I am happy to announce the world did not end yesterday. At least, not for us. Of course, for the millions of individuals who actually died yesterday, through tornadoes, earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, or through war, accidents or diseases, their personal world did indeed come to an end. We can only hope and pray they were prepared to meet their God.
For me, my personal world came to an end a week ago Friday when I traveled to Guilin, China. As I got off the bus in a pouring rain, with my umbrella in one hand and my suitcase in the other, I was suddenly surrounded by a group of three pickpockets. I pushed them away twice. When I got to my hotel, I was relieved to see I still had my passport, my wallet and my airplane ticket. It was only the next day when I realized they had successfully liberated my iPhone. *sigh*
This incident could have put a damper on the rest of the trip, except I concentrated on what I still had and not on what I had lost. (My Precioussss!)
My visit to Korea reminded me to appreciate what is really important.
This was my first trip back since 1999 and many things have changed. Buddhist monks, for example, no longer wear 고무신 (rubber shoes). No, now they wear Adidas sneakers. In the past I noticed the fashion in Korea was about six months ahead of the States. If that's the case, men here should prepare to be wearing shiny neckties that sparkle like glitter on Christmas trees. Of course, six months from now will be Christmas, so that should work out just fine.
But it was while riding Seoul's wonderful subway system that I realized how much things have changed. In fact, for the first time since going to Korea in 1971 I felt like an outsider again.
Riding on the subway, I realized I was now the oldest one there. Actually I had become the 할아버지 (grandfather) that people give their seat to. But that didn't bother me.
I was usually the only foreigner in the subway car. But that didn't bother me either.
No, the only thing that bothered me was looking around and seeing I was the only person in the entire subway who didn't have a smart phone. That bothered me.
But once I got back down to Masan to visit the people from the parish I started there in 1981, they reminded me what is really important and what really matters: faith and family and friendship. And there's no iPhone app for that.
Which brings us back to the end of the world, which didn't happen yesterday. Surely none of you fell for that nonsense, right? If you did, you might want to consider signing up for a remedial 교리 (catechism) class. Jesus himself said that no one knew the day or the hour, not the angels in heaven, not even he. Only God the Father knows. And Jesus warned against false prophets who would arise with all kinds of predictions to mislead people.
Jesus says in today's gospel, "Do not let your hearts be troubled." Our religion is based on faith, not on fear. Any religion based on fear is not worth believing. Any government or political party that uses fear to control people is not worth supporting. And a life based on fear is not worth living.
When I visited Korea I saw a people who live not by fear but by faith. I saw a vibrant faith lived by a dynamic people, who've overcome poverty and hardship over the years. And they convinced me that now, more than ever, the Church in Korea needs Missioners.
As you know, Korea is the only country in the history of Christianity that brought the faith to itself without foreign missionaries. So what do I mean when I say the Church in Korea needs Missioners?
Korea doesn't need Missioners to spread the Catholic church in Korea. The Church in Korea is strong. Rather, the Church needs Korean Missioners to bring the Gospel of Christ to the world, a world torn by fear and fanaticism, a world ruled and ruined by greed and violence. Such a world deserves to end, and quickly.
Each of you in your own way have the power, indeed the duty to share your faith with the rest of the world, starting right here and right now. The old world is ending--every day--and a new world of faith and family and friendship is being born, with or without an iPhone.
Showing posts with label Korean Catholicism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korean Catholicism. Show all posts
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Cursed by Freedom (July 4th & St. Andrew Kim)
Today we celebrate two wonderful anniversaries: the feast of St. Andrew Kim Dae Gun and United States Independence Day. These afford us the opportunity to think about and give thanks to God for our faith and for our freedom. We also need to ask ourselves, what is freedom for and how do we use it or abuse it? Likewise we must consider our faith and whether our actions prove to the world if our faith is right or wrong.
Personally, I think our society is cursed with freedom. Not only do we have too much of it but we don’t know what to do with it. Worse, we forget what life was like before we gained our freedom. We gather peacefully in this Church this morning because of the bravery of countless men and women who gave their lives so we could worship as Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or—and this is the true beauty of freedom—not worship at all. Or not believe in God. It’s our choice and our freedom.
The problem is most of us never had to risk our comfort, let alone our lives, in order to practice our religion. For us the U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, but St. Andrew Kim Dae Gun and the blessed martyrs did not have the luxury to sit around and wait for their government to give them the freedom to practice their faith. If you knew for certain being baptized would result in your death, would you do it? If you understood becoming a Catholic priest would cause you and your family to be tortured and killed, would anyone here still want to become a priest?
