傳教事業，大功告成 Evangelization Mission Accomplished

追福系列（六）
傳教事業，大功告成（若6:37-40）

因着種種不便說明的原因，人世間是找不到「絕對公義」的。不少冤假錯案，政治迫害，今生今世是完全沒有平反的一日。但公義的天主是不會容許這些不公義永遠在祂面前存在，所以在末日有「公審判」，為被屈的人申冤！審判已死的人是毫無意義的政治鬧劇，所以到了末日，「在總領天使吶喊和天主的號聲響時，主要親自由天降來，那些死於基督內的人先要復活，然後我們這些活着還存留的人，同時與他們一起要被提到雲彩上，到空中迎接主」（得前4:16-17）。這是基督信仰的意見，其他宗教不必認同，它們自有處理「絕對公義」的辦法。

問題又來了，復活後的人都升到天上，與一眾仙家/先知相遇，包括佛祖、觀音、關帝、天后、穆罕默德、梅瑟、厄里亞等等，哪一個纔是公審判的主持人呢？當真正的主持人出場後，我們怎樣確定是屬於祂的人呢？保祿寫信給羅馬教會時，引用了先知的話，帶出一個很有意義的教訓。保祿說「的確，『凡呼號上主名號的人，必然獲救』」（羅10:13; 岳3:5）。即是說，我們必須認識並緊記上主的名號，尤其是在復活後不能夠忘記，在公審判時能說出！

接着保祿寫出一連串的推論，可以說是「福傳大憲章」。「但是，人若不信祂，又怎能呼號祂呢？從未聽到祂，又怎能信祂呢？沒有宣講者，又怎能聽到呢？若沒有奉派遣，人又怎能去宣講呢？」（羅10:14-15a）我們領洗成為基督徒，已經接受了耶穌基督的派遣（瑪28:19）。最低限度，我們也應該向自己的親友同事宣講天主的慈悲。相信與否已經不屬我們的責任了。這是天主聖神的工作，是天主子的承諾：「凡看見子，並信從子的，必獲得永生；並且在末日，我要使他復活」（若6:40） 。

親愛的兄弟姊妹，但願大家都能夠在末日，與心愛的人，共享永生。亞孟。
天主保祐！

生命恩泉

Gospel Chase (VI)
Evangelization Mission Accomplished (John 6:37-40)

For reasons which we should be prudent to remain reticent, we cannot find “absolute justice” on earth. Many people were wrongly convicted and politically persecuted, the opportunity for their wrongs rectified is next to zero. But the righteous God would not allow such injustice to exist forever before Him. Therefore, on the Last Day, there shall be a Last Judgment to straight the wrongs done to the oppressed! Judging the dead is a meaningless political show. Therefore, on the Last Day, “The Lord Himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). This is Christian faith which other religions might not buy. But they must have their ways to handle “absolute justice”.

Problem arises when after resurrection, all people would rise to the air. We will be meeting a lot of legendary dignitaries and prophets, including the Buddha, Guanyin, Guandi, Queen of Heaven, Muhammed, Moses and Elijah etc. Who would preside over the Last Judgment? When the real president emerges, how can we be sure that we belong to Him? When Paul wrote to the Romans, he brought up a very meaningful teaching. Paul says, “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved’” (Romans 10:13; Joel 3:5). That is to say, we should know and remember the name of the LORD. In particular, we cannot forget it after resurrection and must be able to call it out at the Last Judgment!

Then Paul wrote a sequence of deductions which can be coined as the “Magna Carta of Evangelization”, “But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15a) When we were baptized as Christians, we were already commissioned by Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19). At least, we should proclaim God’s mercy to our relatives, friends and colleagues. Believe it or not is no longer our responsibility. This is the work of God the Holy Spirit, the pledge of the Son of God, “That everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day” (John 6:40).

Beloved brethren! May we enjoy eternal life with our beloved ones on the Last Day. Amen.
God bless!

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Picture Credit: eljasib.com

Hunger & Thirst For Righteousness 飢渴慕義

Passion Sunday, Year A
Theme: Hunger & Thirst For Righteousness 飢渴慕義

When we celebrate the Palm Sunday, the merciful Lord invites us to accompany Him in the spiritual journey of His Paschal Mystery. We are blessed indeed to be among the elected to wine and dine with Him in the heavenly banquet. The merciful Lord is never tired of teaching us the knowledge we need to acquire in order to partake in this eternal bliss. He is happy to assist us through giving us His spirit and giving up His life. Not only does He teach but He also practices what He preaches. His triumphant entry into Jerusalem is the beginning of His glorious battle against sins and death. This final confrontation with the Devil is pregnant with inexhaustible wisdom for our salvation. It is good for us to meditate during this Holy Week.

