Have Faith, Do not be afraid.

Personal Reflection:Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

We often speak the word 'theology' which is generally understood as the discourse on God or God-talk. On the existence of God, there are generally three views: Atheism, Agnosticism and Theism, though within each of these views are innumerable schools and divisions of opinions. 

Atheism is a stance that rejects the existence of God. Among the atheists are included some of the philosophers, social scientists and psychologists, such as Albert Camus, Karl Max, Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmud Freud. The reasons for the denial of God vary. According to some, there is so much evil, unmerited suffering and injustice in this world that one cannot believe in a good and loving God. Many of atheists argue that God is the projection of the human mind created by religions and powerful groups which they subdue the powerless and the poor. 

People are often mystified when they look at the reality of the world we live in, and try to reconcile that with a good and loving God. We frequently face difficulties of all kinds, big and small; personal as well as global tragedies. Seeing this, we can't help but ask, "How can this be? How can a loving God have created this? There is something missing from this picture. It doesn't add up!" That's true. There is a piece missing from our equation.

There IS something that we are refusing to look at, which would reconcile these contradictions in our minds and heal our discomfiture with God. We need to understand what that is, because that missing piece is causing a breakdown of affinity between mankind and God, and making us miserable.

We need to always ask ourselves this question: does the Lord Jesus ever seem distant when trials or adversity come your way? In today’s Gospel reading, it was at Jesus' initiative that the disciples sailed across the lake, only to find themselves in a life-threatening storm (Mark 6:45-52). Although they were experienced fishermen, they feared for their lives. The Lake of Galilee was known for its sudden storms whipped up suddenly by strong winds which swept down from the nearby mountains. The disciples must have cried out for help when they recognized that their boat was about to be capsized by the threatening waves.

Although Jesus was not physically with them in the boat, he nonetheless had been keeping vigilant watch for them in earnest prayer on the distant shore. When Jesus perceived their trouble he came to them walking on the sea and startled them with his sudden appearance. The disciples were terrified rather than joyful when they saw Jesus' presence on the water. They thought a ghost had appeared to seal their doom. At first, they could not believe it was really the Lord who was coming to help them until they heard his reassuring voice - "I am here for you and ready to help you - let your heart be filled with courage - and do not allow any fear or doubt to hold you back from trusting in me." Jesus calmed their fears, and he calmed the threatening waves and storm as well. 

This dramatic incident on the sea of Galilee revealed Peter's character more fully than others. Here we see Peter's impulsive tendency to act or speak quickly without thinking through what he was about to do. Peter often failed and came to grief as a result of his impulsive response to challenging circumstances (such a cutting off the ear of a servant who came to arrest Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane or Peter promising Jesus that he would never deny him shortly before his betrayal at the high priest's courtyard). When Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, he took a leap of faith only to cave in out of fear and doubt. He failed to keep his eyes on Jesus and to rely on the strength which God readily hands to those who trust in him. 

In Peter's moment of fear and failure, he fortunately did not give into despair or hopelessness. When his faith began to sink, Peter clutched at Jesus' hand and held firmly. Whatever weakness Peter had, he was not a quitter. Every time Peter fell, he rose again. His failures only made him draw closer to his Lord, and love him more humbly and deeply, and with greater gratitude and trust in his mercy and help.

The Lord Jesus keeps vigilant watch over each one of us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Now, do you recognize the Lord's presence when you meet adversity or trouble and do you cling to him as Peter did in his trial? The Lord Jesus assures us that we do not need to give into fear and despair when troubles threaten us. The Lord is always ready to strengthen our faith, to reassure our hope in his promises, and to fill us with his peace and love. When troubles and danger threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With expectant faith and hope in the Lord's abiding presence, love, and care for you?

Hope and Promise in Every Generation

 Prayer Meeting Sharing 13/12/2013

You may came across the term "Baby boomers" in your management paper, which refer to a person who was born during the demographic post-world war II between the years 1946 and 1964 (According to the U.S Census Bureau). While I was surfing the internet that day, one of the web page explains the characteristics of multigenerational  in today's world. The web page provide an overview of different characteristic for different age group in order to deal with the mixed-generation in today's world. 

In today's Gospel, isn't it ironic that in every age, you will find people asking the same question: "What wrong with this generation?" There's always some truth behind this question, to be sure. In our day, even though Christian Catholic remains as the world largest religion, we see Christianity declining throughout Europe and stagnant in the United States, along with a loss of traditional values and a weakening of the family unity. Surely these are areas of concern. But at the same time, there is much to celebrate. World Youth Days continue to draw millions of young people. Social media outlets and lay organizations offer new momentum and accessibility, not to mention the way young adults are taking up social issue like human trafficking, mental illness, child abuse, and conservation. 

Do you seek God's way of peace and wisdom for your life? The prophets remind us that God’s kingdom is open to those who are teachable and receptive to the word of God. Through their obedience to God's word and commandments, they receive not only wisdom and peace for themselves, but they, in turn become a blessing to their children and their offspring as well. Jesus warns the generation of his day to heed God's word before it is too late. He compares teachers and scholars, and those who have been taught, with stubborn playmates who refuse to follow any sort of direction or instruction. 

Jesus’ parable about disappointed playmates challenge us to examine whether we are selective to only hear what we want to hear. The children in Jesus' parable react with dismay because they cannot get anyone to follow their instruction. They complain that if they play their music at weddings, no one will dance or sing; and if they play at funerals, it is the same. This refrain echoes the words of Ecclesiastes 3:4 – "there is a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance." Are you in tune with the message of God's kingdom? And do you obey it without reservation? Jesus' message of the kingdom of God is good newsto those who will listen and it produces true joy and spiritual freedom for them; but it is also a warning for those who refuse to obey.

