The Catholic Spirit 公教精神

Solemnity of Pentecost, Year A
Theme: The Catholic Spirit 公教精神

My mom was an iron lady. Since her arrival in Hong Kong, she refused to forsake her beloved dialect and insisted on using it for more than six decades. Yet, without her knowing it, her dialect underwent imperceptible shift. I knew it even when the coach I travelled on was tens of miles away before arriving at my home town in Zhongshan. Hearing the mother-dialect was extremely soothing and uplifting for no reasons.

As a medium of communication, both written and spoken languages change over time. Even if all humanity had descended from one man, say Adam in the book of Genesis, the scarcity of resources would force his descendants to move out to explore and develop new terraces. In a few generations, they would develop new vocabulary to describe new things they encountered. They would pick up new sounds to narrate events they had never seen before. New idioms would develop in smaller groups into sub-cultures which other groups would not understand easily. It is not necessary to take a God to confuse human language (Genesis 11:7). Therefore, the Tower of Babel is an etymology story to explain why the descendants of one family, namely Noah’s three sons, would speak different languages. Who else would be powerful enough to achieve such a feat if not God? I would argue that it is natural for human beings not to understand each other through the passage of time and the expansion of space!

Furthermore, where there is a will, there is a way. If human beings had wanted to understand each other, to make all information accessible to all, no disparity of languages would have prevented them from doing so. See how people use sign-languages to overcome language barriers and how missionaries are able to learn local dialects to preach the good news. Traditionally the Pentecost story could be interpreted as a remedy to the confusion of languages which might result from human pride as suggested in the story of the Babel Tower. Failure to understand each other breeds conflicts among groups. Conflicts would lead to tribal wars and eventually world wars! Humanity learnt a painful lesson in the previous century. Enough is enough. Through dialogues it is possible to resolve conflicts and reach common grounds. Like the etymology of the Babel Tower, it seems that it is not necessary to take a Holy Spirit to enable the pilgrims to hear the Galileans speak in their own native languages (Acts 2:7-8).

The fact is, it takes years for the missionaries to learn new languages to proclaim the gospel but a breakdown of good-will would totally wipe out decades of Herculean missionary efforts. The Chinese Rites controversy in the 17^th and 18^th China was a case in point. Therefore the Pentecost narrative is necessary and reasonable. First of all, the Pentecost pilgrims from all over the world would return again next year. They would not stay long in Jerusalem. The disciples of Jesus would not have enough manpower and time to convert those pilgrims. Secondly, both Peter and Paul instructed the disciples to obey/pray for rulers (1 Timothy 2:1-4, 1 Peter 2:13-17). It was because Christians need a relatively safe and stable environment to practise their faith and to proclaim the gospel. However, the Jewish Sanhedrin and the Roman Empire were hostile to the Christians. The 120 disciples needed divine intervention to enrol enough members, 3000 on day one (Acts 2:41), to kick-start a new religion! In other word, the Holy Spirit is essential in the establishment of the early Church in Jerusalem. Therefore, the Pentecost narrative can still be an etymology, namely the Genesis of the Catholic Church!

While the Babel etymology explains the origin of the diversity of languages despite the unity of humanity, the Pentecost etymology explains the unity of peoples despite their cultural diversity. Not only is the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth (John 14:17), but He is also the Spirit of unity. Unlike the Father and the Son whom we are able to identify more easily, the Holy Spirit is less concrete. He is like “the wind [which] blows where it wills” (3:8a). We are able to know of its existence only by the trails and the “fruit” He leaves behind, namely but perhaps not exclusively, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23). These traits are essential for the well-being of a community which consists of different peoples and all walks of life. “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were given to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13). In the Pentecost narrative, more peoples are named, “Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travellers from Rome, but Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs” (Acts 2:9-11a). At least sixteen regions of the then known world around the Mediterranean Sea are mentioned. The Holy Spirit becomes the uniting principle of the baptized. Thus, He is the spirit of unity and the community which He binds together is Catholic, i.e. it is universal and excludes no one!

