Today, we hear the famous parable of "The Rich Man and Lazarus" (Luke 16:19-31). It is a story warning those people whose hearts are numbed by riches, people who are insensitive to the plights of the poor.
People will easily protest, complaining that they are not rich, unlike those who often enjoy a glass of red wine which is worth tens of thousands of dollars. In comparison, the description in Amos is no exaggeration at all: lying upon beds of ivory, eating lambs and calves, singing idle songs, drinking wine in bowls and anointing themselves in finest oils (Amos 6:4-6). Our luxury nowadays is much more than that. Even a man of middle-class can afford that, except for ivory which is banned for conservation reasons. But that is not the issue. The point is not about luxury or no luxury or the degree of luxury. Rather, our fault lies in our indifference towards the plights of the poor, our failure to extend a helping hand to improve their situation. We are sinful, not because of our riches, but our inconsideration. Therefore, whether you are rich or poor. As long as you refuse to become your brother's keeper, you are sinful.
I don't like the Chinese translation of Luke 16:25. It reads
亞巴郎說：孩子，你應記得你活著的時候，已享盡了你的福，而拉匝祿同樣也受盡了苦。
Abraham said,"Son, you should remember when you were alive, you had already enjoyed all your good and likewise, Lazarus had suffered all his bad."
However, the Greek original does not have the meaning of "all"!
εἶπεν δὲ Ἀβραάμ, Τέκνον, μνήσθητι ὅτι ἀπέλαβες τὰ ἀγαθά σου ἐν τῇ ζωῇ σου, καὶ Λάζαρος ὁμοίως τὰ κακά.
ἀπέλαβες means "receive, obtain, gain" and does not suggest any meaning of "all".
Perhaps the Franciscan friars wanted to satisfy the Chinese Buddhist mentality which believed that we are destined a certain amount of wealth and health. When we used it up, we would suffer in this life or next. This translation is not faithful to the Greek original, but natural to the Chinese readers.
In his homily this morning, Fr. Martin told us a little story which empowers us to extend a helping hand no matter what little we can help.
A company of 3000 employees has a "winner takes all" tradition in their annual dinner. Each one puts $10 in a box and writes his own name on a piece of paper and drops it in the lucky draw box. One name will be drawn and the winner will pocket the $30,000.
This year, when Jack put his $10 in the box, he remembered Rose, a janitor, whose husband would undergo a surgery which was a heavy financial burden on the couple. Though the chance was slim, Simon put down Rose's name on his paper and dropped it in the lucky draw box. That evening, a miracle happened. Rose turned out to be the winner!
After dinner, out of curiosity, Simon came to the lucky draw box and drew another name. It was Rose. He drew again. It was Rose again. He couldn't believe it. He took out several ballots. Each, in different handwritings, was Rose!
The conclusion:「 勿以善小而不為。」
Don't think that a good is so insignificant that it is not worth doing.
This statement is commonly attributed to the will of Liao Bi to his son.
Relating to the Manila tragedy, Fr. Martin reminded us to seize the moment to do good, however little it seems to be. The tragedy forcibly reminded us that we might not be able to see tomorrow.
Dear Lord, help us love more generously. Amen.
Sunday, 26 September 2010
Sunday, 19 September 2010
A steward commented by his master
Today, we read of the parable of a dishonest steward who was praised by his master (Luke 16:1-13). Whenever I hear this parable, I always recall a similar story in Chinese history. In my valedictory speech in the 2007 Biblical Institute Graduation Ceremony, I made "An attempt to explore God's revelation in Chinese Culture" its title and mentioned a probable relation between this Chinese story and the Lukan parable. Let me quote it in full.
初，馮驩聞孟嘗君好客，躡蹻而見之。孟嘗君曰；「先生遠辱，何以教文也？」馮驩曰：「聞君好士，以貧身歸於君。」孟嘗君置傳舍十日，孟嘗君問傳舍長曰：「客何所為？」答曰：「馮先生甚貧，猶有一劍耳，又蒯緱。彈其劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，食無魚』。」孟嘗君遷之幸舍，食有魚矣。五日，又問傳舍長。答曰：「客復彈劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，出無輿』。」孟嘗君遷之代舍，出入乘輿車矣。五日，孟嘗君復問傳舍長。舍長答曰：「先生又嘗彈劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，無以為家』。」孟嘗君不悅。
居朞年，馮驩無所言。孟嘗君時相齊，封萬戶於薛。其食客三千人。邑入不足以奉客，使人出錢於薛。歲餘不入，貸錢者多不能與其息，客奉將不給。孟嘗君憂之，問左右：「何人可使收債於薛者？」傳舍長曰：「代舍客馮公形容狀貌甚辯，長者，無他伎能，宜可令收債。」孟嘗君乃進馮驩而請之曰：「賓客不知文不肖，幸臨文者三千餘人，邑入不足以奉賓客，故出息錢於薛。薛歲不入，民頗不與其息。今客食恐不給，願先生責之。」馮驩曰；「諾。」辭行，至薛，召取孟嘗君錢者皆會，得息錢十萬。乃多釀酒，買肥牛，召諸取錢者，能與息者皆來，不能與息者亦來，皆持取錢之券書合之。齊為會，日殺牛置酒。酒酣，乃持券如前合之，能與息者，與為期；貧不能與息者，取其券而燒之。曰：「孟嘗君所以貸錢者，為民之無者以為本業也；所以求息者，為無以奉客也。今富給者以要期，貧窮者燔券書以捐之。諸君強飲食。有君如此，豈可負哉！」坐者皆起，再拜。
孟嘗君聞馮驩燒券書，怒而使使召驩。驩至，孟嘗君曰：「文食客三千人，故貸錢於薛。文奉邑少，而民尚多不以時與其息，客食恐不足，故請先生收責之。聞先生得錢，即以多具牛酒而燒券書，何？」馮驩曰：「然。不多具牛酒即不能畢會，無以知其有餘不足。有餘者，為要期。不足者，雖守而責之十年，息愈多，急，即以逃亡自捐之。若急，終無以償，上則為君好利不愛士民，下則有離上抵負之名，非所以厲士民彰君聲也。焚無用虛債之券，捐不可得之虛計，令薛民親君而彰君之善聲也，君有何疑焉！」孟嘗君乃拊手而謝之。【孟嘗君列傳‧史記‧卷七十五】
I always admire the wisdom of these stewards. They are worldly and, to a certain extent, crafty. In the Chinese version, the steward was a great adviser of economics and diplomacy for his master and served him well. Of course, the master in the Gospel is God and who can be God's adviser (Isaiah 40:13)? Yet, God commented this dishonest steward. God is able to see good things even in dishonesty! We sinners have a lot to learn from God.
