Monday, December 21, 2009
4th SUNDAY ADVENT (C) 20 December 2009
With Christmas less than a week away we should all be feeling a sense of anticipation. It is interesting what different forms this anticipation can take. For some, particularly those who are trying to organise activities, the anticipation might be very stressful. For young children it is usually exciting as they count down the days. It is helpful for all of us to reflect on how we are anticipating Christmas. The readings today invite us to do so.
The central characters in the gospel are Mary and Elizabeth. But it is Elizabeth who is centre stage; Mary doesn’t even have a speaking part at this stage (she will speak later, but we don’t hear that today). Both women are anticipating the birth of a child, and both are filled with joy. The sense of anticipation is heightened by the fact that these children in the womb respond to what is going on. This is even more reason to anticipate their births and the impact they will have among the community. Of course, we know that they will have an impact on the whole world. That’s the real anticipation for us!
Elizabeth speaks at length in what is really a hymn or song of praise. Parts of it have been used for centuries in the familiar prayer, the Hail Mary. In this song Elizabeth blesses Mary and the child she is carrying, and she gives thanks for this visitation. She recognises here a special act of God’s graciousness, both to her and to Mary. God’s plan is unfolding among them and she praises God for it. She would have known God’s promises spoken through the prophets. Like all her people she would have been waiting for the promised one of God who would come to redeem the people. It hasn’t happened yet, but she knows that God is already at work and that he will shortly reveal his love. Her anticipation is joyful, and the child in her womb leaps for joy. She recognises Mary as the mother of her Lord, and thus recognises the child Mary is carrying as the promised one of God. Her anticipation is firmly grounded in the belief she had that God would fulfil his promises. But it is not just Elizabeth and her child who anticipate what is about to happen: Elizabeth blesses Mary who believed that the promises made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.
In Elizabeth’s song of praise we learn something very important about the true meaning of Advent and the importance of this time of the year. One of the problems we face in our society is that we can easily try to sidestep any sense of waiting and anticipation. We like instant solutions. We are all more focused on Christmas than on waiting for Christmas. I am amazed at how many times I have heard people say that they just wish Christmas would come and they wouldn’t have to make all the preparation. It is as though waiting and preparing are not seen to have any real value in themselves. Advent tries to tell us something different. The rhythm of the liturgy over these four weeks keeps Christmas at a distance – you are meant to long for it and wait for it. Even today, when for the first time we have a reference to the birth of Jesus, Christmas is still kept at a distance. We have to stand with Mary and Elizabeth and wait in anticipation.
This is an important spiritual attitude, and the gospel today tells us how we can be more attentive to it. What we are talking about is the virtue of hope. Now, hope comes into play when we are dealing with things that we don’t know everything about, and that we cannot see at the moment. We might ask the question, “On what basis can we have hope, if we cannot see the future?” The scene with Mary and Elizabeth gives us the answer – in particular Elizabeth’s words to Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that the promises made her by the Lord would be fulfilled”. Mary knew the promises that God had made, and she trusted God. The certainty she needed was found in her relationship with God. She didn’t need to see the future clearly. In other words, Mary’s hope is based on her faith.
All Christian hope is based on faith. So at this time of year we have an opportunity to recall our faith and to renew our hope. In this way we will have a clearer picture of what we are anticipating with the birth of Jesus. We will come to know what difference Jesus has made in the world, and how we can shape our future lives around that difference. Yet some don’t understand this. I have no doubt that over these days of Christmas we will hear news items about those who tell us that it is all a bit bizarre. I have been amazed at how aggressive atheists and secularists have become in recent times. We could say a lot about them and to them, but one thought I have is that they don’t really understand Christian hope and its basis. They are not comfortable dealing with what cannot be seen, and they don’t understand the nature of Christian faith and the certainty it gives. Faith is not like science or mathematics, so it doesn’t give that type of certainty. Rather it is certainty based on what God has already done. We know that Christ has died and Christ is risen; that is the basis for our anticipation that he will come again. This fourth Sunday of Advent is about the future – yes, the future of Mary and Elizabeth and the children they are carrying, but also the future that each of us looks forward to in anticipation. Let’s renew our hope.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Saturday, November 14, 2009
23rd SUNDAY (B) 15 November 2009
The readings we listen to at this time of the year have a sense of fear and calamity about them. The imagery is strong, as we heard today: the sun and the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and even the powers of heaven will be shaken. People very easily interpret this as a reference to the end of the world; and at various times in history, when things have looked grim, the prophets of doom have used these words of the Gospel as a rallying call for people to change their ways and get ready for the end. But I think we also know that there is something a bit unreal about a literal interpretation of this gospel; that this is not what we are facing immediately.
We have a real challenge before if we want to understand what Jesus was saying. He used a particular style of language, which is found in various parts of both the Old and New Testaments. It was vivid in its imagery, and it was meant to shock. It was never about some time far off into the future when the world would end. It was a call to action – immediate action. He was telling his hearers that something of great significance was going on among them, and they should pay attention to it. The urgency of his message was real. He wanted his hearers to do more than think about the end of the world. To simply focus there would be to hide from the present moment.
What is so urgent? What is happening? Why this call to immediate action? The answer is simple: Jesus himself has created the urgency. His message and his miracles pointed to a new heaven and a new earth. He has come into the world and the world is being transformed. God’s kingdom is dawning in the world, and bringing with it a whole new set of relationships between people, and a new order of creation. But as we listen to his words we should remember that the things he was talking about have already begun to happen. He is the Son of Man who has already come in great power and glory. The world is already a different place because of his life, death and resurrection.
So what should future generations take from his words? What can you and I take from this rather strange gospel? One obvious thing is that we are faced with the fact of change. The basic question put to us today is how we deal with the changes that we encounter through life. Sometimes these are personal changes, such as moving from childhood to youth and then to adulthood, or moving into marriage, or facing old age, or finding a new job. Sometimes they are bigger changes, such as those brought about by larger economic forces, or social movements, or political opinion. And sometimes change happens on a global level, such as when we have to face up to the survival of the planet and consider how we use our natural resources, and how we live as true stewards of the environment. Jesus says in the gospel, to read the signs of the times. So this is an important lesson the readings today offer us: notice what is happening around us and be ready to interpret it.
These readings are also telling us that we are never simply idle bystanders, whether it be in the changes within our personal lives, or bigger movements in the world. I think there is a useful hint in the image of the fig tree. The lesson of the fig tree is that the new season begins as a tiny shoot on the tree and that it takes time for the flowers to form and open up. The images Jesus used on other occasions tell us that the kingdom takes shape slowly, almost imperceptibly. God’s kingdom has already begun, and it is still taking shape in the world. For that reason, the urgency of the gospel message is just as strong today. We, who hear the gospel Jesus preached, are being lured by God to participate in the divine action in the world. We are called to be co-workers with the Spirit in the transformation of the world. The little things that happen will gradually build up so that the world is different: little things like the way we treat other people; the values we uphold concerning justice and care for the poor; about the harmony we build in the circle of those we are in daily contact with; and the way we learn to live in harmony with nature. Yes, there is always something that we can’t predict, or can’t control, but if we take heed of the signs that are around us we can participate in the movement of this change. I think that this shows us another important lesson from these readings: seize the moment and work for good because we have been assured that good has already triumphed in Christ.
God is always at work in our world. The act of creation continues day by day, as the world is transformed into the sort of place that God has planned for the whole of creation. St Paul uses a phrase that speaks of the whole of creation groaning in one great act of giving birth. Perhaps this helps us interpret the times in which we live: we are living through change – and it is often unsettling. Let our prayer be that what comes to birth may be worthy of God who has offered us so much.
