The homily of Fr. Milanese has always been inspiring to me. The way he interprets the bible passages opens my eyes. For example, in my homily on the Lord's Baptism earlier this month, I interpreted 1Corinthians 1:12 in the light of baptismal practices since John the Baptist. I said that the Christian church was yet to become formal. The baptismal rites of different Christian communities were not yet unified. Borrowing from the Jewish baptismal practices, disciples were baptized and attached to their masters. Therefore, "I belong to Paul" because Paul baptized me and I became his disciples. "I belong to Apollo" because Apollo baptized me and I became his disciples etc. Of course, such a convention would easily lead to factionalism like what was happening in the Church of Corinth. Paul was prompted to write this epistle to reprimand them.
This morning, Fr. Milanese gave a different perspective to the situation. He said that it is natural for people to believe that they are right and the others are right. Therefore, it is understandable that they would borrow from some authority to strengthen their own positions. That explains why believers in the Corinthian Church claimed to belong to different apostles. In hindsight, these apostles were questionable authority. Christ should be our ultimate authority and we should align our position to Jesus' teaching.
Jesus came from the margin of Judaism. He was a marginalized Jew because he was raised in Galilee which was geographically separated from Judaea by Samaria. Gentile influence in Galilee was heavy ever since the time of Isaiah as it was witnessed in Isaiah 9:1. In New Testament time, the situation was no better as shown by the remark of Nathanael in John 1:46. Therefore, Jesus knew very well what it meant to be a social outcast as he himself had been nearly one. No wonder Jesus did not go to Jerusalem to recruit learned scribes or Pharisees to follow him. They were Jewish authorities. Most of them definitely had difficulty in humbling themselves to follow a self proclaimed Rabbi, a carpenter from Galilee. Rather, as it is read in the gospel today, Jesus called his first disciples among fishermen at the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22). They did not have to humble themselves because they were already lowly enough. Their subsequent achievements would scarcely be attributed to their personal qualities and efforts. It had to be the work of God. In short, God's glory is best revealed in the humble and the lowly. Christians can never abandon its roots, the poor, the outcast and the marginalized of the society if they want to stay true with their Master.
Today, the deacons held their monthly gathering in the Officers' Club House in the Stanley Prison. They shared the joy and difficulties in prison ministry. I feel blessed to be able to join them.
Dear Jesus, in visiting the prisoners, we visit You. Amen.
Monday, 27 January 2014
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Jesus is the Son of God
Christians believe in supernatural things, things found beyond and even above the natural order, if direction still makes sense outside the natural order. Simply put, Christians believes in spiritual things which cannot be detected or measured with scientific instruments. For examples, angels and demons which are actually fallen angels, a very simplistic model indeed. Christians do not have an elaborate theology of angels and demons because they believe that there is a chain of commands. There are nine ranks/orders of angels and only angels of adjacent orders can communicate with each other. Humans can only communicate directly with ordinary angels which can communicate with man and archangels one rank above. That explains the poverty of information about angels of higher ranks such as Cherubim and Seraphim. We could only know of their labels and could not communicate with them directly. Had we been able to describe and explain them in great details, such a theology would have been pure fantasy.
Of course, there are a few exceptions. For examples, Gabriel visited the Blessed Virgin to invite her to become the Mother of the Son of God. Why didn't God send an ordinary angel to make the announcement? The fact that God broke the rank, the protocol means something very seriously ... OK, Cut the crab. For the Son of God to incarnate as a human being is out of order, is a disruption of protocol according to medieval angelology. But after all, he is God. Nothing is impossible for him.
My two eldest sons were born one year and a few days apart. So today, a Sunday, we are able to celebrate their birthdays together. All my children were baptized a few months after birth and I have little worries about Wulstan my second son. But Hilary, my first born has not attended church since secondary school. His relationship with God has been my concern. But God has always been looking after him. He studied Chemistry. Yet in his first year undergrad, he could not enter the Chemistry Department and stayed one year in Religious and Cultural Studies before he switched back to Chemistry the next year. I teased him that he could not run away from God. In fact, he has helped me through my Biblical Diploma course because I could borrow a lot of reference books from the university through him.
Hilary does not speak much to me. He did not have a happy childhood because he spent his first three years with my mum and we took him back only during the weekends. He finally returned to us when he started kindergarten. My wife feels guilty about this arrangement of mine to pacify my mum. Now that my parents are living with us, tension is high in the house. In particular, Hilary avoids my younger brother. Their relationship is rather messy.
