Rest is Not Just Rest, if Offered by Christ – A Comparative Exegesis of Matthew 11:25-30 to Luke 5:1-11 and Matthew 13:1-9

Have you wondered why your honest diligent efforts are not bearing any fruit, finding yourself in ever growing frustration?  Have you ever felt as if the harder you had worked to improve the situation, the worse it became? 

Perhaps, it is like catching nothing in spite of hours of efforts to catch fish. You have exhausted all possible fishing techniques. Yet, no catch at all.  Imagine how frustrated and tired you could be, if you had to go through such a situation.

According to the Gospel of Luke, 5:1-11, an accomplished fisherman of Capernaum, Simon, whom Jesus calls Peter upon giving the key to the Kingdom of God (Matthew 16:19), had this kind of frustrating experience with his efforts. 

Simon and his fellow fishermen were fishing very hard all night. So, they would have expected to net many fish. But, in spite of their diligent efforts, they caught no fish.  Imagine, how frustrating it could have been to Simon and other fishermen.

This is where Jesus appeared and told Peter where to put the net, resulting in a great catch!  

Listening to and following what Jesus invited to do sure relieved Simon and his fellow fishermen from hours of frustration, which have worn them out.

………………………………………….

The Gospel reading for the 14^th Sunday (Year A), Matthew 11:25-30, can be put in the context of a frustrating life situation, like what Simon had with no catch in spite of his efforts in Luke 5:1-11. A common factor between Matthew 11:25-30 and Luke 5:1-11 is about a relieving effect of accepting what Jesus offers. In the former Gospel narrative, it is rest, followed by his yoke, and in the latter Gospel story, it is an advice, followed by an invitation to become fishers of men.

The 14th Sunday Gospel story, Matthew 11:25-30, follows the narrative of Jesus’ criticism of unrepentant cities on the coasts of the Sea of Galilee (the Lake of Gennesaret) , Korazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum (Matthew 11:20-24).  Jesus cast harsh words on these cities of Galilee for their pride, which prevents them from repenting, making reference to God’s condemnation upon Tyre and Sidon, as well as, Sodom, in the Old Testament.

Following this narrative, Jesus praises the Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for keeping what Jesus offers and their effects hidden from the wise and learned – but revealing them to children (Matthew 11:25).  What this corresponds to the story of Simon’s futile efforts of fishing in Luke 5:1-11 is that his pride and sins kept him from catching any fish. However, Simon was able to let his pride down in response to Jesus’ offer of fishing advice. So, he accepted the advice and lowered the net.

The Simon’s lowered net upon accepting Jesus’ fishing advice symbolizes Simon’s pride giving its way to humility. Thus, fish was no longer hidden from Simon, as his net became full of fish. Furthermore, he himself recognizes his own sinfulness, feeling that he was not worthy of being benefited from Jesus and what he offers (Luke 5:8). Yet, Simon did not reject Jesus and what he offers out of his feeling of unworthiness.  In fact, he accepted what Jesus offers – an advice of not letting his heart troubled and accepting his invitation to become a fisher of men, by following his way (Luke 5:9).

Simon’s experience in Luke 5:1-11 parallels Matthew 11:25-30, as Simon’s pride and sinfulness in the former Gospel narrative corresponds to the pride and sinfulness of the wise and learned in the latter Gospel narrative.  What the Father hide from the wise and learned (Matthew 11:25) to Simon in Luke 5:1-11 is fish. And, as Simon’s pride became transformed into his humility, symbolized with his lowered net, accepting Jesus’ advice (Luke 5:5), the Father no longer hide fish from Simon, for he has spiritually grown from being “wise and learned” into a “child”.

In Matthew 11;25, Jesus invite children (Matthew 11:25), who can understand the truth in Matthew 11:27 (No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom he chooses to reveal Him, as no one knows the Son, until Simon confesses that Jesus is the Son in Matthew 16:16) to receive what he offers. In this context, Jesus offers rest and his yoke to those who are as humble as children. In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus invited Simon to become humble by putting his net lower and offered fish to fill the net. And, Jesus also invited Simon to accept a “new yoke” by asking to follow his way and become a fisher of men, rather than sticking to the “old yoke” of being a proud fisherman of Galilee, subject to nature’s whim. 

Putting down his pride, symbolized with the lowered fishing net, to Simon in Luke 5:1-11, the Father began to reveal what was hidden from him, not only fish but rather the divine power vested in Jesus, as he began to show his humility – his ability to become a child. And, the Father furthermore revealed the fact that Jesus is the Son only to Simon, who has lowered his pride (Matthew 16:16-17). This was how Simon’s life-long transformation began, from a proud fisher man in Galilee, to whom the Father was hiding what the Son can offer, into not only a fisher of men but also the rock upon which the Son builds his Church.  This transformation was cemented on Pentecost, the infusion of the powerful Holy Spirit as described in Acts 2:1-12.

The above exegesis of Matthew 11:25-30 in comparison to Luke 5:1-11 suggests that the rest that Jesus offers in Matthew 11:28 to those who are weary and burdened is not simply a physical and emotional respite. Rather, it is something that transforms our lives completely, as what Jesus offered to Simon in Luke 5:1-11 led to his permanent life transformation.  And, this transformation comes with healing, as symbolized with rest.  But, if we have pride like the wise and learned do, then, we find it difficult to understand and appreciate Jesus’ offer of rest in Matthew 11:28. Also, our pride in ourselves makes it difficult to take the yoke of Jesus, which is to love, as said in John 13:34-35, reflecting God, who is love (1 John 4:8). 

