Feast of St. Jerome (Year B)

We celebrate today the feast day of St. Jerome (340-420) to whom we owe the Latin translation of the Bible. Like other Church Fathers, St. Jerome left us with commentaries of the Bible. They form the traditional opinions of the interpretation of Bible passages in the Catholic Church.

Today, we touch on the Second Book of Ezra, a.k.a. Nehemiah. He was appointed provincial governor to take charge of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He restored the city wall, repaired the gate and together with Ezra, the priest and scribe, reformed the Jewish life after the Babylonian Captivity.
The book of Nehemiah began with some bad news for Nehemiah. It happened in the capital.
Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the capital (Nehemiah 1:1b),
According to the Jewish calendar, Chislev was November 4 to December 3. Nehemiah heard some bad news about the city Jerusalem from his friends.
And they said to me, "The survivors there in the province who escaped exile are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire." (Nehemiah 1:3)
Nehemiah was very sad and prayed fervently to God. When the chance came, he brought the matter to the Persian king.
In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence.
And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing else but sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid (Nehemiah 2:1-2).
The month of Nisan was March 13-April 11. That is, the matter was raised four months later to the Persian King. Nehemiah was able to secure the support of the Persian King and the rebuilding project came to a satisfactory conclusion.

Here, I have learned two things. Timing is not an exact science. No doubt, timing is extremely important. Nehemiah did not bring the matter to the attention of the king. He patiently waited for four more months before he sprang into action! Truly, everything has its season.
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together (Ecclesiastes 3:5a)
Secondly, God holds all the trump cards. He made use of the Gentile nations to punish Israel. Later, He made use of the Gentile nations to serve them. The Jews were blessed indeed.

Dear Lord, on the eve of the National Day, I pray for my country. She is now engaging in more ambitious global roles. May she listen to and do Your will to allow the dissidents to help reform the country. You are the Lord of Lords. Glory be to You forever and ever. Amen.

Feast of Archangels (Year B)

Today is the feast day of the archangels. They are Michael, the warrior angel; Gabriel, the messenger angel and Raphael, the healer angel. We know very little about their properties. They are beyond our understanding and our imagination. All of us, angels and men, are creatures of God. Each one of us has a different role to play in the grand plan of salvation. Therefore, let us pray to these superior beings so that we may work together to bring forth the gospel of our Lord to the whole Creation.

In the reading today, we have the following heavenly scene.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world -- he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him (Revelation 12:7-9).
Revelation is not an easy book to read. Its genre is one of its own. In the Old Testament, we find a similar genre in part of Daniel. The genre is apocalyptic. God is transmitting some messages to us. However, our limited capacity is unable to receive them and express them in full.
Firstly, we cannot interpret it literally. There are larger meanings than those words and images can express. Most of the images are symbols. The lampstand, the seal, the horsemen the great dragon etc. represent something other than themselves.
Secondly, we cannot rule out the possibility that the author actually saw in his visions what he had written down.
Thirdly, the time scale is missing. When will these things happen? Were they happening at the time of writing? Was the author actually telling history stories in a new package? How long will those events last?
Fourthly, what was the social context? What was the cultural, political background when the author wrote the story? What was the intention of the author?
Therefore, will there be such a battle between Michael and Satan? Or was it actually a repackaging of a battle in history? If it was a heavenly vision, how accurately was the author able to express the throwing down of Satan and his angels? If the vision was symbolic, how are we going to interpret it? What clues and rules can we follow?

In our Moral Theology course, we came to the relation between the scripture and morality. It is perfectly appropriate to look up the Bible for ethical inspiration. However, the Bible cannot be interpreted literally. At this point, Fr. Ng introduced the idea of "exegesis" and pointed out the dangers of reading the Bible out of context. Go back to the basic. What was the intention of the author and his cultural background?
To make his point, Fr. Ng quoted the gospel reading last Sunday. Jesus told people to punish those who led the weaker faith to commit sin by hanging a millstone around his neck and throwing him into the sea (Mark 9:42). Fr. Ng explained the cultural background of this text. The Jews feared this punishment more than crucifixion because the criminal would never receive a proper burial. Similarly for Chinese, it is a curse to die without a burial place 「死無葬身之地」.
Again, Jesus told people to amputate their limbs in order to avoid sins (Mark 9:43-47). Did the Jesus of Mark intend heaven to admit only the physically handicapped? Immediately, I could imagine some who insist on interpreting the Bible literally that Jesus indeed intended to admit only those who were courageous and determined enough to amputate themselves in order to avoid sin because Jesus would restore their missing limbs in heaven! Fr. Ng found such an interpretation unreasonable. He pointed out that this amputation was therapeutic. [I take this interpretation with reservation. Luke, a physician, did not copy this amputation verses from Mark. After mentioning the millstone warning, Luke talked about rebuking a brother who sinned (Luke 17:1-4).] Even in ancient times, when the limbs were rotting and threatening the life of a patient, doctors would recommend amputation even though they did not have any medical term to describe blood poisoning. In short, it is foolish and unreasonable to draw moral conclusions literally from the Bible.

Dear Lord, I thank You for sending angels to help us. May we work together to honour Your glory. Amen.

The jealousy of God

What does it mean to say that God is jealous?
The first thing that comes to our mind is the Commandment which forbids idolatry.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:4-6).
So, here is a common sense understanding of the jealousy of God. He describes Himself as a jealous God, like a husband. If Israelites worship idols, their actions would be similar to an unfaithful wife who has an extra-marital affair. Of course, God would be angry, would be jealous to protect His property, His inheritance. This jealousy is punitive, visiting the iniquity to the fourth generation.

How shall we interpret the following verse?
Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath (Zechariah 8:2)
The word "jealous" is only a translation of a Hebrew word קִנְאָה which has a shade of meanings. It may mean the usual jealous, it can also mean zealous, to burn with zeal. Let us see how it has been translated into Chinese.
萬軍的上主這樣說：「我以極度的妒愛，愛著熙雍，為了她我發了很大的妒恨。」

Here is another understanding of the jealousy of God. When an emotion becomes intense, it is impossible to tell the difference between love and jealousy. The Chinese translation puts the two together, reflecting a Hebrew style. Truly, in Hebrew literature we can easily find opposites bundled together.
I believe that the relation between God and the Israelites must have been a sweet and sour one. There were people and times when the Israelites pleased God very much. There were also people and times, I am afraid this accounted for the majority, when the Israelites provoked God to wrath. Still, God was jealous, was zealous for their good. This jealousy is formative. It is for the good of the Israelites. That is why God is faithful even when we are not.
if we are faithless, he remains faithful--for he cannot deny himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)
This faithfulness is difficult to harmonize with the first interpretation of God's jealousy which is punitive. But it fits well with the second interpretation of a jealousy of love, a formative jealousy for the good of the loved ones.

We should not find fault with the Exodus interpretation of God's jealousy. I believe that both religion and theology have to go through an evolution, so that our understanding of God is constantly refined.

Dear Lord, May Your jealousy for us drive us towards an ever higher level of union with You. Amen.

