ON FRANCIS M’S DEATH; A REFLECTION

Last March 6, 2009, a blog site my8desiderata was created. On this same day the so called king of Rap, the late Francis “Kiko” Magalona died. May God bless his soul and likewise sanctify this newly born blogsite of mine.

The fact is, I can’t appreciate rap music. I am no fan of Francis Magalona but when he died I felt an unusual chilling impact within. Just like the death of Nida Blanca, Rudy Fernandez, Fernando Poe, Jr., Marky Cielo and every time a public figure dies, I could feel a somewhat bizarre message addressed personally to me and to the public. That day, while those who were in the prime of life were very much preoccupied with their respective tasks and pursuit in life, God sent a reminder.

Last March 6, 2009, not a few were very excited for the following day to come. This was because March 7, 2009 would be the Final reunion concert of a very popular Band “Eraserheads” lead by Ely Buendia and at the same time the search for Binibining Pilipinas 2009 would be held at around 10:00pm of the same day.

Through the death of Francis M., God reminds us again that, while we may say, we own the present moment in our life, the future, i.e., tomorrow, the following hour, minute or millisecond isn’t ours. Whether we may still be alive in the next second, minute, hour or day, it is up to Him to decide. The decision is His not ours. Every next millisecond in our life is not a prerogative but a gift…

Before we were born, God didn’t consult us regarding our choices. In the first place He didn’t ask whether we want to accept life or remain unknown in the world of nonexistence. Secondly, God did not consult us regarding our other choices, e.g., as to what part of the globe or nation we would like to be born to, what society or parents we would like to be with, what sort of uncles, aunts, brothers, sisters we would like to have in a family, etc. The bottom line is, life like a surprise gift was unwrapped suddenly, once and for all before us. And, just like the manner it was given, life, by surprise would also be taken away from us...

Indeed, life is like a beautiful flower that blooms attractively, only for a moment, but withers and fades away the next time you take look at it.

Why did he die at around 12 noon “Eat Bulaga” time? Christ Himself said in the Holy Scripture that not a single hair from our head would fall on the ground without His consent. In this way, I believe that it was through God’s consent or plan that Francis M. would die at 12 noon Bulaga time. For a reason, I think that his death would be known right away nationwide in an instant as it happened. And Francis M’s death became a great shock and reminder for everyone to pause for a moment and think that like Francis M. we have a life as fleeting as the life that he had.

In this case, using the death of a very popular individual, his death just like the death of every person, God has a message or a very compelling REMINDER for all of us:
That however popular, rich, poor or humble the status of any person, truly, everybody comes from the dust and to dust, whether we like it or not, all of us will one day return.
That everybody should always bear in mind and in his/her heart the virtue of humility before the eyes of his/her creator…
That this life we are clinging to each day would also one day let us go from the world of the living unto the state of eternal departure in the world of the unknown.
That our sojourn in this world, indeed, is just temporary…
That while we are in the prime of life, our energies should not be wasted on worthless activities but has to be directed or committed on worthwhile ones, i.e., improving the status of human existence, something that we would impart as a legacy to those we would inevitably and eventually left behind.
That today is Francis M’s day and tomorrow, the next day or one of the days to come will be mine or your turn to finally pass away without even saying goodbye…