How can we stay together with peoples who threaten to deplete our resources or perhaps who are rivals for the scarce resources available at hand? The story of the institution of deacons in Acts 6 is a case in point. It shows that the allocation of resources within a community can be a source of schism. We are grateful that the leaders of the early Church had listened to voice of the Holy Spirit and were able to resolve the disputes in a peaceful and pragmatic manner. “Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this task” (Acts 6:3). Thus we see how the Holy Spirit actively helped build the early Church just as He helped the Son of God incarnate and He transubstantiates the bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord during the celebration of masses. Perhaps the gospel reading today is able to shed more light on the role of the Holy Spirit.

On the first Easter evening, Jesus appeared to His disciples, gave them peace and commissioned them to reconcile the world with God. “Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’” (John 20:21-23). The Father sent the Son of God to reconcile sinners to Him. Similarly, Jesus Christ commissioned the Church, not just to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19a), or to proclaim the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15), or to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins to all nations (Luke 24:47), but to be ambassadors of reconciliation to the world (2 Corinthians 5:18-20). People would easily misunderstand and question the authority of the Church to forgive sins. No! Jesus has given the Church the Holy Spirit to carry out the reconciliation ministry. Only God can forgive and the Church, which the Holy Spirit empowers, is the minister of God’s righteousness only. Peace is achieved through reconciliation.

Brethren! Let us invoke the Holy Spirit to empower us in the ministry of reconciliation. Amen.
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: ncregister.com

Why Must Jesus Ascend To Heaven? 為甚麼耶穌必須升天？

The Ascension of the Lord, Year A
Theme: Why Must Jesus Ascend To Heaven? 為甚麼耶穌必須升天？

I used to muse about the idea of what if Jesus had not ascended to heaven. What would have the world looked like? Without doubt, Jesus would have been a historical figure genuinely existing. He would have been more than two thousand years old, the oldest person alive. He would have outlived all kings and heroes and would have truly been the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Who on earth would refuse to get baptised and to enter the Catholic Church whose founder is more than two millennia old! With Jesus Christ as the visible head of the Church, she would not have to worry about the lack of priestly vocations because Jesus would appoint/elect enough hands to fill up the vacancies in the Church hierarchy to govern the People of God. The quality of clergy would have been ensured. There would have been no more notorious popes, paedophilic priests and embezzling deacons! There wouldn’t have been any more scandals, schisms and reformations! The clergy would have had a very comfortable life because missionaries were not needed! But here is the problem. In such a scenario, where goes the free-will of human beings?

God is free and humanity was created in His image (Genesis 1:26). Of course you’re free to caricature God as a chimpanzee because without freedom, human beings are not able to actualize all the potentials intended by God. Since God would not contradict Himself, therefore He respects our autonomy and would not force us to believe in Him nor to love Him. God only invites us and helps us fully realize all our potentials. He would not impose His will on us however beneficial it is for us. However, if Jesus Christ had remained on earth, human beings would have had no choice but to believe in Him, to obey Him and to love Him etc. This goes contrary to God’s respect for our autonomy! Therefore, Jesus must leave and return to the Father!

There is one more reason for Jesus to ascend into heaven, namely to finish the “business” of Incarnation. Without ascension, incarnation would be incomplete. Pardon me for being long-winded to show you the reasoning in details. There are two essential articles of faith in Christianity, namely the God we believe in is three in one, the Blessed Trinity and that Jesus Christ is fully divine and human. Like the Jews and Muslims, Christians believe in one God. However, this one God reveals more details of His inner life to us through Jesus Christ. There are three divine persons in this one God, namely the Father who is the Creator of the visible and invisible universe, the source of all beings; the Son who is the Redeemer of this sin-infested world; and the Holy Spirit who is the love between the Father and the Son. In order to redeem the fallen world, the Son of God took flesh to live among us in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14) to repay all the debts of all humanity throughout all ages. The Son of God suffered death in the person of Jesus Christ. How can a deity die? But the death of Jesus Christ is not an illusion because He is fully human! Now God is able to die! Furthermore, God is fair to all creatures, including the fallen angels. To do justice to the Accuser, a life must be paid for another life: “But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for would, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:23-25). The Son of God did not come to abolish but to fulfil the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). Thus He had to die to repay our debts. Since there are countless souls to redeem, it takes an infinite God to die to repay all the incurred debts. Incarnation is truly an ingenious mystery!

