We Are Called!

Blessed are those who have been called! And, we Are Called! This is a
powerful message found in the scripture readings of this Sunday (the 3rd
Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A).

This Sunday, the 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A, the scripture readings (Isaiah 8:23-9:3; 1 Corinthians 10-13, 17; Matthew 4:12-23) come with a two-fold theme: Calling and Unity. Calling is emphasized in the Gospel reading, echoing the first reading, while unity is emphasized in the second reading. In a way, we are called to bring unity, which is one of Christ’s ultimate missions. 

It is sin, an influence of demon, which literally means “divider” ( stemming from the Greek word, “δαίω”(daio)). So, what demons (devil, Satan) doe is to divide us and separate us from God and disperse us, like sheep scattered without a shepherd. That’s what our sins do, not helping God but only helping demons. Divisions have been a problem ever since Adam and Eve had committed Original Sin, losing the Paradise. Ever since the division wedged in between God and the humans, resulting in the eviction of Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, the humans have been suffering from consequences of sins. Stories in the Old Testament describe the struggles with sins over many generations before the arrival of Jesus. 

In response to sins of the humans, suffering of divisions, God sent many prophets to help the humans repent and turn back to God. Yet, even repented and returned to God, the humans drifted away from God soon, until facing another judgement by God. So, finally, God decided to send Godself, to the humans. And, that’s how God came into this world in the human flesh, as Jesus the Christ. His mission to incarnate in the Son, Jesus the Christ, is, of course, to shepherd us back to Him through penance, through Jesus the Christ, for the restoration of the God-human unity. This  unity to be achieved is, indeed, salvation. The world salvation comes from the Latin word, “salus”, which means “safety”, “welfare”,  “health”. Figuratively, salvation indicates the fullness – the state in which nothing is lacking or separated. So, you can get an image of the fullness and unity – everything is all together – in salvation. 

God bring us back to the fullness and unity of salvation, where there is true safety and wellness, while God’s enemy, demons try to put divisions not only among us but also between God and the humans, through our sins, tapping into our weaknesses. 

With this mission-oriented message of this Sunday’s scripture readings, let’s also review the readings in light of liturgical calendar spectrum since its beginning with Advent through Christmastide, which ended with the 1^st Sunday of Advent, in commemorating the Baptism of Jesus. Let’s also look into the theme of “calling” not only in light of the first reading but also the historical context, as well.

If you follow the Sunday Gospel readings since the beginning of this liturgical year (Advent), calling makes sense at this point in the liturgical calendar.  Because it is about time that Jesus starts calling for collaborators of his ministry, as he was already commissioned through his own baptism (Gospel reading theme for the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Matthew 3:13-17), and as his identity, as the Lamb of God, was identified (Gospel reading theme for the 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, John 1:29-34). 

In case you have wondered, if I have forgotten to mention the 1^st Sunday of Ordinary Time, please know that the 1^st Sunday of Ordinary Time coincides with the feast Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord, because this feast Sunday is the Sunday after the feast of Epiphany, which marks the end of Christmastide (the 12 days of Christmas).  As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, the Roman Rite, since 1970, has extended the Christmastide until the feast Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord (the 1^st Sunday of Ordinary Time). 

Following Jesus’ life span, we understand that, through his baptism, Jesus became ready to take action on his own calling, embarking on the salvific ministry the Father in heaven has commissioned to him. To indicate the commissioning, the Father opened the heaven and sent the Holy Spirit upon His beloved Son, Jesus (Matthew 3:16) and claiming that Jesus is His beloved and expressing His joy in commissioning to execute His salvific plan (Matthew 3:17). Reading this on the feast Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord , we read John the Baptist’s identification of Jesus as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29) last Sunday (the 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary Time).

In a way, this Sunday’s first reading invokes an anticipatory sense of Advent. In the first reading, Prophet Isaiah says that a great new light will be seen by the people who walk in darkness, poetically and metaphorically prophesizing the coming of the Messiah in the areas where darkness was for more than 600 years after the Assyrian invasion – the land of Zubulun and the land of Naphtali.

