Shivers & Sweaters, Shelters & Structures

5th Sunday of Easter (A)

Readings: Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 32 (33):1-2,4-5,18-19; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

Picture: By Tom the Photographer on Unsplash

When is it a good time to put on a sweater? Probably best not to wait till we’re already shivering, right? For the sweater is meant to help us stay warm. So it’s wise to put it on once our surroundings start draining away our body-heat, even before we actually feel cold. Which may help to explain what Jesus is doing in the gospel today. The setting is the Last Supper. Judas has just gone off into the night, on his way to betray his Master. And soon the disciples’ surroundings will turn deathly cold. Causing their hearts to shiver, and their faith to waver. Faced with this imminent threat, Jesus shows his compassion and care for his disciples by offering them something like a sweater. Do not let your hearts be troubled, he advises. Trust in God still, and trust in me… Even before they start to shiver, the Lord reminds his friends to keep warm by clinging tightly to the conviction that, despite all appearances to the contrary, he will never desert them. Rather, he is going now to prepare a place for them. A safe refuge in the very house of God.

More than just a sweater, through his Dying and Rising, the Lord is gaining for his disciples privileged access to a permanent shelter from the cold. And in case we may think this place can be found only in some faraway heaven, after we are dead, the second reading assures us otherwise. Writing some time after the Resurrection, the author identifies God’s house with the community of Jesus’ disciples, which includes us. For the Lord is the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God… And by setting ourselves close to him–by clinging tightly to him in trust–we his followers become living stones making a spiritual house. A safe shelter from the world’s cold. Not just for ourselves, but for all who long to find life in its fullness.

Even so, the cold doesn’t come only from the outside. It can also emanate from within. In the first reading, the early Christian community in Jerusalem is, in a sense, starting to shiver. Rumblings of complaint are surfacing. Not so much due to the external temperature, but because of certain internal inadequacies. Rapid growth in numbers has led to inequality. Certain people are being overlooked. So, like truly living stones, the apostles respond by introducing a daring change of structure. They show their trust in the Lord’s ongoing presence and action among them by delegating authority to others. Appointing them to see to legitimate needs that the apostles themselves do not have the bandwidth to meet. Through this simple structural change, the community’s interior temperature is adjusted. Making it more life-giving for all.

Which may be something like what sociology professor and bestselling author, Teo You Yenn, is calling for in an insightful new book. Titled Unease, the book highlights the deep disquiet that marks family life in Singapore. Relating this to the structural conditions found locally, which tend to engender a distinctive culture, the book invites readers to dare to imagine how things could be different. How structures might and need to be changed. In order to provide a more conducive space for family life to truly flourish here… Sometimes, beyond slipping on a sweater, the appropriate response to cold is to adjust the settings on the air-conditioner.

Sisters and brothers, as we continue to celebrate the hope and joy of Easter, how is our Crucified and Risen Lord teaching and helping us to shield one another from the cold today?

Beyond Colour-Correction

 3rd Sunday of Easter (A)

Readings: Acts 2: 14, 22-33; Psalm 15 (16): 1-2, 5, 7-11; 1 Peter 1: 17-21; Luke 24: 13-35

Picture: By Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

My dear friends, this may seem like a strange question to ask, but what does the liturgy have in common with toothpaste? Some of us may have seen that commercial for a popular brand of toothpaste, which still plays frequently on YouTube. It features a pretty young K-Pop star, explaining the benefits of using purple-coloured toothpaste. Why purple? Because purple colour-corrects yellow. Yellow teeth… plus purple toothpaste… equals… a whiter more beautiful smile. Or so the theory goes…

Forgive me if it seems disrespectful to say so, but doesn’t this sound strikingly similar to what we are celebrating liturgically over these days? The transition from the penitential purple of Lent to the glorious white of Easter? And we know that, beyond the penitential practices undertaken in Lent, the colour purple points especially to the Passion of Jesus. The humiliation and death he suffered at the hands of his enemies. The soldiers dressed him in royal purple to make fun of him. We believe that by humbly accepting the painful purple of his Passion, Jesus was able to correct the ugly yellow of our selfishness and sin. Changing it into the glorious white of God’s adopted children. All this we know. At least in theory. A theory we happily mark by the changing of liturgical colours.