Dear Lord, we are taught to love righteousness and hate evil. And You want us to love sinners as well. Our hearts are too narrow. Teach us to love more, You and sinners. Amen.
初，馮驩聞孟嘗君好客，躡蹻而見之。孟嘗君曰；「先生遠辱，何以教文也？」馮驩曰：「聞君好士，以貧身歸於君。」孟嘗君置傳舍十日，孟嘗君問傳舍長曰：「客何所為？」答曰：「馮先生甚貧，猶有一劍耳，又蒯緱。彈其劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，食無魚』。」孟嘗君遷之幸舍，食有魚矣。五日，又問傳舍長。答曰：「客復彈劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，出無輿』。」孟嘗君遷之代舍，出入乘輿車矣。五日，孟嘗君復問傳舍長。舍長答曰：「先生又嘗彈劍而歌曰『長鋏歸來乎，無以為家』。」孟嘗君不悅。
居朞年，馮驩無所言。孟嘗君時相齊，封萬戶於薛。其食客三千人。邑入不足以奉客，使人出錢於薛。歲餘不入，貸錢者多不能與其息，客奉將不給。孟嘗君憂之，問左右：「何人可使收債於薛者？」傳舍長曰：「代舍客馮公形容狀貌甚辯，長者，無他伎能，宜可令收債。」孟嘗君乃進馮驩而請之曰：「賓客不知文不肖，幸臨文者三千餘人，邑入不足以奉賓客，故出息錢於薛。薛歲不入，民頗不與其息。今客食恐不給，願先生責之。」馮驩曰；「諾。」辭行，至薛，召取孟嘗君錢者皆會，得息錢十萬。乃多釀酒，買肥牛，召諸取錢者，能與息者皆來，不能與息者亦來，皆持取錢之券書合之。齊為會，日殺牛置酒。酒酣，乃持券如前合之，能與息者，與為期；貧不能與息者，取其券而燒之。曰：「孟嘗君所以貸錢者，為民之無者以為本業也；所以求息者，為無以奉客也。今富給者以要期，貧窮者燔券書以捐之。諸君強飲食。有君如此，豈可負哉！」坐者皆起，再拜。
孟嘗君聞馮驩燒券書，怒而使使召驩。驩至，孟嘗君曰：「文食客三千人，故貸錢於薛。文奉邑少，而民尚多不以時與其息，客食恐不足，故請先生收責之。聞先生得錢，即以多具牛酒而燒券書，何？」馮驩曰：「然。不多具牛酒即不能畢會，無以知其有餘不足。有餘者，為要期。不足者，雖守而責之十年，息愈多，急，即以逃亡自捐之。若急，終無以償，上則為君好利不愛士民，下則有離上抵負之名，非所以厲士民彰君聲也。焚無用虛債之券，捐不可得之虛計，令薛民親君而彰君之善聲也，君有何疑焉！」孟嘗君乃拊手而謝之。【孟嘗君列傳‧史記‧卷七十五】
I always admire the wisdom of these stewards. They are worldly and, to a certain extent, crafty. In the Chinese version, the steward was a great adviser of economics and diplomacy for his master and served him well. Of course, the master in the Gospel is God and who can be God's adviser (Isaiah 40:13)? Yet, God commented this dishonest steward. God is able to see good things even in dishonesty! We sinners have a lot to learn from God.
Dear Lord, we are taught to love righteousness and hate evil. And You want us to love sinners as well. Our hearts are too narrow. Teach us to love more, You and sinners. Amen.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
99 lost sheep
Today, we read of the famous stories of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son in the gospel of Luke 15. I think Luke's Jesus was over-optimistic. What if he had not one, but 99 lost sheep to fetch out!
I do not know the world population in the first century. One source estimates that in 100 A.D., the Christians made up of less than 1% of the world population. Jesus really had 99 lost sheep to save at the end of 100 A.D. After twenty centuries of effort, the situation is improved. As of mid-2007, according to Worldwide Missions, about 32% of the world population profess Christianity.
I don't mean to be offensive. Let me label non-Christians as the "lost sheep" for the sake of argument. Therefore, ten years into the twenty first century, the Church still has 70 lost sheep to retrieve into her fold!
The three beautiful stories are meant to demonstrate God's love for men. Of course, God loves the righteous Pharisees and teachers of Law. They were the descendents of His friends Abraham and Moses. But He loves the sinners as well. God did not have to worry about the righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law because Moses had already handed down the Torah to guide their lives. Therefore, God could be freed to fetch out the sinners.
In the early years of the Christianity, they were outnumbered by the Jewish establishment. Therefore, one sheep standing against 99 others was no exaggeration. How comforting it would be for Christians to hear that God would leave behind the 99 self-righteous Pharisees to look out for the one single lost Christian. Christians knew very well that they had been sinners. God values their repentance more than the righteousness of the Pharisees.
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7).
I like to fancy what-if scenarios. What if the shepherd had lost 2 sheep instead of one? Well, I suppose he would still leave 98 sheep in the wilderness to fetch out the 2 lost sheep. What about the joy he would have after finding the 2 lost sheep? On average, there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 49 righteous persons who need no repentance!
What if the shepherd had lost 10 sheep and finally found them? His joy over one repentant sinner would be reduced to 9 righteous persons! How terrible the Law of Diminishing Return is!
What if the shepherd had lost 20 sheep or even more? Well, for economic reason, the stakes are getting higher and higher. I think the shepherd has all the more reason to go all the way out to save them. BTW, I think the Law of Diminishing Return has no effect on God.