Where should the redeemed souls go? Where else but heavens? What better place to return to other than the bosom of God (Luke 16:22)? Therefore, Jesus Christ, who is fully human and divine, returned to heaven and seated at the right hand of the Father. It is significant that when Jesus Christ ascended into heavens, He was bringing His humanity along with His divinity into the abode of God. In other words, the above is our true home, our final destiny. The last words of Jesus on earth are significant, “Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20a). Brethren! When we teach others to observe Jesus’ commandments, don’t we need to practise what we teach? So, what have Jesus commanded us?

First of all, Jesus did not come to abolish but the fulfil the Law. Therefore, Christians should observe the Ten Commandments as well. Of course we don’t just observe their letters. Behold, Jesus demands “more”, manifesting the spirit of love as well when we observe the Old Laws (Matthew 5:21-48). Moreover, we make necessary changes while retaining the spirit. For example, we don’t observe the Sabbath. Instead, we observe the first day of the week to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord.
Secondly, during the Last Supper, Jesus gave us a new commandment, the “Eleventh Commandment”, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 13:34). Just as Jesus sacrifices His life to redeem us, many a Christian should always be ready to sacrifice his benefits and interests in order to enrich the lives of the others.
Thirdly, Jesus would not impose His commands on us. He invites us to lead a life up to the spirit of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-11). The ball is in our court. It’s up to us to accept or reject His invitation. For those who accept the challenge, He would send the Holy Spirit to support them (John 14:16). For those who were not baptized or haven’t had the opportunity to hear the gospel, Jesus Christ invites them to perform the works of mercy (Matthew 25:31-40).

Brethren! It is truly challenging to lead a life up to the spirit of the Beatitudes. Without the support of the Holy Spirit, it is next to impossible to turn another cheek (5:39). Without the Holy Spirit to enkindle our love of the needy, how is it possible for us to perform those works of mercy; to show mercy to those who abuse, bully, exploit and silence us; our bosses and ex-bosses; colleagues who take our credits, backstab us or who trample on us to climb up the hierarchy; friends who betray us and human traffickers who torture and sell our bodies etc. and to pray for those unlovable and incompetent mandarins etc. Remember, we do not decide who goes to heaven or hell. God does. If we’re unable to love as Jesus commands us, it would be hell for eternity to stay in heaven with those whom we hated on earth. Amen.
God bless!
2020 Reflection

Come Holy Spirit 聖神請來

Sixth Easter Sunday, Year A
Theme: Come Holy Spirit 聖神請來

The Easter Season will end on the Pentecost and we are approaching it. Thus the Holy Spirit becomes the major theme of the Sunday readings during these few weeks. In the first reading today we see the continuous growth of the early Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in the gospel, we read of Jesus pledging to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples as another Advocate (John 14:16).

The Church celebrates the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost as her birthday. The beginning of the early Church in Jerusalem was exclusively Jewish. However, there was a subtle division: Hebrew-speaking Jews vs. Greek-speaking Jews. This subtle division became an issue when the Greek-speaking Jews started complaining that “their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution” (Acts 6:1). It is inevitable because the bigger the size of a community, the greater its complexity. A new institution of deacons was set up within the growing Church to handle this complexity.

A lot of things had happened before the first reading today. St. Stephen, one of the seven elected Greek-speaking deacons was stoned to death because of his eloquent preaching. He became the first Christian martyr. The Sanhedrin began purging the Christian community. Thus most of her members fled Jerusalem and only the apostles remained (8:1). Today, we read of the evangelization work of deacon Philip in Samaria and we see a further development of the Church, namely the apostles have the faculty to lay their hands on the baptized to give them the Holy Spirit (8:17). This is significant for two reasons. Firstly, the apostles were the foundation of the hierarchy of the Church. All further division of labour/ministries within the Church originated from the apostles and their successors. More significantly, they reserve the faculty to give the Holy Spirit to themselves. Deacon Philip preached, worked miracles and baptized only. He could not give the Holy Spirit. Secondly, John says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8). Which means human beings are not supposed to manipulate the Holy Spirit. We cannot appease the Holy Spirit by offering sacrifice to Him! However, here in Samaria for the first time in history, the Holy Spirit could be invoked and would follow the will of an elected few, namely the apostles! The Church in modern times has come a long way to arrive at the present form. Yet, the legitimate successors to the apostles remain the foundation of the Church for all ages.