Twenty Sixth Ordinary Sunday (Year B)

Fr. John Baptist Kwan celebrated his last Sunday Mass in Tuen Mun this morning at elevent. The Diocesan Chancery sent him to St. Margaret Parish in the Happy Valley after he had served the parish in Tuen Mun for 11 years.
In his homily, he firstly thanked all who had worked with him in the parish for their support. Parish life had been very lively and amiable. He continued to thank the congregation for their generosity so that the parish was able to be self-sufficient. Even in times of global financial crisis, the parish was able to sustain and survive without asking a penny from the Diocese. Lastly, he begged all of us to forgive him for whatever he had done to wrong them. He knew that he was an impatient man and must have offended a lot of us who needed a priest to listen to their grievances.
After mass, the Parish Council organized a farewell tea-party for him. Many parishioners took pictures with him.

In the first reading today, we read of the story of Joshua being jealous for Moses.
Moses was overloaded with settling disputes among the Israelites. Moreover, the people were complaining about not having meat in their daily diet. Therefore, God told Moses to choose seventy elders from the people. He would give them some of the spirit which He had given Moses so that these 70 elders might share the burden of Moses to handle the cases of the people. Moreover, God would also feed the people with quails for one whole month.
Two of the elders remained in the camp while the rest were stationed around the tent outside. The spirit descended onto all of them so that they were able to prophesize. A young man found the two elders inside the camp prophesizing and told Joshua. Joshua was loyal to Moses and asked Moses to forbid these two elders from prophesizing.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the minister of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, forbid them."
But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!"(Numbers 11:28-29)
Moses had a large heart. He wished that all the Lord's people were prophets! A similar case happened in the gospel. John also stopped a man from using Jesus' name for exorcism. But Jesus told John not to forbid him.
But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me.
For he that is not against us is for us (Mark 9:39-40).
We Christians have no right to monopolize salvation. We are, but one of the many channels through which God saves the world. We do not have exclusive monopoly, nor can we dictate how God should save a particular person.

However, I am more interested in finding out the purpose of sandwiching the story of 70 elders between the quails story.
The Israelites were facing many difficulties in the wilderness. They needed a leader to bring them through the desert. But being a leader is not a fun job. He is caught between God and the people. The following verse is a vivid description of the situation of leaders like Moses.
Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent; and the anger of the LORD blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased (Numbers 11:10).
Since Moses and God has established a long term working relationship. He was able to intercede for the Israelites. He was even able to complain God to, who else but God Himself! He laid the problem in front of God and reasoned with Him. Moses had to deal with two related problems.
Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, 'Give us meat, that we may eat.'
I am not able to carry all this people alone, the burden is too heavy for me (Numbers 11:13-14).
Moses needed better food and more helping hands. God had already given the Israelites manna for food. But the manna was not tasty enough and the people were fed up with it. They wanted better food. They even wept for meat.
It is human nature to raise their expectations continually. After filling up the stomach, they want better food. After finding a shelter, they want better housing. After ascending to the throne, they want to become God. Some theologians suggest that God makes us long for Him. Otherwise, man is unable to obtain salvation. Therefore, who can blame us for aiming higher, for wanting more?
Only God can satisfy our unlimited wants. Moses could not. Therefore, Moses needed more helping hands to share his burden, to provide better service. In response to Moses request, God gave 70 elders some of the spirit of Moses, but with a difference.
Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did so no more (Numbers 11:25).
The 70 elders were able to prophesized once and did so no more. They were administrators and not innovators. Moses was a charismatic leader who brought about changes in response to crises. These 70 elders shared his job to effect the changes Moses initiated. Moses remained the sole leader having direct access to God.
However, appointing administrators might not be able to solve the food crisis. They were not able to placate God's wrath. The Israelites collected the quails in frenzy for two days.
While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague (Numbers 11:33).
We, at least the Israelites, need more prophets, charismatic leaders who have better connections with God, but not more administrators.

Dear Lord, make us better prophets, better channels of Your grace to our neighbours. Amen.

Feast of Ss. Comas and Damian

Ss. Comas and Damian were twin brothers and physicians. They healed people without accepting any fee and brought many people to believe in Christ. They died martyrdom in 287 A.D. during the Diocletian persecution.
In Hong Kong, the Church in Tsuen Wan is named after them. Interestingly enough, the Church is surrounded by a polyclinic and the Yan Chai Hospital. As the economy in Hong Kong is flourishing and medical services provided by the government are able to take care of most of the citizens, the veneration of these two saints does not grow in popularity in this generation.

Today, we read the prophet Zechariah, who was a contemporary of Haggai. Both of them were called by God to urge the Jews to pick up the rebuilding of the Temple. On top of this assignment, Zechariah has left us with some prophecies about the Messiah. Early in Chapter 1, God has shown His own will.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.
Cry again, Thus says the LORD of hosts: My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem(Zechariah 1:16-17)
God has decided. Among the peoples and nations, God has chosen Zion and Jerusalem. He would comfort them. His Temple would be built in them. Isn't God supposed to be impartial? Why then did God show favouritism towards them?
This is a question commonly asked by non-Jews. In my younger days, I also asked why Jesus was born a Jews and not a Chinese. After learning something about the history of the Israelites and the Jews, I do not envy God's choice anymore.
When God decided not to give up the human race, He thought up a perfect plan to save men. First of all, He needed to meet us, to break into our history and communicate with us. God needs an entry point. This entry point was Abraham. The Bible describes him as "a friend of God" (2 Chronicles 20:7), "the father of all believers" (Romans 4). After many generations, the descendents of Abraham became a nation. They were unfaithful and God made use of other nations to punish them, to purify them. The Babylonian Captivity was one such purification incident. The Jews failed to spread the salvation plan of God to all mankind.
Christians saw themselves as the true Israelites, replacing the previously rebellious ones who were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus, their Lord. Now, these Christians were numerous enough to spread the salvation plan of God to all men.
Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion; for lo, I come and I will dwell in the midst of you, says the LORD.
And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of you, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you (Zechariah 2:10-11).
God wants all nations to be saved through whoever are willing to be His channels of peace. Jews and Christians alike, when they are open-minded enough not to condemn the shortcomings of other, but work collaboratively for the benefit of all, God's salvation will come.
Truly, God does not need a Temple to dwell on earth. Yet, a Temple shows God's presence. Each one of us who believes in God, whether you are a Jew, a Christian or a Muslim, shows God's presence to a variety of degrees. Favouritism is out of question.

Dear Lord, I pray that people I meet are able to discern Your presence in our words and deeds. Amen.

Give us some room please

Many of my colleagues were exhausted and tried hard not to fall asleep in the talk this afternoon but to no avail. Our eyes were very heavy because we had been slaved since 8:30 in the morning. Our boss wanted to occupy every single minute of ours in today's Staff Development Day. He wanted to take control over all our time. Perhaps he thought that we would not manage our time well. Only he knew best how we should spend our time.
We had two Staff Development Days within September, a particularly hectic month in the academic year. Perhaps his intention was good. He would like us to pick up all the skills in these workshops and apply them in our classes early in the academic year. He thought that the skills promoted by the speaker were useful for us. Alas! We, teachers from six schools, were forced to sit in a school hall and listen to the same man for three times, at least three hours each.
Perhaps the gentleman was capable to entertain a small group of principals, or even the middle managers of the participating schools. However, when he came to meet an audience of more than three hundred notorious students --- teachers, he was stretched beyond his capabilities. No doubt, he had prepared a lot and had his own ideals and visions. Yet, facing more than three hundred cynical students, this gentleman would feel more like being publicly tortured than sharing some tips for teaching students of mixed abilities. Each one of us has our own style. What has been practicable for him might not be practicable for us. I am not him. We don't have his charisma.

