There were sweet and bitter moments in the missionary work of St. Paul. Philippi was a successful station through and through. This city gave Paul many fond memories as well as sustained support. It is beneficial for us to review Paul's work in Philippi as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
From Antioch, Paul took Silas to embark on his secondary missionary journey (Acts 15:40). He visited the churches he had established in his previous journey. In Lystra, Timothy joined him (Acts 16:3). While they failed to enter Bithynia (Acts 16:7), they turned to Troas (Acts 16:8). In Troas, Luke, the author joined the party and Paul had a vision bidding him to preach in Macedonia (Acts 16:10). From then on, we-passages appear in Acts.
They reached Philippi, converted a rich lady merchant, Lydia (Acts 16:14). Paul exorcised a spirit of divination from a slave girl (Acts 16:18). Her owners were angry because the slave girl was no longer able to earn money for them. They made the city magistrates put Paul and Silas in prison. At night, an earthquake erupted and all the prison doors were opened. Yet, no prisoners escaped. But the jailer, seeing the doors opened, thought that all had run away. Therefore, he intended to kill himself. Paul stopped him and uttered the following famous line which the Protestants love to quote:
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household (Acts 16:31).
Later, the city magistrates came to apologize and release them (Acts 16:39). Paul visited Lydia, saw the brethren and continued his journey.
From the epistles collected in the New Testament, we see that not all churches were beds of roses. Some of them troubled the heart of St. Paul a lot. Paul was not able to go there in person. He relied on the epistles to reach them and teach them. Paul always began his epistles in praises and thanksgiving prayers. I think it is more than convention. Paul tried to think positively for them so that they were able to see themselves in a more positive manner. For example,
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world (Romans 1:8)
I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge (1 Corinthians 1:4-5)
Our hope for you is unshaken; for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort (2 Corinthians 1:7).
For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints,
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers (Ephesians 1:15-16)
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,
always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,
thankful for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now (Philippians 1:3-5).
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have for all the saints (Colossians 1:3-4)
We give thanks to God always for you all, constantly mentioning you in our prayers,
remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:2-3).
We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, as is fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
The epistle to the Galatians seems to be the only exception. After saying a thanksgiving prayer, Paul began to scold them.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and turning to a different gospel (Galatians 1:6)
Let's focus on the Philippians. They were very dearly for Paul.
It is right for me to feel thus about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel (Philippians 1:7).
As a teacher, we try our best to win over as many students as possible. However, sometimes, some of them can be very disheartening. Still, we need to cheer ourselves up. How shall we do it? Learn from Paul. It is easy to see people's mistakes and more demanding in see their merits. Still, we need to.
My dear Advocate, Jesus has promised us that when we help the needy, we will be able to get in touch with him. Help me see You in the students I teach. Amen.
Friday 31 October 2008
Thursday 30 October 2008
A Soldier of God
We are approaching the end of the epistle to the Ephesians. After discussing the relationship between masters and slaves, Paul suddenly changed gear and talked about a totally different realm of existence. Modern sci-fi movies, like the Transformers, best capture the feeling --- an ordinary-looking family vehicle suddenly transforms itself into a high-tech warrior robot to defend the world. This is exactly the feeling one gets when he reads chapter 6 of the Ephesians.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-12).
We are believers. Though we have faith to believe in God, in spiritual beings such as angels, demons etc., it is difficult for us to feel, to see these spiritual beings. Modern men have emerged from Enlightenment which deprived most people of the grace to walk with God. They are handed "the scientific way of thinking" instead. An essential part of scientific thinking is verification through carefully controlled experiments. Scientists, the high priest of this new religion, have place a limit on what is admissible as "scientific evidence" and what is not. Basically, things which cannot be measured by instruments are not admissible. So far, these instruments fail to measure God, angels and demons. Though scientists still cannot rule out their existence, they do not need this hypothesis (divine intervention to sustain the stability of the solar system), to quote the famous mathematician Laplace. Modern men have been fed spiritually-depleted-scientific-milk from infancy. Most of them have already been blind and deaf spiritually. How then can we expect these blind soldiers to fight against a legion of evil spirits which they are unable to perceive? At this moment, I sounded very pessimistic.
Let's look at these spiritual enemies. The Church teaches that there are nine classes of angels. The lowest are angels and archangels. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Satan belong to the class of archangels. Above them, there are θρόνοι (thrones), κυριότητες (dominions) δυνάμεως (power, found in Ephesians 1:21) ἀρχαὶ (rules/principalities), ἐξουσίαι (authority)· (Colossians 1:16).
Paul only listed the names of five middle-classes. He did not explain what they do. So, above the Thrones, there remains Cherubim and Seraphim. Now, we have 9 classes of angels. That is not very important. Paul said that we are going to fight against the principality and power classes of angels. How are we going to fight this spiritual battle?
Luckily, we humans have a trump card --- Jesus Christ, the Son of God on our side. Therefore, the fate of these evil angels is sealed. That was why Paul was so confident when he wrote this.
Let's look at our equipment.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace;
besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).
Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God are the full armour of a soldier of God. To aid memorization, Paul painted a vivid image of a soldier armed with the following equipment:
My dear Lord, I believe in You. Be merciful and support Your servants to fight this spiritual battle. Many of us are not even aware of this battle. Pray that they are able to wake up before it is too late. Amen.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10-12).
We are believers. Though we have faith to believe in God, in spiritual beings such as angels, demons etc., it is difficult for us to feel, to see these spiritual beings. Modern men have emerged from Enlightenment which deprived most people of the grace to walk with God. They are handed "the scientific way of thinking" instead. An essential part of scientific thinking is verification through carefully controlled experiments. Scientists, the high priest of this new religion, have place a limit on what is admissible as "scientific evidence" and what is not. Basically, things which cannot be measured by instruments are not admissible. So far, these instruments fail to measure God, angels and demons. Though scientists still cannot rule out their existence, they do not need this hypothesis (divine intervention to sustain the stability of the solar system), to quote the famous mathematician Laplace. Modern men have been fed spiritually-depleted-scientific-milk from infancy. Most of them have already been blind and deaf spiritually. How then can we expect these blind soldiers to fight against a legion of evil spirits which they are unable to perceive? At this moment, I sounded very pessimistic.
Let's look at these spiritual enemies. The Church teaches that there are nine classes of angels. The lowest are angels and archangels. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Satan belong to the class of archangels. Above them, there are θρόνοι (thrones), κυριότητες (dominions) δυνάμεως (power, found in Ephesians 1:21) ἀρχαὶ (rules/principalities), ἐξουσίαι (authority)· (Colossians 1:16).
Paul only listed the names of five middle-classes. He did not explain what they do. So, above the Thrones, there remains Cherubim and Seraphim. Now, we have 9 classes of angels. That is not very important. Paul said that we are going to fight against the principality and power classes of angels. How are we going to fight this spiritual battle?
Luckily, we humans have a trump card --- Jesus Christ, the Son of God on our side. Therefore, the fate of these evil angels is sealed. That was why Paul was so confident when he wrote this.
Let's look at our equipment.
Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace;
besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17).
Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God are the full armour of a soldier of God. To aid memorization, Paul painted a vivid image of a soldier armed with the following equipment:
- the belt of truth,
- the breastplate of righteousness,
- the shoes of gospel,
- the shield of faith,
- the helmet of salvation and
- the sword of the Spirit.
My dear Lord, I believe in You. Be merciful and support Your servants to fight this spiritual battle. Many of us are not even aware of this battle. Pray that they are able to wake up before it is too late. Amen.
Wednesday 29 October 2008
Familial relations in Ephesians
The passage falls within the HKCEE RS examination syllabus on family life --- husband and wife, parents and children, master and slaves. Therefore, it is a very familiar piece of text.
There were very few Old Testament quotations in this epistle to the Ephesians. But in the discussion of these big issues, Paul would be very uncomfortable to talk about them without quoting the Scripture. Here the texts are nearly identical with the Septuagint.
Here is the text about marriage:
ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος [τὸν] πατέρα καὶ [τὴν] μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν. (Ephesians 5:31)
ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν. (Genesis 2:24)
Compared with 1 Corinthians, Paul's moral theology on marriage in the Ephesians is more palatable. In 1 Corinthians, his rhetoric is very negative and offensive. His ideal way of life was to remain single so that he might pay undivided attention to serve the Lord.
It is well for a man not to touch a woman.
But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:1b-2).
But if they (the unmarried and the widows) cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion (1 Corinthians 7:9).
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord;
but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife,
and his interests are divided (1 Corinthians 7:32-34a).
In the Ephesians, Paul demonstrated a more mature approach. After discussing the moral theology of marriage in the language of love, the talk on the marriage between man and his wife is finally sublimated into the sacred marriage between Christ and the Church! When you expect the prooftext to be quoted against divorce, Paul sublimated it to talk about the Mystical Body of Christ!
Next comes the Commandment to honour parents:
τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ... ,
ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται καὶ ἔσῃ μακροχρόνιος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. (Ephesians 6:2-3)
τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιος γένῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ... (Exodus 20:12)
Here, Paul gave a more balanced interpretation of the Commandment to honour parents. Besides urging children to obey parents, he also urged parents to treat their children, most likely adults, on a more nearly equal footing.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
Therefore, parents do not simply feed their children. The spiritual well-being of children should also concern them. Fair enough. From here, the Church extends the application of this Commandment to a government and her subjects. While the citizens should obey the government, the government in turn should also take care of the well-being, physical as well as spiritual, of them.
From here, Paul touched on the relation with slaves who were an integral part of the institution of family in ancient time. Of course, nowadays we find slavery offensive to our sensitivity. However offensive we feel about it, the teaching of Paul still applies today.
Masters, do the same to them (the slaves, the subordinates), and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him (Ephesians 6:9).
However much I may dislike my bosses, it is a consolation to know that we are all subordinates of the same Master in heaven.
My dear Master, teach me to be humble and forbearing; complain less and work more. I pray for Joseph. Master, help him through. Amen.
There were very few Old Testament quotations in this epistle to the Ephesians. But in the discussion of these big issues, Paul would be very uncomfortable to talk about them without quoting the Scripture. Here the texts are nearly identical with the Septuagint.
Here is the text about marriage:
ἀντὶ τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος [τὸν] πατέρα καὶ [τὴν] μητέρα καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν. (Ephesians 5:31)
ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τὸν πατέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ καὶ προσκολληθήσεται πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν. (Genesis 2:24)
Compared with 1 Corinthians, Paul's moral theology on marriage in the Ephesians is more palatable. In 1 Corinthians, his rhetoric is very negative and offensive. His ideal way of life was to remain single so that he might pay undivided attention to serve the Lord.
It is well for a man not to touch a woman.
But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband (1 Corinthians 7:1b-2).
But if they (the unmarried and the widows) cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion (1 Corinthians 7:9).
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord;
but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife,
and his interests are divided (1 Corinthians 7:32-34a).
In the Ephesians, Paul demonstrated a more mature approach. After discussing the moral theology of marriage in the language of love, the talk on the marriage between man and his wife is finally sublimated into the sacred marriage between Christ and the Church! When you expect the prooftext to be quoted against divorce, Paul sublimated it to talk about the Mystical Body of Christ!
Next comes the Commandment to honour parents:
τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ... ,
ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται καὶ ἔσῃ μακροχρόνιος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. (Ephesians 6:2-3)
τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, καὶ ἵνα μακροχρόνιος γένῃ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ... (Exodus 20:12)
Here, Paul gave a more balanced interpretation of the Commandment to honour parents. Besides urging children to obey parents, he also urged parents to treat their children, most likely adults, on a more nearly equal footing.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
Therefore, parents do not simply feed their children. The spiritual well-being of children should also concern them. Fair enough. From here, the Church extends the application of this Commandment to a government and her subjects. While the citizens should obey the government, the government in turn should also take care of the well-being, physical as well as spiritual, of them.
From here, Paul touched on the relation with slaves who were an integral part of the institution of family in ancient time. Of course, nowadays we find slavery offensive to our sensitivity. However offensive we feel about it, the teaching of Paul still applies today.
Masters, do the same to them (the slaves, the subordinates), and forbear threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him (Ephesians 6:9).
However much I may dislike my bosses, it is a consolation to know that we are all subordinates of the same Master in heaven.
My dear Master, teach me to be humble and forbearing; complain less and work more. I pray for Joseph. Master, help him through. Amen.
Tuesday 28 October 2008
Feast of Ss. Simon & Jude
Simon, the Zealot and Jude (Thaddaeus) were little known among the Twelve Apostles. Today the Catholic Church celebrates their feastday. They helped build up the church we now have.
Some scholars think that Zealot is probably a misnomer. Simon might not be a member of the terrorist group, Zealot. Rather, it was a description of his enthusiastic personality. The following is his name in Greek in the gospels.
Σίμων ὁ Καναναῖος (Matthew 10:4)
Σίμωνα τὸν Καναναῖον (Mark 3:18) Simon the Cananaean, which in Aramaic means Zealot, enthusiasts.
Σίμωνα τὸν καλούμενον ζηλωτὴν (Luke 6:15) Simon, the one called Zealot.
Σίμων ὁ ζηλωτὴς (Acts 1:13)
So, Mark and Matthew described Simon in Aramaic while Luke translated for Gentile readers.
The Church knows Jude better because he left us an epistle. The Christian community was undergoing internal difficulties because it was infiltrated by ungodly men.
For admission has been secretly gained by some who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4).
Near the end of his epistle, Jude offered some very concrete advice for Christian living:
But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit;
keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
And convince some, who doubt;
save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 1:20-23).
These are very concrete practical advice applicable to Christians of any generation. But this is just the "front" and "back" cover of a book. What about the contents, the pages in-between?
What were the problems with those ungodly infiltrators?
Firstly, they led a scandalous life. So, Jude argued that God delivered the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. Yet, God destroyed these very Israelites in the wilderness when they worship idols. Jude saw this as a sign of warning to those who are still alive that they cannot afford to take God for granted (Jude 1:5-7). Be serious in the building up of your faith, hope and charity.
Secondly, they rejected authority. Jude quoted the story of Michael contending over the corpse of Moses with Satan. Jude showed that even the powerful Michael did not fail to respect God. Who are we to be arrogant before God?