Which is actually a fairly easy thing to do. Especially since we have a conscientious sacristan and her capable assistants to do it for us. But what about the deeper reality that these symbols are meant to signify? The transformation, not just of the colour of our vestments, but of the texture of our hearts. How to change hearts that may have been broken by the painful sadness of the Cross, into hearts renewed and made bold again by the joyful hope of Easter? Isn’t this the question our scriptures invite us to ponder today?

The marvellous transition from the painful purple of the Passion to the joyous white of the Resurrection. Isn’t this what Peter is describing to the crowd, on the Day of Pentecost, in the first reading? How, through the Resurrection of Christ, and the descent of the Holy Spirit, he and his companions have received power to conquer their grief and trauma, their guilt and shame, their fear and anxiety. So as to courageously proclaim the Good News. But, again, how does this actually happen? Is it really as easy as changing one’s vestments, or using a different-coloured toothpaste? Requiring no more than a gritting of the teeth, or a clenching of the fist? Something we can accomplish on our own? If so, why did we pray as we did at the start of this Mass? We asked God to enable us to exult in renewed youthfulness of spirit, so that rejoicing now in the glory of our adoption, we may look forward in confident hope to the rejoicing of the day of resurrection? Doesn’t our need to ask imply that what we seek is a grace, a gift from God? So how to go about receiving it?

Two words from the responsorial psalm––which Peter quotes in the first reading––provide us with valuable insight. You will show me the path of life, the psalmist says, the fullness of joy in your presence… Path and presence. In order to receive the grace of Easter, there is a path we need to traverse. A way marked by the presence of the Crucified and Risen One. Who comes to us not only bearing the gift we seek, but also helping us to receive it. Isn’t this the experience of the two disciples in the gospel? The reading begins by telling us that Cleopas and his companion are on the way. They are walking along a particular path. How might we describe this path? Geographically, it’s the road leading to a town about half a day’s journey from Jerusalem. But isn’t this also a spiritual path? One that we have already encountered before? Isn’t it recognisable as part of that road that Jesus invited us to walk with him all through Lent, and especially in Holy Week? Isn’t the Road to Emmaus simply an extension of the Way of the Cross? Isn’t this why it’s no surprise that this path should be graced by the Lord’s consoling and encouraging presence? Could it be that Jesus comes to walk with his friends, because they are walking in his footsteps?

And it’s helpful for us to pay attention to how the disciples do this. How they engage in certain practices, which help them remain on the Way. First, they feel safe and comfortable enough to surface the confusion that still burdens their hearts, and to share it wth each other. Then they are led to ponder the Scriptures. Allowing God’s Word to help them realise that it was ordained, or necessary, that the Christ should suffer. For it is by doing so that he becomes the spotless lamb that sheds its precious blood to set us free. And, finally, they press the Lord to stay, or to abide, to remain, with them, as they break bread together… The surfacing of burdens, the pondering of scripture, the breaking of bread… Aren’t these also the practices in which we are engaging at this Mass?

Path, presence and practices. This is how we come not only to receive the gift we seek, but also to share it with others. Just as our brave and beloved Pope is doing now on the world stage. For unlike purple toothpaste––which is marketed as no more than a beauty hack, a mere cosmetic, an agent of superficial change––what the Lord offers is something far deeper. No less than the transformation of hearts: from broken to burning to bold. Sisters and brothers, what can we do to help one another better receive and rejoice in this precious gift this Easter?

