by Gabriel “Jay” Catanus
Recently, Garden City Covenant Church had the privilege of welcoming Dr. Melba Maggay, a well-known scholar, writer, and Christian activist from the Philippines. Given that Garden City is a primarily Filipino American congregation that draws from Christian faith in its work for mercy and justice, this was a real treat for us, even a privilege. Dr. Maggay was in the States to do some speaking at Wheaton College and she was kind enough to fit Garden City into her busy schedule.
On Monday the 21st, Dr. Maggay shared some reflections on how Christians ought to relate to the government. This was opportune, given that we were also gathering on the 54th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in the Philippines. Dr. Maggay was a student and journalist at the University of the Philippines during that time, and her involvement in the People Power movement helped to mobilize Protestants and Evangelicals to join those who were already at EDSA, growing the mobilization by several thousand. In the decades after 1986, Dr. Maggay has remained a strong advocate for faith-based political mobilization, including during the Duterte presidency and Marcos, Jr. campaign.
One lesson Dr. Maggay repeatedly shared is that she and her fellow organizers sought to keep their social analysis grounded in biblical theology. For instance, while some Christians cite St. Paul’s words in Romans 13 (“submit to governing authorities”) to discourage political protest and dissent, Dr. Maggay and others discovered that a more salient guiding Scripture was Revelation 13, in which the state becomes a “beast” that needs to be resisted, not obeyed. This has clear applications in our U.S. context, as many conservative Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike, continue to invoke Romans 13 to encourage the acceptance of violence against immigrants.
What gave me hope about our time with Dr. Maggay is not only that we gathered
an intergenerational and spiritually intentional audience— almost equal numbers of first- and second-generation Filipino Americans— but we also created a space for hearing the stories of our elders, people like Tito Jerry and my parents who survived martial law and paid the cost for speaking against it. If we, especially those of us second-generation leaders who now have platforms and some influence, can make room for our elders to share their stories, we can gain a clearer, more robust, and more embodied understanding of who we are. Let us do so while we can!
Gabriel Jay Catanus (jaycatanus@gmail.com) is the Director of the Filipino American Ministry Initiative (FAMI) at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he teaches theology and ethics. He is also the pastor of Garden City Covenant Church, a congregation serving immigrant families and young professionals. He received his PhD from Loyola University in Chicago, where he lives with his wife and two children.
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