Among the teachings of Jesus Christ, I opine that the Beatitudes are the most essential because He began His public ministry by proclaiming this Magna Carta of the Kingdom of Heaven like someone similar to but greater than Moses (Matthew 5:3-12). Five years ago, Pope Francis promulgated the apostolic exhortation “Gaudete et Exsultate” on the sanctification of Christians in the modern world. He made it clear that the Beatitudes are the identity card of a Christian (GE #63)!
Brethren! Just think about it. When you meet St. Peter at the gate of heaven, you don’t show him your baptismal certificates for your admission into heaven because many people on earth haven’t had the opportunity to receive baptism during their lifetimes. But God wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth (1Timothy 2:4). Therefore, making baptism the necessary condition for entrance into heaven would be unfair. Let’s agree that attainment of one of the Beatitudes qualifies us to enter heaven.

How does Jesus practise what He preaches, in particular during His Passion? Actually, the “Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross” has been a popular topic for Good Friday Retreats. Taking inspiration from this fact, I would like to meditate and discover how Jesus demonstrates the Beatitudes in His Paschal Mystery. Earlier, I briefly touched upon the first two Beatitudes, viz. poverty and mournfulness, during the Stations of the Cross. Today let me meditate upon how Jesus hungers and thirsts for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).

So, what does righteousness mean? For us human beings, we usually equate righteousness with fairness. Even young children have a sense of fairness! I’m sure parents have their share of headaches when they divide birthday cakes among their children who just love cakes and are never satisfied with their slices! Adults have their understanding of fairness as well. We often hear people say, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24) suggesting that it is fair to revenge in proportion. “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” which suggests that it is fair to help each other. “Efforts pay” suggests that the harder you work the more wages you’ll earn. In reality, human revenges can never be proportional. For a serial killer of say 10 victims, how can his one life be proportional to the ten lives wasted? In killing the killer, one more life is wasted. How can that be fair? The second case cannot be fair either. Besides dishonesty, there are simply too many factors preventing pledges from being honoured. Most of the time we’ll be disappointed if we expect to be repaid. How wise Jesus is in teaching the truth, namely do not expect return of favours, “Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow” (Matthew 5:42). Lastly, nowadays in Hong Kong, many outsourcing janitors are still working at the minimum wage of HK$34.5. Efforts do not pay because your skills are not marketable! People should know the truth that employers deploy this slogan to domesticate employees. In short, righteousness is not fairness.

Then what is divine righteousness? What does God mean by righteousness?
God is omnipotent and merciful. He created us but we are suffering here in a sinful world. None of us is exempted. Put it in a negative way, if God does not deliver us, He would be unrighteous! In fact, the word “righteousness” and “salvation” usually goes hand-in-hand in the Old Testament. For example, “My mouth shall show forth your righteousness and your salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof” (Psalms 71:15). “I bring near my righteousness; it shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory” (Isaiah 46:13). In fact, when Jesus teaches, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6), He is paraphrasing “My eyes long to see your salvation and the promise of your righteousness” (Psalms 119:123). God desires for everybody to be saved. Yet after the baptism of Enlightenment, men have become bolder to play God. They put their faith in physical sciences and their trust in technologies. If they ever need salvation, it will come from Information Technology or Artificial Intelligence instead of Yahweh. These human achievements have become their idols while God becomes irrelevant nowadays. Few modern people feel the need of salvation, let alone the righteousness of God.

Christians are different because they are the elected few. However, many a Christian makes a terrible mistake in believing that when they are doing the will of God, God will brush away all obstacles and difficulties for them. Life would be a bed of roses, a safe and smooth sail across the worldly ocean towards heavens.
Brethren, how mistaken it is! Christ has never promised us an easy life after following Him. Take a look at the lives of St. Paul and all the holy martyrs! Take a look at yourselves. How many of you find frustrations and discouragements in doing God’s will? How many of you have been taken advantage of, or have become scapegoats for other people’s faults, or have been verbally and/or physically abused etc. because of your faith in God? Have you been humiliated and ridiculed, asking you where your God is (Psalms 42:3; Joel 2:17; Micah 7:10)? The author of Hebrews put it mildly, “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood” (Hebrews 12:4). But Jesus Himself and all the martyrs have!

Brethren! We shall be blessed indeed when frustrated and exhausted in doing God’s work and we cry aloud “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Psalms 22:2; Matthew 27:46) Like Christ, when we have obeyed, have felt helpless, weak and could find nothing else to rely on, then we shall be satisfied with God’s righteousness and salvation. He will raise us to a new level of life. Once more, we thank Christ for allowing us to accompany Him on this spiritual journey of Paschal Mystery because only through practices shall we know our God better and love Him deeper. Amen.
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: wikimedia.org

The first kerygma

Today, we read of part of the first Christian kerygma to the whole world after official establishment of the Church on Pentecost. About 120 believers, whom the risen Lord managed to gather before his Ascension, were praying when the Holy Spirit came down on them, empowering them with the gift of speech so that they were able to speak in different languages to the pilgrims in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-6). It was a spectacular scene. Many were amazed but some were skeptical. They thought that these Galileans were drunk. Peter, the official spokesman of the new born Church stood up to their defence, quoting the prophetJoel 2. Then he continued to quote the Psalm 16 to prove the resurrection of Jesus.