Luckily, Jesus did not have to suffer this, not because of the ineffectiveness of the Law of DR over him! In reality, Jesus did not have 100 sheep to begin with. He started from zero! As of today, Jesus has managed to gather 30 sheep into his fold. Luke was ingenious indeed. When he wrote the story in the first century, there was only one sheep in the fold and 99 lost sheep outside. Indeed, this parable of the Lost Sheep sounds very apocalyptic to my ears.
Let me define what I mean by Christian. A Christian is someone who makes Christ the core, the focus of his life. The day will come when only 1% of the world population is non-Christian. The Good Shepherd will leave the 99% Christians behind in the wilderness to fetch out the remaining 1% non-Christians in the world. After he has converted them all, he will be extremely joyful to tell God the Father, the Holy Spirit and all the angels what he has accomplished.
Is this a possibility? It is a certainty. When the Christian population has reached a critical mass, a tipping point will be reached when all the humanity will turn away from sins and return to God.
My dear Good Lord, You are the Good Shepherd who laid down Your life to redeem us. You have demonstrated Your love without reservation. Set my heart ablaze to join You in the mission to fetch out our brothers. Amen.
I do not know the world population in the first century. One source estimates that in 100 A.D., the Christians made up of less than 1% of the world population. Jesus really had 99 lost sheep to save at the end of 100 A.D. After twenty centuries of effort, the situation is improved. As of mid-2007, according to Worldwide Missions, about 32% of the world population profess Christianity.
I don't mean to be offensive. Let me label non-Christians as the "lost sheep" for the sake of argument. Therefore, ten years into the twenty first century, the Church still has 70 lost sheep to retrieve into her fold!
The three beautiful stories are meant to demonstrate God's love for men. Of course, God loves the righteous Pharisees and teachers of Law. They were the descendents of His friends Abraham and Moses. But He loves the sinners as well. God did not have to worry about the righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law because Moses had already handed down the Torah to guide their lives. Therefore, God could be freed to fetch out the sinners.
In the early years of the Christianity, they were outnumbered by the Jewish establishment. Therefore, one sheep standing against 99 others was no exaggeration. How comforting it would be for Christians to hear that God would leave behind the 99 self-righteous Pharisees to look out for the one single lost Christian. Christians knew very well that they had been sinners. God values their repentance more than the righteousness of the Pharisees.
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance (Luke 15:7).
I like to fancy what-if scenarios. What if the shepherd had lost 2 sheep instead of one? Well, I suppose he would still leave 98 sheep in the wilderness to fetch out the 2 lost sheep. What about the joy he would have after finding the 2 lost sheep? On average, there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 49 righteous persons who need no repentance!
What if the shepherd had lost 10 sheep and finally found them? His joy over one repentant sinner would be reduced to 9 righteous persons! How terrible the Law of Diminishing Return is!
What if the shepherd had lost 20 sheep or even more? Well, for economic reason, the stakes are getting higher and higher. I think the shepherd has all the more reason to go all the way out to save them. BTW, I think the Law of Diminishing Return has no effect on God.
Luckily, Jesus did not have to suffer this, not because of the ineffectiveness of the Law of DR over him! In reality, Jesus did not have 100 sheep to begin with. He started from zero! As of today, Jesus has managed to gather 30 sheep into his fold. Luke was ingenious indeed. When he wrote the story in the first century, there was only one sheep in the fold and 99 lost sheep outside. Indeed, this parable of the Lost Sheep sounds very apocalyptic to my ears.
Let me define what I mean by Christian. A Christian is someone who makes Christ the core, the focus of his life. The day will come when only 1% of the world population is non-Christian. The Good Shepherd will leave the 99% Christians behind in the wilderness to fetch out the remaining 1% non-Christians in the world. After he has converted them all, he will be extremely joyful to tell God the Father, the Holy Spirit and all the angels what he has accomplished.
Is this a possibility? It is a certainty. When the Christian population has reached a critical mass, a tipping point will be reached when all the humanity will turn away from sins and return to God.
My dear Good Lord, You are the Good Shepherd who laid down Your life to redeem us. You have demonstrated Your love without reservation. Set my heart ablaze to join You in the mission to fetch out our brothers. Amen.
Sunday, 5 September 2010
Did Jesus encourage people to hate their parents?
We Christians have a responsibility towards our fellow men. We must tell them the gospel, the good news. If they listen to our message, good for them. If they don't, we cannot force them because it is their own freedom. We have fulfilled our duty and they have themselves to blame. However, if we don't preach the gospel, God will hold us responsible for their downfall.
However, sometimes, the gospel is not so pleasing to the ears. Like the gospel reading today, it sounds very harsh.
If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).
If religions are responsible for the transmission of values to the next generation, honouring one's parents must be one such value. Jesus was a Jew. The 10 Commandments came down from Judaism and honouring one's parents is one of the Commandments. It is hard to imagine how Jesus could have spoken such words and how Jesus would expect his audience, especially the Chinese audience, to listen to such a message.
Chinese cherish family values. The family occupies a more important place than the state in their hearts. Many people have criticized the Chinese for their lack of patriotism. They love their families more than their country. "Filial piety" is the primary Chinese virtue. This can be illustrated by a dialogue between Confucius and Ye Kung.
葉公語孔子曰：“吾黨有直躬者，其父攘羊，而子證之。”孔子曰：“吾黨之直者異於是。父為子隱，子為父隱，直在其中矣。”【論語‧子路】
In discussing what straight dealings were, Confucius added an element of familial bonding. Instead of testifying against each other in the court of law, a father should "cover" for the son, the son for the father. Of course, a lot of commentaries have been written to explain this dubious verse. But at least on a casual reading, familial bonding was of higher value than legal justice in the mentality of Chinese.
Do Chinese really care so much about family even at the expense of justice? Not quite! We can quote a famous story to dispel this misunderstanding.
