Returning to "Our First Intentions"

 

Parables have always been used as a means of instruction, and our Lord was a master in their use. The problems of society give rise to many of the parables still being told today. Jealousy and greed, for instance, two of the capital sins, though motivational forces for moving our economy and fostering progress, also are a cause of much evil in the world. The Taegu Catholic Bulletin recounts a parable that addresses these problems. 

One day a king traveling through his kingdom stayed overnight in the home of a shepherd. Seeing the behavior of the shepherd he was moved by his simplicity, honesty and overall demeanor, which he didn't find among his retainers.  Since the king valued the attributes of the spirit more than professional skills, he decided to make the shepherd prime minister of his kingdom. 

As prime minister he was  honest and faithful in his duties, but the other retainers, knowing he was only a simple shepherd, began to envy his way of doing every task impartially and dutifully; it made their work more difficult, and so they conspired to find ways to get rid of him

Noticing that he would go to his country home once a month, they decided to secretly follow him. The shepherd went to a hollow in the ground and, lifting a large jar from the hole and removing the cover, stared into the jar for some time. The retainers reported this to the king; it appeared, they said, that the prime minister had a pure heart, but that he was not the poor simple shepherd he claimed to be, for in his home, they told the king, he had a jar with all kinds of gold and precious stones. 

The angry king demanded that the prime minister take him to see what was in the jar he kept hidden in the ground. Along with the retainers, the king watched as the prime minister took off the cover to the jar; inside, they could see only old clothes and a shepherd's staff.  "I was a shepherd," the prime minister said, "but because of the kindness of the king I was made the prime minister. I come to look at the clothes and staff in order not to forget who I was, and still am at heart, a simple shepherd." 

From that time on, no one found fault with the prime minister. The prime minster's efforts to remember who he was helped him to keep the disposition that he had as a shepherd.

"First Intention" was the headline of the Taegu Bulletin article that recounted the parable. As a child there are some basic aspirations and intentions that we entertained. "Returning to the First Intentions" is the Korean expression to describe these first dreams and intentions we had as children, before being buffeted by the reality of life, changing our aspirations to adapt to what we came to know as the reality of the world. This we need to do, according to the article, but despite it all we should have our own 'jar' that we can return to and peer into for the dreams that should not completely  disappear from our lives.            

The Moral Law Written On Our Hearts

The German philosopher Emmanuel Kant (1724-1804) wrote a great deal about virtue and the moral law, which can be derived, he says, from reason, thus removing all doubt concerning whether immoral behavior is ever reasonable; it is never reasonable, says Kant. And yet, a professor, writing in the Kyeongyang magazine, points out that despite morality and virtue being held in high esteem by Koreans since ancient times, the tendency today is to bow before the altar of money, and even to find it reasonable to do so--when the reward made it worthwhile. 

According to Kant, what was basic to making us human was the virtue inscribed in our hearts. Though the professor admits that because of the rapid cultural changes in Korean society, some change is to be expected, he laments how far we have deviated from the norms of our past which held morality and virtue in high esteem.

He cites a recent news report of a son killing his mother and brother for about 80,000 dollars and secretly burying their bodies. It shocked the nation. How could any person do this, many were thinking, no matter how much money was involved. If done by someone who was mentally disturbed or was overcome with emotion or a one-of-a kind rare occurrence, the professor says, it would be less of a problem, but that is not what we are beginning to see in these acts.

A survey of 10,172  students in elementary school, middle and high school was taken to measure the ethical standard of honesty among our young people. One of the questions was: If you had the opportunity of receiving a million dollars by doing something immoral and it would require one year in prison would you do it? 47 percent of the high school students would; among middle school students, 33 percent; among elementary school children,16 percent.

Paradoxically, the more education they received the less moral the behavior. In another survey, to the question: What is the most important element in finding happiness? The answer from most elementary school children was family; among high school children it was money.

