Be Watchful, Be Alert

First Sunday of Advent - Year B

I guess many (not all) might not aware the calendar that we are using called Gregorian Calendar. Gregorian calendar, also known as Western calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. Interestingly, it is named for Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582. The introduction of the Gregorian calendar was a refinement to the Julian Calendar.  

Usually, each new year begin with the month of January, but for us Christian, our new year start with the season of advent. Yes, today we begin the season of Advent, a new liturgical year for us, Christian. Advent is a season observed in many churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Christmas. 

Besides that, Advent celebrates primarily two comings. The first coming of Christ in Bethlehem over two thousand years ago. The incarnation, the Word make flesh, the Word of God taking flesh, seems to be a fulfillment of what the Prophet Isaiah writes in today's first reading -  it is the prophecy of how the Lord "would tear the heavens open and come down." The whole of humanity who had waited for aeons for the coming of its deliverer, its new Joshua who will lead them to the Promised Land, is not disappointed, as the Saviour has indeed come - He is Jesus the Christ. But Advent does not only prepare us for the first coming which we commemorate every year at the Feast of Christmas, but also points us to the future, to Christ's second coming in glory, to judge and deliver the world from sin, evil and death. 

Our Christian faith is eschatological to its core. What do I mean by eschatological? The word 'eschatology' refers to the Last things that we had learnt in our catechism - heaven, hell, death and judgement, the four eschata. But the real focus of eschatology is the last thing, which is not exactly a thing, in the sense of being an event or an object - it is God himself, the Eschaton. God is the source and summit of our lives, he is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. Eschatology is not purely confined to these vague, deeply profound and theological concepts of the future. Eschatology has everything to do with our present lives. The eschatological vision shapes our christian world-view. It reminds us that our objective and purpose in life does not reside in the past or even in the present, it is posited in the future. The final solution would not be found here in this life - the final solution can only be found in God. It provides us with a new benchmark of evaluating our priorities in life- are our preparations only for this earthly life or are they for eternal life? and finally, this eschatological dimension of our faith points to our basic orientation and disposition in life - how do we respond to Christ's coming? The answer is this - It is through watchfulness. 

But is this the kind of watchfulness which Jesus is speaking of? I guess that these are more distractions rather than authentic watchfulness. We are invited by the readings to watch for the Lord, and especially for his coming. Firstly, this requires patience because as Jesus noted, ‘you never know when the time will come.’ The problem is that our attention span is often too short. We constantly look for distractions or loose interest when results are not immediately forthcoming. In a world that seeks immediate gratification, quick final solutions are the only acceptable options. Patience teaches us to respect God's time and not dictate it. 

Watchfulness calls for fidelity or faithfulness to our duty. Take note that in today’s gospel, the image of the master entrusting the servants with a duty to watch for his coming, reminds all of us that being watchful is not just merely an individual vocation. The servants’ lack of watchfulness may cost the entire household its property or even the life of its members. We are called to be watchful not only for ourselves, but also for our family members, our children, future generations, our neighbours, our BEC members, our non-Christian friends, colleagues and everyone else. If we let down our guard, others apart from us will suffer too.

The third aspect of this watchfulness is expounded by St Paul in the second reading. He exhorts the Corinthians that while waiting for the Lord’s coming, to keep ready and without blame until the last day.’ Staying awake and being watchful means that we need to guard against sin. Sin dulls our senses to the promptings of God. Sin blinds us from recognizing Christ in our lives. Sin distracts us from waiting and watching for the Lord. That is why Advent is also a penitential period for the whole Church. It is a time for us to honestly search our hearts, seek the Lord’s forgiveness, celebrate His mercy and the gift of repentance in order to make ready the way for the Lord’s coming.

We should take Advent as seriously as a new mother takes her pregnancy. The Christmas season is not merely a memory, celebration, or blessing, but a new, extremely important encounter with the incarnate Jesus. St. Charles Borromeo taught: "This holy season (Advent) teaches us that Christ's coming was not only for the benefit of His contemporaries; His power has still to be communicated to us".

