HEADLINES

Of love, grace and everything in between

Alwin Ignacio

The garbage, hatred, noise and vitriol that Alvin Aragon created, without a doubt, is an attack on and condemnation of all members of the LGBTQIA + community, parents who unconditionally love their gay children, men and women who have family members that belong to the rainbow congregation whom they admire, respect and are proud of, and to the general public, who may not be well-versed with the Bible, but knows that God is love and grace.

Who is Alvin Aragon in God’s sphere of love and grace? This person’s only claim to fame was as first evictee plucked from obscurity during the original season of StarStruck that gave us Jennylyn Mercado, Mark Herras, Rainier Castillo and Yasmien Kurdi as the original top four victors. During the reign of StarStruck’s batch one, Aragon was mediocre in acting, singing, dancing and hosting. And when the next group of survivors and avengers arrived, nobody wondered whatever happened to him.

Now that he is back in the public eye, armed with his “knowledge” of the Bible, what comes out of his mouth are outright judgments. His bigotry is of the fiercest level, and his claim of moral superiority highlights how bereft is his understanding of Biblical facts, history, the subtexts and substance of the Holy Words. What he brandishes is most appalling and terrible.

Love

To measure God’s love by human means is futile, it is not measurable. To box His greatness and grace anthropomorphically is not only callous but foolish. It is imprudent to act on His behalf and quoting words from the Bible verbatim does not give anyone the temerity to act as if you are superior in every way, or that you have the authority to claim who goes to hell and suffer eternal damnation. What you are you fueling does not come from purity or sacredness, but idiocy.

The way Aragon behaves, Jean Paul Sartre’s most iconic line from his play No Exit, “Hell is other people” rings true. Sofia Trazona’s relationship with her stepfather has become corrupted because of his holier-than-thou attitude and pronouncements. He is the reason for the young miss Trazona’s emotional torture and trauma. This is not the kind of love that God represents and wants for His most favorite creations.

Grace

Yes, communication lines between Sofia and her biological mother Izzy remains. As for the quality of these messages via text, only the mother and child can measure its sincerity. Only time will tell if their relationship will be back to the time when Sofia had not yet surfaced, that special not-so-distant season when Izzy and Andrei were doing a number of dance collaborations on TikTok.

IZZY Trazona and son formerly called Andrei.

As to why Andrei chose to transform as Sofia, her are answers and explanations are all over social media.

What Sofia loves and is most grateful for nowadays is the beautiful relationship she has with biological father Michael Navarro.  Sofia said, in a TikTok post, “In my doing drag, and now that I am in transition, he is most supportive. He used to call me by my birth name Andrei, now he calls me with my new name. He even buys me a lot of makeup because he supports my work as a drag performer. And, at times, he buys me my hormone treatments.

“I am now a papa’s girl,” said Sofia. “The emotional support and unconditional love my father gives, grabe! He understands what I want to do and become. Every day, I see and feel his effort in getting to know me better, of making me feel secure and safe, guided and protected.”

And Sofia’s father’s actions are the best example of grace.  God’s grace as personified by Papa Michael, and to the many fathers who accept and love their children whose sexual preferences and orientations, choices and paths are not issues. They are realities that make them love their kids all the more.

Everything in between

You are either in agreement with the pronouncements of Alvin Aragon and all those who stand by their Biblical truth.  You may also disagree with what has been articulated and expressed your emotions and thoughts about it.

Being heterosexual or homosexual is not easy.  It does not come with a manual. The values and morality that we have and hold on to are a sum total of our growing-up experiences in our homes and schools, and life itself.  The people we have encountered and met may bring happy memories, sadness, regret and wisdom. The choices we made and challenges that we survived showcase our compassion and humanity.

I do not have the authority and capacity to say that what I say is what God says. To think you can curse, condemn and malign others simply because you claim to have an expertise of His words is pure arrogance.

God, if I were to humanize Him, is kind and not cruel. He does not pass judgment, not ruthless, not even going to be vindictive. He fully understands my weaknesses. He does not want me to submit and follow without question. To burn, cry, learn, move forward, fall again and stand up, feel the pain and heal, that is what He wants for me. And for you, of course.

As for those who claim that what he speaks of are from God and that He talks to him, be afraid. Be very afraid.