A John and Paul Duet 若望保祿二重唱

Mission Sunday, Year C
Theme: A John and Paul Duet 若望保祿二重唱

For most of us, God is theologically almighty, all-knowing, majestic, and glorious etc. But after a life-long meditation, the beloved disciple of the Son of God came to a different conclusion, a relational one. “God is love” (1 John 4:8), he says and love is outreaching. Out of love, God created human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:26) and had prepared for us the known universe to grow and develop the potentials He has given to each one of us. Regrettably, “All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Consequently, “Darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds, the peoples.” (Isaiah 60:2) But God so loves His Creation that nothing can stop God from pouring out His love (John 3:16). In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) to make Himself visible. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) So, His glorious light is revealed. This light is the Word of God that brings life (1:4) and the Word took flesh, becoming more visible and dwelling among us (1:14).

This “Word took flesh” has been a Jewish carpenter rabbi, Jesus ben Joseph of Nazareth who revealed Himself, not in an abstract manner but concretely, by calling twelve Jews to be His disciples. The beloved disciple summarizes it well, “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life --- for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it …” (1 John 1:1-2). To carry out His mission, Jesus Christ lived with the Twelve and trained them for three years to proclaim the good news of reconciliation to different parts of the world. Near the end of His public ministry, the Son of God was crucified, died and was buried. He rose again on the third day and forty days later, He returned to His Father in heaven. Before He left for heaven, the risen Lord commissioned the disciples to continue His mission. Later, those communities of the faithful would expand and form a universal Church to continue the mission until the end of the world. But they need to convince themselves why the Son of God must die to redeem the world. Isn’t it more efficient simply to defeat and destroy the Devil?

When a person is unable to find meaning or purpose in life, he is in grave danger of committing suicide because there is nothing left for his continued existence to cling to. Similarly, a group of people would disband if they are unable to agree upon their raison d'être. So, what is the raison d'être of the Church? It is the last and great commission Jesus Christ gave His disciples before He ascended into heaven. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations …” (Matthew 28:19); “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15); “You will receive power from the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This is the raison d'être of the community of disciples. The mission Christ gave the Church is not a simple one. It can’t be accomplished within a generation. Thus, to order to continue coming together as a group to accomplish the task, the disciples need to enrol new members and make them disciples. But what does it mean “to proclaim the gospel” and “to be my witness”?

What is the gospel? What makes the news a good one? The gospel is not simply a biography of the words and deeds of Jesus Christ. Paul says, “God has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). Thus, “to be witnesses of Christ” is to discharge the ministry of reconciliation. What’re the trespasses? It is the deprivation of the glory of God mentioned above (Romans 3:23). So, the good news is that God does not count our sins against us in Christ. What does “not count our sins against us in Christ” mean? It means we don’t have to repay the debts of our sins anymore. First of all, we’re unable to pay. Why are we not able to repay? Paul continues to say, “For the wage of sin is death” (6:23a) but we only live once. Then who pays? Out of love, the Son of God took the initiative to die for us. He takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) by dying on the cross for us, paying all the debts of the world. Therefore, the good news is that we are able to continue to lead our lives because God does not count our sins against us in Christ. By the way, who is this Paul? He is not among the Twelve, isn’t he?
No, he is not. It was after His ascension, Jesus Christ the Son of God also appeared to and called a Pharisee to proclaim His gospel to the Gentiles and to systematize the articles of beliefs. Paul, the converted Pharisee continues to elaborate that whoever confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead will be saved (Romans 10:9). For Paul, to be saved is to have one’s broken life restored and preserved. More than that, whoever is saved is to partake in the eternal life of God. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (6:23)

What is “eternal life in Christ”? Does it mean immortality? Not exactly! John says, “Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) Don’t belittle the word “to know” because for Jews, “to know יָדַע” may refer to something very intimate. For example, Genesis 4:1 and Luke 1:34. Thus, to partake in the eternal life of God is to know Him and to become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:18) with Him. John also uses this “one flesh” language when he talks about the mystery of Incarnation (John 1:14) and Christ’s relation with the disciples (15:5). Paul does so when he discusses the Mystical Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). In other words, our salvation is more than God not counting our sins against us, but God enables us to partake in His eternal life, to become one flesh with Him. In His High Priestly Prayer, Jesus says, “I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us …” (17:20-21) So, not only were the disciples handpicked by the Son of God, but all of us will also return to our Creator and become one flesh with Him again!

Will our sinful past “dilute” God’s glory when we become one flesh with Him? Of course not! God is an infinite being. Subtracting a finite amount from an infinite amount still renders an infinity. Similarly, one infinite Father plus one infinite Son plus one infinite Holy Spirit will render, not three, but one infinity! This “infinity” jargon is as powerful as the “one flesh” language.