Fr Gerard Kelly
Saturday, October 17, 2009
29th SUNDAY (B) 18 October 2009
In recent weeks we have met people in the gospel who approached Jesus, looking for ways to secure a place in the kingdom of God that he had been talking about. On each of these occasions Jesus noticed their generosity of spirit and praised them for it; but then he pushed them a little further about their commitment. When he did this he gave them a bigger understanding of the kingdom of God. Sadly, these people couldn’t always take up the challenge. You’ll remember that last week the man who questioned Jesus went away sad because he was a man of some wealth.
In today’s gospel the focus is on James and John, two of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. They come straight out with their request: they want places at his left and right hand. I’m sure Jesus saw their sincerity, their goodness and their enthusiasm. It was the sort of enthusiasm that often characterises people who have first heard of something that seems really appealing and worthwhile. It was not that they became enthusiastic before they knew all about Jesus and his message: they thought that they did know him and understand his message. Jesus asked them if they could drink from the cup from which he would drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which he would be baptised. They seemed to have no hesitation in saying that they could. Jesus accepted their word and recognised their generosity and sincerity. But we see by the way he continued to talk to them that he wanted to educate them a bit further about the kingdom of God.
The way they had asked the question suggested that they saw the kingdom as a territory over which someone powerful and influential – like Jesus – would rule. This has been a common understanding among those who have approached Jesus: they saw belonging to the kingdom as a way they might achieve power and influence. Three times already in the gospel Jesus had spoken about his impending death and resurrection, but they didn’t seem to fully comprehend what he was saying. We should notice how he pushed the two disciples further in the encounter in today’s gospel. He spoke about drinking from the cup that he would drink from. They were probably thinking of a great banquet where there would be fine food and wine. But of course, we know that as he sat in the Garden of Gethsemane he prayed to the Father that the cup might pass him by. The cup he was referring to was his death. It was a cup of sorrow. Could they drink from this cup of sorrow? They had asked for places at his right and left hands. We know that the most powerful image of thrones at the right and left of Jesus is really the crucifixion, where two others were on crosses, on his left and right sides. The message should be clear: the kingdom of God is not about power and influence. In fact, it seems to diminish power and influence!
This is where Jesus’ saying about the first and the last is important. If we apply it to the image of the kingdom then we would have to say that real power and influence are found exactly where we would normally not expect to find them. Jesus is a king; yet he reigns from a cross. He was crucified as a robber and a thief; yet we are told that his death brings about life and salvation for the multitude. The kingdom of God preached by Jesus shone a light on the corruption of many of the interpretations of the religious law; it shone a light on the powerful of this world, who placed themselves and their own fortune before the most needy in the society. The kingdom of God preached by Jesus pointed out that there was more virtue in serving others than in having them serve you. Jesus’ own life is the best example of the meaning of the kingdom. It seems that it was almost a lifetime’s task for the disciples to learn this. But they did learn it, and the kingdom did shine through in their actions.
As we listen to the gospel today I believe there are a few lessons in it for us. These lessons come as words of encouragement. The first thing is to acknowledge Jesus’ affirmation of our commitment to the kingdom of God and the gospel preached by Jesus. Any advance in the spiritual life that we might hope for will only happen if we graciously receive the encouragement that Jesus gives. It is his encouragement that helps people keep going. The second lesson for us is that any advance in the spiritual life always entails a purification of our religious commitment. Purification comes about through the normal course of our daily life. By this I mean that whatever is happening in our lives gives us a context for listening to the word of God, so that we might hear more clearly Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God. It is not just a question of knowing more facts, but of knowing in our heart how to live in this kingdom. The third lesson is that we can only advance in the spiritual life if we move ahead in trust. James and John did not really know what they were asking for, but they trusted Jesus enough to say that they were willingly to drink the cup with him and be baptised with his baptism. It is probably just as well that we don’t know what the future will look like; otherwise we might be too overwhelmed to face it. The message today is that the Christian way to face the future is trusting in God. When we trust God we are empowered to serve rather than seek to be served.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Monday, October 5, 2009
The New Chairman
Cameal Liu is the newly elected Chairman for Camperdown from the AGM 4 Oct 2009. She can't talk right now but I am sure she will give everyone her new direction soon.
Peter Wong took a step back to be the coordinator. Barry Wong is now the secretary after being the coordinator for many years.
I picked up yet another memorable movie quote from Evan Almighty (2007) last night. God (Morgan Freeman): Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?
A position in the committee was never meant to be a chance to demonstrate one's talent or skill. It is an opportunity to serve and to grow into holiness. To serve God, to serve man and to serve oneself can be very blurry at times and requires a lot of prayers for discernment.
A big thank you to Tony Chau who was serving as the secretary for the last 3 years (since 2006).
27th SUNDAY (B) 4 October 2009
From time to time you can read comments that suggest that the institution of marriage is under threat. People produce statistics that show the number of church weddings declining. I also meet young people from time to time who say that they don’t want a church wedding because they don’t want all the expense and fuss that goes with it. When I question them on this I discover that they equate a church wedding with what they call a traditional wedding. They don’t want the hassle that seems to go with this – things like the fancy reception, the intricate planning, the flowers, the music, the expensive dresses and suits, the invitation list where you have to decide who to invite and often haggle over who can be left off. In short, they are reacting against the commercialisation of the modern Australian wedding. It seems that some young people today (not all) are rejecting what has become a wedding industry.
As I listen to these comments I always want to reply by telling them that I haven’t heard anything here about a church wedding. In fact, you don’t need any of that if you don’t want it. I have often wanted to tell young people that they can get married in the church without all the fuss of flowers, fancy clothes, musicians, and a church full of people. You can wear your street clothes and be married with just two people as witnesses to the vows you make to each other before God. In other words, I try to challenge them to think what they are rejecting. Is it the church wedding or is it the modern wedding industry that in fact has nothing to do with the church or with God?
Of course, once people come to the church they have already made up their mind that they want a church wedding. Sometimes even these people get so caught up in the secular wedding industry that the church wedding becomes a minor prelude to the big party.
The question I ask myself in both of these scenarios is how can we better understand Christian sacramental marriage. I think there are some clues in today’s gospel. We need to remember that Jesus was responding to particular questions that arose in his day, and these are not our questions. The religious leaders were trying to trick him by wanting him to take sides in a rather esoteric dispute about divorce. They were trying to trick him about an interpretation of the law. He was good at avoiding these types of trap and managed to turn the question around so that rather than get involved in an internal dispute among the scholars he spoke in a positive way about the meaning of marriage. So while the dispute is of little interest to us, the teaching on marriage is of great interest. If we listen carefully to what he said we may find a way of deepening our understanding of marriage and its place in our world today.
The first thing that Jesus says when he responds to his questioners is that they will never fully understand marriage as long as they see it simply as a legal entity – in other words as a contract. The Pharisees had asked him about the Law of Moses. Jesus wouldn’t answer on these terms and switched it back to God’s plan in creation. The positive thing he said was that marriage is part of God’s creation. He quoted from the Book of Genesis where it says that it is not good for someone to be alone, and that God has made man and woman for each other. In other words, God has made us so that we achieve our fulfilment by being in relationship with someone else. Rather than seeing this in terms of a legal contract Jesus saw it as a sacred covenant. The problem with the contract idea is that all it does its set out the bare limits of what has to be honoured by both parties. A scared covenant, on the other hand, sets people in relationship in such a way that they reach their full potential. If a contract sets out the bare minimum, a covenant opens up a vast horizon of possibility for the relationship. The covenant Jesus was referring to is made before God, who has made human beings for fullness of life and happiness. It is in this sense that he referred to the man and woman leaving their father and mother and becoming one flesh. Their unity is what the covenant looks like in concrete terms. It is never something that is simply offered as a gift and received, but is achieved over a lifetime together. Good marriages are good because the couple work at them together.
