New Life in Christ 在主內新生

Fifth Lenten Sunday, Year A
Theme: New Life in Christ 在主內新生

Jesus did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfil (Matthew 5:17). In raising Lazarus, Jesus fulfilled the prophecy which God spoke through Ezekiel, “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life, and I will … Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have spoken; I will do it --- oracle of the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:13-14). In context, God put Ezekiel in the centre of a broad valley filled with white bones (37:1). Firstly, God formed the bones back into individual skeletons and filled them with flesh. Yet there was no breath in them (37:8). Then God commanded the four winds and breathed into them and they came to life and formed a vast army (37:9-10). Here, we see that with the spirit of the Lord, the dead is able to come back to life. In Hebrew, the breath, the wind and the spirit are one and the same word רוּחַ. Thus, the spirit of the Lord is the essence of life.

People who insist on interpreting the Bible literally find it difficult to explain the longevity of biblical figures in Genesis 5: Adam died at 930 (5:5) though God says he would die the day he ate the Forbidden Fruit (2:17); Seth at 912 (5:8); Enosh at 905 (5:11); Kenan at 910 (5:14); Mahalalel 895 (5:17); Jared 962 (5:20); God took Enoch when he was 365 (5:23-24); Methuselah 969 lived the longest (5:27). At last, Lamech the father of Noah died at 777 (5:31). In order to explain why people nowadays no longer live that long, the literal interpreters of the Bible would quote the etymology passage which reads, “The Lord said: My spirit shall not remain in human beings forever, because they are only flesh. Their days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years” (6:3) However, 3 chapters later, we read that Noah died at 950 (9:29)! How can God contradict Himself! Obviously, the flaw lies not in God but in the literal interpretation of biblical passages. We should keep our minds open and look for what messages the verse conveys instead. For example, the spirit is the animating principle of the flesh; or the spirit is too powerful for the flesh to carry forever; or God sets the upper limit of human age to 120, or God is the author of life or any other reasonable statements and weigh their merits. Joining hand with the prophecy in Ezekiel, I buy the idea that the spirit is the animating principle of the flesh. It seems to be the most reasonable interpretation.

Unlike the two other raisings of the dead in the Synoptic gospels, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days (John 11:39). Thus by calling Lazarus out of the tomb (11:43), Jesus Christ proclaims to the world that they should know that He is the Lord when He made Lazarus come out of the tomb (Ezekiel 37:13). Consequently, many Jews began to believe in Jesus (John 11:45) but the Sanhedrin planned to kill Him (11:53) and Lazarus too because of him, many Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus (12:10-11). This brings us to the Lucan parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus who, if he ever survived the Sanhedrin plot, must have been a famous figure in the early Church. Luke named the beggar “Lazarus” to press a point. Luke’s message at the end of the parable reads, “If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Thus, for those who genuinely followed the teachings of Moses and the prophets, they should have no problem in accepting Jesus as their Lord after witnessing the resurrection of Lazarus. Members of the Sanhedrin had met some witnesses. But they did not genuinely listen to the law and teachings of the prophets. Their prejudices prevented them from seeing and accepting the obvious truth.

This brings up a seemingly out of context answer Jesus had earlier given to the disciples. When Jesus tarried long enough in the north until Lazarus had died, He expressed His intention to go down to Judaea. His disciples warned Him of the risk, “Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?” (John 11:8) Jesus answers, “Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks at night, he stumbles because the light is not in him” (11:9-10) Sounds irrelevant, right?
When we meditate more, we remember that Jesus Himself is the light of this world (8:12, 9:5). To elaborate. Whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (8:12). In the gospel of John, the Word (Son) of God is the source of life and this source of life gives light to the human race (1:4) and therefore “the light of life”. In other words, in Jesus, humanity find light and thus life. Like the Jews who believed in Jesus after seeing the raising of Lazarus, they found life in Jesus. On the other hand, whoever rejects Jesus is cutting off his own life-line with God. That person is in grave danger because sooner or later, he would lose his spiritual and perhaps even his physical life. Thus, members of Sanhedrin who wanted to kill Jesus and Lazarus were in grave spiritual danger. In the end, they handed Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified. They had crucified on the cross the only person on earth who could call them out of their tombs (Acts 3:15)!

