Reflections on Holy Week 2011

How willing are we to take up our cross?

This Sunday we will be celebrating Palm Sunday which will mark the beginning of the Holy Week in our Church calendar. As we set foot into this auspicious week, it may be the right time for us to reflect on and adopt the virtues that Jesus demonstrated during his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the washing of the feet and the subsequent Passion and death on the cross.

The triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday indicates the willingness of Jesus to stand up for the truth despite knowing well that it is going to cost Him his life. Almost every day we too are faced with situations where we have to stand up in defense of truth. It will be extremely difficult for us do so especially if the person whom we have to stand up against is our superior or those in positions of power and influence.

How do we measure up to Jesus when we are asked to stand up for truth such times in our own lives? Do we take the easy way out and follow the masses or stand up to be counted knowing that by doing so we may be penalized? In times of trouble do we abandon those under our care for fear of reprisal? Do we betray those who have been loyal to us in times of need for some material gains?

The washing of the feet of his apostles on Holy Thursday was an act of extreme humility that Jesus wants us to emulate in our own lives. “If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you must wash each other's feet”(John13:14). In His Passion and death he demonstrated his forgiveness towards even those who insulted and persecuted him in the cruelest form. Instead of retaliating with anger and vengeance he reacted with love and forgiveness saying, “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing”(Luke 23:34).

Most of us will not be able to do what he did but that is what we must try to do to be worthy to be called his followers. At least we can reflect on ourselves to see how we compare to Jesus. Do we harbor hatred and anger against those who have hurt us? Are we willing to forgive those who have hurt us? Are we willing to go out of the way to seek forgiveness from those we have hurt?We may be willing to take the easy way out to pray for them and do some penance as a form of seeking forgiveness but more important is to personally approach them to admit our mistakes.Are we prepared to that?

On Good Friday we commemorate the Passion of Christ that led to his crucifixion.Passion should be more than a lesson in history but a lesson in life for us to stand up for truth and justice. Jesus accepted all the persecution and humiliation of his Passion willingly without anger and hatred for those who inflicted pain and insult on him.

Jesus humbly accepted his punishment which he knew was unfair and unjust. However he accepted all that willingly without fighting back or defending himself. He did not show even the slightest anger or retaliation for being victimized, falsely accused and sentenced by the kangaroo court that tried him.

We too in own small ways are often falsely accused, humiliated and punished for standing up for truth, by the authorities in the government, our places of work, families and even in the church. When we are denied our rights we fight back fiercely, sometimes with vengeance. We organize protests, demonstrations, hurl verbal abuses and resort to legal recourse. We may even resort to violence and wars to redeem our lost rights.

The Holy Week culminates in the resurrection of Jesus, that symbolizes his victory over death and sin. His resurrection gives us hope that if we continue to do his will and suffer as a result we too will one day come out victorious over our own sins and death.

Where do we seek Jesus?

Of late, like in all religions, there has been an over-emphasis on the rituals than the substance on which the church was founded. The celebrations during the Holy Week are full of rituals to which we all seem to be more attracted rather than the real principles for which Jesus suffered and died – Humility, Forgiveness and unselfish Love (Agape).

The church asks to charity during the period of Lent and many of us do so faithfully. However we seem to give more importance to rituals in the church than to good deeds which unfortunately had taken a secondary role. We have the wrong notion that by adhering faithfully to the many rituals that we have we can be saved. This might have been right when we were children but it is time we grow up.

After many years of following these rituals faithfully I now begin to wonder whether Jesus is all about rituals. I now know for sure Jesus is not about waving palms, fasting, reading and enacting His Passion and feeling sorry for his unjust and cruel death on the cross. It is not just about cueing up to kiss the cross as a mark our veneration for the man who died on it over 2000 years ago. Jesus is not just about history where we enact his birth, life and death but He is about the present and future. I am now convinced that Jesus is about the way we live in the midst of fellow men. He is about going the extra mile to touch the hearts of others by our emotions, words, actions and attitude towards them, especially those in helpless situation. Jesus is about us seeing Him in each and every person we meet.

The following true stories helped to illustrate what Jesus should mean to me and I am sure it should also be the same to you as well.

The first story is about a friend whose attitude towards her maid really touched me. Her maid, with whom she was not happy as she always took advantage of her kindness, came one day after recovering from a short illness. She looked so weak and could hardly do her work. On enquiring what had happened to her, the maid told her she had eaten a decent meal for many days as she was sick. She hardly had any money to buy food for herself. My friend was so disturbed by the plight of her maid that she not only cooked some special food for her but also gave her RM50.00 to buy for her food. The maid was so grateful that she stayed longer that day to help out.

The second story is about another friend who visited an old folk’s home with his colleagues. They spent some time talking to the inmates and presented a mahjong table bought from their contributions to be used by the old folks there. He described the happiness he felt on seeing the response from the old folks who were so delighted to see them. He described how he was touched by one of the inmates, a young handicapped boy, who rushed forward to open the gate and gave them the warmest welcome with a most radiant smile of happiness. The incident made my friend conclude, “Happiness is doing something, however small it may be, for others without expecting anything and seeing them being happy”.