Why did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with deaf ears and resistance? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness that the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's austerities to the devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship with sinners as evidence that he must be a false messiah. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their lives because they had closed their hearts to the message of  John the Baptist and now to Jesus' message. What can make us spiritually dull and slow to hear God's voice? Like the generation of Jesus' time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt, especially in regards to the things of heaven. Indifference dulls our ears to God's voice and to the good news of the gospel. Only the humble of heart can find joy and favor in God's sight. 

Let us ask ourselves this question today, Is my life in tune with Jesus's message of hope and salvation? And do I know the joy of obedience to God word?

If you ever feel frustrated or discouraged about the generations younger than yours, remember Jesus. He looked at his own generation as well as all the others and saw their weaknesses and challenges. But He didn't despair. Instead, he invested his whole life in helping to raise them up. 

Jesus saw the good along with the bad, and even as he corrected the bad he appealed to the good as he called them to holiness. He gave them a vision of what their lives could be like- life in the kingdom of God, if they would only return to Him and accept His salvation. And that vision is what inspired people like Peter and John to follow Him.

Nothing has changed since Jesus first walked the earth. Every generation has its own combination of light and shadow. And that means that in Jesus' eyes, no generation is beyond hope. No matter what a person's social status, political convictions, education, or past history, there is always room for redemption. There is always the opportunity to take one step closer to fulfilling God's call and vision for his or her life. This is how Jesus looks at you as well. You too are part of a generation that he is calling and equipping to build the kingdom. 

Statues in the Church

Catholics, often, was accused by the claim of worshiping statues in the church! We are the worshiper of statue. People still make this ridiculous claim on it because Catholics have many statues in the churches, and they are violating the commandment of God. The commandment of God: 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not not bow down to them or serve them' (Ex 20 : 4-5). ' Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold. (Ex 32:31). The commandment of God clearly stated in the old testament of the bible. So, now, does Catholics really commit the sin of idolatry since it is clearly mention in the old testament by God saying that you shall not make yourself a graven image?

The answer is NO! Calling Catholics idolaters because they have images of Christ, Mary and the saints in the church is based on the misunderstanding or the ignorance of what the says about the purpose and uses , both good and bad of statues.But, it is right to warn people against the sin of idolatry when they are committing it. There is a Anti-Catholic writer Loraine Boettner, in his book Roman Catholicism, makes a statement which stated that 'God has forbidden the use of images in worship'. Yet if we would search the scriptures (cf. John 5:39), you would find the opposite is true. God forbade the worship of statues, but he did not forbid the religious use of statues. Instead, he actually commanded their use in religious contexts.

People who against the religious statuary, actually they have forgotten about the many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example, In Ex 25: 18-20, 'And you shall make two cherubim of gold  [for example; two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be'.

David gave Solomon the plan 'for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to plan' ( 1 Chr. 28: 18-19). David's plan for the temple, which the biblical author tells us was 'by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning all,' included statues of angels.

Similarly, Ezekiel 41:17-18 describes that graven (craved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, 'on the walls round about in the inner room and on the nave were craved likenesses of cherubim.'

If you still able to recall, during a plague of serpents sent to punish the Israelite during the exodus, God told Moses to make A STATUE of a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. (Num 21: 8-9). One have to LOOK at the bronze statue of the serpents to be healed, which shows that statues could be used ritually, not merely as a religious decorations. Catholics use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to recall the person or thing depicted. Is just like a person looking at his or hers mother pictures, so it helps to recall the example of the saints by looking at the pictures of them in the church. Catholics also use statue as a teaching tools.  In the early church, they were especially useful for the instruction of the illiterate. It also use statues to commemorate certain people and events.

Gods forbids the [worship] of images as gods, but he doesn't ban the making of images. If he had, religious movies, videos, photographs, paintings, and all similar things would be banned. But, as the case of the bronze serpent shows, God does not even forbid the ritual use of religious images. It is when people begin to adore a statue as a god that the Lord becomes angry. Thus, when people did start to worship the bronze serpent as a snake-God (whom they named 'Nehushtan'), the righteous king Hezekiah had it destroyed. (2 Kgs 18:4)

Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Special thanks to Catholic online resources. 

Great Blessing for this New Year from God

Two weeks from now, the Chinese community including me will be celebrating Chinese New Year. We can see that people start to decorate their house with new year accessories, which believe will bring luck and joy for them throughout the year. Besides decorating their homes, people were also busy with those magazine that explain about their zodiac throughout the year. In summary, they are more concern toward their luck for this coming year.

We often equate good fortune, happiness and luck as things that are subject to fate. There are greater forces beyond us that determine whether we would have a good year or a bad year. The type and number of crystals that we should display in our house or wear around our wrists; the colour of our hair; the animal zodiac and its influence throughout the year; the number of gold fish that I should rear in my aquarium. We often equate good fortune, happiness and luck as things that are subject to fate. There are greater forces beyond us that determine whether we would have a good year or a bad year. The type and number of crystals that we should display in our house or wear around our wrists; the colour of our hair; the animal zodiac and its influence throughout the year; the number of gold fish that I should rear in my aquarium. 

For this coming new year, I’m not going to tell you what’s your fortune for this year, whether you would be experiencing lots of good luck or bad. No. I have a much better prediction for year. It’s going to be great year, a year full of blessings, a year of true joy. Why? Because God has promised to be with you. If God is with you at all times, you don’t need good luck or good fengshui or good omens. God will be you sustaining you, giving you strength to bear with all the burdens of life. God will be with you to help you through the darkest moments. God will be with you guiding you when you feel lost. God will be with you comforting you in your loneliness and pain. God will be with you healing you, forgiving you and blessing you with his grace.