Don't make me wrong, Hilary is a good son and a good brother. It is only I that is unable to shake away my worries. I pray to God that one day, Hilary will return to Church and to serve Him. Tonight, we have an enjoyable evening, opening oysters and cracking jokes together. I thank my God heartily.
Dear Jesus, I am sure you have no difficulty in relating to your Father. Help my son and me improve our relationship. Amen.
Of course, there are a few exceptions. For examples, Gabriel visited the Blessed Virgin to invite her to become the Mother of the Son of God. Why didn't God send an ordinary angel to make the announcement? The fact that God broke the rank, the protocol means something very seriously ... OK, Cut the crab. For the Son of God to incarnate as a human being is out of order, is a disruption of protocol according to medieval angelology. But after all, he is God. Nothing is impossible for him.
 |
| Father and Son open oysters hand in glove. |
Hilary does not speak much to me. He did not have a happy childhood because he spent his first three years with my mum and we took him back only during the weekends. He finally returned to us when he started kindergarten. My wife feels guilty about this arrangement of mine to pacify my mum. Now that my parents are living with us, tension is high in the house. In particular, Hilary avoids my younger brother. Their relationship is rather messy.
Don't make me wrong, Hilary is a good son and a good brother. It is only I that is unable to shake away my worries. I pray to God that one day, Hilary will return to Church and to serve Him. Tonight, we have an enjoyable evening, opening oysters and cracking jokes together. I thank my God heartily.
Dear Jesus, I am sure you have no difficulty in relating to your Father. Help my son and me improve our relationship. Amen.
Sunday, 12 January 2014
以聖詠祈禱
主受洗節（甲年）
「主受洗節」標誌著聖誕期的結束和常年期的開始。過了今天，神父改著綠色的祭披；輔祭用綠色的索帶；歌詠團不唱光榮頌，在讀福音後不會重唱「亞肋路亞」，而所聽到的福音多是比較沉悶的耶穌教訓和傳教事蹟。常年期不及聖誕期、復活期那麽多采多姿，那麽興高采烈。聖教會把禮儀年安排成這樣，有甚麽意義呢？
我們嘗試從教友生活的另一個方面尋找線索。廿一世紀以前的玫瑰經祗有十五端：就是歡喜五端、痛苦五端與及榮福五端，幫助教友默想救贖工程的三個重要階段，就是降生、受難和復活。多謝我們的前任教宗，真福若望保祿二世，他在公元2002年引進「光明五端」，目的在於
「賦予玫瑰經嶄新的生命，並在基督徒靈修中重新燃起對玫瑰經的興趣，以它做為深入基督內心深處的真正門戶。」
原來常年期是為了「深入基督內心的深處」，是鼓勵我們深入默想和體會耶穌的傳教奧蹟和我們的關係。
其實，我們的信仰得來不易。基督徒相信耶穌是三位一體的天主的第二位聖子。基督徒要保衛耶穌既是天主又是人的真理，時常腹背受敵。教會之外，有羅馬帝國的迫害，有學者質疑福音的真實性及歷史性；教會之內，又有過份熱心的信徒對經文穿鑿附會，結果弄巧反拙。
例如，今天「耶穌受洗」的經文，原本是一篇很理想的「三位一體」道理的依據。新約中雖然從來沒有運用「三位一體」的術語，卻在「耶穌受洗」的經文中，明明白白地道出我們所信的天主是具有聖父、聖子及聖神的不同位格的。但有些人反而用這篇經文來質疑耶穌是天主的身份。說甚麽耶穌祗是一個凡人，在受洗時聖神降臨到他身上，令他有行神跡的能力。當他在十字架上受難時，天主撤回了聖神，所以耶穌在上字架上呼喊「我的天主，我的天主，祢為甚麽捨棄了我？」 他呼喊「我的天主」，他當然不是天主喇；如果天主會死，天主又怎會是天主呢！