四年，春，衛州吁弒桓公而立 ...州吁未能和其民 ...厚（石厚，石碏之子）從州吁如陳，石碏使告于陳曰，衛國褊小，老夫耄矣，無能為也，此二人者，實弒寡君，敢即圖之，陳人執之，而請蒞于衛，九月，衛人使右宰醜，蒞殺州吁于濮，石碏使其宰獳羊肩，蒞殺石厚于陳，君子曰，石碏，純臣也，惡州吁而厚與焉，大義滅親，其是之謂乎。【左傳‧隱公四年】
This is the allusion of the idiom 「大義滅親」. Therefore, familial bonding is not everything for Chinese.
Let's return to the gospel. Biblical scholars are of the opinion that the word "hate μισεῖ" is a Hebrew language feature. It means, in this context, "love less" rather than feeling hostile. In a similar passage, Matthew renders a different translation.
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37).
Biblical scholars believe that Luke was more faithful to Jesus' original wording while Matthew renders Jesus' saying in a more understandable manner. Therefore, Jesus did not encourage his followers to hate their parents. If he did, he would contradict his own teaching: to love even those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). That is to say, even if your parents persecute you, prevent you from following Jesus, you still love them! Otherwise, you are not worthy of Jesus.
However, Fr. Milanese went one step deeper. He did not think that Jesus asked his followers to love him more than their parents. Fr. Milanese opined that love is not, like a TV commercial, a piece of mooncake. One slice for your mother, another for your younger brother and two slices for Jesus etc. This is a misunderstanding of love. He warned the young men that if their girl friends asked them, between God and them, which one they loved more, be sure to find out whether they were serious. If they were and forced you to make a choice, they had misunderstood love. Love can never be exclusive. Moreover, God is love. Without God, your love towards your girlfriend is empty, and even worse, is lustful. Similarly, our love of Jesus includes our parents. Since God is the source of all love, naturally, we should choose Him and love Him more than our parents.
This reading makes the two parables sandwiched between Jesus' exhortations more sensible. Jesus told us to renounce our relationships, our possessions and achievements etc. to follow him. Then he told two parables which suggest that we should weigh our abilities carefully before we take up any project. Otherwise, the consequence would be disastrous. It seems that Jesus was warning against people joining him impulsively (Luke 14:28-32).
Again, such an understanding is contrary to the Christian attitude towards life. Christians are not consequentialists. Jesus taught us to be like a child, not to be so calculating. We care more about the process rather than the consequence. We plant the seeds and leave the outcomes to God.
Therefore, following Fr. Milanese' line of reasoning, I believe Jesus was telling us to take God into the account. When we take up our cross to follow Jesus, he would take care of our parents, children and brothers. The problem is that many of our leave God out of our picture. We do not trust God enough. If we take God into consideration, we will have a favourable balance sheet. Then, we will be more confident to follow Jesus. Woe to those who do not take up his cross to follow Jesus!
Dear Lord, I believe. Help me believe more. Help me repent and forgive my sins. Amen.
However, sometimes, the gospel is not so pleasing to the ears. Like the gospel reading today, it sounds very harsh.
If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).
If religions are responsible for the transmission of values to the next generation, honouring one's parents must be one such value. Jesus was a Jew. The 10 Commandments came down from Judaism and honouring one's parents is one of the Commandments. It is hard to imagine how Jesus could have spoken such words and how Jesus would expect his audience, especially the Chinese audience, to listen to such a message.
Chinese cherish family values. The family occupies a more important place than the state in their hearts. Many people have criticized the Chinese for their lack of patriotism. They love their families more than their country. "Filial piety" is the primary Chinese virtue. This can be illustrated by a dialogue between Confucius and Ye Kung.
葉公語孔子曰：“吾黨有直躬者，其父攘羊，而子證之。”孔子曰：“吾黨之直者異於是。父為子隱，子為父隱，直在其中矣。”【論語‧子路】
In discussing what straight dealings were, Confucius added an element of familial bonding. Instead of testifying against each other in the court of law, a father should "cover" for the son, the son for the father. Of course, a lot of commentaries have been written to explain this dubious verse. But at least on a casual reading, familial bonding was of higher value than legal justice in the mentality of Chinese.
Do Chinese really care so much about family even at the expense of justice? Not quite! We can quote a famous story to dispel this misunderstanding.
四年，春，衛州吁弒桓公而立 ...州吁未能和其民 ...厚（石厚，石碏之子）從州吁如陳，石碏使告于陳曰，衛國褊小，老夫耄矣，無能為也，此二人者，實弒寡君，敢即圖之，陳人執之，而請蒞于衛，九月，衛人使右宰醜，蒞殺州吁于濮，石碏使其宰獳羊肩，蒞殺石厚于陳，君子曰，石碏，純臣也，惡州吁而厚與焉，大義滅親，其是之謂乎。【左傳‧隱公四年】
This is the allusion of the idiom 「大義滅親」. Therefore, familial bonding is not everything for Chinese.
Let's return to the gospel. Biblical scholars are of the opinion that the word "hate μισεῖ" is a Hebrew language feature. It means, in this context, "love less" rather than feeling hostile. In a similar passage, Matthew renders a different translation.
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37).
Biblical scholars believe that Luke was more faithful to Jesus' original wording while Matthew renders Jesus' saying in a more understandable manner. Therefore, Jesus did not encourage his followers to hate their parents. If he did, he would contradict his own teaching: to love even those who persecute you (Matthew 5:44). That is to say, even if your parents persecute you, prevent you from following Jesus, you still love them! Otherwise, you are not worthy of Jesus.
However, Fr. Milanese went one step deeper. He did not think that Jesus asked his followers to love him more than their parents. Fr. Milanese opined that love is not, like a TV commercial, a piece of mooncake. One slice for your mother, another for your younger brother and two slices for Jesus etc. This is a misunderstanding of love. He warned the young men that if their girl friends asked them, between God and them, which one they loved more, be sure to find out whether they were serious. If they were and forced you to make a choice, they had misunderstood love. Love can never be exclusive. Moreover, God is love. Without God, your love towards your girlfriend is empty, and even worse, is lustful. Similarly, our love of Jesus includes our parents. Since God is the source of all love, naturally, we should choose Him and love Him more than our parents.