What children see in society, says the professor, is what will influence them. The thinking that seems most prevalent in our society at this time, he says, appears to be: "Why not do it if you can; if you don't, you are a looser in our society." The article goes on to note that these surveys are revealing what many have known for some time, that many of us lack a correct understanding of morality and that there are few cultural helps to nurture the spark of virtue that still resides in our hearts.

In Korea today, the professor believes that if this tendency to go with what appears to be the natural movement of greed or the freedom to do whatever one likes, we will soon be governed by the law of the jungle. The solution might well be, he suggests, to do what Kant did, if we are to become virtuous human beings.

On Kant's gravestone there is the inscription: "Two things fill my mind with ever increasing wonder and awe the more often and more intensely I reflect on them: The starry heavens above me and the moral law within me."

Working Towards A Just Society

Economic democratization was at one time a hot topic of discussion in our Korean society, according to the bishops column on faith and economics. Irrespective of political party, conservative or progressive, the cultural climate had been demanding more economic parity, which we hear little of nowadays.

Recently, however, the column noted, a university student taped a poster on a campus bulletin board with the question: "Are you doing all right?"  Soon after, bulletin boards in other universities and schools where filled with similar posters, expressing dissatisfaction with much of what is happening in society, and the determination of the young to do something about it.

The scale of economic development  and the numerical values of productivity have increased while the gap between those who have much and those who have little keeps growing larger. At the same time, the competition both among students vying for the top spots in elite schools and among businesses interested in gaining a large share of their particular market keeps escalating. Along with present and future uncertainties (the North/South controversy, for one) the quality of life for many decreases, with the middle class tending to disappear, wealth tending to concentrate in the hands of a small number of people at the top of the economic chain, and a large number of the poor at the bottom.

Christians have the mission to participate, the column points out, in living and building God's kingdom, and examining what economic democratization may mean for the future health of our society. Ignoring the effects of an unjust economic system on the people involved, concerning ourselves only with mathematical  figures and economic progress, is not the way we should go about achieving a just society.  If we fail to solve some of our present economic problems, the column warns, we will fail also to bring about a just society or affect meaningful change, as well as mortgaging the life of future  generations.

Seeing the economic democratization issue from a Christian perspective will require, the column says, the serious engagement of Christians to work for a healthy society, to know what is expected of us, and be determined enough to do what is necessary to see it implemented in society.

We know from the Gospel teaching what is expected. One example of this appears in Matthew (20:1-16)  where the parable about the farmer and his workers shows us what it means to be just. The parable of the lost sheep is another example that makes clear that God's way of calculating is not our way.

What we are shown in these parables is that what is important is not only productivity but providing the workers with an opportunity for living better lives. This was the standard that Jesus wanted us to consider important.

Do we as Christians, the bishops column asks, also have this as our standard? Do we have the courage to make this our aim in working for a just society?

Returning to the Farm

Going back to the farm is a popular new movement within Korean society. City life can be hectic and the lure of a carefree country life, with a chance to renew dreams of a better life, has become an attractive option for many weary city dwellers.

Statistics show that in the past few years over 10,000 people have made the change. The government has allotted subsidies and loans for those returning to the farms. Those who desire a happy, family-orientated and slow-paced life close to nature, without the pressure of city life, will find it very satisfying. Those who are looking for success and money will be disappointed.

A woman who returned to the country eight years ago and is living a happy farmer's life writes in the Catholic Times about her experiences. She was brought up in a small, quiet country town, she says, but spent most of her life in Seoul. She described her feelings when she decided to return to the country as "leaving the jungle of buildings for the grove of pine trees, and the noisy city for the quiet country."

Her country home, 300 meters above sea level, with only four other families nearby, is surrounded by rice  paddies and a dry field. It has helped her to become, she says, closer to God and, by working with the earth and doing the farm chores, she has a deeper understanding of the teachings of Jesus. She feels that losing our closeness to the earth has made it difficult for us to understand many of the parables in the Bible.