幸好，曾與耶穌一起生活過的宗徒們死後，歷代有不少的殉道者，教父和聖師，如聖猶思定，聖安博，聖巴西略，聖奧思定和聖多瑪斯等，捍衛著基督信仰的真理。有勇敢的傳教士，例如聖依納爵和聖方濟各沙勿略等，不辭勞苦，飄洋過海為我們宣講基督的信仰。大家在洗禮的儀式之中，所答唱的「諸聖禱文」，一再提醒大家，我們的信仰是一脈相承，經歷兩千年的血汗，由宗徒、教父、聖師和傳教士所傳下來的。大家對「諸聖禱文」內所呼籲的聖人，又認識多少呢？
回過頭來，我們姑且放下那些艱深的「三位一體」神學的辯論，運用我們的人情常理，想一想「耶穌受洗」有甚麽意義。我們接受洗禮，其中一個目的是洗去以往一切的罪惡，從新做人。很自然，人們會問，嬰兒沒有犯罪，還沒有正式做人，為何要領洗，要從新做人呢？大家會怎樣回答呢？〔停頓一會〕
再追問一條難一點點的問題。嬰兒有原罪，需要洗禮。但耶穌身為天主，沒有原罪了吧，為甚麽他要受洗呢？是為了所謂「立榜樣」，「做騷」嗎？大家又會怎樣回答呢？
可能你們在慕道班的時候，導師講過一些簡化了，容易為人接受的理由，例如上述的「立榜樣」、「耶穌進入水中祝聖將來付洗的水，使它有洗去罪惡的能力」、「耶穌表示他謙遜，樂於與罪人為伍」、或者「領洗加入教會的大家庭」等等其他很多理由，未能一一盡錄。這些都是好的答案，比較直覺，容易為人所接受。但耶穌自己又如何回答呢？
三本對觀福音之中，祗有【瑪竇】獨家報導耶穌的答覆。
耶穌說：「因為我們應當這樣，以完成全義。」
耶穌不是說「我」，而是說「我們」。這個「我們」當然不是耶穌與若翰洗者之間的事，而是以後世世代代願意皈依天主的人的事。所以洗禮不單是個人的事，而是教會，是得救團體的事。
耶穌說「應當這樣」，所以洗禮不是可有可無的，而是必要的。當然，是不是一定要浸在約旦河纔算數呢?倒水在額頭上可以嗎？由教宗為你付洗是否更有效呢？在聖堂以外可以洗禮嗎？連水也沒有，可以洗嗎？凡此種種，就交給禮儀專家去處理吧。
耶穌說的「全義」是指甚麽呢？很不幸，這裡很容易引起文化差異上的誤解。耶穌不是說希臘語的，但福音是用希臘文寫成的，希臘文的「義」未必能完全表達得出猶太人心目中的「義」，更何況中文的「義」呢？所以，「以經解經」是一個比較可靠的辦法。耶穌十分喜歡用聖詠祈禱，連在十字架上時，他還在唸聖詠22篇，「我的天主，我的天主。祢為甚麽捨棄了我？」又聖詠98篇說
「上主已經宣佈了自己的救恩，將自己的正義啟示給萬民。」
原來，天主的正義，就是等同天主的救恩。所以，耶穌所說的「全義」可以理解為「完全的、完滿的救恩」，即是說，我們應該接受洗禮，以獲得完滿的救恩。教會遵循救主的教訓，施行洗禮及其他聖事，幫助信友獲得完滿的救恩。
從這次聖經反省的經驗中，我們可以總結出運用聖詠祈禱的重要。教會的日課祈禱正是以聖詠為主要的骨幹，再加上其他的聖經章約作為默想的材料，確是設計精美的聖經靈修。古代未有印刷術之前，經書得來不易，而且大部份人都是文盲，所以日課便成了神職人員的專利，而平民百姓祗有靠玫瑰經來做靈修。今天大部份人的教育水平高了，智能手機又方便，唸日課，用聖詠祈禱，用聖經做靈修已經是輕而易舉的事。所以，大家不妨在「學習年」，為自己定一個靈修的目標，除了學習梵二的文憲外，也學習用聖經靈修，用聖詠祈禱，從而進入耶穌基督的內心深處。天主保祐。
The Baptism of the Lord (Year A)
The Feast of the Baptism of Lord marks the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of Ordinary Sundays. After today, the colour of the stole and chasuble worn by priests is green; so is the cincture. The choir does not sing the Gloria, nor repeats the Halleluia after the reading of the Gospel. The readings would be less exciting stories and teachings of the public ministry of Christ. Compared with Christmas and Easter, Ordinary Sundays are less colourful and less vibrant. What is the purpose behind such an arrangement in the Liturgical Year?
Let us look at it from another perspective of Catholic practices. Before the 21st century, the Rosary consisted of only 15 decades: the Joyful Mysteries, the Painful Mysteries and the Glorious Mysteries. These 3 groups of 5 decades help us meditate the three important stages of redemption, i.e. nativity, passion and resurrection. Thanks to our former Pope, the Blessed John Paul II, who in 2002, introduced the 5 Mysteries of Light. The purpose is
“… to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary’s place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ …” (Rosarium Virginis Mariæ 19 p 2, 2002)
Thus, Ordinary Sundays are meant for us to enter into the depths of the Heart of Christ, to encourage us to meditate and experience our relationships with the mysteries of Jesus’ public ministry.