Jesus also told the disciples to do the works of the Father while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work (John 9:5) In other words, followers of Christ would help build the Kingdom of God and to do God’s will on earth when they are in union with Jesus Christ. But whoever rejects Jesus is unable to do the works of the Father, to do the will of God! All efforts would be in vain. Beware, it is a matter of degrees. I believe that nobody on earth, not even the most successful saints, is able to attain 100% union with Jesus even though He leaves behind the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. To be candid, few people could reach the level of Contemplation in Lectio Divina. Within us, there are different degrees of concupiscence hindering us from attaining perfect union with the merciful Lord. Very few people are willing to surrender totally their own will.

Brethren, in our baptism, we were given a second chance, much like Lazarus. Be sure that Jesus loves you just like He loved Lazarus for whom He wept (11:35). His love is the greatest because He lay down His life for us (15:13) while we were still unworthy sinners (Romans 5:8). Killing our old-self is a good thing because our “cancers” will go down with the old-self. In Christ, we’ll not contract deadly diseases anymore because Jesus heals! Amen!
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: wikipedia.org

Sacrifice and Healing

Sacrifice and Healing
Lenten Recollection on March 19

Deacon Alex

Sacrifices are offered to God to give thanks and to seek favour. For the Israelites, oxen and lambs were the preferred offerings. Wine and unleavened cakes could also be offered. Thus, sacrifices are actually human works on what God gives us. Just as what Abraham says, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering” (Genesis 22:8). Gradually the purposes of sacrifice were extended to the atonement of sins (Leviticus 4:26) and the establishment of covenants (Exodus 24:4-6; Matthew 26:28).

One may wonder why sacrifices are killed, burnt and eaten? For pagans, their deities exist and move not in this world but in some other realms. Thus, killing and burning the sacrifices seem to be the only way to send them to their deities. But for us Christians, God is dwelling in our hearts. In order to send the sacrifices to our God, we don’t need to kill and burn them. Since a sacrifice should be the best gift we offer to God, we should instead treat it well, keeping it like a pet lamb! Yet killing and burning the sacrificial lambs would ensure that they are exclusively offered to God and not as a soothing balm for our personal souls! Offering sacrifice is not only a personal gesture but it is also a communal one. Only group members are allowed to partake in eating the sacrifice together.

It looks as if Moses made use of offering sacrifice as a tactics to take the Israelites out of the hands of Pharaoh. But in reality, the sacrifice is the only way to liberate us from the house of bondage because the sacrifice dies for us to release us. Sacrifice should be offered in sincerity, thus requiring a solemn and dedicated location! (The pandemic has ended. Don’t rely on online masses anymore!)

The Old Testament is pregnant with symbols pointing to the redemptive works of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. His divinity enables Him to die and repay the debts of all humanity once and for all (Hebrews 7:25-27) as the genuine Paschal Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7), the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). His mission is to break down the dividing wall between God and sinners (Ephesians 2:14). No wonder He teaches us to leave our gifts at the altar and go to reconcile with our brothers before offering sacrifice (Matthew 5:23-24).

Let’s look deeper into our humanity. What makes human beings human? Archaeologists and anthropologists tell us that we are “homo sapiens”, i.e. men with intelligence. We are indeed and we are able to tell human beings apart from animals with our superior intelligence. However, our very success breeds a new crisis. Advances in artificial intelligence force us to resort to other criteria of being human. Is morality a possible candidate? No! It is because goodness and evil are defined by people in power whose actions are massively brutal to fellow human beings. I believe spirituality is our last bulwark. What makes human human is their soul. Man is such a complex being that anything can go wrong at any level. I’m afraid no physicians, psychiatrists and counsellors are able to heal our sickness holistically. Fortunately, the God we believe in is a healer. He assures us, “I the Lord am your healer” (Exodus 15:26). He is able to heal us in the most comprehensive manner by becoming human and a wounded healer! Jesus Christ is the Word of God (God the Creator) took flesh (John 1:14) to give us the grace (1:16) to become children of God (1:12). He carries the wounds even after resurrection (20:25) in order to cleanse us of our unbelief (20:27).

Brethren! We are fragile. Yet our merciful Lord chooses us and sends us to be wounded healers to channel His graces to “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons” (Matthew 10:8). Be not afraid. He pledges to stay with us until the end of this age (28:20). Amen.
God bless!