Here, we have a problem. The story Jude quoted cannot be found in the canonical Old Testament, but books outside the canon. (e.g. In this case, it was "The Assumption of Moses".) Jude also mentioned the prophecy of Enoch (Jude 1:14-15). Actually, Jude was not alone. Matthew quoted five prophecies which the birth of Jesus had fulfilled. Scholars have located only 4 of them in the canonical Old Testament. Therefore, I speculate that the last one in Matthew 2:23, probably was a quotation from books outside the canon.
My dear Advocate, there are a lot of uncertainties on earth. Taking risks has become a way of life. After we have taken all precautions, we may rest contended and let the outcomes unfold. So, help us Lord. Amen.
Some scholars think that Zealot is probably a misnomer. Simon might not be a member of the terrorist group, Zealot. Rather, it was a description of his enthusiastic personality. The following is his name in Greek in the gospels.
Σίμων ὁ Καναναῖος (Matthew 10:4)
Σίμωνα τὸν Καναναῖον (Mark 3:18) Simon the Cananaean, which in Aramaic means Zealot, enthusiasts.
Σίμωνα τὸν καλούμενον ζηλωτὴν (Luke 6:15) Simon, the one called Zealot.
Σίμων ὁ ζηλωτὴς (Acts 1:13)
So, Mark and Matthew described Simon in Aramaic while Luke translated for Gentile readers.
The Church knows Jude better because he left us an epistle. The Christian community was undergoing internal difficulties because it was infiltrated by ungodly men.
For admission has been secretly gained by some who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly persons who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4).
Near the end of his epistle, Jude offered some very concrete advice for Christian living:
But you, beloved, build yourselves up on your most holy faith; pray in the Holy Spirit;
keep yourselves in the love of God; wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
And convince some, who doubt;
save some, by snatching them out of the fire; on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh (Jude 1:20-23).
These are very concrete practical advice applicable to Christians of any generation. But this is just the "front" and "back" cover of a book. What about the contents, the pages in-between?
What were the problems with those ungodly infiltrators?
Firstly, they led a scandalous life. So, Jude argued that God delivered the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. Yet, God destroyed these very Israelites in the wilderness when they worship idols. Jude saw this as a sign of warning to those who are still alive that they cannot afford to take God for granted (Jude 1:5-7). Be serious in the building up of your faith, hope and charity.
Secondly, they rejected authority. Jude quoted the story of Michael contending over the corpse of Moses with Satan. Jude showed that even the powerful Michael did not fail to respect God. Who are we to be arrogant before God?
Here, we have a problem. The story Jude quoted cannot be found in the canonical Old Testament, but books outside the canon. (e.g. In this case, it was "The Assumption of Moses".) Jude also mentioned the prophecy of Enoch (Jude 1:14-15). Actually, Jude was not alone. Matthew quoted five prophecies which the birth of Jesus had fulfilled. Scholars have located only 4 of them in the canonical Old Testament. Therefore, I speculate that the last one in Matthew 2:23, probably was a quotation from books outside the canon.
My dear Advocate, there are a lot of uncertainties on earth. Taking risks has become a way of life. After we have taken all precautions, we may rest contended and let the outcomes unfold. So, help us Lord. Amen.
Monday 27 October 2008
It is legitimate to be angry
We have been taught that anger is not good. It is one of the seven Capital Sins (pride, avarice, gluttony, lust, sloth, envy and anger) which are the sources of many other sins.
Christ is our model. St. Paul advised us to follow his example.
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17).
However, when we read the gospels, we find that there were occasions in which Jesus was angry. They were when Jesus cured the man with a withered hand on Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6) and when Jesus cleansed the Temple, driving out the merchants and money-changers (Mark 11:15-17).
Therefore, being angry is not that bad, after all. Let's listen to Paul again.
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and give no opportunity to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Paul was advising the Ephesians to put off the old nature which was corrupt, deceitful and lustful (Ephesians 4:22) and put on the new nature which was created after the likeness of the true, righteous and holy God (Ephesians 4:24).
Paul probably had the story of Cain and Abel in his mind when he told the Ephesians to be angry but do not sin. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger" has inspired some short stories developed along this line. Again, "give no opportunity to the devil" has also inspired a number of literary work.
From a pragmatic point of view, a disciplined anger is mentally healthy. It is better to practise how to express your anger than to burst into a blind fury when occasion arises. That probably was what Paul meant in this piece of advice.
Without any preceding cue, Paul suddenly mentioned the thief.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
Immediately afterwards, he switched back to mention abstract concepts like evil talks, bitterness, wrath and anger etc. Therefore, the very existence of "the thief" was put into doubt. What was going on inside Paul's head when he dictated this passage?
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2)
This is Paul's advice when we move to chapter 5. Further down, Paul used no uncertain terms to reject fornication because he thought that sex is always bad. This is no place to criticize Paul, nor his misguided attitude towards sex. The fact that it was mentioned signals one of the problems facing the Ephesian Church.
My dear Advocate, thank you St. Paul for giving me guidance on how to handle my anger. It is OK to be angry as long as I do not give opportunity for the Devil to overcome me. So, help me by granting me Your Spirit so that I speak more edifying words than criticisms. Amen.
Christ is our model. St. Paul advised us to follow his example.
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17).
However, when we read the gospels, we find that there were occasions in which Jesus was angry. They were when Jesus cured the man with a withered hand on Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6) and when Jesus cleansed the Temple, driving out the merchants and money-changers (Mark 11:15-17).
Therefore, being angry is not that bad, after all. Let's listen to Paul again.
Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and give no opportunity to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27).
Paul was advising the Ephesians to put off the old nature which was corrupt, deceitful and lustful (Ephesians 4:22) and put on the new nature which was created after the likeness of the true, righteous and holy God (Ephesians 4:24).
Paul probably had the story of Cain and Abel in his mind when he told the Ephesians to be angry but do not sin. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger" has inspired some short stories developed along this line. Again, "give no opportunity to the devil" has also inspired a number of literary work.
From a pragmatic point of view, a disciplined anger is mentally healthy. It is better to practise how to express your anger than to burst into a blind fury when occasion arises. That probably was what Paul meant in this piece of advice.
Without any preceding cue, Paul suddenly mentioned the thief.
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
Immediately afterwards, he switched back to mention abstract concepts like evil talks, bitterness, wrath and anger etc. Therefore, the very existence of "the thief" was put into doubt. What was going on inside Paul's head when he dictated this passage?
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God (Ephesians 5:1-2)
This is Paul's advice when we move to chapter 5. Further down, Paul used no uncertain terms to reject fornication because he thought that sex is always bad. This is no place to criticize Paul, nor his misguided attitude towards sex. The fact that it was mentioned signals one of the problems facing the Ephesian Church.
My dear Advocate, thank you St. Paul for giving me guidance on how to handle my anger. It is OK to be angry as long as I do not give opportunity for the Devil to overcome me. So, help me by granting me Your Spirit so that I speak more edifying words than criticisms. Amen.
Sunday 26 October 2008
The Greatest Commandment
Many people think that Jesus taught the famous Golden Rule. Actually, Jesus was quoting Moses. It came about when a Pharisaic Teacher of Torah challenged Jesus to identify the greatest commandment among the 613 laws. He was confident that he could start a debate. This Sunday, we read the Matthean version.
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)
And the story finishes here.
Comparing the first commandment with that quoted in the gospel of Mark, there are two differences.
Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one;
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' (Mark 12:29-30)
Firstly, Matthew was writing for Jewish Christians. It is puzzling that he did not quote the first part of Shema! Every Jew was supposed to recite this everyday. Mark was writing for Gentile Christians. Yet he did (Hear, O Israel...)! Why doesn't Matthew quote the Shema in full?
Secondly, Matthew was true to the Hebrew text, though he quoted the Septuagint. Mark added 'with all your strength' to adapt to the current Greek culture.
Though Matthew was true to the Hebrew text, he made a not so minor change in the text. Let's compare.
ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου· (Matthew 22:37)
ἐν means "with".
ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
ἐξ means "from".
Did Matthew translate it on his own or recite from memory? I am not able to decide.
As for the second greatest commandment, both versions are identical.
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18)
Lastly, Mark which was the first gospel to be written, continues with the teacher of Torah rephrasing Jesus' answer and Jesus' telling him that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. Matthew chooses to stop after Jesus quoted the second commandment. It seems that Matthew did not approve of the Pharisees in general. Contrast this with Luke who develops the story into a higher level, leaving behind the immortal parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
So much for the Greek text and literary analysis. Now, let's turn to the homily of Fr. Martin.
Earlier in the day, he officiated at a matrimony ceremony. Therefore, loyalty became his main theme in his exposition on love. He observes that nowadays, when people talk about love, most of the time, they mean "like it" or "feel like it" instead. Obviously, this is unreliable. For Christians, their love cannot be based on feeling, mood or likeability because looks are deceptive and feelings are fleeting, not lasting.
Rather, when Christians love, it is more a response to God's love for us. God has taken the initiative to love us first. How do we repay God's love? Impossible. Therefore, we should love the needy in response to the great love God has shown us. The more grateful we are to God, who is love, the more we will love our neighbour, however offensive they may be to us. Jesus taught us to see him in the needy so as to ward off the feeling of offensiveness of lowering our "dignity".
My dear Advocate, I thank God for loving me first. This love supports me and makes me see my worth. Continue to support me so that I may be able to support others who are in greater needs. Amen.
"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the great and first commandment.
And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)
And the story finishes here.
Comparing the first commandment with that quoted in the gospel of Mark, there are two differences.
Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one;
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' (Mark 12:29-30)
Firstly, Matthew was writing for Jewish Christians. It is puzzling that he did not quote the first part of Shema! Every Jew was supposed to recite this everyday. Mark was writing for Gentile Christians. Yet he did (Hear, O Israel...)! Why doesn't Matthew quote the Shema in full?
Secondly, Matthew was true to the Hebrew text, though he quoted the Septuagint. Mark added 'with all your strength' to adapt to the current Greek culture.
Though Matthew was true to the Hebrew text, he made a not so minor change in the text. Let's compare.
ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου· (Matthew 22:37)
ἐν means "with".
ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου. (Deuteronomy 6:5)
ἐξ means "from".
Did Matthew translate it on his own or recite from memory? I am not able to decide.
As for the second greatest commandment, both versions are identical.
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν (Matthew 22:39; Leviticus 19:18)
Lastly, Mark which was the first gospel to be written, continues with the teacher of Torah rephrasing Jesus' answer and Jesus' telling him that he was not far from the Kingdom of God. Matthew chooses to stop after Jesus quoted the second commandment. It seems that Matthew did not approve of the Pharisees in general. Contrast this with Luke who develops the story into a higher level, leaving behind the immortal parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
So much for the Greek text and literary analysis. Now, let's turn to the homily of Fr. Martin.
Earlier in the day, he officiated at a matrimony ceremony. Therefore, loyalty became his main theme in his exposition on love. He observes that nowadays, when people talk about love, most of the time, they mean "like it" or "feel like it" instead. Obviously, this is unreliable. For Christians, their love cannot be based on feeling, mood or likeability because looks are deceptive and feelings are fleeting, not lasting.
Rather, when Christians love, it is more a response to God's love for us. God has taken the initiative to love us first. How do we repay God's love? Impossible. Therefore, we should love the needy in response to the great love God has shown us. The more grateful we are to God, who is love, the more we will love our neighbour, however offensive they may be to us. Jesus taught us to see him in the needy so as to ward off the feeling of offensiveness of lowering our "dignity".
My dear Advocate, I thank God for loving me first. This love supports me and makes me see my worth. Continue to support me so that I may be able to support others who are in greater needs. Amen.
Saturday 25 October 2008
An organic view of the Church
The Pharisee Saul went through a conversion experience on the road to Damascus. This experience became the seed of his theology of the Mystic Body of Christ.
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:4-5)
His earlier life as a Pharisee had not prepared Saul for this encounter. Knowing and observing the Torah had not shaken his core of existence. But on the way to Damascus, Saul experienced a blinding experience. He was blinded for three days.
And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank (Acts 9:9).
Saul had never met Jesus before. Followers of Christ were all that he knew. They were sinful for believing in a blasphemer, a crucified carpenter, whom they claimed to be God. Therefore, Saul the Pharisee was very eager to stamp out this heretic movement.
In this experience, Jesus told Saul that the Christians whom he persecuted were indeed Jesus himself. John developed the "I am the True Vine" theology (John 15:1-7) while Paul the Mystical Body theology. Both images are organic. Peter has developed a different theology: the Holy Temple built up from living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5). Of course, the Holy Temple was a magnificent image. At the end of the day, it is the organic image which held the swing.
Paul's image is more elaborate. There is unity as well as division of labour. Earlier on, he talked about unity. He mentioned seven one's to highlight the unity of the Church. Now, he turns his attention to the division of labour in the Church.
And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11),
Historically, these offices were part of the church hierarchy. Yet, the office of prophets gradually became obsolete. Yes, prophets are the most unpopular and became obsolete once the other offices began to gain their ground. They tended to be corrective and therefore unpopular. They worked for God and did not please men. But that could not be the reason for its extinction in the Church. These offices are gifts from God. Therefore, the only possible reason is that God does not bestow on the Church the gift of prophets. Why? God knows.
Now, we have division of labour because the church is evolving into ever more complex structure. Division of labour is essential. But these specialization in the roles should not become an end in itself. Paul has mapped their course of growth.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
The Mystical Body of Christ is a complex structure. Each element has his specific role and the complex whole is made up of these tiny elements to be assemble into the Body of Christ. These tiny elements have a life of their own. Yet they grow towards a goal: unity of faith, unity of the knowledge of the Son of God, to become spiritually mature and to become Christ-like.
Before I leave, I would like to quote for you the first ever Old Testament passage quoted in the epistle to Ephesians.
ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:8)
ἀνέβης εἰς ὕψος, ᾐχμαλώτευσας αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔλαβες δόματα ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ,
Thou didst ascend the high mount, leading captives in thy train, and receiving gifts among men, (Psalm 67:19a LXX, 68:19a MT).
Here, Paul quoted the Septuagint and made necessary changes, from second person singular to third and turned the table around from "God taking gifts" to "God giving gifts"! Luckily, Paul's theology does not rely on this quotation.
My dear Advocate, I pray that we may grow more Christ-like daily. Amen.
And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:4-5)
His earlier life as a Pharisee had not prepared Saul for this encounter. Knowing and observing the Torah had not shaken his core of existence. But on the way to Damascus, Saul experienced a blinding experience. He was blinded for three days.
And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank (Acts 9:9).
