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We are reminded of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi again. We continue with last week’s theme of God’s care as both the 1st Reading and the Gospel illustrate His generosity. Elisha managed to feed 100 men with 20 barley loaves. The same miracle repeated in the Gospel is infinitely more than what Elisha had supplied. The Psalm acknowledges that God’s providence is always in the right place and at the right time. Both Elisha and Jesus started with nothing. Someone happened to have barley loaves in the instance of Elisha and bread and fish in the case of Jesus. With nothing but the magnanimity of the unknown man from Baal-shalishah and boy from the crowd, the two miracles displayed God’s benevolence.
All miracles of abundance before the advent of the Gospel prefigure Christ’s gift of the Eucharist. In fact our Gospel is taken from John and there the language of the Passover is clearly an echo of the Mass that we celebrate. Furthermore, beyond the Eucharist, this miracle is also a foreshadowing of the Messianic Banquet of heaven.
God is lavishly generous evidenced by having enough to eat and 12 baskets full of left-over. As the Psalm extols God’s providence in sustaining creation at all times, the challenge is for us to imitate God’s generosity.
In the 2nd Reading St Paul speaks of generosity in the manner of living. Be kind and be gentle as we are united in the one bread forming one body. This generosity is summed up in the Eucharist. In John’s Gospel, the Multiplication of Loaves and Fish replaces the Last Supper. In place of the Institution Narrative, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples suggesting that the observe of the Eucharistic coin is service. Generosity is not restricted to the parting of material wealth. Just like Bread that is broken, our thanksgiving is lived through a generous attitude of pouring out one’s life in the imitation of Christ.
What can hem in our desire to be generous like God is the fear of inadequacy, that is, the idea of “not enough”. The following observation sounds like a criticism but it is not. In fact, it is to highlight who we truly were that can help us to cultivate the attitude of generosity. Remember that during the pandemic, white flags were flown and the immediate reaction was an outpouring of kindness? We were more willing to give in the midst of crisis. Now that we have returned to normalcy, it feels like we are a bit shyer in sharing.
When we operate with a mentality of not enough, we shy away from sharing and tend towards selfishness. Think for a moment this statement: God is generous. In His infinite wisdom, could the Lord be less omniscient than He is? Has He created a world which is incapable of feeding itself? Or are we accustomed to the mantra that the world is overpopulated and that there is not enough resources to support a ballooning population? Is there not enough to go around or could it be more that we are unaccustomed to generosity.
We do not live in a world which is incapable of feeding the hungry. That is a fact. This sounds like a socialist or communist chant but it is not. Instead, it is a rather sad reflection of how little trust we have in God’s providence. It explains why we operate with a mindset that is possessive which makes it hard to see others as brothers and sisters. According to the Catechism, CCC2404 "In his use of things, man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself." In other words, ownership, even though it is legitimately owned, is also stewardship. We are stewards of God’s Providence for we have been tasked to generate prosperity to benefit others.
This might sound like a familiar tune from the Gospel of Prosperity used to psych or rouse the congregation into giving but it is not. Catholics do not tithe but the truth is that each Sunday’s collection is part and parcel of that generosity to assist the Church in carrying out the mission entrusted to her—to evangelise and to make all nations disciples of the one Lord and God.
The most generous gift or service we have is not money. It is ourselves. Priests and religious are called to a life which gives of themselves entirely to the Lord. Those of us who are called to marriage give of ourselves to our spouses. Parents give of themselves to the care of their children. And children should reciprocate. We often think of generosity in material terms and the question associated with being generous is “how much”. However, which is easier to accomplish? To hear someone who is down and out, moaning and groaning about his or her misfortunes? Sitting with your grandmother who is repeating stories of her past? Or. To give RM50 to a charitable cause? I vaguely remember the story of a small boy whose father was always busy. So the child asked the father the cost of an hour of his time. He tried to pay the father for that hour to spend with him. Generosity is an ability to let ourselves be taken away, to be burn off like a candle and that makes parting with material wealth even more meaningful.