Therefore, our Advent preparation for Christmas is very important for God's kingdom, the Church, the world, the future, our families, and ourselves. "Our hearts should be as much prepared for this coming of Christ (Christmas) as if He were still to come into this world" (St. Charles Borromeo). Moreover, if we are not prepared for Christ's unique Christmas coming this year, we are not prepared for His coming at the end of the world. 

Consequently, "be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come" (Mk 13:33). "Wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 1:7). Make this the best Advent ever, preparing for Christ's greatest Christmas coming of your life.

He is Christ the King, King of the universe

Solemnity of Christ the King - Year A

The famous science fiction disaster adventure film - '2012', directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich, become the top grossing movie that hit the top 10 of the box office. The movie speaks of an American geologist visits astophysicist in India and learns that neutrinos from a massive solar flare are causing the temperature of the Earth's core to increase rapidly. Therefore, this American geologist bring this information and presents it to the White House Chief staff. Eventually, the U.S President got to know about it and begin a secret project to ensure humanity's survival together with other international leaders. Wow! Sounds frightening right?

The released of the movie make people feel the world is coming to an end, which we always see it as the frightening image of the Day of Judgement - it describes it as a Day of God's wrath, a day when the world will be dissolved into ashes, a day when God sits as judge firmly and strictly investigating everything. Nothing will be hidden from His sigh, no evil will remain unpunished. This frightening image of the Last Day, the Day of Judgement, would obviously not sit well with anyone today.

In fact, the Latin hymn, Dies Irae , which was a characteristic part of the Catholic Requiem Mass before renewal of the liturgy after Vatican II, was removed from the present Catholic funeral liturgy, because some felt that the hymn was saturated with negative spirituality inherited for the Middle Ages. They felt that the song had overemphasized judgement, fear and despair whereas the funeral liturgy should actually focusing on the hope and joy of the resurrection. So, the song got the boot!

We see in today's Gospel reading, the story of how Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. Read on any other occasion, it would not be too hard for someone to conclude that the whole crux of the story is this: all it takes to get to heaven is to offer a cup of water to someone who is thirsty, because you will notice at the end you are offering it to Christ himself. It is certainly a nice interpretation to the story that reminds us of the responsibility of fraternal charity. There is nothing wrong with this reading, but is it adequate?

Do remember that this is a parable of judgement. More importantly, Christ is presented as a cosmic all-powerful king sitting on his throne and as a judge summoning the accused to trial. Perhaps, this setting is entirely lost to most of us because the gravity and seriousness of the Day of Judgement is no longer emphasized in our modern liturgy. In fact, the parable of Jesus presents two images of Christ, both seemingly at opposite ends of a spectrum. One image is that of a God who is transcendent, who is distant from us, who sits as king in judgement of us. The other image is an image of a God who is immanent, who dwells among us, who is in complete solidarity with us, and who identifies with us. In other words, one presents us a God hidden behind the clouds and another, a God who looks just like us. The parable reminds us that both these images of Christ are not mutually exclusive. One does not cancel out the other. 

Often, our preferences for the more gentle image of Jesus betrays a certain erroneous belief on our part. The idea of a remote or formal king doesn't resonate with us. What we want is one whom we can identify with, one who is like us; an approachable, compassionate and gentle king. Unfortunately, it is not a matter of choosing one image over the other. Jesus is that cosmic king seated on his throne of judgement - and there is a chasm which separates us lowly creatures from his august presence. Majesty which deserves worship and adulation is always marked by distance. You admire and worship someone only when you admire them from a distance, not when they are standing next to you and doing the same things as you. At the same time, this is a Jesus who has chosen to cross that chasm, knowing that no man nor woman will be able to make that journey; this is supreme judge who understands that no mortal is able to bear the sentence for which is accused, and who finally chooses to cross the distance from the bench to the gallery to take the place of the accused, the condemned in the dock, and to be punished and executed in his stead. It is one thing to know that someone has died for you. It is another thing entirely to know that a king or a God has chosen to do this. 

It is easier to understand why the world requires a loving and compassionate king, a king who soothes us when we fall, a king who embraces us when we are lonely, a king who kisses our wounds to make the pain go away. Who wouldn't want to have this kind of a king? But I believe Jesus came not merely to act as life’s panadol, a painkiller, for us. Jesus came to show us how God must ultimately be lord and master of our lives, there lies our salvation. 

