Living out Christian faith nowadays

Tonight, I began attending a course on Ruth & Esther. It is very enjoyable, studying bible courses without examination pressure. I was brought up a science student in secondary education. In HKU, I switched to social sciences. It was an eye-opening experience. After spending 3 years, I find it a beginning of a life long search for meanings and values in life. These things are intangible and not the subject matters for scientific studies which I still enjoy reading. I have imperceptibly migrated to languages and literature.
The Bible is a fascinating library of literature. There are, according to the Catholic tradition, 73 books which are records of encounter experiences of people with God. These records span across at least 700 years from 600 BC to 100 AD which is more than 1900 years from us. The milieu of these records was different from ours as well as theirs. The situation of the apostles was different from that of the prophets. Yet they serve as valuable signposts to encounters with God and we can learn many lessons from them. Of course, there are many Christians who treat them as absolute truth revealed by God and they are free to do so. However, we are living in a pluralistic and global community and there are many other voices worth attending to.
In the reading today Acts 5:17-26, we read of the imprisonment of the apostles by Jewish authority in Jerusalem.  An angel of the Lord released them (Acts 5:19), leaving the prison securely locked and sentries standing at the doors (Acts 15:23).  The angel instructed them
Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words πάντα τὰ ῥήματα of this Life τῆς ζωῆς ταύτης (Acts 5:20).
Nowadays, Christians still face hostilities and even persecutions from the government. But we don't expect God to send angels to save them miraculously. Instead we will appeal to the mass media to demand justice and the protection of human rights from the government. Today, we Christians still have the same message of Life with God to offer all mankind. But this message has to be packaged in such a way that it is meaningful to modern man. This is the challenge for all Christians nowadays. What is this message of Life with God?
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). This comment from John is an absolute truth subscribed to by Christians. God loves the world. God shows His love by giving us His only Son Jesus to embrace or reject. This is the absolute truth part. But eternal life is conditional. It is a truth on condition that we believe in him, embrace him. Otherwise, eternal life is meaningless for those who reject him. Here comes the challenge for Christians. How do we help others to believe in Jesus?
Here, John was rather pessimistic.
And this is the judgment ἡ κρίσις, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil (John 3:19). What is our situation today? Should we pass judgment on people's deeds? I will not. I feel that people nowadays are more indifferent than evil. How do we help indifferent people? I know not.

Dear Holy Spirit, Come and kindle our hearts as well as those of our neighbours. Turn our hearts of indifference to passion. Teach us to embrace life, to meet our challenges and glorify our Father in heaven. I pray for the health of our Cardinal who recently has a heart pacer installed. I pray for the recent violence orchestrated by Tibetan freddom fighters. May people come to their senses and choose non-violent resistance instead. Amen.

Comment from NotAllGoodPeopleGoToHeaven:

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The (pagan) belief in immediate transit of individual souls after death to a state of perfect blessedness (heaven), or to a state of continuous punishment (hell), or to an intermediate state of purification (purgatory) has greatly weakened the expectation of Christ's Coming."
-Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.
Retired Professor of Theology,
Andrews University
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April 5, 2008

Feast of St. Patrick

In recent years, the Parish Council organizes feast day celebrations for the priests, deacon and pastoral sister serving in the parish. It is meant to be a family gathering where we show our gratitude for the services they render. Usually, these feast days seldom fall on Sundays. Therefore, only a smaller crowd of dedicated parishers would turn up. Nevertheless, it is also a good occasion for building up relations. Somehow, life in the parish still centres around the religious.

Fr. Patrick Sun is one of the assistant parish priests. This year, the Feast of St. Patrick, March 17, fell within the Holy Week. Therefore, he chose to delay the celebration until today. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is renowned for his visions. His colour is green. Nowadays, with heightened environmental awareness, people associate St. Patrick with environmental protection.

Tonight, showing their fraternity, all the priests and deacon of the parish celebrated mass together. Then, there was a tiny cake-cutting reception. During homily, Fr. Sun shared his thoughts in his childlike trademark. Of the priests I know, some are great administrators, but their spirituality is wanting. Others are wonderful spiritual directors. Fr. Sun belongs to the latter category. We will have to wait until he has the opportunity to demonstrate his administrative skills. He humbly told us that he wishes to be a cell of Jesus, to be able to laugh and feel sorrow with Jesus. With the help of Our Lady, he is sure he can make it. Then he shared with us what he learnt from St. Patrick. Grace and faith are gifts from God, not from our efforts or merits. This is an insight we often overlook. He also believes that with our sinful inclination, we should work towards actions which incur our aversion. Work which we feel too lowly, too uneasy, too embarrassing, too repulsive and unattractive should be our target, our devotion. Of course, this is the occasion in which we will be able to reap the greatest grace from God. I can sense a deep and childlike spirituality resulted from many years of discipline. I thank God for sending this wonderful man among us to take care of our souls.