This reading makes the two parables sandwiched between Jesus' exhortations more sensible. Jesus told us to renounce our relationships, our possessions and achievements etc. to follow him. Then he told two parables which suggest that we should weigh our abilities carefully before we take up any project. Otherwise, the consequence would be disastrous. It seems that Jesus was warning against people joining him impulsively (Luke 14:28-32).
Again, such an understanding is contrary to the Christian attitude towards life. Christians are not consequentialists. Jesus taught us to be like a child, not to be so calculating. We care more about the process rather than the consequence. We plant the seeds and leave the outcomes to God.
Therefore, following Fr. Milanese' line of reasoning, I believe Jesus was telling us to take God into the account. When we take up our cross to follow Jesus, he would take care of our parents, children and brothers. The problem is that many of our leave God out of our picture. We do not trust God enough. If we take God into consideration, we will have a favourable balance sheet. Then, we will be more confident to follow Jesus. Woe to those who do not take up his cross to follow Jesus!
Dear Lord, I believe. Help me believe more. Help me repent and forgive my sins. Amen.
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Three levels of humility
I am very inch. Humility is a virtue I am in want. Today, I don't want to write about the tragedy in the Philippines. Many people have spoken more than enough and today, many people organize many prayer services and processions. Our senses (including common sense) have been bombarded non-stop by feeds after feeds from the mass media. Enough is enough.
The opening ceremony for a new school year for my studies in the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology & Philosophy was held today. I took part in sharing together with Teresa Ng, as Year 2 students, our study experiences with the Year One newcomers. There were a couple of familiar faces.
Among them, the LaSalle boys are doing well. Fr. Lui Chi Man, Dominic, swore in today as a professor teaching moral theology. Paul, who has already obtained a PhD in psychology, came to study the Licentiate in Theology course. He said he loved teaching and saw that a lot of professors in the College were ageing. He wanted to study theology and in the future teach in the College. His aunt, Teresa Ng, my classmate told me that Paul would get married next year.
Betty Wong studied the Biblical Diploma course with me six years ago. She came, one year behind me, to further enhance her biblical understanding.
Tam Chun Ho, a friend of teenage days from Choi Hung, also came to study. His wife had attended this opening ceremony and she told me that she had already finished this course some years ago. How sweet it is that husband and wife take turns to study!
I feel good about this college of Theology & Philosophy because many elite and fervour Catholics come here to enhance their knowledge of the Catholic faith.
Many professors co-celebrated the opening mass in the afternoon. Fr. Lam Chung Wai, Simon, the Provincial of the Salesians Don Bosco, was the concelebrant with Bishop John Tong. Fr. Lam spoke in the homily on the theme of the gospel reading --- humility. He distinguished three levels of humility. It was the first time for me to hear the homily of Fr. Simon Lam. Unfortunately, I was already tired and not able to fully pick up his homily. What a pity! I have to dig up from the Internet what "three levels of humility" are. From a 1910 article in the Catholic Encyclopedia, one may discover that St. Benedict spoke about 12 degrees of humility and St. Anselm seven! These saints do NOT impress me with humility, at far as the intellectual dimension is concerned.
Humility is no longer a value, not to mention virtue, in modern society which is marked by its competitiveness. People need to outshine his colleagues in order to survive and to get promoted. This is understandable. But challenging and criticizing the government, the authority are fashionable. For example, 8 Hongkongers were gunned down in a hijack incident in Manila. The Philippine president and police have drawn a lot of criticisms as a result of this botched rescue operation. Tens of thousands of Hongkongers took to the street today to show their dissatisfaction of the incompetence of the Philippine government in the name of justice, one of the four cardinal virtues!
Nothing can happen without God's consent. For the sake of argument, let us assume that this tragedy is God's will. The 8 Hongkongers and the hijacker were all victims of an incompetent government disabled by corruption. Then, shall we not submit to God's will? This submission is the first level of humility.
Two cases of dismissal of domestic helpers caused by this tragedy have been confirmed. Some people have forgotten how much these domestic helpers have contributed to the economy of Hong Kong. They have released a lot of housewives to join the workforce of Hong Kong, enhancing her economy. The ability to recognize the virtues and talents others possess is the second level of humility.
Perhaps due to Interpol agreements, the Hong Kong Government has sent five police and forensic officers to collect evidence from the tourist coach, the crime scene of this hijack incident in the Philippines. I am rather pessimistic with the outcomes. If the Hong Kong people are willing to accept the limit of the talents and authority of our officers, we have attained the third level of humility.
In his homily, Fr. Simon Lam told us a story of a crippled child buying a crippled dog in a pet shop. It was a touching story, teaching us the true meaning of humility. However, humility does not seem to occupy any place in the Manila tragedy. Hong Kong people are demanding justice instead. How does humility go hand in hand with the demand of justice? This is really a challenging question to meditate on.
Dear Lord, my sins and my sickness are before my eyes continuously. They teach me to be humble. My Lord, I submit my life to Your will. Amen.
The opening ceremony for a new school year for my studies in the Holy Spirit Seminary College of Theology & Philosophy was held today. I took part in sharing together with Teresa Ng, as Year 2 students, our study experiences with the Year One newcomers. There were a couple of familiar faces.
Among them, the LaSalle boys are doing well. Fr. Lui Chi Man, Dominic, swore in today as a professor teaching moral theology. Paul, who has already obtained a PhD in psychology, came to study the Licentiate in Theology course. He said he loved teaching and saw that a lot of professors in the College were ageing. He wanted to study theology and in the future teach in the College. His aunt, Teresa Ng, my classmate told me that Paul would get married next year.
Betty Wong studied the Biblical Diploma course with me six years ago. She came, one year behind me, to further enhance her biblical understanding.
Tam Chun Ho, a friend of teenage days from Choi Hung, also came to study. His wife had attended this opening ceremony and she told me that she had already finished this course some years ago. How sweet it is that husband and wife take turns to study!
I feel good about this college of Theology & Philosophy because many elite and fervour Catholics come here to enhance their knowledge of the Catholic faith.
