Fr Swann Continues Preaching: Recent Episodes
Fr Swann Kim
Why did Jesus leave his apostles and disciples for heaven? Did he have to? Why did Christ promise to send the Holy Spirit while he departed from the earth? Could he not stay forever to govern the Church?
I think that he ascended to heaven because it was the best for his people, his Church to receive salvation. Every way the Word of God chose on earth was for the best and easiest way for man. He could have saved man without the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Resurrection. But the Son of God chose these ways because man could access the work of salvation with human senses and mental capacity. He chose the ways a man can see and hear and touch and understand. By becoming a true man, he opened the way a man can participate with his human faculties.
Then, what about the Ascension?
We do not like to say goodbye. We have a hard time losing our beloved ones. However, to become an independent and complete human person, one needs to be alone. The apostles and disciples could not have matured if they could have always depended on the Lord. They would not have become his witnesses if Christ had been on earth forever. But more seriously, they could not have interiorized the faith if Christ had remained as an external subject while the Holy Spirit had not descended and dwelled within them. Ironically, for Christ to dwell in every Christian, he had to depart from them into heaven. Then, the Holy Spirit could come down and accompany every Christian.
Do we stand only looking up toward heaven? Now is time to witness Christ. It is time to grow and bear fruit.
Today’s first reading from the Acts confirms the two deposits of Christian faith – they are the Scriptures and the Tradition.
A preacher named Apollos knew the Scriptures very well. And his knowledge enabled him to speak about Jesus accurately. It is because the Old Testament is in fact a preparation for the coming of the Messiah and Saviour. To know the Scriptures well means to know God’s promise to send the Messiah and Saviour. From the fall of the first parents of mankind, the Scriptures speak of the Saviour of mankind from sin. To know the Scriptures well grows and matures the faith in the Messiah and Saviour, who is Jesus Christ.
In the meantime, the first reading also introduces an interesting episode. The same Apollos, though well-versed in the Scriptures, had to learn more. Priscilla and Aquila, Christian laymen, taught Apollos more about the Gospel of Christ beyond the baptism of John. The Christian couple handed him what they received from the apostles – that is the Tradition. Only with the comprehensive Tradition, Christians can mature in faith and share their faith according to the teaching of Christ.
Reading and reflecting on the Bible is critical in our faith. But learning and studying the Bible with the help of the Tradition is as much vital because without the teaching authority of the Church people may fall into errors.
The occasion of electing the 12th apostle demonstrates a few principles of administration or decision-making in the Church.
First, it is the Holy Spirit who decides and operates. Peter or the assembly of the apostles and disciples could select the 12th apostle. But they submitted their will to the Holy Spirit. The Church does not operate by one human person or an assembly. The Church is not a monarchy or democracy. Christ is the Head, and his Spirit governs the Mystical Body, the Church.
Second, the Scriptures and the Tradition are the two sources of the faith. Peter quotes the Scriptural prophecy for its fulfillment to replace the place of Judas. And he presents a qualification for the replacing apostle. It was a disciple who witnessed all the ministry of Jesus but also the resurrection and ascension. From these eyewitnesses, the Church received her Tradition. And the apostles received all from Christ Jesus.
Third, then, why the apostles and disciples gathered for the election? The gathering warrants the transparency of the process to remove any doubt and suspicion. But to gather in his name is what Jesus commanded for the guarantee of his presence. The Holy Spirit is present in the Church assembly. And he reveals his divine will in the Church gathering. Jesus called us as his friends to whom he let his will known.
Although Jesus had ascended to heaven, his Spirit governed the Church. It has been the same ever since. The Church is never a human institution. When we gather, Christ is with us.
Like the disciples in today’s gospel, we might have wonder why Jesus had to come and go and come back and go back again. Without those tiresome travelling and terrible suffering, could he not save man? Why did he take all toils of birth, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension?
Indeed, God could have saved us in different ways beyond our imagination. However, he chose a human way by which he became man. Because the Son of God chose to share the human toils of birth, suffering and death, we humans can hope that we can become like him. His resurrection gives us the sure pledge of eternal life. And his ascension and sitting at the right side of the Father brings us constant joy because he now cares for us with his Spirit regardless of time and place.
Thus, God chose to take the human toils and sufferings because it was the easiest way for man to understand and partake and receive salvation. And the resurrection and ascension give us sure hope and joy while we have our earthly life.
From today’s first reading, we hear St Paul’s long speech to the Athenians. But towards the end of his discourse, Paul proclaims the Christian kerygma – the brief proclamation of the key elements of the Good News.
“While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
The Christian message is simple. It is time to repent. Why? Because the judgment day is set. And the judge came to the world. Who is he? He is Christ Jesus who died and rose from the dead. He will come and judge the living and the dead.
Christians do not lose sight of the final judgment at any moment. The end of the world and its judgment is the foremost and most urgent reason for the Christian faith. Christianity is not a philosophy to explain the universe and man. Nor is Christianity a system of morality. Christianity is not a charity campaign. Instead, Christians urgently prepare for the end of the world and its judgment. If we lose this element, we miss the most critical calling from the Lord.
Of course, the Athenians' reaction was not enthusiastic. What about us in our times? Not much different from the Athenians. The Christian kerygma calls for radical changes. Repentance should not remain as remorse in the heart. It must bring about life changes. Few people respond to this call as we see only a few believed after Paul’s proclamation in Athens.
Do I carry the message of the end of the world and the final judgment in my mind and heart? Or do I think and act as if my life lasts forever on earth? St Paul is still waking me today.
“When the Holy Spirit comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned.”
The Fathers of the Church and many commentators consider this passage from St John we just heard from today’s gospel as one of the most obscure in the New Testament. And they avoided commenting on it. How are sin and the faith in Jesus related to each other? What about righteousness and Jesus’ ascending to heaven? And judgment and Satan? We can only speculate on it.
What is clearly stated is the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its falsity over sin, righteousness and judgment.
When the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we understand with God’s eye. And then we realize how the world is wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment.
The world does not believe in the forgiveness of sin. The world even denies sin. Since it does not believe in Christ, it does not believe in the forgiveness of sin, which is the very mission of Christ. Only with the Holy Spirit, we can recognize our sinfulness and repent but also forgive others.
The world ridicules man’s duty to worship God. Righteousness Jesus speaks here is not social justice or distributive justice but giving thanks and praises to God for his goodness, i.e., religious duty. As Jesus has risen and ascended to God the Father and sits at his right hand, we are to worship Christ as God. But the world, especially the modern world, refuses and ignores this duty, this justice, this due to Christ.
The world thinks it can save itself. Look at secular humanists and materialists. They enslave themselves to power and wealth, which become their gods. But Jesus warned, “You cannot serve both God and money.” As soon as we put our faith in human power and material wealth, we fall into the self-condemnation of submitting to the reign of Satan, the ruler of this world. Only with the Holy Spirit, we will see this reality. Then we can see who the true judge is for both this world and the next.
It is hard grasping the meaning of this passage. But what is clear is the need of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask Jesus to give us the gift of understanding. Perhaps only with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, we may understand the profound meaning of this passage.
As we listen to the first reading from the Acts, we wonder how those Gentiles opened their hearts to the gospel of Christ. But the Acts does not give much explanation except saying, “The Lord opened” their hearts.
Probably that is the most precise explanation. It was not the Gentiles who opened their hearts. It was not their work or to their credit to recognize and accept the divine voice and message. It was the Holy Spirit who exposed them to a favourable disposition to welcome the apostles. And it was also the Holy Spirit who made their souls and spirits desire for the truth and wisdom of the Lord. And it was also the Holy Spirit who opened their ears to the voice of Christ.
I have never met a Christian all whose family or friends faithfully practice the faith. All of us have more than one family members or friend who does not go to church anymore. I am no exception here. All of us have tried to encourage them to go back to church. And all of us pray for them. But our efforts and prayers often seem futile and useless.
Were the apostles discouraged and disappointed at ridicules, hostility, or ignorance from their audience? Although the apostles brought many Gentiles and Jews to the Lord, I am sure more people rejected the gospel. The apostles knew that it was their responsibility to preach the gospel. But they also knew that it was the Holy Spirit, the Lord, who prepared and opened people’s hearts. It is why they could keep preaching without despair and frustration.
We do not know how the Lord opens people’s hearts. Ask ourselves. How did he open my heart? Even I have a hard time explaining. Sometimes it remains a mystery. However, when we trust the Lord and keep praying and proclaiming the gospel, we will see the wondrous fruit of the Holy Spirit among people.
Most Christians in our times are the Gentiles to Jewish people. The first reading of this Sunday from the Acts shows the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. The Jewish Christians of the earliest Church did not even imagine it would happen to uncircumcised people. But before their eyes, the Holy Spirit came down upon those foreign people. Moreover, even to our surprise, the Holy Spirit came down on the unbaptized Gentiles. The unbaptized pagans spoke in tongues and praised God!
Some might misunderstand this episode as a demonstration that everyone and anyone can receive salvation outside the Church. But remember that God can make a donkey speak a human language as in an episode of Balaam, a Gentile prophet from the Book of Numbers. And that Gentile prophet Balaam delivered prophecies of God of Israel. The Holy Spirit may use animals and the Gentiles for his instruments. However, that does not prove that animals and the Gentiles receive salvation.
Those non-Israelite people who received the Holy Spirit were sincerely looking for God. As St Peter says, they feared God and did what was right before God. These foreign people were not modern-day self-righteous secular humanists who believe they can save themselves here on earth. Cornelius and the other Gentiles people welcomed Peter and the gospel message when they heard it. And they willingly received baptism to become members of the Church.
Fearing God and being righteous before God are required not only for the non-baptized but also for the baptized Christians to receive salvation. It is because God is impartial to everyone.
Fearing God contains many meanings. As a disposition of a soul, it means humility and love for God. And as knowledge, it means knowing God as the Judge. People fearing God seek God’s will for their life. They desire God’s words and messages. They are ready to listen to God and to follow his will.
Being righteous before God by doing what is right also means many things. It means to listen to their conscience and follow it. It follows the commandments of God in moral and social life. It also means to offer thanksgiving and praises to God through religious rituals and devotions. For Christians, it means to participate faithfully in the Sacraments of the Church.
We are waiting for Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, which comes in two weeks. During Lent, we prepare for the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord. Likewise, we should prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, too. I think we can examine those two requirements. Let us ask if we carry the fear of God in our hearts. And ask if we can say we are without faults before God’s eye.
The world will be delighted if a pastor preaches that we should strive to enjoy material success and wealth because God created all these good things for us. But if the pastor encourages people to share their riches, the world will not be so excited. And if he preaches the spirit of poverty, even Christians wonder what it means in our times. If the pastor urges self-sacrifice and abandonment, the world will scorn him.
Jesus warns us of worldly delights. Why? It is because the prince of this world, Satan, deceives us with false promises of worldly delights. First, there is no true satisfaction in worldly delights such as wealth, fame, power. People become thirstier like narcotic addicts. Second, chasing worldly delights deprives spiritual growth. Therefore, souls become unhappy and further away from salvation.
If you want to be happy, spend your riches for others. We already have enough to share with others. You will find true joy in wasting your riches for Christ, like Mary, sister of Martha, who wasted the costly perfume to anoint the feet of Christ. You might think you can make a substantial donation only after you win a lottery. No, you can make a difference now with what you have. The spirit of poverty is not in downsizing to save but in sharing to offer.
Jesus warns us not to make us poorer but to make us happier and save us from the deceits of Satan. He admonishes us to save our souls.
Christian love Jesus gave his disciples as a commandment is self-giving or life-giving sacrifice. This love goes far beyond being together with someone. Even thieves and robbers spend a lot of time together and enjoy each other’s company. But Jesus teaches us to abandon ourselves for the sake of the good of others. This love is selfless. One denies himself to give himself to others.
Have you seen this kind of love? I have. I guess all of us know someone who always gives but never expects any reward. It could be your parents or a sibling. It could be a sacristan who does more work than the pastor of the parish. Do you feel warm and fuzzy when you witness self-emptying love? No, I do not. On the opposite, I feel upset. The people who give their life to others seem too naïve and almost foolish. Yes, I know what they are doing is good and noble. But most times, they are never acknowledged for their sacrifices. Instead, so often, other people take advantage of their good hearts. Sometimes they even seem to expose others to temptations to exploit them.
However, God’s foolishness is wiser than man’s wisdom. Human wisdom and knowledge cannot save man from sin and death. Christ’s foolishness to give his life to those who do not appreciate his sacrifice opened the gate of salvation.
Our life and this world can go because of someone’s sacrifice. Thanks to those abandoning their life for others without any reward, our life, our Church, and our world are sustained and become better than yesterday.
If you are giving yourself out but never acknowledged, please do not be dismayed. Jesus had it first. So, instead, be joyful because no one knows what you are doing. But be assured that our Lord knows better than anyone. Let our Lord be our only consolation. And he will not refuse to give indescribable joy to all who self-sacrifice for others’ good.
One of the constant temptations for pastors in our times is to keep silent on moral issues, especially concerning life and family. It is not because Christ or the Church does not have clear teachings on those issues. But it is because pastors have a fear that laypeople will reject them if they speak up. For example, many surveys on the practise of artificial contraception among Catholics in North America indicate that an absolute majority over 95% (often higher than 98 or 99%) have used contraceptive methods. Knowing this reality, pastors have not many diplomatic approaches to dissuade lay people from contraceptives. It does not feel easy to bring up the issue because it will make all people feel convicted of mortal sins.
However, St Paul says, “I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable.” St Paul knew what would happen. He continues, “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”
I sincerely ask you to pray for our pastors that the Holy Spirit pours courage into their hearts. And please pray for yourselves too so that the Holy Spirit grants you the spirit of truth. We all need the spirit of truth to discern and accept the will of the heavenly Father.
We all have heard we need to abide in Christ Jesus as branches in the vine. Branches are physically attached to a vine. Then, how do we abide in Christ Jesus? How do we draw spiritual nutrients from Christ?
Of course, nothing is impossible for God. He can provide spiritual nutrition in the most unbelievable ways. We cannot deny that God may nourish a person with spiritual grace and blessing while he is isolated from the world. However, for most of us, Jesus gave us means of easy access to him. These usual and regular channels are the seven sacraments of the Church instituted by Jesus.
It is absurd to look for alternatives to the sacraments when they are available. It is not only foolish but also arrogant to think that we can devise better or easier alternatives to the sacraments. It is because Christ instituted the sacraments. It is offensive to his benevolence to think he reserves and hide better ways to his grace.
But now, under the pandemic, many of us find it hard to approach the sacraments. Because each one’s perception of the danger and threat of the pandemic is not the same, the Church cannot declare an environment is safe enough for all to approach the sacraments. There is always a risk in any activity.
However, the pandemic does not remove the need to remain in Christ, either. If we think we do not have to do anything about our souls because the Sunday obligation is lifted under the pandemic, we will see unfortunate consequences to our souls. Like branches severed from the vine, our spiritual life will wither away, and worldly cares and temptations will choke our souls.
Brothers and sisters, please do your best to abide in Jesus. It can be the Rosary, the Bible, the online Mass, or the weekly Communion service. When we try to help ourselves, the Holy Spirit will not leave us alone.
Today’s first reading from the Acts briefly describes the second half of the missionary trip of Paul and Barnabas. Because we do not know the lands and seas of Asia Minor or the cultural details of the time, it is challenging for us to feel or understand what the apostles had to suffer during their trip. Moreover, because Catholic Christians of our time rarely have firsthand experience of evangelizing non-believers, we do not share their fatigues and frustrations, either.
However, lots of efforts, trials and errors, sufferings and sacrifices are compressed into this short passage. Imagine somebody throws something at you because you speak of Jesus. Would that be a lifelong trauma? What if a group of people lynched you? I would have a hard time even stepping out of my home due to the trauma. But, almost humorously, immediately after Paul was stoned by the Jews, he got up and resumed his missionary journey. It sounds unbelievable.
St Paul does not say much today. He only says, “It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God.” One thing that stands out to me is that St Paul focuses on salvation instead of evangelization here. It would make perfect sense if he had said, “It is through many persecutions that we must bring the Good News to the Gentiles.” However, St Paul seems to avoid giving an impression of praising his effort for evangelization. Evangelization was not the ultimate goal of his sufferings. It was to be with Christ in heaven. Receiving persecutions becomes worthwhile only because we can be with Christ. It is not to elevate our sense of self-esteem as martyrs and witnesses.
Indeed, to be with Christ, to enter the kingdom of God, to receive eternal life does not come without persecutions. Some might think we could avoid them and remain good Christians. But that is not the reality. Because Satan pervades all times and places, whenever and wherever we testify to the Gospel, we face resistance and persecution. I often find this resistance even within my soul.
To live according to the Word of Christ accompanies sufferings from resistance and persecution. It is not pleasant to our weak human nature. It is only possible when we abandon ourselves to Jesus.
The Apostolic Tradition and the Bible are the two deposits of the Christian faith. These two sources of faith have authority not from any human origin but the divine. In other words, the Christian faith comes from divine revelation. When St Paul explains what Christians received from the Apostles in his letter to the Corinthians, he explains the divine origin of the Apostolic Tradition. It was Christ Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God, who handed down what the Apostles received. And Jesus repeatedly told his disciples that all he spoke came from his Father in heaven. Thus, his teaching is not human wisdom but divine revelation.
Throughout history, the Church carefully guarded and preserved the purity of the divine revelation. At the same time, the Church explained the revelation and gave specific guidance to the current challenges of the times.
Unfortunately, some Christians fall into a fundamentalist stance that refuses to explain the spirit of the revelation but wants to apply the Scriptures literally. On the other hand, some think Christianity can and should adjust its doctrines along the times and places.
Orthodoxy demands pastoral generosity and vigilant perseverance. In our times, when all traditional values and virtues are challenged, bishops and priests face an onerous task of balancing between embracing confused Christians and proclaiming authentic revelation.
I sincerely ask all Christians to pray for our clergy that the Holy Spirit may guide our bishops, priests, and deacons. I pray for them that they may teach what they received from the Apostles with boldness and clarity and gather the scattered sheep of Christ with their generosity and sacrifice.
Where do we draw our daily nutrients for our souls?
You probably heard these sayings: You are what you eat, You are what you read, You are what you love and so on. Because we cannot exist on our own, we need nutrients. And the kinds and qualities of nutrients have a significant influence on our health.
This truth is also applied to our souls. What we read and listen affects the disposition of our soul. Furthermore, what we share through mass media and social media shapes the spirit of societies.
Under this pandemic, we spend more time with our phones and computers. There are too many junk foods readily available for our souls on social media, internet entertainment platforms, all kinds of websites. While they take our time and money, they also made us addicted to them. We all know what consequences it brings about to eat junk food constantly. But we seem to care much less when it comes to spiritual junk food.
Jesus presents himself as the vine in the gospel today. And we are his branches. When we are attached to Jesus and draw our spiritual nutrients from him, we will bear the good fruit of the kingdom of heaven. Then, we should ask ourselves whether we actually draw our spiritual nutrients from him. Do we read the Bible every day? Do we say the Rosary every day? Do we spend time in personal prayers every day? Do we go to confession as soon as possible when we commit any sin? Do we put any effort into going to Communion?
Christians cannot stay in grace by the one-time profession of faith. We must nourish our souls with life-giving food and water. Otherwise, we will be pruned away, bundled together and thrown into the fire. This pandemic becomes a time of trial for many Christians. Let us faithfully attach ourselves to Jesus, the life-giving vine. He is the only one who gives life.
Only about two hundred years ago, most of the world's population was under hereditary class systems. The value of a person was determined according to his social class. We all agree that a hereditary class system is not the best way to promote human equality or dignify human labour. People wished for a society where individual abilities are rewarded, and human dignity is respected regardless of social status. And we have modern societies now where class systems are abolished. But have we realized our wishes?
Indeed, we do not have visible social classes. All modern states declare equality of citizens. No social device stops people from choosing their work as they wish.
However, in place of royals and nobilities, it seems that money has now become our authority. There is no master of money. Money itself seems its own master. All people work for money. It seems we do not work for ourselves but money. People who have more than what they can spend for the rest of their life still work hard to make more money. Poor people work hard but are never respected because of their poverty. Honest work is not rewarded for its effort, while fraudulent schemes bring profits.
St Joseph was a poor carpenter. Although he was on the lineage of King David, he had no social status. St Joseph was nobody. However, he became the foster father of God’s only begotten Son. And he was the chaste spouse of the Blessed Virgin. No social class or power of money supported the holy family. It was St Joseph’s honest work that nourished Jesus and Mary. The world tells us we need bigger houses and cars to keep our human dignity. In contrast, the poor carpenter’s honest work protected God’s Son and his Blessed Mother. The Incarnate Word of God and the Immaculate Conception did not demand social status and wealth to survive in this world but only a poor carpenter’s honest work. Indeed, St Joseph is to be called the Worker.
Recently I received a question concerning the necessity of Christ for salvation. The question was whether God gave all people to Jesus or only some people. The answer to this question may be found in the last statement of Jesus in today’s gospel from St John. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” To go to the Father means to go to heaven. And to go to heaven is understood as salvation. Then, Jesus is declaring that salvation is possible only through him.
When we ask questions of the necessity of Christ for salvation, we think of those who never heard the Gospel or Christ Jesus. It is understandable to raise questions about their final destinies. How could they receive salvation if they never knew Christ Jesus? But Jesus clearly states he is the way, the truth and the life.
But we often forget who created all universe when we ask those questions about salvation. As St John’s prologue tells us, without the Word, nothing came into being. The Second Person of God is not only the Savior and Redeemer but also Creator first. Christ Jesus knew first all those who never heard of him. Since the Word was eternal with God and he himself is God, Christ Jesus, the Incarnate Word, cannot but be related to everyone who exists or existed. When Jesus spoke of the other flock than his disciples and followers, he might have meant those who never knew him. They did not know him, but Christ knew them. We would not know how he would call them for salvation. It is beyond our imagination. However, it is also Christ Jesus who is their salvation, no one else.
Christ is the way, the truth and the life. No one can be saved without through Christ Jesus.
When we think of religion, we might associate it with rituals, devotions, or moral codes. However, generally, at least, half of the religious practice is about words or scriptures. In other words, proclamation, teaching, discussion and understanding take a fundamental role in religion. All major religions of the world such as Buddhism, Islam as well as Christianity share this characteristic.
Why? It is because man does not accept religion without intelligible knowledge. Of course, we see agnostics and esoteric cults. But do they last or gain wide acceptance? Superstitions do not develop into a religion because of the lack of intelligibility.
As we see in the ministry of Jesus, Jesus proclaimed the Good News and taught his disciples and people. He was called “Teacher” or “Rabbi”. And we see in the Acts how the first Christians shared the Scripture and teachings. In the early Church, the bigger part of the Eucharistic celebration was the liturgy of the Word. They used to proclaim and read substantial parts of the gospels and epistles during the liturgy. It was not like us reading only one episode or a short passage. Because of this current practice, our understanding of the Bible is fragmented.
Some Catholics come to the Mass merely to receive Communion. Indeed, Communion is critical. However, without any interest and devotion to the Word of the Lord, our faith is likely to fall into a lifeless cultural habit or even a superstitious practice.
However, many Catholics now find joy in reading, studying, sharing thoughts on the Bible. Under this pandemic, the work on the Word not only maintains but also rejuvenates and revives our faith. A true sacrament is made up of words and sensible actions or symbols, not of actions or symbols alone. It is because the words invoke the Holy Spirit and sanctify actions and matters. I wish that we spare time to read, study, and share the Word of the Lord so that we may truly sanctify our life under this pandemic.
In the first reading today from the Acts, we see how Paul and Barnabas are selected for the evangelization of the Gentiles. It was the Holy Spirit who commanded evangelization. As Jesus commanded all his disciples to go out and proclaim the Good News and baptize, evangelization is a divine commandment for his disciples. And what are the Gospel and baptism for? Today’s gospel from John declares its purpose: salvation.
However, we so often encounter these questions about evangelization: “What about those who could not have heard the Good News? And what about those with different faith and religions?”
I will not discuss how to answer those questions. Instead, I would like to ask another question: “Why do people ask those questions?” Do you think they ask those questions because they are so worried about the final destinies of others? Or is it purely out of intellectual curiosity?
When a person encounters God, almighty but merciful, he is overwhelmed with fear and joy. And when a person accepts Christ into his life, he follows Christ’s commandments without reservation.
Then, look at those who ask those questions. Do they recognize divine omnipotence? And are they willing to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to those who do not know Christ and help their conversion? In short, do they actually believe in Christ? Why do they suggest preconditions for evangelization? Why do I feel it is difficult to accept that Christ is the only way to salvation? Why does it feel exclusive that there is no other name on earth and under heaven except the Name of Christ Jesus that brings salvation? If I feel this way, do I have faith in Jesus?
I hope not any of us feels hard to believe Christ is the only way to salvation.
Leaders of the Church daily have to make judgments for practical matters of the faith. And it is not always clear to discern according to the will of the Lord. As we heard in the first reading from the Acts, the first Jewish Christians did not understand how the Gentile can receive God’s grace. Thus, when Peter had been with the Gentile Christians, the Jewish Christians criticized Peter, the first chief shepherd of all the faithful. Now, Peter needed to explain how and why the Gentile received the grace of the faith. But his explanation had to be of the divine origin. And Peter shared his vision while he was praying in the city of Joppa. This vision shows an example of how the Holy Spirit endows divine knowledge and empowers with the right judgments. With the divine knowledge and counsel, the chief shepherd of the Church teaches and admonishes the Jewish Christians. And they recognized the authentic teaching and rejoiced and praised the Lord.
Today the Church commemorates Our Lady of the Good Counsel. As a person full of grace, Our Lady loves to give good counsels to our priests, our shepherds of the Church. Since the Our Lady of the Good Counsel devotion developed from the 15th century, starting at a small Italian town called Genazzano, many popes visited the place and prayed before her image in the church of Genazzano. Those popes asked her for good counsels to make judgments for the Lord’s people. But anybody, who oversees the wellbeing of any, should ask for the gift of good counsel. Parents, teachers, lay leaders of the Church should speak to Our Lady for their right judgments. Surely Our Blessed Mother will help us receive the gift of the counsel and give us good advice for difficulties.
Leaders of the Church daily have to make judgments for practical matters of the faith. And it is not always clear to discern according to the will of the Lord. As we heard in the first reading from the Acts, the first Jewish Christians did not understand how the Gentile can receive God’s grace. Thus, when Peter had been with the Gentile Christians, the Jewish Christians criticized Peter, the first chief shepherd of all the faithful. Now, Peter needed to explain how and why the Gentile received the grace of the faith. But his explanation had to be of the divine origin. And Peter shared his vision while he was praying in the city of Joppa. This vision shows an example of how the Holy Spirit endows divine knowledge and empowers with the right judgments. With the divine knowledge and counsel, the chief shepherd of the Church teaches and admonishes the Jewish Christians. And they recognized the authentic teaching and rejoiced and praised the Lord.
Today the Church commemorates Our Lady of the Good Counsel. As a person full of grace, Our Lady loves to give good counsels to our priests, our shepherds of the Church. Since the Our Lady of the Good Counsel devotion developed from the 15th century, starting at a small Italian town called Genazzano, many popes visited the place and prayed before her image in the church of Genazzano. Those popes asked her for good counsels to make judgments for the Lord’s people. But anybody, who oversees the wellbeing of any, should ask for the gift of good counsel. Parents, teachers, lay leaders of the Church should speak to Our Lady for their right judgments. Surely Our Blessed Mother will help us receive the gift of the counsel and give us good advice for difficulties.
Many Christians feel that St John’s gospel is difficult because it has more theological discussions than the other three gospels. And St John uses many symbolic languages and abstract ideas. As we read in today’s gospel, the discourse of the Eucharist sounds not so much related to our daily life. For it speaks about life eternal and the resurrection of the last day of the world.
However, when the matter of life and death is at hand, St John’s gospel feels truly real. A person’s eternal destiny depends not on anything in the world but the faith in Christ Jesus. And Jesus reminds us of the critical importance of the Eucharist for eternal life and the resurrection of the body.
The question is simple. Do we faithfully receive Communion? The qualifier ‘faithfully’ does not mean a habit. We cannot make a judgement on how faithfully we have received the Body and Blood of Christ. It is only Christ who can judge us. That is why we cannot be overconfident of the state of our souls. It is why we offer prayers and Masses for the deceased souls. We need to examine ourselves if we worthily receive Christ. In many places in the gospels, Jesus warns us that it is never easy to enter heaven.
I just heard my father had passed away. And I wonder. Where is he now? It seems the last time he received Communion was at the Mass at home when I visited Mom and Dad towards the end of the last year. I do not know. He might have been in the Church recently, but I doubt it because of this pandemic. Did he receive the Lord worthily, then? I cannot answer this question.
But the will of our heavenly Father is clear. Let us listen again to Jesus. “This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”
I pray that our eternal destiny is our daily concern. I pray that we receive Christ with worthy hearts so that he may receive us in his Father’s house.
John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. He prepared the way for Christ. But his voice and word alone did not accomplish the preparation. It was his blood that finished his witness to the Saviour. And the precursor’s martyrdom suggested the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. From before his birth, people regarded John the Baptist as a prophet. People respected and feared him. Even Jesus praised the greatness of John the Baptist. However, his martyrdom was too simple. He did not resist. Nobody stopped his execution.
There is another martyrdom in the New Testament. It is of Stephen. In fact, the New Testament reports only these two martyrdoms. It does not say anything about how Peter or Paul or other apostles were martyred. Stephen is the first martyr of the Church and the prime example of all martyrs of the Church.
Like John the Baptist and Christ Jesus, Stephen did not resist his execution. He was full of the Holy Spirit and caused many signs but did not do anything against his execution. Instead, like Jesus, Stephen prayed for his executioners and asked for their forgiveness from the Lord on behalf of them.
Man has a right to defend himself against unjust violence. John the Baptist and Stephen could defend themselves. However, they chose to suffer violence to witness the truth and bring grace to others. As Jesus willingly chose the crucifixion to bring salvation, these martyrs chose violent deaths to join him to glorify the Lord. Their deaths were not their defeats. On the contrary, their deaths won the best way to witness the truth. Indeed, martyrdom is not an end but a birth.
“We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” “This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses handed on to us.”
These are the accusations the Greek Jews falsely made against Stephen. Do you not find them familiar? Where have you heard them before? Yes, they are like the accusations against Jesus. The first martyr of the Church follows the footsteps of his Lord. Jesus had already told his disciples that his followers would be brought to the court with false accusations.
But let us take a moment to see the nature of those accusations. Because there are no victims found, the false witnesses allege that the divine authority, the temple, the law, and their customs have been threatened. The followers of Jesus do not injure or harm anyone. But they are accused because they have allegedly expressed their thoughts.
Now, does it not sound even more familiar? Those who experienced any fascist regime would notice right away this is how fascists oppress people. Since fascists cannot find real victims, they accuse their opponents of having threatened the state, the law, the social structure, or the good customs. But the reality is that fascists violate the freedom of expression and speech. And they also deny the freedom of religion and thought.
Christians are destined to suffer under fascism. It is because a fascist regime cannot admit another ultimate authority, namely God. When Christian doctrines and teachings are suppressed, it is also an indication that natural freedom and rights are under attack. Stephen was brought to court not because he did something criminal but because he spoke the truth. Can we Christians stop speaking the truth? If we stop, we give up not only being the followers of Christ but also exercising natural human freedom.
Our generation thinks man can define his nature. I do not think so. However, in the sense that man shapes the state of his spirit, a man prepares his nature for the life to come. It depends on him how to build virtues or vices. And according to the last state before his death, God will judge and grant salvation or condemnation. And then, when Christ Jesus comes again at the end of the world, man will receive his body according to his judgment. The saved ones will receive a glorified body like Christ’s. The damned will also receive a body. But what would it be?
When God created Adam and Eve, they did not know any sin. Their souls were not tainted with sin. Therefore, their body did not have to bear the consequence of sin, namely death. But when they sinned by disobedience, they disfigured their spirits. The original sin severed the relationship with God, and thus, it deformed their souls. As a result, as God had warned, their body had to bear the ultimate consequence, death. In a sense, Adam and Eve defined their nature – into a degenerated one. The body no longer enjoyed eternal life. Human nature without God’s grace resulted in death.
Jesus did not have to die. He was like us in all respect except sin. His body before his death did not have to bear the consequence of sin. However, Jesus chose to accept his heavenly Father’s will to sacrifice for the sin of all men. Through his death, Jesus opened the way of salvation by the forgiveness of sin. But he defeated death by His resurrection. He demonstrated how the saved would be like by his resurrection. They will be reunited with their body. But this time, thanks to the purified and sanctified spirit and soul, the body does not have to suffer, not alone death!
Then, we might speculate how the damned will be like at the resurrection of the body. One of the properties of the glorified body is its radiant beauty. Then, the damned body will suffer the exact opposite. If we disfigure our spirit and soul with sins and vices, we will receive an indescribably horrific body. Many contemporaries attempt to define human nature in sinful ways against Christ’s teachings, against God’s will. Saints who had visions of hell say they would rather die than see it again.
The risen Jesus shows his wounds to his disciples, who still doubt. But why does he still bear those scars in his glorified body? They are not only the remedy to his disciples’ disbelief. But they are also the hiding places for the faithful, who desire his mercy. His wounds are for his glory and mercy. We will recognize Jesus in heaven by those wounds!
In this life, we will build either virtues or vices. Virtues demand sacrifice and suffering. We may also bear marks of sacrifice and suffering at our resurrection like Jesus. But by them, we would recognize each other. Perfect beauty in the resurrection would be the perfection of sacrifice.
Christians wish and pray that the Holy Spirit always accompanies them. However, we do not have a simple method to tell his presence quickly. When we experience mysterious blessings, we may contribute them to the work of the Holy Spirit. But we cannot prove it. Jesus said, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
Nevertheless, there is one occasion we can be sure that the Holy Spirit is present and works on earth. Jesus first prefigured it when he multiplied the bread and fish to feed the thousands of people. Also, he demonstrated it by changing water into wine. Later, when he instituted the Eucharist, he finally revealed the work of the Holy Spirit by giving his body and blood in the forms of bread and wine. When a priest offers a Mass, the Holy Spirit is present and consecrates and transubstantiates bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. We might not be so sure of the presence of the Holy Spirit everywhere else, but in the Eucharist, we are guaranteed to be with the Holy Spirit and receive the work of the Holy Spirit. The invocation of the Holy Spirit (Epiclesis) is a necessary part of the Eucharistic prayers. It is not a wish of the priest or a spiritual blessing. Through the invocation, the Holy Spirit becomes present and changes the Eucharistic elements.
It is a fundamental truth of faith. However, Catholics often forget or ignore it. They like to be with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Then, the Mass is the best and surest way to be with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is why many Catholics come to Communion even under the pandemic.
The disciples in today’s gospel find themselves in trouble. They are in the rough sea with a strong wind and high waves. Then, Jesus appears to them. And, immediately, they reach the land which they were going.
When you find yourself in trouble, come and receive Christ with the Holy Spirit at Communion. There is no better way because Christ himself with his Spirit comes to you in body and soul. And he will save us from our troubles because being with Christ is salvation.
The episode of the council of the Jews in today’s first reading from the Acts sheds light on Christian struggles in our times here in Canada. Here in Canada, Christians or even other traditional religions are threatened to abandon religious truths and teachings, particularly about sexuality, life, and family. Christians are not merely opposed but also threatened not to express or teach their religious views. Many activists, academics, and elected officials try to ban Christians from expressing and teaching their religious truths. They want Christian views outlawed. In other words, they want to criminalize Christian ideas. Either in public or private, expressing, teaching or advising Christian truths may well become a criminal act soon.
The Church presents her teaching as divinely revealed truths, not arbitrary or artificial opinions or agreements among men. And she teaches the Christian truth is objective and transcending times and cultures. However, the Church does not force her teachings. She does not even persuade people on her teachings. Instead, she explains and teaches.
Two thousand years ago, a council of the Jews made a prudential decision about Christians. They let the truth speak for itself. God’s truth proves itself. As Gamaliel, a renowned Pharisee, warns, it is foolish to fight against God’s truth.
The apostles continued to proclaim Jesus. They did not because the Jews permitted them but because Jesus mandated them to do so. As St Peter expressed, they chose to obey God rather than human authority. Christians in the 21st century may well have an honour to testify to Jesus and his teachings by losing their livelihood. That hour may come much sooner than we imagine. Then, once again and as always, the Holy Spirit will reveal his presence in many blessed ones in our times.
John the Baptist gives us a simple reminder today, which is fundamental to the Christian faith. It is this: what Jesus speaks, teaches, and acts are heavenly revelation. That is, what we read in the Bible is the divine revelation. And what the apostles and disciples of Jesus received from Jesus is divine guidance and teaching.
Does this surprise you? It should not. However, so many biblical scholars treat the Bible as human literature or cultural heritage. And many Christians look for answers to their life not in the Bible nor in the deposit of faith in the Church. Instead, they try all kinds of novel substitutes. They think the Bible is not good enough. They believe the Church cannot provide a guide to modern life. But do they realize they are practically saying Christ is not good enough for them?
What Jesus speaks in the gospels, what the Bible teaches and what the disciples of Jesus received from him are the word and guidance from heaven. That is why we continually study the Bible. That is why we still follow the teachings the apostles received from Jesus. Beyond time and culture, what Jesus speaks and teaches is perennially valid and effective in our life. It is because his words are from eternity.
Therefore, Christ’s revelation is not an option. And St John the Baptist concludes, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.”
“Those who believe in him are not condemned,” Jesus says in today’s gospel of John. Immediately after this statement, Jesus continues, “but those who do not believe are condemned already.” These two statements need qualification.
First, what does it mean to believe in the Son of God? Satan recognizes Him, although he hates Him. To believe in the Son of God is much more than to recognize Jesus as the Son of God. As Jesus explains in the same passage, those who believe in the Son do things in God and in his light. In other words, those who believe in Christ keep the commandments of God and stay in the state of grace.
Second, when Jesus says the believers are not condemned, does he mean they have already been saved? The Church has been teaching otherwise. Indeed, those, who do the will of God and stay in the sanctifying grace, are not condemned at the moment. But that does not mean their salvation is guaranteed.
Third, those Jesus calls “condemned already” are not necessarily deprived of any hope, either. Those who choose to remain in sins choose condemnation for themselves. However, when they turn away from sins and ask for God’s forgiveness, they may hope for salvation.
Now, some people may presume that they can ask for salvation at any time since God is merciful. They think, ‘I can enjoy a sinful life as much as I want for now. Later, I will say to God, ‘I am sorry,’ and He will forgive me. Then, I will enter heaven.’ This plan might work if God could not see and hear the human heart. But He knows our hearts. If someone harbours this intention, does he have any love for God? Is not this intention diametrically opposing the love of God? Is not it blasphemy against God’s love?
In our times, Christians tend to be overconfident of salvation. The presumption of God’s mercy deprives Christians of true conversion from sins. I do not want to stir up anxiety about one’s salvation. However, I would rather become anxious about my salvation than fall into a false sense of security. I trust in Jesus and his mercy. But I do not trust my human heart, which too often betrays me.
Regarding today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, some commentators point that the first Christian community members shared their properties because they thought the end of the world was coming soon. That is why they sold and entrusted their properties to the apostles, those commentators suppose. Similar behaviours are shown among modern-day religious groups that believe in the imminent end of the world. Followers sell everything and give it to their community while they stay together in a commune.
If this speculation were correct, the first Christians would have lived a life of illusion. For the last two thousand years, Christians did not see the second coming of Christ. It seems that following generations of Christians realized the end of the world was not coming soon and started building cathedrals and basilicas that would last hundreds of years. And it seems that Christians no longer practiced communal ownership of properties but turned into private ownership and accumulation of personal wealth.
However, I do not think the presupposition about the end time led the first Christians to sharing properties. The Acts of the Apostles, in fact, tells us why they were willing to share. “The whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul,” it says. The first Christians were in complete union by the Holy Spirit. When Christians live by the Holy Spirit, they recognize Christians as families in Christ. Since the Holy Spirit is love, it was natural for them to share everything as an expression of love. Moreover, when the Holy Spirit dwells in Christians, they no longer worship money and wealth. Instead, they can utilize them to promote the gospel and give thanks and glory to the Lord. That is how the first Christians were happy to share everything.
When the Christian faith was no longer under persecution, Christians expressed the faith outwardly. They did not spare and save when they built the house of the Lord. That is why we inherited awe-inspiring basilicas and cathedrals from our ancestors of the faith. Whether poor or rich, common or noble, everyone was equally God’s child and shared the most advanced parts of culture inside those churches.
When Christians no longer live by the Holy Spirit, their society suffers polarization of wealth. They forget the joy of sharing. Instead, everyone is unhappy because everyone wants more and feels wanting. People live a life of mortgages for bigger and nicer houses. But they cannot spend much time in their homes with families because everyone must work for more money. As homes are getting empty, so are churches. Empty church pews are a sign of our times. It is a sign that many Christians are not with the Holy Spirit. Christians do not share. Maybe some money, but not much of their time. The first Christians’ sharing was not an economic system. It was sharing their life.
I pray that we may live once again by the Holy Spirit. Then, no one will be in need, but everyone will be fulfilled.
During Eastertide, we read the Acts of the Apostles at weekday Masses. The title of the book might be misleading. The book is, in fact, about the Holy Spirit. The Acts of the Apostles describes how the Holy Spirit works through the apostles and disciples of Christ. If it were the biographic stories of the apostles, we would be left dissatisfied. Because the author, St Luke, does not tell us where all the apostles went to preach or how the apostles were martyred. He does not even tell us about the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul. Instead, he reveals to us how the Holy Spirit gives power to the apostles to become like their Master and to nourish and expand Christ’s church. You may call the four gospels are the books of Jesus. Then, the Acts is the book of the Holy Spirit.
In today’s gospel, the apostles pray for boldness or conviction, with which they may act in the name of Jesus. Before Pentecost, they used to hide for fear of the Jews. When they received the Holy Spirit, they finally went out and started testifying Jesus and caused many signs. At home or work, many Christians find it challenging to testify their faith before others. We do not feel it just challenging but risky, dangerous, or even threatening our relationships and jobs. Are there ways to workaround? Are there any shrewd ways to bring the Good News but not risk any of our security? Maybe. If any, it will not be the way of the Holy Spirit, though. Jesus and his apostles risked all to preach the gospel. It was possible only with the Holy Spirit. It is necessary to pray to the Holy Spirit if we wish to witness our faith. It should be a prayer of self-abandonment to the Holy Spirit. Only then, we shall speak with boldness and conviction.
When Jesus came in and stood among the disciples on the evening of his resurrection, probably not all of them immediately felt joyful. Why did they gather at the house? And why did they lock all the doors? They were fearful of the Jews who had executed their teacher. They likely gathered to discuss how to survive. The gathering was hardly for preparation of the resurrection of their master. All the four gospels report about the unbelief of the disciples even after they received the news of the resurrection from the women.
In the meantime, I suppose, the hearts of the disciples felt heavy and guilty for all had deserted their master at the garden of Olive and ran away for life. One of them even outwardly denied Jesus before people for fear of life. I believe the other disciples felt more or less the same as the one who had denied their master. They probably felt deep remorse and guilt about having abandoned their teacher.
Thus, the live fear of life and remorse and guilt confused and oppressed them. Perhaps the presence and companionship of each other that night would lessen their anxiety and guilt a little bit.
Then, we can imagine how much startled the disciples were when Christ came in and stood among them. And their guilt probably pierced their hearts at the sight of their abandoned master.
However, Jesus did not throw any sharp words. Instead, he first said, “Peace be with you.” Indeed, Jesus knew their hearts. That peace was what they needed. But they could not find it anywhere else. It must have come from their Lord because that peace was the fruit of the forgiveness of their sin – namely having abandoned and denied their Lord. Now, by showing his hands and his side, Jesus assured them that a real and true person was forgiving them. The forgiveness they received from the risen Jesus was not a spiritual vision. A risen Jesus spoke the forgiveness with his voice. That peace was the absolution and healing of their sin and guilt.
The message of the resurrection was the forgiveness of sins and the peace that comes from it. The first thing the risen Christ granted to his disciples was his mercy. Christ Jesus declares it in this way: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” God the Father sent him to give the peace of forgiveness.
But then, can we forgive others now so easily? Christ told his disciple to receive the Holy Spirit. Why? I believe because we cannot forgive others without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Mercy is essentially not human but divine. It is beyond human reason and justice.
We celebrate the Divine Mercy Sunday. Indeed, mercy comes from the Lord. Is our society full of mercy in our generation? I do not think so. Under the names of justice and rights, it proudly exercises mercilessness. It is no surprise since our society has become farther and farther away from God. We walk away from the source of mercy and forgiveness. That is why we do not enjoy true peace.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to come. And let us receive Him. As the risen Christ wishes, I pray that I may receive his mercy and enjoy his peace so that I may also share that peace through forgiving others.
The culture of individualism affects religion. People tend to think religion is a personal, private, and individual choice. Religious practices become more and more individual instead of communal. We can hardly see any communal religious expressions such as processions or religious festivals. Spiritual life also emphasizes more individualistic and personal experiences.
However, religion is never meant to remain in a personal territory. If religion were essentially personal and private, it should have a different name. Religion is essentially communal and public because religious faith is shared, expressed, nourished among people in the community. Although religious faith cannot be measured by dimension or expressed with quantities, it is never subjective. On the opposite, from the time of old, people have presented religious faith as objective truth. It is only in our times that humanity hears ‘my faith’. It has always been ‘our faith’. Faith not shared or communally examined is but a wish.
The resurrection faith of Christianity is also not a personal or private conviction. The risen Christ appeared to his disciples when they gathered. As a community, the disciples witnessed and shared the resurrection reality. The resurrection of Christ was not proven in the courts of the Roman Empire. In this sense, the resurrection faith was not public. Or we should say the resurrection of Jesus was not verifiable with material methods. It was a fact and reality but not a materialistic object. It was spiritual and heavenly. And the community of the disciples observed it and shared among themselves and proclaimed outside.
This pandemic seems to drive our faith into our personal and private space. Although cold winter weathers keep nature frozen for a while, nature does not die. It gathers its power during the winter while waiting for the spring. Under the pandemic, our faith gathers its strength inside. We cannot simply turn our faith into individual practice. Like the undercurrent beneath the frozen river, let our faith flow and connect in our faith communities. No disease, no shutdown can take away our faith because our faith is spiritual but also assured by the divine reality. The risen Christ is with us!
The Latin word for the Church is Ecclesia. And this word ecclesia has the meaning of ‘gathering of the summoned’. As well shown in her name, one essence of the Church is the gathering of the faithful. It is well demonstrated in the book of Exodus. God called the people of Israel out of Egypt to worship himself. This being called out and gathering as a people prefigures the Church, the Ecclesia. But the pandemic has been preventing the faithful from gathering. And, as a result, it has been oppressing the essential element of the Christian faith.
Against this new unfavourable situation, Christians have tried different ways to substitute for the gathering. But have we been successful?
Today’s gospel tells us an episode of the disciples’ meeting with Jesus after his resurrection. The disciples went fishing. Some of them were fishermen for livelihood. But they did not catch even one little fish for themselves that night. Their nets were empty every time they threw them. Only when the risen Jesus came to them directing where to throw their nets, they finally caught fish, more than they could handle! That was not the end of the story. When the disciples arrived at the shore, Jesus already prepared a meal for them. And he fed everyone just as he had miraculously fed thousands of people with bread and fish.
At our parish, after Masses, the faithful can receive the Communion. Still, our Lord feeds us when we gather although we cannot enter our parish church building. Do we receive the Communion only? No. I am sure our Lord Jesus fills our nets, too. When we gather, he still allows us to enjoy more grace than we can handle. When we gather in his name, we are no longer individuals. We are his Mystical Body.
It seems almost natural for man to believe in an afterlife. And no one is offended when they hear heaven. I have never seen people arguing about heaven. People use their imagination for heaven. And they fill their heaven with good things. Everyone is happy there. No one is against happy heaven. It seems easy and comforting to believe in heaven.
On the other hand, it is not easy to believe in the resurrection of the body. Too many questions arise about the reality of the resurrection. Instead of asking or answering, the gospels make sure that the resurrection of the body is real. And Jesus Christ proves with his resurrection of the body. The gospels honestly admit that some disciples had difficulty accepting and understanding it. But their struggling makes it clearer that Jesus was demonstrating the reality of the bodily resurrection, not a spiritual vision or apparition. Jesus showed he had defeated death and we can be like him after our deaths. Jesus did not rise from death in heaven. He rose from death into this world. By his resurrection to earth, our world is no longer under the total dominion of death. The risen Jesus was in our world. This world now received a new meaning because a risen person from death can dwell in it. It is now under the dominion of the Risen One from death. The disciples realized death did not rule over them anymore. Jesus liberated them from death although they must undergo death. The disciples were no longer afraid of death. When they saw the risen Jesus, they recognized eternal life is real.
Heaven feels far from here in terms of both time and space. But the resurrection of the body changes our reality on earth. Death does not scare us anymore. Jesus teaches us that we can start our heavenly life already here on earth for we have seen our goal and purpose in his resurrection.
It is always beneficial to read and study the Bible. But it is prudent to know our purpose of reading it before we begin. The answer is in the Bible. As Jesus speaks to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, he teaches us the whole Scripture is about himself. In other words, the primary purpose of the Bible is to reveal who Christ is. However, even many scripture scholars forget this truth. Many of them dissected the Bible into groups of ancient literary genres. They claimed that they demystified the Bible and provided it with cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Indeed, the knowledge of ancient cultures and languages helps us read the Bible as if we were in the biblical scenes. But their demystifying efforts confused Christians and even themselves about the authorship of the Bible. Many Christians educated of biblical studies no longer consider the Bible as divine revelation but as an anthology of ancient legends.
Following the teaching of Christ, the Church has been teaching that the Bible is a work of the Holy Spirit as the ultimate author who inspired different contributors and editors. All the writings and traditions of the Bible show how God prepared for man's salvation from creation. Thus, the whole Bible focuses on the Saviour of mankind, namely Christ Jesus.
We read and study the Bible to know Christ. Then, we may listen to his voice and message to us. The Scripture is not a collection of dead stories but the voice of the living Lord. That is why we can read it over and over. The Lord has no limit of his goodness. Whoever humble enough to open his ears may hear his voice and draw the life-giving water from this living book of life.
No one questions if Mary Magdalene loved Jesus. She was one of the most ardent disciples. Jesus liberated her from seven demons and forgave her sins. Through it, she deeply experienced the grace of the Lord. And she dearly loved Jesus.
Nevertheless, she could not recognize the risen Jesus when he was standing before her eyes. We all wonder why. The same thing happened to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. They spent even the whole afternoon with Jesus on the road. How did these things happen?
In both episodes, it was Jesus who opened their eyes. Jesus called the name of Mary. The voice of the Good Shepherd opened the eyes of his sheep. By breaking the bread that is feeding his sheep, Jesus opened the eyes of the two disciples. As St Peter testifies, Jesus did not appear to all people in Jerusalem but chose only his disciples to reveal his resurrection. With these facts, we may say the reality of the resurrection is hidden to ordinary eyes. Only when the Lord chooses to reveal we may witness it.
But I think there would be another reason why Mary Magdalene and the two disciples could not recognize the risen Jesus. On their side, they were still bound to the past experiences before the death of Jesus. And those experiences include not only factual events but also subjective impressions, emotions, desires, ideas and reflections. In a sense, Mary Magdalene was looking for Jesus on earth whom she loved. The two disciples missed Jesus, who had caused great miracles and wondrous healings. But now, the risen Jesus is much more than what they had in their minds.
Our faith must grow and mature. We cannot remain in the faith of a young child. The disciples of Jesus had to move forward by encountering the risen Jesus. The faith we received from the Apostles and first disciples of Jesus is not their faith in Jesus before his Passion. What we received is the faith matured after the Resurrection of the Lord. Eastertide is not the time we go back to our former practices of faith or previous levels of maturity. It is time to grow. Perhaps that’s why Eastertide coincides with springtide when everything grows.
Let us pray that our risen Lord may also reveal his resurrection to us in this season so that our faith may become complete and our joy fulfilled.
During Lent, the Church encourages Christians to walk with Jesus on his way to Calvary. Probably you have heard words with this intent from your pastors, Lenten books, and church websites. Now, Lent is over. Jesus has risen from death. His tomb is empty. Then, in Eastertide, what do we do?
After Peter and John went in and saw the empty tomb of Jesus, they went to their homes. Did they understand what had happened to the body of Jesus? Did they fully realize the resurrection of the Lord? John, who is the author of the fourth gospel, described himself as having gone home. Although the beloved disciple of Jesus saw the empty tomb and believed, he did not say he had gone home with great joy or fear. He just went home. Does it symbolize they intended to go back to their old way of life as fishermen?
In the meantime, Mary Magdalene and other women disciples were looking for the dead body of Jesus. Of course, they could not find the body. Instead, the risen Jesus came up to them. They were full of fear and great joy at the same time. Then, as Jesus commanded, they ran to bring the news to the disciples and let them know Jesus would meet them in Galilee.
As we can see in the episode of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, when the disciples heard the news from the women disciples, they did not believe the Lord’s resurrection. They had to meet Jesus. Only when Jesus met them in person, they believed and were full of joy.
Now can you see what we need to do this Easter Season? We should look for the risen Jesus. We need to encounter the reality of the resurrection. Or we pray that the risen Jesus comes up to us and reveals himself to us. It is not the time to go back to our homes. It is time to search and meet the risen Jesus. Only then, our faith in the resurrection will start to grow and mature. Let us remember the words of the Lord, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened for you.” It is time for another journey to meet the risen Jesus.
For most Christians, the news of the Lord’s resurrection is no longer some news. Many will not even remember when they heard it for the first time. Nevertheless, I still question myself if I have any faith and understanding of resurrection – both the resurrection of Christ Jesus and the resurrection of the body at Judgment Day.
On the day of the Lord’s resurrection, the disciples of Jesus did not expect the news. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb for she assumed that the dead body of Jesus was still behind the stone cover of his tomb. When Mary Magdalene reported the empty tomb to Peter and the other disciple, they ran to the tomb to check because they did not expect it. If they had been ready for the news, they would have gathered somewhere waiting for Jesus.
Moreover, we are not sure if the two apostles’ faith in resurrection became complete even after they went in and saw the empty tomb. John’s gospel does not tell anything about Peter’s reaction. The other disciple went in, saw, and believed. But we do not know if the other disciple had the complete faith in the resurrection or now believed what Mary Magdalene had reported. Anyway, both went to their homes. Why did they not bring the news of the resurrection to others? If they had finally arrived at the faith and understanding of the resurrection, they would have reacted differently. John’s gospel adds, “as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”
What about Mary Magdalene? Her sorrow must have been too deep. The presence of the two angels did not surprise her at all. When the angels asked her why she was weeping, without hesitation, she answered, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Now, she saw Jesus standing but did not recognize him. Jesus asks the same question, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answers, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” She was looking for Jesus, the Jesus before his death, while the risen Jesus was in front of her.
How did these things happen? The three closest disciples of Jesus all seem to have failed to arrive at the complete faith of the resurrection of Jesus. They must have heard him saying he would rise from the dead in three days.
When Mary Magdalene eventually recognized Jesus, she wanted to hold on to Jesus. And Jesus tells her not to. She thought the Jesus she had known was before her. But Jesus teaches her it is now different. He is not her “Rabbouni” (Teacher) anymore. Now Jesus is her Brother. Now he calls his disciples his brothers. And the Father in heaven is now not only his Father but also their Father.
When Mary Magdalene announced to the disciples, she called Jesus “the Lord”. Her faith grew. Her understanding of the resurrection becomes close to its completion.
I pray that Christ Jesus may reveal his risen life to me one day. Then, rather than going back to my home, I will run and announce the news of his resurrection.
Have you thought about a world without change? Have you imagined a world without decay? If nothing would perish, we would have a completely different reality. But it is not simple and easy even to guess what it would be. Can I speculate on existence beyond change and decay? All I know change and perish. All existence in this universe presupposes change and decay. If life would not change, how could anything grow? Without death, how could the earth accommodate all living things? In this world, change is necessary. Decay nourishes life. And death supports life. As for humans, almost all we do and what we are also presuppose death. Hunger is a sign of starvation. Yawning is a sign of exhaustion. In short, all life phenomena are the fights against death. All economic and political activities are also, ultimately speaking, the struggles against death. In a word, what we need in this life indicates what kind of danger of death exists. Can I ever imagine beyond change and decay?
But life without death begins tonight. This inconceivable reality becomes reality tonight. I do not know how this new reality works. But it is here now. This resurrection completely breaks off all old realities. This life that has defeated death shatters our ideas and concepts of all existences. Tonight, we witness a whole new reality of existence. I become speechless before the resurrection of Christ. Lord, what do I do now then? Lord, give me your word. Amen.
It was not one man who decided, planned, arrested, tried, judged, sentenced, and executed Jesus on the crucifix. As we hear the Passion narrative, we realize many people involved themselves in condemning and executing Jesus. But we also notice many people denied or ignored Jesus or simply watched him on the way to Calvary. It was not one man’s sin that crucified Christ but many men’s sins. Can I say I am free from the guilt of crucifying Jesus for I was not there? If I had nothing to do with the crucifixion of Christ, I would not be forgiven of my sins from his sacrifice, either.
We are under the culture of death. Who created this? It was not one man’s idea, plan, or decision that generated this toxic environment. Some might want to deny this reality. But millions of unborn babies are murdered every year. Thousands of vulnerable people’s lives are terminated in euthanasia. All these killings are committed with excuses and justifications with the help and support of our laws. Remind yourself that Jesus was also executed on the crucifix through a legitimate process as the gospels show. As many people contributed to the killing of Jesus on the cross, many of us in our generation contribute to the murders of innocent lives.
Am I free from the guilt of the culture of death? Our elected officials with our tax money legalized this culture of death. Many of us are not Judas, Jewish leaders, or those soldiers who nailed Christ. However, I find myself in Peter and Pilate. It is unbelievable that God’s chosen race of Israel murdered God’s only begotten Son. Much the same here we are. It is inconceivable that Christ’s chosen flock of Christian countries spearheaded in creating the culture of death.
Let us be courageous to be like Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who dared to bring down the body of Christ and placed him in the tomb. Had there not been these courageous men, how could Mary Magdalene have heard the news of Christ’s resurrection at his tomb? Christ was patient and merciful to accept the tomb that sinners provided with when they gathered courage.
Christ bore all our sins. We all condemned him to death. But only when we admit our sins, his death may lift our sins away.
The Passover of Christ demonstrates the priesthood of Jesus Christ. The priests of the Old Covenant offered sacrifices of animals. But Christ Jesus offered himself. He becomes the victim and the priest at the same time. The priests of the Old Covenant could not remove sins with their power. They could only beseech God for his mercy. On the other hand, Christ forgives sins because he is both God and the perfect victim of sacrifice. This duality of Christ’s priesthood is fundamentally distinctive to the mediatorship of the priesthood of the Old Testament. In other words, the priests of the Old Covenant only asked for forgiveness through animal sacrifices to God. In contrast, Christ’s priesthood forgives sins and offers his flesh and blood to his people through self-sacrifice. The power of forgiving and feeding is at the centre of Christ’s priesthood.
At the Last Supper in John’s gospel, Jesus washes the apostles’ feet. Some might see it only as an example of service and humility. Then, it is hard to understand why Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” There must have been something more than an example of service and humility. What is the ‘share’ that comes from the washing? When Jesus washed the feet of the apostles, he implemented certain conformity to his priesthood. And he symbolized this conformity by the act of washing. That is, Jesus ordained the apostles as his priests granting the power of washing away sins.
But the power of forgiving sins in Christ’s priesthood is not simple and easy. The priest must accept extreme humiliations. Jesus demonstrated it by the self-humiliation of washing the apostles’ feet. And he accomplished the priesthood at the sacrifice on the cross. Thus, the priests of Christ must live the life of humility and self-sacrifice. Only then, he can truly exercise the power of forgiving sins.
Also, the priest’s self-sacrifice is declared when he celebrates the Eucharist. As the priest consecrates the Eucharistic species in person of Christ, he, being united with Christ, gives his life to his flock to feed them. Christ’s priests are not merely functionaries or instruments but the re-presentation of Christ. They feed Christ’s flock by self-immolation.
The Passover of Christ instituted the priesthood of the New Covenant. As Christ forgave sins by shedding his blood, the priests of the New Covenant are now called to forgive sins by their life of humility and self-sacrifice.
Mary did not save three hundred denarii for anointing Jesus. She spent her life savings within a few minutes only in anointing Jesus. The three hundred denarii were at least a year’s income. In contrast, Judas sold Jesus only at thirty shekels of silver. Judas traded the Son of God with a value of around three hundred dollars. It is no wonder why Judas complained and criticized when he saw Mary poured the expensive perfume to anoint Jesus.
In many places in the gospel, Jesus warns us of the love of money. Not only Jesus but also the whole Bible admonishes us the danger of money and wealth. The Psalmist says, “for all their riches mortals do not abide; they perish like the beasts.” Again, he says, “For their riches, if mortals do not have wisdom, they perish like the beasts.” Jesus severely criticized the Pharisees because they loved money. St James says, “the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.”
When the tax collectors challenged Peter if Jesus would pay the temple tax, Jesus told Peter to go fishing and find a shekel from the mouth of the first fish he would catch. Jesus asked him to use the money for Peter and himself to pay the tax. Jesus used money as he needed, but he did not gather it. Jesus told his apostles not to carry money when he sent them out to proclaim the Good News and heal the sick. Instead, he told them to depend on the provision from the people.
The Church needs money to operate. However, it is not money that operates the Church. Unfortunately, many church leaders depend so much on the money. But they still want more money for security. We always live with the danger of falling into the idolatry of money. Love of money can stop the voice of Christ at our ears. Love of wealth can make the body and blood of Christ useless in nourishing our souls. Judas heard Jesus and ate at the Last Supper but still threw himself into total despair and killed himself. It was because of only thirty pieces of silver.
Many Christian homes find artwork of the Last Supper in their dining rooms. When you look at them, how do you find the atmosphere of the Last Supper? Peaceful? Calm? Joyful? Loving?
Perhaps opposite to our impression, Jesus felt troubled in spirit as St John wrote in his gospel. Because Jesus knew one of his apostles, whose feet he himself washed and whom he himself fed with his own flesh and blood, would betray him.
The night of the institution of the Eucharist was holy. However, at the very place, Satan and his instrument of evil were also present. Jesus was pouring out his love for his apostles that night and offering his flesh and blood in the forms of bread and wine. However, one of those who received the greatest grace and blessing became hardened of his heart to hand the Son of Man over to the enemies. On the surface, it was peaceful. But we cannot ignore the undercurrent of the intense suspense. While the Son of God offers himself with love, Satan devours one of the apostles and turns him into his instrument. Judas witnessed and encountered the life-giving bread and water. However, he chose to enter the darkness of evil.
Many Catholics approach the presence of the Lord and receive the body and blood of Christ with hardened hearts. Many saints warn us of its consequences. In a word, it is a blasphemy against Christ but also a judgment upon oneself.
When Jesus declared the betrayal, Judas still had time to confess. But he did not listen. He became ever more hardened in his heart. Jesus patiently offers us opportunities for repentance and conversion. It is up to our choice to break our hardened hearts or to enter the darkness of sin.
When it comes to offering to God, human reason wants to show how useless it is to offer anything to God. And the reason may insist on why we should not offer anything to God. Indeed, God does not lack anything. He has all. Moreover, whatever material offering would not be useful to God because he is spiritual. The reason will tell us not to waste time in prayer and thanksgiving. God knows what we want and need before we ask. It is God’s job to give us good things! Instead, we should help each other in need, the reason will teach us.
When the spirit of love does not guide human reason, human reason becomes a blind guide. And this blind guide leads us away from God. Judas certainly knew how to reason. But he did not have the spirit of love. That is why he could not understand Mary’s act of offering. For Judas, Mary’s anointing Jesus with expensive perfume was nothing but a wasteful act of stupidity.
Without the guidance of the spirit of love that comes from the Lord, we cannot go to Him or remain in Him. Without the true love of the Lord, the Church would become a social welfare institution. But without the true love for the Lord, the Church would not even remain as a charity organization. Once we forgot the Lord, the charity would become a means of building a higher ego and exercising one’s power.
The spirit of love teaches how to be wasteful for the Lord. It shows how to empty our selfish egos. It guides how to pour out our souls for others. Those in love waste. They waste time, energy, and money. But only through wasting, we love. Mary wasted her life savings when she emptied the jar of perfume for the love of Christ. But remember. Now Christ filled her soul.
The four gospels in the New Testament often share similar stories. The first three – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – share many episodes in common. It is also true for the Passion narrative - the preparation for the Passover, the prediction of Judas’ betrayal, the Institution of the Eucharist, the prediction of Peter’s denial, Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, and the arrest of Jesus.
The shortest gospel, Mark, however, reports something during the arrest of Jesus that you cannot find in any other gospel. It is about the mysterious, anonymous young man in a linen cloth. When the Jews captured Jesus, all his disciples deserted him and fled. However, after this, this mysterious young man followed Jesus. Who was it? Who told St Mark about the young man? The witness must have seen him because he gives a specific description of him. The young man wore nothing but a linen cloth. Does it not sound strange? It was still chilly at night around the Passover, but the young man did not wear anything but a single-layer of linen. But how did the witness know how many layers of clothes he wore? Because the witness saw him also captured but slipping away from his captors, leaving his linen cloth and running naked. Well, it sounds even stranger now. Why did the young man follow Jesus without much clothing that night? Where did this young man come from? How did he know where Jesus and his disciples were?
We can ask more questions. But my question is why St Mark kept the story in his gospel? It is not related to any other episode. Even Jesus seemed to know nothing about this young man. But why did St Mark have to add this episode to his short gospel? What does the Holy Spirit want to teach us here?
No one knows why the young man followed Jesus at his arrest. But the young man knew where Jesus and his disciples were that night. He was around Gethsemane garden. He came out to follow Jesus but did not clothe himself enough. Linen cloth in ancient times was expensive. He must have had many more clothes at home, but on that night of Jesus’ arrest, did not wear warm enough to spend the cold night with Jesus. And when the Jews also seized him because he was following Jesus, he left his only clothing and ran away naked. He wanted to follow Jesus but was scared enough to run naked.
Many people, many Christians want to follow Jesus. But we do not realize how cold it is outside. And we forget how risky and challenging it is to follow Jesus. However, many of us only pick up a single-layer linen cloth. We are well-to-do. The Christian library of knowledge of faith is extensive and still expanding. The saints of the Church teach us virtues through their examples. However, we often think that one layer of the baptismal gown should be enough to follow Jesus in his Passion.
Brothers and sisters! Now is a dark, cold night. Our captors are lurking around to seize us. Without preparation, we cannot follow the Way of the Cross with Christ. Let us exam what we have put on ourselves now. Do I wear layers of knowledge of faith that keep me warm in the cold night of skepticism and relativism? Do I wear good shoes of patience that can persevere much suffering? Do I wear a coat of chastity that can stop all the temptations of the flesh? However nice it is, a linen cloth of the baptismal dress is never warm enough.