Those who do see might become blind 叫那些看得見的，反而成為瞎子

Laetare Sunday, Year A
Theme: Those who do see might become blind 叫那些看得見的，反而成為瞎子

Half-way through the Lenten season, we had been battling with all sorts of temptations in the first week. Then after we had been encouraged with the glory of the Son of God in His Transfiguration, we were reminded of bringing this good news to people in need in the second week. In the third week, we searched inwards to recognize our thirst which only the Son of God might quench. It has been a rather rigorous annual exercise. If we are tired of and exhausted from fasting, almsgiving and praying, we should rejoice because Easter is already in sight. It is just around the corner. Today, we are cheered up by the light of the world in the person of Jesus Christ (John 9:5). Thus, the Church celebrates Laetare Sunday and the liturgical vestments are cheerful, viz. rose-coloured.

The story of Jesus’ giving sight to a person born blind carries a lot of materials to help us reflect on our relationship with God. In Jesus’ time, no physicians were able to cure inborn blindness. It was beyond their medical knowledge and skills. Only God Himself or prophets whom God sent were able to heal such blindness. Thus the cure was a miracle, a sign showing God’s presence and His mercy. Furthermore, it proved the identity of Jesus Christ, viz. either he is a prophet sent by God or is God Himself. Of course, the Jews would not consider the second option because their God is one. A Galilean carpenter claiming to be God would be the ultimate blasphemy! That Jesus was a prophet sent by God would be the only reasonable conclusion any rational person could draw. Yet, some Pharisees refused to acknowledge this.

Here, we see a political persecution unfolding. At first, the Pharisees were not able to get hold of Jesus. So they picked an easy target instead: the man born blind, thus a beggar (9:8). When they found him difficult to bend, the Pharisees changed tactics and questioned whether he had been truly blind since birth (9:18). His parents were summoned to bear witness. Pitiful parents, they dared not even to stand up for their son lest they would be thrown out (9:22). Then even the dissidents among the Pharisees camp (9:16) were silenced. We don’t see them voicing their support of the blind man anymore. In the end, the lone defender of the truth was thrown out as expected (9:34)! One would wonder why Jesus did not come to the blind man’s defence! In defending the blind man, Jesus would have been defending His own status, wouldn’t it? A second “irregularity” arose when in the end, Jesus condemned the discriminatory Pharisees (9:41). These two actions or non-actions of Jesus’ seemed to be contradictory to the usual image He projected: righteous, merciful and meek, or did they?

I think the key lies in the “long arm of mercy”. Jesus says, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind” (9:39). Jesus is merciful. He comes to heal so that the blind may see. It is obvious and easy to understand because it agrees with what Jesus claims, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17). He came to fulfil the prophecy (Isaiah 35:5). Fair enough but what about the second half of His claim, that those who do see might become blind? Obviously, Jesus does not mean physical blindness but spiritual. He has never blinded anybody with a curse or physically plucked an eye out! Instead, Jesus’ presence reveals the spiritual blindness of the people He meets (Luke 2:35), including of course the Pharisees!

The Pharisees had been national heroes, defending and defining the identity of the exiled Jews as God’s Chosen People during the Babylonian Captivity. They were able to transform the Israelite religion from cultic observances to scripture studies. The former relied on a Temple and a class of priests to offer sacrifices. But when the first Temple and subsequently the second were destroyed, an intellectual Judaism that relies on scripture studies was able to flourish unabated! Thus a new class of scribes and Pharisees arose and became another centre of authority on a par with the privileged tribe of Levite! Regrettably, the Pharisees were corrupted by the authority they had accumulated over time. They became greedy and abused their expertise to exploit widows (Mark 12:40). They preferred teaching traditions of their own invention to the words of God (7:13). They were hypocritical and did not practise what they preached (Matthew 23:3). When they felt their status threatened by Jesus’ presence, the Pharisees deployed the law e.g. Sabbath observance, to accuse Jesus. Instead of being a guideline for living, in the hands of the Pharisees the laws had become a political weapon to persecute rivals! That was how the Pharisees “help” Jesus fulfil Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2:35), by taking a biased stance, thus revealing their spiritual blindness! Jesus did not blind them!

Beware! If we stop here, we will not see Jesus’ “long arm of mercy” because life is not black and white, blind and able-to-see. Of course, life is easy when we simplify every situation. But then, we’ll miss a whole lot of truth! Between black and white, there are shades of grey! Between blindness and twenty-twenty, there are different degrees of visual acuity! What do we have here? Jesus has a group of spiritually blind Pharisees attacking Him blindly. Then will He restore the spiritual sight of those spiritually blind Pharisees as He claims, “those who do not see might see” (John 9:39)? I’m sure Jesus will because He is merciful. Didn’t He pray on the cross for the forgiveness of all those who crucified Him (Luke 23:34)? In case extraordinary measures have to be taken, I think Jesus would not hesitate to act, e.g. the conversion of Saul (Acts 9:1-19). Though Jesus would make the blind see, it is we who tend to blind ourselves!

