Pastoral Psychologist’s View on Jesus’ Teaching on the Law – Preventing “Musterbation” (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A)

The Gospel reading  for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A (Matthew 5:17-37) is loaded with an important preventive Rx by Jesus, the physician (and psychologist)! If we fall in the trap in the law, our hearts gets hardened (spiritual problem) and we exhibit what Albert Ellis calls "musterbation" (psychologically).  And, then, the law becomes like the salt that lost its taste! Jesus in the 6th Sunday Gospel story gives the Rx without charging even a penny!

 *******

As a mental health clinician, as well as a pastoral minister in the Roman Catholic faith tradition, what comes to my mind in response to the 6th Sunday Gospel reading  (Matthew 5:17-37) on Jesus’ teaching about the law is a psychological problem that Albert Ellis described as “musterbation”.

Ellis, who developed Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT), coined the term, “musterbation”, in describing how cognitive rigidness can result in fixed, obsessive, and demanding emotions and thoughts, often result in verbal expressions like, “must”, and “should”, as well as “shouldn’t”, “should have”, “shouldn’t have”. 

As a psychotherapist, I recognize a rigid cognitive and emotive process in clients and patients with “musterbation”.  And, from a psychodynamic perspective, I also see tremendous repressed anxieties and fears, behind their “musterbation” symptoms.  In light of Morita Therapy, a Japanese psychotherapeutic method, such clients’ and patients’ “musterbation”  symptom is understood as “toraware” , which is an apprehension due to “shuuchaku”, obsessive attachment, to certain objects. 

In reflecting his teaching on the law in Matthew 5:17-37, which is a part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns us that we may blind ourselves in the law if we become obsessed with the law itself. This obsession leads to a tunnel vision in the law.  In light of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), generally including REBT, such a tunnel vision phenomenon is a clinical sign of obsession or “traware” due to a pathological attachment to the law.  People who have developed this clinical problem often exhibit “musterbation”,a s their verbal expressions are loaded with “must” and “should”, whether to themselves and to others.  A good clinical case study is the Pharisees – how the Pharisees observe the law and how they treat others in regard to the law.  This case study is consistently found throughout the New Testament. 

In fact, it is not just Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 5:17-37 that is considered as an Rx to prevent from getting lost in the law in our efforts to observe it but rather, Jesus himself is a solution to this clinical problem – because he has come to fulfill, not to abolish the law (Matthew 5:17).  In the original Greek text, Matthew uses “πληρῶσαι” (plerosai) in place of “to fulfill”.  This Greek word also means for completion. Thus,  when Jesus says that he is to fulfill “πληρῶσαι” (plerosai) the law, it also means that he is to complete the law.  So, what does it mean that Jesus is to complete the law?

The law that the Pharisees were boasting about their “perfect’ observance, though given by God to us through Moses, was not perfect.  It was because the law entered into our life because of our repeated sins and unrepentant hearts.  Before the Original Sin, there was no law at all. But, through our history of repeated sins, which are offense against God, God really have to put some limitations on our freedom – though God never take away our freedom – free will.  So, the very first restriction we got through our very first sin, the Original Sin, was suffering and death (Genesis 3:16-24; Romans 5:12-14). Through the Original Sin, we traded our eternal life in the Garden of Eden for wisdom. So, our wisdom comes with the price of our own life and sufferings – biblically speaking. 

At that time, we still did not have the law.  It means that we had much more freedom with our free will. But, instead of using it wisely , in spite of wisdom we have gained by eating the forbidden fruit, we continue to abuse our freedom to sin more and more. So, God had to do some serious cleansing of His Creation. Thus, the great flood took place.  But, God saved certain people and creatures, including Noah and his family. This is when a covenant entered into our life (Genesis 9). 

A covenant is not a contract. Thus, it is not about the law. And, the law was not yet in our life. God made a covenant – a promise rooted in trust – with us through Noah.  Had we lived as faithful as Noah and Abraham, then, we would have never needed the law!  But, alas, we continued to disappoint God by continuously sinning  and sinning, abusing the freedom and the wisdom. So, during the time of Moses in Exodus, God really had to step up in guiding us to stay on the right path with the law (Exodus 31)! 

So, basically, we have “earned” to have the law, as our own behavioral consequence of sinning and sinning throughout the history, including all the narratives of our sins in the Bible.  

