The Black Nazarene is Still a Vain Graven Image
Roman Catholics always have their objections that they don't worship the image but the one being portrayed. I hear the same claim done by Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, Jains, and other world religions that use graven images as visual aids for worship. I decided to get materials from a Buddhist temple where it said that when they burn incense to the image - they are praying to the one who's portrayed. It's not any different from the Black Nazarene itself. Roman Catholics may say that when they pray to the Black Nazarene - they are praying to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, it's far from the truth which can be proven by their actions.
An incident many years ago when an image of the Black Nazarene fell down. People were scrambling to pick pieces of the fallen graven image. Year after year, the procession is held and devotees arrive there hoping to be healed of whatever diseases. Some are probably disappointed that Coronel has decided to follow the protocol. Some suffering COVID-19 are probably hoping that touching the statue of the Black Nazarene will heal them. I think it's really a combination of Filipino superstition with Roman Catholicism. Last 2015, a devotee also died hoping to touch the image of the Black Nazarene for healing. The person was later dead on arrival after the incident.
Verses that are usually used to defend the processions of Rome with graven images are Psalm 68:25 and Colossians 2:15. The Good News Translation (GNT) has the words procession in them. The word procession is derived from the Latin word "procesio" or proceeding. To proceed means to enter. A procession is an entrance. Every parade is a procession. I agree that processions are biblical but processions dedicated to any graven image aren't. What's even more ironic is that in quoting Colossians 2:15 - Roman Catholics may have missed these verses which are still in their Catholic translations:
Colossians 2:8 - See to it then that no one enslaves you by means of the worthless deceit of human wisdom which comes from the teachings handed down by human beings and from the ruling spirits.
Colossians 2:16 - So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival or the Sabbath.
Colossians 2:18 - Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all such people are puffed up in their human way of thinking.
This is again appealing to the Old Testament only when it's convenient. Numbers 4:5-6 is used in Catholic apologetics to defend their practice of making graven images. However, what's ignored is that the Ark of the Covenant was to be placed in the Holy of Holies protected by a very thick veil. The cherubims were not meant for public display. Numbers 4:15 even says that the Ark of the Covenant was not to be touched. Uzzah died of a heart attack from touching the Ark of the Covenant because sinful humans cannot comprehend the holiness of God. God's anger was so direct at Uzzah that the latter died.
What about the procession in Joshua held in Joshua 3 during the conquest of Jericho? The instructions of the distance between the priests and the people were made obvious. The Levites were to bear the image. There is also a considerable space between the people and the Ark of the Covenant of 2,000 cubits or 914.4 meters. The people were not to touch the Ark of the Covenant during this procession at all. It's a stark contrast to what happens almost every year with the Black Nazarene parades. Many of them are in so much disarray. It's a shame really that many people get into chaos believing that the graven image has been given power by God to heal them of their infirmities.
Does Joshua 7:8-7 justify the Black Nazarene? Joshua did fall down before the image and I don't deny that. The Ark of the Covenant was the symbol of God's presence and it was declared holy that no one was to touch it. Do Roman Catholics forget that the Ark of the Covenant was later hidden from the public in the Holy of Holies? Only the high priest from Aaron's lineage could enter the Holy of Holies. Even the high priest had to offer sin sacrifices for his own sins because only God saves souls. Priests could never save souls because they too are fallen human beings. The Ark of the Covenant was not meant to be an image to represent God in His human form either unlike those graven images that represent God the Father as an old man or those graven images meant to represent the Trinity. The cherubims on top of it were meant to represent angels - not God Himself.
Those who are still seeking healing from the Black Nazarene are wasting their time. Those hoping for a parade of the Black Nazarene in hopes of vanquishing COVID-19 are wasting their time. The Black Nazarene is but another vain image. It's not even a representation of Jesus. People during Jesus' time saw Jesus' face. Yet, the only illustrations of Jesus in children's storybooks (which in itself isn't idolatry because it's not even used as a worship visual aid) are but man's limited imagination of what He must've looked like during His human ministry. The Black Nazarene is not just a visual aid as Catholics want to believe it to be. It's really just another obstacle that's keeping its devotees from really knowing the real Jesus of the Bible.