The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes; so it is with every one who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8).
The Holy Spirit is a mystery to us. Though God the Father is invisible, we can see His Creation. The Son of God is tangible. We can see and touch him. The Holy Spirit? Well, what can we say? Perhaps we can discover It in the lives of Its believers, us Christians. We need to know It better.

Dear Holy Spirit, You are not pure energy but a person. You spoke to the apostles in Acts. Come and dwell in us and make us God's instrument of peace where peace is wanting. Amen.

Feast of Annunciation

The Feast of Annunciation is usually celebrated on March 25. Nine months after Archangel Gabriel had visited the Blessed Virgin Mary, getting her consent to work with God to deliver the Saviour to this world, Jesus was born and we celebrate Christmas. This year, the feast falls within Easter Octave. Therefore, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast today. I was baptised on the Feast of Annunciation. Therefore, each year, I celebrate my baptism anniversary as well.

In my early years after baptism, I was not very devoted to the Blessed Virgin and did not spend time meditating on her virtues. Our Lady is humble and patient. It is one of her virtues to be able to wait patiently for things to unfold. She has never put up any obstacles for God's work to be done. But when situation arises, she is courageous enough to 'force' the hand of God to work, as illustrated in the story of Cana wedding banquet. Indeed, it was also God's will she sought. Teaching in La Salle College, I was privileged to be assigned to supervise a praesidium of the Legion of Mary. I had a good chance to imbue in the spirituality of Marian devotion for 19 years.
Today, we read of Hebrews 10.
Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired,
but a body hast thou prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure.
Then I said, `Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God,'
as it is written of me in the roll of the book." (Hebrews 10:5-7)
God has also prepared a body for me. I have come to this world to do God's will.
Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your (Gabriel's) word. (Luke 1:38)
What is the secret of success of the Blessed Virgin? She might not be very intelligent according to worldly standard. Whatever she did not understand (But who can understand God's actions?),
But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19, 51).
Thank Luke for revealing her secret.

My sweet Jesus, You have chosen wisely Our Lady to be Your mother. You are generous in giving her to be our mother as well. Pray that we, her worthless children, may imitate her examples in cooperating with You to redeem the world. Amen.

2nd Sunday of Easter (Year A)

Man is a visual animal. Our vision gives us a survival advantage and man evolves to the highest rung in the Evolution ladder. We rely heavily on our sight rather than on our hearing. Unfortunately, faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17), not sight. Take a very simple example. If you see a dog, you know that there is a dog. You don't have to believe that there is a dog. Now, close your eyes and imagine you are blind. If you hear barking, you have to exercise your faith to believe that there is a dog. Why? It is because the barking may come from a real dog or some recordings. You need faith to accept the existence of a dog and not a tape recorder. Of course, smell and touch may help reinforce this faith.

In the gospel of John today, we read of the well-known story of Thomas who did not believe in the testimony of the 10 apostles.
So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25) What an empiricist! By the time Jesus appeared to Thomas and invited him to put his finger into the wounds on his hand, Thomas' doubt had all but vapourized. It is a reality and you don't have to believe in it anymore.
Thomas was modern, in the sense that he defined the criteria God must meet in order to prove His existence. Yes, God must comply to our terms in order to acquire our approval. He must vibrate within the wavelengths of 380-750 nm. Otherwise, we don't see Him and accept His existence. He must speak with frequencies of 400-3500 Hz. Otherwise, we don't hear Him and listen to His Word. He must appear at 31°46′N and 35°14′E. Otherwise, the apostles would not be able to meet Him and touch Him etc. Welcome aboard, Thomas. But would you accept such demands from a lower creature, say your dog? Your master would. But Jesus taught him and us an important lesson.
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." (John 20:29)
When Jesus appeared to the 10 apostles, he was willing to reveal his hands and his side (John 20:20). Eight days later, he did the same to Thomas. He loved his apostles. These showings were consolations rather than proofs. They were hiding from the hostile forces that once crucified their master. They might be seeking after their lives very soon. Nowadays, though we do not risk our lives believing in Jesus who still loves us, we don't have the luxury to see and touch him. Yet, we are more blessed because we have not seen Jesus and yet we believe in him.

My sweet Jesus, let us not be arrogant. Let us see our status clearly, that we are but humble insignificant creatures. Our relationship should not be dictated in our own terms, but yours. We believe in You though we have not seen You. We believe because we hear the testimony of generations of faithful Christians. We hope that You will grant us the grace to meet You face to face later. Amen.