God knew the spiritual needs of the remnant. He ordered them to resume the project of rebuilding the Temple. For various reasons, all the returned Jews minded their personal business rather than working together to rebuild the Temple. For their benefits, God commanded them to put down their current work, pick up the building project.
For thus says the LORD of hosts: Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land;
and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the LORD of hosts.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of hosts.
The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts; and in this place I will give prosperity, says the LORD of hosts(Haggai 2:6-9)
Once again, does God need those silver and gold? Of course not. Eventually, they would belong to the Jews. Does God need the glory and splendor of the Temple? Of course not. The glory and splendor would only boost up the national identity of the Jews, stir up their patriotism.

Perhaps our boss wants to play God, trying to control over our time like God had commanded the remnant to rebuild His Temple. But he is no God and we have no time. Our boss has introduced many new procedures. We find them disruptive as well as unproductive. Many teachers find themselves working until very late but still cannot perform some basic professional obligations --- marking exercise books. Give us more time, not procedures please.

Dear Lord, forgive me for being candid. For the first time, I feel very tired to continue writing. Strengthen us. Amen.

Does God need a Temple?

Cyrus, the Persian King, sent the Jews back to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. The Samaritans disrupted the project and the rebuilding came to a halt for some eighteen years. The remnant that had chosen to return lost their hearts in the rebuilding project. Instead, they spent their energy building their own houses, getting married, starting their business. After all, God did not need a house.

When David told prophet Nathan that he wanted to build a Temple for God, God declined, saying that He had been wandering with the Israelites since liberating them from Egypt and had never demanded a Temple.
I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.
In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" (1 Samuel 7:6-7).
Through prophet Isaiah, God declared to us clearly that He was the Creator of everything. What else can man build for Him?
Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool; what is the house which you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?
All these things my hand has made, and so all these things are mine, says the LORD (Isaiah 66:1-2a).
In Jesus' time, the Jews worshipped God in the Second Temple which was further extended by Herod the Great. The Samaritans worshipped God in Mount Gerizim. When Jesus met a Samaritan woman in John 4, she asked Jesus where they should worship God. Jesus answered neither in Jerusalem, nor in Mount Gerizim but in spirit and truth (John 4:23).
In fact, in 70 A.D. the Roman army burnt down the Second Temple. There was no more Temple worship. Yet, Judaism survives. Therefore, it shows that God does not need a Temple to dwell, nor do men need a Temple to worship God. God dwells everywhere and men worship God in spirit and truth. The Jerusalem Temple is redundant for both God and His worshippers. So, why did the God of Haggai insist on the rebuilding of the Temple? See how jealous and impatient God had been.
Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider how you have fared.
You have sown much, and harvested little; you eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes (Haggai 1:4-6).
God told the Jews that if they ignored the rebuilding of the Temple, all their other efforts would be a waste of energy. It would be like putting their wages into a bag with holes! Was God being jealous?

The building of a Temple has never been a purely religious business. Though the Temple provides for the spiritual needs of individuals, it serves political, cultural and economic purposes as well.
Firstly, Temple worship unites a people.
Secondly, the building process requires a highly centralized administrative machine to handle all the logistic matters. An efficient bureaucracy is needed.
Thirdly, the successful building of a Temple showcases the cultural strength of a country. It provides a base for education and academic researches.
Lastly, once a Temple is built, a lot of economy will flourish around it. Therefore, building a Temple serves a nation more than a god.
What did God say about the rebuilding of the second Temple?
Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may appear in my glory, says the LORD (Haggai 1:8).
God does not need a Temple so that He may appear in His glory. Rather, a king needs a Temple to show off his glory. A people need a Temple to keep and develop their faith. Man needs a Temple to uplift his spirit, to nourish his soul. God doesn't. Rather, it is God's will to uplift our spirit, to save our souls that He urged the Jews to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

Dear Lord, for our good, You give us specific commands as well as general principles. Let us humbly follow Your will and live. Amen.

Feast of St. Padre Pio (Year B)

The Catholic Church has been blessed with many favours from God who has given her many saints to take care of the faithful. Father Pio (1887-1968) was one such priest. He was famous not just for the stigmata on his body, but also for his fervent love of God and the souls of fellow men. He was able to lead people to God in his confessional where he usually spent more than 12 hours a day. Father Pio demonstrated all the theological and cardinal virtues expected of a Christian. His life was exemplary and continues to live on in those hearts and souls which he had touched in his life time. Praise be to God forever. Amen.

A small group of Jews returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. These remnants returned to a place vacant for half a century. Naturally, it was occupied by the indigenous people: the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites(Ezra 9:1b).
When the Jews returned and settled down, some of them married the local people. Among them, the officials and chief men took the lead.
For they have taken some of their daughters to be wives for themselves and for their sons; so that the holy race has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands. And in this faithlessness the hand of the officials and chief men has been foremost (Ezra 9:2)
Ezra was filled with anger and despair. He interpreted their Babylonian Exile as God's punishment for the sins of their fathers. Now that God had been merciful so that a remnant was able to return to Jerusalem. However, these people seemed intended to test God to the limit. They ignored the precepts of the Torah and intermarried with the local people.
Therefore give not your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever (Ezra 9:12, Deuteronomy 7:3)
Ezra saw these marriages as an invitation to God to destroy them.
And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that thou, our God, hast punished us less than our iniquities deserved and hast given us such a remnant as this,
shall we break thy commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Wouldst thou not be angry with us till thou wouldst consume us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? (Ezra 9:13-14)
In the end, he imposed divorce on all mixed marriages. He told three full months to finish all divorce business.
Then the returned exiles did so. Ezra the priest selected men, heads of fathers' houses, according to their fathers' houses, each of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to examine the matter;
and by the first day of the first month they had come to the end of all the men who had married foreign women (Ezra 10:16-17).
Was Ezra an alarmist, exaggerating the wrath of God? Did he have any hidden agenda? After all, what would he gain? Most likely, Ezra would gain nothing. The whole incident went down in the Jewish post-exile history as a major milestone in Judaism. But in the light of New Testament ethics, this is a powerful illustration of the irrationality of a legalistic morality.
St. Paul opposed divorce, even the divorce between a believer and the spouse. His focus was the opposite of the Torah and Ezra. The wrath of God was not his concern. Rather, Paul looked at the benefits for an unbelieving spouse.
To the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.
For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy (1 Corinthians 7:12-13).
Fearing the wrath of God, Ezra imposed divorce on mixed marriages. Looking at the sanctity of marriage, Paul opposed divorce. Both sides have equally forceful logic. Therefore, rationality or even conscience could not decide. The will of God has the final say. Jesus has spoken against divorce. Period.