Though we are no longer in Christmas mode now, it is helpful to approach this Sunday’s scripture readings theme in the spectrum from Advent through Christmastide. 

When the new liturgical year (Year A)  started with Advent, spending four Sundays, following the Christ the King week, which ended the previous liturgical year (Year C), we prepared for the coming of Christ, the Messiah, saying “Maranatha!”, and repenting our sins, as inspired by John the Baptist.

For the first three Sundays, the Advent Gospel readings were about how John the Baptist was anticipating the coming of Christ, as we prepared his arrival. On the fourth Sunday of Advent, the Gospel reading’s focus shifted more on Jesus in relation to Mary and Joseph, rather than inn relation to John the Baptist, as it was about how Mary conceived Jesus and how Joseph at first struggled with Mary being pregnant before their nuptial union, to signal that the arrival of the Messiah is very near.

And, indeed, the Nativity of the Lord, Christmas, comes during the week of the 4^th Sunday of Advent, affirming a theme of the 4^th Sunday of Advent Gospel reading: a coming of the Lord is very near!

Jesus is the light (John 8:12). And, it was dark when he came into this world – out of Mary’s womb in the cold stable near Bethlehem. Besides the darkness of dawn, it was the spiritual and moral darkness that plagued Jerusalem and the entire Judea, the great new light broke into, when Jesus was born. Of course, the great new light is Jesus the Christ. 

Now, with this review of the scriptural themes from Advent to Christmas – how we have longed for the great new light, the Messiah, in the spiritual and moral darkness, saying “Maranatha” and repenting, we can better appreciate how the first reading (Isaiah 8:23-9:3) supports the Gospel reading (Matthew 4:12-23). 

So, the first reading begins with the tone of darkness, as it opens with these words: First the Lord degraded the land of Zubulun and the land of Naphtali. The land of Zubulun and the land of Naphtali were originally given to the 6^th son of Jacob (Israel), Naphtali, while the land of Zubulun was given to the 10^th son of Jacob. But, these lands suffered greatly due to the Assyrian attacks more than 700 years before the birth of Christ. The Israelites living in these lands were deported far into the Assyrian Empire and became wondering people. These tragic invasions and deportations took place more than 100 years before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. Biblically, these events are considered as God’s judgements upon unrepentant Israelites’ sinfulness and defilement. 

By the time Jesus was born, the Assyrians were long gone, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali had never been to the level of prosperity that Jacob, who gave these lands to Zebulun and Naphtali, suffering from the Assyrian assaults. 

On the banks of the Jordan River, John the Baptist preached to repent in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Now, after his baptism (Matthew 3:13-17) in the Jordan River, having been tested by Satan in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11), and upon John the Baptist’s arrest by King Herod (Matthew 4:12), Jesus came to a small fishing town by the Sea of Galilee, Capernum, to preach to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand (Matthew 4:13-17). The Luke’s Gospel also describes that Jesus went to  Nazareth in the land of Zebulun to preach out of the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah (believed to be Isaiah 61:1-2 on the Messiah) in the synagogue but was furiously rejected by the people there , following his baptism and desert experience (Luke 4:14-30). Then, Jesus went to Capernum in the land of Naphtali on Sabbath, teaching, driving out evil spirit, and surprising the people there (Luke 4:31-37).

So, the Advent was to anticipate the coming of the Messiah, preparing for his arrival, with John the Baptist’s advice of penance. This anticipatory sense near the coming of Jesus to this world (Advent theme) has been echoed in the Gospel readings for the fest Sunday of the Baptism of the Lord (Matthew 3:13-17) and the first reading for the 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Isaiah 8:23-9:3), as Jesus is coming to the Jordan River for his own baptism to begin his salvific ministry from the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. What used to be these lands of Jacobs’s sons, Zebulun and Naphtali, become the region of Galilee, at the time of Jesus.  