When God gave us the law through Moses, it was not to make us become a bunch of the Pharisees – to cause our cognitive and emotive rigidity, “musterbation” symptom, and obsession out of fear.  Rather, God’s intent behind giving us the law was to ensure that we would not sin any more. So, the law was mean to be the guide for us to stay on the right path. But, our ego, which makes us self-centered, thus causing our tunnel vision, interpreted the law as the burden on us.  It makes me wonder if devil is hiding in our ego, trying to manipulate our perception of the reality, twisting it self-centered, putting distance from God. I wonder if the id (Freudian psychology)has something to do with this culprit – or if manas-vijnaana (Yogacara psychology)in the depth of our mind has. 

Whether it is id or manas-vijnaana, there is something in us that twist our perception and cognition to keep us away from God. Psychologically, it can be the marks of the Original Sin, which has the propensity to corrupt us and make us sin.  To put this in Buddhism, it is what causes kleshas, making us to commit Three Poisons (anger/hate, ignorance, and attachment/obsession), psychologically speaking.  No wonder Jesus said what defiles us is within us (Matthew 15:1-20; Mark 7:2-23)!

So, this is a psychological process behind sinning.  This is like how the serpent misguided Eve to believe that it was OK to eat a fruit of the forbidden tree (Genesis 3).  What defiles us from within is like the serpent whispering to our consciousness to alter our perception and cognition, leading to our stinking and rotten attitudes to make us sin and to make it difficult for us to repent. 

As we let the defilers within us – whether id or manas-vijnaana or something else, twist our senses, our perception and cognition of the law tend to become a narrow vision.  Then, we become blind to the spirit of the law – God’s intent of giving us the law, as our narrow vision’s focus is on our ego – ego preservation. Thus, we tend to develop a knee-jerk cognitive-emotive reaction to the law with our fear of punishment for failing to observe.  And, this makes a down-spiral vicious effect with intensifying the fear, making our vision even more narrower. This also turns our sensory information’s emotive and cognitive process system more rigid. Thus, creating the Pharisee-like obsessive “musterbation”.

When we develop this “musterbation” symptom, then, our head is spinning with “I must observe the law”, “You must observe the law”, “I must be punished if I failed to observe the law”, and “You must be punished if you failed to observe the law”.  And, we tend to reason like the Pharisees, by saying things like, “Because it is the law”, but never think even what the spirit of the law and what God intended through the law.

Basically, in Matthew 5:17-37, we appreciate Jesus preparing us for the best way of dealing with the law – not to sink into the cognitive and emotive quagmire of rigidity through “musterbation”.

If we heed Jesus’ teaching here, and further, Paul’s teaching on the law – especially in Romans 7, we  realize how we can relate ourselves to the law. To put this in a psychodynamics term, Matthew 5:17-37, further expounded by Romans 7, offers  a  direction for the most fruitful our object relation to the law.  By forming such an object relation to the law, we have nothing to fear. Thus, the law is not a burden. And, the law is not an object of our fear-driven obsession. Therefore, we will never suffer from “musterbation” in dealing with the law.

 If we think we might heading toward “musterbation” with the law, or anything else that can cause you fear-driven obsession, maybe you can seek a psychotherapist like Albert Ellis, who practices or incorporate REBT. But, as a pastoral psychologist, it is very important that you seek out Jesus. And her these words of him:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS (Matthew 11:28-29).

The yoke in this statement of Jesus is the law. So, Jesus is saying that the law that he is fulfilling (see Matthew 5:17) for us is not a burden to us.  That is why he wants us to learn from him. He invites us to learn about the law with the right attitudes – with the right object relation – because he does not want us to suffer from “musterbation” with the law.

If we did not learn from Jesus on the law – if we do not seek him when we are slipping toward “musterbation” with the law, ignoring clinical symptoms leading to it, then, we would become like the Pharisees, who loses their ability of compassion in the face of the law (John 8:1-11) and whose narcissism cannot be restrained with love, becoming self-righteous hypocrites (Luke 8:9-14),  because of their own twisted perception and cognition of the law – due to their pathological object relations to the law. 

Their loss of love in the face of the law really is an irony because love is what the very law that Jesus is fulfilling.  And, that is why Jesus called us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, as he wants us to partake in his efforts to fulfill the law with love.  If you understand this, you know that Jesus was not “violating” the law when he worked on the Sabbath day (Mark 2:23-27; Matthew 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5).  By working on the Sabbath day – though the law made the violation of the Sabbath law is punishable by death (Exodus 31:14), Jesus demonstrates what he means by he came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:13) with love and mercy (compassion). That is why Jesus will teach us to even love our enemies and overcome hate with love in the next Sunday’s Gospel reading (Matthew 5:38-48). 

