善用天主的慈悲 Make Good Use of God’s Mercy

善用天主的慈悲（路14:12-14）

設宴非同小可，並不簡單。倘若你沒有充足的財富或者地位，你何來設宴的本錢呢？未過中年的受薪層級而能設宴，真是絕無僅有！要知道人過中年，每一天都是天主額外的賞報。原來天主時時刻刻都在賞報我們，用不著等到義人復活的時候。所以，你幾時設宴，請誰都可以。請親戚朋友和富有的鄰人可以，請貧窮的殘廢的瞎眼的更加可以。因為天主不會因為你宴請富有者而拒絕賞報你。但天主會因你宴請富有者而給你小一點的賞報嗎？當然不會！倘若天主與人斤斤計較，有誰還能站得住呢(詠130:3)？

要注意，天主子耶穌基督正在運用著有局限的人類語言，向我們演說天父上智的真理，難免引起我們很多的誤解。例如，耶穌基督勸勉我們行善，便運用了「功利主義」的邏輯。這樣做可以讓大部份人容易明白，但自命清高的人是不願接受的！

要知道天主絕對不會附和「功利主義」的邏輯。天父把惟一的獨生子交給人類釘十字架，替人類贖罪，可見祂做事是不會計較成本的！因此，即使耶穌基督運用「功利主義」的口吻，但祂的心意依然是慈悲的。
為甚麼祂祇說：「但在義人復活的時候」(路14:14)而沒有提及「惡人復活」呢？難道惡人不會復活嗎？要知道聖經沒有提及的事物，並不表示這些事物不存在。天主子不在這裡說「惡人復活的時候」，是不想對惡人過早宣判，祂一再展示了對罪人的慈悲。
慈悲的主，不要讓我們浪費祢的一番好意，請幫助我們善用恩賜，把祢的慈悲廣傳。亞孟。
生命恩泉
圖片鳴謝：johnsanidopoulos.com

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Make Good Use of God’s Mercy (Luke 14:12-14)

Organizing a banquet is a big deal. If you’re not sufficiently wealthy or highly esteemed, how are you able to afford organizing one? Rarely can a middle-aged salaried worker do it! Indeed, each day is an extra gift from God once you survive past the middle-age. It turns out that God doesn’t wait until the resurrection of the righteous to repay us. He is rewarding us all the time! Thus, you may invite anybody in mind when you plan a banquet. Relatives, friends and wealthy neighbour are welcome. The poor, the maimed and the blind are even better. God will not refuse to repay you because you invite the rich. But will God repay me less if I invite the rich? Of course not! If the Lord keeps account of sins, who can stand (Psalms 130:3)?

Bear in mind that the Son of God Jesus Christ is deploying the limited human language to express the Father’s wisdom from on high. Misunderstanding is inevitable. For example, Jesus Christ exhorts us to do good with a utilitarian logic. Many people find it easy to understand but the moral elitists would definitely reject!

Be assured that God does not buy the logic of utilitarianism. The Father handed His only begotten Son over to be crucified to redeem our sins. It shows that God does not count costs! Thus, though Jesus Christ uses utilitarian languages, His intention is still merciful!
Why did He say “at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:4) and not mention “the resurrection of the wicked”? Would the wicked not resurrect? We should remember that in the Bible, an absence of evidence is NOT the evidence of absence. The Son of God does not mention here the resurrection of the wicked because He does not want to pass judgment on the wicked pre-maturely. It demonstrates once again His mercy towards sinners.
Merciful Lord! Let us not waste Your good will towards us. Help us make good use of Your grace to pass on Your mercy. Amen.

We Are Saved In Unique Ways 因材施救

Thirty First Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: We Are Saved In Unique Ways 因材施救

From what we can gather from the Synoptic gospels, at least two things happened at Jericho when Jesus was on his last trip to Jerusalem. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus healed two anonymous blind men when He left Jericho (Matthew 20:29-34). They called Jesus the Son of David which suits Matthew’s Messianic theme. In the gospel of Mark, Jesus healed blind Bartimaeus when He was leaving Jericho (Mark 10:46-52). The healing suits Mark’s Son of God theme. So, we know for sure that Jesus healed some blind beggars (it doesn’t matter whether there were one or two blind men and whether they were beggars or what not) in Jericho before He went up to Jerusalem. That the blind beggar was NOT anonymous suggests that Bartimaeus must have been a well-known figure in the Marcan community. But Luke chose to report another incident, not a miracle but miraculous none the less. When Jesus entered Jericho, He entered the house of Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector and a rich man (Luke 19:1-10). The story of Zacchaeus is meaningful in at least two ways.

