Accommodation, Hostility or Counter-Cultural

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

Malaysia often prides itself as being multi-cultural, a “melting pot” (or some would insist a “boiling cauldron”) of diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious communities. Although everyone acknowledges that culture matters, often, most people have little inkling of what ‘culture’ really means. So what is culture? It’s really hard to give a single word or sentence answer because as most anthropologists would state - culture is invisible, and this is what makes it potentially ‘dangerous,’ because we seldom realise its hold on us. It’s the lenses by which we view the world. And if you are wearing your lenses, you would most likely not notice it until you take it off. Culture is the world in which we are born and the world that is born in us, which means we are talking about everything. So, culture cannot be reduced to any one thing, but instead, it is an entire way of life. It's our perspective on the world. It doesn’t simply give a context for our values, it shapes our values.

But it’s not that we are just born into a culture and we have no choice in the matter. Ultimately culture is self-created. Culture is something we invent, create and fashion. Either the culture of others shapes us or we shape it. That is why, though we live in the midst of a larger ‘mainstream’ culture, we can choose to live by different cultural standards or values. The vexing questions that are relevant to us: How should we Christians respond to the broader mainstream culture? In a culture increasingly hostile to religion, should Christians retreat or engage?

Let’s consider our different options.

The first way is accommodation. This is probably the largest threat and temptation for Christians today. In an effort to appeal to outsiders, in seeking to be “relevant”, in wanting to “fit in” and not be ostracised, some Christians simply copy culture. They become a Xerox of what they perceive as hip, in the hope that people will perceive them as “cool” and give them a chance. This ranges from the music we sing in the liturgy to moral accommodations of the latest fad in lifestyle. Unfortunately, this pursuit of staying relevant removes the Church from its necessary anchor to both Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Eventually, accommodating ultimately means compromising certain values. Something has to give (and it’s usually the Church’s traditional teachings)! This is a recipe for disaster. You see, Christians are not meant to fit. In fact, we should naturally feel out of place in any larger society. We were not made for this world. We were made to pass through it. Our future, of course, is going to depend on what we do now. This world is not irrelevant. It is the place where God wants us to work, out of our selfishness into generosity and self-sacrifice. If we do that, we have the promise of the eternal citizenship in heaven, which is what life is all about now.

The other end of the spectrum is hostility. This could work out in two different but related responses. The first is separatism –responding to the mainstream culture with condemnation and retreat. Removing ourselves far away from the corruption of culture with the hope that we will not be tainted. But Christians who remove themselves from the world in hopes of self-preservation fail to realise that true cultural separation is impossible. More importantly, separation ignores the duty we’ve been given, to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The second would be to adopt an antagonistic position. Some Christians see little in the current culture worth redeeming and have decided to fight against almost everything culture promotes. Offended by the current cultural disposition, they want to flip over the tables of society, instead of negotiating the difficult terrain of working it out from within. They are great at pointing out the problems of society, but rarely offer good or practical solutions.

Finally, we are presented with the third option. Being countercultural. Christians are not called to be separatists, antagonists, or striving to be “relevant.” Yes, we were never meant to “fit in” but we are also called to shine as lights in the darkness and that cannot be possible if it is hidden beneath a basket or used to burn the world. Being lights, the world would often feel the discomfort of being around us, as lights tend to reveal the cobwebs and dusty corners that are in need of cleaning. Christians should see themselves as salt, preserving agents actively working for restoration in the middle of a decaying culture while availing of Christ’s redeeming power to work through them. We are called to be prophetic witnesses swimming against the current, denouncing deception and false prophets. We understand that by faithfully living out our Christian faith, we have to and must fight against the cultural norms and often flow counter to the cultural tide. This is where we belong – in the world but not of the world - right where God has placed us – fitting into God’s plans rather than that of man.

The readings today provide us with great examples of prophetic counter-culturalism. First, we have the example of the Prophet Amos, who hailed from the southern Kingdom of Judah, called by God to denounce the moral rot of the Kingdom of Israel in the North that had fallen into sin because of accommodating and assimilating the values of its pagan neighbours. Likewise, we see in the gospel, the Twelve being sent out on mission and called to live a prophetic life that would ultimately lead to their estrangement from society. Being Christ’s followers they would have to follow Him into the margins of society. Their lifestyle is going to be prophetically counter-cultural – a witness to Christ’s radical dependence on God. For to be truly counter-cultural, one truly needs to be Christ-like. We cannot convey anything related to the truth of Christ apart from reflecting Christ Himself. Jesus Christ flipped the world upside down; He was counter-cultural then and He still remains so today. He gave us a depth of understanding, a challenge to become fully human, and a way to exist by loving others with complete abandon. He told us if someone hits you, turn the other cheek. He said to love those who hate us. He told us to love the outcast, to give away all you have, to love beyond the way our culture “loves” others. He asks us to take up our cross and to be crucified in His name.