Preach the Gospel to the whole Creation

Among the Chinese priests I know, Fr. Anthony Chang 鄭生來神父 is one of his kind. When you first meet him, you will feel that his complexion is too dark to be Chinese. That probably is more a reflection of his life-long contribution to ecology than his genes. His speech is gentle like breeze, never an aggressive type. This is actually very appropriate for an advocate of environmental protection.

The Christian drama begins in the once harmonious Eden. The Fall of the first man alienated him from God
And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:10),
from his fellow (wo)man
The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12),
and from the Creation
cursed is the ground because of you;
in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life (Genesis 3:17b).
Sins spread like virus on this planet and contaminate everything they touch. St. Paul says
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now (Romans 8:22). Therefore, not only man, but also the whole creation needs redemption, a reconciliation with the Creator.
Today, we read of the appendix in Mark. In quick succession, Mark summarizes Jesus' apparitions to Mary Magdalene (as found in John), to 2 disciples (as in Luke) then to the 11 apostles (as in Luke and John).
Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen (Mark 16:14).
Then, Jesus commissioned them out to preach the good news to the whole world (as in Matthew). It reads
And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel κηρύξατε τὸ εὐαγγέλιον to the whole creation πάσῃ τῇ κτίσει   (Mark 16:15).
Indeed, Mark has quite a total vision of redemption. I think all Christians should. Our redemption comes from believing in the risen Jesus, from reconciling with God. Human beings can believe in Jesus. What about the other creatures? For most pet owners, they are able to experience a kind of emotional bond with their pets. It seems to me to be a first step towards our reconciliation with the alienated Creation since the Fall. Naively put, in Christ, we achieve reconciliation with God as well as our fellow men. When we treat the planet like our pet, we achieve reconciliation with the Creation and restore it to the original design of God. Of course, we need more than just one Fr. Anthony Chang to flesh out this simplistic skeleton of 'ecology theology'.

My sweet Jesus, we Christians should be active environmental protectors. Let us care more about the health of this alienated planet. May the day come when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together. Amen.

Editorial autonomy

For those of us who are familiar with the Passion of John, we know that Annas was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest (John 18:13). And we can safely assume that there was only ONE high priest at a time. Indeed, a search on the web, say Wikipedia, yields a list of High Priests quoted from Jewish encyclopaedia. The Appendix III of 【思高聖經】is also a list of High Priest. From there, we see that there was only one High Priest since Zadok. We also find that Annas (Ananus) was the High Priest from 6 to 15 A.D. and Caiaphas from 18 to 36 A.D. Therefore, it is puzzling that Luke gives a different picture.

In the gospel of Luke, when he told us the ministry of John the Baptist, we have
in the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness (Luke 3:2). Luke reports two high priests in about 28 A.D. Then, when Peter and John were arrested after healing a lame man, they were brought in front of the rulers of Israel. We have
On the morrow their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem,
with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family (Acts 4:5-6). Luke has Annas as the High Priest in 30 A.D. Did Luke make some mistakes and left them in the bible? God forbids! Then, how are we to harmonize the bible and external evidence? Some scholars suggest that Annas was the Emeritus High Priest. He had retired but still kept the title and influence. When Luke wrote his corpus, he did not make the distinction or rather, people in the first century did not make such distinction as we do today. In fact, there were also times in the Israelite history when the old king became a co-regent with his son to rule over the land. Therefore, the idea of Annas being a retired High Priest seems plausible.
Now, let us turn to John 21. This chapter reads like a postscript because John 20:30-31 seems to have close the book. However, all extant manuscripts include John 21. Therefore, this chapter deserves our attention and respect. The story today highlights one important nature of gospels: the evangelists did not write news reports. They enjoyed an editorial autonomy to put together materials to proclaim the Jesus they knew.
The gospel of John does not follow the general plot of the other 3 synoptic gospels. There is no nativity story, no temptation story after Jesus' baptism, no calling of fisher of men, no calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee, no walking on the water after feeding 5000, no Transfiguration, no establishment of the Holy Eucharist in the Last Supper, no agony in Gethsemani etc. The list continues as long as you like. John did not bother to record them because enough had been written by the previous gospels. Yet, he put some of them in different contexts.
In the gospels, there are 2 accounts of the apostles catching a large number of fish, one in Luke and the other in John. In Luke 5, we read that Jesus got on Simon's boat to preach because there were too many people.
And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." (Luke 5:4). He caught so many that he reckoned his partners, James and John, to help. Both boats were filled and nearly sank. This is Luke's account of the call of the first 4 fishermen disciples. Luke had Simon confessed that he was a sinner first, before Jesus made him a fisher of men. Instead, Mark and Matthew told the same call of the fishermen story without this miraculous catch, nor confession of sins.
In John's story, the catch took place at the third apparition after resurrection, not at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. Jesus was NOT on their boats but standing on the beach. Again, the fishermen did not recognize him after two previous appearances (John 21:4)!
He said to them, "Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish (John 21:6). The disciple whom Jesus loved told Peter that it was the Lord. How did he know? It must have been a previous experience, most probably the earlier miraculous catch recorded in Luke. Once again, we rely on experience of previous encounters in order to recognize the risen Jesus. This is the paradigm employed in the gospels.
After hearing this suggestion, Peter put on his clothes and jumped into the sea and ran to the shore to meet Jesus (John 21:7). This seems to be Peter's routine. We have a similar incident in Matthew 14:28-33. Jesus was walking on the water after feeding the 5000. Peter and the others were straining at the oars. When he knew that it was Jesus, he jumped into the sea to meet him. Peter was nearly drowned because he lost faith in the big waves. Of course, Jesus saved Peter and all the people on the boat confessed that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 14:33). In most likelihood, people on board would be dumbfounded and confused.
In John's story,
Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord (John 21:12).
I dare not say that Luke's and John's (and even Matthew's) were one and the same story. The most reasonable interpretation would be that the evangelists highlighted different themes with materials in their hands. They wanted to reinforce the faith in the believers.
but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31).