Indeed, our faith does not come by easily. Christians believe that Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In order to defend both the divinity and humanity of Christ, Christians have often been assaulted from both sides. Outside the Church, the reigning states persecute them. Learned scholars question the truthfulness and historicity of the gospels. Within the Church, overzealous believers try to rationalize the scriptures but end up propagating heresies. For example, the text of Jesus’ baptism should have been a piece of ideal prooftext for the doctrine of Trinity. Though the New Testament does not use the jargon of “Trinity”, this piece of text speaks clearly and loudly that there are three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the God we believe. However, some people made use of this piece of text to question the divinity of Jesus. They argued that Jesus was a man only. When he received baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon him, giving him the power to work miracles. When Jesus died on the cross, God took back the Holy Spirit. That was why Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus cried out “my God”. Then he could not be God himself. If God were to die, God would not be God!
Luckily, after the death of those apostles who had walked with Jesus, there have been many martyrs, Church Fathers and Doctors, such as St. Justin the Martyr, St. Ambrose, St. Basil, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas etc. who defended the truth of Christianity. There have been courageous missionaries such as St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier who tirelessly travelled across the oceans to proclaim Christianity to us. When we recite the “Litany of the Saints” during the baptism rites, it reminds us that our faith is apostolic. It undergoes two thousand years of sweat and blood and is handed down to us through the Apostles, Church Fathers, Confessors and Missionaries. Among the saints in the Litany, how many do we know?
Let’s put the difficult theological debates of the Trinity aside and make use of our common sense to think about the meanings of Jesus’ baptism for us. One of the purposes of baptism is to wash away our sins committed in the past and turn a new leaf. Naturally, people would ask that infants have not sinned, that they even have not started leading a life, why should infants be baptized to start a new life? How would you answer? (Pause)
Let’s follow up with a more difficult question. Babies have Original Sin and need baptism. But Jesus is God and without sin whatsoever. Why did he receive baptism? Did he want to “set up an exemplar”, to put on a show? How would you answer?
Perhaps you have heard some simplified and palatable reasons during catechumen classes such as “setting up an exemplar” above; or “blessing the water so as to give it the power to forgive sins”, “showing the humility of Jesus who is willing to identify himself with sinners” or “joining the Church, the community of the redeemed” etc. These are good and more intuitive answers easily accepted by people. But what was Jesus’ answer?
Among the three Synoptic gospels, Matthew has the following exclusive report:
Jesus said, “… for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)
Jesus did not say “me” but “us”. Of course, this “us” does not mean Jesus and the Baptist only. It includes all those who turn to God in the generations to come. Baptism is not a personal matter. It is the concern of the Church, the business of the redeemed community.
Jesus said, “… it is fitting …” Therefore, baptism is not optional. It is a necessity. Of course, do only baptisms in River Jordan count? Is it acceptable to pour water on the forehead only? Is the baptism received from the hands of the Pope more effective? Can we baptize outside the Church? If there is no water, can we baptize? Let us leave all these curiosities to the liturgical theologians to settle.
Jesus said, “… all righteousness …” Unfortunately, because of cultural differences, many misunderstandings will arise. Jesus did not speak Greek but the gospels were written in Greek. The Greek δικαιοσύνη may not be able to fully articulate the Jewish idea of צֶדֶק, not to mention the Chinese rendition of 義. Therefore, “explaining the scripture with the scripture” is a more reliable way. Jesus loved to pray with the Psalms. Even when he was crucified, he recited, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22: 1) In Psalm 98, we have discovered “The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.” (Psalms 98:2)
Indeed, God’s salvation is His righteousness. Therefore, the “all righteousness” mentioned by Jesus can be interpreted as the “complete salvation”. That is to say, we should receive baptism to receive complete salvation. The Church follows the teaching of her Saviour to administer baptism and other sacraments to help the faithful to attain complete salvation.
From the experience of this biblical reflection, we can conclude that using the psalms to pray is important. The Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) is designed with the psalms as the backbone on top of which are added other biblical passages for meditation. It is truly a sophisticatedly designed biblical spirituality. Before the invention of printing, breviaries were difficult to come by. Moreover, most people were illiterate. Thus, praying the Divine Office became the privileges of the clergy. Ordinary people could only enhance their spirituality with the Rosary. Today, most people are educated and smart phones are common. Reciting the Divine Office, praying the Psalms and doing Biblical Spirituality are easy. Therefore, in this “Year of Learning”, let us set a spirituality target for ourselves. Not only do we learn the Vatican II documents, but we also learn to pray with the Psalms to enter the depths of the Heart of Christ. God bless.