Clinically, our own pride puts us at a greater risk of becoming weary and burdened, as Simon might have felt during these night hours of no catch despite his hard efforts of fishing.  Jesus explains this clinical problem of pride in Matthew 11:25 – a life without the Son and what he offers.  In fact, our pride may cut us from God, making us more individualistic and narcissistic. The greater our pride is, the less we appreciate God and the covenant with Him. 

In the Old Testament, there are so many episodes on how human pride and wisdom can push us out of God’s covenant and how such a life outside the covenant can turn into. Those who live with their own pride and wisdom live in growing weariness and under increasing burdens. If they choose not to return to the covenant with God, through reconciliation, then, they would eventually perish under the weight of their own weariness and burden. But, those who turn their hearts back to God through reconciliation will live a good life in the covenant. 

After so many pride-driven breakaways from God and His covenant, as described in the Old Testament, God incarnated Himself as human through Jesus, the Son, to reach out to us more intimately, in order to save us from the hellish consequences of drifting away from Him with our own pride.  That is why Jesus invites us to him, stating:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Jesus’ invitation to a life in him – a life in the covenant with God – also means to live a life according to the new yoke of Jesus, the new commandment  (mandatum novum) in John 13:34, to love one another, as he loves us. Thus, the rest that Jesus offers in Matthew 11:28 is not simply a physical and psychological rest but rather a life in Christ, a life of love. And, it is what Jesus invites us to learn from him.

In order for us to seek and receive the rest that Jesus offers – a life in Christ, leading to transformation and salvation, we must begin our efforts of overcoming our ego by lowering our pride, as symbolized with Simon’s lowered net (Luke 5:5). As in the case of Buddhism’s goal, we must resolve our ego in order to enjoy a life in Christ completely. Thus, the rest that Jesus offers in Matthew 11:28 can also be understood in light of anatman of Buddhism teaching.  A life in Christ is fully found in the psychospiritual state of anatman.  For this, Paul puts it so well:

"For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:19-20).

In attaining a life in Christ, he is also found in us. This state is a secure attachment with Christ. The law that Paul refers to in the above is the yoke that makes us weary, as it is a product of our own pride and wisdom.  In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us to replace this burdensome yoke with the new yoke he offers to live a life in him and to let him in us. 

In anatoman, there is no pride. It means that there is nothing hidden from Christ, the Son, and what he offers. In this state, we are awaken (buddha) to the truth in Christ and in what he offers. It is where we find “rest” in him and take the” new yoke” he offers, as we live a life of love. And, it is our life in the secure attachment with God through Christ. 

To benefit from this, we need to let go of our ego and whatever the ego creates, including pride and burdensome yoke – the law that chokes us with constant anxieties. 

A life free from distressing anxieties is the rest that Jesus offers in Matthew 11:28. But, it is also a life under Jesus’ mandatum novum in John 13:34, as it is a life of agape. Thus, it is a life of anatman, a life without ego and what it brings, such as defilements (kleshas).  In such life, the seed that Christ saw grows better and bear abundant fruits, to appreciate Matthew 11:25-30 (the 14^th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A)  in conjunction with Matthew 13:1-9 (the 15^th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A) . 

Christ has saw good seed in each of us. Let us not kill the seed with our weary and burdened hearts, as our pride-driven consequences, such as distress and anxiety, will choke the seed, just as the seed fell among thorns will die (Matthew 13:7).  In the rest that Jesus offers (Matthew 11:28), our hearts becomes the rich soil where the seed grows into many fruits (Matthew 13:8) – just as Simon’s net caught so man fish upon accepting Jesus’ advice  (Luke 5:5-6). Let us accept what Jesus offers us – the rest, so that our hearts become the rich soil for the seed, and  the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, which are the seed that God want us to grow into bountiful fruits, in reflections of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)! 

Rest that Christ offers is not just rest for a respite.  It is what transforms our hearts into the rich soil to grow the seed that Christ saw.

Peter and Paul – the Two Pillars of the Church

This year, the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, June 29, coincided with the Sunday following Corpus Christi Sunday. While Pentecost, which is celebrated on the Sunday before Trinity Sunday, which precedes Corpus Christi Sunday, is regarded as the “birthday” of the Church, Corpus Christi Sunday is about understanding our assembly in the name of Christ to be the Body of Christ, besides our appreciation of the Eucharist, as I discussed in my last blog entry.

Carrying on our focus on the Church from Pentecost to Corpus Christi, and further to the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, we honor Peter and Paul as the two pillars of the Church. Given their respective unique contributions to the nascent Church, as well-documented by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter and Paul can be considered as the two foundation pillars of the Church.

However, some people have a problem with viewing Peter and Paul as parallel pillars of the Church, attributing to differences not only in their leadership styles of these great men but also the fact that only Peter was given the key to the Kingdom by Jesus.  So, they find it difficult to see Peter and Paul as the two parallel pillars of the Church. This point is well-taken.

According to the Gospel reading for the feast of Peter and Paul, Matthew 16:13-19, Jesus indicated Peter to be the foundation rock, on which he will build his Church, upon giving the key to the Kingdom of God (Matthew 16:18).  At that time, Paul was not in the scene. He was not even part of the twelve apostles.

In a strict sense, if Peter and Paul were to be the two pillars of the Church, not only that Paul would have received another key, together with Peter, and that both of these men shall be called to be the two pillars of the Church, which Jesus will build. Not to mention, those who have a hard time in viewing Peter and Paul as the two pillars tend to cling to this argument: Jesus called Peter the rock, upon which he will build his Church (Matthew 16:18), but did not call him a pillar of his Church with Paul, or the scripture did not say so.

