The omen

SIGNS, FROM heaven most presumptuously, er, presumably.
Pampanga Gov. Eddie T. Panlilio said he would be open to the idea of running for president if he saw “signs.” So reported his favorite newspaper.
So what sign is the still-reluctant pretender to the presidency yearning for?
As it is a battle Panlilio would be engaged in, perhaps a most appropriate sign for him would be that which Constantine I saw in the heavens just before the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312 A.D.: a chi rho -- ☧ -- formed with the superimposition of the first two letters in the Greek spelling of the word Christ.
In hoc signo vinces – in this sign you will conquer – so Constantine I did, defeating his rival to the throne Maxentius.
Signs like these would have been easier to decipher. Too bad they don’t happen anymore. So what is there left for Panlilio?
“One of the indications of this kind of discernment is that whether I decide to run or not, I would feel peace within myself, there won't be any turmoil within me. It should be a decision based upon the will of God.” Again, the favorite newspaper quoting Panlilio there.
Discernment. We find in Panlilio’s meaning something deeper than the mere faculty of the human mind to discriminate among sets of options what is apprehensible, relevant or worthwhile.
A quick referral to Scripture on discernment leads to 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, to wit: “7Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”
Finding full complement there is Psalm 119:66, “Teach me knowledge and good judgment.” Clearly indicative here, as an evangelical group puts it, is discernment as “the ability to make discriminating judgments, to distinguish between, and recognize the moral implications of, different situations and courses of action. It includes, apparently, the ability to “weigh up” and assess the moral and spiritual status of individuals, groups and even movements.”
The same evangelical group finds a most remarkable example of such discernment described in John 2:24-25: “Jesus would not entrust himself to them . . . for he knew what was in a man.”
Now, it is not Panlilio that I see there but the other Eddie – Villanueva, the Jesus Is Lord big brother.
Brother Eddie would not entrust himself to the selection process – for the so-called reform candidate – proffered before him by the Kaya Natin! movement.
“Ini-invite ninyo iba-ibang grupo, ang nakalagay sa dyaryo, Liberal Party at Kaya Natin. Paano kami papasok kung nagbigay na kayo ng previous endorsement kay Padaca at Panlilio (You invited many groups (to join the selection process) but you have previously endorsed Padaca and Panlilio)…So your invitation is a question mark to the leadership of Bagong Pilipinas, Bagong Pilipino Movement.” So Villanueva – discerning deception in the offer – was quoted as saying.
Learning to “think God’s thoughts after him,” practically and spiritually; having a sense of how things look in God’s eyes, and seeing them in some measure “uncovered and laid bare.” That is true discernment. So we agree fully with the evangelicals there.
Now back to Panlilio’s wishing for a sign.
My hope – and prayer – that it comes sooner than later. And that it would not be the Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin in the Book of Daniel.
Yes, the handwriting on the wall that appeared before King Belshazzar of Babylon during a drunken feast. That which the prophet interpreted thus: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; Pharsin, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. And that very night King Belshazzar was killed.
Truly frightening omen there.