St. Andrew Kim saw in the Catholic faith a better future, not just for himself but also for Korea. And I see in the Catholic Church in Korea hope for the Catholic Church in the world.
You are so blessed. The blood of the Korean martyrs runs through your veins and you breathe the air of freedom in the United States. The question I ask you is this: are you using your freedom to witness to your faith in this country? And why is this important?
It seems to me in the competition between Christians and Muslims to win the hearts and minds of our own people and to influence secular society, Islam is winning. That is, Muslims are more respectful of their religion than we are of ours. As you know I recently spent a week in Turkey. Turkey is a modern, Muslim country. They are not ashamed to practice their faith in public. What’s more, they are way more respectful of the Prophet Muhammed than we are of Jesus Christ.
Muslims seldom refer to the Prophet by name and when they do, whether in word or in print, they add “Peace be upon him.”
Now Muhammed was a prophet but only a prophet and only a man. We Christians confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world, yet how much respect do we give the holy name of Jesus? In our society, sad to say, “Jesus Christ” is said more often as a curse than as a blessing. Even among Catholics. Instead of us making society holy, we allow society to make our religion vulgar and use the name of Jesus as a swear word.
But we can change our society; we can change our country; we can change our church if —and only if—we are willing to change ourselves.
Let us thank our Muslim brothers and sisters for the example they have given us. Let us resolve never to use the Name of the Lord in anything but prayer or in a respectful manner. St. Kim Dae Gun gave his life for the Name of Jesus; are we willing to risk the ridicule, scorn and laughter of our friends if we speak up when Jesus’ name is thrown around like so much dirt?
What’s the use of believing we have the true religion if we treat it with contempt? What’s the use of being free if we live as slaves to popularity and pride? Our religion is only as true as we live it.
St. Kim Dae Gun gave us an example, not to be praised but to be followed. We honor him and all the martyrs of Korea not so much by singing their praises but by risking our pride and popularity to imitate them by putting our faith into practice.
Personally, I think our society is cursed with freedom. Not only do we have too much of it but we don’t know what to do with it. Worse, we forget what life was like before we gained our freedom. We gather peacefully in this Church this morning because of the bravery of countless men and women who gave their lives so we could worship as Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus or—and this is the true beauty of freedom—not worship at all. Or not believe in God. It’s our choice and our freedom.
The problem is most of us never had to risk our comfort, let alone our lives, in order to practice our religion. For us the U.S. Constitution guarantees the freedom of religion, but St. Andrew Kim Dae Gun and the blessed martyrs did not have the luxury to sit around and wait for their government to give them the freedom to practice their faith. If you knew for certain being baptized would result in your death, would you do it? If you understood becoming a Catholic priest would cause you and your family to be tortured and killed, would anyone here still want to become a priest?
St. Andrew Kim saw in the Catholic faith a better future, not just for himself but also for Korea. And I see in the Catholic Church in Korea hope for the Catholic Church in the world.
You are so blessed. The blood of the Korean martyrs runs through your veins and you breathe the air of freedom in the United States. The question I ask you is this: are you using your freedom to witness to your faith in this country? And why is this important?
It seems to me in the competition between Christians and Muslims to win the hearts and minds of our own people and to influence secular society, Islam is winning. That is, Muslims are more respectful of their religion than we are of ours. As you know I recently spent a week in Turkey. Turkey is a modern, Muslim country. They are not ashamed to practice their faith in public. What’s more, they are way more respectful of the Prophet Muhammed than we are of Jesus Christ.
Muslims seldom refer to the Prophet by name and when they do, whether in word or in print, they add “Peace be upon him.”
Now Muhammed was a prophet but only a prophet and only a man. We Christians confess Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world, yet how much respect do we give the holy name of Jesus? In our society, sad to say, “Jesus Christ” is said more often as a curse than as a blessing. Even among Catholics. Instead of us making society holy, we allow society to make our religion vulgar and use the name of Jesus as a swear word.
But we can change our society; we can change our country; we can change our church if —and only if—we are willing to change ourselves.
Let us thank our Muslim brothers and sisters for the example they have given us. Let us resolve never to use the Name of the Lord in anything but prayer or in a respectful manner. St. Kim Dae Gun gave his life for the Name of Jesus; are we willing to risk the ridicule, scorn and laughter of our friends if we speak up when Jesus’ name is thrown around like so much dirt?
What’s the use of believing we have the true religion if we treat it with contempt? What’s the use of being free if we live as slaves to popularity and pride? Our religion is only as true as we live it.
St. Kim Dae Gun gave us an example, not to be praised but to be followed. We honor him and all the martyrs of Korea not so much by singing their praises but by risking our pride and popularity to imitate them by putting our faith into practice.
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