Clothed With Power From On High 佩戴上自高天而來的能力

Feast of Ascension of Our Lord, Year C
Theme: Clothed With Power From On High 佩戴上自高天而來的能力

Jesus’ disciples have different understandings of the mission their Lord gave them before His Ascension. For Matthew, it is “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20) Though scholars generally believe that Mark is the earliest and one of the sources of the other two Synoptic gospels, the section on the Commission of the Eleven is believed to be appended later. Still, it is the less elaborated one and simply says, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) The Commission story we read today in the gospel of Luke is very much related to mercy, one of the key themes of this gospel. It says, “The Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48)

The perspective of the Evangelists is global. They use wordings such as “all nations”, “the whole world” and “every creature” etc. Without exception, everybody in the Church should be outgoing. They cannot afford to be selfish and keep the salvation to themselves. Yet, each Evangelist is distinctive to meet the needs of their communities.
Mark’s narrative fits the temperance of the Romans. It is ambitious in the sense of being all-inclusive, using wordings such as “the whole world” and “every creature”. It is direct and without ambiguity, reminding the readers of the discipline and power of the Roman Legions. The shorter ending shows the doubts and worries in the shaky beginning of Mark’s community. The Holy Spirit must have done a lot of works to have strengthened them to achieve such confidence. Most likely, some prominent Romans must have joined the community, boasting their confidence.
Matthew’s community must be hungry and thirsty for authoritative teachings. After all, that they managed to sever themselves from the Jewish tradition must have demanded a higher authority more powerful than that of Moses! It is understandable that the teaching office of the Matthew’s church must teach the congregation to observe all the teachings of Jesus!

Luke’s perspective is also global but only Luke is able to spell out the mission in no ambiguous terms. The message of mercy is the gospel: repentance in order to obtain freedom from the bondage of sins. It shows a much more mature theology of salvation. Not only is the message part clear, but the praxis part is also advanced. Not only do Christians proclaim, but they must practice what they preach. A retired athlete can become a coach but you don’t expect him to run, or to jump or to lift weight as before. His experience makes up what he is losing. But being a witness is more demanding. If you do not practise what you preach, you’re a hypocrite and exhibiting counter evidences. You’re doing a disservice to Christianity as a whole.

Had being a Christian been an easy job, Jesus would not have assured His disciples of “power from on high” (Luke 24:49) Bearing witness is a daunting mission. Therefore, Christians must be properly equipped. Otherwise, they would be captured in the battle field by the enemies and sold as slaves again. Their fate would be worse than their previous bondage (11:26). What better weapons, what mightier power can there be other than the power and armoury of God? St. Paul puts it vividly well when he writes, “Put on the armour of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:11-12) Paul was not writing poems. He was not conjuring up an imagery or an analogy. The Devil is as real as God is. How can we choose to believe in an invisible God but at the same time, brush away the invisible Satan and vice versa? We do not believe what we choose to believe to make ourselves feel good. Such an approach in life is unhealthy and even detrimental to our life.

Without exception, when disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit, they will be empowered, driven, pushed, prompted and urged to pursue God’s will. How unwise it is to resist the Holy Spirit who is the fountain of our spiritual life! Perhaps it’s high time we revised the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. When our awareness is sharpened, the power of the Holy Spirit would be more effective.

Wisdom urges us to love God above all because God alone is constant and everlasting. Understanding humbles us not to play God because God is God and we are not God. Counsel enables us to know what is right from wrong. We are at different stages of understanding. Thus we need to seek humbly the advice of the Church and to consult the writing of Church Fathers to discern the will of God. Fortitude empowers us to weather through perils and persecutions. The world has never been friendly to Christians because they are different and perhaps disruptive. It is far too easy for Christians to try to make life easier by giving up and yielding to the world. The temptation is big. Knowledge is important because false opinions and teachings are rampant today as were in all previous ages. But the gift of knowledge is more than data and information because in the Jewish culture, to know is an intimate action. Thus, to know also means to live out what we know. We know the truth and we cannot compromise the truth by not following the knowledge of truth. To quote Bishop Boyea of the Diocese of Lansing, piety is a gift to live a right relationship with God, with others and with ourselves. We need piety to lead a life compatible to our call as Christians. Lastly, the Fear of the Lord is the only proper reaction we have before God. We stand in awe before a greatness beyond our knowledge and understanding. And with the Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10, Proverbs 9:10), we are able to connect the seven gifts as a unity.

Brethren! These gifts are not brute forces that bring destruction but gentile and meek persuasions that edify. This is the modus operandi of the Father as well as of the Son who says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:29-30)
God bless!
2016 Reflection
Picture Credit:catholictradition.org

In the Name of the Lord 奉主之名

Sixth Easter Sunday, Year C
Theme: In the Name of the Lord 奉主之名

Men are social animals. They are not able to survive alone. It is essential for them to live together in groups of various sizes. They need the support of the others. This truth is lay down in the first book of the Bible, “The Lord God said: it is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18a) But living together is a skill which all of us have to learn because each person is unique. God gives each one of us different potentials and strengths. Some are more powerful than the others. Naturally, leaders and followers arise when men live together. Order has to be maintained and conflicts have to be resolved. For good or for bad, it is fortunate that men obey authority for the sake of staying together in harmony. Thus, men are able to live relatively peacefully together within a group and to trade happily among different communities.

Leaders could command obedience by brute force. But it is inefficient because in the end, those who follow might have been maimed and definitely weak. It saves more energy by conjuring up higher authorities to attract and to mobilize people. Their commands/requests need some kind of legitimacy and backup. They call upon some bigger personality to legitimize and rationalize their commands/requests. Priests were the first to command legitimacy because they claimed to be able to communicate with God. Priests shrouded themselves in songs, dances, rituals and mysteries until people found that the words of priests were rather arbitrary. Belief in those words would be rather superstitious. People demanded something more concrete to meet their rational needs. Then prophets came on stage to be the spokesmen of God. They left behind prophecies, writings of morality and were even able to hand down laws for people to follow. (By the way, Moses was a prophet. See Deuteronomy 18:15) In order to be delivered from bondage, people have to follow the laws which were more tangible than the whims of priests. Fast forward in history, a new class of professionals arose: scribes and Pharisees who were authoritative interpreters of the law. In dealing with conflicts with other communities, people needed leaders to organize and mobilize them. Judges arose to lead them into battles. At first judges were sent and thus legitimized by God. Later, people demanded more opulent leaders similar to leaders of other communities. Kings came on stage. Unfortunately, most kings were inevitably tyrants (1 Samuel 8:11-18). On the other hand, the followers and even dissidents might likewise have learnt to conjure up higher authorities to protect their rights. This is illustrated well in Bible stories.

