Snatched from the World...Possessed by God

Today we celebrate the Fourth Sunday of Lent or lesser known as Rose or Laetare Sunday; mid-point of Lent.  The word Laetare (“lay-TAH-ray”) means Rejoice and is taken from the Latin translation of Isaiah 66:10-11, which is the Entrance Antiphon for the day.  In this Mass, the colour violet or rose is used.  Today the Catholic Church interrupts Her Lenten mournfulness; the chants of the Mass speak of nothing but joy and consolation; to encourage her children to persevere more fervently and courageously towards the end of our holy Lenten journey.

 

Nevertheless, joy seems to be the last thing on my mind today.  A close aging relative is down with a mild stroke and has been bed-ridden and hospitalised; earlier in the week, admitted to the Medical Intensive Care Unit as he was down with severe dengue fever; a mosquito-borne viral infection.  There is no specific treatment for dengue/severe dengue but he was fed alternative traditional herbal medicine known as porcupine date; a rare “stone” as one would call it, found in the stomach of a porcupine.  It is said among traditional healers that when a porcupine is wounded or sick, it will look for herbs to heal itself and as the healing process takes place, a “stone” may form in the stomach.

My heart is also a little restless, given that I have been robbed by a motorcyclist yesterday of something which is of great sentimental value to me, given to me by my grandfather, something like 38 years ago; a gold chain with a simple cross and a medal of the Sacred Heart which I have worn since.  Truly, snatch thieves at petrol stations are cruel and heartless barbaric creatures.  On the flipside, I thank God for protecting me from any serious harm; my Guardian Angel and St Michael must be working extra heart, I am sure.  Otherwise, I could have been either fatally stabbed or mercilessly slashed.  I am humbled by God’s love for me, a sinner.

This incident reminded me of some verses taken from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians, Chapter 3 verses 8-9, “I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him.”

 

Similarly, I have always been comforted by the Letter to the Romans, Chapter 8 verse 28 which reads, “And we know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good: to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints.”

My joy at this mid-point of the holy Lenten season is that I am happy because the anger did not rise within me for having “lost” some favourite material item.  Rather, I offered my prayers to the so-called aggressor so that the blessed chain and holy medals will touch and heal his inner being and bring him home, as appropriately mentioned in today’s gospel taken from St Luke on the prodigal son.  “..a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; was lost and is found.”

 

Deep down, this Lent, I have also come to be even more aware that God loves me more and has showered his grace upon me to enable me to surrender what I love most deeply so that he can work greater wonders for his greater glory.

I thank my God this Lent for giving me the strength to thank him for this rather unfortunate incident, as the consequence of this is that I have come to learn, albeit in a painful way, a little bit more about forgiving others, becoming overly attached to material things of the secular world and more importantly, about the radical work of his hands for me, a simple pilgrim, on my journey back home.

 

Becoming a Door of Hope to Others

  
“At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”” (Matthew 11:25, NAB)

Slightly more than 13 months ago, I made a huge decision to un-trap myself from the corporate world.  I wanted to find more time...more space for myself, my family, God…to do stuff that gives deeper meaning to life and make this world a little better.  It was a brave step on my part and it took a lot of prayers, listening and discerning with the Lord for me to arrive at the decision…not to mention, a lot of support from my family.

Throughout my life, I have always held on to the belief in the value of each person, no matter what their abilities, “different”-abilities, culture, race or religion.  Under the one God of Love, we are all called to grow in love, wisdom and acceptance of others…growing together in solidarity…trying to live the message of Jesus Christ.

However, my life in the corporate world was often blurred by management “concepts”, technicalities or principles, influenced by supposedly, what most people would term as, management ‘gurus’ (fad of the season, more like it).

The common element of all these “flavors of the month” is seemingly to become more productive, effective and efficient…and “profitable”…at the expense of “others”…our neighbors.  The corporate world today often "crucify" Jesus over and over again, in the name of profits!