Brethren! On this Mission Sunday, let’s bear in mind not only the whole humanity but also the whole creation which is groaning with us (Romans 8:19-23). Paul mentions “creation” 4 times within these 5 verses! Why does the whole creation groans? In ancient times, the Psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of His hands.” (Psalms 19:2). But we have been irresponsible and contaminated our environment heavily. Woe to us, we’re suffering extreme weathers and outbursts of pandemics. We can no longer afford to ignore the sustainability of our environment anymore. Amen.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: bishopandchristian.com

A Church Open To Everyone

A Church Open To Everyone

Deacon Alex Kwok
Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

The Papal Prayer intention in October 2022 is to “pray that the Church, ever faithful to the Gospel and courageous in preaching it, may live in an increasing atmosphere of synodality and be a community of solidarity, fraternity and welcome.”

Synodality has been a buzz word since Cardinal Bergoglio was elected Pope Francis in 2013 to succeed Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. As a verb, “synod” means “to walk together on the same road”. Some sixty years ago, St. Pope John XXIII convoked the Second Vatican Council to kick off the modernization of the Catholic Church. He succeeded in opening a window for the Holy Spirit to breathe a new life into the Church. The Church listened to the voice of the Holy Spirit spoken through more than 2000 bishops and theologians. She renewed her identity as the People of God in pilgrimage on earth, sharing the joy and anxiety of men of this age. As a noun, “synod” is the gathering of bishop representatives to deliberate on social issues such as environment, young people and family etc. After Vatican II, it is impossible to assemble all the bishops all over the world to discuss problems. Synods are more manageable. In 2021, Pope Francis took one step further. He wants the whole Church, not just the elites of the Church, to walk together and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking in each and every member of Mystical Body of Jesus Christ! He makes the XVI General Assembly of Synod of Bishops last from 2021 to 2013 and the theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”. It lasts for three years because the Church tries to listen to the voices from the grass root. We have just finished the diocesan phase of listening to different groups of people across all levels. The Diocese of Hong Kong firmly believes that those findings are voices of the Holy Spirit and they have been submitted to the Vatican.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a carrier of the Holy Spirit. She visited Elizabeth and “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Luke 1:41) After the Ascension of the Lord, the BVM took care of the 120 disciples and “devoted themselves with one accord to prayer” (Acts 1:14-15). With her presence, the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost. The BVM gave birth again to a new Mystical Body of Christ. In subsequent ages, the BVM appeared to different types of people: monks, bishops, farmers, shepherds and even children! Therefore, it is true that the Holy Spirit is happy to reside in people of all walks of life. We have to thank St. Luke for preserving for us what the Holy Spirit has spoken and done in the first century. Biographies of saints in subsequent centuries bear witness of the untiring effort of the Holy Spirit throughout the ages. When the Catholic Church started her modernization some six decades ago until now, we are able to discern the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit more clearly day by day.

Brethren! Let us follow the Pope to invoke the Holy Spirit to renew the Church as well as the earth. May the Holy Spirit rekindle the fraternity of all peoples. May the Church open her arms to embrace all, saintly and sinful men and women alike, the powerful as well as the poor, so that she can truly be called the Catholic Church. Amen.
St. Luke the Evangelist, Pray for us.

A World Without Faith 沒有信德的世界

Twenty Ninth Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: A World Without Faith 沒有信德的世界

The Son of God has made it crystal clear that nobody should know the day and hour of the end of the world (Mark 13:32). Furthermore, Christ even says, “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Matthew 24:44) Indeed, all documented doomsday prophecies have failed because most of them are attracted to special numbers, such as millennia or special events such as 6000 years after Creation etc. They made the mistake of not following Jesus’ words seriously. If we take His words seriously, we should never come up with a specific day and hour because once announced, an expectation would build up. Then the date and hour would NOT be unexpected! If we read the gospels carefully enough, you’ll see that Jesus has only painted a very vague picture: natural disasters, wars and disorders in the sky above etc. which are norms nowadays! Regrettably, human beings have been so used to these disasters, wars and extreme weathers that we become indifferent towards them. Mortality is just a number which we find it hard to relate to and the economic costs are simply too big to comprehend. Not only have we become indifferent, but we also distrust news reports, thinking that these are fake news, rumours or outputs from content-farms! Probably skepticism is how the human psychology tries to protect us from shocks.

The gospel passage today leaves us a curious verse which seems to be out of context. Jesus was telling the parable of a persistent widow to teach once more that we should pray untiringly to God (Luke 18:2-8a). Abruptly, he finished with, “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (18:8b) Two questions immediately arise. Firstly, what has perseverance in prayer to do with the end of the world? We don’t pray for the quickening of the end of the world, do we? Secondly, what is the relationship between faith and the end of the world? Is Christ suggesting that a lack of faith would incur the end of the world?

