Fr. Patrick Sun celebrated the 11 a.m. mass and in his homily, he unlocked the major mystery of religion. It is all a matter of the heart. Do we put our heart at the core or the peripheral of our life? The Pharisees in the gospel reading set the wrong priority. They put the hearts in the wrong place. That explains why Jesus always had conflicts with these people.
We Chinese had a similar philosophy. 物有本末，事有終始，知所先後，則近道矣。【大學】Therefore, it is important to set the priority right.
We Chinese had a similar philosophy. 物有本末，事有終始，知所先後，則近道矣。【大學】Therefore, it is important to set the priority right.
The Pharisees made the mistake of being legalistic. They had set the priority in a wrong way. They focused on the letters of the law instead of the spirit of the law. Jesus tried to correct their mistaken thoughts. Times and again, Jesus breached the observance of the Sabbath deliberately. For the Pharisees and the majority of the Jews, the observance of the Sabbath identified them as the Chosen People of God. What made them Jews was the observance of the Sabbath. Yet in many occasions, Jesus breached this law of Sabbath. He even taught a revolutionary, yet a truthful attitude.
The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mark 2:27).
If you are able to get to the core, the peripheral is no longer important. If you have not breached any major principle, minor details can be ignored.
子夏曰：大德不踰閑，小德出入可也。 【論語‧子張】
In this light, we are able to explain why Jesus and his disciples did not clean their hands according to the traditional customs (Mark 7:2), and yet still kept their high moral ground. It is the heart that determines everything. If we are hypocritical, our hearts have rotten and are not there to keep the law.
意誠而后心正，心正而后身修。【大學】
Attaining a sincere will brings a right heart. Setting our heart right helps us lead a life of integrity (Major Studies).
God gave us Ten Commandments to set our hearts right. However, the Pharisees were greedy and overwrote God's commandments with man-made rules, just as it was foretold by Isaiah.
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men (Mark 7:7, Isaiah 29:13).
The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath (Mark 2:27).
If you are able to get to the core, the peripheral is no longer important. If you have not breached any major principle, minor details can be ignored.
子夏曰：大德不踰閑，小德出入可也。 【論語‧子張】
In this light, we are able to explain why Jesus and his disciples did not clean their hands according to the traditional customs (Mark 7:2), and yet still kept their high moral ground. It is the heart that determines everything. If we are hypocritical, our hearts have rotten and are not there to keep the law.
意誠而后心正，心正而后身修。【大學】
Attaining a sincere will brings a right heart. Setting our heart right helps us lead a life of integrity (Major Studies).
God gave us Ten Commandments to set our hearts right. However, the Pharisees were greedy and overwrote God's commandments with man-made rules, just as it was foretold by Isaiah.
in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men (Mark 7:7, Isaiah 29:13).
Recently, there have been a lot of controversies over drug screening of secondary school students. Drug abuse among secondary school students is no news. But after the coverage of a spate of cases in Tuen Mun, the government intends to use such a scheme to deter students from taking drugs. The Education Department has invited secondary schools in Tai Po to participate in a pilot scheme. Funny, right? Why is it Tai Po and not Tuen Mun? Conspiracy theorists suggest that schools in Tai Po are facing close down because of the decrease in student population. They will be more cooperative with the government. Tuen Mun is less urgent and schools there are under less pressure to toe the party line.
The scheme is supposed to be voluntary. That is, students who have been randomly chosen to test their urine have the freedom to refuse being tested. That defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it? If it is implemented as such, it is set up to fail from the start. There is also the controversy over who are entitled to know the test results. Police? Principal? Parent? or class teachers?
The Catholic Church in Hong Kong supports putting more resources in educating the teenagers the damages of drug abuse. Educating their hearts should be the top priority. That explains why the Church does not support deterring students with drug screening. It is too negative and the priority is wrong.
The scheme is supposed to be voluntary. That is, students who have been randomly chosen to test their urine have the freedom to refuse being tested. That defeats the whole purpose, doesn't it? If it is implemented as such, it is set up to fail from the start. There is also the controversy over who are entitled to know the test results. Police? Principal? Parent? or class teachers?
The Catholic Church in Hong Kong supports putting more resources in educating the teenagers the damages of drug abuse. Educating their hearts should be the top priority. That explains why the Church does not support deterring students with drug screening. It is too negative and the priority is wrong.
Dear Lord, I pray for the government officials. May they set the education priorities properly. I also pray for students who are frustrated in life. May they find peace in joining meaningful activities. Amen.
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