Saul had never met Jesus before. Followers of Christ were all that he knew. They were sinful for believing in a blasphemer, a crucified carpenter, whom they claimed to be God. Therefore, Saul the Pharisee was very eager to stamp out this heretic movement.
In this experience, Jesus told Saul that the Christians whom he persecuted were indeed Jesus himself. John developed the "I am the True Vine" theology (John 15:1-7) while Paul the Mystical Body theology. Both images are organic. Peter has developed a different theology: the Holy Temple built up from living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5). Of course, the Holy Temple was a magnificent image. At the end of the day, it is the organic image which held the swing.
Paul's image is more elaborate. There is unity as well as division of labour. Earlier on, he talked about unity. He mentioned seven one's to highlight the unity of the Church. Now, he turns his attention to the division of labour in the Church.
And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers (Ephesians 4:11),
Historically, these offices were part of the church hierarchy. Yet, the office of prophets gradually became obsolete. Yes, prophets are the most unpopular and became obsolete once the other offices began to gain their ground. They tended to be corrective and therefore unpopular. They worked for God and did not please men. But that could not be the reason for its extinction in the Church. These offices are gifts from God. Therefore, the only possible reason is that God does not bestow on the Church the gift of prophets. Why? God knows.
Now, we have division of labour because the church is evolving into ever more complex structure. Division of labour is essential. But these specialization in the roles should not become an end in itself. Paul has mapped their course of growth.
until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
The Mystical Body of Christ is a complex structure. Each element has his specific role and the complex whole is made up of these tiny elements to be assemble into the Body of Christ. These tiny elements have a life of their own. Yet they grow towards a goal: unity of faith, unity of the knowledge of the Son of God, to become spiritually mature and to become Christ-like.
Before I leave, I would like to quote for you the first ever Old Testament passage quoted in the epistle to Ephesians.
ἀναβὰς εἰς ὕψος ᾐχμαλώτευσεν αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔδωκεν δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:8)
ἀνέβης εἰς ὕψος, ᾐχμαλώτευσας αἰχμαλωσίαν, ἔλαβες δόματα ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ,
Thou didst ascend the high mount, leading captives in thy train, and receiving gifts among men, (Psalm 67:19a LXX, 68:19a MT).
Here, Paul quoted the Septuagint and made necessary changes, from second person singular to third and turned the table around from "God taking gifts" to "God giving gifts"! Luckily, Paul's theology does not rely on this quotation.
My dear Advocate, I pray that we may grow more Christ-like daily. Amen.
Friday 24 October 2008
The 7 One's
We have reached chapter 4 of the epistle to the Ephesians. Unlike other Pauline epistles, so far there are not any Old Testament quotations. Does it mean the congregation in Ephesus was not familiar with the Old Testament? Most scholars agree that this epistle was written later. The theology is more mature. Therefore, does it mean that Paul had moved away from his earlier Pharisaic style when he wrote the Ephesians?
Today, we are reading Ephesians 4:1-6. Paul was telling the Ephesians to live in harmony and unity. So, does it mean that, like the Corinthians, the Ephesians also suffered from factionalism? Although this epistle does not hint at such divisions as those in Corinth, Paul stressed a lot on unity. Within the three verses of 4:4-6, he mentioned 7 unity items:
one body, one Spirit and one hope (4:4)
one Lord, one faith and one baptism (4:5)
one God and Father of all (4:6)
The redeemed believers form one congregation, sustained by one Holy Spirit. They all share the same hope about the end of the world. They have the same leader and Lord, the same sets of beliefs and all have received the same baptism. Their God is one who is their heavenly Father.
However, in reality, Christians are divided. Nowadays, there are more than 200 Christian denominations, each claiming to be the only authentic church, each holding on to a sub-set of the whole truth. Yes, they have the same leader and Lord. Yet, they keep on attacking each other in the name of their Lord. They disagree on nearly every tenet of their faith, acknowledge no other's baptism except their own. In short, some churches refuse to participate in the ecumenical movement. Paul's advice remains an ideal. What goes wrong?
Paul asked the Ephesians to conduct their life in the following manners which help to build up and maintain unity.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Are Christians not humble and meek enough? Are they not patient, not forbearing enough? Are they not eager to maintain the hard-earned unity of the Spirit?
Even if not all Christians satisfy Paul's requirements, I am sure there are more than 10 Christians who can do the requirements above. Perhaps not enough humble and meek Christians have responded to God's call to form a critical mass to start the unity ball rolling. It is a pity that the longer the division, the slimmer the chance to achieve unity.
My dear Advocate, factions and divisions are nothing new. The Church had survived division in the past. Let's pray for the Church that she may improve day by day, so that the world is able to reconsider her works. Amen
Today, we are reading Ephesians 4:1-6. Paul was telling the Ephesians to live in harmony and unity. So, does it mean that, like the Corinthians, the Ephesians also suffered from factionalism? Although this epistle does not hint at such divisions as those in Corinth, Paul stressed a lot on unity. Within the three verses of 4:4-6, he mentioned 7 unity items:
one body, one Spirit and one hope (4:4)
one Lord, one faith and one baptism (4:5)
one God and Father of all (4:6)
The redeemed believers form one congregation, sustained by one Holy Spirit. They all share the same hope about the end of the world. They have the same leader and Lord, the same sets of beliefs and all have received the same baptism. Their God is one who is their heavenly Father.
However, in reality, Christians are divided. Nowadays, there are more than 200 Christian denominations, each claiming to be the only authentic church, each holding on to a sub-set of the whole truth. Yes, they have the same leader and Lord. Yet, they keep on attacking each other in the name of their Lord. They disagree on nearly every tenet of their faith, acknowledge no other's baptism except their own. In short, some churches refuse to participate in the ecumenical movement. Paul's advice remains an ideal. What goes wrong?
Paul asked the Ephesians to conduct their life in the following manners which help to build up and maintain unity.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love,
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3).
Are Christians not humble and meek enough? Are they not patient, not forbearing enough? Are they not eager to maintain the hard-earned unity of the Spirit?
Even if not all Christians satisfy Paul's requirements, I am sure there are more than 10 Christians who can do the requirements above. Perhaps not enough humble and meek Christians have responded to God's call to form a critical mass to start the unity ball rolling. It is a pity that the longer the division, the slimmer the chance to achieve unity.
My dear Advocate, factions and divisions are nothing new. The Church had survived division in the past. Let's pray for the Church that she may improve day by day, so that the world is able to reconsider her works. Amen
Thursday 23 October 2008
Can we know things beyond knowledge?
The reading of the epistles of Paul is rather demanding. Not only must we take care of his logic / philosophy / theology, but also his rhetoric. Times and again, people are persuaded not by the logical flow of his reasoning, but his rhetoric. Before we come to the difficult part of the reading today, let us enjoy the rhetoric first.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14, 16-19).
Paul bows and prays before God,
that the Ephesians may be strengthened through the Holy Spirit; and
that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith; and
that the Ephesians may understand the breadth, length, height and depth of the love of Christ and
that they may know the love of Christ and
that they may be filled with all the fullness of God etc.
I fancy that if we read the original Greek text, it would be more enjoyable. Now, let's turn to the more difficult and philosophical part.
The theological part is not difficult.
First of all, the Holy Spirit is able to strengthen the conscience (the inner man) of the Ephesians. Secondly, through our faith, Christ may dwell in our hearts.
Consequently, it is possible to fill our whole being with all the fullness of God (πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.) That means, our nature will be transformed to divinity. Now, let's continue with the philosophical part.
How shall we interpret Ephesians 3:19? Let's us assume that the English translation we were reading is very close, very true to the Greek. Then can we know the unknowable?
Knowledge can be public and private. Most of the time, knowledge revealed to the public is less that the knowledge privately known. For example, recently, it is revealed to the public that CITIC PACIFIC has incurred heavy losses in foreign exchange investments. However, I doubt very much whether the full story is revealed because there is a time gap of at least 6 weeks between the loss and the announcement. In short, there is insider information not made known to the public. Only insiders know what is unknowable to the public. Similarly, Mr. and Mrs. Kwok are a loving couple. That's public knowledge. Yet, the width and the depth of the love between them is beyond (public) knowledge.
Go back to our case. Christ loves us. That is "public knowledge". How much Christ loves us personally is beyond knowledge, even beyond our knowledge. But one day, we will know. Why is it like this? It is because the love of Christ is beyond description, beyond naming. As we are getting more mature, we find it more difficult to precisely articulate it.
道可道，非尚道。名可名，非尚名。【道德經】
Speakable truth is not the Supreme Truth and nameable names are not the Supreme Name.
箇中有真義，欲辯而忘言。
There is truth in it, but when I want to articulate it, I have forgotten the word.
These two statements might capture the essence of Paul's idea in Ephesians 3:19.
My dear Advocate, Your wisdom transcends our limited language. I praise You. I love You. Amen.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14, 16-19).
Paul bows and prays before God,
that the Ephesians may be strengthened through the Holy Spirit; and
that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith; and
that the Ephesians may understand the breadth, length, height and depth of the love of Christ and
that they may know the love of Christ and
that they may be filled with all the fullness of God etc.
I fancy that if we read the original Greek text, it would be more enjoyable. Now, let's turn to the more difficult and philosophical part.
The theological part is not difficult.
First of all, the Holy Spirit is able to strengthen the conscience (the inner man) of the Ephesians. Secondly, through our faith, Christ may dwell in our hearts.
Consequently, it is possible to fill our whole being with all the fullness of God (πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τοῦ θεοῦ.) That means, our nature will be transformed to divinity. Now, let's continue with the philosophical part.
How shall we interpret Ephesians 3:19? Let's us assume that the English translation we were reading is very close, very true to the Greek. Then can we know the unknowable?
Knowledge can be public and private. Most of the time, knowledge revealed to the public is less that the knowledge privately known. For example, recently, it is revealed to the public that CITIC PACIFIC has incurred heavy losses in foreign exchange investments. However, I doubt very much whether the full story is revealed because there is a time gap of at least 6 weeks between the loss and the announcement. In short, there is insider information not made known to the public. Only insiders know what is unknowable to the public. Similarly, Mr. and Mrs. Kwok are a loving couple. That's public knowledge. Yet, the width and the depth of the love between them is beyond (public) knowledge.
Go back to our case. Christ loves us. That is "public knowledge". How much Christ loves us personally is beyond knowledge, even beyond our knowledge. But one day, we will know. Why is it like this? It is because the love of Christ is beyond description, beyond naming. As we are getting more mature, we find it more difficult to precisely articulate it.
道可道，非尚道。名可名，非尚名。【道德經】
Speakable truth is not the Supreme Truth and nameable names are not the Supreme Name.
箇中有真義，欲辯而忘言。
There is truth in it, but when I want to articulate it, I have forgotten the word.
These two statements might capture the essence of Paul's idea in Ephesians 3:19.
My dear Advocate, Your wisdom transcends our limited language. I praise You. I love You. Amen.
Wednesday 22 October 2008
Do we know better than angels?
To us, angels are supernatural beings, spiritual beings. They are supposed to be more powerful than us. Yet, they are also creatures, though higher class creatures than us humans. Since they are spiritual, I suppose they are imperishable and will live forever. Put it in another way, while we humans live in a 3-D space, they exist in higher dimensions. Our freedom of movement is limited within 3 dimensions. Angels are free in more dimensions, probably including time. Therefore, they exist outside time. They are, like God, timeless.
In Mathematics, we study infinity. In order to study (compare, operate etc.) sets of infinite elements, mathematicians develop the procedure of one-one correspondence to handle the concept of equality. Two infinite sets are equal if we are able to establish a one-one relationship between the elements in the two sets. Infinity has some very counter-intuitive properties. For example, there are infinite number of natural numbers which are made up of odd integers and even integers. The number of elements in the set of odd integers is the same as that in the set of even integers. Fair enough and this is very intuitive. But if mathematicians prove to you that the number of natural numbers is equal to the number of even integers, that will be mind-boggling! Doesn't natural numbers include even integers? Aren't there some natural numbers not found in even integers? But this is true, though counter-intuitive, because we can establish a one-one correspondence between natural numbers and even integers. [For every x in the set of natural numbers, we can find a y in the set of even integers such that y = 2x. Therefore, the two sets are equal in size.]
That is not the end of the story of infinity. There are infinite fractions even between 0 and 1. Moreover, there are infinite such natural numbers 2, 3, 4 etc. Yet, mathematicians have proved that the set of natural numbers has the same size as that of the set of fractions!!
If you suspect that all infinite quantity are the same, you are wrong. Mathematicians have shown that it is impossible to establish a one-one correspondence between natural numbers and decimal numbers of which there are infinite. Therefore, the infinity of decimal numbers is of a different, a higher class of infinity.
Why did I talk about these different kinds of infinities. God and angels are infinite beings. We are not. Of course, we cannot hope to compare with even angels. However, just as there are different classes of infinity, therefore, the infinite God is of a different class from that of the infinite angels. For us, the power of angels is probably infinite. Yet, compared with God, their infinite power is of a lower order than that of God.
St. Paul mentions 5 types of heavenly beings. In the epistle to the Colossians, we have the following:
for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16).
He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him (Colossians 2:15).
So, there are 5 types of heavenly beings: thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities and powers. I speculate that each of them represents a different class of infinity. If we put archangels and angels below the powers, and cherubim and seraphim above the thrones, we will have 9 classes of angels. This is the traditional teaching of the Catholic church.
Though we humans are lower creatures, it seems that we know something which even angels did not know. That is what St. Paul told us in Ephesians.
that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10).
I think Paul meant the mystery of incarnation. In order to redeem the world, God decided to take up the form of a human, slightly below the angels, to die on the cross. This wisdom of God was not revealed even to the angels. Some Church Fathers thought that since some angels, out of pride and arrogance, refused to pay homage to the incarnated Word of God, they became devils. This is indeed our honour and glory, that the Son of God would become one of us.
My dear Advocate, Your wisdom is manifold and infinite. We pray that we will not ignore Yahweh and worship other gods. I pray for the Golden Jubilee of STC. Pray that the organization of celebration will proceed smoothly up to the last minute. Amen.