First of all, Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and a wealthy man (19:2). In the eyes of contemporary Jews, he was a public sinner because he worked for the Romans to oppress his own kindred. Moreover, he must have been greedy and collected more than required. But Jesus comes to his defence and says, “This man too is a descendant of Abraham” (19:9). From the lips of the Lord, Zacchaeus was declared to be a descendant of Abraham. No matter how scandalous his previous life had been, he would also inherit the blessings God promised to Abraham! Even a public sinner is allowed to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven! It seems unfair in our eyes because righteousness is essential in keeping a society in proper order. What Zacchaeus did had been self-fattening, selfish and harming the common good. How can it be wrong to label him a sinner, can’t it? This is not a social discrimination as we understand today because this labelling was unable to cause Zacchaeus any harms or disadvantages in the society. At most, it acted as a “curb” on his unscrupulous greed! But when God shows Zacchaeus mercy, God is not contradicting His righteousness. Instead, God is righteous when He gives sinners opportunities to repent and forgive them when they do.

Secondly, the story of Zacchaeus reminds us of another tax collector whom God has also shown mercy. Matthew was a tax collector working somewhere near Capernaum in Galilee in the north. In the early phase of His public ministry, Jesus called him and eleven others to form the core of apostles, the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. However, it was in the final stage of the public ministry of Jesus that Zacchaeus was called. As mentioned above, all of us, whether we lead a saintly or scandalous life, are called to inherit the blessings pledged to Abraham. We are called to become saints and to partake in the eternal life of God. But each of our calls is unique! Jesus did not call Matthew by his name (5:27) but Zacchaeus by his (19:5). In the case of Zacchaeus, it must have been a very piercing experience when the Lord called him by his name! Indeed, every call is basically a call to personal reconciliation with the Lord. Moreover, their paths to sanctification were also different. Matthew received a “tougher” coaching for some three years and took up the heavy duty to be one of the pillars of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:14). The Bible does not tell us what Zacchaeus has accomplished in the early Church. But that his name was recorded in the gospel indicates that he was prominent in the Lucan community. In one tradition, Zacchaeus the tax collector was the first bishop of Caesarea. Thus, the call of Zacchaeus demonstrates that our paths to sanctification are unique. Some are called to be apostles and others beggars, bishops, deacons, hermits, nurses, priests, teachers and widows etc. We don’t have to hand over half of our possessions to the Church or to the homeless in order to be saved. Allow me to repeat once more, our paths to salvation, to sanctification are unique.

Zacchaeus’ charitable work reminds me of people who quote Paul out of context, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9) and “It is those who have faith who are children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7), echoing the Lord’s defence of Zacchaeus. From these quotes, those people deny the merits of charitable works. But how can anybody be saved simply by faith alone? Doesn’t Paul continue to say, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love” (5:6)? Therefore, “faith only” doesn’t save but “only faith working through love” saves! Zacchaeus is a good illustration. Jesus’ call pierces his heart, prompting him to reflect how this rabbi knows his name the first time they meet. His faith in Jesus and his sincerity of repentant are shown by the subsequent actions Zacchaeus pledged to take. “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor”, i.e. faith working through love and “If I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over”, i.e. his sincerity of repentance (Luke 19:8). He must have honoured his pledge otherwise, the name Zacchaeus would not appear in the gospel of Luke. Who is able to see Zacchaeus’ faith without his charitable work (James 2:18)? Only God is and we are not God!

Our God is ineffable. Human languages are inaccurate in describing Him. At most, we can only apply anthropomorphism to make sense of Him. So, God has a face which nobody sees and lives. His strong arms deliver Israel, carrying him on His wings. He can be angry and jealous etc. So, in order to harmonize how an all-knowing and righteous God can be merciful, we read today that, “You overlook sins for the sake of repentance” (Wisdom 11:23). The text portrays God as a father, not as a judge. A father knows the mistakes made by his children but he is tolerant and overlooks those mistakes, hoping that his children will correct their mistakes and improve. A judge is sober and will never overlook details. Growth and development are not his concern. Fairness is. The God Jesus portrays is a father, not a magistrate. That is the good news!