It is short-sighted for us to pray for our immediate needs only, though we often do. Why not? Even among the seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer, four of them deal with our immediate needs. But have we meditated the second petition enough, that of the coming of the Father’s kingdom? Not only does this petition imply the spreading of the gospel message among the nations, but it also points to the second coming of the Son of Man. At the same time, this petition reminds us of our evangelization duty. God would be unfair if He passes judgment on peoples who never have an opportunity to hear of the gospel. Therefore, evangelization is indispensable for the righteousness of God. But when we proclaim the gospel, surely we’ll encounter all sorts of obstacles and even persecutions because the spirit of the Beatitudes goes against contemporary secularism. By then, we’ll switch our focus on the protection from temptations and deliverance from evils and lose sight of the Kingdom of Heaven and the end of the world!

The story of the first reading today may throw us some lights. The Israelites were recently liberated from the slavery in Egypt. Before they reached Mount Sinai to establish the Covenant with God, they encountered and waged war against the Amalekites in Rephidim (Exodus 17:8). The Hebrew slaves had never been trained in warfare. Therefore, this battle had to be fought for them by God. While Joshua and some men were engaging with Amalek below, Moses, Aaron and Hur were praying on top of the hill. When Moses’ hands were raised, the Israelites had the upper hand and vice versa (17:9-10)! Truly, evangelization is a warfare, a spiritual combat against the prince of Darkness. Like the Hebrew slaves, we are not angels trained in the fighting with Satan. On one hand, we only have faith as our shield and the word of God our sword (Ephesians 6:16-17). On the other, we have the Holy Spirit to help us pray when we do not know what we ought to pray for (Romans 8:26). This is how we should evangelize and to engage in this spiritual warfare. Faith and scriptures are our armour and prayers are our ammunition. Therefore, it is just and right for us to pray that the Kingdom of God prevails now and in the end. The end of the world should be one petition among our many prayers.

Who do not want to see the end of the world? The minorities who benefit from the status quo don’t. They enjoy power and wealth at the expenses of the majority. Of course they want to continue enjoying their advantages. However, the Catholic Church opts for the poor and stands by the needy. It is not her duty to overthrow the powerful and the wealthy. Instead, it is her duty to pray for the speedy coming of the Son of Man to see justice prevail. Since nobody, not even the angels, know the day and hour of the end of the world, we can only follow Jesus’ advice to pray untiringly for the speedy ending of the world. “Will not God then secure the rights of His chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will He be slow to answer them?” (Luke 18:7)

Allow me to attempt the second question, namely that a lack of faith triggers the end of the world. Let us imagine what a world without faith would be like. As a Catholic, I’m not in the position to pass judgment on Islam, Buddhism and Taoism etc. To be more exact therefore, the question becomes what a world without Christianity would be like. Well, I don’t mean a world without churches. Rather, it is a world in which you can still find churches but the spirit of beatitudes is wanting in them. That is to say churches which work hard to keep their finance healthy, to stay out of troubles in social controversies, to keep silent on moral issues, to avoid the marginalized and to generate more divisions and confusions in the society etc. There are churches which serve political or economic masters instead of God. In short, a world in which when the Son of Man comes again, He would be unable to recognize His Bride! Of course, it is exaggeration! It is because Jesus pledges to stay with us till the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). It is impossible for Him to ignore the deterioration of His Bride! He is merciful and will do whatever within His capacity to turn the tide.

However, let’s forget not that He is unable to go against our free will. We are free to choose not to trust Him. The gospel tells us that even His kindred did not believe in Him, “So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.” (Mark 6:5-6) Moreover, humanity tends to be impatient. Their faith does not last long. Very soon and very easily, they would throw their hands in the air and give up. That’s why the Catholic Church decides to abandon elitism and continues proclaiming saints after saints in recent years!
To be candid, I’m rather pessimistic. To paraphrase the beloved disciple, if I cannot draw consolation from what is visible, how am I supposed to have faith in what is invisible (1 John 4:20)? Moses was able to last until sunset when Joshua won the battle, not only because Aaron and Hur helped him raise his arms, but Moses was also able to see Joshua winning! I begin to feel what the merciful Lord felt when He spoke that enigmatic verse, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8b) No wonder we have to pray untiringly to sustain our faith, since “the just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17).
Yes, Lord, You will find faith on earth when You come. Amen.
2016 Reflection
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On Being Ungrateful 忘恩負義

Twenty Eighth Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: On Being Ungrateful 忘恩負義

To make life easier to bear, we take a lot of things for granted. We unconsciously impose a lot of prejudgment, preconception and even prejudice on things we perceive. In short, we focus on a partial picture and are unwilling to pay extra attention to the whole context. For example, the first reading today tells nothing of what had happened before and focusses only on the gratitude of Naaman. In so doing, it reduces the weight of the message as a whole. Allow me to fill in the missing parts.

