The Holy Family May Not Be Happy 聖家不一定快樂

Feast of the Holy Family, Year B
Theme: The Holy Family May Not Be Happy 聖家不一定快樂

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”, opens Anna Karenina a novel written by Leo Tolstoy. The statement speaks volume because by whatever standard, few families on earth can be happy. A Chinese aphorism says, “Be Contented, Be Happy”. To be candid, who on earth enjoys poverty, exploitation, sickness and betrayal etc.? Sometime, somewhere and somehow, bad things always happen to good people and few families are able to stand firm. From the news, we heard of the gradual heart failure of a 3-year old girl who fell into comatose as a result of medical blunders some 18 months ago. One of my ex-students, a successful businessman, has been struggling with his final stage of cancer for a number of years. All medical and para-medical procedures have been exhausted. He is expected to pass away soon, survived by his wife and 2 children in their teens! Again from the news, a few days ago a debt-ridden gambler attacked and attempted to murder his wife and two daughters before setting himself on fire! Some debtors end up imprisoned overseas when they try to repay debts as drug-mules. A post-graduate’s corpse was dumped after being found to show no vital signs because of ketamine overdose, smashing the hopes of his parents and perhaps dreams of his girlfriend. There are many divorce cases due to extra-marital affairs, leaving the children to pay the price … The cruelty lies in the fact that when one family member suffers, all other family members will suffer as well (1 Corinthians 12:26a). All of them become collateral damages! On one hand, we should be grateful for those bad things have not fallen upon us. However, my heart cannot ache more because I am no faith healer to save my ex-student or the 3-year old comatose girl. I am not able to raise the post-graduate from the dead and give him back to his parents like Christ did and I don’t have billions of dollars to pay off the debts of the inmates I visited etc. I have to accept the fact that I am in no position to play God but regrettably, close to my heart, Catholic families are not exempted!

Families have evolved from extended to nuclear, the former being appropriate for agricultural societies and the latter industrial. Now, humanity is moving away from industrial to informational in which we rely more and more on social media, virtual reality and artificial intelligence for communications and connections. If family and marriage have failed to be functional and successful social institutions in modern era, should they be modified or even better, be abolished? On the other hand, people still insist on the superiority of personal touches in communications and connections. They continue to defend the goods of familial and marital life against the onslaught and corrosion of all these new media! Which direction should we proceed?

As Catholics, we believe in the Father, the Creator of the known universe. He is not a remote and aloft deity but a Being actively getting Himself involved in our lives. He even sent His only begotten Son to die for us to redeem us! Archangel Gabriel says, “For nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). Therefore, with a caring and omnipotent Father, Catholics should have no worries at all when they are following God’s way and doing God’s will in any adverse situation. Alas! Life on earth is anything but simple at all!

Firstly, few people know for sure the details of God’s will. Many biblical characters like Abraham the Patriarch, the Blessed Virgin Mary, her spouse St. Joseph and John the Baptist etc. did not show any understanding of God’s will. John the Baptist did not acknowledge his role as Elijah to appear before the coming of the Messiah (Malachi 3:23; John 1:21) though Jesus affirms that he is (Matthew 11:14). St. Joseph thought that divorcing the Blessed Virgin Mary quietly would do her good (1:19). An angel appeared to him in a dream to advise him otherwise (1:20). Mary intended to serve the Lord in the capacity of a virgin (Luke 1:34) and Abraham accepted Sarah’s proposal to father his descendants through Hagar (Genesis 16:2). Simply put, we don’t have the intelligence to fathom God’s plan. How right Isaiah is when he says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways --- oracle of the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9)! We are back to square one, to the very first question at the beginning of this meditation. “Who on earth enjoys poverty, exploitation, sickness and betrayal etc.?” When God wants to bless us and sanctify us with poverty, exploitation, sickness and betrayals, the more we insist on our opinions, comfort and convenience, the stronger we are fighting against God’s will! The Blessed Virgin Mary has shown us how to deal with ignorance of God’s will. She “kept all these things … in her heart” (Luke 2:19, 51b). Instead of allowing ignorance to breed resistance, she keeps reflecting in her heart with humility on what she has seen.