「主受洗節」標誌著聖誕期的結束和常年期的開始。過了今天，神父改著綠色的祭披；輔祭用綠色的索帶；歌詠團不唱光榮頌，在讀福音後不會重唱「亞肋路亞」，而所聽到的福音多是比較沉悶的耶穌教訓和傳教事蹟。常年期不及聖誕期、復活期那麽多采多姿，那麽興高采烈。聖教會把禮儀年安排成這樣，有甚麽意義呢？
我們嘗試從教友生活的另一個方面尋找線索。廿一世紀以前的玫瑰經祗有十五端：就是歡喜五端、痛苦五端與及榮福五端，幫助教友默想救贖工程的三個重要階段，就是降生、受難和復活。多謝我們的前任教宗，真福若望保祿二世，他在公元2002年引進「光明五端」，目的在於
「賦予玫瑰經嶄新的生命，並在基督徒靈修中重新燃起對玫瑰經的興趣，以它做為深入基督內心深處的真正門戶。」
原來常年期是為了「深入基督內心的深處」，是鼓勵我們深入默想和體會耶穌的傳教奧蹟和我們的關係。
其實，我們的信仰得來不易。基督徒相信耶穌是三位一體的天主的第二位聖子。基督徒要保衛耶穌既是天主又是人的真理，時常腹背受敵。教會之外，有羅馬帝國的迫害，有學者質疑福音的真實性及歷史性；教會之內，又有過份熱心的信徒對經文穿鑿附會，結果弄巧反拙。
例如，今天「耶穌受洗」的經文，原本是一篇很理想的「三位一體」道理的依據。新約中雖然從來沒有運用「三位一體」的術語，卻在「耶穌受洗」的經文中，明明白白地道出我們所信的天主是具有聖父、聖子及聖神的不同位格的。但有些人反而用這篇經文來質疑耶穌是天主的身份。說甚麽耶穌祗是一個凡人，在受洗時聖神降臨到他身上，令他有行神跡的能力。當他在十字架上受難時，天主撤回了聖神，所以耶穌在上字架上呼喊「我的天主，我的天主，祢為甚麽捨棄了我？」 他呼喊「我的天主」，他當然不是天主喇；如果天主會死，天主又怎會是天主呢！
幸好，曾與耶穌一起生活過的宗徒們死後，歷代有不少的殉道者，教父和聖師，如聖猶思定，聖安博，聖巴西略，聖奧思定和聖多瑪斯等，捍衛著基督信仰的真理。有勇敢的傳教士，例如聖依納爵和聖方濟各沙勿略等，不辭勞苦，飄洋過海為我們宣講基督的信仰。大家在洗禮的儀式之中，所答唱的「諸聖禱文」，一再提醒大家，我們的信仰是一脈相承，經歷兩千年的血汗，由宗徒、教父、聖師和傳教士所傳下來的。大家對「諸聖禱文」內所呼籲的聖人，又認識多少呢？
回過頭來，我們姑且放下那些艱深的「三位一體」神學的辯論，運用我們的人情常理，想一想「耶穌受洗」有甚麽意義。我們接受洗禮，其中一個目的是洗去以往一切的罪惡，從新做人。很自然，人們會問，嬰兒沒有犯罪，還沒有正式做人，為何要領洗，要從新做人呢？大家會怎樣回答呢？〔停頓一會〕
再追問一條難一點點的問題。嬰兒有原罪，需要洗禮。但耶穌身為天主，沒有原罪了吧，為甚麽他要受洗呢？是為了所謂「立榜樣」，「做騷」嗎？大家又會怎樣回答呢？
可能你們在慕道班的時候，導師講過一些簡化了，容易為人接受的理由，例如上述的「立榜樣」、「耶穌進入水中祝聖將來付洗的水，使它有洗去罪惡的能力」、「耶穌表示他謙遜，樂於與罪人為伍」、或者「領洗加入教會的大家庭」等等其他很多理由，未能一一盡錄。這些都是好的答案，比較直覺，容易為人所接受。但耶穌自己又如何回答呢？
三本對觀福音之中，祗有【瑪竇】獨家報導耶穌的答覆。
耶穌說：「因為我們應當這樣，以完成全義。」
耶穌不是說「我」，而是說「我們」。這個「我們」當然不是耶穌與若翰洗者之間的事，而是以後世世代代願意皈依天主的人的事。所以洗禮不單是個人的事，而是教會，是得救團體的事。
耶穌說「應當這樣」，所以洗禮不是可有可無的，而是必要的。當然，是不是一定要浸在約旦河纔算數呢?倒水在額頭上可以嗎？由教宗為你付洗是否更有效呢？在聖堂以外可以洗禮嗎？連水也沒有，可以洗嗎？凡此種種，就交給禮儀專家去處理吧。
耶穌說的「全義」是指甚麽呢？很不幸，這裡很容易引起文化差異上的誤解。耶穌不是說希臘語的，但福音是用希臘文寫成的，希臘文的「義」未必能完全表達得出猶太人心目中的「義」，更何況中文的「義」呢？所以，「以經解經」是一個比較可靠的辦法。耶穌十分喜歡用聖詠祈禱，連在十字架上時，他還在唸聖詠22篇，「我的天主，我的天主。祢為甚麽捨棄了我？」又聖詠98篇說
「上主已經宣佈了自己的救恩，將自己的正義啟示給萬民。」
原來，天主的正義，就是等同天主的救恩。所以，耶穌所說的「全義」可以理解為「完全的、完滿的救恩」，即是說，我們應該接受洗禮，以獲得完滿的救恩。教會遵循救主的教訓，施行洗禮及其他聖事，幫助信友獲得完滿的救恩。
從這次聖經反省的經驗中，我們可以總結出運用聖詠祈禱的重要。教會的日課祈禱正是以聖詠為主要的骨幹，再加上其他的聖經章約作為默想的材料，確是設計精美的聖經靈修。古代未有印刷術之前，經書得來不易，而且大部份人都是文盲，所以日課便成了神職人員的專利，而平民百姓祗有靠玫瑰經來做靈修。今天大部份人的教育水平高了，智能手機又方便，唸日課，用聖詠祈禱，用聖經做靈修已經是輕而易舉的事。所以，大家不妨在「學習年」，為自己定一個靈修的目標，除了學習梵二的文憲外，也學習用聖經靈修，用聖詠祈禱，從而進入耶穌基督的內心深處。天主保祐。
The Baptism of the Lord (Year A)