Naaman was the army commander of the king of Aram and was a leper (2 Kings 5:1). Listening to the advice of the Israelite maidservant of his wife, Naaman sought the permission of his king to receive treatment in Israel. It shows the loyalty of Naaman to his lord. Therefore, later when he had been cured of his leprosy and had found his true Lord in Yahweh, his loyalty was unquestionable (5:17-18).
Back to the story. The king of Aram wrote the king of Israel a letter explaining the intention of the visit, “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy” (5:6). If you were the king of Israel, how would you interpret the intention conveyed in this letter? Here is the king’s reaction: “When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: ‘Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone for me to cure him of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!’” (5:7) The narrative is truly engaging!

The king was right because in ancient Israel, leprosy was God’s punishment. Penicillin was not yet discovered and leprosy had no cure. Lepers were by default sinners and only God could forgive sins, thus only God could heal leprosy. Naturally, the king of Israel would think that the king of Aram was picking a fight! Even if the king of Israel was accurate in his strategical assessment, he was wrong in not seeking God’s help! Wasn’t he supposed to believe in God and to have access to God? “Where is your God?” (Psalms 42:4) It was Elisha, the man of God, who came forth instead of the king going forth to consult him (2 Kings 5:8)! We readers have unconsciously harboured a preconception that kings of Israel should believe in Yahweh. We are not immune from prejudgment ourselves.

Naaman was no better but we cannot blame him because he knew next to nothing about Yahweh. As an army officer, Naaman was expecting some difficult and even mythical challenges, fulfilling which he would prove himself worthy of the healing. Or the other way around, some magician from Israel would come in front of him to waive a magical wand to cure him. Instead, Elisha told him to go bathing seven times in River Jordan (5:10-11). Here’s Naaman’s reaction, “Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” (5:12) Had the expectations of Naaman not been reasonable? Naaman was truly a good Aramean soldier. He defended his national pride and dared to challenge Yahweh! If Yahweh were the Lord almighty, why were Yahweh unable to cleanse me with the waters of Damascus? In the end, Naaman’s servants were able to convince him and the story has a happy ending. It shows that Naaman was open-minded and well loved by his servants, including his wife’s maid! He truly deserved the cure.
As for me, I asked the school chaplain of my alma mater the same question before I was baptized, “Why was Jesus not a Chinese?” Of course at that time, my curious mind was not satisfied with the answer of this humble priest. From then, I was sent on an unending quest to seek the truth! I have to thank this humble priest. Had he been able to convince me of God’s wisdom and to show me God’s grand plans, I would not have known and loved Yahweh more by days! Thank you Fr. Tapella, PIME.

Take another example from the gospel reading today, the story of Jesus cleansing ten lepers. “And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice ... He was a Samaritan. Jesus said … Ten were cleansed … Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:15-17) Naturally we will ask what the ethnicities of those ungrateful nine were. All of them were Jews, weren’t they?

At the moment, I prefer suspending judgment on two points. First of all, on what ground could we say the nine lepers were Jews? Read again more carefully. “As he (Jesus) continued his journey to Jerusalem, he travelled through Samaria and Galilee” (17:11). The location was in the north. There were a lot of Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles living together. Therefore, it is impossible to judge for sure what the ethnicities of the nine were. Furthermore, most Jews in the south would prefer not interacting with Samaritans and Gentiles unless it was unavoidable. Therefore, I think it would be safe to assume that the ten lepers were mostly Samaritans and Gentiles.
Secondly, were the nine lepers “ungrateful” when they did not return to glorify God? The gospel tells us that the lepers were following Jesus’ instruction to show themselves to priests (17:14). Perhaps they were obedient to Jesus’ instruction and; who can tell, perhaps they might come back later to give thanks after being inspected by priests. Similar to the behaviours of the priest and Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the behaviour of the nine lepers was less than ideal. But can we blame people who are obedient to the letters of commandments so much so that they do not show their compassion towards the needy, or in the case of the nine lepers, fail to show gratitude? Or the nine lepers did not have sufficient faith in Jesus’ command. They might think that inspection by the priests was a necessary condition for their cure to be permanent. They had suffered long enough and could not afford to relapse. Once more, we can’t blame people whose faith is weak, can we?

Or the nine lepers were not even aware that they had been cleansed. Perhaps they had contracted leprosy for such a long time that they had developed sufficiently strong defence mechanisms to protect their feelings. Their ego was no longer able to feel the pain and the shame! Their numbness had disabled their awareness of their cures! Woe to them who hide themselves too deeply in their comfort zones. Actually, most of us, in particular those who complain that God does not hear or answer their prayers, are on the same boat. In face of sufferings, we give up too easily without putting up even a fight! Yes, we need support from the Holy Spirit. But we also need to grow up and stand on our own feet, don’t we?