The Bible tells us of a God who protects the underdogs, the marginalized and the weaklings etc. He stands by the losers to prove that He fights and wins battles for them (Exodus 14:14, Judges 7:2). Now, let’s fast forward to the Age of the Apostles when Jesus had ascended into heaven, sending the Holy Spirit to the early Church to support her. The Apostles were genuinely transformed and proved themselves to be the Patriarchs of the New Israel. They found themselves pitching against the Sanhedran like David fighting against Goliath. The Sanhedran had all the authority and resources they needed to nip the Jesus Movement at the bud. They had successfully eliminated Jesus and it was only a matter of time to round up and neutralize his followers. But to their surprise, the Apostles were formidable rivals because God was on their side. The Sanhedran was only able to mobilize institutionalized forces to arrest, to imprison and to beat the Apostles up. But the Sanhedran knew very well that they were losing ground because the Apostles were gaining popular support and some members of the Sanhedran also showed sympathy towards them. Moreover, the Apostles were able to conjure up God they believed in common to defeat them. “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges.” (Acts 4:19) Suddenly, those uneducated fishermen were transformed into eloquent rhetorists! The Jewish authority could only echo the same amazement toward their master whom they had killed as well as those followers in front of them, “What kind of wisdom has been given him and what mighty deeds were worked by his hands!” (Mark 6:2)

Conjuring God could also prod members to toe the official line. Let’s see how the early Church quickly defused schism by seeking the help from God. To begin with, the early Church needed to fill the vacancy left behind by Judas in order to establish themselves as the New Israel. In the process, they lay down the qualifications which 2 candidates could meet. Had the first Christians bought democracy, they would have splintered even before they started their mission. They chose a procedure which was accepted by all: praying before casting lots (Acts 1:24-26)! So, it was God’s will that Matthias took Judas’ place! Another crisis arose when two factions became prominent: Greek speaking Jews and native Jews. In order to avoid schism, again the Apostles called upon the Holy Spirit to help. They delegated authority to seven reputable Greek-speaking believers who were filled with the Spirit and wisdom to take up ministry in the early Church (6:3). Another schism arose when many Gentiles were admitted into this essentially Jewish community. The Church convoked a council in Jerusalem to resolve the conflict. Once more, the Holy Spirit was invoked. They circulated their decision in the form of a letter to various churches concerned. It reads, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities …” (15:28) People might wonder how they knew the decision of the Holy Spirit. Well, the Holy Spirit actually spoke to them in other occasions. For example, the Holy Spirit once spoke to the Church in Antioch, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” (13:2) Perhaps nowadays in the modern world, it is getting more difficult to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. But that doesn’t give us any ground to doubt that the Holy Spirit speaks.

There’s another common way to call upon a higher authority to justify one’s cause is to say, “ in the name of ” For example, the Levites were chosen to stand to minister in the name of the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:5), David combatted Goliath in the name of the Lord (1 Samuel 20:42), Elijah built an altar in the name of the Lord to challenge the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:32) and the Jews anticipated the Messiah to come in the name of the Lord to deliver them (Psalms 118:26) etc. Therefore, it is rather surprising to hear Jesus say, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name --- he will teach you everything …” (John 14:26) and in the same breath, “If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I.” (14:28)

How does the Father call upon a lesser authority to justify His action? Here, we need to do a little adjustment. First of all, there is nothing higher/greater than the Father because He is the source of everything visible and invisible. Therefore, He could only appeal to an authority lesser than His but which is higher than the authority of all imaginable creatures. Furthermore, the concept of “greatness” is not applicable to God the same way we apply it to creatures because Jesus has also said, “I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30, 17:22) The Son of God and the Father of God are one. Yet the Father is greater than the Son. This is the mystery of the Blessed Trinity which we’ll never be able to fathom thoroughly.

Brethren! Let’s pray that we do not suffocate dissidents with the authority of God. Let us meditate more on the oneness and greatness of the Blessed Trinity to humble ourselves.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit:open.ac.uk

喜喜歡歡做耶穌的朋友 Rejoicing To Be Jesus’ Friends

喜喜歡歡做耶穌的朋友（若15:18-21）

讀了今天的福音之後，你會後悔做耶穌的朋友嗎？
世界恨耶穌，把祂釘死在十字架上；同樣，世界會迫害耶穌的朋友（若15:18）。你害怕受株連嗎？
世界恨耶穌，「因為他們不認識那派遣我來的」（15:21）天父。經濟繁榮，科技進步，使世人極度自我膨脹。天主變得無關重要，世人開始否定天主的存在，並且有取代天主的氣勢。他們的眼中祗有自己，再沒有天主。在他們看來，耶穌是一個煽惑群眾的滋事份子，人人得而誅之。世界把迫害異見人士合理化了！

世界迫害耶穌的朋友，因為你們不願與世界同流合污，你們不願意屬於世界；並且，你們的行為反映出世界的黑暗（3:20），世界自然不喜愛你們，繼而迫害你們。
你記得這「世界」是指誰嗎？在五月十六日的反省中，我們知道若望筆下的「世界」，就是「那不愛我的，就不遵守我的話」（14:24a）的人。

不要氣餒，「那不愛耶穌的，不遵守耶穌的話的人」，並不可怕。因為他們祇能殺害肉身，而不能殺害靈魂（瑪10:28）。雖然他們獲得一時的優勢，但最後的勝利是屬於天主的。
不要氣餒，「那不愛耶穌的，不遵守耶穌的話的人」，有可能會聽從福音，否則，耶穌也不會說：「如果他們（世界）遵守了我的話，也要遵守你們的。」（若15:20）天主是慈悲的，祂一定會在末日前給「那不愛耶穌的，不遵守耶穌的話的人」足夠的悔改機會。無論「世界」遵守還是拒絕這福音，天主都需要我們作祂的修和大使，為祂宣揚修和的福音（格後5:20）。
主啊！我們喜喜歡歡，因為我們配為祢的名字受侮辱（宗5:41）。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：cp24.com

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Rejoicing To Be Jesus’ Friends (John 15:18-21)

After reading today’s gospel, would you regret to be Jesus’ friend?
The World hates Jesus and crucifies Him. Similarly, the World would persecute Jesus’ friends (John 15:18). Are you afraid to be incriminated by association?

The World hates Jesus “because they do not know the one who sent me” (15:21), viz. the Father. Prosperity and technological advancement inflate the human ego. God becomes irrelevant. Men begin to deny the existence of God and attempt to replace Him. There’s no God in their eyes but themselves. In their view, Jesus was a trouble-maker who incited people to riot. He deserves to die. The World has rationalized the persecution of dissidents!

The World persecutes Jesus’ friends because you don’t go with the flow. You don’t want to belong to the World. Furthermore, your actions manifest their darkness (3:20). Naturally, the World does not love you and shall persecute you.
Do you remember who “the World” is? In the meditation on May 16, we know that John pens “the World” as “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (14:24a).

