Ching Ming is a traditional Chinese festival to remember the ancestors. In the political arena of Chinese politics, Ching Ming Festival has been a convenient date for student unrests in the name of remembering the deceased political giants such as Chou En-lai 周恩來 and Hu Yao-bang 胡耀邦. Nobody in the political hierarchy dare to muddle with them. Sometimes, these student unrests drag on and results in massacre. It is difficult to imagine that such a traditional festival, celebrating the conservative Confucius ideology of honouring ancestors can be so subversive and explosive.
Christianity was once a revolutionary ideology when Christians were underdogs of the society. Love your enemies! Lay down your life for your friends, like your Master! Blessed are the poor and meek, not the powerful etc. When Roman Empire embraced this religion, it was probably out of utilitarian considerations. Such a religion would help rule the Empire. Once it became the official religion, the revolutionary elements in this faith were played down to support the status quo. It takes generations of martyrs to rediscover its full meanings and many more unsung heroes to make this faith meaningful and applicable to each new generation.
The contents of the Gospel, the Good News Christians preach were canonized by Peter within the life span of Jesus between his baptism and ascension (Acts 1:22). Therefore, all 4 canonical gospels contain records Jesus' baptism, Jesus' passion, resurrection and ascension. Other materials were presented to flesh out the whole story as understood by the evangelists to respond to the needs of the community they lived. Each gospel is therefore a reflection on Jesus' deeds and teachings to make them accessible, meaningful to their respective communities. From their experience, Christians of later generations draw inspiration. Therefore, only Matthew and Luke contain the nativity story, the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer etc. Luke also has many beautiful parables such as the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son etc. not found in the other gospels. The only other story recorded by all 4 gospels is the feeding of 5000.
The story of the feeding of 5000 was meaningful to contemporary Jews because it reminded them of how God had fed the Israelites in wilderness for 40 years with manna. This story is meaningful for Christians of all generations because it reminds them how the good Lord Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist to nourish their spiritual life. Now then, how do we make this feeding of 5000 meaningful to the people in the 21st century?
The feeding story in John came from an insider. It tells us that it was Philip who said that they needed 200 denarii to feed so many people (John 6:7). There were 5 loaves of bailey bread. They came from a child and this was found by Andrew (John 6:8-9). John treats all miracles as signs which demonstrate God's presence among us. They also show us God's love and glory. This feeding miracle is yet another sign to show God's providence for the needy.
Nowadays, our world still suffers from global hunger. But will this feeding story fill the stomach of the hungry? Worse still, how do we make sense out of natural disasters such as the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed more than 300,000 people? Christians have a hard time pondering over where God was. It is indeed difficult to be a modern Christian.
Dear Holy Spirit, You come upon the bread on the altar everyday to make them the body of Christ for us to consume. We are grateful to be nourished with this heavenly food. Enlighten us that we may know how to make the Christian story meaningful to our neighours. Help us live out this Christian story in our life. Amen.
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