A 'Boxed' Decision

for the sake of artistry I used a rather different box

Two nights ago I watched The Box with Cameron Diaz, James Marsden and Frank Langella as lead actors.  The story is a suspense thriller depicted in 1976 America. I should be enjoying watching movies, like this one, but with these reflections, realizations and questions lingering in my mind I can help but to write and involve you.

1. The Choice

They were offered one million dollars tax free, over a death of someone unknown to them, somewhere. All they have to do is to press the button in a little box. Are the Lewises in dire need of money? The story presented us with factors which predisposed the couple to choose for the prize: Arthur’s application to become astronaut was rejected, while Norma’s tuition benefit was cancelled. The couple was left with one question: Do we need that one million dollar?

Norma had found out of her husband’s rejected application and it only augmented the complexity of their trouble. Arthur is positive about getting through the financial burden they have to face but since Norma did not mention to Arthur her difficulty, she was left with the ‘only choice’.

 

2. The Fall

Pushing the button is very similar to eating the forbidden fruit. In the Bible’s creation story, the woman has to endure the multiple pains of giving birth, and of being a wife. Again, the woman is depicted as the ‘culprit’. The man consented but it was she who pushed the button. In the end the woman has to die to save their son’s impairment. To amplify the claim, it was the wives who pushed the button before the box reached and after it was taken from the Lewises.

Is this to present the woman is always at fault? That she deserved to endure multiple pains? Is this to justify enmity and cruelty to women?

3. Redemption 

The wife could not bear to stay alive and see their son in miserable condition. The man was left with a dilemma: to be a father or to be a husband. He chose the former only to realize and end up losing both. He could have convinced his wife to look at the positive side but emotions overshadowed him.

Would this mean the woman’s decision always influences if not completes man’s decision? That man’s EQ is dependent on women? That being emotional hinders rationalization?

To answer these questions would require a lot of arguments and counter arguments, prayerful reflections, philosophical and theological discussions. I guess I will just content and submit myself to such requirements, that answers are processes enclosed in time. 

However, it might help to know three factors which have substantial effect in our lives: 1. how a ‘succulent’ offer can change lives. 2. how with a ‘push of a button’ can one’s life be judged and ended. 3. how sacrifice is always indispensable for salvation.

Glued!

(Mk 6:30-34)

Change is inevitable. Actually, as many philosophers would argue change is the only permanent thing in this world. But for someone to be able to adapt to change, the person needs to make a decision. Whatever choice there is available, one has to choose. People cannot have everything so they say but actually one can have everything by his/her choice. That’s the beauty in exercising our freedom to choose. It is liberating. It should be liberating.

But why many people unhappy and seemingly unfulfilled? Is it the product of a wrong decision or is it because of the fact a person cannot have everything and is limited with his/her choice? Again, one can get everything with one’s free and willing decision. I believe the greatest challenge lies not on how to possess every opportunity life presents but it is when the time the person stretches his/her limit to stick to his/her choice.

(from a 2011 calendar)

Jesus has a choice. He could have said no to everyone, “Sorry, we’re closed! Come back tomorrow.” But his choice was pushed to its edge by ‘and when He saw the crowd, he took pity on them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.’ His choice was challenged by a more noble purpose. This is one among the many instances that invites Jesus’ followers to exercise the power to choose and fueled by that dignified cause, glued to make it happen no matter what.

This leaves us two truths about life, or in particular about making a choice:

1. Choice is the very foundation of our destiny.
2. Life is a series of choices. Nobility bridges the gap.

Finally, as St Agatha, virgin and martyr, and whose memorial we celebrate today aptly and beautifully uttered: "My courage and my thought be so firmly founded upon the firm stone of Jesus Christ, that for no pain it may not be changed; your words be but wind, your promises be but rain, and your menaces be as rivers that pass, and how well that all these things hurtle at the foundement of my courage, yet for that it shall not move."