Luke was the author of the Gospel which bears his name and the Acts. Obviously, he was not there in Jerusalem when Peter made the first preaching on Pentecost. Therefore, this kerygma speech was a reconstruction from the interviews he conducted with the witnesses (Luke 1:1-4). This very first speech is a proclamation of the basic Christian beliefs to the Jewish world. Here, we read a lot of quotations from the Septuagint to demonstrate that the Jesus event was a fulfillment of God's promises in the Old Testament. The quotations were nearly word for word, with very minor variants. It shows that early Christians relied heavily on the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew Scripture. Moreover, the use of Greek allowed the message of God to reach to a greater audience.

The tactic of quoting the Hebrew Scripture to appeal to the Jews did not work very well, though it was a natural tactic. In fact, Christians were offering a new interpretation of those texts which the Jewish rabbis had already established their standard interpretation. Therefore, the Christian interpretation could only attract those who were not satisfied with the orthodox Jewish interpretation. History repeated itself when the Protestants and Catholics argued over the reality of Jesus' body in the Holy Eucharist. Is it Jesus' body or just a remembrance?
This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19b).
Both groups appealed to the gospel but drew different conclusions from it.

Nowadays, many people have already accepted the resurrection of Jesus. Some remain skeptical because they demand scientific proofs. Unfortunately, no scientific proofs are available and an appeal to the authority of the Bible will not convince those who do not believe. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Christians to live up the belief in the resurrection of Jesus and to make it relevant to the contemporary world. May the Holy Spirit be with them to empower them with His gifts to bear witness. Amen.

Dear Lord, Your resurrection has transformed our lives. Be with us so that we may continue to bear witness to this redemption of the world. Amen.

Appendix:
I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.
For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption.
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.
προορώμην τὸν κύριον ἐνώπιόν μου διὰ παντός, ὅτι ἐκ δεξιῶν μού ἐστιν ἵνα μὴ σαλευθῶ.
διὰ τοῦτο ηὐφράνθη ἡ καρδία μου καὶ ἠγαλλιάσατο ἡ γλῶσσά μου, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἡ σάρξ μου κατασκηνώσει ἐπ' ἐλπίδι,
ὅτι οὐκ ἐγκαταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδην οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν.
ἐγνώρισάς μοι ὁδοὺς ζωῆς,πληρώσεις με εὐφροσύνης μετὰ τοῦ προσώπου σου. (Acts 2:25-28, Psalm 15:8-11 LXX, 16:8-11 MT)

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;
yea, and on my menservants and my maidservants in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and manifest day.
And it shall be that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶνκαὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνυπνίοις ἐνυπνιασθήσονται·
καί γε ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας μου ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου,καὶ προφητεύσουσιν.
καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ.
ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα, πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.
καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται. (Acts 2:17b-21)
ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνύπνια ἐνυπνιασθήσονται, καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὁράσεις ὄψονται,
καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς δούλους καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δούλας ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου. 
καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ,
ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.
καὶ ἔσται πᾶς, ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου, σωθήσεται (Joel :1-5a LXX, 2:28-32a MT).

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The Lord repented

Today, we read of the response God had when the Israelites built a golden calf to lead them through the wilderness. Moses had gone up the mountain to get the Ten Commandments. He had left the Israelites behind for forty days and they grew impatient. Therefore, they forced Aaron to build them the golden calf.
And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people;
now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of you I will make a great nation." (Exodus 32:9-10)
Moses declined the offer, reminded God of His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses had successfully persuaded the Lord to change His mind.
And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do to his people (Exodus 32:14).

How could God change His mind? Listening to the judgment Ezekiel passed on the bloody city, Jerusalem.
I the LORD have spoken; it shall come to pass, I will do it; I will not go back, I will not spare, I will not repent; according to your ways and your doings I will judge you, says the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 24:14).
Isn't God eternal and all-knowing? Should we understand the portrayal of God in Exodus as an anthropomorphism?
In Torah, this is the only place where we find God repented of the evil He intended for the Chosen People. In order to have a fuller picture of God's repentance, let me do a little survey to find out where else God had repented.