Brethren! God must have called you. Are you on your path to sanctification? Perhaps you have turned lukewarm because there are too many things to handle in order to earn a decent living and to maintain a healthy relationship etc. You must have been very burdened. Zacchaeus too must have felt the squeeze of being a public sinner. Perhaps from his subordinates in the north, he had heard something about this rabbi from Galilee who didn’t mind dining with sinners. Zacchaeus “was seeking to see who Jesus was” (Luke 19:3) and found his salvation (19:9). What about you? Are you seeking to see who Jesus is and find your peace in Him?
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: wikimedia.org

A John and Paul Duet 若望保祿二重唱

Mission Sunday, Year C
Theme: A John and Paul Duet 若望保祿二重唱

For most of us, God is theologically almighty, all-knowing, majestic, and glorious etc. But after a life-long meditation, the beloved disciple of the Son of God came to a different conclusion, a relational one. “God is love” (1 John 4:8), he says and love is outreaching. Out of love, God created human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:26) and had prepared for us the known universe to grow and develop the potentials He has given to each one of us. Regrettably, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Consequently, “Darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds, the peoples.” (Isaiah 60:2) But God so loves His Creation that nothing can stop God from pouring out His love (John 3:16). In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) to make Himself visible. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) So, His glorious light is revealed. This light is the Word of God that brings life (1:4) and the Word took flesh, becoming more visible and dwelling among us (1:14).

This “Word took flesh” has been a Jewish carpenter rabbi, Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth who revealed Himself, not in an abstract manner but concretely, by calling twelve Jews to be His disciples. The beloved disciple summarizes it well, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life --- for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it …” (1 John 1:1-2). To carry out His mission, Jesus Christ lived with the Twelve and trained them for three years to proclaim the good news of reconciliation to different parts of the world. Near the end of His public ministry, the Son of God was crucified, died and was buried. He rose again on the third day and forty days later, He returned to His Father in heaven. Before He left for heaven, the risen Lord commissioned the disciples to continue His mission. Later, those communities of the faithful would expand and form a universal Church to continue the mission until the end of the world. But they need to convince themselves why the Son of God must die to redeem the world. Isn’t it more efficient simply to defeat and destroy the Devil?

When a person is unable to find meaning or purpose in life, he is in grave danger of committing suicide because there is nothing left for his continued existence to cling to. Similarly, a group of people would disband if they are unable to agree upon their raison d'être. So, what is the raison d'être of the Church? It is the last and great commission Jesus Christ gave His disciples before He ascended into heaven. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations …” (Matthew 28:19); “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15); “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This is the raison d'être of the community of disciples. The mission Christ gave the Church is not a simple one. It can’t be accomplished within a generation. Thus, to order to continue coming together as a group to accomplish the task, the disciples need to enrol new members and make them disciples. But what does it mean “to proclaim the gospel” and “to be my witness”?

What is the gospel? What makes the news a good one? The gospel is not simply a biography of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. Paul says, “God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Thus, “to be witnesses of Christ” is to discharge the ministry of reconciliation. What’re the trespasses? It is the deprivation of the glory of God mentioned above (Romans 3:23). So, the good news is that God does not count our sins against us in Christ. What does “not count our sins against us in Christ” mean? It means we don’t have to repay the debts of our sins anymore. First of all, we’re unable to pay. Why are we not able to repay? Paul continues to say, “For the wage of sin is death” (6:23a) but we only live once. Then who pays? Out of love, the Son of God took the initiative to die for us. He takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) by dying on the cross for us, paying all the debts of the world. Therefore, the good news is that we are able to continue to lead our lives because God does not count our sins against us in Christ. By the way, who is this Paul? He is not among the Twelve, isn’t he?
No, he is not. It was after His ascension, Jesus Christ the Son of God also appeared to and called a Pharisee to proclaim His gospel to the Gentiles and to systematize the articles of beliefs. Paul, the converted Pharisee continues to elaborate that whoever confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead will be saved (Romans 10:9). For Paul, to be saved is to have one’s broken life restored and preserved. More than that, whoever is saved is to partake in the eternal life of God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (6:23)