In this light, perhaps we may understand Jesus’ words better. “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” (17:17) It is all too easy to conclude that the Lord was unhappy with their ingratitude. No. The Lord God respects our freedom. Lord Jesus even prayed on the cross for those who crucified Him! Thus, I believe that the merciful Lord worries about the harms ingratitude would inflict on those nine lepers! “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked die?” (Ezekiel 18:23). He prefers not calling them out of their tombs later.
Brethren! Let’s keep our hearts open and be grateful to God and to our fellow neighbour. We should be open-minded because the God we believe in is a God of surprises! He very much wants to scrape away our preconceptions and prejudices. We should be grateful because God has been showering us with graces we need but have not asked for. We should be grateful because God has given us opportunities to serve Him in the needy. We should be grateful for each and every new day because God has given us yet one more day to repent and to lay up treasures in heaven.
God bless!
2019 Reflection
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No Need To Increase Our Faith 毋須增加信德

Twenty Seventh Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: No Need To Increase Our Faith 毋須增加信德

One summer day when I was a teenager, my younger brother and I visited the Ocean Park and had a lot of fun. In one of the pools, there was a one-meter jumping board and everybody was flying off in crazy styles. So, I and my brother decided to give it a try. When I stood at the edge of the board and looked down, OMG it was scary! I hesitated for a few seconds. Seeing the queue of people behind us, my brother gave me a shove and I fell into the water below. That was fun! I returned several times to fully enjoy the coolness, creativity of motions and fun! Indeed, all of us are engaging in projects of various magnitudes at different stages of our lives. However, not only are we mortal, but we are also insecure. Some of us need more reassurance while others have no aversion to take great risks. When uncertainties arise, some take a leap of faith and dive in. Some need an extra shove from someone while others simply give up.

In the gospel passage today, the apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith. Why and what was the context of this request?
Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem, the final leg of His ministry (Luke 9:51). The trip looked promising at the beginning because “So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot.” (12:1) The Lord continued proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven and teaching the crowd on various topics: on persecutions, warning against greed and reconciliation etc. Some teachings are reassuring such as the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and even the Dishonest Steward. Some are challenging and even disturbing such as divisions within families, the Narrow Gate, Herod’s desire to kill Him and total renunciation in discipleship etc. Mark reports that when Jesus was heading towards Jerusalem and foretelling three times His imminent Passion, “Those who followed were afraid.” (Mark 10:32).

The apostles “had renounced all their possessions” to follow Jesus towards Jerusalem (Luke 14:33) but uncertainties were brewing. The future had become less promising. For them, there was no turning back because they had abandoned everything. That probably explains why the apostles asked the Lord to increase their faith, to give them an extra shove to dive in. The Lord reassures them saying, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree … and it would obey you.” (17:5-6). Then the Lord switches to talk about the attitude of servants. If a small amount of faith is sufficient to accomplish the mission, why did He talk about “unprofitable servants” (17:10)? What has that to do with increasing their faith, giving them an extra shove?

But do we really need to increase faith?
I’m aging. My hearing is failing so much so that I myself even notice that I’m singing out of tune. It is because my brain is drumming inside my head more frequently. I start forgetting things and have to stop to figure out what I’m supposed to be doing … My children and my wife are worried because my words and my deeds no longer inspire confidence in them. For some time, I have tried to act and speak in a more “reassuring” way, meeting their expectations. But I could not keep it up. I’m sorry. My family members and I myself have to accept this deteriorating reality. We cannot expect my being exempted from the law of nature because I’m a servant of God. Similarly, when I served the needy in the capacity of a permanent deacon, visiting prisoners and outsourcing janitors, I expected no obstacles in rendering my service. I was never more wrong because I still received traffic tickets in my journeys, met uncooperative officers and unfriendly janitors. In a similar way, I think the Israelites, the contemporary Jews as well as the apostles had a mistaken expectation on the Messiah.

In the first reading today, Habakkuk the prophet was complaining to God. He voiced what we wanted to vent in 2019. God, why do you allow injustice and violence? We expect the government to rule in fairness. Yet, we witness corruption, self-fattening and power abuses instead. God, why do you allow them to continue their wickedness? “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help and you do not listen … and you do not intervene? Why do you let me see iniquity? Why do you simply gaze at evil?” (Habakkuk 1:2-3) God answered the prophet’s complaint by raising the Assyrians and Babylonians to conquer them. Now, the prophet complained about the brutal judgments of the alien empires! At the height of 2019 social unrests, God handed the government a COVID-19 pandemic to crack down popular demands in the name of health! What would be next?
God reassures the prophet saying, “For the vision is a witness for the appointed time, a testimony to the end; it will not disappoint. If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late.” (2:3) Do you still have faith in God’s words? In fact, patience is in short supply throughout human history. Adam could not wait and ate the Forbidden Fruit. Saul could not wait and offered sacrifice without Samuel, thus losing favour before God (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Indeed, what we need to increase is not our faith but out patience, or better to adjust our unreasonable expectations.