Worst of all, if one has an immediate superior who daily feeds on finding fault in others…creating unnecessary “pressure” and encouraging values which are inconsistent with our spiritual being.  Our life then, becomes so much more stressful!  Yes, the heartless corporate world has its ways of tempting, seducing and luring Christians in high positions to become un-christian in so many different ways.

I believe that if a job and the people you work with are unable to bring out the best in a person, then that job is not worth hanging on to.  Life is simply too short to be held to ransom by some corporate hypocrites!  How can one wake up each day to do something which is in direct conflict with the values preached by Jesus?  What then will become of the meaning and purpose of our journey through life??  When it comes to following Jesus, there is simply no compromise with the ways of the world.

The corporate world forces upon us to group people into various categories – talented and not-so-talented, specialists or managers, promotable or not promotable…entitled to bonus or vice versa…CEOs and the non-C-class ranks or simply plain employees with just an identification reference.  Who are we, mere mortals, to disrupt God’s equilibrium of His beautiful created human race?


These words of St Paul to the Corinthians ring true for me throughout my tenure in the corporate world.


“Consider your own calling, brothers.  Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28, NAB)

Back in employment then, it became quite challenging for me to balance the cries of the Spirit within, against the corrupt and emotionless “rat-race” environment of the corporate world.  On the one hand, the Church is teaching me to be attentive to the weak and the vulnerable, those in whom Jesus Christ rejoices because they see what has been hidden to the clever and capable. On the other hand, a whole load of corporate jargon and rules.  What a contradiction!

The noises of the corporate world distracted me so much so that it did not help me become a better human being, a better child of my parents, a better parent, a better spouse…most importantly, a better disciple of Jesus Christ.  Whilst I wished I was “empty” before my God, it was filled to the brim with assignments, projects, initiatives, business trips, deadlines, etc.  So often in the corporate world, I find that leadership and discipleship seems to collide.

Why imprison myself in such a cruel corporate environment?  This culture seems to bring out the bad or the worst in me.  By God’s grace, I came to be aware of how far I was drifting apart from God and, in the process, I have not been listening and responding to Jesus’ call to radical discipleship. Jesus constantly invites all of us (me) into a mysterious path of growth in love and compassion.

The Spirit of the Lord disturbed me so much that I finally found the courage to let go and surrender everything back to God and empty myself once more; try to get my life back in order.  Despite many objections from my superiors about me being a talent and the potentially having a “bright” future ahead, I voluntarily put an end to everything. I simply quit and took a sabbatical break. No work, no income…just a time for vacation with the Lord…  Looking back, I have absolutely no regrets!

During this past one year, my life, although emotionally and financially, challenging…taxing…lonely...many a times – the direction was clear…live simply, quietly, prayerfully and poorly as Christ did…live with the poor, my neighbors, in order to live with Jesus Christ…this took a lot of courage, believe me!

I have found much growth in my spiritual life…prayer life…becoming more aware and trusting of God’s presence in my life.  For me, it was such a fulfilling time…spending it with the Lord and my loved ones...also being able to share my humble thoughts in this simple blog.

Looking back, I see that the mad corporate world, created by mankind, likes to compete…always achieving something at the expense of something else…pleasing someone at the price of someone else…“opportunity” cost, the economists would term it to justify.  Clearly, the world just does not understand the message of simplicity, peace and harmony…the very heart of the Gospel message.

It will not surprise me if Jesus weeps over the state of our world today…weeping over individuals, corporations and countries where inequality, divisions, discrimination, exclusions, marginalization, profitability have become so dominant.

Jean Vanier, a Canadian Catholic philosopher and humanitarian, once shared that human beings have turned our world into a place of competition, rivalry, conflict and war between races, religions, social classes and countries.  How true!  On the flip side, there is simply a lack of sincerity and “heart” in executing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives…all done because “management” wants it.

During my time in employment, much of what I stand for and hold dear…appeared to be very foolish because the Gospel message is truly a message of folly in the corporate world!