The Holy Family was not living in a bed of roses. Mary and Joseph might have quarrelled a bit about the unexpected pregnancy before the angelic intervention. The census brought about the labour of the BVM to give birth to the Holy Infant in a manger in Bethlehem. The Magi brought precious gifts as well as murderous assault of Herod the Great, leading to the massacre of the Holy Innocents as collateral damages! The Holy Family needed to flee to a foreign land which previously enslaved them! St. Joseph probably died when Jesus was still a teenager. Today, we hear of Simeon’s prophecy about the future sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Luke 2:35a) who followed the Son of God up to the foot of the cross on Mount Calvary (John 19:26) … etc. Could the Holy Family be a happy one? Most likely not. But I am sure the Holy Infant would grant the Holy Family heavenly peace not as the world gives (14:27).

Pardon me for sounding pessimistic. Heavenly peace from the Holy Infant is intangible. Take a look at the “Holy Infant among rubble in Bethlehem” photo that goes viral on the Internet and you will agree with me. It is hard for me and for most people to accept bad things happening to innocent people like the civilians in Gaza today. You are free to blame me for being too short sighted and impatient to see the bigger picture. You can tell me that Jesus has taught us to be humble (Matthew 11:29) and obedient (26:39). Job has acknowledged God’s omnipotence and human ignorance (Job 42:2-3). But I cannot imagine how I am able to accompany women suffering from depression to reconcile with their cheating husbands or vice versa; to restrain compulsive gamblers to remember their spouses and children; to visit inmates sentenced to decades of imprisonment while my chaplain pass lasted for five years only etc. Perhaps it will take me a lifetime to sink Jesus’ and Job’s teachings into my psyche. By then, I wish I would be able to confess like Job, “I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:6).

Year 2023 is ending in a few minutes. It has not been a pleasant year but it will definitely come to pass. May the Holy Infant bless us to stick together to weather through the turmoil ahead. Amen.
God bless!

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: twitter.com/nour_odeh/

What Is God Telling Us 天主對我們說甚麼？

Mid-Night Mass, Year B
Theme: What Is God Telling Us 天主對我們說甚麼？

For the first time in a thousand years, Christians in Bethlehem decide to cancel all Christmas celebrations! The picture of Infant Jesus among rubble goes viral on the Internet! Many copy the idea and create nativity scenes of the Holy Family with a rubble backdrop. War becomes such a vivid reality and Emmanuel suddenly takes up a new significance. In fact, messianic prophecies are littered with military imagery which we can find in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah saw the laying waste of the land and the burning of cities (Isaiah 1:7) because Israel made herself an enemy of God (1:21-24). There is no ambiguity at all where the responsibility lies. God wants righteousness but powerful people manipulate the legal system to fatten themselves. God shall not give His people up. He pledges to purify and deliver Sion (1:25-28). A day will come when nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again” (2:4)! Christians trust in God’s pledge and the promise of a world without conflicts keeps their hope burning. Moreover, people would invest wisely, diverting their military budget to economic growth! Such allocation of funds is an obviously prudent policy. However, military observers estimate that the superpowers have sufficient nuclear arsenals to blow up the planet for at least seven times. Military industries are making big fat money here. There is little incentive for them not to accumulate more wealth! Not only does greed fuel those industries, but pride and arrogance also fan the flame of military conflicts. The day mentioned in Isaiah 2 seems to be forever remote out of reach. The consequence is crystal clear, “Your men will fall by the sword, and your champions, in war; Her gates will lament and mourn, as the city sits desolate on the ground” (3:25-26).

The tone of the first reading is joyful. “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Upon those who lived in a land of gloom a light has shone” (Isaiah 9:1). In the ears of the conquered and exiled, the light would be a beam of hope. Further down, the prophet continues, “For the yoke that burdened them, the pole on their shoulder, the rod of their taskmaster, You have smashed, as on the day of Midian” (9:3). It was to be a hope of freedom which the Lord fought for them! Bearing in mind the military vocabulary Isaiah uses, the happiness of the liberated is compared to the exultation in dividing the spoils (9:2c). The victory is certain because “For every boot that tramped in battle, every cloak rolled in blood, will be burned as fuel for fire” (9:4). Once more, the image of turning military expenditure (boots and cloaks) into economic growth (fuel) appears. However, the battle would be bloody and brutal because every soldier in action would fall except for the side which leaves everything in God’s hand. The side which surrender to the will of God and let Him fight the battle would become the victor!