Amos served as a prophet in 750 B.C. We find God repented after Amos begged Him to stop sending locusts and fire to punish the people.
I said, "O Lord GOD, forgive (cease), I beseech thee! How can Jacob stand? He is so small!"
The LORD repented concerning this; "It shall not be," said the LORD (Amos 7:2b-3, 5-6).
Here, we read of how a prophet interceded for the people and God repented. The Exodus story rings a similar tone.
Jeremiah served as a prophet in 626-586 B.C. His prophecy was unpopular. The priests and prophets spoke against Jeremiah in front of the princes and the people. They wanted to put Jeremiah to death (Jeremiah 26:11). Some elders of the land defended Jeremiah, quoting the case of Micah of Moresheth who prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD repent of the evil which he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great evil upon ourselves (Jeremiah 26:19)
In this case, it was a king, King Hezekiah who entreated the favour of God and God repented.
Jonah was a legendary prophet serving in 450 B.C. He fled from God's commission to proclaim judgment on Niveveh. Nevertheless, Jonah accomplished his mission but he was angry of the mercy God shown to the people of Niveveh. In his prayer, Jonah expressed his understanding of the mercy of God.
And he prayed to the LORD and said, "I pray thee, LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repentest of evil." (Jonah 4:2)
In this case, God did not need a mediator to intercede for the sinners. God is merciful by nature.
Joel served as a prophet in about 400 B.C. The Jews had already returned from the Babylonian Exile for more than a century. The editing of Torah had probably completed but the spiritual life of the people was deteriorating. Joel urged them to repent.
"Yet even now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.
Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God? (Joel 2:12-14)
Joel taught the people to return to God because God is merciful and repents of evils.
The Prophets are relatively easy to date but it is more difficult to do likewise for the Torah and other history books such as Samuel's because they are works of compilation. For example, we find the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel (1 Samuel 15:35) or when the Lord sent an angel to kill off the Israelites because David had conducted a census, God repented and stopped the angel of destruction (2 Samuel 24:16). It is difficult to determine what stage of development of this concept of God's repentance had reached.
In short, through the stormy relation which the Chosen People had engaged with God, we know that God is merciful. It takes only one person to persuade God to turn away from His intended punishments of the people.
Throughout the whole Old Testament, men failed to listen to God, obey His words and keep His commandment on their own. Time and time again, God had to withdraw His intended punishments, to give men a second chance, a third chance and many more chances. The age of Law was a failure. Thus, God initiated the age of Grace. It is the New Testament. Perhaps God has grown tired of chastening His Chosen People. Therefore, God forgives them once and for all through Jesus.

Dear Lord, through Your passion, You have earned for us our redemption. May we partake in Your fasting and sufferings so that we may become truly the sons of God. Amen.

Is God's revelation top-down?

Tonight, we attended the first lesson of "Fundamental Theology" taught by Fr. Peter Choy Wai Man. This course studies revelation, its nature, its expression and its transmission.
A survey of world religions shows that they can be roughly classified into Revelation Religions and Wisdom Religions. The latter ones usually do not worship gods. Through insights, they are able to make sense of human existence and sufferings. Most eastern religions like Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism etc. are examples. The representatives of the former ones are those monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Their religious tenets are handed down from a Supreme Being. Therefore, a common conception of Christian revelation is that God spoke to men through prophets. Therefore, the truth revealed is absolute and does not allow for any amendments and challenges.

After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church has a newer understanding of revelation. The Church continues to believe in God's plan of universal salvation. She feels the need to engage the world in dialogues. Therefore, she rethinks the nature of revelation and comes to the understanding that God's revelation is His self-communication. This perspective immediately throws new lights onto the characteristics of revelation.
First of all, revelation is experiential. If we fail to experience God's presence and His mercy, God's self-communications are futile. We have not received any of His revelation.
Secondly, revelation is inter-personal. God patiently builds up a relation with human beings in order to reveal Himself to them. Creation, Exodus, Sinai Covenant, the passion and resurrection of Jesus are all meaningless if our relationship with God does not exist.
Moreover, God's revelation is related to our salvation. It is not some impersonal scientific law. No doubt, nature displays the glory of God and the admiration of its magnificence will lead us to God. However, our salvation is the major focus of Christian revelation.
Furthermore, revelation is multi-dimensional. It is not limited to words put into the mouths of the prophets. God also reveals Himself through signs and wonders, through the presence of Jesus Christ and especially, his passion and resurrection.
Lastly, revelation points to our destiny, our future.

Therefore, revelation is both top-down and bottom-up. It starts with both God's self-communication and human response. Such a conception of revelation has many advantages. One of them is the opening up of dialogues with other religions. Now that revelation is no longer handed down from above, but has to take into consideration understanding and insights on our part as well, a common ground can be found with other Wisdom Religions. We no longer insist on the absoluteness of our expression of the objective truth but acknowledge the historical limitations and evolution of theological articulations of the salvific truth. As time goes by, we will be able to articulate the truth in a better and more appropriate manner.

So, how shall we deal with the oracles handed down from the prophets? For example,
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4).
I am afraid these words cannot be interpreted literally. In human history, no such experience ever happens. If it be experiential, it would probably be an ideal, a wishful thinking cherished in the mind of a prophet.
If we want to make sense of this revelation within a relation with God, we shall ask under what sort of a relation God communicated this vision of the future to the prophet. Very likely, it was a personal intimate relation between God and Isaiah which other people could not fathom and did not share. Read further.
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior." (Joel 3:10)
So, what is God's revelation? Shall we beat swords into plowshares or vice versa?
My position is that there are still some revelations which are more easily understood to be top-down than bottom-up.

Dear Lord, I pray for myself. I pray that I do not understand the lessons in a wrong way. Amen.

Paul on the defensive for the Israelites

Scholars discover that books in the Bible usually display some chiastic structures, an X like construction where the central idea is located at the centre. In written form, texts can be grouped together into ABCC'B'A' or ABCDC'B'A' etc. Within such a structure, the end echoes the beginning. It is a very powerful and useful literary device. There are 16 chapters in the epistle to the Romans. We expect to find Paul's central theme in Romans 8 and 9, if Paul has used such a literary device in this epistle.

