Christmas is here, a pastor writing for Bible & Life helps us
to meditate on the words of John's Gospel: "The Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us" (John 1:4). Jesus is the Word a very
meaning-filled 'nick name' that fills us with awe. Poets often use
metaphors in their poetry and here we have a metaphor that is more than
a metaphor.
"In the beginning was the Word; the Word
was in God's presence, and the Word was God. " This is the way the
Gospel of John begins. A very mysterious existent being who was with
God before the creation of the world. "Through him all things came
into being, and apart from him nothing came to be." God had an
assistant at the Creation of the world. We accept this being as Jesus
Christ. "He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all
creatures. In him everything in heaven and on earth was created" (Col.
1:15-16). In I Cor. 8:6, " For there is one God...and one Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom everything was made and through whom we live."
Jesus is called the word and we can see this prepared in the Jewish
Wisdom literature.
In Proverbs 8:22, Wisdom is of
divine origin. It existed before all things. In Sirach 24: 3-9, we have
Wisdom coming from God and is distinct from him. In the Book of Wisdom: God of my fathers, Lord of mercy, you who have made all things by your word (Wis.
9:1). And in Revelation 21: "This is God's dwelling among men. He shall
dwell with them and they shall be his people and he shall be their
God..." The writer continues in this vein but at the end says it is
perfectly alright to forget this complicated explanation of the Word in
the Wisdom literature. God's Word. God's Son, God himself came to the
earth.
Sufficient it is to remember that God became a
human because he loved us. We should never forget this. God found a
resting place among us. Humanity was overjoyed and is there anything
that expresses the meaning of Christmas more clearly.
In
the history of humanity there have been all kinds of words uttered
about God many of them empty words. Jesus came as the definitive Word
of God and we need to indelibly inscribe this on our minds and hearts. A
word that does not include God, a word that doesn't come from God, a
word that only remains a word with no flesh are all empty words.
Jesus was the one in which life and wisdom were united. He is the one that told us openly to eat him.
Empty words are cheap and are scattered every which way when troubles
come. Only Jesus the true man and true word came to embrace us. A Blessed Christmas
A priest in the Seoul Diocese who is responsible for the pastoral care of the deaf and dumb, and is himself handicapped, writes in the Bible & Life Magazine about the words that have encouraged and energized him.
He lives in a home with priests who are working in special ministries. He is the only one with a handicap. Community life, he says, is not easy for he can't hear or speak. While eating he sees the other priests talking and laughing, he is not able to participate and it makes it difficult to get close to the priests, and he remains alone in his eating. He tells himself he is not alone, and comforts himself with the thought that Jesus is always with him.
When the estrangement gets deeper, even when he has something to talk about he does not go to his fellow priests. When this continues for any long period of time the relationship with his brother priests becomes awkward, and his identity as a diocesan priest becomes weak.
Fortunately at one of the seminars there was a priest who knew the sign language and was able to translate for him. That day he was able to communicate with all his fellow priests. One of the priests approached him and said: "Father Park, a priest is not a loner, you have to be one with us!" These words he said with force. They were like a small light coming into the cave in which he had enclosed himself, and enabled him to come out of the cave, and relate with his brothers. His fellow priests did not treat him as handicapped but warmly and with hand signs communicated with him as fellow priests.
During free time many of the priests who liked soccer were preparing for a match and he was going mountain climbing. An older priest seeing him, called him to join them in the match. He didn't have the proper shoes and it was somewhat difficult but he joined them, and was thankful to the priest who called him. Shortly after a priest gave him a pair of soccer shoes. The gift meant a great deal to him.
One day before a Mass for sponsors he was praying before the tabernacle when a parishioner got his attention and asked to go to confession. He told her that he was not able to speak or hear but she insisted that she go to confession. He explained that it would have to be with written words and she agreed. After the confession he saw her tears and he was thankful that she insisted for he realized that he could also hear confession without the sign language with which he was accustomed. He looked upon the parishioner as an angel.
When he is in low spirits it is these encounters that bring him out of the cave. "Father Park! you are one of us, when you have some difficulty less us know, we will help you, take courage!" These and similar words have given him strength, and is grateful. He is thankful for words of encouragement and for the many who continue to support him and bring joy into his life. At this time of Christmas it is good to remember how just a few words of encouragement can inspire and give strength.
The columnist in the Peace Weekly recalls an incident that happened
back in the 80s. Unexpectedly a friend asked if he was interested in
going to the home of a student for a meat meal. They walked along a back
street for some time before they came to a small room where he prepared
the table with pork belly slices.