How would God fight this battle? In the day of Midian mentioned above, it is the battle God helped Gidean defeat 135,000 Midians with 300 soldiers (Judges 7:8; 8:10). But this time, God would only sent a child! Isaiah says, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder-Counsellor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace” (9:5). George Handel has popularized this verse in his famous MESSIAH oratorio of 1741. Different people would draw different inspiration from listening to it. It would be futile to expound further. Just let it sink into our psyche and adore the Holy Infant in the crib, this year in a backdrop of Gaza rubble.

Beloved brethren! It is unwise of me to disturb your meditation. Let us beseech the Prince of Peace to grant us peace. Amen!

---

Picture Credit: artandtheology.org

Your Will Be Done 爾旨承行

Fourth Advent Sunday, Year B
Theme: Your Will Be Done 爾旨承行

If we have spent sufficient time studying the Bible, we will arrive at a conclusion without a shade of doubt, namely that our Father in heaven is infinitely beyond our knowing and that we shall rest assured of His providence. This is the last Advent Sunday which this year falls on Christmas Eve! Of course, this happens regularly once every five to six years and there seems to be anything but extraordinary. Not quite! The world has been chaotic and war-torn enough these months. Many Christians who were born after the two world wars in the previous century are in earnest anticipation to witness what peace our heavenly Father has in store for us. We know that we have a part to play but world peace is really beyond our reach. It is too big for us to manage but we are confident that when instead of throwing our hands in the air, we elevate them to our heavenly Father in prayers, He will hear and answer us.

The first reading today is the famous “Nathan Oracle”. When the Empire was secured and the twelve tribes of Israel united, King David had less worries on the political and military fronts. He turned his attention to the consolidation on the religious front --- build a Temple for Yahweh in Jerusalem. It had never been easy to eradicate idolatory when your people were living among pagans and a Temple would draw the attention of the people to Yahweh. The choice of location was prudent because Jerusalem was built on top of Mount Sion, a militarily secure site. When King David told Nathan his intention, there was nothing Nathan could find to object about. So Nathan says, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the Lord is with you” (2 Samuel 7:3). After all, Samuel told King Saul, David’s predecessor, that David was “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Indeed, David had been a man after God’s own heart for a time long enough for the unification of the twelve tribes of Israel into a kingdom. But history proves that authority corrupts even the man after God’s heart. That’s another story to meditate. Let’s focus on today’s texts.

It turned out that God’s heart is far bigger than humanity could fathom. God has a grander vision. Our heavenly Father knows David’s heart through and through. David’s future was clearly visible in His sight. So first of all, God made it plain to David through Nathan that He does not dwell in a house (2 Samuel 7:6-7). Before David came to power, God had never complained about the absence of a Temple to worship Him. Perhaps Isaiah’s explanation is better and clearer, “Thus says the Lord: The heavens are my throne, the earth, my footstool. What house can you build for me? Where is the place of my rest? My hand made all these things when all of them came to be --- oracle of the Lord” (Isaiah 66:1-2a). Finally, it is through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son that true worship is revealed. When men build temples to worship deities, men actually attempt to take control over the whereabouts of their deities. Such deities are men-made idols because they can be manipulated by men and thus not worth worshipping. No! Yahweh would not play into men’s hands. Jesus told the Samaritan woman, “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth” (John 4:24). In other words, men are able to worship even without a temple because their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). What does “worship in Spirit and truth” amount to? Nowadays, we can’t afford the opulence of King Solomon, who and the entire community of Israel, gathered for the dedication of the First Temple before the Ark of Covenant, sacrificed sheep and oxen too many to number or count (1 Kings 8:5). No. Our heavenly Father does not want this because it is only a show-off of personal power and wealth before the people! Don’t be silly to play Pharaoh before the Almighty living God who prefers something else!

Let’s return to Nathan’s Oracle. One may wonder why God needed to be so long-winded to talk about David’s past, “I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you” (2 Samuel 7:8b-9a). Why? It was the same love Yahweh always has for potential sinners, such as Cain (Genesis 4:6-7). God pledged a good future which David could attain when he continued to be humble like the shepherd boy of the good old days, “And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth. I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, and from the day when I appointed judges over my people. I will give you rest from all your enemies” (2 Samuel 7:9b-10). King David was important because his choices would directly affect the fate not only of himself but also of God’s people Israel. Regrettably, King David fell from grace and so did his son King Solomon! Without giving up, our heavenly Father kept raising reformers such as King Josiah and Ezra and finally played His trump card, a humble virgin with an immaculate heart whom Satan would regret to have overlooked.