This Sunday’s challenge as posed by the Readings and the Gospel invites us to a greater generosity like God is. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the best we can imitate God is to be generous. For it is in gratitude that we are human and in generosity, we are divine.
God spoke last Sunday through the Prophet Amos. This Sunday He is speaking to us through the Prophet Jeremiah.
The theme for the Sunday is leadership and sacrifice. In the first reading, judgement is rendered against the leaders of the people. God “scolds” and our challenge is an inability to tolerate “scolding”. What should have been an act of love, which is discipline, is now construed as the lack of love. Perhaps this intolerance is an indication of our damaged psyche or poor sense of the self. Just think 50 years ago when parents discipline their children. Admittedly, some forms of discipline were harsh and bordered on cruelty. But in many cases, discipline was not meant to be punitive. It was intended to be rehabilitative because there must be some agreed upon and accepted measure of what “good” is. From this perspective, God’s condemnation of the leaders came from the failure of leadership. Furthermore, He castigated them because He was concerned for the welfare of His people. God’s disappointment with the leaders revealed His commitment to the flock.
The same concern is expressed in the Psalms today. He is the Good Shepherd. He cares for the sheep and this concern in turn is reflected in the Gospel. When Christ saw crowd, His heart went out to them.
Just recently, the UK underwent an election wherein the ruling Conservative Party was effectively wiped out. Days before the election, some Conservative MPs allegedly placed bets to see who would retain their seats. The point here is that they already had an inkling that the party would lose its majority, so what was to prevent them from making some money on the way out. The reason for the Tory’s loss in the election and also for the turn towards the right amongst the populace of Europe is in a way not far from the experience of the people in the 1st Reading.
Those who have responsibilities over the welfare of the people have forgotten their duties. We hear people say that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. That same highway is also paved with bones of Popes and Bishops. There are Popes in hell but considering that there are officially only 266 Popes and that in comparison, there are thousands of Bishops for every Pope, one can safely surmise that there are more Bishops in hell than there are Popes. But then for every Bishop, there must be tens of thousands of priests, again one can conclude that there are more priests in hell than there are bishops.
The advice of Uncle Ben in Spider-Man ‘s Peter Parker rings true: “With great power comes great responsibility”. Since more has been given, more will be expected of Popes, Bishops and Priests. Leaders fall a lot. But we need to return to a better grasp of God’s chastisement of the world. Scripture speaks of God’s anger against the shepherds but think rather more of disappointment. It rhymes with our experiences. Betrayal is always a failure of faith. I had faith in you but you let me down. Thus, punishment is meant to be restorative rather than to be punitive. God allows shepherds to suffer in order to restore them to His trust.
This is where we need also to relearn what it means that leaders can and do fall. Temptations are always there for them. There is no leader who will not be tempted. Without excusing responsibility, we might want to bring in the notion of prayer. Meaning? Today we tend towards hyper-criticality. Whenever a leader falls short, the first reaction is to criticise.
Criticism can be constructive, that is, it is a form of calling to account for one’s behaviour and action. The current criticism brooks no acknowledgement of frailty or the reality of Original Sin. Instead, there is a denial of Original Sin as if leaders were born perfect. What about prayers? If temptation comes to us from Satan’s attempt to throw creation into a disarray, instead of criticising, we might want to fortify our desire and resolve with prayers. Thus, parents, leaders or anyone who has responsibility, they need our prayers more than our condemnations. Not that we should not criticise them when they roundly need it.
More than criticism, we may want to school ourselves on the idea of duty and sacrifice. No greater love a man has than to lay down his life for his friends. Christ showed that example Himself. He gave up His life so that we might be saved. But He went further than saving those He loved. On the Cross, He cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. The impulse toward revenge is indeed a strong one for many of us. But Christ did not condemn those who condemned Him. Instead He prayed for them. True leadership is one which is sacrificial.