In Romans 9-11, Paul quoted extensively from the Old Testament to defend the position of the Israelites. I always suspect that Paul did not have the Gentiles in his mind when he was writing this epistle. His readers have to know the scripture very well in order to be able to follow his argument. Let me summarize.

1. We owe our salvation through the Israelites (Romans 9:1-5).
2. Many Jews did not believe. Does it mean that God's word has failed? No. God had elected a minority (Romans 9:6-13).
3. Was God being unfair? No. God has mercy on those He wills (Romans 9:14-18).
4. Why does God still find faults? We are God's vessels of mercy. Therefore, we are in no position to ask (Romans 9:19-26).
5. Only a remnant will be saved (Romans 9:27-29).
6. Righteousness is achieved through faith (Romans 9:30-33).

Applying the concept of chiastic structure, we would find the central ideas of Romans 9 in sections 3 and 4. God is fair. Let's accept the reality that God would find fault with us.

7. Paul prayed that the Jews would be saved (Romans 10:1-4).
8. Salvation comes from faith which is manifested by calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:5-13).
9. The importance of preaching (Romans 10:14-17) Here, we have one of the mostly quoted Romans verses.
   But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?
   And how can men preach unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15a)
10. The Israelites have also heard the Good News (Romans 10:18-21).
11. God had not rejected the people whom He elected (Romans 11:1-10).
12. Through the trespasses of the Jews, Gentiles could have a chance to be saved, thus stirring up the jealousy of the Israel (Romans 11:11-12).

In Romans 11, Paul employed an imagery of branches and grafting to show the relationship between the Jews, Gentiles and God. The Church provides them a meeting ground. Perhaps I should leave this for next time.

Dear Lord, I should thank St. Paul for his beautiful articulation of the importance of preaching. I pray for my audience. May Your Spirit open their minds, make them receptive to Your gospel of reconciliation. Amen.

Appendix:

1. ἀλλ', Ἐν Ἰσαὰκ κληθήσεταί σοι σπέρμα. 
   but "Through Isaac shall your descendants be named." (Romans 9:7b, Genesis 21:12b)
2. Κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον ἐλεύσομαι καὶ ἔσται τῇ Σάρρᾳ υἱός. 
   About this time I will return and Sarah shall have a son (Romans 9:9b).
   κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν τοῦτον εἰς ὥρας, καὶ ἕξει υἱὸν Σαρρα ἡ γυνή σου (Genesis 18:10).
3. ὁ μείζων δουλεύσει τῷ ἐλάσσονι, 
   The elder will serve the younger (Romans 9:12b, Genesis 25:23b)
4. τὸν Ἰακὼβ ἠγάπησα, τὸν δὲ Ἠσαῦ ἐμίσησα.
   Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated (Romans 9:13)
   καὶ ἠγάπησα τὸν Ιακωβ, 
   τὸν δὲ Ησαυ ἐμίσησα (Malachi 1:2-3)
5. Ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ, καὶ οἰκτιρήσω ὃν ἂν οἰκτίρω. 
   I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion (Romans 9:15, Exodus 33:19b).
6. ὅτι Εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐξήγειρά σε ὅπως ἐνδείξ ωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν δύναμίν μου, καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. 
   I have raised you up for the very purpose of showing my power in you, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth (Romans 9:17)
   καὶ ἕνεκεν τούτου διετηρήθης, ἵνα ἐνδείξωμαι ἐν σοὶ τὴν ἰσχύν μου, καὶ ὅπως διαγγελῇ τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ. (Exodus 9:16)
7. μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι, Τί με ἐποί ησας οὕτως; 
   Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me thus?" (Romans 9:20b)
   μὴ ἐρεῖ τὸ πλάσμα τῷ πλάσαντι Οὐ σύ με ἔπλασας; ἢ τὸ ποίημα τῷ ποιήσαντι Οὐ συνετῶς με ἐποίησας; (Isaiah 29:16b)
8. Καλέσω τὸν οὐ λαόν μου λαόν μου καὶ τὴν οὐκ ἠγαπημένην ἠγαπ ημένην .
   Those who were not my people I will call my people, and her who was not beloved I will call my beloved (Romans 9:25)
   καὶ ἐλεήσω τὴν Οὐκ-ἠλεημένην καὶ ἐρῶ τῷ Οὐ-λαῷ-μου Λαός μου εἶ σύ (Hosea 2:25 LXX, 2:23 MT).
9. καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῷ τόπῳ οὗ ἐρρέθη αὐτοῖς, Οὐ λαός μου ὑμεῖς, ἐκεῖ κ ληθήσονται υἱοὶ θεοῦ ζῶντος. 
   And in the very place where it was said to them, `You are not my people, they will be called sons of the living God (Romans 9:26, Hosea 2:1b LXX, 1:0 MT).
10. Ἐὰν ᾖ ὁ ἀριθμὸς τῶν υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ ὑπό λειμμα σωθήσεται:
    λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ποιήσει κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. 
    Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved;
    for the Lord will execute his sentence upon the earth with rigor and dispatch (Romans 9:27-28).
    καὶ ἐὰν γένηται ὁ λαὸς Ισραηλ ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης, τὸ κατάλει μμα αὐτῶν σωθήσεται, λόγον γὰρ συντελῶν καὶ συντέμνων ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ,
    ὅτι λόγον συντετμημένον ποιήσει ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ὅλῃ. (Isaiah 10:22-23).
11. Εἰ μὴ κύριος Σαβαὼθ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἡμῖν σπέρμα, ὡς Σόδομα ἂν ἐγ ενήθημεν καὶ ὡς Γόμορρα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν. 
    If the Lord of hosts had not left us children, we would have fared like Sodom and been made like Gomorrah (Romans 9:29, Isaiah 1:9).
12. Ἰδοὺ τίθημι ἐν Σιὼν λίθον προσκόμματος καὶ πέτραν σκανδάλου, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται. 
    Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame(Romans 9:33).
    Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐμβαλῶ εἰς τὰ θεμέλια Σιων λίθον πολυτελῆ ἐκλεκτὸν ἀκρ ογωνιαῖον ἔντιμον εἰς τὰ θεμέλια αὐτῆς, καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ. (Isaiah 28:16)
13. Τίς ἀναβήσεται εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν; 
    Who will ascend into heaven? (Romans 10:6b)
    Τίς ἀναβήσεται ἡμῖν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν (Deuteronomy 30:12)
14. Τίς καταβήσεται εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον; 
    Who will descend into the abyss? (Romans 10:7)
    Τίς διαπεράσει ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης [the sea](Deuteronomy 30:13).
15. Ἐγγύς σου τὸ ῥῆμά ἐστιν, ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου 
    The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (Romans 10:8)
    ἔστιν σου ἐγγὺς τὸ ῥῆμα σφόδρα ἐν τῷ στόματί σου καὶ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ σου (Deuteronomy 30:14).
16. Πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐ καταισχυνθήσεται.
    No one who believes in him will be put to shame (Romans 10:11)
    καὶ ὁ πιστεύων ἐπ̓ αὐτῷ οὐ μὴ καταισχυνθῇ.(Isaiah 28:16)
17. Πᾶς γὰρ ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου σωθήσεται. 
    For, "every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)
    καὶ ἔσται πᾶς, ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου, σωθήσεται, (Joel 3:5 LXX, 2:32 MT)
18. Ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες τῶν εὐαγγελιζομένων [τὰ] ἀγαθά. 
    How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news (Romans 10:15b)
    ὡς ὥρα ἐπὶ τῶν ὀρέων, ὡς πόδες εὐαγγελιζομένου ἀκοὴν εἰρήνης, ὡς εὐαγγελιζόμενος ἀγαθά (Isaiah 52:7a)
19. Κύριε, τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν; 
    Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us? (Romans 10:16b, Isaiah 53:1a)
20. Εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἐξῆλθεν ὁ φθόγγος αὐτῶν, καὶ εἰς τὰ πέρατα τ ῆς οἰκουμένης τὰ ῥήματα αὐτῶν. 
    Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Romans 10:18b, Psalm 18:5a LXX, 19:4 MT)
21. Ἐγὼ παραζηλώσω ὑμᾶς ἐπ' οὐκ ἔθνει, ἐπ' ἔ θνει ἀσυνέτῳ παροργιῶ ὑμᾶς.
    I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry (Romans 10:19b)
    κἀγὼ παραζηλώσω αὐτοὺς ἐπ̓ οὐκ ἔθνει, ἐπ̓ ἔθ νει ἀσυνέτῳ παροργιῶ αὐτούς. (Deuteronomy 32:21b)
22. Εὑρέθην [ἐν] τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν, ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ἐπερωτῶσιν. 
    I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me (Romans 10:20b)
    Ἐμφανὴς ἐγενόμην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ζητοῦσιν, εὑρέ θην τοῖς ἐμὲ μὴ ἐπερωτῶσιν (Isaiah 65:1a).
23. Ολην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐξεπέτασα τὰς χεῖράς μου πρὸς λαὸν ἀπειθοῦν τα καὶ ἀντιλέγοντα. 
    All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people (Romans 10:21)
    ἐξεπέτασα τὰς χεῖράς μου ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν πρὸς λαὸν ἀπειθοῦντα κ αὶ ἀντιλέγοντα (Isaiah 65:2a)

Beat plowshares into swords?