A commitment to being countercultural rather than being removed or “relevant” isn’t always easy. Living differently can be hard but it is possible with the grace of God. As the apostle Peter encourages, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear or be disturbed, but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:14-15) St Peter offers three simple principles in living counter-cultural lives in a world where we are “strangers”: courage, clarity, and civility. In other words, it’s not enough for us to have the courage to stand up for what we believe. We also must work hard, study, and understand what it is we are trying to communicate. What’s more, we should do it with gentleness and grace.

We are foreigners and exiles because we have been born anew into a new homeland. We are prophets who are tasked to provide a vision that goes beyond the horizon of this world. But being members of another kingdom makes us outsiders here on earth. We have become strangers because we have become strange. Our values, lifestyle, and priorities will always be radically different from the surrounding culture. Our faith makes us strangers in our own land. We do not fit in. We are not meant to. We are on the margins, just like the poor and the weak. But that will be our redemption because Christ awaits us in the margins too!

Familiarity breeds Contempt

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

“Familiarity breeds contempt.” It is a well-known maxim that goes all the way back to Publius the Syrian, who lived in 2 BC. The entire caption reads, “Familiarity breeds contempt … while rarity wins admiration.” Not to be upstaged, the ever witty Mark Twain once wrote, “familiarity breeds contempt … and children.”  

In the gospel we are told that our Lord’s reputation for attracting large crowds, His dynamic preaching, His astounding miracles had little effect on His own townspeople – they were not impressed. Rather, they began to mumble about the improbability of this since He was just an ordinary home boy, and He was certainly no better than anyone else in town. “This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too are they not here with us?” This led them to be contemptuous of His claims. To them, the Lord was a little more than an upstart. They had expected at least a rabbi, professionally trained for years in Scripture, to preach.  They hardly expected a sermon from a mere carpenter, who could have given them a lesson in woodwork, but certainly, not one qualified to speak to them about loftier subjects. So they closed their hearts to His message and to the possibility that God was indeed working in and through Him.  Yes, Jesus is truly and fully man. But He is also fully God. The Incarnation does not efface or render useless or outmoded the notion of the sacred.  On the contrary, the Incarnation makes the mundane sacred, holy and divine.

Such evidence of contemptuous familiarity is not just a thing of the past. It can also be found in this day and age.  Perhaps, we are witnessing a similar contempt of our Lord, in the lost of the sense of the sacred, especially in the liturgy. The cloud of incense is no longer an offering of worship to God but a cause of asphyxiation. Preaching becomes a chore when the Word of God becomes over familiar. The words of consecration become droning and uncomfortably lengthy. Hymns, sacred vessels, the bread and wine, vestments, every corner of the sanctuary, every word, every gesture of the divine liturgy becomes familiar, and a commonplace. Instead of mystery we see only cobwebs. Instead of order and beauty in the serving, we see only faults.  Indeed, nothing is sacred anymore in today’s modern climate. Eventually when the sense of the sacred is lost, we are left with a barren liturgy and a symbol-less Catholicism.

In the last few decades, we have witnessed a widespread decline in the “sense of the sacred” in many areas of culture and society, and even within the Church. There are many different causes for this loss. One of the main reasons is of course the growing contemptuous familiarity we have with the sacred.  This growing culture of contempt ranges from the subtle to the flagrant. There is nothing that cannot be turned into a parody, a point of mockery: the puns and jokes derived from scripture, the comical presentation of clerics and nuns or the mockery of piety and religious devotion, with a suggestion that these are symptoms of mental illness.

More flagrant is the manner in which our celebration of the sacred Liturgy has been transformed into something entertaining, marked by a greater casualness and carelessness that is diametrically opposed to the spirit of Liturgy. In spite of the insistence that there should be a proper decorum for church attire,  very few parishes have made some effort to move away from the banal music, instead “hymns” are chosen to placate the secular taste of various sectors of the parish. It’s no wonder the call to “dress properly” generally falls on deaf ears. If one can’t tell the difference between the music you hear at a party with that sung in church, can you blame anyone for not being able to make the distinction when it comes to dressing?