We were created in the image of God and we tend to play God. We put forth our conception of righteousness as God’s righteousness. The just will be rewarded and the evil punished. As simple as this! When government officials are wicked, they should be punished. When the Gentiles overdid the punishment, then what’s next? Unfortunately, no prophet had lived long enough to see how the Assyrian Empire fell to the Babylonian which in turn fell to the Persian, the Greek and the Roman consecutively. When Job suffers calamities, he must have done iniquity in God’s eyes. Therefore, those calamities must be God’s punishments on Job’s iniquity, no more no less! Poor innocent Job of whom Satan made use to challenge God, whose sufferings could have no reasons at all. Sufferings just happen! Men are truly images of God. Like God, they prefer order because it gives them a sense of control and security. Human have an aversion to randomness. They need explanations. However, the more we know, the more we don’t know. There are more mysteries than theories. We need to live with them.

Brethren! No wonder Jesus talks about a master serving his servant who had just returned from ploughing or tending sheep in the field (Luke 17:7). It is unreasonable for a servant to expect such kind of presidential treatments, to expect the master to be grateful when the servant had done what was commanded him (17:9). Instead the servant should say, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what were obliged to do.” (17:10) So, when we visit inmates in prisons and hospitals, we should not expect to be praised by God or any other people. We should not expect God to send His angels to clear away all obstacles on our path. Rather, we should be grateful for being given the opportunity to serve and to stay with the Lord. When the Lord is carrying us on His shoulder to scale mountains and to walk on stormy seas, do we need to increase our faith?
God bless!
2019 Reflection
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A Spectrum of Mercy 慈悲的光譜

Twenty Sixth Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: A Spectrum of Mercy 慈悲的光譜

Jesus Christ did not come to abolish the Law or the prophets but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17). Therefore, like all the Jews in all generations, all Christians are also called to sainthood enshrined in the Torah. “Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God am holy.” (Leviticus 20:7) Peter, the Prince of the Apostles also echoes the same reminder. “As He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct.” (1 Peter 1:15) Is this Christian call to sanctification too demanding for our fragile humanity? But anything less would do injustice to the image of God (Genesis 1:26)! I’m sure with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to achieve it.

In order to make this call to sainthood more accessible to the Gentiles, Luke did a wonderful job in the gospel which bears his name. He says, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36) In fact, the gospel of Luke is a gospel of mercy in which he leaves us such classics as the parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the Rich Man and Lazarus etc. A spectrum of mercy is portrayed before the eyes of the readers. The parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son are obvious parables of mercy. You may wonder why the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is also a parable of mercy. Let me explain.

Last week, we read of Amos’ criticisms against those who exploit the poor. “The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!” (Amos 8:7) This week, Amos turns to another group of people who don’t look wicked at all --- the rich and the powerful! “Those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge upon their couches, eating lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall; who improvise to the music of the harp, composing on musical instruments like David; who drink wine from bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils, but are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph.” (6:4-6) You may wonder what the rich and the powerful are guilty of. We don’t need uniformity of life style, say a CEO of an international corporation must eat a $10-meal like a janitor sweeping the street, do we? The rich and the powerful enjoy high living standards which they are able to afford and their luxury sustains the consumption market making the society prosperous. Moreover, they elevate the cultural standard of a country. Hong Kong used to be called a “cultural desert”. Now the situation has improved. More local galleries are set up and more global auctions of artistic artefacts are held annually here in Hong Kong etc.

Furthermore, can we blame the rich and the people in power for being indifferent to “the collapse of Joseph”? That is hard to establish. It is true that in different civilizations, there have been kings who were more interested in cultural matters while their kingdoms collapsed. For example, Nabonidus the Babylonian emperor who was interested in archaeology and religious reforms had his Babylonian Empire conquered by Cyrus the Persian king without putting up a fight. In China, the last emperor of Southern Tang, Li Yu 李煜 is immortalized as the “King of Lyrics for A Thousand Generations”. Alas! Which empire or kingdom on earth is eternal, except the Kingdom of Heaven? On what ground can we blame someone who happened to be the last emperor?

But are the rich and the powerful blameless if they omit to do their duty while they are in possession of more resources on earth? They cannot be blameless! The parable of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” lays the issue squarely before the rich and the powerful! Wait. The parable doesn’t point the finger to the rich man for the death of Lazarus. No. Jesus never passes judgments in His parables which are always invitations for us to rethink our lives. Jesus is not the accuser who accuses us day and night before God (Revelation 12:10). Jesus would not accuse the rich man but Satan would. This parable is definitely not one of justice or fairness. Why?

