When Democrats are not democratic

For practitioners of a religion true to the meaning of the term religion, their faith and morality must be compatible. Their faith will demand a certain behavioural norm. Some "religions" are "cults" because they encourage and practise harmful behaviours to the members within the cults as well as those in the society at large. We will not consider their case. Some practitioners of a religion fail to live up to the norm of their faith. These are hypocrites. We will put them aside for the time being. True believers practise what they believe, what they preach. Most Chinese believers practise their faith silently. They are not expressive in words. That doesn't disqualify them as true believers. Some are more gifted in speech. They are eager to practise and preach. They are true to their faith.

The recent controversy over election reform deals the democratic camp a heavy blow. The Democratic Party is accused of striking a secret deal with the Central Government, thus betraying the pan-democratic camp in their fight for universal suffrage in 2012. The Democratic Party is trying to contain subsequent damages of massive party members quitting.
The Central Government sees huge waves of protests from post-80's and post-90's in the Hong Kong society. They are a force to reckon with. Yet, no political parties in Hong Kong are able to command them. Therefore, the Central Government is prepared to concede moderate demands from the democratic camp in order to contain the waves of protests from these youngsters. It is believed that the Central Government has received and accepted the proposal from the Democratic Party early this year. However, she needs to delay the announcement of her acceptance as close to the voting day as possible so that the other political parties will not have a chance to extract advantages from the Central Government. The Democratic Party has to cooperate with her and keep its mouth shut. This makes the Democratic Party appear to be a traitor in the fight for universal suffrage. Party members have to tolerate verbal and physical abuses from radical legislators within the chamber and hot-blooded youngsters without. Their personal safety is under threat during the annual marching tomorrow ...
Of course, there are different paths to achieve universal suffrage. The Democratic Party has chosen one which make them appear undemocratic. They have failed to practise what they preach. They have compromised the ideal they have been upholding. Alas! Compromises are political realities.

The Israelites had been warned and punished for practising idolatry. Now that they worshipped God, offered Him sacrifices and performed the required rituals, yet, Amos the prophet continued to scold them.
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings, I will not accept them, and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:21-24).
Even though the Israelites performed their rituals, God wanted no part of them. What God wanted was justice and righteousness. God wanted their actions to be compatible with their faith.
Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the LORD, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said.
Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (Amos 5:14-15).
Life was simpler in ancient Israel. Seek good and God would be with them. God loves charity more than sacrifices.
Modern politics is a game with a different set of rules. The Chinese Communist Party is comfortable with only a castrated version of democracy. She will never let go her grip on the power of the Central Government. Western democracy is not her cup of tea. Hers is a different set of good and evil. The game will play on. The Democratic Party is no more than a pawn in her chess set.

Dear Lord, You are our Universal King. The Central Government and all other governments are but pieces in Your chess set. I pray that Your rules of game prevail. Amen.

Feast of Ss. Peter & Paul 2010

The Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of Ss Peter and Paul today. These two great Apostles died a martyrdom under Nero on different dates. Since 258, their feast has been celebrated on June 29 in Rome because on that day, their remains were collected and moved to Via Appia ad Catacumbas. The importance of these two pillars of the Church cannot be adequately explained here. Rather, we should meditate on their deeds and find strength to handle our daily dealings. Outside the Bible, there is an apocrypha called Acts of Peter and Paul, which supplies us with details about the rest of their lives.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
I am still running, but rather aimlessly. Throughout my life, I have been collecting and gathering a lot of books to feed my curiosity. Alas! Life and energy are short in supply. Perhaps I should narrow down my choices and set my target.
Do I want a crown of righteousness? Not quite. Do I want to see that Day come soon? Not quite. Here, I am a bit selfish and want to tarry a bit longer all because I have not yet set my target. By the day my target is set, surely I want to reach it fast. In the meantime, I will continue to shop around.
At the present moment, I still have three more years of theology study and five more years of teaching to do, if God allows me. These two are my current short-term targets. Surely, I will put up a good fight to reach these targets. Finishing these, I will evaluate my situation to continue the next target. If God allows, I will serve Him and the Church as a permanent deacon. Let this be my final target. Amen.

Dear Lord, You have put me on my course thus far. Be with me to finish the race so that at the finishing line, I can keep my faith in You. Amen.

Feast of St. Irenaeus 2010

Two years ago, I briefly wrote about St. Irenaeus who died a martyr in 202. I did not know him and the historical background well enough. Today, I have made very little progress in the knowledge of early Church history and the writings of the Church Fathers, among whom Irenaeus was one. In the next three days, I will continue the seminar in Patrology. Hopefully, by the end of it, I will be able to appreciate better the contribution of St. Irenaeus in his combat against Gnosticism.

