谦虚的美德

常年期第二十二主日

今天的读经表扬谦虚的美德。我们知道谦虚是基督徒的美德但对它的意义却混淆不清。许多人常以为谦虚意谓着降低自己；换句话说，对自己，对个人的才华和个人的成就非常挑剔。因此我们对自己的才华天赋避而不谈免得被指自吹自擂。有一些人却批判本身的成就。例如有人会说：“我的菜肴很简单，我不太会烹煮。”“我不太会唱。我的嗓子不好。”“我不能成为这堂口的领袖因为我不够神圣。”而讽刺的是：每当我们降低自己时，我们其实期待别人的赞赏。这类的谦虚是假谦虚。假谦虚是骄傲的掩饰。

另一方面，耶稣要告诉我们的是，我们不应该对自己所做的要求任何酬劳，或赞赏，或感谢，或荣誉。我们不该寻求荣誉地位或成就上的赞誉。我们一旦沉迷于别人给予的赞赏和认同时，我们就会开始每做一件事都附带动机。当我们为别人做了一些事后而得不到所期待的称赞和感谢时，我们就感到伤心和生气。谦虚是服务并不图任何回报。谦虚是不求讨好别人的自由。谦虚是服务并为天主的光荣不是为自己。最后，最重要的是我们得到上主的恩宠有如读经一所告诉我们的。谦逊的人在上主面前，获得恩宠不是因为所得的一种回报，而是因为谦虚的人让天主成就他自己所不能做的。

谦虚要求自我认识。我们必须承认我们的优点和缺点。每一个人都是优点及缺点的混合体。如果我们学会接受我们优点和缺点，我们将是个更快乐的人。许多人对他们的缺点感到不安。我们不是设法遮掩我们的缺点就是尽可能批评别人使我们自己看来较优越。谦逊是学习容忍我们的缺点和优点。同样我们也应该承认每一个人都有他的优点和缺点。如果每一个人都同等强壮，如果没有人有任何缺点，我们就不需要对方。天主的确很明智把我们弱的和强的聚集在一起。我们要常记住没有人可以一手包办一切。每一个都可以做一点。

谦逊也要求我们接纳我们的邻居以兄弟姐妹般看待。有时，我们只与那些和我们有共同兴趣，和我们有共同语言，与我们有同肤色，和我们同种族或地位的人沟通。谦逊要求我们意识到每一个人都是珍贵的应受到同等尊重。我们不单尊重有钱的人，对穷人也应一视同仁。事实上，我们或许应更关注那些穷人，病患，及弱小者因他们比有钱的，健康的和强壮的人更需要我们。

让我们效法耶稣，谦虚的那一位：天主圣子屈尊就卑，降生成人更成为众人之仆。如果我们要成为基督徒，我们必须准备跟随基督修谦逊之德。因我们相信，唯有谦下才能在上主面前获得恩宠。

The Gift of Humility

Twenty Second Ordinary Sunday Year C

Today’s readings exalt the virtue of humility. We all know that humility is a Christian virtue but many are often confused as to its meaning. Many people often believe humility means putting oneself down; in other words, being very critical of oneself, one’s talents and one’s achievements. Therefore, we often avoid speaking about our talents and gifts because we fear that this would be boasting. Other people would also criticize their own achievements. E.g. “my dishes are very simple, I’m not very good at cooking.” “I don’t really sing well. I don’t have a good voice.” “I cannot be a leader in this parish because I’m not holy enough.” The irony is this: whenever we put ourselves down, we actually expect others to praise us and our achievements. Such humility is called false humility. False humility is a disguise for pride.

On the other hand, what Jesus is trying to tell is that we should not seek any reward, or praise, or thanks or honour for the things that we do. We should not look for positions of honour or for recognition of our achievements. Once we become addicted to praise and human recognition, we would then begin to do everything with a hidden motive. When we do not receive praise and thanks for the things that we do for others, we become hurt and angry. Humility is serving and giving without asking for anything in return. Humility is freedom from needing to please others. Humility is serving and giving for the glory of God and not for our own glory. Ultimately, what is most important is that we find favour with the Lord, as the first reading tells us. The humble man finds favour with the Lord, not because it is a form of reward, but because the humble man allows God to do what he himself cannot do.