Many professors co-celebrated the opening mass in the afternoon. Fr. Lam Chung Wai, Simon, the Provincial of the Salesians Don Bosco, was the concelebrant with Bishop John Tong. Fr. Lam spoke in the homily on the theme of the gospel reading --- humility. He distinguished three levels of humility. It was the first time for me to hear the homily of Fr. Simon Lam. Unfortunately, I was already tired and not able to fully pick up his homily. What a pity! I have to dig up from the Internet what "three levels of humility" are. From a 1910 article in the Catholic Encyclopedia, one may discover that St. Benedict spoke about 12 degrees of humility and St. Anselm seven! These saints do NOT impress me with humility, at far as the intellectual dimension is concerned.
Humility is no longer a value, not to mention virtue, in modern society which is marked by its competitiveness. People need to outshine his colleagues in order to survive and to get promoted. This is understandable. But challenging and criticizing the government, the authority are fashionable. For example, 8 Hongkongers were gunned down in a hijack incident in Manila. The Philippine president and police have drawn a lot of criticisms as a result of this botched rescue operation. Tens of thousands of Hongkongers took to the street today to show their dissatisfaction of the incompetence of the Philippine government in the name of justice, one of the four cardinal virtues!
Nothing can happen without God's consent. For the sake of argument, let us assume that this tragedy is God's will. The 8 Hongkongers and the hijacker were all victims of an incompetent government disabled by corruption. Then, shall we not submit to God's will? This submission is the first level of humility.
Two cases of dismissal of domestic helpers caused by this tragedy have been confirmed. Some people have forgotten how much these domestic helpers have contributed to the economy of Hong Kong. They have released a lot of housewives to join the workforce of Hong Kong, enhancing her economy. The ability to recognize the virtues and talents others possess is the second level of humility.
Perhaps due to Interpol agreements, the Hong Kong Government has sent five police and forensic officers to collect evidence from the tourist coach, the crime scene of this hijack incident in the Philippines. I am rather pessimistic with the outcomes. If the Hong Kong people are willing to accept the limit of the talents and authority of our officers, we have attained the third level of humility.
In his homily, Fr. Simon Lam told us a story of a crippled child buying a crippled dog in a pet shop. It was a touching story, teaching us the true meaning of humility. However, humility does not seem to occupy any place in the Manila tragedy. Hong Kong people are demanding justice instead. How does humility go hand in hand with the demand of justice? This is really a challenging question to meditate on.
Dear Lord, my sins and my sickness are before my eyes continuously. They teach me to be humble. My Lord, I submit my life to Your will. Amen.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
Retreat for Married Couples
Erminia and I stayed away from our routines to attend a retreat for married couples. Both of us are badly in need of a retreat to align our spirits to God. This is a most welcomed opportunity. It is organized by the Permanent Deaconate. Permanent deacons are supposed to be more experienced in married life and thus more natural and suitable to handle the spiritual formation for married couples. Indeed, the spiritual directors are Fr. Benedict Lam who sits in the Diocesan Commission for the Permanent Diaconate, and the freshly ordained Deacon Bosco Wong. Mrs Cecilia Ng, wife of Deacon Edwin Ng, also ran one of the programmes in the retreat. More than 15 couples coming from different parishes attended this retreat. Most of them knew of this retreat from Kung Kao Pao, the Chinese weekly magazine.
To begin with, we introduced ourselves, with a particular emphasis on our mood at that moment. Most were expectant, happy, sweet and confident. Some, like us, were exhausted because we did not know the location of the Diocesan Retreat House in Chung Hum Kok well enough and had strayed for nearly an hour to find the building which was dedicated by the late Bishop Bianchi in 1965.
In fact, Erminia and I were exhausted for one more reason. My father was hospitalized for pneumonia. It was too heavy a burden for my brother to take care of both my father and my mother. I will not be able to do much once school begins. Therefore, Erminia and I decided to visit my father daily. Our visits do not lighten any of my brother's burdens. They are only gestures to support him emotionally. Erminia and my mother have a different chemistry. My brother and I cannot help clashing with mum over the issue of alcoholism. But Erminia is able to inject more positive elements in between.
We were told to focus on our mood for a reason. This was the first step of the "Examination of Consciousness", an Ignatian Spiritual Exercise, which Fr. Benedict Lam is very fond of teaching us. He explained to us the steps and gave us Biblical passages for individual reflection. After individual reflection, each couple came together to share with their spouse. He had established with us the basic routine of married couples spirituality. Many people can pray and meditate fruitfully as an individual. Many people can share within a group of Basic Christian Community. However, sharing something spiritual with somebody so intimately related is a totally new experience and needs practice. In our sharing, I was still cerebral. But at least, I know more that I am weak in articulating my moods and emotions.
His second talk after dinner threw a new perspective on the rosy picture we used to entertain about the Holy Family. In fact, most of the narratives about the Holy Family we found in the two Synoptic Gospels are not at all fairy tales. There are quite a lot of darker realities. Life in each family is difficult in its unique way. No two families confront the same difficulties. It is how each family, guided by God, overcomes its difficulties that we should learn. Joseph and Mary stood together to rear up Jesus. The burden of providing a good spiritual milieu for the children is laid on the parents. Husbands and wives have to build up a solid spiritual bond to provide for the spiritual formation of their children. In our sharing of the darker side of our family life, I expressed my worries about my second son, Wulstan. It seemed to me that he had not yet recovered from the trauma of pyramid selling in his year 2. At the moment, he has not secured for himself a "proper" employment. Erminia had a different view. She takes note of the artistic temperament of this son and reassures me that Wulstan has his own targets. Rather, she is more worried about the study and prayer habits of Symphorian, our youngest son.
The next morning, couples prayed together before they started their morning walk together outside the Retreat House for an hour. Erminia and I could explore more around the region and had a good sharing on the present situation of our family. After breakfast, Mrs. Cecilia Ng instructed us to meditate on the story of the Cana banquet. We were following the procedures of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercise, but putting ourselves into one of the roles in the story. There was one extra step. At the end of sharing between the couples, they should pray for each other. In our sharing, I know that I always play safe and allow God little room for any surprises.
