Lessons on the Power of “Xar/Char”(Χαρ) in Response to “phthonos”( φθόνος) during Christmastide

Christmastide – the 12 days of Christmas, spanning from Christmas Day (December 25) to Epiphany Eve “Twelfth Night” (January 5), is meant to be an extended period of joyous celebration of the Nativity of Christ.  Many people associate the twelve days of Christmas with the song that starts with this phrase: “On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: a partridge in a pear tree…”. The title of this festive song is “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, indeed.  In fact, on the first day of Christmas, our true love, who is God (as God is love – 1 John 4:8, 16), sent to us: the greatest gift of all, His only begotten Son! And for far more than 12 days, our true love – God – has been sending to us countless gifts through the Son, Jesus Christ.  We are indeed so grateful to God the Father, the Creator and Sender for sending to us the greatest gift, the Son, the Savior and Redeemer, to bring us to the Father and shepherd us into His Kingdom, where he reigns as the King of the Universe, at His right hand.

Though we are filled with this Christmas joy and gratefulness for the greatest gift from our true love, the Father in heaven, the Christmastide also has two feast days of bloodsheds: the feast of St. Stephen, the first martyr (December 26) and the feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs (December 28). These martyrdom feast days during the Christmastide are stark reminders that there are some bloody aspects that come with the joy and gratefulness of Christ the greatest gift to redeem and save us.  St. Stephen was the first saint, who willingly gave his life for Christ (Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59). On the other hand, the Holy Innocents were the children under age 2, massacred by Herod the Great, in place of Jesus (Matthew 2:13-18). These children fell victim of Herod’s uncontrollable rage to kill Jesus, simply because he could not find exactly where Jesus was. But, why Herod had to kill Jesus, to begin with?

To understand Herod’s motive to kill Jesus, we need to know that it all started with the Magi’s visit to Herod, asking him, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2). Imagine how Herod had felt, being asked, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?”.  He was “the king of the Jews” under the Roman rule, as Herod’s Jewish kingdom (Judah) was a tributary state to the Roman Empire. Therefore, to Herod, it bothered him to hear something indicative of another king other than him for the Jews.  In response to the Magi’s inquiry about the newborn king of the Jews, Herod implicated his intent to hunt this newborn rival, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too many go and do him homage”(Matthew 2:8). To this, the Magi, being wise, sensed Herod’s evil intention, did not return to him after paying homage to the newborn king, Jesus. However, this really enraged Herod (Matthew 2:16) and decided to kill all children under age 2 throughout Bethlehem and its vicinity in his fury of not being able to find exactly where his rival, the newborn king of the Jews, Jesus, was (Matthew 2:16).

Apparently, Herod felt threatened by the newborn king that the Magi mentioned. Clinically, given his lethal rage, Herod must have had an extremely poor impulse control, associated with his psychological insecurity (i.e. Gander & Buchheim, 2015)*. This psychopathological condition of Herod could have made him react overly impulsively to a perceived threat in outbursts of rage, suggesting that he had borderline personality disorder (i.e. Berenson et al. 2011)**.  He did not choose to take time and make efforts to find Jesus. Rather, he decided to kill anyone who was like Jesus: children under age 2 to eliminate a threat to him, compulsively. Biblically, Herod’s psychopathology to commit massacre of the children is “phthonos”( φθόνος), which is usually translated as “envy” or “grudge”. In fact, according to Matthew 27:18, “phthonos” is what prompted the chief priests to conspired the Roman authority to kill Jesus, later in his life, making himself a martyr.  When Jesus was a young child of 2 years old or under, God spared him from being massacred by Herod’s “phthonos” (Matthew 2:13-15). However, after about 30 years from that, “phthonos” of the chief priests killed him.

Perhaps, during Christmastide, we need to reflect on the pathology of “phthonos”, which sheds the bloods of the innocents: the children of the Bethlehem area and the Son of God, Jesus. It is “phthonos” that put a bloody stein in this festive Christmastide, remembered as the feast of the Holy Innocents. And, one, whose adventus (arrival) is celebrated and rejoiced over the season of Christmastide, was later killed by “phthonos” of those who find him as a great thereat.

While many people are responding to the adventus of Christ with joy and gratefulness, some are reacting with “phthonos”, as they are psychologically and spiritually insecure, like Herod the Great and the chief priests.  For us, who rejoice over the birth of Christ over 12 days, Christ is the greatest gift of all. However, for those who see him as their object of “phthonos”, Christ is a great threat of their existence.