What is “eternal life in Christ”? Does it mean immortality? Not exactly! John says, “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Don’t belittle the word “to know” because for Jews, “to know יָדַע” may refer to something very intimate. For example, Genesis 4:1 and Luke 1:34. Thus, to partake in the eternal life of God is to know Him and to become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:18) with Him. John also uses this “one flesh” language when he talks about the mystery of Incarnation (John 1:14) and Christ’s relation with the disciples (15:5). Paul does so when he discusses the Mystical Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). In other words, our salvation is more than God not counting our sins against us, but God enables us to partake in His eternal life, to become one flesh with Him. In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus says, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us …” (17:20-21) So, not only were the disciples handpicked by the Son of God, but all of us will also return to our Creator and become one flesh with Him again!

Will our sinful past “dilute” God’s glory when we become one flesh with Him? Of course not! God is an infinite being. Subtracting a finite amount from an infinite amount still renders an infinity. Similarly, one infinite Father plus one infinite Son plus one infinite Holy Spirit will render, not three, but one infinity! This “infinity” jargon is as powerful as the “one flesh” language.

Brethren! On this Mission Sunday, let’s bear in mind not only the whole humanity but also the whole creation which is groaning with us (Romans 8:19-23). Paul mentions “creation” 4 times within these 5 verses! Why does the whole creation groans? In ancient times, the Psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of His hands.” (Psalms 19:2). But we have been irresponsible and contaminated our environment heavily. Woe to us, we’re suffering extreme weathers and outbursts of pandemics. We can no longer afford to ignore the sustainability of our environment anymore. Amen.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: bishopandchristian.com

A Church Open To Everyone

A Church Open To Everyone

Deacon Alex Kwok
Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

The Papal Prayer intention in October 2022 is to “pray that the Church, ever faithful to the Gospel and courageous in preaching it, may live in an increasing atmosphere of synodality and be a community of solidarity, fraternity and welcome.”

Synodality has been a buzz word since Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis in 2013 to succeed Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. As a verb, “synod” means “to walk together on the same road”. Some sixty years ago, St. Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council to kick off the modernization of the Catholic Church. He succeeded in opening a window for the Holy Spirit to breathe a new life into the Church. The Church listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit spoken through more than 2000 bishops and theologians. She renewed her identity as the People of God in pilgrimage on earth, sharing the joy and anxiety of men of this age. As a noun, “synod” is the gathering of bishop representatives to deliberate on social issues such as environment, young people and family etc. After Vatican II, it is impossible to assemble all the bishops all over the world to discuss problems. Synods are more manageable. In 2021, Pope Francis took one step further. He wants the whole Church, not just the elites of the Church, to walk together and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in each and every member of Mystical Body of Jesus Christ! He makes the XVI General Assembly of Synod of Bishops last from 2021 to 2013 and the theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”. It lasts for three years because the Church tries to listen to the voices from the grass root. We have just finished the diocesan phase of listening to different groups of people across all levels. The Diocese of Hong Kong firmly believes that those findings are voices of the Holy Spirit and they have been submitted to the Vatican.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a carrier of the Holy Spirit. She visited Elizabeth and “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41) After the Ascension of the Lord, the BVM took care of the 120 disciples and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer” (Acts 1:14-15). With her presence, the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost. The BVM gave birth again to a new Mystical Body of Christ. In subsequent ages, the BVM appeared to different types of people: monks, bishops, farmers, shepherds and even children! Therefore, it is true that the Holy Spirit is happy to reside in people of all walks of life. We have to thank St. Luke for preserving for us what the Holy Spirit has spoken and done in the first century. Biographies of saints in subsequent centuries bear witness of the untiring effort of the Holy Spirit throughout the ages. When the Catholic Church started her modernization some six decades ago until now, we are able to discern the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit more clearly day by day.

Brethren! Let us follow the Pope to invoke the Holy Spirit to renew the Church as well as the earth. May the Holy Spirit rekindle the fraternity of all peoples. May the Church open her arms to embrace all, saintly and sinful men and women alike, the powerful as well as the poor, so that she can truly be called the Catholic Church. Amen.
St. Luke the Evangelist, Pray for us.

