganapan sa bayan at sa mundo kamakailan kaugnay ng mga taong may natatanging talab sa ating buhay, napaisip marahil ang ilan sa atin: ano ang hantungan nilang ninanais? Kapangyarihan? Mas maraming salapi? Malinis na pangalan? Isang mabuting legasiyang maiiwan? Kaligtasan para sa mga minamahal? At marahil makabuluhan ding ibaling sa sarili iyang mga tanong. Ano ang aking hinahangad? Anong bisa ang nais kong makamtan? Anong wakas sa aking kasaysayan ang ibig ko kapag dumating ang panahong iyon?
Maaaring hindi madali ang pagsagot sapagkat nagbabago ang ating konteksto, disposisyon at nasa. Kaugnay nito, ang magkaroon ng isang malinaw na hantungang nais ay magpapasya ng bawat araw natin, at maglalayo sa ibang pagpipilian at pamamaraan na hindi tugma rito. Pinakamahirap din sa pagtuon sa isang tanging hangad ang posibilidad na magdudulot ito ng mas matinding sakit kung hindi maisakatuparan, at malulugmok tayo sa isiping nasayang ang lahat ng ating pagsisikap. Subalit ang kabilang bahagi naman ng pagkakaroon ng hantungang nais ay nagkakaloob ito ng layunin, kabuluhan at pagkakakilanlan.
Nilinaw ng Diyos ang kanyang hantungang nais: pag-ibig. Hindi ba tayo mapalad na kabilang dito ang pag-ibig para sa atin? At hindi ba biyaya sa atin na maging ang Kanyang pamamaraan ay sumalamin dito? Hindi ba ito paanyaya na hangarin din natin ito? Ngayong mga araw ng Kuwaresma na nawa panahon ng mas malalim na pagkatanto na mayroon tayong Panginoon na may hantungang nais na pinakadalisay, pinakamarangal at pinakadakila para sa atin, nawa bumaling tayo rito sa mahahalagang tanong gaya ng saan tayo patungo at paano tayo namumuhay.
#ateneoishome #aihlentenreflections
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