Dear Lord, open our hearts to read Your words in the Bible. Enlighten our intellect and warm our souls so that we may live. Amen.

Men are from Mars

Today, we read a little bit of the book of Ezra. Ezra was a great Jewish Scribe, the founder of Judaism.
After 50 years of exile in Babylon, some Israelites had settled and prospered there. Therefore, when Cyrus the Persian King decreed that the Israelites returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, many Israelites were not too enthusiastic about the whole idea. Nevertheless, some did return and found the land depressively desolate. Naturally, they thought of rebuilding their own houses instead of rebuilding the house of God. Haggai the prophet was furious and scolded them. So, they started working on the rebuilding project. The Samaritans in the north intended to participate. But they were rejected by the local Israelites. Therefore, the Samaritans bad mouthed them before the Persian governor who disrupted the rebuilding project. Then Nehemiah and Ezra came forth so that the project would proceed. Moreover, they were able to secure the support of Darius, the Persian king to pay for all the costs from the royal coffers. The king also decreed that anybody disrupting the project was punishable by death.
Also I make a decree that if any one alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled upon it, and his house shall be made a dunghill.
May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people that shall put forth a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence (Ezra 6:11-12)
The Second Temple in Jerusalem was finally built. Of course, it was no comparison with the legendary Solomon Temple. A new phase of Jewish life had begun. It was the contribution of Ezra the Scribe.

On Tuesday evenings, we are still studying Moral Theology under Fr. Robert Ng, S.J. He was talking about the nine trends of Moral Theology that he observed in the post-Vatican II era. One of these trends was dialogues with people from different classes and religions. Among them, Fr. Ng mentioned the feminine theologians in particular. He lamented that the Catholic Church had been very patriarchic and thus legalistic. It was because the Church had been dominated by man theologians, such as St. Thomas Aquinas. After Vatican II, more and more women studied theology and many of them have been very successful and outstanding. They added another perspective in theological reasoning. Fr. Ng quoted the example of abortion.

Abortion is the killing of an innocent life. Therefore, the Catholic Church condemns it and punishes those involved in abortions with excommunication. Fr. Ng. lamented that the approach was too rational and legalistic, like Darius' decree mentioned above. Anybody not following the decree was punishable by death/excommunication. In reality, people would find ways to cheat or bypass the decree. Therefore, the whole purpose was defeated. Men are from Mars. They are too logical and aggressive, attacking anybody who does not toe the party line. However, the approach is not effective. Therefore, let us listen to what woman theologians have to say about the abortion topic.
According to Fr. Ng, he had read a woman theologian writing about the abortion topic. She said that if we wanted women to give up the abortion option, you had to appeal to their mother instinct, rather than scaring them with the fire of hell. During their pregnancy, mothers should look at beautiful baby posters more often. Then, they would not choose abortion.
Fr. Ng could not hide his admiration for woman theologians in his talk. In his three decades of teaching in theology, his best students are women. He even belittled his own writings as dry and lacked lustre. The writings of woman theologians glowed with an aura.

Dear Lord, I pray that I can keep an open mind to engage in dialogues. If I feel unappreciated, they may feel the same. Lord, help me rid of my prejudice against my neighbours. Amen.

Feast of St. Matthew, the Evangelist

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of St. Matthew, one of the Twelve and an Evangelist.
It is well known that he was a tax-collector before he became Jesus' disciple. He was despised and hated by his fellow Jews because he collected tax for the Romans. Tax-collectors were, without exception, not honest and though the lucrative job made them rich, they were regarded as public sinners. When Jesus called Matthew, he generously gave up everything and followed the Lord. Of course, we cannot rule out other motives. But these motives were scholarly speculations. It is impossible to verify or falsify them. Therefore, it cannot be scientifically studied.
The first thing he did after Matthew became Jesus' disciple was to invite his friends, mostly tax-collectors, prostitutes and other public sinners, to join him and Jesus at the table (Matthew 9:10). Of course, this gave the Pharisees another excuse to attack Jesus because he mixed with sinners. Such behaviour went against the teaching of the very first Psalm.
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers (Psalm 1:1).

Though the first book of the New Testament is ascribed to Matthew or his authority, most scholar believe that Mark wrote the first gospel. Based on the gospel of Mark, Matthew expanded his gospel to meet the needs of his community. Take the story of the call of Levi (Matthew) as an example, the Jesus in Markanswered the charges of the Pharisees in the following manner.
And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)
However, the Jesus in Matthew quoted the prophet Hosea as well.
But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:12-13)
Here, Matthew added an interpretation of Mark's story to clarify its meaning. Matthew challenged the Pharisees for an interpretation of Hosea 6:6.  He explained that God shows His mercy by calling sinners to join Him to share His eternal life. Luke also interpreted this story in his way.
And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick;
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:31-32)
Luke did not quote prophet Hosea. He wrote explicitly "to repentance".

God calls us to repentance. For most of us, this is the first step towards salvation. Matthew has set up a good example. Our salvation is not confined to our being saved. It also involves spreading the good news to our friends and other people. After finding the Saviour, Matthew invited his friends to come along to celebrate with him. Perhaps his friends might join him as well. Later, Matthew wrote a gospel so that more people would be able to know the good news. St. Paul has drawn a road map to show what a mature Christian should be in the Epistle to the Ephesians.
And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,
to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
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 4:11-13)
The Holy Spirit gives us different charismas to build up the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ. In this Church, we will be able to attain unity of faith, of the knowledge of God until we reach the stature of the fulness of Christ. We will be strong and tall like him.

Dear Lord, You chose the Twelve to train them to lead the Church when You left the earth. Bless the Church so that she may become a medium of unity for all mankind. May we give up greed and choose You like what Matthew has done. St. Matthew, pray for us! Amen.

Twenty Fifth Ordinary Sunday (Year B)

After spending two months back in France on vacation, Fr. Lejeune returned and celebrated the 11 a.m. youth mass with us this morning. Though he joked that he had not spoken Cantonese for nearly two months, his language skills were still there with him. Without further ado, he turned to the gospel story immediately.

Fr. Lejeune reiterated again that Jesus was speaking to us through these gospel stories. Jesus must have been very disappointed with the apostles he had handpicked.
After Peter's confession that Jesus was Christ (Mark 8:29), Jesus revealed the secret plan of the Messiah, that he would be rejected, killed and on the third day, he would come back to life. Peter did not understand and tried to stop Jesus from carrying out his plan. Jesus rebuked Peter in front of all the apostles.
Today, Jesus was heading Jerusalem. He spoke the second time about his imminent passion.
for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise."  (Mark 9:31).
Since the disciples did not understand the first time Jesus revealed his plan, Jesus employed a simpler and more direct language to tell them the truth. He had removed the distracting details. Compare it with the first prophecy about his passion.
And he began to teach them that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).
If the apostles did not understand, they would discuss, debate or even ask Jesus why he had to die, what it meant to rise after three days etc. Instead, they were arguing who, among the Twelve, should be the greatest.
But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest (Mark 9:34).
Suppose you were Jesus. You were going up to Jerusalem to sacrifice, to die for all mankind. Yet, your disciples were fighting for the top job in the Kingdom of God. Would you not feel disappointed?