A World Without Faith 沒有信德的世界

Twenty Ninth Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: A World Without Faith 沒有信德的世界

The Son of God has made it crystal clear that nobody should know the day and hour of the end of the world (Mark 13:32). Furthermore, Christ even says, “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Matthew 24:44) Indeed, all documented doomsday prophecies have failed because most of them are attracted to special numbers, such as millennia or special events such as 6000 years after Creation etc. They made the mistake of not following Jesus’ words seriously. If we take His words seriously, we should never come up with a specific day and hour because once announced, an expectation would build up. Then the date and hour would NOT be unexpected! If we read the gospels carefully enough, you’ll see that Jesus has only painted a very vague picture: natural disasters, wars and disorders in the sky above etc. which are norms nowadays! Regrettably, human beings have been so used to these disasters, wars and extreme weathers that we become indifferent towards them. Mortality is just a number which we find it hard to relate to and the economic costs are simply too big to comprehend. Not only have we become indifferent, but we also distrust news reports, thinking that these are fake news, rumours or outputs from content-farms! Probably skepticism is how the human psychology tries to protect us from shocks.

The gospel passage today leaves us a curious verse which seems to be out of context. Jesus was telling the parable of a persistent widow to teach once more that we should pray untiringly to God (Luke 18:2-8a). Abruptly, he finished with, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (18:8b) Two questions immediately arise. Firstly, what has perseverance in prayer to do with the end of the world? We don’t pray for the quickening of the end of the world, do we? Secondly, what is the relationship between faith and the end of the world? Is Christ suggesting that a lack of faith would incur the end of the world?

It is short-sighted for us to pray for our immediate needs only, though we often do. Why not? Even among the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, four of them deal with our immediate needs. But have we meditated the second petition enough, that of the coming of the Father’s kingdom? Not only does this petition imply the spreading of the gospel message among the nations, but it also points to the second coming of the Son of Man. At the same time, this petition reminds us of our evangelization duty. God would be unfair if He passes judgment on peoples who never have an opportunity to hear of the gospel. Therefore, evangelization is indispensable for the righteousness of God. But when we proclaim the gospel, surely we’ll encounter all sorts of obstacles and even persecutions because the spirit of the Beatitudes goes against contemporary secularism. By then, we’ll switch our focus on the protection from temptations and deliverance from evils and lose sight of the Kingdom of Heaven and the end of the world!

The story of the first reading today may throw us some lights. The Israelites were recently liberated from the slavery in Egypt. Before they reached Mount Sinai to establish the Covenant with God, they encountered and waged war against the Amalekites in Rephidim (Exodus 17:8). The Hebrew slaves had never been trained in warfare. Therefore, this battle had to be fought for them by God. While Joshua and some men were engaging with Amalek below, Moses, Aaron and Hur were praying on top of the hill. When Moses’ hands were raised, the Israelites had the upper hand and vice versa (17:9-10)! Truly, evangelization is a warfare, a spiritual combat against the prince of Darkness. Like the Hebrew slaves, we are not angels trained in the fighting with Satan. On one hand, we only have faith as our shield and the word of God our sword (Ephesians 6:16-17). On the other, we have the Holy Spirit to help us pray when we do not know what we ought to pray for (Romans 8:26). This is how we should evangelize and to engage in this spiritual warfare. Faith and scriptures are our armour and prayers are our ammunition. Therefore, it is just and right for us to pray that the Kingdom of God prevails now and in the end. The end of the world should be one petition among our many prayers.

Who do not want to see the end of the world? The minorities who benefit from the status quo don’t. They enjoy power and wealth at the expenses of the majority. Of course they want to continue enjoying their advantages. However, the Catholic Church opts for the poor and stands by the needy. It is not her duty to overthrow the powerful and the wealthy. Instead, it is her duty to pray for the speedy coming of the Son of Man to see justice prevail. Since nobody, not even the angels, know the day and hour of the end of the world, we can only follow Jesus’ advice to pray untiringly for the speedy ending of the world. “Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them?” (Luke 18:7)

Allow me to attempt the second question, namely that a lack of faith triggers the end of the world. Let us imagine what a world without faith would be like. As a Catholic, I’m not in the position to pass judgment on Islam, Buddhism and Taoism etc. To be more exact therefore, the question becomes what a world without Christianity would be like. Well, I don’t mean a world without churches. Rather, it is a world in which you can still find churches but the spirit of beatitudes is wanting in them. That is to say churches which work hard to keep their finance healthy, to stay out of troubles in social controversies, to keep silent on moral issues, to avoid the marginalized and to generate more divisions and confusions in the society etc. There are churches which serve political or economic masters instead of God. In short, a world in which when the Son of Man comes again, He would be unable to recognize His Bride! Of course, it is exaggeration! It is because Jesus pledges to stay with us till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). It is impossible for Him to ignore the deterioration of His Bride! He is merciful and will do whatever within His capacity to turn the tide.

