The Christian world has officially entered the Christmas season. It is the season of rejoicing as we commemorate that night when the “weary world rejoiced” for experiencing a “thrill of hope for yonder broke a new and glorious morn”. Christmas is a season of hope. It is a tale of the ultimate love when the King of kings was born in a manner perhaps no other human was or will ever be. The story of Christmas is one inimitable act of humility. Thirty years after the child in a manger had been born, we witnessed him becoming a leader leading by example, always doing unto others what he would want others do unto him. He was always a man for others. Did he do anything for reasons other than love for others? Absolutely not. Even when anger drove him to use physical force to drive away the vendors and the peddlers that littered his Father’s temple, he did it for love; love for his Father whose temple was being desecrated by merchants and love for the merchants whom he wanted to learn about respect and proper decorum. The life of Jesus, the leader, is one series of contradictions. He claimed to be a king, yet he had no palace, not even a house of his own, and he was poorer than the poorest. He talked about his kingdom, yet he had no possessions. He showed incredible power over the death of Lazarus, yet he opted not to protect himself from the crucifixion verdict of the mob. So what kind of leader was he? The true servus populi, that’s what he was. The king came to serve, not to be served. My own reason for rejoicing this Christmas season is my unflagging belief that once upon a time God became man to be one among us and show us what life is all about and how to live it whether one becomes a leader or a follower.

As Christmas ushers in the New Year, we have another reason to rejoice. Yes, every New Year brings upon us all a sheltering feeling of hope and joy. But more than the excitement of a new beginning, January of the year 2010 happens to be just a few months away from another national election. Come Election Day, we will be voting not just for new national leaders, including a new president, but also our very own municipal mayor. Even in the most overwhelming Filipino way of Christmas merrymaking, I guess we can find time to reflect on the significance of the forthcoming elections and how they can impact on our daily lives in the years ahead. Also, we can start thinking about the candidates and determining who among them should fill the vacant posts. The reason why we should rejoice at every election is the fact that the act of electing our candidate, the act of casting our own ballot, the process of making our choice is absolutely ours and no one else’s. But we can make an intelligent choice only after we learn the qualities of a true fine leader.

The Christmas holidays may be an appropriate background for our reflection as we decide on whom we should elect. Remember the King of kings born on Christmas day. Does our candidate have any semblance of humility we saw in the child in a manger? Will he lead by example as the leader with twelve apostles did? Will our candidate come as a true servant of the people, serving and not wanting to be served? Will he be willing to sacrifice his own interests for the good of the people, as the one and only true leader allowed himself to hang on the cross so he could save mankind? These are basic questions we need to ask ourselves if we wish to make an intelligent choice, and thereby have a reason to rejoice.

Come to think of it, the man who presently sits as the mayor of the municipality of Paniqui, has an awfully good chance of getting a high rating if we let him take the test of a true leader. So why gamble? For comments / reactions, please email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it