It is interesting to note that God did not visit the Blessed Virgin Mary in person like He did with the Patriarchs, Moses, David and Solomon etc., but sent an angel to announce His plan instead, like the anonymous mother of Samson (Judges 13:2). No! It is too conspicuous and Satan would know lest it would attack her like it did with other big and famous figures in the Old Testament. Thus, instead of praying, “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10b), the Blessed Virgin Mary would only say, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38b)!

Alas! Many a Christian prays “Your will be done” when he actually wants “My will be done”. Too many people in power have hijacked Christianity by committing atrocities in God’s name or advocating bigotry with God’s words. Take a look at the Blessed Virgin Mary. She did not find comfort or convenience in the angel’s annunciation. Instead, “But she was greatly troubled at what was said” (1:29a)! Therefore, don’t expect to feel and find consolation or relief in God’s will! Most of the time, because of our sinful nature, the opposite might be a good indication of God’s will, namely you’ll feel inconvenient, troublesome, futile, exhausting, impossible and hopeless etc. Who wants to be poor or sick? Who wants to be ignored, rejected or even scolded? Most of the time, we would be grateful for such sufferings afterwards. Patience pays.

Beloved brethren! Do you have the stomach to will God’s will be done on you?
God bless!
2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: bible.fandom.com, enterthebible.org

Memoir of Mother-In-Law 為岳母大人致輓辭

《為岳母大人致輓辭》

昨晚內子已分享了岳母大人在她心目中的三個形象：「傻大姐」、「壞女孩」及「女俠」。今天，且讓我也與各位分享岳母大人在我生命中刻劃了的點滴記憶罷。
女婿有「半子之親」，這份感情在家慈在世之時，尚未濃烈。先父、先慈及泰山相繼辭世之后，這份半子之親逐漸明朗。泰山去世後，岳母難免觸景傷情，便搬離舊居，遷往屯門與我們成為鄰居，這安排讓我們可以更方便地照應她。岳母為人豪爽，經常在心情愉快的時候大派利是，多數是內子轉交到我手中，之後纔找個機會道謝。自從成為鄰居後，一起吃飯的時候多了，我便可以直接從她手中接過利是。很久沒有從父母手中接過利是，這份感覺觸動到我這個「半子」孤兒了！媽咪，謝謝妳讓我再嘗久違了的母愛。

剛纔所唸的一句「聖言」，出自《瑪25:34b》，在出殯祈禱的「福音前歡呼」已聽過一次。這句聖言應用在岳母大人身上，非常貼切。的確，她是天父所祝福的，自創世以來，天主已為她預備了在天堂的一席位。因此，在她一生之中，天父不斷保護著她的安全！昨晚內子提到，未斷乳的她在逃難時哭哭啼啼，為免連累他人，內子的外祖母不得不把她遺棄在路邊。待安全後折返尋覓，結果幾日之後纔找到。試想岳母大人過了這幾天仍然活著，不是天主派遣「慈善的撒瑪黎雅人」照料，還有別的可能嗎？

靈堂上的大相，是她最美麗的相片之一。家人選擇這幀照片，不但表達出天主教信仰的道理，而且展示了岳母大人，的確是一位「可人兒」。她可愛的面容帶著強烈的親和力，足以引發抱起她的人內心的善意！這份親和力相信是天主賜給她的「塔冷通」之一，因為不久之後，手抱的她輕易地化解了另一個危機四伏的場面。
話說日本士兵入了村，四處巡查搜索時，從內子的外祖母手中搶去岳母大人，並在士兵之間傳來傳去，你抱一會，他抱一會，好不快活！旁觀的村民驚惶萬分，無奈又不敢輕舉妄動。最後日本士兵小心翼翼地把岳母大人送回外祖母懷中，並給了她一些軍糧，眾人纔鬆了一口氣！發生了神蹟嗎？是的！可能抱著岳母大人的士兵想起自己家中的女兒罷，又或者未婚的士兵渴望戰後成家立室，養育一個像岳母大人一樣可愛的女兒罷…無論原因是甚麼，天主又一次保護了岳母大人，她的親和力又一次引發出人心深處的善意，那怕是被塑造成為「國仇家恨」焦點的「蘿蔔頭」！

