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.
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
No comments:
Post a Comment