There is one other thing that we should say about Christian sacramental marriage. Jesus does not make a big thing about it in this conversation because it would have been completely understood among those listening to him. It is that marriage is never a private matter, never just about two people. Marriage is social, and it affects other people beyond the couple. In the first place we can speak of the children of the marriage. But even beyond that, we can say that the way a couple live their marriage becomes a sign to others. In the context of today’s gospel and the gospel readings of the last few weeks we have a fuller picture of marriage in God’s plan. As a couple live the sacrament of marriage day-by-day they become a sign in the world of what the love of Jesus looks like. The reign of God is not just a nice idea; we’ll never understand it if we can’t recognise it around us. In Jesus’ mind, married couples should be a sign of that reign, a sign of hope for our world.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
As I listen to these comments I always want to reply by telling them that I haven’t heard anything here about a church wedding. In fact, you don’t need any of that if you don’t want it. I have often wanted to tell young people that they can get married in the church without all the fuss of flowers, fancy clothes, musicians, and a church full of people. You can wear your street clothes and be married with just two people as witnesses to the vows you make to each other before God. In other words, I try to challenge them to think what they are rejecting. Is it the church wedding or is it the modern wedding industry that in fact has nothing to do with the church or with God?
Of course, once people come to the church they have already made up their mind that they want a church wedding. Sometimes even these people get so caught up in the secular wedding industry that the church wedding becomes a minor prelude to the big party.
The question I ask myself in both of these scenarios is how can we better understand Christian sacramental marriage. I think there are some clues in today’s gospel. We need to remember that Jesus was responding to particular questions that arose in his day, and these are not our questions. The religious leaders were trying to trick him by wanting him to take sides in a rather esoteric dispute about divorce. They were trying to trick him about an interpretation of the law. He was good at avoiding these types of trap and managed to turn the question around so that rather than get involved in an internal dispute among the scholars he spoke in a positive way about the meaning of marriage. So while the dispute is of little interest to us, the teaching on marriage is of great interest. If we listen carefully to what he said we may find a way of deepening our understanding of marriage and its place in our world today.
The first thing that Jesus says when he responds to his questioners is that they will never fully understand marriage as long as they see it simply as a legal entity – in other words as a contract. The Pharisees had asked him about the Law of Moses. Jesus wouldn’t answer on these terms and switched it back to God’s plan in creation. The positive thing he said was that marriage is part of God’s creation. He quoted from the Book of Genesis where it says that it is not good for someone to be alone, and that God has made man and woman for each other. In other words, God has made us so that we achieve our fulfilment by being in relationship with someone else. Rather than seeing this in terms of a legal contract Jesus saw it as a sacred covenant. The problem with the contract idea is that all it does its set out the bare limits of what has to be honoured by both parties. A scared covenant, on the other hand, sets people in relationship in such a way that they reach their full potential. If a contract sets out the bare minimum, a covenant opens up a vast horizon of possibility for the relationship. The covenant Jesus was referring to is made before God, who has made human beings for fullness of life and happiness. It is in this sense that he referred to the man and woman leaving their father and mother and becoming one flesh. Their unity is what the covenant looks like in concrete terms. It is never something that is simply offered as a gift and received, but is achieved over a lifetime together. Good marriages are good because the couple work at them together.
There is one other thing that we should say about Christian sacramental marriage. Jesus does not make a big thing about it in this conversation because it would have been completely understood among those listening to him. It is that marriage is never a private matter, never just about two people. Marriage is social, and it affects other people beyond the couple. In the first place we can speak of the children of the marriage. But even beyond that, we can say that the way a couple live their marriage becomes a sign to others. In the context of today’s gospel and the gospel readings of the last few weeks we have a fuller picture of marriage in God’s plan. As a couple live the sacrament of marriage day-by-day they become a sign in the world of what the love of Jesus looks like. The reign of God is not just a nice idea; we’ll never understand it if we can’t recognise it around us. In Jesus’ mind, married couples should be a sign of that reign, a sign of hope for our world.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Friday, September 18, 2009
25th SUNDAY (B) 20 September 2009
I often wonder if it is easier being a believer and a follower of Jesus today than it was in earlier generations. You only have to think back to the recent past to see that some people faced opposition and persecution because of their faith. We have all heard the stories of those living under totalitarian regimes who were persecuted and in some cases put to death. We know that during the twentieth century there were many martyrs – people who died for the faith. And I also wonder if it is easier to be a believer in Australia than in some other countries around the world. What are the challenges to being a believer say, in Hong Kong or China?
The gospel and the other readings today remind us that in some sense it has always been like this. In fact, the very identity of Jesus is tied up with his suffering and death, as well as his resurrection. In the gospel incident today the focus is on the disciples as they struggle to learn what being a follower of Jesus entails. We are lucky, because we are given a window into what was clearly a private conversation – away from the crowds – between Jesus and his immediate followers. Today is an opportunity for us to be part of this intimate instruction from Jesus.
The disciples heard what he had to say about being put to death, and were obviously left confused and not sure how to react. They didn’t even know how to ask a question about what Jesus had said. I imagine that at some level the idea of a suffering Messiah was just so foreign to them that didn’t even know how to speak about it. Perhaps they glimpsed that what Jesus said to them required such a big shift in their perceptions about Jesus himself, about God and even about themselves that they preferred to pretend that they hadn’t heard it. Look at what they had been talking about among themselves: they wondered which of them was the greatest! This suggests that they were failing to hear what Jesus was saying. They were treating him like someone who would have authority and power in the world and if they were close to him then they could share in it – the only question is which of them would be the greatest. So to hear that Jesus was going to suffer and be put to death must have really confused them. Then Jesus did something that was even more confusing. He embraced a little child and told them that to welcome a child like this is to welcome him. Let’s remember that in the ancient world a child was very insignificant – and certainly not doted over as we moderns do. Children only became significant when they reached an age where they could work and support others. In his gesture Jesus does what he did so often: he identified with the weakest and the feeblest in the society. In some sense he became like them and suffered like them. The gesture in today’s gospel goes with the saying that anyone who wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.
Throughout history there are many examples of people who have been captivated by this vision of Jesus and have committed themselves to it. Many have also followed in his footsteps and been put to death for their faith. It is easy for us to admire them, but we should not forget that they were all faced with a choice. They could have compromised and denied Jesus in their public utterances even if they continued to acknowledge in their hearts that they were with him. But they chose to stand with him in public and to endure the insults and derision of those who wanted to be rid of Jesus and his message. I have often wondered what it must require to make this choice and to follow him right to the end. Some of the explanation may be that they were full of the idealism and passion of youth, and so were prepared to do anything to be a witness to the gospel – after all, most martyrs have been relatively young people. Another part of the explanation may be that their captors had pushed them so far that they became even more determined to fight to the end. A further part of the explanation is surely that the Holy Spirit was with them to give them the courage and strength to hold firm, and to know that whatever happened to them they were in the hands of God and would be saved by God and would thus share in the new life of the risen Jesus.
In my reflections on these situations I also wonder if in a perverse sort of way these people have it easier than we do. I doubt that any of us are likely to be threatened with death because of our faith. The choice is never going to be as clear cut for us, because we live in a society where there is a lot of ambiguity about faith and its relationship to the society. For us, it is usually not a matter of life and death. This means that we have to be more alert if we are going to recognise that we even have choices, and that there are options. So, what strategy do we need to live in our world? The basic thing, I believe, is to constantly allow the gospel values to take root in our lives. In terms of Jesus’ saying and gesture with the child in today’s gospel it is a matter of more and more valuing humility, service, care, and respect for the defenceless. If we develop these values and allow them to shape the sort of persons we become then we will be in a good position to recognise that we have choices and there are decisions to be made. Then we can be confident that we will make the right decisions.