The reporting back at the plenary session was candid, colourful and enthusiastic. There were laughters and tears as well. Mrs. Ng had to cut the sharing short. Then Deacon Wong gave us a talk on the relationship between the sacrament of Matrimony with the six other sacraments. For sacraments which we receive only once, viz. Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Order, they are life-long sacraments in the sense that we live the sacrament with our whole life. The sacraments unfold their effectiveness throughout our whole life. In his talk, I am much interested in the idea of Anointment as a healing sacrament. Deacon Wong explained that a lot of happy and unhappy events took place within our married life. These events would purify us and illuminate us. As an assignment, each one of us wrote down an incident, how it purified/illuminated our life and then composed a prayer for our spouse, to be read to each other the evening after retreat.
I have an extra benefit. His talk inspires me to make up my mind to write a thesis to explore the healing role more. Domestic violence is rampant and family is where it hurts most. What role can the sacrament of Anointment play in married life? It would be an interesting topic.
Our last assignment after lunch was to write a letter to our spouse. We would send them to Deacon Ng who would keep it for one month before sending them out the intended recipients. The organizers of the retreat plan to keep the momentum of married couples spirituality even after the retreat.
The retreat came to a close with the celebration of the Sunday Mass. Fr. Benedict Lam gave a shattering but relevant reading of the gospel to all the couples.
Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'
But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' (Luke 13:26-27)
Imagine spending several decades with your spouse. But in the end, when you meet again somewhere before entering heaven, your spouse says, "I do not know you." even though you say, "We ate and drank together in our previous life." How miserable! Our lives must not only be physically, emotionally linked. We must grow and be sanctified together in our spirits.
Dear Lord, I pray for Erminia and my children. May they enjoy a happy and spiritually fruitful life. Amen.
To begin with, we introduced ourselves, with a particular emphasis on our mood at that moment. Most were expectant, happy, sweet and confident. Some, like us, were exhausted because we did not know the location of the Diocesan Retreat House in Chung Hum Kok well enough and had strayed for nearly an hour to find the building which was dedicated by the late Bishop Bianchi in 1965.
In fact, Erminia and I were exhausted for one more reason. My father was hospitalized for pneumonia. It was too heavy a burden for my brother to take care of both my father and my mother. I will not be able to do much once school begins. Therefore, Erminia and I decided to visit my father daily. Our visits do not lighten any of my brother's burdens. They are only gestures to support him emotionally. Erminia and my mother have a different chemistry. My brother and I cannot help clashing with mum over the issue of alcoholism. But Erminia is able to inject more positive elements in between.
We were told to focus on our mood for a reason. This was the first step of the "Examination of Consciousness", an Ignatian Spiritual Exercise, which Fr. Benedict Lam is very fond of teaching us. He explained to us the steps and gave us Biblical passages for individual reflection. After individual reflection, each couple came together to share with their spouse. He had established with us the basic routine of married couples spirituality. Many people can pray and meditate fruitfully as an individual. Many people can share within a group of Basic Christian Community. However, sharing something spiritual with somebody so intimately related is a totally new experience and needs practice. In our sharing, I was still cerebral. But at least, I know more that I am weak in articulating my moods and emotions.
His second talk after dinner threw a new perspective on the rosy picture we used to entertain about the Holy Family. In fact, most of the narratives about the Holy Family we found in the two Synoptic Gospels are not at all fairy tales. There are quite a lot of darker realities. Life in each family is difficult in its unique way. No two families confront the same difficulties. It is how each family, guided by God, overcomes its difficulties that we should learn. Joseph and Mary stood together to rear up Jesus. The burden of providing a good spiritual milieu for the children is laid on the parents. Husbands and wives have to build up a solid spiritual bond to provide for the spiritual formation of their children. In our sharing of the darker side of our family life, I expressed my worries about my second son, Wulstan. It seemed to me that he had not yet recovered from the trauma of pyramid selling in his year 2. At the moment, he has not secured for himself a "proper" employment. Erminia had a different view. She takes note of the artistic temperament of this son and reassures me that Wulstan has his own targets. Rather, she is more worried about the study and prayer habits of Symphorian, our youngest son.
The next morning, couples prayed together before they started their morning walk together outside the Retreat House for an hour. Erminia and I could explore more around the region and had a good sharing on the present situation of our family. After breakfast, Mrs. Cecilia Ng instructed us to meditate on the story of the Cana banquet. We were following the procedures of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercise, but putting ourselves into one of the roles in the story. There was one extra step. At the end of sharing between the couples, they should pray for each other. In our sharing, I know that I always play safe and allow God little room for any surprises.
The reporting back at the plenary session was candid, colourful and enthusiastic. There were laughters and tears as well. Mrs. Ng had to cut the sharing short. Then Deacon Wong gave us a talk on the relationship between the sacrament of Matrimony with the six other sacraments. For sacraments which we receive only once, viz. Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony and Holy Order, they are life-long sacraments in the sense that we live the sacrament with our whole life. The sacraments unfold their effectiveness throughout our whole life. In his talk, I am much interested in the idea of Anointment as a healing sacrament. Deacon Wong explained that a lot of happy and unhappy events took place within our married life. These events would purify us and illuminate us. As an assignment, each one of us wrote down an incident, how it purified/illuminated our life and then composed a prayer for our spouse, to be read to each other the evening after retreat.
I have an extra benefit. His talk inspires me to make up my mind to write a thesis to explore the healing role more. Domestic violence is rampant and family is where it hurts most. What role can the sacrament of Anointment play in married life? It would be an interesting topic.
Our last assignment after lunch was to write a letter to our spouse. We would send them to Deacon Ng who would keep it for one month before sending them out the intended recipients. The organizers of the retreat plan to keep the momentum of married couples spirituality even after the retreat.
The retreat came to a close with the celebration of the Sunday Mass. Fr. Benedict Lam gave a shattering but relevant reading of the gospel to all the couples.
Then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'
But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' (Luke 13:26-27)
Imagine spending several decades with your spouse. But in the end, when you meet again somewhere before entering heaven, your spouse says, "I do not know you." even though you say, "We ate and drank together in our previous life." How miserable! Our lives must not only be physically, emotionally linked. We must grow and be sanctified together in our spirits.