The Feast of the Baptism of Lord marks the end of the Christmas Season and the beginning of Ordinary Sundays. After today, the colour of the stole and chasuble worn by priests is green; so is the cincture. The choir does not sing the Gloria, nor repeats the Halleluia after the reading of the Gospel. The readings would be less exciting stories and teachings of the public ministry of Christ. Compared with Christmas and Easter, Ordinary Sundays are less colourful and less vibrant. What is the purpose behind such an arrangement in the Liturgical Year?
Let us look at it from another perspective of Catholic practices. Before the 21st century, the Rosary consisted of only 15 decades: the Joyful Mysteries, the Painful Mysteries and the Glorious Mysteries. These 3 groups of 5 decades help us meditate the three important stages of redemption, i.e. nativity, passion and resurrection. Thanks to our former Pope, the Blessed John Paul II, who in 2002, introduced the 5 Mysteries of Light. The purpose is
“… to give it fresh life and to enkindle renewed interest in the Rosary’s place within Christian spirituality as a true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ …” (Rosarium Virginis Mariæ 19 p 2, 2002)
Thus, Ordinary Sundays are meant for us to enter into the depths of the Heart of Christ, to encourage us to meditate and experience our relationships with the mysteries of Jesus’ public ministry.
Indeed, our faith does not come by easily. Christians believe that Jesus is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. In order to defend both the divinity and humanity of Christ, Christians have often been assaulted from both sides. Outside the Church, the reigning states persecute them. Learned scholars question the truthfulness and historicity of the gospels. Within the Church, overzealous believers try to rationalize the scriptures but end up propagating heresies. For example, the text of Jesus’ baptism should have been a piece of ideal prooftext for the doctrine of Trinity. Though the New Testament does not use the jargon of “Trinity”, this piece of text speaks clearly and loudly that there are three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the God we believe. However, some people made use of this piece of text to question the divinity of Jesus. They argued that Jesus was a man only. When he received baptism, the Holy Spirit came upon him, giving him the power to work miracles. When Jesus died on the cross, God took back the Holy Spirit. That was why Jesus cried out “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus cried out “my God”. Then he could not be God himself. If God were to die, God would not be God!