Rev Dr Gerard Kelly
Sunday, September 6, 2009
23rd SUNDAY (B) 6 September 2009
依撒意亞先知書 35:4-7 聖雅各伯書 2:1-5 聖馬爾谷福音 7:31-37
The centre of attention in today’s gospel is the man who was deaf and unable to speak. It is quite likely that his inability to speak was linked to his deafness. He would not have had the freedom and independence that were normal in human living and human relationships. Communications with others would have been very limited. We can also assume that there were probably many people just like him in almost every village. This has always been a bit puzzling for me, because I ask myself why didn’t Jesus just heal everyone. What happened to all those other people who were sick? I think we can find an answer if we recognise that often the people Jesus healed were also a symbol of a profound illness among the people who seemed to be healthy. The man in today’s gospel is deaf, but so too were the crowds who didn’t listen to Jesus when he asked them not to talk about him to everyone. The deaf man mightn’t have been able to speak, but when the crowds did speak they weren’t really speaking the truth about Jesus. Their communication problem seems almost more devastating than the deaf man’s. So, Jesus’ miracle seems to be more for the benefit of the crowd than just for the deaf man. When we hear the story we need also to recognise that Jesus is not just healing a deaf man, but that he is interested in a world that seems to be unsure of itself, that has trouble communicating, and that is like a stammering man unsure how to speak and to live.
Jesus came to heal the man in the gospel, but he has also come to heal the world. The ritual he used to heal the man was complex, and involved touching his ears and mouth. Jesus then raised his eyes to heaven to call on God. It had all the characteristics of an exorcism. It is interesting that the gospel story does not tell us much about the man after his cure. The focus is more on the crowd. They marvel at what they have seen – not so much at what had happened to the deaf man, but more at Jesus and his power. The focus of the story is now on Jesus and what he has done. In the midst of a world and a people that can find itself weak and fearful, Jesus has brought transformation. Jesus has done what only God can do.
There seems no doubt from the way that St Mark tells the story, that the crowd recognised Jesus’ actions as fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy. We heard it in our first reading. God was coming to renew and re-create the earth, and the great sign of this would be that the ears of the deaf would be opened and the tongues of the dumb would sing for joy. Jesus’ miracle is a sign that God is fulfilling the promise to renew the face of the earth. It was a sign of the love of God that knows no limits.
The challenge for the crowd and for all generations after them has been to hear this story both as a story of Jesus’ power and strength, and a story of their own transformation. The risk was that they would not hear this word of God. If they don’t hear correctly, then they will not be able to speak correctly – they will not speak the truth. Speaking is linked to hearing, just as it was for the man who was cured.
What about us? The gospel invites us to think of ourselves as like the man who is deaf and unable to speak, and to recognise the healing that Jesus offers us. It is much easier to make the connection with Jesus’ ritual actions in this gospel than it is with many of the other healing miracles of Jesus. The church’s rite of baptism includes this same ritual that Jesus performed. Towards the end of the baptism, after the water has been poured, the priest touches the ears and the mouth of the newly baptised person and prays that their ears may be opened so that they will always hear the word of God, and that their lips may be unsealed or untwisted so that they will proclaim the word that they hear. So, for those of us who have been baptised we have already been touched by the healing hand of Jesus, we have already experienced the infinite love of God.
But that is not the end of the story. While the rituals of baptism are important and they speak loud and clear about what God has done for us, we are all faced with the task of becoming what we have received. This means that each day we need to listen to the word of God with ears that have been opened by Jesus, so that we might hear his message of freedom, love, peace and reconciliation. The point of hearing this word is that we might be strengthened to live each day the life that we have been given. This means having confidence that the life God has given us will help us to face the difficulties, challenges, confusion and fear that may sometimes mark life in a modern society like ours. Often the most difficult thing in living this sort of life is that there are so many things going on around us that we become deaf to God’s word. It seems rather ironic that in a world like ours, where we place such high value on good communication and we prize the technologies that aid communication, the noise around us can make us deaf to the word of God.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Saturday, August 15, 2009
20th SUNDAY (B) 16 August 2009
箴言9:1-6 厄弗所人書5:15-20 若望福音6:51-58We heard a simple but profound story in the first reading. We need to allow our imagination to picture it. There is a large banquet table which is set out with the finest food and wine. Around it are gathered a group of people from all walks of life, young and old, poor and rich, educated and uneducated. The host for the meal is Lady Wisdom. Of course, a meal was not just about food and drink; it was also about conversation. At this meal, Lady Wisdom leads the conversation. The people listen to her, but they also watch what she does. And they begin to learn about wisdom: they learn about right and wrong, truth and falsehood; they learn about the hospitality of God and the mercy of God. They also learn about the traps that others may set to try to catch them out. They probably learn that it is often hard to judge the difference between wisdom and folly. Gradually, as these people learn wisdom they also learn right judgement. I guess one way to describe this meal is to see it as a school for wisdom.
This story of Lady Wisdom’s banquet is offered to us today as a backdrop for hearing Jesus’ words in the gospel. You’ll remember that we heard a few weeks ago about his actions with the loaves and fish, and the feeding of the multitudes. Since hearing that story we have been listening for several weeks as Jesus teaches about the bread of life. It is as though we have been sitting around his meal table listening to his words of wisdom. If we remain attentive then we too will grow in wisdom and right judgement.
It has been interesting to see each week that there have always been some who have struggled to grasp what he has been saying. They complained about what he said, because what he was saying did not conform to what they were expecting to hear. But Jesus challenged them to grasp the truth of what he was saying, to understand it properly and not to distort it. Today he tells them that he will give them his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. They were so scandalised that they failed to hear the truth of his teaching. We need to remember that the religious world of these people, and the Law they followed, meant that they should have recognised that Jesus was not advocating breaking the Law by drinking blood, but that he was referring to the shedding of his blood and the piercing of his flesh in death. They failed to recognise that he was speaking about the depth of his own love for the world – a love so deep and so strong that he was prepared to die for them. Here was a truth about God and about himself that he was teaching them around this meal table, but which they did not want to receive.
For those who did listen to him, and were open to learning from him, he gave the next lesson that would help them grow in wisdom. He invited them to eat his flesh and drink his blood. This invitation meant two things. First, it was a reminder that if they do eat his flesh and drink his blood they will receive the new life, the eternal life that is his gift to the whole world. To eat his flesh and drink his blood is to be infused with life – his life so generously given up in death. Eternal life is life that is lived in the freedom that characterised his own life.
The second meaning of this invitation is that to eat and drink is to be invited to be participants in his own act of self-giving love. In other words, they are to be witnesses to his life, which won salvation for the world. Here is another learning about wisdom. Wisdom is not just about receiving something from God; it is also about becoming a participant in the mission of God. If they receive this promise of eternal life by eating and drinking, they should also embrace it here and now, and show the world what eternal life looks like.
As we gather today and each Sunday we become participants who assemble around Wisdom’s banquet table. Jesus is Wisdom in flesh and blood; he is Wisdom as he comes to us in sacrament. We have an opportunity to learn from him by listening to what he says, by watching what he does, and by imitating him in his actions. In short it means being always ready to allow our imagination to be captured by the great vision proclaimed by Jesus in the gospel. It means being courageous enough to try to live with that deep sense of self-giving love that characterised his life. It means being confident enough to show this wisdom to the world by the way we live.
I believe this message has a particular application to the youth of our community. You are used to so many school contexts, some which are no doubt more appealing than others. Here today you are asked to think of yourselves as being invited to sit at wisdom’s table and to be part of her school. Gathered around this table you can hear both a promise and an invitation. The promise is that you will live life to the fullest. The challenge is to give the world around you a glimpse of the eternal life promised by Jesus.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
16th SUNDAY(B) 19 July 2009
In the gospel reading last Sunday Jesus sent the apostles out with instruction to proclaim the gospel, to cast out demons and to anoint the sick. At the beginning of today’s gospel they return from their mission and gather around Jesus to tell him what they had done. We shouldn’t forget this context when we get to the end of this gospel passage, with Jesus looking on the crowd and feeling compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. In many ways the mission of the apostles was to be shepherds.