Dear Lord, I pray for Erminia and my children. May they enjoy a happy and spiritually fruitful life. Amen.
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Feast of the Assumption of the BVM 2010
On November 1, 1950, Pope Pius XII exercised his infallibility authority to issue a Bull, MUNIFICENTISSIMUS DEUS, to declare the Assumption of the BVM a dogma for the Catholic Church. I have always argued that the Ascension of Jesus is necessary to preserve our religious freedom. Had Jesus remained on earth after his Resurrection, humanity would have been deprived the freedom to believe in him. Men would have no choice but to accept Jesus as their Saviour because he would be 2010 years old by now! The case of the BVM is different. Why was it necessary to remove her body from this world?
Death and the subsequent bodily decay is a natural law. Of course, there have been attempts of mummification or embalmment etc. on the corpses of Pharaohs and national leaders so as to preserve their bodies for the next life or people's veneration from the future generations. But throughout the Church history, there are many cases of "incorruptible" saints whose bodies remain intact centuries after their deaths. These incorruptible saints defy the law of nature and, in a way, give praises and glory to God. Why did God not make the BVM incorruptible, like those incorruptible saints? Unlike a living and walking Jesus, the incorruptible corpse of the BVM would not rob us of the freedom to believe in Jesus. This greatest relic would demonstrate the authenticity and historicity of Christianity. So, why did God remove her body from this world?
According to Munificentissimus Deus, the Assumption of the body of the BVM into Heaven immediate after her death is one of the two unique privileges God gave to the BVM. The first one is her Immaculate Conception. God preserves the BVM from the taint of sins by removing her Original Sin from the moment of her conception on the merits of the redemptive work of Jesus. Mary was the first to be saved by her son. The Assumption is closely linked with the Immaculate Conception (MD 4). The BVM is declared full of grace, i.e. without sins, by Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:28). Consequently,
Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body. (MD 5).
"This general rule" refers to the natural bodily corruption after death, even for the just. The ash and dust will join the glorious souls on the last day (MD 4).
OK. God wills that the BVM should be exempted from the bodily decay after death. Still, it is not necessary to remove her body from this world. God could preserve her corpse most beautifully and perfectly and leave us the greatest relics to glorify Him. But of course, making the corpse of the BVM incorruptible is not a unique enough privilege to demonstrate her special status in the salvation history.
I hope I am not proposing a heresy. I am just fancying what the Catholic faith would have become, had the BVM become incorruptible and remained on earth.
In his homily, Fr. Milanese gave us a new perspective to understand the meaning of the Magnificat. He told us a story about 2 tourists who came to a big city. One tourist came from a tidy little town. He looked at and was impressed by the good facilities of this big city. The other tourist came from an untidy and mismanaged little town. He found faults with whatever came into his sight. Fr. Milanese asked why these two tourists arrived at so different an impression of the same city. It is a matter of attitude. With a positive attitude, we see good things even in a broken mirror. With a negative attitude, we curse even the comfort we are sitting on.
In Magnificat, the BVM teaches us to see lowliness, humility and poverty in a positive light. God chooses to stand by the lowly, the humble and the poor. We too should opt for the poor.
Dear Lord, Your generosity towards the BVM assures us of our salvation. May we follow her footsteps to serve You and bring Your gospel to the world. Amen.
Death and the subsequent bodily decay is a natural law. Of course, there have been attempts of mummification or embalmment etc. on the corpses of Pharaohs and national leaders so as to preserve their bodies for the next life or people's veneration from the future generations. But throughout the Church history, there are many cases of "incorruptible" saints whose bodies remain intact centuries after their deaths. These incorruptible saints defy the law of nature and, in a way, give praises and glory to God. Why did God not make the BVM incorruptible, like those incorruptible saints? Unlike a living and walking Jesus, the incorruptible corpse of the BVM would not rob us of the freedom to believe in Jesus. This greatest relic would demonstrate the authenticity and historicity of Christianity. So, why did God remove her body from this world?
According to Munificentissimus Deus, the Assumption of the body of the BVM into Heaven immediate after her death is one of the two unique privileges God gave to the BVM. The first one is her Immaculate Conception. God preserves the BVM from the taint of sins by removing her Original Sin from the moment of her conception on the merits of the redemptive work of Jesus. Mary was the first to be saved by her son. The Assumption is closely linked with the Immaculate Conception (MD 4). The BVM is declared full of grace, i.e. without sins, by Angel Gabriel (Luke 1:28). Consequently,
Now God has willed that the Blessed Virgin Mary should be exempted from this general rule. She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body. (MD 5).
"This general rule" refers to the natural bodily corruption after death, even for the just. The ash and dust will join the glorious souls on the last day (MD 4).
OK. God wills that the BVM should be exempted from the bodily decay after death. Still, it is not necessary to remove her body from this world. God could preserve her corpse most beautifully and perfectly and leave us the greatest relics to glorify Him. But of course, making the corpse of the BVM incorruptible is not a unique enough privilege to demonstrate her special status in the salvation history.
I hope I am not proposing a heresy. I am just fancying what the Catholic faith would have become, had the BVM become incorruptible and remained on earth.
In his homily, Fr. Milanese gave us a new perspective to understand the meaning of the Magnificat. He told us a story about 2 tourists who came to a big city. One tourist came from a tidy little town. He looked at and was impressed by the good facilities of this big city. The other tourist came from an untidy and mismanaged little town. He found faults with whatever came into his sight. Fr. Milanese asked why these two tourists arrived at so different an impression of the same city. It is a matter of attitude. With a positive attitude, we see good things even in a broken mirror. With a negative attitude, we curse even the comfort we are sitting on.
In Magnificat, the BVM teaches us to see lowliness, humility and poverty in a positive light. God chooses to stand by the lowly, the humble and the poor. We too should opt for the poor.
Dear Lord, Your generosity towards the BVM assures us of our salvation. May we follow her footsteps to serve You and bring Your gospel to the world. Amen.
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