Don’t be discouraged, we don’t need to be afraid of those who don’t love Jesus and don’t keep His words because they can only kill the body but not the soul (Matthew 10:28). Although they prevail at the moment, the final victory belongs to God.
Don’t be discouraged. Those who don’t love Jesus and don’t keep His words might listen to the gospel. Otherwise, Jesus would not say, “If they kept my word, they will also keep yours” (John 15:20). God is merciful. He will give these people sufficient opportunity to repent. Whether “the World” keeps or rejects this gospel, God still needs us to be His ambassadors of reconciliation to proclaim His gospel of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Lord! We rejoice because we are found worthy to suffer dishonour for the sake of Your name (Acts 5:41). Amen!

天主保證果實常存 God Guarantees That Fruit Remains

天主保證果實常存（若15:12-17）

愛不是內向的，不是為自己而是為別人的，即使愛自己也是為了別人。
誰無父母？年青人自愛，是為了不會連累自己的父母；老年人自愛，是為了不會加重照顧他們的人的負擔。夫妻固然相愛，但為了不會連累配偶，丈夫和妻子也會自愛。所以在真愛內，沒有自私的餘地。

因為愛是外向的，所以愛一定可以結出果實。亞當愛厄娃便生了加音（創4:1）。夫妻固然相愛，卻是天主賜給他們子女。有些果實可以即時看見，有些卻要假以時日，甚至長年累月，也好像不能開花結果。雖然是學校的宗教老師教授聖經，卻是天主使他/她的學生在大學；甚至工作時纔領洗。不是嗎？「我栽種，阿頗羅澆灌，然而使之生長的，卻是天主。」（格前3:6）所以從來沒有愛的努力是會白費的。

我們深信天主是歷史的主宰，即使是政壇上呼風喚雨的政客，也是不自覺地為天主服務而已；縱使領導人別具用心，殘民以自肥，天主仍可以藉著他們的「惡行」，實現自己的救贖計劃（路2:1），何況是那些耶穌所揀選去結果實的朋友呢（若15:15-16）？但我們能保證這些果實，是常存的果實嗎？

我們的記性真是差勁，眨眼間便忘記了是天主使之生長的！既然是天主使之生長，這些果實的生死，都操在天主手中，我們需要替天主煩惱嗎？既然是天主使之生長的，請放心，一定是常存的果實了。
主啊！我在這裡，請揀選我做你的朋友，去結常存的果實吧！亞孟！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：goodnewsfromafar.com

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God Guarantees That Fruit Remains (John 15:12-17)

Love does not go inwards, not for oneself but for the others. Even when one loves oneself, it is for the good of the others.
Who doesn’t have parents? Young people love themselves in order not to bring troubles to parents. Aged people love themselves so as not to add burden onto the carers. Husbands and wives love each other but in order not to harm their spouses, they’ll love themselves too. Therefore, there is no room for selfishness in genuine love.

Since love is outgoing, it will bear fruit. Adam loved Eve and gave birth to Cain (Genesis 4:1). Of course husband and wife love each other but it is God who gives them children. Some fruit can be seen immediately. Others take time, even after months and years there can be no sign of fruit. Although teachers of Religious Studies teach Bible, it is God who makes their students receive baptism in universities or even after getting a job. Don’t you see? “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Thus no effort of love will be wasted.

We’re convinced that God writes our history. Even powerful politicians are serving God’s plan without their knowledge. Though leaders fatten themselves at the expenses of the people, God is able to make good use of their evil deeds to implement His salvific project (Luke 2:1), not to mention those friends whom Jesus chooses to bear fruit (John 15:15-16). But are we able to guarantee that those fruit remain?

Our memory is truly faulty. In a brink of eye, we forget that it is God who causes the growth! Since God causes the growth, the life of the fruit is in God’s hand. Do we need to play God to worry? Since God causes the growth, it shall remain.
Lord! Here I am. Make me Your friend to bear fruit that remains! Amen!

我能愛到痛嗎？ Do I Love Until It Hurts?

我能愛到痛嗎？（若15:9-11）

天父是無形無像，見不到的。為了拯救我們，祂生了一個有血有肉，有形可見的耶穌基督。神學家稱耶穌基督為「原始聖事」，因為祂符合「聖事」的定義，即「有形可見的標記，賦予無形的恩寵」。而且祂是「元始和終末」（默1:17），所以稱祂為「原始聖事」是合適的。運用現代的資訊科技術語，主耶穌基督是天父與世人之間的「介面」，祂好像一位傳譯員，使雙方可以進行溝通。又有如傳教士，在陌生的地方，把得救的福音，介紹給當地的土著！傳教士冒著生命危險前往蠻荒的地方傳福音，正是本著主耶穌基督的殉道精神，把生死置諸度外。殉道是愛的終極，為對方的益處而犧牲自己的生命，「再沒有比這更偉大的愛情了」（若15:13）。

另一方面，現代人注重民主人權，對「命令」懷有抗拒感。所以當耶穌說：「如果你們遵守我的命令，便存在我的愛內」（15:10），讓部份人聽來很刺耳。他們不免會問，服從命令還有愛的餘地嗎？
其實執行「命令」是為了完成一件工作。如果是沒有「位格」的死物如電腦、或者是動物如馬戲班的獅子老虎，它們執行命令時，的確是談不上「愛」。可是人類是不一樣的，因為人類有「位格」；即使是絕對服從命令的士兵，也可以是出於「愛國」而執行命令，遵守命令絕對沒有貶低他們對國家的愛。更何況耶穌的命令，即『我給你們一條新命令：你們該彼此相愛』（13:34），根本就是愛的命令。那麼，有甚麼比遵守耶穌愛的命令，更能保證我們存在耶穌的愛內呢？

耶穌樂於服從天父的命令（谷14:36），聽命至死，且死在十字架上（斐2:8）。這樣，天主子存在天父的愛內（若15:10）。朋友，你能遵守耶穌的命令嗎？
主啊！我知道自己力有不逮，沒有足夠的愛心去為祢殉道。請賜我聖神，加強我遵守祢命令的力量吧。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：asianews.it

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Do I Love Until It Hurts? (John 15:9-11)

The Father is invisible. To save us, He begets a visible Jesus Christ in flesh and blood. Theologians call Jesus Christ the “Primordial Sacrament” because He fits the definition of Sacraments, namely, a visible sign to bestow invisible grace. Moreover, He is “the first and the last” (Revelation 1:17). Thus it is appropriate to call Him the “Primordial Sacrament”. In the modern jargon of Information Technology, Lord Jesus Christ is the “Interface” between the Father and humanity. Like an interpreter, He enables communication between both parties. He is also like missionaries in an alien land proclaiming the gospel of salvation to the aborigines. Missionaries risk their lives to evangelize are actually following the spirit of martyrdom of Lord Jesus Christ. Martyrdom is the ultimate love. For the sake of the others, martyrs are willing to lay down their lives. “No one has greater life than this” (John 15:13).