Good leaders are few and far in between. More so when we do not have a sense of heaven. Think about it. If Najib were a bit more fearful of God, he would not have stolen that much. Au contraire, he used religion as a tool to be a better thief because he knew not better. If only our culture and society have a greater sense of God and a reverence of Him, perhaps leaders will be better because they are aware of the need to be accountable to God. In that way, we have a grave duty to pray for our leaders and pray more for them. But most of all, it is indeed distressingly depressing when we feel that our leaders have let us down. The Gospel message is that Christ will never let us down, no matter what.
In the survey of our leaders and their shortcomings, we might just miss out a crucial truth. Perhaps parents must look at how they bring up their children. Leaders do not drop down from the skies. Countries and communities inherit them from families. Many of our families are failed families and from such poor soil springs the cadre of defective priests and leaders. It is worth a thought that our problem is not out there with poor leadership but also with lousy families.
As we face challenges ahead, we must continually turn to God placing our trust in His care for us. It is this assurance that makes room for peace in our hearts. Despite the troubling roads ahead, God will never forsake us.
The 2nd Reading paints a compelling portrait of the “eschaton”, that is, “He would bring everything together under Christ, as head, everything in the heavens and everything on earth”. The passage from St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians direct our focus to the end of time, that is, to the “eschaton”. What remains at the end of time, that is, what remains of humanity, belongs to the Body of Christ. Take a few seconds to let this declaration sink in.
This statement makes sense of our Creed because it is the only logical outcome of the profession of faith that “through Him all things were created”. Therefore, if Christ is the head and the Church is His Body, then at the end of time, whatever remains, or rather, whoever remains, belongs to the Body which is the Church. This where we find it hard to comprehend. What about those who do not believe or are of another faith tradition?
This notion of belonging to Christ goes with the territory that the Church, by nature, is missionary. All things are to be reconciled in Christ is the reason why the Church has a mission to share the Gospel and to reshape mankind as a whole into the Body of Christ. For this purpose, each faithful, concretely is part of this endeavour. Our talents are not necessarily restricted to the service of the Church. We are always serving Christ in our capacity as His Body in every place and in all capacity. The only challenge is to become more aware of it.
Are we the same in our work place or at home? These are the basic two areas where we move and have our beings. For the younger ones, they move between the schools or the universities and home. Do people recognise us? Recently we carried out a programme of plogging. The point is that many of our neighbours may have never read the Bible or have the chance to encounter Sacred Scripture. But many would have had countless chances to come across Christians like us. We might just be the only Bible that the Cathedral’s neighbours read. In fact, one of them reads us loud and clear because he or she has placed a large reminder on their fence: No parking for Church members.
The sign though unwelcoming is a humbling reminder. When queueing up, driving, working, interacting, do people feel that we are different or are their experiences of us more of the same as everywhere else? Today’s Prophet was called out of nowhere. Amos was not thinking of anything close to being called let alone being a prophet. And yet, God summoned him. Given that the 2nd Reading is God’s blueprint for the entire creation, then we can safely conclude that everyone has been chosen and sent.
What does it mean to be chosen and sent? The disciples are called Apostles because the word signifies that they have been sent. We are sent and this is where we might take a moment to think of how we are sent.
Today, to speak of vocation, that to be called and sent, the understanding is rather restricted. The word “vocation” itself suggests of priestly or religious calling. But it is not. In the past, the notion involves the dedication of one’s entire life. For example, sons used to take on their father’s trade. In a way, they inherit a tradition through which they learn to sharpen or perfect a craft. Craftsmanship is a way of being which contributes to the good of the whole or the well-being of the community. Today we have, in a way, lost this idea of calling and the consequent dedication to craftsmanship. It may survive in some professions like doctors and teachers etc. But by and large, our workforce takes its inspiration from career moves in the direction of monetary gain. The notion of calling has taken on a rather professional turn that is driven by financial considerations. Let it be clear that nothing is wrong with earning more but what has happened is that both financial benefits and self-fulfilment have become the main priorities for the way we organise our lives.