Humility calls for self-knowledge. We must recognize both our strengths and weaknesses. Every person is a mixture of both strengths and weaknesses. If we learn to accept both our strengths and weaknesses, we would then be much happier persons. Many people are not comfortable with their weaknesses. We either try to hide our weaknesses or try to criticize others so that we can look stronger. Humility is learning to live with both our weaknesses and strengths. In the same way, we must also recognize that everyone too have their own weaknesses and strengths. If everyone is equally strong, if no one has any weaknesses, we won’t need each other. God is truly wise to bring us all together – both weak and strong. We must always remember that no one can do everything. But everyone can do something.

Humility is also a call to accept our neighbours as persons, indeed as brothers and sisters. Sometimes, we would only communicate with those who share common interests with us, those who speak the same language, those who have the same skin colour, those who are part of our race or status. Humility calls us to recognize everyone as valuable and deserving equal respect. We must not only respect the rich but also the poor. In fact, we may need to give more attention to the poor, the sick and the weak because they are in greater need than the rich, the healthy and the strong.

Let us follow the example of Jesus, the Humble One – he who was Son of God humbled himself to become man, and even humbler still to become a servant of all. If we want to be called Christians, we must be prepared to follow Christ on the way of humility. For we believe, that it is there we will find favour with God.

A Narrow Door opened to All

Twenty First Ordinary Sunday Year C

One of our greatest fears as Christians is whether we will be saved. We often think of God as a policeman waiting to catch us for every violation of his law or we may think of him as a strict judge who is waiting to condemn us. These images of God are wrong. In fact, it is the plan of God to save all men. This is what the Prophet Isaiah prophesied in the first reading: “I am coming to gather the nations of every language.” It is the plan of God to save everyone, irregardless of race, language or culture. ‘Everyone’ by definition includes even non-Catholics and non-Christians.

So how do we understand the parable of the narrow door which Jesus speaks about in today’s gospel. Jesus tells us: “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” How do we understand this statement? Certainly, Jesus is not telling us that only a few will be saved. In fact, Jesus does not answer the question of the person directly. The man comes to ask Jesus, “Will there be only a few saved?” Through his answer, Jesus is directing our attention away from that question of whether a few will be saved to the manner in which we should live our lives.

Jesus is telling us that if we want to be a Christian or a good person, it’s not going to be easy. The ‘broad door’ is the easy way - the one everyone tries to enter. No – that is not the way of the Christian. The way of the Christian, the narrow door, is not going to be an easy way. If we wish to follow Christ, we must be prepared to accept suffering too. For to follow Christ means that we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow him. To be a Christian would mean that we would be misunderstood by other people. To be a Christian would mean that people would tease us and insult us and call us crazy. To be a Christian means that we must not seek for positions of honour and power but must be prepared to be servants of others – “the first will be last and the last will be first.”

The second reading tells us that we should not be afraid of suffering. Of course, this does not mean that we should purposely look for suffering. God does not want us to suffer for the sake of suffering alone. Through his own suffering and death, Jesus has given suffering a new meaning. Suffering is not punishment for our sins. Rather, suffering can be a way of strengthening us – a kind of a training as the author to the letter of Hebrew writes. People who have themselves undergone suffering would be more sensitive and caring to others who are suffering. Through suffering, one learns to be more patient and understanding of others. Suffering also brings people together.

It is not enough that we carry the name “Christian.” It is not enough that we come to Church every Sunday. We must put into practice what we profess to believe. If we think that just being a Catholic puts us in a better position than others who are non-Catholics, then we must heed the warning of Jesus who tells us that “many from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

In today’s mass, let us pray for the strength and the courage to enter through the narrow gate. Let us not only try to enter alone, but let us help others to follow the Jesus along the same path.

Strangers to the world but members of God's household- The Christian Church in a Non-Christian World (1 Peter)

Having concluded postings on St Paul's Jewish and Hellenistic background, I would like to move on to a NT letter that comes from a different corpus, the Catholic Epistles - the First letter of St Peter. This letter is a powerfully moving and encouraging letter to the early Christians to stand firm in the grace of God as they encounter diverse problems and issues in a world that seems increasingly alienating.

