"Pleasure Christmas" a priest writer in the Kyeongyang magazine begins his article on Christmas joy with these words he saw on a pilgrimage to Macao. The word 'Merry' of the Christmas greeting was translated as 'Pleasure' in Chinese. Something he had forgotten came back to him. Is Christmas really a time of Joy?
When he reflects on Christmas he realizes that for many it's the season of Christmas that brings joy and not Christmas itself. It's a holiday, a day free from work, and we have the festive signs along the streets, trees glittering with decorations, carols sung and year-end eating and drinking occasions: not the entrance of Jesus on the world stage.
Why doesn't Christmas gives us great joy? Why doesn't Jesus' coming into the world leave us with strong feelings? May it not be that we do not experience his saving presence? We don't see his saving works in the world we live. Even at the time of Christ the world did not change, one sees the death on the cross as we gaze on the crib. The shepherd did not become rich nor did the angels begin a fight against emperor Augustus.
2000 years later we see no reversal from what we have seen. Shepherds are still poor, many have to work while others sleep.The Augustuses of the world are still strong they are still comfortable and partake of the goods of others, eat and live well. The law is on their side. Rich, developed, welfare countries are many and yet the place of the poor is still difficult. Conditions are still the same what reason is there to celebrate? What are we saved from?
What is salvation? (Scripture uses the word "salvation" mainly in the sense of liberation of humanity or of the individual from sin and its consequences). We tend to think that the almighty God will take away all our difficulties. Just like the superhero does in the movies.That is not what we see in the Scriptures. We are told that the savior of the world is lying in a manger. This is the sign of the savior. Why so?
God did not want to save us with his strength. He doesn't want us to be passive onlookers but cooperators in his work. We are to be the subjects of salvation. He has given us a little spark of fire to continue his work. Jesus didn't want to set the world afire on his own but with the little sparks he has given us. These sparks we keep alive, we need to protect them from the strong winds with our bodies, and set the world afire with their light. By doing this we are also saved.
As Christians, our task is to take on the mind of Jesus that was present in the crib. This would make the world warmer filled with more joy. Our task is to help the weak live more human and holy lives: this is saving and being saved.
This is the way Jesus saves. This is the way we will understand and have the joy of Christmas in our lives."I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people... and here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger" (Luke 2: 20-12).
The Catholic Times' View from the Ark gives the readers a meditation on waiting by a seminary professor viewing the Advent wreath in front of the altar. Christmas is not far away and as he looks back over the past he doesn't see the good results of his efforts as much as the regret and self-reproach for the things not done.
Waiting is the language of hope but often hidden within is despair. The things for which he hopes often turn to despair. Khali Gibran in his book the Prophet has told us that happiness and sadness are often two sides of the same coin. When joyous, looking deep into our hearts we find that which gave us sorrow also gives us joy. When sorrowful we often weep for what was our delight.
Peace and freedom we desire is full of unfortunate contingencies, and we wait in the midst of anxiety and hope. It's because of hope that we can wait. But at the same time at the end of the waiting often comes frustrations, failures, discouragements which we have learned to expect. I might be afraid of losing my job, suddenly getting cancer, the approach of death. Poverty brought about by economic polarization, depression, loneliness by the breakup of families and human relations, talk of war, political corruption and dishonesty. These problems are with us this year as in the past.
Jesus came 2000 years ago but we don't have big changes. He lived here on earth and proclaimed Emanuel, God is with us. Jerusalem, the Holy Land, in conflict, a gunpowder storage house waiting to explode. But we still wait for Christmas.
We no longer hear the Christmas carols as we once did. Christmas is coldly manipulated as a time to consume but we wait for a warm Christmas.
Christians don't wait for gorgeous trees and decorated cribs but rather, despite the depressing situation of humankind, we believe that God will not forsake us. The suffering of the cross lives in our hearts as we wait for the victory of Jesus when he comes again to proclaim the victory over sin and death.
The second coming of Jesus is not the fearful future of the apocalyptists but the hope we have of the kingdom here and now that we proclaim in the smile and touch of the small people of the earth who seek light in darkness, hope in despair and joy in sorrow. We hope to experience now the future joy of God's life.
We wait for a secure future with trepidation. Christians can't help but believe in the simple truth that darkness can not win over light; during this Advent it is the faith of the Christians to believe in waiting with hope.
"Wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish can all be tamed by man and often are; but nobody can tame the tongue-it is a pest that will not keep still, full of deadly poison" (James 3:7). A columnist in the Catholic Times reminds us of the problems we have with the tongue.
Many times we use the tongue to utter empty words: "Let's eat together one of these days." This is one of the frequent empty phrases used in Korea. The columnist recalls the many times she has used these words with others. She resolved to use the words with those with whom she truly would like to eat with in the future.
