We Are All Connected in Our Lady

We Are All Connected in Our Lady

May the good Lord be praised, forever and ever. Amen.
My heart was in turmoil when I was informed in the first week of August of my new assignment here in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Wan Chai where I began my life’s journey six decades plus ago. Change is the only one certainty which I know remains unchanged. Wan Chai has changed a lot and I too have grown old. Looking back, the good Lord has been moulding me and polishing me with various encounters so that I could be a handier instrument of His. Whenever I felt settled and retired, He would uproot me with new challenges, ridding me of my inadequacies. In the course of moving around and ahead, I’ve weaved a web of relationships and picked up many treasure stones. Life on earth is genuinely an adventure, a journey to find the way home to our Creator. But in reality, He is always around with us.

At first, I felt nervous about this new assignment because Fr. Thomas Law, our parish priest, taught me Liturgical & Sacramental Theology in the Holy Spirit Seminary College. Every mass in which I assist would feel like a graduation examination! Such an anxiety proves to be groundless and very soon it evaporates. Now I’m able to immerse myself in the masses he celebrates and am animated by his homilies. I discover charity in his prophetic criticisms of the present situation of Hong Kong. Here is a big heart for the people of Hong Kong, in particular the disadvantaged, as well as for the officials who run the show. Fr. Thomas Law continues to be my mentor, opening up in me a new perspective to see God’s relationships with the world.

As a deacon, I’m supposed to be a symbol, a witness of the servant role of the Church in the world. The good Lord set an exemplar of this diaconate role when He washed the feet of His disciples in the Last Supper and told His disciples and therefore the Church to do the same (John 13:13-17). In my previous assignment, I visited together with the parishioners outsourced janitors as well as home alone elderly in the neighbourhood, and prison inmates in Tai Lam. However, I didn’t feel fulfilled. Something was missing. Thanks to my spiritual director, Fr. Francis Tam. He reminded me of the necessity to discern whether there was any improvement in my relationship with the Lord. Am I doing the Lord’s work or my own work? To be candid, I have to admit that there was vainglory in those visits, those “achievements”. I’m supposed to be serving the Lord in them (Matthew 25:40) but I find no progress in my intimacy with the Lord. Here in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, I was overwhelmed by your services to the disadvantaged on Fridays. I see very many deacons and deaconesses in this parish. You have done even before His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence, Cardinal John Tong appeal you to do in “Pastoral Conversion of the Parish Community in the service of the Evangelizing mission of the Church”. I’m humbled and I praise the good Lord. Alleluia!

The Blessed Virgin Mary is yet another beautiful exemplar. Just as Most Reverend Bishop Joseph Ha, OFM said on our Feast Day celebration, “The Mother of Jesus is Here!” (John 2:1, Acts 1:14) We are blessed to have Our Lady of Mount Carmel as our Patroness and thus our model. She is a caring, trusting and most important of all, guiding exemplar! Dear Brethren. October is the month of the Rosary. Let’s meditate the twenty mysteries of the Rosary diligently and benefit from her intercession. In her, we’re connected as siblings of Jesus. Through her, we gain easy access to our good Lord Jesus.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us. Amen.

HOMESTEAD 2021 Sept. edition

默想地獄 Meditating Gehenna

Twenty Sixth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Meditating Gehenna

Let’s begin with some clarification of our articles of faith.
On one hand, we recite the Creed on Sundays, saying “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead”. What do we mean? We mean to believe that because of the Original Sin, men become mortal. But as Christians, we firmly believe that at the end of the world, whatever remains of our dead bodies shall come back to life. Our souls will join the resurrected bodies and we shall become immortal and incorruptible (1 Corinthians 15:53). On the other hand, according to the gospel reading today, most likely all of us would have died maimed, crippled or even blinded (Mark 9:43-47). Does it mean heaven will be a “Paradise for the handicapped”? Is there any hidden contradiction between the two? No.
First of all, death is a great equalizer. Whether we were handsome or disfigured, strong or crippled, intelligent or mentally deficient, wealthy or poor in life, in death, our bodies would all be reduced to dust. When the souls come back to pick up the dust, we shall be a totally new creation! Probably, death purifies our DNA so that only beautiful, intelligent and supreme genes remain! Even for those who are still alive at the end, the Son of God who is the author of life, shall heal their infirmities once and for all. Therefore, there is no contradiction. On the contrary, those previous infirmities would make the resurrected bodies all the more miraculous!