Luckily, after the death of those apostles who had walked with Jesus, there have been many martyrs, Church Fathers and Doctors, such as St. Justin the Martyr, St. Ambrose, St. Basil, St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas etc. who defended the truth of Christianity. There have been courageous missionaries such as St. Ignatius and St. Francis Xavier who tirelessly travelled across the oceans to proclaim Christianity to us. When we recite the “Litany of the Saints” during the baptism rites, it reminds us that our faith is apostolic. It undergoes two thousand years of sweat and blood and is handed down to us through the Apostles, Church Fathers, Confessors and Missionaries. Among the saints in the Litany, how many do we know?
Let’s put the difficult theological debates of the Trinity aside and make use of our common sense to think about the meanings of Jesus’ baptism for us. One of the purposes of baptism is to wash away our sins committed in the past and turn a new leaf. Naturally, people would ask that infants have not sinned, that they even have not started leading a life, why should infants be baptized to start a new life? How would you answer? (Pause)
Let’s follow up with a more difficult question. Babies have Original Sin and need baptism. But Jesus is God and without sin whatsoever. Why did he receive baptism? Did he want to “set up an exemplar”, to put on a show? How would you answer?
Perhaps you have heard some simplified and palatable reasons during catechumen classes such as “setting up an exemplar” above; or “blessing the water so as to give it the power to forgive sins”, “showing the humility of Jesus who is willing to identify himself with sinners” or “joining the Church, the community of the redeemed” etc. These are good and more intuitive answers easily accepted by people. But what was Jesus’ answer?
Among the three Synoptic gospels, Matthew has the following exclusive report:
Jesus said, “… for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)
Jesus did not say “me” but “us”. Of course, this “us” does not mean Jesus and the Baptist only. It includes all those who turn to God in the generations to come. Baptism is not a personal matter. It is the concern of the Church, the business of the redeemed community.
Jesus said, “… it is fitting …” Therefore, baptism is not optional. It is a necessity. Of course, do only baptisms in River Jordan count? Is it acceptable to pour water on the forehead only? Is the baptism received from the hands of the Pope more effective? Can we baptize outside the Church? If there is no water, can we baptize? Let us leave all these curiosities to the liturgical theologians to settle.
Jesus said, “… all righteousness …” Unfortunately, because of cultural differences, many misunderstandings will arise. Jesus did not speak Greek but the gospels were written in Greek. The Greek δικαιοσύνη may not be able to fully articulate the Jewish idea of צֶדֶק, not to mention the Chinese rendition of 義. Therefore, “explaining the scripture with the scripture” is a more reliable way. Jesus loved to pray with the Psalms. Even when he was crucified, he recited, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Psalm 22: 1) In Psalm 98, we have discovered “The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.” (Psalms 98:2)
Indeed, God’s salvation is His righteousness. Therefore, the “all righteousness” mentioned by Jesus can be interpreted as the “complete salvation”. That is to say, we should receive baptism to receive complete salvation. The Church follows the teaching of her Saviour to administer baptism and other sacraments to help the faithful to attain complete salvation.
From the experience of this biblical reflection, we can conclude that using the psalms to pray is important. The Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) is designed with the psalms as the backbone on top of which are added other biblical passages for meditation. It is truly a sophisticatedly designed biblical spirituality. Before the invention of printing, breviaries were difficult to come by. Moreover, most people were illiterate. Thus, praying the Divine Office became the privileges of the clergy. Ordinary people could only enhance their spirituality with the Rosary. Today, most people are educated and smart phones are common. Reciting the Divine Office, praying the Psalms and doing Biblical Spirituality are easy. Therefore, in this “Year of Learning”, let us set a spirituality target for ourselves. Not only do we learn the Vatican II documents, but we also learn to pray with the Psalms to enter the depths of the Heart of Christ. God bless.
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Not everybody is able to see God's revelation
The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Epiphany today. Traditionally, it celebrated the visit of the Magi from the east. Today, the focus is more on the revelation of the Lord to the Gentiles.
In the beginning, God revealed Himself to all, Jews and Gentiles alike. I boldly claim that God had visited us Chinese and left some traces recorded in ancient Chinese classics. However, the Hebrews responded the best. Since Abraham, God has secured a permanent link with men in the form of covenants. Gradually, the Israelites developed an exclusive view of their relationship with God. They had been God's Chosen People until the Christians broke their monopoly. Though Matthew wrote his gospel to Jewish Christian readers, he had already opened the door to Gentiles near the beginning. God made use of the so called Star of Bethlehem to attract the Magi from the east to visit the new born king.