My sweet Jesus, I thank the evangelists for their efforts in handing down this precious faith to us. I humbly listen to them, reflect on their messages. May their experience awaken my self-knowledge, my need to repent and strengthen my faith in You day by day. Amen.

Handle me

Before we continue our reading of the apparition story in Luke, let us take stock of the very first apparitions of Jesus after resurrection in the four canonical gospels.

Mark ends at 16:8. Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and the third woman Salome entered the tomb only to find an angel. The angel told them to report to Peter and the other disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. The women fled because they were afraid (Mark 16:8).
Scholars believe that an appendix of various apparitions was added. Firstly, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene alone (Mark 16:9-11). Next, the appendix mentions Jesus' apparition to 2 disciples, agreeing with Luke's account (Mark 16:12-13). In both cases, Jesus' disciples did not believe the reports.
Matthew does not mention Salome in the Easter visit to the tomb early in the morning. They saw an angel of the Lord descend to roll away the stone at the entrance of the tomb. The angel instructed them to report to the disciples, without mentioning Peter, and told them to meet Jesus in Galilee. The women returned in fear and joy and met Jesus on the way (Matthew 28:9-10). So, Jesus first appeared to two Mary's.
Luke reports the women seeing 2 angels instead of one. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James were named. But Jesus did not appear to them in Luke's account. Instead, Jesus appeared to 2 disciples on their way back to Emmaus. When they reported to the apostles, Luke also mentions that Jesus had appeared to Simon (Luke 24:34).
John reports that only Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and found the rock at the entrance removed. She reported to Peter and the disciple Jesus loved. They went to investigate. Mary Magdalene followed. After the two had left, she saw two angels in the tomb. At that moment, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene (John 20:14).
In summary, there are two traditions about Jesus' first apparition after resurrection. One tradition, represented by Matthew and John, has Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first and the other, represented by Luke, to 2 disciples in Emmaus. The 2 traditions do not mention each other. Of course, we cannot conclude that these 2 traditions are mutually exclusive. Both can be true and Mark collects both. Now, let's move forward in Luke.
After realizing what they had seen, the 2 disciples from Emmaus hurried back to Jerusalem to report to the eleven apostles and those who were with them (Luke 24:33). While they were reporting, Jesus appeared to these 13 plus people. Jesus tried to help them understand him.
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me ψηλαφήσατέ με, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have (Luke 24:39). He even asked for a piece of fish and ate before them to demonstrate that after resurrection, he still had flesh and bone.
ψηλαφήσατέ means to seek, grope (like a blind) one's way. We Christians understand our Lord no better even after his resurrection. We need to seek, to grope our way to know him better. Like the blind groping an elephant, we will only be able to gain a partial understanding of him at best. Grope we have to until the end of time when we will be able to see him, not in a mirror, but face to face, see him as he is (1 Corinthians 13:12). Luckily, Jesus has promised to send us the Holy Spirit to enlighten us in our understanding. We can completely rely on this Counsellor.

My sweet Jesus, the evangelists have reminded us again and again that we need to seek You after Your departure. Our relationship with You is going to be a life long journey, full of grace and truth, sins and doubts. Come, O Holy Spirit, to strengthen our feeble limbs in this journey that we may reach home safely. Amen.