(Editor’s Note: The writer is a member of the Iglesia ni Cristo.)
MANILA, Philippines—There will be no eulogies for Iglesia ni Cristo Executive Minister Erańo “Ka Erdy” Manalo, whose remains are to be entombed by noon on Monday beside the INC Central Temple on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.
This answers the question, “When is the schedule of the eulogy for the leader of your Church?” that some of my colleagues, who covered the wake of Ka Erdy, had asked me.
Politicians, who paid their last respects to the beloved leader of the INC, had even asked about the ones to be invited to speak about the INC leader.
The question was valid and expected. When a respected and influential man dies, a eulogy is a fitting way to pay tribute to what he had done.
In a period of grief, a eulogy is appropriate because the relatives have a venue to express the impact of the dead on their lives.
In the case of Ka Erdy, millions have grieved. People may not believe the numbers but the long queue of mourners who came to see his remains, come rain or shine from dusk to dawn, was a clear proof that this man was so loved.
It would have been ideal to offer a eulogy if only for the benefit of those who wondered who Ka Erdy was in the hearts and minds of his brethren in the INC.
Outsiders’ question
Another colleague asked me, “Do you consider Ka Erdy God?”
A eulogy would have been appropriate to respond to such question from outsiders looking in because it would have put in perspective who and what Ka Erdy was for all of us in the flock.
Although everyone in the flock would have wanted to share their love and respect for Ka Erdy, no eulogy would suffice to praise the man and the life he had lived serving the church.
Sure, modern technology provides an electronic venue for individual members to express their grief, loss and unwavering love for Ka Erdy as INC executive minister for more than four decades.
On the Internet, individual blogs and websites feature accounts of his service and love for his brethren in the INC.
But for us, even if we collectively placed all our writings to praise Ka Erdy, even if we erected a wall to write about our love for him and his love for us, it would not be enough.
Since Sept. 1, after the official announcement of his death, the tens of thousands of INC members who came to the Central Temple from different parts of the country have amazed nonmembers.
Many of those who patiently waited at the queue were seeing Ka Erdy for the first time.
In her e-mail to me, 20-year-old Jennifer Rio-Capanang said: “As I mentioned in my blog Ate Arlyn, it is possible to love someone even if you have not seen him. And he can also love you if he didn’t know you.
“It’s sad that in my whole life, I have not seen Ka Erdy in person. I’m not one of those lucky kids whom he had patted or lifted. I really envy them.
“To the one I loved and who also loved me though we did not meet, to the one whose perseverance and administration of the church that shaped my life and those of many others, my lining up is based on my faith,” she said.
All about faith
One colleague in media asked an INC member: Why, despite his physical disability, he endured the long line so he could take a glimpse of the remains of Ka Erdy? “It’s all about faith,” he said.
I became a member of the church some 10 years ago, ending my long search for a true religion.
No man is without sin and for someone who faced many battles and emerged victorious, my greatest sin would probably be pride.
A church teaching that humbled me, especially when I saw how Ka Erdy had lived an unselfish life for the service of the brethren through the words of God, was about the value of dignity and glory as a servant.
In everything we do, no matter how extraordinary or exemplary one’s act or work may appear, the reality is it’s not about one’s personal glory.
In Filipino, we say, walang sariling kapurihan (no self-praise). This answers the next logical question, “Why is there no eulogy for someone so loved like Ka Erdy?”
Until the very end, “walang sariling kapurihan” was what Ka Erdy had lived for. It was a simple life dedicated to God and the service of His flock.
Brethren in the INC find comfort in these words from Hebrews 13:7: “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”
