Sour and Sweet experiences

The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, taken from the first word of the Introit. We should rejoice because the Lord is near. Fr. Lejeune celebrated the 11 a.m. Mass with us. He shared with us an obvious truth in life. Our experiences are never one-sided. There is sweetness amid sourness.

He was very humble. Last Wednesday when the Diocese celebrated her own feast day, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM, he was co-celebrating beside the Bishop in honour of his Diamond jubilee of ordination. Commenting on this, he said that his priestly life has been nothing but mediocre. He thanked the Lord for he was able to rejoice even in times of hardship as a missionary. He turned to the reading of Isaiah today to illustrate his point.
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,the desert shall rejoice and blossom;like the crocus (Isaiah 35:1)
Difficulties we meet in our daily life harden our hearts and dampen our faith. They make our souls dry and lifeless like the wilderness, like the desert. With God's deliverance, we are animated. God's grace bursts forth in us and brings forth life again in us.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;
the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water (Isaiah 35:6b-7a).
Life is never meant to be a bed or roses. Difficulties and frustrations that we meet in life are meant to galvanize and polish us, pushing us towards greater maturity. Thank God, we stumble. Thank God, we fail.

However, there was a verse that troubled us.
Say to those who are of a fearful heart, "Be strong, fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you." (Isaiah 35:4)
What does venegeance mean?
It is not right to simply look at the word vengeance alone. It should be read together with recompense. This is an echo of Deuteronomy.
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, ...
For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, ...
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand (Deuteronomy 32:35a, 36a, 39)
The servants of God usually suffer in the present age because they go against the current. They challenge the injustice of the system. They uncover the mistakes of those in power. Their very presence put the self-righteous into shame. Consequently, they suffer persecutions.
God is their only hope. He will come with punishments and rewards.

Fr. Lejeune brought to mind the case of Liu Xiao Bo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. It is an honour for Liu and China but at the same time, Liu is still serving his prison sentence which most of us think is unjustified. Many countries, under the duress of China, "boycotted" the ceremony. Confronting such a powerful country like China, even USA and Russia dare not insist. I believe that nothing can happen without God's permission. Therefore, it takes God, and God alone, to bend China into submission. These words did not come from Fr. Lejeune. They came out from my finger tips.

Dear Lord, I pray with Liu that he would be the last to be imprisoned for the crime of free speech. I also pray for our mother country that she will one day open her ears and heart to listen to dissent and democratic voices. Amen.