By Rev. Jeanelle Nicolas Ablola

It’s quite easy to take for granted the humanness of Jesus. One of my favorite things about Lent is that it is an invitation to meet Jesus in all of his humanness. I grew up hearing the stories of his path towards the cross as a seemingly predestined fast track in which Jesus had little if any, agency over his life and his ministry. 

I don’t know if Jesus really did “predict” his death. I do know that oftentimes being committed to the work of a just and lasting peace, in times and places where war and policing thrives and fills the pockets of the already wealthy, means risking one’s life. Facing mortality is an everyday reality. Through my years of involvement with the Cal-Nev Philippine Solidarity Task Force I’ve made friends, both there and here in the US, with people of faith and community workers who have been, or are being, red-tagged and targeted by the Philippine government and its agencies for the liberating work they do. They are activists and church people who dare to defend human rights, feed the hungry, support striking workers, visit political prisoners, and bring aid to the poor in the Philippines. After the Anti-Terror Law (ATL) was passed in 2020, they found themselves in increasing danger. This targeting is supported, financially and politically, by the US government and US tax dollars.

Many have lost their lives before them and they know their stories. They know the cruelty of the military and the police, especially under Duterte’s War on Drugs. They know what happened to other people of faith who have gone before them, such as Bishop Alberto Ramento who was found killed in his home in 2006. They know about Fidela Bugarin Salvador, a layperson and Engineer who was killed in 2014 because of her socio-economic and disaster response work with indigenous people in the Cordilleras. They have received death threats and intimidation. Those who have fought for justice around the world know this type of danger.

I believe Jesus “predicted” his death as much as any other committed person of peace and justice - Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Bishop Oscar Romero - knew the risks they were taking and the relentless violence of the Empires that they and their communities sought to undo. They saw this violence firsthand.

When Jesus said yes to being part of a Movement that his cousin baptized him into, he knew the stories of those who had gone before him, too. He knew that what John the Baptist was doing was risky and would cost. He knew that Moses didn’t live to see the end of his people’s journey. He knew of prophets being killed for the prophecies. He knew the stories of his ancestors. And he chose. It wasn’t a matter of destiny beyond his control. In his humanness, coming from the midst of a crowd poised to also say yes, he chose.

Viewing Jesus’ journey to the cross as a neatly laid out predicted plan loses a bit of Jesus’ own human process. Viewing his journey this way tends to become an excuse for us to separate from his experience and keeps us from being able to identify with Jesus. It’s much easier to put Jesus onto an ahistorical, apolitical pedestal to become an object of worship whose ministry cannot be matched or for which to aspire. It keeps us from being accountable. It also keeps us from being empowered as agents of change in our own times and places.

As someone who often gets stuck in the intellectual realm and forgets their own power to be an agent for change, I hope to choose for Lent to be an invitation to challenge myself to reflect on and intentionally live into the vulnerabilities, strengths, and beauty of humanness; to immerse myself in community interconnectedness and the interdependence that liberates us; to savor love and service for the People. What might I choose for myself and for all of Creation this season? What legacies might my chosen ancestors be calling me to say yes to, bringing with me, and midwifing?

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Rev. Jeanelle Nicolas Ablola is a second-generation Filipino American from San Diego, a child of immigrants, queer, trans, anti-Empire pastor who is currently serving at Pine UMC, San Francisco. They are rooted in the movement for human rights and liberation in the Philippines and regularly lead solidarity trips to the country. They are Co-Chair of the UMC Cal-Nev Philippine Solidarity Task Force (PSTF), a member of NEFFCON NorCal, and the 2014 recipient of the MFSA Bishop Leontine T.C. Kelley Peace and Justice Award.