My friend had just reinforced a very hard fact of life that we often tend to forget. We need not do big things but little things with great love and expecting nothing in return. We will get true happiness in seeing others happy without expecting anything.

The third story is about a seventy year old man who has been fighting his wife’s cancer for the many years. His wife is now terminally ill but he continues to shoulder on his responsibilities to her. She has become very demanding and gets angry and loses her temper over many trivial things that he overlooks but he continues to keep his cool fully realizing it will not long when she will leave him for good. Her friends and relatives ‘leave’ her one by one as she lingers on. The doctors treating her have given uu and even her pastor seems to be conveniently avoiding her. The husband is the only one there for her twenty four hours without fail.

It is very heartening to note one of her friends never fails to visit every week to be just her companion for a while to give her some moral and spritual support.This friend says she gets so mush satisfaction by seeing the happiness in the face of the sick woman each time she visits her.

These are just a few true stories of the some good people whose good deeds have touched me during this period of Lent. There are many more such good people in our midst doing many such good deeds quietly without much publicity. Unfortunately we pass them by without noticing them as they were mere ordinary people with small deeds, nothing to shout about. However these are the small people whose small deeds that really matter in the final outcome.

When we finally meet our creator, God is not going to ask us whether we prayed, fasted or abstained from eating meat. He is not going to ask us whether we went to church, waved palms, burnt candles, carried his statue in procession or kissed the crossed on which he was crucified. No, He is not going to ask all these things which we do faithfully without fail. On the other hand as mother Teresa said He will ask us, ”When I was hungry did you feed me, when I was naked did you clothe me, when I was sick did you console me, when I was in prison did you visit me ……. “

I begin to realize that Holy Week is not about just praying, fasting, abstaining from certain food or attending the various rituals in the church. It is more about touching the heart of someone who is in pain, agony or distress not by our big deeds but the small things in life that we tend to overlook. Jesus is not dead but risen and is alive, not it the beautiful and elaborate rituals that we perform but waiting for us to seek Him in each and every person whom we encounter. The only way to find Him is to touch the heart of these people in whom He dwells.

Wishing you all a blessed Holy Week and a Joyous Easter

Sermon on the Mount Part II – The New Law

Sermon on the Mount Part II – The New Law

New Law Mathew 5:17-28

In this part of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts the old Law of Moses with the new laws of his own which was more appropriate to his time. However He made it clear that he did not come to abolish what was already there but to fulfil – giving us his new laws to supplement those already in existence. The principles of his new Laws, if scrutinised very closely, will be seen to be applicable and relevant to us today and till end of times.

It is surprising that many of us are so resistant to change despite Jesus asking us to do so. We prefer to cling onto old laws that have become obsolete. It is time for us to look into the new laws of Jesus more closely and adopt them in our own lives in the world today.

A brief summary of the new laws of Jesus as contained in this part of his Sermon on the Mount is as follows.

Old Laws of Moses		New laws of Jesus
New and old Law Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.	Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Murder You have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not commit murder" and "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court."	But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, "You good-for-nothing," shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, "You fool," shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Reconcile your differences	Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Adultery You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery."	But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce It was said, "Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce."	But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Making false wows Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfil your vows to the Lord."	But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Go the extra mile You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."	But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you
Love your neighbor/enemies You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."	But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The New and old Laws (Mathew 5: 17-28)

New law and old law

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

A scribe refers to a teacher of religious law whereas a Pharisee is a person who thinks he is very religious, but who does not care about others. By saying that we must be more righteous than a scribe and Pharisee to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus has once again given so much importance to moral integrity and abhors the hypocrite who only pretends to be holy. He specifically refers to the Pharisee, reminding us that we cannot be truly religious if we do not care for others.

This is what is happening in our society today where we continue to adhere strictly to set rules and rituals that are seen as holy but doing little to care for others. How can rituals by themselves make us holy if they do not touch the hearts of those around us? The parable of the Good Samaritan clearly illustrates what is to be really holy. Are we really holy as Jesus described or are we just hypocrites pretending to be so? Let’s examine ourselves to see how righteous and sincere we are in our lives. Let us examine our hearts to see how willing we to care for others.

Murder

You have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not commit murder" and "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court."
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, "You good-for-nothing," shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, "You fool," shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

In this commandment Jesus clearly states that there is no need to commit murder to be guilty of the crime but to be angry with someone and passing remarks of ill-intent itself is guilty of such an offense. Most us may not murder or cause physical harm to anybody but we all at some time or other have reacted with anger and wished that some misfortune may befall on those who harm us which itself is wrong by the standards set by Jesus.

Reconcile your differences

Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

This law is one of the basic tenets of His teachings which we all tend to ignore. We go to church, offer prayers, hymns and money, participate actively in all the ministries but are not willing to reconcile with those who have hurt us. Jesus was absolutely clear that if we do not reconcile with those who are against us, it is meaningless to proceed with our worship.