Those who think of themselves as “the king”, then, the adventus of Christ the King can stir up internal insecurity.  Those who consider themselves “the messiah”, Jesus the Messiah is a threat. In other words, to narcissists, whose psychopathology revolves around insecurity, the Christmastide, the Twelve Days of Christmas, can be very disturbing.

To find the Christmastide as the 12-day-long extended period, filled with joy (chara (χαρά)) and gratefulness (eucharista (εὐχαριστία)), rather than “phthonos”( φθόνος), we must be humble, because humility enables us to find unshakable psychospiritual secure attachment with God (Dwiwardani et al. , 2014)***.  Humility and security to rejoice over the Christmastide, perhaps, we find Mary as our role model, especially in these words of hers: I am the handmaid of the Lord, May it be done to me according to your word (Luke 1:38). These words of Mary tell that she submitted her own will to the will of God, in order to overcome her initial anxiety over God’s will on her to bear His Son.  Then, Mary’s words in Luke 1:46-55, known as Magnificat, which in Latin means “my soul magnifies the Lord”, remind us that humility eventually leads to joy of the soul magnifying the Lord, through secure attachment to Him.  In the Magnificat psychospiritual state, Christ does not invoke fear that leads to “phthonos”. What enlarges is not ego but our soul’s joy of receiving God’s favor – grace (charis (χάρις)), as we respond to the adventus of Christ with Mary-like humility and secure attachment to God.  Note that  “χάρ” is the common root for both joy (chara (χαρά)) and grace (charis (χάρις)) and gratefulness (eucharista (εὐχαριστία)).

For us to maximize our Christmastide joy and gratefulness, by acknowledging the problem of “phthonos”, which spoils Christmas joy and kills the innocent, including Christ, we need to strengthen “χάρ”(char/xar) in our soul to magnify our joy (chara (χαρά)) and gratefulness (eucharista (εὐχαριστία)) over the greatest , grace (charis (χάρις)), who is Christ.

May our Christmastide be filled with “χάρ” and its derivatives:  joy (chara (χαρά)) and gratefulness (eucharista (εὐχαριστία)) for  the greatest , grace (charis (χάρις)) that our true love has sent to us!

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*Gander, M. & Buchheim, A. (2015). Attachment classification, psychophysiology and frontal EEG asymmetry across the lifespan: a review, Frontier in Human Neuroscience, 9 (79), doi:  10.3389/fnhum.2015.00079

**Berenson, K. R., Downey, G., Rafaeli, E., Coifman, K. G., & Leventhal Paquin, N. (2011, April 18). The Rejection–Rage Contingency in Borderline Personality Disorder., Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/a0023335

***Dwiwardani,D.,  Hill, P.C., Bollinger, R.A., Marks,  L. E.,  Steele, J.R.,  Doolin, H.N. , Wood, S.L.,  Hook, K. N., and Davis, D. E.  (2014). Virtues Develop From a Secure Base: Attachment and Resilience as Predictors of Humility, Gratitude, and Forgiveness, Journal of Psychology & Theology, 42 (1), 83-90

Advent Preparation: Relinquishing Ego for Christ "Mas" (More Christ)

Advent is a preparatory journey to meet the Messiah, who is on the way.  These four Sundays during Advent season are like guiding stations on this journey as each of these Sundays has a specific theme to focus on: Hope on the First Sunday, Peace on the Second Sunday, Joy on the Third Sunday, and Love on the Fourth Sunday.  The Messiah arrives during the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

A running theme for our Advent preparatory journey is penance, reflecting on these words of John the Baptist: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matthew 3:2).  Of course, the coming of the kingdom is synonymous to the coming of the Messiah as it is he who brings the kingdom to save us.  Though penance is essential as our preparation to receive the Messiah in our clean heart, it is just a necessary condition but not a sufficient one to receive him on Christmas.

