by Joshua Kho
Mr. Emer Tria is currently working as a Regional Manager for Unilab. He is married and the father of three daughters. In this interview, he talks about his vow of flagellation.
Tell me the story of how you ever became involved in flagellation?
I was in college and became involved in flagellation (penitensiya) because of a promise I made to God that I would do it if He would help me and my brother with our studies. Flagellation was a popular tradition in our province. Kaming lahat na lalaking magkakapatid ginawa namin ‘yun dati.
Do people have different reasons for becoming involved in this practice?
People engage in it as a sign that they are serious in seeking forgiveness for the sins they have committed.‘Yung papa ko, nagbubuhat ng krus. Actually, it’s wrong pero pinapayagan naman ng simbahan kasi nakagawian na nga nila ‘yun, in commemoration of the sufferings of Christ.
‘Yung iba naman, they set a time frame kung how long they will do it. Some do it once, merong 3 years, 10 years. It’s between the person and God, it’s a personal thing. The time usually depends on how little or how big they feel the sin was that they committed. Sometimes, they extend their vow until they feel that they’ve done enough sacrifices to wash all their sins away. In my former religion, the amount of penitence depends on how much sin you committed. In that religion, you could do good works to get saved; you were not saved by the grace of God.
What was your experience like?
The night before my flagellation, I would go to sleep early. In the morning, I would eat lots of fresh eggs to get the strength I would need that day. We would start at 9 in the morning. We would go to the mountain and pray, then start flagellation.
May nakapalibot na dahon ng niyog ang waistline namin. First, binubugbog mo ‘yung likod mo until it was numb and thick, then we’d take turns in cutting our backs with a blade. We did this so that when we started beating our back again, blood would drip from the wounds. Kaya nakatakip ‘yung mukha, parang si Jesus Christ, inuulit mo ‘yung paghihirap ni Kristo bago siya ipako sa Krus. Tapos naka-paa katanghaliang tapat sa init ng buhangin. Tapos babasahan ka ng ‘pasyon’ habang hinahampas mo ‘yung sarili mo. ‘Pasyon’ is a religious practice where they sing about the sufferings of Christ. We would hardly feel the pain because of numbness after about half an hour of beating. Siyempre masakit ang katawan ko after ng flagellation. Hindi ako makakatulog kinagabihan. Dapat nakadapa kasi namamaga ang likod ko, eh. I’d really feel the pain, penitensya talaga at nagtitiis ka sa inip kasi paniwala mo doon nababawasan ‘yung kasalanan mo dahil naghirap ka, eh. Binayaran mo ‘yung pagpapatawad sa ‘yo.
How long was the procession?
We would walk around the town and then we’d end up by jumping in the river, so about 2 hours. But later on, I realized the flagellation practice was wrong, because it was something that God didn’t ask of us. He had already died on the cross. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.
Did you get the result you wanted then?
My former religion was into good works. You sacrificed, you imitated Christ’s suffering and that’s how you got what you want. So during that time it made me feel good, but it was just psychological.
Ang totoo, hindi tayo qualified tumubos ng kahit sarili natin kasi makasalanan tayo. Si Jesus lang ang walang kasalanan kaya Siya lang ang puedeng tumubos sa atin, kaya paano mo babayaran ang bayad na? Binayaran na ni Jesus sa krus ang ating mga kasalanan.
So now, when you commit a sin, what do you do?
Siyempre, I go directly to the Lord. I ask for forgiveness and believe I am forgiven by grace. We should not be sin conscious but grace conscious. We should think of God’s grace to help us.
Whether maliit or malaki, it is already a sin, and Jesus has already washed away all our sins, whether you are a criminal, or you lied and not murdered someone, it is still the same. We still sinned.
We should believe in the Bible, the word of God. Through the Word, malalaman mo ‘yung katotohan na kahit gaano mo sinasaktan ang sarili mo, hindi ‘yun ang makakapag-save sa ‘yo from hell. Kailangan lang nating maniwala at tanggapin ang sakripisyong ginawa ni Kristo para tubusin tayo sa kasalanan natin. ‘Yung paggawa ng mabuti, dapat result na lang ‘yun ng forgiveness na ibinigay sa atin.
We are unworthy and unable to redeem ourselves. Only Jesus can.
Editorial note: After reading this article, one may think—“if Christ died for my sins and He is going to forgive me, I can do anything I want to do and just ask for forgiveness.” It doesn’t work that way. If we really appeal to God for cleansing from sin, we are turning away from sin, not toward it. In gratitude for the sacrifice Jesus made, we will do our best to live a holy life.