However, let’s forget not that He is unable to go against our free will. We are free to choose not to trust Him. The gospel tells us that even His kindred did not believe in Him, “So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.” (Mark 6:5-6) Moreover, humanity tends to be impatient. Their faith does not last long. Very soon and very easily, they would throw their hands in the air and give up. That’s why the Catholic Church decides to abandon elitism and continues proclaiming saints after saints in recent years!
To be candid, I’m rather pessimistic. To paraphrase the beloved disciple, if I cannot draw consolation from what is visible, how am I supposed to have faith in what is invisible (1 John 4:20)? Moses was able to last until sunset when Joshua won the battle, not only because Aaron and Hur helped him raise his arms, but Moses was also able to see Joshua winning! I begin to feel what the merciful Lord felt when He spoke that enigmatic verse, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8b) No wonder we have to pray untiringly to sustain our faith, since “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17).
Yes, Lord, You will find faith on earth when You come. Amen.
2016 Reflection
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On Being Ungrateful 忘恩負義

Twenty Eighth Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: On Being Ungrateful 忘恩負義

To make life easier to bear, we take a lot of things for granted. We unconsciously impose a lot of prejudgment, preconception and even prejudice on things we perceive. In short, we focus on a partial picture and are unwilling to pay extra attention to the whole context. For example, the first reading today tells nothing of what had happened before and focusses only on the gratitude of Naaman. In so doing, it reduces the weight of the message as a whole. Allow me to fill in the missing parts.

Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram and was a leper (2 Kings 5:1). Listening to the advice of the Israelite maidservant of his wife, Naaman sought the permission of his king to receive treatment in Israel. It shows the loyalty of Naaman to his lord. Therefore, later when he had been cured of his leprosy and had found his true Lord in Yahweh, his loyalty was unquestionable (5:17-18).
Back to the story. The king of Aram wrote the king of Israel a letter explaining the intention of the visit, “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy” (5:6). If you were the king of Israel, how would you interpret the intention conveyed in this letter? Here is the king’s reaction: “When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: ‘Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone for me to cure him of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!’” (5:7) The narrative is truly engaging!

The king was right because in ancient Israel, leprosy was God’s punishment. Penicillin was not yet discovered and leprosy had no cure. Lepers were by default sinners and only God could forgive sins, thus only God could heal leprosy. Naturally, the king of Israel would think that the king of Aram was picking a fight! Even if the king of Israel was accurate in his strategical assessment, he was wrong in not seeking God’s help! Wasn’t he supposed to believe in God and to have access to God? “Where is your God?” (Psalms 42:4) It was Elisha, the man of God, who came forth instead of the king going forth to consult him (2 Kings 5:8)! We readers have unconsciously harboured a preconception that kings of Israel should believe in Yahweh. We are not immune from prejudgment ourselves.

Naaman was no better but we cannot blame him because he knew next to nothing about Yahweh. As an army officer, Naaman was expecting some difficult and even mythical challenges, fulfilling which he would prove himself worthy of the healing. Or the other way around, some magician from Israel would come in front of him to waive a magical wand to cure him. Instead, Elisha told him to go bathing seven times in River Jordan (5:10-11). Here’s Naaman’s reaction, “Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” (5:12) Had the expectations of Naaman not been reasonable? Naaman was truly a good Aramean soldier. He defended his national pride and dared to challenge Yahweh! If Yahweh were the Lord almighty, why were Yahweh unable to cleanse me with the waters of Damascus? In the end, Naaman’s servants were able to convince him and the story has a happy ending. It shows that Naaman was open-minded and well loved by his servants, including his wife’s maid! He truly deserved the cure.
As for me, I asked the school chaplain of my alma mater the same question before I was baptized, “Why was Jesus not a Chinese?” Of course at that time, my curious mind was not satisfied with the answer of this humble priest. From then, I was sent on an unending quest to seek the truth! I have to thank this humble priest. Had he been able to convince me of God’s wisdom and to show me God’s grand plans, I would not have known and loved Yahweh more by days! Thank you Fr. Tapella, PIME.