What is absolutely necessary, besides penance, is relinquishing our ego and whatever it generates.  Reflect this in the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday on Cycle A (December 18, 2016) (Matthew 1:18-24) and the Gospel reading for December 20 (Tuesday of the Fourth Sunday of Advent in 2016) (Luke 1:26-38). These readings remind us that how both Joseph and Mary surrender their own desires to God’s.  The narrative of Matthew 1:18-24 clearly indicates that Joseph had his own agenda – secretly divorcing her as he found about her pregnancy even though they were not officially married yet. To this, God intervened and expressed His will to Joseph in his dream through archangel Gabriel.  Being faithful to God, Joseph relinquished his plan and aligned himself to God’s will, which is to take Mary as his wife as her “unexpected” pregnancy due to the work of the Holy Spirit by the Father’s desire to bring Immanuel  - for God the Father to be with us through this Son now conceived in Mary’s womb.  Prior to this, archangel Gabriel appeared and announced to Mary of this mysterious virgin pregnancy by the Holy Spirit, as God favored her and made her immaculate (full of grace), as in Luke 1:26-38. In response to this “surprise” annunciation, Mary was puzzled as she wondered not only how she could be pregnant without having actual physical contact with his fiancé, Joseph, yet but also how she could bear the Son of God.  Though the message of Gabriel on her “unexpected” pregnancy made no sense to her, Mary accepted it as it is, saying, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word”(Luke 1:38).

Imagine if Mary and Joseph did not relinquish their own desires simply because God’s Word on Mary’s pregnancy made no sense and was troublesome enough for Joseph to plan on secretly cancelling his engagement to Mary.  Would we have received the Messiah about 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem?  Imagine if the egos of Mary and Joseph were not overcome, there could have been no Christmas as we know it – the Word could have not become flesh to dwell among us, even though God so loved the world.

As these Gospel narratives (Luke 1:26-38 and Matthew 1:18-24) are read and reflected during the week of the Fourth Sunday of Advent on Cycle A, it is important that we make sure that we, too, relinquish our own egos, as Mary and Joseph did, in order for God’s salvivic will to manifest, as it became the human flesh of Jesus, as we complete our Advent journey.  By Christmas, therefore, we must clear two necessary Advent preparation conditions: penance for clean heart and relinquishment of our egos.

Besides an unclean heart of unrepentant person,  our egos can become impedance to God’s salvific will to manifest as the adventus of the Messiah. Therefore, both our clean heart through penance and surrender of our egos to the will of God are two absolutely necessary conditions to receive Christ as our Christmas present from the Father in heaven.

If we want Christmas and the ultimate Christmas gift (grace), then, our minimum requirement in our Advent preparation is penance for cleansed heart, which John the Baptist heralded in preparing, and relinquishing our egos and free wills to God’s will, as Mary and Joseph did.

As the Messiah’s arrival is imminent on the very last leg of Advent, perhaps, we can ensure that our egos are not blocking the way of his coming, as we reflect on this prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola, called “Suscipe”:

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, my understanding,
and my entire will,
All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.
To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours; do with it what you will.
Give me only your love and your grace,
that is enough for me.

The Messiah will ask us upon his arrival, “Is my grace enough for you?”(2 Corinthians 12:9). Our response must be, “Yes, Lord, your grace is enough. I shall not want.”  In fact, the Father, who creates and sends, always asks: “Is my grace enough for you on Christmas?”  Of course the grace that the Father gives us on Christmas is the Messiah, His only begotten Son, out of his salvific love for us (i.e. John 3:16).

How blessed are we that the Father has chosen us to give this Christmas present: His only begotten Son, as Messiah, as Christ, as Immanuel, in the human flesh of Jesus.  Thanks also to Mary and Joseph, for surrendering their own ego-driven desires and egos to God’s will, we are able to receive this Christmas gift. Why do we have to desire anything else?

Given our Advent need to surrender our egos and to be more like what Buddhist teaches as “anatta” or “anatman”, as Mary and Joseph did, in response to Gabriel’s announcements,  we must first die not only with our sins but also with the ultimate source of sins – our egos. Otherwise, we may never have true Christmas. Perhaps, Christmas is a time of conversion, and Advent’s preparatory journey is to lead us to this Christmas conversion, reflected in these words of Paul:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

In other words, as we do well with our Advent preparation, our egos no longer live, since Christ lives in us.

Do we desire to live according to our egos in us? Or, do we desire to live according to Christ, our Christmas gift from the Father’s salvific love, in us?  Are we willing to relinquish our egos so that we can let Christ live in us?

After all, it is Christmas, which means to put more Christ in us, as Christmas is Christ  and “mas”, which means “more” in Spanish.  As we complete our Advent journey, our egos must give their ways completely to Christ for Christ “mas”. 

Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe and Hariti Figure Guanyin Bodhisattva: Protection of Children

December 12 is the feast day of Nuestra Senora de Gudalupe, who is the Theotokos in her apparition to Santo Juan Diego from December 9 to 12, 1531, on the Tepeyac Hill, near where Mexico City is today.

What is the significance of this feast – besides celebrating her as the patron saint of Mexico and the rest of the Americas and the Philippines? 

Given her impact on the Aztecs, prompting them to convert from their child-sacrificing pagan religion to Christianity, it is a celebration of Mary as a patron saint of children, including the unborn. Because of her appearance to San Juan Diego, who was an Aztec convert, more and more Aztecs abandoned their pagan religion and began to worship Christ.  It means that the apparition of Mary as Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe on Tepeyac in December 1531 began saving the lives of countless children from the Aztec cult of child-sacrifice.

There are two options for the first reading in celebrating Mass on her feast day: Zechariah 2:14-17 and Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab.  The Zechariah narrative links Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe as the vehicle to bring the Messiah, who is coming to dwell among us to save us. On the other hand, the Revelation narrative apocalyptically suggests that Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe is, indeed, the pregnant woman clothed with the sun and with the moon under her feet, mentioned in Revelation 12:1-2 , because of the way she made a sign of herself to Obispo Juan de Zumarraga to believe her appearance through the tilma of San Juan Diego resembled the woman in Revelation 12.  Because of this, the skeptical obispo instantly fell on his knee in front of the sign and ordered to build the shrine for her, as she asked Juan Diego to ask the obispo.

Juxtaposing the story about the pregnant woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12:1-10 to Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe as Mary the Theotokos, we can see powerful symbolic message that she has brought to the world. It is to save children – born and unborn. Through, it is rather rare to see a child-sacrificing cult of the ancient pagan practice, like the ones in Aztec and in Canaan, in today’s world, there has been a cult of sacrifices of unborn children, called abortion.  The cult of abortion continues on today with “rational justification” in today’s world.

In Revelation 12, the child in the womb of the woman clothed with the sun, was saved from the attack of dragon the Satan by God through the power of the archangel Michael.  Thanks to this God’s provision, the woman was able to give birth to her son, who is Christ the King, seated at the right hand of God the Father.  This apocalyptic story on the pregnant woman clothed with the sun, as a biblical story of Nuestra Senora de Gudadalupe, is very important for our pro-life prayer and works to save the lives of unborn children from miscarriages and the satanic snares of abortions.

The Marian apparition as Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe in the image on San Juan Diego’s tilma can make a curious association to Guanyin Bodhisattva (観音菩薩), in particular, its Hariti figure as a protector of children – born and unborn, known as 鬼子母神(Kishimojin) in Japan.  

Hariti is a Hindu feminine deity, who is known as a mother of many children. However, she was also known as a demon, who snatched human children to feed hers. A Buddhist legend says that people who feared Hariti sought help to Amitabha Buddha. In response, Buddha took Hariti’s children in order to make her grieve over the loss of her children.  She grieved so much and was able to understand how human mothers, whose children she snatched to feed hers, would grieve, as Buddha intended. Upon this Buddha’s teaching intervention on her, Hariti converted herself from a demonic child-snatching one to a Buddhist guardian figure for children and pregnant mothers.  Based on this legend, Chinese and Japanese Buddhists elected converted Hariti as one of guanyin bodhisattva figures for children, safe child birth and healthy pregnancy.

During the nearly 250 years of persecution, Christians in Japan used guanyin bodhisattva statues as Marian statues in keeping their faith underground. Marian statues in disguise of Buddhist guanyin boddhisattave statues are called “Maria Guanyin” or “Maria Kan-non” (マリア観音).  Even though there is no need to use gunyin bodhisattva figures as Marian figures any more in Japan, we can continue to appreciate the connection of these in regard to their common impression of a compassionate mother.  Guanyin, 観音, as spelled in Chinese characters, means “seeing the sound – the sound of people”, suggesting compassionate eyes and ears for voices of cries.  A typical image of guanyin bodhisattva has eyes looking down to show compassion.  Having becoming one of guanyin bodhisattvas upon her conversion, Hariti’s eyes now show mother’s compassion. The guanyin bodhisattva’s compassionate eyes can be evocatively juxtaposed to the looking-down eyes of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe – looking after children of the world and hearing their cries.

Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

Hariti Guanyin Bodhisattva

Now, juxtaposing Mary the Theotokos in the image of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, whose protective mantle provide sanctuary for children, born and unborn,  to the Hariti figure guanyin bodhisattva, who is a symbol of protecting children, perhaps, the feast of Nuestra Senora de Gudalupe also means to Buddhists in China and Japan, who are faithful to Amitabha Buddha’s compassion for children, born and unborn, as well as mothers.  God’s mercy for children and Buddha’s mercy for children – born and unborn – can be appreciated reciprocally through both Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe and Hariti figure guanyin bodhisattva. 

A Missiology Lesson from San Francisco Javier, S.J. , A Great Fisher of Men in Asia

December 3 is the feast day of San Francisco Javier (Francis Xavier).  It is a very special day for Japanese Catholics, like me, because San Francisco Javier, a Jesuit missionary priest, was the one, who brought the Good News of Jesus Christ to Japan in 1549.

Prior to coming to Japan, San Francisco Javier served as missionary priest and evangelized in India and Malacca from May 1545 to April 1549.  In 1547, while in Malacca, San Francisco Javier met a Japanese fugitive, Anjiro (a.k.a. Yajiro in Japan), as he sought San Francisco Javier to confess his sins of committing murder in Japan.  Upon his confession, San Francisco Javier sent Anjiro to Goa as his metanoia resulted in his desire to become Christian.  Anjiro ended receiving the Sacrament of Baptism in Bom Jesu church in Goa and even studied at San Paulo College there.

San Francisco Javier’s mission in Goa, India, was obviously successful by the time he sent Anjiro there from Malacca for his baptism and Christian education. In fact, his meeting with this former Japanese criminal is believed to have prompted San Francisco Javier to embark on his mission in Japan.

On April 15, 1549, San Francisco Javier set sail to Japan from Goa, India, together with his missionary companions, including Anjiro Paulo de Santa Fe, and two Jesuits, Bro. Juan Fernandez, and Fr. Cosme de Torrres. En route to Japan, they stopped by Canton, Ming China. They first reached the shore of Japan on July 27, 1549, in Bounotsu, a port town near Kagoshima City and remained there until receiving permission to land. On the feast day of Assumption (August 15), 1549, San Francisco Javier and his companions landed in Kagoshima.  In his letter to the Jesuits, San Francisco Javier wrote that he and his companions were well-received by people of Kagoshima and enjoyed their hospitality. He also wrote in the letter that people of Kagoshima appeared to be wonderfully delighted with the doctrines of the divine law as they are new to them.

Though San Francisco enjoyed friendly hospitality upon his arrival in Kagoshima, the most of his missionary experience in Japan turned out to be struggles.  He had a difficulty in learning Japanese, and had to rely on Anjiro’s assistance. However, what was most difficult to his mission in Japan was that many Japanese people he tried to evangelize turned out to be skeptical and critical to Christianity.  Some were even repulsive, especially those whom he called “bonzu” (bouzu), Buddhist priests. He attributed problem, in part, to the prevalence of Buddhism and Chinese philosophy in Japan. This experience led him to evangelize in China, as he thought converting the Chinese would eventually contribute to make the Japanese more receptive to Christianity. San Francisco Javier realized that the Japanese learned Buddhism and philosophies from sages of China, and thought, therefore, that evangelization of China would be the best way to evangelize Japan.  This must have prompted him to set sail to China from India in 1552, after his difficult years in Japan, as he once he returned to Goa from Japan, though this ambitious mission was not accomplished as he died due to illness near China on his way.

Of course, the mission of San Francisco Javier in Japan won some converts, especially in the areas where he was able to win supportive authorization to evangelize from the provincial samurai lords.  In fact, it was his missionary and evangelization technique so unique in Japan to reach out first to provincial samurai lords rather than ordinary people of the areas.  San Francis Xavier did not practice this technique when he was in India, as he primarily ministered to the poor. He obviously realized that different missionary and evangelization techniques and methods had to be applied to different countries of different cultures and political systems. Though Buddhist priests, who were hostile to the new teaching that he brought, also tried to prevent provincial samurai lords to reject him and the Christian teaching he would preach, San Francisco Javier was able to gain some provincial samurai lords’ support and won as many as 500 new converts just in 2 months of evangelization in the Yamaguchi region.  In this region, its provincial samurai lord, Yoshitaka Oouchi, even gave him an abandoned Buddhist temple for his missionary activities, in exchange for gifts from Europe.