On the other hand, modern people advocate democracy and human rights. They reject “commands”. So when Jesus says, “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love” (15:10), it will definitely offend some people. They would retort that obeying commands has no room for love!
Executing a command is to accomplish a task. For agents which are not persons, such as computers or animals, executing commands has nothing to do with love. But human beings are different because they are persons. Even for soldiers who obey orders absolutely without questioning, their obedience can be motivated by patriotism. Obeying orders does not degrade their love towards their country. Let alone Jesus’ commandment, “I give you a new commandment: love one another” (13:34) is a commandment of love. Then what more can guarantee our remaining in His love than obeying His commandment of love?

Jesus obeys the will of the Father (Mark 14:36), was obedient to death even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). Thus, the Son of God remains in the love of the Father (John 15:10). My friends, are you able to obey Jesus’ order?
Lord! I know that I’m not capable to love you till martyrdom. Grant me the Holy Spirit to strengthen me to obey Your commandment. Amen.

天父剪掉猶達斯 The Father Removed Judas

天父剪掉猶達斯（若15:1-8）

【若望福音】對出賣主耶穌的猶達斯，評價很低，把他說成是一個賊（若12:6）。不知是否出於憐憫還是抗拒權威，二十世紀的媒體，卻不斷地為猶達斯翻案，嘗試找不同的藉口，為他洗脫罪名。例如有學者說十二宗徒中，惟有猶達斯不是加里肋亞人，所以他受到其他十一人排擠；於是他要幹一番事業，出人頭地…；有電影說猶達斯想安排耶穌在公議會前行神蹟，宣佈自己是默西亞；或者猶達斯真的是貪財，又以為能行神蹟的耶穌有本領輕易脫險，透露耶穌的行藏便可賺到三十個銀幣，何樂而不為…等等。

其實，主耶穌何嘗沒有憐憫猶達斯呢？祂在十字架上求天父寬恕罪人的時候，又怎會遺漏了猶達斯呢？（路23:34）即使猶達斯在耶穌釘十字架前已經自縊身亡，未能在生前獲得罪赦，但耶穌不是說過，「信從我的，即使死了，仍要活著」嗎？（若11:25）猶達斯即使死了，也阻擋不了耶穌寬恕他，待末日復活後寬恕他也未遲！但同情憐憫猶達斯，總不可以歪曲真相！

耶穌在最後夜餐所說的「臨別贈言」，是猶達斯離開後纔開始說的（13:31），所以猶達斯沒有機會聽到這個「葡萄樹的比喻」。說不定他聽了以後，會打消賣主求榮的念頭，也未可知。為我們這些有機會賣主求榮的人，這比喻可收「當頭棒喝」之效。因為在比喻的開始，耶穌即時提出嚴厲的警告，這是非比尋常的舉動，大家聽到了沒有：「凡在我身上不結實的枝條，祂（天父）便剪掉」（15:2a）！猶達斯正是一個活生生的例子，我們還可以心存僥倖，為猶達斯洗脫罪名嗎？

葡萄樹和枝條，誰是中心，一目了然。我們領洗以後，真的決心跟隨耶穌，以祂為主，以祂為中心呢？還是依然故我，仍然注視自己的成就，自己的利益，以自我為中心呢？猶達斯愛耶穌，以耶穌為生命的中心，生活在耶穌內，結許多的果實；還是以自我為中心，結果「丟在外面而枯乾了」呢？我們不是天主，「應給天主的忿怒留有餘地」（羅12:19），把審判留給天主吧！
主啊！我的心在這裡，請拿去用吧。亞孟！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：jesus-story.net

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The Father Removed Judas (John 15:1-8)

The gospel of John has a very low appraisal of Judas the traitor, calling him a thief (John 12:6). We don’t know whether it was out of being merciful or rebellious against authority, media in the 20^th century kept looking for arguments to exonerate Judas. For example, some scholars opine that Judas was not a Galilean among the Twelve. He was ostracized by the Eleven. Thus Judas needed to do something big … Some playwrights have plots in which Judas tried to arrange Jesus to work miracles before the Sanhedrin, declaring Himself the Messiah. Or Judas was really greedy. He thought that Jesus who was able to work miracles would escape easily. Revealing the location of Jesus would earn 30 silver pieces. So why not … etc.

In fact, would Lord Jesus not be merciful to Judas? When He was hanging on the cross, asking the Father to forgive sinners, would He forget Judas (Luke 23:34)? Even though Judas had hanged himself and died before Jesus was crucified, thus unable to obtain forgiveness while he was alive, Jesus had said earlier, “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” (John 11:25) So even had Judas died, it could not stop Jesus from forgiving him. On Judgment Day when everybody comes back to life, it shall not be too late to forgive him! Being merciful to Judas is no excuse to distort the truth!

Jesus made the Farewell Speech after Judas had left (13:31). Thus Judas missed the opportunity to listen to the parable of the vine. Had he listened to it, Judas would probably have forsaken the intention to betray Jesus. But for us who are potential traitors, this parable is an alarm. It is extraordinary that Jesus begins His parables in such a harsh tone. Have you not heard, “He (the Father) takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit” (15:2a)? Judas was such a vivid illustration. Do you still take the chance to defend Judas and acquit him?

It is obvious which the centre is, the vine or the branches. After we had been baptized, did we decide to follow Jesus, making Him our Lord, our centre? Or do we remain the same, still focus on our achievements and benefits, and are egocentric? Did Judas love Jesus, made Jesus the centre of his existence and bearing much fruit, or was he egocentric and consequently, “be thrown out like a branch and wither”? We’re not God. “Leave room for the wrath” (Romans 12:19). Let God pass the judgment!
Lord! My heart is here. Take it and use. Amen!

平安何處求？ Where To Find Peace?