“It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.”
Although they are not the chosen race, many people of the world threaten Christians with the words with which the Jews blamed Jesus. They accept many benefits from Christian services to society – education, medical services, services for the homeless, orphans, pregnant women, victims of human trafficking, etc. However, when Christians proclaim the Good News and teach faith and morals, the world accuses Christians of infringing upon human freedom, thus, human dignity as an autonomous being. People do not want any higher authority to guide or teach them. They want their desires and satisfactions to be their gods. Thus, when they hear the Good News and teachings of the Church, they feel that their gods are insulted.
I believe the time is coming that the world starts oppressing Christians in visible ways. It seems the arrogance of secularism has crossed the point of no return. And it is lamentable that many Christians take part in oppressing Christ and his faithful – particularly in life and family issues.
Faithful Christians should prepare. And we need to pray for the conversion of our society. Our power and work will not change much. Only the Lord can. And, then, the world will know who is the true God.
“It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.”
Although they are not the chosen race, many people of the world threaten Christians with the words with which the Jews blamed Jesus. They accept many benefits from Christian services to society – education, medical services, services for the homeless, orphans, pregnant women, victims of human trafficking, etc. However, when Christians proclaim the Good News and teach faith and morals, the world accuses Christians of infringing upon human freedom, thus, human dignity as an autonomous being. People do not want any higher authority to guide or teach them. They want their desires and satisfactions to be their gods. Thus, when they hear the Good News and teachings of the Church, they feel that their gods are insulted.
I believe the time is coming that the world starts oppressing Christians in visible ways. It seems the arrogance of secularism has crossed the point of no return. And it is lamentable that many Christians take part in oppressing Christ and his faithful – particularly in life and family issues.
Faithful Christians should prepare. And we need to pray for the conversion of our society. Our power and work will not change much. Only the Lord can. And, then, the world will know who is the true God.“It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.”
Although they are not the chosen race, many people of the world threaten Christians with the words with which the Jews blamed Jesus. They accept many benefits from Christian services to society – education, medical services, services for the homeless, orphans, pregnant women, victims of human trafficking, etc. However, when Christians proclaim the Good News and teach faith and morals, the world accuses Christians of infringing upon human freedom, thus, human dignity as an autonomous being. People do not want any higher authority to guide or teach them. They want their desires and satisfactions to be their gods. Thus, when they hear the Good News and teachings of the Church, they feel that their gods are insulted.
I believe the time is coming that the world starts oppressing Christians in visible ways. It seems the arrogance of secularism has crossed the point of no return. And it is lamentable that many Christians take part in oppressing Christ and his faithful – particularly in life and family issues.
Faithful Christians should prepare. And we need to pray for the conversion of our society. Our power and work will not change much. Only the Lord can. And, then, the world will know who is the true God.
“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
It was not a rhetorical question. The Blessed Virgin Mary did not doubt the power of God. She was sincerely asking what would happen to her. In the meantime, looking at her humble conditions, she probably questioned herself how she could carry out the unfathomable God’s plan of salvation. She was not a princess of a powerful kingdom or an heiress of vast riches. She could not even imagine what or how the plan of salvation was going to unfold.
“Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary did not receive much detail of God’s plan. All she heard was she would bear a Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. The archangel’s explanation was too simple: “For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Mary did not answer because she was informed enough about God’s plan or a plan for her. She had to take a leap of faith. She threw herself in the hand of God without knowing what would happen to her.
You might think you are not called to be a saint. Perhaps sainthood sounds too holy for you. You might believe that it is impossible to be saints in our times. Our environments are too unholy, and we feel we are powerless against injustice and chaos around us. However, have you realized that we cannot go to heaven first without being saints?
God asks every Christian to receive Jesus in his heart and life. We do not know how God will unfold His plan in our lives. But without our consent, even God cannot work for our salvation. God is asking for our leap of faith. Only when I give myself to God, Jesus can come into my heart and start growing and changing my life. Can I throw myself in his hands? The Annunciation must occur to every Christian.
We all know, by experience, that ignorance and confusion bring about regrettable results and consequences. It is why we often say to ourselves, “If I had known, I would have not done it.” Regarding moral decisions, ignorance and confusion perpetuate sinful actions and behaviours. If you have a vice or a bad habit, you still hold on to it because you do not know or believe its harmful effects. For example, in our generation, so many individuals and societies are confused about human sexuality because they are not sure of the truth of human sexuality. Therefore, they do not see the future consequences of its confusion. As long as they do not accept the truth of human sexuality, they will repeat sinful decisions and remain in sinful situations.
Although human psychology, culture, and customs play significant roles in moral decision-making, knowing the truth is still most critical. For example, if a person profoundly recognizes the horror of hell, he will not easily give in sinful temptations. Lots of people commit sins because they believe they should be still fine. I wish at least I were always alert of horrific punishments in hell! Then, I would not dare to be around any sinful occasions!
Jesus tells us, if we remain in his word, we will know the truth. That is, we should practice his word to know the truth. To know the truth is not limited to obtaining knowledge. It includes experiencing how good the truth is when we exercise our knowledge. Moral truth is to experience so that it may give joy to our hearts. Practicing the truth builds virtues and grows more power to exercise the truth. Moreover, practicing the truth keeps away from sins. It is how the truth sets us free. In other words, the truth makes us liberated from slavery to sin because the truth builds the power to break the chains of sins.
Then, the practice of the word of Jesus is the key to the liberation from sin and the freedom to enjoy the fruit of virtues.
From ancient times and in all cultures, death has been a critical theme of philosophies and religions. Why did people of old have to reflect on death so much? It is because they felt death so near to them. About a century ago, Canada’s infant mortality rate was well over 10%, at least 13%. Some cities in the US had an infant mortality rate close to 30% around the same era. Imagine one out of ten children dies before reaching one year old. For families with more than five children were very common before the 1950s, the infant mortality rates of over 10% mean that people saw infant death almost in every other family in Canada. Not only infant mortalities were high in previous generations. Due to many epidemics, frequent famines, wars and unhealthy labour environments, death was always around people.
Probably you have heard the phrase, ‘memento mori’. It translates, ‘Remember that you die.’ This famous Latin expression reminds us that we are mere mortals. We all die. Death is inevitable. Not only the inevitability of death, but this phrase also reminds us of the proximity of death. Death might sound so distant to young people. But death is so near to us. We may die at any time. Just about a year ago, more than 2.7 million people in the world did not have any idea that they would die from COVID-19. Until then, the virus was not yet even identified. But within a year, more than a half-million Americans and over 22,000 Canadians lost their lives.
The inevitability and proximity of death made people wise. In the words, life should not be taken for granted. From the time of old, great teachers of humanity emphasized how to live life meaningfully and spend our life on important values.
Today, however, we hear Jesus tell us to hate our life. ‘Memento mori’ implies the irresistible power of death. We are helpless before the invincible power of death. But Jesus teaches how to defeat the power of death. He gives the parable of the grain of wheat. The death of grain brings fruit. Then, is Jesus promoting death? No. What he promotes is the life that can defeat death. That life is a life of sacrifice. And Jesus chooses that life of sacrifice by accepting his crucifixion.
Even if we try to maximize the meaning of life by enjoying every moment to our hearts’ content, we cannot but feel helpless before the grim facts of the inevitability and proximity of death. Even if you become one of the richest, most famous, and most influential people in the world, you can bring not even a cent with your death. And you do not know where you are going or even whether you will exist after death.
The life of sacrifice Jesus teaches becomes meaningful only with the knowledge of the afterlife. We cannot derive this knowledge from any human experiences or theories because all we have are from the living. No dead people can teach us. Only the one who oversees life and death can reveal that knowledge. And it is Christ Jesus, the Son of God, the Revelation of God.
The four gospels have their distinct focuses. Matthew’s gospel gives many teachings of Jesus through his own words. In contrast, Mark’s gospel shows more what Jesus did through his actions. Meanwhile, Luke’s gospel seems to give us a comprehensive account of the life of Jesus. These three gospels share many same stories and teachings of Jesus. These three gospels can be called more biographical. But John’s gospel dives right into the question of who Jesus is without the infancy narrative. It is more theological and thematic.
Beginning from the first chapter, we find different titles of Jesus: The Word, the Light, the Life, the Only Begotten Son, the Lamb of God, the Messiah (or Christ), Rabbi, The Prophet, the Bread from heaven, and the Holy One of God. You may find more.
All these titles came from the encounters with Jesus. None of them came from a study of theology. They are from either the mouth of Jesus himself or first-hand witnesses and disciples of Jesus. Jesus demonstrated his titles through the miraculous signs and wonders such as turning water into wine at the Wedding at Cana and miraculously feeding the five thousand. And the witnesses and disciples discovered who Jesus was in their life situations and through his public ministry. The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well shows how her recognition and understanding develop – Jesus was just a Jew at the beginning, but, at the end of the story, she realized he is the Messiah. And this Messiah is not a distant or ignoring deity but a person who knows my life and my heart. He exactly knew how many husbands and men she had gone through!
The fact that those titles of Jesus were from firsthand human experiences and encounters suggests that we should act on these titles of Jesus. In other words, these titles are alive in our lives, and we can also discover and experience them. Then, it also means unless we exercise our faith in daily life, we will not see Jesus. When I am in the darkness of life, I must invite him as light and act on his guidance. Only then I see his light. If he is the true light, he will enlighten our minds and hearts. And he does! When I famish in my spiritual life, I should go to him as the Bread of Life. I must act on the Eucharistic faith. If he is true Bread, he will nourish us. And he does!
Probably you heard many titles of Jesus. But do you act on them? The titles of Jesus are not for calling him. Instead, they direct us on how to invite and find him in our life situations.
The reason Blessed Virgin Mary is the greatest among all creation is that she is in so close a union with Christ Jesus. She carried Christ in her womb for ten months before his birth. And she was with him until his crucifixion and burial. From the moment of the Annunciation to the burial of the Lord, probably over thirty years, the Blessed Virgin was in union with her son during the time of his life on earth. And as she passed, Christ did not let her body decay. He lifted her body and soul into heaven. Thus, once again, our Lady is in union with Christ.
But so often and so long, Christians have not recognized another person who had also spent so many years with Christ Jesus. It is the foster father, the legal guardian of Christ on earth, St Joseph. He knew the presence of the Son of God from the time He was in the womb of the Blessed Virgin. And St Joseph was the closest protector of the Son of God since then. But he was not a hired guard. Instead, he was the earthly father of Christ. St Jospeh was the teacher and trainer of the Son of God on earth. After the Blessed Virgin, St Joseph had spent the most time with Christ on earth. We often do not keep it in mind that St Joseph is so close to Christ Jesus. Not because of his roles, but because of his relationship to Christ Jesus, St Joseph was in so close a union with Christ. Let us not forget St Joseph is the earthly father of the Son of God!
But his relationship to the Son of God did not end at his departure from the earthly life. St Joseph must continue his relationship with Christ in heaven. It is why we can safely believe that St Joseph is the protector of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, as he was the protector of Christ on earth. As much as our Blessed Virgin is our mother, so much is St Joseph our father.
However, Christians do not go to him for help and protection due to a lack of recognition and knowledge. Much of our knowledge and devotion to the Blessed Virgin came from reflections, meditations, prayers and devotions. Compared to the Blessed Virgin, St Joseph has not received our attention so far. Perhaps it was his destiny. Although St Joseph was always with Jesus and Mary, not a single word from his tongue was written in the New Testament. It feels almost intentional not to have written about the earthly father of the Son of God. But without his protection, care, and sacrifice, Jesus and Mary could not have survived all the threats. Usually, Satan severely attacks a saint with all kinds of temptations and threats. Then, imagine how many snares and threats of Satan against the Son of God St Joseph had to face and fight off to save Him. And St Joseph successfully defended Christ from Satan and his evil plans. Then, we realize how powerful St Joseph is. And we can imagine how close to Christ he is in heaven.
It is time to go to St Joseph and learn about St Joseph. It is time to pray to him for his powerful intercession. Let us ask Jesus to give St Joseph as our foster father, our protector, and our intercessor.
It is natural to feel anger when we see evil people. We wish they pay for the harm they cause and receive just punishments. However, what Moses did was different when God had revealed to him the plan to punish the rebellious and idol-worshipping Israel. Instead of hope for justice and punishments for Israel, Moses pleaded with God for mercy and forgiveness. He beseeched God that Israel might have a chance to turn away from their evil ways.
Whenever our Blessed Mother makes an apparition, she never forgets to ask Catholics to pray for wicked sinners in the world. She always invites us to pray for the conversion of sinners. Why does she not promote the speedy execution of justice and punishments on wicked people? We do not have enough time to pray for our beloved ones and friends. But why should we spend time for the benefit of wicked people?
Moses was a type of Christ. Moses demonstrated what the Messiah would do. Moses interceded for Israel and became a mediator between God and Israel. The mission of Christ was to save sinners. He came to call sinners, not the righteous. Christ is the Mediator who saves the evil people through their conversion.
The Blessed Virgin was a model of the Church. As the Church shares the mission of Christ, the Blessed Virgin also shares Christ’s mission. And she wants to save sinners and encourages us to pray for the conversion of sinners.
Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray and do penance and mortification for the conversion of sinners. It may be counter-intuition. But that is all Catholics' duty – to pray for sinner so that they may have a conversion, receive salvation, and join eternal happiness.
Jesus exercises his divine power in two critical roles as the Creator. The first is to give life and raise the dead. The other is to judge the living and the dead. As we read in today’s gospel from John 5, it was Jesus who announced his divine sonship through these roles. His claim was clear enough that the Jews started persecuting Jesus for blasphemy. For the Jews, Jesus was only human. But he made himself equal to God.
Indeed, if a human person poses as the life-giver and the ultimate judge of all, he blasphemes God. The person usurps the prerogatives of the Son of God. He makes himself a god.
We witness this blasphemy filling our world more than ever. Scientists, activists and policymakers determine life and death. They define the moment of human life’s beginning. But they are not the only ones who take the place of God. Many men and women attempt to play God by contraception and abortion. Catholics are not an exception here. US surveys reveal 98% of Catholic women use contraceptives. And as we all saw in the recent legal development of medically assisted suicide in Canada, mankind now tries to expand its role as the life-giver and life-taker at any stage of human life.
In the meanwhile, more and more people are politically and culturally polarized in recent years. People judge one another as liberals and conservatives. This dichotomy is no longer for constructive competition or pursuing the common good for all. As the Son of God will divide the lambs from the goats on the judgement day, people already condemn one another by dividing, separating, and branding. And people demonize others who have different ideas from theirs. On the surface, everyone claims they are inclusive. But exclusion runs deep in many people’s hearts. It happens in almost all sectors of society, and the Church is not an exception. When people judge and condemn others, they are also replacing God by themselves. It is another form of blasphemy.
Are we respecting Christ Jesus as the Son of God? Then, we must also respect his divine rights as the Creator of life and the final Judge of the living and the dead.
The man Jesus healed at the pool of Beth-zatha by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem had been sick for 38 years. It is the same number of years the people of Israel had to wander from Kadesh to the threshold of Canaan. Those 38 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert were the consequences of Israel’s unbelief and disobedience. It seems that Jesus had perceived certain sins of the man for he said at the end, “Do not sin anymore.” Those 38 years of suffering might have been the consequence of his sin.
When we have misfortunes such as diseases and accidents, we wonder if they are God’s punishments. I do not think that is how God punishes people. Certainly, God corrects, chastises, and disciplines his beloved ones. Sometimes God strikes even an innocent child with sickness due to the sins of its parents. David’s first child from the wife of Uriah was stricken with illness and died because of David’s murder and adultery.
However, I think most of what we suffer in this life is the consequences of our sins. Sins always bring consequences in this life. Purely spiritual sins do not exist, for sins always manifest their evil fruit in the world. Before blaming God, we should examine whose sins caused our calamities. Most times, I find that my sins result in my unhappiness and unnecessary suffering. God does not find joy in our sufferings. It is why Jesus tells the man whom he has just healed, “Do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you.”
Moreover, very often, our sins also affect people around us, especially our families. Not only sins of commission but also sins of omission bring about unfortunate consequences. Many parents wonder why younger generations are less and less religious. It is because Catholic parents neglect their duty to guard their children against the harmful influence of the mass media and popular culture. Many of us let TV sets raise our children. Then, we cannot expect them to grow into faithful Christians, or chaste husbands and wives, because these are not whom they encounter in TV shows and movies.
In today’s Mass readings, we find images of water. Now, water is the source of life. Without water, no life can sustain itself. And this life-giving water is the Lord. Without him around, we cannot sustain our life without falling into sins. The only way to maintain life is to stay close to water. Not to sin, we need to learn to stay close to Jesus. And it is also how we can avoid the unhappiness and misfortunes of life.
In today’s gospel, Jesus heals a royal official’s son – not by visiting but by only a few words. This official was likely to be a Gentile, not a Jew. But he travelled about 50 km from Capernaum to Cana to invite Jesus to his place in Capernaum. He could have sent his servants, but he took the pain to travel. But when he beseeched Jesus, the words of Jesus were somewhat cold. Jesus did not greet him with enthusiasm or mercy. He first said, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” It is not surprising since Jesus previously answered to his mother’s request at the wedding at Cana, “O, Woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” And we also remember how he reacted to the Canaanite woman who had asked him to heal her daughter with demonic possession. Jesus compared her and her daughter to dogs. He seemed to like challenging people of their faith and trust in him.
Have you imagined how the royal official felt when Jesus briefly said, “Go; your son will live”? When Naaman the Syrian came to the prophet Elisha for his leprosy, Elisha did not even come out to greet him but sent a word to him, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times.” Naaman first got upset. The royal official would have felt the same. However, he believed the word of Jesus and left for his home. But before he arrived, he received the news of his son’s healing.
Our Lord reveals his power with his word. But we must express our faith through actions and deeds. The Gentile royal official travelled a long distance to invite Jesus. The Canaanite woman lowered herself like a dog before Jesus. Let us remember what the Blessed Mother said, “Do whatever he tells you.”
I was listening to a radio show. The speakers were discussing the decriminalization of street drugs. Towards the end of the show, a speaker expressed her anthropological and philosophical view concerning drugs. She considers that one purpose of life is to enjoy pleasure. Therefore, in essence, using street drugs is natural and morally good or at least neutral.
I do not think that this speaker’s view is unique in our age. Subjective pleasure or displeasure stands as the sole standard for many. What seems particular to our age is the efforts to decriminalize, legalize and provide public support for formerly considered sinful pleasures, such as homosexual union and narcotic abuse. At the same time, society attempts to decriminalize, legalize, or provide public support to formerly prohibited acts of irresponsibility and negligence such as suicide, euthanasia and abortion.
And all those attempts adopt mass media and academia as propaganda machinery. TV shows, movies and pop music are in the frontline of these campaigns. Colleges and universities become the breeding ground of these revolutionary ideas. Their method is simple: to euphemize and glorify sinful pleasures and irresponsible choices while covering their realities. And this method has been proven effective. The entire generation of people believes in the sanitized and abstract pleasure-seeking. These campaigns have successfully blinded so many that they cannot see the ugly realities of sinful pleasures and irresponsible choices. Have you seen a promotional video of abortion for children? The presenter teaches two children that abortion is very simple and clean as going to a dentist. No one in the media reveals the prevalent promiscuity among homosexuals and what homosexuals do in the darkness. Homosexuality is abstracted and idealized as love and a human right. As euthanasia becomes more and more accessible, sooner or later, euthanasia is likely to be promoted as a responsible and reasonable choice for the sake of the rest of the society to reduce unnecessary waste of resources while minimizing one’s discomfort.
When we let pleasure determine the meaning of life, it becomes incomprehensible to have a saviour who suffers for us. Instead, people completely forget about salvation. For them, God’s mercy is expired currency. Christ Jesus, the Son of God, becomes a total stranger.
Once Jesus said to his disciples, “I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you of them.”
I believe that those Christians who want to change the Church’s teachings on faith and morals are well-intended. Most of them are self-convinced of their agenda. I do not think they consciously choose to be hypocritical.
Outside the Church, many have been working for changes and revolutions against traditional Christian values. And I think most of them are also well-intended. They sincerely believe in what they promote.
Nevertheless, however well-intended, a self-conviction does not warrant that its conviction is real and beneficial. Saul, before his conversion, cruelly persecuted Christians with his single-minded vision. Saul believed in himself and convinced himself that he was serving God. He thought he was purifying his religion. Those Christians and non-Christians firmly believe that they serve God or humanity. However, they deform Christ’s teaching and inseminate destructive ideas against humanity. They convince themselves that they bring development and advancement for humanity. But they will bring adverse consequences to their society.
In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee regards himself upright, chaste, generous, and righteous before God. And he lists his virtues in the prayer before God. But Jesus says this Pharisee did not go to his home justified while the tax collector who admitted his sins did go home justified. Perhaps the Pharisee was all well-intended and lived with self-convictions. But the reality was the opposite. Man is not the ultimate measurement. The man did not create either the world or himself. Humility makes a man see reality without self-deception. Only then, we have hope for righteousness before our Lord, our Creator.
Love finds its critical element in a union. All kinds of love desire union. And all unions necessarily include association or being together. Thus, human love reaches its ultimate expression in marital love – A man and his wife become one flesh. If someone claims he is in love with a person but does not want to be always with the person, we will think his love is not perfect. It happens to most of us. We love our families. However, we find it is often challenging to be with them. During this pandemic, the divorce rate went up. People find it is stressful to spend more time with families due to lockdowns. If our love were perfect, we should have rejoiced over these lockdowns. On the opposite, these lockdowns have revealed how much imperfect our love is.
As for love for God, we wonder in what ways we may love him. Jesus tells us to love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. It is a tall order. We might question ourselves if we cannot love even our blood families perfectly how we can love God so perfectly, whom we cannot see or touch. This commandment of love for God sounds too much for humans.
Nevertheless, I believe the same principle of love is applied in love for God. We express our love for him by the desire to be with him. I am not certain if someone loves God while he chooses not to come to church. I have a reservation to assume that someone loves Jesus if I see the person choosing not to read or listen to the Gospel. It is hard to believe that someone loves God if he ignores prayer life.
One great news about the love for God is this: even if our love for him is far from perfection, he gladly accepts our love because his love for us is perfect. Human love is always relative. Often, our love is not accepted. Too many misunderstandings darken our hearts. But we do not have to worry about these at all regarding love for God. Even when we are not faithful, our Lord is faithful in his love for us. In a sense, it is easier to love God than to love humans.
In our times, most top companies of the world have something to do with the information. Information makes money. However, the information does not have to be factual. As we see on social media, so much false information is circulated while making money.
What about the truth? Does the truth make money? A Bible of decent quality often costs less than an 18-pack Budweiser. You can buy the official Catechism of the Catholic Church even at the price of a 6-pack beer.
Now, you might think the truth is cheap. No, it is not cheap at all. When citizens recognize the moral truth and follow it, they can save a huge amount of social cost. Imagine that we do not have to spend so many socio-economic resources against crimes, frauds, abuses, bullies, and disputes. The more honest, benevolent and peaceable citizens a society has, the more capital and resources it can channel to constructive developments and advancements.
On the other hand, when the truth is rejected and ignored, a society eventually pays much more than money and gold can afford – that is, human lives. In other words, falsehood costs not only money but also the lives of people. For example, sexual immoralities are closely related to the breakdown of families. And society must spend resources for the derivatives of the family breakdown. But money or government assistance cannot heal the wounded lives of people. When the moral truth is rejected, some people directly lose their lives – as in abortion and euthanasia. The falsehood can literally cost human lives.
We do not buy air. But that does not mean air has no value. If you refuse to take the air, you will die. We do not trade truth for money. However, when we ignore it, we will face miserable destruction.
This generation denies God-given universal laws applied to all humanity. On the opposite, it promotes an idea of self-defining one’s identity, denying the common human nature. Thus, man is the ultimate authority of law. And the law is essentially artificial and arbitrary. According to this generation, there is no unchangeable law. The traditional idea of natural law is an outdated illusion, not to mention the divine law.
Including the Decalogue, the traditional natural laws are not simply imperatives. For example, “You shall not murder” is not merely the will of the lawgiver, God. It is also a description of the objective moral evil of killing innocent life. Moral evils are to avoid because they eventually bring harm to evildoers as well as victims. Morality is not a zero-sum game. Evildoers and victims are all losing. On the other hand, Beneficence doubles up good for a benefactor and a beneficiary.
We witness many conflicting views on life and family issues in our times. What the Church advocates is not an arbitrary religious view on a particular controversy. For example, we cannot allow abortion because it is killing innocent life. And it is applied to all humanity. Abortion brings evil to the ones committing the act of killing as well as the aborted children. And when a society is filled enough with evil, it suffers, too. The prevalence of contraceptive measures in a society brings a breakdown of families and many social and economic troubles.
The natural laws are a part of God’s creation. What is particular about it is that they are applied only to humans who exercise free will. All the other creation follows the laws of nature. But humans must follow the natural laws. However, not all the natural laws are evident to the human mind. This unfortunate reality makes us suffer much trial and error. But God the Creator did not leave humanity abandoned in the darkness. He taught Israel, and his Son teaches all humanity.
Many Christians think it should be harmless if we change some moral teachings and laws. They believe these changes may bring more people into the Church and make everyone happy. Whether they are right or wrong will turn out sooner or later. If the natural laws are true laws, violations of them will bring consequences.
Have you ever thought if perfection restoration is possible? Perfect restoration is possible only for replaceable things. But there are not many things around that can find exact replacements. You may find newer models but are not likely to find the same items.
But what about our health? When our body gets hurt, often there is no way to recover or restore to the original conditions. Money and technology cannot restore the opportunities and time we lose due to sickness or disability. Moreover, we cannot even measure psychological damages with monetary value.
When it comes to our hearts and spirits, we do not have the means to measure their damages. Who can estimate the pain of the broken hearts of parents who have lost their child in a car accident? It is an insult even to think that money can compensate.
Now, when damages occur because of somebody’s malice against us, it is no longer a matter of restoration or compensation only. We feel there must be more than restitution. We also wish to incur more damages to the perpetrators so that they may pay for their malice. However, we are not likely to be happy after revenge because revenge does not restore. Our loss will remain.
Forgiveness of sins is possible only for God because his goodness is without end. Moreover, because all sins eventually violate the goodness of God, humans cannot perfectly absolve sins even when they want to forgive. How many of us can say, “I have perfectly forgiven”?
Christ invites us to be united with himself. And he asks us to forgive others. Only in union with the Lord, we may finally forgive others. It is not my humanity that forgives but Christ in me who forgives. But this forgiveness is not painless. On the contrary, it is full of pain. It coincides with the Way of the Cross.
Sinners cannot offer their restitution. Victims cannot take enough compensation from sinners, either. Christ, the sinless and spotless Victim has offered restitution for all sins with his life. Only the Lord can heal our wounded spirits when we are united with him. And we will see the perfect restoration only at our resurrection.
At the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, the prophet Simeon foretold that Jesus would be the sign to be opposed by many people. These many people Simeon speaks of are not the Gentiles, that is, foreigners, but Jewish people, Jesus’ own race. As Simeon prophesied, from the beginning of his ministry, from his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus faced opposition. Why did his hometown’s people oppose him? Why did they become angry with him?
The people of Nazareth thought that they knew all about Jesus. It seems apparent that the Blessed Virgin and St Joseph did not blab about the mysteries as they raised Jesus. His mother kept all the divine works to her heart as the gospel writes. What the people of Nazareth saw was an average, rather a poor family of a carpenter. They assumed that Jesus was no different from them. And now, suddenly, this Jesus claimed that he was something like a prophet! They despised him.
Moreover, Jesus sounded like insulting and demeaning the national pride of the Jews. The Jews at the time of Jesus were under the oppression of the Gentiles. And their memories of the Babylon exiles were still vivid. But Jesus was speaking about the blessing of the Gentiles!
Throughout his public ministry, Jesus exposed the inner thoughts of many. And this brought about much resistance and resentment among the people, particularly the Jewish leaders. It eventually led to his crucifixion.
But the story does not end with his crucifixion. Jesus is still a sign of opposition in our times. Just as he was opposed by the Jews at his time, so is he opposed by Christians in our times. Do you think that only atheists and materialists created the current anti-Christian atmosphere and the decline of the faith? Many baptized Christians have contributed to these currents. They believe that they know Jesus enough. And these Christians feel they are entitled to enjoy blessings and entry to heaven. However, when Jesus challenges them, they resist him. They even attempt to change the teaching of the faith against the Bible and the Tradition. They despise faithful, orthodox Christians as outdated fundamentalists.
Jesus is still opposed by many of his people. It is why he is still on the crucifix.
At the beginning of this pandemic, average people could not even make an approximation of this disease. As we witnessed, epidemiologists and public health officials were also confused. But everybody knew we could no longer have the same life and activities as before. We had to choose what to restrict and limit. Societies, as well as individuals, had to make decisions on what is necessary. And these decisions and choices have exposed our values. In other words, this pandemic revealed what we value the most.
Some may attempt to explain that scientific and medical assessments and analyses provided with bases for restrictions and prohibitions. Certainly, these assessments and analyses had influence. However, if science and medicine had made decisions on restrictions and prohibitions, governments and public health officials should never have used the word, ‘essential’. Instead, they should have chosen words such as ‘high-risk’ or ‘low-risk.' Science and medicine do not study or decide what is essential to human life or society or economy. All the decisions and choices we made during the pandemic to restrict and regulate are moral decisions based on our values.
In the meantime, while everybody talks about essential businesses and activities, no one, no government agencies or public health officials have clearly explained what is necessary or essential. This is why people have a hard time understanding how gyms and bars are open while churches are closed. But what is clear is this: decisions and choices of the world this time have revealed what is important to the world. And it is greatly different from what is important to Christians.
Will the world understand the faith one day? St Paul tells us, “The message about the Cross is foolishness to those to are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” During the whole pandemic, were liquor stores ever ordered to close? No. Because liquors were deemed as essential to people’s lives. Of course, many reasons were provided to explain why alcohol is necessary for people. But the world does not find a cause to keep churches open. “We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” Do not forget that our faith is nothing but foolishness to the world.
Am I insisting on reopening our churches? Am I claiming worshipping together is essential? Essential to what? Essential to salvation? I have never heard that. Jesus did not say that. Instead, faith in the Gospel and baptism in the name of the Trinity are essential to salvation.
This pandemic asks all of us what is essential to us and our faith. While our churches are closed, we should open the churches of our hearts. And, as Jesus purified the Jerusalem Temple with a whip of cords, we should purify our hearts with a whip of penance and repentance. Do we not remember our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Then, we should also keep our bodies holy with penance.
I hope that we have enough time to purify ourselves during this pandemic. And I pray that we may present ourselves to the Lord with pure hearts and bodies when our churches reopen. I wish the Lord may accept all of us as pleasing offerings before his holy presence.
You will have a hard time finding a recent movie about forgiveness. From some time on, brutal revenge became a popular theme of the entertainment industry. Not only movies but also reality TV shows and other forms of entertainment commonly adopt retaliation and vengeance. The Avengers movies expose their theme in their titles. The superheroes exist not for forgiveness but the annihilation of bad guys. If that were the purpose of superheroes, Jesus could not fit in the description of a superhero. In contrast, Jesus died for forgiveness.
Why are we excited about revenge? Is it because revenge satisfies our sense of justice? Does the elder son in the parable of the prodigal son become angry because their father betrays the sense of justice? Should we punish even those repenting and begging for forgiveness like the prodigal son?
In our times, the belief that people do not change is widespread. Many people do not believe in repentance and conversion any more. Thus, punishment and retaliation are only options. But we want to go a little further and finish those hopeless people. We demand more than justice. We want to strike them severely enough so that they may never come back – a pre-emptive strike or preventative measure, you may call it.
At the same time, we have resentment against granting forgiveness. People feel sad, angry, and bitter when evil people receive mercy and goodness. People feel as if their righteousness were depreciated. The prodigal son in the parable did not harm the elder son. The prodigal son squandered his inheritance only, not his brother’s. But the elder son was angry with his father, who offered mercy to the prodigal son, who now begged for forgiveness. This reaction of the elder son is nothing but envy – spiritual sadness of other’s good.
Satan likes to distort. He twists our sense of justice with skepticism over conversion. And he suggests that mercy is weak and hopeless. Finally, Satan fills our hearts with envious bitterness. In this way, he leads into further destruction and eventual annihilation.
Have you felt that the world has more than enough evil? If so, you are not the only one. Many people gave up faith because they have seen too much evil in men. Some fall into total despair because evil overwhelms and deprives them of any hope. Some deny God’s existence or his goodness because of his silence. They think if God exists, he will not allow evil to dominate the world. When wars devour so many innocent lives, we doubt where God is. During the time of a pandemic like now, people question why God does not send a cure. Where are his protection and benevolence, people cry out?
We all know well the story of Joseph, a son of Jacob. Perhaps because we learned this story when we were so young, probably most of us do not feel too disturbed about Joseph's brothers. But how would you feel about your siblings if they attempted to hand you over to human traffickers? Unlike other stories of the patriarchs, God does not involve himself in the story of Joseph and his brothers. Did God work here for Joseph and the people of Israel? Or was it Joseph’s overgenerous interpretation to see all his calamities as God’s providential care? Why did not God prevent Joseph’s brothers from selling him? And how did God let Joseph’s brothers go unpunished in the end? Anti-Christian critics may call this story of Joseph euphemization and rationalization of slavery and human trafficking.
Jesus tells us how patient God is with sinners and evildoers in the parable of the wicked tenants. His delay of punishment is a sign of his mercy. Prophets and saints are a sign of his care for mankind. In the end, God sacrifices even his Son for sinners. His silence is a sign of his patience with us.
However, Jesus clearly warns that God’s silence will not continue forever. When we still have time, we want to turn to God.
The parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. A rich man living in a beautiful house, adorned with fine clothes, enjoying rich food, but at the door of his house, a homeless person covered with sores and suffering hunger and thirst. But the rich man does not do anything for the poor Lazarus. You might think this parable is an extreme example and thus unrealistic.
Contemporary psychologists and sociologists show that this is exactly the reality. Through case studies and surveys, they find that wealthy and successful people are insensitive to poor ones. And through experiments, they also demonstrate that wealth and success make anyone insensitive to the underprivileged. Indeed, a modern rich man does not feel much about a homeless person. When money and success take one’s mind and heart, they change one’s personality. Psychologists and medical scientists find that richer and more successful people have different brain chemistry that makes them less emphatic with others. Money and success reinforce this trait. Researchers consistently find that richer and more successful people are much more likely to ignore laws and cheat on others for their goals. In contrast, statistical data show that people with moderate or less income make more donations than those with higher income. In the meantime, researchers also demonstrate that rich people can change more emphatically through learning and training.
Money and success so often separate and isolate us from others. It would be so wonderful if we could share much time with others and be victorious in competitions at the same time. But unfortunately, it rarely happens. Economically more affluent societies have a higher portion of a single-person household. And they have a higher rate of depression and suicide. It is undeniable that richer people are lonelier and suffer more anxiety and depression. Even before their judgment before the Lord, they must pay for the price of their wealth and success on earth. It is an illusion that money and success would bring a more meaningful life and make us happier.
As the rich man in the parable relates, riches blind people to the afterlife. The rich man wants to remind his brothers of the judgment and hell, but Jesus tells him it would be useless. Running for material success drives us to the unfortunate judgment. But like narcotics, people cannot stop while they suffer from this unending race.
If we find any of the rich man in ourselves – being insensitive and unemphatic to others’ misfortunes and poverty – it is time to turn around from our wasteful race and competition.
Two people are walking the same road. But they end up at two different places. How does it happen?
It happens when the two people walking the same road but in opposite directions. Simple, isn't it? But we forget this in our spiritual pilgrimage to heaven.
Christian faith is also called the Way of Christ. Then, Christians should walk in the right direction. Baptism introduces us to this Way of Christ. But some Christians choose to walk the opposite way. To be on the same road does not mean to arrive at the same place.
Jesus tells his disciples to become servants. He teaches us to lower ourselves and serve others. But we feel tempted to lift ourselves over others and command them. Christ ordains ministers to serve, but many ministers take advantage of their status to be served. Jesus showed his Way down to humility, but we often use his Way up for self-glory.
Let us not forget. If we walk the opposite way, we will arrive at the pit of fire.
We expect experts to be knowledgeable in their expertise. But it does not happen that all experts utilize their knowledge. For example, not all computer science geniuses become Bill Gates. We see many medical science experts and doctors also suffer from diseases. Biographers of successful business people know many details of their subjects but I have never heard a biographer of a business guru also made much money with the knowledge of his subject.
But when it comes to religion, our expectation is different. We wish to see a religious leader who radiates his teaching by his presence and deeds, not only by his position and words. We expect more than knowledge from religious experts and teachers. In the future, artificial intelligence will replace experts for teaching and training. But I doubt we are willing to accept artificial intelligence as our religious teachers and leaders. And it would be quite sad if disciples could enter heaven while their teachers could not because these teachers cannot die.
We wish to see our Christian leaders reflect Christ’s presence. You might think that much study makes it possible. But I do not think so. I believe rather humble obedience makes it possible. Study and obedience have different objects. Study searches for objective facts while obedience asks for the will of a lord.
The doctors of the Church do not receive a degree or a certificate. We have doctors of the Church who never had higher education, such as St Therese of Lisieux. These doctors of the Church revealed the truth of the faith by completely submitting themselves to the will of Christ. These saints teach us not only who Christ Jesus is but also what the heart of Christ Jesus desires. And their lives become the exercises of the will of Christ.
A person can say he knows Christ as much as he obeys his will. At the Judgment, our Lord will say to those who have taught about him and carried out the works of wonders but not obeyed his will, “I do not know you.”
The word ‘inclusive’ became a sign word of the 21st century Western societies. Societies try not to leave any member forgotten, ignored, or rejected. This inclusiveness effort sounds fair and humane. Who would refuse and deny equitable treatment of all citizens? For example, it is laudable to provide public access for people with disabilities and other conditions.
However, it is undeniable that inclusiveness often means the normalization of immoralities. Usually, this normalization results from admitting immoral behaviours as human rights. People desire, praise, and promote promiscuity and sexual perversion as inalienable rights and liberty.
Of course, the rationalization of immorality is nothing new. The snake suggested Eve equality and fairness between God and man. It accused God of the monopoly of the knowledge of good and evil. In this way, the snake provided a reason for violating God’s prohibition. The ancient serpent devised and offered rationalization of sin for every age of human history. In our times, the serpent skews fairness and charity to pervert this generation.
You might not yet be so sure if this normalization of immorality is a lie. Then, observe how those insisting on ‘inclusiveness’ exclude people who have different opinions from theirs. People lose their jobs and social relationships just because they expressed their thoughts on morality. Inclusiveness activists and supporters silence anyone who differs from them. Not only that, but they also remove all your social and economic privileges. Sooner or later, faithful Christians will be segregated.
Christians have a moral obligation to exercise mercy to repenting brethren. Forgiveness is the primary sign of Christ’s followers, precisely because Christ came on earth to forgive. But Christ also commanded his follower to remind each other’s sinfulness and to preach repentance. Accepting an unrepentant person makes me an accomplice.
You might wonder how today’s first reading and the gospel may pair with each other. The first reading from the Book of Genesis tells us the story of Abraham’s test that God commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Meanwhile, we read the episode of the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospel. You may uncover parallelism between these two passages. A careful reading will find many similarities. But I would like to note one common point.
It is sacrifice. You might not immediately perceive it in the Transfiguration. But when we realize what Jesus discussed with Moses and Elijah, it becomes clear. However, Mark does not tell us what they discussed. But we can guess from what Jesus ordered the three apostles. The hint lies in ‘this rising from the dead’. Jesus spoke to Moses and Elijah about his Passion – his upcoming suffering and death. And we can confirm this in Luke’s gospel. Luke expresses Jesus’ coming Passion as his Exodus that he would accomplish at Jerusalem.
Abraham was ready to sacrifice his only legitimate son, Isaac, as God demanded. And Isaac was obediently followed his father Abraham bearing wood. Jesus announced his self-sacrifice according to the will of his Father in heaven. And God confirmed the divine sonship before the apostles.
We still speak about sacrifice in our times. However, sacrifice to God is almost forgotten even among Christians. The expression, ‘offering up’, is a sign of previous generations of Christians. The sacrifice of our times mostly means altruistic service. But when the Blessed Mother appeared to the three children of Fatima and asked them to sacrifice, she was not speaking about social service or volunteering. The Blessed Virgin was asking for prayers and suffering offered to God. Whether corporeal or mental, she was encouraging offering before God. We may call it a spiritual sacrifice.
But modern man has a hard time understanding it. Especially here in North America, where utilitarianism takes a deep root in our minds, people cannot find much meaning in offering sacrifice to God. We have a hard time seeing any utility of self-denial, for example, abstinence and fast except for health. Clerical celibacy may promote the efficiency of ministry or save operating costs, but for what other use? People ask themselves, “How can my fasting of meals affect or influence my friend’s conversion?” Or “How does my continence alleviate my mother’s pains from cancer?” A step farther, some will question, “How does God convert my sacrifice to any use? Isn’t he already equipped with sufficient grace to hand out? Why does God need my sacrifice? For what use?”
Judaeo-Christian experiences teach that spiritual sacrifice mediates God and man. All divine encounters in the Old Testament include offering sacrifices. Worship without a spiritual sacrifice, be it a burnt offering or a hymn of praise or a prayer of thanksgiving, is nothing but a lip service without God’s presence. You will not find an example of a divine covenant without offering a sacrifice in the Bible. In the end, the Son of God became the true Mediator between God and man for man’s salvation by himself becoming a sacrifice. The Mediator himself became the sacrifice!
The sacrifice of Jesus, the self-sacrifice of his life before God the Father, did not resolve poverty in the world, nor eradicated all diseases, nor installed permanent world peace, nor prevented environmental pollution. However, it opened the door to life eternal.
When God demanded Abraham of the sacrifice of Isaac, to our surprise, Abraham did not ask God any questions. A spiritual sacrifice is a sincere sign of faith and trust in God. And It seems the best way to move God. At every Mass, the sacrifice of Christ brings God’s presence down to us!
Have you heard the expression ‘kangaroo court’? If you or your parents emigrated from countries of recent memories with fascism or communism, you probably already know or heard about the examples of this kangaroo court. It is a popular court. Of course, it is not a part of a regular standing court system of the country. Many people accuse a person or a group of people of certain wrongdoings. But most often, the accused do not have any advocate. And there is no process to confirm the accusations. Accusations are accepted as true without verification. It quickly ends, and executions immediately follow. Under many communist revolutions, kangaroo courts destroyed countless numbers of lives.
I doubt if there is any country that allows a kangaroo court in our times. Even those times kangaroo courts were frequently held, no legitimate government permitted such a thing by law. But in recent years, we witness many kangaroo courts without realizing they are kangaroo courts. Mostly, these kangaroo courts take place on the internet, usually on social media platforms. The mechanism is almost identical to a kangaroo court. No one has proper legal authority, but everyone accuses and judges and sentences. The accused lose jobs and social relationships, suffer psychological traumas, and carry the scarlet letters, even before they are tried at legal courts. Many accused people in those kangaroo courts do not have a chance to bring their cases to courts. And even when they try in courts and prove their innocence, the courts scarcely restore their damages. No one is responsible for wrong accusations in those kangaroo courts.
Many people believe they can find the truth on the internet. Lots of people trust social media posts while they do not know their authors. Very few people check their facts. More people jump to conclusions and judgments. This generation does not like to be judged in any way. But it easily judges in cyberspace.
Jesus tells his followers to be fair and benevolent to everyone. He teaches us to imitate his Father in heaven who is impartial to everyone and gives good things even to evil people. But I fear that Christians find themselves accusing others in cyber kangaroo courts. If so, we are likely to hate people who are not even our enemies. Then, how far away we are from God’s perfect love Jesus urges us to imitate!
We will all agree that it is no good to hold grudge and hatred against someone. But it will be worse to hate someone even if you do not have any firsthand knowledge of the person. Unfortunately, this worse case occurs more frequently in recent years thanks to social media. Mass media producers such as broadcasting companies and newspapers are trained and regulated for objectivity in their reports. But social media contents are mostly not filtered and screened for their veracity or objectivity. Furthermore, social media contents are not reviewed for their contribution to the common good of society. So much of social media content is not beneficial to anyone, no newsworthy but only inciting unnecessary curiosity and voyeurism. But even worse, much of social media distorts facts, instills suspicions, stimulates anger, provokes hatred, and causes divisions. Not only public figures but also ordinary individuals fall victims. Not only adults but also youth become targets of bullying and public shaming.
Jesus warns us of judgment and punishment over our anger and hatred toward our neighbours. Of course, we can have just anger against injustice and corruption. And we may also have disgust and abhorrence of sins and crimes. Moreover, we can understand the emotional distress and trauma from manipulation, exploitation, or violence. It is not natural to feel glad to see perpetrators. But if you feel nauseous of someone you have never met, you should ask yourself if someone or something has control over you. Many people let social media dictate what they should see and hear on an hourly basis. If you find yourself angry at someone or some group of people thanks to what you have read or watched on social media, blame yourself first for your naivety and gullibility.
What is tragic about anger and hatred induced by social media is this: reconciliation is almost impossible. Certainly, we have victims. But most often, we cannot identify one single responsible perpetrator. When someone lost a job because of wrongful social media accusations or comments, even after his name is cleared, nobody is responsible for the damages.
Nonetheless, let us not forget the harsh condemnation that will follow. Jesus says, “I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.”
Do I pray God to give me the virtue of poverty? But, do I honestly want to be poor and find joy in poverty? Do I pray God to allow me the virtue of obedience? But, do I sincerely want to abandon my will and autonomy? Do I pray God to grant me the virtue of chastity? But, do I heartily want the power to deny all pleasure of my mind and body for Jesus?
Yes, I wish I had those virtues. So, I pray to God that he may allow them to me. But do I want them? I said I wished for them. But, do I sincerely desire them? Here, I find contradictions within myself. There are divisions in my heart. I pray for virtues and holiness. However, my body and soul still find delights in what pulls me away from Jesus. How joyful would it be if my true desires accord with virtues! But it is not the reality.
Since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, man faces this unfortunate reality of sinfulness. If man could achieve virtues and holiness by his power against his sinfulness, he would not need a saviour. Perhaps he would struggle but could manage to save himself. God might send his Son for man’s salvation. Then, the Son of God would not be called the Saviour. Instead, he would be named a facilitator or an assistant. But the man soon realizes this is not reality. He cannot overcome his sinfulness by his strength. He cannot even desire what he wishes to desire.
Jesus tells us to pray to his Father. “Ask, and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
I pray that my body and soul may honestly desire holiness. And I pray that God let me discover the joy in perseverance toward virtues during this Lent.
There are two kinds of signs. The first one foretells near-future occurrences. Experienced mothers can tell what the signs are before labouring. You can save lives if you know what the signs are before a stroke. The other kind of signs tells you what to do. Road signs caution and warn road conditions and speed limits. And street signs let you know where you are and where to drive.
When the great city of Nineveh was on the way to God’s punishment, the prophet Jonah appeared before the city and warned them of God’s upcoming wrath. Its people recognized the sign and turned their ways from sinful lives. God relented and did not destroy the city as he did to Sodom and Gomorrah. Which kind of sign was Jonah?
When the parents of Jesus presented Jesus at the Temple after forty days of his birth, the prophet Simeon prophesied that Jesus would be a sign. Which kind of sign do you think the prophet Simeon was speaking? Jesus is the second kind of sign like the prophet Jonah. Jesus is the sign that warns us of our sinfulness but directs us to salvation.
Christ is still the sign that shows the direction to salvation. But he also invites us to become his signs. When we drive a long way, we check road signs and confirm if we are in the right direction to our destinations. We need many signs along the way. Likewise, the Saints of the Church, saintly people, and even angels help us take the right direction to salvation. Because the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, her members should become Christ’s signposts for each other.
Am I Christ’s signpost to my family and friends? When a signpost is confusing, people get lost and even hurt. In this Season of Lent, let us examine ourselves if our lives direct to where our Lord is waiting for us.
The dramatic change or secularization of the Christian West since the last century has its fervent promoter. It is the mass media. There are Christian homes without the Bible. But I am sure there are no homes without a TV set or a radio. And in this 21st century, secularization is accelerated with social media and other online platforms.
And how do these mass media and others change Christians and others? By their words. Secular humanists, atheists, sexual revolutionists, abortionists, feminists, homosexual lobbyists, and all kinds of liberalists have been campaigning with these media to pour out their words to reach everyone’s ears. And they have been successful. Christians of this generation do not know the Bible while they can recite these groups’ mantras verbatim. Words have power. Words change people. And words make a reality.
“Thus says the Lord, your God,” the prophet Isaiah delivers God’s word to us, “so shall my word be that goes out from mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Many Christians worry about the Church in this secularized and anti-Christian world. And they wonder what they can do to re-evangelize the world. Then, let the word of the Lord be proclaimed. There is no other way but to read and hear his word. The word of the Lord is much more powerful than any human speech. Reading the Bible will change us because the word of the Lord is alive and have power. Reading the Bible is an act of faith. Let the word of the Lord soak our minds and hearts. It will bring forth a harvest of holiness in our lives and the world.
I find it remarkable that Jesus founded his Church on a person, Peter. He did not say, ‘I will build my church on this faith.’ What he said was, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church.” Since Peter means ‘rock’, “this rock” means Peter. Was it not too risky to entrust all authority to a person? And this person, Simon Peter, was not even properly educated. Why did not Jesus write his revelation in a book and hand it to his disciples, saying, ‘I will build my Church on this manual of faith. This book will guarantee the authenticity of my church’? Would not it have resolved so many future troubles? It could have prevented heresies and schisms. It could have protected the Church from skepticism and atheism. It could have provided many practical answers to moral issues. But Jesus did not choose to write a revelation or a constitution. Why did he take so much risk?
I believe that Jesus established his Church on a person, Peter, because his gospel, his faith, and his Church must be alive in a person’s heart. This is the fulfillment of what the prophet Jeremiah had already foretold, “this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
The Christian calling is radically different from all other invitations. We can join many institutions but can also leave them. On the other hand, once you are baptized, you bear the indelible mark of baptism forever. We become a part of the Mystical Body of Christ. And we carry Christ’s New Covenant in our heart.
When Jesus told Peter to be the foundation of his Church, Jesus was not saying an impressive metaphor. Jesus was commanding Peter to give his whole being as the foundation of his Church. And his command became true – Peter is lying now under the bottom of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. Truly, St Peter became the bedrock of the whole Church.
You might have heard some world leaders and people in prominent status speak about ‘reset’ since this pandemic started. It is still a matter of discussion what they mean by ‘reset’. Some people welcome it, but some others fear it. I do not know what those influential people intend to reset.
However, we are all familiar with the word, ‘reset’. Most frequently, we use this word for our electronics. When your phone or computer does not operate well because of too much junk data and apps, we reset them. When we reset them, we return them to their original conditions and configurations as they left their manufacturers. Resetting removes all unnecessary add-ons and burdensome accumulations on your machines. In other words, your appliances are reborn.
In this familiar sense of the word, Judeo-Christian religion has a long practice of resetting. After the fall of Adam and Eve, God renewed the whole world of sin by the Great Flood. Through the reset of the Great Flood, the whole creation was reborn. This returning to the original condition of God’s creation also found its expression in the tradition of Jubilee years in Israel. Every seven years, Hebrew slaves were freed, debts were forgiven, and every tribe went back to their original inheritance. And Every fifty years was a great jubilee or a great reset. Israel people went back to the original conditions of what the Lord their God called them out of Egypt.
The Immaculate Conception was the beginning of the Great Reset. And Jesus was the Reset of mankind. Jesus and Mary were new Adam and new Eve. Now, through his death and resurrection, Christ opened a new way of resetting. It is the Baptism. When we are baptized, we are recreated according to the original image of God. Baptism removes all our previous burdens of sins. We are reborn without original sin.
But, not only that, but Jesus also gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation for frequent resetting. And the Church developed a special period of reset – Lent. In this season of Lent, Jesus calls us to reset our life so that we may return to the original innocence and purity we received at Baptism.
This is the second Lent under this pandemic. We were in shock and frozen at the first Lent last year because the pandemic just began. Since then, under frequent shutdowns and partial lockdowns, we started discerning essential things for our life. We had to learn how to remove all unnecessary activities. I think last year was a time of resetting our spiritual life, too. It was an extended Lent. I hope that we all realized how necessary the Mass and the other sacraments are.
Indeed, it is time to reset. We want to remove all unnecessary burdens of life. And this pandemic is a good time to do it. I wish we turn this disaster into an opportunity to renew our lives. We want to remove all sinful habits and sinfulness that oppress our life. Let the Holy Spirit bring us to a desert as he drove Jesus to the desert of testing. Jesus turned the forty days of temptation into preparation for his ministry. When we ask the Holy Spirit, he helps us with his angels as he assisted Jesus in the desert. As the people of Israel marched through the desert of Sinai by the lead of the pillar of cloud and fire, we will also be able to go through this desert of the pandemic by the lead of the Holy Spirit. As the people of Israel were reborn at the River of Jordan and entered the promised land, I hope that the Holy Spirit may reset all of us during this Lent and grant us the joy of the resurrection of Christ.
Tomorrow is the first Sunday of Lent. Have you decided on your Lenten resolution? If not, or looking for more, I would like to suggest something very biblical. And it is not for every day. Only seven times for the whole Lent. Let us listen to the prophet Isaiah:
If you refrain from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honourable; if you honour it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Now you can probably guess what my suggestion is. During this Lent, let us spend the Lord’s Day in the Lord. There are seven Sundays from the first Sunday of Lent to Easter Sunday inclusive.
Please do not do any work, even cooking and cleaning. Let us not go shopping or visit a park. Do not visit friends or other families. Let us not watch TV or use the internet except watching the Mass and other Catholic devotions. If you want to avoid all these on Sundays, you should take care of these things during the week. To spend the Lord’s Day holy, we need to prepare for it.
Then, what do we do on these Sundays? If we cannot still gather at the parish, watch the Mass. And spend time on prayers, devotions such as the Rosary, and spiritual reading. But most of all, spare time for the readings of the Mass. Read them several times and reflect on them. We should give some time to the word of the Lord to settle down in our minds and heart. It is not so much for understanding. But it is instead for the word of the Lord to dwell in your mind and heart. We should go over several times what our Lord is telling us. Now, these might sound demanding. But another critical task for Lord’s Day is to rest well. Reading and praying should not take more than an hour or two. We should be able to spend the rest of the day taking rest in the Lord. You may slowly meditate and reflect on the readings of the Mass. Reflect on Jesus and his life. Meditate on death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Examine your life.
Christians are people of Sundays – the Lord’s Day. It is the most fundamental Christian character. During this Lent, let us renew our identity as the people of the Lord’s Day – the Day of Resurrection.
The biggest and most serious challenge for Judeo-Christian religion does not come from without. On the opposite, it comes from within. Under many persecutions, the Church rapidly spread and grew and significantly matured. In contrast, with the freedom of religion, many members of the Church turned tepid and lukewarm in faith and even abused their faith for selfish quests and interests.
Western countries used to be called Christendom. But these Christian nations spearheaded all anti-biblical and anti-Christian legislation in the world. Did it happen because small groups of anti-religious leaders took power and control? I think it happened because we baptized Christians fell short of the authentic Christian faith. Still, more than half of the population of this country identifies themselves as Christians. But this Christian majority keeps silent every time their lawmakers and governments legislate laws and policies against Christ’s teaching. Are they silent because of government oppression? First, today’s Christians do not know their faith enough. How many adult Catholics know their faith better than Confirmation-class children? Second, many secular philosophies and ideologies have confused Christians. And these ideas take a deep root in the minds and hearts of many Christians through mass media and social media. Anyone, who reads, watches, and listens to these media without an open and critical mind, subscribes to these ideas and grows hatred against Christ, his Church, and his teaching. Third, as a result of negligence and malformed conscience, Christians believe and behave worse than non-believers. Furthermore, many Christians think now they can and should change the Christian doctrines and morals.
The voice and message of the prophet Isaiah are not for Israel of the past only. His message for the return to faithfulness to God’s commandment should resound in our ears today. Our Lenten observances are helpful for our spiritual growth. However, if we are not faithful to Christ Jesus, abstinence and fast will not nourish our souls. We want to know the groom first and well. Only then, our wedding gifts will be meaningful.
Penance, abstinence, fast, almsgiving, self-denial, obedience, detachment, offering, sacrifice, and so on.
“If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Why do we do all those? Why does Jesus ask us to bear our daily cross?
Do we practice all those because we are good people? Or do we take up our daily cross because we want to develop our better selves? Or just because we are Catholic?
Our faith has a specific goal and purpose. We do not practice faith and sacrifice because we are better people than others or because our faith is a custom and heritage. We walk the narrow path to enter eternal life with Christ Jesus. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”
Do we think about this life eternal every day? Do we renew our vision of this eternal happiness with Christ Jesus every day? Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily and follow him. Jesus does not want to distress us every day with pain and suffering. What he wants is to clear our vision of eternal happiness daily. Jesus wants our daily cross to feel easier and lighter. That is what he means by “My yoke is easy and my burden, light.”
Too often, we go to bed with all sorts of worldly cares and worries. That is why we feel our life is burdensome. Even if we pray, fast, give alms, unless we have a clear vision of our goal, our faith journey gets easily lost. How often do I meditate on heaven and eternal life with Jesus? Only those who see their destinations arrive at them.
In the middle of the pandemic, we experience uncertainties. We ask many questions but do not receive satisfactory answers. When will I get vaccinated? Will the vaccines be effective? When will this partial shut-down end? When can we freely travel? Will our life ever become like before after the pandemic? And so on.
Even under the pandemic, life goes on. Babies are born. Children grow. Couples get married. And the Elderly pass away. Shut-downs and lockdowns may freeze the economy but cannot stop life.
And here Lent comes again.
Lent reminds us of a much more important question. It is about life. The question asks not only about this life but also the life to come after this life.
‘Am I prepared to die and be raised with Christ Jesus?’
Practices of penance and reconciliation in this Lent will be in vain if we do not try to answer this question. Even if we find answers to all our questions regarding the pandemic, we will have wasted our time, unless we have worked on this question. Successful survival from this pandemic does not open the door to heaven. The purpose of our life does not lie in survival. Life is already lost unless it is heading toward life eternal.
Do death, judgment, heaven and hell sound remote and unreal? If they sound unfamiliar or irrelevant to us, we are likely not to be on the Way of Christ. Even if we pray, fast, and give alms, our faith is superficial and unsubstantial, unless we are constantly alert of those four things.
Let us awaken our spirits. It is time to be with Jesus.
“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man.” It is what Jesus mentioned of Noah and his ark in the gospel of Matthew.
Most understand the coming of the Son of man as the day of judgment at the end of the world. However, we often forget we are already living with the presence of the Son of Man. In a sense, the last stage of the world has begun with the first coming of the Son of Man on earth because he promised his disciples that he would be with them until the end of time. By the sacrament of the Eucharist, we are still with him on earth. But what about judgment and condemnation? Are they on hold? Once again as Jesus said, those who do not believe in the Son of Man are already condemned. Then, those who believe in the Son of Man have already been saved? Not yet. God receives souls into heaven only when they become like children – completely trusting God and obedient to him with humility and purity. Have I reached that humility, purity, and faith? Not yet. It is God’s mercy that allows me to perfect myself in virtues on earth before death. And it is also God’s mercy if I must spend time in purgatory after death because I still have hope then.
However, we are very slow in understanding Jesus and his goodness. Instead, we are distracted by all kinds of worldly concerns and interests. In today’s gospel, Jesus laments over his disciples’ slowness in understanding and faith. Even after the miraculous feeding of thousands, the disciples were again worried because they did not have enough bread. Even living with the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, many Catholic people worry about the same things the world does.
I wish not our Lord finds us occupied with worldly concerns when he comes again. What are we doing? Where are we heading? Lent is near at hand. Are we prepared?
Often, I am surprised at the realism of the Bible. As we read the Book of Genesis, we might think the creation stories, the fall of Adam and Eve, the fratricide of Cain and Abel, and so on are anything but real stories. They are certainly not historical or scientific accounts of the origins of the universe and man. However, these stories expose theological and philosophical truths of the universe and man.
As for the fall of Adam and Eve, some may question how taking the fruit of a tree can be sinful. Just because God forbade it? Is not this too arbitrary? Nobody got hurt. How can we call it sinful? To answer these questions, we should examine why Adam and Eve took and ate the fruit. They wanted to be like God. They wanted to own the knowledge of good and evil as God did. They wanted to act as they wish, even against the order of creation and God’s commandment. This reveals the essence of sin: to do whatever I want disregarding God’s will and ignoring the order of creation. Sin is essentially against God. Some might think a man alone on an island could not sin because all his acts could not affect anyone. It is not true. Even when we are alone, we are to respect and follow the order of creation and the purposes of creation. If I would destroy lives or abuse myself for pleasure, even if I were the only human being in the whole world, I would still sin against God. Sin is not a situational by-product. Nor is it essentially social or structural. It comes within man’s heart as Jesus taught, “Nothing that enters man defiles him, but what comes out of man’s heart defiles.” Every time we commit sins, we first take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, saying to ourselves, ‘I want to be like God. I want to do what I want. I can ignore what God commands. But I will not die.’ Is not this happening to every sinner? Is not this truly real?
Regarding the story of Cain and Abel, some may raise the question of why God did not accept the sacrifices of Cain. It seems God was partial to Abel. Some might even think God’s favouritism indirectly caused the fratricide. To answer this question, we should examine the meaning of the sacrifices Cain and Able offered. God did not ask for sacrifices. Somehow, the two brothers offered sacrifices from what they laboured on. It shows that man already had a sense of duty to offer thanksgiving to God even before an established religion prescribed it. Those sacrifices were man’s expression of his thanks to God. In other words, the man was offering his thankful heart to God with burnt offerings. Now, what God did not accept from Cain was his greedy heart because God saw Cain’s inner heart. I do not think Cain offered something defective or worthless. While offering his harvest, Cain was not happy because he loved his possessions more than God. That was why God, who sees man’s heart, rejected his offerings. His act of offering sacrifices was, then, hypocrisy.
We might have an impression that God was responsible for the fratricide because of his favouritism. Not at all. Before committing the murder, Cain sinned against God first. When God reminded him of his sinfulness, Cain did not repent. Instead, he became sad that God accepted his brother Abel. Cain became envious – spiritual sadness about other’s good. Then, he murdered his brother.
Who commits sins? Those who are not happy with God commits sins. Or those who are sincerely happy with God does not sin. Those, who are not content with what God gives, look for other consolations and pleasures – fame, money, power, sex, speed, drugs, and the like. Is not this real?
These stories of the Bible might sound unsophisticated. But their profundity is not easy to measure. They always surprise me with an unfathomable depth of truth.
There were many lepers in Israel at the time of Jesus. But Jesus did not heal all of them. Why not? Jesus healed only those who approached him. Because the Jews separated and segregated lepers and greatly feared them for infection, lepers had to go to Jesus by themselves. We can find many episodes in the gospel where people brought the sick to Jesus. On the other hand, there is no passage saying that people brought lepers to Jesus.
However, when lepers came to Jesus, he did not hesitate to heal them. Moreover, strikingly, he stretched out his hand and even touched them. The Jews separated lepers from their communities, but Jesus was not even afraid to touch them.
It was not easy for lepers to leave their places because they were so ashamed of themselves. The Jews considered leprosy as a curse due to sin. The disease seriously threatened life. But not only that, the deformed and mutilated body caused extreme abhorrence and shame. When the leper in this Sunday’s gospel left his place to see Jesus, he must have taken so much courage.
Sins deform our soul and spirit. Sins sometimes disfigure even our bodies, particularly, our faces. However, it is usually not easy to detect and perceive the horrible deformation by sin. Essentially, sins are lies. And these lies also cover up the self-damages on the perpetrators. Most often, sinners do not notice the harm they bring about to themselves.
Moreover, the world has been preaching the innocence of all people – nobody is wrong, and everybody is right. Under the guise of liberation and rights, the world declares vices as virtues. It calls murder merciful. It praises perversion as a right.
In the early Church, there was a practice of public penance. Church communities ordered those who committed grave sins to carry out their penance visible to other members. And these penitents were separated during the worship and not allowed for Communion until they finish a period of penitence.
We do not practise public penance anymore as in the early Church. In our times, instead, Satan organizes his order of sinners. Of course, he does not call it an order of penitents. On the opposite, he desensitizes people’s conscience and assures them of entry to heaven. He constantly tells us the same words the snake whispered to Eve: “You will not die.” ‘There is nothing seriously sinful. And God is infinitely merciful.’ As a result, we see a much smaller number of people in the confessional.
This time, we also need lots of courage to approach Jesus to be healed of our soul and spirit. Unless we fight the world and reject false prophets, we will remain in the company of sinners. And it takes a long time and much effort to recover a desensitized heart.
Nevertheless, let us not forget this: when we approach Jesus, he does not hesitate to stretch out his hand and touch our deformed souls.
After the man and the woman committed the first transgression at the snake’s trick, they did not die right away. Instead, God imposes punishments on each of them. Life was no longer pleasant. Life is full of pains, sufferings, and struggles for survival. Now, some contemporary people may wonder: Why did God punish them with life? Did he not have an easier option? Why did he not take their lives with death? Indeed, in our country Canada, we made euthanasia a legal right. And we try to expand it so that more people can choose death with ease. As we practise euthanasia, God did not have to cause violent deaths for the first man and woman. He could have simply taken their breath so that they did not have to suffer at all. Did he enjoy watching his creation suffering in pain?
For some people, pleasure and pain are the standards of life. Therefore, a life full of pain, or a life expecting lots of pain, is not worth living for them.
On the other hand, God wanted to restore the goodness of creation. His punishments were medicinal, not vindictive. Sins deserve death immediately. But God is merciful to us that he allows us to continue living. Struggles and pains remind us of our sinfulness. Although we live a life of suffering, we still live a life of opportunities to enter heaven, the restored creation. Therefore, life is a merciful blessing of the Lord, not a vengeful curse.
Criminal psychologists say criminals do not expect themselves to be caught. Not only that, but they also believe that they can get away from police search and investigation. Indeed, some criminal cases are left unsolved.
When a man commits immorality, he does not expect painful consequences, either. Even when he knowingly violates moral norms, he believes that he will not be accountable for his perpetration. Indeed, we see many immoral people live unpunished.
When the snake tempted the woman of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said, “You will not die.” Indeed, she or her husband did not die right away. It seems they lived a long life after God drove them out of Eden.
Nevertheless, the Book of Genesis tells us the irreversible consequences of the trespass. The sin broke the trustful relationship between the man and the woman. Sin dominated relationships now among men. They could not stand before each other naked. They had to defend themselves from each other.
