Fifteenth Ordinary Sunday, Year A
Theme: We Are Blessed To Know The Kingdom 我們認識天國是有福的
In today’s meditation, Jesus’ words are reassuring. He says, “Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Matthew 13:17). We Catholics are truly blessed to have heard and accepted the word of the kingdom but I wonder how many of us are aware of this blessing. Nevertheless, we should at least act on it. Otherwise, we’re building our houses on sand (7:26-27) and our new life in the Lord would become futile. Loving our neighbour is the second greatest commandment Jesus tells us (22:39). In other words, we should care about those who hear the word of the kingdom without understanding it (13:19), those who hear but have no root (13:21) and those who hear but are choked by worldly anxiety and the lure of riches (13:22). Does the salvation of their souls concern us? Do we mourn for those who fall from grace and what about those whose priorities in life do not include their own salvation? If we don’t bother or care, we fail to lead a life in the spirit of the Beatitudes (5:4)! If we fail to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, who else can we blame but ourselves?
It is relatively easy to understand those who hear but are choked by worldly anxiety and the lure of riches because it looks obvious. Thus, let’s consider what prevents people from understanding the word of the kingdom and why people hear but fail to grow root.
Superficially, Jesus seems to be the culprit because He spoke to the crowds in metaphors instead of speaking plainly! Moreover, Jesus explains why He spoke to the crowds in parables whose meanings, i.e. the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven He would give the disciples (13:11). In such a privileged position, the disciples will gain more and more knowledge while the crowds who are in a disadvantaged position will become more severely disadvantaged (13:12) so much so that they end up knowing nothing about an eternal, fruitful and spiritual life. In so doing, Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled (13:14)! I’m afraid we will find it difficult to accept the fact that the Lord wants the crowds NOT to understand, to convert and to receive His healing (13:15)! The God of Isaiah says, “Make the heart of this people sluggish, dull their ears and close their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:10). But the God of Ezekiel says, “For I find no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies --- oracle of the Lord God. Turn back and live!” (Ezekiel 18:32). How do we harmonize these two positions?
Once again, we should allow for Matthew’s eagerness to quote Old Testament prophecies to affirm Jesus’ status as the long awaited Messiah for the Jewish Christians. Gentile audience like us may find it mind-boggling. Actually it is a matter of understanding the context. God was speaking through Isaiah before the Babylonian Captivity. The Israelites did not listen and God did not force them to listen, to repent as He always does. The Israelites ended up being conquered by the Assyrians and subsequently the kingdom of Judah by the Babylonians. Losing their heritage and identity as God’s Chosen People was a bitter herbal medicine and a wakeup call that would heal them. By then God spoke through Ezekiel to reveal His original intention! God shall honour His pledge to Abraham their ancestor like what He has done many times before and shall give the people of Judah yet another chance! He wants them to listen, to understand, to turn back and live!
On the other hand, Christians believe in the testimony of a faith handed down throughout the ages by the witnesses of the martyrs. Like us, those martyrs have never met the risen Jesus Christ in person and yet, they were willing to lay down their lives to bear witness to the love and truth of God. For us, their witness is on a par, if not more superior than “physical” evidences.
To be admissible, scientific evidences must be measurable and reproducible. If what one scientist claims cannot be reproduced and measured in laboratories elsewhere as a process of peer review, the scientist’s so-called “discovery” would never obtain recognition from the scientific community! These criteria are reasonable for most natural sciences except astronomy. It is next to impossible to do astronomical experiments. Astronomers on earth can only passively observe what has happened in the observable universe most of the time. We are just too nanoscopic to manipulate the vastness of the known universe! Now scientific criteria cannot apply to even a respectable natural science such as astronomy, we should not apply them to systematic studies of social phenomena, such as theology because there is a crucial difference between the study objects of physical sciences and social sciences, namely that objects studied in physical sciences do not have memory while those of social sciences have. Human beings are able to remember, to learn and to adapt. They are more worthy of spending resources to study and to understand. Therefore those who dismiss religions as unscientific are applying the wrong tools to understand an essential social phenomenon! In a curious manner, those who blindly worship scientific advancements and reject martyrs’ testimony fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy!
What about the problem of diminishing our autonomy when we believe in God and doing God’s will? It was appropriate in agricultural societies running feudal systems to be loyal and obedient to the emperors but inappropriate for industrial and informational societies nowadays. There is a greater need of freedom in production. Planned economy is simply inferior in competition. Moreover, doesn’t the Bible teach that we were created in the image of God? It follows that we were created equal. Why then should one person lord over us all and to boss us around? Democracy and freedom may not be perfect. But at least they make room for peaceful reforms and improvements. In case of monarchy, oligarchy and tyranny, changes and improvements would only come from bloody revolutions. Therefore, any religion that demands believers to surrender their autonomy to their God is backward, primitive and even savage!
Allow me to borrow a modern day parable to refute. As of this writing, Artificial Intelligence is able to “learn” by “prompting”, sort of spoon-feeding. It may be able to generate surprisingly unexpected moves or outputs but it is not yet able to correct and thus to improve itself. AI relies on us to tell it that the output is unsatisfactory or is simply wrong or what not. Now that AI is unable to improve itself, who is? Who else if not its Creator? Of course, this is only a parable. Technologically, we are improving and advancing. However, what makes us human is not our intelligence which AI is overtaking; but our morality and spirituality. Regrettably, our morality is unable to guide our technological advances. We have suffered enough from unscrupulous and selfish applications of scientific discoveries and technological advances. It is time we stopped playing God and let God take over because His thoughts and acts exalt far above ours (Isaiah 55:8-9). Remember, the Christian God does not impose His will on us. Thus, He will not take away our autonomy but will guide us on the right path as long as we cooperate with Him.
Let’s turn to the second group of people in question. In 2020, Christianity accounts for about one third of the world population. In reality, not many of them are practising. So, what do they look for in Christianity or religions in general? Karl Marx is often paraphrased to say that “Religion is the opium of the masses”. Marx claims that for the oppressed and exploited, religions comfort them, give them a peace of mind by promising them an eternal life of justice and love! What the exploited do not get on earth will be given them in a Utopia on earth or in heaven.
This oversimplification might apply to some religions. However, Christ does not promise His followers that life would be a bed of roses, that they would live happily ever after, that they would become rich and secure etc. Many times, the Lord reminds His disciples to pray for those who persecute them (Matthew 5:44), expect to be betrayed by friends and family members because they follow Him (10:21-22) and to carry their crosses (10:38, 16:24) etc. Even clergy like us may think that life would be easy and smooth without obstacles because we are servants of God and we are doing God’s will! Woe to us because we have lost sight of what has happened to our Lord in doing the Father’s will (27:46)! When we fail to grow our root deep enough in Jesus Christ through practising our faith in our daily life, we’ll not be able to persevere to the end and be saved (24:13) but give up believing in God midway when persecutions or troubles come because of our faith!
Brethren! We are blessed indeed because God is love (1 John 4:8). He cares for us and does not find joy in our deaths (Ezekiel 18:32). He has given us the Holy Spirit as the first instalment of our salvation (Ephesians 1:14). So, let us cooperate with the Holy Spirit as Christ’s ambassadors of reconciliation, to help the world reconcile with God the Father (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). Amen.
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit:catholiccourier.com
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