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1 Peter is addressed to ‘visiting strangers’ (1:1), ‘resident aliens’ (2:11), terms that indicate the precarious condition of Christians in the pagan world. They were mainly of pagan origin (cf. 1:14, 18; 2:9, 10; 4:3-4), probably recently converted (cf. 1:14; 2:2; 4:12), and in danger of giving up the Christian faith in the face of pagan hostility.

There is no indication of an official state persecution: the letter counsels respect for government and emperor (2:13-17). By recalling the greatness of their vocation and by showing that persecution is a sign of their calling, the writer encourages and exhorts his readers to stand firm (5:12). Those who are regarded by the world as aliens and strangers have found a home in the Christian community.


The Christians for whom Peter was writing were basically converts. Living in society as a minority, there was a tendency to fall back into the religion and culture of their surrounding environment. The letter will exhort them to witness through their Christian way of life. If they are faithful to this Christian witness, they will not be spared suffering and persecution. But the letter encourages them by insisting that they share in the suffering of Christ.

Aim of the Epistle

The expressed aim of 1 Peter was to encourage its suffering readers to stand fast in the grace of God (5:12). Its literary, theological and social strategy was to set the issue of Christian suffering within the context of the tension between the readers’ social estrangement and their divine vocation, their ‘homelessness’ in society and their ‘at-homeness’ in the family of God.

To counteract the divisive and erosive effect of innocent suffering upon the confidence, cohesion, and commitment of the brotherhood and its mission, the letter reassures its readers of their distinctive communal identity as God’s favoured family, encourages winsome conduct among the gentiles along with love within the brotherhood, and urges continued trust in God who vindicates the faithful who share the suffering and glory of their exalted Lord.

Who are the strangers and aliens?

One of the most notable features of 1 Peter is the identification of its addressees by a pair of Greek terms best rendered as ‘visiting strangers’ (parepidemoi – 1:1; 2:11) and ‘resident aliens’ (paroikoi, 2:11; cf. paroikia, 1:17).

In the Greco-Roman world of 1 Peter, paroikoi and parepidemoi were regarded and treated as permanent or temporary ‘strangers in a strange land.’ Literally, ‘parokoi’ were foreigners who lived alongside (par-) the ‘home’ (oikos) of others. This conditions of geographical and social displacement was the constant and typical lot of God’s ancient people.

Resident aliens formed a specific social stratum of local populaces (ranked below full citizens and above complete foreigners (xenoi) and slaves). Their cooperation or noncooperation with the native population could result in their moving up or down the social ladder. Legally, such aliens were restricted in regard to whom they could marry, the holding of land and succession of property, voting and participation in certain associations and were subjected to higher taxes and severer forms of civil punishment.

Set apart from their host society by their lack of local roots, their ethnic origin, language, culture, and political or religious loyalties, such strangers were commonly viewed as threats to established order and native well-being. Constant exposure to local fear and suspicion, ignorant slander, discrimination and manipulation was the regular lot of these social outsiders.

Because of their marginal status as outsiders, they frequently joined clubs or cults which offered the promise of social acceptance, mutual support, or even salvation.

Strangers who had embraced the Christian faith for the communion, hope and salvation it promised were discovering that membership in this sect provided no escape from the prejudices and animosities of the larger society. To the contrary, membership in this strange and exclusive movement resulted only in an increase in social friction and suspicion of strangers now banded together in a missionising movement.

As Israel’s history indicated, a social alienation and oppression had been the regular experience of God’s chosen and estranged people. From this history, 1 Peter drew on models and memories of dispersion and gathering, suffering and deliverance, societal rejection and divine acceptance so that continuity with the past, along with the faith of the present, might serve as an effective basis for hope in the future.