Moreover, man cannot stand before God, either. He became fearful of God. Why? It is because his conscience is no longer clear. His hands are not clean, and his heart is not pure. He does not remain in God’s grace anymore. Sin also shattered man’s relationship with God. And, unfortunately, man does not have any way to restore the relationship by his power.
Would you say the snake was telling the truth because the man and the woman did not immediately die when they trespassed God’s commandment?
When our relationships turn into doubt, suspicion, grudge, bitterness, or hatred, we feel worse than having no relationships. By sin, we deform our relationships into unbearable tortures. It is not a metaphor. Sins change our relationships into a living hell.
Now, cast out from God’s grace, the man walks in the darkness of sin. He is no longer happy as God intended at his creation. He must live with permanent confusion in his mind and heart. He is dead before God.
I wonder whether mankind has experienced distrust between the two sexes as much as our generation goes through now. There has always been a certain degree of mistrust and suspicion between man and woman. In the previous generations, this suspicion was a part of practical wisdom from experiences. On the other hand, this generation now learns distrust and hatred against the opposite sexes from mass media, social media, and higher educational institutions. It seems that this distrust, suspicion, and hatred are promoted in an orchestrated fashion.
The Book of Genesis surprises us with a story of the creation of man and woman. It tells us that the first man and woman were both naked but were not ashamed. Men and women of the 21st century cannot think of this ‘being naked but not ashamed’, for they see each other as opponents and enemies. However, the Bible teaches that God created man and woman in a relationship of trust.
When the man woke up from his deep sleep and found the woman, he exclaimed, “This is, at last, bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” This cry implies that God created man and woman with the same nature and destined them to unite to each other in body and spirit. Since man and woman belong to each other in body and spirit, fundamental trust and love exist between them. That is how God created man and woman and destined them to relate to each other.
What we witness in our world is not normal. It is a twisted reality by our sinfulness. And we cannot overlook this reality because the loving relationship between man and woman is one primal purpose of creation. Left untreated this wounded relationship will torture man and woman to a most unbearable degree. Without the health of this fundamental relationship, our civilization, our world cannot stand upright.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. What is this tree? Even many non-Christians have heard about this tree. Did God forbid the man from its fruit because it was poisonous? Then, why did God expose such evil in his paradise? Why did God allow such a danger to exist among his creation? We may continue asking.
But my question is this. Why did God call the tree by that name? A tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Have you ever regretted? If you have lived a life without any regret, I sincerely admire you. I have many regrets about what I have done. When I have a regret, I now know what is good and what is evil. I now know what I should have chosen and what I should have avoided. But I chose what was evil and what I should have avoided. At the time of my choice, I did not perfectly know what it would be like if I chose what was evil. But it will be a lie if I say I did not know any warning.
We can not regret when we did not have any warning. There is a man with a burn scar. When he was very young, he tipped over a boiling kettle. The baby did not know any warning. It just happened to him. Of course, he is not happy with his scar but does not regret it because he was not responsible for his action. It is his parents who regret it. His parents knew the danger of a boiling kettle and could have prevented the accident.
Although we warn people of the danger of street drugs, some people still choose them. And they regret it later when they know the harm that they have done to themselves. When we know good and evil, most often, it is when we already regret it.
Even in the paradise at the time of creation, man had a limit. And God did not leave him without wisdom. Next to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, God planted the tree of life. The fruit of this tree was not a chemical medication that could extend the man’s biological life. It was wisdom with which the man did not have to live the life of regret. With the wisdom of God, man does not have to suffer evil. But when he wants to know what it is like to be beyond his limit of freedom, he suffers and dies.
One consensus among the developed countries of the world is ‘to save the natural environment.' Now is a time of environmentalism. But it is not simple to define environmentalism with a few words or a sentence because of its vast spectrums of ideas and practices. For some people, this issue turns into spiritual movements of nature worship. In the meantime, industries approach this issue as an energy problem – an endeavour for renewable energy sources. Policymakers devise and impose regulations to control pollution and wastes. Activists campaign for population control. In sum, all of them are looking for new solutions to satisfy human demand for consumption at a sustainable level.
But this attempt faces at least two serious questions. First, who can control the human demand for consumption? Second, who decides a sustainable level of consumption?
Our contemporary world relies its existence on consumption. Under this pandemic, we hear the word, essential, much more often than before. Mostly what do we call essential? Mostly they are related to consumption, either products or services. Consumption itself is what is essential. Not human survival but the survival of money and the market is what matters.
Is consumption a living organism? No. Its soul is human greed. If we do not tame this greed, this beast of consumption will continue devouring God’s creation. Greed does not know satisfaction. Any kind of environmentalism would not be successful unless it addresses the control of human greed. God created order and harmony in the universe and nature. But greed itself is chaotic and disordered. There cannot be a ‘green deal’ for a world of greedy consumption. God creates. Greed only consumes.
As far as we trace the human history, our generation lives in a much more artificial environment than any previous generations. And now, this pandemic forces us to live in a virtual space of electronics. Nevertheless, we also witness the high tide of nature worship, mostly in the Western hemisphere. There is broad but loose solidarity of many forms of nature-worship spirituality, philosophy, movements, activisms, and political parties. Many Christians also subscribe to nature worship and participate in it in various ways. It is not easy to define nature worship because there are so many ideas and attitudes or practices. But we can observe that its followers presume the existence of a soul or spirit that enlivens nature as one organic body. Therefore, they worship Mother Nature or Mother Universe. In a sense, it is a form of animism – a belief that lifeless things also have souls. Nature or the universe is its origin and autonomously governs itself. Man is merely a tenant on earth. Meanwhile, nature worship is also a type of pantheism – a belief that the universe or nature is identical with divinity. Then, man is also divine as a part of the divine organism of the universe or nature.
However, the very first chapter of the Book of Genesis plainly shows us how foreign to nature worship spirituality the Judeo-Christian revelation is. The Bible teaches God created the universe and nature. It makes clear that the universe or nature did not evolve by its own force. God created it with a purpose. What is it? Genesis expresses it in this way: “God saw that it was good.” As the meaning of the word ‘universe’ itself implies, God created the world for ‘order’ and ‘harmony’ that reflect God’s nature. The ‘good’ implies much more than just feeling a pleasure. It reveals the goodness of the Lord. The universe and nature exist to reflect God’s goodness. The purpose of nature and the universe is to give praise to God’s goodness.
Some people stop at the beauty and order of the universe and nature and start worshipping them. But the Book of Genesis invites us to see beyond the beauty and peace. Genesis teaches us the purpose of all creation. God created us to reflect his goodness. And he wants to call us ‘good’. That is why he created us.
When we purchase furniture that requires assembly, we should carefully follow its assembly order. Otherwise, you may have to disassemble all of it and start all over again. When we buy electronic appliances, we read their instructions for proper setup. Otherwise, we may not enjoy their features we have paid for. Now, once having finished the assembly or setup, how many of us keep reading the instruction? Some people throw them away in the garbage. Of course, it is not a good idea to discard instructions. They will be useful for maintenance, reset, or repair. However, we do not read instruction manuals for entertainment. They are written to assist us to build, operate, maintain, or repair. They are useful but secondary in the sense that they exist for something else.
Now, what about the Bible? What about the words of the Lord? What about the Good News? Do you think they are a kind of instruction manual? Do we read them to live a more meaningful life? Or for a holy life? Or for a successful life? Do you think the Bible exists for something such as holiness, blessing, accomplishment, or peace? In a simple way, do you use the Bible? Do you use the Gospel for something you like and enjoy?
Jesus healed lots of people. He also drove out many demons. People looked for him so that he would cure all their diseases and demonic possessions. But Jesus did not say healing was his purpose. He said, “Let us go to the neighbouring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for this what I came out to do.” His ministry or ultimately his coming to this world was to bring the Gospel.
But I like to remind you that Jesus is the Word of God. He is not a messenger. He is the message itself. When we hear his message, we encounter Jesus. Christ Jesus is the revelation of God the Father. Reading or listening to the Gospel, we are before the presence of the Lord. As Jesus declared the kingdom of God was near when we share the message of the Gospel, the kingdom of heaven is among us.
In his first Letter to the Corinthians, St Paul says he gave up his right to an apostle’s compensations for ministry. Why? It is because his proclamation of the Gospel is his reward. He does not preach the Gospel for another reward. The proclamation of the Gospel is his obligation and only reward. Why? It is because he is with the Lord as he preaches the Gospel. To be with the Lord is an apostle’s reward. An apostle does not look for comfort, peace, pleasure, wealth, fame, or power. He is content with being with Christ in his Gospel. An apostle cannot stop preaching the Gospel because he always remains in Christ.
Therefore, we cannot close the Bible and leave it on the dusty bookshelf. We might feel tempted to use the Word of God for a so-call critical cause for humanity in this world. Christ called Christians to be the salt and light of the world. But Christ was not telling us to complete his kingdom in this world. His kingdom does not belong to this world. And remember, as Job says, that this life is only a breath. We want to remain in Christ in eternity. Let us open the Bible. And be with and in the Lord. It is our only reward.
Have you met people who very often say like these? “Oh, the Lord helped me today finish early my work.” “I couldn’t stand the person without the Holy Spirit’s assistance.” “I was upset yesterday, but Jesus heard my prayer and gave me peace in my heart.” And so on. These people seem to find the Lord in every event. And they attribute all their successes, accomplishments, and delights to the Lord. It seems that the presence or providence of God explains everything for them. But a man of reason and science might feel aversion to these people and despise them as naïve and gullible simpletons. He believes reason and science can explain or will explain all phenomena. For him, religion remains a primitive method to explain the world and man, though it is a highly complex mental work of symbols and rituals.
To Which group do you find yourself close to or belong? Even if I always practised the faith, I wanted to analyze the world with reason and science. I scorned pious people for their presumed ignorance of science and naïve hopefulness.
But from some time on, I slowly recognized it as a divine gift to perceive the Lord’s presence in our daily life and the world. It is a superior way to understand life and the world because only the Lord’s presence and his providence can reveal the ultimate purposes of all human and natural phenomena. Then, we understand their meanings. Modern man has gathered much scientific knowledge of man and the world. But he finds his heart empty of meaning and falls into depression. He can explain life phenomena on the molecular level. However, he cannot find the purpose of life and asks for euthanasia when pains overwhelm him.
“Through Jesus Christ, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.” The Letter to the Hebrews invites us to give praise to the Lord. How can we offer praise unless we find our life meaningful? And how can we find our life truly meaningful unless we see the purpose of life? And how can we recognize the purpose of life unless we see our life with the eye of the Lord? And how can we share the eye of the Lord unless we recognize his presence in our life?
I pray that my Lord removes the blind of my human pride and reveals his presence so that I may praise him with a joyful heart.
The martyrdom of St John the Baptist presents how sins are interwoven and eventually bring about the shedding of innocent blood. And today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews makes comments on the sins that resulted in the Saint’s martyrdom.
King Herod took his brother’s wife Herodias while his brother Philip was alive. Why? Because of a beautiful or tearful romance? No, it was their wanton desire for flesh, which the Letter to the Hebrews condemns. “Let marriage be held in honour by all, and the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.” If someone still has a doubt of a biblical basis for the Church’s condemnation of all kinds of immoral and illicit sexual behaviours, this passage of the Letter to the Hebrews clears such a doubt.
But was it only lust that attracted Herod and Herodias to each other? The Romans appointed Herod as a ruler of Galilee and Perea. Noticing this opportunity, Herodias abandoned her husband Philip for a more powerful and richer man. Herodias herself was a royal family. Philip and Herod were her paternal uncles. For Herod, Herodias could secure more inheritance of the royal wealth. Herod’s political and financial calculation made it easy to desire his niece. He also abandoned his first wife from Arabia for Herodias. The Letter to the Hebrews warns us of the love of money and advises us to be content with poverty. Jesus told his disciples they could not serve money and God at the same time. St Paul calls greed the root of all evil.
While the Letter to the Hebrews encourages us to be hospitable to strangers, Herod serves his political friends only at his birthday banquet. The Letter to the Hebrews asks us to remember the imprisoned for their safety as unjust and arbitrary incarceration was common in ancient times. On the opposite, Herod silenced St John the Baptist by throwing him into a dungeon. He might have highly regarded St John the Baptist, but he certainly did not want to listen to the truth.
Now, all these sins compounded one another and finally grabbed an opportunity for a more terrible crime. The bitter anger of Herodias against the Baptist was looking for murder. Her daughter’s sensual dance before Herod roused him to making an irrevocable promise. And the Baptist’s head ended up on a platter.
You can find most of the capital sins in this story: pride, lust, greed, anger, envy, gluttony, and sloth. Pride disregards the truth. Lust paralyzes the reason. Greed ignores God. Envy kills the good. Gluttony loses temperance. Spiritual sloth gives Satan a chance.
I wonder if you carefully read or listened to the first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews today. The letter makes a comparison between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Mount Sinai symbolizes the Old Covenant God made with Israel when he brought them out of Egypt. On the other hand, Mount Zion points to the New Covenant that a new people of God received through the blood of Christ Jesus.
The Letter to the Hebrews also shows a difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. Although God is the same, the God of the Old Covenant was so fearful to approach, while the God of the New Covenant celebrates together with his angels and saints and accepts all the faithful in his city. Mount Sinai was covered with “a blazing fire, darkness, gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not another word be spoken to them”. On the opposite, Mount Zion is the living God’s city, filled with the festal gathering of innumerable angels, the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and the spirits of the righteous, with the presence of God the judge of all and Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant. This heavenly Jerusalem is sprinkled with the blood of the Lamb of God, which redeems all sins of man.
This comparison prompts us to the images of the sacrifices of the Old Covenant and the New One. Smoke, blood, and fear would fill the Temple of the Old Covenant. But light and joy fill the New Jerusalem. What is this new sacrifice? It is nothing but the Holy Mass!
Finally, the people of God may approach God without fear of death. But behold, countless hosts of angels and the assembly of all saints make a presence at the Mass. God and his only begotten Son reveal themselves to his people in the bloodless sacrifice for the redemption of humanity. All heaven and earth are summoned at the Mass.
Nevertheless, do we recognize its indescribable greatness and unfathomable profundity? Most times I do not see this glory at the sanctuary. The Mass becomes a daily routine without the feeling of awe and adoration. Although Christ comes to me in his flesh and blood in the Eucharist, often I look for him in somewhere ‘more meaningful’. Am I blind? Where else will I find a more genuine religious encounter?
I pray that the Lord remove my blindness so that I may see his glory at the sacrifice of the Mass. And I also pray that our fasting of attending the Mass during this pandemic may intensify our desire for Jesus, who gives his flesh and blood in this heavenly Jerusalem of the Eucharist.
Many Christian speakers on social media are concerned about the future of Christianity after the pandemic. Once virtual services and group gatherings become a norm and take roots in the faithful’s behaviours, gathering them again inside the Church might be difficult. Compounded with an individualistic and pluralistic atmosphere within the Church, some might find it meaningless to practise faith in the liturgy, by devotions, or within a community, and fall away from the Church. Religion or faith might be reduced to a social media channel or a cable TV station. It might become one option among many forms of entertainment.
Now, this pandemic may push young people farther away from the Church. All catechism classes or faith development programs have been closed indefinitely. I see fewer and fewer families bringing their children for Communion at the parish parking. If non-gathering restrictions go on for a while and the fear for the virus persists for a long time, can we expect our children and grandchildren to ask us to bring them to church when the pandemic is over?
It seems true the Christian faith is in crisis under this pandemic. Or we should rather say that our crisis has now another turn, for this crisis of faith began a long time ago. The decline of church attendance is not news. After WWII and especially since the 1960s, practising Catholics have steadily declined. The number of priestly and religious vocation plummeted. Many religious orders and communities are disappearing. So many local parishes don’t have resident clergy now.
I wonder if you agree with the word ‘crisis’ I used to describe the situation of the Church. I have a reservation to call this situation a crisis. Many of us are indeed in crises of falling into deeper sinfulness in our times’ confusion. But the Christian faith itself never suffers degradation because the Lord is always faithful. I like to call our situation a ‘trial’ or ‘purification’. Or you may view it as God’s chastisement or discipline against our unfaithfulness all these years. The letter to the Hebrews reminds us today, “Beloved, in your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” It continues, “the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts. Endure trials for the sake of discipline...Now disciplines seem painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
My brethren, it is time for discipline. Only faithful ones will spiritually survive this pandemic. Keep your ears open to the words of the Lord. Teach your children the faith you received from the Church. Pastors cannot replace you. Let us gather our strength. When we ask for it, the Lord will gladly grant what we need for this trial. It’s not a crisis. It is an opportunity to grow and mature in the Lord.
When God of Moses brought the last disaster to Egyptians, all the firstborn males, either human or animal, were killed. Only Hebrews avoided the divine punishment by the blood of lambs on their doorposts. They had to redeem their firstborn males by the sacrifice of the lambs. It became a part of the Jewish ritual laws. Jewish parents redeemed their firstborn sons at the Temple after 40 days of birth. Thus, this presenting a firstborn male child means receiving them back by sacrifice.
Another name of this day is the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. All mothers who have given birth to a male child were considered ritually unclean for 40 days and had to purify themselves at the Temple in Jerusalem. The Blessed Virgin also followed this law.
Now, either Jesus or Mary didn’t have to follow these ritual laws. First, Jesus himself was the redemptive sacrifice for all humanity from sins. Second, the Blessed Virgin Mary kept her perpetual virginity at the conception of Jesus and at her giving birth to him as well. She never became ritually unclean by blood.
Nevertheless, both of them showed their solidarity with their people. They didn’t claim their prestige or privilege or status but bore the burden of life with the poor. The sacrifice of a pair of doves was for the poor people. The regular offering was a lamb.
This day also celebrates the world day for consecrated life. Members of religious orders and communities renew their vows today. The clergy should also refresh their dedication to the Lord this day. As the Son of God and his Mother shared all human burdens, the clergy and the religious should not be afraid of bearing them. The more closely united to Jesus a priest or religious becomes, the more willingly he will share the burdens of life.
Have you seen people with demonic oppression or possession? I have not yet seen it personally. But many of us probably saw movies about demonic possession or exorcism. Movies usually do not focus on the nature of demonic possession or oppression. They highlight paranormal struggles and fights or horrible and frightening fates of characters to keep your attention.
On the other hand, in today’s gospel, we can see what happens in demonic possession. The Gerasenes demoniac is alive. But he lives among the dead away from his people. He is alive bodily but dead spiritually and socially. In the meantime, no one can restrain him. No human power can overwhelm him. No one can help him. In other words, there is no human cure for demonic oppression or possession. When a person’s illness has a supernatural origin, there is no human cure. Lastly, in movies, we see many victims harmed by demoniacs. But in reality, the true victims are the demoniacs oppressed or possessed by demons. The Gerasenes demoniac howls night and day with agony and bruises himself with stones.
Genuine demonic oppression and possession are still found in our times although we don’t see them often. Then, Satan and his demons became lazy and inactive in modern times? I don’t think so. Spiritually dead people are all over. So many people do not think about the afterlife. They live as if they have no spirit, chasing only after pleasure and wealth. Although we stay to ourselves we are so well connected by electronic and virtual means, so many people feel alone and have broken relationships. Too many divorces and single-parent homes are around us. Meanwhile, in our times we see so many addictions at a personal level and so many large-scale exploitations at the society level. Scientific theories or psychology cannot comprehensively explain these personal and social evils. If they could, these evils should have gone by now. As we see all around us, there are still too many victims of Satan’s lies. We cannot but admit that many evils are beyond human power. Evil is not merely human or natural but also demonic and supernatural.
We need the Stronger One. Only Christ Jesus can overpower Satan and his demons as he demonstrates in today’s gospel. Satan is diligent and steadfast in luring man with his ever-new lies. We still find many demoniacs around us. I should examine first myself if I subscribe to any of Satan’s lies and his false promises.
During this pandemic and under many shutdowns and lock-downs, you might have encountered many more prophecies than ever before through social media and other online platforms. Some interpret this pandemic as God’s wrath. Some translate this pandemic into a part of the signs of the end time. You have probably come across at least a couple of prophecies about the Antichrist or terrible disasters, insurrections, or a mass apostasy in the Church. When we hear these prophecies, the first thing rising in our minds is these questions: ‘Is that true?’ ‘Can it be true?’ ‘Will it happen soon?’
From the very beginning of the Church, prophets have been among Christians. St Paul lists prophecy among the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Church. As we hear in the first reading of this Sunday, the God of the Old Testament foretold the Prophet's coming through the mouth of Moses. And St Mark’s gospel presents Jesus as that true Prophet in the gospel. Then, the question is how to tell who are true Christian prophets.
The answer hides in Christ Jesus. He is the Prophet who reveals God and his will. The reason Christ Jesus is the True Prophet comes from his conformity to his heavenly Father in the knowledge and will. The more closely united to God a prophet is, the more accurately he will deliver God’s plan. Precisely because God the Son is in perfect union with God the Father, he is the Prophet, the perfect Revelation of God.
When God the Son became man, he opened a way for us to become like him through his humanity. This is how Christians become prophets. Christian prophets are different from the Old Testament prophets. The Old Testament prophets received visions or voices from heaven or angels. On the other hand, Christian prophets become prophets by joining themselves to Christ Jesus. This joining to Christ often means a life of suffering. Can you find any prophet-saint who lived a so-called good life? As far as I research, they all lived lives of penance, enduring much suffering. Some of them encountered the Blessed Virgin Mary, and she urged them to actively join the suffering of her Son to prevent or prepare for God’s impending chastisements. Their conformity to Christ comes first before their prophetic messages. Their unity with Christ reveals how true their prophecies are. Thus, it is critical to see who the purported prophet is.
Do we have any prophet-saint who specified when or where their prophecies would occur? Can you find a true prophet who didn’t urge us to repent and do our penance? Christian prophets proclaim fundamentally the same message of Christ. It is to live according to the will of the heavenly Father by repentance and love for others. And we exercise this message by becoming like Christ Jesus in daily life through perseverance and suffering. In other words, all Christians share the office of the prophet.
Whenever I encounter a credible prophecy, it makes me examine myself. And it admonishes me to conform myself and my life to Christ, not tomorrow or in five years or when another epidemic spreads, but this day. Christ’s prophecy is not for tomorrow but this moment.
One common characteristic of survivors of terrible disasters, either human or natural, is their hopefulness. Can we live a day without hope? Hope is not the same as a goal. A goal is what we can and should reach or accomplish. But we can still hope for things out of our control, such as life. Even at the bottom of tragedies, people still hope. As in the Greek myth of Pandora’s box, man is left with hope even when all kinds of evils fill our lives. Hope is a force to live. When a person has lost hope, he dies soon.
In the meantime, the man also hopes for life eternal. This human character is universal. Ancient people developed a very keen sense of the afterlife. We find so many ancient artifacts and remnants all over the world describing their ideas of the afterlife. There is no ancient religion that doesn’t speak about the afterlife. Almost instinctively, man hopes for an afterlife, which doesn’t face another death. However, the confirmation of this hope remains far beyond man’s power.
God didn’t leave the man alone. As we hear from the first reading today, God revealed life eternal to Abraham and his descendants. But it became clear that man could not have eternal life naturally. Imagine all evil people could live eternally after this life! And most of us find ourselves not deserving life eternal because we have sinned. Thus, the hope for eternal life necessarily includes the hope for a redeemer. Only the Son of God could accomplish the redemption by his blood. And he proved the indestructible life at his glorious resurrection.
This is the Christian hope that we share that indestructible life of Christ after this world. And as mentioned, this hope is also not a goal we can achieve by our power or work. But it’s not wishful thinking, either. Life eternal is reality Jesus already shown to us at his resurrection. The Christian hope is a virtue by which we entrust ourselves to the goodness and mercy of the Lord for life eternal. We will never see our hope come true in this life. But Christ has already shown the risen life. Then, this hope becomes a force of Christian perseverance in this life.
Do you like reading the Bible? I do. Why? Even the same passage always gives a renewed meaning. And it sheds light on different situations at the most helpful angle. It is not I who find or discover meaning, but the passage itself teaches me. The Bible is not dead literature. It is the living word of the Lord. A simple parable Jesus told his disciples two thousand years ago can still enlighten my mind and console my heart. And its enlightenment and consolation are far different from the ones from the world. The word of the Lord fills my heart with true delight that doesn’t deplete.
Today Jesus explains to us the kingdom of God with the two parables. The kingdom of God grows according to his providential timeline. A farmer cannot ripen an apple one day sooner but can only help the apple tree grow well. But the tree grows and bears fruits on its time. Likewise, the word of the Lord grows and bears fruit for us when its time comes according to the Lord's plan. But if we don’t read or reflect on it, we will never taste the fruit. That is why we want to read the Bible daily. I can assure you that our Lord is living and that his living word touches your mind and heart when you listen to it. As Jesus explained the parables to his disciples in private, he will also teach you the meaning of what you read in the Bible if you only ask him. When we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit does not leave us alone. He helps us.
I pray that we may have the grace to listen to the word of the Lord every day. Then, our Lord will give us fruit at a proper time.
Well over a generation, Western societies have been pushing away Christianity from the public sphere. It is not newsworthy any more to report Christian religious symbols are removed from public spaces. Politicians and public officials say their faith is private and personal only. People can no longer speak about religion at work. Proclaiming the gospel of Christ is considered violence and hate speech. The Name of Christ is not heard or invoked any more except as an expletive.
Nevertheless, Jesus says, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?”
Jesus came on earth to proclaim the gospel. A proclamation is not whispering to the ear. It is a public speech so that many people may hear it. That was the purpose of the life of Christ. Christ didn’t remain in a private and personal sphere. On the opposite, He came to be known. He was the revelation of God. Therefore, his gospel is to be public, not in the sense of governance or official but in the sense of communal, open, and shared. Christian faith and teachings are never secretive, esoteric, or exclusive. On the contrary, Christianity is always open and universal to all humanity. It is a lamp or light of the world. It exists to be seen and shared.
Christ, his gospel and Christian faith are essentially public. It is why Christians are called to be salt and light of the world. Christians must bring Christ to the world. And it was the command of Christ as he ascended to heaven. “Go out to the world and proclaim the gospel.” Christ couldn’t be hidden. Neither could Christians.
There would be no Christians who never heard this parable of a sower. And I am sure that everyone will agree we want to be good soil and bear much fruit. However, our generation faces a challenge, a huge one, even before we begin to till the field. It’s because the world tells us that we are innocent, that we are all good, and that no true evil exists. Moreover, now many Christians believe Satan is just a symbol of a misguided good-will. At this point, if the world were right, the parable of the sower would lose all its ground.
However, as we carefully listen to the parable, we realize Jesus already includes all these claims in it. In a sense, this parable is a prophecy for our generation. Even if we preach the gospel on the wide and easy path to hell, the people in it will not likely recognize the gospel. It's because it is full of pleasure and excitement. When a person is obsessed with a personal goal, he cannot spend any of his time on the gospel, just as the rock cannot provide any nutrition to seed. And when a person believes in self-innocence and self-righteousness, there is no place for the gospel to take its root. The person refuses to be broken into the soil and cultivated. And when a person allows worldly concerns to fill his daily life, they cover his entire life just as weeds eventually dominate the whole field.
Let us take a look at our bookcases. What kinds of books fill them? Let us open our computer hard drives. What files take the most space? How much do we spend money on our faith development? Do we spend any? Most of us don’t miss paying for cable TVs or internet service every month. Compared to our entertainment, how big or small is our spending on spiritual reading?
Where are we heading? Would it be enough all for our life if we could finish paying our mortgages? What are our children’s life-goals? Paid a six-figure salary in their twenties? Or do they have any? Just to be themselves? At home, do we ever discuss our life goals and our faith?
If we expect and wait for God to change us into good soil, we test God. God called us to his vineyard to work and bear fruit. Christ is the vine, and we are his branches. Let us till our life, our heart. Let us remove rocks and weeds from there so that the gospel may take its root in our lives and bear the fruit of life eternal.
We often say ‘easier said than done’. This saying holds in many human affairs. But it also seems true in divine affairs. What do I mean by ‘divine affairs’? God cannot have any difficulty in his work! It’s true. However, even Jesus needs our cooperation in proclaiming his gospel. But ‘bringing the Good News to the world’ sounds trite, banal, overused, and cliche. Christians heard it so much or too much. Nevertheless, have you attempted to bring someone to the faith, ever? I was born and raised a Catholic. And I went to a seminary and was ordained a priest. But I never went out to bring the gospel to my neighbours to this day. Here at my parish, the rectory is surrounded by residential houses. And I know none of the neighbours is a parishioner. Have I invited them to our Mass or other events? Never. Then, can I teach or even speak about evangelization? Why have I not ever spoken to my neighbours about the faith?
Yes, evangelization is so easier said than done. I need to overcome fears first – the fear of rejection, the fear of being politically incorrect, the fear of the hostility to the Christian faith. But even before speaking about fear, I need to overcome this laziness to remain in my comfort zone, to maintain what I have, and only to keep up with regular requests.
On this day of the memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, we read St Paul’s letters for the first reading. As we hear from St Paul’s second letter to Timothy, St Paul wrote this letter in prison. This letter sounds like a will before his execution. For the apostles, bring the Good News was not merely difficult. It was highly dangerous, risking their lives. And almost all of them (except St John the Apostle) was martyred. They all knew evangelization was more dangerous than said, but they kept preaching. A true faith!
I pray that our saints today may pray for us that we may also have the spirit of the power of love and of self-discipline, through which we may join our apostles in suffering for the gospel relying on the power of God.
Paul, formerly called Saul, was well-known to the earliest Christians even before his conversion. It’s because he was a fierce and merciless persecutor of Christians. Then, suddenly, Jesus changed him. Now, the challenge for Paul and the Christians was how to prove his legitimacy as a Christian and an apostle of Christ. Were the great light and voice from heaven enough? Was his healing from the sudden blindness enough?
The Christians who witnessed and helped Paul, then still called Saul, were amazed at what happened to him. But they could not trust him immediately. His legitimacy only came with his proclamation of the gospel of Christ. When the Christians heard Saul preach the gospel of Christ, they probably couldn’t believe their ears. However, sooner or later, they recognized his faithfulness to the gospel of Christ. Later on, Paul had to suffer many controversies in his communities. He even had to chastise Peter for not being faithful to the gospel of Christ but siding with Judaizers who insisted on Jewish customs such as circumcision. Whenever his communities were in confusion, St Paul reminded them of the gospel of Christ. Christ’s gospel is the only measure for Christian faith.
Christianity in our generation suffers so many impurities and confusions. These impurities and confusions don’t come from Christ’s gospel. Satan and the unclear human mind bring about them. How do we cleanse them? Only by the faithfulness to the gospel of Christ.
Today we celebrate the conversion of St Paul. Why? St Paul didn’t work for his conversion at all. He doesn’t get any credit for his conversion. On the contrary, the power of the gospel and Christ radically changed a persecutor to a preacher for the Gentiles. We are celebrating the power of the gospel, the power of Christ’s word today.
It’s time to be faithful to the voice of Christ. It’s time to listen to his gospel. Let us be faithful to his teaching. As he removed the scales from Saul’s eyes, he will remove our doubts and unbelief. When we give ourselves to his gospel, Jesus will change us as he converted St Paul.
Two of this Sunday’s reading call for repentance. Is repentance still relevant to our times? For repentance to be meaningful, there should be objective references of good and evil, virtues and vices, holiness and profanity, and faith and idolatry. But the modern mind has been overwhelmed with the high waves of relativism and pluralism. Moreover, science and psychology have been demystifying all human acts. Thus, there should be nothing left unexplained as scientific or psychological phenomena. All human behaviours and mental activities became reduced to the material. Repentance, sin, forgiveness, redemption and salvation would be then obsolete. These words might have been useful in the previous generations to express desires or to control human behaviours, but no longer now.
Lots of our baptized children have absorbed these ideas of relativism, pluralism, and materialistic philosophy. Our world teaches that nobody is wrong and everybody is right. For them, repentance doesn’t make much sense at all. The world promotes the idea that man does not have a limit. It tells each to be his own god.
Many good Catholic parents and grandparents wonder how our children became like this. We wonder where these ideas originated and how they spread.
These ideas are nothing new at all. When we read the first few chapters of the book of Genesis, we find all of them there. The snake whispered to Eve ‘To be one’s own god’. From the very beginning of man, Satan has been lying to humanity that we would be all fine even if we would chase after our desires forever.
But we still need answers to why this wave is so high in our times and our children no longer believe in the gospel or the Church. There are many reasons. But one reason we do not discuss much is our sin of omission to guard the faith and our children. Many clergies have closed their eyes to those living in sinful situations. We keep quiet when we find irregularities in marriages and families. Priests stop asking questions. Parents don’t take pains to remind their children of sins. We became too compliant, lenient and permissive. We have been ignoring our duties to guard those under our responsibilities.
Many of Satan’s lies have weakened our faith in the teachings of Christ and the Church. The material success of modern civilization desensitized our conscience. We became overconfident with ourselves. Many Christians no longer fear God. Perhaps we are overconfident with God’s mercy.
It is time to repent. We should look into our sinfulness first. But repentance should not intimidate us. God answers to true repentance. And we experience God’s forgiveness and mercy. Then, we have encouragement to call others for repentance so that they may also enjoy God’s mercy. We cannot turn blind eye to our beloved ones falling and remaining in sins.
All comes down to this reality: we will face terrible consequences unless we repent – either here on earth or after this world, or both. God is real. Let us not test him.
What do you think people will say if you speak about the gospel to everyone you meet and tell them to repent of their sins? What will people around you, your families think if you proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand? What will your friends think of you if you remind them of the wide and easy road to hell and its danger?
Today’s gospel is very short. Let me read it.
Jesus and the disciples went home; and the crowd came together again so that they could not even eat.
When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.”
Quite a short passage, isn’t it? But we heard what the hometown’s people said about Jesus. They thought Jesus had gone mad. They probably thought little of Jesus, for he didn’t have much social status or money. And now they heard that he was going around to proclaim the kingdom of heaven and repentance of sins. They probably believed he should take care of himself and his mother. Repentance and salvation are too much for a mere carpenter to handle. Or they are too much for anybody to handle.
Brothers and sisters, our family and friends will think the same and say the same if we proclaim the gospel and the need for repentance. They will say, “Leave it to your parish priest. Let the pope and bishops take care of it.”
Throughout history, when a clergy proclaimed the gospel and the repentance of sins with urgency to respond, he was scorned most times among his clergy. In our times, people love bishops and priests of sophisticated, innovative and progressive ideas. But those preaching the same message Jesus preached are often despised and disregarded as rigid, fanatic, fundamentalist.
What do you think people will say if you speak about the gospel to everyone you meet and tell them to repent of their sins? What will people around you, your families think if you proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand? What will your friends think of you if you remind them of the wide and easy road to hell and its danger?
More than ever, we live, or I should say, particularly under this pandemic, we are forced to live a very individualistic lifestyle. This age tells you to "Be yourself". The self-realization of a personal goal often precedes family and community. The morality of our times doesn’t reflect a community’s common perception of right or wrong. Contemporary morality teaches that nobody is wrong and everyone is right. Likewise, religion tends to be very individualistic. When people say, "I am very spiritual," you can translate it into "Don’t interfere with my religious view."
Individualistic approaches to faith and religion pose a couple of risks. First, this kind of faith misses the fact that God calls people into his community. Judaeo-Christian faith never stayed within individuals without forming a community of the faithful. Through the Exodus experience, God called the people of Israel into his chosen community of faith. Jesus called the apostles and disciples to build his Church. Christ calls people through the Church and into the Church. We are called to become his mystical body of the Church.
Second, individualistic faith often ignores the fact that God works through history for our salvation. Some claim that they encountered God directly and they speak to God through their hearts. Indeed, it’s possible. However, the difficulty here is that individualistic religious experiences are often not easy to communicate to others, not easy to share and agree. This is why historical experiences of a faith community are so critical to the objectivity of the divine revelation. Although we find minor discrepancies among the four gospel books, we realize they agree on major developments of the revelation of Christ. Thus, we can trust the testimonies of the first Christians. The communal experiences of the faithful are the deposit of the faith. God transcends time. However, he also works through time and history. It is how we receive our faith from our ancestors of faith. This is what Jesus commanded, "Go out and preach the Good News. Baptize everyone!"
These days we cannot gather for the liturgy and friendship. Nevertheless, we cannot turn into an individualistic religion. Our ancestors of faith still kept the strong sense of community under persecutions, wars, epidemics, and all kinds of other disasters. Jesus still calls us into his flock, his community, to be with us.
I wonder if you could easily understand the first reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. I couldn’t. I had to read a few times. You probably noticed this passage was discussing priesthood and comparing the priesthood of the Old Covenant with the one of Christ. The Letter explains the superiority, uniqueness, efficacy of Christ’s priesthood. Do these words still sound too complicated to you?
In the end, all this discussion boils down to the necessity of Christ’s priesthood. In other words, do we need Christ as the mediator between God and man? And we are also asking if his sacrifice for redemption is necessary for our salvation.
I have encountered many Catholics and other Christians who plainly said they could be saved without the sacraments and the Church. And they also said people of other religions or even atheists could be saved without Christ. Practically speaking, they were saying we don’t need religions for salvation. And more specifically, they think Christ or the Church is not necessary for salvation. But effectively, they were saying they could save themselves. If there were heaven for them, God in their heaven would be just a generous landlord who would provide all houses and lands for free at their requests. But not more than that. God as the Judge or the final judgment would be out of the question.
Unfortunately, my experiences are not unique. Christianity in our times faces this challenge within. Not only lay people but also clergy and theologians in the Church freely spread this idea of self-salvation without Christ, without the Church. For them, it is helpful for salvation to have Christ or the Church, at best. But Christ or the Church would not be necessary. The divine revelation of the Old Testament and the New Testament could promote salvation but would not be necessary. These Christians, ironically, seem to believe Christianity should be dissolved or changed into a service provider for religiously inclined individuals.
However, from time of old, humanity realized there was no salvation within itself alone. The reality of many religious pursuits from time immemorial shows that man had been waiting for a true mediator between him and God. Our ancestors of faith encountered God, who revealed himself and his plan for salvation through history. And when the eternal High Priest came on earth, many on earth gladly received him. The High Priest, Christ Jesus offered himself as the truly effective sacrifice for our redemption. He gave himself to his Church, and we became his mystical body through the sacraments. Only through Christ and his Church, man is saved.
Religion is a two-way current. One way flows from God to man. And the other, from the man to God. But the nature of each current is not the same. The current from God originates from his love for humanity. God doesn’t have any need to create, but, out of his love, he gave us our being. Our existence itself reveals his goodness to us. Every single thing we experience, even suffering, is a gift. On the other hand, the current from man to God begins with a realization of his indebtedness to God. The man recognizes his duty to give thanks to God. The flow from man to God belongs to the virtue of justice. In other words, the man owes thanksgiving to God for everything he enjoys.
In the first reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear Abraham offer a tenth of everything he owned to the priest-king Melchizedek, who prefigures Christ. Would you consider this act of tithing as an expression of love? How would you feel if your spouse would share only ten percent of himself with you? Would you call it love? What Abraham offered symbolizes an act of justice. Because God gave us everything, even his being, we would have to give everything back, even our life, if we would want to leave nothing to owe him. But God is generous to us that he is pleased with our small offerings.
In the gospel today, Jesus demonstrates the current of God’s love for man. A law or custom cannot bind God’s love. He is free to offer grace and mercy beyond human rigidity. God’s love transcends man’s idea of justice. His way is much higher than ours. God showers down good things beyond a human scope of justice and equity. He offers grace and mercy to the good and the bad as well. God’s currency is love!
Many believe religion is an option. Even Christians act as if faith is an add-on for more flavours of life. When we realize what God has given us out of his goodness, we perceive the necessity of adoration and worship of him. Moreover, when we recognize our indebtedness to God and our humility before him, we will not suffer unnecessary unhappiness and misery. Many are unhappy because they believe God owes them what they want and like. Many bring about troubles because they play God for themselves and others like the Pharisees in the gospel today.
In the gospel today, we find two different conflicts. The story of King David shows a conflict between the law and the right to life. And we see another one between the law and the Son of Man.
Conflicts or competitions among different desires, demands, rights, duties and responsibilities call for an order of priorities. In other words, we have to decide what is more important. From the time of old, the man evaluated various values and attempted to synthesize a value system. Despite differences, world civilizations agree on most key values such as life, family, human dignity, peace, and equity.
But when the Church preached the gospel, humanity gladly accepted Christian values. Why? Humanity recognized the truth in Christianity. Humanity saw Christianity lift humanity to the union with divinity. By accepting the Son of Man as the Lord of all, humanity became adopted children of God. No longer the Sabbath law or any other human authority could take precedence over humanity. The man is elevated to the brotherhood of the Son of God.
When humanity ignores the Son of Man it enters again into the darkness of confusion and conflict. Once again, all kinds of desires and demands compete against one another. And the ones with power and deceiving tongues prevail there.
Western societies have so highly developed legal systems that even lawyers cannot encompass all the laws. But daily, we encounter unreasonableness and injustice in our justice system. We doubt if our laws faithfully reflect people’s values. As Western societies remove God from their public sphere, humanity suffers its degradation. The Son of Man does not want to be the Lord of the Sabbath for his gratification. When he becomes the Lord of the Sabbath, we will recover our true human dignity as his brothers.
“Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” people asked Jesus. This question makes us think about what the disciples of Jesus should do. And this question makes us ponder what is essential to follow Christ. Jesus does not deny the need for a religious fast. On the opposite, he emphasized fasting and prayer to cast out demons. But casting out demons doesn’t seem an essence or a purpose to follow the Way of Christ. Jesus once admonished his disciples that they should not rejoice because they could cast out demons and work wonders. He advised that they should rejoice when their names were written in heaven.
When we forget the essence of Christian discipleship, we are confused and start asking questions. ‘Why doesn’t the Church put herself on the front line to resolve economic inequality?’ ‘Why doesn’t the Church spearhead in reducing carbon consumption in the world?’ ‘Why doesn’t the Church involve herself more in international politics to influence global issues?’ And the like.
But the discipleship of Christ is all about salvation. First, we are called to be with Christ. Christians are the people who remain in and with Christ. “As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.” Second, we are called to repent of our sins. What was the first thing Jesus did in his ministry? It was the call for repentance. Third, we are to put our whole hearts in heaven, not anywhere else. Jesus didn’t preach for social reform though there were so many structural and cultural evils in the world he lived. But he first called people to the kingdom of heaven. When Pilate asked Jesus, he answered his kingdom was not of this world.
Christianity cannot be and shouldn’t be reduced to a human ideology, not even to religious rigorism. I ask myself whether I speak God’s name but don’t ask for his presence in my prayers. I ask myself if I am busy with parish works but don’t walk together with Jesus. I ask myself whether I fast but don’t recognize the presence of the Groom.
This Sunday’s two readings describe divine callings to God’s work. The little Samuel heard God’s voice but didn’t recognize it until Eli discerned and told him how to respond. The two disciples of John the Baptist saw Jesus walking by but didn’t recognize him until the Baptist shouted to them who Jesus was. One of them, Andrew now went to his brother Simon and told him whom he had found. And Andrew brought his brother Simon to Jesus.
In both episodes, the future prophet and the apostles receive help from others to follow God’s callings. Can you think of examples in the Bible where people immediately recognize and understand God’s callings without any helps from angels, visions, dreams, or other people? Even the Immaculate Virgin had to be assisted by the archangel Gabriel. The archangel helped her understand what was happening to her.
Most countries in the world, particularly traditionally Christian countries have been suffering a dwindling number of priestly and religious vocations. One reason for this unfortunate current is that not many of us encourage, discern, or assist our young people. At least, we should remove discouragements and harmful environments so that God’s voice, the calling of Jesus may reach their ears, eyes, minds and hearts. But are we sure we have done our best? Somehow, so many of our children and grandchildren don’t even go to church.
One distinct gift of priestly and religious vocations in the Catholic Church is permanent celibacy. Priests and the religious do not struggle daily with obedience and poverty unless they are under unreasonable superiors while living under a poverty line. These two conditions don’t usually occur together in most Western churches. But chastity in celibate life faces daily challenges and struggles. And this is no surprise. The Western societies, all used to be Christian lands, do not believe in chastity anymore. As soon as we let our children watch movies and TV, they are bombarded with encouragements for promiscuity and perversity. Good Catholic parents are disheartened when their children start living with their boyfriends and girlfriends. But it was we who bought TVs, computers, tablets, and phones for them.
You might have felt surprised at the selection of the second reading this Sunday. St Paul does not negotiate on sexual immoralities. He cannot be more clear on the sinfulness of fornication, which is “carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman.” (CCC n.2353) In our times, most people, including many Catholics, consider this sinful act as normal and natural. Then, how can we expect our children and grandchildren to choose a life of chastity and celibacy, which are now abnormal to most of us?
When we raise our children as temples of the Holy Spirit, they may hear God’s voice and see His signs. But to help them, we should help ourselves first. We all wish to go back to normalcy before this pandemic of coronavirus. But we also need to go back to the normalcy before this pandemic of sexual immoralities.
Very often I find resistance in my heart and mind before the crucifix or the altar – my mind and heart say like these: ‘It was not a big deal,’ ‘Everybody does the same,’ ‘I was just weak,’ ‘I didn’t have any other choice,’ ‘It’s me, I was born like that,’ ‘Nobody got hurt,’ and so on. I often deny my sinfulness. The world now whispers to our hearts ‘there is no real sin’ and ‘there is no true evil.’ I say to myself, ‘I don’t have to think about it now.’
But “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” As the Letter to the Hebrews writes, “before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”
Some say Christianity forces us to feel guilty. Some say Christianity created sin and guilt to control the man. Some preach the liberation of the man from Christianity to recover ‘humanity’.
But we know from history what happened to humanity when it denied its sinfulness and rejected Christ. How many thousands and millions of people were murdered under atheistic ideologies? Just take a look at the last century - too many massive destructions of human lives.
Where would I lead myself into when I deceive myself of my sinfulness? Will I be able to save myself? I don’t have such power. Self-deception will reject Christ and refuse his mercy. Because he has “come to call not the righteous but the sinners”, I will not find myself among those Christ calls to himself for salvation.
I wonder what hope I have. Hope is real and true when a promise is given. If there is no promise is given, it is called wishful thinking or a dream.
The Letter to the Hebrews of today’s first reading speaks about God’s promise. It says, “Beloved: While the promise of entering God’s rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.” What can be this “God’s rest” other than the eternal happiness in heaven? And what can be this eternal happiness other than the life eternal Jesus promised to those who have faith in him?
The Letter to the Hebrews, however, sends us a stark warning. It awakes us from our dream – Christian wishful thinking that ‘I can go to heaven as long as I want to go to heaven’. Have I ever seriously thought about the possibility to suffer eternally in the fires of hell? Do I see daily dangers to fall into eternal damnation? When was the last time I preached on hell? Do I teach about it? This generation of Christianity mostly keeps silent on the possibility of suffering eternal damnation. But the Letter to the Hebrews quotes twice from the Psalms, “They shall not enter my rest” to remind the readers of the terrible reality of hell.
Many Christians cannot believe that someone can go to hell because of the goodness and mercy of the Lord. They think God will allow everyone to choose heaven by showing all his goodness and mercy, even at or after death. But this wish seems contrary to what is written in the Bible.
In today’s gospel, the friends of the paralyzed man put great effort to save their friend. The gospel says, “Jesus saw their faith”. Jesus who sees the secrets of our hearts saw their faith in their efforts to save their friend. And he saves first the man’s soul by forgiving his sins. Faith is not wishful thinking or a dream but an active trust expressed in efforts. Christ never promised of heaven just by wishing to enter it. On the contrary, he urges us to take the narrow and difficult way.
Listen again to the Letter to the Hebrews. “Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through such disobedience as theirs.”
The people in the synagogue Jesus was teaching recognized that Jesus had authority, unlike the Jewish scribes. The scribes often depended on the biblical figures, especially, on Moses for the validity of their interpretations and teachings. On the other hand, Jesus didn’t use others’ names for his teaching. And then, the people witnessed that demons declared the divinity of Jesus and that Jesus cast out the demons with his power. The knowledge and power of Jesus originated from him. Jesus himself was the source and origin of his teachings and wonders. The authority of Jesus was not a social status or privilege. It meant his genuine power of divine knowledge and works. This is why Jesus attracted so many people. The people saw the real thing in Jesus. But the authority of Christ Jesus was not merely in the signs he performed. He demonstrated his redeeming authority by his death at the crucifixion and his life at the resurrection.
We all wish to be authentic Christian. Or, we hope not we give an impression of a false or hypocritical Christian. We want to be more than nominal Christians. How do we become authentic Christian? Not all of us are gifted with teaching or healing. But we can still follow what Jesus did. As Christ Jesus always remained in his heavenly Father by prayer, we can be with the Father and the Son in prayers. As Jesus took up his cross to give his life for us, we can choose a life of sacrifice in many ways.
When the apostles once asked why they could not cast out certain unclean spirits, Jesus told them it was possible only by prayer and fasting. When we pray, we are united with the Lord. When we practice sacrifice, we become the Lord’s instruments for his wonders. A life of prayer and sacrifice makes us authentic Christian, even enabling us to cast out tenacious demons just like Jesus did.
Today’s gospel shows how Jesus called his first disciples as he began his public ministry. This passage will leave an unforgettable impression on young people who feel the Lord's calling to his work and vineyard. However, this passage also teaches all of us a simple truth in our journeys of faith. It is abandonment for Christ. Or it can be called detachment from the world. In other words, we cannot follow Jesus without giving up things as the first disciples left their livelihood and families. This may sound simple and plain. Indeed, abandonment and detachment are fundamental to Christ’s discipleship. But they are very difficult virtues to master. Followers of Christ are daily tested and challenged of these virtues throughout their faith journeys.
The most seductive and insidious lie Satan ceaselessly tells us is that we can have both the world and Christ. This lie is nothing new. He tricked Eve by promising that she could eat the forbidden fruit and would not die. Satan lied to her that she could become like God but still live in the Garden of Eden. Satan tells us that we can enjoy all the good things in the world but still enter heaven. He whispers to our ears that we can indulge ourselves in pleasure but be faithful to our Lord. He draws a map to heaven without a cross.
Children know they will have toothaches if they eat too many candies all the time. It is not possible to stay healthy and to always satisfy appetites at the same time. There was a limit even in the Garden of Eden. To follow the Way of Christ toward heaven, we have many things to give up. To be with Jesus together in heaven, we should be able to embrace our crosses. A true cross demands sacrifices – self-abandonment and detachment.
One of the common questions in adult catechism classes regardin g Baptism is about the necessity of Baptism for salvation. This question may arise out of curiosity, or from a desire for a deeper understanding of the nature of baptism. However, from my experience from catechism classes, this question is often actually a rhetorical statement of universalism. What is this universalism? It is a vague religious attitude, sentiment or idea that all people will be saved regardless of their religious beliefs, as long as they are decent human beings or listening to their conscience because God is merciful and the creator of all people. According to universalism, Baptism is not necessary for salvation. Baptism is one cultural heritage of the Judeo-Christian tradition. We should not insist on Baptism because it will be nothing but an imposition of Christian heritage and culture. In our pluralistic world now, the insistence on the necessity of baptism is not even healthy for our society. God works for everybody's salvation in everybody's unique way. We may celebrate our children's baptisms but that's should be our limit. Why did Jesus receive Baptism? It was a friendly gesture for solidarity, carefully calculated from the cultural and religious traditions of Israel at that time.
This attitude and idea are not uncommon among many Christians these days. These Christians even encourage other religious people to be faithful to their non-christian beliefs saying they can go to heaven by their non-christian beliefs and practices. But an ironic fact is that there is no other religion except this modern-day Christian idea that believes other religious people and faiths are perfectly valid for salvation. Unfortunately, universalism affects so many Christians. But it doesn't help anyone. Instead, it only discourages and hurts the Church's evangelization.
Then, should we still insist on the necessity of Baptism for all peoples and nations? If I am a faithful Christian, I must agree. It is a command Jesus gave us when he ascended into heaven. We should clarify and deepen the meaning of Baptism so that people may more easily understand the will of Christ.
Let's ask once again. Why is it necessary to be baptized for salvation? But before this question, we should ask this first: "Do you want to be saved?" But even before this question, we should ask this first: "Do you believe in God?" Anyone who encounters God and desires him listens to what he says. In today's Gospel, at the Baptism of the Lord, the voice of the Father from heaven resounds, "You are my Son, the Beloved. With you, I am well pleased." And the Father's voice at the Transfiguration we remember: "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him." How can we ignore or doubt the command of Christ the Son of God to preach and baptize? Why is Baptism necessary for salvation? In humility, The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us, "The Church does not know of any other means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude." If I have true faith, I will preach the Gospel and lead people into Baptism. If I see people who haven't heard the Gospel, I should first bring the Gospel to them. It will be only playing God if I question whether God will be able to save them without the Gospel or Baptism. The Catechism teaches,"God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments." Indeed, God can save people without the sacraments. But that doesn't mean we are free from the command of Christ to baptize.
Our generation of Christianity emphasizes so much on the mercy of God. Indeed, it will be never enough to speak about the mercy of God the Father. And God has been merciful since day one. There is nothing new about his mercy. But what is different in our generation from previous generations is a strange silence about God's judgment. Is there any suppression of discussions about God's judgment and punishment? Not really. Is there any church authority that denies the end of the world? I haven't heard yet. Then, who started this silence on the judgment of God? Probably it will be unsuccessful to find such one. But you might have also noticed another silence. It is silence about sins. We still say 'sin' or 'sins' during the Mass and other prayers. We still call ourselves 'sinners' at the beginning of the Mass. However, we don't hear often anymore catechesis on sins. Instead, as Christianity becomes inclusive and lenient there are not many things left to be called sinful. Everyone has to be understood by his own standard. Then, everyone can be and should be understood and accepted. Nobody should be judged anymore. This is why there came the silence about God's judgment because no one is left for God to judge. It is that simple. Where there is no sin, there is no judgment.
Our generation makes St. John's letter we read today obsolete or irrelevant. St. John still speaks about sins. He discusses mortal sins and venial sins. As a matter of fact, our generation makes St. John a liar because he insists on something that doesn't exist. Or some theologians will charitably explain that the concept of sin was one way to explain human behaviours that the unenlightened ancient and medieval people could accept. ‘The concept of sin was an attempt to guide more people toward desirable behaviours. But no human behaviours can be intrinsically evil because they all want good things. God understands each one. He will not condemn anyone. Everyone is hopeful and all shall be saved by the infinite mercy of God.’ And so on.
I might feel better if I could convince myself that there is no sinner before God. But, then, I would not need Christ, or Christ had come to earth for nothing because he said he came to call sinners. If I deny sin, I don't have to be Christian. If there were no reality of sin, there would be no need for a redeemer, therefore, no Christ, and no Christianity.
One of the reasons some people don't go to church is that they believe that they can go to heaven without Jesus. Well, for Christians, it doesn't make any sense that someone believes in heaven while he doesn't believe in Jesus because it depends on the judgment of Christ Jesus whether a person is admitted to heaven or not. Where do these people, especially Christians get this idea of going to heaven without Jesus? Unfortunately, many Christian theologians and clergy have spread this idea. They do not deny heaven but they often say any people can be saved without Christ as long as they are good or, more specifically speaking, faithful to their conscience. There are not too many people who believe that they are bad and evil. Most people behave as they feel comfortable with their conscience. Then, most people on earth will be able to go to heaven without Christ Jesus or being taught of the Christian faith. Did Jesus come only for a small group of wicked men throughout history?
However, the letter of St. John teaches the necessity of Christ for salvation. St. John doesn't present Christ Jesus as one option or one way among many. Christ is the only way to salvation. He writes, "whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life." This negative statement precludes other interpretations. Does St. John speak only to his contemporaries? Do we not know that the Holy Spirit is speaking through St. John? When Jesus said," I will be with you until the end of time," was he speaking only to his disciples? These words and promises of the letter of St. John and Jesus are valid for all humanity until the last judgment.
St. John very harshly speaks about those who exclude Christ Jesus in man's salvation. Denying Christ in man's salvation is tantamount to denying God and making him a liar. "Those who do not believe in God have made him a liar by not believing in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son.”
Brothers and sisters, do not be swayed to and fro. We have the testimony of God the Father about his son, Christ Jesus. Let us say together as St. Peter confessed, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
St. John challenges how we can love God the Father if we cannot love our brothers or sisters. And he makes an interesting remark, "for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen." Well, don't we have a hard time to love our brothers and sisters because we have seen them too much? The more we know someone, the harder we find it to love the person dearly. Often, we are deeply disappointed and frustrated at our beloved ones. Do you think couples are separated or divorced because they haven't seen each other? But does St John think it is much easier to love someone if we see them often? Isn't it true that we are willing to send support for the poor and needy we have never seen or met? We love more easily saints we have never met. But when they were alive, not all people around them loved them. Many saints had to endure hatred and envy of their religious confreres and superiors. When we read St. Paul's letters, we find even St. Paul didn't find favours from all his coworkers.
This is the challenge of love. Some might say ignorance is bliss. But ignorance doesn't bring true love. When you're enthusiastic about someone without much knowledge of the person, it is called infatuation. Only when we know but embrace all shortcomings, it is called love. Does God love us because he has no idea about us? No. He truly loves us because he still gives good things even if we are evil and sinful. Would you love God even if he still gives good things to those you hate? If we cannot love our enemies, we will have a very hard time loving God because God also gives our foes good things. It is what St John means when he teaches us to love all, before we love God. Love means embracing someone while knowing their weaknesses and faults. To love God means to imitate him. God loves all by giving them all good things while he knows everyone to their cores. He knows all our sins, but he still loves us. Then, if we want to love God, we should first embrace our brothers and sisters. And this is a painful job. Jesus had to let himself nailed on the cross to arrive at this love.
Today’s gospel tells us what happened immediately after Jesus fed the five thousand men with the five loaves and the two fish. It was already dark when Jesus and the disciples discussed how to feed the crowd. Thus, today’s episode must have occurred late at night. Jesus went up on the mountain to pray. But the disciples were on the lake struggling with the wind and waves. When Jesus walked on the waters to their boat, the disciples didn’t recognize him but mistook him for a ghost. They were fearful. Even when Jesus calmed the wind, they were still in shock. And at the end, St Mark comments, “for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”
The darkness of that night and the wind and waves symbolize the darkness and confusion that dominated the disciples’ minds and hearts. St Mark calls this state being “hardened.” Somehow their hardened minds and hearts prohibited them from accepting Jesus as the divine Son of God even after they had witnessed the feeding of the five thousand with the five loaves and the two fish. We may feel it unbelievable to feed thousands of men with a few loaves of bread. But wouldn’t it be even stranger to be unable to recognize this miracle as a divine work? None of the disciples called Jesus ‘Lord,’ ‘the Messiah,’ or ‘the Son of God.' On the contrary, they exclaimed, “It’s a ghost!” as St Matthew reports of the same episode.
St Mark does not tell us what made the disciples’ hearts hardened. Probably different things blinded each disciple. They could have been worries about worldly things, greed, ambition, and so on.
When we are hardened of our hearts, we are closed to truths. Even when we witness facts, we don’t recognize what they are. Say Jesus is walking by you, but with a hardened heart, you won’t see him.
In this pandemic, I see many people take this epidemic as a crisis of or an opportunity for the economy, civil rights or politics. But I doubt if they could provide any practical and effective solutions to this health and medical crisis. Hardened hearts keep us from truths from earth and truths from heaven as well.
“This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late.” The disciples of Jesus reminded him that it was not time to take care of the crowds. But Jesus refused to let the crowds go. He insisted it was the right time to love. And he demonstrated what happens when we love. Impossible things for humans are made possible by divine power.
There are too many instances showing that love turns impossibility into reality. Isn’t human life is a fruit of love, to begin with?
But we lose so many ‘right times’ to love as the disciples almost did in the gospel today. We don’t even recognize these moments most times. Special days like birthdays and anniversaries help us, but are they enough?
Our Lord can turn even impossible moments into wonderful experiences of love as he turned five loaves and two fish into an abundance of food for thousands of people. Love invites our Lord to work for us. The compassionate heart of Jesus for people turned the dark hour of the deserted place into a glorious wonderland of God’s abundance. When we do anything with love for others, our Lord’s help and wonder are there.
Do you think it’s impossible to love because of this pandemic, because of the lock-down? In other words, do you believe God cannot work his wonder because of the pandemic and the lock-down? It’s unthinkable. On the contrary, this is the best moment to love. Any words of love, any gesture of care will bear divine fruit this time.
St John reminds us in the first reading: “Beloved, let us love one another because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
During this season of Christmas, we read St John’s letter. He continually warns Christians of the antichrist. He tells us not to trust anyone without having tested the spirit first. The sign of the antichrist is a denial of God’s becoming flesh, the Lord's incarnation. St John makes sure that a true Christian is to confess the Lord’s incarnation. The critical faith of Christianity is on the incarnation of the Son of God. If someone is short of this faith, he shouldn’t be called Christian but is an antichrist.
You may wonder who denies the faith in the Lord’s incarnation in our times.
Many Christians say and act as if Christ exists only in our minds and heart. They don’t deny the Son of God was on earth. But for them, Jesus has gone to heaven, no longer on earth. They understand Jesus’ promise that “I will be with you until the end of time” only as spiritually or mentally. But they often forget or ignore that Christ is with us sacramentally and physically, not depending on our mind and heart. From the very beginning, Christians believed that Christ comes to us in the Eucharist. What we receive at Communion is the body and the blood of Christ – true flesh of our Lord, not a symbol of his flesh. The whole Christ is with us in the Eucharist, independently from our mind and heart. And it was his incarnation that made this sacramental existence of Christ possible and real.
Unfortunately, many surveys show that more than half of Catholics no longer have faith in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. How you act and behave inside your parish church reveals the state of your faith. The Mass is not merely a ‘gathering’ of the faithful. It is a real and true encounter of God and his people – flesh to flesh! Isn’t this why still many of us come to our parish church to receive Holy Communion under this pandemic?
The incarnation is not a myth or a theological theory. It is the Lord’s greatest gift for humanity. Thanks to the incarnation man can encounter God his Creator in human ways. God lowered himself to communicate with us. If someone denies the incarnation of the Lord he also rejects the Lord’s goodness to the man.
Traditionally, the Epiphany of the Lord commemorates three events during the life of Christ. We are all familiar with the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus at Bethlehem. But the Church also celebrates the Baptism of the Lord as the Epiphany event. And the Wedding at Cana also reveals his divine power at the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus.
I thought about what is common to these three events other than the public manifestation of the divinity of Jesus.
When we look at the people in these three events, we discover intriguing similarities.
First, the Lord chose marginalized or discriminated people to reveal himself. The Magi were foreigners. In a Jewish sense, they were unclean, unholy people. The people who came to John the Baptist in Jordan River for baptism were sinners. And at the Wedding at Cana, those who knew what Jesus did to the water were slaves.
Second, the Lord did not favour those who enjoyed privileges. Herod and the leaders of Israel could not have an opportunity to pay homage to the infant Jesus. John the Baptist upbraided the Pharisees and the Sadducees when he saw them coming to the River Jordan. The master of the wedding feast and the honoured guest didn’t know who provided the better wine.
Is the Lord unfair? Is he discriminating and partial to certain people? No, the Lord gives good things to the good and the evil as well. He wishes to reveal himself to all. That’s why his invitation to the epiphany included foreigners and sinners, the poor and the underprivileged. But those who held the privileges didn’t want the Lord because they themselves liked to be gods. To anyone who thirsts for the truth, Christ reveals himself without reservation.
Under this pandemic, some might feel it challenging to encounter the Lord. The public celebration of the Mass is restricted in many places, and receiving Holy Communion became difficult. We might feel the Lord is closing himself off from us. Or some may suspect that the governments or the clergy shut off the Lord from the faithful. But don’t you think that this pandemic makes us like those the Lord favoured for his epiphany? Those, who were called unclean and, thus, prohibited from entering the Temple, received first the news of the Saviour's birth. Those who had thirsted for the truth from afar were guided by the star to the Lord. Those who lived under the weight of sin and darkness heard first the Father declaring the divine Son. Those excluded from the drunkenness of the wedding feast witnessed the sign of Christ.
When we open the gospels, we will hear his voice. He will teach us the truth and clear away all darkness around us in this hour. When we strive to receive his body and blood, he will fill our souls and hearts with his joy and peace. He will reveal himself to you when you "do whatever he tells you” as his Blessed Mother advises.
The world cheers over Christmas. Coincidentally or not, people spend a lot more this season, and companies make a lot of money around this time. But we Christians are invited to ponder the meanings of the Lord’s coming into the world in flesh. And, among all the meanings of his coming, we should reflect first on the purpose of the Incarnation. Jesus had a specific purpose in his earthly life. It was to sacrifice himself at the cross. He came among us as the redeeming victim. His whole life pointed to his death. He lived to die for our salvation.
However, many Christians paint him as a reformer. Perhaps it is true that his teachings may bring changes in society as we practice his teachings. But the purpose of the Christian life cannot ignore the purpose of the life of their Lord. The Christian life is meaningless unless it is meant for salvation. And this salvation is not of this world but of the world to come after death. This purpose, or this goal, sounds so obvious to Christians, but it is too often forgotten or ignored.
As St John warns in his letter, antichrists insidiously deny the purpose of Jesus. They seduce us away from his sacrificial death. And they teach that Jesus lived to reform our society by fights for justice and freedom. Justice and freedom are undeniably precious values. However, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world or the present life. Antichrists attract our attention toward this world and the present life. As people follow those antichrists, they practically deny Jesus as the Christ, who saves us by his sacrificial death from our sins for eternal life. It’s because now they attempt to build a kingdom on earth. The purpose of Christ Jesus is forgotten. Instead, ideological values and social changes become the working principles.
Where is your salvation? Is it here on earth? Are we building our heaven in this world by justice and equity? But let us not forget that only by death we will reach heaven as Jesus opened the door to salvation by his death on the cross. Christians also have one specific purpose of life – to arrive at salvation at the end of our journey of this life, following the Way of Christ.
The title of today’s solemnity reminds us who is Mary. She is called not the mother of Jesus but the mother of God. Elizabeth already implied this truth when she exclaimed at Mary’s visitation, “Why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” From the moment of conception, Mary carried in her womb the Son of God. Jesus was not chosen or anointed as the Son of God after birth. God the Son took flesh in Mary’s womb. This truth of faith may sound so familiar and obvious to us. But it was not so for the earliest Christians, who saw Jesus and his families. They accepted Jesus was very specially gifted with power but had a hard time acknowledging the divinity of Jesus because they saw how helplessly he died on the cross. The title, the Mother of God, is not just about Mary but more about the nature of Jesus. It is a question about the Incarnation. Is Jesus truly God and man as well? Only when we have the answer to the question about the Incarnation of Christ Jesus, we can meaningfully have the title for Mary. And the gospels show that the Son of God took flesh and became man at the moment of his conception as announced by Gabriel the archangel.