Ashamed to say, we have let Jesus down for too many times. Indeed, we do not deserve to receive his Holy Communion. Instead of learning more about the truth which will set us free, we prefer believing in what we want to believe in and remain a slave in our comfort zone. In psychology, we learn that people employ a lot of defence mechanisms, such as denial, projection, rationalization etc. to prevent their ego from being hurt. Very often, such mechanisms do not solve the problem which refuses to go and comes back to haunt you continually.

Jesus did not blame the apostles for being ambitious. In fact, the society needs leaders. Hong Kong needs a Chief Executive. All organizations need leaders. Therefore, it is not bad to be ambitious. But Jesus teaches the apostles, and indeed anyone who wants to be leaders, the right attitude of leaders.
And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35)
Jesus was not walking or standing while he taught the Twelve. He sat down to ease the situation and spoke leisurely. Jesus had failed to impress his teachings on the mind of the apostles. Now he took another approach. I am sure this time, Jesus succeeded because the teaching is recorded in the gospels.

Dear Lord, if it pleases You, allow me to serve You and be a servant of all. Amen.

Christian morality

We are learning Moral Theology under Fr. Robert Ng. We will be touching upon the topic of the specificity of Christian ethics.
Is there anything specific about Christian ethics which is exclusively Christian and is not shared by other systems of ethics? The last chapter of the First Epistle to Timothy may throw light on this question.

Read this.
for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world;
but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. (1 Timothy 6:7-9).
How is this quotation from the Holy Bible different from aphorisms found in other cultures? I am afraid it is not.
Look, for example, into the collection of some Chinese proverbs, you will find, without difficulty, some similar advice compatible with the three verses taken from the Bible.
For example, 「錢財身外物」Money and riches are external to your body (i.e. you did not bring them into the world and neither will you carry them away with you.)
子曰：「賢哉，回也！一簞食，一瓢飲，在陋巷，人不堪其憂，回也不改其樂。賢哉，回也！」【論語‧雍也】
In the Analect quotation above, Confucius was praising his beloved disciple for the poor, simple but contented life he led.
「人為財死，鳥為食亡。」Man dies for money and bird for food.
Therefore, what specific revelation can be discovered in the First Epistle to Timothy? Well, let us read on.
For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs(1 Timothy 6:10).
This time, the Chinese beg to differ. Some scholars claimed that failure to nip the evil in the bud is the root of all evils. Some claimed that selfishness is. Some playwrights point the finger at adultery. Paul put the blame on the love of money.
However, what makes Paul's aphorism Christian is the fact that it is coupled with faith. The love of money would steer Christians away from their faith. Now, here is the specificity. Christian morality is motivated by faith as a response to God's call.
Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses(1 Timothy 6:12).
Christians cannot be complacent. They should be aggressive like fighting a battle in response to God's call. Their morality is also eschatological, that is pointing towards the end of the world. 
I charge you to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 6:14).
This is only a very sketchy analysis. I hope I will be able to understand better.

Dear Lord, may our good deeds shed light on our neighbours so that they are able to see Your face. Amen.

A sense of helplessness

My blood sugar level was low when I was reading the latest edition of Kung Kao Pao, the Chinese Catholic weekly. My breathing was heavy and my sight was blurred. My eyes were fixed on the two pages of name lists of principals of all Catholic schools in Hong Kong, diocesan and religious, secondary, primary and kindergartens. Some names were familiar to me but hypoglycemia probably affected my mood and my mind was shrouded in a mist of indescribable helplessness.

I was reading chapter five of the First Epistle to Timothy. The last two verses rang the loudest in my ears.
The sins of some men are conspicuous, pointing to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.
So also good deeds are conspicuous; and even when they are not, they cannot remain hidden (1 Timothy 5:24-25).
Now I know why I felt so helpless. Truly, the sins of some men are conspicuous, but the sins of others appear later. The verse immediately conjured up a few figures in my mind. My mind wandered away, fancying a meeting with all these principals to deal with evangelization or anti-drug-abuse initiatives among Catholic schools in Hong Kong. I felt that I would be unable to motivate them.
Very quickly, the teaching of Fr. Robert Ng emerged from the depth of my mind. He told us that it was easy to point the fingers at the others and to expose the faults of the others. However, it was more precious to be able to find faults with oneself. The Catholic Church was able to do that. She was able to do self-reflection, to see whether the hierarchy practised what she preached, whether social justice was pursued by the Church. Therefore, I shouldn't be so frustrated. Who am I to pass judgment on these principals? Only God can judge their conscience. Not me.

I should be wary with myself as well. Who knows? My conscience might be so clouded that I sincerely wished to do good, yet I was actually doing evil things. I might be one of the "others" whose sins appear only later. In the end, I myself need God's salvation. So, who am I to judge the principals?

Dear Lord, I pray for all students in Hong Kong. Not many of them are receiving adequate ethical trainings under the NSS system. May Your mercy guide them so that they may grow up being responsible and reasonable citizens. Amen.

Fulfilling one's destiny

I can put the blame on my upbringing. I can put the blame on my health. I can put the blame on my boss etc. But in the end, it is I who leads this life. It is I who is held accountable before God.

I am not a smart man. Nor am I a confident person. A lack of self-confidence is always pulling my legs so that my usual responses are hesitation, leaving others to make decisions for me and aversion of adventure etc. My eldest son is very much like me in this respect. He and I will act only when we are more than 99% certain of success.
It is not time to dig up what causes such character traits in me. At the moment, I can see clearer why I have responded, or rather say not responded to God's call as I should have. There is always a handy "reason" for me to decline God's invitation and thus God's blessings.
Tonight, Fr. Robert Ng explained in his Moral Theology lesson that God's call carries a lot of blessings and grace. If we respond positively, God will help us fulfil His call. He introduced the third type of call --- the call to liberate others and oneself. He quoted the example of Moses. Not only did Moses liberate the Israelites, but he also liberated himself from the role of a fugitive shepherd. The talent of this Egyptian prince could not be buried in the wilderness of Midian. He fulfilled his destiny by delivering the Israelites from the bondage in Egypt. This same theme is echoed in Paul's advice to Timothy.

Timothy was still green as an overseer over the see of Ephesus. He was facing a lot of challenges and Paul did not come to his help. Paul could only write a letter to support him. Paul gave Timothy very practicable advice.
Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.
Till I come, attend to the public reading of scripture, to preaching, to teaching.
Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophetic utterance when the council of elders laid their hands upon you.
Practice these duties, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress.
Take heed to yourself and to your teaching; hold to that, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
When the council of elders laid their hands upon Timothy to consecrate him as the bishop, he received the gift of the Holy Spirit. It depended on how he cooperated with the Holy Spirit. So, Paul advised him to set up an example in speech and conduct especially in public reading, in preaching and teaching. The Holy Spirit would work with him in these activities.
As a young overseer, Timothy had the advantages of being malleable and able to improve. That was why Paul instructed him to become more visible in the duties ----- public reading, preaching and teaching. Then Timothy would be able to show the congregation his progress. When Timothy was executing his duties, he will save his hearers and himself!