Reading Jesus’ claim in this light, all of us should stay alert. We can’t afford to be complacent. Fasting, almsgiving and prayers definitely help us maintain our spiritual sight. But we need perseverance to keep this precious sight until the end in order to be saved, “whoever endures/perseveres to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22; 24:13). Meanwhile, we are in different degrees of blindness. We need an open heart to embrace challenges. We need the Holy Spirit to help us discern and adjust. Only then are we able to persevere to the end. God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: kidstalkaboutgod.org

Wall-Breakers 破壁者

Third Lent Sunday, Year A
Theme: Wall-Breakers 破壁者

In order to protect their own lives and wealth, emperors in ancient times mobilized their subjects to build walls. Since their subjects were also their property, emperors should also build walls to protect the lives and property of their subjects. But they were unable to build walls around their kingdoms. They could only afford to build fortifications to protect the most important cities, such as their capitals and more prosperous cities. Though the famous Great Wall of China is not included in the list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, it is the only human artefact visible from low Earth orbit with the naked eye under favourable viewing conditions. A couple of years ago, an economic super-power ordered a Great Wall to be built alongside its southern border to prevent illegal immigrants from entering her country. Its success is a matter of opinions.
Nowadays, other types of cities mushroom on the Internet. Many netizens build their homes in a variety of social media. Some totalitarian countries in the world, which want to “protect” their commoners from the poisoning of hostile ideologies, attempt to build Great Walls to hole their commoners in but are not quite successful. Many international enterprises want to protect their lucrative and sensitive data from hacking but to no avail. In short, building walls is not a good enough option to protect one’s life, wealth and power.

On the political level, people draw lines to demarcate their private turfs, warning trespassers to stay away lest they would be punished. For example, gender discrimination and ethnic discrimination, to name just two. The line sets up two groups of people, the “we” and the “they”. Similarly, defining a “poverty line” will divide the “have’s” from the “have not’s”. Drawing these lines serves many purposes one of which is to round up some scapegoats to bear the brunt of public fury. Of course these lines are fluid, depending on the political climate. But once drawn, it is extremely difficult to remove and the wounds incurred are impossible to heal in time. On the psychological level, such branding would deeply implant into the victims’ psyche, setting up a wall inside them so that their self-esteem would be low and they lose hope of getting better. In short, they despise themselves and give up fighting.

The Christian God is merciful. He does not want to see both the victims and the perpetrators perish. Most of the time, He takes the initiative to initiate dialogues with humanity in order to improve their situations. For various reasons, not everyone is receptive to God’s invitation. How much God desires to engage in a lively dialogue with His Creation within which men are among the topmost, “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour” (Psalms 8:5). Yes, both the righteous and the wicked are just a little lower than the angels! But the burden of sins is too heavy for most of us, both the victims and the perpetrators. The setting of the story of the dialogue between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well (John 4:4-42) illustrates the tension very vividly. Here is a word of caution. This story is similar to the Temptation narratives in that it is not an eye-witness report, “His disciples had gone into the town to buy food” (4:8). It is a rendition of what John had heard from Jesus.

Previously Jesus had antagonized the Jewish authority in Jerusalem with His cleansing of the Temple (2:13-21). In order not to further frustrate them, losing the opportunity to redeem them, Jesus returned to Galilee and passed through Samaria where an ordinary Jew would avoid “For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans” (4:9b). Yet, the disciples bought food in the town! In most cases, Samaritans would be hostile not to mention extending hospitality to a crestfallen Jew. On the other hand, the Samaritan woman was in no better condition. She must have been a public scandal of the town because of her marrying one man after another for five times. By the time she met Jesus, she was cohabitating with a man without being properly married (4:18). Perhaps she was past her fertility age or had been proven sterile! Her coming to draw water at noon (4:6c) indicates that she was trying to avoid people. Had her self-esteem been positive enough, the Samaritan woman wouldn’t care what the town people gossiped about. Yet she cared, showing that she had given up fighting and joined the town people to despise herself!