It is a wonder that God took flesh and became man. We may accept this because God is all-powerful and does marvellous things. But it might be more remarkable that a human being bore the true Son of God in her womb. The incarnation was a lowering down of God to the level of his creation. On the other hand, it was a lifting up of human beings to the divine. Mary demonstrated that human beings can be elevated to the divine community of God by the union, as she was united with Jesus by giving her flesh to him. She showed that human beings could be united with God not only mentally or spiritually but also bodily and physically. In a sense, by the conception of Christ Jesus, Mary received the first Holy Communion among all men. She is a God-bearer. Like Mary, we may become God-bearers as we receive the body and blood of Christ Jesus at Holy Communion. Thus, today celebrates not only the honour of Mary to become God’s mother at the Incarnation but also the joy of all Christians to become God-bearers at the Holy Communion. Let us be thankful to our Lord and joyful that we now carry our Lord in our flesh!
The popular image of an antichrist is associated with movie characters. An antichrist has Satanic power that is superhuman and paranormal. An antichrist may summon cosmic powers and demons. An antichrist possesses knowledge of the future and surpasses many in intelligence. An antichrist is an ultimate villain in religious imagination.
But an antichrist St John describes in his letter doesn’t satisfy our popular image. An antichrist is anyone who remains not in the truth. And this truth is nothing but Christ Jesus, who is the light and life for the world. As we hear in the gospel today, the world rejects this light and life. In other words, the world is full of antichrists.
We don’t have to investigate hard to discover who these antichrists are in our times. Many elected officials, academics, journalists, theologians, and clergy declare what is contrary to the truth of the Christian faith. Our legal system, schools, mass media and faith communities popularize what is diametrically opposing to the truth. But the difference between the antichrists in our age from those in the days of St John is this. Those antichrists of old walked out of faith communities. But the antichrists of our times insidiously twist the truth and claim authenticity.
That is why we need to know Christ Jesus well. That is why we want to spend much time reading the Bible. That is why we should study the authentic teaching of the Church. That is why we cannot ignore the Tradition of the Church. Only when we know the truth, we can tell who is an antichrist.
Who do you think a happy person is? According to the worldly standard, a person who owns a lot more than others is happy. But this will be true only if the person will be able to spend what he possesses. If the person had only a few days left in his life while he owns a beautiful estate with a billion dollars in the bank, would you call him happy? Many will call him a poor man. In this sense, a person who can spend much more than others is happier. A person who can enjoy and spend the most would be the happiest. But do we always love and respect those who sumptuously spend all the time? Many will be jealous of them. And when these people spend money and things for their pleasure, possessiveness, or pride, others are likely to despise them. Even if you could spend so much for yourself but find yourself so despised and hated, would you call yourself a happy person? In this sense, a person who can give others the most would be the happiest. People will appreciate his generosity. But what is the point of having so much if you have to give it all out to others?
The one who does not own anything will be the happiest. First, he doesn’t have to worry about guarding his possessions safe. Don’t you think we spend too much on insurance? And insurance companies command us to follow all kinds of protocols to safeguard our properties at the expense of our freedom. Second, if you don’t have to spend a lot, you will not waste it. Landfills are a new phenomenon of modern eras. All pollution come from our wasteful and consumerist habits. Third, a poor person is not likely to fall into favouritism or to be blamed for partiality. We often see a rich parent only have disgruntled children at his death.
Jesus was born poor and exercised poverty all his life. He asked his disciples not to depend on money and wealth in their ministry. St John, in his letter, as we hear in today’s reading, warns about the love for the world. The desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride in riches all end up in possession. Even good-willed people suffer many headaches because of their wealth. Only the truly wise can exercise poverty.
One of the best indicators of the health of a society is how society receives the Gospel of Christ. It’s because the message of Christ Jesus is for the happiness of all humans beings. The Gospel message is for all peoples and individuals. And Christ preached anyone could receive salvation not by particular religious practices but by being good to others. It is why many people all over the continents welcomed the Gospel.
But more and more societies reject the message of the Gospel in our times. Our country is not an exception here. Do you think our land becomes a better place as we disregard Christian values and teachings?
This is what the prophet Simeon foretold to the parents of the Messiah. Jesus is “to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed.” When I accept and follow the whole message of Christ, I will be truly a good human being. But I notice that often I don’t exercise what Jesus taught. These moments reveal my inner thoughts and my heart. I am still far from being a good person. Just try to proclaim the message of the Lord to your spouse, to your children, or your friends, and see how they receive it. Young couples should test their future spouses. While you know your boyfriend or girlfriend rejects the teachings of Christ, you should not believe that your future spouse will be a good human being or that marriage will change him or her into a good person. If someone opposes Christ Jesus, the person will do the same to you when you become a friend of Jesus and try to be a good human being.
The heroes we see in comic books and movies have certain abilities and skills. And these abilities and skills are often superhuman, at least very extraordinary. With these transcendent power, these heroes save people or nations from crises or villains. You may call a person hero if he protects the Saviour of mankind from threats and conspiracies. And we encounter this hero in today’s gospel. It is St Joseph. However, St Joseph is not a typical hero in movies and comic books. He doesn’t seem to be equipped with an unusual ability or weapon to protect Jesus and his mother, the Blessed Virgin. St Joseph was an ordinary carpenter. He seemed to have not much wealth, either. When the angel informed the plan of Herod to kill the infant saviour, St Joseph's only option was to take the baby Jesus and his mother and to flee to Egypt by night. St Joseph didn’t have the privilege to use express transportation. Probably, the Holy Family had to move mostly on foot or by hiring a small animal like a donkey. While they were in Egypt, they didn’t stay in a castle or at a family estate. St Joseph had to support the family with his labour. It wouldn’t be too simple and easy to support the family in a foreign land. This might be called heroic, but not in a theatrical way, for sure.
It takes a lot of humility to raise a child. Many parents give up their interests, dreams, even lives for the sake of their children. All parents want to do the best for their children. But in this age of confusion, it is not always simple and clear to see what is the right thing. St Joseph didn’t have a higher degree in theology. However, he had his ears and heart open to God’s word and his inspiration. And he had the humility to follow God’s guidance without a question or hesitation. Catechism classes or Catholic schools cannot choose good things for our children. Only parents can make decisions for their children. If we want to be good parents, let us pay attention to our Lord’s word with a humble heart. This saved even the Son of God.
Have you wondered why God chose this family of Mary and Joseph for His only begotten Son? Let’s take a look at Mary and Joseph. In the New Testament or according to any tradition in the Church, we cannot find any evidence they were affluent. As we all know from the Nativity story, instead, they were probably poor – for they could not afford a place for giving birth to Jesus. Later on during his ministry, the way his town’s people at Nazareth treated Jesus reveals that his family didn’t have high social status – “Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary...? And they took offence at him.” There was nothing special about the Holy Family – socially or financially. They were not highly educated or trained for special skills. They were ordinary people from the outlook.
Of course, Mary was conceived without sin. She is the Immaculate Virgin. And, as Matthew’s gospel calls, Joseph was a just and righteous man. But couldn’t God provide for a home of his only begotten Son with an Immaculate Mother from a powerful family and a righteous father having great wealth? Wouldn’t that kind of family environment be more helpful to raise Jesus as a more powerful influencer?
The answer has two sides of the same coin.
First, God chose this ordinary family but these extraordinary parents to show that it is God who really works for salvation. God didn’t need a social status, financial security, human knowledge, or military power to reveal his mercy and to save mankind. All he looked for was humble parents who could entrust themselves to him. Then, God let the Truth proclaim itself before mankind. The disciples of Jesus heard his word and put their hope in him. Jesus showed his divine power by miracles and signs, not by opening his barn or treasury. It was angels who assisted Jesus, not his guards or slaves.
The other side of the same answer is that God chose this ordinary family because it was good enough to raise his Son. An ordinary family was sufficient even to raise God’s Son. This is something we should take a moment and reflect on. Didn’t God have any other options for sending his Son into the world? Probably he did. But he chose an ordinary human family. Why? Family is not only a natural place but also the best place for a human child to be raised. It was not a court or a legal system that protected Jesus. It was not an educational system that taught Jesus. It was the family that protected Jesus from the murdering conspiracy of Herod. It was the family in which Jesus learned virtues and wisdom. As we all experience, the family is where we learn all fundamentals of life. As a true man, Jesus did the same.
The most disturbing sign of our generation is the deconstruction of the family. The state attempts to redefine the family according to its political agenda. Activists try to replace parents in teaching children the fundamentals of life. The economic system forces every parent to work at maximum hours telling them to bring their children to institutions at earlier and earlier ages. Who can defend the family? There is no one but families. No institution including the Church can protect and promote the family unless families take action first. And this call is divine. The Blessed Virgin Mary answered “Fiat”. And St Joseph rose up immediately and did what angels told him. Now it’s our turn to make our family a place of God’s will.
Philippians 1
There is a saying, “A living dog is better than a dead lion.” This proverb comes from the Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9.4. The presumed author, King Solomon, advises here his readers not to attach to vanities of the human world but to enjoy simply whatever the Lord provides for them. All human power, wealth, fame and glory are lost and forgotten after death. Only the living can have hope and work for salvation. A French adage, “A living beggar on his feet is worth more than an emperor in his grave,” sounds carrying about the same advice.
But some people also say, “Better a live coward than a dead hero.” This saying reveals our attachment to this life on earth. Although a majority of North Americans believe in heaven or the afterlife, in reality, we try to build heaven here on earth. Many believe that they can establish a perfect social system, which will satisfy everyone’s needs. This idea is nothing new. Humanity has always striven to design a utopia. In our generation, particularly with the help of science and engineering, the man believes that he can own his life – by extending or immortalizing it. This life is everything. No longer do we have to worry about the afterlife.
I wonder what St Paul would say about transferring human consciousness to a mechanized body as we see in science fiction. In his letter to the Philippians, St Paul declares, “Living is Christ and dying is gain.” For St Paul, life is meaningful as long as we work for the salvation of souls as Christ did. And St Paul welcomes death because now he can join Christ forever in the resurrection. How many of us can say “Living is Christ and dying is gain” is our working principle in this life? St Paul encourages us to become more than consumers of life. He urges us to bear fruit for salvation. He reminds us that Christians have a clear goal and a purpose in life. Only then can we detach ourselves from life and death. For those who live in Christ, life and death here on earth is just a part of life eternal.
Luke 14
Probably you have watched at least one movie, where one character obstinately clings to rules and protocols while another one, usually the leading character, simply wants to solve a present issue with whatever resources available. War movies and cop shows are common examples of this situation. The former one values procedural propriety more. The latter focuses more on the final result. In real life, either of them cannot be ignored. And both of them can fall prey to blind spots. The former can be a cold bureaucrat, who doesn’t care about actual problem solving but only cares about own personal job security. The latter can risk the stability of the order of hierarchy in a community by ignoring proper channels of workflow. In sum, when we lose sight of the goal or purpose of a community or a job, we can neither accomplish our missions nor keep our community in order. When we only cling to the letters of law, we lose its spirit and don’t bring any benefit. When we ignore law but only want benefit, only competitions and conflicts rule.
Jesus asks the scholars of the law and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?” They were silent. And he speaks again, “Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would you not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” Again, they were unable to answer.
Jesus was not ignoring or abolish the sabbath law. He was asking about its spirit. But the lawyers and the Pharisees didn’t want to reveal its spirit or purpose because they wanted to hold their authority and control. They were not interested in accomplishing the goal of the sabbath law, which was rest and thanksgiving. But they manipulated the law to reinforce their power and to control the people.
When we lose sight of the purpose of our religion, it becomes a cold and oppressive structure of regulations. The purpose of Christianity on earth is to bring the salvation of souls. The Church exists precisely for this purpose as her Head, Christ, offered himself to redeem the man. Everything and anything Christian should point to this goal. Otherwise, we will be like salt without saltiness. Have we been or are we always faithful to this purpose? Many people leave the Church because of bureaucrat pastors and job-security-first clergy. Many people don’t go to church because many fellow Christians don’t fear God but only pursue their selfish profits. Let us ask ourselves if we are faithful to our calling. Am I a part of God’s salvation for all?
Ephesian 6
In recent years, we see much social unrest in the West. In this unrest underlie many social injustices and evils. Against these problems have many activists and citizens courageously risen to fight. And the Church and fellow Christians actively participate in this fight. The contribution of Christians takes no small part in many campaigns against socioeconomic problems.
But, St Paul reminds Christians of the spiritual reality of Christian battles. He says, “For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” What are these principalities, powers, world rulers and evil spirits? Traditionally, these names are of the classes of angels. And, here, these are the fallen angels, in other words, the angels of Satan.
Is St Paul discussing exorcism? As we read the Ephesians, we realize he is not. The struggles in the Ephesians include all aspects of the Christian faith and moral life. These struggles are not only private and personal but also public and social. And all humanity shares these struggles. What St Paul wants to remind us is that every evil we wrestle with has Satan’s influence and, thus, that we need to combat it as spiritual warfare against this external source of evil. In other words, it will be a mistake if we assume that we can resolve personal and social problems by only human measures such as morality, law and government. As we see in our times, a new morality, new laws, or new forms of government cannot bring true peace to individuals or societies.
One of the premises of secular humanism is that evil originates from the man only. Secular humanism denies the external sources of evil such as Satan and his demons just as it denies God as the source of good. Therefore, secular humanism or practical atheism attempts to design human measures to control evil. But, as St Paul teaches, this attempt is destined to fail, because it ignores reality.
This is why St Paul urges us to be armed with truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. Only with the spiritual armour of God can we fight the battle.
Let us not forget that Satan wants confusion, unrest, destruction, and eventual annihilation. And we see his attempts everywhere. This generation does not understand moral concepts. Young people cannot believe that truth can exist. Families are deconstructed and reconstructed in perverse ways. The past civilizations are cancelled by today’s taste. As much real as God is, so is Satan. And he diligently works to destroy God’s creation. The war against him is not ours only. It’s God’s. Let us put on his armour of His Spirit.
Ephesians 5
I wonder if the passage we heard in the first reading today is still controversial among Christians of our generation. Some modern commentators explain that this passage of the Ephesians is just a product of St Paul’s time and age. Thus, we don’t have to be offended even if it seems St Paul teaches husbands should rule over their wives. His culture heavily conditioned this writing. Now let us not hang up on these words. Let them pass over. They are not relevant to our time and culture. Instead, let us develop a new theology based on equality.
But this approach can seriously undermine the authority of the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It may discredit the whole gospel because there is hardly any passage or episode not culturally conditioned or influenced.
We often miss the first sentence of the passage. It reads: “My brothers and sisters, be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This is the summary and gist of what St Paul teaches. He is not telling one sex to rule over the other. St Paul doesn’t argue that one sex is superior to the other. Here, he is not discussing the allocation of power between sexes. Too often, modern Christians fall prey to this frame of the power struggle between sexes. However, let us not forget that our religion is not about a competition of any kind for self-interest. As St Paul writes, a husband and a wife should be subjected to each other. It’s a mutual and reciprocal subjection. It is not a domination of one sex over the other.
This mutual subjection finds its model in the relation of Christ and his Church. As Christ sacrifices himself for the Church and as Christ and the Church are united through that sacrifice, a husband completely abandons himself for his wife, and vice versa. Each era and each culture may have a different expression of this self-giving and mutual subjection between a husband and a wife. The passage of the Ephesians also reflects its cultural elements. Nevertheless, what our Lord teaches remains the same: the self-donation and mutual subjection according to the mystery of Christ and the Church.
Ephesians 4
In his letter to the Ephesians, St Paul diametrically opposes two things the world has always loved: sex and money. Just turn on your TV and check. Almost all forms of entertainment today promote and exploit sex, money or both. Some might say, “My favourite shows are about home-improvement and gardening. It should be fine to watch those.” Aren’t these shows stimulating us to own bigger, better, and more stylish homes and gardens? They directly stir up our desires to buy more to please our eyes. So, can we say these shows have nothing to do with arousing greed in our hearts?
The word of St Paul doesn’t remain as his personal opinion and view. St Paul wrote this letter under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Thus, it binds all of us. St Paul clearly warns that a person with sexual impurity or greed cannot enter heaven unless he repents. And he doesn’t leave much room for any lax interpretation of sexual immorality and greed. These have no place in the lives of the faithful at all. St Paul writes, “fornication and impurity of any kind, or greed, must not even be mentioned among you.”
But what about our daily life? From elementary school children to the elderly, all of us are under a heavy influence of sexual promiscuity. And society promotes all kinds of sexual perversity as human and legal rights or under the name of love and inclusiveness. In the meantime, money becomes everything for many people. Money becomes our master. If you have a long-term debt that will last close to your retirement, please spend some time to think for whom you’re really working. I think many people in our time are slaves of capital.
But a bigger problem is that Christians want to relax on sexual morality and run the Church for the sake of financial security and material affluence. Are these desires to bear the cross or to avoid it? When a priest or a theologian gives a novel explanation on sexual morality or suggests a more effective principle for the Church governance, we can ask if it encourages us to take the cross or to avoid it.
St Paul denounces all kinds of sexual deviations. And he definitively declares the terrible consequence of them. Jesus told his disciples to beware of greed because it is a source of all evils. And he divided God against money. No one can choose both.
Let us not be shaken by many new ideas, however attractive they are. St Paul warns again, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.”
Matthew 22
I have read this passage of Matthew’s gospel many times but didn't’ pay much attention to the first sentence, verse 34 of chapter 22 until I read a commentary of St Cyril of Alexandria of the 5th century. This intro sentence reports who asked the question about the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses. And it also describes the background of how this question came up. It was a lawyer and Pharisee who cast this question to Jesus. And it was soon after Jesus silenced the Sadducees about the question of resurrection. St Cyril explains why the Pharisees came to Jesus to ask a question. They were filled with envy because Jesus defeated the Sadducees on the issue of resurrection while they could not win an argument against them over the same issue. Filled with envy, they came and laid a trap to put him down so that they could feel superior. The Pharisees were experts in the Law of Moses and the Jewish religious customs. They studied the 613 commandments meticulously and practised the details of the customs precisely. Then, what does it mean for them to ask Jesus, not a Pharisee or lawyer, about the greatest commandment among all? If Jesus had picked up any one of them as the greatest, they could’ve successfully made an argument, proving Jesus was ignorant of the Law.
What was the answer? Jesus chose none of the commandments. Instead, he replies with a summary or the spirit of the Law of Moses. The essence of the Law of Moses is love. This answer is remarkable. Love is much more than religious devotion or ritual devoutness, with which the Pharisees were obsessed. This love Jesus commands goes beyond the boundary of an established religion or an ethnic society. As a new paradigm and a fundamental commandment, love encompasses God and the human race. Upon this new vision and commandment was Christianity built. But this new law was not only for Christians but for all humanity. Jesus liberated the Jews from the yoke of the Law of Moses and gathered the Gentiles into his flock. By love, Christ offered liberation and salvation as well.
Unfortunately, our times once again head into the age of law. Of course, it is not the Law of Moses. It is secular law. We are living in a time law dictates. This past week, Canadian Catholic bishops issued a statement warning against the re-tabling of Bill C-7. This bill already made euthanasia a legal right, wrapping it with a soothing title, medical assistance in dying (MAID). Now, during this pandemic, the Canadian legislature wants to remove some safeguards for the decision-making process of doctor-assisted suicide so that euthanasia is more readily available in Canada. Is the government following the spirit of love here in any sense? Is it promoting justice then? Did we, as a society, let suicide and euthanasia come into existence as a legal right because we are full of love for one another?
Contemporary law focuses on human desires and profits. When there is no love, everything is measured by its utility. And utility is measured by desire and profit. Here, life is evaluated for its usefulness. Why do some want convenient suicide and euthanasia? If life poses too much pain and suffering, or even just much headache, according to this reasoning, it is not useful to keep. Life becomes a burden to everyone. And this burden costs economic resources, too. Then, end it! How simple is that!
Luke 13
As of October 23, 2020, 9,862 COVID19 deaths have been reported in Canada. As of this third quarter of the year, the estimated population of Canada is 38,005,238. The death ratio of COVID19 to the total population is about 0.025949054. This means averagely 2.6 deaths per 10,000 people or 1 death per 3,847 due to COVID19. Since I don’t have anybody I know who died from COVID19, apparently, my Canadian acquaintances are less than 4,000. Moreover, I don’t even personally know any person in Canada who has contracted the virus during the pandemic. So far, at least 1 out of 200 got infected in Canada. Then, does it mean I know less than 200 people in this land?
This pandemic feels like a problem of somewhere else. Of course, I feel sorry for those who had lost their lives and their families. But, still, this pandemic doesn’t feel real.
Today in the gospel, however, Jesus asks, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinner than all other Galileans?” Do I consider myself good and virtuous because I am spared from disasters? The Lord may call us from this life at any time. If I don’t feel real even if I see people are unexpectedly leaving this world, I must have been in a spiritual slumber. I must have a false sense of security. Life is fragile. My judgment day can arrive at an hour I don’t expect. Then, I have to settle an account with the Lord. Am I ready for it? Christ warns us: “Unless you repent, you will all perish just they did.”
We are still here in the world because the Lord is patient with us. He grants us time to repent our sins, purify our hearts and build virtues. The Son of God asks his Father in heaven, “Let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it.”
But we don’t live forever. The Lord gives me today for bearing fruit and preparing for the life to come. Christ makes it clear. “If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”
Luke 12
Some of us may subscribe to religious email lists that often inform about ‘message from the Blessed Mother about impending punishments of God’. Many Christians tend to regard signs of the time as signals for the end of time only. But if we only think about the General Judgment, that is, the final judgment at the second coming of the Lord, sooner or later, our heightened interest or expectation deflates and wanes away, for the end doesn’t come as we anticipate.
The signs of the present time mainly awaken us from a spiritual slumber. First, they remind us of how close our personal judgment is at our death. As we see in this pandemic, people can become infected and die just by going to a garden party or a BBQ dinner with neighbours. The pandemic wakes us up from a false sense of security and a mistaken idea of normalcy. Death is all around us at all times. Our judgment is standby without a break. Am I ready for it?
Second, the signs of the present time reveal the sinfulness of our times. Most signs of the time are unpleasant and fearful. But many of them originate from men. There are hardly any signs without human elements. Many of them carries oppression and exploitation. Is this pandemic a purely natural phenomenon? The virus itself is a natural existence. However, how we worsen the pandemic or stop it hugely depends on human decisions. When we see these signs rising, we should examine ourselves for sins and vices.
Jesus uses strong language today in the gospel. “I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” Jesus warns that ‘the very last penny’, in other words, the smallest sins have the price to pay. Unless we are completely purified here on earth, we don’t expect to enter heaven directly. Am I willing to pay them in the purifying fire of purgatory? Jesus advises us to make a settlement on the way. And the Church always keeps the door of confessionals open.
It is of no question whether we have signs of our times. It’s time to wake up. “And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘there will be scorching heat’; and it happens.”
Luke 12
The ultimate self-test for complete humanity or human maturity is to see if I accept the word of Christ and to live accordingly. Why? It’s because he is a true human but also the creator of all human beings. If any human being should be a measure and standard of all men, Christ is to be the one. Some people might presume that it is not possible to live according to his word because Christ is God. But it is precisely the purpose of his becoming flesh so that all men may become like him by following his gospel because he lived according to his divine word with his human flesh.
Whenever I run this self-test, I find myself still incomplete and immature. And I also see self-divisions. In other words, within myself are conflicts and struggles. The Good News of Jesus exposes my unclean, unholy, and evil side. And this is nothing new. Already the prophet Simeon at the Presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple foretold that Jesus would reveal the inner thoughts of men. His word uncovered the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. Still, his gospel brings light on our true selves.
When the apostles proclaimed the word of the Lord, the world didn’t welcome it. As Jesus prophesied, the world instead tried to persecute them as it killed their Lord. When we bring the Good News to people, it doesn’t receive an enthusiastic welcome. On the opposite, often it causes controversies and disagreements among people. “From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Jesus brings fire to the earth. This fire is not destructive but unmasking and purifying, revealing who we are. And as Jesus was baptized in his blood, through this fire, the one bringing his gospel cannot avoid persecution. And anyone with eyes will see this in his family as well as in the society of his time.
Luke 12
Jesus repeatedly tells us to prepare for Judgment Day. But, do I feel its approach even remotely? Honestly speaking, I don’t. Each day gives me enough things to make myself busy. Christmas is not far away now, and our parish Catholic Women’s League ladies are already receiving orders for parish Christmas cards. I am thinking about buying a generator for the parish church for this winter, for we had a bad power outage last winter. Probably many of us are preparing now for this winter. Do I still find time to prepare for Judgment Day? Does it have a place in my mind at all? We want just to get through this pandemic as fast as we can without getting sick. And we wonder about what it would be like after the pandemic. But who thinks about the end of the world now? Many people are patiently waiting for a time we can travel freely overseas. Many are preparing for the post-pandemic era. But no one seems to think the end of the time is coming soon.
However, Jesus once again speaks about the end in today’s gospel. Is he just encouraging moral uprightness by constant watchful care? Or is he reminding us of an actual approaching of the end of time? Anyway, since he spoke, it has been over two thousand years. And the Judgment Day hasn’t arrived yet.
The earliest Christians believed the end was approaching very soon. And they lived according to this assumption. They lived each day as if it was the last day of the world. They shared everything without charge. They cared less about human relationships of blood and marriage but focused on heavenly reality with the pure and chaste body. Were they completely mistaken? Did they waste time?
The wise know death always stands beside life. The one conscious of this reality can savour every breath. The one conscious of the shortness of life does not waste time in building another Tower of Babel.
At the end of the day, I often wonder what this day’s work is meaningful towards life in heaven. And I regret it. Very often lots of works are not so much more meaningful than a full rest all day.
I pray that I may not lose sight of the Lord’s coming. And I pray this alertness may keep me away from useless vanities and let me enjoy the gift of life and the world.
Ephesians 2
Judaism is a closed, exclusive religion, based on an ethnic society. And, at the heart of it lies the law of Moses. This law defined the life of the Jews of old. The 613 commandments governed not only how to worship but also how to live. The religious and moral customs made the Jews distinctive to their neighbouring peoples. But, when Jesus began his ministry, he constantly challenged their old law and customs. And, as we see in many episodes in the gospel, he embraced foreign people for faith. Jesus praised the faith of the Roman centurion, who asked Jesus only to say a word to heal his slave. The persistent Sidonian woman surprised Jesus by lowering herself down to dogs. St Paul summarizes this expansion in his letter to the Ephesians that he abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.
Christ instead gave us the commandment of love. This commandment imposes the most simplified but also most challenging task on all people regardless of their races, social statuses, and economic powers. That is the unity and harmony of all people. This has been the goal of the Christian society. Although Christian nations developed systems of law, the law has served this high goal as it protected and promoted Christian moral values and spiritual virtues.
From some time on in all Christian countries, however, the law began to overshadow the vision of Christ. Our society has laws and regulations that diametrically oppose the commandment of love. And some laws don’t even make sense to most people because they’re unreasonable. As Jewish scribes and Pharisees manipulated laws for their profit and greed, only a small number of privileged individuals exploit the legal system for themselves in many modern Christian countries. Modern law divides people.
Law governs modern societies. Law is a modern religion. But does it protect and promote human life and the common good? Unfortunately, we cannot give a positive answer to the question.
Ephesians 2
‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you.’ We don’t want to hear this when God calls us from this life. But how many of us can say right now ‘Lord, I am ready to go. I have been preparing for your call.’? Have I stored enough for heaven? Or, do I have too many things here on earth only?
St Paul advises the Ephesians to live according to what they became at baptism as we hear in his letter. St Paul admonishes us to be awake in spirit and to act accordingly. Otherwise, we are at risk of a relapse to chase after pleasure and greed.
Then, our question is how to live spiritually. In this world, however, which becomes more and more materialistic and money-centred, is it possible for anybody to live spiritually while actively involved in this world? Spiritual living seems possible only for those living in a monastery or a convent. Retirees, preferably wealthy ones, may be free from worldly concerns and can concentrate on the spiritual life. But all the others in the secular world seem to be trapped! Do we need to separate ourselves from the world? Or, do we have to look for a new job for the spiritual life? Or, do we have to save up so that we are free from worldly worries?
I believe that’s why St Paul says Christians should live according to the spirit. Being spiritually awake means being conscious of the heavenly goal at all times. Whatever we do, as long as we keep our focus on the heavenly reward, that is, life eternal with the risen body, we can safely make our journey through the materialistic world. At the same work, a person may build the virtues of honesty and kindness as another becomes hardened with lies and bullies. With the same money, a person may relieve the destitute from hunger while another incites the poor to envy. With the same amount of time, a person may deepen a relationship with his friend, while another makes his beloved one feel abandoned by his selfish entertainment. Every day, every person, and every work we encounter become opportunities to store the rich toward God when we are conscious of our final destiny. When we keep heaven in our sight, we make different decisions – heavenly decisions.
Do I feel tired and stressed by being constantly conscious of Jesus, heaven, or life eternal? I cannot answer this question, unfortunately, because I find myself in a spiritual slumber more often than not. But what I can tell you is this. I find myself much wearier and stressed when worldly desires and fleshly passions dominate me. I saw saintly people, freed from these unnecessary pains, enjoy life, even amid poverty. Indeed, His yoke is easy, and His burden light.
Matthew 22
“Give, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” This answer of Jesus in today’s gospel might be just a witty retort to the wicked trap of the Jews. Matthew, however, probably saved this episode to show more than Jesus was a verbal genius. The word of Jesus makes us reflect on what belongs to the divine authority and human authority.
One of the signs of the modern world is a conscious attempt to remove religion from the human world. Another name for this attempt is secular humanism. Some might associate this with the separation of the State and the Church. But this attempt has a fundamentally different goal. Secular humanism does not necessarily destroy religions. However, it denies the divine authority on any human act. Practically, it is atheism. For a secular humanist, religion is only a personal taste or preference. Religion is fundamentally not so different from an association of stamp collectors or a kennel club. Secular humanism believes that the man decides everything according to his capacity.
In our generation, in particular, secular humanism manifests itself in law and science. Law wants the authority to define everything, and science wants it to manipulate anything. Law existed to protect justice and to promote the common good. Now, the law attempts to define justice and re-define the common good. Science existed to understand nature. Now, science attempts to manipulate nature, including human life.
When the man removes God from the world, he holds infinite options in his hands to please himself. As long as he has power, he can determine anything and everything. As we have seen in Canada and the US, people want to define and re-define gender, sex, marriage, family, life, death, truth, and so on. And, very often, people bring these issues to legislatures and courts. But do they have the proper ability to define? The man can define his ideas or his creations. Ideas and inventions come from the man, and he has the authority. However, what law now attempts to define or re-define are not from himself. We are not either owners or creators of life and death, or marriage and family. Modern science believes it can apply its knowledge of nature to manipulation of nature for human satisfaction. But will it, or can it also assume its responsibility? Especially in life science, when human lives are involved, who can vouch for their human dignity? When nature is polluted and destroyed, who can reverse and restore?
In many sci-fi movies, protagonists often reminisce about life before certain world-changing events. Usually, the previous one used to be with homes with green grass, parents with children, children running on the hills, many people with busy daily routines, etc. Then, the present reality doesn’t have any of those – no families, no happy children, no garden, not many survivors at all. Only individuals equipped with technology control and exploit second class humans or people without any right or dignity. Of course, no God is among them; no church exists there.
When the man removes God from his life, from the world, he finds nothing for himself. We are only wayfarers in God’s land. If we remove God, we find ourselves in the darkness of the void.
Luke 11
When do we ask for a sign? Do we ask for it when we are confident? Do we ask for it when we are satisfied? Do we ask for it when we are thankful? No. We don’t ask for a sign when we are confident, satisfied, or thankful. We demand it when we are not sure, when we are unfulfilled, and when we are anxious. The one who asks for it is hardly grateful. The one who demands a sign has no faith. Dissatisfaction and doubt lead to a demand for signs.
Jesus lamented over his generation, which he called evil. It asked for a sign, not because it was discerning their redeemer, but because it forgot the voice of their Lord. The Lord gave Israel covenants and prophets. Lastly, St John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness and brought the voice of the Lord to announce the coming of the Saviour on earth. And then, finally, the Son of God proclaimed the kingdom of God. However, Israel didn’t change their hearts.
Although Jesus called his generation evil, he didn’t give up. He announced his Passion and Resurrection as the sign to his generation – the sign of Jonah: Jonah spent three days and three nights in a whale’s belly. In the same way, the Son of man would spend three days and three nights under the nether world. The Son of God would give himself as the sacrificial lamb for the forgiveness of sins of all people. But he would rise from death and open the door to life eternal for all.
Are we still asking for another sign? Too many times, I forget how much I received in my life – beginning with my life itself. The Lord adopted me as his child only out of his goodness. And he feeds me with His Son’s flesh and blood to give me life eternal. What more can I ask? Should I ask for another sign of God’s love for me? Where is my thanksgiving?
Mathew 22
Most wedding ceremonies take less than an hour. A priest may preach a long homily, but, the matrimony itself does not take a few minutes. It consists of the exchange of the marriage consents of a man and a woman.
On the other hand, the groom, the bride, and their families and friends spend months preparing for the marriage and the new household as well as the wedding ceremony itself. From the wedding dress to the honeymoon arrangement, from a new home to new bedsheets, from the bridal shower to the wedding party, we are overwhelmed by the preparation.
And it’s not only families and friends that prepare for marriage and wedding. When families decide to celebrate the sacrament of matrimony, the local pastor also prepares for their wedding by paper works, interviews and instructions. Many local parishes and dioceses also offer marriage preparation seminars and courses.
Why do we spend so much time and energy on a wedding? Because what comes after the wedding is so important for our life – the marriage and family. We don’t criticize too much a sumptuous wedding, because the marriage deserves a splendid treatment. Our life-long happiness depends on our marriage and family.
On this Sunday, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. In this heavenly wedding, the Father in heaven prepares for the banquet. But where is the Son? In the parable, the king prepared the banquet with slaughtered animals. Likewise, God prepares the heavenly banquet with the Lamb of God, who has been slaughtered and has now risen. The Lamb of God is the food for the banquet as well as the Groom of the wedding.
Then, what about the bride? Where is she? The Lord has called mankind as his eternal bride. However, from Adam down to the contemporary man, mankind often ignored the Lord’s calling. God established a covenant with Israel through Moses and reminded them through the prophets, but they were unfaithful to God and his covenant. Finally, a new covenant came through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, God’s only begotten Son. The Church becomes Christ’s bride through this new covenant, and all peoples hear the Good News through the Church. In the parable, when the king invited people, he was, in fact, waiting for the bride of his son. Likewise, God prepares the heavenly wedding by giving his Son as the Groom to the Church. And he is now waiting for the bride for the wedding.
Thus, this heavenly wedding joins the Groom and the bride forever. However, this wedding banquet is not merely a party filled with laughter. Because it is also a court of judgment. God will punish those who ignore his invitation. And he will expel those who don’t prepare for this wedding to the outer darkness.
Will this heavenly wedding banquet come at the end of the age only? In fact, we already participate in this banquet on earth at the Eucharist. Christ the Groom is offered as the food for this banquet of the Eucharist. By the reception of his body and blood, the Church joins her Groom. But then, we want to examine how well prepared we are for this union. For, in fact, at every Eucharist, we face the judgment of the Lord as well.
Galatians 3
One of the signs of our generation is the inability to distinguish or rejection of distinction. Although this generation built its civilization upon the binary code of “0” and “1” – i.e. a digital one, people hate the dichotomy or binary logic of true or false/right or wrong. Instead, people want to define or determine things in their ways. Gender will be an example of this trend in our times.
This trend doesn’t detour around Christianity. In this atmosphere, a passage like today’s first reading receives highlight: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female.” Wow, St Paul was way ahead of us! Already St Paul removed the distinction of gender. As long as we are Christian, nothing else matters, and everyone is equal!
I don’t believe that St Paul meant to destroy distinctions. He certainly believed in the equality of people. And the Church has taught this from the beginning. However, equality doesn’t come from a lack of distinction. This equality is the equality of human dignity. And every person enjoys this dignity, not because all people share the same material, but because God created each soul. Human dignity exists, not because great speech writers successfully persuade us into it, but because the man is God’s creation. Although we are different in physical makeup, sex, race, socioeconomic status, etc., we enjoy the same human dignity before God. Distinction and equality don’t cancel each other.
What St Paul meant was the unity of Christians in Christ. St Paul continues, “for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Anyone having faith in God is Abraham’s offspring. What St Paul wanted to remove among Christians was unjust, unreasonable, arbitrary, or hateful discrimination and mistreatment based on distinctions and differences.
Unity is meaningful only when there are differences and varieties. Denying distinction and oppressing diversity ends up with totalitarianism. The Lord created us all different. But he adopted us as brothers and sisters.
Galatians 3
A man offers a bouquet to a woman. What do you see? A gift of flowers symbolizes one’s love for another. However, a man can give a woman a bouquet to flatter, attract, seduce, tempt or even snare her. We cannot know one’s heart just by observing his acts and deeds.
Every morning, I light candles before holy statues in the parish church. But sometimes I ask myself if I light candles because I love Jesus, Mary and Joseph, or because lighted candles make the church look nicer. When I lit the candles, do I offer prayers as well? Or do I mechanically do that as a daily routine? Sometimes even I myself cannot discern my heart.
But if someone says, “The heart doesn’t matter. Only acts do,” would you agree? St Paul won’t agree, especially in the matter of faith and law. As long as a Jew keeps the law of Moses, he is a good Jew. But St Paul teaches the Galatians that keeping the law of Moses doesn’t bring them salvation, not because observing the law is sinful but because it is not enough. St Paul emphasizes that deeds without faith don’t merit salvation. We cannot obtain salvation by a mechanical process of acts, such as rituals or charity works. St Paul teaches us only true faith from a loving heart will please the Lord.
One step further. A man may think that he has faith. However, my subjective conviction on my faith doesn’t guarantee my salvation, for I can deceive myself. The Lord, who sees my inner thoughts and my heart, judges and decides my salvation. We are not the one who grants salvation. It is the Lord.
Luke 11
I wonder why I always struggle to build virtues in me. I want virtues to grow in me so that I may not fall into sins or stumble at the opposing vices. I pray and ask the Lord to help me to guide and strengthen me with his Spirit. However, virtues don’t come easy or settle in me soon.
In this famous passage from Luke, Jesus tells me once again, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” I have asked, I have searched, and I have knocked before. But why are these virtues not growing in me quickly? Why am I still far away from holiness?
I carefully examine my heart over again. I presumed that I wanted virtues to grow in me. But do I sincerely ask them? Do I long for them with my whole heart? Or, do I hate the opposing vices and sins? Do I run away from any occasions of sins?
Then, I realize why I struggle. It is because I still hesitate to sever all these sins. I stumble because I enjoy sinful habits and pleasures. Virtues don’t grow fast because my heart doesn’t truly embrace them. Although I often pray to the Lord, not the whole of my heart prays.
The Lord gladly grants us good things without reservation. Jesus confirms this by saying, “how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit who asks him!” The stumbling blocks are within us. Either we childishly ask for wrong things, or we only halfheartedly ask for good things.
Saints become holy, not because they are born holy, but because they desire holiness. Have I sincerely asked for it before? Have I wholeheartedly called the Lord to help me become a saint? Even when saints sincerely long for holiness, they had a hard time because of the envy of the Devil and his temptations. But if I don’t ask for holiness with my whole heart, I save the work of Satan.
Then, this is my prayer: “Lord, give me your grace to my heart so that my heart may sincerely ask for your Spirit and holiness.”
Luke 11
The Jewish people of the ancient time had 613 commandments. Moses gave these laws to Israel. Now, the New Moses, Jesus, proclaims a new commandment. This new law is simple. Love your God and your neighbours.
Similarly, Jesus teaches his disciples a simple prayer when one of them asked how to pray. In this short prayer, Jesus teaches the most critical faith of Christianity. The first phrase, Our Father, reveals it. Different peoples, cultures, and religions have many ideas and images of deity. But as we see in the Lord's Prayer, Christian God is the Father of his children. Christ is not merely a hero-saviour. Christ Jesus is the true Son of the Father God and the true human brother of mankind. The Father and the Son are not metaphors. Likewise, the invocation, Our Father, is not a metaphor, either. When Christ Jesus took human flesh and was born of the Blessed Virgin, he became our true brother. When we participate in his death and resurrection through baptism, we are reborn as his Father’s children. We are now not only brothers of Christ in human flesh but also brothers of Christ in spirit because the same Holy Spirit dwells in Christ and us. That is why we call God our Father, and this invocation is real and true.
As God is the Father, his children don’t have to ask for too many things. As he is in heaven, his children are destined to heaven. Because he is our Father, we are also his heirs. Daily bread is enough for us here on earth. What we hope on earth is that our Father’s will is realized here on earth. What we are waiting for is the coming of our Father’s kingdom. Because he is our Father, we can ask for forgiveness. Because he is our loving Father, we ask him to deliver us from evil.
When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we pray just as his Son, Christ Jesus, used to pray. How privileged we are! Let us be thankful to God, our Father, who called us to become His children in Christ. Let us once again call upon his Name: Our Father!
Luke 10
The Church teaches the author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. We can compare the way the Bible was completed to how the Word of God became flesh. The Blessed Virgin Mary didn’t randomly encounter the Archangel Gabriel. She was prepared from her conception to participate in the work of redemption. She dedicated herself to the service of the Lord and was attuned to his words. She was always paying attention to the Lord. When she heard the message of the Archangel, she didn’t doubt. She gave herself to the Holy Spirit as Gabriel announced her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” The Blessed Virgin bore the Word of the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit. She gave her flesh so that the Word of the Lord became flesh on earth.
Comparably, those, who were attuned to the words of the Lord, composed the Scripture by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They were paying attention to the Lord and his Spirit. When the Holy Spirit inspired them, they gave themselves to the Word of the Lord by their testimonies and writings. These testimonies and witnesses reflect the human elements of language, custom, society, etc., just as Jesus has human nature, the ethnic features, and the culture of his time. In a sense, the Bible is another form in which the Word of the Lord takes human flesh.
Today, we hear the story of Martha and Mary. Martha’s sister Mary chose to listen to what Jesus was saying, and Jesus praised her. When we reflect on how the gospel books were written, we find there were many like Mary, who paid attention to Jesus and his words that they left their witnesses and testimonies. These witnesses and testimonies, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became the foundation of the gospel books. By giving their ears to Christ, they also became like the Blessed Virgin, bearing the Word of the Lord in their flesh.
I ask myself how much time every day I listen to the Lord before his Presence in the Church. Am I not like Martha, who is distracted by many things? “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” I pray that I may also choose the better part so that I may also bear the Word of the Lord in my flesh.
Luke 10
One of the reasons Christianity grew as a world religion is its universality – that’s is, God of Christianity does not discriminate; He gives good things to all people. The Good Samaritan shows well this spirit of impartiality and benevolence. At the same time, this parable teaches us what Christians should be able to overcome to be like the Lord. But the barriers don’t seem easy to overcome because they are critical values for individuals and communities. To break these barriers can be risky as well as uncomfortable. Here they are:
First, blood-relationship, race, or ethnicity. As we see recently in our North America, race and ethnicity become sources of division and discrimination. The Good Samaritan had to overcome the dividing barrier between Samaritans and Jews. Blood, race, and ethnicity can bind us one, but at the same time, they can divide us.
Second, religion. The priest and the Levite avoided the half-dead Jew because any contact with blood or dead people made them ritually unclean that they might not carry out their priestly duties. Religion is to promote human dignity, but here we see an irony that we can become blind to God’s will because of religious rules. And this is still relevant to our times.
Third, safety and security. By carrying the wounded man, the Samaritan risked his safety because it would slow him down in the dangerous area where bandits often attack people. When we don’t take a risk at all, we cannot help others. Doesn’t love always make us vulnerable?
Fourth, money and finance. In our times, financial security tops our priorities in life. When a church community puts all its trust in money, it degenerates into a symbol of hypocrisy. The Good Samaritan not only saved the Jew but also took care of him out of his resources.
Can I abandon these values for the benefit of some unknown person? What if my effort turns out useless or even harmful to the person? What if I get into trouble because of my good intention? What if the person is not worthy of my help? How was the Good Samaritan sure that his effort would be beneficial at all? Probably he was not sure of anything. But he trusted in God and put hope in God. Only when we put our faith and hope in the Lord, we will be able to go beyond all our values and become His instruments for his perfect love for all.
Matthew 21
There was a poor peasant named Pahom living in a village in Russia. He rented a small piece of land for his farm. One day he wished to himself, “If I owned a big land, I shouldn’t fear even the Devil!” Pahom didn’t know the Devil was listening to him behind the stove. Satan decided to give Pahom plenty of land, but said to himself, “I will take everything away from him eventually!”
Not long after this, a landlady in the village started to sell her land. Many peasants in the village bought her land. Since the land was so big, they could buy as much as they could afford. Pahom also could not miss this chance. He borrowed money and bought the land. And he worked hard to pay off the debt. Not before long, Pahom finished the debt and he was no longer poor.
However, he now had another problem. He got so annoyed with his neighbours because their animals often crossed his land. Often he had quarrels with them. So he sold everything and moved to a larger area. But now he wanted bigger land. Thus, Pahom kept selling and buying land and expanded his wealth. Nevertheless, he could not satisfy himself to his heart’s content.
One day, a traveller passing by Pahom’s place told him an unbelievable story. There was a region called Bashkirs where people were simple and naive, but owned a huge amount of land. More surprisingly, in Bashkirs, only one thousand rubles could buy as much as land a person wanted. Pahom could not wait another day. He put everything in charge of his wife and hurriedly left for Bashkirs with his servant.
Indeed, the story of the traveller was real. People in Bashkirs welcomed Pahom and wanted to give him whatever he asked for when Pahom offered them gifts. As he expressed his wish to buy their land, the village chief suggested an incredible offer: with one thousand rubles, Pahom could buy as large land as he could walk around in a day – starting at daybreak until sunset. He should mark with a spade as he would go around. All the land he could enclose would be his. But he had to arrive before sunset to the starting point. Otherwise, he would lose his one thousand rubles.
Pahom could not sleep well because of excitement. That night, he had a strange dream in which he saw himself dead by the feet of Satan who was laughing at him.
The next morning, Pahom hurried. As the day went, he found better and better land. He could not turn around. When he realized he was too far out, not much time was left before sunset. Pahom started to run. Finally, he saw the village people gathering where he had started. He ran to all his strength since it was getting dark. The people cheered at Pahom and the chief was laughing for Pahom’s arrival. But coughing up blood, Pahom dropped dead in his servant’s arms. He was too exhausted. His servant dug a six-foot-long grave and buried him.
This is a short story by Leo Tolstoy based on Russian folklore. Its title is “How much land does a man require?” The end of the story answers. Pahom thinks he can own things. But he does not even realize he cannot own his life. The fatal miscalculation of the wicked tenants in the parable of this Sunday’s gospel is that they presumed they could own the vineyard by taking away from the landowner. How foolish and senseless they were! They were only tenants!
The modern man thinks he owns and controls all nature. He seems richer than any of his ancestors. Perhaps all these are true. But it’s an irony that more and more contemporary people cannot afford a six-foot-long grave. Often a small jar is where many end up.
Luke 10
The word of Jesus to his disciples in today’s gospel is still good: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!” The Son of God is satisfied and happy with the revelation of his presence to mankind and gives thanks and praise to his Father. Not only his disciples but also all Christians receive this privilege to access directly to the mystery of God and life eternal with resurrection. This is certainly something with which everyone should rejoice and give thanks to God.
But we still ask a question to ourselves – “Am I joyful and thankful?” Many of us cannot always answer ‘yes’ unfortunately. Why? Christ is not enough for us? Why do we still struggle with negativity, depression, bitterness, hatred, and so on? What blinds the eyes that see what Jesus shows?
Anyone who goes through the darkness of the spirit knows that it is not just a human weakness that causes those miseries. Because Satan and his angels constantly work at us. And they use at least three different ways to pull us away from the path to salvation.
First, by aversion. Satan lures with glamours of the world and leads us to addiction. We turn our eyes away from Christ and are fixed on these false gods. All creation is good. However, they can be snares of the devil if they hold our attention away from the Lord.
Second, by despair. Satan incessantly tries to eat away our faith and hope toward mankind, life, and the goodness of the Lord. His goal is to make us give up on ourselves by depleting all hope so that even eternal life may look meaningless and joyless.
Third, by destruction. God creates and builds and keeps. Satan does the opposite – wanting to destroy and annihilate. Satan works on all our faculties of senses, temper, reason, and will to make us destructive. Vicious cycles of hatred and revenge victimize everyone and destroy everything.
Being joyful and grateful is a sign of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. On the contrary, becoming negative and hateful is a symptom of Satan’s influence. When we feel this, let us once again look at the Lord. His light will scatter the darkness.
Matthew 18
As much real as the Devil and demons are, so much real are angels. As Jesus teaches us today in the gospel, each soul is blessed with an angel at its creation. These angels are not only for Christians, for the child Jesus presented before his disciples was not likely baptized yet. And when he said, “Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I tell you, their angels continually see the face of my Father in heaven,” “these little ones” mean little children in general. In this sense, Jesus was teaching his disciples that God generously assigns guardian angels to all created souls. Then, it is not a surprise to see that, in one US survey in 2008, among American adults who don’t have a particular religion, one in five believes they have been protected by a guardian angel. And more than half of all adult Americans believe they have been helped by a guardian angel.
Guardian angels are not so much highlighted in the Bible, but they are ubiquitous. Angels attended on Jesus in the desert after his temptation by Satan. When he was struggling even to a point of sweating blood in the Garden of Olive, angels also succoured him. It was the angel who freed St Peter from prison. It is interesting to see that St Peter’s community members presumed his angel appeared to one of the women who had answered the door when real St Peter was delivered from prison. Apparently, for the first Christians, the apparition of angels was less unbelievable than a miraculous deliverance from jail.
The letter to the Hebrews teaches that guardian angels are sent to us to lead us to salvation. And St Thomas Aquinas teaches that these angels can act upon our senses and imaginations to help us to make good decisions.
Some of us might feel it is childish and superstitious to call upon guardian angels. But even Jesus was assisted by them. St Joseph received God’s messages from them to protect Jesus. St Peter was delivered from prison by the power of his angel. Then, let us not ignore them. Let us call upon their daily help. They are right next to us.
Luke 10
As I listen to the instruction of Jesus to his seventy disciples, I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t encourage his disciples to engage in persuasion, argument, apology, dispute, or demonstration. Often we spend much time in these verbal works with our families and friends to turn them toward the Lord. But it seems the disciples of Jesus were free from these works. Jesus ordered them simply to proclaim the kingdom of heaven: If people accept and welcome the Gospel, it is good and well. Otherwise, don’t worry about them. Just give them a warning. And move on. We might wonder if this approach would be effective at all. It might have worked for those ancient Jewish people, but it sounds too simple for the modern man. Don’t we need to develop a certain sophisticated and powerful argument to appeal to the modern man?
Those who have tried to encourage families and friends for faith will know our words most times do not work well, especially on the people who have something against God or the Church. Let’s not forget even Jesus couldn’t convert everyone he encountered during his ministry. On the contrary, he made lots of enemies.
In the meantime, I have met people welcoming the Gospel without my effort. All I have to do is to invite. There is no need for persuasion or argument. If there is to be any verbal work, it will be to explain faith as they ask.
Jesus says today, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few.” He doesn’t ask to raise the crops. He asks us to gather the harvest. The Lord has already prepared people in mysterious ways. Reflect on yourself. Can somebody else develop my faith? Of course, many people influence our faith. But do they actually grow faith for us? Even if you love your son, you cannot grow his love for his fiancee, because love has to grow in the relationship between them. Likewise, faith can only grow in the relationship between God and me. Nobody else can grow it on behalf of me. It is the Lord who calls people to himself in mysterious ways. He prepares people for the harvest. When we invite them to the kingdom of heaven, they gladly respond.
Many people don’t have an opportunity to join the Church because nobody has invited them yet. There is still a plentiful harvest waiting to be gathered. There is no time for futile disputes and arguments. It’s time to proclaim and invite.
Job 9
I am not a stargazing person. Perhaps I am more of a practical person. But it seems beneficial to gaze at the skies and stars. It makes me humble and wise. When I look at the skies, I am reminded of how minute I am in the universe. And this observation in turn teaches me my humble existence. Even compared to the size of our planet, I am nothing more than a tiny particle. But when I compare myself to the universe, I am less than invisible dust. Astronomers and physicists say the universe is expanding faster than light. Then, my relative size becomes smaller and smaller as the universe expands. It is not an exaggeration to call myself nothing in this sense. But above all, we don’t even exactly know why and how the universe expands. Scientists offer theories, but eventually, the question of the expansion of the universe remains a mystery.
Without studying astronomy or physics, Job already realized many natural phenomena are inaccessible to human intelligence. But, through his intuition, he saw the Lord is behind all these immense powers and complexities in the universe.
Job was innocent in his words and deeds but had to face unspeakable disasters and tragedies. He might be able to demand justice from the Lord. But Job trusted the Lord much more than his innocence. Job believed that the Lord who governs all universe and regulates all changes of heaven and earth must have had a better reason for his calamities, although he could not even speculate why. Job shows an example of absolute humility. Although he was without sins, he didn’t ask for justice. Instead, he begged for God’s mercy.
Will I be able to react like Job, when I am swept away with disastrous misfortunes? I pray that the Lord allows me to have humility like that of Job, so that I may remain faithful to the Lord in difficult times of life. When those moments come, may the Lord turn my eyes to the skies, so that I realize what I am – the smallest among all his creations.
John 1
Have you asked your family members, friends or neighbours if they believe in angels? If you believe in angels, you belong to a majority of Canadians. At least two in three Canadians believe in angels. According to a 2008 poll, 67 percent of Canadians believe in angels. And 37 percent of Canadians certainly believe in angels. The Prairie people are more likely to believe (77%) and the west coastal people (BC) have lesser belief in angels (61%). If you search on the internet, you will find many different reports that tell you that always a majority of North Americans believe in angels. In a US survey, a majority of Christians in the US say they have personal experiences of angels, especially guardian angels. Even about 20 percent of the people with no religion report that they have been helped or saved by a guardian angel.
In the Bible, from the book of Genesis down to the book of Revelation, we encounter so many angelic beings in important moments for the salvation of mankind. From the patriarch Abraham to the foster father of Jesus Joseph, angels faithfully bring the messages of the Lord to humans and help them to carry out the work of salvation. Angels served Jesus after his temptation in the desert, and Jesus tells Nathaniel that the angels will serve him at his glorious triumph as we heard in today’s gospel. Angels are filling the world, busy with the works of the Lord at all times.
But when we examine our current Catholic culture, we seem to pay much less attention to angels than previous generations. How many of us pray daily to archangels and guardian angels? When we struggle with vices and sins, we are not only fighting ourselves. We are in a battle with the darkness of Satan and his evil spirits. Why don’t we ask the angels of the Lord to protect and help us in these battles? I pray that I may be more conscious of these heavenly messengers and protectors so that I can safely walk the narrow path to the kingdom of heaven until I meet the Lord in heaven.
Job 1
Many couples break up at financial crises. Some people feel that they cannot be loved if they lose prosperity. They feel useless about themselves without money. Do they love themselves? Meanwhile, some people believe that the man loses his dignity and value by poverty because poverty is a sign of incompetence and inferiority. And they give up on economic losers and walk away, even from their spouses. Can they love others? I hope that you agree that I can say I love a person because of the person, not because of his competency, ability, power, or intelligence, not to mention external properties and fortunes. Otherwise, all married couples will less and less love each other as they grow older since they slowly lose physical and mental capabilities and attractiveness. It would be quite sad if elderly couples had to stay together because they couldn’t be economically independent of each other.
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan raises a doubt against Job. Satan believes that Job loves God because he receives all the blessings. “Have you not put a fence around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possession has increased in the land.” Satan predicts Job will betray the Lord if he is no longer with his fortunes, challenging the Lord, “But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
People deny even the existence of God because they cannot believe that God allows all the sufferings and miseries in the world. Some people become angry with the Lord because they have lost what they have enjoyed or whom they loved.
What about me? If the Lord takes away all his blessings and lets all kinds of misfortunes into my life, will I still love him? Will I be still grateful and thankful to him for my life? Do I love the Lord because he is the Lord God? Or I love him because I feel happy? Do I love God because he is useful to me?
Misfortunes test friendships. Long years test marriages. As flames of fire purify silver and gold, God purifies us through a series of tests in life. I pray that my heart loves the Lord only because it is the Lord, so that, in all hardships, I may walk through them with gratitude and hope.
Matthew 21
When a man and a woman marry, they exchange ‘yes’ on two occasions, usually. The first one is likely to be private – when one party asks, “Will you marry me?” Then, the second one comes at the wedding ceremony. This ‘yes’ would be public, official, and sacramental. Without both parties’ explicit consents, the marriage cannot be ratified. This ‘yes’ presents the will of both parties to carry out the marital responsibilities and obligations of exclusive lifelong faithfulness, mutual assistance, and procreation and education of future children. These marriage responsibilities and obligations are universally accepted and shared.
However, in many modern countries, at least one in three couples ends up with separation or divorce. In Canada, the divorce rate is about 38 percent. But, unfortunately, this COVID-19 pandemic seems to drive more couples to consider divorce according to recent news reports. After those serious consents of ‘yes’, why do couples break up their marriages?
There can be thousands of reasons for separation and divorce. But commonly, it’s because they are deeply disappointed at their spouses. As couples do not live that ‘yes’ at the wedding in their marital relationships, they feel deceived by that ‘yes’. When couples see no longer any hope for that ‘yes’ to be fulfilled, they find no reason to stay together.
In today’s gospel, one son first refused his father’s calling but later did what his father asked, while the other son quickly responded with ‘yes’ but eventually did not do his father’s will. Jesus admonishes Israel and its leaders who answered and promised to God with ‘yes’ but have not been faithful to God and his commandments. When God led Israel out of Egypt, through Moses, God established a covenant with Israel people’s ‘yes’. However, throughout history, Israel kept failing the covenant with the Lord. Now, those outcasts – the prostitutes and the tax collectors – enter the kingdom of God first, because they repent their sins and live according to the warning of John the Baptist.
At baptism, we or our parents on behalf of us answered ‘yes’, promising our faithfulness to the Lord. And we renew this ‘yes’ every time we dip our fingers in the holy water and every Easter we renew our baptismal promises and profess our faith. But what matters more is whether we live this ‘yes’ every day.
In Canada, the average length of marriages is about 14 years. Couples do not give up marriages overnight. Rather than by one big event, the piling up of daily disappointments and frustrations lead to most divorces – although it takes over 10 years on average. The success of marriage seems to depend on every day, not on one ‘yes’ at the wedding.
Becoming a good Christian, and thereby entering heaven, likewise, is not accomplished by one ‘yes’ at baptism. Every day is a challenge to do the will of the Lord.
Saying one ‘yes’ can be romantic. But doing ‘yes’ every day is heroic.
Luke 9
Have you ever questioned what use, what benefits, if any, your bearing the cross would have? Does my sacrifice have any effect? Will anybody know about it? It seems that I am the only one who suffers for this cross, but that nobody changes and nothing happens. Why does Jesus ask us to suffer, too? Isn’t it enough for the Son of God to suffer for all of us so that he may open the door to salvation? Why can we, his followers, not simply enter through the door by professing his Name? Does he get anything from our suffering? Does his suffering lack of merit?
Nevertheless, Jesus still speaks to us, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.”
Today we are commemorating Canada’s secondary patron saints – Jean de Brebeuf, Issac Jogues, and their companions. They are the first martyrs of North America. The martyrdom of these Jesuit priests is well-known for its horrific ways of execution. Iroquois executioners ate the heart of Jean de Brebeuf and drank his blood. Other martyrs also had to suffer horrible tortures. Why was it necessary for them to be martyred? If the Catholic Church had waited a couple of hundred years for modern North America, they wouldn’t have had to suffer.
This is the mystery of the cross. When those Jesuit missionaries shed their blood in North America, the Church saw that God blessed the new continent with their blood. The martyrs are evidence that the Church is still alive. The martyrs are the evidence that the Church is truly the Mystical Body of Christ, because her head, Christ is still suffering for humanity. The Passion of Christ is a historical event as well as the mystical present. With the blood of the martyrs, North America finally joined the mystical present of the mystery of the Passion.
This is why we carry our cross. Our daily cross makes us a genuine part of the Body of Christ, who is still suffering. By our daily cross, we participate in these dynamics of the mystery. Have Jesus taught any other way? I pray that I may take up my cross today so that I may walk together with Jesus toward the life he promises.
Luke 9
“But who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks his disciples in today’s gospel. It should be noted when Jesus asked this question. It was not long after they returned from their missionary journeys. And just before today’s passage, Luke reports the feeding of the five thousand. The apostles experienced the power and authority of Jesus over diseases and evil spirits. And they also witnessed his divine power to multiply the five loaves and two fish to feed thousands of people. After having provided all these firsthand encounters, Jesus is asking his disciples about his identity. He was not testing their intellectual knowledge. He was asking for their testimony from their witnesses. He was asking for an answer from their heart.
If Jesus asks me the same question, what will be my answer? As a Christian born into a Christian family, I learned who Jesus is first from my parents. I read the lives of saints who encountered Christ in their lives. As I grew up, however, I observed how Jesus worked among people and in the Church. And I also saw how Jesus worked in my life.
St Peter’s answer, “The Messiah of God” was not a logical or theoretical conclusion. His answer was a revelation from the Lord. Peter saw how Jesus revealed himself in his works. And his answer was a confession of faith – an act of entrusting oneself to God.
At least one time in our life, Jesus asks each of us who I say that he is. I pray that I may be observant and vigilant enough to witness his presence and work in my life so that, when he asks me, I may also answer with the whole of my heart, “The Messiah of God.”
Luke 9
If you have initiated a faith group such as a prayer group before, you have probably met certain difficulties – most likely from the members of your group. Because of the negative influence of these persons and thus the troublesome relationships among members, you might have even had to discontinue your group.
Similar things often happen in new ministries in the Church. While it’s very exciting to start a new ministry because you learn new things and meet new helpers and people, the minister should watch out to see who comes to him and his ministry. Sometimes people with different motives and personal agendas can seriously impede the healthy growth of your ministry. And the minister can be left with disappointment and frustration.
When a church community holds an event, people come with different expectations and intents. Although most are well-intended and helpful, sometimes you encounter unpleasant surprises from the participants.
Today’s gospel passage, when we read it separately, may sound insignificant and anecdotal. But when we see Luke place it between the sending out the twelve apostles and the return of them, we realize this short passage suggests that the apostles should encounter many misunderstandings of Christ and people like Herod in their ministry – the people searching for Christ for own curiosity and benefit, sometimes with evil and wicked intents.
Let us not forget that Satan was the first visitor when Jesus was preparing his ministry in the desert. Satan does not leave the Church alone. When we bring the Gospel to ourselves and our neighbours, we are likely to face his force. We run into misunderstandings not only of the Gospel but also of us. And amid all these misunderstandings, we will discover who Jesus is and who we are. I pray that we may find ourselves persevering in difficulties and may answer to Jesus with St Peter, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Most High.”
Luke 9
“Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money – not even an extra tunic.” This is what Jesus instructed to his apostles when he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. Matthew’s and Mark’s gospels also have very similar instructions of Jesus at sending out the apostles. In St Matthew’s, Jesus tells his apostles, “Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick.” Again, in St Mark’s, Jesus instructs “them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.”
The details are a bit different from one another, but, the spirit of the instructions is clear: Depend only on the power of the Lord. Also, we feel certain urgency in the words of Jesus – the Good News must be proclaimed now than later.
Now, when I examine myself, I find myself heavily depend on those things Jesus forbade. And I am also waiting for a certain optimal environment and atmosphere for evangelization. But Jesus reminds me that he sent out his apostles when there was no existing network of Christians. The apostles didn’t have access to any social privilege that could facilitate their activities. Neither could they offer services and charities out of their resources. As for the proclamation of the Gospel, most of the apostles were not trained for rhetoric or speech. They were not equipped to convert people by knowledge and eloquence. The apostles had to depend on the power of the Lord. And they also relied on the support of the people they encounter on their missionary journeys.
Let alone the priests of the Church, average Christians living in this age enjoy a better position to proclaim the Good News. We just don’t proclaim the Gospel. Let us pray that our Lord may pour into us the zeal to bring the Gospel to ourselves and others. And let us remind ourselves today is the day to proclaim the Good News, not tomorrow.
Luke 8
In the Old Testament, we find many stories of brothers. It begins with Cain and Abel. Then, Esau and Jacob follow. Jacob had twelve sons. But all these accounts of brothers show unedifying and scandalous relationships. Cain murdered Abel. Jacob deceived Esau for the inheritance right. Jacobs’ ten sons were jealous of their brother Joseph and sold him away as a slave. In the time of the judges, Judge Gideon’s son Abimelech attempted to be a king and executed his seventy brothers upon one stone. During the reign of King David, his eldest son Absalom rebelled against his father and sought his life. At the beginning of his reign, King Solomon killed his half-brother Adonijah to consolidate his power. Of course, God still carried out his plan for salvation amid these dysfunctional fraternal relationships.
Are these stories only ancient and non-relevant to our modern families? Of course, we don’t find any longer brothers selling their brothers for slavery in our times. But so many of us don’t have to look at other families to find an estranged brother or sister. Almost at every funeral, unfortunately, I encounter broken relationships among families. And I ask, “Who are our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers?” In today’s gospel, Jesus gives the answer, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Truly, those who carry out the word of the Lord become actual help to us when we are in need. Those who practice the word of the Lord in daily life lift our spirit and give us spiritual nourishment. If you see these people, make good friends with them. And let us also become one of them, so that we may also become brothers and sisters of Jesus.
Matthew 9
Indeed, the word of the Lord is true: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick do.” If my health is perfect, I won’t have to go to the doctor. However, I have not had perfect health at any given time in my life. I may have had some symptom-free days for a while. But one condition or another is always developing in the background, and sooner or later, it flares up. This is why I should watch over my health all the time and have a family physician. I hope all of you don’t need a physician ever, but I have not seen anyone who has never needed one.
Jesus presents himself as a spiritual physician for sinners in today’s gospel. Do I feel, then, this is nothing to do with me? Am I perfectly healthy in my spiritual life? Unfortunately, I am far from spiritual perfection, struggling with vices and sins every day. Fortunately, as a priest, I have daily opportunities to see Jesus at the Mass. But it is pitiful that I cannot go to my confessor as often as I wish.
In our current Catholic culture, we regard the liturgy of the Eucharist more of a celebration, especially as a community celebration and festival. But the Mass is primarily a sacrifice, and Christ offers himself to redeem us from our sins. Holy Communion offers an antidote to our sins and nourishment for protection against vices. The number one remedy for spiritual struggling is showing myself to Jesus at the Mass and receiving him in my body and soul.