The shepherd theme is a strong one in the Scriptures. We heard it in our first reading, where God speaks through the prophet Jeremiah. This talk of shepherds, of course, refers to the leaders of the people. God complains that the leaders were doing more harm than good to the people. They were like shepherds who had scattered the flock and destroyed it. In this context God promises to raise up a new shepherd, who would gather the scattered flock, and seek out the lost sheep. Eventually, we see that this promise is fulfilled in the person of Jesus who is the good shepherd. So in today’s gospel, as he looks at the crowd he feels compassion on them because they are wandering around like scattered sheep. What does he mean by this? I believe that he is saying that they are good people, full of enthusiasm, but with no real sense of purpose. They have no one to be a true and honest leader among them: someone who will inspire them and unite them; someone to open up for them the way to a rich and fulfilling life.
With this background we can see that this combination of readings today focuses on leadership. When we listen to the three readings we can work out the qualities of a good leader. The best example of this is Jesus himself, who brings to fulfilment the promise made by God to be the shepherd of his people. What are these qualities? The first, it seems to me, is to live with deep compassion. This can take shape in a variety of ways, but the basic ingredient is that the leader is like the shepherd who always acts for the good of the sheep. In other words, leadership is not about personal aggrandisement, but rather about service to others. The second quality we see in Jesus is that he proclaims a clear vision of the future, and the pathway to get there. This vision is found in his proclamation of the Kingdom of God. It was also expressed in our second reading in terms of the breaking down of barriers between people. The vision is focused on reconciliation and peace-building. The unity of the sheepfold—to use the language of our first reading—is a primary value. The third characteristic of a good leader, according to our readings today, is that they act with great integrity and honesty. Good leaders value justice, and work to bring it about where it is absent; they lead their people to act with justice. As the Scriptures tells us elsewhere: Jesus is the righteous one; our God acts justly and tenderly.
As always, however, the challenge for us is to move from this biblical teaching to our own lives. I’d like to focus on three applications of this teaching. The first is to apply it to the church. In a very simple way, these readings take us to the core mission of the church, namely to follow the example of the apostles. In this sense we can speak of the church being apostolic. Its mission is to model for the world at large what is possible in God’s plan for the unity of the whole of creation. The church must be the witness to the reconciliation and peace-building that characterise true leadership.
The second application I would like to make is to families and in particular parents. It may be helpful for parents to think of their role in terms of shepherding their family, especially the children, along the lines given by Jesus. In other words, they take Jesus, the Good Shepherd, as their model. Like Jesus, their parenting is marked by compassion and a concern for the welfare of their children. This is why parents teach their children wisdom. They help them grow in maturity and good judgement. They teach them love and respect for others. They teach them to live justly and to act honestly in their dealings with all people. In short, parents help their children to take ownership of the vision of the Kingdom of God proclaimed so strongly by Jesus.
The third application I would like to make is to the youth. In a very real way this period in your life is when you learn to become leaders. Of course, there will be different ways and different situations in which each of you will exercise leadership. Some may be designated as leaders of certain groups, but this doesn’t mean that each of you isn’t called to be a Christian leader after the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. By leadership here, I mean that you live in such a way as to be a model of the Christian life, and that you show that the Christian life is characterised by justice, goodness, reconciliation, peace-building, freedom and joy. The true leader is the one who has a concern for others and wants the best for them.
We are all invited today to renew and refresh our vision of God’s plan for the whole of creation. We are invited to be like the apostles, and be public witnesses to the gospel.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
The shepherd theme is a strong one in the Scriptures. We heard it in our first reading, where God speaks through the prophet Jeremiah. This talk of shepherds, of course, refers to the leaders of the people. God complains that the leaders were doing more harm than good to the people. They were like shepherds who had scattered the flock and destroyed it. In this context God promises to raise up a new shepherd, who would gather the scattered flock, and seek out the lost sheep. Eventually, we see that this promise is fulfilled in the person of Jesus who is the good shepherd. So in today’s gospel, as he looks at the crowd he feels compassion on them because they are wandering around like scattered sheep. What does he mean by this? I believe that he is saying that they are good people, full of enthusiasm, but with no real sense of purpose. They have no one to be a true and honest leader among them: someone who will inspire them and unite them; someone to open up for them the way to a rich and fulfilling life.
With this background we can see that this combination of readings today focuses on leadership. When we listen to the three readings we can work out the qualities of a good leader. The best example of this is Jesus himself, who brings to fulfilment the promise made by God to be the shepherd of his people. What are these qualities? The first, it seems to me, is to live with deep compassion. This can take shape in a variety of ways, but the basic ingredient is that the leader is like the shepherd who always acts for the good of the sheep. In other words, leadership is not about personal aggrandisement, but rather about service to others. The second quality we see in Jesus is that he proclaims a clear vision of the future, and the pathway to get there. This vision is found in his proclamation of the Kingdom of God. It was also expressed in our second reading in terms of the breaking down of barriers between people. The vision is focused on reconciliation and peace-building. The unity of the sheepfold—to use the language of our first reading—is a primary value. The third characteristic of a good leader, according to our readings today, is that they act with great integrity and honesty. Good leaders value justice, and work to bring it about where it is absent; they lead their people to act with justice. As the Scriptures tells us elsewhere: Jesus is the righteous one; our God acts justly and tenderly.
As always, however, the challenge for us is to move from this biblical teaching to our own lives. I’d like to focus on three applications of this teaching. The first is to apply it to the church. In a very simple way, these readings take us to the core mission of the church, namely to follow the example of the apostles. In this sense we can speak of the church being apostolic. Its mission is to model for the world at large what is possible in God’s plan for the unity of the whole of creation. The church must be the witness to the reconciliation and peace-building that characterise true leadership.
The second application I would like to make is to families and in particular parents. It may be helpful for parents to think of their role in terms of shepherding their family, especially the children, along the lines given by Jesus. In other words, they take Jesus, the Good Shepherd, as their model. Like Jesus, their parenting is marked by compassion and a concern for the welfare of their children. This is why parents teach their children wisdom. They help them grow in maturity and good judgement. They teach them love and respect for others. They teach them to live justly and to act honestly in their dealings with all people. In short, parents help their children to take ownership of the vision of the Kingdom of God proclaimed so strongly by Jesus.
The third application I would like to make is to the youth. In a very real way this period in your life is when you learn to become leaders. Of course, there will be different ways and different situations in which each of you will exercise leadership. Some may be designated as leaders of certain groups, but this doesn’t mean that each of you isn’t called to be a Christian leader after the image of Jesus the Good Shepherd. By leadership here, I mean that you live in such a way as to be a model of the Christian life, and that you show that the Christian life is characterised by justice, goodness, reconciliation, peace-building, freedom and joy. The true leader is the one who has a concern for others and wants the best for them.
We are all invited today to renew and refresh our vision of God’s plan for the whole of creation. We are invited to be like the apostles, and be public witnesses to the gospel.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Sunday, June 21, 2009
12th SUNDAY (B) 21 Jun 2009
聖馬爾谷福音 4:35-41
This says something about the sort of knowledge we are talking about when we speak of knowing who Jesus is. Think of what it means for you to know someone else – your husband or wife, your parents of children, your friends. Of course you know them, but you keep getting to know them as you live with them. We don’t know people the way we know hard facts – say, the way we know today is Sunday. To know who Jesus is takes a life-time of encounter. We don’t need proofs to know him.
The scene on the boat with Jesus asleep if an important moment for the disciples as they come to know Jesus. It looks a simple scene: a storm blows up, the boat is being tossed about, waves are breaking over it and it is taking in water. Those in the boat are busy, trying to keep control of it and get back to land, all the time bucketing out the water. They are afraid: they could perish! The strange thing is that through it all Jesus is asleep. Perhaps he was exhausted from the day’s activities.
