Christ the King, Year B, 25.11.2018

Daniel 7:13-14 / Apocalypse 1:5-8 / John 18:33-37
It is not too presumptuous to say that we all like music. After all, it is said that music is the universal mean of communication; it is a language that we can understand.

And with music comes songs. Songs makes things easy to remember and songs create memories as well as recall memories.

Just to make sure that I know what I am talking about and that you know what I am talking about, I will sing the opening lines of a song and you fill in the rest.
- The hills are alive, with the sound of music
- With songs they have sung, for a thousand years.

That song from the movie “The Sound of Music” (1965) recalls memories, especially for the pioneer generation. When my parents went to see this movie, as my mother would recall.

Good songs and good music leave a memory in the heart and resonates with life. Without a song or music, then life has stopped, figuratively and literally.

But music has a certain mystery. The music is not in the notes but in the silence between the notes.

The person who said this is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was the one who composed the classical “Ave Maria”. That hymn expresses what he said – that the music is not in the notes but in the silence between the notes.

Because a good musician will listen to the last note and how it resonates in the silence and it is this resonance that will inspire or lead, to the next note.

So that’s what it means by the music is not in the notes, but in the silence between the notes.

So, good music is different from noise. Noise also has notes, but it is jarring and loud and almost without silence between the notes.

In the gospel, we hear of what is like a confrontation between noise and music, with the noise trying to drown out the music.

Pilate was rattling with the noise of the world, but Jesus kept to the music of His kingdom which is not of this world.

Jesus Himself declared that He is a king and that He came into this world to bear witness to the truth, and all who are on the side of truth will listen to His voice.
And so what is this truth then? Truth is certainly more than a fact or an expression of a reality.

Truth is like the silence between the notes, a silence that tells us what the music is about, a silence that resonates in the heart, a silence that recalls memories and creates memories. 

So truth is like good music or a good song, that makes our hearts come alive with love.

But more than that, we know that God is truth. Truth is the very essence of God, and Jesus came into this world to bear witness to the truth. So the truth is made flesh in none other than Jesus.

And those who are on the side of truth or want to stand on the side of truth will have to listen to the voice of Jesus in the silence of their hearts.

But there is this loud jarring noise of the kingdom of the world that wants to drown out the soft gentle music of the Kingdom of Jesus.

The kingdom of the world wants to flaunt its power and might, whereas the Kingdom of Jesus is about gentleness and humility.

The kingdom of the world seeks attention and gratification, whereas the Kingdom of Jesus is about service and sacrifice.

The kingdom of the world presses for freedom without restrictions: pro-choice (aka abortion-on-demand), safe sex, free sex, same-sex marriage, and to do whatever.

The Kingdom of Jesus is the acknowledgment and our commitment to Jesus as our King and that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

But the loud noise of the kingdom of the world often drowns out the music of truth and love of the Kingdom of Jesus. And so we get distracted and discouraged by that jarring and overwhelming noise of the world.

Even the prophet Elijah was discouraged when he faced the persecution from his enemies and he ran away and hid in a cave.

But he was told to go out of the cave to meet the Lord.
First came a strong and mighty wind that smashed at the rocks around. But the Lord was not in the wind.
Then came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
Then came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

And then there was a still, small voice, and when Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his cloak and went to meet the Lord.

So as we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, we are reminded that His Kingdom is not of this world.

His kingdom is that of truth and love, and we need the silence of prayer and the silence in prayer to hear His voice of truth and love.

Then we will remember the sweet music of the kingdom of Jesus, the music that will recall for us our commitment to Christ our King, and to live our lives in truth and love. 

Because truth and love will prevail and only the kingdom of Jesus will stand in the end.

33rd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 18.11.2018

Daniel 12:1-3 / Hebrews 10:11-14, 18 / Mark 13:24-32

It is said that the world is a stage and we are all actors.

That is of course just an analogy, because there is a big difference between the drama of the real world and the drama in the movie world.

If we were an actor in a movie, we will get to look at the script, the role we have to play, what the story is about and how it ends.

Generally speaking, a good movie is not just about action and romance and a happy ending. A good movie has a hopeful ending.

Because a good movie rekindles hope for a troubled humanity, hope in a dark reality, and hope for a glorious eternity.

We would like to act in those kind of movies, especially if we are acting the part of the good guys who initially had to go through a rough patch but persevered and overcame the odds and are victorious in the end. And maybe get to win Oscars and awards too.

But the drama of the real world is not like that of the movie world. In a movie, the action, the thrills and the spills last for about two hours and then in the end it is a happy ending.

But in reality, the troubles and the struggles of life don’t last for two hours. It can be anything from two months to two years or more.

In the gospel, Jesus described a scene that looks like something from an action movie or a science-fiction movie. He tells about a time of distress, a darkened sun as well as a darkened moon, falling stars and the heavens in some kind of turmoil.

These descriptions give an uneasiness to say the least, and on the other end, it may be frightening enough to make us look for some kind of religious security. 

But like in a movie, all these will pass and make way for the glorious and mighty coming of our Saviour and His angels, and everything will be made right and vindicated.