Psychologically, if we follow Jesus’ teaching, we keep our mind and heart from hardening and stay out of developing “musterbation”  with the law.  Love - agape - fulfills and completes (
“πληρῶσαι” (plerosai)) the law!

The Salt of the Earth and The Light of the World – The Corporal Works of Mercy and The Spiritual Works of Mercy – The Way to Be Blessed to Enter the Kingdom

This liturgical year (Year A) of the 2013-2014, the feast of the Presentation  of the Lord and the Candle Mass fell on the 4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. And, it turned out to make a smooth connection between the Presentation of the Lord, as well as the Candle Mass, and the scripture theme for the 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In fact, this liturgical year is as special as every 800 years as Christmas made some crossover with Chanukah, sharing the common theme of the light, as a metaphor of new hope.

Some important thoughts I discuss today, in light of the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, as well as Dia de la Candelaria, and the  5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time is the reciprocity of the salt and the light in our being, in light of the bread-light dual nature of Christ. And, realization of this truth reminds us the shared being between Christ and us. 

Just think:

To make bread, of course, we need salt! Christ the bread and the light. And, as the bread needs salt, Christ needs us.

In this mutual necessity to each other, both Christ and we are the light.

It means that Christ is not really Christ without us, as bread is not complete without salt. 

That is why God chose to appear in our shape – the flesh, through Jesus. It is also a counteraction to the fact that we are created in light and image of God. There is a reciprocal relationship between our creation by God in God’s light and God’s incarnation in human flesh: Jesus.  And, this reciprocal relation is important to appreciate our identity as the salt and the light in connection with Christ as the bread of life and the light to the world.

Yes, the light! The light is one of the important theme I want to discuss today in this blog!

The Setting of Jesus’ Proclamation of Our Identity, the Salt and the Light of the World, Based on This Liturgical Calendar

I have come to realize that February is the shortest month for a good reason.  It reflects our longing for spring, hoping that the remainder of winter is rather short for spring to arrive soon.

In Chicago, January is usually the coldest month of year.  And, it sure was this year as the temperature on the feast day of Epiphany, January 6, plunged down to almost -30C! And, this cold month of January is long, as it has 31 days. It makes us feel as if bitterly cold winter drags on and on.  But, once we survived this long coldest month of January, then, our mood tends to get  elevated with sings of spring that come with the arrival of the following shortest month, February, though cold temperature still continues spills into this month.

The Chinese New Year (The New Year Day of the Lunar Calendar) is one sure sign. 

One key theme in celebrating the Chinese New Year is the joy of spring’s arrival. The theme of spring for the Chinese New Year is also the psychological projection of our joy for new life, as we often associate new life with spring.  So, even though the earth still looks barren upon and remains frozen upon the arrival of February, our hearts leap ahead by acting as if the earth were lush with new lives.  This psychological aspect of the Chinese New Year not only invokes images of new lives springing, such as eggs, for Easter, which is about the resurrection of Jesus, coming out of his grave, as if a chick would come out of an egg.  Hatchings of eggs is a typical image of spring, in addition to new buds and flowers, as these are signs of new life – the power of life over deadly image of winter. 

But, the arrival of February also invokes that anticipatory sentiment of Advent, hoping that the Messiah will come rather sooner.  And, Advent is when day time gets shorter and shorter – when the night time grows longer and longer toward the winter solstice. In such a climate, we sure associate the one waiting for and whose arrival we prepare for with the light.  When darkness gets longer – as the darkness advances, we long more for the light.  And, Christ, the light, broke into the darkness of the world, on Christmas day. By the time Christ is born, the day time is already becoming longer as it’s past the winter solstice. 

I know many of you find it rather strange that I bring up Advent and Christmas in the month of February.  You don’t see Christmas trees and Christmas lights in February as such things were already taken abut a month ago, upon Epiphany, which marks the end of the Chistmastide (the 12 days of Christmas celebration). But,  the fact that February 2 is the feast day of the Presentation of the Lord sure reminds you that the Christmas is no strange concept in February.

So, what’s Christmas got to do with February – this feast day in early February, the Presentation of the Lord?

Well, it is not really a difficult theology to understand the connection of this February feast of the Presentation of the Lord  to Christmas in December. It is because that the Presentation of the Lord marks the 40^th day from the birth of Christ. 