In the gospel reading today, Jesus continues His farewell discourses. Earlier on Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (13:34) That’s the only commandment we have in record. But today Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (14:15). “Commandment” is in plural which is not apparent in case-insensible languages such as Chinese! One may wonder what other commandments are included “my commandments” besides the “Love one another as I have loved you”. Perhaps we have forgotten that Jesus is God. He says, “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). The Ten Commandments were also given by the Son of God! Therefore, when Jesus used the plural form of the word “commandment” in “my commandments”, He was declaring His divinity as well.

Further down, Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always” (John 14:16). If the Holy Spirit is “another Advocate”, who is the Advocate in the first place? Of course it is Jesus Himself. We can find the clues in several places. “My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one” (1 John 2:1). “He, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, He is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since He lives forever to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:24-25). “Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones? It is God who acquits us. Who will condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised, who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us” (Romans 8:33-34). Why do we need a perpetual Advocate? It is because there is “an Accuser of our brothers … who accuses them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10). This Accuser is Satan who is allowed audience in God’s presence (Job 1:6) before “it is thrown into the pool of fire and sulphur” (Revelation 20:10) at the Last Judgment.

So, while Jesus Christ intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father, the Holy Spirit accompanies us in our perilous journey on earth. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and it remains with us and in us (John 14:17). The “Spirit of Truth” is just another way of saying the “Spirit of Jesus” because earlier on Jesus describes Himself as “The Way and the Truth and the Life” when He proclaims His divinity (14:6). Incarnation confines the Son of God to a well-defined point in space and time. Now that Jesus would ascend into heaven and remains there to intercede for us, the Holy Spirit takes over the Son’s salvific mission but with a greater freedom in space and time on earth. Yet earlier, Jesus says, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (8:31-32). The mission of the Son is to redeem and to save. Thus, the Holy Spirit continues to set us free from the bondage of sins by residing in us. If you have any doubt about the possibility of Holy Spirit’s residence in our sinful bodies, let’s listen to what the apostle says. St. Paul puts it concretely when he preached against prostitution. “Do you not know that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

The Holy Spirit is essential for us in leading our spiritual life. In His revelation to the Samaritan woman, Jesus teaches, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24). This is a Trinity formula we must adhere to when we worship God. Thus, our prayers, devotions, liturgy and sacramental must be conducted within the context of the Blessed Trinity without which all acts of devotion would be in vain. The role of the Holy Spirit as an Advocate is best expressed by St. Paul who says, “The Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings … because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will” (Romans 8:26-27).

Brethren! It is understandable that most of us are not familiar with the Holy Spirit. Unlike Jesus Christ whom the disciples might see, hear and touch, the Holy Spirit is not tangible. Don’t worry. The Holy Spirit is within us and comes to our aids with inexpressible groanings. Though we are not bishops with the faculty to give the Holy Spirit, He will prompt us to invoke Him to our aids. Amen.
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: flickr.com

The Church Is A Living Church 教會是有生命的

Fifth Easter Sunday, Year A
Theme: The Church Is A Living Church 教會是有生命的

We know that the Church is more than just a building. In the words of St. Peter, she is more than a living organism made up of believers, who “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). She is more than a physical building; and more than a sociological community because the Church is a “spiritual house” of God. In other words, the Church grows and develops towards the eternal spiritual realm through human history in which she would go through crises as well as flourishing. In the first reading today, we read of how the early Church in Jerusalem dealt with a crisis which was paradoxically a result of her successful growth.

The Church was born in Jerusalem on the feast of Pentecost immediately after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. On that day, three thousand people were added to the initial community of 120 believers (Acts 1:15) after hearing the testimony of St. Peter (2:41). To a certain extent, this expansion fulfilled what Jesus says in today’s gospel passage. He says, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12). Believers of Jesus should do the works that Jesus has done because He returns to the Father. What surprises readers is the phrase which follows, namely that we “will do greater works than these (the works of Jesus)”! How can it be possible? Doesn’t Jesus also say elsewhere that “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher” (Matthew 10:24-25a, Luke 6:40)? Did Jesus try to be consoling because He would be leaving His disciples behind soon?