In paintings of saints we usually find them meditating over a human skull. They were meditating on the mystery of death. Such spiritual exercises were definitely helpful in building up a morally good people. Just as what was mentioned above, death is a great equalizer. Whatever you have done shall pass away and nobody shall remember you, your words or deeds! Therefore, seeking wealth, power and even intelligence is only vainglory because wealth, power and intelligence do not last. The purpose of our life would become clearer without them. Our actions would be morally good. Therefore, meditating on the “Four Last Things” is good for ourselves, and thus good for the society at large. Nowadays, it is no longer legal to possess a human skull in private for whatever purposes, at least not on this island. But that should not discourage us from meditating on death, judgment, heaven and Gehenna!
Before I proceed, I would like to make a minor qualification on the statement that “nobody shall remember …” It is human nature to find fault with others. Therefore, people remember evils more easily. It’s regrettable that human psychology is asymmetric as such. If you want more people to remember you longer, do evil! But I’m sure most of you don’t want people to remember you as a bad guy! Therefore, being morally good is still a reasonable option. Thus meditating on the “Four Last Things” is still good.

Nowadays, all sorts of discrimination are rampant all over the world. To fight against such a trend, the Catholic Church talks more about mercy and tolerance towards each other for the last few decades. She speaks more on the merciful side of God than His righteousness so much so that some even fancy that at the end of the world, the hell would be empty. They argue that in His ineffable mercy, God wants to save all (1 Timothy 2:4) and there is nothing to stop Him from doing so because for Him nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) etc. Such an argument is, I think, over optimistic and ignore the many more passages of God’s righteous punishment in the Scriptures, no less in the New Testament. Referring to the denial of entry into heaven, “Gnashing of teeth” appears 7 times in the Synoptic gospels! The gospel reading today warns potential sinners beforehand the horror of punishment. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” (Mark 9:43) It would be better to maim oneself in earthly life to avoid sinning than to suffer punishment in Gehenna which would be comparable to the torture of the brazen bull! Remember, with an immortal resurrected body, the torture lasts forever, not a brief earthly moment!

There is wisdom in a Chinese aphorism which reads, “It is impossible to talk about ice with a summer insect.” An insect in summer has no experience of ice because it’s unable to live and see winter. Furthermore, its ancestors have no way to pass on such an experience to them because they have no civilization. But we cannot rule out the possibility that such an experience has hardwired in their DNA. Scientists have yet to disprove such an hypothesis. We human beings are different. Though our earthly life is brief and comparable to those of insects, eternity is not something beyond our understanding. First of all, there is an urge within us to transcend our present situation. Moreover, we are able to transmit our experience through our civilizations. Therefore, it is meaningful to pursue more lasting things than health, wealth, power and intelligence. It is purposeful to meditate on eternal life as well as eternal damnation. In the words of the Scriptures, “God created men in His own image” (Genesis 1:27) and God is eternal! Therefore, it is not illogical to sing praises to God, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from all eternity and forever. Amen. Amen.” (Psalms 41:14)

Therefore, it is wise to take Jesus’ warnings seriously because eternity is a certainty. But it is not easy nowadays, “thanks” to the advances in science and technology, our life has become more comfortable and convenient so much so that fears, illnesses, pains, sufferings and hell are vanishing from the horizon. Painkillers are easily available to the extent that many people have become addicts. Yes, many people have become enslaved. They have found and founded their own comfort zones and stay comfortably within. Such comfort does them more harm than good. Mencius says, “Thrive in calamity and perish in comfort.” It is a piece of universal wisdom! What can liberate addicts? Truth! Jesus says, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Truth is knowable. It is not beyond our reach. When we are liberated, we shall be able to scale greater heights. In short, we’ll be able to transcend our limitations and to restore the glory of the image of God!

This Sunday is also the Education Sunday whose theme this year is: “Consecrate Us in the Truth” (17:17) which is also the gospel acclamation of the mass today! Truly, not only does the truth set us free, but it also makes us acceptable and presentable to God, no less because our tarnished images of God are restored! One of the meanings of consecration is to set aside for the service of God who claims exclusive right over the person/thing consecrated. Since God created us in His own image. He is the proper owner and would have claimed exclusive rights over us, had our First Parents not committed the Original Sin. Thus, the Son of God came to reclaim His rightful inheritance by consecrating us in the truth!
What has this consecration to do with education. Education does not simply impart information and knowledge. The most important of all, it is to help learners build up independent and critical thinking; help students build up positive and compassionate attitudes towards others. Education helps learners think independently, see more options and cultivate virtues the greatest of which is charity. Not only is education an investment in human resources, but it is also a path breaker to find our Creator. Paradoxically, the majority is always wrong because conformity is bad. Herd mentality is laziness and sloth is a vice! In short, the minority voices should not be further silenced. They deserve to be heard.