Men of Incongruity (Mk 3: 13-19)

I sometimes ask other people on the opinion why are we so diverse in culture, race and religion? Some would say God made it that way so that life would not be boring. Others would insist diversity is an appreciation of God’s greatness and beauty. However, in my opinion diversity creates in us a dawning realization that we are born to be men and women of incongruity, that being such matters most to God. When God took the human form and dwelt among us He clothed himself with incongruity, an inconceivable wisdom and choice. This proves to show that ‘inappropriateness’ is a good thing, and actually is an advantage.

 Today Jesus chose the twelve not because of their suitability but because of their incongruity; not because of their fullness, but out of their emptiness they were selected and made to become ‘men for others’. Human standards aim to create the perfect choice, which is not bad at all. The problem lies on human’s denial of the need for God, and to make the matter worst it is God who needs men. The choosing of the twelve and Mark’s account of describing some of them bring forth the conclusion, and I quote from Casting Crown’s ‘Who am I’ song: “not because of who I am, but because of what You've done; not because of what I've done, but because of who You are”.

Formosa, Filipinos, Faith

Two Kinds of Baptism

There are two baptisms mentioned in the New Testament: the baptism of John and that of Jesus. John is the baptism of repentance; Jesus’ baptism is of water and Spirit. In today’s Gospel Jesus started to baptize by preaching the Good News and calling His first four disciples.

Jesus’ baptism is an invitation, responsibility and commitment all together.

It is an invitation that we change our old ways and make ourselves new. To come to repentance is to desire for transformation.

It is a responsibility because we are to keep the promise alive, maintaining the changed self, and consciously growing in solidarity with God.

It is a commitment because following Jesus entails an endless journey; an on-going process of dying to oneself and reborn to a new life.

c/o drob737.blogspot.com

It is no wonder why we are always encouraged to renew our vows to God each day, because like our baptism, we are in need to be always re awakened. 

新約裡面提到兩個洗禮：若翰的洗禮和耶穌的。若翰是悔改的洗禮，耶穌的洗禮是用水和火。在今天的福音耶穌開始施洗由傳福音，並要求他的第一個四位門徒跟隨祂。

耶穌的洗禮是一個邀請，責任和承諾都在一起。 

它是一個邀請我們改變舊的方式，使自己成為'全新的我'。若要悔改，必須有轉變的渴望。 

它是一種責任，因為我們要信守承諾活著，保持改變自我，自己與天主日益團結。

它是一個承諾，因為跟隨耶穌需要一種無盡的旅程，對自己的死亡與再新的生活是 一個持續的過程。

這也難怪為什麼我們總是鼓勵我們的誓言每一天向天主更新，是因為像我們的洗禮，我們需要總是重新喚醒。

Newness with an Attitude

What is it in New Year that we welcome its coming by firework displays and a loud bang? Is it the coming of the New Year that we are celebrating about or the newness of the year brings? It could be both but I think the bottom line is we see in New Year a new chance, beginning and hope. But if it is all about new chance, new beginning and new hope that we anticipate in the celebration of the New Year, why don’t we celebrate instead the New Day? In this case we don’t have to wait for a whole year to anticipate a new beginning? The truth is each day can be a celebration of hope, chance and beginning because ‘change starts with a decision’.

For some people a new beginning starts when a child is born, or during a marriage proposal. For others it starts after a full recovery from sickness. Still for many of us it starts after completing a degree or landing an ideal job. This only proves that we are always aiming for a better and fulfilled life. And what better way to celebrate life than to do it at the beginning of the year. We lit fireworks or blow the paper made trumpet or play a loud music hoping that they could ward off the jinx of the past year.  We set and make a list of New Year resolutions in order to become a better person. In other words, we want to achieve the fullness of life.

But the celebration of New Year is not all about the list of things to do or goals to achieve but also an opportunity to show gratitude; to be thankful for all that had happened in the whole year both the good and the bad. Whether they are achievements or failures, merits or misfortunes we should be thankful that it happened because they helped us build our dreams, encouraged us to aim higher, allowed us to appreciate and understand that life is worth living for. Whether in sorrow or pain we should give thanks to the Lord for his love endures forever.