剛纔聽到的聖言祇不過是末日時「最後審判」的開場白，耶穌基督普世君王在福音中，預先張揚了「最後審判」的六道考試題目：「因為我餓了，你們給了我吃的；我渴了，你們給了我喝的；我作客，你們收留了我；我赤身露體，你們給了我穿的；我患病，你們看顧了我，我在監裡，你們來探望了我。」（瑪25:35-36）如何作答呢？慈悲的普世君王在福音中，洩漏了標準答案：「凡你們對我這些最小兄弟中的一個所做的，就是對我做的。」（25:40b）
相信大家不會忘記昨晚內子分享岳母大人的「女俠」事蹟時提到她的俠義心腸和美麗心靈。難道聰明伶俐的她，不知眼前的大叔在欺騙這個天真的小女孩嗎？但慈悲的她不會與大叔斤斤計較，仍然接濟他。這不是回答了第一道考試題目嗎？甚至後來大叔被捕，不由分說被就地正法時，正義的她挺身而出，捨命相救。她何止回答了第六道考試題目，相信她已跨越了標準答案之外！

各位親友，你們送小的岳母大人最後一程，來到火葬場，不但表達了大家對她的濃情厚義，而且證明了你們都是蒙受天父祝福的。相信大家也曾回答過六道考試題目，或者連自己都忘記了，但天父是不會忘記的。
的確，人生在世，雖然常言道「得人恩果千年記」，但我不敢妄想自己終身不會忘記別人的恩惠或賞識，因為現代人患「認知障礙症」，越來越普遍。不過，即使我會忘記，或者我的子孫會忘記，永生的天主是不會忘記我們一點一滴的善行。
天主保祐。

---

外孫女致輓辭錄音

Are You Happy With Your Joy? 你對你的喜樂滿意嗎？

Gaudete Sunday, Year A
Theme: Are You Happy With Your Joy? 你對你的喜樂滿意嗎？

Upon routine rapid test on December 14, I found myself COVID positive. The symptoms were mild but it might indicate that my resistance mechanisms were weak. For charity’s sake, I should retire myself from works to focus on the combat with this new strain of virus. Meanwhile, I can put away my routines and spend more quality time with the merciful Lord. Since I’m not able to assist mass physically, I attended mass online and listened to the homily of Cardinal John Tong whom I usually assist. It was good. Perhaps assisting masses is no substitute for attending masses.

This Sunday is named Gaudete Sunday after the Entrance Antiphon taken from “Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete. Dominus enim prope est” (Philippians 4:4-5). The time has come for us to be joyful because the Lord is near. Christmas is just around the corner. Are we well-prepared to celebrate the birth of the Saviour of the World?

Without mentioning Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the Cardinal says that there are three levels of joy: physical, mental and spiritual. Chocolates, tasty foods, vintage wines and a comfortable dress bring physical joy. A spacious flat, stable income, love, praises, winning a competition and achieving a goal bring mental joy. However, men were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) who is Spirit (John 4:24). Therefore, nothing on earth is able to bring us spiritual joy except God Himself. God and God alone can give us an authentic and fulfilled joy. Regrettably, many people are shallow and short-sighted. They attempt to find joy in physcial and mental realms which they are able to control and manipulate but fail to fill up the spiritual void inside. The harder they work, the greater the void they uncover. A vicious cycle is created! Good of them because some complacent souls simply don’t care and blindly stay there for safety’s sake. God is merciful. The day will come when such complacent souls shall feel the urge to move ahead.

The Cardinal continues to illustrate the role of John the Baptist. Like the moon which is not itself a source of light but a mirror of the sun, John the Baptist “is not the light, but came to testify to the light” (1:8). The merciful Lord respects our autonomy and does not want to force us to believe in Him and to love Him. Jesus Christ did not continue staying on earth after resurrection. After forty days, He ascended into heavens and left the evangelization work to the Church. We were baptized into this Church, this community of the redeemed. Therefore, to a certain extent, all Christians are Baptist’s to testify to the merciful Christ! There are many people who do not know the Saviour and are in need of our passing on of this good news. No mirror is perfect, not the moon and not even John the Baptist. All of us are flawed but the light source we testify to is so powerful that our imperfections are neglibile in reflecting His glory. Do we find joy in testifying to the merciful Lord?