Gnosticism teaches that through gaining "secret knowledge", we are able to attain, you name it, transcendence, salvation, liberation and enlightenment etc. It is very appealing especially when organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Taoism etc appear to be so rigid and lifeless. Gnosticism has many incarnations. If you are hostile to the supernatural, it offers you "natural healing". If you lose your passion with your faith, it offers you an "alternative religion" which demolishes all boundaries between world religions. If you want to improve your health, it offers you various forms of Qi-Qong and TM etc. Unlike cults of terrorist brand, Gnosticism seems so healthy and does nobody any harm. Why then should the Church be wary against it?

Today, we read again Paul's advice to Timothy.
So shun youthful passions and aim at righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call upon the Lord from a pure heart (2 Timothy 2:22).
I suppose Gnosticism also renders similar advice. Avoid lust. Aim at righteousness, faith, love and peace. Gather with other Gnosticists with a pure heart. Of course, it will replace Jesus with another identity. Perhaps this demarcates Christianity from Gnosticism.
How should Timothy deal with Gnosticism?
Have nothing to do with stupid, senseless controversies; you know that they breed quarrels (2 Timothy 2:23).
Perhaps Timothy was still too young and inexperienced to deal with Gnosticism. Not so with the Church Fathers. One century after the death of all the Apostles, Gnosticism must have been a force to reckon with. The Church Fathers had to defend Christianity lest it became another brand of Gnosticism. I will learn more about it in the next three days.
As for Timothy, he had to deal with it with gentleness and prayed that God might grant them repentance.
And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kindly to every one, an apt teacher, forbearing,
correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth (2 Timothy 2:24-25).
Dear Lord, I am arrogant and impatient. I have not loved enough. Pray that I become more forbearing with my bosses. Amen.

Thirteenth Ordinary Sunday (Year C)

Today, we attended the third seminar of the year. The topic is Patrology. This course is offered once every two years. It is conducted by Fr. Victor Aguilar, MCCJ from Macau.
Patrology is the study of the writings of the Church Fathers, spanning from the second to the eighth century. They wrote mainly in Greek and later in Latin, to defend Christianity and orthodoxy. Now, we understand more what Tradition means.
Christianity is not and cannot simply be based on the Bible. Christians struggle with problems and difficulties arising from their interaction with the cultural milieu. They could be persecutions from hostile peoples and states. They could be philosophical challenges from the learned. They could be heretical views within the Christian community. Consequently, Christians come up with a more mature understanding of their faith and hand it down through the generations. This is Tradition. Christ is the source of Christianity. Then, the New Testament is first collections of the reflections of the Apostles. Tradition is a further collection of reflections of Christian faith.
We finished today's session with a mass.

After Transfiguration, Jesus headed Jerusalem. They went past a Samaritan village.
but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:53).
Jews and Samaritans were not in good terms. The Samaritans did not extend their hospitality because the company of Jesus was heading Jerusalem.
And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?" (Luke 9:54)
James and John were known to be hot-tempered. Obviously they were offended by the Samaritans. They had seen the glory of Jesus in Transfiguration. Their hearts were bewildered. Instead of asking Jesus to bid fire come down to consume the Samaritans, they wanted to take justice in their own hands.
When we follow Jesus, meeting difficulties is inevitable. Yet, it is all too human to evade them instead of confronting them. We take short-cuts without thinking carefully the consequences. Jesus would never concur.

Then, we read of three different cases of following Jesus.
A man wanted to follow Jesus wherever he went. Jesus told him to rethink whether he was prepared to lead a poor life.
And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." (Luke 9:58)
Jesus' life is a life of self-renunciation. It is a life dedicated to following God's will. It is a life of total surrender to God. Are we ready to follow?
Next, Jesus called a man to follow him. However, this man was caught unprepared. He wanted to finish off his unfinished business, to settle his family obligations first. He had a differnt priority.
But he (Jesus) said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:60)
Luke does not tell us what became of this man. He was a skilful author. Luke leaves the end open for all of us to complete the ending. We are the man. Jesus tells us to set our priority right. Proclaiming the Kingdom of God should be the top priority for Christians. Have we re-adjusted our priorities to answer God's call?
The last man volunteered to follow Jesus after he had settled his family relationships. He had set his priorities. He had decided to cut off his family ties. But Jesus had a different thought.
Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
Jesus told the man that there was no need to cut off our family ties. When we follow God, we don't need to look back and worry. God will take care of our worries and the rest.

Dear Lord, have You called me? To what life-station have You intended me? Help me set my priorities right and I trust You will take care of the rest of my life. Amen.