If you recall the Gospel reading for the feast day of the Presentation of the Lord, it tells that it was the completion of the 40-day purification observance for Mary, the Mother of Christ. And, presenting her male baby, Jesus, to God in the Temple on that day, breaking the postpartum 40-day purification period, is like breaking fast. So, you can imagine how joyful it was for Mary and Joseph to see Mary done with her purification and become able to come to the Temple with Joseph to present her male baby, Jesus. It was like the light at the end of a long tunnel!

So, the  feast day of the Presentation of the Lord, the 40^th day from the Nativity of the Lord, February 2, is a day of joy, which is associated with the light.  That is why, in Mexico, Dia de la Candelaria coincides with the  feast of the Presentation of the Lord. For the same reason, in the USCCB jurisdiction, we bless candles on this feast day to celebrate the presentation of the Lord. In fact, in Mexico,  Dia de la Candelaria is the day to dress up statues of baby Jesus, Nino Dios, and bring them to church for blessings.  In a way, this Mexican tradition is similar to the Filipino fiesta of Sto. Nino de Cebu, which is the third Sunday of January – so close to the Mexican fiesta of Dia de la Candelaria y Nino Dios on February 2!

So, the Messiah was born just when the day light time was becoming longer, as Christmas was just past the winter solstice.  He was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph, as Mary’s postpartum purification period, according to the Mosaic Law, was completed, when it gets onthe hallway point from the winter solstice to the spring equinox. It is also the Ground Hog Day, another sign of spring amidst winter coldness in early February. 

So, with this understanding, let’s take a look at the scripture theme for the 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year A – the salt of the earth and the light of the world in Matthew 5:13-16.

Jesus Calls Us to Be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World

The 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A) Gospel story (Matthew 5:13-16) follows Jesus’ discourse on the beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29). 

Through his teaching on the beatitudes, Jesus told the crowds what it means to be blessed. According to him, humility (poor in spirit), mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst, compassion, clean heart, commitment to peace and the courage to endure persecution, are the factors of the beatitudes (blessedness).  You may wonder how come someone mourning, someone hungry, someone thirsty and someone being persecuted are blessed. To answer such question, Jesus went on teaching about our mission to be the salt on earth and the light of the world. 

Moving from the teaching of the beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) to the 5^th Sunday Gospel reading on the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16), it is like Jesus is telling us, “Hey, you thought you were not blessed because you don’t have enough food, thus, you are always hungry? Don’t be fooled by what the world tells you! Even though you are hungry because you don’t have enough food, you are blessed! And, because you are blessed, you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world!” 

But, what does Jesus mean by calling us the salt of the earth and the light of the world?  And, how can someone who does not have enough food for himself or herself can be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? 

How Can We Be the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World? Mercy and Compassion

So, how can we be the salt of the earth and the light of the world? And, what does Jesus mean by the salt of the earth and the light of the world in regard to our identity and mission? 

These questions must be addressed in order to understand Matthew 5:13-16. And, we can discern  answers in  the first reading of the 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), Isaiah 58:7-10, as well as Matthew 25:34-40 and James 2:15-16. 

Isaiah 58:7 offers the following three suggestions:

Sharing our bread with the hungry

Provide a shelter to the oppressed and the homeless

Clothe the naked, don’t ignore or pretend as if they did not exist.

And, Isaiah further words, “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn and our wound shall quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard”(Isaiah 58:8).

Just meditate on Isaiah 58:7-8 in light of Jesus’ teaching on the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) in order to understand what Jesus meant by calling us and us to be the  salt of the earth and the light of the world. 

Isaiah 58:7 encourages us to be compassionate – to be merciful to others, especially those who are in need. This message of Isaiah is also echoed in James 2:15-16 and is further expounded in Matthew 25:34-40.

Basically, what Jesus teaches here is that God bless us as we are merciful and compassionate to others. Mathew 25:31-33 remind us that God will bless those who are merciful and compassionate to others at the time of the judgement when Christ returns to complete God’s salvation plan. And, more details about how this will happen are found in Revelation.  In fact, Isaiah 58:7-10 is a part of Isaiah’s prophecy on God’s judgement and salvation. So, it is obvious that practicing mercy and compassion is the way to enjoy God’s eternal blessings to enter into the Kingdom of God upon the judgement.

So, that is why Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy”(Matthew 5:7).

Basically, Isaiah 58:7, James 2:15-16, and Matthew 25:34-40 are about practicing the Corporal Works of Mercy in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). And, Isaiah 58:8 teaches us that practicing the Corporal Works of Mercy (Isaiah 58:7, James 2:15-16, and Matthew 25:34-40) makes us the light of the world. 

