Payak: The Mojo of Piety

By Maria Nolita M. Banda

Payak is a collection of narratives and reflections by a pious Christian that evolved from attending an ultra-Orthodox marriage ceremony in Chareidi Country, the invitation for which was under the aegis of a beautiful friendship with an American-Jewish family. Mystical insights accrued which led to the development of the thesis that durable peace in ones self, in ones locality, and in the world is achievable through vital piety, the mojo of which is humility. If every person, place, object, and event, no matter how unfamiliar or diverse, is encountered in a stance of openness and innocence, violence in all its permutations can be averted. Holding our differences in reverence can antecede religious literalism. Communication will be fluent even without words, appreciation of the dignity of fellow human beings in their local contexts will make cognizant similar needs and longings, good deeds will become the currency of piety, and every healthy goal will be possible with the audacity of faith.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 15, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483692418

Maria Nolita M. Banda

Hello, fellow seeker. I am ecstatic to offer you this, my first book, the fulfillment of one of my goals in my list of necessary accomplishments. I am one who has always lived her life in an unlabeled and uncategorized way. I was formed and shaped by a cauldron of differences, from the time of my birth in the Philippines to my adulthood in the States, which has been further enriched by my acquaintances of different peoples in their local cultures in my extensive travels half the world over. I have also lived part of my age of discretion in New York, where I was exponentially nurtured in the thoughts, emotions, sights, smells, sounds and textures of a veritable melting pot of races, religions, social strata, sexual orientations, and cultural mores. My profession as an obstetrician-gynecologist, first as a house officer in-training in Manila and then as a hospitalist in Syracuse, has given me intimate occasions into diverse family dynamics and other remarkably challenging human relationships in both Third World and First World settings. I have learned that we can peaceably survive the demands of our differences if we could but savor the beauty of our humanity in all its grit and glory. I welcome further discussion, including critique and questions—please visit nolibandamd.blogspot.com, where your commentary can be posted. Thank you. Peace.

Book preview

Copyright © 2013 by Maria Nolita M. Banda, MD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 11/13/2013

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction  Who is Payak?

St. Augustine Epigraph with Illustration

Welcome

Moshe and Noya

The Promise

A Stance of Stillness

Black-and-White Elegance

A Holy Man

One Who Trembles in Awe of God

My Own Cherished Dream Came True in Their Life

I Was Looking for a Balabusta

The Fifth Commandment

Success and Fast Failures

The Bachelor’s Night

Chupa Epigraph with Illustration

On the Road to Sacred Vows

The Reception

The Bride

The Most Tender Moment

Chupa

Wedding Party à la Chareidi

Sheva Brachot

MLK, Jr. Epigraph with Illustration

Bracha H’shem, Grüß Gott, Pagpalain Ka ng Maykapal, Ojigi

Ari’s Leap of and to Faith

Promesse d’Amour

A Peaceable Ghost

Are You Religious?

Abraham Joshua Heschel: My Jewish Saint of Ecumenism

Leo Tolstoy Epigraph with Illustration

A Bowl of Mitzvot

Postmodern Incarnation of a Mitzvah

These, I Believe

The Noblesse Oblige of Godliness

The Mojo of Piety

Universal Sacraments

Goethe Epigraph with Illustration

Postscript

Glossary

To every effort to achieve freedom from fear for all peoples

Foreword

Among the benefits of reflecting on one’s personal faith and the spirituality that flows from it are a deeper appreciation of the roots of our faith and those key experiences that demonstrate that what we believe is both uniquely our own and, at the same time, a reality shared by people of diverse religious traditions. Payak by Dr. Maria Nolita M. Banda is the product of such reflection.

The author is a native of the Philippines, a Christian country surrounded by predominantly non-Christian nations, and a child of Protestant and Catholic parents. She was taught to be open to diverse religious teachings and practices. For her, religion is clearly not the substance of one’s faith; it is an organizing system whereby we open ourselves to all things godly, aspire for what is noble, and discover the power that transcends every religious expression.

It was with this spirit of openness that she fulfilled a long-held promise to attend the wedding in Chareidi Country of a dear friend of the Chareidi Orthodox Jewish tradition. Her participation in the events of this celebration, which she vividly describes, became a personal experience of inclusivity that led her to a deeper understanding of the God in whom she believed. This profound awareness prompted a series of blogs written in a style engaging and, at times, poetic that form the content of this work.

Although not a theological treatise, the author’s description of her personal faith is an expression of what many theologians would identify as incarnational theology, which emphasizes the role human nature plays in God’s plan to embrace humankind. It is this humanity within, by which we live and experience ourselves, that becomes the means whereby we engage in our relationship to God. As a consequence, an incarnational spirituality emphasizes the call to human authenticity, which is to be fostered in our relationships with one another and in our engagements with the events of our here and now.

For the author, piety focuses on the humanity of all persons who share the same needs, yearnings, and desires for community. It brings out in us the best of our human nature while providing us with a guide path for living life to its God-intended fullness.

Within that context, the author speaks of her universal sacraments. While not referring specifically to the sacraments as defined by the Catholic Church or acknowledged in varying degrees by other Christian traditions, the notion of universal sacraments implies that even the most mundane of objects can express the dynamic presence of the Transcendent Being acting in and through the experiences of our daily life.

Tithing is the notion the author uses to describe how we are to acknowledge God’s goodness to us and respond to that love by our love for one another. Rooted in humility, marked by prayer and hope, and stemming from a grateful heart, genuine tithing is more than a sharing of one’s material assets. It is a comprehensive way of living whereby we are committed to responding in whatever way necessary to those who are in need and to fulfilling those everyday responsibilities whereby we can live with one another in genuine peace and harmony.

Woven throughout the content of this book is an attribute that the author calls payak. A Tagalog expression that literally means simple, it refers to that humble but honest self-acceptance that gratefully recognizes God as the source of our dignity. It gives us the freedom and the gentleness to be ourselves, an essential ingredient for human authenticity. This freedom opens us to those experiences that come our way that may lead to new discoveries about God, life, and who we are as human persons.

Moreover, this attribute recognizes the God-given dignity of others and calls us to be gentle with one another, to respect the sacredness of others, and to do all we can to enhance their freedom to be themselves. For the author, this spirit, inherent in every genuine religious tradition, is a key to realizing that vision all people of good faith long for, the harmonious and peaceful world described in chapter 11 of Isaiah.

There is much in this book for the reader’s prayerful meditation. It also serves as an invitation and an incentive for readers to reflect on their own personal faith. When undertaken with the openness and humble thirst for God exhibited by the author, readers will assuredly recognize the many powerful ways God has been and continues to be present in their lives as they travel along the path to authenticity.

John J. Ziegler, PhD

Preface

Friendship was the rock on which this work was founded. Every experience that came on its heels was made sacred by the authenticity of every soul that made this journey rich and memorable. This small book is my meager offering to advent durable peace in our world.

This book evolved from a blog of my exotic and esoteric religious experiences when I fulfilled a promise to a friend that I will attend his wedding no matter where it would take place, no matter when. In meeting what was required to stand by my word, I not only traveled many, many hours across the seas but I also found myself immersed in Chareidi religion and in all aspects of life that were in faithful keeping with the ancient practices of its Old Testament rituals. It has to be said at this point that I am a Catholic Christian and that I am a pious Catholic Christian. This