It will be a glorious and happy ending. All the evil and bad guys are destroyed and the good guys live on happily ever after.

All that sounds good, like a movie with a happy ending. But the drama of the real world is different from the drama of the movie world.

We all have tasted the bitterness of the troubles and struggles of life. Our faith gets shaken, our hope gets darkened, our love gets weakened. Illness and sickness ravage us physically, and worry and fear weigh us down emotionally and mentally.  

At times we wish we were like those superheroes in the movies who seem to be able to rise above and overcome the troubles and dangers that the world faces.

Talking about superheroes, last week saw the passing on of the comic book writer, Stan Lee, who created the Marvel superheroes Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spiderman, Iron Man, the Avengers, Black Panther.

One interesting point in his superhero creations is that he created all his superheroes with some vulnerabilities in each of them.

He said this of his superheroes: 
• I thought that it would be great to do superheroes that have some kind of life problems that anybody would have.
• No one has a perfect life. Everybody has something that he wishes was not the way it is.
• Just because you have superpowers doesn’t mean your love life will be perfect. I don’t think superpowers automatically means there can’t be any personality problems, family problems or even money problems. I just tried to write characters who are human beings who also have superpowers.

In that sense, Stan Lee made the connection between the real world and the movie world. So for all the action and the drama in movies like The Avengers, Spiderman, Hulk, Ironman there are those aspects of vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

And then we can understand that the movie superheroes are also just human beings with some kind of superpowers.

We too are human beings and we too have a kind of superpower. We have that superpower of prayer that keeps our faith firm, our hope alive and our love burning.

It is with that power of prayer that will keep us going in the troubles and turmoil of life, and keep us loving when evil and bad people seem to be overwhelming.

Yes, with the superpower of prayer we will endure and persevere till we see the saving power of Jesus. And we will also be able to help others to endure and persist and believe that the promise of Jesus to save us will never pass away.

Life is certainly not like a movie, but like a good and inspiring movie, the happy ending is that Jesus will be there waiting for us. 

So let us keep praying, let us keep loving, let us keep believing and let us keep hoping for that glorious and happy ending.

32nd Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 11.11.2018

1 Kings 17:10-16 / Hebrews 9:24-28 / Mark 12:38-44

One of the devices that had developed rapidly with technology is the camera. Modern day cameras are so advanced from the cameras of the past.

In the past, when we talk about camera, we are talking about a device that takes still photographs with film that needs to be developed (or “wash” the film) and then we put the photos in the photo-album.

But nowadays, we take so many photos but they are not in photo-albums anymore, but somewhere in the handphone or computer, and we forget all about them.

And then there are those different species of cameras: action cameras or “go-cams”, car-cams, surveillance cameras, security cameras, and of course the camera in our handphone which can take photos as well as videos.

And these cameras are almost everywhere – in public places, government buildings, places of interest, places of worship. Some are out of requirement, some are out of surveillance. 

But no one would install a camera for entertainment. That can be done on the handphone camera and then upload it on Youtube. No need for a high-tech camera for that.

But where there is a camera, or more like a video-cam, we know that we are being watched, and yet we don’t know who is watching us. 

And so we will instinctively put on decent behavior. We certainly won’t want to be caught on video doing the wrong or awkward thing for everybody to see on the Internet. 

Well, that brings us to another point of reflection, and that is, what would we do if no one is watching or looking at us?

Will we do the good and the right thing, even if no one is watching or looking at us?

In the 1st reading, the widow had the choice to ignore the request of Elijah. It was a time of famine, there was only a handful of meal for herself and her son, and then Elijah had to come along.

Although the widow was obligated to provide for Elijah because of the culture of hospitality, it took more than just generosity to provide for Elijah. It called for sacrifice. No one else was looking. She didn’t have to do it. 

But she sacrificed a part of that meagre portion for Elijah. And as it is said: It is through what we give that we live. 

That widow gave, that widow made the sacrifice, and in doing so, she and her son lived on, beyond that last meal, just as Elijah had said.

So too did the widow who dropped in the two coins in the Temple treasury. It was all she possessed, all she had to live on, and yet she made that total sacrifice.

No one saw, no one noticed, no one bothered, yes, no one except Jesus. Yes, Jesus saw, and it became a teaching for His disciples, as well as for us.

Jesus taught us that whatever we do, no matter how little or insignificant, or unimportant, will not go unnoticed by God. Yes, God sees, just as Jesus saw and He noticed, and that widow who was not named became an instrument of teaching for us.

It is said that what we do behind someone’s back, we do in front of God. Taken in the negative sense, we know what that obviously means.

But when taken in the light of generosity and sacrifice, then we know that God sees and notices the little and humble acts of goodness that lead others to feel the boundless love of God.

Circulating in the Internet is this news about the memorial service of a Hong Kong actress who died recently. Reading on, we will come to understand that it was a requiem Mass for the late Hong Kong actress Yammie Lam who was 55 years old at the time of her passing.