We have this problem if we interpret the scripture only literally.

In practicing exegesis, we need to transcend the letters of the scriptural text, especially if it is a translated text. We also have to understand that what the scriptures are intended to convey to us is far more than what the human languages can communicate. So, this transcending attitude of exegesis is based on our acknowledgement of the limitations of the human languages, especially written languages.

This is why many biblical concepts are so loaded.

For example, if you were so rigid about following only the letters of the scripture, you sure would have a problem with Jesus’ own statements about himself. On one occasion, he says he is the bread of life that we are to eat (John 6:51). But, on another occasion, we are to eat his flesh for the same purpose (John 6:55-56).

If we could interpret the scriptures only literally, then, we would have a trouble in understanding what Jesus meant by John 6:51 and 6:55-56, inviting us to eat the bread of life and the flesh of Jesus himself in the same speech.  In John 6:51, Jesus says that he is the living bread on one hand, then, says that the living bread is his flesh. We wonder how bread and flesh can be the same. And, those who interpret the scripture only literally tend to get stuck with this kind of biblical expression.

Bread and flesh are different substance.　But, the flesh of Jesus that we are invited to eat for eternal life and the life in Christ comes in the physical form of unleavened bread. It is bread physically and the flesh of Christ substantially beyond the level of the human perception and cognition, we eat bread of life and the flesh of Christ with the same object.

Of course, to make sense out of these statements of Jesus, we must understand transubstantiation – the imperceptible substance of the bread and wine that Jesus uses as a metaphor for his body and blood will become the real body and blood of Christ for us to eat and drink, as he commanded, without looking and tasting like the human flesh and blood. And, there is no description of transubstantiation in the scriptures. Therefore, the concept of transubstantiation is a result of active exegesis.

This being said, through active exegesis, depending on how we see the Church, Peter and Paul can be understood as the two pillars of the Church, despite that these men became part of the Church at different times and with different qualities.  Just because anywhere in the scriptures it says that Peter and Paul are the two pillars of the Church, it does not preclude us from considering these great men of faith to be the two pillars of the Church.

By the same token, we can also understand that husband and wife are the two pillars of a family. As Peter and Paul are different, husband and wife are different in many aspects. Nevertheless, given a structural view that I apply in practicing a family therapy, the essential roles that husband and wife plays in a family echoes the founding roles both Peter and Paul played in the early Church.

It was Peter, who laid a part of the foundation of the Church, primarily based in Jerusalem, as the bedrock of the Church. On the other hand, Paul also laid another part of the foundation of the Church as the very first missionary leader, extending the bedrock of the Church beyond Jerusalem, beyond Judea, and beyond where the Jews are. 

Peter and Paul had different gifts. And, their different leadership roles in laying foundation of the Church are also like husband and wife, who are different and whose gifts are different, can lay the foundation of a family, through their unique roles.  God bestow different gifts in husband and wife, as He did to Peter and Paul. And, God expect husband and wife play different roles, yet, help one another and coordinate each other’s unique roles in laying the foundation of a family, in which they are the two pillars.

I am sure that none of those who read this blog will argue that we cannot compare Peter and Paul to husband and wife, because both Peter and Paul are men – but husband and wife are man and woman. If this were a problem, then, it would be a similar or even the same kind of problem that I mentioned – inability to transcend the bounds of letters in the scripture text in exegesis. 

Two Wings of the solemnity of the Body and the Blood of Christ (Corpus et Sanguis Christi): the Eucharist (Eucharistia)and the Church (Ekklesia)

In celebrating  the solemnity of the Body and the Blood of Christ - Corpus Christi (Corpus et Sanguis Christi),  what is your image of the Body of Christ?

Some of you may think of the Eucharist, especially in the contexts of communion and the Eucharistic adoration. Perhaps, some may think of the bloody body of Jesus on the Cross, as found in the Crucifix. Maybe some envision an image of Jesus at the Last Supper, breaking the bread upon thanking the Father, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26), juxtaposing to Jesus’ self-identification, “I am the living bread”(John 6:51).

As the Eucharistic celebration at Mass is conducted in anamnesis of the Last Supper, we also think of transubstantiation of bread and wine we offered to the alter upon consecration by the presiding priest.  The transubstantiation for the Eucharist is a mystery as difficult to understand as Trinity is incomprehensible for its ineffable nature.  But, all of these mysteries are of divine manifestation effects.   The mysterious nature in the transubstantiated Eucharist and Trinity are phenomenological reminders of God’s providence, reflecting the immeasurable and persistent  parakletos nature of God, reflecting these words of Jesus: I am with you always until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

The intimate presence of Jesus, the Son, does not always come with the human figure of Jesus, as it had been between his birth in Bethlehem and his Ascension from the Mt. Olives.  As the mystery of Trinity tells us, and as Jesus’ words in John 14:16,26, 27; 15:5, 26-27;16:7 assure, we are always  with God in Trinity. And the Eucharist is one way that the presence of God in Jesus’ body and blood manifests in the context of Trinity, even though God in the Son has been invisible and intangible ever since Ascension until Parousia at the end of age.

The feast of Corpus et Sanguis Christi is actually not just about the Eucharist – though this is what many Catholics seem to think. What seems to be less known for this important feast is that it is also about the Ekklesia, the Church, which we, the faithful, make of.