So, what Jesus could have meant by saying that we are the salt of the earth is our calling to practice mercy and compassion – to engage in the Corporal Works of Mercy. And, Isaiah 58:8 tells that being the salt of the earth by practicing the Corporal Works of Mercy makes us become the light of the world.  So, basically, being the salt of the earth and being the light of the world are the same thing. 

Isaiah 58:9-10 helps us further understand what Jesus meant by Matthew 5:13-16, the salt-light dual and reciprocal nature of our identity and mission.

Now, let’s go back to Jesus’ teaching on the beatitudes(Matthew 5:1-12) and think of the question: How can we be blessed even though it’s hard to feel blessed when we mourn, when we are meek, when we hunger and thirst, and when we are persecuted and insulted?

…………

Even When We Become Too Poor or Too Weak or Too Sick to Share, We Still Can, as We Are Still Blessed, Thanks to The Salt and the Light Reciprocity 

Even though when we feel we do not have enough to share with others we can still share something from within. What we share – our ways of practicing mercy – does not necessarily has to be something material.

Have you ever felt touched by and moved by a homeless person?  Has a dying person inspired you and given you something  too precious to be measured? 

If you remember how the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadine of Chicago practiced the works of mercy by sharing his gift of peace when he was in pain and dying of cancer from 1996 to 1997? In fact, Cardinal Bernadine still continues to share with us and with those who were  not born yet when he was alive on earth, through his book, “Gift of Peace”, thanks to my friend, Jeremy Langford, who penned down Cardinal Bernadine’s words of gem and edited them into this fine book. 

And, remember how we were touched and inspired by Blessed Pope John Paul II when he was dying back in 2005?  The way he lived the last days and hours of his life on earth has moved us with immeasurable spiritual gifts. 

An anonymous homeless person….a dying person….the late Cardinal Joseph Bernadine…Blessed Pope John Paul II…even though being too weak and poor to share something material –the corporal works of mercy, they can still share different kinds of gifts – namely, what the CCC defines as the spiritual works of mercy.

So, regardless of our material power and wealth status, even though you are dying of illness or dying of persecution…even  though you think you are too weak and too poor to share, you can share something – something only you can as it is from deep within you. And, it is spiritual kinds of gifts – the Spiritual Works of Mercy.

People who have gone through difficult times in life tend to be more compassionate and merciful. And, they are more likely to be generous in sharing, because their sense of mercy and compassion is much deeper than those who have not had hard times in life. Suffering is the best teacher for mercy and compassion.

And, Jesus, who suffered and died with agony for us and for the world, is the best example to understand this truth.  In fact, Jesus was a poor man without a permanent address. He sustained his life on earth pretty much on mercy of others. But, he has given us more than we can think. And, he has given us his very life!

So, now we can really understand why even the hungry and the thirsty…even the persecuted and the mourning…the meek, are blessed. And, we know that even though they seem to have nothing to share, they can still share something abundantly and generously, especially through the spiritual works of mercy. 

In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus indicated the reciprocity between the salt and the light of the world, which we  are called to be, in  response to being blessed, no matter how rich or poor…no matter how healthy or sick we are.  And, being the salt of the earth is more like practicing the corporal works of mercy, while being the light of the world is more like exercising the spiritual works of mercy. 

Salt – Corporal Works of Mercy	Light -  Spiritual Works of Mercy
·         Feed the hungry ·         Bring drinks to the thirsty ·         Clothe the naked ·         Shelter the homeless ·         Visit and care for he sick ·         Visit the prisoners ·         Bury the dead	·         Counsel the ignorant – those who are in darkness as they do not yet know Christ, who is the light ·         Convert sinners ·         Guide the confused ·         Comfort those who mourn ·         Show patience to sinners ·         Pray for the living and the dead

**Salt – Corporal Works of Mercy is what pastoral care focuses on

Some Additional Thoughts on the Salt and the Light Reciprocity – Connecting  Jesus and Us Closer

We now understand how the reciprocity of the salt of the earth and the light of the world enable us to practice not  only the corporal works of mercy but also the spiritual works of mercy, regardless of our material wealth, social status, health status and political status. But, the salt-light dual and reciprocal nature of our being, as Christians, really puts us so closer to Jesus, because both Jesus and we are not only corporal being but also spiritual being.  Through our mission identity of the salt and the light, we realize that Jesus’ self-identification of his Christological nature – being the Bread of Life and the Light to the World is projected in our the salt-light identity. 

