Causing Scandal

Saint Martin of Tours was born in the fourth century to pagan parents in Sabaria, comprising parts of modern day Yugoslavia and Hungary. His father was an officer in the Roman army. His family moved to Pavia in Italy when he was still a child. And there the boy first learned of Christianity, felt drawn to it, and became a catechumen. Afraid of the reaction from his parents and also of the largely pagan community, Martin kept his love of Christ hidden. Following his dad's footsteps, young Martin joined the Roman army at the age of fifteen. He was stationed in Gaul during a winter season. One day while riding into the city, he noticed a beggar near the city gates. The poor man was shivering with cold and had turned almost blue. Martin had no money to give him, but had a very heavy woolen cloak to keep himself warm. So he divided the cloak in two pieces, gave one half to the beggar, and barely wrapped himself with the other half. This kind act by the young man immediately caused a big scandal among his peers and the town folks. They realized Martin was a Christian.

Can Anyone be Addicted to God?

There are instances where people who were addicted to things like money, power, luxury, recognition, or pride give up on those things when the love of God touches their heart. God actually finds ingenious ways to touch the hearts of those people who are addicted to worldly things. One of the most effective way He uses is by allowing suffering to enter the lives of those whom He wishes to touch. During the times of trials and tribulations, many tend to turn to God seeking relief from the desperate situations that they are in. Once a person discerns the presence of God - the warmth of His gentle and comforting love - there is no going back. Once we realize that the life offered by God through Jesus Christ is worth more than anything we ever possessed, it is easy to trade our life, with all of its riches and relationships, for a life in Christ. But many would argue that when somebody give up their worldly pleasures for joy in Christ, all they are doing is trading one addiction in for a different one. But is that really so, is it possible to be addicted to God?

A Purple Cross with Pink Flowers

A while back I heard somebody talking about a gift she once received, it was a handmade cross painted in purple with little pink flowers all over it. She liked it so much so that she put it where everybody could see it. At the time, I thought of it as a nice gesture by whoever took the time making a beautiful cross to be given away as a meaningful gift. But while reading an article by an Australian surgeon named Dr. Andreas Lambrianides about the practice of crucifixion by ancient Romans, the purple cross came back to mind. What I realized was that I too have fallen into the trap of domesticating the Cross. The Cross is not meant to be purple, green or yellow; it is not meant to be decorative or exuberant, it represents a device used for one of the most cruel and excruciating punishments ever devised by man. For Christians, it is a constant reminder that, "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ paid the price for Salvation with His own body and blood by dying on a cross, and even today His blood cleanses and nourishes the Church, His body.

I don't wanna get off the tree!

Ever wondered about having a real life encounter with Jesus? You could be at work, at school, on the way to the doctor, perhaps doing shopping. And somebody told you that Jesus is passing by. Would you run over to see Him? I think I would. I might even get on that Sycamore tree like Zachaeus did to get a good look at Him. I am not good at climbing trees, and I am scared of heights. I am sure I will make a fool out of myself my clinging onto that tree, doing everything not to fall. But now I am worried, not about making a fool out of myself or falling, but what if Jesus sees me? I know what He is going to tell me. He would say: "Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house" (Luke 19:5). You might be wondering why I am worried about Jesus inviting Himself to my house. I am worried because at some point during his stay at my house, I would have to get up to say, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over" (Luke 19:8). Now you see, that's a lot of moolah my friends!

You will not be overcome

What do you do when nothing make sense; when plans fall apart and all seems to be ruined? The temptation to despair is ever present in our lives. And most of the time, it is the easiest path to take. But for an outsider looking in, it is hard to figure out why those in despair could not just find happiness in things that they have, rather than worrying about things they want, until it hit home, when they themselves become desperate. Sinking fast into an abyss of negative thoughts, they too will soon realize that when expectations fall apart, senselessness becomes the only behavior that make sense. So is hope a bad thing? Is it better not to hope at all? But is it even possible to not to have hope?

The Evangelist

During early and mid 1990s, as a full time college student in New York city and living on my own, I was in desperate need of a nighttime job. My search ended at the regional hub of United Parcel Services located on 43rd Street and 11th Ave, when I was hired to load and unload tractor trailers during the midnight shift. Everybody I knew was against me taking that job because it involved walking through Times Square at 11 o'clock at night. I was only a year or so removed from getting off the boat into the United States, and many feared that I don't have the street smarts to survive walking through the red light district to get to work. Times Square was the center of everything that is considered "dirty" by family oriented people, the place was humming with prostitutes, adult movie theaters, drug dealers, drug addicts and those who seek carnal pleasures. Never a man who listened to  unsolicited advises, I took the job. After making my way through the "sinners" for the first several week, one thing I learned quickly, though the place could be used as the cover picture for mayhem, there exists an underlying order and everybody notices everything. In the beginning, I was approached by everybody from transvestites to pimps in fur coats; a week later, I walked through there as if I am invisible, not even a runaway teenager who just got off the bus from the Midwest solicited my business. I too began to recognize familiar faces in the crowd, it was mostly the same people standing at the same spot every night wearing the same dress.

