After saying goodbye to 2020, when the holiday revelry was still beating in our hearts at the unfurling of a better 2021, two undesired and unexpected deaths made a dark entrance into our information screens. A former colleague in PAL Express was discovered dead in a hotel bathtub in Makati and an upperclassman and schoolmate from the United States Military Academy at West Point died of Covid-related complications.
From those who knew her, Christine Angelica Dacera was a bright and diligent PAL Express flight attendant who had so much potential. She loved life to the fullest that she was always ebullient. Portrayed as a devoted daughter and sister, the young flight attendant doted on her family. Her untimely demise must have impacted those who know her the most, especially her mother. After all, the greatest tragedy for any parent in their lifetime is having to bury his or her child.
For who would have thought that a New Year’s Eve partying will end up in a tragedy, and one that has become a cause célèbre? Christine reportedly communicated with her mother and some other friends hours before her passing. Certainly, not one of them could have predicted, nor expected what occurred. No one should pass judgment on why a celebration ended tragically. The most that we can do is to pray for the bereaved family left behind, and that they find peace with our Creator, regardless of the outcome of the investigation. Whether or not her death was provoked, I can only ruminate on the fact that our appointment with God knows no time or space. Life can indeed turn out to be just a blink of an eye between two eternities.
General Danny Lim, on the other hand, was the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair prior to his inopportune death. A fellow West Pointer, I know Sir Danny to be a very principled person, even to a fault, to the extent of leading two military uprisings against duly constituted leaders in government who, in his eyes, have lost the credibility to lead the country. In the Army, he is more known as a warrior being in and having led the Scout Ranger regiment for many years. At the Bureau of Customs, he is more known as an incorruptible deputy commissioner who, after valiantly warding off temptations after temptations from scalawags within the agency, ended up leaving the snake pit instead of being gobbled up by the system. At the MMDA, Danny Lim is more known as a workaholic, regarded with much esteem by his public servants within and outside of the agency. Personally, Danny has been very kind to me, approachable yet unyielding. Unfortunately, General/Deputy Commissioner/Chairman Danny Lim was stricken with the dreaded coronavirus, likely infected in the line of duty. Danny led a healthy and regimented lifestyle, as he was a notorious runner, per accounts of those very close to him. How he eventually succumbed to cardiac arrest is a testament that Covid-19 can really get the best of us, unexpectedly and without regard to our physical or mental well-being.
The untimely deaths of Dacera and Danny Lim readily instruct us that no amount of recklessness or precaution can prevent us from arriving at our ultimate destination. Death is an unavoidable certainty, as my Wills professor, Avelino Sebastian, would always tell his law students. There are a lot of things we can avoid in life but someday, at some point, we are all going to die. As morbid as this may sound, and just when some people would rather talk about fresh beginnings and good vibes in light of a pristine year, it cannot be overemphasized that any day can be a perfect day to discuss and prepare for death. Undoubtedly inevitable, death can visit us anytime, even on the first few days of a new year as it did Christine Dacera and Danny Lim.
Regardless of how death comes to us, our target destination should be in Heaven. Renowned Christian author and speaker Joyce Meyer recounts that “we want to make sure that we end up in the right place” when we die. By death, our soul goes either with Jesus Christ at the Father’s bosom or in the lake of fire. By death, our spirit shall return unto God who gave it; from whom it is, by whom it is created, who puts it into the bodies of men, as a deposit, and are accountable for, and should be concerned for the safety and salvation of it. I was taught that by death, our bodies turn into ashes, our souls go to Heaven, hopefully, and our spirits return to God. Meyer proceeds to narrate that “any sane person, without having much of a description, would choose Heaven, and not hell.” In this tale, the first death occurred under suspicious and still unresolved circumstances, while the second death came under unforeseeable events.
The linchpin of the “third” death in this tale is a foretold event that
reminds us how His death has saved us. Jesus Christ had to die and did so, for us. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Such death was one costly sacrifice where a man, royal in his roots, bore every stripe, shed blood, went to the cross, and gave Himself up for the sake of others. His death was a gift, and like any other gift, the beneficiary must accept it. John 3:16 fortifies this fact of death and promise—“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Clearly, Christ’s death paved the way for our Eternal Life, a place for those who believe in Him, accept Him and involve Him in our lives. Whenever we fear death, or are confronted with life’s challenges, or are appalled with news of other people’s death like Dacera’s and Lim’s, let’s remind ourselves of Christ’s costly death crafted out of love.
Christine Dacera and Danny Lim died not without meaning, as lessons will be learned by those who knew them well. We are all on borrowed time. How we spend our time and with whom should remind us that what matters most is how we live and not how we die. Jesus Christ lived and died with so much significance, confidently knowing that by His death, believers shall actually “live.” Death is a certainty; so is Eternal Life for those who accept Christ.
A former infantry and intelligence officer in the Army, Siegfred Mison showcased his servant leadership philosophy in organizations such as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Malcolm Law Offices, Infogix Inc., University of the East, Bureau of Immigration, and Philippine Airlines. He is a graduate of West Point in New York, Ateneo Law School, and University of Southern California. A corporate lawyer by profession, he is an inspirational teacher and a Spirit-filled writer with a mission.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.