Until Jesus was baptized and began his ministry, it was when baptism by water was only mean for penitential cleansing. 

Following the Advent weeks of anticipating, on the first day of Christmastide (the 12 days of Christmas), the Messiah, whom we were waiting for, finally came in Bethlehem of the land of Judah, south of the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. This is how the light first appeared, witnessed by shepherd, who saw the bright star, on Christmas morning and later witnessed by the Magi on Epiphany, who were led by the star to find Jesus. Basically, after spending some time in Egypt for safety from King Herod’s massacre of male babies, Jesus grew up in Nazareth in the land of Zebulun rather quietly, during the period reflected in the rest of the Christmastide Gospel readings. 

Then, when he was about 30, he came to the Jordan River, where his cousin, John the Baptist was baptizing many for repentance, and was baptized, not because he had sin but to be commissioned to begin his ministry – to bring the fresh new light to the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, beginning to reveal his Messianic identity, as the Lamb of God, through his teaching and actions. So, these the themes for the Gospel readings for the Baptism of the Lord Sunday and the 2^nd Sunday of Ordinary time to prepare us to the 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Gospel reading. 

And, this is the historical and social background behind Jesus’ arrival to these lands in the Gospel narrative for the 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (Matthew 4:12-23).

To look at this background of the 3^rd Sunday of Ordinary Time with the Advent-Christmastide spectrum, the light, Jesus, first appeared in Bethlehem of the land of Judah, the 4^th son of Jacob. The land of Judah is located in the south of the land of Zebulun and in the land of Naphtali, as Bethlehem is south of Nazareth and Capernum. This was Christmas, the very first day of the Christmastide (the 12 days of Christmas).

Nazareth, where Jesus grew up with Mary and Joseph, after being born in Nazareth and returned from Egypt to avoid King Herod’s massacre, is in the land of Naphtali, and Capernum, where Jesus begins his public ministry by calling Peter, Andrew, James and John, to follow him. And, upon recruiting his Apostles, Jesus will also return to Nazareth to preach and to be rejected.  So, this is the setting of the 3^rd Sunday Gospel story.

It helps us to understand this historical and social background for this Sunday’s Gospel story, in connection with the First reading, as well as the Advent-Christmastide spectrum. This way, we can really appreciate many historical and social, as well as metaphorical factors, behind this Sunday’s scripture readings. 

Now, it is also important to reflect the scripture readings themes upon our own life circumstances.

There is a very powerful message from this Sunday’s scripture readings to put on us: We are also called to follow Jesus, just as Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John in the land of Naphtali, to start bringing the light from Galilee, which was the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, moving southward, into the land of Judah, to Jerusalem.  Toward Easter, we will follow Jesus’ journey with his disciples from Galilee to Jerusalem. 

Again, we are called, just as Jesus’ disciples, such as Peter, Andrew, James and John, were called in Galilee.  

What have we been called for by our commander, Jesus? 

One sure thing is for unity, which Paul, whom Jesus called to serve him in a very unique way, different from the way he called the Twelve Apostles.  So, some of us may find Jesus’ calling very unconventional ways. 

Whatever the way Jesus is calling, we must pay attention to what he is calling us for and follow him by following his commands. 

The most important command of Jesus is to love, and to love is to saw seeds of unity, which leads to salvation – the safety and welfare in the fullness, like the state where all sheep are in with the shepherd, being in full light.

Healing Through Love and Hope - Sacramental Aspects of the Human Spirit - from Boston

With Boston Marathon bombing suspect being securely captured, Boston is now relieved from the intense horror that locked the city.  Nevertheless, the pain of grief over the loss of many lives is still fresh. 

We tend to feel more pain when we are coming out of the initial shock and numbness of the trauma.  Even the initial pain subsides, the pain can come back, like a flash back at any time, without warning or sign.  