They were both
college students and teaching in an evening school for workers. Many
of these types of schools at that time were located in Seoul. This
particular school was managed by the Church. He himself was a half baked
materialist but it made no difference in being hired.
His
friend bought the meat with his savings, and they had plenty to fill
their stomachs. On the way back he asked his
friend what was the occasion for the party. The friend said the student
had TB and with the medicine, he needed some good protein to help in his
recovery. What his friend said left him flabbergasted. His friend would go once a week to the room of the
student to prepare a meat meal. They were both
the same age; he respected his friend but what his friend was doing
impressed him greatly and he wondered what enabled him to be
so altruistic.
He leaned later on his friend was
thinking of the priesthood. Wanting to be a priest was all strange to
the columnist but it gave him an answer for his question. He became
curious in what motivated his friend. At that time the Church was
speaking out about justice issues in society. He later became a Catholic and his
friend went on to become a priest.
No one with
words lead him to the Church, he said, it was the example of his friend that
aroused his interest. At that time he went to his first Mass at
Christmas. Later, with his camera, for twenty years he has taken pictures of
places were Jesus was being experienced by many believers. He became
director of the TV work and has not always been pleased with what he has
seen, his weak faith has hit bottom and he has returned. Often in the
darkness all around, he cries out: "Where in the world are you?" And
yet he fortunately has been able to return to the time with his friend
and his Christmas Mass. At that time he left his atheism and because of
his friend saw another way and he returns to the warmth he experienced
there like returning to the homestead.
The disciples of
Jesus after the trauma of the crucifixion and resurrection wanted to
return to their first days with Jesus in Galilee. This was the land of their first Christmas
and they remembered the warmth of those days. He will be trying to do
this during these days of Christmas with programs
prepared for the Christmas season for the Peace Catholic Television
Channel.
He was was born and lived in a little village surrounded by
mountains, both in front and back, left and right. The sky was less
visible than the mountains. He grew up without any toys for it was the
mountains and fields that were his playground, nature was his plaything.
A
diocesan priest writing for a bulletin for priests reflects on what
this has meant for him. As a child his spiritual life was
composed of going to the mission station Mass against his will. The 14
stations of the cross on the wall only made him fearful. The mountains also caused fear
in his young heart but when he was hurt he would climb the
mountains; they received him graciously which gave him consolation
and peace, and for this feeling he was thankful. The mountains were like
a father to him. Even today when he prays the Our Father and says the
words heaven he sees the mountains of his childhood.
There
was talk of turning this village into a dam and at that time he was
responsible for the justice and peace work in the diocese so he
worked together with the citizens to revoke the plans. During this time
he began to see the need for the Church to get involved in preserving our environment. The plan for the dam was
cancelled and he began to study the theology of ecology.
Living
in the city and growing accustomed to the life he realized that he
was becoming alienated from nature. The emptiness he was
feeling was the estrangement from the natural, and dreamed of walking
the earth and fingering it again as he did as a child. The chance came
suddenly when he was given the work to head the Catholic
Farmers Association in the diocese.
Since he was
responsible for the work among the farmers he decided he would have to spend time
getting acquainted with farming and spent a whole year full time
farming. The association had an old school
building that was used to educate farmers who were returning to the
farms, and a school for ecology. Being again close to the mountains he remembered his own dead
father. He walked again the earth barefooted, it felt so soft and
comfortable. The work was hard but there was great satisfaction, and he regretted not having done this earlier.
The
Free Trade Act has opened the market to all the countries which will
bring hardships to the farmers. He feels strongly that this was a
lack of responsibility on the part of the government and repercussions will follow in the life of the nation. He also sees this
affecting our spiritual life. His work he sees as sacramental in being
one with the old people, and helping them to continue on the farms.
Both Catholic papers had a review of the new book by the Cardinal Emeritus of Seoul, Cheong Jin-suk: In Pursuit of Happiness. Cardinal Cheong has published a new book every year from the first year of
his ordination on some aspects of spirituality. In the pursuit of
happiness, it is necessary, he says to reflect each day on what we have
done and continue to ask ourselves daily the important questions about
life. We need to ask ourselves how are we reacting with those with whom
we are living; we can't find happiness by ourselves.
The
Cardinal seeks answers not only as an individual, but as a member of
society and with a universal dimension. Because we are human we can
change. When we become mindful of God's Providence all changes.