Vocation and Dignity of the Elect and Holy People of God

What about us Christians? What is our relationship with the larger society and the world? This letter is addressed to “those who live as strangers” (1:1-2) – they are strangers by virtue of their unique Christian vocation in a pagan society. ‘Strangers’ but yet chosen (1:2). There is a Trinitarian dimension to this election: “chosen in the foresight of God the Father, to be made holy by the Spirit, obedient to Jesus and sprinkled with his blood.” The elect are consecrated by the Holy Spirit for a purpose – ‘obedience’ to Jesus, the Jesus who has resealed the new covenant with his own blood (this also points to the persecution which the Christians will experience). The emphasis is on the person of ‘Jesus’ and not just ‘Jesus Christ’ – Jesus = God saves.

And it is only by the mercy of God (the gratuitous gift) that these strangers/aliens have become the elect and the holy people of God, the household of faith/ God. In 2:9, we see them described as a chosen race (a covenanted people) and a kingdom of priests (mediating god’s reality in the world through their ‘witness’ or martyrdom).

At the outset of the letter (1:1-2:10), a rich array of terms, images, and contrasts serve to underscore the dignity and distinctiveness of the community to which the readers belonged. The letter wishes to bring home to its readers what is the ‘grace’ into which they have come by their conversion. This new situation, graphically described as a transition from darkness to light, rests upon God’s election, mercy and calling (1:2-2:10).

God’s election had been announced by the prophets of the OT (1:10ff), effectuated by Jesus’ work, and preached in the gospel. All these things have been prepared from the beginning of the world, but now ‘at the end of the times’ it has been complete revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ (1:20). This is the great turning point, the decisive step in God’s salvation of the world. It is the ‘end times.’

Elected by God (1:1), sanctified by the Spirit (1:2; cf. 1:22), redeemed by Christ’s blood (1:18-19), believers in Jesus Christ, God’s elect agent of salvation, belong to the elect and holy covenant people of God, the household in which the Spirit resides (2:4-10).

In contrast to Jews (1:4, 10-12), pagans (1:18), and all who reject Jesus as the Christ (2:4-8), those believing the enduring good news (1:23-25) have a permanent inheritance, a sure salvation, and a firm basis of hope (1:3-5, 13,21).

Reborn by God the Father (1:3, 23; 2:2), believers as his obedient children are not to conform to the passion of their former ignorance but to the holiness of the Wholly other in the time of their alien residence (1:14-17). Through sincere love of brothers and sisters in the faith and avoidance of divisive behaviour, they are to maintain the solidarity of the brotherhood (1:22; 2:1; 3:8; 4:8).

Throughout ancient society the household or family was considered the fundamental form and model of social, political and religious organization. The strategy of 1 Peter was to mobilize the resources of faith and concerted action which would enable the Christian addressees to stand firm and persevere as the community of God in a society from which they are estranged. Basic to this strategy, as the stress upon solidarity in suffering illustrates, was an emphasis upon the distinctive collective identity and responsibility of the believers.Although the term ‘church’ (ekklesia) is never employed, in the broader theological sense 1 Peter is one of the most church-oriented compositions in the New Testament.

Conclusion

In society, Christians are indeed strangers and strangers they should remain, as signs of holiness and beacons of hope. Endurance of suffering and steadfastness in faith is possible because of their incorporation in the household of God. In the family God the faithful the homeless of society (paroikoi) have a home (oikos) with God. The church, according to 1 Peter, is a home for the homeless.

Mary - Sign of God's grace

Assumption Feast Year C

How did a simple Jewish woman, with very little education, come to be exalted as the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God and the Queen of Heaven? Its all God’s grace. This is what we are celebrating today. Unlike what Protestants may think of us, we are not celebrating the glory of Mary in herself but we are celebrating the wonderful works of God and his abundant grace, seen and proven in this person, Mary. Mary is assumed into heaven only because of God’s grace. It is God’s grace that is able to transform a humble and simple person like Mary into the person whom we admire today. Therefore, on this Feast day, it is God whom we are glorifying and praising. To criticize this feast and to reject it would be to cast doubts on the power of God to do the impossible.

The Feast of the Assumption proclaims several messages of faith and hope.
First, it is during this feast that we come to affirm our faith and hope that we, who are believers in Christ, will share in the resurrection of Christ. We can believe in the resurrection because it has already happened in the person of Mary. She is proof that the resurrection is a reality and not a mistaken and naive human wish that there is life after death.

