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As Clever as Snakes
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Father Goose's Nursery Other posts: In my father's house, there are many rooms.
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Speech delivered at the Reading of Honors Ateneo de Manila High School 13 December 2000
Each institution has its own sacred space and for the Ateneo de Manila University, the High School Covered Courts is our sacred space. All of you would want to see yourselves walking up here and shaking Fr. Nebres's hand two or three years down the line. Eleven years ago it was my turn to shake the hand of Fr. Bernas for my High School Graduation and seven years ago I was shaking his hand again for my college graduation. I would therefore like to thank the members of the High School Administration for inviting me to share this sacred space once more with all of you.
In sending out his twelve apostles upon their respective missions, Jesus instructed them to "be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves". It is easy to understand why the apostles must be as innocent as doves. Jesus wants his apostles to remain pure of heart, in the words of St. Paul, "to remain like children as far as evil is concerned". But it is difficult to understand why we must be as clever as snakes.
Snakes are often associated with evil and malice. It was a snake that tempted Eve to commit the first sin in the Garden of Eden and according to the Book of Revelation, it is a snake that will wreak havoc in the end times. Whenever someone does something devious what do we say, we say in Tagalog, "Ahas ka".
I would like to share with you today a homily of a priest who explained this passage beautifully. The priest said that in our everyday lives, we spend so much time thinking about our everyday pursuits. I suppose, you see your parents invest so much thought in their businesses, figuring out new ways to sell their products. Some parents may spend as much time figuring out a case over dinner, be it a medical case or a legal case.
I hope you spend a lot of time trying to figure out your lessons, at least as much time as you might be spending on figuring out how to get a higher score in Counterstrike. I remember the days when I'd spend so much time trying to figure out how to get past stage two of Red Alert and how to run surpluses in SimCity.
Indeed we spend a lot of intellectual energy trying to figure out our everyday concerns. The priest asked in his homily, why do we not spend as much time thinking about other pursuits? Why do we not spend as much time, for example, trying to figure out how we can best communicate the Gospel to the people we encounter? Don't we wish that our parents would spend some more time trying to figure us out and what makes us happy rather than worrying about their jobs? Don't they wish that we spent some more time talking to them and trying to understand where they are coming from?
It is a general principle that people feel appreciated when they know that you have given them some thought. Don't we appreciate small gestures of thoughtfulness given to us by our friends? Don't we appreciate the teachers who obviously spend time preparing for a lesson, preparing not only the content of the lesson but also tailor fitting the lesson in such a way that we can understand and relate to what is being said?
And why is it that we do not spend as much time trying to "solve the problems of the world". Sometimes I think that social involvement tends to be run on emotionalism and tradition. But in addressing the questions of poverty or even in fixing political systems we do not just need certified do-gooders or hopeless romantics. We need professionals: we need social scientists to help analyze the roots of the problem, we need managers to manage social development institutions and social entrepreneurial initiatives, and we need lawyers to set-up the proper regulatory framework especially in this age of globalization.
I believe that all Ateneans are intelligent, not just those who are formally recognized in awarding ceremonies such as this. You have passed one of the most difficult entrance exams in the country. I remember taking the High School Entrance exam right here in these covered courts and finding it deadly difficult. It was so difficult that I was teary-eyed as I talked to Brother Dunne in his office right after the test.
Furthermore, I believe that Ateneans have multiple intelligences. Modern psychology identifies seven different forms of intelligences, logico-matemathical being only one of seven. I remember a high school batchmate of mine who did not have spectacular grades but wrote spectacular, award winning plays. Other classmates played and composed beautiful music and still others had a highly developed sense of EQ, a measure of emotional intelligence.
When Jesus asks us to be as clever as snakes, he is asking us to use our intelligences not just for our everyday pursuits but also in the service of the Kingdom. We are being asked to spend as much thought on figuring out how to make the people around us feel loved and how to make our society a better place to live in.
And so, go forth, disciples of Christ, be as clever as snakes and as innocent as doves.
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Contact me at [email protected] |
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