Now, the merciful Lord took the initiative. Yet, it wasn’t a gentle or polite request as expected but an imperative, “Give me a drink” (4:7b). Obviously, Jesus intended to provoke a defensive front from the woman in order to engage her in further dialogue. In response, the Samaritan woman put up two walls, one gender one ethnic (4:9a). How did Jesus break through these two artificial walls? Whatever defence and walls humanity put up, there are more basic needs to meet, physiological as well as spiritual. Jesus kept inviting, drawing her more and more to the open field. To paraphrase Jesus’ words, “God sent me to give you living water” (4:10), he managed to brush aside the two walls by appealing to her physiological as well as spiritual needs! The woman would have lost hope in God’s loving care had Jesus not brought up the possibility of receiving the gift of God as well as the convenience of not needing to draw water from Jacob’s Well every afternoon (4:15)!

At this point, the woman was concerned more with the physical aspect of thirst and inconvenience. The concept of God needed more time to emerge. But Jesus had all the trump cards in His sleeve. Casually, suggesting that she was not strong enough to carry so much living water, Jesus told the woman to call her husband to help (4:16). When she denied she had a husband, Jesus broke her defence by revealing her marital history (4:18). How could a total stranger possibly know her privacy unless this man came from God! “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet” (4:19)

Brethren! Though we partake in the prophetic ministry of Jesus Christ through our baptism, I have to stop here because we are not God. Knowing what is inside the innermost part of a person’s heart belongs to God. So, let God be God and we keep to our stations. But at least, we have learnt a little about how to break walls down. We are confident that we can because no wall is impenetrable. There will always be cracks somewhere somehow. When we are patient and cautious enough, with the help of God, we are able to discover the cracks and break the walls down to liberate the victims inside. May God help us. Amen.
God bless!

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: tpcfamily.org

The Fear of the Lord Is NOT Enough 敬畏上主並不足夠

Second Lent Sunday, Year A
Theme: The Fear of the Lord Is NOT Enough 敬畏上主並不足夠

Today we meditate on the Transfiguration of the Lord. What catches my attention this time is the diametrically opposite reactions shown by the disciples. A moment ago, Peter says, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17:4). The disciples were enchanted by the beatific vision of the divinity of the Son of God and His dialogue with Moses and Elijah whom they had never met in person. Just think about it. You’ve heard of historical celebrities, their words and deeds. How thrilled you would be to see and hear them real close! Somehow, you are able to know who they were. Time seems to have frozen. How amazing this foretaste of eternity is! If I were the disciples, I too would not want to leave but to stay at the scene forever.

Immediately after hearing the voice from the bright cloud, “they fell prostrate and were very much afraid” (17:6). Unfortunately reading the text does not enable us to sense the dynamics of the voice the disciples heard: its amplitude, its pitches and duration. It’s difficult to imagine how these words, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (17:5), would invoke any fear! Therefore, the voice and its intensity, not the message, must have been very overwhelming. This brings to mind the reactions of the Israelites at the foot of Mount Sinai. “Now as all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the blast of the shofar and the mountain smoking, they became afraid and trembled … and said to Moses, ‘You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we shall die’” (Exodus 20:18-19). The Psalter has similar things to say, “The voice of the Lord cracks the cedars; the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon, Makes Lebanon leap like a calf, and Sirion like a young bull” (Psalms 29:5-6). Fear of the Lord is an essential ingredient of Judaism and of most religions. It is a proper reaction to the might and majesty of Yahweh.

But the Lord God is always a God of surprises. The ferocious words and zealous deeds of Elijah reflected his understanding of the Lord he believed in --- a righteous and almighty warrior defeating Baal. Thus, Elijah was eager to incite the Israelites to slaughter 450 false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:40). Yet, when the Lord appeared to Elijah later on Mount Horeb, He was not found in violent wind which rent mountains and crushed rocks, or in earthquake or in fire but in a light silent sound (19:11-12)! Not only is the Lord righteous and almighty just as Elijah understands, but He is also merciful and mild, like a light silent sound. On the other hand, Jesus has been showing His disciples a merciful heavenly Father who is patient and ready to forgive whoever repents. Yet, the disciples cracked in the thundering voice of the Father, showing that He is powerfully merciful! In short, we are unable to take the Lord God for granted and to take Him under control!