It never occurs to me that becoming a deacon, a priest or a bishop will save oneself. Fr. Ng explained to us new trends in Moral Theology after Vatican II. One of such trends is the shift from observing regulations and rules to a fundamental option. The focus has shifted from an external, air-tight legislation to the well-being of the moral subject himself. Morality is less concerned with deciding which action is ethical than deciding what kind of a person I want to become. Deep inside, do I choose God or do I choose to satisfy my wants?
Because of the contamination of sins, we know less of ourselves than God knows us. Therefore, God calls us to liberate ourselves and to fulfil our full potentials. That is why in saving his hearers, Timothy would save his own soul at the same time. Timothy would not be fight the battle alone. The Holy Spirit, the gift of God would carry him through. The same applies to each and everyone of us.

Dear Lord, You have been very patient in calling and guiding my steps. Grant me the Holy Spirit to strengthen my legs to follow You. Amen.

Feast of Ss. Cornelius & Cyprian (Year B)

The Catholic Church celebrates the martyrdom of two saints in the 3^rd century, Ss. Cornelius, a pope in 251-253 and Cyprian (200-258), a bishop at Carthage. We know more about St. Cyprian because from him came the following famous quotes:
"Outside the Church there is no salvation --- extra ecclesiam nulla salus" which is found in his letter to Jubaianus about the baptism of heretics and
"Without the Church as mother, one cannot have God as father" which is found in his treatise on the unity of the church.
From these quotes, we can envision a worried bishop troubled by schisms caused by Roman persecutions. The Church had to go through seventy more years of persecution before Constantine appeared on the scene. Some weaker Christians gave up their faith and later begged to return to the Church. How would they be accepted?
In some parts of the world, spiritual men and women (confessors) could simply declare other Christians' sins forgiven and readmitted back to the fellowship as if the bishops were non-existent! The unity of the church was threatened. It was St. Cyprian who fought hard to establish that salvation is linked with church unity which in turn is inseparable from the fellowship of the bishops. As a result, the Church is firmly institutionalized after the administrative pattern of the Roman Empire. Of course, in the course of the next sixteen centuries, the Church has to constantly fight back the encroachment of state influences on church affairs.

Chapter three of the First Epistle to Timothy is important for the church because Paul laid down the requirements on bishops and deacons. At that time, bishops were probably no more than an "overseer" of a church. Their teaching role evolved stronger in the later ages.
There were some requirements common to both bishops and deacons. For example, they must be husbands of one wife (1 Timothy 3:2, 12), good managers of their households and children (1 Timothy 3:4, 12), not greedy nor addicted to wine (1 Timothy 3:3, 8). I must apply myself diligently to fulfil these and other requirements so that I may serve the Lord and the Church well in the future.

Paul sees the church as the bulwark of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15b). He confesses the superiority of Christianity in the following terms:
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory (1 Timothy 3:16).
Therefore, we should be proud of being a Christian. We should count ourselves lucky and blessed to be able to behold the glory of God in flesh, to receive the Holy Spirit as a down payment for our future salvation and to sing praises to our God in the company of angels. Halleluia.

Dear Lord, some particular brothers and sisters in the Church are difficult to live with and build up our frustrations against the Church. Help us, Lord, to love our Mother Church and support our brethren in our church life. St. Cyprian. Pray for us. Amen.

Feast of Sorrows of the BVM (Year B)

The Catholic Church honours the Blessed Virgin Mary because she has been a model for all Christians. From all the gospels, we learn that her life has always been Christ-centred. Contemplating on the events of her life will always lead us to Christ. Though we can unearth flaws in most of the people mentioned in the Bible, be they heroic, saintly and holy ones, we cannot find a single fault in the life of the Blessed Virgin.
for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed (Luke 1:48).
Her life has never been easy. Therefore, it is not easy to lead a blessed life. The Church teaches us to contemplate, in particular, seven sorrows of the BVM. This is what today's feast is all about.

This morning there was no school because typhoon signal number 8 was still hoisted. The Observatory switched the signal to number 3 at ten so that banks and the stock market might operate in the afternoon. This evening, we could still attend the Moral Theology class in the Seminary. Fr. Ng was still talking about the historical development of moral theology in the Church. He came to the post-Vatican II period. Morality has evolved from keeping the laws to responding faithfully to God's call.
Because of time limit, Fr. Ng had explained two kinds of call. The first kind is the call to repent, a call of conversion. He illustrated this with the story of Adam.
Adam hid himself away from God after eating the fruit of knowledge.
But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:9)
Of course God knew where Adam was hiding. But Adam had lost his way after sinning. Therefore, God's call was a call to repent, to turn back to the right path. God had given the man ample opportunities to turn back. However, Adam had failed to repent.
The second kind is the call of election. Fr. Ng illustrated this with the story of Abraham. It is a different kind of call from that of conversion. The focus is not on the defects of the person called but on the opening up of a new horizon, a new destiny for the person. It would be adventurous because the future is unknown. Abraham had succeeded in responding to this call of election.
I think the Blessed Virgin, and thus all Christians, are a similar case in point. God sent Archangel Gabriel to announce to Mary that she would be the mother of Christ. Mary responded positively (Luke 1:26-38). You may argue that at that time, Mary was overwhelmed and did not understand the call at all. She did not know the consequences of becoming the mother of Jesus.
But who understands? Who would understand first and become a Christian later? I am afraid nobody ever does this because faith in God can never be totally rational. Like Abraham, answering God's call of election is venturing into the unknown. Faith and hope in God's promise are our only support.

Dear Lord, You gave us Your mother to be our mother to back us up on earth on our pilgrimage home. We cordially thank You. May the intercession of our heavenly Mother help us lead a Christocentric life. Amen.

Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (Year B)

The crucifix is a symbol of Christianity in general and a symbol of salvation in particular. There are several feasts in which the Catholic Church venerates the crucifix. Today is the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross when she celebrates the recovery of the cross on which our Lord and Saviour was crucified as a political criminal. Our Lord could have escaped in several opportunities. Yet he obediently offered himself up as a perfect sacrifice to redeem all mankind.

The crucifix is a simple but beautiful symbol. The vertical bar joins heaven and earth, God and sinners. The crucified Son of God became a conduit joining them all. The horizontal bar joins a man with his fellow men. The crucified Jesus opened his arms to embrace all mankind, joining them into a family of the redeemed.
For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ
as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth (Ephesians 1:9-10).

Today, we read of the story of the Bronze Serpent in the wilderness when the Israelites made their way around Edom. They complained against God and Moses.
And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." (Numbers 21:5)
Such complains were harmful to the people themselves. They could not return to Egypt because Pharaoh would butcher them. If they rejected Moses as their leader, all the people would perish in the wilderness. To wake them up, God sent fiery serpents to bite them, killing many of them (Numbers 21:6). But God did not enjoy punishing them. He took every opportunity to show them His mercy. Therefore, when the people repented, God told Moses to heal them with a bronze serpent hanging on a pole.
And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live."
So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live (Numbers 21:8-9).
Christians immediately recognize this prefigure of the crucifixion of Jesus. Through looking up to the crucifix, we are healed. Of course, we need to open up our mind's eyes to penetrate into the salvational meaning under the apparent failure of Jesus' mission. The death of Jesus is a sacrament. Through this visible sign, God bestows the saving grace to all who look up, all who believe. This reminds us of the Sunday reading. There, Jesus taught his disciples to carry their cross to follow him.
And he called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Mark 8:34).
Our Lord Jesus set up a model for us to follow. He himself denied his own free will, surrendered himself to the will of the Father and died obediently on the cross. Thus, our Lord has won for himself the whole world. In him, God and the whole Creation are reconciled.