We are familiar with the Isaiah verse.
He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Isaiah 2:4).
Isaiah was not the only one who predicted about a peaceful future. We have a nearly identical verse in Micah.
He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more (Micah 4:3).
However, if we think the Bible gives us a bright and peaceful future, we are only 66.67% correct. Read Joel.
Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, "I am a warrior." (Joel 3:10 RSV, 4:10, MT)

Joel was telling the post-exile Jews that God would restore their fortunes.
For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there, on account of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations, and have divided up my land,
and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and have sold a girl for wine, and have drunk it. (Joel 3:1-3 RSV, 4:1-3 MT).
God seemed to be avenging for His Chosen People who had suffered enough.
Ever since Isaiah, prophets saw the invasions of Gentiles as God's chastening. These foreign nations were carrying out God's plan. However, if they overdid, God would harshly punish them instead. For example, the Assyrians. They were conquered by the Babylonians because the Assyrians had done more than God required. They wanted to conquer, not to punish.
When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem he will punish the arrogant boasting of the king of Assyria and his haughty pride(Isaiah 10:12).
Similarly, God raised Cyrus, the Persian king to release the Jewish exiles from Babylonian Captivity.
In previous times, God raised alien nations to punish Israel/Judah as well as to deliver them. Now in Joel's time, the Jews were under the dominion of the Greek Empire. The Jews believed that this time, God would not make use of yet another foreign nation to deliver them. He would come Himself. "The Day of the Lord" became the buzzword of the day.

Joel had missed the whole point. Truly, the Day of the Lord was drawing near. But the Messiah would not be a military one. Rather, God took up human flesh, lived among us and died for us. From death, He came back to life so as to conquer death once and for all. With limited understanding and perspective, prophets were not expected to pass on the whole truth. Joel saw a revengeful God instructing the Chosen People to beat plowshares to swords. Joel, or any other prophets, could be unable to know God's plan for sure. Even when Jesus told his apostles plainly God's plan, his apostles could not accept such a plan. We don't blame Joel.

Dear Lord, You sent us prophets to reveal Your plan of redemption. May we be more attentive in discerning Your will. Amen.

God might change His mind

We will spend two days reading the second minor prophet, Joel. Biblical scholars believe that Joel was a post-exile prophet of around 400 B.C.
Joel began talking with the devastation of the land by a swarm of locusts (Joel 1:4). We cannot tell whether it was a vision, an actual natural disaster that Joel had experienced, or a metaphor for an invading army (Joel 1:5-10). For Joel, it was "the Day of the Lord".
Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes (Joel 1:15).

Different prophets use the term "the Day of the Lord" with different meanings. Some used it as a judgment against the nations (Jeremiah 46:10, Ezekiel 30:3, Obadiah 1:15). Amos said it was a day of darkness (Amos 5:18). Others seemed to suggest the end of the world (Isaiah 13:6, Joel 1:15, Zechariah 14:1, Malachi 4:5). Still others used the term to proclaim judgment on the leaders of Israel (Zephaniah 1:8).
However, we have to be cautious with all prophecies of the Bible. Scholars believe that these prophecies can be predictions of both short-term and long-term. That is to say, a prediction of the destruction of Israel could be fulfilled by the destruction of Israel a short time in the future and it can also be a description of the end of the world.
In the case of Joel, he was obviously talking about the near future. It is because he told the priests, leaders, elders and the people to weep for their sins, to repent and to cry to the Lord before the altar in the hope that God would change His mind and spare them.
Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil.
Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God? (Joel 2:13-14)
A search on the Old Testament shows that "slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love" seems to be a formula and appears many times in different places (Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2).
Only three prophets, Jeremiah, Joel and Jonah mention the Lord repented of evil. The expression can also be found in three other places (Exodus 32:14, 2 Samuel 24:16, 1 Chronicles 21:15). The last two verses talk about the same incident.
So, God is a merciful God. He is extremely patient and slow to anger. Even if He is angry, He could change His mind and Joel was urging the people to repent so as to make God change His mind. This is indeed very encouraging for sinners. Without this tolerance of God, who could survive? We should learn from this patience of God.

Dear Lord, I thank You for allowing me enough time to develop my potentials. I pray that one day, I may be able to serve You and Your Church well. Amen.

Ash Wednesday 2009

We begin the season of Lent today. I pray that I will be able to hear God's call more clearly at the end of this season. Of course, God works in a different time-frame and I am in no position to force His hand. Otherwise, I am putting Him to the test.
It is not difficult to know God's will. It is plainly written in the Bible. The only problem is how to apply it in our daily life.
"Yet even now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
and rend your hearts and not your garments." (Joel 2:12-13a)
God wants us to return to Him, including me of course. The procedure is not extraordinarily difficult, just fasting, weeping and mourning. Unlike martyrdom, we don't need high moral courage to follow the procedure. But our God demands our hearts. He doesn't want us to do it superficially as we often do. Out of inertia, we are reluctant to take the first step to do better, to walk the extra mile. For our good, God wants us to do it sincerely and whole-heartedly. Does He need our fasting? Does He need our tears? Of course not. So, why does God care so much about our doing it seriously? I don't think anybody can answer this question satisfactorily. Who knows God's mind?
As a teacher, I always see my image and likeness in my students! They are lazy in doing their assignments. I am complacent about what I use to be doing. Do I need their homework? Of course not. Does God need my repentance? Of course not. Times and again, I am annoyed by the laziness of my students but my 'anger' subsides quickly not because I am soft or merciful like God. Instead, I feel sorry for them. What have happened to these Band One students? Why have they not developed good enough study habits to fulfil their obligations as students? I cannot say I understand God. But at least, I begin to appreciate what it feels like to be let down repeatedly throughout ages immemorial. In this season of Lent, God is calling us once more to live like a decent dignified man should. It is for our good and it is our turn to act.
Then Joel switches from speaking in 1^st person to the 3^rd person, asking a very pertinent question. What are the chances of sinners repenting?
Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God? (Joel 2:14)
A chance is a chance. Giving man a second chance opens the possibility for him to improve, to change for the better.
This evening, we attended the Ash Wednesday mass celebrated by Fr. Martin Ip to begin this Lent season. Surprisingly, the church was full-house. Indeed, God's grace is abundant. Many parishioners feel the need to turn to God sincerely. In his homily, Fr. Martin shared a few stories about effecting changes, not through punishment, but through loving care. He mentioned the story of Fr. Peter Newbery, a Salesian priest cum out-reaching social worker. Fr. Newbery used to teach English. One of his students always slept in class. He was annoyed and pounded on the boy's desk, asking him why he slept in his class all the time. The boy retorted that he was tired. Fr. Newbery sent him down to the playground to run 50 laps and returned to the classroom to do 50 press-up's. The boy finished defiantly and was sent down again several times, doing the same routine. The boy hardened each time he returned. Several years later when Fr. Newbery visited the prison. He met this student again. Fr. Newbery had matured and he asked him warmly how his prison life was. Tears ran down from the student. He too had matured. Fr. Martin concluded that God chose to treat us mercifully so as to transform our hardened souls. We too should treat each other mercifully.