Before returning to the country, she had considered the time after the Fall harvest one of desolation, and at times lonely. Now she sees this time as an opportunity to enjoy a period of rest, to offer thanks for the harvest, and to prepare for a new beginning in the Spring.

Nature in the winter months seems without movement, but deep down, out of sight, it is, she reminds us, preparing for the new season. In nature there is no remorse, frustration or vacillation, she says, just rest, new beginnings and life, always and everywhere life. Whether hidden or evident, Nature is always animated with the movement of life. Living with nature we learn at a deeper, experiential level what rest can mean in renewing our sense of self. God, himself, rested on the seventh day. She would like to know how many of her readers have used this easily overlooked method of renewing their lives by resting occasionally more often during the day, whether in the city or in the country. 

Pope Francis, it was reported, has in mind to write his first encyclical on the environment. He has often spoken on the subject; his words in an address he gave last year on the environment will probably indicate the substance of what he will write in the encyclical. "We are losing our attitude of wonder, of contemplation, of listening to creation and thus we are no longer able to see and understand in creation what Benedict XVI calls 'the rhythm of the love story between God and man'. Why does this happen? Why do we think and live 'horizontally'? Because we have drifted away from God. We no longer read his signs."

Does God want us to be happy? a seminary professor, in his article in the magazine Bible & Life, is asking his readers. The obvious answer, he says, is yes, otherwise he would not have created us. In the first pages of Genesis it is clear that the first parents were happy. They were living with God intimately without embarrassment, talking and listening to him. Happiness, says the professor, is living in the same way the first humans lived, and were meant to live. 

What makes a person happy? he asks. St. Augustine says it is by possessing what a person desires. What is it that we need to desire? is the question that then needs to be asked, according to the professor, and it will always include, he says, a search for the good. When someone causes me pain and I wish that he would disappear from the earth, and the wish is realized, we will discover that the joy we have is short lived, for it was not for a good cause. No one who does not have what he wants can be happy, he says, and not everyone who has what he wants is happy. And those who have gotten what they have in an immoral way are, he believes, ultimately bound to be unhappy.

What Augustine is telling us, says the professor, is that what we possess must not have the possibility of being lost. If the possession we have depends on circumstances or fortune and not on something permanent, there will always be uncertainty and fear of having it being taken away, which will then bring unhappiness into our lives.

Material goods, power, honors and the like can disappear without our approval, which means they can't be the goal that will bring us happiness. Only what is permanent can satisfy our longing for happiness; it has to be a goal that can't be taken away from us. He then draws our attention to a case where wanting to get what you ought not to get is more harmful than not getting what you do want. "Wickedness of will brings to everyone greater evil than good fortune brings good."

A happy person is the person who can enjoy the truth, and God being the ultimate truth is the truth we need to possess and enjoy in our lives, says Augustine. It is this enjoyment of God that gives us happiness. God satisfies our thirst for the truth. In our continuing search for the fullness of that desire for the truth, we are already enjoying, in some way, truth and happiness.
 

We hear often that we become what we love.When the love is noble we grow, when it is ignoble we descend into its baseness. "What we love and who we love shapes what we become," St. Clare of Assisi has said. "If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others." Love unites us with God and the closer we are able to approach him in this life the happier we will be.

The Year of the Horse

 

 

For many in  Asia the year of the snake is ending and the year of the horse begins. A columnist in the  Peace Weekly introduces us to four Chinese Character phrases (words of  wisdom) that have come down to us mostly from the  ancient classics  of China. They are frequently brought to mind as many search for resolutions to begin afresh another Lunar New Year. The columnist selects a few to ponder, specifying those persons or groups who have settled for one or another of these phrases to guide them through the New Year.  

School teachers have selected the phrase:"Leave your illusions and come be enlightened"(전미개오'(轉迷開悟) --often taken to mean: leave all the deceptions and lies behind and see the light that shines in the world. When President Park was asked by a Chinese journalist how she understood the phrase, she answered: "To be separated from greed and illusion in our lives and see reality as it is; have no selfish motives and only be concerned with the welfare and happiness of our citizens and with the development of the country. All the rest are useless thoughts."