Our Christian Existential Mission Nature and Christological Nature

As Jesus retains both physical life and spiritual life, we are also both physical and spiritual beings.   We certainly share this duality of Jesus’ life.  It is because we are created in God’s image and light (Genesis 1:27), and Jesus is God incarnate.  Jesus continues to take care of us – our life of duality, both physically and spiritually, through the Sacrament of Eucharist (his body and blood) (Luke 22:19) and the Holy (John 14:16, 15:26).  

Jesus himself revealed his dual nature of his life to the disciples through the following words:

I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst (John 6:35).

I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life (John 8:12).

Jesus’ physical dimension of life nourishes us as the bread of life, while his spiritual dimension of life guides us as the light of the world. 

Now, through the Gospel narrative of the 5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Matthew 5:13-16), Jesus is reminding us that our physical dimension of life shall be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13) and our spiritual dimension of life shall be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).  As Jesus is the bread of life and the light of the world to us, we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. 

It is also important to note that this salt-bread-light connection between Jesus and us also tells that  both Jesus and we need each other.  Jesus sure needs us to be Christ, just as salt is needed to make bread. And, we need Christ as our bodies need bread to live. And through this shared necessity between Christ and us, both of us are the light of the world – though Christ’s light is much greater than our light. 

Physiological Truth in Jesus’ Teaching

For those who are concerned about salt intake and blood pressure, salt may give a negative impression. But, if you may remember your high school or college biology (physiology)  course, learning about the important role that sodium chloride (salt) plays to sustain human life: sodium ions are indispensable for cellular fluid retention and the nervous system’s adequate electrochemical conduction, while chloride ions involve in maintaining the adequate pH level of the body fluid, osmotic pressure , removal of carbon dioxide out of the body (the Hamburgers shift), and digestion for constituting gastric acid and secretion of salivary amylase.  So, when Jesus tells us to be the salt of the earth, he is also telling us to be essential being for the sustenance of physiological life. 

Called to Practice the Corporal Works of Mercy by Being the Salt and the Spiritual Works of Mercy by Being the Light

When Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth and the light to the world, he is also telling about dual nature of our Christian life: physical and spiritual.  Our life is both corporal and spiritual, as Jesus’ life is so.  That is why Jesus ascended into heaven both body and soul, as Pope St. Leo IX said, "On the fortieth day after the resurrection, he ascended into heaven with his body, in which he had risen, and his soul, and took his seat at the right hand of the Father; thence on the tenth day he sent the Holy Spirit" (Profession of Faith, 1053 A.D.)

In Catholicism, the bodies of the dead will rise (1 Corinthians. 15:35–44, 1 John 3:2) at the end of time, while retaining souls beyond biological death, as long as we remain worthy to enter the Kingdom of God.  Thus, though our corporal part of life dies, it will be restored in our resurrection for our body-soul eternal life, which Jesus has promised (John 3:16).

“By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. Just as Christ is risen and lives forever, so all of us will rise at the last day (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1016).

"We believe in the true resurrection of this flesh that we now possess" (Council of Lyons II: DS 854). We sow a corruptible body in the tomb, but he raises up an incorruptible body, a "spiritual body" (cf. 1 Cor 15:42-44). (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1017)

           **************

One interesting thought we can draw from the 5th Sunday Gospel (Matthew 5:13-16) in light of the works of mercy is that the Corporal Works of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy are reciprocal to each other, just as the salt on the earth and the light of the world are so, These are like the other side of the same coin to each other. Whether being the salt or being the light,

It’s so wonderful that we are called to be and are, indeed, the salt-light reciprocal being, as Christ is the bread-light dual being. As Christ gives both material and spiritual gifts so generously, we are also inspired to be generous in sharing through the Corporal Works of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy. For us to be merciful and compassionate, we also need to be humble and clean of heart. Ultimately, this is for us – for the sake of our salvation, as God bless those who practice the works of mercy – corporal and spiritual, at the time of the judgement. And, this is how we enter into the Kingdom at the end. 

Let us represent Christ and share Christ in us by being the salt and the light, through our corporal and spiritual works of mercy out of love!  Let us keep the light of Christ through our works of mercy! 

Renewing Our Commitments: Vows and Oaths - St. Valentine's Day

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

This day is about love. But, let us not fool ourselves about love, confusing "eros" and "agape".