As the story unfolds we learn that there is more going on than at first meets the eye. Those in the boat wake Jesus up, and he commands the wind and the sea – and they obey! We realise that this event is a revelation for the disciples, and also for us. We were prepared for it by the first reading from the Book of Job, where God addresses Job directly and declares that God alone has power over creation. We can also recall the accounts of creation where God creates order out of chaos. In the gospel scene order has been created out of chaos. Jesus has acted like God, as lord of creation. The disciples ask the only question that they can ask, “Who is this?” We’re not told the answer, but it is obvious.
Jesus’ own words here are important. His first question to the disciples is to ask them why they are afraid. When you think about it, it doesn’t seem a fair question to ask. Of course they would be frightened if their boat was filling with water and they were struggling to get to land. But Jesus goes on to ask a second question, about their lack of faith. In fact, he is really responding to their question, “Do you not care?” His response showed them that he does care. The point of the story is that God does care; that God brings order out of chaos.
I’m sure that the disciples often asked the question, “Do you not care?” It is a question that people of faith have always asked and continue to ask of God. It can take various forms such as: “Why did this happen to me?”, or “Has God abandoned us?”, or even “What did we do wrong for God to punish us like this?” When we ask these questions we shouldn’t forget that Jesus himself asked the same question of his Father as he waited in the Garden before his passion and death.
Jesus responds to the disciples’ question about caring by first commanding the wind and the sea, but then he puts a question to them, “How is it that you have no faith?” I think there is a suggestion here that the two questions – “Do you not care?” and “How is it that you have no faith?” – are connected. We can only sincerely ask the question, “Do you not care?” if we have faith. But just as importantly, the answer to the question can only be received if we have faith. The answer to the question is received in coming to know Jesus. The initial encounter with Jesus can be a pleasing experience of his love and compassion. Our first knowledge of him can be as the God who saves. The psalms use the expression, “my rescuer and my rock”. But the more we get to know him, the more we meet someone who was rejected, who suffered, who was put to death and who rose to new life. Suddenly, “my rescuer and my rock” looks very different. The relationship with Jesus becomes more complex. Rather than being “Mr Fix-it” he becomes the one who stands in solidarity with us, because he has asked the same question, “Do you not care?”
This is probably a far more realistic and mature picture of Jesus. But like the knowledge we have of any person, we come to know him not because we are told something about him, but because we have lived with him, asked the questions and received answers – and not always the answers we wanted to hear. Today’s gospel is offered to us as an encouragement in our own journey of faith, especially in moments of fear or doubt.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Year of Priests
June 19, 2009 to June 19, 2010
Christ the Great High Priest
The Holy Father explained "The aim of this Year for Priests is to support each priest's struggle towards spiritual perfection, 'upon which the effectiveness of his ministry particularly depends', and to help priests, and with them the entire People of God, to rediscover and revive an awareness of the extraordinary and indispensable gift of Grace which the ordained ministry represents, for the person who receives it, for the entire Church, and for the world which would be lost without the real presence of Christ". For this, he invited the faithful to pray "that the Lord inflame the heart of each priest" with the love of Jesus.
Let's pray for all priests for their "spiritual perfection". We remember especially those we came across in our past 25 years.
Fr Harry Payne, Fr John Speekman, Fr Joseph Ho, Fr Lucas Leung, Fr Matthias Mo, Fr Francis Kochupaliyan, Fr Norman Pena, Fr Nestor Candado, Fr Theodore Gillian, Fr Gerald Kelly, Fr Jojo Eloja, Fr Fernando Montano, Fr Joseph Yim, Fr Edward Khong, Fr Taylor, Fr Andrew Feng, Fr Noel Connolly, Fr Peter Kelly, Fr Dinesh Macwan, Fr Lito Layug, Fr Lionel Goh, Fr Thomas Carroll, Fr Andrew Feng, Fr Michael Yeung Ming-Cheung, Fr Muldoon, Bishop David Cremin.
Suggestions for us to observe the Year of Priests
* Pray the Rosary daily.
* Pray Divine Mercy Chaplet daily.
* Pray part of the Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office which all priests pray daily.
Sign up here.
Friday, May 15, 2009
6th SUNDAY EASTER (B) 17 May 2008
聖若望福音15:9-17
Easter may seem a distant memory for us, but the church is still celebrating it during these weeks. For us, Easter is the time after baptism or the renewal of our baptism. The focus of this season is about getting on with the Christian life. The readings we listen to each Sunday call us to the practical living of the gospel.
Our Lenten discipline may be over, but we soon become aware during the Easter season that the Christian life itself needs discipline. This idea of discipline can be a difficult one for us to deal with. The starting point for understanding it is to recognise that the word discipline contains the word disciple. A disciple is one who follows the teaching and way of life of a wise person. A disciple listens. The Christian listens to Jesus and his teaching. In our gospel today Jesus speaks of keeping his commandments. These are the Christian discipline.
Let’s look at what Jesus commands in today’s gospel. I counted three things. First is the command to remain in his love. The second was to love one another as I have loved you. And the third was to go out and to bear much fruit. It thus seems that the Christian discipline boils down to one thing: love. Seen as statements about love, the three commands he speaks in today’s gospel become what I would like to call the grammar of love. They show us how love works and how to love well. So perhaps rather than speaking of commandments we might be better to speak about a grammar of love.
That grammar consists of three elements. It begins with the source of love, namely that God has loved us. Jesus puts it rather starkly when he says that we did not choose him, but he chose us. So, the first thing we learn about love is that it is gift. Because it is gift we are free to receive it or not. However, the gift itself is so generous and gives such a sense of our own worth and dignity that it is hard to refuse it. The second element in this grammar of love is the fact that love puts us in relationship with other people. In other words, you cannot hang on to love and not reach out to others. You cannot be loved totally and freely by God and not want goodness for others. It is as though the greatest expression of our freedom is to have care and concern for others. The third element of this grammar of love is that it bears fruit. In the case of Jesus the fruit of his love was seen in the new life he offered people. He healed the sick, forgave sinners, and looked out for the poor. His love helped people escape those situations that entrapped them. He gave them a way out of situations that dehumanised them. Speaking in the broadest terms we can say that the fruit of Jesus’ love was the welfare and progress of all human beings.
I mentioned earlier that the Easter season was about the practical living out of the Christian life. So, how might this grammar of love help us in the practical living of the Christian life? I believe that the three elements become the basis for the decisions we make about our lives. To put this another way: they are the foundation and the building blocks for a moral life. This is important for all of us, but especially for those who are the young people of this community. You are at a stage in your own personal development where you are learning how to make good decisions: decisions that will shape a bright, prosperous and wholesome future. You are also at a stage in your life where you can see around you a variety of ethical theories that offer you different ways and different criteria on which to make your decisions. All of them promise happiness; however, not all of them will deliver happiness. Some of them are quite complex, and it is not always easy to recognise the likely outcome.
The grammar of love in today’s gospel offers a very simple framework for making choices in life. The three elements give rise to three questions that you can always ask. The first is: am I open to Jesus’ love in this situation? In other words, am I acting out of the conviction that God has loved me and calls me a friend? The starting point for our actions is always our relationship with Jesus and, as a consequence of this, how we see ourselves. This question invites us to see ourselves as people who are loved deeply. The second question we can ask is: will my actions show love to others? In other words, am I wishing the very best outcome for other people? A positive answer to this may seem easy, but it can be difficult, especially when we remember that the love Jesus is speaking about also included the command to love your enemies. The third question we need to ask is: what fruit will come from my actions? This is a question about the consequences of actions. But in the context of Jesus’ own life and resurrection it is also about whether this action leads to human flourishing. The question is: how will my actions build me up as a person, build up the community and build up the human family?
We all know the challenges that living in the world today can have. We have lots of options. Easter reminds us that God has chosen us, and loved us first. God has given us the capacity to make a difference in the world by the way we love. Let us continue to learn this Christian love, and let us show it to those around us.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Friday, May 1, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Pilgrimage to Penrose Park
One sunny Saturday on the first week of Easter (18 April 09), two bus load of members from Camperdown and Linfield went to Penrose Park for a pilgrimage before a vegetarian feast in nearby Berrima.