As a community of the redeemed, the People of God on earth, the Church sees herself in different images in different ages. Nowadays, the Church has come out of her superiority complex and sees herself at the service of the world. She identifies herself with the poor, the socially marginalized and stand by them. Unlike previous ages in which the Church was able to command respect and resources, she herself is also being marginalized by the powerful and wealthy of the world nowadays. Many world leaders are ignoring her presence while social media are eager to expose her scandals. It is truly challenging to believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church in the twenty-first century! In order to stand firm, we need to go deeper into the root. In other words, we need a deeper communication with our Lord.

Like any social institution, the history of the Catholic Church is checkered. While she claims to be the embryonic Kingdom of Heavens, a kingdom of justice and love on earth, a lot of atrocities and brutalities were committed in her name! While she claims to be the Perfect Society on earth, her clergy was not exempted from abuses and corruptions to fatten themselves. Yet, no matter how ugly at times the Church has been in human history, Jesus Christ her Spouse has not divorced her. Saints popped up in different ages to restore and revigorate her. In time, the Catholic Church has built up a great treasure trove of graces: writings of Church Doctors, sacraments and different schools of spiritualities to meet the different needs of all peoples. It is true that laziness is a human nature. Men are intelligent. Sooner of latter they will be able to develop procedures to run tasks more efficiently, saving their energies. Some may be satisfied and stay put. Luckily, some won’t be satisfied easily and crave for more!

The Catholic Church opts for the poor. She believes that Jesus Christ is present among the poor and the needy who are waiting for us to extend a helping hand to serve Him (Matthew 25:40). Here lies the challenge. It is not always easy to identify Jesus Christ in, say a mental patient one visits in hospital or a convicted notorious female murderer in prison. I’m able to adore the concealed Christ in the Tabernacle in a safe and warm environment on Thursday evenings in a church. But how am I able to get somehow connected, not to mention adore, with those inmates mentioned above? I really have no answer. Perhaps I find my joy in shallow levels and need to dive deeper in my prayers. May the Lord have mercy on my soul. Amen!

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: thehill.com

Do You See John the Baptist Today? 今天你看到洗者若翰嗎？

Second Advent Sunday, Year B
Theme: Do You See John the Baptist Today? 今天你看到洗者若翰嗎？

Christians have acquired a perspective of the world different from the mundane secular way because of their faith in Lord Jesus Christ. While a commercial society like Hong Kong encourages people to be hardworking and persuade her citizens that effort pays, Christianity tells followers of Christ to leave everything in God’s hand because He shall provide (Genesis 22:8). Modern societies advocate utilitarianism and cost-benefit-analysis while Christ teaches poverty (Luke 6:20b; Matthew 5:3); the societies ambition while Christ meekness (5:5) etc. Everybody agrees that no man is an island. All of us need to live in a social network. While most people prefer building networks with likeable, powerful and wealthy people, Jesus Christ advises people to see and seek Him among the needy and the socially marginalized (25:40)! In short, secular worldviews see not human beings but carbon based objects for exploitation. In contrast, Christianity sees the dignified human beings in their souls.

As we are still in the first stage of Advent season in which we meditate on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, in other words, the end of the world, we are expecting Christ the Universal King to restore and renew this sin-infested world. The first reading today reassures us that the end of the world is a time of consolation. The Lord God shall comfort us, instead of destroying us in His second coming. “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her servitude has ended, that her guilt is expiated, that she has received from the hand of the Lord double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2). Indeed, we seem to have increased our benefits when we are selfish and exploit others but we shall suffer all the consequences of sinning in the future. The punishment may have already begun the moment we sin. Most likely, we start to notice only years or even decades later that we are repaying the debts! By then, we might have repaid more than double the damages we had made. We would have repented earlier if we had known the extent of damages we caused in sinning. Therefore, the earlier we repent the better. Knowing this is comforting enough for even the worst sinner of the world who used to believing that he is irredeemable! No! The good news is that our God wants none of this. On an individual level, He “wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). On a broader level, “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 5:19). Thus, the end time is comforting for followers of Christ.