And yet nowadays, God has become irrelevant to many modern people whose hearts have been emboldened by exotic scientific discoveries and Herculean technologies. The temptation to play God has never been greater! Nowadays scientists are able to produce the energy output of our sun briefly here on earth. They are able to edit the DNA of human beings at will to produce, say a new breed of man which is immune from AIDS. The advances in artificial intelligence are able to help humanity solve any nameable problem efficiently … And yet, our morality is lagging far behind. Ethical guidelines among professional scientific bodies cannot be craved in stones. In the name of intellectual independence, many a greedy scientist would simply ignore them! Why should we be moralistic or virtuous when consequences can be postponed downstream? Spend now and pay later (by somebody else)! Thus, ambitious politicians have no qualm preying on the commoners to satiate their appetite for power. Team-members show no remorse betraying colleagues to contain personal losses. Ordinary people would resort to frauds, coercion and even murder to get what they want when winners would take all! The law of the jungle is prevailing; conscience seems to be in hiding and God on leave! Not only is there no Purgatory, heaven and hell are also illusions because angels and demons are exorcized from their hearts. Of course, those concepts can be conjured up anytime they are instrumental in the acquisition of power and wealth! It is more and more difficult for modern people to buy the concept of God and to surrender themselves to the will of an ethereal entity called Yahweh.

On the Third Ordinary Sunday, I meditated on the merits of the “Fear of the Lord”. Making use of the concept of “identification” as a defence mechanism is able to explain satisfactorily “like father like son” and the phenomenon of comrades betraying comrades. Therefore, the “fear of the Lord”, which appears in 124 verses in the Old Testament and only once in the New, can be instrumental in helping the Jews identify themselves with the Lord, to reinforce their identity as the Chosen People of Yahweh. Reading in the light of identification, “You will be to me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6) and “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2) make a lot of sense. For the Jews, the fear of the Lord is closely coupled with wisdom. Around 14 such verses are found in the Wisdom Literature. For example, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning/training/root of wisdom” (Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 9:10, 15:33; Sirach 1:20). However, if we think we have obtained the whole truth in the “fear of the Lord”, once again we’d better prepared for more surprises awaiting us.

We have spent quite some time meditating on the intensity of the voice and of the Father. Let’s return to the message itself. During the Transfiguration, what did the apostles hear? “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5b). So, what has Jesus taught us?
First of all, Jesus has not come to abolish the fear of the Lord (5:17). He opens our hearts to a better understanding of how to identify ourselves with our heavenly Father. We’re not just “images of God” or “a holy nation” but “children of God” (5:9; Luke 20:36; John 11:52). Jesus teaches us the Beatitudes and the spirit of the Law in the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, in order to attain our full identity, we’d better focused more on the Beatitudes which Pope Francis calls the identity card of Christians (Gaudete et Exsultate #63). What do some of the Beatitudes tell us about our identity and about our God?

The fear of God is inspired by God’s essence, namely His might and majesty. All creatures stand in awe before His greatness and glory. But the Lord God is more than might and magnificence. Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). What essence of God can poverty inspire? On the Fourth Ordinary Sunday, I meditated on “Who wants to be poor?” and came to the understanding that the most important question is NOT so much about poverty or wealth. Rather, it is which side we are on! Wealth is a temptation which pulls us away from God because we don’t feel the need to rely on God and to stand with God. Jesus has taught us to choose to stand on the side of God who is essentially and infinitely rich. Richness is an essence of God. The poorer we are, the more we’ll rely on God. Thus it is wise to remain poor.
Jesus says, “Blessed are meek, for they will inherit the land” (5:5). I don’t think anybody has ever seen a meek landowner because sooner or later, his land would be overtaken by more powerful ones with claws (outlaws) and jaw (laws)! Well, Jesus tells us, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves” (11:29). With this verse, Jesus reveals more essences of God to us. God is meek and humble. He must have prepared for His children sufficient land to inherit. Some more capable ones may be given a larger portion to inherit while others less. Some greedy ones don’t know how much they are able to manage and consequently occupy more than they are able to bite. In the end, they would hand the land back to the Creator to redistribute. Therefore, stay meek and let God be God.
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (5:9). Out of greed and selfishness, people stir up conflicts and confusion so that they may take the opportunity to fatten themselves. But Christians should be peacemakers because our God desires to see peace on earth. How do we know? This Beatitude tells us so. It manifests another aspect of the Blessed Trinity which is a communion of the three Blessed Persons. Thus, not only is God powerful, but He also desires to see peace among humanity because solidarity and communion are also essences of our God.

Brethren! Listen to Jesus. Perhaps we’ll be able to reveal His glorious countenance to our fellow folks, leading them to their salvation. Amen.
God bless!

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: popsugar.com