Another current Catholic trend views the sacrament of penance as if it were a legal process. But the essence of this sacrament is healing – healing our broken relationship with the Lord and healing our spiritual wounds by sins. It is not wise to defend or rationalize our illness. Doctors don’t judge us because we are sick. Jesus doesn’t hear our confession to condemn or sentence. He wants to heal us. Then, we should show more of our wounds. Isn’t this what we do at the doctor’s office? Don’t we want to speak more about our symptoms and pains? But often we take the role of a defence lawyer to demonstrate why it was necessary to commit such and such sins while frequently pointing our fingers to others. Absolution of sins cannot be given to those who are not in the confessional. I am in the confession not to minimize my sentence but to maximize Jesus’ forgiveness of my sins.
As Jesus called Matthew today, he also calls me, probably because I am also a sinner. But I am a happy sinner, because Jesus says, “For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”
Matthew 20
One fundamental assumption of the economy is that the man’s desire and want are unlimited while the natural resources are limited. This assumption can explain many economic phenomena. Agriculture developed because simply gathering food from nature could not support the population. Trade developed because natural resources were not equally distributed in different places. All kinds of economic competitions are an undeniable reality because everyone cannot have to his heart’s content. This situation of the man is well described at the end of Adam and Eve’s story in the Book of Genesis. When they were exiled from the Garden of Eden, the ground no longer gave food as it used to give abundantly. The man had to labour and sweat in toil to eat. And, then, a brother killed his brother out of envy – implying fierce competition among men. Shut out of the paradise, the man finds himself in constant need and incessant competition. It’s all because we cannot find enough of anything.
This unfortunate situation made it necessary for the man to look for justice. If everyone could go out and find enough at all the times, we don’t have to worry about what is my due or what is your due. Because everything on earth is limited, the man had to devise a way to distribute the limited resources people can agree with.
The parable Jesus gives in this Sunday’s gospel shows a sense of economic justice in the time of Jesus. It seems most people even in ancient times believed the resources should be distributed according to one’s labour and effort, not by certain favour or luck. This is what the labourer in the parable expected. They didn’t ask for something extraordinary. They simply expected due justice. However, what the landowner of the vineyard did was incomprehensible to them. They all received the same daily wage! This makes the parable very interesting.
What Jesus wanted to demonstrate to his disciples was not the human economy. As he speaks at the beginning of the parable, he was teaching about the kingdom of heaven. The greatest principle in the economy of salvation we often forget is this: God’s mercy and his goodness are boundless. God the Father never runs out of his mercy. Nothing can exhaust the abundance of his goodness. God does not save good things against evil people. He gives good things to the bad people as well as to the good ones as the Sun gives light not only to good wheat but also to bad weeds. God gives good things even to sinners so that they might have an opportunity to turn away from their evil ways. When a sinner repents his sins close to the end of his life, God gives the same salvation to him as he gives to a life-long saint. No one has to compete against anyone. As long as he entrusts his life to God, he receives more than enough.
The road to salvation is narrow and difficult as Jesus tells us. Some of us have to walk longer. For some others, the walk may be shorter. But let us not forget these: all are invited; all have opportunities; God gives good things even when we sin; His mercy is boundless; everyone is given hope for salvation. Then, now, let us go to his vineyard.
Luke 8
The common reaction to the parable of the sower is to determine what kind of ground I am. It can be a good starting point. But the real question should be how I can become good soil. I don’t think that the Lord predetermines what kind of ground I am in this life. If it were so, sinners wouldn’t be so much responsible for their wickedness, and saints would not merit their holy lives.
We all know we should follow the instructions on the envelopes when we buy any seed. Different plants require different ways of planting and raising. When we ignore the instructions, the seed will not germinate or grow properly or flower at its time. In the same way, we should follow the Word of the Lord to grow the seed of eternal life to reach its fullness in the life to come.
This seed of eternal life is sown in our mortal life here on earth. But this life and this world are governed and dominated by the worldly principles under the power of Satan. This is why we have so many difficulties to grow the seed of eternal life on earth. Our flesh so often betrays our good intention to grow the seed of eternal life according to the Word of the Lord. The world scorns the Gospel. But we cannot stop growing the seed just because the weather is bad. That’s why our Christian life on earth is an ongoing battle.
Do we water our plants only for great feast days? Do we attend to our gardens on statutory holidays only? No, we pay attention to our plant and our gardens almost every day. Do you think it would be very different to grow the seed of eternal life? No, the Word of the Lord should be applied to our daily decisions and daily relationships. And we need to be more conscious of the Word of the Lord especially when the weather is inclement.
Luke 8
Today’s gospel passage from St Luke lists three women’s names and also mentions many other women. This passage does not give any extraordinary account. It seems a summary of the ministry of Jesus. Its emphasis is on the role of women in the ministry of Jesus. Luke testifies that those women provided the financial resources for Jesus and his apostles. Was that all?
The evangelist does not give any more information on other roles of those women disciples of Jesus. But we cannot ignore the ‘fact’ that St Luke recorded the actual names of those women. What does it signify? The fact that Luke wrote down their names strongly suggests that these women were well-known among early Christians and, more importantly, the reliable sources of the accounts of the ministry of Jesus.
Luke was not an eyewitness of the ministry of Jesus. He was not one of the twelve apostles or close disciples of Jesus. As Luke writes at the beginning of his gospel, he was a compiler and editor of the accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus and his disciples. He gathered from the disciples and many eyewitnesses. And, among the reliable sources for his gospel, those women took no insignificant places. These three women and many other women followed Jesus from the very early stage of Jesus’ ministry. And they accompanied him and his disciples. They witnessed what Jesus and his disciples said and did. On the way to Calvary, many women followed Jesus. While all the apostles and disciples abandoned Jesus at his crucifixion except St John, the women disciples did not desert the Lord. When the disciples hid after the crucifixion, it was the women disciples who went to the tomb of Jesus and found out his resurrection. It was the women disciples who brought the news of the resurrection to the disciples.
Some might assume that Christianity is too male-oriented. But I think many gospel accounts reflect the perspectives of those women disciples. It’s because they were the faithful eyewitnesses of Jesus and his disciples. Often they were the unique sources of important events such as the resurrection of the Lord. But also, let us not forget our Blessed Mother. Without her witness, who else could have provided the infancy narrative?
Our Lord did not discriminate against men or women. For anyone faithful to him, Christ gives the honour of his discipleship and witness.
Luke 7
“If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him – that she is a sinner.” This was what Simon the Pharisee was thinking in his heart. This Pharisee would never let the woman touch him because he would become unclean by the woman’s touching. He assumed the woman was polluting, contaminating, and making Jesus impure by her touching. We don’t know who the woman was but can guess that she was socially and religiously rejected. There could be different reasons – immoral lifestyles, health problems, socially despised jobs, racially mixed people, and so on. Any close contact with these people would make you religiously unclean and socially unacceptable.
Simon the Pharisee would have known who the woman was, but didn’t know who Jesus was. The Pharisee wouldn’t regard Jesus even as a prophet let alone the Son of God. This is why he thought what the sinful woman was doing to Jesus was making Jesus impure. On the other hand, despite a sinner, the woman knew who Jesus was. She knew how others regarded her. But she touched Jesus because she knew her touching could not make Jesus unclean. She knew that rather Jesus would make her clean. By her touching, she was being purified by the divine power of Jesus. And she kept doing it by kissing his feet and anointing them with expensive perfume oil before the people who were in the dining hall.
When we realize who Jesus is and acknowledge his power, we will approach him no matter how sinful we are. Because his healing power is so great, our filth, wounds, shames, and sins will be burnt and blown away before his presence. The Pharisee had Jesus in his house as a guest but did not receive much from him. The woman humiliated herself before others by bathing the feet of Jesus with her tears but received from him the forgiveness of her sins. Let our sins never stop us from approaching Jesus. It’s always the trick of Satan – to doubt the divine power of Christ. As long as we dare to touch his feet with our tears, Jesus will cleanse us from our guilt and sins.
1 Corinthians 12-13
At the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus encourages us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. How do we become perfect like our heavenly Father? By loving all, Jesus teaches us. He asks us to love not only our friends but also our enemies. And it seems St Paul is writing a commentary on this teaching of love in today’s first reading: “It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
The list of the qualities of love St Paul gives us in his first letter to the Corinthians reminds me of how imperfect I am as a Christian. And it reveals how childish I am in my faith life. This list seems like a mirror image or a parallel reflection of the Beatitudes Jesus taught at the Sermon of the Mount.
The blessed ones Jesus mentions in the Beatitudes are those who exercise true love: Those poor in spirit are not boastful or arrogant but humble. Those who mourn are not irritable or resentful but sorrowful for sinners and praying for them. Those who are meek don’t act rudely or insist own ways but are kind to everyone. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness don’t rejoice in wrongdoing but give good things to all. The merciful are patient with sinners and hope all good things for everyone. Those pure in heart can see the truth clearly and rejoice in it. The peacemakers are not envious of others’ happiness but bear all. Those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake believe all teachings of Christ and endure all things for the kingdom of heaven. In short, love completes Christian virtues and leads us to Christian perfection.
Faith and hope will come to an end when we face our Lord at the Judgment. But love will continue because by love we are united forever with our Lord. This is why love is perfection and love never ends.
John 19
The role of the Blessed Virgin is critical in God’s plan for salvation because her fiatprovided for the flesh of the Lord. But she must have also critically contributed to the life of the Church as a unique witness. Is there any other person who witnessed all of the birth, the childhood, the public life, the Passion, the Resurrection, and the Ascensionof Christ Jesus, other than the Blessed Mother? She was the one who kept all those things of Christ’s infancy in her heart. Who else could have handed to us the beautiful praise of the Magnificatother than her? Because of her motherhood and witness, the first Christians didn’t have any doubt about the humanity of Christ as many modern people do. Because she was the one who held the body of her son after his death, none of the apostles and disciples had to doubt about his death. Because she also became a witness of the Resurrection of the Lord with the apostles, the apostles didn’t have to doubt if the risen Christ was truly him. For his mother confirmed his resurrection! Since Christ had given his mother to St John, it is a very reasonable assumption that the beloved disciple learned many things about Christ Jesus directly from his mother. In a word, the Blessed Mother became the most credible witness of Christ Jesus for the apostles and the first Church, and, in this way, contributed to the sold foundation of Christianity. She provided not only for the flesh of Christ but also for the unique witness of Christ. Her witness became the source of the gospels and the Tradition of the Church.
Let us be thankful to our Blessed Mother who took the piercing pain in her heart to witness her Son’s Passion to become a witness of Christ for our faith. Without her suffering under the Cross with her Son, we couldn’t have had the most reliable witness of his Passion. Whenever we truly witness the Lord’s Passion, we are looking at him with the sorrowful eyes of his Blessed Mother.
John 3
On this feast day of the Exaltation of the Cross, we think about our crosses. What is my cross? A simple answer would be my commitment. If I feel free to let it down and walk away, it is not truly my cross. Often our spouses become our crosses. Do you agree? We feel obliged to carry our spouses throughout our life. We know we cannot freely leave them. Why? Because we have committed ourselves to our marriage relationships before God. Nobody should have forced us to commit ourselves. We have taken this relationship freely. Therefore, we bear all responsibilities and duties from the marriage.
But, there is another key element for the cross. As God joined us and blessed us in marriage, God blesses our crosses. In this sense, my cross is not only a human commitment but also a divine blessing. Look at our children. Parents commit themselves to their children, but, at the same time, children are God’s gifts and blessings for parents. Religious vows and holy orders are the same. These are both human commitments and God’s gifts and blessings. What about our jobs? They are also our true crosses because not only do we choose them but also God orders and blesses human labour. In short, our crosses are human commitments as God’s gift and blessing.
Are they easy to carry? Never. This is why we always feel tempted to run away from our crosses. This is what Satan always tempts us – to walk away from our crosses. He even tried to tempt Jesus! Look at our times. More than ever, people don’t want commitment. The matrimony numbers in the local churches have plummeted in recent years. Our society encourages us to have as many options as possible even in relationships. People may feel free when they have no commitment. But at the same time, people do not enjoy God’s gifts and blessings when they have no commitment. In other words, when people don’t carry crosses, they may feel light and free, but, they will not receive the eventual reward of life eternal.
Our crosses are not too extraordinary or heroic. Our crosses are already in our commitments. Let us love our commitments. Then, we will find Jesus in our commitments, because he shares our crosses and he commits himself to all of us.
Matthew 18
We have heard this parable many times. But there are some details in this parable often looked over.
First, the state of the slave. The master owns the slave. And whatever a slave has already belongs to the master. It does not make sense that a slave repays to the master. A slave is not paid. Where does he get the money? A slave is not in a position to take a loan from his master. It sounds like the master borrows from himself. He can only ask for his mercy.
Second, the amount of debt the wicked slave owes. The ten thousand talents equal to ten thousand years’ income. But how could a slave who doesn’t have income, credit, or collateral owe this much? This slave must have caused damage amounting to ten thousand talents. This impossible debt clearly indicates that the restoration of the damage is far beyond his state and power.
Third, The fellow slave and a hundred denarii. Can slaves of the same master lend and borrow as freemen do? No, because all they have and they themselves are the master’s possession. No slave can claim private possession. The master may allow his slaves to use his possessions as if they own them, but he can always reclaim them. A hundred denarii were equal to a hundred day’s wage in ancient times. Even if the slaves lends and borrows among themselves, all the money actually belongs to the master. If a slave causes damage to another slave, he actually owes to the master for the damage. Thus, the wicked slave didn’t have the right to demand the repayment from the other slave as if he was the lender or as if he was the owner of any possession.
At baptism and confession, sins are forgiven. But have you thought about what forgiveness we receive in these sacraments? We are forgiven of mortal sins that deserve eternal torture in hell. Mortal sins sever the relationship with God. Can we restore the broken relationship on our own? No. First, it is because we are like a slave who doesn’t own anything. All we think we have or we can do are already of God’s. Once we damage the relationship with the Lord by mortal sins, we have nothing to repay. Secondly, we cannot restore the relationship because it is absolutely beyond our capability like repaying the ten thousand talents. As Jesus tells us through Abraham who held the poor Lazarus in his bosom in another parable, no one can cross over to hell to help.
Nevertheless, out of mercy and goodness, Christ saves us from that impassible pit of eternal punishment. At baptism and confession, on behalf of us, Christ pays for the damages we have caused. He saves and restores on his own. We are liberated from our debt without charge! When we realize how much of mercy we receive at the sacraments, our heart cannot but be filled with joy and thanksgiving. We are saved from the fires of hell without our effort and work when we justly deserve them.
Then, let us look at our wound. Like a hundred denarii, our wounds by others are much lighter compared to our mortal sins against the Lord. And, more importantly, because all of us belong to God, God shares our hurts and pains as his own, just as any injury of the slaves damages the master’s ownership. The true owner of ours, our Creator, suffers first when we hurt. We might think we are the only ones whose heart suffers, but the Sacred Heart of Jesus suffers first. When we realize all belong to Christ, we finally see that the brother or sister who sins against us is not the other but we. The forgiveness of others is self-reconciliation.
When our heart is filled with gratitude and joy, there will be no place for anger and hatred. When our heart is overflowed with thanksgiving and peace, there will be no more suffering of the unforgiving heart.
Matthew 1
For the last twenty years at least, I have never heard preaching for virginity. Have you? Sometimes we hear chastity talks usually given in Catholic high schools. But I haven’t yet met a person who speaks for virginity. At the same time, we always call Mary the Blessed Virgin. Virginity is a singular grace only the Blessed Mother enjoys? On this nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was virgin from her birth forever, it would be proper to reflect virginity.
Some may think virginity is an extension of the virtue of chastity. Chastity moderates the desire for sexual pleasure according to one’s state and by right reason. Thus, the actual exercise of chastity is different according to one’s marital state. Continence is required for an unmarried person. Moderation and sobriety for married couples. But virginity demands much more than chastity. Virginity first requires bodily integrity without involvement in any sexual act in the past. You can be chaste again, but you cannot be a virgin again. Moreover, virginity indicates not only a bodily state. Virginity demands a firm resolve to abstain perpetually from all sexual pleasure in thought, word, and deed for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. It may be called perfect chastity, but virginity is a special state of a person before the Lord usually instituted by a vow.
Thus, when we call Mary the Blessed Virgin, we believe that the Blessed Mother dedicated her entire life to God by her firm resolve to abstain from all desire for sexual pleasure. Her virginity was not merely a result or a state because of the absence of the sexual act. The Blessed Virgin strove for virginity from her youth until she was assumed to heaven. Through her virginity, the Blessed Virgin showed the mystical union with Christ. When a person is entirely dedicated to God by sacrificing the desire for sexual union, the person is considered to be betrothed to Christ. In this way, the Blessed Virgin exemplified this heavenly reality of union with the Lord.
We are living in a world where virginity is mocked and even shamed. Unless we talk about it and promote it, we cannot hope we may have virgins among our children. This is why we venerate the parents of the Blessed Virgin – St Joachim and St Anne. Without their supports, Mary could not have made her choice for virginity. Children need to hear about the praise of virginity from their parents. Jesus highly regarded the virginity for the kingdom of heaven. St Paul wholeheartedly promoted it over marriage.
Let us pray the Lord may give our children the gift of virginity so that they may become the true signs of the kingdom of God on earth and help us sanctified through their examples.
1 Corinthians 5
When you heard the first reading today, you might have wanted to check what you just heard. St Paul tells the Corinthian community “to hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh.” To hand a man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh?
According to St Paul’s letter, this man lives with his father’s wife. Probably his father’s concubine. And the Roman law at that time prohibited this kind of relationship. This is why St Paul laments that this kind of sexual immorality is not found even among pagans. Now, we can presume that this man did not want to denounce this immoral relationship or to change his life, as we read in the letter, “Your boasting is not a good thing.”
Then, what was the meaning of St Paul’s resolution or recommendation to hand the man over to Satan?
When a man does not repent his sin and becomes obstinate in sin, particularly in sins publicly known, St Paul urges the community to remove him from the community as we heard in today’s reading. In other words, an unrepentant notorious sinner should not be allowed to participate in the sacraments, particularly in Communion. This is a kind of excommunication. Removed from the faithful and now in the secular world, this person, in his obstinacy, will be governed by the rule of the world, which is in the hand of Satan. This is what it means “to hand this man over to Satan.”
However, this excommunication is not only punitive but also remedial. We read, “for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” This person will suffer the deprivation of the sacraments, which means no sanctification of his flesh through the grace of the sacraments. This deprivation and his wretched state may awake him from his pride and lead into repentance so that his soul may be saved at the judgment. St Paul hopes that excommunication may become a remedy for this man’s soul as a bitter pill.
We all know punishments can be medicinal. Sometimes a punishment is the only effective means for correction. Let us remember the Lord punishes those whom he loves, as loving parents do not save corrections to their children.
Matthew 18
One of the duties and responsibilities of baptized Christians is to witness the truth. This is the office of the prophet, which is shared by all the baptized along with the offices of the priest and the king.
But this office of the prophet doesn’t usually bring us welcome or popularity. Especially when it comes to fraternal corrections, many prophets had to endure resistance and hostility from their people. Many prophets of the Old Testament were murdered by Israeli authorities. John the Baptist was beheaded for having warned Herod of his adulterous marriage with Herodias. What Jesus teaches in this Sunday’s gospel is also about a fraternal correction. Anyone who has tried to point out the faults and sins of one’s friend will know how uncomfortable it can be and what kind of negative reactions one can expect. There are a few things that make us give up fraternal correction.
First and foremost, when we ourselves are not sure of the truth, we hesitate to speak of the truth. In other words, when we are not convinced of certain teachings of Christ and the Church, we keep silent on actual violations of the teachings, even if outwardly we say we accept those teachings. Just think about sexual morality among Christians of our times.
Secondly, when we are not convinced of the consequences of sins, we don’t step out to stop our families and friends from committing sins. Idolatry and immorality are not only wrong because they are against God’s will, but also dangerous because they result in the unhappiness of life and end up with God’s punishment. Many Christians of our times accept relativistic views of happiness while they are ignorant of hell. Many Christians wish God would accept anything and anyone no matter what they do so that they don’t have to say anything to their families and friends.
Thirdly, when we fear any negative reactions of fraternal correction, we keep silent. This fear could be a psychological huddle, but it could also indicate a lack of true love. If parents only want to avoid any negative reaction of their children, they cannot teach much. St John tells us that love removes fear. If we choose to hold our tongues upon our friends’ sins, we should ask whether we truly love them. Can I say that I love them while I just watch them walking to perdition?
Fraternal correction essentially witnesses the truth. And the truth of God requires faith. Therefore, fraternal correction calls for faith. Without faith, we don’t understand Christ’s teachings and precepts. Without faith, we cannot discern the danger and consequence of sins. Without faith, our love remains only at the human level.
If we have difficulties to witness the truth before our beloved ones, let us examine ourselves of our faith. Let us pray that the Lord increase our faith so that we may witness the truth to liberate our beloved ones from their sins.
Luke 6
Often Christianity is called the Western religion or the European religion. These names indicate the regional or ethnic heritage of Christianity. But when Christianity was first brought to Europe, it was a Jewish religion because the apostles and many of their missionaries were Jews. And first Christians were also mostly Jewish people in various places in the Roman Empire.
One of the reasons why Christianity could overcome the ethnic barrier of the Jews was its universal message for humanity. This is why Christianity still spreads in the world. The authority of Christianity is not assigned or limited to a certain ethnic group. The authority does not belong to any man. Christ Jesus holds true authority. Christianity is a revealed religion by the Son of God himself. It is not a cultural heritage of a people.
The Pharisees held onto Jewish traditions of old. The Sabbath was holy for them because it has been their tradition for so long. But they were ignorant of the lord of the Sabbath. They had lost the true meaning and purpose of the Sabbath. It was only an unchangeable tradition and law. The Pharisees made the Sabbath their own while ignoring God who had set the Sabbath for them.
St Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians asks them who the lord of their faith is. He reminds the Corinthians that Christ gave faith and grace through the apostles as gifts. Faith is not a work of human effort. We cannot boast ourselves for anything genuine regarding faith because all of them are from the Lord, Christ Jesus. Although Christianity wears clothes of human cultures, these human heritages cannot replace Christ or faith. This is why St Paul admonishes the Corinthians to depend on Christ only, not on human wisdom or power.
Christians are constantly tested by the same temptation the Pharisees fell in. We are tempted to be our masters in matters of faith and morals. We are also tempted to hold on to certain human bonds such as race and language. But in every matter of faith, Christ is our Lord. We are “servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries,” says St Paul. Indeed, “the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
1 Corinthians 4
“It is the Lord who judges me.” This word of St Paul should resonate within every Christian. But, particularly for pastors of the Church, it should be the prime and supreme principle for all ministerial duties and responsibilities. Ministers of the Church are accountable primarily to the Lord. Ordained ministers belong to the Lord first. Thus, St Paul regards himself and his companions “as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries.”
But when pastors forget this principle, they become anything but the servants of Christ. When they follow their pastoral visions only, they become dictators. These dictators depend on human calculation and wisdom. They concentrate on quantitative and exterior expansion. They act as an owner of a business.
When pastors keep their power by pleasing the faithful or the public, they become demagogues. They prefer a democratic process for pastoral as well as pedagogical decisions. They pacify the faithful and the public by adopting their demands even in the matter of faith and morals. They strive to be popular and fashionable.
In either case of a dictator or of a demagogue, the salvation of souls is also forgotten along with the diminution of the mastership of God. The Church becomes a service cooperation that provides religious satisfaction or a charitable organization that contributes to social justice or a very influential social institution that operates educational and medical businesses.
St Paul tells us again, “But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.” As a shepherd of Christ, St Paul struggled to carry out the will of the Lord, not any human visions or ideas. He cared less about the visible success of his ministry or his fame and popularity among the faithful. St Paul knew the Lord would judge him not by any human standard but by the faithfulness to his calling as an apostle. The Lord “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”
Let us pray for the shepherds of Church that they may be faithful and trustworthy servants and stewards of Christ and God’s mysteries so that each may “receive commendation from God.”
1 Corinthian 3
The Catholic Church has a monarchical structure. In contrast to modern democratic states in which administrative, legislative, and judicial bodies are independent of one another, in a monarchy, one and the same person either king or queen holds all the powers – the monarch is the chief governor, the supreme lawgiver, and the head judge. The pope and the bishops of local churches exercise these powers as well. In this sense, the pope and the bishops might be called monarchs within their jurisdictions.
The reason why most modern states opted for a democratic government was a serious pitfall of monarchism – a limit of human wisdom of one person. This is why different bodies of governments were developed even under monarchism for efficiency and effectiveness. But what caused the change from monarchism to democracy was the corruption and incompetence of monarchical leadership. When political power is concentrated on one person, it seems unavoidable for the leadership to serve itself only. Then, a revolution follows.
When the Church leadership exercised its power just like a secular monarch, it followed the same fate of monarchs. The local churches were filled with corruption and the faithful were confused and scandalized. Against this danger, St Paul had already warned when the Church was still in infancy, as we heard in the first reading today.
The reason why the Catholic Church still has a monarchical structure is that each head of the local church represents Christ Jesus who is the priest, prophet, and king. And the pope, the successor of Peter, represents the unity of the universal Church and reminds of the singular source of all grace and all teaching – Christ Jesus. These leaders of the Church are for Christ and of Christ. They are not their own. “So let no one boast about human leaders,” St Paul warns us. Let us pray that all our bishops may reject the wisdom of this world but rather embrace the foolishness of God so that they may truly reflect Christ and work for the kingdom of heaven, not of this world.
1 Corinthians 3
Christianity worships only one God. However, we do not know the number of Christian denominations in the world. Christ himself established his Church on Peter. And the apostles and disciples went out to evangelize as Jesus commanded. This is what we confess in the Nicene-Constantinople Creed: the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. Though there are many communities of the faithful, there is one Church Christ himself founded on the apostles for all peoples in the world for their sanctification and salvation that will be completed in the resurrection. Therefore, all true churches must come from the apostolic foundation. In other words, there must be successions of the apostleship within the churches. More concretely, these successions are expressed in the valid ordinations of bishops and priests. Why are these successions or ordinations important? It’s because through them selected men are properly formed and conformed to Christ’s priesthood. And through Christ’s priesthood, Christians worship God properly and receive God’s grace.
Nevertheless, throughout the history of the Church, many bishops and priests ignored that they were servants for Christ. And many Christians attached themselves to these bishops and priests rather than to Christ. “I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos.” The Christians in Corinth were divided. There must have been more than one excuse for this division. But, one thing for sure is that Christ could not be an excuse for the division.
The Lord is one and the Lord is the same. The Lord provides everyone with all good things. Ordained ministers are his servants. “What is then Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each.”
When we lose sight of Christ, we become people of the flesh who follow the laws and values of the world – political autonomy, financial independence, self-governance, centralization for efficiency, pluralization for inclusiveness, and so on. Do these values help our salvation? Very often these become secret motives for divisions in the Church. There have been very few schisms that were resulted purely from theology or orthodoxy – because we have the ultimate reference of faith, Christ Jesus.
Servants belong to their lord. We belong to one Lord, Christ Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2
During this time of the pandemic, we are encouraged to do only essential things for life. These essential things include minimum activities for human survival and socioeconomic maintenance. But no countries count religious activities among the essential things. And many religious communities raise their voices against government policies and guidelines because they think their fundamental religious freedom is infringed and violated. How do you feel about this?
Simply speaking, this is a crash of religious freedom and right against the right to life. As civil rights, I think, the right to life has a priority to religious freedom.
However, for a faithful, particularly for a Christian, faith comes first before life. Throughout history, we saw many examples of this principle among martyrs. When faith had to be demonstrated through the shedding of blood, many faithful chose to sacrifice their lives without reserve.
But, here is one thing we need to remember: these martyrs did not fight for civil rights. The martyrs of the Church were not civil rights activists. Christians are not a social class; they don’t belong to this world. The kingdom of heaven is not of this world as Jesus says. Christians live here in the world but do not live for this world.
St Paul teaches today in his first letter to the Corinthians that Christians “have received not the spirit of the world but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.” The world does not understand the gifts of faith. Only with the gifts of God’s Spirit, we can understand them. But if we attempt to insist on these gifts of faith with the principles of the world, in other words, with the logic of rights and freedom, we will miserably fail everyone.
Not only in this time but also all the time, what we Christians strive for is to be faithful to God, not to triumph on religious freedom and rights.
1 Corinthians 2
Materialists such as communists accuse religion of enslaving unenlightened people by unfounded fear and false hope. This kind of criticism of religion is prevalent not only among intellectuals but also among those who are enlightened by the social media these days. They think religion is an apparatus to manipulate the public to build or maintain social order and to gain political control. Of course, its major beneficiaries are the clerical class. And the common people are exploited, oppressed, and deprived of their freedom and rights, according to this criticism.
I will not argue against these observations and opinions. It is a historical fact that many religions went through corruptions and perversions. What I like to ask is how religions fall into self-contradiction and become toxic. To this question, St Paul sheds light in his first letter to Corinthians as we hear today. In this letter, St Paul tells us his work of evangelization does not depend on human wisdom, lofty and plausible words, or eloquence. St Paul proclaimed Christ crucified with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. St Paul tells us in this letter that true religion does not need persuasive arguments and eloquent speeches. A true religion presents the true God whose power naturally emanates for the benefits of his faithful. To our question, when religion loses God but holds on to human plans and ideas, it cannot avoid corruption and perversion. The Christian religion is a true religion because Jesus Christ is the true God. And Christianity can keep her dignity only when the faithful rest on the power of God, not on human wisdom.
Christianity is not founded on best theories and arguments or lofty ideals and hopes or baseless fear and crafty manipulation. Christianity does not teach any esoteric and secretive knowledge. On the contrary, Jesus Christ reveals his divine power through the evangelists, apostles, martyrs, and other saints, and average people, as long as they are open to the truth, can see and understand who Jesus is and what his teachings are. The sanctity of the saints, the heroic sacrifices of the martyrs, the power of healing and exorcism, the visions and prophecies of saints demonstrate the power of God.
Matthew 16
No one likes to live an unhappy life. But not all people live happy lives, either. Then, we ask what is necessary for a happy life or a decent life at least. Many will list money at the top of the list. Many believe we cannot enjoy basic human dignity without money because money provides food, clothes, and shelters. And if we want to do more than staying in the basic living conditions, we need more money. The more money we have, the more powerful we become to reach our dreams. Money is not only a vehicle for happiness but also a goal of happiness. This is why many people cannot stop chasing after more and more money. Money is not only the thing people want without limit for happiness. Pleasure, fame, and control are just a few examples.
Unfortunately, however, these vehicles or goals of happiness often overwhelm people and turn them into slaves. People chase after these things for the sake of chasing without actually enjoying them, just as slaves collect delicious fruit without a chance to taste them. But the most tragic fact is that slaves lose their opportunity to live their life meaningfully. When we chase after vanities, even if we possess them, we have lost a life that may lead us to salvation. Jesus asks us, “For what will it profit anyone to gain the whole world but forfeit their life?”
I realize what I have or what I want to have often push me away from my cross. They take my time and turn my attention away from Jesus. My possessions demand my time for maintenance. My desires for possessions hold my eyes on the market. Do they help my salvation or others’ at all? No, they don’t. A bigger house will not help us to prepare a place in heaven. A higher-definition TV will not bring us a better vision of heaven. Popularity or fame on social media will not automatically list us in the book of life.
I don’t know any saint who both enjoyed vanities of the world and carried his cross faithfully. It seems vanities of the world and one’s cross are mutually exclusive. In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus chastises Peter for telling him not to undergo his Passion. Jesus teaches us that anything that makes us avoid our crosses comes from Satan. There are too many ideas, goals, activities, and possessions in this world that attract us away from our crosses. They all promise a happier life. But why are there too many unhappy people in the world?
Mark 6
“Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” St Peter warns us of the constant danger of falling prey to Satan. It’s because Satan is ceaselessly looking for opportunities to deceive us into sin and the destruction of our souls.
Today in the gospel, at his birthday banquet, Herod is drunk and excited at his step daughter’s dance. And St Mark wrote, “an opportunity came.” The adulterous and illegitimate wife of Herod was always looking for a time to get rid of John the Baptist. And Herod’s drunkenness and unwariness easily let her grab the opportunity to demand the head of John the Baptist. So lethargically and helplessly, Herod gives in to his wife’s wicked wish. The greatest man out of the women’s wombs, as Jesus praised, was beheaded so easily for the amusement of a petty king’s birthday!
But Herod had already been deeply drunk in his adulterous life. He had much an opportunity to remove his sins as John the Baptist had clearly warned him. However, Herod turned a deaf ear to the Baptist’s voice. Rather, he arrested and threw the Baptist in jail, and continued his sinful life. Finally, he was led into the terrible sin of murdering the forerunner of the Messiah.
When we are intoxicated in our sins, we invite more sins, more terrible crimes, and more irreversible misfortunes. The devil is always awake.
1 Corinthians 1
We heard a well-known passage from the first letter to the Corinthians. Many would remember the last sentence of the passage. St Paul writes, “For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.” Many commentators point out the eventual success of the apostles whose human wisdom, knowledge and eloquence were poor and weak. But St Paul was already sure of the power of God that would work through his weakness and poverty because he had witnessed the power of God in crucified Christ.
What was the power of Christ crucified? It was a defeat. It was a shameful failure. There was no glorious triumph. It was a terrible death. However, this Christ crucified has risen from death. St Paul and the other apostles saw Christ’s death and resurrection. They didn’t have to rely on eloquence. They didn’t have to persuade with arguments. They were the witnesses of the crucified Christ who has now risen. That’s what they did – they proclaimed Christ crucified. The apostles didn’t have to worry about expanding the Church, because they knew it was Jesus who was calling people to himself both Jews and Gentiles.
I wonder what it is like to become a witness of Christ crucified. I think Christ’s witness becomes like Christ – an obedient servant, carrying his cross, ridiculed and defeated, and eventually dying in weakness and poverty for faith, not a success but a failure. A true witness is not a spokesperson. He is an example of the truth. When a true witness opens his mouth, people hear not an argument but a calling of the truth.
Matthew 24
Many times in the gospel, Jesus mentions a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Commonly this place is considered hell. But why does Jesus describe this place with “weeping and gnashing of teeth”? What do weeping and gnashing of teeth signify?
As for the ‘weeping’, this weeping wouldn’t be out of the repentance of sins or the sorrow for one’s eternal punishment. It’s because unrepentant souls are sent to hell. This weeping would come rather from their undying desire for selfish satisfaction because these souls are now no longer able to enjoy what they previously indulged themselves in. It is more of whining about their wretched state.
‘Gnashing of teeth’ sounds more serious than ‘weeping’. The souls in hell would grind their teeth either because of the pain they have to endure from the torments in hell or because of their unquenchable anger against the Lord. Even under the unbearable pain, they have to suffer for eternity, the souls in hell wouldn’t recant their evil ideas or repent their evil deeds. Their hatred and anger to the Lord would increase. The shame and pain would fuel their resentment against the Lord and all the saints in heaven. The souls in hell wouldn’t desire peace and harmony on earth or in heaven. They rather curse on every good and wish deviation and destruction for everyone on earth as well as in heaven.
Many saints who had visions of hell said they would rather die than see hell again. It is so unbearable just to witness hell. But some people are already living like in hell here on earth. When souls are solely occupied with satisfying selfish desires, they cannot truly enjoy the gifts of life the Lord gives us, because there is no bottom for greed and lust. Greedy and lustful souls are never satisfied, always whining for more and more. When souls are filled with anger and hatred, they are already being burned in unforgiving revenge and destructive violence.
If any of us already experience the foretaste of hell, let us awake and turn away from the preview of hell. As good souls prepare for heaven here on earth, so do evil souls prepare for hell here on earth. Good souls lead a good life on earth, and evil souls already walk a life of hell here on earth.
Matthew 23
One way to live in peace with oneself is to speak and act according to what one thinks and believes. And when one’s desires and thoughts are in harmony with the Way of Christ, the person is at peace with God. But not all of us are always on these two ways to peace. I often fail what I preach. And daily I struggle with my sinful desires against God’s law. How wonderful it would be if I could desire only the things Jesus desires! How great it would be if my flesh could always obey my spirit! But I experience more failures than successes.
When I commit sins, I hurt not only Jesus but also myself. And the sins pile up on my spirit as heavy burdens. The inside of me is filled with dead bones and filth like a tomb. And it feels more painful when I have to decorate the outside with liturgical cleanness and words of preaching.
This is why Jesus calls us to daily repentance and frequent reconciliation with God. Jesus encourages us to clean our souls and spirits. Jesus offers to heal us of our inside. Hypocrites pretend that they don’t need any help for their spiritual health. But I believe that they used to feel the pain from self-contradiction. But there is a danger of becoming used to the pain. In other words, one can turn insensitive to self-contradiction. Frequent confessions can prevent this danger and renew our hearts and our conscience with the grace of the sacrament.
Happiness cannot exist with self-contradictions and hypocrisy because sins and sinful desires break the interior peace and the peaceful relationship with the Lord. I pray that I may live one day without much pain from self-contradictions and hypocrisy. I also wish all of you are free from the pains of sin with frequent confessions.
2 Thessalonian 2
We read from the second letter of St Paul to Thessalonians for today’s Mass. The passage selected for the Mass is from chapter 2 of the letter. But the reading selection for the Mass only has the verses from 1 to 3, and from 14 to 17. I think the verses from 4 to 13 will greatly help us to understand what St Paul teaches us. Here they are:
Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan, who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, and every kind of wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false, so that all who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned. But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
What we just heard is a prophecy about the second coming of Christ. But before this second coming of the Lord, there come the apostasy and the antichrist. What St Paul describes the mass apostasy and the antichrist sounds similar to other New Testament prophecies such as St John’s letters and the Book of Revelation. And we, living in this post-modern age, witness these prophecies are being realized. Many antichrists twist and perverse Christ’s teachings. And Christians fall into these lies and deceptions. These deceptions and perverse teachings are filling Christian nations now. Before pagan countries and peoples, Christian states are apostatizing against Christ and legalizing many perversities.
This is why St Paul teaches Thessalonians and us to hold on to the sound traditions the apostles handed down. The Tradition of the Church keeps us from lies and deceptions of the antichrists. We are living in the age of confusion. I don’t think the human race has ever taken pride in this level of perversion of the truth by intellectual works and laws. Let us awake. We may have to settle our account with the Lord much sooner than we have ever guessed.
John 1
Many readers of today’s gospel have been puzzled. What does Jesus mean by “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you”? Does “the fig tree” have an underlying meaning? And how could Nathaniel jump to the conclusion, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” just because Jesus saw him under the fig tree?
We don’t have clear answers to these questions. But we can safely assume that having been able to see Nathaniel under the fig tree was far beyond the power of an ordinary man. That’s why Nathaniel declared Jesus was the Son of God. This power of sight was not of natural human eyes. It was supernatural and divine. With his divine power, Jesus saw things in Nathaniel that are invisible to human eyes. And that was enough for Nathaniel to have faith in Jesus. Now, Jesus promised him to show more wonders to make his faith stronger.
Before we explain ourselves or excuse ourselves, Jesus pierces our hearts. He knows our secret intentions and desires. It is of no use to pretend before him. It is a laughable mistake to hide anything before his eyes. We may deceive even our own conscience, but not Jesus. Jesus had already pierced Nathaniel’s spirit and declared when Nathaniel was coming toward him for the first time, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”
I think the first step of any good prayer should be telling Jesus what is in my heart. I need to disclose all and everything in my heart to him – even what is sinful. When I struggle with sinful desires, my prayer should begin with admitting these desires – what I feel now and how I struggle now.
Perhaps the fig tree was the deepest place of Nathaniel’s spirit. When Nathaniel realized this Jesus could reach that place in his spirit, he also realized he was encountering his Lord and overjoyed. I pray that with honesty and humility I may encounter my Jesus at the most secret place of my soul so that I may also be filled with joy and praise.
Matthew 16
Who do you say Jesus is? Can you describe him in one short sentence? Who do you say that the Son of Man is? This is the question Jesus asks his disciples in this Sunday’s gospel.
Probably we are not surprised when we hear St. Peter’s answer, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” for we have heard this many times. But it is a different matter whether we can give the same answer when someone asks about Jesus. Not only to strangers but also to our families and close friends, we seem to hesitate to declare this confession of faith. I, a priest of the Church, often look for more appealing or diplomatic descriptions of Jesus. And Jesus asks me today, “Who do you say that I am?”
It cannot go unnoticed that Jesus declared he would build his Church on Peter immediately after Peter rightly confessed the true identity of Jesus. Jesus chose Peter as the bedrock of his Church on earth because Peter confessed the true nature of Jesus. This profession contains the most fundamental faith in Jesus, i.e. Jesus is God who is incarnate on earth. Jesus confirms this profession of faith as God’s revelation.
Of course, this profession of faith in the nature of Jesus critically unites all the followers of Jesus. And in this sense, it becomes the foundation of the Church. However, this profession of faith is also critical for salvation because we can only be in the right relationship with the Lord when we rightly know who Jesus is. Only when we know his origin, we understand his power. And only when we know his origin, we can understand his intention and purpose on earth. When we correctly identify Jesus, we can entrust our whole life, our whole being to him.
I ask myself again, “Who do I say Jesus is?” I ask myself if I have ever clearly and loudly declared to myself that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. I have probably heard this profession hundreds of times. But I wonder how many times I professed this to myself and before the presence of our Lord. If this profession of faith had always resonated in my heart, I would have been a very different Christian, a very different priest.
Once again today, Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?” Let our answers be pleasing to our Lord so that he may accept them and renew our life with his mighty power.
Matthew 23
Christianity is no longer welcome by the public in our country. Many people do not hide their disrespect to Christ and Christians. What made them turn against Christianity? The list will be long. But the most common item on the list is Christians’ hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy has a distinctive feature that makes it unique among different kinds of self-contradictions. A hypocrite presents oneself as good by word but acts otherwise. Simply put, an evil person declares himself good.
The name Christian implies the person entrusts his life to Christ Jesus and accepts and follows his teachings. Of course, the name Christian does not guarantee that a person will be perfect in Christian virtues. However, when the person declares his Christian identity, he suggests that he should act accordingly. But, if he acts otherwise, he betrays not only his word but the expectations of others. He will bring a scandal and cause disgust for others.
Does this happen rarely? I hope you don’t find yourselves hypocritical. But I often fall short of what I preach and teach. The name Christian is a lofty claim for a man. I should take this title very seriously. Let us remind ourselves that we may tarnish the name of Christ when we don’t live up to our commitment as Christians. Hypocrisy not only exposes one’s spiritual deficiency and dysfunction but also injures Christ’s mystical body, the Church.
Matthew 22
One way to see if I love someone or not is to ask whether I enjoy being with the person. More precisely speaking, whether I appreciate the person’s presence itself. I can say I appreciate the person’s being, not because I receive certain benefits from the person nor because the person shares the same interests with me, nor because the person pleases me, but because I am simply happy to be with the person. When I love a person, I want to be with the person as much as I can.
These may sound too obvious, but, often we are not conscious of this simple truth of love, nor do we practice it. I doubt if I can say I love someone while I don’t have much desire to be with the person or when I avoid the person unconsciously.
We might call many kinds of charity acts as expressions of love. But I cannot but hesitate to declare I love the people who receive my charity. I may say I love charity acts, but I cannot heartily say I love those people if I choose rather not to be with them.
Then, I ask myself if I daily sit and spend time before the Lord’s presence in the parish church. And I ask myself if love to spend time with my parishioners. At these questions, I realize I have not been so faithful to the greatest commandments Jesus teaches in today’s gospel. I pray that the Lord may give me a heart full of loving desire for him and my neighbours.
Matthew 22
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” This statement of Jesus has two parts as the parable accompanying it has two parts.
The first part reminds us that many are invited to the kingdom of heaven but not all respond to the invitation. This is well shown with the history of Israel. God sent many prophets to call people into the covenant he made with Israel through Moses. But the people of Israel were unfaithful to the covenant. They followed the idols of neighbouring nations and adopted the immoral customs of foreign peoples. Similarly, many Christians ignore their baptismal covenant with God and agree with many kinds of opposing ideas to Christianity, and then follow lifestyles contradictory to Christian teachings. As the Lord lives, Christians will also have to face certain consequences as the two kingdoms of ancient Israel eventually had to encounter – the destruction of the kingdoms and deportations.
Now the second part reminds us that no guarantee of salvation is given to Christians, especially to those who practice the faith. This might make many practicing Christians uncomfortable. The second part of the parable implies that the Lord will judge us according to our preparedness for his kingdom. The proper attire for the wedding banquet symbolizes virtues, vigilance, good deeds, or purity. As St Paul teaches we should ultimately put on Christ to prepare for the eternal wedding banquet in the kingdom of heaven. When our faith life turns merely mechanical and cultural, in other words, stagnant in a repetition of rituals and blindingly following religious customs and taboos, our spiritual clothing is no different from the worldly people’s. Unless we desire and work for genuine faith, and unless we strive for virtues, we won’t be able to put on the proper attire for the heavenly wedding banquet. Yes, this is demanding work. Yes, it does not sound simple and easy. And this is exactly what Jesus meant: few are chosen. We don’t have to be depressed at this. Let us remember our Lord wants to share his unlimited goodness with us. That’s why he calls everyone to his kingdom. He is generous and merciful. However, at the same time, it would be foolish and disastrous to presume God’s mercy on me.
Matthew 20
It is understandable why the workers hired at earlier hours felt unfair when they found the workers hired at later hours were paid the same. But I don’t worry if this would happen in this world. Because it is very unlikely that in our world any employer would hire and pay like this landowner. Employers try to cut labour costs for their businesses. And they always look for cheaper labours. That’s why often we hear the news that companies move their productions from countries to countries. It will be most likely a waste of time if you suspect that out of generosity your employers pay more to other workers excluding you.
But the kingdom of heaven is different. The difference is not that God’s arbitrary will or favouritism overpower the common sense of justice. Nor is it that God turns a blind eye to our sins and failures. The difference is that God generously offers mercy to everyone who looks for his compassion and strives for eternal life. God doesn’t look for ways to minimize his mercy for salvation. God does not see mercy as a cost for salvation. His happiness is not in the maximum number of saved souls by a minimum amount of mercy. His mercy doesn’t have a limit. God is a cheerful giver. Whether we are invited from our mothers’ wombs or at the death beds, God wants to give full salvation. God’s economy of mercy and salvation don’t follow the fundamental assumption of the human economy – scarce resources but unlimited wants. God’s economy of salvation is not a competitive market. Our Lord provides for us unlimited mercy and salvation. It is up to us to ask for and to persevere in his mercy.
Matthew 19
In today’s gospel, Jesus does not explain why the rich are difficult to enter the kingdom of God, nor do the disciples ask.
When we have lots of wealth, that means we have lots of potentials. The bigger wealth you have, the more things you can do. In other words, wealth is translated into power. As we see in our world now, wealthy people not only possess more and enjoy a more comfortable life but also influence the politics, the media, the justice system, and even religions. In this way, the power of wealth is often transformed into control.
Thus, when Jesus told the rich young man to sell all he had and give the money to the poor, and then follow him, Jesus was asking him to give up the power of money and the desire for control, beyond simply helping the poor. When we are powerful, we are likely to follow our visions even for good causes. That’s what Jesus tells us to give up. He teaches us to give up our human visions and human powers and to entrust ourselves in the hand of the Lord.
Therefore, the wealthier you are, the more things you have to give up, thus, the more difficult you become to follow Jesus. This is why the rich are difficult to enter the kingdom of God. The disciples thought the wealthy had lots of options to do good things, and thus, that they would be favoured for life eternal. But, the reality is the opposite, according to Jesus. Wealth itself might be easy to give up. But the desire to control is very difficult to abandon because it means to die to oneself and one’s will.
The remaining question is why we have to give up our desire for human control. Jesus simply tells us: “For mortals, it is impossible” to be saved by their power, control, or visions. Whether we are rich or poor, we can't save ourselves. Without divine grace, we are destined to fail. This is Christian faith – to submit one’s pride and will to the Lord’s saving power.
Matthew 19
I believe that the rich young man in today’s gospel was sincere in his desire for eternal life. Jesus, who knows the thoughts of our minds and hearts, kindly invited this young man to his discipleship probably because he saw this young man’s genuine desire for eternal life. But Jesus also knew what was the obstacle for this young man to follow him. We don’t know if Jesus had already known this young man. But the conversation between the two shows this young man was just now telling his life to Jesus. And he asks what he was missing for eternal life. At this question, Jesus reveals he could see the inside of this young man’s soul and spirit. The obstacle was the attachment to his wealth. Jesus let him know the way to perfection. Jesus encouraged him to go beyond excellence to perfection. But it was too hard for this young man.
So often I am satisfied with mediocrity in the spiritual life and the ministry. But Jesus invites us to perfection beyond excellence. I doubt if we can enter life eternal with spiritual mediocrity. When I remain in spiritual mediocrity, my desire for eternal life is lukewarm. Even when I strive for spiritual excellence, often I discover that I am working for my pride and self-gratification. Spiritual perfection demands losing oneself. Spiritual perfection demands self-detachment. Spiritual perfection demands dying to oneself. The desire should be directed to the Lord, not to ourselves.
Each of us has a different obstacle to perfection. Most often, what we dearly love and adore becomes the greatest hindrance to our spiritual perfection. A spiritual journey is to learn how to detach oneself from all the good things in life. Otherwise, we stop and stay with our attachments, giving up our journey. And let us remember the door to eternal life is narrow. With lots of luggage, we cannot enter the door. I pray that my desire for the Lord grows stronger that I can give up all I love, all I have, and me myself and my will.
Matthew 15
This Sunday’s gospel might embarrass Christians who try to be politically correct. Jesus presses the worst buttons. He ignores a woman’s pleading with no answer at all: degrading women, misogynist. He declares he is sent only to the Jews: preferential treatment for one’s nation – nationalism. He compares foreigners to household animals: dehumanizing racism. His words and behaviours are far beyond being politically incorrect. Jesus would have to be in a human rights tribunal. It’s not easy to watch how Jesus escalates humiliating this wretched woman pleading for her daughter who suffers demonic possession. Why does he do this? Is it just a literary device to escalate the emotional tension of readers?
In the same gospel, St Matthew tells us about the encounter of a rich young man with Jesus. This young man wants to receive life eternal. This young man has kept all the commandments. Jesus looks at him with love. And Jesus tells him: to sell all he has and to give the money to the poor and then follow him. The rich young man becomes sad because he is very rich. He goes away from Jesus. Jesus asks us to give up. He teaches us abandonment. Only then, we can receive. But the rich young man could not give up. He failed.
In the 2nd book of Kings, prophet Elisha heals Naaman, a commander of Aram, of his leprosy. Naaman was a foreigner. He heard there was a great prophet in the Northern kingdom of Israel. But when Elisha ordered him to bathe in the Jordan, he refused. His pride could not allow himself to do such a simple thing. But his servants advised, “if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” Naaman abandoned his pride and did what the prophet told him, and was healed. Abandonment in humility saved Naaman from leprosy.
At the end of today’s gospel, Jesus highly praises the Canaanite woman’s faith. There is another one Jesus highly praised in St Matthew’s gospel. It is the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his paralyzed servant. But he said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.” This Roman centurion, a foreigner, gave up his pride and status. He didn’t try to threaten or offer any gift. All he offered was his faith in humility.
God chastises whom he loves. He tests his sons and daughters. Beyond the racial and national barrier, Jesus tests this foreign woman for her faith. He even humiliates her seemingly unfairly. Through humiliation, Jesus takes away all her human pride. As gold is purified through fire and steel is forged through beating, this woman’s faith is purified and strengthened through the humiliations. When she demonstrated her self-abandonment saying, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table,” Jesus did not hesitate to praise this foreign woman for her faith. In the end, these rejections and humiliations help Jesus break the racial, national, gender barriers, to answer her request. All he wanted was her faith in humility.
Luke 1
We will be unsuccessful if we attempt to establish the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by historical evidence and witness. From the third century on, many Fathers of the Church and scholars and commentators tried to find the facts about the Assumption without much success at all. Whether the Blessed Mother actually died or not was a point of debate. Moreover, the place of her presumed death and assumption was also not clearly known – it could be Jerusalem or could be Ephesus. No one seemed to have seen her being lifted to heaven. One tradition tells us the apostles found her tomb empty.
Traditionally, the Church does not use ‘to die’ or ‘death’ for the Blessed Virgin. Nor does the Church use ‘resurrection’ for her. But from very early on, the faithful have firmly believed that she was lifted or ‘assumed’ into heaven. And this assumption includes not only her soul but also her body. Almost after two millennia, when the Church officially declared the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in 1950, Pope Pius XII expressed, “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”
This confession of faith is not an arbitrary theological composition. It has always been a part of the deposit of faith from the very beginning of the Christian faith. When the apostles found her tomb was empty, they realized she had to be with her Son in glory. From her immaculate conception, Mary was destined to be in union with Christ. From her womb to the Crucifix, Christ was always united with his mother. Mary did not merely rent out her womb to the Son of God and finished her role as a surrogate mother at the birth of Christ. By being conceived without sin, she knew her Lord from the beginning of her existence. And by giving her body and blood to the Son of God at the conception, she became a part of Christ, impossible to be separated. When her Son died at the Cross, her soul was also pierced to death as the prophet Simeon had foretold. Now, when her Son defeated death and ascended to the glory of heaven, it was natural for her to follow where her Son went. And her Son did not forget his Mother to be always with him as she had always been. In the course of the redemption of mankind, Mary was and is and will be always with her Lord, her Son, Christ Jesus. She enjoys this singular, unique grace as the new Eve of the new creation.
The Blessed Virgin exemplifies the destiny of the Church. The Church is the mystical Body of Christ. Just as Mary cannot be separated from Christ, Christ is always with her Bride, the Church. And the Blessed Virgin also shows what all Christians are to strive for. It is the union with Christ. Today, we celebrate the permanent union of our Blessed Mother with her divine Son. As long as Jesus is with us, as he promised, our Blessed Mother is with us, too. She hasn’t gone at all. She is among us with her Son.
Matthew 19
The question of divorce the Pharisees threw at Jesus in today’s gospel sounds nothing new. Many Catholics of this age call for the legitimization of divorce and remarriage in the Church. They ask for the Church to move on with the changes of times – modernization of the Church in the matters of sexuality and family.
The Pharisees asked a legal question – “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?” But Jesus answered the fundamental nature and intention of marriage. God intended the union of a man and a woman. And God blessed this union as a permanent, exclusive, and indissoluble covenant. In the order of creation, this union existed before the marriage settled down as a social or a legal institution.
The marriage did not appear as an accidental or random phenomenon in human experiences. After innumerable trials and errors, mankind slowly realized and discovered it is a divine intention and a human ideal – in other words, it is a divine and natural law. We can see this in many civilized cultures, even non-Christian ones. And the Judaeo-Christian revelation enlightens and confirms us of the nature of this union between a man and a woman.
Of course, many Christians will still say, “But what can go wrong if changes satisfy everyone?” Or “Would it not be more peaceable if we expand the definition of marriage?” Or “This marriage law is too strict. Pastors should interpret and apply this law in such a way that more people feel accepted.”
But I don’t think these ideas will bring true happiness with changes. And changes according to these ideas will risk the eternal destiny of souls. Moreover, I believe any social experiments based on these thoughts will cause great harm to future generations.
Why? Because these changes go against the law of the Creator. Any law without enforcement loses its effect. In other words, a law without power is no longer a law. If marriage as the permanent, exclusive, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman were not divine and natural law, there should be no evil consequence as we change its definition to our tastes. But if it is a true law, we will bear the consequences of arbitrary changes.
It all comes down to the fundamental question – ‘whether God is alive or not.’ It’s a simple question.
Matthew 18
Most will agree that technology advances as time goes. But I wonder if our world enjoys more justice year by year. Can we simply say our Western societies are more just than the ancient Roman Empire? It is a complicated question to answer. Every year sees unbelievable breaches of justice. While our society declares relativism and pluralism as our social principles, now we ask if there can be justice for all and for each one. If I were the standard of justice, my justice might not be justice at all to another.
The parable Jesus tells us today reveals what is justice in the kingdom of heaven. The king had all the right to demand his due from his slaves. But he was compassionate to them. And he forgave the debt of a slave who owed him ten thousand talents (a talent was average annual salary). The king exercised mercy and compassion over justice. However, the slave who was now forgiven of his debt of ten thousand talents didn’t forgive his fellow slave’s debt of a hundred denarii (one denarius was average daily salary) but demanded his justice. Then, the king finally exacted his due from the slave.
In the kingdom of heaven, mercy and compassion come first before justice as the relational and social principles. How is it possible? It’s because there is no limit on God’s resources. He is the source of all being. We all received every single thing including our being from him. There can be no justice we can demand from God. He created us and gives all out of love. Love comes first in the order of being. And he still has mercy and compassion on our sinfulness and forgives us of sins for which we cannot repay.
If we realize how much God gives and forgives us, we will be merciful and compassionate because all we are have been freely given. If the kingdom of heaven is among us, we will also follow its law – the law of mercy and compassion. Justice, then, will only be a punishment for those who are unforgiving.
Matthew 18
It takes much courage to go and point out the fault when a person sins against us. But this is what Jesus tells us to do. He teaches us to go and point out the fault when the two of us are alone if my brother or sister sins against me.
However, most often we instead go out and talk to others. These days people write on social media and social network services so that even strangers share stories and spread them.
The steps for fraternal correction Jesus teaches today aim at regaining our brothers and sisters. Jesus does not even speak about claiming justice. When someone admits his fault and guilt and repent his sins, we should forgive them. It is more important to have them back as our brothers and sisters than to demand justice.
But when we instead talk about their faults and sins to others, what we are doing is not demanding for justice but inflicting damages. The people we are speaking to are not judges or authorities who can resolve the matter. Complaints and accusations on social media often bring unexpected and permanent damages beyond the writers’ control.
So, let us think once more when someone sins against us. If we directly speak to the person, it can be a fraternal correction and a gesture for forgiveness. But if we bring the matter to others, it becomes a complaint and an accusation that can cause new damages, not only to the person we accuse but also to us in unexpected ways.
Matthew 18
Independence, self-sufficiency, and autonomy are great human virtues and values. We encourage our children to learn these values as soon as possible so that they may become responsible for themselves socially and economically. This is how children become matured and adults.
But in today’s gospel, Jesus tells us to become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. And he teaches humility of little children. The humility of little children is not what they have achieved through conscious efforts. It is rather a state of their being children. It is their humble state of being dependent on their parents. Children are not knowledgeable and resourceful. But they know that their parents know what to do and that their parents give what they need. They are not ashamed to admit they don’t know. They are not ashamed to admit they don’t have. They are not afraid to ask questions. They are not afraid to ask for what they need.
I don’t think spiritual maturity means spiritual independence from the Lord. Spiritual adulthood doesn’t mean self-sufficiency away from the Church. Self-governing in spiritual matters without God is playing God.
The only wisdom a mature Christian enjoys is the wisdom of humility – it is the virtue that lets us put on Christ and become his instruments. The humbler we are, the closer we will be like Christ. I pray that I may grow into a little child before the Lord. Our Christian maturity is to become younger and smaller before the Lord.
John 12
It sounds too pessimistic to say that daily I approach the day of death or that every day my life gets shorter or that another name of living is a slow death. If life is like a non-rechargeable battery and slowly leaks away, we will suffer constant anxiety and eventually depression. Imagine that the first thing that comes to your mind when you wake up in the morning is ‘Well, my life is a day shorter than yesterday’. Or, at breakfast, you say to yourself, “I can fall and die from a heart attack after this meal.” We cannot continue our life this way.
However, Jesus speaks about death and hating one’s life in today’s gospel. Is he just talking about a heroic death or a martyrdom for the kingdom of heaven? A heroic death can indeed bring lots of good to people. Martyrs of faith nourish the Church with their blood. But not all of us have opportunities to be martyred. How do we die like a grain of wheat? How do we hate our life in this world so that we may keep it for eternal life?
I can forget about death and live today as if I live forever. Then, I am very likely to waste today. By the end of the day, I am dead for today. The day is gone without fruit. Today’s me is also gone and dead with today. But if I choose to die to myself and to follow Jesus to where he is, even if today can be very hard and unpleasant, at the end of the day, I am still living the life of Christ. And today bears fruits of the Holy Spirit, from which the people around me receive spiritual nourishment.
I pray that I can choose to die to myself and to follow Jesus when I wake up every morning. I pray that I can deny my will and submit to the will of Christ today so that every day I may approach not death but life, not an end but another beginning.
Matthew 14
The gospel passage of this Sunday is one of the better-known episodes. Most people remember Jesus walked on the water. But what is more surprising is Peter also walked on the water. And an even more surprising fact is that the water Jesus and Peter walked on was rough and high because a storm was raging. Some may imagine Jesus walking on a glassy-calm water surface. Some may even be tempted to step on peaceful water. But the water in the gospel was diametrically the opposite. The disciples in the boat were struggling against the storm. And they were worried about their life. When they saw Jesus, they might have thought a ghost from the nether world came to bring them, and were terrified and cried out.
Against these raging winds and waves, Peter asks Jesus to command him to walk to Jesus. He sounds a little crazy! But Jesus invites Peter to walk on the water. And Peter walks on the water. But as soon as Peter notices the strong winds and gets frightened, he starts sinking. He is about to be drowned. However, Jesus saves him immediately. And both come to the boat safe; the storm is gone; the boat arrives at the shore.
One may remember this episode only as Jesus walking on the water. But why did he do that? Jesus could have hovered in the air while riding a carpet. What Jesus really did in this account of walking on the water is that he saved Peter and the disciples from the stormy sea. He reveals he has power over nature. He shows he can defeat the power of death. He demonstrates he is the source of life.
Then, why did Jesus let Peter come to him by walking on the water? As long as Peter had faith, he could walk. But when he doubted his safety because of the wind, his life was actually threatened. To be with Jesus, Peter had to overcome nature. Our life is filled with pains and ends with death. Our world is filled with confusion and contradictions. When we look at this life and world only, we cannot have faith. We all become spiritually dead in skepticism and pessimism long before our death. Only when we keep our focus on Jesus, we can walk over skepticism and pessimism. And as Jesus saved Peter from drowning, Jesus also helps us from our failures when we cry for help. After Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter and the disciples still had to overcome many challenges, pains, and sufferings. And they remembered this incident.
After all, our Christian life is as if we walk on the stormy water to Jesus. The Christian life is not a natural life. It is beyond the world and beyond natural life. It is not possible naturally. The grace of faith only makes it possible. The life Jesus gives is not of this life and world. When Peter walked on the water, he was walking the life of grace. When he doubted, he was perishing in his nature. This grace of faith comes from the Lord. This faith itself is beyond our nature, a divine gift.
Jesus never told this life of grace would be easy. But he is always willing to help us. Let us take our step on the water, even when it is rough. Let us not look down on our feet. Let us look up to our Lord.
Matthew 17
I wonder why I cannot remove my vices. For a while, I do much better and I think I have defeated them. But I fall again at an unexpected time. And then they continue for a while. But I get better again sometime later. However, this is not the end, for I fall again. These ups and downs repeat. I feel sick of myself sometimes looking at my weakness and sinfulness. And I ask Jesus, “Why could I not cast them out?”
This is the same question the apostles asked Jesus in today’s gospel when Jesus cured a boy with epilepsy and suspected demonic possession which they could not have cured. The answer of Jesus points out the weakness of faith. To cast out demons means to remove evil from a soul. Only when we are united with the Lord by faith, we can become the instruments of his divine power. Against stronger and deeper rooted evils, we need stronger faith.
An old habit dies hard. Vices, that are sinful habits, don’t go away overnight even when we try to remove them. You might feel it is like moving a mountain to turn a vice into a virtue – especially an old vice that has deep roots in your life and soul. Even when we have deep remorse of these vices and sins, they do not easily disappear. We don’t want them, but often, too often we find we are so weak against them.
This is why Jesus emphasizes faith. Shame, remorse, or regret may not be enough to uproot vices. We need a positive force. Jesus calls for tiny-size, but true faith.
I pray that Jesus allows me this true faith. As a small mustard seed becomes a big tree, a small amount of yeast leavens the whole dough, this true faith may entirely change me one day and cast out all evils and vices from my soul.
Matthew 16
There are probably few Christians who have heard Jesus saying “Take up your cross and follow me” only once. The crucifix is in every room of our homes. Every time I look for a parking spot at a mall, I find the rosary and the crucifix hanging on the rearview mirrors of cars. Christian life without the cross sounds like Christianity without Christ.
However familiar the cross is to Christians, each Christian has to identify his cross. But before this, each Christian should know first the nature of the cross. This is to know the nature of Christ’s cross. The cross of Jesus symbolizes his life-sacrifice for the forgiveness of mankind’s sin. It was not a punishment for any of his fault or sin because he was absolutely sinless. Christ’s cross reveals the essence of bearing the cross: it is a redemptive act for others’ sins. When we say we bear our cross and follow Jesus, it doesn’t mean we punish ourselves for our sins and have faith in Jesus. Rather, we suffer for others’ salvation as Jesus did for mankind.
Thus, carrying one’s cross has a specific purpose – others’ salvation through my sacrifice. It is not sufferings for others’ entertainment or profits. This is called oppression or exploitation. We cannot keep silent about these injustices. In the meantime, bearing one’s cross is not temporary suffering for self-promotion or self-interest, either. Carrying one’s cross is an act of self-giving, not self-benefitting.
But, what about sufferings we do not choose like handicaps, diseases, accidents, or natural disasters? Often people have to spend the whole life carrying these sufferings. Or what about unborn babies killed in abortion? Can they bear another cross? I think these special people are invited to join Christ in his cross – suffering for others’ salvation without their sins and faults. As long as they put their faith in Christ and accept their unavoidable sufferings, thus joining themselves in Christ’s cross, they work with Christ for the salvation of mankind.
Now, it is time to sit down and discern my cross.
2 Peter 1
Meditation, reflection, revelation, apparition, miracles, symbolism, sacrifice, ritual, dogma, scriptural interpretation, church, mysticism, asceticism, monasticism, hierarchy, sacrament, sacramental, religious art, hymn, and so on and the like.
A word-list about religion can be long. They sound transcending daily life above and beyond this world. It is true. Religion is not of this world. It is holy in the sense that it is set aside from this world. It is sacred, not profane.
But some people think religion is a mental construction of the human mind. They think religion is a mental projection, abstraction, symbolization, or mystification. In other words, religion is a mental creation that is expressed in literature, arts, rituals, theology, and hierarchy. According to them, the man creates gods and religions.
But St Peter makes it clear that’s not the case in Christianity. He says, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter knew there were “cleverly devised” religions. But he emphasizes the human mind did not create Christianity. He continues, “but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.” During this pandemic, there are different theories where and how this virus was transmitted to humans, but no eyewitness yet. But St Peter tells us there were eyewitnesses including himself who “heard this voice from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.” The divinity of Christ was not a postulation of the apostles. They heard God’s voice saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved. With him, I am well pleased.”