It is Paul, who viewed a gathering of the faithful as the Church (ekklesia) in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, as manifestations of the many gifts of one Holy Spirit (1Corinthians 12:1-11), characterized with love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). Paul makes it clear that the assembly of the faithful as one body with many inter-related parts, ekklesia, is indeed the Body of Christ, with these words:

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Corinthians 12:27-31). 

We, the faithful, are, indeed, the Body of Christ with many parts interdependent on each other, with various gifts of the Holy Spirit manifesting.  This is also echoed in Romans 12:3-8. As Romans 12:5 indicates, one body of our assembly, ekklesia, we make of, is in Christ. In other words, the way we are in Christ is to form one body of many parts and many manifesting gifts of the Holy Spirit, as one Body of Christ, enlivened by one Holy Spirit, under God the Father’s care.

Upon Ascension, the physical presence of Jesus no longer exist in the world. But, the absence of the physical presence of the risen Christ does not mean that he is absent. Otherwise, the promise of Jesus’ perpetual presence until the end of the age in Matthew 28:20 would be contradictory.

The Holy Spirit (John 14:26) being the invisible yet powerful envoy, who is consubstantial with the Father and the Son in Trinity, of Jesus, the constant presence of the Eucharist, Corpus et Sanguis Christi, at Mass, are two known ways to assure the validity of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 28:20. But, Paul’s view in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, echoed in Romans 12:3-8, reminds us that our physical presence in assembly, ekklesia, constitutes one body of Christ, Corpus Christi.  And, given Romans 12:1-2, indicating our presence as a living sacrifice, alludes to the sacrificial character of the body of Christ we make of in our assembly. Thus, our own blood may represent the blood of Christ, Sanguis Christi.

Thus, the feast of Corpus et Sanguis Christi, following the feast of the Most Holy Trinity, after Pentecost, is about both the Eucharist and the Church that we  are in our assembly, which is sacrificial and manifested with many gifts of one Holy Spirit, sent by the Father.  This is one body of Christ, brimming with powerful charism, reaching out to all nations on earth.

Given its outreaching charismatic nature, this realization of Corpus et Sanguis Christi as our gathering in faith, as one body of Christ, and in Christ, also echoes how Pope Francis envisions the Church, as the Church of Mercy, echoing  the works of works on mercy by St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II, his predecessors of extraordinary charism, and taking them to the next level.

As Pope Francis put in his homily for canonizing Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II on the Divine Mercy Sunday, 2014, for the Church to the Church of Mercy, we must view the wounds in the body of Christ as a powerful source of inspiration to strive for the works of mercy in light of Isaiah 58:7:

"Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry And bring the homeless poor into the house; When you see the naked, to cover him; And not to hide yourself from your own flesh”.

Again, this message of Pope Francis echoes Paul’s indication of the sacrificial nature of the Church we make of in our assembly, written in Romans 12:1-2, in light of Christ’s body being offered to save us as the ultimate manifestation of the mercy of the Father.  That is why the inerasable wounds in Christ’s flesh always call us to become the sacrificial one body of Christ, the Church of Mercy, characterized with the essence of 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13 and Romans 12:1-2, 9-21.

Ekklesia composed of us in assembly in Christ’s name, is the Body of Christ. And, the sacrificial nature of ekklesia makes the Church as the Church of Mercy, corresponding to the sacrifice of the body of Christ on the Cross for our salvation.

Upon Jesus’ Ascension, the absence of his physical absence, not only we are with Christ in the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit but we, the Church, become a visible and tangible manifestation of the Corpus et Sanguis Christi in the world. And, this is the sacramental nature of our being.

It is also important to note that the Greek word, ekklesia means “called to go out to”(ek=out of, from + kaleo= to call).  Thus, in forming ekklesia, as Corpus et Sanguis Christi in Christ, in light of Matthew 18:20, anywhere in the world, we are called to let this one body we make in Christ and of Christ to be a manifold manifestation of mercy. This is what Pope Francis images the Church of Mercy to be found wherever there is a need, like a field hospital.

Thus, ekklesia, Corpus et Sanguis Christi, we form as one body with many interrelated parts, in light of Matthew 18:20, bears a character of parakletos, which means “being called to be present beside a person in need” (para = besides + kaleo= to call). Given that Jesus is Emmanuel (Matthew 1:23), which means God with us, and thus considered as the first parakletos, while the Holy Spirit sent in his name upon his Ascension is another (second) parakletos (advocate)(John 14:16), the Corpus et Sanguis Christi  we form as ekklesia shall be of the parakletos nature.

Now, with this understanding of the meaning of the feast of Corpus et Sanguis Christi , focusing on our calling to be the sacrificial Corpus et Sanguis Christi and parakletos nature, reflecting on love as agape, inspired to make it manifestation of mercy in an image of a field hospital, we can appreciate the below poem written by St. Teresa of Avila.

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Upon his Ascension, Christ has no body in the world but ours. It is because we are the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27).

The feast the solemnity of the Body and the Blood of Christ is, indeed, to remind us of our ultimate call – a call to make the Body of Christ, the Church of Mercy, in an image of field hospital, willing to embrace and care wounds in the world. 

Father’s Day – Trinity Sunday

This year, the Father’s Day is also the Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. I do not think it is a mere coincidence. Rather, it is God’s providence to reminds us of His love and mercy. In fact, these are the theme for the Trinity Sunday scripture readings – Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9; 2 Corinthians 13;11-13; John 3:16-18. The Gospel reading (John 3:16-18) is quite powerful in expressing the immeasurable love of the Father in heaven, who gave His only begotten Son, out of His love – to save us. And, the Son asked the Father to send us the Holy Spirit (John 14:16).