When we borrow money from the bank we incur a debt and we have to repay, the same is true of the words we utter they are a debt we make to others. Sometimes we speak out without much thought and when we do so we often hurt the other.
We need to be careful in what we say but equally in what we hear. At times what we say frivolously is not taken frivolously. And when we agree to something and no response is evident it's like a messenger you send out who never returns. When this happens trust is lost. Words are often the measure of trust between persons.
When people meet together there is always going to be gossip. Pope Francis said that if one doesn't participate in gossip they are saints. When we are present in such circumstances we are giving support and often feel uncomfortable. Especially when there has been little contact with the person talked about; gossip leaves an aftertaste which is not good since we are told to love the other.
She mentions the words of a Saint who recommended few words for those who love Jesus and patience in all things. And no need to give your opinion until asked.
Often we speak about a person's faults without reason, we bicker, nag, show off, break confidences, dominate the conversation and participate in salacious talk and jokes. If we were to go deep into our conversations we find bad examples, excusing ourselves and fail to be transparent when we should be, idle talk and meddling in the affairs of others, and many other ways that we abuse the use of the tongue.
"So is the tongue only a tiny part of the body, but it can set fire to a huge forest; the tongue is a flame like that. Among all the parts of the body, the tongue is a whole wicked world in itself; it infects the whole body; catching fire itself from hell, it sets fire to the whole wheel of creation"(James 3: 5).
In a bulletin for priests a retired priest reminisces on his life and two classmates. One classmate lived in a neighboring diocese and was involved in farming until his retirement. He was a leader in the movement for farmers and seeing the breakdown of farm life, sadness entered his life.
The other classmate was a rector of a technical school and involved in education for many years until retirement. Both of these men from their time in the seminary were close friends. During the military control of the government, they both spent short periods of time in prison.
Up to his middle fifties, the educator often visited his priest farmer friend in the country. One of them was living with the upper middle class and the other with the poor farmers. The way they looked at life began to change. In the beginning, their views of society were similar but with the passage of time, they began to diverge in the way they saw the political world and they began to clash. One evening while eating they quarreled and the friendship ended.
They both were zealous in their way of life,no one can say who was right or wrong.The way of life they lived separated them from one another. It was no special problem they had but only the way they looked at life made conversation difficult for both of them and they didn't meet anymore. They both had heart problems and died at the age 72, both died within a year of each other.
Their many years of close friendship and prayers were not able to keep them in their friendship. A sign that the way we live is going to influence the way we see life and make judgments. Karl Marx, said something similar in his writing: "It is not our thoughts that change us but the places where we live changes us." Another saying the priest quotes: "Employer and worker have little to talk about."
One bishop who went from Seoul to the country changed greatly. Living with the poor made him see things differently and take an interest in their issues. Once asked what made him change he answered that it was the people with whom he talked and ate that changed him.
We learn a great deal from our studies and what we read but these thoughts usually stay in our heads and hearts. To have these thoughts take flesh in our action is another big step which is not often made. We fool ourselves into thinking that these high values and ideals, make us different which can be another form of pride.
In his later years the writer's meeting with people has diminished and it is now mostly theory that he is living with. The kind of encounter present is not the deep kind, it's a business kind of contact not dialogue about joys and suffering. He lives among many but alone.
At the Mass for young people, there are more adults than young people. No, it's not that they are busy studying for exams but rather the community of faith is not reaching them; we are becoming a church of old people. A professor of humanities writing in the Kyeongyang magazine would like to know where they have gone.
Protestants are doing a better job relating to the young he says. At times the methods are not always without criticisms but they are closer to the young. Can Catholicism embrace the young?
When he is out with his classmates drinking at a cafe` he notices some will take out their smartphone and furtively glance at it and he says, without doubt, they are looking at a picture of their grandchild. They are attracted more to their grandchildren than their own for they are no longer busy with raising a family and its concerns. However, each day 7 young people commit suicide. Is there any guarantee that these children in twenty years will not be one of them. This children's generation is the first that will not be living as well as their parents.
When Pople Francis came to Korea in 2014, one of the main reasons was to attend the Asian Youth Gathering. He was very close to them and spent time with them; after he left the writer feels embarrassed that the church has not continued this concern for the young. He feels that the present generation has forgotten them.
Our generation had a difficult time but we didn't have problems with finding work, getting married or bothered with thoughts of suicide. No matter how hard they try getting a job they are approaching an ironclad bastion. Instead of changing the structures they are getting worse. Wealth continues to increase and is distributed among the wealthy, injustice continues and few speak out.
Generally, Catholicism compared to Protestantism is passive and subdued. Here in Korea, however, the church continued to grow especially because the church stood up to the military take over of government. Ironically Korean Catholicism is much more progressive than Protestantism, how come?