Weep with Jeremiah

Written languages convey both meanings and sounds. Each language has its own peculiar characteristics. Therefore, it is difficult to translate a piece of text from one language to another.
One of the difficulties has to do with meaning. Every word carries more than one meaning. Even for synonyms, each of them carries different shades of the same meaning. Moreover, the ways a particular word is used in a particular culture will evoke different feelings even among synonyms. Words are like clouds and no two clouds are identical. This difficulty happens within every language.
What is worst, many concepts, thus words, do not find their counterparts in another language. For example, there is only one word for "love" in Hebrew but at least three in Greek.
Another difficulty comes in the style of a language. For example, Hebrew has no comparatives. It expresses comparatives with repetitions or contrasts. Therefore, to say that you love one thing more, Hebrew says that you love one and hate the other!
Alas! Nobody is able to translate with 100% accuracy in meaning. Poetry is even more problematic.

Today, we read Lamentations 2. It is poetic. Prophet Jeremiah wrote Lamentations to express his grief over the destruction of Jerusalem.
There are 22 Hebrew alphabets and there are 22 verses in Lamentations 1, 2, 4 and 5. Guess what! Each verse begins with an alphabet in sequence. This kind of poems is called acoustic. There are 66 verses in Lamentations 3. Three verses form a stanza and begin with the same alphabet. To the best of my knowledge, no English translation is able to do this acrobatic trick. Chinese language has no alphabets and cannot be acoustic. So far, we have not touched upon the problem of sounds and rhythm. It is hopeless. That is why we need to learn Hebrew in order to appreciate Hebrew poetry.

In reading poetry, we try to grasp the imagery created. Alas! Images are culturally conditioned. For example, which animals are cunning, serpents, foxes or rabbits? How do you express sadness with tears? In Chinese, we "wash our face with tears". In Hebrew, "tears become our food all the days". So, it is difficult to convey an image with the same force.

We have been living in comfort and convenience for too long. We may no longer be able to feel what Jeremiah felt. Anyhow, reading Lamentations will enrich our hearts so that we will be better able to weep with those in despair.

My eyes are spent with weeping; my soul is in tumult; my heart is poured out in grief because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babes faint in the streets of the city (Lamentations 2:11, RSV).
我的眼痛哭，至於失明，五內沸騰，肝腦塗地。眼見我的女兒—人民遭受摧殘，眼看著幼童乳兒昏厥在城中的街道上。

כָּלוּ בַדְּמָעוֹת עֵינַי, חֳמַרְמְרוּ מֵעַי--נִשְׁפַּךְ לָאָרֶץ כְּבֵדִי, עַל-שֶׁבֶר בַּת-עַמִּי: בֵּעָטֵף עוֹלֵל וְיוֹנֵק, בִּרְחֹבוֹת קִרְיָה

Dear Lord, we have not loved enough. We are not able to feel what others feel. Help us to love more. Amen.

The last days of the Southern Kingdom

The following is a summary table of the kings of Judah after Josiah.

Name of King	Age	Duration	Mother	Judgment	Reference
Jehoahaz	23	3 months	Hamutal	evil	23:31-32
Jehoiakim (Eliakim)	25	11	Zebidah	evil	23:36-37
Jehoiachin	18	3 months	Nehushta	evil	24:8-9
Zedekiah (Mattaniah) uncle of Jehoiachin	21	11	Hamutal	evil	24:17-19

Josiah was killed by Pharaoh Neco in Megiddo (2 Kings 23:29). People made Jehoahaz, son of Josiah, king. Pharaoh captured him and demanded a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold (2 Kings 23:33). Pharaoh made Eliakim, son of Josiah, king and changed his name to Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34). Jehoahaz died in Egypt. After the death of Jehoiakim, his son Jeoiachin reigned (2 Kings 24:6). Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came and besieged Jerusalem. Jehoiachin did not resist.
And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war (2 Kings 24:16).
This was the first Babylonian Captivity.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:20b).

And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it; and they built siegeworks against it round about.
So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.
On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land (2 Kings 25:1-3).
Jerusalem was besieged for three years and was breached. Zedekiah fled and was captured.
Then they captured the king, and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, who passed sentence upon him.
They slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and took him to Babylon (2 Kings 25:6-7).
The last thing King Zedekiah saw was the death of his sons! What a terrible fate.
Then the Babylonian captain burnt down the Temple, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, carried away more people into captivity.
And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile.
But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen (2 Kings 25:11-12).
This was the second Babylonian Captivity.

Dear Lord, Your law is the way of life. Let us choose life and obey Your law. Amen.

Nativity of John the Baptist 2010

Like John the Baptist, each Christian should be a precursor of Christ. John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance to prepare the hearts of the Jews to receive the Messiah. We Christians should do likewise to prepare the hearts of our people to receive Jesus Christ.
Today, the Church celebrates the birth of John the Baptist. There are many things about the Baptist we can meditate upon.

One strikes deeply in my mind.
He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30)
How often I want to be important! How much I want to be the focus of attention! In such occasions, I have forgotten the Baptist. I have forgotten Christ.
I have forgotten how meagre I am. I have forgotten who made me what I am.

Dear Lord, make me see my true nature. Make me see my potentials. May I be Your faithful precursor to bring people to You. Amen.