In Mathematics, we study infinity. In order to study (compare, operate etc.) sets of infinite elements, mathematicians develop the procedure of one-one correspondence to handle the concept of equality. Two infinite sets are equal if we are able to establish a one-one relationship between the elements in the two sets. Infinity has some very counter-intuitive properties. For example, there are infinite number of natural numbers which are made up of odd integers and even integers. The number of elements in the set of odd integers is the same as that in the set of even integers. Fair enough and this is very intuitive. But if mathematicians prove to you that the number of natural numbers is equal to the number of even integers, that will be mind-boggling! Doesn't natural numbers include even integers? Aren't there some natural numbers not found in even integers? But this is true, though counter-intuitive, because we can establish a one-one correspondence between natural numbers and even integers. [For every x in the set of natural numbers, we can find a y in the set of even integers such that y = 2x. Therefore, the two sets are equal in size.]
That is not the end of the story of infinity. There are infinite fractions even between 0 and 1. Moreover, there are infinite such natural numbers 2, 3, 4 etc. Yet, mathematicians have proved that the set of natural numbers has the same size as that of the set of fractions!!
If you suspect that all infinite quantity are the same, you are wrong. Mathematicians have shown that it is impossible to establish a one-one correspondence between natural numbers and decimal numbers of which there are infinite. Therefore, the infinity of decimal numbers is of a different, a higher class of infinity.
Why did I talk about these different kinds of infinities. God and angels are infinite beings. We are not. Of course, we cannot hope to compare with even angels. However, just as there are different classes of infinity, therefore, the infinite God is of a different class from that of the infinite angels. For us, the power of angels is probably infinite. Yet, compared with God, their infinite power is of a lower order than that of God.
St. Paul mentions 5 types of heavenly beings. In the epistle to the Colossians, we have the following:
for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. (Colossians 1:16).
He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in him (Colossians 2:15).
So, there are 5 types of heavenly beings: thrones, dominions, principalities, authorities and powers. I speculate that each of them represents a different class of infinity. If we put archangels and angels below the powers, and cherubim and seraphim above the thrones, we will have 9 classes of angels. This is the traditional teaching of the Catholic church.
Though we humans are lower creatures, it seems that we know something which even angels did not know. That is what St. Paul told us in Ephesians.
that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10).
I think Paul meant the mystery of incarnation. In order to redeem the world, God decided to take up the form of a human, slightly below the angels, to die on the cross. This wisdom of God was not revealed even to the angels. Some Church Fathers thought that since some angels, out of pride and arrogance, refused to pay homage to the incarnated Word of God, they became devils. This is indeed our honour and glory, that the Son of God would become one of us.
My dear Advocate, Your wisdom is manifold and infinite. We pray that we will not ignore Yahweh and worship other gods. I pray for the Golden Jubilee of STC. Pray that the organization of celebration will proceed smoothly up to the last minute. Amen.
Tuesday 21 October 2008
How did Jesus save the world?
Paul continues to explain how Jesus saved the world. Previously, he explained that we were the work of God. Through our faith and God's grace (in other words, His great love), God saved us. Paul reminded us that it was not through our own merits that we were saved. Now, he turned to Jesus.
First of all, Paul reminded the Ephesians of their situation before believing in Jesus.
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands --
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:11-12).
The Ephesians were Gentiles (2:11). But in modern pluralistic societies nowadays, this racial status carries little impact on the readers.
The Ephesians were separated from Christ (2:12). They had not yet believed in Jesus before Paul preached them the gospel. What's wrong with being separated from Christ?
Paul continued to spell out the disadvantages of being separated from Christ.
Number#1, the Ephesians were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. Wait, what was the commonwealth of Israel? What was so important to be part of the commonwealth of Israel? Who cares? Israel had already been wiped out. She was not able to take care of herself. So, what is so good, so noble to be a part of it? So what!
Numbers #2, the Ephesians were outsiders of the covenants of promise. They did not belong to the covenants of promise. But what were these covenants? In the epistles to the Galatians, Paul mentioned the difference between the Sarah and Hagar. Children of promise (Galatians 4:28) came from Sarah but children of slavery (Galatians 4:24) came from Hagar. Therefore, I interpret the covenant of promise in contrast to the covenant of slavery.
Number #3, the Ephesians had no hope and without God in the world. I suppose in ancient time, it was important to have a god to protect them in this journey on earth. If a man believed in no god, his life would be in constant dangers and perils. It would be a hopeless life. So, before Paul talked about how Jesus saved us, he enumerated their difficult position.
Christ Jesus saved the world through reconciliation. Through his death on the cross, Jesus was able to shorten the distance between men (Ephesians 2:13). He broke down the wall of hostility and brought them closer (Ephesians 2:14). He formed a new creation, replacing two previously different parties into one (2:15). Besides this reconciliation between men, Paul explained how Christ's death brought about the covenant that reconciled God with men (2:16). In short, from Paul's exposition, we know that Jesus saved the world with a package. He managed to mend fences and achieved reconciliation between men and men as well as a reconciliation between God and me.
My dear Advocate, this is a very good exercise for me to revise how Jesus brought about reconciliation between two parties through his sacrifice on the cross. I pray that we can be Your ambassadors of reconciliation when we grow spiritually more mature. Amen.
First of all, Paul reminded the Ephesians of their situation before believing in Jesus.
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called the uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands --
remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Ephesians 2:11-12).
The Ephesians were Gentiles (2:11). But in modern pluralistic societies nowadays, this racial status carries little impact on the readers.
The Ephesians were separated from Christ (2:12). They had not yet believed in Jesus before Paul preached them the gospel. What's wrong with being separated from Christ?
Paul continued to spell out the disadvantages of being separated from Christ.
Number#1, the Ephesians were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. Wait, what was the commonwealth of Israel? What was so important to be part of the commonwealth of Israel? Who cares? Israel had already been wiped out. She was not able to take care of herself. So, what is so good, so noble to be a part of it? So what!
Numbers #2, the Ephesians were outsiders of the covenants of promise. They did not belong to the covenants of promise. But what were these covenants? In the epistles to the Galatians, Paul mentioned the difference between the Sarah and Hagar. Children of promise (Galatians 4:28) came from Sarah but children of slavery (Galatians 4:24) came from Hagar. Therefore, I interpret the covenant of promise in contrast to the covenant of slavery.
Number #3, the Ephesians had no hope and without God in the world. I suppose in ancient time, it was important to have a god to protect them in this journey on earth. If a man believed in no god, his life would be in constant dangers and perils. It would be a hopeless life. So, before Paul talked about how Jesus saved us, he enumerated their difficult position.
Christ Jesus saved the world through reconciliation. Through his death on the cross, Jesus was able to shorten the distance between men (Ephesians 2:13). He broke down the wall of hostility and brought them closer (Ephesians 2:14). He formed a new creation, replacing two previously different parties into one (2:15). Besides this reconciliation between men, Paul explained how Christ's death brought about the covenant that reconciled God with men (2:16). In short, from Paul's exposition, we know that Jesus saved the world with a package. He managed to mend fences and achieved reconciliation between men and men as well as a reconciliation between God and me.
My dear Advocate, this is a very good exercise for me to revise how Jesus brought about reconciliation between two parties through his sacrifice on the cross. I pray that we can be Your ambassadors of reconciliation when we grow spiritually more mature. Amen.
Monday 20 October 2008
We are God's work
Today, we read of a summary of Paul's theology in Ephesians 2. We are able to find most of the teachings of St. Paul in a very short span of verses.
Paul saw the world as evil, in contradiction with the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who led a worldly life were dead (Ephesians 2:1). They were called "the sons of disobedience τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας" (Ephesians 2:2) and "by nature children of wrath τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς " (Ephesians 2:3). These labels carry serious consequences. They would not occupy any place in the Kingdom of God. They would be the targets of God's wrath! God's punishments would direct against them. It sounds terrible, doesn't it? But nowadays, modern people simply ignore it. For them, God is not even a hypothesis. The consequence is deplorable. When there is no fear of God, there would not be any wisdom. When there is no wisdom, man will do the most foolish things possible.
God loves us. Paul did not explain why. I'm afraid nobody on earth would be able to answer this question. It is a mystery. Without doubt, we die. But God loves us and brings us back to life with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:5). Why does God love us? We don't have a clue. We only know that He sent His son Jesus to die for us on the cross. What else can we demand of God? Some non-Christians poked fun with the nativity story of Jesus. Joseph was a servant of God. Joseph was the husband of Mary. Without seeking Joseph's consent, God impregnated Mary, violating the property right of His obedient servant (Exodus 20:17). Therefore, this God should repent because He breached the very law He gave men to observe!
Well, what else can we say? The Ten Commandments regulate the interaction between men and men. They do not stipulate how God should interact with men. I doubt very much whether Exodus 20:17 can be applied in this case.
However, the fact that God tested Abraham and found him righteous (Genesis 22), probably forces God to outperform Abraham. But of course, nobody can force God to do anything, right? It is only a hypothesis.
We are living in a pitiful situation. By faith (on our part) and by grace (on God's part), we are saved. Yet immediately, St. Paul reminded us that we do not gain salvation through our own merits. It is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Why was Paul afraid that we would boast? Why is faith more effective than works, as far as obtaining salvation is concerned? I have yet to read of Paul's explanation. What is wrong with charitable works? Hasn't Jesus told us that serving the needy is serving him (Matthew 25:40)? Immediately, St. Paul gave an explanation.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
We are God's master pieces. The purpose of our existence is still doing good works. Yet we must remember that it is God who gives us the opportunity and the power to do these good works. Without God's providence and empowerment, we are nothing and we can do nothing. That's why Paul once said,
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30).
Paul knew very well that our stubbornness would hinder God's work. By humbly submitting ourselves to God, great things could be achieved. God has prepared these great things beforehand for us.
My dear Advocate, I am proud to be Your workmanship. Let me work well so that I would not be a disgrace to You before our brothers and sisters. Amen.
Paul saw the world as evil, in contradiction with the work of the Holy Spirit. Those who led a worldly life were dead (Ephesians 2:1). They were called "the sons of disobedience τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας" (Ephesians 2:2) and "by nature children of wrath τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς " (Ephesians 2:3). These labels carry serious consequences. They would not occupy any place in the Kingdom of God. They would be the targets of God's wrath! God's punishments would direct against them. It sounds terrible, doesn't it? But nowadays, modern people simply ignore it. For them, God is not even a hypothesis. The consequence is deplorable. When there is no fear of God, there would not be any wisdom. When there is no wisdom, man will do the most foolish things possible.
God loves us. Paul did not explain why. I'm afraid nobody on earth would be able to answer this question. It is a mystery. Without doubt, we die. But God loves us and brings us back to life with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:5). Why does God love us? We don't have a clue. We only know that He sent His son Jesus to die for us on the cross. What else can we demand of God? Some non-Christians poked fun with the nativity story of Jesus. Joseph was a servant of God. Joseph was the husband of Mary. Without seeking Joseph's consent, God impregnated Mary, violating the property right of His obedient servant (Exodus 20:17). Therefore, this God should repent because He breached the very law He gave men to observe!
Well, what else can we say? The Ten Commandments regulate the interaction between men and men. They do not stipulate how God should interact with men. I doubt very much whether Exodus 20:17 can be applied in this case.
However, the fact that God tested Abraham and found him righteous (Genesis 22), probably forces God to outperform Abraham. But of course, nobody can force God to do anything, right? It is only a hypothesis.
We are living in a pitiful situation. By faith (on our part) and by grace (on God's part), we are saved. Yet immediately, St. Paul reminded us that we do not gain salvation through our own merits. It is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Why was Paul afraid that we would boast? Why is faith more effective than works, as far as obtaining salvation is concerned? I have yet to read of Paul's explanation. What is wrong with charitable works? Hasn't Jesus told us that serving the needy is serving him (Matthew 25:40)? Immediately, St. Paul gave an explanation.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
We are God's master pieces. The purpose of our existence is still doing good works. Yet we must remember that it is God who gives us the opportunity and the power to do these good works. Without God's providence and empowerment, we are nothing and we can do nothing. That's why Paul once said,
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness (2 Corinthians 11:30).
Paul knew very well that our stubbornness would hinder God's work. By humbly submitting ourselves to God, great things could be achieved. God has prepared these great things beforehand for us.
My dear Advocate, I am proud to be Your workmanship. Let me work well so that I would not be a disgrace to You before our brothers and sisters. Amen.
Sunday 19 October 2008
Mission Sunday (Year A)
St. Cecilia Choir went on a picnic to see coral reef in Sai Kung this Sunday. So, we sang two Masses. Fr. Martin celebrated the 9:30 Mass. On this Mission Sunday, he shared with us several memorable experiences of his.
Before he became a priest, he worked in a hotel group. Once he took part in a fire services workshop run by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department. The workshop allowed the participants to know some basic fire-fighting know-how and to gain a first-hand survival experience in a hot, smoke-filled, pitch-dark enclosed environment. Of course, the participants had to put on the full gear of a fire-fighter: steel-loaded boots, fire-proof vestment, steel helmet, mask and oxygen cylinder etc. Suddenly, he gained more than 40 Kg. At first, he was a bit disoriented and had difficulty even moving his limbs or turning his head. He had to extinguish different sorts of fire up close with different agents: water, foam, carbon dioxide etc. The heat was scorching. Later, he had to grope his way out through the smoke-filled, pitch-dark labyrinth. From this experience, he deeply feels that fire-fighting and life-saving are really challenging and difficult. But this is to be expected because you are racing against time to save as many lives as possible. For him, this also applies to missionary work which is not just life-saving but soul-saving. Challenges and difficulties are to be expected. Luckily, we have Jesus accompanying us all along. When he commissioned his apostles to proclaim the gospel to the nations, he made the following promise.
and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matthew 28:20b)
Fr. Martin is confident that Jesus will keep his promise. It remains for us to commit ourselves to accept this invitation to proclaim God's reconciliation to all peoples.
A few weeks ago, Fr. Martin went pilgrimage to Rome. He visited an ex-parish priest who was a missionary priest. When this priest was the parish priest, Fr. Martin was not yet baptized. He remembered taking part in the Christmas activities organized by the parish, drinking a dozen bottles of soft-drinks! After two such years, Fr. Martin began to attend catechumen class and was baptized. Fr. Martin agrees very much with what St. Paul wrote in the epistle to Romans, which we read this morning.
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? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news! (Romans 10:14-15)
Truly, without preachers, people would have no chance to hear the good news. Without hearing it, people would not believe. Without believing it, people would not call upon Jesus to save them. Therefore, Christians have an unalienable obligation to preach this good news. There would be challenges, difficulties and rejections. But all these are to be expected. We are fighting a soul-saving battle like fighting fire.