The kind of love that we commemorate and celebrate today is "agape", the kind of love that demands total selflessness, commitment to the persons we love, and self-sacrifices for the persons we love. For this, we cannot hesitate to give our own lives for the sake of this love we treasure in a special way on this day.

For those who are in love - in committed relationships, including marriage, St. Valentine's Day is the very day to renew your vows and oaths to each other. This is the very day to renew and strengthen matrimonial vows, too.

How joyful it is for us to have someone to give life for - to die for!

Having the person to love - the person to give life for, the very person to die for - leads to deeper meaning of life, because having the person to die for really means having a person to live for.

The very person, who has given the best example of love - agape - is Christ, as he gave his own life for those whom he loves. And, that's us!

Yes, love may make us tremble with a prospect of sacrificing our own lives, as Christ did. But, sacrificial death leads to a new powerful life, just as how powerful the life of the resurrected Christ has been. And, it gives a great new light. Thus, we can overcome fear of sacrifice with joy of giving the great new life to the persons we love dearly.

Let us renew our oaths and vows, make these much more stronger, giving them more power to generate the great new light!

Let us ensure that our oaths and vows are not empty promises, as this Sunday's Gospel reading is about putting our inner motives and our deeds together seamlessly to be true to our promises and commitments (Matthew 5:17-37).

May our "panunumpa"s be always true to our hearts' true deep desire!

An Almost 800 Km Path of the Suffering Christ in Japan: From Kyoto to Nagasaki, Walked by The 26 Martyrs of Nagasaki, Japan

 

“I forgive the head of the nation who ordered we be crucified and also all those who have taken part in making us martyrs.”   

These were the last words of St. Paul Miki, the first Japanese Jesuit, who was martyred, 5 February, 1597, on the hill of Nishizaka district, Nagasaki, Japan, along with his 25 companions in faith.  It is also where San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila was martyred on 29 September, 1637. It has been said that as many as 4,000 martyrs in Japan had given their lives to Christ on this hill in Nagasaki. 

In the history of Christian persecution in Japan, from 1596 until 1868, the execution of the 26 martyrs, including St. Paul Miki and St. Peter Baptist, Spanish Franciscan priest, also a Spanish Philippine governor’s envoy to Japan, was the first public execution of Christians in Japan.  

What is really amazing about the story of the 26 martyrs of Japan is that they walked all the way from Kyoto, where most of them were arrested , tortured  (cutting left ears) , and dragged in town, to Nagasaki. They marched for about a  month on their almost 800 km journey to the martyrdom in Nagasaki - on barefoot, without their left ears.  It was very cold to walk in the month of January. In addition to muscles and joint aches, frostbites on their feet made their walk even much more difficult.

Even more amazing, along the way, two more Japanese Catholics joined in this march to Nagasaki, joyfully joining them to give their own lives for Christ together, making 26, by the time they arrived in Nagasaki.  One of the two, who joined the group of martyrs from Kyoto, on the way was a 12-year-old boy, St. Louis Ibaraki.  St. Louis’ two uncles, St. Paul Ibaraki and St. Leo Karasumaru, were also among the 26 martyrs. 

As they marched from Kyoto to Nagasaki, they faced even more public humiliation as people along the way jeered, threw objects, and even spitted to them. But, they were chanting, “Te Deum”, always praising and thanking God.  None of them even tried to break away or attempted to escape.  There was no attempt to make a bargain to save their own lives, either. 

The firm and unshakable determination to give their lives for Christ by becoming martyrs rather gave them a sense of privilege and honor. Perhaps, this reflects the Japanese samurai spirit – Bushido (the way of samurai), whose essence is to die for honor of defending one’s faith to the one, whom he serves. This is not to be confused with an “honor suicide”, as it is rather to save his own face.  In fact, many of these Japanese martyrs came from noble samurai families, including St. Paul Miki. So, the Bushido spirit must have influenced them rather to die for the honor and glory of Christ, their true Lord. 

In my June 25, 2013 blog entry, “Costly Grace in Bushido-like the Christian Discipleship - A Reflection of the Scripture Reading on the 12th Sunday Year C”, I discussed how similar the Jesus’ teaching on discipleship in Luke 9:23 is to the essence of Bushido.  In Luke 9:23 (And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me), Jesus is indicating to those who want to follow his way that they need to accept a possibility of martyrdom and embrace the death for the sake of the glory of Christ. This teaching about discipleship is about putting the honor of the one whom we serve, namely, the Christ, ahead of our own lives, even it can cost our own lives. And, as I explained in the blog entry in detail, this echoes the essence of Bushido, to die for the honor of the lords samurais serve. 