This is why it is so important that we continue to remember and lend our supports to those who have been affected by the bombings during the Boston Marathon last week.  It is also important to remember and support those who have been affected by the fertilizer factory explosion in Waco, Texas, last week. 

At least, the arrest of the Boston bombing suspect helps us focus on healing and recovery now, because the capture of the suspect is a very important mile mark on our collective healing and recovery from the pain and fear that has followed the pain.  Even though, there is no 100% assurance of safety, it is now a bit easier than before to concentrate on our healing and recovery. It is also a good time to start preparing ourselves for preventing and responding to possible future attacks and other types of tragic incidents.

So, now, we can better appreciate the ever powerful human spirit, the manifestation of the goodness of humanity, continuously pouring on to and reaching deep into the depth of the pain of those who have been affected by the last week’s tragic events – and to us all.  

The outpouring human spirit has been manifesting through those ordinary people with genuine compassion – selfless sacrifices, like what the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable (Luke 10:29-37) demonstrated.  They are not typical “heroes” because they are truly heroic.  They are truly heroic because they are not trying to be heroes – because their motive to help is not to make themselves seen as heroes but because they simply want to help.  They simply want to help because they instinctively and intuitively know that it really hurts them to see fellow human beings are hurt.  So, they know that helping those who have been hurt and wounded also means helping themselves. They know that it is helping the humanity.  It shows that these Good-Samaritan-like compassionate people are embracing the oneness – the oneness with each other in unity, through manifesting the human spirit. 

About 500 years before Jesus Christ taught oneness/unity (John 17; 11, 21), Gautama (Shakamuni) Buddha had taught oneness as the foundation of Dharma, as a way of leading out of suffering.  Paul, an apostle of Christ, further elaborated on the teaching of oneness for healing and peace (1 Corinthians 12: 12, Ephesians 4:4-5).  Perhaps, the concept of Tawhid in the Sufi tradition of Islam also comes in line with Buddha’s and Christ’s teaching of oneness/unity.  But, the truth on oneness/unity is not an exclusive “trademark” teaching of any particular religions. It is, in fact, the universal truth, which transcends religions because it is what the human spirit is all about. 

During the interfaith memorial service in Boston last Thursday, Rev. Nancy Taylor, of United Church of Christ, described the manifestation of the human spirit of compassion as “sacraments of blessing” and “sacraments of mercy”, as runners and spectators…and passerby and anyone around were rushing into the bombing scene to rescue and assist victims of the bombings and anyone affected.  Residents of Boston opened their homes for those who needed a place without hesitation. Business owners of Boston welcomed those who were hurt to provide then with whatever they could without any cost. This shows sacraments of open heart, which makes Boston a proud city of love….which symbolizes the goodness in human nature. 

The bottom line of the human spirit of compassion is love that unites all people in oneness.  To those who believe in God, this also means seamless unity between God and the human, the oneness beyond the human oneness.  And, this is a sacramental aspect of love, which holds us with one another and with God.  

Boston Mayor, Tom Menino, emphasized on love to characterize the spirit of Boston with a twist of Bostonian sense of humor, during the interfaith service. He said that the Bostonians now even love New York City, which is always in Boston’s rivalry.  The mayor also reminded that “Sweet Caroline”, a staple song played at Boston’s Fenway Park Stadium, the home of the Boston Red Sox, will be played also at the New York Yankees Stadium, while Boston City flags will be flying in Lower Manhattan. The New York Yankees announced that they would play this “Boston Red Sox” staple song during their home game in New York, as a tribute to the Boston Marathon bombing victims.  Certainly, the New Yorkers are also showing their love to their rival Bostonians. Yes, love begets love, indeed!