In Rome, Fr. Martin visited the famous catacombs which stretch out for more than 50 Km, in three levels underground. It is a huge labyrinth. Christians were making a statement, telling the whole world they were not afraid to give up their lives for what they believed in. It bears witness to generations of Christians who were bold enough to affirm their identity as Christians with their lives. They were successful in inspiring others to pass on the baton. Nowadays, how do modern Christians inspire other peoples that what they believe is worth believing?
My dear Advocate, enable us to make good use of new media, new technology to proclaim Your good intention to the whole world. When we are discouraged, animate us with Your unspeakable, holy whispers. Amen.
Before he became a priest, he worked in a hotel group. Once he took part in a fire services workshop run by the Hong Kong Fire Services Department. The workshop allowed the participants to know some basic fire-fighting know-how and to gain a first-hand survival experience in a hot, smoke-filled, pitch-dark enclosed environment. Of course, the participants had to put on the full gear of a fire-fighter: steel-loaded boots, fire-proof vestment, steel helmet, mask and oxygen cylinder etc. Suddenly, he gained more than 40 Kg. At first, he was a bit disoriented and had difficulty even moving his limbs or turning his head. He had to extinguish different sorts of fire up close with different agents: water, foam, carbon dioxide etc. The heat was scorching. Later, he had to grope his way out through the smoke-filled, pitch-dark labyrinth. From this experience, he deeply feels that fire-fighting and life-saving are really challenging and difficult. But this is to be expected because you are racing against time to save as many lives as possible. For him, this also applies to missionary work which is not just life-saving but soul-saving. Challenges and difficulties are to be expected. Luckily, we have Jesus accompanying us all along. When he commissioned his apostles to proclaim the gospel to the nations, he made the following promise.
and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matthew 28:20b)
Fr. Martin is confident that Jesus will keep his promise. It remains for us to commit ourselves to accept this invitation to proclaim God's reconciliation to all peoples.
A few weeks ago, Fr. Martin went pilgrimage to Rome. He visited an ex-parish priest who was a missionary priest. When this priest was the parish priest, Fr. Martin was not yet baptized. He remembered taking part in the Christmas activities organized by the parish, drinking a dozen bottles of soft-drinks! After two such years, Fr. Martin began to attend catechumen class and was baptized. Fr. Martin agrees very much with what St. Paul wrote in the epistle to Romans, which we read this morning.
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? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news! (Romans 10:14-15)
Truly, without preachers, people would have no chance to hear the good news. Without hearing it, people would not believe. Without believing it, people would not call upon Jesus to save them. Therefore, Christians have an unalienable obligation to preach this good news. There would be challenges, difficulties and rejections. But all these are to be expected. We are fighting a soul-saving battle like fighting fire.
In Rome, Fr. Martin visited the famous catacombs which stretch out for more than 50 Km, in three levels underground. It is a huge labyrinth. Christians were making a statement, telling the whole world they were not afraid to give up their lives for what they believed in. It bears witness to generations of Christians who were bold enough to affirm their identity as Christians with their lives. They were successful in inspiring others to pass on the baton. Nowadays, how do modern Christians inspire other peoples that what they believe is worth believing?
My dear Advocate, enable us to make good use of new media, new technology to proclaim Your good intention to the whole world. When we are discouraged, animate us with Your unspeakable, holy whispers. Amen.
Saturday 18 October 2008
Feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist
The gospel according to Luke was the first gospel I was given when I first moved to Choi Hung. It was around 1968 when I was still studying in primary school. There was an evangelical medical van run by a certain Protestant group. The consultation was free of charge and the patients were given a copy of the gospel of Luke. Yes, Luke is the patron saint of physicians (Colossians 4:14). Of course, at that time, nobody taught me how to understand this gospel.
In secondary school, I sat for Biblical Knowledge examination in HKCEE. At that time, we only studied one gospel and the Acts. In that particular year, I was fortunate to study the gospel of Luke. I was lucky because the examination syllabus covered both books written by the same author. Now, the syllabus was changed. It takes a synoptic approach and an open-book format. Students study the three Synoptic gospels for examination. I am not academically gifted and did not enter the medicine faculty in the university. I studied Social Science instead. So, St. Luke did not become the patron saint of my profession. I end up teaching for more than thirty years now. In an unexpected way, teaching RS allows me to delve deeper into the Lucan corpus.
I will not do St. Luke justice to briefly go through his biography. Suffice it to say that his work has left us a great treasure, allowing us to figure out the life-situation of the early church. On the literary side, his gospel was a gem both for its language quality and its contents. We owe him many beautiful prayers such as the Ave Maria, Magnificat, Benedictus Deus, Gloria and Nun Dimittis; as well as many beautiful parables such as the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, Lazarus and the Rich Man, and the Untrustworthy Steward etc. His Jesus was a merciful Saviour for the poor and the defender of the underdogs. His Nativity story supplemented Matthew's. There were no royal dignitaries and treacheries but humble shepherds and obedience. His gospel is also called the gospel of the women because a lot of women take centre stage in his gospel, among them was the Blessed Virgin Mary. The women took a prominent position in his gospel. Together with the other gospels, Luke gives us a 3-Dimensional Jesus.
Luke put himself in the Acts of the Apostles in the "we-passages". They signal his participation in the missionary journeys of Paul. When he stayed in Philippi to encourage the church while Paul continued his missionary journey, Acts switched back to a third person perspective.
In the reading of the second epistle to Timothy, we meet a few names. Some were helpful to Paul while others troubled him. Luke had always been a loyal co-worker of Paul (Philemon 1:24). When Demas, Crescens and Titus had gone to other places,
Luke alone is with me (2 Timothy 4:11).
In many ways, Luke had rendered the church a very valuable service.
My dear Advocate, St. Luke painted us a vivid picture of Yours in the Acts. His gospel is meek and gentle. Pray that we may find consolation in his gospel in times of troubles and tribulations.
St. Luke, pray for us. Amen.
In secondary school, I sat for Biblical Knowledge examination in HKCEE. At that time, we only studied one gospel and the Acts. In that particular year, I was fortunate to study the gospel of Luke. I was lucky because the examination syllabus covered both books written by the same author. Now, the syllabus was changed. It takes a synoptic approach and an open-book format. Students study the three Synoptic gospels for examination. I am not academically gifted and did not enter the medicine faculty in the university. I studied Social Science instead. So, St. Luke did not become the patron saint of my profession. I end up teaching for more than thirty years now. In an unexpected way, teaching RS allows me to delve deeper into the Lucan corpus.
I will not do St. Luke justice to briefly go through his biography. Suffice it to say that his work has left us a great treasure, allowing us to figure out the life-situation of the early church. On the literary side, his gospel was a gem both for its language quality and its contents. We owe him many beautiful prayers such as the Ave Maria, Magnificat, Benedictus Deus, Gloria and Nun Dimittis; as well as many beautiful parables such as the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, the Prodigal Son, Lazarus and the Rich Man, and the Untrustworthy Steward etc. His Jesus was a merciful Saviour for the poor and the defender of the underdogs. His Nativity story supplemented Matthew's. There were no royal dignitaries and treacheries but humble shepherds and obedience. His gospel is also called the gospel of the women because a lot of women take centre stage in his gospel, among them was the Blessed Virgin Mary. The women took a prominent position in his gospel. Together with the other gospels, Luke gives us a 3-Dimensional Jesus.
Luke put himself in the Acts of the Apostles in the "we-passages". They signal his participation in the missionary journeys of Paul. When he stayed in Philippi to encourage the church while Paul continued his missionary journey, Acts switched back to a third person perspective.
In the reading of the second epistle to Timothy, we meet a few names. Some were helpful to Paul while others troubled him. Luke had always been a loyal co-worker of Paul (Philemon 1:24). When Demas, Crescens and Titus had gone to other places,
Luke alone is with me (2 Timothy 4:11).
In many ways, Luke had rendered the church a very valuable service.
My dear Advocate, St. Luke painted us a vivid picture of Yours in the Acts. His gospel is meek and gentle. Pray that we may find consolation in his gospel in times of troubles and tribulations.
St. Luke, pray for us. Amen.
Friday 17 October 2008
Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Ignatius of Antioch was a disciple of John the Apostle. St. Peter made him the bishop of Antioch. Legend has it that he was the child Jesus put among the disciples to teach them that serving the weak and poor was serving the Lord himself (Mark 9:36). After serving in Antioch for about 40 years, he was captured, sent to Rome and died a martyr there.
Not all Christians are the stuff of martyrs who have been chosen by God to bear witness for Him with their lives. In times of persecution, opportunities were everywhere; in times of peace, Christians die a different type of persecution. In short, they were probably what St. Paul deemed destined to be chosen as Christian martyrs (Ephesians 1:5). I am sure they are very brave and have a very deep faith in Jesus.
Why can't people lead whatever kind of life they wish to live, to believe in whatever they wish to believe? What are martyrs for? Do martyrs die to satisfy the blood-thirst of some men? the lust of sadists? Or simply to bear witness to human cruelty and irrationality? No! Paul summarized them well.
we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14-15)
Martyrs shed their blood, not just to die like a hero, but rather to live up to their name and to live for the praise of Jesus' glory. But what is Jesus' glory? According to the gospel of John, Jesus' glory was his crucifixion. Therefore, martyrs die to bear witness to the crucifixion of Jesus, the saving power of the cross and a conviction that there is life after death.
Who can help our weak flesh to attain this crown of glory? Of course, it must be the Holy Spirit. According to Paul, the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee, God's down payment to us. Suddenly, instead of God being the debtor, we become debtors! How great God's love be!
My dear Advocate, You who are God's down payment. What merit do we have to receive You? We are unworthy. Upgrade us so that we may work miracles in You. Amen.
Not all Christians are the stuff of martyrs who have been chosen by God to bear witness for Him with their lives. In times of persecution, opportunities were everywhere; in times of peace, Christians die a different type of persecution. In short, they were probably what St. Paul deemed destined to be chosen as Christian martyrs (Ephesians 1:5). I am sure they are very brave and have a very deep faith in Jesus.
Why can't people lead whatever kind of life they wish to live, to believe in whatever they wish to believe? What are martyrs for? Do martyrs die to satisfy the blood-thirst of some men? the lust of sadists? Or simply to bear witness to human cruelty and irrationality? No! Paul summarized them well.
we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:14-15)
Martyrs shed their blood, not just to die like a hero, but rather to live up to their name and to live for the praise of Jesus' glory. But what is Jesus' glory? According to the gospel of John, Jesus' glory was his crucifixion. Therefore, martyrs die to bear witness to the crucifixion of Jesus, the saving power of the cross and a conviction that there is life after death.
Who can help our weak flesh to attain this crown of glory? Of course, it must be the Holy Spirit. According to Paul, the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee, God's down payment to us. Suddenly, instead of God being the debtor, we become debtors! How great God's love be!
My dear Advocate, You who are God's down payment. What merit do we have to receive You? We are unworthy. Upgrade us so that we may work miracles in You. Amen.
Thursday 16 October 2008
All or Some?
We begin reading the epistle to the Ephesians and will spend several days on it. In this epistle, we find a more mature Paul. His advice is less brunt and more refined, more palatable.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Paul began this epistle with a blessing to God. Then he told us that God had chosen us before the foundation of the world. He wanted us to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4). Naturally, you will ask how many are chosen, who are chosen. This is a mystery which even Paul could not answer. Diplomatically, he evaded the question by saying that God made us His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ. Then what is "the purpose of His will"? Why not simply say "His will"? Then that would be easier to figure out, to understand. No matter what, we still have to run for our own life. In other epistles, St Paul talks about life like running races, about prizes and about our returning to God.
As we read on, we have the impression that God would choose only some people to be His children, to be saved. He had destined only some people to receive enough grace to offset the influence of evil. When they die, they have finished their race and would receive the prizes from God.
Ethically speaking, "choosing a few" seems to be a better course of action. If everybody wins a prize in a race, there is no motivation to struggle, to lead a meaningful life. If everybody can enter heaven, there is no motivation to struggle, to sanctify our life. Therefore, it is rational for God to choose only a few, to destine them to be the Son of God.
But when we read further, we find a verse which suggests otherwise.
... a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:10).
In Christ, God had a plan. God wants to unite all things in Christ. This suggests that God has chosen us all, to adopt us as His sons through Christ. God is merciful. He is able to accommodate all sinners. Of course, for the completeness of philosophical arguments, "choosing a few" is the best, the most logic argument. There are less loopholes to block. Yet, we are not dealing with logical positivism here. We are dealing with a mysterious God who reigns beyond logic. Therefore, we are able to glimpse a thin slice of hope in the above verse. God will accept all sinners at the end of the world. He has destined all souls to be saved.
My dear Advocate, such is Your kindness, I thank You. Such is Your wisdom, I am intoxicated by You. May we continue to contemplate Your mystery and attain our salvation. Amen.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-5).
Paul began this epistle with a blessing to God. Then he told us that God had chosen us before the foundation of the world. He wanted us to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4). Naturally, you will ask how many are chosen, who are chosen. This is a mystery which even Paul could not answer. Diplomatically, he evaded the question by saying that God made us His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ. Then what is "the purpose of His will"? Why not simply say "His will"? Then that would be easier to figure out, to understand. No matter what, we still have to run for our own life. In other epistles, St Paul talks about life like running races, about prizes and about our returning to God.
As we read on, we have the impression that God would choose only some people to be His children, to be saved. He had destined only some people to receive enough grace to offset the influence of evil. When they die, they have finished their race and would receive the prizes from God.
Ethically speaking, "choosing a few" seems to be a better course of action. If everybody wins a prize in a race, there is no motivation to struggle, to lead a meaningful life. If everybody can enter heaven, there is no motivation to struggle, to sanctify our life. Therefore, it is rational for God to choose only a few, to destine them to be the Son of God.
But when we read further, we find a verse which suggests otherwise.
... a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:10).
In Christ, God had a plan. God wants to unite all things in Christ. This suggests that God has chosen us all, to adopt us as His sons through Christ. God is merciful. He is able to accommodate all sinners. Of course, for the completeness of philosophical arguments, "choosing a few" is the best, the most logic argument. There are less loopholes to block. Yet, we are not dealing with logical positivism here. We are dealing with a mysterious God who reigns beyond logic. Therefore, we are able to glimpse a thin slice of hope in the above verse. God will accept all sinners at the end of the world. He has destined all souls to be saved.