But who would know for sure that this New Year will be a better year than last year for you and me? How can we be sure that we will have the opportunities we long to have? Is it not that everything is hanging on the idea that things would work out smooth and on our favor? In this case we should approach the New Year with faith, trust and confidence in God. We should completely allow Him to manifest Himself to us and submit our dependence on Him.

And I believe this is the wisdom behind why the Catholic Church aptly made January 1^st the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Mary is the perfect example of a person who anticipates with complete confidence and trust in God. St Luke mentioned that Mary, kept everything in her heart for the Son born to her, infant as He is, already surrounds Him with marvelous things. From the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced that she found favor with God, to her visit to her cousin Elizabeth who greeted her ‘blessed are you among women’, to the birth of her Son, to the time of Jesus’ circumcision where Simeon announced to her that ‘a blade will pierce’ her heart, to the finding of Jesus in the temple, to the wedding at Cana, and at last at the foot of the Cross, Mary finally understood the things she kept in her heart. It took thirty-three (33) years for Mary to understand her ‘Fiat’ to God.

And so as we approach the New Year, let us be reminded of the attitude our Blessed Mother exhibited as she confronts the uncertainties of life. Like Mary we should be observant, silent, uncomplaining. We should be Observant not on other people’s business but on the needs of other people; observant not to the point of meddling or trespassing but understanding the wisdom why things happened that way.  We should maintain a Silent approach to life because God speaks to us in silence. The world already has an unbearable noise brought about by people who do not know how to shut up their big mouths. We should exercise Appreciation rather than complaining because he/she complains will never finish the race. And even if one finished the race it will be a bitter and sour victory because he/she did not enjoy the race, because one is busy ranting and complaining.

Instead may we heed the commandments of God, as in the first reading, to approach the New Year with a blessing, gratitude and prayer: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace. The Lord makes His face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you.” With such attitude we are sure we are in good hands, and that there’s nothing we can’t accomplish with God.

Happy and a grace-filled Year 2011 and beyond!

Living La Dolce Vita

I have many things to thank God for as we end the year 2010, and have a lengthy list of things to improve, accomplish, and to look forward too. It means, I would be forever expressing my gratitude to God, and to all the beautiful and challenging people through whom He made His Presence and Being felt.

January: South Bishop's right hand

February: My heart rejoiced ‘exuberantly’

March: Home Sweet Home

April: A Mêlée Won

May: Assorted Moments

June: Embraced Servanthood

July: Packing and Unpacking

August: Full of Firsts’

September: Yes Man

October: Never Ending Celebrations

November: Health Awareness

December: Welcoming

Thank you God, for everything!

The Manger in our hearts

Christmas Eve Homily (December 24, 2009)

(This is my first Homily as Deacon, written in English but delivered in Mandarin)

This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. All our preparation and waiting has finally come to its climax and indeed we should rejoice for Today is born our Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord! Even if we receive expensive and precious gifts from our loved ones, nothing can top the greatest gift we are given by God, His only Son.

Look at our nativity house here, maybe it is just a beautiful decoration for us. For some of us we may immediately recognize its theologically sound representation: the Alpha, Omega, the Word made flesh. Outside the church is another nativity house, beautifully made and depicted a more familiar scene we often hear, read or watch: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and their sheep, and the wise men. Which ever do you prefer both tell us of a real and life changing experience: Mary’s Fiat, Joseph’s silent obedience, the shepherds awakening, the wise men following of the star. Everyone’s experience is unique yet everyone is led to Jesus. The ways of preparation differ in time and degree yet each way is directed to the manger.

We can examine our life’s experience too. We may have had a lot of ups and downs, or maybe at this moment we are so relax and free, but do our experiences lead us to know Jesus?  Do we see ourselves being part of the manger? Do we experience the joy of after having gone through highs and lows we finally see the fruit of our labors? The answer to each of these questions is very important because if we want our rejoicing to be complete and long lasting it must be born out of that experience with Jesus. A child was born in a manger; the Word was made flesh precisely because He willed to dwell among us, Emmanuel – God with us. This is indeed a very Good News because whether our life’s experience is good or bad we are assured that we are not alone in the journey and we have hope of a safe destination.