In celebrating the Most Holy Trinity on this Father’s day, it is meaningful to see how the ineffable mystery of Trinity can be related to fathers of our own in our respective families on earth. This way, we can honor our fathers, alive or deceased, physically present or present in spirit, in light of  honoring  our Father in heaven through the most holy Trinity.

So, what is your image of a typical father?

My image for this, in fact, remembering my father as a hard working provider. When he was alive, he worked many hours for his family.

I grew up rather in a traditional Japanese family, where a father goes out for work as a bread winner to provide for the family, and a mother works in and around the home as a producer to turn what the father provided for the family into something that meets the needs of my sister and me at a time.

My father worked as a journalist. He knew how to take a scoop and write for the front page cover article. And, he was good. So, I am very proud of him. And, he earned good form his dedicated work in journalism. But, he did not know how to turn what he earned into something we can eat. So, that was taken care by my mother in the kitchen, after she went grocery shopping.

There is a difference between the way the father shows his love and the mother shows her love.

So, in my family, the father was always a provider, while the mother was a producer.

To put my family’s reality in a more general context to connect to the concept of Trinity, I can say that the father in the family is the bread winner. It does not necessarily mean that he always buys bread for his family. But, he is the primary provider for his family to keep bread on the table. Without my father’s role as the primary bread winner, it would be difficult for my mother to produce enough bread to feed the family.

It is the mother who bakes bread for the family, using the ingredients she purchased with what the father has earned.

Now, as the Gospel reading for the next Sunday, the Corpus Christi Sunday (John 6:51-58), tells, Jesus is the bread of life (John 6:51).

So, just like the Father in Trinity provides  with the Son, the first parakletos, the parakletos in sarx, who is the living bread of life (John 6:51), the father in an earthly family also provides bread for his family. As the Son, the bread of life, came to us through Theotokos, Mary, the Mother of God, the mother of Jesus, the bread that the father earned comes to the family table through the hands of the mother of the family.

In Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the second parakletos, the parakletos in pneuma, is also what the Father provides. So, what is the equivalent to the Holy Spirit in the ordinary earthly family context?

Because the Holy Spirit is something that has no shape but present everywhere, it is like a peculiar atmosphere of the family that the father casts.

To me, that’s the air of my family, which my father radiates. In the Japanese culture, which Edward Hall regarded as “high context culture”, which means relying more on the context rather than verbal means, the authentic air that father in the family radiates is something you just don’t want to mess with. If you did, you sure would be sorry.

The air the father cast in the family is what keeps the family in unity and in order. This is like the air of the authority that presence of the military commander brings to his unit.

My father did not speak to send his message to my sister and me, when we were growing up.  We had to be smart enough to read the air and behave.

In a way, the air the father cast in my family was like the Ten Commandments.  But, it was not take fun out of my sister’s life and mine but to keep us safe from troubles. It was out of my father’s love for my sister and me to keep us on the right path, when we were growing up. So, the air sent out of my father, filling my family, was like the Holy Spirit that touches and guides us, sent from the Father in heaven, as promised by Jesus when he was talking about his Ascension during the Last Supper.

Now, my father is gone.  His physical presence has been gone. His physical remains have been reduced to just enough cremated bone fragments to fill a small urn. But, the father’s air continues to be with my mother, my sister, and me. Sometimes I feel the smoke in the air, the very smoke my father used to enjoy while he was present in his flesh.

Likewise, the Holy Spirit is always with us, transcending all physical and temporal boundaries,  just like the air we breathe and the air that touches us as winds.

We need to breathe the air and to eat bread to sustain our life on earth. Likewise, we do need the Holy Spirit- God in pneuma and ruah, and the Son, who is the living bread, God in sarx, to maintain our eternal life. And, all of these necessities for life are provided by the Father in heaven, whom we see at the end of ages, through the Son’s return.  In the meantime, while living on earth, we continue to breathe the air and eat bread that our fathers provide.

After all, the love and mercy of the Father, sent to us as the Son, and as the Holy Spirit, are to sustain our eternal life – just as we need bread to eat and air to breathe to maintain our earthly life.  And, just as the airs that fathers in our families cast, making our family atmospheres, are to guide the children in the families in the right directions, the Holy Spirit that our Father in heaven provides is to shepherd us as  to heaven, just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

We are so grateful to the Father in heaven and fathers of our families on earth for what they provide for us.

Of course, not everyone is blessed to have idealistic fathers, who provide. Some of us had to grow up without fathers’ love. But, if they believe, then, they are still blessed by the Father in heaven.  As said in Psalm 27:10, even our earthly parents have forsaken, the Father in heaven will not. And, Jesus also assured his constant presence with us in the Holy Spirit even after his Ascension (John 14:26; Matthew 28:20), reflecting this love and mercy of the Father. It’s up to our belief to recognize this love and mercy of the Father.

To those who have been hurt because of the absence of their fathers’ love, may His unconditional love and mercy heal them through the parakletos, which literally means comforter called to be with you, in  sarx, the Son, and in pneuma, the Holy Spirit, as parakletos is always with us until the end of ages, as Jesus assured (Matthew 28;20). 

Pentecost Humor – Pentecost Love Story

Happy Pentecost!

Now that we have received the gift that Jesus promised – the Holy Spirit!

Thanks to the Holy Spirit, we must be transformed into a new being today. And, this transformational process is not just a one-shot event. Rather, the effect of the Holy Spirit is a life-time matter.