The world is in need of a king who calls and challenges them to greatness rather than mediocrity. The world is in need of king who gives them a chance to experience the perfection and the holiness of the divine rather than just being satisfied with our human weakness. The world is in need of a king who demands a radical self-giving and loving and not only when it suits us. The world needs a king to inspire us, not a king who looks and behaves just like us. 

Today, in our attempt to make God and the divine more accessible, for example, by transforming the sanctuaries of our churches into empty spaces barren of beauty, in the removal of communion rails, in the singing of music that approximates the kind of music we listen to in our daily mundane existence, there is something about the character of the liturgy that is lost – we loose focus of the object of our liturgy, which is to worship God. In place of this, man is worshipped in his stead. But it is not just liturgy which suffers. Christian life suffers too when we choose to depict Christ merely as an ordinary people like us. There is no challenge to aim for loftier goals. At the end of the day, when Christ becomes ordinary, he will soon be forgotten, since he only acts as a functional implement or tool whenever we need him.

We have reduced Christ to a mere panacea or an intoxicant that serves to make us feel good in our otherwise miserable existence. But, this is Christ, King of the Universe, the one whom we must subject ourselves to. This is Christ, the Judge, who will call us to account for our actions, and who would demand evidence that we had recognised him in his people. This is Christ, our Lord and God, who chooses to come among us,God who becomes man in order that men may become gods. This is Christ who inspires us and reminds that we are made in his image and likeness, a royal priestly people called to give glory to God. Let us not make the mistake of reducing him into nothing more than an image of ourselves.

true wisdom? 智慧？

Thirty Third Ordinary Sunday Year A

Each culture has developed a whole collection of wise sayings and proverbs. We also grew up with lots of advice from our elders. "Don't judge a book by its cover" (人不可以貌相）; "Take care of one's need first before thinking of others", "Don't put all eggs into one basket" etc. 

Being ethically Chinese, I have come to realize how we have often equated wisdom with knowledge and also good business acumen. A man who knows how to save, how to make good investments, who become rich as a result of his own hard work of intelligence, he is regarded by society as a wise man. 

All these wise sayings have their place in our lives. However, holdings onto some of them may cause us to loose sight of the most important wisdom of all. The wisdom that tells us that all comes from God and will return to God. It is the wisdom that reminds us that the most important things in life are not just having friends, having lots of children, having lots of money, prosperity and luck. The most important thing in our faith in God who promised eternal life for us, and this is for eternity. To understand this is true wisdom. 

I remembered during my university days, lectures often remind us of this : University is a platform to prepare you for the outside world. Hence, word hard and be prepared! I guess this may be also one of the contributing factor that creates fierce competition among students. In today's world, society often judged based on your qualification, result and skill as a determination of getting a secure job-  as if these are the pass or gateway to paradise. A person's wisdom or perhaps the word which commonly known as intelligence often based on how great is your achievement in the past. But we fail to see that all these investment on earth are just temporary, and it will end at death.

Undeniably, many people are good at making investment- buying the right shares, making the right business assessment. However, many people are really bad at making spiritual investments. We work so hard in life in order to make life easier for ourselves and for our future generations and we end up at death with nothing. We are prepared for any eventuality in life - education, business, family life, but we are not prepared for eternal life.

Now my dear friends, I have a question for you.  Are you prepared to meet the lord at any time? It could be today, tomorrow, this week, next month or next year. Have you made the right investments? Have you invested for eternal life? Or have you put all your investments in looking for worldly pleasure, riches, ambition, fame, and power. You may have all these things - power, riches and fame - but they will serve you no good at your death.

When people tell us to be wise, and not be foolish, let us heed their call. But let us also understand what is true wisdom. True wisdom is investing for eternal life, not this life, not in riches, not in possessions. No! True wisdom is being always prepared to meet the Lord who may call us home at any time. So now, are you ready? Are you prepared?

This week's reading give us and insight on what it means to be ready. Being ready is not merely making sure that we have made our confession before our death. Being ready is not just merely avoiding wrong doing as much as possible. Being ready doesn't mean just waiting for death to happen. These are insufficient.