He
wants us to ask: Who are we? The first fundamental question and
secondly: Where are we going? The ultimate question about life. To stop
with our parents is not sufficient when searching for why we are here,
nor is it sufficient to see our end as returning to the earth. Before we
die we have to find the answers to these questions.
We
need to evaluate our lives, ascertain what are our values, educate our
consciences, determine the meaning of freedom, and the root of sin.
This is the first step. Secondly, we search for the common good,
remember solidarity of the earth family, the need to communicate, basics of language and see our human life as a part of the extended family. The third section has to do with evolution and the place of
God's providence
He sees the advance of science as a
part God's providence and not as science opposed to theology. Creation
did not begin with everything all complete but was to evolve in God's
providence. When we consistently listen to the word of God and want to
understand the word, we begin to experience God.
When we work to live in harmony with God's Providence we find
happiness. We are weaving daily a tapestry;
depending on how we are relating with those around us, giving them hope
and joy or inflicting sadness or pain, will determine the kind of
tapestry that we will present to God, and will determine the success we
have made of the gift of life.
The Diocesan Bulletin has in previous weeks addressed the culture
in which the young people live. Postmodernism and neoliberalism were
explained and this week we have the culture of cyberspace in which the young people live. The Salesian Priest
continues to explain the culture in which the young are living.
Cyber culture is the network that both the older and younger generations
feel at home. Three distinctive features are listed.
1)
A diverse culture: anonymous (at times dangerous elements appear),
and continues to create and allows one to express his own variety of
desires.
2) Community culture: Each is able freely and
equally to enter the internet, one can communicate with those with the
same likes, and establish or join a community, share knowledge and
exchange information.
3) A culture that produces:
prosumer (a blend of producer and consumer) (the user of the internet)
= the one producing and the consumer are both present. We are not only
passively receiving but making contents to appear on the site. There
is a new kind of communication.
What is this
cyberspace culture in Korea? We have developed greatly in the multimedia
field and continue to do so. Moreover, 94 percent of our young people
are using the internet. Korea is number one with high
speed internet access. However, there are some misgivings about our
situation, he admits.
Some of the nearby Asian countries
have developed the knowledge, educational, and medical fields for the
general public. Korea on the other hand has developed the fun, and
entertainment elements: music, literature, movies, art, media and
pornography content. This he considers an embarrassment.
He explains why this was the case.
1)
We did not begin with an elite group but went directly to the general
public. Korea because of the IMF period of financial difficulty, they
were too much tied up working with the principles of capitalism.
2)
Society, for security reasons, was repressed and controlled and the
internet allowed many to express themselves freely and vent their
frustrations.
3) The technological properties of the
internet: globalization and creativity are open to the users of the
internet. Productivity of the internet continues. Fundamentally the control of the internet is difficult.
We have given the technology of the internet and its business
potential first consideration.This allowed us to ignore the soundness and the
cultural aspects of the internet and consequently now see the inadequacy.
In the Catholic Times the Desk columnist presents us with two Korean maxims which he wants us to reflect on as we come to the end of our calendar year. "Time to see the old year out and the new year in." And secondly: "Find a guide into tomorrow by taking lessons from the past." The second maxim we need to follow at all times, but fail to do so because of laziness.
These two maxims he says should work together. The first one has to do with a government official who has been changed and a new one has arrived. When the new person comes there is a new environment that begins. But at the same time we remember to learn from the past so we wont make the same mistakes in the future. Whether it was failure or success, we learn from the past and with the new knowledge and understanding we begin again. History becomes a way of learning for the future.
With the new year we throw to the winds the hurts of the past. We don't want to tie ourselves to the frustrations and despair of the Sewol disaster. We learned from the disaster to guide us during the new year. The new allows us to say goodbye to the old, but we also learn from the old how to live in the new.
Pope Francis approached the parents of the victims of the tragedy not because of some teaching of the Church, or some ideology or political position, but because they were hurting. He was showing mercy and concern.
This mercy was shown in the way the synod was recently conducted and the way next year the discussion on the family will continue. Pope Francis is following the method of changing what needs to be changed to be closer to the teaching of the early Church and the apostles. The elements that do not serve the purpose he wants to discard and those that help us to be more Christ-like he wants to retain.
We Christians with the experience of baptism and the cross rid ourselves of worldly values, and recover the values of the Gospel. We work for our personal reformation in which we throw out the harmful, but also learn from the old to prepare for the new.