“We find it difficult to give life, to hold and carry people in their weakness.  We are often frightened of reality because reality can be painful and a source of disappointment.  We tend to escape into a world of illusions and to seek refuge in dreams.  We bury ourselves in ideas and theories or fill our days with distractions.” – Jean Vanier

God calls us today, as Christians, in the corporate world, to shine forth so that the environment where we are may be transformed into a door of hope for others…each one of us revealing the Word of God to touch someone else’s life in any small way.

“All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.  What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race…  And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:4, 14, NAB)

No person should be made to feel too insignificant, to unimportant or unworthy.  In the Bible, we know that God calls everyone…God does not choose only the talented, the rich, the strong, the most influential, the most learned or just the CEO…but rather, the weak, the humble, the most needy, the simple, the quiet…people who recognize and acknowledge their own “poverty” – not just material poverty but their own inability to cope with life…having to depend on a God who loves and cares for them.

I have grown to learn now, in a very intense and experiential manner, that God’s ways are not my ways, God’s choices are not society’s choices…during my time in the corporate world, there have been many times when I have unnecessarily put others down, forcibly changed their course of life, refuse to admit my own weakness, my own poverty…preferring to hide behind my corporate rank…  People respect you purely because of the rank on your business card.  Beyond that, sad to say, no one genuinely cares enough to want to know.

Now I know even more clearly that we are all members of the one community…the one human race…because God has created and called each one of us.  We must not be ashamed or frightened to leave the familiar corporate world…to let go of what we used to know or held on to…to lose everything…to discover the restlessness, loneliness and poverty of our soul…it takes time…but we need to learn to put down roots, attachments, ranks…to give up control…and let God take control.

Throughout my sabbatical break, the Lord has shown and taught me (and is still showing me), in so many ways, how to live…so that my whole life, my whole being becomes a sign of the Good News.

I am humbled to know that when I welcome God’s call, something beautiful happens inside me…daily, there is a “letting go” of attitudes, prejudices, fears, security, the need to be in control, self-importance...to just be a child of God…free from all fears…placing all my trust on Him alone.  Because I took that first small simple step, the Lord has completely disturbed my established order of things and replaced it with a radically new order.


I share with you the following simple words...


“People often prefer to keep Jesus in the churches and places of worship, where they can go and see him from time to time, when they feel like it or when they feel the need.  But to have Jesus in their home – which is also the home of their hearts – that is harder to accept!  When we welcome Jesus into our “home”, he transforms us and he transforms our way of living.” – Jean Vanier


Depending on what the Lord has planned for me next…whether He wants me to remain as I am or He calls me back to the corporate world or something radically different…one thing remains certain…I will not walk the journey in the same “worldly” manner…I will take courage to always be God’s foolish but obedient instrument of peace…become a passionate sign of the Good News…becoming an open door of hope to others.


Come what may, I remain God’s humble imperfect servant, always at His disposal…Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done.

St Matthias...A Gift of God...

“…whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” (Romans 14:8, Douay Rheims)

Today, I find it most appropriate to simply reflect on Saint Matthias, who was the first apostle chosen after the crucifixion of Jesus on Golgotha.  By the grace of God, Matthias, out of 120 disciples, became the twelfth Apostle, replacing Judas Iscariot, following the latter’s suicide after betraying Jesus (Acts 1:26).  While the Twelve 'apostles' were 'disciples' (pupil, followers), not all 'disciples' are 'apostles' (disciple on mission).  The feast day of St Matthias is on May 14.

This name also carries a special meaning in my heart because my late father lived by the same name.  In this journey through life, God gifted him to us.  For this, I simply cannot be thankful enough.

Though poor (but he always gave enough) and lacking in higher education (he attended night classes), my dear father would somehow provide more than enough for us, to feed us, to school us, to raise us up in faith and naturally, to always keep us (discipline) on the right path.  His nature was a lot on the calm, quiet side but for me, he remains the simplest and humblest of a companion, one who worked hard, loved us so much more than himself, even to his very last breath.  He was a cradle Catholic and this gift of trusting faith, packaged with a peaceful silence, is the most precious gift given to us.  He passed on peacefully (despite the pains of cancer) back to the Father, more than seven years ago, in the company of prayers, family, priest, bishop and angels.  God has truly been gracious and merciful to his faithful servant.