I believe that we have to assume the blame for this culture of contempt and for the loss of the sense of the sacred. We have spent so much time and effort trying to make the Church appealing to our people by making it feel like home, creating space where people feel welcomed and comfortable. This is a grave mistake. Just like the role of a prophet, the liturgy is not designed to make us “feel at home,” at least not in the sense that we feel comfortable behaving the way we do at home while at Church, that is, slippers off, pants down etc. The liturgy is meant to wake us up from our complacent stupour and shake us out of the lull of familiarity. It will naturally feel uncomfortable as the liturgy cuts us off from the intoxicating odour of the world.

But stepping into Church should open up our sense to a new experience, it should expand our vision beyond this world. We should be made to exhale with wonder as we step out from one world and enter another the moment we pass through those doors. It should bring us to quiet attention. It should bring us to our knees. Sacred music, instead of entertaining us, should lift our gaze to the heavens wondering where it could possibly be coming from. Shining threads woven into the priest's vestments should give us a glimpse of the magnificent beauty of the celestial court. Rays sifting through stained glass in varied hues illuminate the story of our faith. Bells that ring out and call us to be mindful that something sacred is happening here. Yes, churches are not meant to make us feel at home, at least not our homes here. Our Churches are meant to elevate our senses beyond this world, and give us eyes to see and ears to hear the things of eternal significance. Stepping into Church should inspire a sense of our heavenly home, not this earthly one.  Pope Francis reminds us that “the liturgy is to really enter into the mystery of God, to allow ourselves to be brought to the mystery and to be in the mystery.”

The importance of having a sense of the sacred is simply this—if one does not appreciate holy things, one will eventually lose everything. Without reverence, the person will grow increasingly casual in attitude and lax in conduct. His feeling of accountability to God will diminish and then be entirely forgotten. Where God and His law are mocked and despised, it is only natural that morality too will be expelled from the public sphere. Where God is not loved and adored, there can be no surprise that nothing else is sacred. When God is blasphemed, as He is today, it should not be shocking that people mistreat others. Nothing will be safe. Nothing will be stable. Nothing will be sacred anymore.

There is a Latin maxim that addresses the centrality of worship in the life, identity and mission of the Church; “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi”. The phrase in Latin literally means the law of prayer ("the way we worship") shapes the law of belief ("what we believe") which ultimately influences the way (law) we live. How we worship not only reveals and guards what we believe but guides us in how we live our Christian faith and fulfill our Christian mission in the world. There is a reciprocity between worship and life. Worship is the heart of the Christian vocation.

This Sunday, as you sit in your familiar pew, singing songs and confessing creeds and praying prayers that are probably all very familiar to you, don’t rush.  Ease from running to jogging, to walking, to kneeling and then, soak in the loveliness of the words that fall from your lips.  And, instead of contempt, familiarity with the sacred should breed something quite different, something quite beautiful, a comprehension of a divine love for you that knows no bounds. 

O Death, where is your sting

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

One of the most ideal times to go sightseeing in a temperate country would be during Autumn. You would not just be confronted with the white snow-covered branches of the trees in winter or the various hues of green in spring and summer. The highlight of Autumn, a thing of great beauty, is to see the magnificent changing colours of the foliage. It is as if God Himself took His palette of gorgeous colours to paint His entire creation anew. But let’s not overlook the obvious. As the colours come alive, the reality is that nature is going dormant, even dying, and paradoxically, nature does not get any more beautiful than at the moment of its dying. This cycle of nature is foreshadowing our own deaths. Nature serves as an important reminder which funerals occasionally do, that “all things passes, only God remains.” (St Teresa of Avila)

Nobody has ever discovered a means to avoid death despite advances in computer-chip implant technology and blueberry super antioxidant nutrition. Even those in perfect health must recognise that their health can fail in a heartbeat. The best we can hope for is to somewhat extend our lives. But the blunt and painful truth is that we will all die, and the uncertainties surrounding how we will die, are disquieting. Death may be a perfect muse for poetry but when it hits too close to home, there is really nothing poetic about it. The prospect of death can haunt us like a bad dream. This is because the certainty of death brings with it another inevitability. We will be separated forever from the things of this world and death will seal our fate for eternity. The obituary section of newspapers awaits us all. So it is important for our peace of soul to consider these facts in more detail.