My friend and I took us a week to make the two nativity houses. It took us hours to plan, even long hours to build them. We spent money for materials, transportation and food all for one clear purpose: we want to build, not just a manger, but a beautiful and meaningful manger for everyone to appreciate. In our own lives we too spent a lot of our time and effort in building our careers and ambitions in life, sometimes to useless endeavors, yet we forget to build our own beautiful and meaningful manger. We easily give up and thought it will never be done or we rushed on building it just for the sake of pride or for the sake of just having one. The building of a beautiful and meaningful manger lies on the clarity of goal. The beauty and appreciation of our experience lies on the manger we built in our heart.

Have a beautiful, joyful and blessed Christmas everyone!

Life is a Mystery

(Matthew 1: 18-25)

What is the difference when one says ‘life is a problem’ and the other one says ‘life is a mystery’? The one who treats life as a problem should simply have to find a solution to it because every problem has a solution. On the other hand, the one who views life as a mystery should simply live life as it is, with its ups and downs because mystery has God as its answers.

In the Gospel today we are presented the story of the birth of Jesus. Who would have thought that it could be this complicated. Why God did not just let the birth of His son be smooth and easy? Why does He need to involve ordinary people like Mary and Joseph who just want to have a simple and happy family life? The Gospel emphasized the complications by telling us of the marital condition of Mary and Joseph. In the Jewish matrimonial tradition, the would-be couple should undergo three stages of preparation: the engagement, which is often made when the couple were only children, then the betrothal which is considered the ratification of the engagement, once it is done it is considered binding. It lasted one year and the couple is already known as man and wife, even without its rights. The betrothal can only be terminated through divorce. The third and final stage is the marriage proper, which usually takes place after the year of betrothal.

c/o catholic.nowealthbutlife.com

Poor Mary and Joseph we may think. They are the most ordinary citizens, who like many of us only want to live each day, one at a time; with simple dreams; who only wish to have a simple yet happy family life. And yet out of their being ordinary God chose them to reveal His plan and chose them to be the vessel by which His plan may be fulfilled.  You see that is the point. God chooses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. You don’t have to become Ms Universe, or a Summa cum laude or the President of a nation or a CEO of a huge company to be special in the eyes of God. In the criteria of God being simple and ordinary is always His pattern of greatness and triumph.

But the story of life does not stop by being simple and ordinary. One must be willing to become instruments of God. Willingness is actually the only thing that matters in the end.  A person who is willing obeys, not by doing something out of blind obedience but with confidence and trust. Joseph being a righteous man wished to divorce Mary in secret, and his being a righteous man gave him that confidence and trust to not only listen but obey the will of God. We must not forget that we are created for greatness, designed for fellowship and friendship with God.

This is the second point. God wants us to be involved in the whole process because He willed to be one among us in everything except to sin. He accepted the fact that our life is not that easy and that men’s life is too complicated to handle. If He is going to be like us and among us, he needs to feel the pressure, the lows and highs, and all the troubles life brings. In that way we could not complain that God does not understand our miseries and pains because He is God. That is correct; He is God yet willed to take our human form so that each time we cry out to him in supplication we will be assured that He feels for us. We are confident to say that each time we come to Him, He hears our prayers and that He only gives what is best for us. Indeed, what a loving God we have in our midst.

This is the last point. In our midst a Savior is born, and His name is Jesus. In Jesus alone we can see what God is like, and what God wishes men to see and accomplish. In Jesus we see the love, the compassion, the mercy, the seeking heart, the purity of God as no man has seen and experienced. “Men did not really know what goodness was, but in Jesus we see true manhood, true goodness, and true obedience to the will of God. Life is quite different when Jesus teaches us how to look at things by opening our eyes to see things as they truly are. Jesus came to tell us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.”