We have received the Holy Spirit to bear the fruit of it.  In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul describes what the fruit of the Holy Spirit is composed of. And, the first of this is love. In other word, we make love as a consequence of receiving the Holy Spirit, as love shall be the first fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Speaking of love, it is what brings a man and a woman together into one flesh (Genesis 2:24) to make more and more fruits of love.

So, on this Pentecost Day, there are a man and a woman in love, in preparation to become one flesh with God’s blessings and consecration, are having a conversation after Pentecost Sunday Mass.

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Boy Friend, “Hey, beautiful, you know, I love Pentecost. I feel this unexplainable power that just keeps making me to love you more and more.”

Girl Friend, “Well, you sure have gotten a lot of the Holy Spirit, haven’t you?”

Boy Friend, “You beccha!”

Girl Friend, “……..(sigh)…..”

Boy Friend, “You know,  In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’, and he put his breath on the disciples in the Upper Room. And, this softened their fearful stiffen hearts.”

Girl Friend, “Yes, I remember the Gospel, Mr. ‘Cardinal’”.

Boy Friend, “Good! You are a good Catholic. You pay attention to the Gospel reading at Mass. That’s one of many reasons I love you. So you deserve something special, a special gift. The Holy Spirit is a gift, too.”

Girl Friend, “A gift? Christmas is still far away. And, it’s not even my birthday yet. What do you have on your mind?”

Boy Friend, “Hee, hee, hee!  My gift is not something we can put in a box and wrap it. It’s just like the Holy Spirit, a gift from God, we have just received today. So, my dear, as you receive the Holy Spirit, now, receive my kiss..ah, my holy kiss! As the disciples opened their hearts to receive the Holy Spirit, my dear, now open your lips. ”

Girl Friend, “Ahhhhh! You are ‘sukebe’! *  And, you sure are blessed with a gift…a gift of putting the Gospel into your pursuit of ‘sukebe’ desire!”

Boy Friend, “Ha, ha! You know me so well, my dear!  That’s right! God has blessed me with this gift of expressing my ‘sukebe’ in a bit holy way with some words from the scriptures! …"

Girl Friend, “Oh, my…….!”

Boy Friend, “Listen!  When Jesus says, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’, we can’t say ‘no’, right?  Likewise, when I say, ‘receive my holy kiss’, you can’t say ‘no’, can you?”

Girl Friend, “When Jesus says so, of course, I can’t say ‘no’. But, when you twist your interpretation of the scripture and  cook your ‘sukebe’ with some words from the scriptures…what can I say?…Well, I’ll think about it, ha, ha!”

Boy Friend, “…….(sigh)……..”

Girl Friend, “Ha, ha, ha, I know you are so good at applying the Gospel message to kiss me.  So, I am just trying to apply another biblical message in my response to your request. Don’t you also remember, Paul said love is patient in 1 Corinthian? And, Jesus also said to the disciples that they would have to wait for a while until they receive the Holy Spirit. Remember? That’s why these guys stayed in Jerusalem, waiting for the Holy Spirit to come. So, I just wait for what you want me to receive through my lips until God tells you to kiss me by His alter.”

Boy Friend, “You’re the best! I love you!”

Girl Friend, “Of course! I am yours, wanting to marry this crazy guy, who thinks like and gives a goofy 'homily' to me as if you were a 'cardinal'! So, just wait, as God also waited for  a while before sending the gift, the Holy Spirit, to the disciples.”

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Well, this couple is on the right track to become one flesh through the Sacrament of Matrimony!

And, upon God’s consecration of their love for one another through the Sacrament of Matrimony, he, as a husband, and she, as a wife, will become one flesh in heavenly joy – true ecstasy.

In this divine act of becoming one flesh, a husband’s body represents the move of the Holy Spirit, coming to the body of his wife. But, in order for his body to be received, her body must open itself – just as the girl friend in the above story will open her lips to receive her boyfriend’s kiss – when they become a wife and a husband, blessed and consecrated by God’s alter, upon God’s permission to kiss. In fact, likewise, we open our hearts, in receiving the Holy Spirit on Pentecost.

As receiving a kiss will deepen a couple’s intimacy, leading  the couple to making one flesh, and resulting in more fruits of love: children, receiving the Holy Spirit will enable us to bear many types of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And, its firs fruit is selfless love, followed by joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, and self-control (CCC 1832). The Holy Spirit, as a gift, is loaded with the following elements: Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgement, Courage, Knowledge, and Reverence (CCC 1831).  And, all of these are necessary for us to bear the multifaceted fruit of the Holy Spirit as we ourselves become the first fruit of the gift, called the Holy Spirit.

The girlfriend in the above story turned the wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit, into a fruit, self-control, and share this gift of the Holy Spirit with her boyfriend, so that his ‘sukebe’ desire will mature into his selfless love for her, as she becomes more mature to receive this fruit as a gift with her open lips and open heart to lead to her openness to receive him to become one flesh.

*”Sukebe”  is a Japanese word that describes affection based more on senses and carnal desires. In the above story, however, the “girlfriend” used this word out of her sense of humor, responding to her boyfriend’s goofy way of putting his understanding of the scriptures. 

A Place of Jesus' Vanishing - A Place of Enlightenment: Emmaus - Mt. Olives Connection

The Ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives evokes a memory that Jesus vanished out of the sight of Cleopas and the other disciple in Emmaus. It was the evening of the Resurrection of the Lord when the risen Lord vanished out of their sight after breaking the bread (Luke 24:30-32).