In this parable, allowing a poor person to die is not a legal issue. No legal system on earth can convict the rich man for negligence leading to the death of Lazarus! To a certain extent, it can be a moral issue because though the rich man did not directly murder Lazarus, most people would feel that it is immoral of him to omit actions within his means and allow a person to die unnecessarily. The case against the rich man becomes stronger because he knew Lazarus (Luke 16:24) and Lazarus was physically near to him, just lying at his door (16:20). Yet, the rich man did nothing to alleviate the plights of Lazarus. It is less immoral than directly killing Lazarus. Nevertheless, it is immoral.
Of course, the rich man is entitled to enjoy whatever he possesses and to dispose of his possessions at his pleasure. We have to respect his right to private property. Moreover, the rich man might counter that Lazarus deserves to suffer because he was lazy and is now punished by God etc. He could have many excuses under his sleeves for not helping Lazarus. We can only protest that it is morally pungent to omit beneficent actions towards Lazarus while you can. Other than that, it is impossible to pass any moral judgment on the rich man.

It is a spiritual issue, an issue on mercy. Why is an issue of mercy a spiritual issue? It is because for the moment we are living in the universe of Luke. “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” (6:37) For us Gentiles, being merciful leads us to sainthood. Then, why is this parable a parable of mercy and not a parable of justice? Take a look at the choice of characters. There is no God, neither a king nor a master. Instead we have Abraham! Remember the Magnificat? The Blessed Virgin Mary says, “… remembering His mercy, according to His promise to … Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (1:54-55) God is honouring His promise in this parable by showing mercy. Now, let’s continue with our meditation.
Which of the two do we feel pitiful, the rich man or Lazarus? Naturally, most people would feel sorry for Lazarus. But think again. Lazarus ends up in consolation while the rich man in torment (16:25). Don’t you feel sorry for the rich man? Naturally, we would say he deserves the torment and justice has prevailed etc. Wait, are we making use of one of the rich man’s excuses that Lazarus deserves to suffer? No wonder Jesus reminds us not to judge (Matthew 7:1). Can we suspend our judgment and try again? Whom deserves mercy, the rich man or Lazarus? Let me assure you. Both of them deserve!

The rich man is rich in materials which take away too much of his attention so that he has no room to establish quality relations with God and with men. That probably explains the “great chasm” which nobody is able to cross to the other side (Luke 16:26), probably not even God. But isn’t God almighty? What can stop God from crossing it?
Yes, God is almighty and no because God would not contradict Himself. He created us in His image. Thus, we inherited His freedom which He should respect. He would be happy to see us return to Him but He should never force us to repent. Furthermore, to guarantee that He would not overstep, God established covenants with humanity to restrain Himself. Therefore, we cannot blame God for our damnation. It is the choices which we have made throughout our lives that build up or dismantle the chasm between us and God, between us and our neighbour. Unlike the parable of Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25, nobody sent the rich man to the netherworld in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus! He found himself there after he was buried (16:22-23).

God has been waiting patiently for the rich man to repent. He is merciful in sending Lazarus, meaning “God helps” to offer the rich man opportunities to repent; and is ready to forgive the moment he repents. Pay attention to the fact that Lazarus never utters a single word in the parable. His plights speak volume! Had the rich man been merciful and compassionate for the plights of Lazarus and had acted to alleviate them, the chasm would not have been too deep to cross! Thus, it is a spiritual issue all along. Now would you still feel that the rich man deserves to suffer? If you would, perhaps you should read the story of Jonah again. Or would you feel compassionate for the rich man because of the burden he bore throughout his life, struggling to survive among the thorns?

Brethren! Luke has portrayed for us a spectrum of mercy. At one end, there is a Good Samaritan who goes all the way to show mercy to an enemy who is a brother in his eyes. It is a mercy shown among equals. At the opposite end, there is a rich man who allows a brother to die like an alien, rejecting God’s gift of mercy. It is still a mercy shown among equals. The Prodigal Son is in the middle. The father has to show his mercy to both sons. It is a mercy shown from above.
Brethren! I am confident in the apostle’s word that Jesus intercedes for us at the right hand of God (Romans 8:34). The merciful Lord will go all the way out to deliver the rich man in His mercy in an ineffable way that we are unable to understand. Amen.
2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: jesusfilm.org