You may wonder if such a missionary and evangelization technique that San Francisco Javier used in Japan would be considered as “bribing” or simply the methodological cleverness to have the mission accomplished. Whichever his technique may be, there was an obvious contract in his missionary methodologies in India and in Japan.  In India, he solely reached out to the bottom of the society. On the other hand, in Japan, he tapped from the top down in the societal hierarchy.  Perhaps, he would gain much less converts, had he simply applied the same missionary and evangelization methodology also in Japan as he did in India.

This contrast within the missionary and evangelization methodologies of San Francisco Xavier in India and in Japan is subject to interesting debates in missiology in light of inculturation. Nevertheless, one thing for sure about San Francisco Xavier’s missionary is that he is the harbinger to bring the Good News of Christ further in Asia. Perhaps, given the extensiveness of his missionary, San Francis Xavier is comparable to St. Paul of Tarsus, the champion of the first century apostolic mission, and St. John Paul II’s global mission during his papacy from 1978 to 2005. 

In comparing San Francis Javier’s mission to St. Paul’s, contrasting Francisco’s debate with Buddhist priests in Japan to Paul’s debate with Epicurean and Stoicism philosophers in Athens can be another interesting subject for comparative missiology study, while further contrasting these to St. John Paul’s commitment to interreligious dialogues on a global scale, blue-printed in his 1979 encyclical, “Redemptor Hominis”, reflecting “Nostra Aetate”(In Our Time), 1965 Vatican document.  As a matter of fact, the spirit of “Redemptor Hominis” – redeemer of men – as San Francisco Javier was gung-ho about “redeeming human souls” in light of the Jesuit motto: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (for the greater glory of God).

St, John Paul II's global mission

Just as during the first century, there was no apostle who traveled on missionary as far as St. Paul, there was no missionary priest who traveled as far as San Francisco Javier in his time.

What we can reflect on the feast day of San Francisco Javier is – how willing and passionate we are to take up on these words of Jesus: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20). One thing for sure to take these words in practice as St. Paul, San Francisco Javier, and St. John Paul II, did is to be filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit.  We must be made gung-ho by the Holy Spirit to respond to our respective missionary calls and go.  Ever since Jesus made St. Andrew and his brother, St. Peter, the very first batch of fishers of men, we have been incorporated into this missionary tradition of the discipleship by virtue of the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. 

Now, we are called to serve the Lord as his fishers of men to the ends of the earth in the spirit of “Nostra Aetate” and “Redemptor Hominis” with the evangelical methodological adaptability of inculturation.  Through the Holy Spirit, our Lord Jesus Christ shows us where to go and how we shall set the his kingdom nets for a great catch of human souls.

Do You Know St. Andrew? : Advent Lesson from the Protokletos

The last day of November is the feast of St. Andrew.

So, what do you know about him? When you hear the name, St. Andrew, what comes up to your mind?

Perhaps, to many people, it can be golf, because St. Andrews in Scotland is known as the “home of golf”.  Does it mean that St. Andrew was a Scottish man or a saint who brought Christianity to Scotland? Does it mean that St. Andrew enjoyed playing golf, thus, became a patron saint of golf?

In fact, St. Andrew was a Jew from the Galilee region, then a province of the Roman Empire, during the first century. Rather than being rich enough to enjoy playing golf, he was too poor to enjoy such a rich men’s sport, as he was busy fishing tilapia in the Sea of Galilee just to get a daily bread. As for his connection to golf, as far as I know, there is none. Andrew is not a patron saint of golf, either.

So, how St. Andrew got involved in Scotland?

As a patron saint, though St. Andrew is synonymous to Scotland, as St. Patrick is so to Ireland, St. Andrew did not bring Christianity to Scotland. What St. Andrew to Scotland was not like what St. Patrick was to Ireland. Christianity was introduced to Scotland during the 6^th and 7^th centuries by missionaries from Ireland, such as St. Columba. Rather, St. Andrew’s missionary brought Christianity to the Black Sea area in the Asia Minor of the Roman Empire and further into Eastern Europe during the first century. This is according to the Acts of Andrew, which Eusebius considered as heretic, while Gregory of Tours found it as an important document. As the Acts of the Apostles has no description on exactly what kind of missionary and pastoral works St. Andrew did, the Acts of Andrew is the only source to learn about his apostolic works.