The Good News, the Gospel is not a human message. The Gospel message indeed transcends this world because its origin is from above. But it’s not a human conjecture. As St Peter testifies, “we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed” by the Lord himself. On this feast of the Transfiguration, let scatter all doubts and confusion. Let us ask our Lord to call us once again to become the eyewitnesses of his glory.
Matthew 15
In today’s episode of a Canaanite woman whose daughter is tormented by a demon, Jesus doesn’t heal this foreign woman’s daughter immediately at her request.
At the first request, Jesus does not even answer her. It looks like willful disregard. But, apparently, she keeps asking for mercy. And the disciples of Jesus are disturbed and they ask Jesus to chase her away. Then, Jesus declares that he was sent only for the Jews. Clearly, it is a racial preference. But she does not give up and asks again. Then, Jesus takes another step further. He degrades her and her race to beasts. Woe, now, this is racism. At least I don’t have to call Jesus a misogynist here. But this pagan woman does not hesitate to accept this unfair contempt. She asks for mercy while lowering herself to a domestic animal. Now, it seems that Jesus runs out of his ammo. He surrenders to her request. And he even praises her faith.
Many people stop praying when there is no answer. People turn away from the Lord when they see other people are blessed while they are left in misery and agony. People lose faith and blame God when things get worse and worse.
We don’t know why the Lord keeps silent when we pray. We can’t guess why the Lord let misfortunes and disasters happen to us. It is hard to believe that the Lord just watches us sliding down to deeper and deeper troubles.
It is easy to pray when we face difficulties. But it’s never easy to be humble when we are not answered for our prayers. If I may instead receive the virtue of true humility at the end of all my prayers, I will be satisfied, for only humble children may enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 15
Offerings to the Lord should not have any defect. To offer something defective constitutes a sacrilege. And when a person comes before the Lord, the person should be clean both inside and outside. He should be free of defilement of the body and the spirit. Today, Jesus tells us what is more critical is the defilement of the spirit. He teaches what God creates does not defile us. What we bring out of our mind and heart defiles ourselves and others. This is “what comes out of the mouth” that defiles. In other words, what we say can defile ourselves and others. But how? How words make people defective and unclean?
First, words can hurt. Words can make us feel ignored, disrespected, belittled, ashamed, or unfair. Direct insults but also backbiting hurts us badly. As long as our memory lasts, these words can perpetuate our agony. Then, we are likely to be filled with shame, anger, or vengefulness, which make us defiled before the Lord unless we forgive.
Second, words can deceive. This is much worse than hurting. Because deceptive words turn people evil. Flattery puffs up the pride that makes us forget who we are, how humble we are and leads us into all kinds of sins. Threats oppress freedom and make people fearful slaves of evil. False and evil propaganda infects society and causes violence and wars.
Only a very small number of people inflict harm physically. I don’t recall any fighting since I was fifteen. But I cannot also remember if there has been any week in my life without defiling myself and others with words. As long as my memory lasts, and as long as my tongue moves, I should stay close to the confessional door.
Matthew 14
Do you grow more optimistic day after day? Especially those who receive pensions, would you choose retirement in a heartbeat over your twenties and thirties because you don’t have to work too hard? I wish you all find today is better than yesterday and this decade is much more optimistic than previous decades. But I see it is not easy to remain optimistic as I grow older and as I observe many elderly. It is much more probable for us to have medical conditions and physiological dysfunctions or malfunctions as we reach an older age. I think if I live only according to nature without any spiritual life, I will suffer pessimism and fall into depression because what’s coming on later years will be all pains and sufferings and end with death and annihilation. Some may stay healthy to the end, but, I have seen so many elderly suffer but forgotten after death.
In today’s gospel, Jesus invites Peter to get out of the boat and come toward him by walking on the water. The water was already very rough and the waves high. Just imagine someone is standing on the raging deep water. No wonder the disciples cried out “It’s a ghost!” And now Jesus even calls you to come to him. How? By walking? Against the laws of buoyancy and gravity? It is obvious to sink! It’s the law of nature!
But Peter walks. Then, he averts his eyes from the Lord looking at the storm. And he starts sinking! He shouts for help. Jesus immediately helps him. And Jesus leads him to the boat, and the storm ceases.
Bishop Fulton Sheen interprets this passage as a rehearsal for Peter for his later fall. When he denied Jesus at the Passion, he failed. But Jesus helped his faith later. I think this interpretation is true. But I also think this episode is a prophecy for all people, especially for Christians. As we grow older, life is deemed stormy. The man only living according to nature feels entrapped in his life on the stormy waters. He cannot control this boat of life. It is at the mercy of the rough waters. And he is likely to be drowned and disappear under the water. No one knows where he is gone. In the middle of this storm, Jesus calls us. He calls us to come to him. It is against all the laws of nature. But as long as we do not lose sight of the Lord, we can walk toward him. We may fall, but if we pray for help, he saves us at once. Then, he leads us to calm water. He leads us to the shore.
Every day, we face problems of life – family troubles, financial difficulties, accidents, and so on. But let us not lose the Lord in our sight. Then we will walk the troubled waters. We will walk over suffering and death to the shore where the peace and calm reside.
Matthew 14
“Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which does not satisfy?”
Through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord awakens us in the first reading of this Sunday. This is so true as we so often waste our hard-earn money for useless vanities. Just let us take a look at our basement or garage or storage room or corners of our living room. How many of us can say these places are cleared and empty? Let us open our fridges and deep freezers. Some of us might find some food as old as fridges or freezers. But we continue to shop and buy.
I wonder if things on earth can truly satisfy us. Millionaires want to be billionaires. Billionaires want to own the whole market. Death is a blessing for mankind as no politician in power has lived over a hundred years. But, still, the whole world seems to agree that mankind’s dignity hangs on development and advancement. Everyone knows all die. But we buy things for many generations while we throw them away before their life-cycles.
The prophet opens his mouth again:
Everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.”
What does the Lord tell us here? Idealistic communism? Or a technological paradise where automatic machines and artificial intelligence liberate mankind from labour?
Today Jesus feeds his crowds at a deserted place – a grassy wilderness nearby a lakeshore away from villages and towns. No grain field nor orchard. These unprepared crowds over five thousand had only five loaves of bread and two fish. And no resources, no money.
Now, Christ reveals what can fulfill us. It is not satisfaction. It is fulfillment. It is not gratification. It is happiness. It is not possession. It is a union. Only the Lord fulfills the void of our soul and spirit. Only in the union with the Lord do we find true fulfillment and happiness. Jesus shows he is the true bread and true drink. And he wants the New Covenant with us to give himself and fulfill us.
“Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.”
Jeremiah 26
One of the signs of our times is the moratorium on the judgment. Young people often say, “Don’t judge me!” Every human act is to be respected and accepted. The advancement of psychology helps us to understand all human behaviours emphatically. The rise of philosophical relativism provides the foundation for the deconstruction of traditional morality. Now, no one is wrong and everyone is right. Everyone is liberated, isn’t it?
However, this current reality of prevalent relativism and individualism forces us to make alternative judgments. It oppresses us to accept its values – utility, pleasure, convenience, comfort, efficiency, effectiveness, and the like.
Moreover, the widespread of individualism suppresses fraternal correction. As long as I don’t feel disturbed, you can do whatever you like. Why do I spend my energy to interfere with somebody’s life?
Thus, for the contemporary man, the prophets in the Bible are mysteries. There is no personal benefit for the prophets even if other people listen to them and repent. On the contrary, they risked their lives for others’ problems. Look at Jeremiah from the first reading and John the Baptist from the gospel. Jeremiah was almost stoned, and the Baptist, beheaded. They risked their lives for the truth.
Although we live under the tyranny of the political correctness culture, we still perceive what is true. And our conscience cries out when we witness lies and injustice. Not only Christians but also all good-willed people can make sound judgments on human actions and behaviours. The prophets’ voices are still resounding in our hearts and minds. We all have the prophets inside. Throughout history, many non-Christians shed their blood for the truth. Why? Why does the man risk his life for the truth? It’s because the Lord gives the man a heart that loves the truth. This love is a divine calling to God because God Himself is the ultimate truth. And this love for the truth also reveals the man as the one who is created in the image of God.
We Christians received the office of the prophet at baptism. To witness to the truth is a Christian duty. Let us listen to the prophet’s voice inside us. And let his voice resound through our lips so that the truth may fill our world.
Jeremiah 26
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks about the destiny of prophets: “Prophets are not without honour except in their own country and their own house.” And this is demonstrated in the first reading today. The people of Judah threaten the life of Jeremiah because he delivered the message from the Lord.
What was the message? It was a call to faithfulness. God was calling Judah back to the law He gave through Moses. Jeremiah cried out for the renewed faithfulness to God’s law. Through his prophecy, Jeremiah calls for repentance and conversion and also announces God’s punishment for unfaithfulness.
This is a classic pattern of the biblical prophecy. The prophets did not bring a novel message. On the contrary, they directed Israel back to its original commitment to God and his law. But they deepened the understanding of God’s law. They highlighted the spirit of the law. In a sense, they were teachers of the law before the scribes and rabbis. But most prophets are remembered for their foretelling the consequences of unfaithfulness to God and injustice to people. This made them very unpopular and rejected from their own country.
Probably you have heard all the baptized share the three-fold office of Christ as priest, prophet, and king. Then, now we know what we are expected to do by the prophetic office. First, to discern the truth of faith. Second, to witness to the truth. Third, to teach the truth.
But here is a caveat: the words of Jesus still hold today. If you exercise this prophetic office by proclaiming and teaching the truth of faith to your families and friends, you may well be rejected and can expect lots of backlashes. However, rejection and hatred are consoling signs for prophets. Because they are the indications of true prophecies. Prophets are the signs to be opposed and spoken against, as Simeon foretold about the baby Jesus at the temple.
Matthew 13
Can you think of anything that does not come with any kind of failure, breakage, misuse, abuse, or danger? It’s a waste of time to list examples to show everything comes with certain dangers. The more valuable and sophisticated, the more possibility of abuse and the bigger danger. I will just give one example of nuclear energy. Many countries depend on nuclear power plants for electricity. But when nuclear energy is on the wrong hand, it threatens the whole world. Although we live with dangers around us, we still use all kinds of things. We don’t tremble all the time. As longs as we are conscious of the dangers, we are safe to use them. Most tragedies occur when we ignore the dangers. A bottle of wine can make people relaxed. An evening drive on a hot summer day may cool you down. But if you ignore the dangers of alcohol and driving, your life and others’ are threatened. We don’t have to think of a terrible vehicle accident when we sip a tasty red wine. And we don’t have to visualize cars are crashing when we are behind the steering wheels. But, almost unconsciously, we keep in mind the real dangers of irresponsible drinking driving.
Likewise, the danger of hell is as real. It is not a remote and distant possibility. All human actions come with it. If a Christian only thinks about heaven but ignores hell, he is likely to face the danger sooner or later. I agree that we don’t have to put a huge painting of hell in our living room or bedroom to keep our household always in fear. But at the same time, hell cannot be ignored. Unless I am free of sins, especially any grave and mortal ones, I carry the real danger now. If I am living a sinful lifestyle, I am at the mouth of hell.
Let us be realistic. We use things properly when we know their accompanying dangers. Any responsible person does not ignore the consequences of human actions. Then, any good Christian cannot ignore the danger of hell as much as he looks forward to heaven.
John 11
When I am called for the anointing of the sick, I always check if the person is in critical condition. It’s because it would be everybody’s grief and a priest’s nightmare if the priest arrives too late to anoint, for a sacrament is to be given only to the living.
In the gospel books, when people ask Jesus to come for healing, he usually responds without much delay. And many times, he voluntarily heals them. And as in the account of healing the centurion’s slave, he healed even without personally seeing the sick. But today’s episode of reviving Lazarus from death is an exception.
If you read the entire episode, you will notice that Jesus was almost intentionally delaying in leaving for the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Jesus had received the request of the sisters to visit their brother Lazarus because he was very sick. But he stayed two more days where he had received the news. In the passage, St John does not give any reason why Jesus didn’t leave. By the time Jesus and his disciples arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, Lazarus had been dead for four days already.
I cannot imagine that I can delay the anointing of the sick for one hour. If I delayed it for four hours, I would accuse myself of willful negligence. But for four days? This is absolutely unacceptable. There can be no excuse!
In the meantime, how would Martha and Mary have felt? Wouldn’t they get mad and angry? They could felt more hurt because Jesus had been very close to them. They were not strangers to Jesus. As we read in the sisters' request, Jesus loved Lazarus. But why this delay?
This delay made sure everybody knew that Lazarus was really dead. He was in the tomb for four days by the time Jesus arrived at Bethany. There could be no return, no reversal of his death, all believed. Now against the stench of death, Jesus reveals his power over death. Jesus had revived two others in the gospels – Jairus' daughter who had just died lying on her bed and the widow’s only son in Nain who was being carried in the casket. Some might raise doubt if these two were really dead. But Not about Lazarus. He was already decomposing. Against this decomposing body, Jesus shows his divine power over death.
But there is another reason for the delay. Before Jesus calls Lazarus out of the tomb, Jesus confirms the faith of Martha. Here, as we heard in the gospel, Martha witnesses to the two most critical articles of Christian faith – the Incarnation and the Resurrection: Jesus is the Son of God, and he is the resurrection and life.
This divine delay brings more than a person out of death. This divine delay tests Martha. She could have got angry with Jesus. But she still trusts him even when Jesus is late. And Jesus makes her faith mature. She witnesses the divine power of Christ.
God’s delay is never late. His delay is always on time.
Matthew 13
I wish that the gospel passage we heard today may make you feel assured of your being as the children of the kingdom of heaven. But, unfortunately, this passage always makes me feel anxious. Because I don’t want to end up being a child of the evil one. But I am struggling with evil every single day.
There is no moment I can say there is no possibility of evil. When I speak to parishioners, when I drive, before my computer monitor, when I open my mobile phone, when I say the Mass, when I pray the Rosary, there is no safe moment I am free of evil.
Today Jesus tells us the evil one, Satan, sows the seed of weeds. I agree, because, ultimately, it is not human nature that desires evil. I often choose evil due to my faulty judgment. I may blame myself for this. However, the origin of intentional wickedness to destroy and harm is a mystery. It is not from the Lord. Then, is it from me? If I were created evil, then, I wouldn’t be to blame at all. Here lies the mystery of evil. The Bible teaches us about the evil one, the Devil, Satan. He rebels against the Lord. He wants to destroy God’s creation. He wants to deceive God’s children into his rebellious army.
Satan employs every single possible means to deceive us. He adopts supernatural ways as well as natural ways. He threatens as well as lures. He uses emotion as well as reason. He manipulates spirit as well as psychology. He stimulates the soul as well as the flesh. He interferes with solitude as well as relationships. He tricks consciousness as well as subconsciousness. As long as the Lord is with us, Satan is around to snatch us. As much as the Lord is present in all places, so much Satan is lurking around there.
Can I ever be out of Satan’s sight? This is why we want to put on Christ. This is why we hide in the wounds of Christ. To be out of Satan’s sight, we need to keep looking at the Lord. Our Lord always looks at us. But as soon as Christ is out of my sight, I fall into the darkness. There, Satan whispers to my senses. I turn my eyes to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It looks good for my flesh, soul, and spirit. But how can I see right good and evil when I am already in darkness?
Matthew 13
Christians worry about the future of the Church. More and more Christians turn indifferent to faith and morals. Although the Western world proudly declares inclusiveness and pluralism for its social principles, it is commonly accepted to express disdain and hostility towards Christianity.
Do I worry about the Church, too? Yes. I feel helpless. I don’t know what the Church will be like after the pandemic is gone away. Christians will come back to gather together for worship? Or will they have settled down with alternative ways of spiritual life without gathering for worship? I don’t know.
The Church reveals the visible presence of the kingdom of heaven. Neither the Church nor the kingdom of heaven is simply the sum of all individual Christians or churches. Although the Holy Spirit, angels and saints are invisible, they are with us in the Church. The Church or the kingdom of heaven is not only earthly but also heavenly. Moreover, the Church is not a human institution. The Church is the mystical body of Christ, for it is in union with Christ. Jesus assured his disciples that he would be with us until the end of time. Then, his mystical body should also exist on earth until the end of the world.
Today, Jesus gives us two short parables of the kingdom of heaven. These parables teach us the growth and expansion of the kingdom of heaven. We might be tempted to abstract the mechanism of the growth and expansion of the Church from these parables. But I think these parables show the mystery of the growth and expansion of the Church instead. It takes so long time for a mustard seed to grow to a big tree. It is beyond the power and control of the sower of the seed or the owner of the field. A woman knows how to mix the yeast in with the flour. But it is not she who makes the dough all leavened. It is the nature of yeast.
Over two thousand years there were many Christians who contributed to the growth of the Church. However, the growth of the Church was not determined by one great saint’s vision or plan. The Church went through so many crises we might not be able to evaluate their seriousness now. But she survived till now. Reflections on history will remind us of who works in the Church.
I am still worried about the Church. This worry will make me do something about the future of the Church. I pray that this small act of care for the Church may contribute to her health. I pray that our Lord may take me as an instrument for keeping his tree flourishing.
Matthew 13
The parables of this Sunday’s gospel expose three false presumptions about salvation, which are quite common among Christians in our times. The first one is that ‘the payment has been made’. The second is that ‘life can be as usual.’ And the last one is that ‘the harvest is done’.
‘The payment has been made.’ Some Christians claim that Christians only have to believe in Christ because Christ has already paid the price for salvation. But what is true is that Christ rescued us from the power of sin and death by offering his life as the ransom. Can you tell the difference? By his suffering and death, Christ opened for us the way to salvation. He did not buy and hand out salvation. What he paid is the price for opening the way to salvation. When we are baptized and when we go to confession, our sins are forgiven by the suffering and death of Christ. The price for the forgiveness of sin is beyond human efforts. This is why the Divine Son paid for it. But we still have to walk the way to salvation, which is narrow and difficult.
‘Life can be as usual’. Some Christiansbelieve Christian life doesn’t have to be different from everybody else’s except a few add-ons. You can be just anyone in the world. No difference. For them, the Christian life is an ‘extracurricular’ activity added on to ‘regular’ or ‘normal’ life. Baptized, confirmed, going to Sunday Masses, annual confession, and the last rite, then entering heaven. But the second parable in today’s gospel implies that Christian life is different. It is a constant search. It is a vigilant preparation. Salvation does not come by itself. Christians who are concerned about their salvation are in constant search of God until the last moment of life. Life after baptism cannot be as usual. The Christian life is unusual.
‘The harvest is done.’ This is another dangerous presumption. Some Christians think they already belong to the barn where good crops are gathered. They believe they are in the safe basket after a net is thrown and retrieved. They are the good ones, they assure themselves. So, these Christians think their works on earth can achieve salvation here on earth. For them, heaven is here. On the contrary, the parables today, particularly the third one suggests the harvest is not done yet. The net has to catch ‘every’ fish of ‘every’ kind until it is ‘full’. True salvation and heaven come at the last judgment. At the end of the world, the net will be retrieved and lifted, and sorting will begin. This life on earth is an opportunity God’s mercy and patience provide for us. No one is judged and condemned yet. Nor can anyone say he has already been saved.
I pray that all of us may have the strength to keep searching for the fine pearl. And I also pray that we have the courage to detach ourselves from this world to buy the treasure field. So, when we finish our lives on earth, the Lord’s angels may lead us into the basket of all saints.
2 Corinthians 4
The passage from the second letter of St Paul to Corinthians we just heard in today's reading is a part of St Paul’s exposition on the apostleship and ministry of the Gospel of Christ. He honestly describes the human conditions, challenges, hardships, failures, and frustrations as a minister of the Gospel. But I believe his explanation of the nature of the apostleship and ministry of Christ is also applied to any serious Christians because all baptized share the duty to proclaim the Gospel.
What do you remember from the reading today? What words of St Paul impress you the most? And how would you summarize the reading in a few words?
To me, the first sentence of today’s passage is the most striking. And particularly, this phrase summarizes the whole reading: “this treasure in clay vessels”. And I would like to highlight the phrase, “clay vessels”. The word ‘clay’ implies our humble human conditions – limited, fragile, and corruptible – our mortal flesh.
When we try to live a life of a faithful Christian, we are afflicted by every possible test; we are perplexed with discouragements of all kinds; we are persecuted from within and outside the Church; we are struct down by allegations and accusations. And we will mostly lose; we will daily live the death. But then, only then, the life of Jesus is made visible, St. Paul teaches. The light of Christ shines through our utter weakness. Only when we become ‘clay vessels’, we may finally carry the treasure of the Gospel.
When I realize my unworthiness, sinfulness, and helplessness, I am tempted to give myself up. When I face my past failures and scars, and when I am soaked with current frustrations, I am tempted to walk away from the Gospel. But these words of St Paul give me the courage to take another step for today. I pray that the Lord gives us our daily bread so that we may continue our journey with the treasure in the clay vessels of our mortal flesh.
Matthew 13
We live in an age that cannot stand any kind of inequality and inequity. We strive for the equal starting line for everyone, at least concerning social and economic competitions. But we know there has never been such a society or era in human history, which achieved perfect equality and equity. But parents of more than one child know every child is different – not only their temperaments but also their talents and intelligence. Is it because of different combinations of genes? Then, will we be happy if we create a new race of human clones sharing exactly the same combination of genes? I don’t have an answer.
Now, what about the equality of spiritual dispositions? The parable of the sower shows different spiritual dispositions – the path, the rocky ground, the thorn bush, and the good soil. People say they can see some kids are saint material. And some kids are always full of troubles. Does God create saints? But does he also create the damned? Why doesn’t God create spiritual clones of the saints? Why doesn’t God give us all equally a heart of good soil?
Some say certain professions should have an advantage in the spiritual life – religious monks and nuns, ordained ministers, workers of non-profit charitable organizations, etc. Perhaps they are right. But somehow the rate of deviated behaviours such as pedophilia or homosexuality in these groups of professions is about the same in other groups if not higher. Reading the Bible and preaching it as a part of their professions don’t seem to give them an express ticket to heaven.
Does any particular age, sex, race, social status, family background, intelligence, temperament, profession, or health condition give a head start or a handicap? I have been a priest for some time. But I don’t see any advantage or disadvantage in spiritual life or in bearing the fruit of the Gospel because I’m a priest.
The Lord is fair in a different sense. All creations are different. There is nothing or no one the same. And he allows everything and everybody to be different. But everyone faces spiritual struggles. It doesn’t matter who you are and where you are. It doesn’t matter whether you’re baptized or not. It doesn't matter if you’re married or not. It doesn’t matter if you’re heterosexual or homosexual. It doesn’t matter if you have a Ph.D. or a high school diploma. It doesn’t matter if you’re bishop or salesperson.
If I have a heart of rocky ground, I need to cultivate it. If I have a heart of good soil, I still have to keep it fertile with manure. Our spiritual work or struggle never stops until the moment of death. No one can follow Jesus without his cross. But remember what St Paul advises: God does not let us be tempted beyond our strength. And let us remind ourselves of what Jesus encourages us: his yoke is easy and his burden is light.
Matthew 13
Often I find it almost fascinating that people firmly hold on to totally incorrect or intentionally false ideas about Jesus and Christianity. Many of these are obviously so absurd that I am suspicious if these people are spell-bound. It’s because many of those ideas can be demonstrated groundless or unreasonable within a minute. However, still people cannot admit their ideas are false. Even if you tell the plain truth about Jesus and the Church, either theological or historical, your words cannot penetrate their minds or hearts.
I wonder how so many modern men have become hardened of their hearts toward Christ and his Church. Many factors are contributing to this tragedy. Just a list of these factors will be much longer than a reasonable homily should be. But there is one thing which is I consider as the ultimate factor for these confusions and errors. That is the lack of the firsthand experience of Christ Jesus. All falsity comes from the ignorance of the genuine source. You cannot have true knowledge of a person without sharing much time in person. To know a person is much more than to read or listen to a secondhand description.
But a firsthand experience of Jesus? Is this possible? How is that possible for us now? It won’t be if Jesus once lived and then died. Even if his resurrection is accepted, if he has gone away at the Ascension, we won’t be able to truly know him. It is possible only if he’s still alive and still with us.
Many people in our times still encounter Jesus. And he still speaks to us. Do you think the Bible and the gospel books can only give a secondhand, indirect experience of Jesus? Have you not heard the testimony of St Peter that the prophecy of Scripture does not come by the impulse of a man but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Jesus promised he would be with us until the end of time. And he sent us the Holy Spirit who is ever alive to help us. When we read the Bible, it is not just our minds working on a text. In fact, we enter the ever-present events of the Bible, which transcends time and place. Jesus speaks to our hearts directly. He breaks all hardened shells that hold our hearts captive. And we meet the person of Christ Jesus.
“Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Jesus encourages us today. He invites us to himself now.
John 20
Today’s gospel passage from St John is filled with symbolic devices. The episode begins when it is still dark – representing the sorrow, confusion, and frustration lying in Mary Magdalene’s heart. The space of this episode is a cemetery – a place of the dead. And she stood at the mouth of Jesus’ tomb – an entrance to despair and oblivion.
But all these sorrowful signs are so dramatically transformed into miraculous joy. The tomb turns out a new womb for eternal life. The place of the dead is rejuvenated into a new garden of Eden. This new garden of life is no longer guarded by the cherubim. No longer the flaming sword prohibits anyone from the way to the tree of life. Rather, two angels console the woman. And the tree of life stands before the woman and calls her. This new Adam once again gives the woman her name, Mary, as the first Adam gave the first woman a name, Eve. As receiving her name, she recognizes her Lord; she found the tree of eternal life.
What happens next? The first woman, Eve, brought Satan’s lie to her man, Adam, and they both fell into sin and death. Now, Mary Magdalene brings the truth of the Lord’s resurrection to the disciples. She brings the news of eternal life to men!
Was this beautiful parallel a part of the providential plan? Probably yes. However, there is one thing to note. The first woman was given to Adam. She was created and placed in the garden of Eden. But now, this woman, Mary Magdalene, went to the place of the resurrection on her own. She was not sent by the apostles. Before his death, Jesus didn’t ask her to visit his tomb on the third day. She ran there because she loved the Lord. She was chosen as “the apostle to the apostles” because she went to the garden of life on her will.
It is commonly said that Mary Magdalene used to be a woman of the streets. But through Jesus, she received hope. And she became the first witness of the resurrection. No matter how sinful we were, the Lord gives us hope. And if we only have the will to approach him, he gives the fruit of the tree of life. All we need is to run to him, even it is still dark.
Mattew 12
We live in a very, very confusing world. There are so many divisions – among races, regions. There is so much distrust – against authorities, governments. We are constantly suspicious – between the haves and the have-nots, between sexes. And we are skeptical more than ever – about traditional values, morality, religions, and finally even about family. Everyone says he’s right. But we don’t know who to trust. Can we trust our family? I saw many children ignore their parents’ wishes on the wills. Some say you can trust only money these days because everyone obeys money. Too bad, then, since I don’t have enough money!
In our times, it is not easy to find someone trustworthy. Perhaps it has never been easy. Today Jesus answers this question of who to trust. And he calls these trustworthy people as his mother, his brother, and his sister. These are the ones who do the will of his Father in heaven. And we know what the Father’s will is – to love one another.
But this word “to love” is so elusive. Everyone says “I love you” but I see there are so many broken hearts. Many activist movements declare their quests are for a society of love and justice, but I see more hatred and corruption fill our land. How can I tell if someone truly loves? How can I tell if someone is trustworthy? How can I say if someone is a true family of Jesus?
An act of love does not come back to the one who acts as his benefit. An act of love is giving without receiving. The actor of love does not possess the receiver of his love as an object. The actor of love is not above the receiver. The actor of love doesn’t have the receiver within his power of control. All benefits of love belong to the receiver. A mother who suffers from the labour and feeds her baby with her breasts gives life to her child without receiving anything. Her delight lies only in the benefit of her child. That is why we trust our mothers.
On the other hand, all other acts come back to the actor with certain benefits. Not only intentional self-benefitting actions but also even unintentional acts such as walking and drinking bring benefits to the actor. However pleasantly and politely a store staff greets and helps us, we do not call it an act of love.
Let us see how many people around us really give without receiving. I always find more of these trustworthy people not in blood relationship but in faith relationship. Once again, the word of Jesus is a true prophecy.
Matthew 12
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” This is what the scribes and the Pharisees in today’s gospel asked Jesus. I wonder why they asked for another sign from Jesus. They had already heard and seen his deeds of power. Still, they asked for a sign. Why? To make sure that Jesus was the Messiah? To have faith in him? It’s not easy for me to discern their mind. However, one thing we know is this: they did not have faith in Jesus after all. I think they would not have believed in Jesus even if he had shown them another sign. Because this is not how faith comes about.
We can recall many passages from the gospel books that show how people had faith in Jesus. Jesus proclaimed the Gospel first. People heard him. Those who were open to the truth could tell Jesus was speaking the truth. And they put their trust in him. To many of these people, Jesus granted miraculous healing and cure. They put their faith in him first, and the signs confirmed their faith. It was not signs that brought about their faith. How many times did Jesus tell people, “Have faith” before he showed his deeds of power?
Nevertheless, today, Jesus promises he will give a sign – the sign of the prophet Jonah. This is the ultimate sign of his identity. It is his death and resurrection. Whoever looks for the ultimate meaning of life will recognize this sign. Because this will be the ultimate answer for human existence.
But the Passion and the Resurrection will simple convert people? I don’t think so. Signs are meaningful to those who understand their meanings and to those who look for them.
This is why we still need to preach the Gospel of Christ. There are still people who look for the truth. Christians bear the privilege and duty to preach the Gospel. People will recognize the voice of the shepherd. And they will find his signs. I pray that Christ may take me as his instrument to preach his Gospel. And I hope to see his signs when the time is fulfilled.
Matthew 13
Our recent years have seen the rise of what I call an ‘instant labelling culture’. Daily we witness this cultural, social, and political phenomenon. This seems an upgrade from ‘political correctness culture’. As soon as people hear someone speak, or, more commonly these days, read someone’s social media post, they like to put a label such as conservative, socialist, sexist, feminist, racist, misogynist, homophobic, and so on. Without any effort to know the actual person, people simply throw a person into a category within a few seconds. Once a person is labelled, the person is assumed to have been like that label all his life. And it is also assumed that the person will be like that label for the rest of his life.
Most of these labels carry very negative notions with emotional rejection. And somehow many of these negative labels are associated with one another. Once one label is fixed to a person, other associated labels often follow. For example, if a person is labelled ‘conservative’, this label is likely to bring a train of labels such as homophobic, racist, climate change deniers, pro-life, sexist, and so on.
In this new culture, once a negative, or, more accurately, a hateful label is affixed on a person, people commonly demand that the person should lose his livelihood. Whether the label is moral or social in nature, the person who bears the label is to be retaliated economically or financially. There is hardly any mercy or forgiveness in this culture of instant branding.
As this new culture of instant labelling grows, many people feel fearful to express their ideas and opinions. Especially your words stored online, whether they were of a decade or two, can be picked up today and ruin the rest of your life, even if you changed your mind a long time ago and moved on. Under so many hateful labels, many people wonder if there is freedom of speech any more in our society.
On this Sunday, Jesus tells us the parable of the wheat and the weeds. At the request of his servants to remove the weeds, the owner of the field tells them to wait until the harvest time. It’s because they might pull out the good wheat by mistake if they hurry to remove the weeds. The kingdom of God expands in the patience of the Lord. The mercy of the Lord works primarily as his patience with us in this life. He gives us life and provides good things for us throughout our life. Even when we make mistakes and commit terrible sins, he does not label us “weed” or “damned” right away. He still grants us good things and waits for us to return to him. When we change our minds and hearts towards him, he gladly accepts us. The culture of the kingdom of heaven exhibits patience, benevolence, and gentleness. Aren’t these fruits of the Holy Spirit? Christians cannot be a part of the instant labelling culture. The Lord is patient and merciful to us. Then, we can also be a bit more patient and merciful with one another.
Matthew 12
In many places in the gospel books, Jesus orders not to publicize his works of healing and exorcism as in today’s gospel. He taught people publicly, but it was not street corners and market places where he gathered people for teaching and healing. We don’t see any examples that Jesus chose a busy place such as market places or busy street corners and started advertising to gather people. On the contrary, he used to avoid the public spotlight. Rather, people followed him. It seems his favourite place was deserted places such as an empty lakeshore and a hilly wilderness. When he caused deeds of power such as reviving a dead, he wanted only a few disciples to witness, while removing crowds. This is what Isaiah the prophet foretold, “nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.”
And I believe this prophecy is still valid in our times. The voice of the Lord is not heard in our streets. Rather, people avoid his message in the public sphere. Christ does not work for success. He does not work for fame. He does not work for popularity. He does not work to build a perfect social system. He does not work to devise the most efficient economic system.
But Christ still works silently in many people’s lives. He still consoles the downtrodden. He still heals the wounded and hurt. It is still true that “he will not break a bruised reed or quench a smouldering wick”. In our society and world, there are still lots of those Gentile people who long for hope. And Christ is still their hope. Whoever looks for truth and wisdom find Jesus. And they follow Jesus wherever he goes.
Often, I fall into the temptation that makes Christ a ruler of this world. It’s because it feels easier. And it’s because it is harder to be like Christ. He asks us to be like him by healing our wounded relationships and consoling the marginalized. Charity in meekness and modesty is surely a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 12
The religion of the apostles and disciples of Christ Jesus was the ancient Judaism. They didn’t have a developed form of the liturgy of Christianity in their lifetime. Moreover, they never had any church building for the celebration of the Eucharist. There was no tabernacle, no marble altar, no statues, no pews, or no holy water font. The apostles and disciples of Jesus didn’t have a developed hierarchy of clergy, either. None of them went to a seminary for philosophical and theological formations. But they had Christ Jesus. They lived together and travelled together. They witnessed what Jesus did and how he did. The main celebrant of their first Eucharist was Christ himself. Christ himself ordained these men for his priesthood. And they saw how Christ suffered and died and rose from death. They learned Christ Jesus first. Religious practices then followed.
In the current multicultural and pluralistic society, many nonbelievers come in contact with Christianity firstly by the liturgy, religious practices, or moral norms. It is not easy for them to encounter the person of Christ. Our religion became very much institutionalized and bureaucratized over the centuries. I am afraid if we can introduce the person of Christ to those who hear the Gospel for the first time. I fear I might be one like the Pharisees in today’s gospel who shunned Jesus and his disciples because of religious laws and customs. I am often deeply disappointed and frustrated at myself for failing to represent the person of Christ by being a cold and impersonal bureaucrat. Jesus desires mercy, not sacrifice.
To bring the person of Christ to people, I need to encounter Christ first as the apostles and disciples did. This is why we read the Bible. This is why we read the saints of the Church. Before a religion, the Lord of the religion comes first. The Sabbath does not come first. The lord of the Sabbath comes first. And the Son of Man is the lord of the Sabbath.
Isaiah 26
In the first reading today, Prophet Isaiah proclaims “the way of the righteous is level”. He tells us that the Just One makes “smooth the path of the righteous”. Do you agree? But how can we reconcile these words of the prophet with all the toils and sufferings good people of God have to endure?
Jesus calls us to himself today in the gospel, telling us to take his yoke and learn from him. But is his yoke really easy and his burden really light? It seems Christians have to bear a lot more burdens than nonbelievers – religious obligations, morality, doctrines. On top of them, Christians have to carry blames for lots of global and social problems.
One of the insights this pandemic gave to me is that there are very few things in this consumerist world that are essential to life. And almost all I have does not help me to arrive at eternal life. On the contrary, they often become obstacles on the way to it. I create obstacles by spending my resources. The more I remove my unnecessary desires from my heart, the bigger space I have for spiritual freedom to be with the Lord. The “righteous” person Isaiah speaks of is one who is in the right relationship with the Lord. To be righteous before God, I need to remove unnecessary desires from my heart and vanity from my life. Then, the way will be level and smooth. When I desire only the Lord Jesus, I won’t have to bear all the cares of the world. My shoulders will be freed from all burdens of care and worry. When my heart is not on the things of this world, I won’t care if I have to bear blames for the name of Jesus. Only If I can take his name alone on my shoulders, I will find true rest.
Isaiah 10
We commonly call the Lord ‘my’ God and ‘our’ God. This reveals our belief that God is on my side and on our side. He is our guard and protector, we believe. For Christians, God is not an impersonal almighty deity. God is our Father who adopted us through his Son, Christ Jesus. Thus, it feels very natural for us to call God my God and our God.
But this familial closeness should not lead us into the temptation to privatize Him. He is the creator of all universe. He is the God of all peoples. Israel was chosen to be a priestly nation to let His name known to the world. But that does not mean He is the God of Israel only.
In the first reading today, Prophet Isaiah tells us how God uses the Assyrians as his punishing instrument for the unfaithfulness of the Northern kingdom of Israel. The Assyrians conquest the ten tribes of Jacob and scattered them all over. The people of the Northern kingdom might have felt the Lord was no longer their God. But Isaiah shows the Lord is the God of all nations. He also punished the Assyrians when they were puffed up with pride and conceit.
The Lord has a plan. It is for the salvation of all peoples and nations. Israel witnessed the unfolding of this plan through its history. First, The Lord was thought to be a God of individuals – God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob. But he became the God of the people of Israel through Exodus. However, he did not remain as a God of a people. He demonstrated he was the God of many nations. The people of Israel realized God’s power moved the nations around them. And finally, through Christ Jesus, all peoples were invited to become God’s people and led out of the slavery of sin.
Do you feel the Lord is no longer listening to you? Do you feel he is no longer your God? Then, please realize you are at another crossroad in God’s plan. Whoever hears His voice and follows Him can arrive at the promised land. It is not so useful to try to make Him our God. Rather, once again, let us be His people.
Matthew 11
One of the characteristics of contemporary Christianity is the loss of the sense of the fear of hell. Or, Christian people seem to forget about the existence of hell. Hell is one of the most unwelcome things to preach on the pulpit in our times. This phenomenon seems related to the absence of emphasis on the fear of God. Fear itself is much feared in Christian discussions everywhere – whether at home or in Catholic schools. It has already been at least a generation or two since Catholics stopped speaking about religious fear. Does your pastor regularly evoke any kind of religious fear? Even as for myself, I don’t.
So, when we hear biblical passages like today’s, we just don’t know what to think or how to feel. Today, Jesus refers to the fate of Sodom as God’s punishment. He mentions Hades which is considered the same as hell. Was his speech a metaphor or an analogy? No, Jesus is very direct here.
It seems to me that today’s Christianity more fears activists, journalists, academics, movements, mass media, and even social media. I wonder if the adoption of political correctness in the Church was an expression of genuine love or hidden fear. Shortly before today’s passage, Jesus told his disciples not to fear those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul. He told them rather fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Throughout history, the Church saw how religious fear could be manipulated and abused for the sake of human authorities in the Church. This is why the Church is careful to evoke religious fear. However, as the book of Psalms (111.10) teaches “the fear of the Lord is beginning of wisdom.” The fear of the Lord is a fundamental beginning for spiritual life. This holy fear wakes us up from religious complacency, philosophical subjectivism, and secular humanism. This holy fear of the Lord is rather existential, you may call because it exposes my humble state and concerns my eternal destiny. If I have to depart this world tonight, I have to settle an account with the Lord. Am I ready? Do I know who He is? He knows all I have done and thought. He is merciful as well as just.
If you hear me speak more about the fear of the Lord or hell, please understand me: when a preacher preaches, he preaches first to himself. This poor man also has to take care of his soul.
Matthew 10
I preach Christian goals for my parishioners such as piety and virtues. But when it comes to evangelization, I feel uneasiness to preach about it. Why? Because I don’t even know what to do about my parents and relatives.
Often, I find Jesus is a realist, far from a dreamer or idealist. In today’s gospel, he tells us what will happen if we bring the Good News to our families. He came to us on earth to proclaim the Good News. And he commands us to do the same – to proclaim the kingdom of heaven to all around us. But he speaks today in a more realistic language. This evangelization is to bring a sword, not peace. If a son brings the Good News to his father, his father will resist it and reject the son. If a daughter asks her mother to go to church, her mother will refuse and turn against the daughter. If you proclaim the gospel to your in-laws, you will be ridiculed and shunned. You will realize you are besieged with refusals among your own blood and kin when you speak of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Will you choose peace over a sword? I see many Catholics settle down with peace. But Jesus says he has come to set us against our fathers, mothers, in-laws, and relatives. He asks us to pick up the sword. Not easy. So fearful. Too risky.
But Jesus says, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Here, he is not asking us to leave our families behind and stay around the church. But he tells us to “take up the cross and follow” him. This cross is to bring the Good News to our families. As many of us experience daily, our families are our cross.
We will lose peace and life when we bring Christ to our family. But when our families have gone without knowing Christ, we will have to torture ourselves over their lost opportunities for eternal life due to our silence. And we will ask ourselves if we have truly loved them.
Do I love my family? Yes. Then, I need to take up the cross. Not easy. Not always pleasant. But I doubt that I would be truly happy if I would find myself alone in heaven without any of my family.
Matthew 13
Our heart is created in the image of the Lord as our whole being is created in His image. It loves good things such as unity and peace. Who wishes for himself division, loneliness, chaos or annihilation? However, we often do what is contrary to our genuine heart. And we fall in the agony of unhappiness. This is what happened to Adam. He was created for happiness. But by his sin, his heart became hardened, and he hid from the Lord – from the source of happiness.
This is why the Lord sent out his angels, prophets, and eventually his only Begotten Son to give us a new heart, so that we may recover the happiness the Lord wanted to share. Throughout the centuries, the Lord spoke his words through them, and finally the Word Himself came to us.
Nevertheless, the word of the Lord cannot enter and change our hearts when they are hardened. Thus, when we know what makes our heart hardened, we can also remove them so that we may recover our genuine heart our Lord gave us. Only then, the word of the Lord can germinate, grow, flower, and bear the fruit of happiness.
First, excessive desires and interests of the created things turn us away from God. This becomes practical idolatry. You just don’t have time to listen to Jesus.
Second, pride and confidence in human power trap us in the human world. Secular humanism refuses divine assistance – rejecting the Holy Spirit. The idea, ‘I can make myself happy’, already failed miserably our first parents Adam and Eve.
Third, resentment, hatred, and mercilessness shut off the message of Christ, which is hope. Everyone has a wounded heart. But if we pour mercilessness and vengefulness over the wounded heart, it becomes even worse and only wants the worst – destruction and annihilation.
Fourth, sins and sinful habits debilitate our hearts. Sins make us fearful of the Lord as Adam hid from the Lord. Vices make our heart crippled to desire and do good things. And when sins are piled up and hardened, people give up on themselves. This is the worst – giving up hope for oneself. These people hate themselves and their life, not to mention hate the world and the Lord – and on the way to self-destruction.
These four things make our heart a wasteland. Nothing can grow there. No genuine happiness there. If someone truly cares about his soul and its destiny, he should daily examine his heart and remove any of these. The word of the Lord is given us without charge, and the Lord grows it with his grace without charge. Then, at least, we would guard his vineyard with watchful eyes.
Matthew 10
What Jesus told his disciples in today’s gospel is still valid in our times. Jesus says, “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!” More than ever, we witness to this prophecy of Jesus in Western societies. Much of the Judeo-Christian tradition is considered oppressive and authoritarian evil. Not only religious traditions but also the cultural heritage of the West are under attack. Of course, at the heart of all these assaults lies the hatred of Christ Jesus and God the Father. Many intellectuals in the West have campaigned against the Church, and the animosity towards Christianity is easily felt in academic institutions and journalistic organizations. This is what exactly Jesus tells us in the gospel. Many Christians would feel distressed by the current anti-Christian atmosphere, but there is nothing to be surprised since all have been foretold.
We indeed feel threatened. It is not just a feeling. The threat is real. Then, what do we do? Jesus also gives directions: “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.” There are too many silent Christians. Are you afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul? Shouldn’t we be afraid more of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell? But God loves us first and gives his only Son to us to lead us to his kingdom.
It is always challenging to be faithful to Christ. Our times are not an exception.
Matthew 10
In today’s gospel, Jesus foretells persecutions his disciples will face when they bring the Good News. It is an irony that the Good News becomes bad news for so many people. Jesus tells us that almost all people and nations will hate those who bring his gospel. Our families are no exception.
Why do people reject the Good News? The Good News is an announcement that the kingdom of heaven is close at hand. The Lord’s salvation for mankind is coming soon. Isn’t it a good thing for us to be with the Lord and in his kingdom? But why some people hate it and even persecute those who bring it to them?
The foremost reason the man becomes hateful of God is that he cannot do whatever he wants to do if he admits the reign of God. This is a very simple reason but so appealing to many people. In our times, this savage and untamed desire wears clothes of human independence, freedom, and dignity. Uncover many contemporary social movements and activisms against traditional morality and Christian teachings. You always discover the naked desire – ‘I’ll do whatever I want’ – the epitome of human pride.
The flip side of this uncontrolled desire exhibits the rejection of the call for conversion and repentance. The Good News is not only an announcement of the kingdom of heaven but also a call for our change. The baptism is the primary symbol of this change. At the baptism, we declare to reject sin and Satan’s allurements. This call for conversion and repentance angers many who are hardened with their sins and vices. It will feel shameful to admit one’s sinfulness. And it takes lots of pain to change sinful habits. In our times, many sins and vices are wrapped with decorations of liberty, convenience, pleasure, and rights. People celebrate their sins and vices.
In the meantime, the love of the world refuses the coming of the kingdom of heaven. The gospel looks forward to a new heaven and earth beyond this world. But when people love this world more than the Lord and his new world, they feel threatened by the Good News. They feel they will lose everything they now take pleasure in.
We will face the same rejection and refusal the disciples of Jesus had to face when they brought the Good News in their times. But let us not forget that we are doing good and well when we are hated because of the name of Jesus.
Matthew 10
We don’t believe that a person can live without society. It is not only against our social nature but also unrealistic. There will be no drinking water system or a sewage system, or a road network if there is no community effort. The social nature of man is not external but integral to human beings. Thus, happiness, also, cannot be absolutely individualistic. True happiness has a social and communal aspect.
In terms of Christianity, this communal aspect of happiness is realized in unity and communion. True happiness comes in the union with the Lord and the communion of all saints. And these union and communion should begin here on earth. From the beginning of creation, the Lord always called his people as a community. He never teaches an individualistic way to salvation. I cannot exercise the greatest commandment of love if there is no one else other than me. Salvation comes through and within relationships. If someone thinks he can be saved while everyone else is damned, that salvation would be so lonely.
In both readings today, the Scripture speaks of communal salvation and damnation. To welcome the Good News is not and should not be individualistic. The Good News is meant to be shared and spread in society. If we accepted the gospel messages but never shared with others, we have not truly received it. Even if we confess that we are Christians but our society is not run on the Good News, our confession is not genuine.
Many social issues in our times indicate our deficiency in the Christian integrity. They are not external problems in society but reflect our lack of Christian commitment. All of us Christians have a duty to make our society a better place. Christians must fight evils in society. This is how we bring the Good News, heal people, and cast out unclean spirits.
Mathew 10
One of the major parts of the ministry of Jesus was casting out demons or unclean spirits. As we heard in today’s gospel, it was also a major task of the apostles.
Then, I wonder why this ministry of casting out unclean spirits is not much visible any longer in our contemporary Christianity. Is it because there are not many unclean spirits left in the world? Or those demons or spirits are in fact mental conditions as many people of our times understand?
Before these questions to be answered, we need to see why demons exist. Their goal is to turn people against God and lead them to hell. Then, how do they achieve their goal? Their primary method is to lie as Satan is the father of all lies.
In ancient times, demons approached people by occult practices such as witchcraft and magic. Demons lured people by false promises of power and fortune. Of course, these promises were lies that eventually made people instead miserable, resentful, self-destructive and hateful of God. Before modern times, demons manifested themselves in more visible ways such as obsession and possession, and it was easier to detect their infestations.
Now, modern times began. Modern times are an era of reason. And it seems that demons also changed their strategies adjusting to this new age. They took more ‘rational’ approaches. In this way, they became more invisible and subtle. Now, their lies appeal to human reason.
For example, our times see so much more abortions and infanticides than any other era in history. This is truly a work of Satan and his fallen angels. But these abominable practices are supported by all kinds of theories and arguments from many academics and activists.
In recent years, where do we encounter lies and false promises most commonly? On our mobile devices and computers! Fake news all over online! But aren’t they supposed to be the smartest devices the man created? How many detestable crimes and sins are planned and committed through these ‘rational’ devices?
Unclean spirits are still very much around us. We still need to cast them out. But in our times, it seems they are hiding in newspapers, magazines, college textbooks, computer hard drives, and our indispensable smartphones.
Hosea 8
Ancient people often fell into idolatry. Idolatry is not a mental exercise. There is a man-made idol, usually a statue, and people believe the artifact is a god and they worship the artifact. This is hard to understand for most contemporary people in our times. However, we can view idols as symbols of uncontrollable fortunes. Idols can represent fertility, abundance, victory, etc. Ancient people believed these gods could dispense fortunes at their pleasure. So people offered all kinds of things, animals, and even human beings to idols to have favours from these gods. Therefore, we can also consider idols as the projections of human desires. Each idol can be seen as a representation of a desire or desires. For instance, one famous idol in the Bible is Baal. Often this god is associated with fertility. Then, Baal seems a projection of human desires for prosperity and sensuality. Thus, we can say idol worship or idolatry is, in fact, worship of human desires.
Then, what is wrong with worshipping human desires? As we know by experiences, human desires are in conflict with one another, and human beings are in conflict with one another to satisfy desires. In other words, when I pursue my desires, I fall in confusion within myself with conflicting desires, and I face infinite competitions against others to fill my desires. Interiorly or externally, we will not be fulfilled if we worship our desires.
This is why God warned Israel of idolatry as we heard in the first reading. Idolatry only leads to chaos and destruction. There is no true peace while we have to infinitely fight within and without.
I have never personally seen anyone in my life worship an artifact as an idol. But I wonder if I have ever worshipped my desires in any form. One question to test any idolatry in me is this: “Do I have any constant dissatisfaction?”
Matthew 9
Today we read the gospel from Matthew. But Mark’s gospel describes the same episode with more lively details. The young girl’s father’s name was Jairus, a synagogue official.
When Jairus came to Jesus for help, there was already a great crowd around Jesus. And the crowd followed Jesus on the way to Jairus’ home. They surrounded Jesus pressing on him while they moved. The procession sounds a little chaotic. The crowd must have been excited to see what Jesus would do to Jairus’ daughter. I guess all walked rather in a hurry and talked to one another with excitement. In the middle of this moving commotion, the woman with hemorrhages strove to touch Jesus at least by his clothes. The woman and Jesus knew what had happened, but Jesus couldn’t even see her touch his clothes because of the pressing crowd. Jesus wanted to see her. And she came while trembling and fell down before Jesus. But Jesus praised her faith.
In today’s episode, two people are saved – the daughter of Jairus and the woman with hemorrhages. Don’t you think it is interesting that only two people were healed among so many people? Do you think these two were the only ones with sickness among all the crowd? Which do you think, if we have any group of people, is easier, whether to find a perfectly healthy person or to find a person with a medical condition? In reality, it is rare to find a person with perfect health. Are you in perfect health? Not me. Jesus was surrounded by people, and, probably, not all of them were perfectly healthy. They were already pressing in on Jesus. But None of them were healed except the woman who had to swim through the crowd and touched Jesus just by the fringe of his garment.
We surround Jesus every day in our prayers and every Sunday at Mass. But do we approach him desperately like the woman with hemorrhages or just move along with him leisurely like the crowd who were only bystanders. Do I realize how much healing I need for my soul? How many of us approach him with truth faith and touch him with humble hearts?
Even at the news of the young girl’s death, Jesus said, “Do not fear, only believe.” When we have true faith, Jesus can cause so much more than we can ever expect.
Matthew 11
This pandemic has changed many aspects of our daily life. What about our faith life? Certainly, the parish life has visibly changed a lot. Some Christians would say these visible changes are only external. It is absolutely true that there is no change in the Church’s teaching. Nor is there any degradation of Christian values. However, we should pay attention to changes in the visible exercises of faith. It’s because these visible exercises of faith are the reflections of our spirits. Our body is the image of our spirit, as our whole being is the image of God. Let us spend some time examining what visible changes there have been since the pandemic in our faith life and reflect on them for their spiritual significances.
The greatest change would be our Sunday obligation. It has been about three months since the obligation was lifted for everyone in our diocese. No one has to go to church now. But does that mean everyone and anyone can worship our Lord enough by oneself and for oneself?
From the beginning of the Old Testament, our God always called people to himself out of the world. In a sense, he would separate us from the world. Look at Abraham and Noah and the whole Exodus account. Israel was called out of Egypt to became God’s people to worship God. Jesus summoned his disciples out of the Jews and made them a new people. This ‘called-out’, ‘summoned-out’, or ‘assembly’ is the original meaning of the Latin word for church ‘ecclesia’. We are called out of the world to become a worshipping community. Thus it becomes the Church, a word originally meaning ‘the Lord’s house’. Therefore, gathering is essential for Christians. And the Sunday obligation reminds us of our Christian identity of God’s chosen people.
Then, can we say the dispensation from the Sunday obligation due to the pandemic removes our essential identity as the people who are called out from the world and worship God as a community? Absolutely not.
The Sunday obligation points out another important aspect of the Christian life. That is to keep the Lord’s day holy. Sunday is the day of Christ’s resurrection. From the beginning of the Church, Christians gathered and celebrated the Lord’s resurrection every Sunday. It has been reserved for the Lord. We spend this day in the Lord. It is a holy day.
Then, can we say the dispensation from the Sunday obligation allows us to spend Sunday in whatever way we like? Can we forget about the Lord on the Lord’s day? Attendance at church is not obligatory. However, we still have an obligation to spend Sunday in the Lord. We Christians are the people of Sunday. If we behave no different from non-Christians on Sunday because there is no Sunday obligation, we are no Christian in the heart.
Matthew 9
I saw many new converts enjoy more blessings of the Lord. In the meantime, I found many cradle Catholics tangled with many do’s and don’ts. What makes new converts lively in faith? And what oppresses lifelong Catholics in their faith life?
Those new Catholics seem to speak much more about Jesus. On the other hand, many cradle Catholics feel they are restricted by all the religious structures and practices. For the people who newly found Jesus, Christ Jesus is all. But many who were born to Catholicism experience first Catholic practices, customs, regulations, moral codes, hierarchy, and structures. Often, they discover Jesus later on in their life.
In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us of what is more important in religion. It is the Bridegroom. Often, we forget the Bridegroom and focus on wedding ceremony details. Our faith is not in an institution or a set of moral codes but the Person of Christ. Christianity is about Christ not about the hierarchical structure of the Church. Our religion becomes alive when we encounter living Christ. It turns lifeless when we lose focus on Christ.
Christ Jesus is ever alive and ever new. To be with him, we should renew our faith. It begins with recognizing him at the centre of our faith. Let us encounter him first. He is with us.
John 20
Without faith in humanity, we cannot continue our daily life. If I were to doubt everything and everyone, I couldn’t even drink water from the tap on the sink, because it is not proven safe. But we drink water from the tap without testing it each time because we believe that those in charge of providing water make sure it is safe. And in almost all cases, our faith in humanity works fine without proofs, because humanity is real. In almost all our activities, we depend on faith. Faith is a way of knowing realities that are not visible. That’s why we can say certain faith is right or wrong.
In today’s gospel, Thomas first could not accept the reality of the resurrection of Christ Jesus, because he didn’t see the risen Christ. He demanded evidence. He didn’t have faith in resurrection yet. Now, when Jesus appeared again and Thomas saw him, Thomas didn’t have to believe in the resurrection, because he now saw the reality itself. For Thomas, the resurrection of Jesus was a reality and a fact that was visible and no longer demanded any proof or evidence. Likewise, in the Creed, we simply state the resurrection of Christ as a fact, not as what we confess to believe. In the Creed, what we profess to believe is the future resurrection of the body that will happen after we die and at the judgment of the whole world.
When Thomas saw the risen Christ, he didn’t say he now believed the Lord’s resurrection. Instead, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” What his eyes saw was the wounds of Christ, but what his faith saw was the transcendent lordship and divinity of Christ. That was a statement of faith in an invisible reality, not a description of an observable phenomenon. The faith of Thomas made him know the true identity of Jesus. Once again, faith is a way of knowing realities.
And this way of knowing invisible realities is a gift and a blessing. That’s why Jesus tells, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
Matthew 9
The paralytic man who was brought to Jesus in today’s gospel symbolizes all who are born under the original sin of Adam. As a paralyzed person cannot do anything without the help of others, all men who are born in the original sin of Adam are paralyzed in the spirit in need of help.
None of us found Jesus without any help from other faithful. As the paralytic man was carried by his friends who had faith in Jesus, we were also brought to Jesus by other faithful – whether by our parents or friends or even unknown preachers on the radio. Someone has to bring the Good News to us and to carry us before our Lord. Even St Paul, who had directly heard the voice of Jesus on the way to Damascus, needed Ananias who found him and baptized him, and also Barnabas who brought him to the apostles to explain his conversion.
We never merited our faith. Did the first disciples simply discover Jesus? No. John the Baptist spurred them to follow him. When we are born, we do not know God. This ignorance cannot produce a true knowledge of God. We need help. And this help comes through the faith of others.
I wonder if I have ever carried anyone in spiritual paralysis to Jesus. I pray that the Lord gives me the courage and strength to carry one.
Matthew 8
“Seek good, not evil, that you may live.” Does this sound easy? Who does not want to do good? Or who wants evil? However, when I look at the world, I find enough people to doubt if the man has a natural ability to seek good and to avoid evil. I don’t have to go too far to find these people, because I am one of them.
Sometimes I feel it is almost impossible to do good things although I wish for good things. And I am shocked and disgusted at my wickedness when my mind and heart are filled with jealousy, resentment, vengefulness and hatred.
These are the moments, in a sense, I am possessed with unclean spirits. Then, it is painful to stand before the presence of the Lord. His radiant goodness burns my wickedness. “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” This is what the two demoniacs shouted at Jesus in today’s gospel. Filled with evil thoughts, I tremble before the Lord. Facing Jesus is unbearable.
The only way to cast out these evils from my mind and heart is to bring myself before the Lord. And this means I must acknowledge my sinfulness and helplessness. Before the presence of the Lord, I wring and twist with throbbing and burning pain. But Christ our Lord is much stronger than our sinfulness. He casts out our evil thoughts but also heals us with forgiveness and peace. I hope you don’t need this, but I need Jesus to exorcise me every day.
Matthew 8
As Jesus rebuked his disciples in today’s gospel, the disciples in the boat didn’t have strong faith enough to disregard the storm. However, they didn’t forget they were with Jesus and asked him for help in the storm. Although Jesus replied with a scolding, he didn’t refuse their petition.
I believe this is important – to cry for help. When we face a threat or danger beyond our power, the first thing to do is to cry for help. It is not a shameful thing to call for help. We don’t feel ashamed to call 911.
But many Christians don’t ask Jesus to help them in their crises, especially in spiritual or moral struggles. When I have a hard time with forgiveness, I cry to Jesus for help. When my heart is overwhelmed by anger, jealousy or resentment, I ask the Blessed Mother for help. And they calm my stormy heart with peace.
But I found one thing to remember when I ask for help. It is that I am only asking for help, not dictating or ordering or controlling. I need to trust our Lord. I should follow his guidance and teaching. I am not in control of the crises. Jesus is in the control room.
There are too many things in our life that are beyond our control. That’s why we need to pray all the time. Masters of spiritual life are masters not in the sense that they can control everything in their hearts and their life, but in the sense that they know how to ask our Lord for help in every struggle.
Matthew 16
In many places of the four gospels, St Peter’s words meet corrections from Jesus. But today’s gospel passage is an exception. St Peter confesses his faith in Jesus by correctly identifying Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God” while other people called Jesus with all wrong names.
How does this happen? How did St Peter have this insight? Jesus gives an explanation, saying “For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.”
Then, my question is “how did God reveal this truth to St Peter?”
Before the Transfiguration, none of the four gospels nor tradition gives any hint that Peter received any vision or heard voices about the true identity of Jesus. Then, why did Jesus say God the Father revealed to Peter? Was there an episode of revelation that is not written in the gospels? Perhaps yes.
But when we review the context of this Peter’s confession, Jesus was asking what his disciples thought about him. Jesus was not checking or reminding of a previous event of revelation. He first asked what other people considered him. Then he asked who his disciples were regarding him. He was asking if they had any insight into his true identity. To this question, Peter told his thought. And Jesus confirmed Peter’s insight.
Then, how did Peter reach this truth? This is the mystery of faith and knowledge. Peter did not conclude by arguments or evidence or testimonies. His faith in Jesus, even if not perfect, shed light on the true identity of Jesus. That faith was not Peter’s work, but God’s gift. This is what Jesus meant by saying his Father in heaven had revealed to Peter. Faith, essentially God’s gift, brings us heavenly knowledge. As we all can testify, none of us merited faith by our efforts. And without this gift of faith, none of the knowledge of faith could be understood. We can boast of God for his work in us, but not of our faith or knowledge. If we can confess Jesus as our Lord, it is God’s generous gift.
2 Kings
I wonder if any priest began their journey of priesthood without knowing any priest. It is not impossible, but it is very unlikely a boy or a young man has an aspiration to the priesthood without actually seeing and hearing a priest at least. And I also wonder how many priests developed their vocations to the priesthood without any kind of relationship with other priests. It is also not impossible, but it will be a very difficult and lonely journey.
I saw many priests in my parish since I was very young. I did not have much opportunity to know most of them very well, but as an altar server and a lector, I had much time to see and hear them. As a young boy, to serve them at the altar and to see them from a close distance certainly affected me to have a dream of becoming one of them.
Later on, as a young man, I met a few priests who left me with impressions that made me seriously think about the priesthood. They did not suggest the priesthood. But, the relationships with them led me into the decision to enter the seminary.
I don’t exactly know why, but I always enjoyed friendships with priests as a boy and a young man. I welcomed those God’s servants, and I became one of them. I received the greatest gift in my life, the priesthood, just by welcoming priests in my life, not so much by asking for it.
The woman in the first reading of this Sunday who welcomed the prophet Elisha and provided a small house received a gift of a son without asking for a son. And, in the gospel, Jesus tells us we will receive a prophet’s reward if we welcome a prophet. When we welcome Jesus in our lives and our family, we will receive the reward of Jesus – life eternal. All we need is to welcome him and build a relationship with him.
Lamentations 2
Many Christians worry about the course of the Western civilization. Since the new millennium began, we have been witnessing much of social and regional unrest. Christians cannot also ignore the crisis of morality in Western societies. And when we read the biblical passages like today’s first reading, we fear if any impending God’s wrath is approaching us.
This week we have been reading historical passages from the Old Testaments, which describe and lament over the destruction and deportation of the people of Israel. These books were written and edited as the reflections on the Babylonian Exile. The authors and editors of these books were the religious leaders of the Jewish people. Thus, it is understandable they saw their tragedy in light of religion and interpreted their international struggles as God’s punishment of Israel’s unfaithfulness to him. Historians, economists, or anthropologists would look at this tragedy from different angles.
Nevertheless, I think we cannot ignore the truth that the corruption of faith and religion is reflected in the crisis of morality. This crisis of morality is not merely limited to sexuality as most often understood. Social, economic, and environmental justice are threatened as greed is not harnessed by sound moral practices. The lives of the unborn, the elderly, and the vulnerable and handicapped are discounted when we forget who gives us life. All these examples of moral digression are very closely related to religious teachings. So often we have to painfully see many Christians publicly act against faith and eventually lead people into demoralization and injustice. And when a society or a country is fragmented by immorality and injustice, it is only matter of time to disintegrate inside or to be demolished externally.
Today the book of Lamentations grieves over the unfaithful prophets of Israel who let people fall into falsity, unfaithfulness, and moral corruption. I admire many ordained clergy and lay people today who courageously warn people against their unfaithfulness to God. We need to listen to them. And we should also become one of them. Because, we, baptized, as his Mystical Body, all share the duty of the prophetic office of Christ.
Matthew 8
When Christians find themselves among non-Christians or non-believers, they feel certain pressure that they have to prove their religious legitimacy. Christian parents also sense the same demand from their teenage or adult children. We often face expectations to prove our faith by reasonable arguments and verifiable evidence.
In Today’s gospel, a leper approaches Jesus. Jesus was coming down from the mountain after having given the well-known sermon on the mount. I don’t know if this leper was at the mountain to listen to Jesus. If he had been there, he must have been quite far away from the crowd because lepers were segregated in Jewish society. Somehow, this leper concluded that if Jesus wanted, Jesus could cure him. When he decided to come up to Jesus, he did not beg Jesus to heal him. Interestingly, he said, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.”
Is this a rhetorical statement that indirectly presses Jesus to do an action? Is this leper testing Jesus for his divine power? I don’t think so. He was a leper. I don’t think he leisurely showed up before Jesus to see if this Jesus had some divine power. Day by day, his body was being deformed. Lepers would have been living with helplessness and despair, not to mention social and religious rejection and physical pains. When this leper started having hope in Jesus, even other lepers might have ridiculed him for his faith in Jesus. How could he prove his faith while he was rotting in his flesh? People would have questioned what benefit his faith in Jesus could bring him?
The leper’s faith made him know the divine and supernatural power of Jesus. And he wanted to tell this to Jesus. He did not attempt to prove his faith. Rather, he wanted to confess his faith. He entrusted himself to Jesus. It was up to Jesus whether to exercise his divine power of healing. And Jesus replied, “I do choose. Be made clean!”
We can hear the words of Jesus and act on them. But it is not in our power to prove the divine work. If God works on our demands, can we call him a Lord? If we could prove our faith with human language and verify it with experiments and tests, our faith wouldn’t be called super-natural any more. Faith is not irrational but super-natural. Faith can be understood but cannot be proven.
Matthew 7
Some politicians proudly distinguish their public life from their religious beliefs. They say their religious faith is limited within private life. Why do they separate their religious beliefs? They sound as if they are not controlled by their religions in public life and they make decisions for the public interests based on reason.
People who speak like this suppose religious beliefs are not rational or universal. But let us listen again to Jesus. Jesus says in today’s gospel, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.”
We have understood this parable in such a sense that we can be saved if we exercise the teaching of Jesus. This is a good understanding. However, when we look at this parable more closely, we discover something more.
The reason we can accept this parable is the rationality and universality of the parable. It is a reasonable act to build upon a firm foundation. Anyone who thinks builds on a firm foundation. This is true not only for Christians. All people build this way. Now, Jesus says acting upon his words is like building upon rock. Here, he tells us his words, if acted upon, can be proven real and formidable. It means his words, when acted upon, can build a reality that can survive various tests because they are real and good. He presents his words as the universal truth. His words are not only good for the Jews, but for all, because they are true. If we can go to heaven by acting upon the words of Jesus, it is not because we become merely his followers, but because what we act upon is truly good and good for all. In other words, we go to heaven, not just by saying ‘Lord, Lord!’ but by actually doing good things that conform to the words of Jesus. And these good things are not just religiously good, but good for all people. As the house on rock can survive storms and floods, these good works can survive tests for all people. It means the words of Jesus can be understood by human reason and can be acted upon by human reason and will for everyone’s benefit. Bearing one’s cross may sound too Christian or too religious, but there are so many non-Christians who chose to sacrifice themselves for bigger causes than their self-interests and survival. These non-Christians made those decisions, not by irrational or emotional urges but by reasoning. Anyone who can use reason can hear and act upon the words of Jesus. We act on the words of Jesus, not because Jesus said so, but because what he said are true and good, true and good for all.