Brethren! God created us in His own image. He calls us to sanctification. Let’s spend more quality time to meditate on Gehenna as well as eternity. May our virtues of faith, hope and charity grow day by day. Amen.
God bless.
Picture Credit: Wikipedia
2018 Homily

Putting Patriots to The Test

Twenty Fifth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Putting Patriots to The Test

內容敏感，惟有祇寫英文。望為見諒。
Without exception, all human beings want to play God whenever opportunity arises. It’s all too natural because after all “God created them in his own image … and commanded them to … subdue the earth and have dominion over … every living thing that move upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:27-28) Therefore, it is understandable that whenever occasion arises, in particular when technologies and sciences are becoming more and more powerful and intrusive, human beings cross the line easily and attempt to have dominion over every living thing on earch and even over God, the ultimate author of life! That’s also the reason why it was possible for Satan to seduce Jesus to throw himself down from the parapet of the Temple (Matthew 4:5-6, Luke 4:9-11). Then the Son of God passed a judgment that such an act was actually putting God to the test (Matthew 4:7, Luke 4:12)! Satan might be the first creature to tempt the Son of God but it is surely not the last one to tempt Jesus. The Jewish authorities also challenged the Messianic identity of Jesus, demanding him to show them a sign from heaven (Matthew 16:1, Mark 8:11, Luke 11:16). They ignored all the miracles which Jesus had previously performed. They demanded specific tests, “a sign from heaven”, a failure to deliver which would demonstrate that Jesus was not the Messiah they had been waiting for! To a certain extent, these Jewish authorities were “control freaks”. They even wanted to have God under their control! Perhaps being a “control freak” is a pre-requisite to be a powerful person. Otherwise, he would fall somewhere along the path to absolute authority.

Nowadays, we see many “control freaks” in governments all over the world, especially totalitarian ones. Standing in the shadow of the north, the government of this island on the southern border has very few options in hand. The north demanded “rule by patriots”, which is absolutely reasonable and I totally agree because I cannot think of any acceptable objections to oppose this demand. But regrettably, the polling on Sunday reveals that there are only 4380 patriots on this island with a population of 7.5 million. How lamentable! How is it possible for a cosmopolitan city to have only 0.06% of her population patriotic? What a shame to the mandarins!

Probably all people in power are over cautious to the point of becoming paranoid to some degree. Perhaps they perceive that out there, many people are waiting in line to take over their positions or even to concoct overthrowing them. Thus they prefer harsh practices safeguarding their own security, the security of the island and even the security in the north. In enforcing justice, they ignore the basic legal principle of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, arresting people even students, freezing their assets, disqualifying councillors, disbanding organizations and setting quotas on the number of qualified voters etc. I think the root of such practices goes to the ambiguity of the meaning of “patriots”! The concept is elusive and it is next to impossible to pin it down.

First of all, it is an axiom that being patriotic cannot be digital, i.e. either 0 or 1. There must be different degrees of patriotism. On one hand, there must be people who are eager to betray their own country for their own interests and on the other, people who are willing to die defending their own country. Needless to say, there must be people in-between who love and even sacrifice for their own country in ways appropriate and possible for them.
Then, is being patriotic psychological or physical? It must be both. In order to prove a crime, the court of law needs to prove both a guilty act and a guilty mind of the suspect. Since it is both psychological and physical, are there any standardized patriotic tests like I.Q. tests and physical fitness tests to measure how patriotic a person is? Perhaps there are in the west, but to the best of my knowledge, such tests have not yet been designed for Chinese! Then how do mandarins pass judgment on who is patriotic and who is not? Could it only be subjective or political? If it could only be subjective, how convincing could their judgment be? If it could only be political, the mandarins are creating more and more enemies. Why? It is because with harsh practices, the mandarins are denying 99.94% of the population the opportunity to prove their patriotism. For the mandarins, like their Jewish counterparts in the gospels, there are only a few ways acceptable to them to prove one’s patriotism: one has never voiced any opposition on the social media to government policies, has no connections whatsoever with foreign countries and is not an agent for foreign organizations etc. I wonder how it would be possible for international NGOs and the Catholic Church to continue serving the needy on this island in the near future. As mentioned before, patriotism is a spectrum of attitudes and actions. When people are denied the patriotism appropriate for their stations, they could become disappointed, indifferent, uncooperative or even furious. Aren’t the mandarins pitching themselves against the commoners, creating enemies and not making friends?