My Lord, You have been very patient with me, allowing me room to mature. I pray to devote my remaining days to love You and serve You more. Amen.

Ash Wednesday 2008

Today (Ash Wednesday) sees the beginning of the Lent season. It is time again to turn round from our previous life style to an improved relationship with God. I have already begun daily reflection on the Bible for one month. May God accompany me along and reveal to me what He intends me to know from the message in the Bible. May this knowledge deepen my love for God and make me more ready to reach out for my neighbours. Amen.

We read Joel 2:12-18 and 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2. Let me begin with 2 Corinthians. In this reading, Paul called us to be reconciled to God. We are indeed a rebellious creature. The first sin recorded in Genesis 3 is that our ancestors, though created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) and were able to, among all creatures, enter into a dialogue with the Creator (Genesis 1:28), wanted to be like God, to be autonomous and free from the guiding hands of the Creator (Genesis 3:5b). This was a sin against God and in subsequent chapters, more sins were committed against our fellow men. There is no more harmony on earth. But God did not give up His creation. He initiated our redemption. Glory and praise to the Lord, forever and ever. Amen.
For our sake he (God) made him (Christ) to be sin (man) who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is a mystery. Christ took on our sinful flesh to make us the righteousness of God. O Jesus, you take up all our evils, sicknesses and humiliations. You want us to surrender all our weaknesses so that our perfection may be restored. With your great love, you melt our sins into occasions of grace. May we sing of your great wonders forever and ever. Amen.
Lent is the acceptable time when God shall listen to us (2 Corinthians 6:2). Joel called on a return to God. "now," says the LORD, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;" (Joel 2:12). Now, let us fast, weep and mourn with all our hearts. May we empty our sinful hearts to make room for God's love. Amen.
Yesterday evening, we attended the year-end Thanksgiving Mass. It becomes an annual tradition in the parish and it was full-house last night. In his homily, besides the usual stuff, Fr. Kwan put forth a new slogan: "0% tolerance, 100% forgiveness." He urged the parishers to forgive what the religious had failed in their service last year and to be candid. He thought that tolerance could build up an apparent harmony on the surface only. That would do no good to lives in family or in parish. In Christ, let's be candid so that we may forgive and improve. As a slogan, it sounds good. But in reality, it hardly applies to vertical relationships. Can we reduce our tolerance of the stupidities of our superiors? No. Our tolerance has reached fullness. Will our superiors be humble enough to ask for forgiveness so that we can have a chance to forgive them? No again. We have zero chance to forgive our superiors. So, in reality, it is "100% tolerance, 0% forgiveness!" Thanks Fr. Kwan for bringing the issue to the surface and throwing new lights on it.
Today is the Lunar New Year Eve. We are on the verge to enter the Year of the Rat. But let us keep the thousands of stranded migrant workers in mind. The snowstorm has deprived them of the joy of going home to enjoy the reunion with their families. Let us pray for them that they may find consolation in their present plights. There are a lot of things to clean up as well as new things to set up. So are our hearts. This is an annual and perpetual exercise. We know that we will never reach perfection, not until the day we, hopefully, return to God.

My God, may our fasting, weeping and mourning help us repent so that we become lighter to scale new heights in our perfection. I am not fully aware of my weaknesses. May I be able to read from Your Scripture holy words that illuminate my ignorance so that I may feel Your imminence and presence. Will You still accept me when, at the end of the days, I am still imperfect? But I will continue to work hard, whatever my destiny. Amen.

Comment from TheVoiceReturns:
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Did the Apostles observe Ash Wednesday or Lent ?
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Indeed, Christ set the example.

"...while Jesus was on earth...
He truly worshiped God,
and God listened to his prayers...
(Hebrews 5:7,8)(CEV)-BibleGateway

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February 6, 2008.