Yammie Lam, known for her beauty, rose to fame in the late 1980s appearing in TV series and movies. She was well sought after, by producers and directors to be in front of their cameras. She was a big star.

Then in 1998, she was involved in a car accident and hurt her hands and neck. Her health began to falter and she was reportedly also suffering from mental illness and was seeking treatment.

Then in 2006, she was declared a bankrupt and began living on financial aid. Needless to say, the lights and the cameras were not on her anymore.

But in that depressive darkness, someone befriended her, brought her to church, where she found the light of God and was baptized in 2013, in the same church where her funeral Mass was held.

The Vicar General of the Catholic diocese of Hong Kong, Rev. Dominic Chan who celebrated the Mass, said this of Yammie Lam: She suffered a lot. But thanks to her religion and her persistence towards life, we have a big reason to believe that she is now in heaven.

Yes, may God grant eternal rest to Yammie Lam, and not forgetting also the kind and generous people, who are not named, who had helped Yammie Lam find God and find back the hope in life.

Yes, like the two unnamed widows in today’s readings, these unnamed heroes sacrificed their two coins of love to help another fellow human being in need.

They may not ask for credits or to be recognized but we know one thing, God sees, God notices, and God will bless them for their generosity and sacrifices. 

31st Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 04.11.2018

Deuteronomy 6:2-6 / Hebrews 7:23-28 / Mark 12:28-34
Every coin has two sides. That is an obvious and forgone statement actually. Who doesn’t know that a coin has two sides.

In the past, one side of the coin is called “head”, and the other side is called “tail”. That is because one side has the figure of the head of a person on it (usually side profile) and that’s why it’s called “head”, and the other side has the value of the coin.

So when something is to be decided by the toss of a coin, the choice is either “head up” or “tail up”. Of course if we want to confuse someone, we can say quickly “heads I win, tails you lose”. (which means the same thing actually). We can confuse the children, but not that easy to confuse the adults.

But the present coins don’t seem to have a “head” and we can’t say which side is the “tail”. It is like saying that the coin has no head no tail. So the lingo for the toss of the coin has to be updated. Maybe the coin toss is not used anymore.

The present coin may not have a “head” or “tail” side, but whichever side it is, it is still of the same coin. So, the simple coin tells us something really basic and fundamental. 
And that is there are two sides to everything, and one is not more important than the other. 

In the gospel, the scribe puts this question to Jesus: Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus answered that question with the first commandment, and with the same breath, He also added the second commandment.

In effect, Jesus is saying that these are two closely connected answers to the same question, just like there are two sides to the same coin.

And just like one side of the coin is not more important than the other, the two commandments complement and complete each other.

In other words, to love God is also to love our neighbour. We can’t say that we love God whom we can’t see, and don’t love the neighbour that we can see. God and neighbour are like two sides of the same coin.

There is an old saying that expresses this teaching:
“I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see;
I sought my God and my God eluded me;
I sought to serve my neighbour, and I found all three: My God, my neighbour and me.”

A religious nun was writing about her vocation story and she recalled a childhood experience that probably planted the seed for her vocation. She wrote: 

I never liked Tracy, though she lived two doors from me, and she is about my age. I thought she looked funny and strange (later I came to know that she has “Downs Syndrome”). I never liked to talk to her, much less play with her.  

One day, my mum invited her and her mother over for lunch. My mother made me sit directly across the table to Tracy. I frowned and showed my displeasure but my mum glared at me and she was not going to change the seating arrangement.

I sulked over my lunch. After lunch came the dessert which is mango pie, which was my favourite. My elder brother knew that I was sulking and to taunt me further, took a double share of the pies. There was a piece for everyone at table, no more, no less.

When the tray of pies was handed to Tracy, there was only one piece left and it was obviously for her. Tracy looked around the table and she looked at my empty plate. And then she passed the tray with that last piece of mango pie to me and said only two words, “You take”.

I felt terrible then, but I took it. But something in me made me cut that piece of pie into half and I gave one half to Tracy.

When I did that, something strange happened to me. Tracy didn’t look funny anymore, neither did she look strange. She has become my friend. That was one of my early experiences of love for neighbour.

It is a nice and heartwarming story that tells us that when we love our neighbor, God’s love will grow greater in us. Yes, love for God and love for neighbor are the two sides of the same coin.

God is in the neighbour and the neighbour is near, and often, very near.

Last Friday was All Souls Day and we remember our departed loved ones with prayers and Mass offerings.

A woman wrote this reflection, which was prompted by the recent death of her mother. She wrote:

Mum lived nearby. It would have been easy for me to drop in for a chat over tea but I always postponed it. When mum called me over the phone, our conversations were brief and hurried. I feel ashamed when I think of the many times I cut her short with, “Sorry Mum, but I am busy now.” 
The world is filled with daughters like me. I hope that many of them will read this and learn from this.

Oh yes, we sure can learn from what this woman said because we too have treated our parents or our children or people who need our love and concern in the similar way.

But today, Jesus reminds us that love for God and love for neighbour are two sides of the same coin. They complement and complete each other. 

When we understand that, then we too are not far from the Kingdom of God.