 St. Andrew’s connection to Scotland did not take place during his life time. Nevertheless, a legend has it that replicas of St. Andrew were brought to Scotland by St. Regulus of Patras, c.a. 345.  Probably, St. Andrew began to be revered by the Scottish not simply because of his relics’ placement but St. Andrew’s promise of victory to King Angus (Oengus) MacFergus II over invaders from East Anglia in 732 AD.  As St. Andrew’s promise to the king was delivered in defeating the invaders, followed by the saltire-shaped white clouds in the blue sky next morning, the Scottish celebrated their victory with the St. Andrew’s Cross.

In fact, St. Andrew is Scotland’s patron saint.  This is why the flag of Scotland bears the white St. Andrew’s cross – a slanted X-shaped cross – saltire against blue background.

As St. Patrick is Ireland’s patron saint. St. Andrew is Scotland’s patron saint.  Interestingly, Patrick was not Irish, and Andrew was not Scottish.  St. Patrick was born in Roman Britain in the fifth century, and St. Andrew is believed to have been born in Roman Galilee in early first century.  A patron saint does not have to be native of the nation, and this reminds us of the missionary character of Christianity.

The scripture readings for St. Andrew’s feast (Romans 10:9-18; Matthew 4:18-22), in fact, addresses the missionary in the discipleship, honoring St. Andrew as the protokletos, the first one to be called – as the first disciple of Christ, based on John 1:35-42.

Both Matthew 4:18-22 and John 1:35-42 remind us that St. Andrew was St. Peter’s brother, and both of them were fishermen in Galilee.  Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20 tell that Jesus came to Andrew and his brother, Peter, and call them to follow him when they were casting the nets to fish. However, John 1:35-42 indicate that it was Andrew, who first recognized that Jesus is the Messiah (John 1:41) and introduced Jesus to his brother, Peter to join in Jesus’ mission as he did.  Andrew was able to recognize and follow Jesus before anyone other disciples of Jesus, thus, making himself as the protokletos, because of his previous discipleship to St. John the Baptist, who first recognized Jesus as the Messiah, calling him as “the Lamb of God” (John 1:35), as St. Andrew was with him together with the other disciple of John, when Jesus walked by them, the day before he followed Jesus and introduced him to his brother Peter.  If we follow the narrative of John’s Gospel, St. Andrew is the very first disciple of Jesus, while both Matthew and Mark indicate that Jesus first recruited both St. Andrew and St. Peter, the two Galilean fishermen brothers together. Interestingly, according to Luke (5:1-11) , it was Peter, whom Jesus first recruited as his disciple to follow, while Andrew was not mentioned at all.

In order to honor St. Andrew as the pretokletos, the first one to be called, the first disciple of Jesus, for his feast, John 1:35-42 would seem more appropriate as the Gospel reading for his feast.  It is also only John’s Gospel that mentions Andrew’s harbinger aspect also in finding a boy with a small amount of  barley loaves and fish for Jesus to feed the hungry multitudes (John 6:9).  According to John’s Gospel, St. Andrew is the very first disciple to become Jesus’ disciple, as he is the first one to identify Jesus as the Messiah (John 1:41), and the one to find loaves and fish for Jesus to multiply for the multitudes (John 6:9).

Although St. Andrew is the pretokletos, he is not as well-known as his brother, Peter, and other disciples, such as John and James, another set of Galilean fishermen brothers.  Perhaps, it is because the way the Synoptic Gospels describe Andrew, making him somewhat a back-burner kind of disciple, compared to his older brother, Peter, and other disciples, though only John’s Gospel puts more special aspects to him. Or, maybe this reflects Andrew’s humility.  Because Andrew was so humble, he demanded to be crucified on an X-shaped cross, as he felt that he was not worthy to be put on a vertical cross, as Jesus was.  So, in remembering St. Andrew, we must honor not only his pretokletos aspect but also his exemplary humility. 

There is another interesting aspect on his feast.

As the feast of St. Andrew is celebrated during the early part of Advent,  we can juxtapose the his feast’s scripture theme of being called into the discipleship for Christ’s mission to the scripture theme for the First Sunday of Advent (Cycle C) (Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:37-44), readiness for the coming of Christ.  So, we can ask ourselves in parallel: Are we ready to be called into Christ’s discipleship and its mission? – Are we ready to the coming of Christ, the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) in memory and the Second Coming of Christ (Parousia) at any time?