The Lucan narrative of the journey of Cleopas and the other disciples from Jerusalem to Emmaus with the risen Jesus on the day of the Resurrection (Luke24:13-35) seems to hold a key to understand the meaning of Ascension, as the sudden disappearance of the risen Jesus’ body in Emmaus and the Ascension of the risen Jesus do not seem to be independent events.

The physical presence of the risen Jesus vanished as soon as these two disciples recognized the man, who walked with them and taught the meaning of the death and the resurrection of Jesus,  on the way to Emmaus, was the risen Jesus himself (Luke 24:31). I believe that this fact on the evening of the day of the Resurrection is very important to be noted to understand the meaning of the Ascension of the Lord.

The fact that the two disciples’ recognition of the risen Christ and the disappearance of the physical presence of the object of their recognition, the risen Christ, is significant not only theologically but also psychologically. It is because, the vanishing of the physical presence of the risen Christ  suggests that the disciples have become able to recognize the permanently enduring presence of Christ regardless of his physical presence.  Given how analogous the narrative flow of the Lucan Gospel story on the two disciples’ journey to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) and the narrative flow of the Eastertide Sunday Gospel stories leading to Ascension (John 20:1-9; John 20: 19-31; Luke 24:13-35;John 10:1-10; John 14:1-12; John 14:15-21; Matthew 28:16-20), it is clear that the Gospel readings  during the Eastertide leads us to an enlightenment at the point of Ascension, as the road to Emmaus led Cleopas and the other disciples to their enlightenment.  And,  what we have become enlightened to at the point of Ascension is the truth that Jesus is indeed Emmanuel, which means “God with us”, as his psychological nature is to be with us as the permanently enduring  parakletos, which literally means “calling to be beside”, both in flesh and in spirit.  To put this truth in light of John Bowlby’s and Mary Ainsworth’s psychological theories of attachment (emotional bonding with affection),  Jesus’ Emmanuel parakletos nature is the bottom life for our secure attachment to God, who Himself is the parakletos through Jesus Christ, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The narrative flow of these Eastertide Gospel readings from the Resurrection Sunday until Ascension suggests how we have come to understand the meaning of Jesus’ death and the resurrection, projected in the way the disciples gradually come to understand this meaning in these Gospel narratives.  And, this pattern of our understanding is succinctly found in Luke 24:13-35, the Third Sunday of Easter Gospel reading, which changes the tone of the Eastertide Gospel reading from the first two Sundays to the tone of the rest of the Eastertide Gospel readings.

As we have kept listening to Jesus explaining the salvific meaning of his death and the resurrection, through these Gospel readings, we have naturally come to understand the meaning of his Ascension.

Jesus does not have to be with us in flesh when we have reached a certain level of understanding of the meaning of his presence. This point of enlightenment also enables us to understand why his name is “Emmanuel”, God is with us. In fact, Matthew’s Gospel tells that Jesus is the divine being to be with us (Matthew 1:23) in its very first chapter. And, in the very last chapter, Matthew’s Gospel reaffirms this Emmanuel identity of Jesus in Matthew 28:20.  This Emmanuel meaning is persistent and permanent regardless of the condition of Jesus.

This is why Jesus in flesh is the first parakletos and the Holy Spirit is the second (another) parakletos.  Both of them came from the Father, as Jesus has told.  And the Holy Spirit is a vehicle, through which Jesus comes to us and remains with us far more intimately.  In Catholic theology, another vehicle, though which Jesus comes to us, is the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Recognizing the permanent presence of Emmanuel  parakletos with us, until the end of time, till Parousia, we have no reason to suffer from insecurity over the absence of Jesus’ physical appearance.  As long as we have established secure emotional attachment with Jesus by deepening his Emanuel parakletos messianic nature, through the Eastertide Sunday Gospel readings, we know that he is always with us even his physical presence become absent with his Ascension.  In fact, Cleopas and the other disciples’ were no longer insecure when Jesus vanished out of their sight, because they began to realize the meaning of Emmanuel the parakletos a bit ahead of the Ascension of the Lord.

The meaning of Jesus’ Ascension is two-fold. One is that our faith is mature enough to begin understanding the Paschal Mystery and the messianic quality of Jesus, even without the physical presence of him.  The other is that the physical absence of Jesus makes it impossible for the disciples to experience the second parakletos, as Jesus indicated in John 16:7.

One important factor is that Jesus can be more intimately with us through the Holy Spirit, because his presence with us is no longer affected by time, space, distance, and physical factors. Even though Jesus’ resurrected body could transcend physical barriers, as he entered into the firmly locked Upper Room after his resurrection, coming to us in the Holy Spirit enables him to be with us in a more perfect manner. Through the Holy Spirit, upon his Ascension, Jesus can enter not only into our bodies but also deep in our hearts and souls feely. If he still had his body, he would not be with us in such a deeply intimate manner. This is also meaning behind Jesus’ statement in John 16:7.

As we now understand this two-fold meaning of the Ascension of the Lord, in light of the Paschal Mystery and the messianic quality of Jesus, we remain confident that Jesus is the Emmanuel parakletos, in flesh or in spirit - visible or invisible – no matter what form he may be.

Now, we can also understand that Jesus’ physical disappearance in Emmaus on the day of his Resurrection alludes to the Ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives. Both of these events are marked with our substantial growth in faith and enlightenment projected in the disciples in respective Gospel narratives.

As we have become enlightened enough for Jesus to return to the Father without worries for us, we are ready to embark on our missions upon receiving the Holy Spirit to be empowered, guided, and comforted. And, we are to give a new life to the Church, as we are the body of the Church.