We Are Stewards Only 我們祇不過是管家

Twenty Fifth Ordinary Sunday, Year C
Theme: We Are Stewards Only 我們祇不過是管家

No employers would tolerate employees who embezzle. Supervisors expect their subordinates to be honest, hardworking and obedient. Honesty and loyalty can be said to be some kind of universal values shared among peoples. As for Chinese, Confucianism also teaches likewise. For example, Zengzi says, “I daily examine myself on three points: whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful … 吾日三省吾身：為人謀而不忠乎？”(Analects, Xue Er) Therefore, readers would be surprised to hear in the parable that “the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” (Luke 16:8) For decades since 1960’s, biblical scholars have had a hard time trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. Finally in 2000, Landry & May were able to interpret the steward’s action as creating a 3-win situation for the master, the steward as well as the debtors. At long last, the puzzle was cracked. In 2007, I delivered a valedictory speech “Traces of God’s revelation in Chinese culture【在中國文化中尋找天主啟示的一鱗半爪】” at the Hong Kong Catholic Biblical Institute graduation ceremony and speculated that God must have left some clues of divine revelation for the Chinese people. Indeed, there are if you’re able to read Chinese classics from a Christian perspective! Had those western scholars known some Chinese stories, they would have cracked the puzzle of the master commending the dishonest steward in no time! God’s wisdom is truly unfathomable and scholars have never been able to exhaust new discoveries. That makes Jesus’ teachings timeless.

Jesus did not propose any new teachings. Like what He claims, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17), Jesus restored the spirit of the Law which had been forgotten by the contemporary teachers of the law. For example, immediately following the parable today, Jesus continues, “If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” (Luke 16:11-12) In fact, it is not some new teachings, but a reiteration of what is taught in the Torah. Let me explain.

Let’s contemplate the last verse, “If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?” (16:12). If something is ours, why would we have to wait for it to be given us? Alas! Modern people have taken the “right to private property” for granted. We believe that the money we earn, the house we purchased and other assets etc. are exclusively ours to dispose. In fact, it is one of the foundation pillars of democracy. The Bible endorses it because men were made in the image of God who commanded humanity to manage the universe in His stead (Genesis 1:26). Furthermore, He commanded men to care for and develop the earth (2:15). In order to fully develop this image, access to resources must be guaranteed. The right to private property is such a guarantee. However, there is a danger of going to the extreme. It is easy for us to mistaken this right to private property to be absolute and exclusive. No. God created the universe not just for me alone. It is for the common use for all of us. Therefore, there carries a responsibility when we make use of the resources we horde! Bear this in mind. We are only stewards of the resources which do not belong exclusively to us. We’re allowed to make use of them for our growth and development. Yet, others are also entitled to using them for their growth and development too!

Why then the wait? I speculate that we have already been given them. Yet we need time to learn to manage them properly. Why do we need management training of what have already given us? Well, it is because what belong to us is something bigger than what we already have in possession. The good Lord says, “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.” (Luke 16:10) What are those “small matters” and “great matters”. I suspect that it is something to do with eternal life. I’m of the opinion that they are one and the same but at different stages. Compared with eternity, matters in the temporal world at present are truly small. So, if we unable to manage our resources on earth properly, it is very unlikely that we’ll be able to manage well in eternal life! Moreover, we don’t simply manage our own resources which are close to us. All of us are interconnected and our actions will inevitably ripple through a literal world-wide-web of relations affecting others far and near. Therefore, being aware that we are always managing resources which belong to others, we are at the same time, training ourselves in the management of what belong to us. Thus, if we failed to handle others’ resources properly, would we be able to handle ours successfully (Luke 16:12)? Very unlikely. Therefore, Jesus was reiterating no more than the stewardship teachings in Genesis mentioned above.

To dive deeper, we understand that all that we have come from God. Not only do we manage resources not belong to us but belong to others, we’re actually managing the resources of God. Therefore, most of the time, we are allowed to manage wealth which is not ours. When we are in possession of wealth which is not legally or hereditarily ours, we are in possession of “unrighteous/dishonest wealth” aren’t we? Only that which belongs to us is “true wealth” which is already given us like uncut gems, waiting for us to polish until they shine forth their radiance in eternity in Christ. That polishing is the managing of “what belongs to another” we meditated above. If we don’t manage well, the uncut gems will remain uncut and will never be able to shine forth their radiance. Then it is not meaningful to claim ownership of the gems (16:11)!

Then, how do we manage the resources at our disposal in an effective manner? This is the crux of the parable today.
Brethren! Jesus Christ can be seen as a Christian financial investment consultant. He teaches us how to transfer our worldly wealth to heaven, making a fortune: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (16:9) Which means, you spend your money on helping the poor and needy who are unable to repay you. Out of His righteousness, God will repay you in their stead! Then your wealth in eternity will be true and satisfying.
Moreover, Jesus Christ the master is truly merciful. He commended the steward for his prudent handling of dishonest wealth instead of highlighting his embezzlement! His wealth and mercy are truly infinite! St. Paul’s exhortation is appropriate here. “For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love” (Galatians 5:13). So, we should not take advantage of the Lord’s wealth and mercy to mismanage the treasures He has reserved for us.
God bless!

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2019 Reflection
Picture Credit: sohu.com