Is there a God?

"How do you know God exists?" It is a simple question with both a simple and complicated answer. It is simple for a faithful believer because faith is believing in something or someone you cannot see, or accepting something that cannot be proven as true. Faith doesn't require proof, or you don't need faith to believe in something already proven. Majority of the religious believers regardless of whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jew or Hindu accept the existence of God not due to revelations, but because of their faith. 

My problem with "My Jesus"

Jesus is a lot more than the God-made-man and the Redeemer for most of His followers. By taking a human form, Jesus encourages us to have a personal relationship with Him - something we don't quite able to do with God the Father or the Holy Spirit. "My Jesus" is a term we are very much comfortable with especially in times of sorrows and troubles. Having an understanding that Jesus is with us in our sufferings and sorrows help us to cope with it better. 

Christmas without Christ

I stayed away from blogging for a couple of days to prepare a talk for the Faith Forum discussion at our Church. I must say that I worked really hard for it, picked apart the hard language of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and came up with a talk about the mystery behind the simple and inglorious birth of Jesus. Then came the disappointing part - I had three people in attendance to listen to the talk! It turned out people were too busy to come to church an hour early because all of them were busy getting ready for Christmas. Some even suggested that it was really not a good idea to schedule a talk a day before Christmas - even though the talk was about Jesus' birth. I am sorry if I sound bitter, but am I the only fool to see the irony here? We are too busy preparing for the birth of our Savior, but what about the Savior who is already here?

Rejecting Jesus during Christmas

A billboard from American Atheists at
Times Square, NY

Many of us go into the Christmas season with lot of expectations - it is supposed to be a joyous time of the year, a time for family, a time to share gifts, a time to slow down and listen to the holiday music playing nonstop on the radio. But I don't feel all too happy this time of the year - things just didn't pan out the way I was hoping. I feel rejected during one of the happiest time of the year. I hope and pray that I am the only one who feels this way, but I know I am not. 

For most of us, Christmas is a time when we are anxious, frustrated and desperate. We spend months planning and making lists of things to do during Christmas. We park a mile away from the mall and fight the crowd to get around the stores, only to find out that half of the stuff on our shopping list is out of stock. We wait on an endless line to pay for the useless stuff we bought as gifts only to face the smirk of a cashier who would inform us in a less than sympathetic way that our credit card has been declined.

There will be blood

A school, especially an elementary school, would easily be considered as a safe haven for kids. It is an essential place in the development of any kid - a place where we learn to adapt to our life, with the help of grown ups. A classroom is also a place where kids naturally feel  safe. A nation is in pain and the world shocked upon hearing about a coldblooded killer who trespassed into the safety zone of kids only to shoot them point blank one after the other. We are outraged about the senselessness and insanity associated with the incident. We can feel our stomach churn while looking at the pictures of the innocent lives that were taken away for no apparent reasons. Without taking anything away from the pain and sufferings of that community, I must ask, "Are we truly upset and outraged about the murder of the most defenseless of our citizens in a place where they should be most protected?"

The Question of God and Tragedies

As the world prepares for the arrival the Prince of Peace, a heartbreaking and unforgettable tragedy beset the town of Newtown, Connecticut on Friday December 14th. 20 year-old Adam Lanza went on a shooting spree that left 20 children and 8 adults, including himself and his mother, dead. Authorities are desperately seeking a reason for Lanza's actions, in hopes of bringing some sort of closure to those who are involved. In the coming days, I am sure the news media will be at it full time trying to dissect everybody involved - the shooter, the victims, and their families. We will hear about heroes and how they helped to prevent a much bigger tragedy from occurring. Of course, we will also get to hear about the culprit - everything from his Facebook account to a possible history of mental illness. Unfortunately, something also tells me that we might also hear from people who looks squarely on TV cameras and utter in disbelief: "How could God allow this to happen?". 

Wait Santa, I am Not Ready

The Jesse Tree (Jesse is the father of King David)
A depiction of genealogy of Christ

December is here and it is Christmas time! For most of us December is a month of festivities and happiness. I can't think about any other celebration that has a universal appeal like Christmas does. People regardless of their faith, in some form, celebrate Christmas. It could be a couple of lights outside their house; it could be taking advantage of the promotions of the season and buying something new; it could be making a charitable donation by tossing couple of dollars into a Salvation Army bucket. Knowingly or unknowingly, we all participate in the spirit of Christmas, it is hard not to. And we should, all of us should regardless of our beliefs and religion. But is that enough for those who call themselves Christians? Should Christians be satisfied with Christmas trees, lights and decorations along with Santa Claus and Christmas carols, just like our Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or atheist neighbors? Do we need to do anything different during Christmas season to distinguish ourselves as Christians, followers of Christ?

The Catholic church celebrate the season of Advent which extends four Sundays before Christmas. It is a time of preparation . Advent means "to come to", and it refers to the coming of Christ.