It is timely to examine ourselves to see who we have hurt and who holds grudges against us for some reason or another and take steps to mend those ill-feelings. We all know that reconciliation is not as easy as it sounds. It can be a very humbling experience approaching someone to seek forgiveness, especially when we feel we are not in the wrong. When we approach him after finally gaining the courage he snubs us by ignoring us or even insult us further.

Jesus has told us to reconcile our differences but what are we to do if the person whom we approach for reconciliation rudely snubs us? Well Jesus assures that if we can take those insults with humility and sincerity ours will be the Kingdom of Heaven.

Adultery

You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

Adultery is sex between a married man or woman and someone who is not their wife or husband and is forbidden by all religions. As Catholics we were all taught that such an act is mortal sin that will land us in Hell. However despite knowing that it is a grievous sin it is not frowned at as it used to be. At a time when adultery is so rampant even among Christians, Jesus teaching that even looking at a woman with lust is already like committing adultery may seem so absurd and irrational. Where do we stand on this issue of morality today where adultery, which was once looked down with great contempt, is being accepted as a norm? Is Jesus crazy and outdated by our modern standards of sophistication?

The problem is that illicit sex including adultery has been taken so lightly these days. We all succumb to our weaknesses but that does not make such acts morally right. As parents, teachers and even religious leaders we have all lost our moral integrity to lead the young. We have stopped our strong stand against such immoral activities for fear of our own guilt. It is timely for us to take the lead in stop indulging in such immoral activates and become role models for our children.

Divorce

It was said, "Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce."
But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

If Jesus is considered crazy for speaking strongly on adultery, what will he be seen as for forbidding divorce which has become so acceptable in societies all over the world. Divorce is so common today even among Catholics who are staunch followers of the Church. When our parents could stay together for life, tolerating and respecting their differences why we can’t? What has gone wrong?

What are we doing to reduce divorce among us? We organise pre-marital courses, marriage encounters sessions and even marriage counselling for those in trouble but yet the divorce rate keeps escalating. It looks as though the church is becoming irrelevant in the lives of people. Why is it so and how can we arrest its declining influence of its members?

Making false vows

Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, "You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfil your vows to the Lord."
But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
But let your statement be, "Yes, yes" or "No, no." Anything beyond these is of evil.

Go the extra mile

You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Believe it or not Jesus tells us not to resist the demands of an evil person but give him more than what he wants from us. To our minds this is the most impractical command in a world driven by egoism and greed for materialism. We are still holding onto the old teaching of "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. Mahatma Gandhi saw the essence of this teaching and adopted it into his peaceful resistance against injustice saying said that an eye for an eye will make the world blind. Well we may not see the logic of the commandment but Jesus cannot be wrong. In fact He has demonstrated how to live by this commandment by his own passion and unjust death on the cross.

We have to in our own lives live up to this commandment whether we like it or not. Whenever we can we must go the extra mile to give what we have to those who need our assistance even without them asking. We may lose some money, some time or some of our energy that cause us some inconvenience but be reassured that our sacrifices will never be in vain as they will all be rewarded by God at the right time, right place and in a right way. By giving freely to those in need we may appear losers in the eyes of men but winner in the eyes of God as Jesus was the ultimate victor despite being unjustly sentenced to be crucified not for crimes he committed but for upholding the truth.

Love your neighbour

You have heard that it was said, "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy."
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This is another crazy commandment where Jesus asks us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. To love our neighbour who does no harm is already not that easy but to love someone who plots to harm us is almost impossible. However it is what Jesus commands us to do if we want to follow him. We can never be perfect like Jesus but that is what we should all try to if we call ourselves his followers.

Conclusion

All these commandments are very difficult ones and may seem inappropriate in our society today which has become so competitive and materialistic. Many will say it must be crazy to adhere to such obsolete commandments and if we do so others may ridicule and laugh at us. We may even be considered stupid not knowing how to survive and so on.

We are all guilty of breaking these commandments from time to time; we may not murder but we curse others with anger, we refuse to reconcile with those whom we dispute, we succumb to lust, quick to divorce and commit adultery and justify the reasons for doing so, we make false promises and refuse to share what we have with others for fear they will take advantage of our goodness and of course there is no way we are going to love our enemies.

So where do we stand as Christians? We say we are the followers of Christ but refuse to follower His commandments to the fullest. We say we are Christians because we strictly observe all the man-made rituals of the church which Jesus did not ask but refuse to follow those he truly commanded. Let us seriously ask ourselves whether we are really his followers or just opportunists who pick and choose what we what to follow for our own benefits and convenience.

These commandments come from none other than Jesus himself and as Christians we have no option but try to follow them to the fullest. We may be ridiculed and persecuted in the process but we must persevere in what we do as He himself told us “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great”

Next: Part III – The Lord’s Prayer

Sermon on the mount