The Race(s) We Run

 Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of the Lord

Readings: Acts 10:34, 37-43; Psalm 117 (118): 1-2, 16-17, 22-23; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8; Matthew 28:1-10

Picture: By Mathieu Improvisato on Unsplash

My dear friends, what is it like to run a race? I’m not sure, but doesn’t it depend on the type of race? Some races are really strenuous and draining, yet many people still choose to run them. Often just for fun. Even over and over again. Like that highly popular endurance race going on at the National Stadium this weekend. It’s called Hyrox... And then there are also races of a different sort. Races beyond the world of sport. Races that people engage in, not for fun, but because they’ve somehow fallen or found themselves trapped in it. For example, right now, even as those Hyrox enthusiasts sweat it out in Kallang, others in the Middle East are engaged in a desperate race to find the remaining crew member of the US fighter jet that was shot down over Iran on Friday. And we know that these efforts are part of a wider arms race. For one of the reasons given for the war is the need to stop Iran from producing a nuclear weapon.

Which makes it all the more disturbing, doesn’t it, that here at home, it has become appropriate for us to apply this same language of war to how we approach the formation of our children? To call it an education arms race. Describing how some of us see fit to take what should be a wholesome pursuit of excellence, the fulfilling of a child’s potential, even a quest for life’s deeper meaning, and to deform it. Disfigure it. Reduce it to an anxious contest for securing ever more wealth, status, privilege… An extension of that other contest in which so many adults often feel trapped. The infamous stress-producing, burnout-inducing, soul-sapping, fertility-reducing rat race.

It’s helpful for us, myself included, to keep all this in mind, even if it may feel a bit like a wet blanket, on this joyous Easter Day. For it’s possible to hear Peter’s re-telling of the story of Jesus, in the first reading, as a collision between two opposing itineraries. Two contrasting ways of running a spiritual race. On the one hand, beginning from Galilee, and relying on the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus goes about doing good and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil. All who find themselves trapped in a deadly race, from which they’re helpless to extricate themselves. How does the Lord do this? By teaching everyone to trust in the loving mercy of God. Inviting them to come to him. To learn from him. To shoulder his gentle yoke, and to find rest in him (Mt 11:28). On the other hand, the religious authorities of the day, at least as they are portrayed in the gospels, lay unbearable burdens on people’s shoulders, without making any effort to move them (Mt 23:4). Feeling threatened by the Lord, and jealous of him, they see no other alternative than to kill him, by hanging him on a tree. Yet, by raising him to life, God proves him right. Authenticates his race. And by allowing him to be seen, God empowers those witnesses to run the same race as Jesus did...

To be set free from a death-dealing race, in order to run a life-giving one. Isn’t this what is happening to the disciples in the gospel? Isn’t it striking that, at the start, all three of them are dashing about so frantically? Whether or not they realise it, the pain and trauma of the preceding days have led each of them to run a race of some kind. And it’s helpful for us to ponder their experience a little more deeply. What might be going on in Mary’s heart, as she races away in search of Peter and the other disciple? Her love for Jesus has drawn her to the tomb. And it is this same love, that makes her feel alarmed and frightened to find it empty. They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him… In other words, not satisfied with torturing and killing our beloved Master, have they now stooped so low as to desecrate his corpse as well? Still, much as Mary’s actions are motivated by love, it is a love that remains unenlightened by faith. Isn’t this why the reading begins by telling us that it was… still dark? The gospel is telling us that, at this point, Mary is still racing in the darkness of un-faith.

And we might say the same about Peter and the other disciple. Like Mary, it’s likely that they too are both motivated by love, and also clouded by grief and anxiety. But something happens to them inside the tomb. Something in them begins to change. At least in the disciple Jesus loved. For the gospel tells us that, having entered the empty tomb, and seeing how neatly the burial cloths were arranged, he saw and he believed. Although the gospel doesn’t elaborate, we might imagine what he does next. The contrast between his urgent arrival at the tomb, and how he leaves it. No longer frantic, but pensive, reflective, encouraged, even peaceful… No longer blinded by anxiety. But gradually suffused with the light of faith. A faith that brings with it the dawning of Easter hope and joy. As well as the power to run a different race. The race of and in the Lord.