Dear Lord, on this Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, let us carry our cross joyfully to follow you. You have won the whole world with this crucifix. I look forward to the glorious breaking in of Your kingdom. Amen.

Twenty Fourth Ordinary Sunday (Year B)

Yesterday, we learned the concept of a Person when the professor mentioned the Blessed Trinity in passing. All Christians believe that there is only One God who reveals to us in three different Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The professor stressed that a human person is a very inadequate concept to understand a divine person. Yet, this is the best tool we have in hand to try to know the Trinity. All the time, we should be aware of this limitation.

So, what is a person? What are the characteristics of a person?
Firstly, a person has the ability to know his surrounding through perceptions. In knowing the objects around him, a person is able to realize that he is a knowing subject. He is aware of his own existence as a knowing subject.
Secondly, a person has the freedom to make moral decisions. In exercising this freedom, he is aware that he is a free subject.
Lasting, a person engages in relationships with other subjects, other persons. In these relations, he is aware that he is a loving subject.
These three characteristics define a human person. We make use of this limited concept to try to understand the three divine persons in God.

As is always the case, the above exposition is an ideal situation. In real life situations, a human person may not be able to live up fully his personhood. An old man suffering from Alzheimer's disease, people slipped into coma, schizophrenics and the like might not have any more self awareness. People suffering from compulsive obsessive disorders, drug addicts and the like are not free to make choices. There are also many lonely people living in a crowd. They fail to establish nourishing loving relationships with other people, probably because of some personality defects. Therefore, it is paramount for us to maintain a healthy body and a healthy personality in order to live up fully as a human person. The Torah teaches us to love our neighbours as ourselves (Leviticus 19:18). If we do not love ourselves, how can we love our neighbours?

Though it is important to hold on to our personhood, going to the extreme can backfire. This is the meaning behind the Greek myth of Narcissus. A healthy dose of self-love is essential for our growth. However, when our ego, rather than God, becomes the centre of our life, we are doomed to self-destruction like Narcissus. Jesus taught the same idea in the gospel reading today.

We are at the turning point of the gospel of St. Mark. Jesus was turning towards Jerusalem to fulfil his Messianic mission. On his way, he did an opinion poll and asked his disciples what the common people thought about him. John the Baptist, Elijah or one of the prophets were the answers. Then, Jesus hit the eye of the bull. He asked them who they thought he was. Peter spoke up and declared that Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:27-30). So, Jesus revealed to them the Messianic plan. The Messiah would be rejected, killed and on the third day he would rise to life again. This plan was totally unacceptable to the apostles. They had given up everything to follow Jesus. How would they expect a nil return on all their investments? Peter tried to persuade Jesus to give up his plan. In return, Peter was scolded in front of all other apostles.
But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter, and said, "Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men." (Mark 8:33)
Jesus was right. Peter and all the others had not yet transcended the human level. They were still thinking of keeping the integrity of their selves because no sensible man would seek his own death. At that stage, they were not prepared to accept God's plan. Indeed, without God's grace, who can? The teaching was too hard, too difficult for them.

Dear Lord, we need Your grace to help us transcend. Have mercy on us, on our weaknesses. Grant us Your saving grace so that we may live and grow. Amen.

Human efforts without grace

My boss cares very much about how people look at his achievement. He is very proud of the effort he has put into his career, how he works his way up to the present position. After HKCEE, he did not receive any support from his family and he worked part-time to support his post-secondary studies. Nowadays, he calls himself an administrative expert. Bring him your problems and he will solve them for you. He is our Administrator Almighty. However, he probably is not aware that he himself is the root of many of our problems. He creates a problem situation for us and comes to "save" us.
I have no intention to belittle his efforts. His present achievement is admirable. However, he does not listen, does not put himself in our position. He wants things done in his ways and grabs all the honours. He enjoys highlighting the faults of his subordinates. If things go wrong, he will blame you and doesn't take up his share of responsibilities. Would you serve him like serving the Lord? (Colossians 3:23-24)

That probably illustrates why Paul emphasized so much about grace. As a Pharisee, Paul knew the mentality of most Pharisees who believed that their efforts to keep the laws down to the minutest details would guarantee salvation. Such a worldview was shattered on the road to Damascus. Throughout his life, Saul had been observing the laws. Yet, such piety did not bring him any closer to God.
In his eyes, Christians were dangerous heretics because they believed a carpenter to be God. Just as he was sincerely persecuting these fellow Jews, hoping to bring them back to their right mind, Jesus revealed himself to him.
Saul came to the understanding that it was grace, the free gift from God that brought him salvation. All his previous efforts in piety did not.
I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 1:13b-14).
Grace and mercy come from God. The theological virtues of faith and love also come from God who enables us to believe in Him and to love Him. Therefore, is there anything we can be proud of? Can our piety and hard work be our pride? Rather, we should be humble and grateful for the opportunities God offers us to serve Him. Yes, I serve God and my boss is not my God. At most, he is only His agent. But am I not His agent as well? So, bosses. Don't boss around.
St. Paul did not see himself Paul Almighty. Rather, he saw himself only an instrument of God for the benefits of the others. He was setting his example for a budding bishop.
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners;
but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:15-16).
Of course, it is enjoyable for oneself to be honoured. But isn't it a higher-order enjoyment to empower your subordinates to achieve honour? Then, as the mentor of your subordinates, his honour will definitely and finally go to you. Paul was doing this. I would like to follow his footstep. Hey boss, would you?

Dear Lord, may honour and glory go to You, not to me. I am only an unworthy servant. I pray for my boss, hoping that he will one day see the truth. I pray for myself that I can steadily follow the footstep of St. Paul. Amen.

The Making of a Bishop

Timothy was a disciple of St. Paul. He was baptized together with Eunice, his mother and Lois, grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5) when Paul was visiting Lystra in his first missionary journey. When Paul visited the city again in his second missionary journey in around 50 A.D., he took Timothy along as an assistant in his preaching. Timothy was a half-Jew. His father was Greek and Eunice Jewish. In order to avoid unnecessary troubles from Jewish attackers, Paul took the precaution to circumcise Timothy before taking him along (Acts 16:1-3). Some fifteen years later, Paul consecrated Timothy a bishop to oversee the church in Ephesus. The church has collected two epistles written to Timothy, giving him advice to work as a bishop to oversee a church. Probably Timothy was still relatively young. Paul felt that he needed some pastoral advice. That is why the Church calls these epistles "Pastoral Epistles".