Being ready means that we must be constantly at our mission, fulfilling the vocation that God has given us. Each of us is entrusted with certain talents. Each of us have been given certain responsibilities - we have responsibilities as a parent or as a children or as a worker or as a member of the community or as Catholic etc. These talents are gifts from God and come with a responsibility. We are to use them for the mission which has been entrusted to us.

Many people go through their life without living out their full potential. Many people are satisfied with only doing the "bare minimum." Their philosophy is "why do more when you can do less!" God did not create us to live only a fraction of our lives. If we only live 10% of what we are capable of living, then the other 90%  is wasted.

Being ready means giving our all for the glory of God. We may not be able to do everything. We may not be able to do all things well. We may not even able to achieve within our  lifetime all our goals. Nevertheless, whatever we do, if we do it to the best of our ability and for the glory of God, is enough.

In today's first reading uses the symbol of a wise wife or perfect wife as the model of a disciple. A wise wife knows that "charm is deceitful and beauty empty" what is important is that she is able to fulfill her role and responsibility as a dutiful wife - bringing "advantage and not hurt to her husband all the days of her life." She is always busy at work and has no time for idleness, gossip of unfruitful activity. The wise wife is thus a model for all of us. We are made for the glory of God and not bring hurt to him or to others. We are created with gifts and talents  in order for us to realize our mission and vocation in this life.

Similarly, the Gospel tells us the story of the three servants who receive different amount of talents from their master. The amount that they received is not important. Sometimes we may feel that others have more than we have. We feel that this is unfair. We may never know the reasons for this. But we know that the one receives, the more is expected of that person. Those who have been given more greater responsibility to use those talents and gift for the good of others and for the glory of God. If we just complain that we do not have enough, if we do not do anything with the little that we have, then even what we have will be taken away.

Make the best of your life. You may be rich or you may be poor, you may be beautiful or you may look ordinary, make the best of your life. Use whatever talents or gifts the Lord has given you for his greater glory. Don't hesitate any longer because as St. Paul tells us in the second reading "the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night", so stay wide awake and sober. 

Sign of Unity

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Today the church celebrates the feast of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.I guess many of us might not even aware of this feast. This leads to a reluctance to celebrate the dedication of a building stems from a fact which we rarely dare to admit. There are just too many "Protestants"in the Catholic Church so much so that this feast does not really make any sense. The Lateran Basilica was built by the Emperor Constantine on the Lateran Hill in Rome. 

Today's feast became a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called "the mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world" (omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput). The purpose of us celebrating the feast as a sign of love for union with the See of Peter. In fact, this basilica was the first to be built after Emperor Constantine's edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to practice their religion. Initially, the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome, then beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. The honoring of this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, "presides in charity" over the whole Catholic Communion. 

On this solemnity, the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a "spiritual edifice," built by God with "living stones," namely, Christians themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the "cornerstone". Jesus began the church with 12 apostles and by the power of the Holy Spirit, these apostles and other disciples of Christ formed other small Christian communities. These communities were united with the Lord and the other Christian communities through the bishops of their regions.  

The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draw us who are limited and sinful to convert to form a "cosmos," a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus. 

In today's Gospel reading, we see Jesus' dramatic cleansing of the temple was seen by his disciple as a prophetic sign of God's action. The temple was understood as the dwelling place of God among his people. When God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, he brought them through the sea, and finally to Mount Sinai where he made a covenant with them and gave them a new way of life embodied in the Ten Commandments. 

God gave Moses instruction of worship and for making the Tabernacle, or tent of meeting, which was later replaced by the temple. The New Testament tells us that these serve as a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. Jesus' cleansing of the temple is also a prophetic sign of what he wants to do with each of us. He ever seeks to cleanse us a sin and make us living temples of his Holy Spirit.  

Through Jesus' death and resurrection, He not only reconciles us with God, but he fills us with his Holy Spirit and makes us temples of the living God. God's word enlightens our minds and purifies our hearts that we may offer God fitting worship and enjoy his presence both now and forever. 

As what Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI reminds us during his Angelus address, today's feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love.