In order to receive this gospel of consolation and reconciliation, people must prepare their hearts. This was where John the Baptist came in. He came to prepare the hearts of the Jews who were anticipating a liberator, the Messiah who would deliver them from the colonial Roman rule. No, God has a grander plan. Isaiah foretold the mission of the Baptist with this oracle, “Every valley shall be lifted up, every mountain and hill made low; the rugged land shall be a plain, the rough country a broad valley” (Isaiah 40:4). The gospel of Mark summarizes those high, low, rugged and rough qualities into one sentence, the mission statement of the Baptist, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths” (Mark 1:3b). The gospel continues to describe his message. “John the Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (1:4). This message is simple: Repent and your sins will be forgiven! To repent means to lift yourself up out of your comfort zones, to make low your arrogance, to become simple like powerless children instead of being calculating like a strategist; and lastly to maintain a meek attitude instead of an imposing stance towards others to get things done in your way. Not only shall life be easier but you shall obtain more graces from the Lord God.

Let’s take a look at the image of John the Baptist and how effective it is, “John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey” (1:6). This image is unique. We are unable to locate any similar counterpart in the Old Testament. This unique image of “A voice of one crying out in the wilderness” (1:3a) might portray in the hearts of contemporary Jews a righteous prophet who was fearless in criticising Herod Antipas. However, this image does not have the same effect on modern readers. We can only find a homeless self-murmuring stinking beggar listlessly wandering in the city who does not attract faithful disciples but thugs of children to stone him. What can we make out of such a Baptist in societies like Hong Kong? If Pope Francis is right is exhorting us to learn from the poor and that the poor evangelize us, what can we learn from those homeless Baptists in Hong Kong?

It is superficial and tempting to see the pitiful homeless as an accusation against the powerful and the wealthy in the society; a protest against the collusion of civil-servants with merchants, of oppressive as well as exploitative policies against the minorities like what John the Baptist accused Herod Antipas against his setting a bad example. Yes, as spokepersons of God, Christians have the responsibility to criticize the evils they see. However, it is not as shallow as such. We should never bark aloud the evils of the powerful and wealthy but forget to look at the positive teachings of the merciful Lord. So, let us survey deeper what theology of poverty Pope Francis distills from the Scriptures for us.

1. In 2013, eight months after being elected Pope, Francis promolgated his first Apostolic Exhortation in which he says, “I want a Church which is poor and for the poor. They have much to teach us … We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way” (Evangelii Gaudium, #198). What can we learn from the poor? Pope Francis elaborated this point in subsequent messages issued on the World Day of the Poor.
2. “Let us welcome them [the poor] as honoured guests at our table; they can be teachers who help us live the faith more consistently. With their trust and readiness to receive help, they show us in a quiet and often joyful way, how essential it is to live simply and to abandon ourselves to God’s providence” (2017 Message, par. 7). Indeed, most of our sins are sins of insistence of our autonomy and rejections of God’s providence. Are we able to see how the poor live more correctly in the sight of God?
3. “Christ’s disciples … are called to honour the poor and to give them precedence, out of the conviction that they are a true presence of Jesus in our midst” (2018 Message, par. 7). Pope Francis reaffirms once more the fundamental stance of the Church: option for the poor.
4. “The poor are persons to be encountered; they are lonely, young and old, to be invited to our homes to share a meal; men, women and children who look for a friendly word. The poor save us because they enable us to encournter the face of Jesus Christ” (2019 Message, par. 9). This is the very challenge. Do we see the face of Christ in the poor?
5. “The freedom bestowed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ makes us individually responsible for serving others, especially the weakest. This is not an option, but rather a sign of authenticity of the faith we profess” (2020 Message, par. 8). Faith in Christ gains us freedom. With freedom, we became responsible for our words and deeds. Here lies our freedom. Either we choose to help the needy, making our faith an authentic faith, or we choose not to extend a helping hand, making ourselves contradictory persons. We begin seeing more concrete examples.
6. “The poor … know well how to respond with generosity … The poor often teach us about solidarity and sharing … They retain the dignity of God’s children that nothing and no one can take away from them” (2021 Message, par. 6). The poor teach us solidarity and sharing. Their dignity of God’s children cannot be denied.
7. “The sense of weakness and limitation that we have experienced in these recent years, and now the tragedy of the war with its global repercussions, must teach us one crucial thing: we are not in this world merely to survive, but to live a dignified and happy life … Encountering the poor enables us to put an end to many of our anxieties and empty fears, and to arrive at what truly matters in life, the treasue that no one can steal from us: true and gratuitous love. The poor, before being the object of our almsgiving are people who can help set us free from the snares of anxiety and superficiality” (2022 Message, par. 8). We are entitled to a dignified and happy life which the poor can teach us.
8. “The Book of Tobit teaches us to be realistic and practical in whatever we do with and for the poor. This is a mtatter of justice; it requires us to seek out and find one another, in order to foster the harmony needed for the community to feel itself as such. Caring for the poor is more than simply a matter of hasty hand-out; it calls for reestablishing the just interpersonal relationships that poverty harms” (2023 Message, par. 8). Therefore, caring for the poor is a matter of justice which Christianity insists.