瑪竇一: 18-25

生命是一個問題和人生是一個奧秘的區別何在？一當一個人把生命看成問題時, 他應該只需要找到一個解決辦法，因為每一個問題都有一個解決方案。在另一方面，當一個人說生命是一個奧秘，他必須要渡過一個鮮活的生命，接受生命中的酸甜苦辣, 因為對一個奧秘, 只有天主才有答案。

在今天的福音，我們聽到了有關耶穌誕生的故事。誰會想到，它也可以這麼複雜。為什麼天主不只是讓祂的兒子出生平整，容易嗎？為什麼天主需要涉及老百姓像瑪麗亞和若瑟, 他們只是想有一個簡單而幸福的家庭生活？

你看這是問題所在。天主要我們參與了整個過程，因為祂願意住我們中間, 也願意跟我們完全一樣，除了犯罪。他接受了人類的生活不那麼容易，而人的生活太複雜處理。如果天主將要和我們一樣, 住我們中間，祂需要感到壓力，人生的低點和高點，生活中所帶來的麻煩。這樣，我們不能以怨抱怨向天主說祂不理解我們的苦難和痛苦，因為祂是神。是沒錯，祂是神, 但祂願意成為人，使我們人類每一次掉眼淚向祂祈求, 我們放心因為祂完全感受我們的情況。每一次我們來到天主面前，我們有信心地說，祂一定會聽到我們的祈禱，而祂只給了我們什麼是最好的。的確, 在我們當中, 我們有一位神對我們有多麼偉大的愛。

在我們當中誕生了一個救世主，祂的名字叫耶穌。在耶穌內，我們可以看到天主，和看到人的本質如何。在耶穌內我們會看到了天主的愛，仁慈，慈悲，純潔。人本身真不知道什麼是良善，但在耶穌內，我們就看到人真正的善，真正服從神的旨意。當耶穌教導我們如何看待事物，打開我們的眼睛看情況，人生則是會有新的意義和價值。

When the ‘King’ became ‘Cheap' (on Fr Jejemon Movie)

picture c/o Pinoy Movie Blog

The Catholic Church is once again challenged if not provoked by the new trends in Filipino pop culture. The recent issue on the movie of the king of comedy became the hot topic not only on showbiz tables but among the community of ‘religious men and women’. Dolphy, known for his comedic role is once again starring on his new film entitled Fr Jejemon. There are two controversial scenes in the movie which shows Dolphy playing a priest and while giving communion to communicants ‘accidentally’ dropped the sacred Host into the cleavage of a lady communicant. Another scene showed the sacred Host getting stuck between the dentures of an elderly woman.

Although this (may) happen in real life, its depiction still offends and disrespects the belief on the sanctity of the sacred Host. The Church officials and some Catholic groups called the attention of the MTRCB and urged the deletion of the controversial scenes. The king of comedy had apologized publicly to all who were offended and strongly denied that he had intention to fight against the Catholic Church.

While Dolphy has the purest intentions, the producers or the people behind its production might have had another motive. If we carefully analyze the reactions and counter reactions we will find some inconsistencies and perhaps a malicious motive to flare up the issue.

1. Any controversial issue creates an imprint to the minds of the people thus the only way to satisfy one’s curiosity is to delve into the issue. This is precisely the oxygen of popular culture. In the case of controversial films (or scenes) people long to see the movie. In such a scenario, creating an issue will definitely give the film producers the win-win advantage.

2. Dolphy professed in the interviews that he is a sagradong Katoliko (devout Catholic). But for that matter is it not for any real devout Catholic (or believer), by common sense and act of good conscience should have carefully considered and known the outcome of the said scenes, and that those scenes will only do harm than good? Yet the scenes were intended to be included. Making people happy through inappropriate means are always offensive and disrespectful.

Now that the damage was done and the issue on hot seats, amassing different reactions and people’s attention, the movie, its lead actor and producers are crossing their fingers that the trick will work. It may be a huge success but it will definitely not be on the list of valuable movies. It may be a flop which will only show that people are smart enough not to be bullied by malicious tricks.