Acts 13
One of the challenges modern Christianity has been struggling with is its historicity. In other words, many modern people including Christians see Christianity as a religion that developed from legends and fairy tales without historical facts. Ignorance, misunderstanding, and resentment of Judaism and Christianity have contributed to this modern problem. Especially, ignorance of the history of prophecy in the Old Testament let people imagine Christianity was suddenly created in the first century by a Jewish religious sector. But the truth is quite the opposite.
The Old Testament and the history of ancient Israel can be summarized as a series of promises God made to the people of Israel. That was how Israel people saw themselves and their history. A series of covenants were made between God and Israel. And these covenants accompanied promises. These promises repeated the liberation and salvation of Israel. As the reflection on these covenants and promises matured, Israel people waited for the saviour. The longing for the Anointed One, the Messiah, or the Christ had been heightened. Particularly, the miserable years of the Exile made this expectation of the Messiah very much pervasive among the Israelites. God sent many prophets to encourage and console Israel but also to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, the Christ, who would liberate all nations from sin and death.
At the end of these prophets, we meet St John the Baptist whom we celebrate his birthday today on June 24.
St John the Baptist was a prophet and herald of the Messiah. Unlike Jesus, the birth of the Baptist was very well known among the Jews. Since he was a newborn, unlike Jesus, he received much attention from all Jewish people. When he started proclaiming the coming of Christ, people could not turn deaf ears to his message. When he baptized at River Jordan, even Pharisees came to be baptized, who would crucify the Messiah in the end. At the baptism of Jesus, the Baptist became the witness to the voice of God. And he testified to Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah.
It is a historically absurd idea that Jesus or his followers created certain legendary tales to make their religion popular out of the thin air. The people of Israel were waiting and preparing for the coming of the Messiah for a long time. And the prophets of Israel constantly reminded them of this promise. Finally, John the Baptist, who was very well known among the Jews from his birth for his sanctity, prepared Israel for the immediate coming of the Christ. And he pointed out Jesus as the Christ. All Israel became witnesses. Jesus Christ was never an obscure figure that emerged from fairy tales. A historically well-known prophet testified to him as the Christ. This is why all four gospels write about John the Baptist to show Jesus as the Messiah. And this is one of the reasons the Church celebrates even the birthday of this herald of the Messiah.
Matthew 7
I believe many of us have heard this or something similar: “It’s Canada. People do whatever they want to do.” I was very surprised at a political leader who said a very similar thing as a reaction to a citizen’s words. I guess the politician spoke this in a jokingly manner to deflect a demand and criticism from a citizen. However, I did not expect this kind of remark or reaction from a political leader.
One time, a person told me a story that he had been drinking beer outside on the beach enjoying the sun and breeze at the English Bay in Vancouver. And a policeman approached him and told him that he could not drink alcohol open outside on the beach. Then, he retorted, “It’s Canada. I can do whatever I want.” Of course, he could not do what he wanted to do that day on the beach. But the person was still mad when he spoke to me and was thinking he was right. I was surprised.
Do you think we should be able to do whatever we want to do? Under the names of tolerance and inclusiveness, our society has been encouraging many devious behaviours. Practically speaking, our society has been preaching, “Do whatever you want” and “Be whatever you want to be.”
Is this the same as the saying of Jesus, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”? What Jesus says is this? ‘Just do whatever you like to do. I will do whatever I like to do. Then, both of us will be happy’? Some might agree, but I think they diametrically oppose each other. Jesus teaches us to think about others, to be considerate to others before ourselves. But this ‘Do whatever you want; I will do whatever I want’ is pushing my interest only but not actually caring about others.
I live with a cat in the rectory. Since I adopted her, I realized I also had to adjust myself to her while she was adjusting to a new home and to me. It is impossible to do whatever you want if you want to co-exist with others. It is a simple truth of life.
2 Kings 17
Many Christians wonder what would happen to the world experiencing so many changes everywhere. As for religion, the world is on the course of irreligionist. Especially against Christianity, Western societies have been campaigning demoralization over a century now. Family, work, and all social relationships are demanded of secularization, meaning no more Christian ways of living. It is not uncommon to face hostility to Christian faith even within Christian families. Watching all these dreadful changes, we fear for a certain disastrous future.
The first reading today summarizes a similar situation. The nation called out to be God’s people no longer had faith in the covenant with God. They served other gods of neighbouring nations and practiced their immoral customs. And Israel became just one of the nations in Palestine drawn into the vortex of international power struggles. From the invasion of the Assyrian Empire to the expansion of the Persian Empire, the fate of the people of Israel was in the hands of their conquers. Many of them were scattered and lost their ethnic and religious identity for good. Only a small remnant kept their faith in God. Ironically, through these miserable years, Israel realized their true identity as God’s chosen people. These years saw the final form of the Old Testament produced by Israel’s spiritual leaders. Because of this bitter experience, Israel could open its eyes to the Messiah.
I believe we will repeat the fate of the people of the old covenant, or we are already undergoing a similar course. Christians are God’s chosen people. But many of us have already accepted and have been practicing idolatry and immorality of the world. Many Christians have lost their Christian identity. They voluntarily gave up their citizenship of the kingdom of heaven. It should be no surprise if we face today systemic discrimination against faithful Christians. Probably, we won’t be able to change the current course of anti-Christianity and secularism. But what is important for us is this: we can still choose to be the remnant of hope. It is not a Christian concern to build a prosperous nation in this world. Our purpose in life is to reach the eternal kingdom. Then, there can be nothing to sadden our hearts amid all these confusions. We are just at another turn of our journey toward that kingdom.
Matthew 10
Probably most of you have not met me in the streets or grocery stores or any other malls. It’s not only because I don’t go out much but also because I often do not wear a clerical collar when I go to stores and malls. Do you think I do not wear a clerical because I want to avoid any hint of clericalism? I guess there was a time in our society when clergy were well treated. But these days many clergymen do not display their identity because they don’t want to be mistreated. I respect and admire my fellow priests who always choose to wear a clerical collar because they are willing to receive any negative reactions from the public. They rather fear any loss of God’s grace.
This Sunday, prophet Jeremiah laments over his time that so many people, even his friends oppose the one who stands up for the truth and God’s covenant. And, in the gospel, Jesus encourages the apostles not to fear anything or anybody but only God and to proclaim the truth and acknowledge him before people.
Nevertheless, it is I who become the biggest obstacle to proclaim the truth and Jesus to the world. It’s because I have not completely convinced of the truth and do not truly love Jesus. The reason why many social and moral evils perpetuate in our society is that I still practice those evils thinking they are beneficial to me. And because I do not love Jesus with my whole heart, I fail to testify to my Christian identity before people. Unless we Christians are convinced of the truth, how can we preach it? Unless I don’t want to purge all my vices and evil practices, how can I expect others to remove them?
Luke 2
Can you imagine how you would feel if your child were missing? It is a horrible feeling. When I was three or four years old, I left home to follow older boys to catch tadpoles without telling my mother. I still remember that day, that afternoon in the rice paddy. I still have the images of tadpoles and diving beetles in my memory. I do not know how exactly my mother found me there. She spent the whole afternoon asking everyone in the streets if they saw a little boy with a blue baseball cap which I wore that day. I don’t have any memory if she scolded me or not. We came home close to the evening. I believe it was a traumatic experience for a young mother to have her only child missing half a day.
How do you think our Father in heaven would feel if we are lost in sin? God the Father would do everything to search and rescue us from sin, as Jesus told in the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. He loves us and wants to live in us. This is why he sent his only begotten Son, Christ Jesus among us.
When we are lost in sin, our hearts are no longer in him. Our hearts are missing before his presence. We shut the door of our hearts to God our Father. We alienate ourselves from God. The work of Christ was to open our hearts and turn them toward God.
Today in the gospel, Jesus shows where we are to stay – it is the house of God the Father. This doesn’t mean we should spend day and night in a church building. It means to turn our hearts into a house of God so that he may dwell within us and we in him.
Our Blessed Virgin opened her heart to receive Christ Jesus. Christ lived in her womb and her heart. Her heart never turned away from God. Her heart was the perpetual home of Christ. When she found her Son in the temple of God, this finding also means she found God the Son in her heart.
My brothers and sisters, where is your heart? Is it with our God? Is it a dwelling place of God? Our Lord is still looking for us. Let us open our doors to him. As the Blessed Virgin did, let the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwell within our hearts.
Matthew 11
I believe most of us agree that the man lives for happiness. We make daily decisions for happiness, though unconsciously. People make very different decisions because what makes them happy is not always the same. Nevertheless, there are also many things people commonly pursue happiness – success, wealth, health, fame, power, etc. The trouble is, these promising goals for happiness often become the sources of misery.
If happiness were to be determined by external goals, only a small portion of humanity would enjoy happiness, because these goals suppose competition. When people are obsessed with those external goals, they practically become the slaves of their goals. Will there be an end to these pursuits for the external goals of happiness? I don’t have a billionaire friend to ask this question. But it seems there are not many billionaires who stop desiring for more.
Jesus declares today that he is gentle and humble in heart. He says this is why he can give us rest – especially to those who are weary and carry heavy burdens. He does not promise he will fulfill our goals on behalf of us. He does not promise us we can accomplish our goals if we come to him. What he suggests to us is to become like him – gentle and humble in heart. That is his yoke and his burden. He invites us to change our greedy and lustful hearts with his gentle and humble heart.
Happiness does not come from external achievement. Happy people are already happy with life because their hearts are gentle and humble. What God has already given are enough to make us happy – nature, our families, our daily bread. When our hearts are like Jesus’, we rather give thanks to God than ask for something better.
On this solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, let us see if our hearts resemble the heart of Jesus. We can choose our hearts full of desires and ambitions but empty of happiness. Or we can choose our heart full of thanksgiving and joy but empty of self-pity.
Unload all desires from your heart and walk up to our Lord with the empty heart. And take his yoke upon your heart – that gentleness and humility. And he will give you rest, and you will find true happiness in your heart.
Matthew 6
Many Christians wonder what plans God has for them. We want to know God’s will for our life. Mainly through meditation and prayer, we try to listen to God’s voice. Have you been successful? I wish I could hear God’s voice and know his will. This question of God’s will is not theological or religious but more existential and personal. It’s because it is about the life decisions of our own.
But certain private revelation does not come easily. An angel does not appear. Any voice from heaven does not resound in my ears. No sign is given.
Today Jesus teaches us Our Father prayer. In this prayer, we are also told to pray, “Thy will be done.” But what is ‘Thy will’? How do I know? Do we have to pray while not knowing any of it?
Often, we miss the greatest revelation while we wait for private revelations for ourselves. It is Christ Jesus. He is the revelation of God the Father. Christ Jesus knows the will of the Father in the full sense because he is the one who is completely united with the Father. He says what he hears his Father. This is why he is called the Truth. What he teaches is God’s will. That is the revelation.
If you’re still looking for God’s will for your life, please read the Bible. The Bible is not merely a collection of stories. It is the revelation of God’s will for each of us. Especially the words of Christ are the direct revelation of the Father’s will. His words are not about do’s and don’ts. His words reveal God the Father’s will for our life. We want to read them for our personal decisions in life.
This revelation of God the Father’s will, Christ Jesus, will lead us into the union with Christ and God the Father. That means we become like the Son of God in making decisions for life. It is not so much of modern-day self-realization but more of humble assimilation to Christ.
We don’t have to wait for more revelation of God’s will. Already, the revelation himself is waiting for us to listen to his words.
Matthew 6
As we hear today’s gospel, in ancient Israel, it was accepted and even praised to express one’s religious faith in public. What Jesus admonishes here is that we want to express our faith with a genuine heart towards God and neighbours. Because it was socially acceptable to express one’s faith in public, there was a danger to display one’s faith outwardly to attract others’ attention. What about our times? It feels socially awkward to show one’s faith in public. In fact, we are pressured not to exhibit religious signs and expressions in the public sphere. Thus, there is hardly any like those ‘hypocrites’ Jesus reproaches in our streets or our church. Rather, those who courageously express faith are martyrs in our times. Then, these words of Jesus are not relevant any longer?
Still, we are in danger of practising our faith without a genuine heart of love. In our times, I think, we, especially Catholics, face the danger of the mechanical practice of piety.
Many of us gladly donate to the poor. But have I ever tried to look into their troubles and hardships? Have I ever walked together with a homeless and bought lunch? I can simply tap my credit card to donate two dollars but I don’t have to spend any time in sharing with those in difficulties. I can set up an automatic withdrawal for a monthly donation and forget about the poor. The tax receipt at the end of the year is the only reminder with which I can say to myself I am helping others.
Although I still pray the Rosary, I often find myself just moving my lips to recite without actual meditation on the mysteries. I recite prayers with lips but I do not speak to Jesus with my heart.
How many times did I check my watch to know if I could still eat something before Holy Communion? I always find it is much easier to skip a meal to lose weight or for my health than to fast for mortification or Jesus. Where is my heart? We easily fast or abstain from food for our benefit. But we have to have a timer to fast just an hour before the Mass.
Our Lord looks for our hearts and faith, not the amounts of donation, the number of decades of the Rosary, or the accuracy of the Eucharistic fast. He wants our humble and contrite hearts more than sacrifices of holocausts.
Matthew 5
Some people exercise favouritism thinking it is love. It is not favouritism if I do everyone a favour. Favouritism picks up only particular people and gives them alone benefits. Here, the question is how favouritism selects those who receive benefits. Mostly, favouritism chooses according to its personal taste. Or, favours are given in return to favours received. The problem of favouritism is that those not chosen feel unfair because favouritism is not based on reason.
Now, the flipside of favouritism is discrimination. Most often, discrimination is not also exercised based on reason. It operates mostly on prejudice. A prejudice is disfavour or dislike for certain people according to one’s personal taste and ideas. Like favouritism, discrimination leaves people very much upset. Why? Because there is no true and sound reason for discrimination.
Our world suffers much from favouritism and discrimination. Nevertheless, those who practice favouritism or discrimination think they love. But this is not what Jesus calls love. The love Jesus preaches calls for impartiality and sound reasoning. And this love demands to overcome one’s personal liking. Furthermore, this love urges us to abandon our instinct for survival and victory, for our enemies are often our competitors and contenders.
This love Jesus encourages us to exercise in today’s gospel begins at justice for all people against favouritism and discrimination. But it develops into unselfish, altruistic benevolence to all people. Through this love, we empty ourselves by abandoning our interests and even survival. This is what Jesus did on the crucifix – to give his life not only to saints but also to sinners. Once again, we encounter the crucifix. It is the symbol and reality of love, the perfect love of God.
Matthew 5
More than ever, we hear the word ‘justice’ so often these days. Voices for justice resonate in our society louder than ever. But this is very surprising when we realize the Western societies have developed extremely complex and sophisticated legal processes to protect justice. Law is a profession so highly specialized for different fields. Not only lawyers but many professions are directly involved in our legal system. So, we call this a justice system. Interestingly, this name, ‘justice system,’ implies it is not simple and easy to protect justice. Although we have a vast array of laws in our society, so many people are not happy with our justice system.
‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ This ancient law may sound primitive and unsophisticated. But often I feel that our justice system and our legal professionals fail to provide and protect justice as much as this primitive rule may have done. Everyone demands justice but no one is satisfied.
I wonder if a man can ever be a perfect judge to himself, not to mention to other people. Until I become a perfectly just judge to myself, I won’t be able to provide or protect justice for others. But unfortunately, I always find myself making decisions favourable to myself. It feels fairer to follow the ancient law of retaliation than to follow all kinds of my rationalizations and arguments.
Today Jesus tells us to exercise charity instead of demanding justice. I will not discuss if this new law of charity is superior to the old law of justice. But I find this: I can exercise this new law of charity without a sophisticated system or a complex argument or an expensive professional consultation. No matter how much it is given, charity always satisfies people. Charity always works. Nobody refuses freebies! In contrast, no matter how much we try, we never fully satisfy anyone with justice. Do you know why? I believe it’s because love and charity are always divine, but human justice, not always. In other words, the power of God always works but not all human efforts work. I might have to pay thousands of dollars to an attorney to get my justice only to a limited degree. But even a small child can exercise love and charity that can move and change adults. I think Jesus gave this new law of charity because it is indeed more practical.
My entire assets won’t be enough to get me justice, but my five-dollar bill would be sufficient to ease the hunger of a person in need.
John 6
This Sunday, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, traditionally called Corpus Christi, Jesus proclaims that it is necessary to eat the flesh and drink the blood of his own to receive eternal life. Most Catholics will have no question about this. But some may ask about those who did not know about Christ Jesus. They did not have a chance to receive the body and blood of Christ? Even St Joseph the foster father of Christ didn’t seem to have that opportunity. We all know this body and blood of Christ is not an actual body part and fluid of Jesus as Jesus himself instituted with bread and wine. We all know this is called the sacrament of the Eucharist. God brings his grace and salvation through the sacraments to the man. But the sacraments cannot bind God within themselves for his mercy and generosity. Although it is only through Christ Jesus through whom all humanity is saved, Christ Jesus is not also bound by the seven sacraments he has instituted. Beyond our imagination, Christ Jesus must have many ways to give those people who did not hear about him opportunities for eternal life.
But what about St Joseph? His case is not yet resolved. He knew very well Christ Jesus but seemed to have passed away before the sacraments were instituted. Or what about those catechumens under persecutions who were executed even before their baptism? They heard the gospel and accepted it but could not receive any sacrament before their death.
These holy people without having received the sacraments had the desire to be united with Christ Jesus. Their desire or disposition is enough for salvation, the Church has been teaching. The Church designates a special term for these people – the baptism of desire or the baptism of blood in the case of those martyred before baptism. St Joseph surely wanted to be united with his foster son in body and mind and heart. We see how faithfully he followed the voice of God’s messengers. He probably never received any sacrament but this non-baptized Christian is the patron saint of Canada.
Here we have to stop and reflect on the desire or disposition of our heart for the union with Christ Jesus and the sacraments. As we have discussed, the desire for the sacraments is the key to the proper effects of the sacraments. Judas Iscariot received the body and blood of Christ at the institution of the sacrament. What an honour to have the opportunity to receive Christ at the first celebration of the Eucharist! St John’s gospel writes that Jesus himself gave a morsel to Judas. But immediately after he received it, he went out to betray, hand Christ over to the hands of the Jews. Did Judas have the desire for salvation or the union with Christ?
For Catholics, the reception of Holy Communion is so critical. But all of us approach Christ with the same desire and disposition? If we all desire to be united in Christ, how are there so many divisions among us? Then the Eucharist is a sign of contradiction, not a symbol of the unity of Christ’s mystical body. If I desire Christ while despising other Christian brothers and sisters, isn’t it just a selfish aspiration to win a title of victory? How can I walk up to Christ with a heart infested with greed, lust, envy, or hatred? Wouldn’t it offend Christ more seriously than to stay away from him? Let us examine our hearts – let us see what we desire.
Matthew 5
A judge or jurors in a secular court in most modern countries come to a conclusion based on evidence. But testimonies of experts or witnesses may influence the judgment. Arguments of attorneys also affect the judge or the jurors. But it is not uncommon to see wrong judgments are made in the court system. Plaintiffs and defendants can present strong cases while hiding truths. Judges and jurors can have prejudices and can be deceived. As we see in many court movies and dramas and also in real cases, it matters more to have a better lawyer than to reveal truths to receive a satisfactory judgment. Often truths never come to light. Or truths do not receive fair treatments under legal technicalities.
It is very different before God and his court. It’s because he pierces the deepest part of our hearts. He discerns our intentions much better than we do. We cannot justify good outcomes with wrongful intentions. But God also watches all our deeds. We cannot rationalize our good intentions when we adopt secret evil means under his watch. We might hire many renowned scholars in theology to make arguments for what we have decided and done. But I am not sure if it is useful to argue before the all-knowing, all-mighty God.
“Let your word be ‘Yes,’ if ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, if ‘No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.”
This word of Jesus might sound inflexible or authoritarian. But before God, who knows our hearts better than we, we don’t have to explain much. He urges us to be conscious of the presence of God in our hearts. Jesus asks us to be truthful to our conscience where we encounter the voice of God. Conscience is not a court of argument or defence. It is a place to meet our Lord. Let us listen to his voice in our conscience. And say ‘Yes’ to good, and say ‘No’ to evil.
Matthew 5
It is not uncommon to hear “Don’t judge me!” in daily conversations. It seems we have declared a moratorium on moral judgment in our times. Drawing a line between right and wrong became outdated in our society. Even those seemingly moral judgments are very often made on emotions or popular sentiments. ‘Likes’ and ‘dislikes’ determine good or bad. Unfortunately, our emotional reactions and popular sentiments are often manipulated by commercial interests and political schemes, mainly through media.
Many Christians will not agree simply to follow this trend in the world. Instead, Christians say, “God will understand our good hearts.” We hear “God is merciful and loving,” “He understands our frailty and weakness,” “God forgives all and everything.” Instead of declaring themselves a moratorium on moral judgment, many modern Christians seem to have made God declare a moratorium on moral judgment and told him to shut the gate of hell. Isn’t it a brilliant way? We don’t have to be responsible for moral judgment anymore, because God accepts everyone and anyone.
But Jesus in today’s gospel seems very harsh and judgmental. And he mentions the forbidden word in modern Christianity ‘hell’ twice in a short paragraph. It is true he does not ask us to judge others. But he tells us to discern our hearts with a very strict standard. Before asking God to understand our ‘good hearts’, he tells us to change our hearts. Before asking God to accept our sins as our whole human existence, Jesus tells us to excise them out of our life.
Many saints had visions of hell. It is not a metaphor. And as St Faustina tells us, many who denied hell end up there. We can fool others. We can fool ourselves even. But we cannot fool God. Let us discern our hearts. Let us judge our own hearts. And let us change our hearts according to the heart of Jesus.
Matthew 10
Do you find anything missing in the instructions for the twelve apostles when Jesus sent them out as we heard in today’s gospel? For modern Christians, this way of missionary plan and instruction may look involving too much risk – because these instructions of Jesus ignore financial planning. On the opposite, Jesus tells the apostles not to bring money or spare gears. In modern Christianity, fundraising is so essential, isn’t it? Perhaps Jesus didn’t have to pay attention to this critical aspect of church life, because he could feed thousands of people at any time with his divine power. But we can’t! We need money to do anything in the church! Jesus has divine power, but we need the power of money!
Everything is tarnished when it contacts money. The arts, literature, science, social activism, and all other spiritual activities are disgraced and even degraded when they are influenced or controlled by money. But most of all, when religion is wedded to money, it is not merely tainted but unfortunately deformed. When we rely on the power of money, we no longer worship God. And when we no longer worship God, we lose our identity as Christians. I don’t know what I have to call this lost identity.
Jesus knew the danger and threat of money better than anybody. That’s why he clearly instructed his apostle not to depend on money or material goods in their ministry. Jesus didn’t tell them not to eat or rest. But the apostles had to learn to trust God for these necessities. This is what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us our daily bread.” Jesus promised the Father in heaven would give us what is necessary for us. But he told us to look for heavenly things first.
This is a great challenge to me: to trust God only and not to be bound by financial security in ministry. Jesus might be a poor financier, but he is still God.
Matthew 5
Modern Christians tend to focus only on the New Testament. Or, they tend to disregard the Old Testament. Especially, those who highlight Jesus as a reformer or a revolutionary strongly suggest we should not be bound by the Old Testament. For them, the Old Testament represents Judaism and the New Testament, Christianity; the Old Testament is applied to Jewish people and the New Testament to Christians beyond the racial boundary of the Jews. For them, St Paul is the trailblazer for the ministry of the Gentiles and a model reformer.
At first glance, this perspective looks true. Jesus often broke the sabbatical law – he caused many miraculous healings on the Sabbath, which was the day of complete rest for the Jews. His disciples did not keep the purity law – they ate without washing their hands first. Jesus did not agree to condemn and stone an adulterous woman. He seems a progressive and revolutionary who disregards the law and the prophets. Really?
It is not to mention that Jesus emphasized keeping the law and the prophets in the gospels as we heard in today’s gospel. As a matter of fact, Jesus made it stricter to keep the spirit of the law and the prophets – remember what he told about the eyes and hands that lead us into sins.
But the true importance of the Old Testament lies in the series of God’s promise of man’s salvation. From Adam, through Abraham and Moses and David and the prophets, God constantly offered the promise of salvation – the promise of the Saviour. In other words, the Old Testament was written for the coming of the Saviour, the Christ. The Old Testament is not just old regulations or ritual directives. As the name implies, it is a covenant. And this covenant is a promise for the advent of salvation. The Old Testament is not about Moses and David but the coming Messiah.
On the day of the resurrection, risen Jesus appeared to two disciples who were on the way to Emmaus. They did not recognize him right away. But Jesus opened the scriptures to them and interpreted how the law and the prophets had prepared for himself. The scriptures, the Old Testament holds the key to understanding Christ Jesus.
Today when Jesus said, “not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished,” he was telling that the Old Testament’s promise would be realized in him, rather than that the individual laws had to be kept.
Therefore, to disregard the Old Testament as outdated customs and regulations will bring a significant misunderstanding of Jesus. I wish more Catholics read and study the Old Testament so that we may understand Jesus much better.
1 Kings 17
Today we hear another intriguing episode of prophet Elijah. Under a severe famine, God sent his prophet to a foreign woman of Sidon to feed him. Sidon was infamous for its idolatry. And it is the homeland of Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife, from whom Elijah was running away. Why did God send his prophet there to be supported by an idol worshipper?
Now, here is another strange thing. Elijah asks this woman to cook for him first while all she had was barely enough for her and her son to eat. Why did the prophet ask her to cook for him first?
This foreign woman had to decide – whether to ignore the prophet’s request or to believe the word of the prophet who had told her, “Do not be afraid…For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”
This story might have already reminded you of the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in St John’s gospel. There is a parallel between these two stories. In both stories, foreign women (Sidonian and Samaritan) encounter the divine presence – Elijah and Jesus. Elijah and Jesus ask for something first from these women –Elijah asks for drink and food and Jesus, water. Both women encounter wonders of God and slowly develop trust and faith in God – the Sidonian woman finds her jars of food never failing; the Samaritan woman finds Jesus telling her true past. Both women experience God as the source of life. God turned the last meal of the Sidonian woman into a never-failing source of food. Through offering a cup of water, the Samaritan woman encounters the life-giving water, the Son of God. Both women finally recognize the God of Israel as true God.
Our Lord is hungry and thirsty for faith – of all peoples. That’s why his prophets and even his Son were sent out and sought our faith. But often God asks for our small offerings to see if we trust him. But what we receive in the end cannot be even compared with what we offer. God is a cheerful giver. God is a generous Father who gives us the best he has.
1 Kings 17
The first book of Kings spends many pages for the reign of King Ahab in the northern kingdom of Israel. His long twenty-two years of reign coincided with the time of prophet Elijah. King Ahab was a wicked man, but his wife Queen Jezebel added notoriety to his infamous reputation. He worshipped his Sidonian wife’s foreign idols and even sacrificed two of his sons for the success of his building projects. Of course, we all know well how his wife and he conspired the murder of Naboth to take Naboth’s field.
Against this wicked king, Elijah delivered the message of warning and punishment from God, as we heard in the reading today. And he had to flee and hide from Ahab. God instructed him to go to the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan River. God says to Elijah, “You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” And Elijah survived as God had instructed.
This brook or wadi Cherith is thought to be in modern-day Jordan. You might guess it is a wonderful garden where a peaceful creek is flowing and many fruit trees are flourishing. No, not at all. It’s in a very rugged and wild valley. And the water can be dried up in the summer. It is a good place to hide but a very hard place to survive without water and food supply.
Why did God lead Elijah, his prophet, to this harsh environment? Was he not able to bring his prophet to a better place? Was he not able to feed his prophet with much richer food and cold water from a deep well?
When Elijah heard the instruction of God, he probably had to have total trust in him. He had to hide in God rather than in a secure and safe place on earth.
Often, I am tempted to expect protection, compensation and reward for ministry – green pastures and still waters here on earth. But today Elijah reminds me that the green pastures and still waters are only in God.
John 3
All the living things eventually die or can be killed at any time. It is sad but true. But we feel here contradiction. Why do we live if we all die? Life itself does not imply death. Looking at a baby, we can’t think of death. Full of life, literally. But as we see in these days during the pandemic, life lives with death, life borders death. There is no grey zone between them.
But not all living enjoys the same life. Many people live death while living. When we live a life of despair, it is not real life. It can be worse than death. People living with emptiness and meaninglessness also experience death. And those people who ‘consume’ their life with addictions realize they prolong their life rather than live their life. People who burn with envy and hatred live through death. You might add some more to this list of living dead.
However, the worst of all in this list would be those who are spiritually dead. They may be satisfied with their life. They may look successful and happy. But those who do not ask the meaning of life, those who never reflect on their life, those who never seek God, and those who heard the Gospel but never paid attention to it are the living dead. They are the worst because they are not even conscious of their life or their death. They don’t even notice they are dead.
These are the ones Jesus calls ‘condemned’ in this Sunday gospel. No one condemns them, nor does the Son of God condemns them.
Jesus came to earth to save us. But this salvation does not come only after we die. Salvation begins in this life on earth. For salvation begins at living one’s life meaningfully in Christ. If you are in despair, emptiness, meaninglessness, addiction, envy, or hatred, you need Jesus, because only he can give the true meaning of life. If someone never asks about the question of life or death, we should wake them up from their condemnation. If someone pushes Jesus away, we need to pray for them so that they may be freed from Satan’s grip.
Jesus wants us to live. That’s why he came to us. That’s why he gave his Spirit to us. He wants to dwell in us with His Father. Brothers and sisters, remember God is life. Avoid death. Jesus wants to raise us to life. Let us live life. Let the salvation of the Lord begin in our life.
2 Timothy 4
Pastors are constantly tempted to please their flock. This happens not because they love to make their parishioners pleased and satisfied. It happens because they learn over time it is much easier than to be faithful to bring the true teaching of Christ. St Paul urges me: “proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching.” St Paul knew how difficult teaching the Gospel was. And it demands courage and patience. If you have ever tried to convince, rebuke, and encourage one of your families or friends to walk the way of Christ, you would know what it is like. Many pastors become complaisant after much frustration. Jaded and disappointed, pastors seek their own comfort.
As St Paul had already gone through and foretold us, people refuse the sound teaching of the Church and seek those who would speak easy words to their ears. How accurate St Paul is to describe our times: “For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths.”
Since the last century, so much of the relaxation of disciplines settled in our faith life. But not only the disciplines but also the understanding of faith and moral has been much ‘modernized’. Was this a result of a search for Christ? Was this an outcome of a better understanding of the Gospel? Was this an effect of the spiritual renewal of Christian life?
St Paul admonishes me to be sober, to endure suffering, to do the work of an evangelist, and to carry out my ministry fully. He asks me a lot. Please pray for your pastors so that they may also be able to say like St Paul when they are close to their departure from this world: “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 3
In our country, we never had religious persecution, although we have martyrs. There has been no organized, systematic attempt to destroy the Church in this land. So, when we hear St Paul say, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”, we might feel his words are no longer relevant to us. However, it is also true that Christians in this country feel unwelcome, especially in the public sphere. Christianity is fine in private, but not in public. But other religions are often encouraged to express their identity in public. Why is that?
There is a historical background that Christian authorities in the past did not show exemplary leadership. People experienced authoritarian attitudes of the leaders. These leaders were more rulers and governors than shepherds.
However, this does not explain all. Particularly, the quoted words of St Paul cannot be explained, because our historical background only explains an ‘ungodly’ life may lead to an unwelcoming atmosphere to Christians. Are St Paul’s words totally irrelevant or untrue?
I think that, fundamentally, our corrupted humanity has resistance to the calling to sanctity and holiness. Not only non-believers but also believers cannot but carry this tendency from birth to death. Whenever I hear the Gospel, I feel certain resistance in my heart that opposes the Way of Christ. At the same time, I feel excited and thrilled at selfish or unholy ideas. I have to admit this evil tendency in me, even if I don’t like it. Before any public persecution, it is more likely that I refuse and reject the Gospel, at least, interiorly. The world likes to ridicule holiness. We often speak and act as if holiness is impossible. When the Gospel is proclaimed and preached, the world is agitated and irritated, while it gladly embraces immoral and corrupt ideas and lifestyles.
When I try to live a godly life, first, I face myself as an opponent. Before the world persecutes me, I persecute myself. Before the world persecutes the Church, Christians persecute themselves.
St Paul’s words still hold true, “Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
2 Timothy 2
All the measures we take during this pandemic strive for life. Against this real threat of life, our sense of survival has been ever heightened up. On the flip side of the sense of survival is our awareness of death. We are not so focused on the number of pandemic survivors but the number of deaths. It is death that makes us alert this time.
But Christians have a quite different sense of life and death. If a person wants to be called Christian, he must die to himself in Christ at baptism. He has to give up his previous life. Then, he is raised with Christ. The life he receives at baptism is no longer a life that belongs to this world. It is a new life, but not for this world. Then, what about the death at the end of the life on earth? For Christians, death on earth is a moment of transition. It is not an end but only a change. On earth, Christians strive for the completion of the life they received at baptism. And they hope the completion may occur at their death so that they may enter into the heavenly inheritance forever.
Therefore, for Christians, nothing on earth is meaningful if it is bound only for this world. But everything can be meaningful if it helps them to attain the heavenly goal.
Then, I should ask myself if I live up to the name of Christian. “Why do I take all these precautious measures to prevent infection?”
For us Christians, this life is already dead; death will be our door to true life.
“If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he will also deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.”
Mark 12
For most of us, the serial marriage we heard in the gospel will sound strange. This Jewish custom was developed to protect and save widows without any children. Children here mean boys who can carry the name of the family. In other words, only male children had the right to the family inheritance. In ancient Israel, A widow without a male child had no right to her husband’s properties. Thus, when a widow without a male child marries her dead husband’s brother, she could be socially and economically protected.
But St Paul gives different advice to the Christians in Corinth. He writes, “…in my judgment, she is happier if she remains as she is.” Of course, it should be noted that St Paul was writing to non-Jewish Christians who were in very different social environments for women. However, St Paul didn’t give this advice because Corinthian widows could easily survive without husbands or children. He says to the Corinthians, “I mean, brethren, the appointed time has grown very short.” This appointed time means the judgement day or the second coming of Christ. For St Paul, this life is short and passing, and we are soon to face the judgment and its eternal destiny. He continues, “from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the form of this world is passing away.”
In a way, St Paul admonishes us that we should start the future form of life here on earth. This is what Jesus tells us in today’s gospel – there will be no marriage in the resurrection. Marriage symbolizes all the efforts for survival in this life and the world. No need for marriage implies the liberation from finiteness, i.e. living forever.
Many Christians have been inspired by Jesus’ words in today's gospel for the ideal form of life and took the advice of St Paul seriously. Clergy and the religious communities have practiced celibacy as the sign of heavenly reality. But they also live poverty, a life without possession. Furthermore, as spiritual poverty, they take a vow of obedience to their superiors. By chastity, poverty, and obedience, they die to themselves but live in the Lord.
In the same letter to the Corinthians, St Paul makes it clear that we can marry and marry again, saying “If the husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes.” But those who have realized the shortness of this life and desire eternal life may also begin heavenly life here on earth.
Mark 12
We all probably know by heart, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” But we often forget to continue, “and to God what belongs to God.” Of course, in the passage from St Mark we heard in today’s gospel, that first part, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” turns the trap of the Pharisees and the Herodians completely useless. But I believe what is meaningfully mandated to Christians is the latter part, “Give back to God what belongs to God,” since we already faithfully pay taxes every time we buy things and whenever we make income.
Then, the question is what belongs to God. Isn’t there anything in the world that does not belong to God? Except for our sins and their consequences, everything in the world is created by God. And, how can we return all these things to God? How do we give back our life to him? Isn’t that beyond our power?
It is true we might have to die if we have to give what belongs to God. But this is not only unreasonable but also against the will of God the Creator, for God told Adam to be prosperous in the world he created out of his love. How do we give back to God what belongs to God?
This is one of the reasons we have religion. The Angelic Doctor, St Thomas Aquinas, a doctor of the Church, teaches that religion is a virtue of justice. In other words, we pay to God our due through religion. As his creation, we are indebted for our being and for all things we enjoy in this life to our God. We received all we have, including our life itself. Then, we should offer something back to him. What is it? It is our thanksgiving and homage to him. Then we see how fitting the name of Sunday worship is – the Eucharist, meaning thanksgiving.
True thanksgiving does not come from superficial gratitude to a pleasing gift. Profound thanksgiving only comes when we realize our humble existence and God’s overwhelming generosity over our unworthiness and sinfulness. This leads us into the sorrow of our sins, that is, true contrition. This is what God wants: he says “I don’t want sacrifices of bulls but a humble and contrite heart.” Only this humble and contrite heart can give true thanksgiving to God. And this true thanksgiving is our due to God our Creator. This is the virtue of religion, justice to our Creator. Let us give to God what belongs to God. Let us give him thanks with our humble and contrite hearts.
John 19
Today, we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. This title, Mother of the Church, is nothing new to the Catholic faithful. Since the time of the Church Fathers, the Church has been teaching Mary is the mother of all the members of Christ. But this obligatory memorial is designated very recently in 2018. We celebrate this memorial on the Monday after Pentecost.
I like to turn your attention to where she became our mother. Traditionally, the Church has quoted St. John’s gospel passage we just heard in today’s gospel. It was under the Crucifix of Christ Jesus, the tree of life. In the meantime, the first reading today from the book of Genesis shows how the mother of all living, Eve, fell into the first sin. It was also under a tree where this first woman, Eve, the mother of all living, brought death to all living. Isn’t that so intriguing?
These two women were under trees but under two different trees. One woman was under the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The other one was under the tree of the Crucifix. The former tree’s fruit looked “good for food” and was “a delight to the eyes”. In contrast, the latter tree was deadwood and its fruit, Christ Jesus, was so painful to look at. But what those two trees brought to the human race were opposite to their appearances. The former tree brought death. The latter brought life.
We know there was also a tree of life in the Garden of Eden. I wonder why Eve was not around the tree of life. We don’t have any description of the tree of life in the book of Genesis. But I believe its fruit was not as attractive as the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. I believe its fruit rather demanded discipline, obedience, sacrifice, and suffering. It was, I believe, the same tree under which the Blessed Virgin Mary was.
The Blessed Virgin lost her only Son on the tree of the Crucifix. She offered the life of her Son on the tree. And watching her Son dying, she died, too, in her spirit. Imagine a mother watching her only child dying in crucifixion – the most shameful and painful death – being naked and suffocated under one’s weight.
However, Under the tree of the crucifix, she received new children, symbolized by John. She gained all members of Christ as her children. How fruitful of the deadwood of the Cross is! Mary took the most suffering fruit of the tree of the Cross. She died with her son under the tree. However, she became more fertile than any other woman. She became the mother of all faithful, who are promised of life eternal, not like those children of Eve who had to die.
Acts 2
All of us have heard what happened to the apostles when they received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. As the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak. But each spoke a different foreign language. Now, God-fearing foreigners living in Jerusalem at that time heard them and understood them in their own languages. The apostles spoke all kinds of languages but delivered the one and the same message of the Gospel of Christ.
I wonder if you tried to look up the readings of the vigil Mass of today’s Solemnity. It tells us about the story of the Babel Tower. Very interestingly, the Old Testament explains how there came so many different languages all over the world. And also, it tells us why there are many people scattered all over the earth. In the beginning, there was only one language for the whole human race. But, as they developed civilizations, somehow, they wanted to build a town and a tower with its top reaching heaven. At this attempt, God was very displeased and he confused their language and scattered them all over the world.
These two passages are in stark contrast. In the Old Testament, people were scattered all over the earth with the confusion of their common language. Now in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit gathers all peoples by their different languages into the same Gospel.
What does the Bible teach us here?
When the ancient people decided to build the town and tower of Babel, cried out: “Let us make a name for ourselves, so that we may not be scattered about the whole earth.” The word, ‘name’ in the Bible does not mean a mere label or title for something. It often means ‘nature’, ‘power’, ‘glory’, and ‘authority’ as we see when we make the sign of the cross – “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” When the ancient people shouted that they wanted to make a name for themselves, this was a declaration of self-worship or idolatry of humanity. In other words, those men wanted to become their own heaven by building their tower reaching heaven. Their conceit and arrogance dishonoured God. They played God. But their own glory brought disasters upon themselves. Although the Old Testament describes God scattered men out of concerns, we know their pride brought the disintegration and destruction of their own civilization. As we experienced through history, when the man was at the height of his self-worship and playing God, he brings social disintegration and wars. People distrust and hate one another and are scattered.
What was the first command of Jesus when he breathed his Spirit into his apostles as we heard from the gospel today? He told them to forgive. The Holy Spirit gives the power and courage of forgiveness. And forgiveness brings people together. It gathers rather than scatters. This is demonstrated in the Pentecost event by bringing all peoples of different tongues. The true language of the Holy Spirit is humility. Humility speaks forgiveness and healing. Humility gathers people through the language of forgiveness and healing. This is how the Holy Spirit creates unity among men and between God and men as he creates the perfect unity among the Trinity. The Holy Spirit breaks down the tower of Babel – the symbol of human pride. He builds up the community through the power of humility and forgiveness.
Acts 28
Today, Saturday of the 7th Week of Easter, we read both endings of the Acts of the Apostles and St. John’s gospel, as we come close to the end of the Easter season. Tomorrow, Pentecost finishes the Easter season, and, then, we resume the Ordinary Time.
As we heard in the reading, the Acts of the Apostles does not tell us what happened eventually to St Paul in Rome. This ending almost seems truncated. The writer, St Luke, does not give us anything about St Paul’s martyrdom. What about St Peter? Did you notice that from a certain point in the Acts of the Apostles St Peter completely disappeared? After the Jerusalem council about the circumcision of the Gentiles, we don’t hear anything about St Peter. You may feel it is strange that St Luke does not mention the deaths of these two pillars of the Church.
The ending of St John’s gospel also sounds unfinished. Although there is a very brief epilogue, the ending is rather non-climatic. There is no catharsis. Simon Peter asks how the beloved disciple would die, and Jesus admonishes him. Instead of answering, Jesus says to St Peter, “Follow me!” It seems another beginning just like when Jesus called Peter to follow him when Jesus began his public ministry.
Perhaps we are so used to Hollywood movies. We expect story endings to give us answers. Almost indifferently, the Acts of the Apostles describes the continuation of St Paul’s evangelization during his house-rest. St Luke does not give a hint of what happened at the end of the two years of St Paul’s house-arrest. St Paul kept preaching Christ. At the end of St John’s gospel, once again St Peter follows Jesus.
I feel these endings realistic. Our life does not end until the end comes to us. There is always something coming up. When we think one thing is resolved, another problem arises. Our life is not a Hollywood story.
But more importantly, St Luke and St John imply that whatever we see in this life and this world cannot be the end or final – even death itself. They silently teach that we will know the true endings only at the resurrection of the dead. Until then, we continue to work for the glory of God. Until then, we can pray even for those who are already dead!
Saints lived for the Gospel. And saints died for the Gospel. This is why there are no Hollywood endings in the gospels. We cannot stop preaching Christ. For Christ are yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
John 21
Probably you have heard an explanation of why Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. It’s because Peter denied Jesus three times as Jesus had warned him on the night of the Last Supper. And some of you might have heard why Jesus asked Peter first twice with the verb of ‘agape-love’ and then last time with the verb of ‘philein-love’. Here Greek ‘agape’ means self-giving love. On the other hand, Greek ‘philein’ means love between friends. Jesus asked twice with ‘agape’ but Peter answered with ‘philein’. So, lastly, Jesus gave in to Peter asking with ‘philein’. Jesus expected ‘agape’, but, in the end, he accepted even ‘philen’ because he loved Peter much more than Peter loved him. But Jesus led him slowly into ‘agape’ in the end.
I think these trice questions were also prophetic about Peter’s life and ministry. I believe these trice questions symbolize the upcoming tests for St Peter in his ministry. Against all these tests, St Peter should keep feeding the flock of Christ. As the Acts of the Apostles writes, St Peter was hesitant to minister to the foreigners at the beginning. But with the help of a vision, he realized everything created by God was clean and began to feed the Gentiles. When the circumcision controversy shook the Christian communities, at the chastisement of St Paul, he came back to feed the flock of Christ. I believe many other challenges in his ministry were not written. At every test, he had to say, “Yes, Lord, I love you” and to feed his sheep.
Many of you probably know a traditional account of St Peter’s return to Rome for martyrdom and the famous saying, ‘Quo vadis?’. In this story, St Peter had an opportunity to avoid persecution in Rome. On his way out of the city, St Peter encountered the risen Lord. There St Peter asks Jesus, “Quo vadis?” – “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus answered, “Romam eo iterum crucifigi.” – “I am going to Rome to be crucified again.” Once again, at this one last test, St Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, I love you.” He turned around and went back to Rome for his martyrdom, which is also foretold in today’s gospel. He had to answer “Yes, Lord, I love you” until it really hurt – not just his heart hurt but actually whole his being suffered with that ‘yes’. And he followed Jesus with his own crucifixion, as Jesus tells him at the end of today’s gospel.
Many priests would feel this passage of St John very personal. I really do. Especially because I failed Jesus many times before. He will ask me if I love him until it really hurts – until I may answer with ‘agape’ love – giving myself to him in suffering. I pray that my Lord may also appear to me and ask me to follow him – so that I may answer ‘Yes, Lord, I love you’ with my death to myself.
John 20
What kind of pain is the most painful for you? Some might say toothache. Some would say migraine headaches. But some will say public disgrace. Or some may think poverty is the most painful. What about you?
Although everyone may feel pains differently, one thing I am sure everyone will agree with on the most painful things. It is the pain to forgive first and receive someone who is not sorry about what he has done to us. Some will say it is simply not possible and not permissible to forgive and receive someone who is not repentant of his sin and injustice. Until he says sorry, we should wait.
But apparently, Jesus did that which seems the most painful and incomprehensible: to forgive sinners and die for them. We remember he said he came down to earth for sinners. But he did not wait for them to repent. He first forgave them by his death. That forgiveness demanded not just pain but even death!
As we see in the gospel today, the Son of God almost desperately prays that everyone who believes in him may become one in God and him. This unity and union are the ultimate goals of the sacrifice of the Son of God. In the new heaven and earth, there is no division any longer. All are united in faith in the Son of God. And this will not happen unless we forgive each other. This is why Christ chose to die for sinners. His death was the ultimate offer of forgiveness for sinners.
While we hear the gospel today on unity, we are reminded of those who are waiting for our forgiveness. Yes, it is indeed painful to forgive first. Some of us might have to feel virtual death to do it. Our Lord forgave us by his death, much more than a pain.
Acts 20
In recent years, the Church has suffered many scandals. And most of these scandals were caused by the leaders of the Church. Many churchmen failed in what they professed. People, especially the faithful, became disappointed and confused. In many cases, those churchmen failed out of their weakness of heart and flesh. But some of them even enjoyed their sinful life and wanted to persist in it. They may be called hypocrites. Whether they are simply sinful men or pernicious hypocrites, usually they don’t have the boldness to preach their sins. Of course, they try to hide them.
Are these the ones St Paul warns about in today’s reading? Jesus himself warned of those “wolves.” I think these wolves are quite different from sinners and hypocrites. Sinners and even evil hypocrites acknowledge the truth. They teach the truth, but they just don’t live it. On the other hand, those wolves twist the truth and inseminate false ideas to people. They lead people eventually into what God forbids. They promote evil things openly. Of course, they develop all kinds of arguments to rationalize these evils. And they appeal to people’s emotions by wrapping these evils with very pleasant images and tastes. Ultimately, they make people forget God and worship themselves.
When sinners and hypocrites are exposed, they are ashamed and criticized. People are disgusted and turn away from them. In contrast, successful wolves are praised with respect and honour. Often, they are called pioneers and trailblazers. People think they are heralds of a new era and bring new enlightenment to humanity. Look at how sinful lifestyles and practices have become normalized in Western societies. I don’t think it’s because there were many sinners and hypocrites were exposed and caught. But it’s because there have been many intellectuals and leaders in the society and the Church, who spread these evil seeds under the names of liberation and modernization – and it’s been now over a few centuries already. But we see more dramatic changes in recent decades as the fruit of their incessant efforts.
As St Paul says today in the reading, my brothers and sisters, be on your guard for yourselves. The devil never sleeps. And his wolves are out here with us. We try to forgive sinners and hypocrites, but we also have to be able to discern false teachers and their seeds.
Acts 20
When a large-scale problem overwhelms us, we feel powerless. As we are now in the middle of the pandemic, we as individuals seem unable to resolve these global issues. I think this is one of the reasons we like stories of heroes and super-humans. In super-hero movies, common citizens are just numbers. They are described as fearful, foolish, helpless, and often selfish. The super-heroes have of course all the opposite virtues – courageous, wise, powerful and altruistic. Also, in those movies, governments, police forces, public organizations and communities are mostly incompetent. I believe these movies and stories negatively influence us about individuals and organizations. Against social injustice, moral degeneration, economic oppression, environmental destruction, religious secularism, and the like, we individuals feel no place for us to contribute. Some of us might have thought like this: “Even if I put all effort to recycle, will I make any difference? Will I be able to save the environment?” or “I want to be faithful to Jesus. But will it make our world any better?” These days you may feel this way: “I wish everyone wears a mask. But, look at the streets and malls and parks: most people don’t. Any difference will I make if I wear a mask? It will be just me!”
I wonder how St Paul felt when the Lord asked him to evangelize the Gentile world. Anyone who has ever attempted to convert even one person in the family will tell us it’s not easy. “Not easy” is not enough to describe the difficulty. It is painful and often frustrating. Some might have experienced certain darkness of soul, for there seemed no hope. Then, how would you feel if you’re asked to convert the whole Mediterranean world? If the Lord asks me to convert my little town here, I’ll probably say to myself it’s an impossible task. “How can just one priest can convert a town?”
St Paul did not stop preaching not because he was a super-hero but because he loved the Lord. Was he one hundred percent successful? Not really. He had some success but also had to see his communities turn away from the Gospel. But he didn’t give up. This is what he is testifying in today’s reading. He did his best to scatter the seed of the Gospel. He did it not as a super-hero but as a faithful individual. He had faith in the community. He and his companions organized communities for evangelization. All these faithful individuals slowly but surely changed the Mediterranean world into Christendom.
I always find the biggest huddle in evangelization in me. I am the biggest huddle. I am the stumbling block to myself. St Paul says in today’s reading: “I do not count my life of any value to myself.” How many times did I put myself first before those big issues? “I rather choose to feel easy and comfortable. These issues are too big for me to handle. I rather choose my life. To be upright before God, to change the world, to bring people to God…these things are for heroes and saints, not me.”
It all comes down to individuals. Unless each of us changes today, no change will be there tomorrow.
John 18
Sometimes I find statements of Jesus that make me wonder if I have ever heard them before. I feel almost embarrassed because I must have read them before. In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks this to his disciples: “In the world, you will have trouble.” He is telling us that we will have trouble! This wouldn’t be a statement a missionary would pick up for people who have never heard the gospel – the Good News. It sounds exactly the opposite – bad news!
But Jesus indeed spoke this way. He does not speak with sugar-coated flattery. He speaks the truth. And the truth often hurts. But when we know the truth, we find our hearts in peace. This is what he also says in today’s gospel: “I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me.” Jesus foretold his disciples what it’s like to be his true followers, not only by words but by his example – being abandoned by everyone, even beloved friends. Christ was left alone by his disciples at his Passion. The world rejected Christ, the light of the world. And this would be the destiny of Christians – being rejected and hated by the world, even by their beloved ones.
Yes, this is true. I believe anyone who has tried to be faithful to the Lord knows this truth. How many of our family members and friends make fun of us and laugh at us because we speak of Jesus Christ? How many Christians have to keep silent about Christ to keep their jobs?
However, these rejections and hatred should not catch us unguarded, for Jesus has already told us clearly about the destiny of Christians in this world. When we already know the world will not welcome us, we don’t have to be frustrated and saddened. Rather, we are confirmed of our identity as the body of Christ. When we find ourselves mocked and shunned away by the world, we know we are on the right track of the narrow and difficult way.
At the end of the gospel today Jesus speaks to us: “but be brave; I have conquered the world.” At any moment, on any day, when we speak of Jesus, we know we won’t be welcome by the world. But this cannot let us down. Christ has already defeated the world by his death. It is our turn to defeat it by our death to ourselves and the world.
Matthew 28
The Ascension of the Lord makes us puzzled: Jesus promised he would be with us always until the end of time. But he took off to heaven! This Ascension is one of the things we profess in the Creed: “He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” He has left the earth and is now with God the Father. But how can Jesus be with us? Of course, he can be with us in our hearts. Perhaps we call it being with us spiritually. But it is more of our desire for him. Or it is more of our mental knowledge or emotion. Can he be with me not depending on my consciousness? Or is he able to be on earth even when I am not on earth?
Catholics will instantly answer: Jesus is with us in the tabernacle! Indeed, Christ Jesus is with us as the Blessed Sacrament. This is another critical element of the Christian faith. Our God became flesh and still stays with us in the flesh! By instituting the Eucharist, Jesus opened the way for us to be with him in such a way that we can see him, touch him, and even taste him! So often I forget this fact Jesus waits for me in the tabernacle, alone by himself, often ignored by me. Isn’t my eternal destiny to be with him forever? Shouldn’t I befriend with him here now so that he may welcome me into his eternal home?
Still, another important aspect of the Lord’s presence is to be mentioned. We might feel the Lord’s presence in the tabernacle rather static or even powerless. He is there in the tabernacle but cannot really do anything for me or for the world, we might say He is with us always but he cannot prevent accidents and disasters. Is Jesus here on earth ever helpful?
Jesus in the tabernacle is ever replenished. How? By the Eucharistic celebration. The Blessed Sacrament is ever new every time the priest celebrates the Mass. What happens at the Mass? Transcending time and space, Christ Jesus the Son of God offers himself as the redeeming sacrifice for our sins. All of us are brought to the same Calvary where Christ is crucified. How Christ exists as the Blessed Sacrament demonstrates his ever-renewing sacrifice for us. He is not just there but he is still crucified for our sins and for our salvation! His real presence is never static or powerless. Christ redeems us daily with his own blood!
The Lord’s Ascension might be viewed as a spatial move from earth to heaven. But I think it is a transcending move from time to eternity. In other words, Christ is no longer bound by time and space. He did not leave us as we leave a place for another. By ascension, on the contrary, he comes closer to us. We don’t have to fly over a continent to see him. In fact, in our parish, he is offering himself daily even when we are not there. And silently and patiently he is waiting for our visit.
Acts 18
Today we encounter Apollos in the reading. He was a Jew from Alexandria in Egypt. Alexandria was the second-largest city in the Mediterranean world after Rome. It boasted the largest library of the ancient world. The city was culturally blessed with ancient history, literature, and science. And it was home to a large Jewish community in the time of the apostles. This is also the place the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek.
As the writer of the Acts of the Apostles describes Apollos as an eloquent man, Apollos must have received these cultural heritages of the city. And as a Jew, he must have been well-versed in the Old Testament as well. And this cultural and scriptural background and heritage helped him to be an excellent speaker and apologist of Christianity.
Interestingly, although Apollos was already proclaiming Jesus when he arrived in Ephesus in Asia Minor, today’s Turkey, Apollos was not baptized in the name of Jesus and didn’t receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He only knew the baptism of John, the baptism of repentance. When St Paul, Priscilla and Aquila found him, they helped him to receive these gifts from the Lord and strengthened him with more accurate knowledge of Christ. Then, they recommended him for further preaching.
This account of Apollos shows the teaching of Christ Jesus was spread over many places in the Roman Empire by many different disciples. Even the disciples of John the Baptist seemed to have brought the Good News to people. As Jesus commanded before he ascended into heaven, his apostles and disciples went out and brought the Good News to all the earth. St Paul was not the only one who evangelized. All Christians were missionaries in those days!
But when those different evangelists encountered each other, they did not put themselves above others. It seems these evangelists constantly reminded themselves of their being servants and messengers of Christ. Their goal was to preach Christ, not themselves. Maximizing each one’s gifts and heritages, our apostles and evangelists helped each other under one shepherd Jesus Christ.
All of us have certain talents and heritages. And all of us are called to bring Good News to the whole world. Christians are not consumers of religion. Religion is not a service industry. We do not consume the Good News. The Way of Christ becomes us. And we change the world by bringing Jesus to it.
Acts 18
I wonder how many priests have ever gone out of their parishes and preached before the public. I have not. I preach almost every day but I have never preached to my non-Christian friends. I don’t even bring up religion before them. Rather I try not to be religious. Isn’t it sad?
Hopefully this does not sound too outrageous to you.
I cannot imagine the life of those apostles and lay leaders who spent most of their Christian life as missionaries. During the Easter Season we read the Acts of the Apostles. It describes mostly the missionary activities of the earliest Christian communities. As Jesus told his disciples, the world hated his disciples. They were not welcome in most places. Although the Christian community of Corinth was very important for St Paul’s missionary travel, he had to constantly fight fear and persecution in the city as we hear in the first reading today. As St Paul once accounted, he and his companions were often rejected, mistreated, slandered, threatened, beaten, and even stoned because they preached the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why does the world hate Jesus and his disciples? It’s because the word of Christ reveals people’s minds and hearts as Prophet Simeon foretold at the Lord’s presentation at the Temple. God’s word exposes our sinfulness and urges us to take the narrow and difficult way. His word is ever alive to cut our hearts and ever-relevant in our life and our times.
That’s why I have the fear of preaching Christ. The word of Christ demands actions from me. And it urges me to change my life daily. This is often painful. Moreover, the word of Christ hardly pleases many people of their lifestyles and habits. So, unless I take it for granted to be hated and persecuted, I cannot preach Christ. Many saints were not popular even among their clergy and suffered suspicions and slanders from the world!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray for one another that we may not be afraid of preaching Christ. May we also hear the word of encouragement as St Paul heard from the Lord, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you.”
Acts 18
Probably everyone has a dream home in their mind. Housing in our times is the greatest lifetime work for so many people in our society. Since you cannot easily move your house, its location is the most critical factor when you choose your new house. Then, what is a good location? People have different ideas about good locations for home. But certainly, there are more popular regions and neighbourhoods. Beautiful scenery, accessibility to services such as shopping, banks, hospitals and schools, a pleasing climate, and the like decide an ideal place for living. And we work hard to get a place in such locations.
However, those early Christians we encounter in the Acts of the Apostles such as Aquila and Priscilla in today’s reading seemed to have quite a different standard for choosing their places to live. Aquila and Priscilla were originally living in Rome. But when persecution occurred, they moved to Corinth. Later, they moved to Ephesus. Then, finally, they went back to Rome. Certainly, they didn’t move around in search of the best location for pleasant living. All their moves were related to their faith. This faithful couple were close corroborators of St Paul in his missions. Rome, Corinth, and Ephesus had important Christians communities in the early Church as we see in the titles of St Paul’s epistles. As a married couple and laypersons, Aquila and Priscilla carried the roles of community leaders. For them, Christian communities were the critical factor for where they lived.
We take it for granted that there is always a church where we live. Yes, mostly it’s true. Wherever you choose to live, usually it is not too hard to find a Christian community nearby. But I still see many faithful Christians they consciously choose a place of living close to churches. Here is an interesting litmus test of faith: some people, as they grow older and more successful, move to pleasant and peaceful places and build impressive houses, away from everything else. You can picture a nice country mansion surrounded by woods and creeks and fields away from the town centre and busy residential areas. On the other hand, some people, as they grow older and now retired, are happy as long as they can live close by the church and go to Mass daily. What is your dream home like? Where is it?
John 16
Since the very early stage of this pandemic, there have been many speculations on the cause of the virus. At the same time, there were also many predictions on the spread of the virus. And there have been many bits of advice on the prevention of infection. Now we already hear many words on the prospect of the pandemic. While we are staying home, we have been inundated with information and opinions. So much word! But I wonder how much of them are true.
Jesus tells us about the Spirit of truth in today’s gospel. The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth because he speaks what he learned from God the Father, who is the source of all truth. In God, there is no lie. Everything God plans becomes real. And God gives all to his Son. What the Holy Spirit testifies to are also from the Son, because the Father and the Son give all to each other and share all. And this perfect union is possible by the total obedience of the Son to his Father. As we see in the Passion and Resurrection, Christ Jesus submits his will to his Father. And there comes the reality of the resurrection. What Jesus spoke to his disciples becomes all true. And now Jesus promises us to send his Spirit of truth.
Often, I find myself saying to myself so uncharitable things. Often, I hide truth out of fear or for the sake of convenience. I am not speaking the truth! Why and how?
It’s because I do not completely submit my will to Jesus. When I put my will first, I start saying things selfish and uncharitable. When I consider my pride is more important, I hide the truth, because I cannot admit my humble existence.
During this pandemic, we can be easily swept by untruthful words – blames, accusations, complaints, deceptions, falsities, and so on. Let us see how sincerely we submit our minds and hearts to Jesus. Let us see how strongly we are united with Jesus. This difficult time desperately asks for the truth. We will be able to provide truth only when we are dwelling in the Lord.
Acts 16
Today we continue to listen to another conversion story. And this time, there are more spectacles and drama. But first, there should be a summary of how St Paul and Silas ended up in jail. After the conversion of Lydia in Philippi, Paul and Silas cast out a demon from a slave girl who used to be a fortune teller. The owner of the slave girl who now lost profit from soothsaying had a grudge against the apostles and slandered Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas were beaten and jailed, consequently.
Now, in prison, late at night, Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns. And the prisoners are listening to them. But the jailer is asleep. A great earthquake shakes everything.
These settings are very symbolic. The imprisoned apostles did not sleep but were praying and singing. The other prisoners were somehow listening to them. By their prayers and singing in their great adversity, Paul and Silas evangelized the other prisoners. When everyone was released from shackles by the earthquake, no one attempted to escape the prison. They remained in prison. We may say everyone became the prisoners of Christ! But the jailer who was sleeping now is awake and falls in despair. He was a jailer but actually, he was a prisoner of his spiritual slumber. His spiritual slumber is now scattered by the earthquake, a wake-up call. But he does not know what to do. He attempts to kill himself.
Once again, the voice of Paul and Silas saves this prisoner from despair. And the jailer asks, “What must I do to be saved?” From the disaster of an earthquake and the despair of his spirit, he cries out for salvation. And he and his household now receive the promise of salvation through baptism.
The earthquake, a natural disaster, liberates true worshippers of Christ from shackles and wakes up those in the false sense of security from their spiritual slumber.
I wonder if this pandemic in our times becomes a wake-up call. The pandemic exposes how fragile our global civilization is. Especially Western societies realize there can occur wide-scale disasters to them. It seems we believed we would be always safe because of modern civilization and the advancement in science. But all these are more like the tower of Babel.
And we realize how strongly we are bound by money. Many think money can do all things. But we see now money cannot keep us safe. People are pushed to work even against risk and danger because they need money. Children have to go to school because parents have to work. But what do we work for? It seems we work more for money itself than for our families.
In the middle of the pandemic, we should ask the same question the jailer asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?”
Acts 16
We hear today the conversion account of a Greek woman named Lydia. What’s the big deal here? Didn’t St Paul and his companions lead thousands of converts into the Church?
The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 16 begins with the story of Timothy. He was a half Jewish and a half Greek from Asia Minor, the current day’s Turkey. He became a helper to Paul’s mission. Paul, Timothy and their companions planned to bring the Good News to other parts of Asia Minor. But the Acts writes that the Holy Spirit prohibited them from speaking the word in Asia. They moved to a few places but the Holy Spirit forbade them to preach in those places, either. Then, Paul receives a vision that a man requests for help from Macedonia, an ancient Greek province. Paul takes this as a divine signal to preach the Gospel there.
This is how Paul and his companions started evangelization in Europe. The first city they preached was Philippi in Macedonia, where they met Lydia. Thus, she was one of the first European converts and the first European convert whose name is known. As we see at the end of the account, she hosted the apostles in her house, which probably became the root of the church of Philippi. This Christian community became very important in Paul’s missions. We even have his letter to this community in the New Testament.
Apparently, Lydia was more independent and autonomous than the average woman in her time. She was a business owner and the head of her household as we hear in the same passage. We can safely assume that she became one of the leaders or at least a very influential member of the Christian community in Philippi.
Lydia reminds of those faithful women who supported Jesus and the disciples during the public ministry with their own resources. From the very beginning, our Church was voluntarily supported by those who received the Good News. Lydia gladly accepted the Good News when the Lord opened her heart. And she became the host of the Christian community and provided for the apostles.
This short story demonstrates how God prepares and gathers people for the Gospel. And it also shows how Christian communities develop. It was the apostles who scattered the seed. But it was lay people who germinated the seed and provided for its growth. I wish that this sense of ownership may be renewed once again during this difficult time of the pandemic.
John 14
One of the most basic ways to love someone is to listen to the person. This listening includes doing according to what the person desires. But often we forget this fundamental skill in a relationship and impose what we like on our beloved people. Flowers are commonly considered as a beautiful gift and expression of love. However, the person you love might not agree with it. More successful people in relationships look for what people like and appreciate through conversations and observations. The more listening we are, the deeper our relationships become. Husbands and wives wish their spouses may know their hearts, but this does not happen unless they first listen to each other and do what their spouses’ hearts desire.
All of us Christians say we love Jesus. But very often I find myself contradictory or selfish in my prayer saying, “Lord Jesus, I love you. Please listen to me.” I hope not you find yourself often in this way. If I were a mature person, I would say, “Lord Jesus, I love you. Please tell me what you like. I am listening.”
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus tells us in a similar way: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” If we say to ourselves that we love Jesus, then, we should listen to what Jesus wishes. He asks us to receive his commandments and keep them through words and deeds. But the commandments of Christ are not like the precepts and regulations of the law of Moses. The traditional Mosaic law is made up of 613 commandments. They are more specific and don’t leave much room for interpretations. On the other hand, Christ Jesus gave us his commandments fewer enough that we can count with the fingers of one hand: Love God and love your neighbours. However, it seems there is much more room for interpretations. Throughout the history of the Church, many Christians chose to impose their interpretations on Jesus and his commandments. And many of them fell in heresies and schisms. What we need is to listen to Jesus carefully first. Because this listening or discerning the divine heart of Jesus goes beyond our human knowledge and heart, Jesus promises of the Holy Spirit, the divine Helper.