It gets one thinking: Why does God allow death, or why did God create a world in which death even exists? We can begin to search for an answer in today’s readings. The first reading, taken from the Book of Wisdom, addresses this concern: Why does Death exist? Did God make death? And if He didn’t, who did? The Book unwaveringly insists that “death was not God’s doing,” in fact, “He takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living.” In fact, we are reminded that we are made in the image of God’s own nature, that is, made “imperishable” or in some versions, “incorruptible.” No, death didn’t 'just happened'. Nor is it God's will. Death is the result of sin. At the end of today’s first reading, we read that “it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world.” Death is the final victory of the devil, the result of his destructive activity. If man had not sinned, he would not have died. His body may have changed and evolved over great periods of time, but it would not have been separated from his spirit to return to the dust. This is the meaning of the sin of Adam; made in God’s image and inspired with His Spirit, and has chosen death instead of life, evil instead of righteousness, and so through defilement of his nature in rebellion against God, brought corruption and death to the world.

Even if God is exonerated of the crime of bringing death into the world, it still does not provide us with the answer to our painful experience of its existence in our lives. How can we fix the wrong? Who can set things right? We find ourselves stumped again. We have created incredible techniques and discovered miraculous cures and unbelievable interventions that have added decades to so many lives. And yet, there remains the final certainty that our mortal life will end in death. No, we do not hold the answer.  There is only one who can set things right. Only one who can reverse death and blunt its sting. The only one who can give something much more than longevity and good health, the one who can give us eternal life. The One who says to us, “Do not be afraid; only have faith.” And then He turns to the child, and says, “Talitha kum,” that is, “Little girl, I tell you to get up!”

The gospel reading therefore provides insight into this Truth that God stands for life and not death. It is made up of two tales, one of the healing of a woman who suffered from haemorrhage, and the other, the raising of a dead girl. Without having to state the obvious, the woman with the haemorrhage and the young girl both died eventually, as will we. This did not mean that Jesus had failed or merely postponed the inevitable. His healing of the woman and His raising of the child are signs of the Kingdom of God. As signs, they point to the kingdom’s ultimate plan, which is for union with God. These miracles told the people of Jesus’ time, and us, that God walks with us in our sufferings with great love and tenderness, and promises that our mortality is not the end of the story. For God is the God of life. The righteous are not destined for death but for an eternal and immortal existence. We are meant to be “imperishable.”

As strong as death may appear to be, as sudden and as tragic as it may seem to be, death does not have dominion, it does not have the final word. We are reminded that death is not the end of our story as the people of God. Through, His Passion, Death and Resurrection, Christ has revealed to us a very different ending, an ending that does not conclude with death as its final chapter.  He shows us the resurrection, the peace of immortality that awaits the righteous faithful, in Christ.  He shows us what God does for His friends.

As we grow older, frailer, and weaker, the nearness and reality of death will seem every more apparent to us. This is why we must never take our eyes off Christ and neither should we doubt the victory He has over death, if not, we will fall victim to despair. The Book of Wisdom reassures us that our brothers and sisters are not forgotten or forsaken by God. Their departure is not a true affliction, nor is it destruction. Wisdom announces that the death of God’s faithful is only a prelude to being held by God until the time of resurrection, when we will live with God in the manner God originally intended.

Nobody has yet discovered the “fountain of youth” although so many forget that the Church offers to us on a golden platter, the fountain of eternal life, the Sacraments of Christ and His Church. Hence, the worthy reception of Holy Communion and frequent Confession should be a habitual part of the life of every Christian. Every time we receive Holy Communion we renew our Covenant with the Lord. Every time we go to Confession, with God’s grace we repair our Covenant with the Lord. These sacramental habits of life do not indicate presumption, but a holy confidence in the Lord.

No one is exempt or immune from experiencing the Last Things. For kings and popes, priests and people, rich and poor, young and old —death, judgment, heaven or hell will come. But for Christians who live the life of faith, death is not the final absurdity in an insane world. Death in Christ is the narrow gate. As we face the jaws of death, His return is the answer to our prayers, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Death frees us from the things of this world so that we can be in union with the Beloved.  Death is our gateway to Heaven. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:55)