The Church in Korea has been on the side of the weak in their struggle for justice. Catholicism became the spokesperson for workers, the marginated. They were ridiculed for it but continued and persons came to the door of the church. The Gospel message was always before them. Nowadays the young people are the ones who are marginated and weak and need persons to speak for them. The professor feels that the church has not been attentive to the plight of the young people and have limited their interest only to statistics and passive concern.
"I am the light of the world; anyone who follows me will not walk in the dark; he will have the light of life" (Jn. 8:12). He finishes the article by wanting us to give the young people hope for the future and asks us to feel shame for what we have not done.
The Korean Catholic Church from 1982 has selected the second Sunday of Advent as Human Rights Sunday and the second week as Social Doctrine Week. This year is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the encyclical of Pope Paul VI on the Development of Peoples.
The message for the week is social renewal, peace, and interest in the socially disadvantaged. One continually emphasized by the church. With these words, the editorial of the Catholic Times reminds the readers of the interest necessary to seek change in society.
With the help of many citizens, we have seen the beginning of a new government but the evils that have been accumalated will not be easily dislodged in a short period of time. But this is the time to begin.
Renewal is the word most appropriate for what is necessary for society at present. Christians should be "people hungry and thirsting for what is right" (Matt. 5:6). With prayer and solidarity with others we work for the building up of God's kingdom here on earth.
The teaching on Peace by the Church is very clear. In a talk given at the Blue House in 2014, Pope Francis said we are faced with the: "perennial challenge of breaking down the walls of distrust and hatred by promoting a culture of reconciliation and solidarity." Military competition, rivalry, criticism and military parades are useless in bringing about peace was the message. We must think deeply about what will bring peace to the peninsula.
The Justice and Peace Committee stressed the need to be concerned with the care of the weak in society. A first interest of the Church is to be with those who can't defend themselves: farmers, fishing populations, migrants, workers, against the abrogation of the law against abortions, and against the death penalty. Christians have this mission of building a culture of life and working for the protection of these values.
This week is one in which parishioners should become familiar with the church's teaching on human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was approved by 48 votes, none opposed and eight abstaining. It was a big step that was made for the first time accepting fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The Church has made the declaration something that should be followed and made known.
Pope John 23rd in his Encyclical Letter Pacem in Terris commends the Universal Declaration of Human Rights not withstanding certain defects: "Nevertheless, we think the document should be considered a step in the right direction, an approach toward the establishment of a juridical and political ordering of the world community. It is a solemn recognition of the personal dignity of every human being; an assertion of everyone's right to be free to seek out the truth, to follow moral principles, to discharge the duties imposed by justice and to lead a fully human life. It also recognized other rights connected with these."
In the
Catholic Peace Weekly, an article starts with a four-letter phrase in
the writings of Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching: 上善若水 (highest good like water). Water never brings attention to itself and always seeks the
lowest places and nourishes everything on the way. To live in this way
is to be close to saintliness. Its opposite is to live contrary to right
reason and rashly.
The writer lists two recent cases that make him appreciate the wisdom of the
four words that begins his article. One case a person in a
government post was arrested but shortly after with a change of judges
the person arrested was released because there wasn't sufficient reason
for the arrest. Many citizens questioned the difference in the way the
law was read. Many in the legislature censured the judge.
The
second case mentioned is the signatures of 200,000 citizens on the Blue
House bulletin board, asking for the abrogation of the law against
abortion. You have a highly contested issue: those who strongly feel
you are killing a fetus and you have the others saying it's against
the right a woman has over her body. A new aspect entered the picture
when the Blue House representative of the people mentioned the problems
with the issue.
All
these events occurred naturally but it is not right for the
legislative branch of government to censure the judicial or
the executive to control the direction of legislation. Law, the compulsory
code of the state is not different from the law of water. Western
natural law thinking and ordinary law both seek the source of law in our
natural life and in Asia the very word law is an icon of
water seeking harmony.
Our
understanding of the law is that when we have a wrong law we follow
procedures to revise or abolish the law. All the citizens have the right
to express their opinion. However, on the principle of the separation
of powers, the legislative, executive and judicial should not exceed the
conduct that is given to them in their office. The democratic system
collapses if the legislature disputes the interpretation of the law by
the judiciary of if the executive forces their view on the legislature.
Man
is an imperfect being and even if I am convinced I am right I may be
wrong. The natural flow of water we should imitate, my
self-righteousness does not produce good results. When we seek to
achieve justice by force the results often destroy our common sense.
In
1919 lawmakers in the United States Congress passed a constitutional
amendment that prohibited the production of alcoholic beverages in the
United States. This made thousands of Americans outlaws until abolished
in 1933. As a result the ban has remained synonymous with excessive
reforms that have caused public dissatisfaction and social disruption: the result of abandoning the wisdom learned from water.
The writer finishes the article by saying that fortunately, our
Christians do not fall into this foolishness because they pray that "the
will of the Father, not my will be done" (Luke 22:42).