Our Lady of Piat and Maria Kannon of Japan - Mother as an Intercessor of Mercy

What is a common denominator for Our Lady of Piat and Maria Kannon of Japan?

You may find an answer to this question in the below blog entry. But, allow me to tell you how I have come to pose this question.

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May is a month dedicated to Mary, the mother of Christ.  And given John 19:17, she is also our mother, as we follow the path of Christ.  Jesus has made his mother, Mary, also our mother in our discipleship.  As commanded in Exodus 20:12, in honoring our mother in our discipleship, we dedicate the month of May in honoring Mary.

One Marian devotion I made with my faithful friends this May was the novena to Our Lady of Piat.

Novena devotion to Our Lady of Piat, who  has also been known as “Nuestra Senora del Santissimo Rosario” (Our Lady of Rosary), namely, Blessed Virgin Mary, is very popular among the Filipino Catholics – for she is credited to bring an end to draughts in the Cagayan Valley region of the northern Luzon, the Philippines, along with many other miracles.  The Filipino Catholics are so grateful for Our Lady of Piat’s intercession for heavenly Father’s merciful intervention to save the people of Cagayan from possible famines. Therefore, this novena of Our Lady of Piat is an expression of gratitude for what she has done.

Throughout the nine days of the novena, a replica of Our Lady of Piat travels from devotee’s ho

me to home. At each home, the faithful gather in front of Our Lady of Piat and offer our prayers. Because she is also Our Lady of Rosary, we also say the Rosary together. We end the novena by singing hymns.

This practice of novena from home to home is very common among the Filipino Catholics. The novena of Sto. Nino de Cebu is also practiced this way, as a replica of Sto. Nino statue visits devotees’ homes during the nine days of the novena.

After we complete our novena, we shared our personal reflections upon praying the novena of Our Lady of Piat.  By sharing what the novena has invoked us afterward, we feel much closer to Our Lady of Piat, our blessed mother in our discipleship. This is also where we connect our own lived life experiences and memories to Mary, Jesus, Joseph, and the Father in heaven, as well as the Holy Spirit to discern meaning of our religious experiences juxtaposing to our personal life experiences, and vice versa.

So, the below is what was transpired in me upon the novena to Our Lady of Piat, “Nuestra Senora del Santissimo Rosario”.

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Unless you are a woman and so-called “daddy’s girl”, you probably grew up fearing your father. I sure did, as I grew up in a very patriarchal family.

As my ego grew, especially during my adolescence, my father and I often collided in terms of thoughts and values as to what I should do and what I ought to be. I sometimes responded to my father rather rebelliously. This often resulted in punitive consequences, like unrepentant sinners receiving God’s judgements. There were even times when both my father and I refused to talk to each other because we were too angry to talk.

Of course, at that time, an image of my father was like vengeful God. I found it very difficult to juxtapose an image of the prodigal son’s merciful father to my father, knowing how he was in response to the wrongs I committed and the offenses I made against him.

Because my ego was strong, it prevented me from going to my father to ask for forgiveness and to reconcile with him.  Even I sincerely regretted what I did and wanted to reconcile with my father, my ego still made it difficult to approach him. Of course, I was afraid that he was still angry.

So, I always resorted to my mother to resolve this dilemma between my desire to reconcile and my ego to make it difficult. She understood and broker a reconciliation process between my father and me.

…………………………………….

Basically, I saw Mary as an intercessor, more than a mere mediator,of the Divine Mercy, between the Triune God and me, especially when I do need the mercy of God, the Divine Mercy – juxtaposed to how my mother was to me and to my father when I was in trouble with him.

This is not to suggest that the draughts in the Cagayan Valley region was a phenomenon of God’s anger.  Rather, what I see is Mary’s motherly care to intercede for the heavenly Father’s mercy – to make the Divine Mercy reach out faster and more effectively to our needs – whether it is ending draughts or reconciling with angry dad.

This sort of view on Mary is actually similar to how many Japanese and Chinese Buddhists view Guanyin (Kwan Yin) (Chinese) or Kannon (Japanese).  In Mahayana Buddhism, it is Guanshiyin (Avolakiteshvara) Bodhisattva and considered as means of Amitabha Buddha’s mercy to reach out to those in need.  Buanyin literally means “one who see  the sound” and is feminized in China and Japan.

I believe that viewing Guanyin as a feminine figure is the subconscious psychological proclivity to seek maternal care with priority, feeling closer to a mother, rather than a father. Thus, though Amitabha Buddha is considered to be masculine figure, the feminine, especially maternal image attached to Guanyin Boddhisattva, serves to meet our psychospiritual need of mercy, whether it is from Amitabha Buddha or from the Triune God, as my mother intercedes for father’s mercy when I need it but I find it uneasy to directly ask it to my father – as Mary, our mother in the discipleship, intercedes for the heavenly Father’s mercy to be granted to us. 

During severe persecution of Christians in Japan, during the 17^th, the 18^th, and the 19^th centuries, many Japanese Catholics erected “Maria Kannon” (a statue of Mary in a shape of Guanyin (Kannon)) to make them look like Buddhists to inspectors’ eyes.

Just as Mary is understood as the mother of mercy, Guanyin is also called "mother of mercy". Thus, both Mary and Guanyin are much-alike in terms of their intercessory roles of mercy. 

As the Filipino Catholics has been honoring Our Lady of Piat for her intercession to God’s mercy on the people of the Cagayan Valley, perhaps, the Japanese Catholics should start the novena to “Maria Kannon” for keeping the Catholics in Japan safe during these persecution years through the Divine Mercy protection.