In contrast, our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us to serve the needy. Take for example what he teaches in the gospel today. After making Peter the Prince of the Apostles, the Rock on which He would build the Church, the apostles were discussing who was the greatest μείζων (Mark 9:34). Then Jesus patiently teaches, “If anyone wishes to be first πρῶτος, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all” (9:35). Obviously, the apostles’ focus is wrong. They discuss greatness and probably in their minds they were fantasizing the honour and glory that go hand in hand with greatness. Jesus corrects them and steers their attention to being the first, being in the forefront to serve and consequently proving themselves deserve honour and glory. Whom should we serve? In order to achieve honour and glory, the shortcut to which is to serve the great ones, the people in power. No, Jesus illustrates further. We should serve the little ones, the needy and the poor because in doing so, we are serving the greatest of all --- God Himself. Jesus made a vivid illustration. He placed a child “in their midst, and putting his arms around it and he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me’” (9:36-37). This teaching agrees with what Jesus teaches in the Parable of Last Judgment “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40) and “What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me” (25:45). Therefore, the Church has always opts for the poor in whom she learns to see the Lord. In other words, God sends the poor to preach the gospel to us! Woe to you mandarins if you despise and reject the poor and make them your enemies!

Will the Church stand up to speak for the poor? She has to because it is her mission to evangelize, in particular to the powerful. The Church cannot deny the powerful of salvation. She cannot withhold God’s mercy from them. If the powerful rejects, will the Church overthrow the powerful? No! As I have said before, God reserves vengeance for Himself (Isaiah 63:4, Romans 12:19). The Church should not play God! Jesus teaches us to tolerate the evil in the Sermon on the Mount instead of fighting back (Matthew 5:38-44) which is God’s job, not the Church’s.

At the moment, the mandarins open and play the patriotic game in a lousy manner. They have not reached the middle game yet. There are two more elections to do and the end game is nowhere in sight. Let’s be patient. Don’t lose faith. Continue to serve the Lord among the poor who is our hope. Pray for the mandarins so that they are able to focus on being the first instead of being the greatest, to serve the people instead of the powerful minority in the north. If “they do not keep God before them” (Psalm 54:5) God’s will be done. The Lord sustains my life (54:6).
God bless!
Picture credit: The Logical Indian, chess.com
2015 Homily

體會天主的事 Think As God Does

常年期第廿四主日，乙年
主題：體會天主的事

天主按自己的肖像創造了人（創1:27）。因此，在萬物之中，人類有能力與天主溝通同行（5:24, 6:9, 48:15）。作為天主的肖像，人類在各方面當然不及天主；但究竟他們有多大能力，真是難以估計！倘若條件有利的話，他們便會有機會把實力展示出來。所以為了他們圓滿的發展，「自由」是一個重要的因素。天主當然明白自由對人類發展的重要性，既然祂自己本身是自由的，所以天主非常尊重祂的傑作、祂自己的肖像，並給予他們很大的自由來表達這份尊重。在動物領域中，天主祇會安排最低限度的生存本能給人類，讓他們享有最大程度的自由，發展出創世以前，在祂心中對每個人所懷有的計劃（弗1:4）。

天主是愛（若一4:8）；人類也懂得走出自我中心，為他人設想，甚至達到自我犧牲的程度！且看每個偉大的母親，和為了保衛國家而戰死沙場的士兵，他們把「愛」表達得淋漓盡致。天主是公義的，賞善罰惡；人類也有明辨是非的能力，並且為了讓群居有秩序地展開，人類社會定下了法律，解決由互動所產生的衝突，這是人類在社會層面上所公義的表現。天主是三位一體的，有祂內在的團體生命；而大部份人類都是群居的，共融團結，互相扶持，讓每個個體得到發展。這是人類有禮的表現。最後，天主創造了天地萬物，人類也有很多的創意，發現及發明了各式各樣的科技，改善生活環境。這是人類有理性，有智力的表現。正如孟子所說，「仁、義、禮、智」這四種美德，是與生俱來，經過不斷的練習，可以發展至完美，即所謂的「止於至善」！天主的肖像真是無可限量！