平安何處求？（若14:27-31）

四部福音都記載了耶穌基督的受難始末。在三部「對觀福音」中，我們目睹耶穌怎樣默默地承擔著古今中外全數的罪債，受盡了罪人的折磨，含羞而死。我們不免會問，天主有必要用這種殘忍而沒有效率的方法來拯救世界嗎？簡單地毀滅撒殫，豈不是一了百了嗎？但【若望福音】卻完全不同，它所描寫的耶穌，是胸有成竹，穩操勝券地執行任務！於是天主子的死，少了一份慘不忍睹的感覺。

且看，祂說：「誰也不能奪去我的性命，而是我甘心情願捨掉它；我有權捨掉它，我也有權再取回它來」（若10:18）耶穌大言不慚嗎？今天祂再進一步說：「世界的領袖就要來到；他在我身上一無所能」（14:30）。當時是羅馬帝國的世界，比拉多就是羅馬公義的代表。在對觀福音中的「比拉多審耶穌」一段情節，耶穌不回一句話；但讀【若望福音】的片段，好像反過來是耶穌審問比拉多。祂對比拉多說：「若不是由上賜給你，你對我甚麼權柄也沒有」（19:11），與今天的福音，前後呼應。最後，尼苛德摩帶著約一百斤的沒藥和沉香調和的香料，用來埋葬耶穌（19:39）。一百斤香料，簡直是帝王的待遇！尼苛德摩代表著普世萬民，向天主奉獻馨香。所以耶穌的受難，不是一個革命家的失敗，而是「置諸死地而後生」的戰略！

耶穌把死路變成進入永生的門檻，能跟隨祂跨越死亡的，便成功地到達永生的彼岸。在那裡，耶穌已經為我們預備了地方（14:2）。正因為耶穌基督穩操勝券，所以祂很安心地服從天父的命令（14:31），也可以把這份平安賜給信徒（14:27）。世人追求成就，索取利益；既滿足自己的願望，又迎合世界的要求。獲得了成就和利益之後，我們祇能增加安全感，但我們的心仍感不安，仍然恐怕失敗。因此在現世尋求平安，是徒勞無功的，因為世界祇會給我們一種虛假的「安全感」，並不能賜給我們真正的平安。
主啊！請賜我下台階，不用再追求成就和利益。亞孟！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：9900.com.tw

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Where To Find Peace? (John 14:27-31)

The four canonical gospels have written down the Passion of Jesus Christ. In the three Synoptic Gospels, we read how Jesus bore upon His shoulders all the debts of the world of all ages, suffered tortures from sinners and died a disgraceful death. Naturally we would ask if it is an absolute necessity for God to save the world in such a brutal and inefficient manner? Wouldn’t the whole project be simple just to annihilate Satan? But the gospel of John is different. The Jesus John portrays is carrying out His mission in a confident manner, knowing well that the final victory belongs to Him! Thus the death of the Son of God gives us a less bloody feeling.

Look, He says, “No one takes it (my life) from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.” (John 10:18) Was Jesus being boastful? Today, He further says, “The ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me.” (14:30) It was the world of the Roman Empire and Pontius Pilate represented Roman justice. In the narrative of “Jesus Before Pilate” among the Synoptic Gospels, Jesus was silent. But in the Johannine version, it reads like Jesus was judging Pilate. He told Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.” (19:11) It forms an inclusio with the verse today. Lastly, Nicodemus came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds to bury Jesus (19:39). One hundred pounds of spice would be a royal burial! Nicodemus was actually representing all peoples to offer up incense to God. Thus the death of Jesus is not the failure of a revolution advocate but a Phoenix strategy!

Jesus turns death into the threshold to eternal life. When we are able to follow Him to pass-over death, we shall land successfully on the other side of eternity. Over there, Jesus has prepared a place for us (14:2). Since Jesus Christ controls the final victory, He is able to do with a peaceful heart just as the Father has commanded Him (14:31) and gives this peace to His disciples (14:27). Sons of the world go after achievements and seek advantages. Not only does it meet their wants but it also meets the demands of the world. After attaining achievements and gaining advantages, we can only increase our sense of security but our hearts are still not at peace. We still fear failures. Therefore, the world is a wrong place to seek peace because it would be futile. The world can only give us a false sense of security and is unable to grant us genuine peace.
Lord! Help me step down so that I don’t have to seek achievements and advantages anymore. Amen.

耶穌不顯示給世界 Jesus Will Not Reveal Himself to the World

耶穌不顯示給世界（若14:21-26）

為了不會與出賣主的「猶達斯」混淆，我們稱這位宗徒為「猶達」，即【馬爾谷福音】所記載的宗徒名單裡的「達陡」（谷3:18）。要明白為甚麼達陡問「究竟為了甚麼你要將你自己顯示給我們，而不顯示給世界呢」（若14:22），就必須知道上文下理，就是耶穌在最後晚餐時所說的「臨別贈言」。

上文提及耶穌不再說自己將會受難，因為已經說過三次了。耶穌反而說自己將要離去，為門徒預備地方，他日重臨，會「接你們到我那裡去」（14:2-3）。這些並不是安慰的說話，而是耶穌在預言自己復活後將會升天，回到天父身邊。祂離去之後，聖神將會降臨。這聖神是「世界不能領受的真理之神，因為世界看不見祂，也不認識祂。」（14:17）

這個不認識聖神的「世界」，是指甚麼呢？有學者認為若望宗徒筆下的「世界」，是指猶太權貴，甚至是猶太人。這觀點使「認識」一詞落實，因為在我們的經驗中，「世界認識某某」聽來有點莫名其妙。但我們不會採納這個觀點，因為有歧視猶太人的嫌疑。達陡提出了疑問，幫助我們分辨這「世界」是指甚麼人。
雖然耶穌回答達陡時，並沒有用「世界」一詞，但按上文下理，祂是回答達陡有關「不顯示給世界」的問題，亦解答了「世界」是指世上那些人。答案很簡單，就是「那不愛我的，就不遵守我的話」（14:24a）的人。

各位兄弟姊妹，其實愛耶穌並不難。在瑪竇福音第二十五章，耶穌已經事先張揚了，要求我們怎樣愛祂（瑪25:35-36）。有些人不愛耶穌，因為愛耶穌有難度。難處在於愛耶穌的人要採取「哀慟、溫良和締造和平」的生活態度（5:4-5, 9）。可是，我們寧可強顏歡笑，也不願在人前掉下一滴痛悔的眼淚；我們寧可得罪世人，強推自己的主意，亦不願放下身段，虛心聆聽；寧可搬弄是非，製造糾紛而從中取利，亦不願看見人民安居樂業…因為我們都是「世界仔」！
主啊，祢知道我愛你。請賜我聖神，認識真理，好能除去心中愛祢的障礙。亞孟！
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：hket.com

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Jesus Will Not Reveal Himself to the World (John 14:21-26)

In order not to mix up with Judas the traitor, we call this apostle Jude who is also known as Thaddeus in the Marcan List of the Apostles (Mark 3:18). To understand why Thaddeus asked this question, “What happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world” (John 14:22), we need to know the context which was the Farewell Speech Jesus made in the Last Supper.

