Attainment Of Peace 獲得平安

Sunday in Lunar New Year
Theme: Attainment Of Peace 獲得平安

Sure enough, our experiences and learnings determine our present actions. However, on top of experiences, anticipations also affect our present decisions. Whether your actions are reactive or proactive, the past together with the future cause the present! Since the future is not a certainty, the future creates worries in us. A peace of mind is a rare commodity for many people. Blessed are those who are able to attain a peace of mind.

During Lunar New Year, the Cantonese usually wish each other “Kung Hei Fat Choy恭喜發財” which literally means, “Wish you make big money”. Of course, we know that money cannot buy everything. However, for most people, possession of wealth increases their sense of security and reduces their worries. Another popular blessing is “Sun Tei Kin Hong身體健康” which means, “Wish you a healthy body”. Surely, with a healthy body, we can achieve more and spend less money in medicines. Again, a good health increases a person’s security. Of course, there are other blessings such as “Sun Nin Chun Pou新年進步” which means, “Make progress in new year” and “Man Sze Sing Yi萬事勝意” which means, “Everything surpasses your expectations” etc. All these blessings and well wishes show how proactive people are. However, the first two common Lunar New Year wishes reveal as well how insecure the Cantonese are!

As Cantonese Catholics, we share similar insecurities of our folks. The question is, does the value system of Christianity help alleviate those insecurities? In the second reading today, St. Paul says, “Have no anxiety at all but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Philippians 4:6). Christians believe in a God who is almighty and has created this known universe. Logically speaking, they should have no anxiety at all. Alas! Had the Philippian Christians had no anxiety, St. Paul would not have written such an exhortation! Thus, believing in an almighty God does not remove anxieties. Christians worry for many good reasons. For example, Christians in some countries are a religious minority and they receive exploitations and persecutions. Christian morality goes against the flow to produce many social conflicts and when Christians are the majority in a city and the local Church becomes too powerful, she falls prey to scandals etc. To add fuel to fire, our God allows the good and the innocent to suffer for no apparent purpose just as we meditated last week! A peace of mind is in short supply!

However, the Christian God is more than an omnipotent God. He allows sufferings for a good reason. Moreover, He sent His only-begotten Son to incarnate, to live among us and to die for us. For our good, His only-begotten Son even does not run away from suffering in order to accompany us and to liberate us. That is the confidence St. Paul has to support his exhortation. He continues, “Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). Indeed, an omnipotent Creator God is not sufficient to remove all our anxieties. With the Son of God always accompanying us on our earthly pilgrimage, we enjoy a security “not as the world gives” (John 14:27). To echo John’s ode of “From His fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace” (1:16), St. Paul continues to advise the Philippians, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Alas! What are all these things if not the fruits of the Holy Spirit! In short, Christian sense of security comes from the Blessed Trinity.

Jesus Christ has laid down the Christian value system more than two thousand years ago in the Beatitudes before all modern ideologies. Why do subsequent governments that come to power not follow, making the teachings of Christ so “revolutionary”? I think it is because many leaders seek immortality but have taken whatever shortcuts available to them. The Beatitudes are path to immortality because God created men in His own image (Genesis 1:26) and God is immortal. Men would have been immortal had Adam obeyed God’s instruction (2:16-17). Human beings can only live for at most 120 years (6:3). However, immortality is still within reach. The seed of immortal still lies dormant within our souls as well as our bodies (Romans 8:23) and Jesus Christ teaches us how to unlock and nurture this immortality in the Beatitudes: poverty, mournfulness, meekness, hunger and thirst for God’s salvation, mercy, purity of heart, peace making and martyrdom (Matthew 5:3-10). In the modern world where life is convenient and comfortable, who wants to be poor, to mourn, to be bossed around, to give up fighting, to forgive, not to have contingency plans, not to stab backs and lastly to die martyrdom? People adopt an entirely opposite approach in life because they need security and the Beatitudes offer them none! In order to attain immortality within the available time-span, they take shortcuts: accumulate wealth and power ruthlessly without any remorse, keep fighting to gain upper hands, deny rivals a second chance, have Plan B and Plan C etc. in their sleeves, to stir up conflicts in order to gain advantages and lastly to silence all dissidents etc. Good Christians, do you see what kind of war you are fighting? How do we fight back? A tit for tat or to give offenders a second chance? Imposing concerted punishments or to hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness?

The recent “Messi Mess” in Hong Kong gives us ample food for thought during this Lunar New Year. It is ample because this incident involves more than the three parties concerned: namely, Inter Miami, Tatler Asia, the HKSAR government and higher powers behind.
Beloved brethren! It is time to take out your value system and polish it. On which side are you, God’s or the world’s?
God bless!

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Picture credit: times.com, singtao.com