但在現實世界裡，天主的肖像們同樣做出各式各樣的邪惡，有如兩星期前，第二十二主日的福音所列舉的一樣：「惡念、邪淫、盜竊、兇殺、姦淫、貪吝、毒辣、詭詐、放蕩、嫉妒、毀謗、驕傲、愚妄」（谷7:21-22）。是認知不足，好心做壞事嗎？例如，科學家發明了抗生素，消滅那些致病的微生物；結果，細菌不斷進化成為有抗藥性的「超級病菌」，令醫生束手無策。是意志軟弱，向惡勢力低頭，為了自保而為虎作倀嗎？是意識形態上犯了錯誤嗎？為了「超英趕美」，為了「人定勝天」，組織群眾鬥爭。結果破壞了生態平衡，造成飢荒。官員們雄心萬丈地經濟改革，讓部份人先富起來…結果造就了一群暴發戶，他們氣大才疏，妄顧倫理，一切向錢看…

在今天的福音裡，耶穌基督向門徒透露了祂拯救世界的計劃。撒殫曾千方百計探聽這個計劃（瑪4:1-11，路4:1-13），並努力借助人類的手，加以破壞（若12:5，瑪26:53，谷15:32）。不但在最後關頭，在耶穌基督受難時進行破壞，而且在這些事發生之前，伯多祿也曾成為了撒殫的一隻馬前卒，衝擊耶穌基督。倘若與【瑪竇福音】一起閱讀，情況更顯嚴峻！因為在伯多祿宣認耶穌是默西亞後，耶穌基督立伯多祿為教會的磐石（瑪16:18a）。可惜，這「磐石」竟然是如此脆弱，不堪一擊，被撒殫利用來意圖阻止耶穌進行救世的計劃！可幸天主子預先保護了伯多祿，可以有回頭堅固兄弟的機會（路22:32），讓教會得以建立並保存，以至「陰間的門不能戰勝她！」（瑪16:18b）

耶穌基督對伯多祿的斥責，蠻有意思。 「撒殫，退到我後面去！因為你所體會的，不是天主的事，而是人的事。」（谷8:33）。「撒殫」一辭，原意是「對頭人」、「敵人」的意思。伯多祿是有血有肉的人，所以不是魔王撒殫，而是妨礙耶穌基督進行救世任務的人之一。所以耶穌基督狠狠批評伯多祿是「撒殫」。
其次，倘若伯多祿（當然包括全人類）根本沒有體會「天主的事」的能力，就不會，並且不應該受到責備，因為錯不在伯多祿！雖然天主是一個不能明白的奧秘（依55:9），但天主總會做一些人類能明白的事，否則人類怎能與天主溝通呢？既然耶穌基督責備伯多祿，便證明了人類是有能力體會天主的事，祇不過伯多祿（還有全人類）沒有好好運用自己的能力去體會天主的事，反而把精力放在人的事上，沒有盡好門徒/受造物的本份，所以受到責備！那麼，甚麼是「天主的事」？甚麼是「人的事」呢？