To be set free from a death-dealing race, in order to run a life-giving one. Isn’t this the precious gift of Easter? Isn’t this what the second reading is inviting us to receive and to live? Isn’t this what it means to get rid of the old yeast, and to become a new batch of bread? And isn’t this also what we will commit ourselves to, in a few moments, when together we renew our baptismal promises, and are sprinkled with blessed water?

If a simple sport like Hyrox can inspire such devotion in its followers, how much more does Easter have the power to move us. Sisters and brothers, what race are we really running today?

Of Sandwiches & Earthquakes

 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord (A)

Readings: Matthew 21:1-11; Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 21 (22):8-9, 17-20, 23-24; Philippians 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14-27:66

Picture: By Crunch on Unsplash 

(At the Entrance:) My dear friends, in the gospel passage we just heard, we’re told that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred… Later, near the end of the Lord’s Passion, we will hear that, after Jesus dies on the Cross, the earth quaked… Actually, these two English words, stir and quake, translate the same Greek word, which means to shake violently. So today our scriptures begin and end with two instances of violent shaking. The first is felt in the hearts of all the people of Jerusalem, as they watch Jesus enter their beloved city. The second is suffered by the whole earth, after the Lord dies on the Cross. A stirred city and a quaking earth. Like the slices of bread in a healthy sandwich, these events hold between them a filling that nourishes us unto eternal life. So let us pay close attention, and feed on this rich spiritual food, as we follow Jesus on his Way.

(At the Ambo:) What’s it like to be caught in an earthquake? Even if we’ve never experienced one first-hand, we can imagine what it feels like… When the earth suddenly starts shaking. Walls shuddering… Roads cracking… Buildings crumbling. And ourselves powerless to stop it. How terrifying it must be! But even before it fills our hearts with terror, doesn’t the violent motion have the power first to grab our attention? Like how the recent earth-shaking events in the Middle East have grabbed the attention of the whole world?

The terrifying, attention-grabbing power of an earthquake. Isn’t this the experience of the Roman soldiers guarding Jesus? Shaken out of the boredom and complacency of their daily routine, they receive the grace to see and acknowledge who Jesus really is. This apparently deranged prisoner, whom they had stripped and scourged, made fun of and spat at, before fixing to a cross, and watching him die. Incredibly, in the person of this condemned criminal, they are able now to recognise the presence and action of God. The Divine King, who comes among us so humbly, riding on an ass. The Suffering Servant, who shows compassion, not just by speaking words of comfort to the wearied. But also by courageously standing up to, and speak out against, those who oppress them. Lovingly submitting to the trials that come as a result. Even to the point of accepting a shameful death. What a grace to be able to recognise God, in a lifeless body hanging on a cruel cross.

But there are also those who react in the opposite way. Instead of recognising and acknowledging God’s surprising presence, both the religious authorities, who plotted to have Jesus killed, and the Roman governor, who pronounced the unjust sentence, work actively to deny and suppress the Truth. They resist grace, and choose to cling instead to their own disordered attachments. Nor is overt denial the only possible form of resistance to grace. Despair and apathy serve just as well. Could this be the deeper reason why Jesus keeps encouraging his disciples to keep awake with him, and to pray not to be put to the test? In order not to miss the subtle presence and action of God, even as the very earth begins to shake.

And isn’t all this a useful reminder for us, who live in such tumultuous times? When both denial and despair remain tempting options. Sisters and brothers, even as the very foundations of our world continue to shake, how might we help one another to keep awake with the Lord and to pray?

Prioritising The Periphery

4th Sunday of Lent (A)

(Laetare Sunday)

Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13; Psalm 22 (23); Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Picture: By mohammed dawleh on Unsplash

What is the opposite of glaucoma? According to the Singhealth website, glaucoma is a group of diseases… resulting in irreversible loss of vision. It’s a scary one-way process leading to blindness. Usually this is caused by the build-up of pressure in the eyeball. Fluid accumulates in the eye faster than it is able to drain away. And the resulting pressure damages the optic nerve irreparably. But because vision is initially lost around the edges, or the periphery, sufferers don’t realise they’re going blind, until it’s too late… A process leading to blindness… involving the build-up of pressure… where vision is lost beginning at the periphery. Process, pressure and periphery. It’s helpful to keep these three characteristics in mind, as we ponder the scriptures on this Fourth Sunday in Lent. For what we find here is not just something like glaucoma, but also its opposite. Not just the tragic loss of sight, but also its joyful restoration.