In the Farewell Speech, Jesus no longer said he would suffer and die because He had mentioned it three times already. He said instead that He was going to prepare a place for the disciples and would come back again to take them to Himself (14:2-3). Those were not words of consolation but a prophecy of His resurrection and ascension, returning to His Father. After He left, the Holy Spirit would come down. This Holy Spirit was “the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it.” (14:17)

What does this “world”, which cannot accept the Holy Spirit, refer to? Some scholars opine that “the world” refers to the Jewish authority or even the Jews in general. This opinion makes the word “knows” concrete because in our daily experience, “the world knows so-and-so” sounds a bit odd. But we’ll not buy this opinion because it discriminates against the Jewish people. Thaddeus asks this question to help us discern which people “the world” refers to.
Although when Jesus replied Thaddeus He did not use the word “world”, from the context we understand that He was answering the question of not revealing Himself to the world. The answer is simple. They are those who “does not love me does not keep my words.” (14:24a)

Brethren! In fact, it isn’t difficult to love Jesus at all. In Matthew Chapter 25, Jesus has already shown us the way He expected us to love Him (Matthew 25:35-36). Some people don’t love Jesus because loving Jesus is challenging. The difficulty lies in the attitudes He demands in our daily life: being mournful, meek and peace-making (5:4-5, 9). We prefer putting up a brave face to shedding a drop of repentant tear in front of the others. We prefer offending the whole world, imposing our ideas on others to listening humbly to others’ suggestions. We prefer spreading rumours and creating conflicts to attain personal gains to seeing harmony and prosperity among people … because we are “sons of the world”!
Lord, You know that I love You. Grant me the Holy Spirit to know the truth so as to remove any obstacle in my heart to love You. Amen.

How People Know We Are Jesus’ Disciples 世人如何知道我們是耶穌的門徒

Fifth Easter Sunday, Year C
Theme: How People Know We Are Jesus’ Disciples 世人如何知道我們是耶穌的門徒

I used to visit prisons before and most of the prison officers and inmates greeted me “Pastor” instead of “Father” or “Deacon”. In their mind, Protestant is equal to Christian. Workers in funeral parlours are a little bit better because they know we are performing Catholic rites, not Protestant ones. But they still greet me “Father” instead of “Deacon”. It doesn’t bother me because I don’t expect them to know the difference and “Deacon” is not in their vocabulary. After all, as far as Hong Kong is concerned, people know Protestants more than Catholics. Producers of mass media also lack the knowledge. For example, TV dramas were shot in a popular Catholic Church in the New Territories because of its age and simplicity. But the characters running the “church” were pastors, or “Catholic priests” quoting bible passages in Protestant versions! English speaking Christians share the same bible but for Chinese speaking Christians, the wordings and names of Protestant bibles are different from the Catholic one. The different wordings have been a major obstacle for ecumenism among Chinese speaking Christians.

Catholic laity tend to be shy and humble. They are amiable and are able to mix along with people easily. But they prefer being invisible in a crowd and hiding themselves behind people because they are supposed to be humble. If you ask them to speak up, to lead and to proclaim their identity and faith, they prefer not because for them this is the job of the clergy. In previous generations, people could still tell whether a person was a Catholic if they saw him/her carrying or praying with rosaries. But it is no longer true these days. Many modern Catholics are no longer as pious as Catholics in previous generations. They are becoming more out-reaching and social-oriented probably due to Vatican II reforms. Catholics have yet to grope their way in this fast-paced modern world.
On the other hand, people can easily tell whether a customer in a restaurant is Protestant because they openly say grace before meals whereas Catholics don’t. Protestants are more eager to evangelize. They spend less energy in liturgy and more on fellowship. They value eloquence in homily and bearing witness. They don’t feel uncomfortable talking about Jesus. It is a well-established MO for them whereas the Catholic Church is better-established in spirituality and liturgy. Now, in the eye of the world, who are the disciples of Jesus, Protestant or Catholic? Obviously in Hong Kong, Protestants are disciples of Jesus.

What does Jesus say in the gospel passage today? “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Actually, having love for one another is NOT a distinctive mark of Christians because members of many religious communities or social classes also love one another. What makes Christian love stand out from the love shown by other communities? I think we need to read a previous verse, viz. “As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.” (13:34b) So, the question becomes how far Christians love each other as Jesus has loved us.

First of all, unlike the filial piety of the Chinese culture in which children love their parents in ways elaborated to the full by Confucianism, Jesus’ love is not governed by the same logic. Filial piety is a love out of duty simply because children came from parents. Chinese care very much about paying respect to ancestors. Therefore, it becomes a duty for children to obey, respect and take care of their parents. On the other hand, parents also have the duty to love and to care in order to bring up the children too. The relationship is reciprocal. Of course duty does not deny any room for love. But the very idea of duty will diminish the quality of love. Imagine a boy who impregnates a girl and marries her out of a sense of responsibility. Of course we cannot deny the quality of his love but surely it would be harder for the couple to develop authentic and fulfilling intimacy. As for the case of Jesus, He is our Creator and we are His creatures. The Creator can do whatever He likes to His creation. He has no duty to love and care for them. Therefore, we can rule out the case of Jesus loving us out of duty.

Secondly, consider the case of utilitarian relationships. Many relationships in modern commercial societies are functional and utilitarian. Relations are maintained when they increase the benefits of both parties. In other words, the relation is a utilitarian relation which is useful for both parties. If the relationship is a zero-sum relationship in which one party benefits at the expanse of the other party, it is a dysfunctional and immoral relationship. Such a dysfunctional relationship is a bondage, even slavery and can only be maintained with brute force. Our relationship with Jesus our Maker is not a utilitarian one. It is because our relationship with Jesus does not increase the benefit/glory of Jesus. In reality, we are damages/liabilities and burdens on Jesus. Had our relationship been a utilitarian one, Jesus would have severed us asap. Our existence would become questionable. So far, we have been rational.

Lastly, love is irrational and blind. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The first impression will attract and establish love relations etc. Yes, it is easy to start and maintain a relationship if the parties are pleasing, likeable and lovable. But what of us? Just look around us, the double-tongued politicians, the insatiable billionaires and the lunatics who happen to have inherited an empire, just to name a few. They are repugnant to say the least. How can you love those scumbags? But we ourselves are no better. Times and again, we are arrogant, impulsive, irresponsible and unlikeable. Any yet, not only does Jesus teach us to love each other, including those scumbags, but He also died for us!
How does Jesus do it? Is it because He is the Son of God, all knowing and all powerful? But He genuinely shares the same humanity with us at the same time! Indeed, He helps us transcend this injured humanity by affirming the innocence and beauty of our lives the moment He created us. In time, our lives were contaminated in this sinful world so that we become the scumbags we now are. Jesus loves scumbags in order to restore the innocence and beauty in them. This is the kind of edifying love Jesus looks for in His followers. It is inclusive and not selective. It is altruistic and forever ready to sacrifice oneself for the good of the others. If we are unable to love our enemies, to love those scumbags, we are NOT His disciples, whether the world knows it or not.