Now, coming back to St Matthias, at a glance, it seems that he is more like an afterthought, a latecomer of sorts but nevertheless, he was a disciple from the very beginning; from the baptism by John until the Ascension (Acts 1:22).  One hardly ever hears of Matthias in the Gospels or anywhere else in the New Testament.  The name Matthias means “gift of God”.


St. Matthias received the Holy Spirit, in the Upper Room, with the rest of the apostles soon after his appointment as one of the Twelve.  Subsequently, Matthias committed himself with great zeal to the functions of his apostleship; in converting nations to the faith in Jesus Christ.  Some scholars seem uncertain about Matthias’ exact activities following his appointment.

Like the rest of the apostles, Matthias was probably of a simple, quiet, meditative and humble demeanor.  Understanding this simply helps me to better appreciate my late father, perhaps a little too late.  Truly, when a person carries the name of a particular Saint, his or her life then becomes united in imitation of that great Saint and the latter will constantly intercede on your behalf.


God poured out His grace and mercy, through the remaining Eleven, upon Matthias to witness and preach for Christ.  Matthias may also have written an account of his experiences as a disciple.


Unfortunately, this piece of document has been lost to history, except for a fragment quoted by St Clement of Alexandria, “We must combat our flesh, set no value upon it...but rather increase the growth of our soul by faith and knowledge.”


Matthias represented the brightening of the darkness, the gloom, the bridging of an abyss, most of all, the beginning of a new epoch.  Matthias became the source of new joy for the dazed and depressed Eleven following the criminal and corrupted face of Judas and especially the brutal death of their Rabbi and Master, Jesus Christ.


The light of Judas, the traitor had burned out, and it had to be lighted once again by Matthias.  The dead branch of Judas had to be broken away from the living vine of Christ so that Matthias might be grafted in its place.

St Augustine shed light to the great significance that there were exactly twelve apostles.  He found a profound significance in this number, which was highly esteemed as a holy number at that time: three was the holy number of God; four, of the world.  Thus, three times four symbolically signified the work of God in the world and with the world.  The four directions of the world, east, west, north and south were called into the Trinity by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.


Medieval Greek historians claim that Matthias was crucified but tradition claims that he suffered martyrdom in present day Ethiopia, where he was stoned, and then beheaded.  His relics were taken to Jerusalem by a devoted follower, Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, when she went to the Holy Land to find the true cross of Christ.  Many believe that she also had a church built to house the remains of Matthias.


St Matthias is the patron saint for carpenters, tailors and against both smallpox and alcoholism.

Today, as we ponder this, let us ask St Matthias to intercede for us and give us humility, loyalty, honesty, detachment and equilibrium in the face of the sufferings and pleasures of life’s journey.

“O Glorious Saint Matthias, in God’s design it fell upon you to take the place of the unfortunate Judas who betrayed his Master. You were selected by the twofold sign of the uprightness of your life and the call of the Holy Spirit. Obtain for us the grace to practice the same uprightness of life and to be called by the same Spirit to wholehearted service of the Church. Then after a life of zeal and good works, let us be ushered into your company in heaven to sing forever the praises of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Breathe in the Will of God...into the new year

"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

"Cheap grace arose out of man's desire to be saved, but to do so without becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ."

"Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: 'Ye were bought at a price', and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God."

"Who stands firm? Only the one for whom the final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these, when in faith and sole allegiance to God he is called to obedient and responsible action: the responsible person, whose life will be nothing but an answer to God's question and call."

"To be silent does not mean to be inactive; rather it means to breathe in the will of God, to listen attentively and be ready to obey."

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
(a minister in the Lutheran church, stood in courageous opposition to the Fuehrer (Adolf Hitler) and his policies. He was executed by the Nazis in the Flossenbürg concentration camp in 1945)

As pilgrims on this earth, we are all called into a communion of obedience...sharing the sufferings of God in the world.  God may not give us everything we want, but He always fulfill His promises, leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself...He is our faithful companion on this journey.