Some tried to walk up their appetite before the lunch. Oh no, it was some kind of meditation.
2nd SUNDAY EASTER (B) 19 April 2009
復活期第二主日 （救主慈悲) 聖若望福音 20:19-31
It is a week since Easter Sunday. Or, to express it a different way, it is the eighth day of Easter, the Octave of Easter. Today’s gospel tells us about that first Easter day, and what happened eight days later. The focus is on Thomas, who is often called Doubting Thomas.
He missed out on the encounter with the risen Jesus on that first Easter day, and he told the others that he would not believe unless he could touch the wounds of Jesus. I guess we can feel some sympathy for Thomas, because it is normal to want proof. In fact, every year around this time there are various shows on TV or articles in newspapers that sift through the historical and scientific facts in order to offer what they believe is the conclusive proof about Jesus of Nazareth. But there is a problem with all of this, and that is that it still leaves open a fundamental question, “what difference does it make?”. Let’s say you get this proof: in one sense it amounts to very little. We can know a lot of things but that doesn’t have to make much difference to our lives. I can know that there is a motel across the street, but it is not going to have much of an impact on my life. Of course, it is not useless information—I may be able to recommend to someone who is coming from far away to visit a sick relative in the hospital—but otherwise it is not going to make much difference to me.
Thomas’ encounter with the risen Jesus on the eighth day turned out to be much more than a proof that Jesus had been raised; it amounted to a lot more than he was seeking. In fact, when he saw Jesus he seemed to ignore the proof that was before him, and instead was moved to worship Jesus as his Lord and God. Instead of simply knowing that it was Jesus who was standing before him, it was now a matter of belief—and belief makes a difference in a way that simply knowing doesn’t. The encounter with the risen Jesus bypassed all his expectations about life and about the action of God. He gained much more than he originally wanted. He was drawn into the life that comes to everyone who believes in the name of Jesus.
For Thomas, as for us, belief is ultimately about having life. This doesn’t simply mean that our hearts are beating and we are breathing. It is about sharing in God’s life. When Thomas encountered the risen Jesus he got a glimpse of that life and what it means. What did he see? Jesus invited him to look at the wounded hands and side. That was exactly what Thomas wanted to see; but he only wanted to see them as a proof that Jesus was risen. When Jesus offered them to Thomas it was so that Thomas might know the life that God offers, and be drawn more deeply into it. In seeing Jesus’ wounds, Thomas glimpsed what God’s love looks like. It is not a love that is in some far away place, but rather is embedded in our world, and shares in the worst of human misery and suffering, as well as human happiness.
To understand it fully we need to go back to the Easter day appearance of Jesus—the one that Thomas missed. When Jesus appeared to his disciples he greeted them, saying “Peace be with you”. Then he breathed on them, and told them to receive the Holy Spirit so that they might forgive sins. These are the concrete signs of God’s love for the world: peace, forgiveness, reconciliation. This is the new creation, and they are part of it. This is the real proof that Jesus is risen, and that God has vindicated him. During his life on earth Jesus had brought peace, forgiveness and reconciliation to those around him. At the time this confounded many who saw him, because it seemed too generous. They saw people being forgiven who didn’t deserve to be forgiven; they saw people at peace, who should be suffering; and they themselves weren’t ready to be reconciled with so many people who were different. When the risen Jesus appeared to his disciples he showed them that what many had thought impossible had now become the new reality. It had been achieved by divine love. That’s what the wounds that Thomas saw, reveal. You can only know that in faith. That is why his response was “My Lord and my God”.
We are the inheritors of the faith that Thomas professed. We are the ones who have received the Holy Spirit. This means that we are the ones who have been drawn into the peace given to the disciples of Jesus, and we are the ones who have been charged to be peace-makers, to show forgiveness, and to be reconciled with one another. One thing that Thomas’ reaction on that first day shows us is that people are hungry to know about the risen Jesus, even if they sometimes don’t know how to find out. Even a question about proof can hide a deep-seated desire for the peace that is an Easter gift. The lesson for us is surely that other people will come to know the risen Jesus by experiencing the new creation that the resurrection brings about. And they will experience it the way they always have: because it is visible in the lives of people of faith, people like you and me.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Monday, April 13, 2009
Congratulations
Congratulations to Chi Tak Cheung who received the Sacraments of Initiation this Easter.
Walter is now his Christian name.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
3rd Sunday Lent (B) 15 March 2009
四旬期第三主日(聖若望福音 2:13-25)
It is good to keep reminding ourselves that during this season of Lent we are getting ready for Easter and the time when we will make our profession of faith. It is a time when we state once again that we believe in God. Of course, it is more than simply uttering words that state what we believe. The important thing is that our belief puts us in a relationship with God, and this relationship shapes our lives and the way we live. To express our Lenten project in simple words we can say that we are moving to a deeper friendship with Jesus. To know him and to listen to his words are at the core of our faith. On each Sunday of Lent our readings help us to know Jesus better and to deepen that friendship. So let’s consider today’s gospel story.
The story of the cleansing of the Temple is a familiar one, but as we continue to wrestle with its meaning we should look out for clues as to what helps belief in Jesus and what hinders it. I would like to comment on two points. The first is at the beginning of the story when Jesus drives out those selling cattle, sheep and pigeons. I think we need to be clear about what is going on here. This sort of commerce was normal for the Temple. After all, the Temple was a place where sacrifice was offered, so people needed to acquire these animals in order to join in the Temple ritual. So the issue is not that there were stalls set up where people sold animals for sacrifice. Jesus can hardly object to this. Rather, he objects to the way this commerce is carried out. It is as though it is taking place with no thought for God and God’s commands. Instead, the laws of the market place and other forms of commerce have taken over. What is happening here is that people are simply going through certain ritual actions, but with no thought about what they mean. When Jesus tosses them out he is telling people that they need to pay attention to God, and they need to get their own lives in order. Another way of putting this is to say that there is a right way to sell these Temple animals, and it requires that it be linked to fidelity to God and relationship with God.
The second point I want to make about this gospel concerns the dialogue, in the second half, about the destruction of the Temple. Jesus is being asked for a sign to verify the authenticity of what he has done in casting out the sellers and moneychangers. In responding he points to a deeper meaning of what he has done in the Temple. He shifts the focus from the Temple made of stones to the Temple that is his own body. The destruction of the Temple now becomes a sign of what will happen to him. It points to his resurrection. At this point Jesus’ interrogators are shown up to be very different to his disciples. The interrogators don’t believe him; they can’t listen to his word. The disciples, we are told, believe what he says. We shouldn’t think that they understood what it all meant. Remember last week’s Gospel of the Transfiguration? At the end we are told that the three disciples discussed among themselves what rising from the dead might mean. In today’s gospel the disciples are the ones who listen to Jesus and believe in him. They believe not because they understand what will happen in the future, but because they recognise Jesus as the one who speaks the word of God. Of course, they will eventually come to recognise that he is truly the Word of God.
So what does all this mean for us? In the second half of this story we are confronted with a choice between belief and unbelief. This is an important reflection for us at this stage of Lent. Are we people of belief or unbelief? I presume that we will all want to say that we are people of belief; and I am sure we are. However, the gospel pushes this a bit further in Lent. The clue is in the first half of the story, where belief is about the connection we make between our words, actions, and relationships – in other words, the way we live – and our relationship with God. Let me take a concrete example, which is not unlike the gospel scene. During Lent we are encouraged to give something to the poor. Project Compassion is a good example of how we can do this. But Jesus is saying today that it is not simply about giving to the poor – even though this is important. Anyone of any religion or none can give to the poor. For us, particularly at this time of Lent, giving to the poor is an integral part of our belief in God. The point is that we need to avoid any dividing up of our lives into the faith parts and the other parts. All that we do should emerge from that deep source of our relationship with God.