Fear Not

I still remember the day when the oldest of our three kids was born. Unfortunately something still hurts in me when I think about it,unlike the birth of our other two kids. I think it is because it was the first time in my life I was scared for the life of a loved one. I remember how a room with a doctor and nurse attending my wife in labor along with myself and a relative - a room filled with happiness and anticipation of a new life - turned into a room filled doctors and nurses with intense faces, in a matter of minutes. Like many of us, I too never liked to think about death, especially of myself or one of my loved ones. Death was something that happened elsewhere - to people I didn't care much about and in places I didn't know about. Then in an instant, in that hospital room, I became aware of the ultimate danger. My daughter is now nine years old and my wife is, let's just say, nine years older - in short, everything turned out to be okay that day. But I still shudder when I think about that day.

I am getting bored!!!

Ever noticed the vast number number of toys out there - not for kids, but for adults. Grown ups don't call them toys - we call them gadgets. It's all around us. In fact, everything around us is some kind of a gadget nowadays. Gadgets are our way of fixing a big problem that we face in today's fast paced society - boredom. We all complain about not having enough time to do anything, we stay busy all the time. But we are also bored - we are tired of being too busy, getting up to do the same thing over and over everyday. We use the gadgets to relieve boredom - TV, computer, video games, texting, social networking, so on and so forth. But ever stopped and looked at the other side of these gadgets (no, not the side that says 'Designed in USA and Made in China'). Ever thought about the gadgets as objects that actually add on to our busy lifestyle - we don't have enough time for anything because we have too many of these toys to deal with!

Let's talk about hell

The Rich Man being led to hell (Luke 16:14-31)
By David Teniers the Younger - 1647

I think that I spent a lot of time talking and writing about the God of Love, God our Father. What I realized lately is that while talking about God's love all the time I have failed to acknowledge the other side of Him, God of judgement. Before coming into terms with a God who would send His beloved creation to hell, I need to come into terms with the fact that there does exist a hell. Among the people who believe in God, afterlife, and heaven, many resist the idea of hell. When we think about hell, the common image is that of fire. But I need something more than that, hell can't be just about a lake of fire where sinful souls burn forever. As humans, we don't like to be burned by fire, it hurts our body, not our soul. So what kind of effect would fire have for a soul in hell? So it's not fire that makes hell HELL, there has to be something more - something to torment a soul with. 

"Master, I Want to See"

While listening to Mark's gospel about how Jesus gave Bartimaeus his sight back, I was a little surprised by the question that Jesus posed to the poor blind man, "What do you want me to do for you?" (Mark 10:51). Though I have heard and read this passage many times in the past, never before it struck me as an odd question. As a blind man begging for alms, his disability and his need couldn't be anymore obvious - the man wants his sight back. He has already shown enough humility and trust in Jesus by his persistence, even when the crowd was annoyed at him for disturbing Jesus. Why would Jesus want to hear from the man the obvious?

I know that I am a sinner, and I am glad

Are you one of those people who give great emphasis to living a perfect life? Are you obsessed with your image - wanting people to admire your morality and values in life? Do you observe your religious duties meticulously - giving great emphasis to saying the right prayers, hoping that God would be pleased? How about charity - do you feel necessary to be recognized by others for your generosity, want to be counted as a righteous and upright one?  Then Jesus got news for you: "Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are  entering the kingdom of God before you" (Matthew 21:31)!

What is all this noise about?

Ever wonder whatever happens to many thousands of "Our Father", "Hail Mary", and "Amen" that we say in our life time? Is there anybody listening to all our prayers on the other end, or are prayers just part of a tradition? Isn't it better if a prayer is more like what it should be like - a conversation? Why do we often feel like the only person talking in our relationship with God is us? Whatever happened to the God who spoke to His people, the God as we see Him in the Bible?

JESUS: Liar or Lord?

In an article I wrote a while back, Jesus - The Man, The God, The ???, I talked about a dilemma faced by a lot of Christians when it comes to the dual personality of Jesus Christ. Though lived only a short time here on earth as a human being, Jesus left the whole humanity - both believers and non believers alike - with enough to wonder and worry about what to make out of Him. Jesus, the very foundation of Christianity, can also be a stumbling block for many of its believers, especially when faced with questions from skeptics. In a world where more and more people are walking away from God to embrace newly found comforts of Science and Technology, Jesus is often a joke. Ordinary Christians often find it difficult to defend Jesus and their faith because they are are believing in a God - not just any god, but the only Son of the Creator of all things seen and unseen - who has long hair and beard, who wears a simple cloak, who sweated, felt hunger and pain like an ordinary human being. Many of the non-believers of Christ are willing to accept him as good man - a good teacher, a good leader, a wise man, even a prophet - but not God. We often take this view from a skeptic as an acceptable one, relived that we are not dealing with somebody who is totally against Jesus Christ. But how acceptable is that view of Jesus as a good man who taught his followers many good things including a beautiful prayer, a man with god given abilities to perform miracles? As Christians, should we compromise with the world around us about this view of Jesus? Is Jesus - a good man, better than no Jesus at all?