Second, the Feast proclaims the goodness and beauty of our physical bodies. Mary is assumed into heaven not only in spirit/soul. She is assumed both body and soul into heaven. The body is not evil. The body is not the cause for our sinfulness. The body is created by God. It is a good, a precious gift to be cherished and guarded with care. We must then respect our physical bodies and the bodies of other person. Physical and sexual abuse, drugs, smoking, drinking, gluttony, inadequate rests violate the sanctity of the body.

Third, the Feast proclaims the unity of the body and the soul. A body without a soul is a lifeless object/thing. But a body with a soul is a person. He or she is a person. He or she deserves respect and dignity. If we forget the spiritual dimension of the person and only think of him as a physical body, we would soon start treating him as an object/thing to be used, abused and discarded when no longer useful to others and society. To remember that the person is a unity of the body and soul is to remember that he is sacred. To say that a person has a soul is to say that life will not end even when he experiences physical death. The body may decay but the soul continues for eternity. And because there is life after death, we should begin to invest in what happens for eternity rather than focus all attention on what is temporary – our present riches.

Our love of Mary should lead us ultimately to love of her son, Jesus. She brought Jesus into this world. Jesus has brought her into the next life. We too join Mary in praising God and giving thanks to him for the wonderful things he has done in our life. Most of all, we join Mary in thanking God for giving us his Son, Jesus.

Faith and Hope

Nineteenth Ordinary Sunday Year C

People are frightened of so many things. We are frightened of taking risks. We are frightened of the unknown. We are frightened of hostile and aggressive people. We are frightened that something bad may happen to us or to our family. We are frightened that the economic situation will take a turn for the worse. Fears reinforce our sense of insecurity. Fears make us unwilling to take risks. Fear cripples us and prevents us from growing and moving forward.

Today’s readings remind us that we Christians are people of faith and hope. Faith and hope isn’t just about reciting prayers and coming to Church. Faith and hope means placing our trust in God knowing that he cares for us and will not allow us to be harmed. This, however, does not mean that God will shield us from all troubles or problems. What it means is that God will not allow us to be overcome by our problems and that He will help us to grow stronger in our faith as a result of these obstacles in life. In other words, faith and hope is based on love. To love is to take risks. To love is to place our trust in the other person. To love is to persevere in our commitment even when faced with obstacles and problems. Therefore, faith and hope isn’t about knowing our catechism or reciting prayers. It is about love.

In the second reading, we are told that “only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.” The Letter to the Hebrews continue to praise both Abraham and Sarah for their faith. It was by faith that Abraham was prepared to set forth from his home town and make a long journey to a strange land. Faith allowed him to take risks. It was by faith and hope, that he was able to believe in the promises of God, especially in the promise that he would have a son even in his old age and that God will bless him with many generations. We too are challenged to follow the examples of Abraham and Sarah. Unless we placed our hope and trust in God, unless we are prepared to take risks, we will never allow God’s blessings to be realized in our lives. It is true that sometimes it takes a long while before we see results. It is also true that there are many things which we will not be able to see even during our lifetime. That is faith – “only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.”

Faith, however, is not a license for irresponsibility. Faith calls for action. Faith calls for preparation. Faith calls for us to be ready at all times. In the gospel, Jesus gives us the parable of the servants who are always ready for their master’s return. “Happy those servants whom the master finds awake, when he comes.” Faith and hope calls for watchfulness. It is the foolish man who goes through life thinking that there will always be time to do what he needs to do in life. It is responsible to think that I have tomorrow, or next month or next year to do what I need to do today. We will never know when God will call us back to him. We will never know when our last breath would be. Everyone does not know the day when they will die. Therefore, we need to be always ready.

Our response to death should not be characterized by fear. That is not God’s intention. But our response to death as well as to life is this: we must be ever watchful to God’s coming into our lives. Let us pray that God will find us ready and awake when he comes. Let us face our fears, our worries and the uncertainties of the future with Christian faith and hope. Let us joyfully “take courage” and be witnesses of Christ to the world.