Beloved brethren! We don’t need to talk theology fluently. What we need to do is to seek out the poor and seal a relationship with them. Amen.
God bless!

Before we finish, let us enjoy some timely Handel music.

---

2020 Reflection
Picture Credit: shutterstock.com

Let’s Lend Our Brethren A Listening Ear

Let’s Lend Our Brethren A Listening Ear

Deacon Alex Kwok

It is easier to visually identify people with physical disabilities. When you speak with Deacon Alex, you’ll easily see the hearing aids he wears. No wonder he is able to make announcements loudly in mass without using the microphone! As for people with emotional and even mental disabilities, it is harder to identify even though these days, more and more people are suffering from emotional and/or mental distresses in the aftermath of COVID and social unrests in the past few years. Chances are that we’ll encounter one in ten people we meet everyday. As of November 2023, student suicide cases tallied 37 deaths and 269 failed attempts¹. This is alarming because such figures are obviously the tip of an iceberg!

We have hundreds of parishioners attending Church on Sundays. Chances are that we’ll chit-chatting with some vulnerable brothers. Superficially, the Church environment is different from the schooling environment. Parishioners need not to follow a demanding schedule to finish a severe syllabus to sit for public examinations. Moreover, sharing the same faith ensures that they treat each other courteously like siblings, don’t they? In reality, wherever there are human interactions, conflicts shall inevitably arise. Everyone believes that he/she possesses the truth. I am right and if you don’t agree with me, you must be wrong! Coupled with other interpersonal factors such as wounded egos, perceived position in power networks and personal relation with Christ etc., emotions would soon flare up and people begin to bark louder than Deacon Alex! In short, the environment may be different, but the problem remains the same.

In fact, many people who are suffering from emotional stresses would flock to the Church to seek a peace of mind. It is what a Church is supposed to provide, isn’t it? The Deacon does not exaggerate in saying from experience that the Church has a higher concentration of mental patients than all other social institutions except for psychiatric wards! Luckily, these needy brethren are less aggressive/violent. They appear extremely normal and courteous, though you can easily sense that they are hiding some wounds and yet they feel the urge to reach out to seek help. Don’t feel guilty even if you fail to detect it for the first time because they can be very persistent. They will be back next week or week after next.

Though very few of us are professionally trained counsellors, we are still able to spare a couple of minutes or perhaps a few hours to listen through their stories. It is always prudent to invite one more brother to listen together. Being listeners, it is absolutely not necessary for us to solve their problems. No, we are not able to. Only the merciful Lord can! Just listen, suspend judgement and refrain from making any suggestions. Meanwhile, pray to the Holy Spirit for the wellbeing of this suffering soul to whom you are listening. If a rapport is established, pray together. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). When the good Lord, the Good Shepherd is present, there is nothing we shall want (Psalms 23:1). He pledges, “The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal” (Ezekiel 34:16a, Solemnity of Christ the King, Year A, first reading).

Beloved Brethren! Don’t underestimate the power of prayers. Let us join the Pope to pray for people with disabilities in December.
God bless!

---

¹ https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Hong-Kong,-student-suicide-alert:-37-deaths-and-over-300-attempts-in-2023-59585.html
Picture Credit: potentialplusuk.org