The key to living this way is in our friendship with Jesus, because ever-deepening friendship with Jesus helps us to know him, to listen to him, and – to use the words of today’s gospel – to believe the words he says. I believe that this is particularly important for young people to ponder. A characteristic of that period of life we call youth is that relationships are being worked out, and these relationships help form an identity. A vibrant relationship with Jesus at this time of life is also important in shaping our identity, and giving us a source from which all our other actions can flow. As that relationship develops we truly become, like him, Temples of the living God.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Saturday, February 14, 2009
6th SUNDAY (B) 15 February 2009
常年期第六主日Mk 1:40-45
We have just heard in today’s gospel the story of the cure of a leper. Did you notice as we were listening to it that the account of the cure was itself really quite brief, and that the conversation with Jesus after it was the main focus of the gospel. This makes us wonder whether the point of this story was to tell us about a leper, or to tell us something about Jesus. After all, the story comes in the opening chapter of the gospel. It creates a picture of who Jesus is, and what he is about, and we will see this picture developed as we listen to Mark’s gospel throughout this year.
So let’s look at what this gospel is telling us. At one level the leper is the centre of attention, probably because he is bold enough to break through the boundary that isolates him from the community and to approach Jesus. We need to remember that those who suffered from these types of skin disease, as we heard in our first reading, we required to stay apart from the community. This was not only for their own protection, but also to help prevent further infections in the community. After all, there weren’t the medicines and hospitals that we are used to that would treat these types of diseases. The consequence was that a leper was totally isolated from others. Just think what impact this must have had on them. I imagine that this leper was probably a young man, say in his 20s, who normally would have had his whole life ahead of him, full of possibility. Suddenly he is struck with this disease, and all that potential dissolves. What could have been a flourishing human life soon begins to wither. So we are dealing here with more than a physical disease. We are also dealing with human isolation and exclusion. We are seeing the alienation and diminishment of the human spirit. Even contact with God, and therefore with the source of spiritual nourishment and flourishing, is no longer possible. What’s more, there is no sense that this young man has done anything wrong to deserve this.
His words to Jesus seem a bit strange. He says, ‘if you want to, you can cure me’. You can imagine Jesus getting a bit angry at this sort of approach. So he re-affirms that he does truly want to heal. We see here the great desire of Jesus for human flourishing. We see Jesus demonstrate that human flourishing involves being re-connected with God and with the community. This is why he tells him to go to the priests so that his cure can be authenticated. In order that people fully comprehend his attitude Jesus not only speaks to the leper, but he touches him. Think of what this means! Jesus himself has crossed a boundary; he has touched a leper; he has exposed himself to the disease of the leper. Here we see in startling fashion Jesus’ solidarity with human beings and their predicament.
This is an important revelation about God. If we want to better know God then we need to ponder what we have just heard in this gospel. The crowds wonder at the power of God, but God’s power and authority have been manifest very differently to how they would have expected. God seems to embrace the vulnerability of the human condition in order to stand in solidarity with human beings. God’s power doesn’t work like magic, simply making it all better. The healing of human beings is more complex than that. We also need to take account of what happens to Jesus. In a somewhat suggestive way we are told that he can no longer move about and preach in the towns and villages. I suppose we can wonder if this is because he too has become ritually unclean. We will see this theme develop throughout Mark’s gospel as we listen to it during this year. The ultimate exclusion and alienation of Jesus will be seen as he dies outside the city on a cross. Already, at the beginning of the gospel, we can see that it will happen. Jesus warns the leper not to speak about the cure because he knows that it will be hard for people to face this image of God – the God who suffers and dies because he stands in solidarity with human alienation.
I wonder what this gospel, with its picture of the leper and of Jesus, might say to us today. I would like to direct my reflections on this particularly to young people, but I am sure that we will all be able to make the connection with our own lives, whatever our age. Youth is a time of great hope and yearning. It is when people begin to put in place those things that will help them realise their dreams and shape a life where they can flourish. Precisely because of this it is also a time of exploration and questioning, when lots of options are considered. It is a time when people sort out their own identity. This means that it can also be a time of vulnerability, and sometimes even alienation and fear. I believe that the gospel message today invites you to have the courage of the leper and to approach Jesus. What will Jesus offer? I hope we all know that life is far too complex for us to expect Jesus to offer some ready-made answer, as though he is going to relieve us of our freedom and responsibility for our own lives. However, in drawing close to him, and watching him closely you can be invited to reflect on his experience of isolation and alienation, and on his trust of God his Father through all of this. Ultimately, you are called to have the same sort of faith that the leper had. It is a faith that trusts God, a faith that is patient with God, confident that God will look favourably on you.
Fr. Gerard Kelly
Friday, January 16, 2009
2nd SUNDAY (B) 18 January 2009
The story of God calling Samuel by name is almost magical. There’s a wonderful picture of the boy lying asleep in the dark, behind the sanctuary, where only one light remains glowing. He’s awakened three times by a mysterious voice calling him by name. In no way does Samuel suspect that the Lord is calling him—after all he is just a boy, a mere servant of the old priest Eli. It is Eli who makes it clear that the voice he is hearing is the voice of God and directs him how to reply. With the straightforward simplicity of a child, Samuel springs to his feet in unquestioning obedience and total willingness to serve: ‘Speak Lord, your servant is listening.’
The story of Samuel is our story too. He stands for all of us – people of no significance, the small print of life. We may not be important in the eyes of society but none of us is ever ignored by God. We are always in his mind and forever under his care. God is constantly calling us into a relationship with him in the circumstances of life we find ourselves in. When we were baptised our ears were symbolically opened to hear his call. In the noisy ranting world in which we live, there is a danger of God’s voice being drowned out and not heard. That’s why it is important to have a quiet and peaceful corner to develop pockets of silence, where we can be alone to listen to the voice of God, calling us and directing us along his pathway. God can only speak to a person who is listening. We tend to talk too much and listen too little.
The gospel speaks to us about the call of Andrew and how the disciples stood and stared as Christ passed by. Christ is forever passing by and his invitation is straightforward and open-ended. He’s constantly asking us what we want out of life. If we wish to discover where he lives, he throws his life open for inspection under many different disguises. He invites us to come and see him, homeless and hungry sleeping on pavements and under doorways in the wet and cold. ‘Come and see me lying in hospital beds dying of cancer or with some incurable disease.’
God’s call is an on-going affair and often reaches us through the plight of a neighbour. It takes courage to open our hearts and answer that call. Sacrifices will have to be made and a comfortable lifestyle disturbed. If we are to be the people God wants us to be and to do the job he intends us to do, we must give ourselves willingly to Jesus who has already given himself to us. Openness to others combined with real sensitivity to their needs and a willingness to share our time and material goods, are essential qualities for us to develop if we are to share fully in Christ’s vocation. ‘Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.’
Fr. Jojo Eloja
Saturday, January 3, 2009
聖保祿的心路歷程 (屈淑美修女主講)
聖保祿的心路歷程 (屈淑美修女主講)
The Spiritual Journey of St Paul (by Sr. Laura Watt, SPC)
時間表 Time Schedule
9/1/2009 ( 星期五)
7:30 – 8:30pm 光與主的相遇 Encounter with the Lord and Light
8:30 – 9:00 pm 與聖保祿共鳴 My response with Paul
10/1/2009 (星期六)
2:30 – 3:30pm 心靈的黑夜 Dark night of Paul
3:30 – 4:00pm 靜思反省 Silent reflection
4:00 – 5:00pm 聖保祿的轉化 The transformation
11/1/2009 (星期曰)
2:30 – 3:30pm 逾越靈修 Paschal spirituality
3:30 – 4:00pm 問題解答 Q & A
4:00 – 5:00pm 與聖保祿共禱 Pray with St Paul
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)