Brethren! Think seriously over it. Jesus has advised you to do calculations before committing your faith in Him (Luke 14:27-30). Otherwise, people would tease you and you’ll regret. But He understands us through and through, even better than we know ourselves. He knows our frailty and is willing to take up the cross for us. He promises to help us carry the burden (Matthew 11:28-30). So, will you attempt this adventure, put your faith in Him, surrender yourselves to Him and let Him raise you up?
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Photo Credit: allthatsinteresting.com

Do You Hear God’s Call? 你聽到天主的召喚嗎？

Fourth Easter Sunday, Year C
Theme: Do You Hear God’s Call? 你聽到天主的召喚嗎？

Nowadays, with information explosion, it is more difficult to hear God’s voice. Consequently, it is more difficult to hear God’s call. That probably is one of the many causes for the decline of priestly/consecrated life vocations. Not only is it an alarming sign for the Church whose survival is threatened by the drying up of clergy, but it is also a warning pointing to more conflicts world-wide.

When the Internet was becoming more accessible and social media were proliferating, people were optimistic that at last, they would be able to overthrow the tyranny of media gurus, the cultural colonization from the West and people anticipated the rise of a greater democracy globally. However, it turns out that the Internet is flooded with rumours, fake news, junk churned out from content-farms, echo chambers and online frauds etc. Common people are unprepared for such assaults which they have never encountered before. New-comers are naïve in computer literacy and help spreading rumours by forwarding messages before fact-checking them. Many fall victims to fake news and innocent people were lynched. It is easy to “unfriend” contacts and quit chat-groups which do not echo the same sentiments. People have become more polarized politically etc. Instead of generating greater solidarity in humanity, people become more isolated. Instead of raising greater democratic awareness, social media are becoming powerful propagandas and tools of indoctrination …

The Church is in a dilemma. When people are spending more of their time on the Internet, how can the Church ignore this window of evangelization? It is better late than never. If there is a lesson we may learn from the history of Information Technology, we should be relieved to know that late comers have the advantage of standing on the shoulder of giants. Late comers don’t have to reinvent the wheel and a secure ground has been laid before us.
However, the Internet is also a battlefield and regrettably one which the Church cannot afford to lose ground. Besides the problems mentioned earlier, the Internet is a battlefield because all denominations are free to participate. Instead of joining forces to evangelize, some of them take the opportunity to attack big and conservative denominations to prove themselves right! Such in-fighting makes Christianity lose its credibility in front of all humanity. The Church needs to be prepared to handle smears, hate speeches and misinformation prudently. I haven’t read enough Bible. I’m not sure whether we’re able to find any guidelines from the Word of God to help us handle these new issues in an informed manner.

This is how I see the present situation and I offer up my worries to the Lord. I see it as an issue of how to hear God’s voice in a noisy background. Unfortunately, we can’t expect Jesus to appear to us in our daily life, to commission us to proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15). Life won’t be easier even with Jesus’ apparitions, with Jesus doing everything for us. Paul the apostle is one such example. Firstly, you are forced to do something which is not your daily routine and most likely the commission isn’t your wish or your choice either. Secondly, you are definitely a minority (a selected few) among the minorities (the Church amidst the world). Few people in the Church will understand and support you. Outside the Church, people may even persecute you because your message goes against the current. Your voice will be drowned in the ocean of the Internet. Woe to you if Jesus really appeared and commissioned you.

On the other hand, you’ll definitely be canonized after your death. You’re blessed indeed to be among the selected few. I’m far from being cynical. I’m sincere because the Lord knows me through and through, even better than I know myself. Since all of us are “products” of our parents’ child-raising. Somehow, not all of us are blessed with a happy childhood for various reasons. Our ego develops defence mechanisms so much so that some of our emotions are repressed or distorted. We are unable to truly know ourselves. Even if I was raised to be pessimistic and most of my worries miss the mark, I genuinely believe that one of my worries would hit the bull’s eye.

In today’s gospel Jesus claims to be our Good Shepherd and this is how He describes our relationship, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) He expects us to be able to hear His voice and finally respond to His call. That’s why I spilt so much ink to spell out how difficult it is to hear His voice nowadays. The Internet has become indispensable for most people. Surfing the net has become their second nature.
A case in point, we deacons go on annual retreats to strengthen our spirituality. At first, we surrendered our mobile phones to the Spiritual Director before the start of the retreat. He would return them to us at the end of the retreat which usually lasted for three to four days. To be realistic, this policy is no longer implemented in recent years. We are allowed to keep our mobile phones during annual retreats and are advised to use them prudently.

Brethren! The Good Shepherd knows us through and through. There’s nowhere for us to hide ourselves in front of Him. He knows us best, our shortcomings as well as our strengths. He knows what is best for us. We trust in His love and are willing to surrender ourselves totally at His disposal. Though I have no solution to the issue of hearing God’s call in a noisy background, I’m sure the Good Shepherd must have some means to reveal His will to us other than resorting to apparitions. Perhaps He has already carried us on His shoulders without our being aware of it.
So help me, Lord. Open my ears and heal my deafness. Touch my tongue so that I may be fluent in the proclamation of Your gospel. Amen.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit:Scroll.in

It’s Difficult To See God’s Love 很難認出主的愛

Third Easter Sunday, Year C
Theme: It’s Difficult To See God’s Love 很難認出主的愛

As I have mentioned many times before, it’s exhausting to know the complexity of truth and life. Humanity has the tendency to avoid the harsh task of digging up the truth and to make life easy by simplifying a situation with a preconceived world-view which was previously built with labour. For example, since three gifts were offered to the Holy Infant, we were told that three Wise Men from the east came to worship the new born king (Matthew 2:11). Actually, the gospel did not specify the number of Wise Men (2:1)! Today, we read of the story in which Jesus asked Simon Peter three times whether he loved Him more than the others did. Each time, He commissioned Peter to take care of the Church. Traditionally, Church Fathers interpreted this as Jesus showing Peter forgiveness, giving Peter three opportunities to compensate for his three denials. It seems too artificial and once more, I suspect that the explanation has been over-simplified.

First of all, even if Jesus had the intention to forgive Peter, were it necessary to ask three times to match the three denials? In previous incidences, Jesus forgave the paralysed man (Mark 2:5), the adultery woman (John 8:11) and forgave the abusers on the cross (Luke 23:34) only once. Isn’t once already sufficient enough?
Secondly, we have no doubt that Jesus has the authority and mercy to forgive. But men enjoy the freedom to reject His mercy. Whether we accept or reject, Jesus forgives! Just like in our daily life, God showers us with graces we haven’t asked. We only have to be grateful. In this particular case, Christ has already forgiven Peter when He was crucified on the cross because Peter did not know what he was doing when he entered the High Priest’s courtyard and denied his Master. Why should Jesus take the trouble to forgive Peter three times in this particular situation? To make known to all, including Peter, that he had been forgiven? It’s unconvincing! Furthermore, when Jesus asked the third time, Peter was “distressed”! If Peter were begging Jesus’ forgiveness, he should have been eager to be given the third opportunity to cancel his third denial. Why should Peter be distressed! Therefore, at least for Peter himself, he did not understand this whole dialogue as an absolution of his three denials.