Teachers of old can resonate with the idea of a life-long vocation or surgeons too, who have honed their skills. We all have full of admiration for many teachers and doctors who have dedicated their entire lives to public service. In these two examples, we have a description of how vocation functions. Teachers or doctors practise their “crafts” not for the sake of money alone but for the excellence of our craftsmanship. In that way, the excellence becomes a part of their contributions to regenerating or recreating the world. Society has lost that sense of vocation today. The fact that artisanal products cost so much more is possibly a remnant of this form of thought.
In other words, excellence in craftsmanship is a reminder that everything we do becomes a part of Christ’s mission to reconcile the world. It is not the sum of money that determines how important a work is but rather how excellent one performs it. That means even the lowest paid worker has a role to play in society. This concept is lost if one were to move from a job to another in search of better pay. Again this is not a critique of career change or advancement. When the pay is bad and the work is boring, it is not easy to appreciate what we do as part of recreating the world. In fact, the world is trundling along this narrow economic treadmill.
Creation is indeed moaning and groaning and waiting to be fully reconciled. Many of us who live in this country might feel a little less impressed by what is happening politically in this country. It is common for parents to encourage their children to migrate and not return here. The scope for both religious and racial reconciliation does seem like an impossibility. Yet this is where we must rethink our contribution to God’s reconciliation of the world to Himself. Everyone is important and each one of us has a role to play.
In this sense, the universal call to holiness put forth by Vatican II is not something novel. Holiness is simply the expression of our baptismal commitment. Therefore, every baptised person is a priest who prays for the Church and the world. Every baptised person is a prophet who speaks on behalf of God. Every baptised person is a king who serves. Whatever station in life that we have been placed in makes each one a part of Christ’s work of leading creation back to the Father.
The theme of faith in Jesus Christ continues this Sunday but with a twist. He has returned to His hometown and this time it feels like a private visit because His family members are named. Mark also broke with the tradition which customarily identifies a person through his patriarchal lineage. An adult man is usually a “ben” (Hebrew) or “bar” (Aramaic), just like in local custom, a male is normally a “bin”. The Evangelist described Jesus as the carpenter and the Son of Mary. This is one of the contentious passages where Protestants often seize upon to support their claim that apart from Jesus, Mary did have other children. There is no need to defend the long-standing Church’s belief in Mary’s perpetual virginity but only to note that the controversy arose when the Protestants came to the scene. Prior to their advent, for 1500 years, it was a settled and widely accepted Church dogma.
Central to the Gospel narrative is an experience everyone can resonate with. His neighbours were taken up by His teachings but they were unimpressed by His actions. Where could He have gotten such abilities? It is the usual phenomenon of a familiarity that breeds contempt. From what they thought of Him, Jesus had a tough crowd to please.
The response of Jesus was a natural human reaction. He could achieve no more than their faith permitted Him. It is not easy to stand up and be counted but the 1st Reading is a clue to tenacity, that is, to remain steadfast in the face of opposition. To be a prophet one needs courage to stand apart.
It is ironical that everybody wants to stand out but few are prepared to pay the price. In times past, throw a stone into a family and what do you know? It will hit a Theresa or a Mary, an Anthony or a Joseph. My Dad has 3 Theresas for his sisters because his parish is called St Theresa. Today we have special names. Parents want their children to have distinctive names, designed to stand out in the crowd. Yet, few would give up a seat for an elderly passenger in a bus or transit. It is a sad reflection of how far we have sunk when providers of public transportation are required to put reminders on buses or trains to alert us to this basic civic duty—to take care of the feeble. To sacrifice one’s comfort, there is perhaps a hidden fear that others might regard us as weak. Or as Michael McIntyre in one of his comedies about letting cars cut into his lane remarked “I am generous to the tune of one”. FOLO, the fear of losing out arises because we are afraid that we might be taken advantage of if we were too kind.
