What Would You Do This Christmas?

Luke 3:10-14

¹⁰ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.
¹¹ John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”
¹³ “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.
¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”
He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

The pastor threw this question to the congregation, "What would you do this Christmas?".  He told us, the answer might be very easy for us... but how about for those who were badly affected by Typhoon Pablo?  The answer wouldn't be as easy...

For those typhoon victims that were left homeless, jobless and worse, who lost their family members, what would Christmas be for them?  Would they even have the time to pause and think about it, when they don't even have food to eat, a warm place to stay, and a family to return to.  But through the effort of various sectors to help them, there might be some spark of the Christmas spirit, though little, can bring back hope to one's heart.

But that's just the least we can do for them, that would temporarily aid their burden.  More we can help prevent such awful disaster from happening again if we just do our part and be responsible to our environment and fellow countrymen.  We can't stop typhoons but we can definitely lessen it's effect.  With hundreds of lives sacrificed, hundreds more still missing and thousands injured and affected, it wouldn't take someone from Compostela Valley to see what caused the devastation that worsen the effect of typhoon Pablo.  Flash flood with mud, rocks and huge piles of logs rushed down from the mountains, even the best swimmer would not survive that. 

bagged bodies recovered from debris brought by the typhoon.
(photo taken from zimbio.com)

What's done is done.  Hope we learned from what had happened.  Now, even areas not known to be visited by typhoons are no longer safe.  Worst, our mountains had lost their capability to hold and lessen the force of ravaging flood and mud brought by the typhoon.  The rampant logging, deforestation and mining, we all brought it to ourselves.  It's not too late and it's not irreversible.  But the government cannot fix this problem alone, the cooperation of our citizen is needed.  We still can log but not to the extent that we clear our forest, we just take what is enough and needed.  Then we replace what we cut and let the forest recover.  We still can mine, but not too long and extensive in one place.  The mountains also need to recover.  Just picture this out, what do you think would happen if a mountain with cut-down trees and bombarded with holes would be poured with huge amount of water?  It would definitely spell "disaster".

For now, victims are crying for any help they can get, that too much hunger and thirst even let them forget to mourn for their lost loved ones.  I know we will continue to help them and someday they will be back on their feet again.  But then, what will stop a similar tragedy from happening again?  Not unless we do something significant about it.  We might be looking for a miracle, but nothing is impossible... May the Lord guide us all.  Yahweh bless.