In light of Jesus’ teaching in Luke 9:23 and Bushido, the 26 martyrs marched from Kyoto to Nagasaki to live the most exemplary way of their discipleship, as well as the essence of Bushido. And, this is also their price and honor to be Christians. So, this unique factor must be what made their faith unshakable even physical pain was constantly increasing as they walked on a very cold long road on barefoot, including the 12 year-old St. Louis Ibaraki. 

By walking almost 800 km on barefoot, with their left ears cut-off, through public humiliation and cold temperature, they must have through and felt as if they were walking the path of Calvary that Jesus walked in Jerusalem – through their path was far more physically longer than the path Jesus walked.  But, through their journey to Nagasaki to die for Christ, their Lord, they could have felt so intimate and truly united in their physical sufferings, always remembering how Jesus walked all the way to the hill of Golgotha.  So, what is the hill of Nishizaka in Nagasaki to the 26 martyrs in Japan is what is the path of Calvary to the hill of Golgotha in Jerusalem to Jesus.  The fact that they were rather spiritually joyous through their journey, praising and thanking God, really suggests that they really felt deeply united with the suffering Christ in Calvary. 

Upon arriving on the hill of Nishizaka,  a magistrate (bugyo) of Nagasaki felt pity on 12-year-old St. Louis Ibaragi and encouraged him to give up his Christian faith in order to save his life. But, to this, St. Louis Ibaraki to the magistrate, “I will not to give up on the eternal life in exchange for a passing life”. 

With these words of St. Louis Ibaragi, the youngest martyr , all 26 were put on crosses for slow agonizing death, just as Jesus went through.

The martyrdom of the 26 in Nagasaki in 1597 was just the beginning of continuing executions of Christians in Japan for more than 250 years. Though the Christians, both Catholics and non-Catholics, only make about 1% of total population in Japan, the strengths of Christians in Japan are very strong, as they have been tested and refined throughout the more-than-250-years of trials.  In fact, in 1619, amidst severe persecutions in Japan, Pope Paul V sent a papal letter of encouragement to perverting Christians in Japan. 

Now, we sure can find inspiration in the 26 martyrs of Japan, to keep our resilience to overcome obstacles. 

When we want to give up on something challenging, let's also remember the extraordinary courage and resilience of the 26 martyrs in Japan, in addition to Jesus in Calvary. Psychospiritually, seeing our own difficult situations in life in light of such unimaginable sufferings of the heroes in the Christian tradition - all the martyrs - can give us a fresh perspective on our own troubles in life. And, we will discern deeper meaning of life - realizing how blessed we are to have someone to die for. In this case, and for Christians, ultimately, it is our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Knowing the blessing of having someone to die for also means deeper meaning to live for. And, this is an important existentially paradoxical reality in order for us to live a meaningful life, as found in psychological thoughts of Viktor Frankl, and, more recently, through the works of Paul Wong on Frankl's existential psychology in Christian perspectives. 

Now, with this psychological wisdom from Frankl and Wong, we can also understand why the 26 martyrs rather remained joyful throughout their unimaginably painful journey to be executed - keeping themselves from sinking into the psychological quagmire of fear of death and anticipatory grief toward despair. 

Here are the names of the heroic 26 martyrs: 

St. Francis of Kyoto, Japan

St. Cosmas Takeya of Owari, Japan.

St. Peter Sukejiro of Kyoto,

St. Michael Kozaki  of Ise,

St. James Kisai of Okayama, Japan.

St. Paul Miki of Settsu, Japan

St. Paul Ibaraki of Owari, Japan

St. John of Goto, Japan 

St. Louis Ibaraki of Owari, Japan

St. Anthony of Nagasaki, Japan

St. Peter Baptist of Spain

St. Martin of the Ascension of Spain

St. Philip of Jesus  of Mexico 

St. Gonzalo Garcia of India (Portuguese and Indian mestizo, born in Goa, India, a Portuguese colony

St. Francis Blanco of Spain

St. Francis of St. Michael of Spain 

St. Matthias of Japan

St. Leo Karasumaru of Owari

St. Bonaventure of Kyoto,

St. Thomas Kozaki of Ise, Japan 

St. Joachim Sasakibara of Osaka, Japan 

St. Francis of Kyoto, Japan 

St. Thomas Dangi the Pharmacist of Japan.

St. John Kinuya of Kyoto, Japan  

St. Gabriel of Ise, Japan

St. Paul Suzuki of Owari, Japan