From the epistle, we know that in Ephesus, Timothy had to deal with heresies. Some people taught a different faith. Others spent their time doing curious, yet useless, tasks.
As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine,
nor to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the divine training that is in faith (1 Timothy 1:3-4)
The first and foremost responsibility of a bishop was to oversee a church. A church is a community of redeemed believers. Therefore, keeping this community together has been the primary duty of a bishop.
Heresies break up a community. When people believe in different things, or even contradictory things, schism would happen. In our daily dealing with people, we should be tolerant towards dissidents because it is morally bad to impose belief on others. Why is it bad to make people believe in the truth? It is all because of free will. A person must choose for himself, out of his free will, what to believe. Therefore, an imposed faith is worthless.
Here is a contradiction. On one hand, a bishop has to respect the free will, the conscience of a man. On the other, the bishop has to maintain the communion of the church, thus attempts to stamp out heresies. How does a bishop balance the two different demands?
A bishop should nip a heresy in the bud. Therefore, his job becomes a preventive one. Prevent the budding of heresies is better than subsequent inquisitions. That was why Paul advised Timothy to stamp out myths, genealogies and speculations.

Scholars generally believe that Paul wrote this epistle in his old age. His view on laws has become more mature. He no longer advocated faith to the exclusion of performing the law. That was the position in the Romans and Galatians. But now, Paul said something about the advantages of obeying the laws. He was still a Pharisee.
Now we know that the law is good, if any one uses it lawfully,
understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers (1 Timothy 1:8-9).
Good men do not need laws imposed on them. They do good because it is good, it is right to do so. Average men need laws to remind them not to do bad things. Bad men need the laws to scare them into doing good. Laws are useful for average men and below. As a bishop, Timothy needed to set up a correct understanding and attitude towards law.

Dear Lord, Timothy went through trainings under St. Paul to become a good and competent shepherd. I wish I may be able to serve Your fold competently in the future. Amen.

Christocentric Ethics

Historically speaking, Christianity is an outgrowth of Judaism. Therefore, Christian Moral Theology has a tradition that can be traced back to the Exodus experience. The first half of the Christian Bible is the Old Testament which covers the Hebrew Scripture. Therefore, the Israelite experience provides some guidelines for Christian living.
The Israelites received the Ten Commandments as a sign of their covenant with a God who delivered them from the bondage in Egypt. They were proud of their laws and precepts because those laws and precepts were given by God.
For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?
And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day? (Deuteronomy 4:7-8)
The Torah were instructions for the Israelites to lead a holy life. Observing them is a guarantee of the Sinai covenant. Therefore, Israelite ethics was theocentric and based on a covenant.

In the New Testament, Christ came to show us the way to return to God. After his ascension, his disciples began to preach his good news to the Jews, then to the Gentiles. St. Paul and St. John taught about a Christocentric way of living. "Abide in him" is a cliché which appears five times in the First Epistle of St. John. Paul was even more explicit. It was no longer I who lived, but Christ who lived in him.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
In the Epistle to the Colossians, we will inevitable find some exhortations to lead a Christocentric moral life. But before he dealt with various relationships, Paul laid down the general Christocentric principle first.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:15-17).
The whole person is saturated with the peace and words of Christ. Then whatever one does, he does and speaks in the name of Christ.
After laying down the principle, Paul dealt with the most significant relations one by one. The relations Paul dealt with were all power relations --- husband and wife, father and children, master and slaves.
In these exhortations, Paul seemed to be siding with the powerful to oppress the weaker ones. He told wives to be subject to husbands, children to obey parents while slaves their masters. Each time, Paul mentioned the approval of the Lord of such subordinations.
Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord (Colossians 3:18).
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord (Colossians 3:20).
Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord (Colossians 3:22).
Paul never mentioned the Lord to "manhandle" husbands and fathers, except for masters whom Paul mildly protested to the Lord.
Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1).
Of course, such an interpretation is not doing justice to Paul because we cut up his epistle and quote him out of context. Paul did not develop his opinions on the relationship between husbands and wives like he did in the first epistle to the Corinthians and the epistle to the Ephesians. He simply wrote two lines because earlier on, he had already told the men (husbands and fathers) to live with Christ in their hearts, to do and speak in the name of Christ. So, when Paul told the husbands to love their wives, he expected them to love their wives with Christ's love for the Church.
Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them (Colossians 3:19).
When Paul told the patriarchs not to provoke their children, he expected them to patiently teach their children with Christ's patience towards the disciples.
Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged (Colossians 3:21).
Such an interpretation would be consistent with what Paul wrote in other epistles such as the Ephesians.
In short, a Christian life is a Christocentric life.

Dear Lord, come into my heart and be its Master. Steer my life towards the service of the needy. Amen.

True Conversions

In explaining Lonergan's "Method in Theology", Fr. Robert Ng touches on the topic of conversion. Fr. Lonergan was discussing the eight functional specialties in theology. He mentioned that conversion provides theology with its foundations.
Theology cannot be pure speculation. There must be some empirical basis. The experience may come from above, like the conversion of Saul on the road to Damascus. This experience gave rise to Pauline theology, especially that of the mystical body of Christ. The experience may also come from below, like the exploitations farmers in South America suffered. This experience gave rise to the Liberation Theology.

Each one of us has taken a long time to build up our own values and modes of thoughts. When such values and modes of thoughts are challenged by some new experiences which we cannot deny or ignore, we need to incorporate and harmonize them with our system. Then, conversion comes about. Fr. Lonergan says that there are three kinds of conversion: intellectual, moral and religious.
In explaining these conversions, Fr. Robert Ng made a very bold claim that without religious conversion, one will not do well in theology. Some people thought that studying theology might help them remove their doubts and uncertainties in their faith. But Fr. Ng warned that religious conversion is essential in the study of theology. Conversion comes first, not last. You do not become a good Christian after studying theology. Theology cannot cure your doubt in God. Rather, you must start with a good Christian intention before you study theology. Fr. Ng even claimed that a Buddhist monk's achievement in Christian theology can only be superficial and vice versa.

St. Paul gave us some guidelines to lead a converted life.
Firstly, it is our attitude.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-3).
After conversion, our minds should seek things above. The ascension of Jesus, the assumption of the BVM have all demonstrated our destiny. Our destiny lies above at the right hand of God. This is where we should be aiming at. All our efforts should be directed at that direction. Such an attitude has helped thousands of martyrs go through tortures and death. It will also help us through our difficulties in the present situation.
This attitude also has an underside. It is that we have already died. Conversion amounts to death. At death, all the debts of a person are wiped out. Our new life has already been united with Christ who has reached God in heaven and is sitting at the most honoured throne.
However, death without a new life would make Christianity a joke. So, Paul made the following remark to remind the Colossian Christians.
seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature (Colossians 3:9b-10a)
Secondly, it is our behaviour which must be compatible with our call.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).
But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another (Colossians 3:8-9a).
Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all (Colossians 3:12).
These are very pragmatic pieces of advice on behaviour. Coupled with the correct attitude, eternal life is unstoppable. Paul is a concrete living example of what religious conversion should be like. His was a religious conversion from above.

Dear Lord, I long for Your house. Allow me to serve You among the needy brothers and sing praises to You in Your house. Amen.