首先，伯多祿會不會出於自私的原因，諫責耶穌呢？且看，他已經捨棄了一切跟隨耶穌（谷10:28），但耶穌的方案，令伯多祿的「投資」，一夜之間化為烏有。為保利益，因此伯多祿諫責耶穌。這論點看來合理，但伯多祿沒有權力的野心，門徒中有野心的，可能是雅各伯和若望兩兄弟（10:37）。按馬爾谷福音的描述，伯多祿好像是宗徒的發言人，多次代表門徒回答耶穌的問題。但看來，他是被其他門徒驅使居多。例如今次，耶穌並不是當眾責斥伯多祿，而是「轉過身來，注視著自己的門徒，責斥伯多祿。」（谷8:33）在聖神降臨前的伯多祿，完全沒有半點領導才能！因此，伯多祿出於自身利益的考慮來諫責耶穌，很難成立。
其次，沒有強大的惡勢力，迫使伯多祿屈服，或者以利益誘惑他合作（例如猶達斯的例子）。因此，伯多祿不是因為意志軟弱而諫責耶穌。第三，雖然伯多祿不是「熱誠黨」，但並不排除他與一般猶太群眾一樣，對「默西亞」懷有期望，渴望這位天主派來的「受傅者」，驅逐異邦統治者，復興以色列國（宗1:6）。如今，耶穌基督卻提出一個與復國完全相反的方案（谷8:31） ，是一個不能令人接受的方案！因此，意識形態上的錯誤，可以解釋伯多祿諫責耶穌基督的部份理由。
最後，我認為「人的事」與「天主的事」很近似，容易混淆，以至伯多祿一念之差，好心做了壞事。甚麼是「天主的事」呢？雖然人類沒有能力明白天主所做的一切，但一定有能力明白其中的一部份，即使是極其微不足道的一部份。這些部份一定是與人類有關，更準確地說，是與人類的得救有關，例如天主是愛。所以，這些我們能夠明白的「天主的事」，也是「人的事」，因此容易混淆！伯多祿不一定為了自身的利益，有可能他是為了耶穌的益處，纔勸諫祂不要白白去送死！且看他怎樣忠心一片，在猶太人逮捕耶穌時，伯多祿拔劍拒捕（若18:10）；甚至冒著生命危險，潛入大司祭庭院，企圖營救耶穌，最後以「三次不認主」告終（18:16-27）！所以我傾向理解伯多祿諫責耶穌，是好心做壞事！

各位兄弟姊妹，我們應以伯多祿為鑒，提防「好心做壞事」。因為這樣做，顯示出我們關心「人的事」，多於「天主的事」。對己對人，絕對沒有好處！
天主保祐！
2018年講道
圖片鳴謝：Wikipedia

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Twenty Fourth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Think As God Does

God created mankind in His image (Genesis 1:27). Thus among all creatures, mankind has the ability to communicate and to walk with God (5:24, 6:9, 48:15). As images of God, we’re not on a par with God in all manners. However, how great are our capabilities is difficult to estimate! If the conditions are favourable, they shall have the opportunities to manifest. In order to fully develop these potentials, freedom is one of the essential elements. Of course God knows the importance of freedom for human development. Since He Himself is free, He respects His masterpieces, His images very much and gave them great liberty to show this respect. Among animals, God only arranges minimum survival instincts for mankind so that they may enjoy the greatest degree of freedom to manifest the plan He had in mind for all of us before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4).

God is love (1 John 4:8). So is mankind able to emerge from egocentrism. For the sake of others, their altruism is even able to attain the level of self-sacrifice! Just take a look at the heroism of mothers or soldiers who die in action defending their countries. They manifest love to the full. God is righteous, awards the blessed and punishes the wicked. Mankind also has the ability to discern the good from evil. For the sake of ordered living in the society, laws are passed to resolve conflicts caused by interpersonal interactions. This is a manifestation of righteousness on the societal level. God is trinite. There is a communal element in the inner life of the godhead. Most mankind lives in groups and in communion, supporting each other, allowing individuals to develop. This shows their solidarity. Lastly, God created all things visible and invisible in this universe. Mankind is also creative, discovering and inventing all sorts of technologies to improve the living environment. This is an expression of human rationality and intellect. Just as what Mencius says about the human virtues: Benevolence, righteousness, Orderliness and Intelligence are inborn. Through continual practices, they will develop into perfection, i.e. Stop only at Ultimate Goodness! God’s images are truly unstoppable!

But in real life, God’s images also wreck all sorts of evils, listed two weeks ago in the gospel reading of the Twenty Second Ordinary Sunday, “evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.” (Mark 7:21-22) Is it due to inadequate understanding thus paving the way to hell with good intentions? For example, scientists invented antibiotics to kill microorganisms which cause diseases. In the end, microorganisms evolve into Superbugs which are antibiotics resistant so that diseases become untreatable. Is it due to a weakness in will, surrendering to evil influences such that people turn into accomplices for the sake of self-preservation? Is it due to ideological errors? In order to supersede UK and US, to defeat heavens, the state mobilizes the mass to struggle. In the end, ecology is damaged, inviting famines. Mandarins ambitiously invest in economic reforms, allowing a minority to become rich first … In the end, a new class of nouveau riche who measures everything in terms of money arises …