Mayor Menino’s Bostonian sense of humor has sure lightened the burden of grief, bringing a bit of respite, to help us better cope with the pain, while focusing on love that unites – even uniting Boston with its rival city, New York.  I certainly see the dividing distance between Boston and New York is shrinking.  This phenomenon of love radiating from Boston and New York is also transcending any dividing distance among us across racial, ethnic, national, political, gender, and religious lines – forming the human pluralistic unity, reflecting an image from 1 Corinthians 12. 

Because love is not lost – and cannot be lost even attacked by evil, realistic hope emerges. And, it is rising in Boston and elsewhere, out of the pain of grief. 

Love, which brings forth real hope,  facilitates healing of those who have been traumatized physically, psychologically and spiritually.  This healing process also brings scattered people back into unity by closing divisions, thus leading us to “salus” – health as wholeness. 

For this, during the interfaith service, Bishop John Borders III, of Morning Star Baptist Church, cited the Beatitudes (blessings) in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount  (Matthew 5:3-12):

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

With love and hope that unite and heal, we become ever stronger.  For this, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM cap., of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, during the interfaith service, called the Beatitudes in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount “the constitution of the people to call to live a new life”. Going further from this, Cardinal O’Malley indicated that love, a sacramental aspect of the human spirit, as well as God (i.e. 1 John 4:8) that brings hope and unites us all,  makes us stronger – ever stronger to withstand evil – by invoking a prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned.

This prayer of St. Francis, indeed, expresses the best of the human spirit.  To those who believe in God, this is how the divinity manifests in the humanity, because of imago Dei in each human being (i.e. Genesis 1:27). 

Though we may feel broken, as long as we do not lose the human spirit, as Rev. Nancy Taylor said, we are not broken even though we are shaken. It is because the human spirit can manifest as “sacrament of mercy” and “sacrament of blessing” – because the human spirit continues to rise, manifesting as love that brings forth hope. 

Now, with this hope, fueled by love, we can move forward toward the stronger unity ever through our healing and growth journey. 

For this journey of healing, fueled by love and hope, I would like to dedicate this song, “Prayer”(Inori/祈り), composed by, Kazuhiko Kawabe,  Japanese Naval First Lieutenant , originally for those who have been victimized by the 2011 East Japan Great Disasters.  

The performance of this song in the video is conducted by First Lieutenant Kawabe, performed by the Japanese Naval Band of Tokyo. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRG3WEelkj8

Here is what song says –  (Japanese stanza followed by English translation – translation mine)

人は皆荒野のさすらい人

一筋の光が君の前を照らす

心にはともし火

いつも灯しながら

それは夢、希望、未来

祈ってる

We are wonders in wilderness.  Yet, a glimmer of light will shine upon you.

Always a lamplight in your heart, as it means a dream, hope and the future.

I pray for you.

悲しいできごとや

迷い悩んだこと

やがて満たされるよ

きっと信じてる

君の姿みえず

声も聞けないけど

いつも感じている

The emptiness because of sadness and wavering of worries

Will be filled

I believe so.

Even though I cannot see you

Even though I cannot hear you

I always sense your presence.

君とともに居ると

君は夢、希望、未来

祈ってる

When I am with you

You are a dream, a hope, and a future.

I pray for you.

青い空に浮かぶ

白い雲のように

自由な風に乗って

強く生きてゆこう

Let’s move forward with a life mightily

By riding on the winds of freedom

Like the white clouds in the blue sky

つまずきやためらい

心痛い時は

いつもここにいるよ

君とともにいるよ

Stumbling and hesitation,

Whenever your heart is heavy with pain,

I am here,

I am always with you

いつも希望、夢、未来

祈ってる

Always a hope, a dream, and a future

I pray for you.

君は希望、夢、未来

祈ってる

You are a hope, a dream, and a future.

I pray for you.

May the rising human spirit carry us, like the winds of freedom in this song, enabling us to move forward with the strengths on our healing journey toward the stronger unity.  

For those who believe in God, may the Holy Spirit, manifesting the rising human spirit, like the winds of freedom, carrying us toward the stronger unity with God on our healing journey.