Take another example from the gospel reading today, the story of Jesus cleansing ten lepers. “And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice ... He was a Samaritan. Jesus said … Ten were cleansed … Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:15-17) Naturally we will ask what the ethnicities of those ungrateful nine were. All of them were Jews, weren’t they?

At the moment, I prefer suspending judgment on two points. First of all, on what ground could we say the nine lepers were Jews? Read again more carefully. “As he (Jesus) continued his journey to Jerusalem, he travelled through Samaria and Galilee” (17:11). The location was in the north. There were a lot of Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles living together. Therefore, it is impossible to judge for sure what the ethnicities of the nine were. Furthermore, most Jews in the south would prefer not interacting with Samaritans and Gentiles unless it was unavoidable. Therefore, I think it would be safe to assume that the ten lepers were mostly Samaritans and Gentiles.
Secondly, were the nine lepers “ungrateful” when they did not return to glorify God? The gospel tells us that the lepers were following Jesus’ instruction to show themselves to priests (17:14). Perhaps they were obedient to Jesus’ instruction and; who can tell, perhaps they might come back later to give thanks after being inspected by priests. Similar to the behaviours of the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the behaviour of the nine lepers was less than ideal. But can we blame people who are obedient to the letters of commandments so much so that they do not show their compassion towards the needy, or in the case of the nine lepers, fail to show gratitude? Or the nine lepers did not have sufficient faith in Jesus’ command. They might think that inspection by the priests was a necessary condition for their cure to be permanent. They had suffered long enough and could not afford to relapse. Once more, we can’t blame people whose faith is weak, can we?

Or the nine lepers were not even aware that they had been cleansed. Perhaps they had contracted leprosy for such a long time that they had developed sufficiently strong defence mechanisms to protect their feelings. Their ego was no longer able to feel the pain and the shame! Their numbness had disabled their awareness of their cures! Woe to them who hide themselves too deeply in their comfort zones. Actually, most of us, in particular those who complain that God does not hear or answer their prayers, are on the same boat. In face of sufferings, we give up too easily without putting up even a fight! Yes, we need support from the Holy Spirit. But we also need to grow up and stand on our own feet, don’t we?

In this light, perhaps we may understand Jesus’ words better. “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” (17:17) It is all too easy to conclude that the Lord was unhappy with their ingratitude. No. The Lord God respects our freedom. Lord Jesus even prayed on the cross for those who crucified Him! Thus, I believe that the merciful Lord worries about the harms ingratitude would inflict on those nine lepers! “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked die?” (Ezekiel 18:23). He prefers not calling them out of their tombs later.
Brethren! Let’s keep our hearts open and be grateful to God and to our fellow neighbour. We should be open-minded because the God we believe in is a God of surprises! He very much wants to scrape away our preconceptions and prejudices. We should be grateful because God has been showering us with graces we need but have not asked for. We should be grateful because God has given us opportunities to serve Him in the needy. We should be grateful for each and every new day because God has given us yet one more day to repent and to lay up treasures in heaven.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: kershisnik.com

No Need To Increase Our Faith 毋須增加信德

Twenty Seventh Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: No Need To Increase Our Faith 毋須增加信德

One summer day when I was a teenager, my younger brother and I visited the Ocean Park and had a lot of fun. In one of the pools, there was a one-meter jumping board and everybody was flying off in crazy styles. So, I and my brother decided to give it a try. When I stood at the edge of the board and looked down, OMG it was scary! I hesitated for a few seconds. Seeing the queue of people behind us, my brother gave me a shove and I fell into the water below. That was fun! I returned several times to fully enjoy the coolness, creativity of motions and fun! Indeed, all of us are engaging in projects of various magnitudes at different stages of our lives. However, not only are we mortal, but we are also insecure. Some of us need more reassurance while others have no aversion to take great risks. When uncertainties arise, some take a leap of faith and dive in. Some need an extra shove from someone while others simply give up.

In the gospel passage today, the apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. Why and what was the context of this request?
Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem, the final leg of His ministry (Luke 9:51). The trip looked promising at the beginning because “So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.” (12:1) The Lord continued proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven and teaching the crowd on various topics: on persecutions, warning against greed and reconciliation etc. Some teachings are reassuring such as the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and even the Dishonest Steward. Some are challenging and even disturbing such as divisions within families, the Narrow Gate, Herod’s desire to kill Him and total renunciation in discipleship etc. Mark reports that when Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem and foretelling three times His imminent Passion, “Those who followed were afraid.” (Mark 10:32).