In the first reading, the prophet Samuel is obviously undergoing a process, by which he is gradually being taught how to see as God sees. How to look beyond appearances to the very heart of reality. Samuel is being given the ability to do what the second reading encourages all of us to do: to discover (or to discern) what the Lord wants, and so to walk in the light of God. Actually, more than just Samuel, the whole people of Israel is being offered new sight. For, as we may recall, back when Samuel was still a boy, he lived with the old priest Eli, who was then going blind, in more ways than one. Not only had Eli’s eyesight… begun to grow dim so that he could not see (3:2, NRSV), he had also turned a blind eye to the sins of his two sons (2:22). They were stealing the sacrifices offered to God, and abusing the women who served at the tent of meeting. Nor was Eli the only one losing his sight. The scripture also says that the word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread (3:1). In other words, the whole nation was growing spiritually blind. Likely due to the pressures exerted by its own idolatry, its worship of false gods. So by teaching Samuel to see, God is reversing this spiritual glaucoma, restoring the people’s sight.

And isn’t it remarkable how, even though one after another of Jesse’s sons are rejected by God, including Samuel’s own preferred candidate, the prophet doesn’t seem to feel any pressure? Rather than clinging stubbornly to his own preference, Samuel is quite happy to listen to the Lord, to follow God’s direction. And isn’t it striking how peripheral a figure the boy David is at this point in the story? So peripheral is he, that his father Jesse might well have forgotten all about him, had Samuel not asked, perhaps with more than a touch of irritation, Are these all the sons you have? And yet, it is precisely this peripheral character whom God sees fit to anoint as king. To be God’s chosen instrument to help restore the people’s sight.

 

Process, pressure and periphery. Don’t we find these in the gospel too? Like Samuel, the man born blind is undergoing a process, in which he is gradually receiving his sight. Not just his physical sight, but more importantly, his spiritual vision. The reading marks the progress of this healing process by the titles the man uses to address Jesus. First, he refers to him simply as the man called Jesus. Then, he calls him a prophet. And, finally, he recognises and worships him as Lord. In contrast, even as the man’s vision gradually sharpens and deepens, the people around him are going blind. From his neighbours, who should know him well, and yet now have trouble recognising him. To his parents, who seem unable to acknowledge their son’s healing, let alone to share his joy. To the religious authorities, who have clearly already made up their minds about Jesus.

And isn’t this blindness caused by pressure? Pressure experienced by the authorities, who wish to paint Jesus as nothing more than a breaker of the Law, but can’t explain how a sinner is able to give sight to the blind. And pressure that these same authorities then place on others to suppress the truth. In contrast, after experiencing Jesus’ healing touch, the once-blind man seems remarkably immune to pressure. Such that he is able even to talk back to those who have power to cast him out of the community. And who is this man, really, if not a peripheral figure? One whose name isn’t even recorded in the gospel. Yet it is this same peripheral figure in whom God chooses to show God’s power. As Jesus tells his disciples. he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 

Even if glaucoma currently remains irreversible, God still has power to restore lost spiritual sight. This is the good news proclaimed in our readings today. This is the gift we are joyfully preparing to celebrate, when we renew our baptismal vows at Easter. But the scriptures also tell us that the sharpness of our spiritual sight depends on how well we attend to the little things and little ones that are too often pushed to the peripheries of consciousness by the pressures of modern life. Little things, like being kind, showing respect, and even getting enough rest and exercise, not just physically, but also spiritually. And little ones, like innocent civilians displaced by war, and children burdened by the so-called education arms-race, as well as migrant workers still relegated to riding precariously at the back of lorries.

Sisters and brothers, how shall we help one another to keep walking in the light of the Lord today?