My dear Advocate, such is Your kindness, I thank You. Such is Your wisdom, I am intoxicated by You. May we continue to contemplate Your mystery and attain our salvation. Amen.
Wednesday 15 October 2008
Feast of St. Teresa of Avila
The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582). While some saints contributed in missionary works, St. Teresa contributed in the spirituality tradition. She was a mystic and went through many ecstatic visions. Her life has demonstrated the importance of prayers for our spiritual union with God, our Creator and Redeemer. In fact, each of us is uniquely endorsed with different talents and tendencies. Some people may approach God through scientific researches. Others may encounter God through artistic creations. While some approach God intellectually, others would very much like to embrace Him forever. St. Teresa has taught us to pray, to be united with God.
St. Teresa, pray for us who seek God through meditation. Amen.
Today, I finish reading the epistle to the Galatians, for the first time. I'm sure I will be reading it again in the future. Here, one will find many Pauline ideas which would be more fully developed in epistles he wrote later. If we do not hold back some Pauline verses, I wonder how the Protestants can insist that Paul taught that we are saved by faith and faith alone. Charity does not have any role to play in our justification before God. They will be eager to quote the following verse.
yet (we) who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified (Galatians 2:16).
So, what did Paul object, works of the law or charity?
All along, Paul was trying to dissuade the Galatian Christians from following the persuasions of the Judaizers who advocated the observance of the Torah (works of the law) such as circumcision, keeping Sabbath etc. Paul wanted the Galatian Christians to have none of these. Yet, would Paul object to works of charity? Read these.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).
If circumcision, i.e. works of the law, is of no avail, does it mean faith in Christ (there is no need of circumcision, i.e. uncircumcision) will save? No! Paul said neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail. Law or faith alone is no enough. It must be faith working through love, putting faith into action, that brings justification.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)
Keeping the law alone is not enough. The works must be motivated, supported by love.
Having faith alone is not enough. It must be animated by love.
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
I think I have picked up enough Pauline verses in Galatians to show that Paul was not one-sided. He stressed faith in contrast to the works of the law. But faith alone does not achieve justification. Otherwise, Paul would not spend a whole chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13. In the end, he concluded that
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The greatest virtue is not faith but love.
Two questions remain in these daily reflections. Firstly, why did Paul quote from Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint? What benefits would it bring to the Gentile audience? Secondly, how much did Paul translate the text himself and how much did he lift from the Septuagint?
I have to admit that I don't know the answers to both questions. As for the Old Testament texts in Galatians, the author lifted the texts nearly completely from Septuagint. Whereas, in other Pauline letters such as 1 Corinthians, the author would translate/quote from memory some of the texts himself, especially the Torah. Does it mean the 2 epistles were not authored by Paul but by other big guns? If quotation can tell the difference between the two Paul's, then, it would be an interesting research topic to highlight the different ways Pauline epistles quoted the Old Testament. Probably, this can be an indicator of who actually wrote the epistle concerned.
My dear Advocate, enlighten us and teach us to see things from several perspectives. We wish to come close to You. Amen.
St. Teresa, pray for us who seek God through meditation. Amen.
Today, I finish reading the epistle to the Galatians, for the first time. I'm sure I will be reading it again in the future. Here, one will find many Pauline ideas which would be more fully developed in epistles he wrote later. If we do not hold back some Pauline verses, I wonder how the Protestants can insist that Paul taught that we are saved by faith and faith alone. Charity does not have any role to play in our justification before God. They will be eager to quote the following verse.
yet (we) who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ, and not by works of the law, because by works of the law shall no one be justified (Galatians 2:16).
So, what did Paul object, works of the law or charity?
All along, Paul was trying to dissuade the Galatian Christians from following the persuasions of the Judaizers who advocated the observance of the Torah (works of the law) such as circumcision, keeping Sabbath etc. Paul wanted the Galatian Christians to have none of these. Yet, would Paul object to works of charity? Read these.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).
If circumcision, i.e. works of the law, is of no avail, does it mean faith in Christ (there is no need of circumcision, i.e. uncircumcision) will save? No! Paul said neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail. Law or faith alone is no enough. It must be faith working through love, putting faith into action, that brings justification.
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)
Keeping the law alone is not enough. The works must be motivated, supported by love.
Having faith alone is not enough. It must be animated by love.
Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).
So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith (Galatians 6:10).
I think I have picked up enough Pauline verses in Galatians to show that Paul was not one-sided. He stressed faith in contrast to the works of the law. But faith alone does not achieve justification. Otherwise, Paul would not spend a whole chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13. In the end, he concluded that
So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The greatest virtue is not faith but love.
Two questions remain in these daily reflections. Firstly, why did Paul quote from Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint? What benefits would it bring to the Gentile audience? Secondly, how much did Paul translate the text himself and how much did he lift from the Septuagint?
I have to admit that I don't know the answers to both questions. As for the Old Testament texts in Galatians, the author lifted the texts nearly completely from Septuagint. Whereas, in other Pauline letters such as 1 Corinthians, the author would translate/quote from memory some of the texts himself, especially the Torah. Does it mean the 2 epistles were not authored by Paul but by other big guns? If quotation can tell the difference between the two Paul's, then, it would be an interesting research topic to highlight the different ways Pauline epistles quoted the Old Testament. Probably, this can be an indicator of who actually wrote the epistle concerned.
My dear Advocate, enlighten us and teach us to see things from several perspectives. We wish to come close to You. Amen.
Tuesday 14 October 2008
There is no turning back
Paul formulated an evolutionary view on salvation. At first, men were justified before God through leading a life according to the Torah, the Law. This was valid until the arrival of Jesus. In the jargon of Paul, the Torah was the guardian and trustee of men before they were mature enough to inherit God's kingdom. Now that Christ Jesus had come, there would be no turning back. Now that men have climbed one rung up the evolutionary ladder of salvation, they cannot return to their former life anymore.
Saul had been brought up under the Torah. He had been a fervent Pharisee. When Christians were preaching another god, how could Saul could tolerate these heretics? He started his extermination mission against these heretics. Then he had a life-transforming encounter with the Risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. His previous training had not prepared him for such an encounter. Through the observance of the Torah, he had never been able to experience God. Though the Torah was handed down from heaven, it was not effective in bringing them any closer to God. Yet, the Lord of these heretics was so authentic, so real! Saul knew that there would be no turning back, once he encountered this Christ Jesus.
There were trouble-makers in the Galatian church, the Judaizers. They were so used to observing the Torah that the freedom offered by Christianity was too unsettling for them. Therefore, they persuaded others to regress, to observe the Torah like them. In so doing, they were undoing what Paul had achieved. They had laid down traps and snares for the Galatian Christians. Of course, Paul was furious. That was why he cursed them.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9).
I wish those who unsettle you would mutilate themselves! (Galatians 5:12)
If the Galatians followed these Judaisers, they sought justification by the Law, not by grace.
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace (Galatians 5:4).
What are the characteristics of Christianity?
For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness (Galatians 5:5).
Christianity is protected, guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Christians are empowered by the Holy Spirit to lead a righteous life acceptable to God.
By putting their faith in God, Christians enable God to work wonders. That was the whole point of the contrast between the son born of Hagar and the son born of Sarah in chapter 4. Hagar was a fertile maid. Giving birth to Ishmael was a natural event. Sarah was a ninety-year-old woman. Giving birth to Isaac involved God's intervention, involved our putting faith in God's promise. Our faith enables God.
Paul made his position very clear.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another (Galatians 5:13).
Freedom is not easy to handle. People can easily abuse it. That was why Paul gave the Galatians the above warning. It is interesting to note that Paul advised Christians to make use of their freedom to become slaves to serve each other. For Paul, freely giving yourself up to serve other out of love is true freedom. How paradoxical!
Before leaving Paul, let's check again his Old Testament Greek. Unlike the other epistles, the author of the Galatians did not translate even the Torah. He lifted the entire piece of text from Septuagint without any significant modifications.
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. (Galatians 5:14b)
καὶ ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. (Leviticus 19:18)
My dear Advocate, we tend to become inert, conservative and complacent. We do not welcome changes. It is too risky. Enlighten us to know Your way. Warm up our hearts to love You more. Amen.
Saul had been brought up under the Torah. He had been a fervent Pharisee. When Christians were preaching another god, how could Saul could tolerate these heretics? He started his extermination mission against these heretics. Then he had a life-transforming encounter with the Risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. His previous training had not prepared him for such an encounter. Through the observance of the Torah, he had never been able to experience God. Though the Torah was handed down from heaven, it was not effective in bringing them any closer to God. Yet, the Lord of these heretics was so authentic, so real! Saul knew that there would be no turning back, once he encountered this Christ Jesus.
There were trouble-makers in the Galatian church, the Judaizers. They were so used to observing the Torah that the freedom offered by Christianity was too unsettling for them. Therefore, they persuaded others to regress, to observe the Torah like them. In so doing, they were undoing what Paul had achieved. They had laid down traps and snares for the Galatian Christians. Of course, Paul was furious. That was why he cursed them.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed (Galatians 1:8-9).
I wish those who unsettle you would mutilate themselves! (Galatians 5:12)
If the Galatians followed these Judaisers, they sought justification by the Law, not by grace.
You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace (Galatians 5:4).
What are the characteristics of Christianity?
For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness (Galatians 5:5).
Christianity is protected, guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. Christians are empowered by the Holy Spirit to lead a righteous life acceptable to God.
By putting their faith in God, Christians enable God to work wonders. That was the whole point of the contrast between the son born of Hagar and the son born of Sarah in chapter 4. Hagar was a fertile maid. Giving birth to Ishmael was a natural event. Sarah was a ninety-year-old woman. Giving birth to Isaac involved God's intervention, involved our putting faith in God's promise. Our faith enables God.
Paul made his position very clear.
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).
For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another (Galatians 5:13).
Freedom is not easy to handle. People can easily abuse it. That was why Paul gave the Galatians the above warning. It is interesting to note that Paul advised Christians to make use of their freedom to become slaves to serve each other. For Paul, freely giving yourself up to serve other out of love is true freedom. How paradoxical!
Before leaving Paul, let's check again his Old Testament Greek. Unlike the other epistles, the author of the Galatians did not translate even the Torah. He lifted the entire piece of text from Septuagint without any significant modifications.
ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. (Galatians 5:14b)
καὶ ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. (Leviticus 19:18)
My dear Advocate, we tend to become inert, conservative and complacent. We do not welcome changes. It is too risky. Enlighten us to know Your way. Warm up our hearts to love You more. Amen.
Monday 13 October 2008
Evolutionary view of Salvation
God has given us free-will. Therefore, there is always room for surprises, for unexpected outcomes. This is the fun of creating rebellious automata instead of obedient robots. As a teacher, we can't dictate the path which our students must follow. When you hold group-discussion in class, be prepared to meet unplanned challenges.
Today, in the Ethics and Religious Studies lesson in 7S, we were discussing the case of the author climbing out of the window of the school bus. This story brings out the present situation: we have no way to pass judgment on different schools of ethics. So far, none of them (utilitarianism, Kantian, Aristotelian virtue ethics etc.) is able to command the market. It seems that relativism has won the day. Everything is relative. Every point of view is as good as any other. There is no absolute certainty. Before long, one of the boys who studies Pure Mathematics, Michael was able to show that relativism is self-contradictory. If relativism is right (i.e. any position is as good as any other), then how can this particular position (relativism) guarantee that it is right? Then, the group of girls who study Biology, came up with an evolutionary approach to different schools of ethics. They hypothesized that at present, there are many ethical theories. None of them is able to dominate the market. Relativism best describes the present situation. Through debates and applications, some weaker theories will be eliminated, until the day only a handful stronger theories survive to the end. Then, it would be the dawn of the age of absolutism. I was very much impressed by their reasoning. Evolution theory seems to be able to explain quite a lot of things.
Paul was contrasting faith with law and their differences. Yet, he was able to link them together, in a creative manner. Salvation took place in human history. In time, salvation evolves, firstly law and later grace.
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate;
but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father (Galatians 4:1-2).
Science (Chemistry, Physics etc.) goes through different stages of evolution. Scientists work very hard to come up with a theory of everything. Until then, there are rival competitive theories. Meanwhile, men lived under the law for a while before evolving onto a higher standard. Law became their guardian, their teacher until the Messiah came. Then, men would be free from the law. They would enjoy the freedom, the status of being the adopted sons of God and inherit heaven. This is a quick summary of Paul's theology.
From the Law (Genesis), Paul quoted the story of Isaac and Ishmael to contrast between the son of promise and the son of slavery. Isaac was born of the barren Sarah, therefore the son of promise and Ishmael was born of the slave Hagar and therefore the son of slavery. Again, this seems to be a very Jewish way of thinking --- association, rather than the Greek way of thinking --- analysis. I doubt very much if this was an effective way to persuade the Greek readers in Galatia. Again, the Septuagint Paul quoted were nearly identical. Paul was supposed to be well-versed in the Law. Yet, this time, he lifted texts from the Greek bible instead of translating them in his own words.
εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα· ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμουμᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα.
(Galatians 4:27)
Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα, εἶπεν γὰρ κύριος. (Isaiah 54:1)
ἔκβαλε τὴν παιδίσκην καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς· οὐ γὰρ μὴ κληρονομήσει ὁ υἱὸς τῆς παιδίσκης μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἐλευθέρας. (Galatians 4:30)
Ἔκβαλε τὴν παιδίσκην ταύτην καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς, οὐ γὰρ κληρονομήσει ὁ υἱὸς τῆς παιδίσκης ταύτης μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ μου Ισαακ. (Genesis 21:10)
My dear Advocate, as our understanding grows, we know You better. Grant us the peace which our Lord had promised. We ask this, through Christ. Amen.
Today, in the Ethics and Religious Studies lesson in 7S, we were discussing the case of the author climbing out of the window of the school bus. This story brings out the present situation: we have no way to pass judgment on different schools of ethics. So far, none of them (utilitarianism, Kantian, Aristotelian virtue ethics etc.) is able to command the market. It seems that relativism has won the day. Everything is relative. Every point of view is as good as any other. There is no absolute certainty. Before long, one of the boys who studies Pure Mathematics, Michael was able to show that relativism is self-contradictory. If relativism is right (i.e. any position is as good as any other), then how can this particular position (relativism) guarantee that it is right? Then, the group of girls who study Biology, came up with an evolutionary approach to different schools of ethics. They hypothesized that at present, there are many ethical theories. None of them is able to dominate the market. Relativism best describes the present situation. Through debates and applications, some weaker theories will be eliminated, until the day only a handful stronger theories survive to the end. Then, it would be the dawn of the age of absolutism. I was very much impressed by their reasoning. Evolution theory seems to be able to explain quite a lot of things.