In the gospel today, Jesus reveals to the disciples His salvation project which Satan had tried hard to unearth (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13). Moreover, it also tried to disrupt the project through human hands (John 12:5, Matthew 26:53, Mark 15:32). Not only did Satan try to sabotage during Christ’ Passion, but before that, it also made use of Peter to hinder Jesus. If we read the story with Matthew’s narration, the trap was stark! It was because after Peter’s declaration of the Messiah identity of Jesus, Jesus made Peter the Rock upon which He would build His Church (Matthew 16:18a). Regrettably, this Rock proved to be fragile. Satan made use of him to prevent Jesus from executing the project! Fortunately, the Son of God had protected Peter whom He has given the opportunity to repent and to strengthen his brothers. (Luke 22:32) Thus, the Church is established and preserved so that “the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against.” (Matthew 16:18b)

Jesus Christ’s rebuke is pregnant with meanings. “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Mark 8:33) The original meaning of “Satan” is adversaries and enemies. Peter was a mere mortal, thus not Satan, the Prince Devil. Peter was only a nobody who is one of the stumbling blocks to the salvation project. Thus, Jesus Christ rebuked Peter as Satan. Secondly, had Peter (including all mankind) possessed not the ability to think as God does, he would not have been, and should not have been rebuked because it was not his fault. Although God is an unfathomable mystery (Isaiah 55:9), God must have done something which mankind is able to understand. Otherwise, how is mankind able to communicate with God? Now that Christ rebuked Peter which shows that mankind has the ability to think as God does. Only that Peter (including all mankind) does not make good use of this ability. Instead, they spend their energy thinking as man does. They have not discharged their duty as disciples/creatures and are rebuked as such! Then what does it mean to think as God does and to think as human beings do?

First of all, was it possible that Peter rebuked Jesus out of selfish reasons? Look, he had given up everything to follow Jesus (Mark 10:28) but Jesus’ project would nullify Peter’s “investment” overnight! To protect his investment, Peter rebuked Jesus. This logic sounds reasonable but Peter was not ambitious. Among the disciples, James and John would be more probable candidates (10:37). In the narrations of Mark, Peter looks like the spokesman, representing the disciples to answer Jesus’ questions. But taking a closer look, he seemed more likely to be pushed around. Take for example this time, Jesus did not simply openly rebuked Peter, but “he turned around and, looking at His disciples, rebuked Peter” (8:33). Before the Descent of the Holy Spirit, Peter did not show any leadership! Thus, it is difficult to establish for certain that Peter rebuked Jesus out of selfish interests.
Secondly, there was no devilish influence to bend Peter or benefits to induce his cooperation (e.g. Judas’ case). Thus, Peter did not rebuke Jesus out of a fragile will. Thirdly, although Peter was not a Zealot, it does not rule out the possibility that Peter harboured a Messianic anticipation like any other Jews. They longed for an Anointed One sent from God to drive away the Gentile rulers and to restore the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1:6). Now, Jesus’ proposal went contrary to the restoration of Israel (Mark 8:31) and this is totally unacceptable! Thus ideological errors may account for part of the reasons for Peter to rebuke Jesus.
Lastly, I think that “thinking as human beings do” and “thinking as God does” are so closely related that they can easily be mixed up. Thus, Peter did something bad out of good intentions. What does it mean to “think as God does”? Although mankind is unable to understand everything God does, at least they are able to understand some, even very insignificant parts. These parts must be related to mankind, or more precisely, related to the salvation of mankind, for example “God is love”. Therefore, these things which God thinks are also what human beings think. Thus, they can easily be mixed up! Perhaps Peter was not thinking of his own interests but for the sake of Jesus, rebuked Him not to die in vain! Peter had been very loyal to Jesus. When the Jews arrested Jesus, Peter drew a sword to resist (John 18:10). He even took the risk to enter the High Priest’s courtyard to seek an opportunity to rescue Jesus but ended up denying the Lord three times (18:16-27)! I prefer seeing Peter doing evil with good intentions!

Brethren! We should look upon Peter as a warning sign. Don’t do evil with good intentions. It shows that we care more about human thinking than God’s thinking. It does nobody any good!
God bless!

Lord, Heal Our Infirmities

事關敏感，祇寫英文（創11:7）。望為見諒

Twenty Third Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: 主，請治好我們的病痛 Lord, Heal Our Infirmities

Three years ago, I wrote about the blindness and deafness of the inhabitants of an island caused by egocentrism. Today, the situation seems to have worsened. Here on this small island, the phenomenon is reaching an epidemic level, somewhat similar to the Covid-19 pandemic. The virus? The abuse of a certain "securities" law which is vague, ex post facto, and have nowhere to appeal except to God!