Well, let’s take as our common ground that evangelizing the world is “the works” which Jesus refers to above. In His public ministry, Jesus managed to attract more than 5000 people to follow Him after the five loaves and two fish miracle. This could be the pinnacle of Jesus’ achievement in terms of the number of followers. Yet, His “Bread of Life” discourse which is hard to accept (John 6:60) has subsequently driven away many followers (6:66). In fact, within the short span of time and space available for Jesus to evangelize, it would only be reasonable that Christians are able to make more converts in the future generations. Thus, Jesus was telling the disciples the truth and was not trying to console His distraught disciples (14:1) because it was obvious to them that something unpleasant was going to happen (13:21-30, 36-38)!

Let’s return to the first chapters of the Acts. In those days, overseas Jews and coverts to Judaism would go pilgrimage to Jerusalem once a year in one of the great Jewish feasts such as Passover, Tabernacle and Pentecost etc. Thus, among the first batch of three thousand converts to Christianity, there would be local Jews as well as Greek-speaking Jews who came from overseas. This classification is rather misleading because “local Jews” could also be Greek speaking too! It is because most of the followers of Jesus came from Galilee in the north and not from overseas. They were living on the fringe of the Judaea province of the Roman Empire and must have been interacting and speaking in Greek with Gentiles in their daily lives. On the other hand, Jerusalem was a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong nowadays, serving as the economic, religious, cultural and political centre of the province of Judaea. Citizens of Jerusalem spoke in many different languages. All in all, I tend to believe that the early Church in Jerusalem would consist of a comparatively higher proportion of Greek speaking Jews.

In Judaism, widows occupied a privileged position in the society. Following the teachings of the prophets literally, court cases of widow complaints would be dealt with next after the fatherless, “Hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow” (Isaiah 1:17). Jewish marriage was a form of contract called “Ketubah” in which a divorced woman or a widow was entitled to receive a certain amount of financial compensation. In case the widow was survived by a male child, she would become the guardian of the infant children of the deceased. Thus her livelihood would be taken care of. However, widows would still live in poverty when the husbands died poor or debt-ridden or when justice had not been done her in disputes. The Christian community had become a natural refuge for those widows in poverty.

Now that we have laid down the background of the dispute between the Hellenists and Hebrews within the early Church in Jerusalem (Acts 6:1), we may better understand how appropriate the Twelve had settled the dispute: namely by delegating authority to a group of selected Hellenists to take care of the needs of the Hellenists. “Brothers, select from among you seven reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom, whom we shall appoint to this tasks (to serve at table)” (6:3). I hope to do a more in-depth analysis of the appropriateness of changing the issue of “daily distribution” (6:1) to “serve at table” (6:2) later. It suffices to say that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Twelve were able to manage the growth of the Church well. As a community gets bigger, new structures will come about to meet the demands arising from a greater complexity.

The potential of the Church needs time and space to fully actualize. It also takes time for her to understand herself better. For example, the disciples asked Jesus before His ascension, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts 1:6) Similarly, St. Peter still kept the concept of the “Chosen People” in mind when he wrote, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own” (1 Peter 2:9; Exodus 19:6). But in God’s mind, He envisions the Church as an entity more than a royal priesthood, a holy nation, in other words a New Israel. In the words of St. Paul, “Christ loved the Church and handed Himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the Church in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25b-27). In eternity, God sees the Church as the Lamb’s Bride (Revelation 21:9)! It takes time for the Church to appreciate this concept!
God Himself is love and therefore life-giving. The Father reveals Himself through Jesus Christ. When Jesus proclaims His divinity by saying, “I am the Way, and the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6a), one of the many things He is telling the disciples who are the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20) is that the Church has to go through a length of space and time in order to reach her full potential because we are mere mortals confined within space and time. But Jesus Christ Himself is the Way and He pledges to accompany us to reach the Father.

Brethren! May our relationship with Lord Jesus Christ grow deeper day by day within and without the Church. Amen. God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: religiousaffections.org