But more than this fear of losing out is the reality that once we stand out, we will suffer. A prophet, in general, stands alone and is made to pay for holding on to unconventional views. It is daunting to be steadfast. Take for example the experience of youthfulness. Many are fired by ideals and are committed to the faith or to a cause. The change occurs when they enter higher education. Some who have the luxury of an overseas education succumb to the dampening democracy of mediocrity. What does this mean? The multitude or the majority that does not practise the faith exerts an intimidating silence that forces those who believe to either tone down their belief or conform to the accepted norms. The idea that faith is private and not public is a challenge that young Catholics face. If our celebrities can cave in to the fear of cancellation and ostracisation, what more a young anonymous Catholic.
The price of faith in the Lord is also fidelity to our vocation. The 2nd Reading is therefore instructive. St Paul speaks of witnessing to Christ by bearing insults on Christ’s behalf. Both the 1st Reading and St Paul deal with being the spokesman for God, that is, to become the voice of God. Immediately we enter the territory of “right” or “being right”.
There are different ways being right. The first borders on being self-righteous. This is the type which sets itself up as the standard. The Pharisees were like that and it is not difficult to be a Pharisee. In today’s terms, it is called virtue-signalling. In itself, virtue signalling is an indication of the loss of paradise, meaning that, when we can no longer depend on God’s assessment of us, we are compelled to alert the world about how good we are. Currently, celebrities, apart from the fear of ostracisation or cancellation, they also virtue-signal. Consider how many of them have jumped on the bandwagon of the climate-change agenda? Sadly, while they lecture us on our duty to be carbon-compliant, they see no contradiction between their public announcement and personal behaviour as and when they hop onto their gas-guzzling private jets. Sipping spring water flown from the untouched glaciers of the Alps or consuming imported delicacies cast a huge carbon shadow and before they decry fossil fuel, they might want to consider how vacuous their condemnations sound.
The second type of right is having the courage to stand in the light of faith meaning that we are conscious that faith in Jesus is not merely that He can fulfil our deepest desires. Faith is also to be loyal to His calling or to be reliable in what we stand for. Therefore, to be the righteousness of Christ, it is even more important that we be seen not only to talk about it but also to live it. Modern man is sceptical of the truth not because it does not exist. Rather truth becomes empty talk because those who preach it do not live it. As St Paul VI said in Evangelii nuntiandi, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses”.
How do we speak for Christ? He faced a daunting crowd. We too have the same dilemma. Society can be fixed in its thinking, just like the neighbours of Jesus was. In a way, our fixed ideas of reality are even worse because we have been corralled in the manner we think. In the age of search engines, algorithms organise our thoughts to the point that sometimes we cannot see further than what is presented as “reality” before us. The source of our knowledge can be the echo chambers that insulate us from contrasting thoughts that may challenge the accepted narratives. When we are fixed in our thinking, we will no longer be able to see more than what is proposed.
To speak in the name of Jesus Christ requires courage to step out of the shadows cast by the enslaving technological complex. This bravery to step out can be excruciatingly lonely. Furthermore, credibility is never established from merely mouthing it. Many celebrated cultural and intellectual elites tend to pontificate. By today’s standard, Jesus could also be a celebrity. But in terms of listening to those who speak in the name of “right” or “good”, we are challenged by this fundamental question. Is a cause right because a celebrity endorsed it? Or is it right because God has ordained it. For Catholics, we derive our compass from the Church’s moral teachings. They are not popular and embracing Christ’s Way will result in suffering for Him. When we are ready to be shunned and still carry on, that is prophetic. When we are determined to suffer for Christ’s Truth, we might just gain the grace, the strength and the voice to speak for Him. The road is long and arduous. While the price is often loneliness, the reward is a Life beyond this world. What makes this Truth hard to grasp is perhaps best expressed by GK Chesterton who remarked that “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried”. The cure for this myopia or short-sightedness is to live amongst the saints for they are the signs or symbols that it is possible to live for Christ alone and also to live as Christ while in this world.