Historians have noticed that our current calendar has been a miscalculation. It was at least six years too short. That is to say, Jesus was born around 6 B.C. People have been looking in vain for astronomical data such as comets and supernovas within the ten years before 1 A.D. But the Star of Bethlehem could not be an astronomical event. Otherwise, everybody would have noticed it. Herod the Great would not have to ask the Magi what time the star appeared (Matthew 2:7). Nowadays, people buy the idea that the Star of Bethlehem was most likely to be an astrological event. Some even come to the specific date of April 17, 6 B.C. (BBC Documentary Son of God, Episode One, 2002). If it was an astrological event, only astrologists and stargazers would have noticed it. The Magi from the east fit this category.
Christians believe that God reveals Himself. But remember, Christians have a different perception of the world from the ordinary people. Like the Magi, Christians tell and teach others what the others fail to see. Of course, the message brought by the Magi was shocking, not just to the reigning king but also to his subjects (Matthew 2:3). Our messages have lost the shocking elements. People have heard of Jesus and have known his teaching of love. What shocking messages can we Christians bring to this world?
Wait. Why should the message of the Magi be shocking? They told them a new king was born. Were the Jews not waiting for their Messiah? Now that the Messiah was born, should it not be a good news? It was the political ambition of Herod the Great that turned a good news sour. Therefore, the mission of Christians is simply to proclaim the good news as it is. It is up to the recipients to accept it or to reject it because they find the Christian message too radical and too shocking for them.
Like the Magi, Christians should be prudent. I don't think it was necessary for the Magi to be warned in a dream. They must have been wise enough to sense the murderous intention of Herod and this subconscious insight emerged as a dream. Christians too should be prudent in preaching the good news. We do the witnessing part. God will do the rest.
Not everybody is able to see God's revelation of love. It is our mission to tell them and to teach them to see God's love. We Christians are both the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi.
Dear Lord, I am dim and I am not courageous. Allow me to shine and throw myself into bearing witness for You. Amen.
In the beginning, God revealed Himself to all, Jews and Gentiles alike. I boldly claim that God had visited us Chinese and left some traces recorded in ancient Chinese classics. However, the Hebrews responded the best. Since Abraham, God has secured a permanent link with men in the form of covenants. Gradually, the Israelites developed an exclusive view of their relationship with God. They had been God's Chosen People until the Christians broke their monopoly. Though Matthew wrote his gospel to Jewish Christian readers, he had already opened the door to Gentiles near the beginning. God made use of the so called Star of Bethlehem to attract the Magi from the east to visit the new born king.
Historians have noticed that our current calendar has been a miscalculation. It was at least six years too short. That is to say, Jesus was born around 6 B.C. People have been looking in vain for astronomical data such as comets and supernovas within the ten years before 1 A.D. But the Star of Bethlehem could not be an astronomical event. Otherwise, everybody would have noticed it. Herod the Great would not have to ask the Magi what time the star appeared (Matthew 2:7). Nowadays, people buy the idea that the Star of Bethlehem was most likely to be an astrological event. Some even come to the specific date of April 17, 6 B.C. (BBC Documentary Son of God, Episode One, 2002). If it was an astrological event, only astrologists and stargazers would have noticed it. The Magi from the east fit this category.
Christians believe that God reveals Himself. But remember, Christians have a different perception of the world from the ordinary people. Like the Magi, Christians tell and teach others what the others fail to see. Of course, the message brought by the Magi was shocking, not just to the reigning king but also to his subjects (Matthew 2:3). Our messages have lost the shocking elements. People have heard of Jesus and have known his teaching of love. What shocking messages can we Christians bring to this world?
Wait. Why should the message of the Magi be shocking? They told them a new king was born. Were the Jews not waiting for their Messiah? Now that the Messiah was born, should it not be a good news? It was the political ambition of Herod the Great that turned a good news sour. Therefore, the mission of Christians is simply to proclaim the good news as it is. It is up to the recipients to accept it or to reject it because they find the Christian message too radical and too shocking for them.
Like the Magi, Christians should be prudent. I don't think it was necessary for the Magi to be warned in a dream. They must have been wise enough to sense the murderous intention of Herod and this subconscious insight emerged as a dream. Christians too should be prudent in preaching the good news. We do the witnessing part. God will do the rest.
Not everybody is able to see God's revelation of love. It is our mission to tell them and to teach them to see God's love. We Christians are both the Star of Bethlehem and the Magi.
Dear Lord, I am dim and I am not courageous. Allow me to shine and throw myself into bearing witness for You. Amen.
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