Perhaps the original language may shed some light on our understanding of the occasion. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI clarified this in his 2005 Encyclical “Deus Caritas Est”. He points out that there are three types of love in the Greek language: eros (the natural love between men and women), philia (fondness and friendly love between people of like mind) and agape (charity, altruistic love for the good of the others). When Jesus asked Peter for the first time, He used agape. But Peter replied with philia (John 21:15). What does it mean? It was not symmetric, not reciprocal. Indeed, God’s love for us is altruistic, is for our good. When we love God back in reply, it is impossible for our love to be equal! Jesus knows our limitations. He embraces our frailties, raises Peter up and commissions Peter to take care of the Church. The same happened the second time. But for the third time, Jesus condescends and uses philia (21:17)! Why? Did Jesus give up? By no means! He accepts our limited philia and wraps it up in the fullness of His agape!

I have no intention to show that the Church Fathers were wrong in their interpretation. They were not. Forgiveness is altruistic and an act of charity. Forgiveness is also a good illustration of Jesus’ agape. But we should be careful not to restrict our mind to interpret in one simplified way only. For example, the Torah can be simply interpreted as a set of precepts observing which would bring redemption. Thus, it is easier to enforce it simply according to the letters of the Torah. Therefore, it would be too “flexible” for Jesus to take into consideration the situations of the individuals and adjust the precepts accordingly. It would be unfair and eventually would damage the authority of the Torah etc. The Pharisees were not completely wrong but their way would mislead people and turn people away from God. Thus, Jesus warned us of the simplistic way of observing the letters of the Torah, “leaven of the Pharisees” (Luke 12:1)

Suffering is a complicated issue because it is indeed a mystery. Why should an all-loving God allow us to suffer? Why doesn’t an almighty God deliver us from suffering when we invoke His holy name?
Of course we can simplistically interpret sufferings and pains as a contrast to bliss and joy. Without pains, we would be unable to appreciate joy. Again, this is too simplistic an interpretation. In real life, many people are immune to pains and die fulfilled. So, using pains to highlight the goodness of joy does not stand.

In fact, God reveals Himself to be love (1 John 4:8). He loves us and has given us great powers to exercise and great bliss to enjoy. Regrettably, we were impatient and cut corners. There’s an innate temptation inside us who are God’s images to cash in and always want to become God immediately without any hard work. Sins appear and curb our powers into potentials which require greater efforts to actualize. Simply put, no pain no gain. God allows the Tempter to chasten us with disasters and sufferings. The Tempter plays the role of an Accuser in front of God and to us as a Liar to cast doubt on God’s love for us. Our sins are irredeemable and God will not forgive us etc.
The Tempter is truly annoying but God does not take any short cuts, snap His fingers and gone the Tempter. No. He does not show off His glory and majesty so that no humanity is able to reject Him. No! God takes the trouble to become flesh, lives patiently for thirty years among us before He springs into action. Even His actions are mild and inviting instead of being imposing. Then He dies a shameful death and comes back to life etc. so that “everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Alas, Brethren! It is not easy to believe and trust once we were bitten by sins. The Tempter always has an upper hand over us. God is faithful. We need to learn to become faithful ourselves. Paul encourages us, “Affliction produces endurance, and endurance proven character, and proven character hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5) Invoke the Holy Spirit within us to help us know the will of God and inflame in us the fire of love to love God so that we may be able to glorify God with our martyrdom (John 21:19).
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture credit: wikipedia.com

Our Lady Is The Perfect Disciple 聖母是那位完美的門徒

Our Lady Is The Perfect Disciple 聖母是那位完美的門徒

Deacon Alex Kwok

All of the four canonical gospels agree that after resurrection, Jesus appeared first to a group of women. Among them was Mary Magdalene. The gospel according to Mark even states explicitly in its appendix that, “When he (Jesus) had risen, early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons.” (Mark 16:9) Jesus sent Mary Magdalene to tell the apostles that He’s risen. Therefore, the Church honours Mary Magdalene with a title of the “Apostle of the apostles”!

Naturally, our mind would turn to another Mary, the mother of Jesus. People feel uncomfortable because none of the gospels say anything about Jesus appearing to Our Lady after his resurrection. It’s illogical because Jesus could not breach the Ten Commandments, could He? Don’t worry. The absence of evidence is not an evidence of absence. If something is not written in the gospels, it does not imply that it never happened. John the beloved disciple of Jesus says it well, “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book” (John 20:30). Therefore, it is not superstition or folk piety to believe that Jesus had also appeared to the Blessed Virgin Mary to bring joy and peace to her. The absence of evidence only highlights the humility of Our Lady! Her silence did not contradict John’s words “in the presence of his disciples” because Our Lady knew her position and she always followed her Son from a distance, even up to Mount Calvary where she ended up standing under the cross to suffer together with her Son. Her faith is unshakable and her love is total and unreserved. Her virtues are simply innumerable. Perhaps it is a good idea to recite the Litany of Loreto【聖母德敘禱文】 in this month of May to familiarize ourselves with the virtues and privileges we find in her.

After resurrection, Jesus did not appear to all people but only to a chosen few to send them out to bear witness for him (Acts 10:41-42). On the first Easter day, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene to send her to bring the good news of his resurrection to the apostles. While Saul (aka Paul) was on his way to Damascus to wipe out the Christian community there, Jesus appeared to him and sent him to evangelize the Gentiles. Jesus appeared to St. Francis of Assisi and sent him to rebuild His Church and appeared to St. Faustina to popularize the Divine Mercy devotion etc. We may safely conclude that whenever Jesus appears to anyone, He would send that person to bear witness for Him. Now, when the risen Jesus appeared to Our Lady, what did He send her to do?

While he was hanging on the cross, Jesus commissioned the BVM to be the Mother of the Church with these words, “Woman, behold, your son” (John 19:26). What was the point of beholding a dying man? It must be referring to something else. Therefore, when the risen Lord appeared to His mother, He must have explained to her how she would act as the Mother of the Church in the future. For example, for forty days the BVM stayed among the believers praying together with them and elected Matthias to replace Judas (Acts 1:14ff). Though not mentioned by name, the BVM must have been present at the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost. Previously, in order for the Word to become flesh (John 1:14), the Holy Spirit overshadowed the BVM (Luke 1:35). What better way for the Church, the Mystic Body of Christ, to come into existence than for the BVM to give birth once more? What better way to nurture and to chastise her children than appearing to them in subsequent ages? The rest is history.

Brethren! Has the risen Lord appeared to you? I’m sure He has to all of us. Let’s follow the exemplar of our heavenly Mother to bring the good news of reconciliation to all the people we meet. Her intercessions are our hope. Amen.