A chill was sent down my spine when the assets of a media-conglomerate were frozen and the executives were arrested, denying bail. One by one, opposition parties/groups are disbanded and councillors at different levels disqualified, ignoring the legal principle of presumption of innocence. A deafening silence is spreading among the surviving media. On the other hand, mandarins surround themselves with people of double-tongues. They turn a blind eye to the plights of the islanders and care only about their own prospect. Despite their “good” intention to serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), one in the north and the islanders, they flatly fail. Now with a vague and retroactive "securities" law in hand, they are no longer able to pretend serving the commoners anymore. It is now easier for them to blatantly devour commoners to fatten themselves in the name of serving their northern masters. “Serving the people” becomes a sarcastic slogan! I wonder if they see their own fate. When all cunning rabbits are wiped out, running dogs will be roasted.

I lament the commoners. They are labelled whatever the mandarins find handy, thus have become lambs waiting to be slaughtered. They are fed with a “reality” made up above. They have eyes and yet are not permitted to see the truth. The commoners are deafened by a silence mentioned above. They have ears and yet can only hear numbing chants and bland slogans. This deafness is augmented by a self-censorship in the media which manage to survive the first round of purge. In other words, media turn mute. They can only paint a rosy picture permitted by the north! The prospect of this small island is grim. With the imposition and a selective enforcement of the "securities" law, most islanders are forced to become blind, deaf and mute in order to survive. Is such a survival worth living?

We firmly believe that our Creator is not blind. He is able to hear our lamentations and pleads. He has spoken through His Son, the Scriptures and the Church. So, He is not blind, or deaf or mute. Yet He does not answer our cries according to our expectations. Has He forgotten His mercy? Is He angry with our sins and turns His attention elsewhere? Or does He permit this evil in order to prevent or stop an even greater evil? Or have we turned to a wrong direction to find His deliverance? Very likely, we have turned to the wrong direction!

In the first reading today, the prophet says, “Say to the fearful of hearts: Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God, He comes with vindication; With divine recompense He comes to save you.” (Isaiah 35:4) Who are the fearful of hearts? The islanders or the mandarins? I think both are, but in different ways. Together, they are outnumbered by the huge population in the north. Previously, the north was economically backward and in order to shield themselves from foreign influences, they demanded that “River water should not be permitted to interfere with fountain water.” Today, their wealth emboldened them and they are ready to kill the goose which once lay golden eggs for them. The mandarins have more to lose than the commoners. So, they have surrendered and are willing to serve the north instead. Therefore, their hearts are more frightened. Regrettably, what God pledged to do is not what they want! “The eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears of the deaf be opened … and the mute tongue sing for joy.” (35:5-6) No, this is not what they want. They want to turn a blind eye to the evils they have help caused. Moreover, they don’t want the commoners to see the truth because it would be a hell to govern them. God, if you heal my blindness, whatever is left of my conscience shall be very painful. If you heal the blind and make them see, you’re my enemy! Similarly, I don’t want to hear my schemes exposed nor do I allow the commoners to hear the same. I’ll kill more to stop you, my God, from making unpleasant noises. I surely will kill and more ruthlessly.

The deaf-mute in the gospel today did not come to see Jesus out of his own freedom. He was deaf and thus unable to hear of the miracles and cures performed by Jesus. Very likely, he was brought to Jesus against his own will! Perhaps the crowd was hostile, making use of this deaf-mute to test and tease Jesus. Had Jesus been a racist and despised them, they would have an excuse to ban Jesus from preaching in their turf. Had Jesus been a rogue, they would have exposed him. Perhaps this explains why Jesus took the deaf-mute off by himself away from the crowd in order to heal him (Mark 7:33)! The rest of the story shows that God’s mercy sees no bound. Yet, who is going to bring the mandarins or the islanders before Jesus to receive His cure? I’m afraid the Good Shepherd needs to leave behind the 99 islanders to reach out for the lost mandarin! So, God is not ignoring our lamentations. In fact, He is on His way to seek and bring the lost mandarins back to the fold.

As long as we are not doing any evil or worshipping any idols, we are confident that the present situation is not a punishment for our sins. Therefore, brethren! Let us pray for the lost mandarins and their masters in the north. May the merciful Lord cure them for our common good.
God bless!
2018 Homily
Picture Credit: saintpats.org