Paul was contrasting faith with law and their differences. Yet, he was able to link them together, in a creative manner. Salvation took place in human history. In time, salvation evolves, firstly law and later grace.
I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate;
but he is under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father (Galatians 4:1-2).
Science (Chemistry, Physics etc.) goes through different stages of evolution. Scientists work very hard to come up with a theory of everything. Until then, there are rival competitive theories. Meanwhile, men lived under the law for a while before evolving onto a higher standard. Law became their guardian, their teacher until the Messiah came. Then, men would be free from the law. They would enjoy the freedom, the status of being the adopted sons of God and inherit heaven. This is a quick summary of Paul's theology.
From the Law (Genesis), Paul quoted the story of Isaac and Ishmael to contrast between the son of promise and the son of slavery. Isaac was born of the barren Sarah, therefore the son of promise and Ishmael was born of the slave Hagar and therefore the son of slavery. Again, this seems to be a very Jewish way of thinking --- association, rather than the Greek way of thinking --- analysis. I doubt very much if this was an effective way to persuade the Greek readers in Galatia. Again, the Septuagint Paul quoted were nearly identical. Paul was supposed to be well-versed in the Law. Yet, this time, he lifted texts from the Greek bible instead of translating them in his own words.
εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα· ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμουμᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα.
(Galatians 4:27)
Εὐφράνθητι, στεῖρα ἡ οὐ τίκτουσα, ῥῆξον καὶ βόησον, ἡ οὐκ ὠδίνουσα, ὅτι πολλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐρήμου μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἐχούσης τὸν ἄνδρα, εἶπεν γὰρ κύριος. (Isaiah 54:1)
ἔκβαλε τὴν παιδίσκην καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς· οὐ γὰρ μὴ κληρονομήσει ὁ υἱὸς τῆς παιδίσκης μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἐλευθέρας. (Galatians 4:30)
Ἔκβαλε τὴν παιδίσκην ταύτην καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς, οὐ γὰρ κληρονομήσει ὁ υἱὸς τῆς παιδίσκης ταύτης μετὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ μου Ισαακ. (Genesis 21:10)
My dear Advocate, as our understanding grows, we know You better. Grant us the peace which our Lord had promised. We ask this, through Christ. Amen.
Sunday 12 October 2008
Question on Free Will
Free will is an indispensable component in any ethical discussion. Had man possessed no free will, he would not have been held responsible for any wrong he did. Nor would any of his good deeds have merited any praise and honour. If a person is doing something over which he has no control, say he is only a front-end ATM terminal, dispensing bank-notes to needy earthquake victims in Sichuan, what merit does he gain? Similarly, if a person is carrying out orders from somebody higher above to butcher the prisoners of war, what moral responsibility can we hold him?
This probably explains why God allows evils and sufferings to occur without intervening. God respects the free-will of human beings. He does not want to infringe on our freedom. He wants us to respond to His love freely. It is meaningless to force somebody to love you. This love cannot be true. There is no respect, no knowledge, no growth and no freedom. Had God created robots instead of free human being, the world would have been a perfect world without pains and evils. But I suspect that it would be a very boring world. It would not be challenging enough for God and His creatures. God wants us to be mature and responsible.
In the gospel reading today, Fr. John Kwan pointed out this simple fact about God. God respects our free-will.
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son,
and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come.
Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.'
But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city (Matthew 22:2-7).
God invites us to join His heavenly banquet. But He respects our freedom. One of us will go off to his farm, another to his business. In the end, God did not punish them. He only sent troops to destroyed the murderers of his prophets and burned their city. As for the others, they have the freedom to reject God's invitation at their own expense.
In view of the recent global financial meltdown, Fr. John Kwan was very capable of relating the current issues with the Biblical text. He made use of St. Paul's epistle to the Philippians to encourage us the face this meltdown.
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.
I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:12-13).
He advised us to make good use of the spare time we gain in this meltdown with our family members, the kids and the aged. When the economy prospers, we are too busy making money and ignore the kids and the aged. Nowadays, it is a golden opportunity to mend fences, to cement our bonds.
My dear Advocate, very often, we abuse the freedom You gave us and consequently hurt ourselves. Knowing the truth is not enough. Allow us to love the truth and eager to live up the truth. Amen.
This probably explains why God allows evils and sufferings to occur without intervening. God respects the free-will of human beings. He does not want to infringe on our freedom. He wants us to respond to His love freely. It is meaningless to force somebody to love you. This love cannot be true. There is no respect, no knowledge, no growth and no freedom. Had God created robots instead of free human being, the world would have been a perfect world without pains and evils. But I suspect that it would be a very boring world. It would not be challenging enough for God and His creatures. God wants us to be mature and responsible.
In the gospel reading today, Fr. John Kwan pointed out this simple fact about God. God respects our free-will.
The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son,
and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come.
Again he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.'
But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.
The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city (Matthew 22:2-7).
God invites us to join His heavenly banquet. But He respects our freedom. One of us will go off to his farm, another to his business. In the end, God did not punish them. He only sent troops to destroyed the murderers of his prophets and burned their city. As for the others, they have the freedom to reject God's invitation at their own expense.
In view of the recent global financial meltdown, Fr. John Kwan was very capable of relating the current issues with the Biblical text. He made use of St. Paul's epistle to the Philippians to encourage us the face this meltdown.
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want.
I can do all things in him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:12-13).
He advised us to make good use of the spare time we gain in this meltdown with our family members, the kids and the aged. When the economy prospers, we are too busy making money and ignore the kids and the aged. Nowadays, it is a golden opportunity to mend fences, to cement our bonds.
My dear Advocate, very often, we abuse the freedom You gave us and consequently hurt ourselves. Knowing the truth is not enough. Allow us to love the truth and eager to live up the truth. Amen.
Saturday 11 October 2008
Faith vs. Law (II)
What is the role played by Law in the history of salvation? St. Paul opined that the Law acted as the custodian before faith arrived, until faith is revealed.
Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed.
So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:23-24).
Therefore, faith is the "higher" path. Before Christ was born, the Jews only knew to observe the Law. Why not? The Law (Torah) is the only tangible thing handed down from heaven.
If we want to get back to heaven, to enjoy heavenly bliss and eternal life, what else shall we do, other than the observance of the Law? Nothing! Therefore, it is not too difficult to lead a peaceful life with God. The Torah is fixed and it will not change over night. Stick to the letters. Don't be too flexible and you will not run into trouble.
But when Jesus came, all the security vanished. Keeping the letters of the Law was no longer workable. Jesus was such a flexible person. He did not like to observe Sabbath. What was worse, people who believed in him would became the sons of God, became angels! That was outrageous to pious Jews.
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith (Galatians 3:26).
But what made Paul so confident in the faith in Jesus? Miracles.
Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5)
I suspect that miracles cannot solve the problem. Once a while, having miracles is good and reassuring. Miracles solve many problems and you are sure that God is around. But miracle is a very tricky thing. God works a lot of miracles which men do not see. Men want something while God wants others. Then the miracles God has worked are not registered in the perception of men. Yes, it is good to have miracles. But our faith cannot rely on miracles alone. After miracles, we need rational reasoning and pragmatic living. How shall we lead our life after miracles?
Paul saw that there was no turning back. Christians cannot resort to the observance of the Law like ordinary Jews any more. Law was imposed from outside. Christians must take the initiative to observe the Law. They observe the Law not out of fear of punishment from outside. Rather they need to motivate people to observe the Law out of the love of oneself and of fellow men, in short, out of love from inside. Here, Paul was following the tradition of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:27). Here, Paul invented a new imagery: putting on Christ.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:27-28).
Paul and Christians in subsequent generations would and will confront a lot of challenges from people not sympathetic with Christianity. Hopefully, Paul's advice of putting on Christ would help us through these challenges.
My dear Advocate, I do not ask for miracles. I know You have been generous to us and give us miracles even before we ask for them. Help us sustain a strong faith after we experience Your generous miracles. Amen.
Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed.
So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:23-24).
Therefore, faith is the "higher" path. Before Christ was born, the Jews only knew to observe the Law. Why not? The Law (Torah) is the only tangible thing handed down from heaven.
If we want to get back to heaven, to enjoy heavenly bliss and eternal life, what else shall we do, other than the observance of the Law? Nothing! Therefore, it is not too difficult to lead a peaceful life with God. The Torah is fixed and it will not change over night. Stick to the letters. Don't be too flexible and you will not run into trouble.
But when Jesus came, all the security vanished. Keeping the letters of the Law was no longer workable. Jesus was such a flexible person. He did not like to observe Sabbath. What was worse, people who believed in him would became the sons of God, became angels! That was outrageous to pious Jews.
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith (Galatians 3:26).
But what made Paul so confident in the faith in Jesus? Miracles.
Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5)
I suspect that miracles cannot solve the problem. Once a while, having miracles is good and reassuring. Miracles solve many problems and you are sure that God is around. But miracle is a very tricky thing. God works a lot of miracles which men do not see. Men want something while God wants others. Then the miracles God has worked are not registered in the perception of men. Yes, it is good to have miracles. But our faith cannot rely on miracles alone. After miracles, we need rational reasoning and pragmatic living. How shall we lead our life after miracles?
Paul saw that there was no turning back. Christians cannot resort to the observance of the Law like ordinary Jews any more. Law was imposed from outside. Christians must take the initiative to observe the Law. They observe the Law not out of fear of punishment from outside. Rather they need to motivate people to observe the Law out of the love of oneself and of fellow men, in short, out of love from inside. Here, Paul was following the tradition of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jeremiah 31:33, Ezekiel 36:27). Here, Paul invented a new imagery: putting on Christ.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:27-28).
Paul and Christians in subsequent generations would and will confront a lot of challenges from people not sympathetic with Christianity. Hopefully, Paul's advice of putting on Christ would help us through these challenges.
My dear Advocate, I do not ask for miracles. I know You have been generous to us and give us miracles even before we ask for them. Help us sustain a strong faith after we experience Your generous miracles. Amen.
Friday 10 October 2008
Faith vs. Law (I)
I still don't understand why Paul quoted Hebrew Scriptures, of course in Greek, to the Gentile readers. Did these texts make any sense to the Gentile readers? Would they know these texts, and their subtlety?
I have been reading Galatians and it was Hebrew text free for the first two chapters. (As for the first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul quoted the Hebrew Scripture nearly once a chapter, beginning with the first letter.) When I reach the first quotation, I know this epistle must have been written by St. Paul.
Καθὼς Ἀβραὰμ ἐπίστευσεν τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην· (Galatians 3:6)
καὶ ἐπίστευσεν Αβραμ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. (Genesis 15:6)
ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη· (Galatians 3:8b)
ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς. (Genesis 12:3c)
ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὃς οὐκ ἐμμένει πᾶσιν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτά. (Galatians 3:10)
Ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ὃς οὐκ ἐμμενεῖ ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ νόμου τούτου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτούς, (Deuteronomy 27:26)
ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται· (Galatians 3:11)
ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται. (Romans 1:17)
ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται. (Habakkuk 2:4)
ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς. (Galatians 3:12)
ἃ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς. (Leviticus 18:5b)
ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὁ κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου, (Galatians 3:13c)
πᾶς κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου (Deuteronomy 21:23c)
καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου (Galatians 3:16c)
Τῷ σπέρματί σου (Genesis 12:7a)
Quoting the texts in a breath-taking speed, Paul was eager to prove that faith is more important than laws. He was so eager to defend his position that his Pharisaic training was unwittingly revealed. Read verse 16. He was defending with a Grammar item.
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many; but, referring to one, "And to your offspring," which is Christ (Galatians 3:16)
My dear Advocate, I undertand that understanding a person is an extremely difficult task. We pray that with Your gifts of wisdom, counsel, knowledge, prudence and integrity, we may learn from Paul and continue to work for your Kingdom of God. Amen.
I have been reading Galatians and it was Hebrew text free for the first two chapters. (As for the first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul quoted the Hebrew Scripture nearly once a chapter, beginning with the first letter.) When I reach the first quotation, I know this epistle must have been written by St. Paul.
Καθὼς Ἀβραὰμ ἐπίστευσεν τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην· (Galatians 3:6)
καὶ ἐπίστευσεν Αβραμ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ ἐλογίσθη αὐτῷ εἰς δικαιοσύνην. (Genesis 15:6)
ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη· (Galatians 3:8b)
ἐνευλογηθήσονται ἐν σοὶ πᾶσαι αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς. (Genesis 12:3c)
ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὃς οὐκ ἐμμένει πᾶσιν τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτά. (Galatians 3:10)
Ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ἄνθρωπος, ὃς οὐκ ἐμμενεῖ ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ νόμου τούτου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτούς, (Deuteronomy 27:26)
ὁ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται· (Galatians 3:11)
ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεως ζήσεται. (Romans 1:17)
ὁ δὲ δίκαιος ἐκ πίστεώς μου ζήσεται. (Habakkuk 2:4)
ὁ ποιήσας αὐτὰ ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς. (Galatians 3:12)
ἃ ποιήσας ἄνθρωπος ζήσεται ἐν αὐτοῖς. (Leviticus 18:5b)
ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὁ κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου, (Galatians 3:13c)
πᾶς κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου (Deuteronomy 21:23c)
καὶ τῷ σπέρματί σου (Galatians 3:16c)
Τῷ σπέρματί σου (Genesis 12:7a)
Quoting the texts in a breath-taking speed, Paul was eager to prove that faith is more important than laws. He was so eager to defend his position that his Pharisaic training was unwittingly revealed. Read verse 16. He was defending with a Grammar item.
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many; but, referring to one, "And to your offspring," which is Christ (Galatians 3:16)
My dear Advocate, I undertand that understanding a person is an extremely difficult task. We pray that with Your gifts of wisdom, counsel, knowledge, prudence and integrity, we may learn from Paul and continue to work for your Kingdom of God. Amen.
Thursday 9 October 2008
Paul vs. Cephas (II)
Before looking at the Antioch incident recorded in Galatians 2, we need to sort out some points. Basically, who were they that appeared in Galatians 2:6-10? Let me quote them in full.