The Peace Weekly selected three phrases which best expressed their maxim for the year: "Not to take away, by our actions, from the glory due to God, for it is then that we will find peace." The second, "Live the whole year by the word of God." And last: "Do everything completely and with a positive active attitude, according to the will of God."

The mayor of Seoul City chose: "Put the  citizens at ease by communicating with them." The mayor feels that with this accomplished, the citizens will have little difficulty with the plans that are made for the city.

The cabinet minister responsible for agricultural issues expressed his concern with the phrase: "To fight to the death." This is because of the difficulties, he said, farmers currently face with many of the  trade agreements that are being negotiated between China and Korea.

This year of the Horse is the 200th anniversary of the war between Japan and China. Each of these countries used Korea as a place to fight for sovereignty. The columnist reminds us of the  Donghak Peasant Movement. Angered at the treatment of the country's farmers by the government, they revolted against the government which  then called in help from China. Japan, seeing the entrance of Chinese troops into Korea, decided to enter the fray, starting the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894.

This year of the Horse also has some memorable events for Catholics to keep in mind: the selection of the third Cardinal of Korea, and the probable visit of Pope Francis.The columnist would prefer using the Korean word 'Mal' meaning "conversation" or "'words" instead of 'Mal' meaning "Horse." He concludes with 3 phrases, one selected by those looking for work: "Keep hoping for opportunities," the second, a phrase selected by those who are working: "Take advantage of the good opportunities offered," and the third, a phrase that he has made his own four word resolve,  taken from the St. James Epistle (1:23): "Be a doer of the Word."

Being Friends with Those you Disagree

"He is a leftist" were the words of a participant at a New Year's event, at which  a famous novelist spoke.  Those who were talking stopped, and again Mr. Mo  repeated: " He is a leftist." The atmosphere in the group became strained, with members staring at each other, not knowing how to respond, aware only that the novelist was not  Mr. Mo's type of person.

The columnist in the Peace Weekly, writing about current events, mentions that he didn't know whether  the novelist was of the right or left. But when he heard the word "leftist" all the novelist's books came to mind, as well as his appearance and even his relationships with others. All conversation among the participants abruptly stopped when the charge was made, and he wonders whether the same dynamics are seen in other groups when "right wing" is thrown into the discussion.
 
The columnist admits to being upset by our habit of dividing ourselves into two camps, the left and the right. This has always been the  case in Korea but during the past year it has developed into an intolerable situation. The columnist knew that Mr. Mo was a man of the 'right' but always had a good feeling toward him because of his many good qualities. Now, because of Mr. Mo's use of the leftist charge, he feels only dislike for him. 
 
The columnist mentions the 10 resolutions that Pope Francis recommends for the New Year: Don't gossip; finish your meals; make time for others; choose the more humble purchase; meet the poor in the flesh; stop judging others; befriend those who disagree with you; make commitments, such as marriage; make it a habit to "ask the Lord;" be happy.

The columnist says that although they are difficult to carry out, he can in some fashion do most of them. Only two of them, he says, will be especially difficult for him: Not to judge others, and to be friendly with those we disagree with. And of the two, the one he can not accept in any way, he says, is the advice to befriend those we disagree with. Many persons came to mind, especially the face of Mr. Mo.
 
He has admired Pope Francis but on reading these two resolutions which the pope recommends he has postponed the possibility of being his disciple. At his age, he says he doesn't want to go against what he feels himself to be. And yet, he muses, the difficult things in life are often the good things we should be doing. Making friends with those we disagree with would help bring peace into our personal world, and ultimately--if followed by everyone--into the whole world. Obviously not an easy thing to do, even within one's own world, but he has decided to work at managing the transition.

Befriending those he disagrees with, he says, will be his goal beginning with the coming Lunar New Year. And even if he does not succeed, the effort will make him better, he says, and all his relationships should benefit from the effort. Happy Lunar  New Year!