The apostles “had renounced all their possessions” to follow Jesus towards Jerusalem (Luke 14:33) but uncertainties were brewing. The future had become less promising. For them, there was no turning back because they had abandoned everything. That probably explains why the apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith, to give them an extra shove to dive in. The Lord reassures them saying, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree … and it would obey you.” (17:5-6). Then the Lord switches to talk about the attitude of servants. If a small amount of faith is sufficient to accomplish the mission, why did He talk about “unprofitable servants” (17:10)? What has that to do with increasing their faith, giving them an extra shove?

But do we really need to increase faith?
I’m aging. My hearing is failing so much so that I myself even notice that I’m singing out of tune. It is because my brain is drumming inside my head more frequently. I start forgetting things and have to stop to figure out what I’m supposed to be doing … My children and my wife are worried because my words and my deeds no longer inspire confidence in them. For some time, I have tried to act and speak in a more “reassuring” way, meeting their expectations. But I could not keep it up. I’m sorry. My family members and I myself have to accept this deteriorating reality. We cannot expect my being exempted from the law of nature because I’m a servant of God. Similarly, when I served the needy in the capacity of a permanent deacon, visiting prisoners and outsourcing janitors, I expected no obstacles in rendering my service. I was never more wrong because I still received traffic tickets in my journeys, met uncooperative officers and unfriendly janitors. In a similar way, I think the Israelites, the contemporary Jews as well as the apostles had a mistaken expectation on the Messiah.

In the first reading today, Habakkuk the prophet was complaining to God. He voiced what we wanted to vent in 2019. God, why do you allow injustice and violence? We expect the government to rule in fairness. Yet, we witness corruption, self-fattening and power abuses instead. God, why do you allow them to continue their wickedness? “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help and you do not listen … and you do not intervene? Why do you let me see iniquity? Why do you simply gaze at evil?” (Habakkuk 1:2-3) God answered the prophet’s complaint by raising the Assyrians and Babylonians to conquer them. Now, the prophet complained about the brutal judgments of the alien empires! At the height of 2019 social unrests, God handed the government a COVID-19 pandemic to crack down popular demands in the name of health! What would be next?
God reassures the prophet saying, “For the vision is a witness for the appointed time, a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.” (2:3) Do you still have faith in God’s words? In fact, patience is in short supply throughout human history. Adam could not wait and ate the Forbidden Fruit. Saul could not wait and offered sacrifice without Samuel, thus losing favour before God (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Indeed, what we need to increase is not our faith but out patience, or better to adjust our unreasonable expectations.

We were created in the image of God and we tend to play God. We put forth our conception of righteousness as God’s righteousness. The just will be rewarded and the evil punished. As simple as this! When government officials are wicked, they should be punished. When the Gentiles overdid the punishment, then what’s next? Unfortunately, no prophet had lived long enough to see how the Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonian which in turn fell to the Persian, the Greek and the Roman consecutively. When Job suffers calamities, he must have done iniquity in God’s eyes. Therefore, those calamities must be God’s punishments on Job’s iniquity, no more no less! Poor innocent Job of whom Satan made use to challenge God, whose sufferings could have no reasons at all. Sufferings just happen! Men are truly images of God. Like God, they prefer order because it gives them a sense of control and security. Human have an aversion to randomness. They need explanations. However, the more we know, the more we don’t know. There are more mysteries than theories. We need to live with them.

Brethren! No wonder Jesus talks about a master serving his servant who had just returned from ploughing or tending sheep in the field (Luke 17:7). It is unreasonable for a servant to expect such kind of presidential treatments, to expect the master to be grateful when the servant had done what was commanded him (17:9). Instead the servant should say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what were obliged to do.” (17:10) So, when we visit inmates in prisons and hospitals, we should not expect to be praised by God or any other people. We should not expect God to send His angels to clear away all obstacles on our path. Rather, we should be grateful for being given the opportunity to serve and to stay with the Lord. When the Lord is carrying us on His shoulder to scale mountains and to walk on stormy seas, do we need to increase our faith?
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: millenniumpool.com