2:6 And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) -- those, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me;
2:7 but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 2:8 (for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles), 2:9 and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised;
2:10 only they would have us remember the poor, which very thing I was eager to do.
Who were "those who were reputed to be something" in 2:6?
Who were the "they" in 2:7? Were they those reputed to be something?
Again who were the "they" in 2:9? James, Cephas and John or those who were reputed to be something?
The best way to harmonize these verses would be to equate the two groups. That is, James, Cephas and John were those reputed to be something. They did not add anything to Paul's teaching when Paul reported to them in Jerusalem (i.e. they approved of his preaching). When these apostles in Jerusalem perceived that God wanted Paul to preach to the Gentiles, just as Peter for the Jews and God had given Paul a lot of grace, James, Cephas and John gave Paul and Barnabas approval, blessings and fellowship (the right hand of fellowship). So, here was the background before the Antioch incident.
But why did Paul use two different names to refer to the same person, Cephas and Peter? When Paul talked about the mission to the Jews, he used Peter. When he talked about the pillars, the important people in the Jerusalem church, he used Cephas. Then, did his readers know that Cephas and Peter were the same person, that they were just different labels to refer to the different missions of the same person? We are not sure.
As for the Antioch incident, here is the text.
2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
2:12 For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
2:13 And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity.
2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Cephas came to Antioch. At first, he ate with the Gentiles. But when certain men from James came, Cephas separated himself from the Gentiles. Paul scolded Cephas for separating himself from the Gentiles.
Question. When did Paul write the epistle to the Galatians? Did he write it before, or after he had written the first epistle to the Corinthians?
If the letter to the Galatians was written after the letter to the Corinthians, Paul had forgotten to be more considerate. Probably the conscience of these people from James was weak. When Cephas separated himself from the Gentiles, he was trying not to disturb the conscience of James' people. Indeed, Cephas was just doing what Paul advised people to do in 1 Corinthians 10:27-29.
If the letter to the Galatians was written before the letter to the Corinthians, Paul's idea was still evolving and maturing. His criticism of Cephas was immature. By the time he wrote the first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul would accept Cephas' action. Whichever way, Cephas was not wrong according to Paul.
Q.E.D.
My dear Advocate, I thank You for giving us two great pillars of the Church. May we follow their footsteps and continue to bear witness to the good news of Jesus. Amen.
2:6 And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) -- those, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me;
2:7 but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 2:8 (for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles), 2:9 and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised;
2:10 only they would have us remember the poor, which very thing I was eager to do.
Who were "those who were reputed to be something" in 2:6?
Who were the "they" in 2:7? Were they those reputed to be something?
Again who were the "they" in 2:9? James, Cephas and John or those who were reputed to be something?
The best way to harmonize these verses would be to equate the two groups. That is, James, Cephas and John were those reputed to be something. They did not add anything to Paul's teaching when Paul reported to them in Jerusalem (i.e. they approved of his preaching). When these apostles in Jerusalem perceived that God wanted Paul to preach to the Gentiles, just as Peter for the Jews and God had given Paul a lot of grace, James, Cephas and John gave Paul and Barnabas approval, blessings and fellowship (the right hand of fellowship). So, here was the background before the Antioch incident.
But why did Paul use two different names to refer to the same person, Cephas and Peter? When Paul talked about the mission to the Jews, he used Peter. When he talked about the pillars, the important people in the Jerusalem church, he used Cephas. Then, did his readers know that Cephas and Peter were the same person, that they were just different labels to refer to the different missions of the same person? We are not sure.
As for the Antioch incident, here is the text.
2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
2:12 For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
2:13 And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity.
2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Cephas came to Antioch. At first, he ate with the Gentiles. But when certain men from James came, Cephas separated himself from the Gentiles. Paul scolded Cephas for separating himself from the Gentiles.
Question. When did Paul write the epistle to the Galatians? Did he write it before, or after he had written the first epistle to the Corinthians?
If the letter to the Galatians was written after the letter to the Corinthians, Paul had forgotten to be more considerate. Probably the conscience of these people from James was weak. When Cephas separated himself from the Gentiles, he was trying not to disturb the conscience of James' people. Indeed, Cephas was just doing what Paul advised people to do in 1 Corinthians 10:27-29.
If the letter to the Galatians was written before the letter to the Corinthians, Paul's idea was still evolving and maturing. His criticism of Cephas was immature. By the time he wrote the first epistle to the Corinthians, Paul would accept Cephas' action. Whichever way, Cephas was not wrong according to Paul.
Q.E.D.
My dear Advocate, I thank You for giving us two great pillars of the Church. May we follow their footsteps and continue to bear witness to the good news of Jesus. Amen.
Wednesday 8 October 2008
Paul vs. Cephas (I)
The letters of St. Paul give us a wrong impression that Peter was an apostle for the Jews and he himself was an apostle for the Gentiles.
I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (Galatians 2:7b).
This division of labour was not very rigid. Indeed, the Acts of the Apostles tells us that Peter was the first to preach to the Gentile. It was the story of Peter's vision in Joppa and the conversion of Cornelius in Caesarea (Acts 10:1-48). Around that time, Paul was converted in Damascus and bore witness for Jesus there. In face of the persecution from the Jews in Damascus, Paul returned to his native city Tarsus (Acts 9:1-30).
The martyrdom of St. Stephen was the first shot of persecutions of Greek-speaking Christians in Jerusalem. They fled to cities such as Cyprus and Antioch. At first, they bore witness for Jesus to the Jews there. Later, they also approached the Gentiles when the Jews did not listen to them (Acts 11:19-20). The Church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to evangelize the Gentiles. Barnabas was successful and he came to Tarsus to seek out Paul (Acts 11:25). This was the beginning of Paul's missionary career among the Gentiles. Of course, this is the story according to Luke who joined Paul later after Paul had a vision in Troas (Acts 16: 9-10). Looking back, probably, the division of labour was officially endorsed during the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).
Paul's letter to the Galatians gives us another perspective, viz. from a first-person account. Paul was converted on the road to Damascus. Looking back, Paul thought that God had set him apart to preach the Good News of Jesus to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15-16). He stayed in Damascus to bear witness for Jesus and fled to Arabia after he received death threats from the Jews there. He remained in Arabia for a certain period of time. Then he returned again to Damascus and stayed there for three years before he paid a visit to Jerusalem, met Cephas and stayed with him for 15 days (Galatians 1:18). After 14 years, he visited Jerusalem again, this time together with Barnabas and Titus (Galatians 2:1). This probably was the Jerusalem Council as recorded in Acts 15.
Paul's work was challenged by the Judaizers who questioned his apostleship and taught the Gentiles Christians to observe the Law of Moses in order to be saved. This reasoning went directly against the Gospel of Jesus (Galatians 2:4-5). Titus was a good testing case. Even the apostles in Jerusalem did not compel Titus, who was a Greek, to be circumcised. This proved that the Judaizers were wrong in forcing Gentiles to observe the Law of Moses. This is the purpose of the whole epistle to the Galatians --- to prove that observing the Law of Moses does not contribute to one's salvation.
to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you (Galatians 2:5).
I'll try to defend Cephas' action in Antioch tomorrow. In the meantime, let's keep in mind Paul's perseverance against opposition, even from within.
St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Pray for us. Amen.
I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (Galatians 2:7b).
This division of labour was not very rigid. Indeed, the Acts of the Apostles tells us that Peter was the first to preach to the Gentile. It was the story of Peter's vision in Joppa and the conversion of Cornelius in Caesarea (Acts 10:1-48). Around that time, Paul was converted in Damascus and bore witness for Jesus there. In face of the persecution from the Jews in Damascus, Paul returned to his native city Tarsus (Acts 9:1-30).
The martyrdom of St. Stephen was the first shot of persecutions of Greek-speaking Christians in Jerusalem. They fled to cities such as Cyprus and Antioch. At first, they bore witness for Jesus to the Jews there. Later, they also approached the Gentiles when the Jews did not listen to them (Acts 11:19-20). The Church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch to evangelize the Gentiles. Barnabas was successful and he came to Tarsus to seek out Paul (Acts 11:25). This was the beginning of Paul's missionary career among the Gentiles. Of course, this is the story according to Luke who joined Paul later after Paul had a vision in Troas (Acts 16: 9-10). Looking back, probably, the division of labour was officially endorsed during the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15).
Paul's letter to the Galatians gives us another perspective, viz. from a first-person account. Paul was converted on the road to Damascus. Looking back, Paul thought that God had set him apart to preach the Good News of Jesus to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:15-16). He stayed in Damascus to bear witness for Jesus and fled to Arabia after he received death threats from the Jews there. He remained in Arabia for a certain period of time. Then he returned again to Damascus and stayed there for three years before he paid a visit to Jerusalem, met Cephas and stayed with him for 15 days (Galatians 1:18). After 14 years, he visited Jerusalem again, this time together with Barnabas and Titus (Galatians 2:1). This probably was the Jerusalem Council as recorded in Acts 15.
Paul's work was challenged by the Judaizers who questioned his apostleship and taught the Gentiles Christians to observe the Law of Moses in order to be saved. This reasoning went directly against the Gospel of Jesus (Galatians 2:4-5). Titus was a good testing case. Even the apostles in Jerusalem did not compel Titus, who was a Greek, to be circumcised. This proved that the Judaizers were wrong in forcing Gentiles to observe the Law of Moses. This is the purpose of the whole epistle to the Galatians --- to prove that observing the Law of Moses does not contribute to one's salvation.
to them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you (Galatians 2:5).
I'll try to defend Cephas' action in Antioch tomorrow. In the meantime, let's keep in mind Paul's perseverance against opposition, even from within.
St. Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Pray for us. Amen.
Tuesday 7 October 2008
Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary
I am not a born Catholic. Late in S2, I attended catechumen class conducted by the Principal of my Alma Mater, the late Mr. Joseph Liu. Choi Hung Estate Catholic Secondary School is closely integrated into the Holy Family Parish. Therefore, my adolescence was spent in the parish. I do not play musical instruments and singing is my only "talent", in fact, everybody's "talent". Therefore, I spent most of my time in the church choir and with the physically handicapped in Choi Hung.
After graduating from the university, I landed my first teaching job in La Salle College and spent 20 years there. I was very blessed and honoured not just because La Salle is an elite school and many of my students are now professionals contributing to the smooth running of Hong Kong, but because I was assigned to take care of a praesidium of a Legion of Mary. For 19 years, I grew and developed with these young noble souls under the motherly care of Our Lady. Saying the Rosary was a weekly routine. (Well, I was not devoted enough to recite the Rosary everyday!) Like the air we breathe, I was not aware of the sanctifying power of the Rosary until I left the Legion of Mary.
Teaching in Shung Tak is a different story. Shung Tak is not a religious school. There are no priests, nor nuns looking after the spiritual welfare of the students. There is no Legion of Mary. She is also a co-ed school. You have to handle the girls more cautiously. You cannot play rough with them. Though she is supposed to be a Band One school in Yuen Long, yet Yuen Long is not urban. Here, the students are less motivated and gifted in academic pursuits. Here, I experience more frustrations than before. I begin to appreciate again the power of the Rosary. In times of frustrations and depressions, the Rosary soothes my wounds.
The Holy Rosary is a Catholic treasure. It is not a devotion exclusively to Our Lady. Rather, it is a Christocentric meditative prayer. Throughout the church history, many saints bore witness to the sanctifying power of this form of prayer. Through this particular form of praying, we are able to remember Christ with Mary, to learn from him, to be conformed with him, to pray to him and to proclaim him to the world. All along, Our Lady is accompanying us.
Traditionally, the Rosary was divided into three groups of 5 mysteries each, contemplating the incarnation (the 5 Joyful Mysteries), the passion (the 5 Sorrowful Mysteries) and the glory (the 5 Glorious Mysteries) of our Lord Jesus Christ. To deepen our faith in Jesus, the late Pope John Paul II introduced 5 significant events in the public ministry of Jesus before his Passion, called the 5 Mysteries of Light in 2002. He proclaimed the year from October 2002 to October 2003, the Year of the Rosary.
Nobody can come closer to Jesus than his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who takes care of us like her children. She helps us to become more like Christ, her son. So, let us become more prayerful and contemplate the mysteries of Christ through saying the Rosary. Amen.
After graduating from the university, I landed my first teaching job in La Salle College and spent 20 years there. I was very blessed and honoured not just because La Salle is an elite school and many of my students are now professionals contributing to the smooth running of Hong Kong, but because I was assigned to take care of a praesidium of a Legion of Mary. For 19 years, I grew and developed with these young noble souls under the motherly care of Our Lady. Saying the Rosary was a weekly routine. (Well, I was not devoted enough to recite the Rosary everyday!) Like the air we breathe, I was not aware of the sanctifying power of the Rosary until I left the Legion of Mary.
Teaching in Shung Tak is a different story. Shung Tak is not a religious school. There are no priests, nor nuns looking after the spiritual welfare of the students. There is no Legion of Mary. She is also a co-ed school. You have to handle the girls more cautiously. You cannot play rough with them. Though she is supposed to be a Band One school in Yuen Long, yet Yuen Long is not urban. Here, the students are less motivated and gifted in academic pursuits. Here, I experience more frustrations than before. I begin to appreciate again the power of the Rosary. In times of frustrations and depressions, the Rosary soothes my wounds.
The Holy Rosary is a Catholic treasure. It is not a devotion exclusively to Our Lady. Rather, it is a Christocentric meditative prayer. Throughout the church history, many saints bore witness to the sanctifying power of this form of prayer. Through this particular form of praying, we are able to remember Christ with Mary, to learn from him, to be conformed with him, to pray to him and to proclaim him to the world. All along, Our Lady is accompanying us.
Traditionally, the Rosary was divided into three groups of 5 mysteries each, contemplating the incarnation (the 5 Joyful Mysteries), the passion (the 5 Sorrowful Mysteries) and the glory (the 5 Glorious Mysteries) of our Lord Jesus Christ. To deepen our faith in Jesus, the late Pope John Paul II introduced 5 significant events in the public ministry of Jesus before his Passion, called the 5 Mysteries of Light in 2002. He proclaimed the year from October 2002 to October 2003, the Year of the Rosary.
Nobody can come closer to Jesus than his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary who takes care of us like her children. She helps us to become more like Christ, her son. So, let us become more prayerful and contemplate the mysteries of Christ through saying the Rosary. Amen.
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