My brothers and sisters, how seriously have we been trying to listen to the heart of Jesus? Are we praying to the Holy Spirit so that he may help us to discern the heart of Jesus? During this pandemic, daily, we have to make many new and conscious choices. We have to think and decide even where to sit in the pews, whether to touch a door handle or not, whether to speak to our parishioners or to keep silent, and so on. Here, we can make choices either with love for others or with self-love. Let’s listen to Jesus and his Sacred Heart.
John 15
I have read somewhere Bishop Fulton Sheen wrote that the world hates Christianity because Christianity is still relevant in our times. I wondered what the bishop meant. In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks that the world hates him. At the beginning of his gospel, St John writes that the world rejected the light, Christ Jesus. Why did the world hate and reject Christ? St John explains it’s because its deeds were evil. The world loved the darkness better than the light so that it can hide its evil deeds and remain in sins in the darkness.
Some of us may ask why Christianity takes this negative outlook on the world. The world becomes a village. Everybody helps each other as neighbours in this global village. Nobody is excluded and everybody is accepted. We expect only development, enhancements, and advancements for everything. The man defeats old fears and becomes his own master!
Now, in this process of progress, the world regards Christianity as the obstacle. Obedience and humility cannot be the virtues of autonomy. Family and life are only burdens on economic development. Eventually, faith and morals turn people’s hearts from products and entertainment!
Bishop Fulton Sheen’s insight pierces this reality. Faithful Christians are not welcome in our society while everybody else is accepted. Why is that? It’s because Christ is still alive. The spirit of the world knows this. Christianity is still relevant in our times because Christ is still alive. And his body, the Church, still proclaims Christ’s voice to the world. Faithful Christians pursue values and practice morals that oppose to what the world pursues and practices. The prince of the world cannot ignore this and wages a war against Christians. When we truly live our name, Christian, the world cannot stand us. And this is our destiny.
Acts 15
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes how the earliest Church finished the controversy of circumcision for the Gentile Christian communities. After much debate and consideration, the Church decided not to impose circumcision on the Gentile converts. Instead, the Church also required four precepts. They are the abstinence from food sacrificed to pagan idols, from blood, from strangled animal meat, and from fornication. These four prohibitions originate from the book of Leviticus, one of the first five books of the Old Testament, which mostly defines Israel’s ritual laws. In other words, these four precepts prohibit Jewish people from being ritually polluted and from being unable to join any religious celebration as a result.
But one thing to be noted here is that, in the Old Testament, these precepts were applied also to foreign people residing in Israel’s territories. It means these laws were not merely technical regulations for ritual purity but also spiritual and moral precepts.
The abstinence from food used in pagan worships prevented Christians from participating in pagan celebrations. The abstinence from blood reminds of the sanctity of life and of God as the sole master of life, because drinking blood was often practiced as a means of absorption of life as we see in vampire stories even in our popular culture today. To strangle animals violated proper ways to slaughter animals. For Israel people, to slaughter animals always meant sacrifice because all life is holy and God is the master. Improperly killing animals violates God’s authority over life. Fornication here means all kinds of sexual immorality as well as illegitimate marriages. Sexual immoralities were closely associated with pagan religious practices as well as pagan morality, which were viewed as opposing God the Creator’s will for humanity.
You might think the Christian Church decided a rupture from Judaism when she declared circumcision was not required for the Gentile converts. On the contrary, these four requirements show there is a clear continuity from Judaism to Christianity. By this decision, Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians could celebrate the Eucharist without irreconcilable tensions. It was a new synthesis to include new peoples under one Shepherd, Christ Jesus. However, it was not a compromise of principles but purification and clarification of the Christian spirit. This Jerusalem council left an exemplar for the Church about how to adopt in a new situation.
This pandemic makes us reflect on the essential things of life and society. It also allows us to examine our faith life and our religious practices. It is time to purify. Let us look for the essentials in our faith.
John 15
Once again we hear Jesus speak love in the gospel today. In this pandemic, especially while we have to keep a distance from each other, we wonder how to keep this first and foremost commandment of Christ. Because we don’t have much chance to see one another. I believe there are now many who feel lonelier. Many of us miss the social contact and long for community celebrations. Last two months, I spent less than 30 minutes of in-person conversations. Fortunately, my cat becomes more chatty these days that I have to speak much more than when I first adopted her a few months ago. But what Jesus teaches us is not to chat with a pet animal but to love people. How do we love one another this time?
First, to endure loneliness for the sake of the common good – the safety and health of people. Whether during the lock-down or after the reopening, minimizing social contact will help us fight this pandemic. Our patience and endurance against loneliness is a silent exercise of love for others.
Second, to endure each other we spend more time with now. As we cut external social contacts, we find we spend much more time with certain people, especially our families. And this is not always easy. Our patience with each other is an exercise of love.
Third, to protect others first by sacrificing our rights. During this pandemic, we will realize it is more effective to protect others than to protect ourselves in fighting the spread of the virus. I can control what I do and where I go. But it is almost impossible to control others. If we attempt to control others while we insist on our rights and freedom, in the end, everyone will be exposed to the danger of infection by everyone’s rights and freedom. To consider others’ safety and well-being first and to sacrifice voluntarily one’s rights and freedom can save our community and society. Giving up one’s freedom and rights in this time is a bloodless martyrdom, a noble act of love of one’s neighbours.
I am sure this tempest of a pandemic can make our Christian virtue of love relevant to our times and strong and resilient in difficulties. And as we adhere to our Lord with love, we will bear much fruit as Jesus promises.
Acts 15
When God made a covenant with Abraham, God ordered Abraham to circumcise all males in his tribe as the sign of the covenant. Since the promise of the land given to Abraham would be realized in the future, circumcision was the sign of the heir of the promise. But at the same time, to the descendants of Abraham, circumcision was the reminder of the faithfulness to God as the condition of the covenant.
Even after Israelites settled in the land of the promise, circumcision was practiced as a precept of the law of Moses. However, the people of Israel now paid less attention to the spirit of circumcision. Rather, Israel people believed the practice of circumcision could make a person an heir of God’s promise, a chosen race of God. In reality, however, circumcision became a membership ceremony of the people of Israel. Circumcision symbolized the nationality of Israel.
As we hear in the first reading today, circumcision became a controversial issue in Christian mission to non-Jewish people. The question was whether the covenant of Abraham and the law of Moses were applied to foreign people for salvation. In other words, it was the question of applying Judaism to the Gentiles.
This controversy became a watershed of the early Church. Through this controversy, Christianity distinguished itself from Judaism. Christianity declared itself not bound by nationality. It meant salvation was not limited to a certain tribe or race but for all peoples. At the same time, Christianity refused the idea that simply a ritual practice such as circumcision could save a person. Although Christianity was heading outward to the whole world, it internalized salvation. That is – salvation does not come by an external ritual but by interior faithfulness to God. To be saved, we have to live in God and God has to live in us.
This is exactly what Jesus teaches through the parable of the vine and branches. “Abide in me as I abide in you,” Jesus says in today’s gospel. We need circumcision of the heart and let Christ live in us as St Paul teaches.
During this pandemic, without any public celebration, we have an ample opportunity to see whether we miss the Mass just because it is what we used to go to, or because we long for the union with Christ. I saw myself not in union with Christ while I received Christ’s body and blood. When I don’t forgive my neighbours or only follow my desires, even if I receive Christ in the sacrament, I stop Christ from entering me and living in me.
John 14
Every Mass recalls today’s passage from St John’s gospel. After the Lord’s Prayer, the priest says:
Lord Jesus Christ,
who said to your Apostles:
Peace I leave you, my peace I give you,
look not on our sins,
but on the faith of your Church,
and graciously grant her peace and unity
in accordance with your will.
Both today’s gospel and the part of the Mass quoted just now focus on peace. Peace is what the human race has always been seeking. Who does not want peace? Although everyone may have a different idea of peace, no one refuses any kind of peace. And Jesus promises peace to his people, too.
Then, what kind of peace is this? Jesus distinguishes his peace from the peace the world gives. His peace is not found in this world. His peace does not originate from this world. It does not come from us, either. This peace comes from Christ, the Son of the living God. Therefore, it is divine.
But what is it really? Is there anything in this world that can be compared to this divine peace? Peace as a subjective state of mind or heart is called equanimity. It’s a mental state free from disturbance or stress and harmonious in desires and responsibilities. Many philosophical schools of old such as Stoics and Epicureans pursued this kind of peace. In the meantime, peace as an objective reality is shown in the harmony of order. Nature always follows its order and is in peace. Even though sometimes nature becomes violent to human eyes, all these seemingly violent and chaotic are parts of its order.
Thus, the word peace means a certain harmony, tranquillity, and order, when we consider what we understand in the examples from this world. Therefore, when Jesus spoke of his peace, he promised this harmony, tranquillity and order in our heart and our life in accordance with the will of God. In short, when we follow the divine order, we are in divine peace.
But here is a problem. How can the man know and follow the divine order and God’s will? As we all experience, after the first fall of Adam, the man suffers serious confusion in his mind and heart every day. We do not know what is right. Even when we know the right things, we cannot do them!
This is why Christ came and promised he would give his peace to us. When we receive Christ and keep his commandments, Christ lives in us. When Christ lives in us, we can live according to the will of God because Christ Jesus the Son of God is one with God the Father. This is how we can arrive at his peace. And this is why Christians declare Christ is our peace.
Therefore, the first step toward the peace of Christ begins with our submission to Christ. Let us give up on our will. And let’s give it to Jesus. Even when we walk through the darkest valley of life on earth, if Christ is in us, we will never be shaken of our peace, because this peace is not from the world, but from God the Father in heaven.
John 14
We have been reading the Last Supper dialogue from St John’s gospel for some time during the Easter season. This Last Supper dialogue may sound impenetrable because it is packed with very profound theological statements. Moreover, there are lots of repetitions that confuse us to the point that we don’t know where we are reading. But when we read slowly and carefully, we find surprising statements that make us wonder if we have ever heard them before.
Today, during the dialogue, an apostle named Judas, not Judas Iscariot, asks Jesus, “Lord, what is this all about? Do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” This is an interesting question. Jesus is not going to reveal himself to the world? Isn’t it one of our missions to reveal Jesus to the world? What did Jesus say before the apostle asked?
Jesus said, “Anybody who receives my commandments and keeps them will be one who loves me; and anybody who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I shall love him and show myself to him.” Here, Jesus is saying he will reveal himself to those who keep his commandments. Yes, Jesus qualifies to whom he will reveal himself – those who love him by keeping his commandments. Therefore, it is true as the apostle noticed that Jesus was not going to reveal himself indiscriminately to the world as big business corporations campaign their advertisements through all possible media outlets.
When I was ordained fresh from the seminary, I believed I could testify to Jesus. I thought all the theological, liturgical, and spiritual formation at the seminary equipped me with Jesus. But, not long after, I deeply realized I didn’t have personal knowledge of Jesus. It’s because I failed Jesus by my sins. My sins kept Jesus from showing himself to me. As long as I live in and with sins, Jesus could not live in and with me. Unless I daily repent and cleanse myself, there is not much chance for me to know Jesus.
The knowledge of Christ Jesus and God is not found in a catechetical or theological, or any kind of textbook. Because the knowledge of God is found in keeping God’s commandments. The Father and the Son reveal themselves to those who struggle to love them. The knowledge of God lives in a person who keeps God’s commandments and loves God.
As for myself, this poor sinner, I won’t be able to say I can keep Christ’s commandments perfectly any time soon. However, little by little, I experience Jesus when I try to keep his commandments. And I hope, one day, my love for Jesus becomes mature so that he may reveal his glorious face to me.
John 14
This Sunday, we hear one of the most celebrated passages from St John’s gospel. Even non-Christians are familiar with this word of Christ Jesus: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life.” The whole discourse was given at the Last Supper. As the last teaching before his suffering and death, Jesus spoke with a very solemn tone. And he avoids ambiguity but declares with clarity and assurance.
Among these teachings, I find that this teaching cannot go unnoticed: “Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.”
When you read this word of Jesus several times, you will be surprised. “Can I do the same works that Jesus does? And Can I do even greater works than Jesus does?” Jesus assures us saying “Very truly, I tell you,” or “Amen, amen, I say to you,” at the beginning of the sentence. It is not a wish or a metaphor. It is a definitive declaration without much room for ambiguity. We have to ask ourselves, “Can we really do the same works that Jesus did?”
Of course, Jesus gives this condition: “the one who believes in me [Jesus].” Instantly we will question how, then, so many baptized Christians have done what is contrary to the works of Christ? Abuses, violence, wars… the list goes on and on. Most of us have probably met Catholics whose hypocrisy made us upset. Or you might be even living with one of them now. How does this happen?
Reflection on this question leads us to the nature of faith. Faith is not completed until it reaches works. I believe no one on earth can claim the completion of faith until the moment of death because we do not stop doing something until we die. Then, how do we do the same works that Jesus does without the completion of faith? This is a mystery of faith. As long as we are united in Christ and work in him, we do the works of Christ. As St Paul testifies, it is no longer that we live but that Christ in me lives. But at the same time, this union is not static. We always face the danger of being led astray and failure. St Peter could walk on the water when he put his trust in Jesus. But as soon as he looked down at the water and became afraid, he was sinking.
And here, we should remember Christ is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. He is the Way: we learn how to do through his examples. He is the Truth: we know what to believe through his teachings. He is the Life: we have the goal and purpose of life on earth through his death and resurrection.
Every decision we make in this pandemic will reflect our faith. In this difficult time, our Lord wants to heal us and renew our family and society. But unless we let him in us with our faith, he won’t be able to do his work. I pray that we may become Christ’s instruments for healing and rebuilding so that our faith may give glory to our Lord
Acts 13
Jealousy and envy are often interchangeable. However, we can distinguish them to understand two different states of a soul. A husband may feel uncomfortable and upset when he sees his wife flirt with another man. This is jealousy. Jealousy is a kind of anger we feel when our legitimate or supposedly legitimate honour, right or privilege is given to someone else who is not entitled to enjoy them. We have this emotion of anger as if certain justice is violated. In the Bible, even God is described to become jealous when his people Israel turns to foreign gods.
On the other hand, envy is spiritual sadness on account of the goods another has. Envy feels that the goods of another is harmful and tarnishes one’s excellence or honour. A man may feel sad when his brother becomes very successful. He regards that his excellence is diminished by his brother’s success. Cain probably felt very envious when he saw that his brother Abel was favoured by God when both of them offered sacrifices to him.
It is not always very clear between jealousy and envy. However, envy as the sadness at another’s excellence or goods very often brings much harm. The Holy Scripture teaches that through the envy of the devil death entered the world. And we see an example in the fratricide of Cain and Abel. It was the envy of Jewish leaders against Jesus that crucified the Son of God. Envy leads to other deadly sins such as murder. That’s why it is counted as one of the capital sins, meaning sins that bring other deadly sins.
In the first reading today, the Jews of Antioch in Pisidia rejected the Good News because they became envious of St Paul and his companions for their successful preaching. Through their envy and by rejecting Christ Jesus, they brought death upon themselves as Jesus once told Nicodemus, “he who does not believe is condemned already.” Once again, envy brings about death – this time, a more devastating one.
John 13
The land has always been at the top of man’s quest list since the time immemorial. So much blood was shed for the possession of lands throughout human history. And it is not over yet. Even in places without wars, today’s people still struggle to secure their houses and properties. And all Canadians of today will ever more agree with it.
The Bible or the people of the Bible could not avoid this reality, either. And God was not also blind to it. Man’s sin caused him to be expelled from the land of paradise, the Garden of Eden. Then, the man had to cultivate the land to survive with much sweat and toil. The land did not offer freely what man needed for survival. All men had to fight against each other to secure their lands for survival.
God’s calling of Abraham was not so much religious at the beginning. It was a promise for new land, the land of promise. Much of the Old Testament develops around this land of promise. The Exodus was Israel’s quest story for the land of promise. And the whole of Israel’s history is about the defence and recovery of this land through the periods of kings, the Babylonian Exile, and the resettlement.
Throughout its history, Israel reflected and meditated on the meaning of this promised land. Slowly, Israel learned what God promised of in truth. As the first man was ousted from the land of paradise because of sin, God was calling man back to the land of promise, the land where man is liberated from sin and its result, death. Israel realized the land of promise did not exist on earth. But at the same time, Israel knew that man on earth could not liberate himself from sin and death. Thus, they were waiting for the Messiah, the Christ, the Saviour, who would defeat sin and death and lead man into the new land.
In today’s gospel, Jesus promises his disciples of their rooms in his Father’s house. He tells them there are many rooms in his Father’s house. Thus, there is no need to struggle for those who put their trust in the Son of God, Christ Jesus. Jesus presents the ultimate vision of the promised land. And he opens the door for us by becoming the gate himself in his resurrection. He is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life!
John 13
Today’s gospel passage is a part of the washing of the feet at the Last Supper. Christ himself shows the example of a servant by washing his disciples' feet. But it was not a stunt. It was a genuine expression of his love. And it was to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah that the Saviour would be the suffering servant to redeem the sins of all. Jesus served his disciples by washing their feet and feeding them with his flesh and blood at the Supper. And he gave himself as the sacrifice the next day on the cross for the forgiveness of sin. In all this, there is no hint of pride, self-righteousness, self-gratification, or self-glorification.
In today’s gospel, Jesus calls us to be his servants. But this is not in the sense that we become his slaves for his benefit because God does not need any help from his creation. But it is in the sense that we become servants like him for one another and the world because we still need to heal one another by forgiveness and sacrifice. In a word, to be the servants of Christ means to love and sacrifice as Christ does. This is his message we are to deliver – to love and sacrifice for one another.
This pandemic allows us to examine ourselves if we have been faithful servants and messengers of Christ. And it also becomes an opportunity that we can be Christ’s servants and messengers. The real threat of infection and death makes our decisions ever more conscious and cautious. And we have to follow certain principles and values in decision making. However, as always, Satan is not at rest. He suggests attractive alternatives to Christ’s crucifix: money, convenience, comfort, egoism, conceit, vanity, and so on. I hope that all of us rather choose the humility of Christ Jesus so that we may heal one another and renew our Christian society.
John 12
During this pandemic, we already hear the phrase “the new normal.” People will and should behave differently than before. For sure, this will not be a very pleasant new era, although we cannot tell how long this new period will last. Every day, at every human contact, we will have to remind ourselves that everybody is a potential virus carrier. This constant reminder will change our human interactions in many a significant way.
Nevertheless, Christian ways of life do not change. It doesn’t mean there will be no change in our human interactions or our liturgical gestures. There will be many adjustments in specifics. However, there will be no change in our Christian spirit, because we are still with the same Christ and the same Holy Spirit and the same God the Father. Christian teachings stay ever the same.
Rather, this pandemic and the post-pandemic will allow us to renew our Christian ways of life in the same Christian spirit. It will be a time for both adjustment and renewal.
In today’s gospel, Jesus assures us of his unchangeable norms. Christ Jesus is our light. And the word he spoke is our norm. The word he spoke is our guide and judge now and will judge us on the last day. The word Christ spoke is unchangeable because it is not human but divine. Jesus spoke not on his own but from what he heard from his heavenly Father. The word of Christ is not interpretations of God’s mind but actual commands of God, because Christ Jesus is one with God the Father as his only begotten Son.
This is a time we want to listen to the word of Jesus. Please open the gospel. And let us ask the Holy Spirit to guide our eyes and hearts so that we may abide by the spirit of Christ in this difficult time as faithful ones.
John 10
We hear this pandemic has opened unchartered territories. Not only for policymakers and for health care providers but almost all private and public sectors of societies, and furthermore, for all international institutions and organizations, every day is a new day in the sense that they have to make new decisions, which don’t have precedents. Often they find themselves without established guidance or principles.
The Church and we Christians are no exceptions this time. The Church doesn’t have a memory that all her churches closed the door to the public. The sacraments are not so readily accessible to everyone. Then, we see virtual parishes online where they celebrate the Mass over the screens. People have prayer meetings over online apps. Pastors have online catechisms. But there are rarely any principles or guidance for online Catholicism. It’s because we have never been left with this online option only. Where should we look for the principles and guidance for Christian life during and after the pandemic?
“My sheep hear my voice,” Jesus says in today’s gospel. Once again, Jesus calls us to listen to his voice. Of course, we cannot find specific instructions either in the gospel or from any part of the Bible. We need to enter the heart of Jesus. We need to be guided by the Holy Spirit. How? We should open the gospel and listen to Jesus. We should pray before making any decision for the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Am I speaking only about faith-matters here? No. I suggest all Christians should follow the guidance of Christ and his Spirit in all matters. It is now a time for us Christians to rebuild our society with Christian principles. This pandemic is a sign of our times. Our family, culture and society have been on the process of de-Christianisation. We want to re-evangelize ourselves in this new era. This evangelization is not so much about multiplying the number of Christians. But it means that our life and society become obedient to the voice of Christ. In other words, we make decisions according to Christian principles with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
It will be a mistake if we merely want to go back to what we used to. This sign of the pandemic is given us to move forward. If we are looking for certain replacements that make us feel as if we are doing what we used to do, I believe we are misguided. This sign of the pandemic is calling for repentance. This sign of the pandemic is calling us to listen to the Spirit of Christ. This sign of the pandemic is calling for the renewal of our family, culture, society, and world in Christ. But only his sheep will hear his voice and will follow him.
John 10
How many different insurances do you pay for every year? There are so many kinds of insurance policies these days. Properties, professional operations, leisure activities are insured. Life insurance and health insurance. Even our pets can be insured. Are there things that cannot be insured in our times? When insurance brokers encourage you to purchase another policy, what do they say to you? “With just ten or twenty dollars a month, you don’t have to worry about it at all.” It removes all anxieties and uncertainties from our hearts and minds.
Although insurance was introduced to help collectively those in serious emergencies, these days insurance proliferates because they can lessen our responsibility. We don’t have to worry about whatever we do or buy. Whatever goes wrong, insurance money will resolve issues. And people are happy when they are covered with money from insurance. In a word, I don’t have to bear my responsibility!
The prevalence of insurance in our societies is only one example of how less and less responsibility we are willing to take in our times. When you have to deal with any institution, most often you don’t see the one in charge of the institution but its lawyers or legal team. This atmosphere of avoiding responsibility fills our societies and even churches. So often we are redirected and redirected toward someone “who might help us better.” It is not easy to encounter one who personally says to you, “Sorry,” or “I will look into it now,” or “I will take care of it.” Often we cannot even hear a simple “Yes” or “No.”
A true leader is not afraid of responsibility. A true leader works on his own. When we see true leaders, we follow them. Success does not even matter when we follow true leaders.
Jesus was a true leader. He was not afraid of telling the truth. He did not hide against the threat of life to proclaim the truth. In fact, he was much more than a leader. He gave his life to us to lead us to the truth. So he became the way to the truth.
If we confess we are followers of Christ, let us be like him. All Christians are called to be shepherds. At home and work let us take our responsibilities. People will recognize our voice as we hear Christ’s voice and follow him.
John 10
Almost all Western countries proudly declare that our societies are pluralistic while accepting and including everybody and every idea. Certainly, pluralism helps to keep harmonious and safe societies. But when it comes to the salvation of souls, I wonder if we can indiscriminately apply pluralism. We have been quite used to this pluralistic or relativistic idea of salvation for a long time. More and more Christians, especially Catholics embrace this idea: ‘Well, I was born into this Catholicism, and I don’t have much problem with it. I love Jesus. But I don’t think this is the only way to salvation. If you choose another religion, I am sure it will lead you to salvation, too. God is generous and loving, so, he will accept you. Even if you’re atheist, that may be fine, too. If God is loving, he should take care of atheists, too.’
I doubt if someone is interested in salvation when he declares all religions can lead to salvation. And, when I hear a Catholic claim God will save all good people regardless of their religions, I wonder whether there is any need for Christ. What I observe is this: when people offer these pluralistic or relativistic ideas of salvation, they attempt either to pacify their anxiety, or to avoid the question of salvation itself, or to satisfy other people of different religions.
In many places in the gospel, Christ declares he is the singular way to salvation. He does not leave much room to interpret otherwise. On salvation, there are two things Jesus is very clear about: He is the only way to salvation, and his flesh and blood are necessary for salvation. Today’s gospel shows Jesus presents himself as the only gate to salvation. He makes it clear that he is not just one of the many gates but the only gate.
Then, we may ask what he means by this entry through him. To be baptized, to acknowledge him as one’s Saviour, and to go to church every Sunday, he means by that?
In other places in the gospel, Jesus teaches the way to salvation is narrow and difficult. Many people choose the wide and easy way to perdition. Some attempt to walk the narrow and difficult path, but only a few will finally make it. Only with God’s help, it is possible. Why is the way so hard?
In his letter, St Peter encourages the faithful: “If you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.”
Christ suffered for all mankind although he was without sin. And through his suffering, he offered his flesh and blood for our redemption. The only way we arrive at salvation is to be like Christ by suffering and self-giving. To be like him includes not only following his example of self-giving by suffering but also being united with him by receiving his body and blood. We know many disciples of Christ left him because this teaching of eating his flesh and drinking his blood was hard to accept. We know many disciples abandoned him because suffering with him was too painful. But that’s the only way Jesus teaches.
Salvation is given only to a few. The teaching is clear. But the way is narrow and difficult. If I have to walk all alone by myself, I won’t be able to make it there by any means. That’s why we want to be one with Christ. What happened to the disciples when they were struggling in the sea? Jesus said, “It is I; do not be afraid.” They were glad and took him to the boat. “And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.” (John 6.21)
Acts 9
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles tells us how St Peter healed Aeneas, a man who had been paralyzed for eight years and revived Dorcas, a faithful Christian woman who had become ill and died subsequently. As Jesus had promised to his disciples, they received the power to heal and revive. Through their deeds of power, more and more people turned to Christ, and the first communities of Christians grew rapidly.
We may wonder why our bishops, priests, and deacons of our times do not cause miraculous healings and revivals as often as the Apostles did. Did they not receive the power to heal? In our times, the healing power has been transferred to medical workers? But wouldn’t it be so beneficial if the world can see miraculous healings so that many people come and join the Church and receive the gift of salvation? Why is God not so generous as before? Why are our clergy so powerless? Wasn’t it one of the main ministries of Jesus to heal the sick?
Every time I come back from grocery shopping, especially from major distribution centres, I see I am a part of the problem, not of the solution. I create or pay for the creation of harmful wastes – all those wrappings and containers. Many of my cookware in the rectory is not safe – potentially carcinogenic. A vast number of household products, building materials, clothes, you name it, emit environmental hormones. I have been poisoning myself and others by my choices and by my dollars. Then, do I expect I can heal others? Shouldn’t I stop killing first?
Yes, it is almost unavoidable in our times not to choose this harmful lifestyle. But it is still true I am a part of the problem. It would be contradictory and hypocritic for me to heal a cancer patient while I buy potentially carcinogenic products. That’s why God does not give me the power to heal. Unless I try to heal myself and stop harming others, God will not grant me the power to heal others. Only then, I might be hoping to see an increase in new converts.
Matthew 13
When successful and popular people speak, the public tends to listen to them. Often I am surprised that the public agrees with and follows these popular figures’ non-expert opinions and suggestions without much examination. Their popularity directly becomes their credibility without particular expertise.
On the other hand, our family members and neighbours speak, we tend to half-listen or even to ignore them, even when they speak words of wisdom. The hometown people of Jesus said about Jesus, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” and they added, “Is not his mother called Mary?” Before they took offence at Jesus, they looked down upon his parents first. They ignored St Joseph, the patron saint of the whole Church, and didn’t recognize Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Although they lived close by, they did not acknowledge the holiness of these two greatest saints of all saints. Although the town’s people were amazed at the wisdom and power of Jesus, they could not accept Jesus even as a prophet, not to mention as the Lord and Saviour.
St Joseph was an ordinary carpenter. He was not commercially too successful because he could not even afford a room when his wife gave birth to her first son. We don’t know how skillful St Joseph was, but it doesn’t seem that he was a renowned engineer or inventor. All we know about him is that he was a carpenter. And it seems that’s how much the town’s people also knew about him. We find St Joseph in the infancy narratives, but he never speaks. There is not even a word from him in the entire gospel. We don’t know if he liked to sleep, but he sleeps and receives messages from angels, wakes up, and does what the angels told him. There is nothing extraordinary about St Joseph in the gospel. And the town’s people found the same – nothing exceptional, nothing extraordinary, nothing to be commemorated.
Nevertheless, in secret, he was chosen as the foster father of the Son of God. And also in secret, he protected the Mother of God and her Son. He didn’t speak too much, but he did more than enough in God’s plan of salvation.
There is an expression, average Joe or ordinary Joe. We don’t expect much from an average Joe. But our average Joe, St Joseph could carry our Saviour and protect him with his poverty. Not a superstar or a superhero, but this average Joseph I wish to become.
John 6
When we buy produce or flowers, no one chooses deformed ones. People will give me a strange look if I ask them why they choose well-formed vegetables and flowers. It seems instinctive for us to choose things in this way. We want things that are genuine rather than fake. We want things that are beneficial rather than harmful. We want things that are beautiful rather than deformed. And these true, good, and beautiful things are all connected. Beautifully well-formed vegetables and flowers demonstrate the perfections of their species. And these perfections manifest they are well-nourished and have nutritious elements in them. These are what we want for eating because they are good for our health. This is not too hard to understand. And whether understanding or not, we practice it every day.
However, we can still ask why we want truth, good, and beauty. It is because we all want perfections. This implies we are not perfect. We have perfections to some degrees but not to their completion. It is undeniable we tend to move toward the completion of perfections. If someone denies this, it’s a sign of degeneration, destruction, perversion, and annihilation. We are born to look for truth, good, and beauty.
This is why the man has been searching for God since the time of old. The man wants to join the source of all perfections. Beyond human imperfections and failures, and above sufferings and death, the man desires to rise to perfections.
When Christ came on earth, he showed the man truth, good, and beauty with his own life and examples. He was not merely another righteous and charitable man. He completed truth, good, and beauty by his resurrection. True life, the life that never ends was shown in his resurrection. His disciples witnessed the perfect form of life with the incorruptible body. And Christ invited his disciples to share his life.
The body and blood we receive at the Eucharistic celebration are how we share the perfection of life. This is how we prepare ourselves for the life of which Christ promised to us - life eternal.
John 6
In recent years, you probably noticed more and more ‘celebrations of life’ in the obituaries. This phrase sounds emotionally sanitized and religiously neutral. People don’t know how to grieve over death. People don’t want to think about their final destinies after death. People like to perpetuate this life in this world. So, even when people die, they make the dead alive by watching their life with slide shows. But we are afraid of looking into the reality of death. This generation is having a hard time to face the sadness of death. At the same time, many people have lost interest in eternal destiny after death. So, there we have ‘celebrations of life.’
But for what do we celebrate life? Or for whom do we celebrate life? Is it for the deceased? Do we believe sharing memories can help the deceased? Or can all our tributes and honours be useful for the deceased?
It is an undeniable fact of life that much of life is filled with struggles, failures, and sufferings not to mention mundane routines. Do we celebrate these, too?
If we want to celebrate life on earth, or if life on earth is to be meaningful, there must be something after this life. Otherwise, whatever we commemorate about the deceased can stay only for a little while in our memory. What a vanity!
Our God, our Creator does not leave us in darkness. Christ clearly declares the will of God the Father and the purpose of this life: “all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.”
Everything we do here on earth has a purpose. Even our pain and sufferings are meaningful. It’s because each of them contributes to our final destinies.
John 6
“The bread of life” - there would be no Catholic who has never heard this phrase. This is another name for the Eucharist and Holy Communion, the body and blood of Christ Jesus. This is the single most important object of our faith. This is the identity indicator of the whole Catholic Christendom. And this is what Jesus presents in chapter 6 of St. John’s gospel, which we read today.
Then, why this bread of life is so critical in our faith? We don’t have to guess since Jesus gives the answer in the same passage. It’s because this bread of life, the body and blood of Christ gives life everlasting.
Life everlasting. The everlasting life presupposes life finite, a life that has to come to an end by death. When the shadow of death is thick and dark, we finally desire life everlasting. A person who does not know death does not desire life eternal.
It may be depressing to reflect on death. But without reflection on death and our eternal destiny, we are not able to make prudent decisions even for this life. I have made many imprudent, wrong, and sinful decisions because I had not had a clear vision of death. Blind to death, we are likely to have a false sense of security. When this false sense of security is combined with pride, there can be a deadly outcome - either physically or spiritually or both.
In a sense, this time, when death is everywhere, it is a time of blessing because we are all the more aware of the reality of death. This awareness will lead us to the desire for life that does not end. And once again we remember the promise of Christ Jesus: “Whoever eats this bread and drink this cup will never die, will have eternal life.”
John 6
“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” These words of Jesus make me stop and ask myself many questions: “Why do I follow Jesus? Do I follow him because I can satisfy my needs with what he gives? Is that why I became a priest? Why do I miss the community celebration? Is it because I can confirm my social ego?”
Many Catholics miss the Mass dearly these days under the lockdown. Although we can watch it online or on TV, we are not completely satisfied. Do you feel the same? Why do we feel this way? This time is a real opportunity to examine our hearts: “Why do we follow Jesus? Why do we go to Mass? Why do we receive Holy Communion? What do I miss the most about the Mass, or about my parish church?”
Jesus showed those signs such as the turning water into wine and the feeding of the five thousand, in order that people might be able to recognize his divine power and sonship and to have faith in him as the Saviour and Redeemer from sins. For those looking for the redemption of Israel from its sins, it would have been so great a joy only to see him. Prophets and kings of old wanted to see him but could not see him. But now these little ones finally saw the Son of God! When prophet Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit to the Temple on the day of the Presentation of Jesus, the old prophet exclaimed with joy because he could see the Saviour after the years of prayers and supplications. For those of us who long for liberation from sinfulness and for eternal salvation, Christ Jesus the Son of God himself is enough reason to follow. And for those who are deeply thankful to God for everything in this life, the divine Son himself is enough reason to worship.
But there are also many of us whose faith is still childish and weak. Some go to church to make friends. Some go to church for self-righteousness. Some go to church for feeling good and secure. Some go to church for better businesses. How many of us can really say “I am totally free of self-serving.” I always find myself having these weaknesses of faith.
However weak we are, Christ does not scatter us because he is patient and knows us so well. During this time of the pandemic, let us purify our hearts so that we may receive our Lord worthily when we gather together.
Luke 24
The 6th century BC was very dark hours for the people of Israel. The Jewish kingdom was conquered by the Babylonian Empire and the Jewish people were deported to different parts of the Babylonian Empire. The Temple of Jerusalem was razed down to the ground and there could be no loner religious sacrifices of Jewish people. It was the most critical and dangerous time for the Jewish people because they might lose their identity as God’s chosen race.
However, it turned out a time of blessing in fact. Against all these miseries, the Jewish people gathered and edited their scriptures this time. Most of the books of the Old Testaments we use now came out in the final form in this period. During these years of oppression, the Holy Spirit was ever more active among the people of Israel, not in Jerusalem or in any parts of Israel but in a foreign land.
When Jesus was crucified and died, it looked all his powerful deeds and words during his ministry on earth completely and abjectly failed. The two disciples on the way to Emmaus in today’s gospel were ‘sad’. They were dismayed and gave up their hope and walked away from Jerusalem. But Jesus walked together with them. He didn't give them up. He opened the Scriptures and revealed the mystery of salvation from Moses down to Christ. The hearts of these two disciples caught on fire at the words of Jesus.
They invited Jesus to their home while not knowing it was Jesus. Probably they wanted to listen to him more. And there, at the breaking of the bread, Jesus removed their blindness. Finally, they recognized the presence of the Risen Jesus. But at the same time, they realized the risen Lord had been with them all the way!
We might be feeling these days we are deprived of Jesus because we cannot celebrate the Mass together as a community. But can we say Christ is now absent among us because we don’t celebrate the liturgy? Often, God is present by his absence. Let us open the Bible. Let us hold the Rosary. Let us examine carefully our life. Let the Holy Spirit work now!
1Peter 5
Many spiritual ‘gurus’ teach people how to live with a peaceful mind and heart. They teach certain methods to pacify everyone. Accept everyone as they are, recognize all lifestyles as all good, acknowledge all kinds of philosophies and religions as all equal!
On the other hand, all saints of the Church lived lives of struggles, battles, torments, persecutions, and pains. Although they look calm on our prayer cards, lives of saints were series of confrontations against all kinds of evil within and without, and also against Satan and demons. They had to go through temptations and tests. They had to battle against their vices and weaknesses. You might not believe this, but saints are those who went to the Confession much more frequently than average Catholics. And many saints were eyewitnesses to demons and Satan, which made them tortured and fearful. Saints of the Church are not certainly those spiritual gurus in any sense.
Christians live a harder life. It’s because we are born of the water and the Spirit. We are no longer living as the flesh only but as the spirit. An alert spirit always struggles with the flesh, as St Paul teaches us. From the moment of Baptism, we start struggling. The more spiritual we are, the more severe our struggles become. And Satan is always around to tempt us and to destroy us.
“Cast all your anxiety on him [God], because he cares for you,” St Peter consoles us in today’s first reading. We are all struggling and suffering because the world hates us as it hated Christ first. “Your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering,” St Peter tells us.
John 6
Today’s gospel is one of the best-known episodes in the New Testament. But how would you answer if your child or grandchild asks you why Jesus caused this miraculous feeding of the five thousand? Did Jesus want to impress the people with his power? Did he want to be praised for his merciful act of feeding? Did he want to make more followers? Or was he preparing for the Eucharist? Was he teaching the small sharing of the five loaves and two fish could fulfill the needs of the multitude?
Yes, the disciples saw the divine power of Jesus. Yes, the people all looked up Jesus as a saviour. Yes, more and more people searched for Jesus after this event. Yes, this feeding was remembered later by the disciples of how Jesus prefigured the Eucharist. Yes, he taught that a small gift to God could become a blessing for many.
But we missed the biggest reason why Jesus gathered all these people and fed them. A parallel passage of today’s gospel is found in St. Matthew’s. There, St. Matthew writes as follows (14.14): “he had compassion on them”. He fed the people because he loved them. Does it sound too obvious? But we often forget this love, especially when we gather in the name of Jesus. God gathers us to give something good because he loves us so much. And Jesus gives the best thing - his own flesh and blood.
These days I hear Christians claim religious freedom and liberty to gather to worship amid the pandemic. Some consider this pandemic is religious persecution and call for martyrdom. Some also argue the Christian worship is an essential service just like a grocery store.
But how many parents ask their children to visit them at this time? Although they feel lonely and isolated, aren’t many elderly parents enduring this time, rather telling their children to stay home for their health and safety?
The next phrase to the quoted text from St Matthew’s is this, “and he [Jesus] healed their sick.” During this pandemic, I wonder if Jesus wants us to risk our health by gathering for the worship of him, the health he often restored for many.
John 3
Recently a parishioner asked about the apparent conflict between the creation and the evolution. This controversy has been around for a long time, but, still, many people do not understand a few critical elements in this issue. Today, I like to speak about only one aspect which is somewhat related to today’s gospel.
John the Baptist says today, “…the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things…The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, yet no one accepts his testimony.”
What the Bible teaches and the words Jesus speaks are called revelations. Revelations are given by someone from above. Revelations are what the person from above has seen and heard from above. They are presented as truths, not as theories. In other words, what the Bible and Jesus teach are not probable explanations of this world but unchangeable reality and divine plans for man’s salvation.
Theories are concerned about explaining phenomena. Theories are useful because they can explain observable things in this world. They speak about “earthly things”. They explain how things are in this world.
On the other hand, revealed truths show us the purposes of this life and world and direct us to “above”. The book of Genesis was not written to record how the world came about along a timeline. Rather, God wanted to reveal he is the ultimate source of all existence and all were created for harmony, peace, and happiness. And the man was called to participate in God’s life. The book of Genesis teaches God the Creator exists beyond all creations in the universe. And it reveals the purpose of human life and its destiny.
“The one who comes from above is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard.” Revealed truths are not gathered by quantifiable observations or experimentations but given by the one from heaven. The Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writers. Finally, the Son of God himself also came to the world and revealed the purpose and destiny of life. Jesus didn't come as a science teacher. The Bible does not compete against science.
John 3
The light and the darkness; the day and the night: all men understand because all of us experience every single day. So when Jesus declared he was the light of the world, he didn’t really need to explain too much what he meant. Likewise, when St John contrasted light and darkness as in today’s gospel, he didn’t have to comment too much why the evil belongs to the darkness and the good to the light.
What St John focuses on is why some choose rather the darkness than the light. There are many excuses for choosing or remaining in the darkness. Some are greedy; some lustful; some of the bad tempers; some disappointed at life and the world; some filled with hatred; the list will not end. Nevertheless, these excuses cannot be reasons to choose the darkness or to remain there, because there are also many who have overcome these excuses and choose the light.
Let’s say there is a man who was abused when he was young. He has to carry his wound all his life. The scar will not disappear. If he is full of hatred against the whole of humanity and the world, it is understandable. However, unless he has lost the capability to exercise his free will, he can still choose either to live a life of revenge or to live a life of forgiveness. Even if he chose the life of revenge, it would be understandable. But we would have to say he chose evil.
When we choose evil, we experience the darkness: endless confusion, constant self-hatred, bottomless sadness, inextinguishable shame, unstoppable cursing, unavoidable restlessness and anguish. But you might say many evil people look happy and prosperous. Yes, they appear to live a favourable life. But are they truly peaceful? Ask a military dictator. Ask a Mafia boss.
Then, eventually, we have to ask: why do people still choose evil?
It is because they deceive themselves. They attempt to hide their darkness with the darkness. They try to fix their evil with evil. It is not surprising those who choose evil are called the children of darkness, the children of Satan, because Satan is the father of lies.
Acts 4
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives an interesting account of the earliest Christians. It writes that “no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.” How do we regard a religious group living like this in our times? They are labeled as separatists, fundamentalists, cultists, and even communists. And often, they are ridiculed as unreasonable, unrealistic, strange, and insane. Also, they are criticized as anti-social, outdated, and exclusive. Most times these people are deemed as odd and impossible to understand. Apparently, the ancient societies were not very different in making judgments on the earliest Christians who were living a communal life as shown in the Acts. During the first centuries, Christians were misunderstood, mistreated, and persecuted.
In our times, it is almost exclusively limited to religious nuns and monks to live a community life. So, you might think this community life of Christians is a very special vocation only a small number of Christians can enjoy. However, as we have seen in the Acts of the Apostles, this way of life was the original Christian lifestyle. And it originated from Jesus and his disciples’ community life. The Christian community life is very much biblical and a divine institution since it was established by Christ himself. The Church was meant to be a community that shares life, not an assembly that gathers on a regular basis.
If our parish communities are mere Sunday assemblies of Christians, we miss a critical element of Christian faith. Our faith was given through a community and developed within a community. All Christian experiences presume a community life and are destined for it.
John 3
In this pandemic, we often hear the word ‘crisis’. What is a crisis, then? It is an occasion or a period in which we are threatened to lose something important such as work, family, health or life. This pandemic is certainly a crisis in every sense of the word. It is a health care crisis, an economic crisis, an educational crisis, and a national and global crisis.
But as Christians, we should also ask if this is a crisis of faith or a crisis to the Church. Then, the first question we should ask is whether this pandemic can take away our faith. Or whether it can damage the Holy Mother Church.
St Paul (Rom 8) asks who can separate us from the love of Christ - “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” And he gives an answer: “I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If someone loses his faith during this pandemic, it is not the pandemic that takes his faith away. Rather, the person will have to admit it is he who gives up his own faith. Surely this pandemic can test our faith but cannot seize it from us. If someone is worried about the finance of the local churches, we answer poverty will purify the churches and uplift their spirits.
For us Christians, this pandemic is not a crisis but an opportunity, because we see the world as Christ sees. When we are born anew by baptism, we no longer belong to the kingdom of this world but to the kingdom of God. We now live this life as Christians first and foremost.
Whatever we do for the love of Christ during this pandemic will strengthen our faith. We will all have different kinds of struggles during this time, but those struggles will help us to mature in faith. This is a time of purification. Let us be alert in spirit. And let us pray so that we may remain in the peace Christ gives by his resurrection.
John 20
What do you miss most during this pandemic? Many of us will answer it is the Mass. That’s why many of us watch televised Masses. And this is a natural reaction because the Mass contains all the essential elements of our faith. Repentance: we confess together our sinfulness at the beginning. Revelation: we hear the Word of God proclaimed. And there follows teaching on the Word of God. Intercession: we pray for us and for the world. Offering: We bring gifts to our Lord. Sacrifice: on the altar Christ offers himself as the true victim for our redemption and salvation. Communion: we receive the body and blood of our Lord. Presence: our God is actually present in the Word and in the Eucharist.
But there is still another element we often do not recognize because we take it for granted. It is the community. Probably many of us miss the gathering of the faithful to worship together. Indeed this is critical for our faith because God called us as a community not as individuals. It was the community of Israel that God called out of Egypt. From the very beginning of his public ministry, Jesus called his disciples to form a community. And he spent all his ministry with them as a community. And he built his church as a community. Our Lord is present not anywhere else but in this community of faith.
This is what we see both in the first reading and in the gospel of this Sunday. After the resurrection, once again Jesus gathers his disciples and reveals his bodily resurrection. After the Pentecost, the first Christians lived a life of a true community. They prayed together, celebrated the Eucharist together, they ate together, shared everything together, spent much time together - together and together. And in this togetherness, our God was present and worked many wonders!
So, the Church without this togetherness is not to be called the Church. The Church is not an assembly of likeminded individuals but an organic body of self-giving and sharing. Then, are you satisfied with watching televised Masses? Do you think we can be perfectly good Christians just as individuals without a community?
In this time of self-confinement, we truly recognize this communal essence of our faith. I hope that this absence of the community worship during this pandemic may renew our desire for the community of the faithful. And I hope we may put all our efforts to keep the community spirit even in this absence of the visible community. And I pray our Lord may gather his flock once again soon so that we may worship him together and renew our community life of faith.
Act 4
Imagine our government decides to change the English grammar to promote a certain ideology and incriminates those who fail to use the new grammar. What’s your reaction? English language scholars will point out a government does not have the linguistic authority.
Imagine our government decides to change and define morality. Philosophers and ethicists will admonish that a political authority does not enjoy the moral authority of the society or of culture.
Imagine that our government decides to create a religion for all citizens. Does it make any sense? Then, whom are we going to worship in this state religion? Will it be a god or a human authority we worship?
In the first reading today from the Acts of the apostles, Sts Peter and John assert that we should first listen to the divine authority of God. God’s authority is not confined within the church premises because He is our Creator and Redeemer. To proclaim the Gospel is our duty but often offends some people. And sometimes to proclaim the Gospel challenges human authorities.
In our times, more and more human authorities claim divine authority. But before claiming the divine authority, these human authorities take over human values and natural rights such as family and life. When we do not listen to God, these human values and natural rights lose their foothold because without the divine assistance men are doom to confusion as shown in the Babel Tower account. When there is no God in our hearts and mind, something else replaces his authority under the guise of human authorities, as the Jewish authorities actually represented the power of the money they loved.
John 21
For some reason, St Peter decided to go fishing after the risen Christ had appeared to him and the other disciples. Apparently, it was fishing not with a rod but with nets from a boat for some serious purpose. I doubt it was just for pleasure because he and the other disciples struggled the whole night desperate to catch any. We don’t know exactly why they had to stay all night, but eventually, they spent the whole night for nothing.
Did they go fishing because they did not know what to do even if risen Jesus had confirmed them of his resurrection? Or was it a symbolic event that suggests the apostles were trying to proclaim the Good News and to gather new people for Christ without any success? Or they might have gone fishing because they were dismayed at their unsuccessful attempts to bring Good News to people. They might have thought they should go back to their old job since there was no Jesus who could lead them together like before although he had risen from death.
Any way, risen Jesus showed his power once again. He filled the nets of the apostles. The apostles only had to haul them to the shore. The apostles were reminded that their life and their work are in the hand of the Lord.
One of the difficulties of the priesthood is to handle frustrations. Often I feel defeated when there is no result. The number of parishioners is staggering. The parish offers various events offered to attract more parishioners, but I see only the same faithful parishioners. And so on and so forth.
But as Jesus told his disciples on the boat without catching any fish, he is telling me to cast the net to the right side. So often my own vision directs my ministry. What I really need is to listen to the voice of risen Christ. So often I forget the risen Christ stands by my side. It is not I but Christ who is to lead the ministry. And I serve not ‘my’ parishioners but Christs’ people.
Easter Thursday - Luke 24
In the evening of the resurrection, the eleven apostles and other disciples gathered at a house. And they locked the door for fear of the Jews. They were afraid of the Jews for fear of losing their lives.
These days, we experience somewhat similar. Many people, either voluntarily or enforced, have to stay inside their houses away from others. We lock ourselves in our homes for fear of a virus. We are afraid of losing our lives.
Now, through the locked door, Jesus enters the house where his disciples gather. And he makes sure of his bodily resurrection by showing his hands and feet and re-confirms them by showing he can even eat their food. When his disciples were shivering from the fear of death, Jesus revealed the reality of the bodily resurrection. How do you think the disciples felt when they saw Jesus eating their broiled fish?
I believe it was much more than a confirmation of the resurrection event of Jesus. They realized Jesus is God, and, at the same time, they saw a Man - a true God defeating death and a true man with flesh and bones that never corrupt. And they finally understood what kind of life Jesus had promised to them - eternal life with a true body, a body that does not know corruption or death!
In this time of the pandemic, I realize how helpless my human body is. How fragile our human body is against this primitive form of the half-life of a virus! But we Christians feel our desire for resurrection grows. We are not merely hoping to go back to the life that used to be; but we hope for the life no power on earth can harm, the new life with a new body that knows no death.
Easter Wednesday 2020
“What I have I give you.” This is what St Peter had said to the man born lame before he healed him. St Peter received not gold or silver but the power to heal in the name of Christ Jesus. And He shared this gift freely. Here nothing is unusual. This is common sense. We can give what we have.
As a priest and pastor, often I fall into temptations of pretension and presumption that lead me to hypocrisy. I pretend to be more than what I am. I presume to enjoy certain power and grace. I might please someone for a moment with pretension and presumption, but I don’t give anything in fact.
This pandemic tests what I really have as a man, as a priest, and as a pastor. And it also tests me if I have a strong will to give what I have. But at the same time, I realize it is not really I who work here. It is Christ who works in me. Before Jesus fed those thousands of people, he had asked his disciples to feed them. When they were dismayed of their inability, Jesus asked for anything they had. A boy offered Jesus five bread and two fish, and they were enough for Jesus to cause the miracle. Whatever I give Jesus, he will multiply. I don’t have much, but it may be enough to give.
This pandemic seems a difficult time to share because we cannot easily meet people. But please do share whatever you already have. Time is a great thing to share now. With those at home, you may renew and deepen your relationships with them by sharing more time. With those afar, you may connect more frequently to rekindle your relationships. You already have much to give. Let us give something to Jesus. Let Jesus work in our life now.
Easter Tuesday
God does not hurry when he teaches us. God never overwhelms us when he reveals his identity. When Moses of the OT encountered God for the first time, God did not reveal himself in a massive wildfire but in a burning bush, something Moses could approach without too much fear. When Elijah found the presence of God, it was in a gentle breeze, not in a storm or in an earthquake. God did not force his identity upon us. He let us discover him. And he is patient with us.
In the NT, it is the same. Jesus did not teach his true identity in an explosive revelation. Let’s look at the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Through a conversation, the Samaritan woman slowly discovered who Jesus is. She first called Jesus just a Jew; then, a man, then, a prophet, and finally, the Messiah that means Christ. This happens again for the man born blind whom Jesus gave sight and sent to him the pool of Siloam. After he came back from Siloam, he was questioned by the Pharisees. He first called Jesus a man. Then, he acknowledged the righteousness of Jesus. And he testified to the innocence of Jesus. He called Jesus a prophet. But he realized the true identity of Jesus as Christ and the Lord when Jesus taught him. And he worshipped Jesus as his Lord.
This is the same in the resurrection. Jesus did not overwhelm his disciples. He gave them much time to recognize him. He slowly revealed his resurrection. Today’s gospel shows Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus right away after the resurrection. It is very strange. How could that happen? She loved Jesus dearly, but she could not tell it was Jesus? But Jesus was patient. And he called her name, Mary. And she finally recognized him and truly believed in his resurrection. On the same day, Jesus appeared to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus. They spent the whole afternoon with Jesus but did not recognize him. But Jesus patiently taught all the Scriptures on the way. Finally, at the breaking of the bread, their eyes were open.
Our Lord is patient with us. He reveals himself according to our capacity for understanding. But here is an important thing. Like Mary Magdalene, we should be looking for him. When our hearts long for him, he comes to us as he did to Mary Magdalene. So, let us be patient. Our Lord will surely teach us his resurrection.
Easter Monday
Once again, the enemy of the Lord does not miss an opportunity. Sacrilegiously, it appears on this Easter Monday. You have probably guessed. Yes, it is money. Jesus often chastised Pharisees who loved money. Jesus admonished his apostles not to carry money for their missions. Judas sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus warned us we cannot serve God and money together. And, on the day of resurrection, the soldiers sold the truth of the resurrection of Christ for money. Money stops the news of Christ’s resurrection. Money obscures the truth of Christ’s resurrection.
Are you worried about money these days? In the middle of this pandemic, many people have lost their jobs. Many businesses see their sales drop down dramatically. Governments have to offer economic stimulus packages and disaster funds. And, churches - they find their offering baskets empty.
It is true that we get poorer now. And many people will face serious financial crises. And we do not know how long we will have to suffer this economic downturn.
But are not our brothers and sisters actually suffering from this pandemic? And are not many families losing their loved ones? Do I want money and convenience over the lives of my neighbours? But if we lose our lives, what are money and comfort for?
We cannot allow money to overpower the news of Christ’s resurrection. Jesus warned us the worries of the world and the love of riches will choke the word of God as the thorn bush chokes the seedling.
How can we spread the news of this new life of Christ? How can we bring the life of resurrection? How can we testify to the truth of Christ’s resurrection in this time of plague?
Imagine we can save the lives of our neighbours from this pandemic. It will be another kind of resurrection. If our poverty can bring life to our neighbours, we will choose it. If our inconvenience can protect my neighbours from the plague, we will endure it. Our Lord is the Lord not of the dead but of the living. Our Lord has risen from the dead, Alleluia.
Easter Sunday 2020
There is one thing in common all four gospels tell us about the resurrection of Jesus: when the women went to the tomb of Jesus, they found it empty.
Nobody saw how the resurrection occurred. No one saw Jesus coming out of the tomb. None of his followers or disciples were with him at the moment of his resurrection. Jesus had been with his disciples day and night during his public ministry. His disciples and followers had seen all his works and heard all his teachings. But, then, why did Jesus not allow his disciples to watch him rise from death? At least, he could wait for Mary Magdalene and other women to arrive on that morning of his resurrection so that they may see him walking out of the tomb, couldn’t he? Why was he so impatient? Why didn’t he allow anyone to be an eyewitness to the moment of his resurrection? Wouldn’t that make future evangelization of the following generations much easier?
As St Peter tells us in the second reading today, Jesus appeared not to everyone in Jerusalem. He did not show up to Pontius Pilate. He did not visit Herod. He did not come to the Temple to see Caiaphas the chief priest. But he only appeared to his selected people. Why didn’t he make his resurrection an undeniable historical fact by the evidence of his resurrected body to the general public? That would make future missions much more successful, wouldn’t it?
In our times, it becomes common to watch the Mass on screen. What do you see there? Can you see Jesus present in the proclamation of Scriptures? Or can you observe the bread and wine turn into the flesh and blood of Christ? Can you see Christ being sacrificed at the hill of Calvary? What do you actually watch? What do you see?
Our Lord didn’t allow anyone to see his being rising from the dead, because it was not something eyes can see. A true mystery cannot be observed by eyes but should be revealed to the mind. The resurrection of Christ truly occurred in time, but the Lord has to reveal it to those minds he has prepared before. The mystery of the Eucharist can be only revealed when we worship the Lord in person. Revelation is different from visual observation. Revelation is God’s act on our mind and heart, not our mental or sensory perception.
In this pandemic, we cannot gather to worship our Lord even on this greatest solemnity of our faith. Then, are we shut off from the mystery of the resurrection? Are we cut off from the grace of the Holy Eucharist? Brethren, you should not be discouraged. Remember how Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene and to other disciples. He was not found where he was supposed to be. Rather, he found his disciples. He revealed himself to his chosen ones according to his will and his plan. When we think we cannot find him, Christ will find us and will reveal his mysteries to us. It’s because he is not dead but alive. Even when we are dead in our disappointment and agony, Our living God will reveal his mysteries and his presence to us.
Easter Vigil
This year’s Triduum is special. It is because we live the Passover again. And we live the Passover again in two senses. First, we live again the original Passover the Israel people of old had in the land of Egypt. Second, we live again the Passover of Christ Jesus. We live the Passover again, thanks to this pandemic that is sweeping all the world at this moment.
On the night of the original Passover in the time of Moses, the power of God swept the whole land of Egypt. The angel of death demanded the lives of all the firstborn males in the land. All Israel people were hiding in their homes while hoping the angel of God passed over their homes seeing the mark of the blood of the lamb. All people in the land of Egypt were helpless. The power of God decided who to live and who to die. God revealed his power; the man was stripped of his pride. God revealed He is the Lord; everything else is vain and empty.
Under this pandemic of COVID-19, we feel helpless. In many countries, the only thing people can do is to stay home. And we have to wait. We realize how humble existence we are. We are not different from those people on the night of the first Passover in the land of Egypt. We are not our own masters. The man cannot determine the fate of his life.
The pharaoh did not listen to Moses. He refused to release Israel to worship God. It’s because he didn’t want to lose their economic value. He could not give up their free service for his wealth.
This time, we can see and hear many are so worried about the economy under this pandemic. Why? It’s because much of our economy is built upon debts just as the Egyptian economy was built upon slavery. We cannot let go of these debts. Otherwise, we will be bankrupted. Some people want to choose to reopen the economy while risking the lives of the vulnerable population. Ironically, our economy serves money itself. If we choose the economy over life, we will have to admit our god is money. How really we live the Passover again in this time!
On the night of the Passover of Christ Jesus, after the burial of Jesus, all his disciples were scattered and hiding. As the darkness covered the whole land of Judaea on the day of the Crucifixion, the disciples and followers of Jesus entered the darkness of fear and dread. They were in the darkness without their Lord. The absence of the Lord should have been so painful.
In this pandemic, we enter the same darkness of the absence of Christ. You cannot see him anymore at the Mass; I cannot see my congregation. Hiding at home, in this dark moment, pain pierces our hearts. We feel abandoned by the Lord. The disciples would have felt the same and asked as Peter had asked, “Lord, where are you going? Where have you gone? Where are you?”
We do not know when this pandemic will end. We don’t know if life would be ever the same after this pandemic, either. We don’t know if our parish life will go back as before. “Where are you, Lord?” We ask, too.
When you read the readings of Easter Vigil tonight, you will realize these are promises and covenants. God’s promises and covenants are messages of hope. This hope is realized in Christ. Christ Jesus realizes this hope by his resurrection.
On the morning of the resurrection, the disciples and followers of Jesus went to his tomb. But they could not find him. They were still in darkness of sorrows. They were looking for his boy but only found the empty tomb. Who found him? No one. Instead, it was Jesus who found them!
We might also find only the empty tomb if we hold on to our past memories. Our Lord is risen. He will find us first as he revealed himself to Mary Magdalene. He will wait for us first as he went up to Galilee first and waited for his disciples. It is not our eyes that will find him. It will be his light that will reveal him.
Good Friday
Why do we read the Passion Narrative every year?
“It is because my sins are on his shoulder.”
- “My sins”: It is my sins that are on his cross, on his shoulder, not somebody else’s.
- Not only the sins of Israelites but also the sins of all peoples
- Not only the sins of the past but also of the sins of the present
- Jesus carries my own personal sins, not just anonymous sinners
- “are”: Jesus still carries his cross.
- The crucifixion of Jesus still happens ‘today’.
- Jesus still ‘suffers’ on behalf of me for the atonement of my sins.
- “his”: No one else but Jesus can carry this cross of redemption.
- He is the Mediator who is a true man. No other being but a true (the same essence) and a real (not virtually but verily present) human being can represent other human beings.
- He remained sinless despite all temptations and all weaknesses of humanity. In other words, Jesus remains always in the right relationship with God his Father. Only a mediator who is in good relationship with God can offer sacrifices on behalf of others who cannot approach God because of their guilts and sins.
“For it is not as if we had a high priest
who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us;
but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are,
though he is without sin.”
- Hebrews 4.15 (the Second Reading of Good Friday)
Holy Thursday
I wonder if you have ever had a Christmas dinner with a person or people with whom you feel so uncomfortable. The person or people might be your estranged siblings. They might be your in-laws with very different political views. Or they could be your children who are practicing some New Age spirituality you can never understand. But we can be diplomatic with these people. You may make even a smile at them.
But, to a little worse, or maybe quite worse, if these people we have to share the Christmas dinner with have hurt us or our children badly but never said sorry, it would be much more difficult to keep our composure during the whole meal.
Now, to the worst, you are dining with your family on Christmas, but you have already found out your spouse has been cheating on you, and your spouse is telling you he/she is going out shortly after dinner with some unexpected excuse. Now, how would you serve your spouse at the table? Wouldn’t it be a little too painful?
Probably this is close to what Jesus felt when he washed the feet of his apostles at the Last Supper. Jesus knew who had betrayed him. But he washed all of their feet. And he continued the supper. He stretched out his hand to give the life-giving bread to Judas Iscariot who would hand him over on the same night.
What is your image of the washing of the feet and the Last Supper? We may have a strong impression of brotherly love and sacrifice. And we may see Jesus girded with humility and gentleness. Indeed, Jesus served his disciples with humility and gentleness. And he truly gave himself as the bread of life. But let us not forget his strength of self-abandonment to face his traitor. Let us not forget the piercing inner pain of betrayal he had to endure in the presence of his traitor. And let us remember his impartial love for all his disciples.
Wednesday Holy Week
We do not know exactly why Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus. St. John’s gospel (chapter 12) implies greed was his motive. Then, we should see at what price Judas sold our Lord. In today’s gospel, St. Matthew tells us it was 30 pieces of silver. What was the worth of 30 pieces of silver? Some estimate it is only $300 in today’s dollar, based on the value of silver. But the Bible tells us it was an average price of a slave in the ancient times of Israel. We do not know the monetary value of a slave in our times, since nowhere in the world slavery is legal. But when we consider the average prices of slaves in the mid-19 century in America, it would be about $25,000 to $30,000 in today’s dollar value. So, Judas traded Jesus at the value of a compact car in our times. Do you think it is a lot of money?
Judas Iscariot saw all the wonders of Jesus during his public ministry. And Judas himself was sent out to heal people and cast out demons with the power Jesus gave to him. All Israel was watching Jesus. Jesus could be potentially a king of the Jews. Then, how could Judas estimate the value of Jesus for an average slave? Was he really greedy?
When people live for their own greed, people become blinded to spiritual values. In fact, they lose sight of all values. They become unreasonable. They choose worthless things. People choose the economy over life. People choose personal freedom over the lives of babies. Judas chose $30,000 over life-saving God.
My brothers and sisters, do you have worries these days? What are they about? Are they about the salvation of your soul? On the Way of the Cross, Jesus told the women of Jerusalem, “Do not weep for me; rather, weep for yourselves and for your children.” He wanted us to put salvation first and foremost. Everything else does not really matter, then.
Tuesday Holy Week
John 13 Jesus foretells his betrayal
“So when he[Jesus] dipped the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. After he received the piece of bread, Satan entered into him.”
This is one of the more enigmatic passages in the New Testament. The bread Jesus gave Judas was not common bread for food but his body for eternal life. The night Jesus gave the bread of life to Judas was not an ordinary one but the night of the Last Supper. But, on that night, Satan entered into one of the apostles and possessed him for his diabolical business. How could Jesus allow this kind of sacrilege happen?
John’s gospel (chapter 12) tells us Judas was a thief. He used to embezzle the money from the common purse of the disciples. He had betrayed his conscience first before he betrayed Jesus. He was intoxicated with the taste of money. Eventually, Judas asked the chief priests, “What will you give me if I deliver him to you?” It was not enough to steal from Jesus. Judas sold him for money, 30 pieces of silver! His betrayal didn’t come just over one day. Greed and avarice do not set in just in a day.
Even after Judas agreed to hand over Jesus, he could have changed his mind. At the Last Supper, Jesus himself gently stretches out his hand to give the life-giving bread to Judas. This is why none of the disciples knew who would betray Jesus. It was his last gesture of calling for repentance. But the hardened heart of Judas refused the last chance. Instead, Satan possessed his heart.
“So, after receiving the piece of bread, he[Judas] immediately went out. And it was night.”
The gospel tells us not only the time of the day this supper was held but also the darkness Judas entered. He walks away from the light of the world and enters into the darkness of sin.
How did I receive Holy Communion? Did I receive Jesus in the spirit of poverty and humility? Did I receive my Saviour’s flesh and blood while I was still living with vices and in sins? Did I remain in betrayal of my conscience even after I received my Lord?
Judas has gone. But Satan is still around.
Monday Holy Week
A fashion brand Chanel’s popular perfume for women called Coco Mademoiselle costs you about 120 USD for 1.67 oz. You might think this is an expensive perfume. But there is an elite fragrance brand called Clive Christian. Its one of the top line perfume called Absolute Osmanthus perfume oil sets you back 10,000 USD for only 1 oz. High-grade pure perfume oils have always been extremely expensive for a little amount. This is why ancient people bought these oils for life savings - a small amount, so easy to store and easy to carry but extremely valuable. The pure nard perfume Mary used for Jesus in today’s gospel was worth over 300 denarii - that was about a year’s income. One denarius was a wage for a day at the time of Jesus. So, her perfume would cost more than 40,000 dollars in our times!
I wonder how many husbands and wives are willing to anoint their spouses’ feet with perfume that costs $40,000. It seems almost unreasonable. Mary wasted all her life savings for Jesus!
And, I wonder how many husbands and wives want to wipe their spouses’ feet with their own hairs. For women, hair means much more than just a part of their body. It’s their dignity and pride. And when Mary wiped the feet of Jesus, her hair was not a replacement of a towel.
What Mary did was worshipping Jesus as her God and Lord.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, many people met him. They were filled with awe and wonder at his miraculous deeds. But there were not many people who truly worshipped Jesus as their God and Lord. Mary was one of those who worshipped him with all her heart.
Mary wasted her life saving to worship Jesus. But she did not waste her opportunity to worship him.
Now we don’t have public celebrations during this Holy Week.
My brothers and sisters, however, let us not waste this opportunity to worship our Lord in spirit and truth. This is a time we offer Jesus our pure heart as Mary anointed Jesus with the perfume of pure nard. Let our hearts not clouded with worries about money and the economy. Like Mary, let us serve our Lord with humility. Perhaps Jesus is already in your home.