XVII Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle B

2 Kgs 4:42-44
Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
Eph 4:1-6
Jn 6:1-15

Starting from this Sunday and for the next few Sundays, we will be hearing Chapter Six of the Gospel of John.  This is commonly called the “Bread of Life Discourse”.  This piece of scripture is full of really juicy details that are incredible when you are able to get into the nitty gritty.  My seminary scripture professor warned us, “Men, when you get out into the parishes and this part of the lectionary cycle comes up, take it easy and don’t overwhelm the poor people of God! Pace yourself because you are going to be preaching on this for a few weeks.”  So this Sunday we begin with an introduction to the Bread of Life Discourse: the multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the feeding of the five thousand.  So it here it goes!

The first thing I want to draw your attention to is the setting of where this Gospel takes place.  In verse 3, Jesus went up on the mountain and in verse 4, the Jewish feast of Passover was near.  These two details sets the context for what is about to happen.  The fact that Jesus went up the mountain or rather the fact that a “mountain” is mentioned and that someone is going up it, means that something important or cool is about to happen.  The fact that our Gospel uses the definite article “THE” rather than “A”, means that there is something even more unique to this mountain rather than any other mountain.  And then the fact that the Jewish Passover is near – it almost seems out of place in the whole story of the multiplication of the loaves.  This chronological marker or recalling of time is no coincidence – it is purposefully put in there to give a context to what Jesus will do later.  What we are asked to do is to thinking about what this could mean:  what does a mountain and Passover have to do with each other?

Let us go back to the Old Testament and think about the first Passover where Moses is on the Holy Mountain of God, Mt. Sinai.  Moses had just led the enslaved Israelites out of Egypt, the angel of death had “passed over” the Israelites and were spared from death and led into freedom.  They were assembled at Mt. Sinai, the mountain where God dwelled, and were ready to receive the law.  The Israelites also wandered the desert for forty years being fed by mana (bread) from heaven and meat from quails that fell out of the sky.  [I know that for some of you this might be really pedantic typology; for everyone else they need this spelled out.  And for those of you who don’t know what “pedantic typology” means, you are probably in the latter category.]  This background information from the Book of Exodus gives us an idea of what kind of context Jesus is dealing with.  The people of Israel are waiting for a new Moses, a new Messiah to bring them out of bondage from the Roman occupation of the time.  However, Jesus is not going in the same direction as where the Jews want to go.  Therefore, you see Jesus fulfilling and repeating everything that is happening in the Old Testament but on a whole new level.  So the detail of the mountain is to remind us that Jesus is the new Moses descending down to the people of God.  That the Jewish feast of Passover was near because this celebration that the Jewish people had been celebrating for thousands of years is now going to be radically transformed into what we know now is the Eucharistic celebration.

But before we get ahead of ourselves , let us look at the five loaves and two fishes.  [Why?  Because I’m an engineer and numbers interest me.]  Great writers and interpreters of scriptures, holy people who have written commentaries also like to analyze the significance of numbers.  One I like in particular is Venerable Bede’s interpretation: the fives loaves represent the five books of the Torah (the Pentateuch or the first five books of our Bible) and the two fish represent the Prophets and the Psalms and the young boy represents the Jewish people.  So I’m picturing in my mind this young chubby little Jewish boy with a backpack full of fish sandwiches and you can picture his Jewish mother telling him to share with his friends… I imagine that he looks like the little Boy Scout from the Disney movie “UP”.

Anyways, Venerable Bede goes on to say that Jesus receives these fish sandwiches… loaves and fishes rather – these symbols for the Old Testament Scriptures and transforms them, literally breaks open the Word, so that the truest and fullest meaning can be obtained.  Just take a moment and ponder that.  Jesus takes the Old and transforms them into the New.  The bread that nourished God’s people before in the desert will continue to nourish in a new way.

What the Prophet Elisha had done with the 20 barley loaves and feeding the 100 men, Jesus does more with even less – 5 loaves, 2 fish feeding over 5000.  Whereas in the time of Moses, what was gathered extra disintegrated and spoiled, this bread from Jesus would not spoil.  Whereas in the time of Moses, the bread was given to the twelve tribes of Israel, the bread and fish of twelve baskets is now entrusted to the twelve disciples.  If you study the Greek grammar and vocabulary you will see a very close connection between this passages, the passages with Passover and the Manna in the desert in the Old Testament, and the early Church’s understanding of the Eucharist.  It is just simply profound.

I want to draw your attention to another geographical reference and if you aren’t careful you’ll miss it.  Typically when I think of mountains, I think of large rocks and boulders, a little bit of dirt, and even less green foliage.  Of course there are many exceptions to this, but that’s just what my mind conjures up when I think mountain.  But when Jesus says, Have the people recline, the scriptures follow with: Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.  So what does that have to do with what is going on?  Why is there mention of lots of green grass?  Let’s go back to everyone’s favorite psalm: Psalm 23, The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want. Most of you have this memorized right?  What’s the next verse? He makes me lie down in green pastures… He leads me beside still waters; he restores my soul. He makes me lie down in green pastures – do you see the connection?  Scholars have contended that this reference is Jesus fulfilling the psalms: setting the table before the people, to have a cup that overflows.

And all of this, of course, is foreshadowing what is about to happen in the next few weeks.  But with all of these little details about our Gospel today, what is our take away?  What are we left with?  Ironically, you may be feeling what the Jews were feeling that day.  You have whetted your appetite with the scriptures opened to you and you are left wanting more and so you go searching, just like what the Jews do after Jesus leaves them.  They go out in search for him.  I think that is what you must do now.

Jesus will open the scriptures and fulfill everything that the Old Testament had foretold.  Every action and important detail is meticulously copied down into the scriptures – the inspired Word of God.  I challenge you to break open the Word as Jesus did with the loaves and fishes.  Search for Him in the Sacred Scriptures and see how amazing the greatest story ever told really is.  Allow the Word of God to refresh you and refill you, to satisfy your hunger and to quench your thirst.  Many of you don’t even know that you are hungry and thirsty!!  It is time to be aware of that hunger and to allow it to drive you to discover our Lord in a whole new way.  As we enter into our Eucharistic celebration let us ask for that grace and continue to hunger for Our Lord.

XVI Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Jer 23:1-6
Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
Eph 2:13-18
Mk 6:30-34

When I first started discerning the idea of becoming a priest, it never occurred to me to discern what it meant to be a shepherd.  As I went through formation and I started to open the scriptures, I thought, “Wow… there sure is a lot of talk about shepherds in here…”  All through the Old Testament with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and of course David – I mean, pretty much if you were named in the Old Testament you were probably a shepherd or prophet or a King.  A shepherd, then, plays a major role in the scriptures and has given me a lot of food for thought.  What does it mean to be a shepherd as a newly ordained priest?

Our first reading speaks about Woe to the shepherds….  There’s a lot of “woe-ing” in scriptures and it’s usually to people of authority who have abused it and misunderstood it and today’s reading is no different.  The accusations are listed: the shepherd has scattered the sheep and the sheep have not been cared for – and these actions will not go unpunished.  However, the Lord will raise up a righteous shoot to David, as king he shall reign and govern wisely – and you all can guess that is… Jesus Christ.  Therefore we learn from the first reading that God desires that a shepherd be one that brings the sheep together, cares for them, and rules as a king with justice and wisdom.

The Responsorial Psalm is a classic and many know this psalm by heart.  Growing up it was one of the first scripture verses that I learned by heart.  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Every line in this psalm can be used to reflect upon the Lord being our shepherd and the many things that he does for us: he leads us to restful waters and verdant pastures, and even to be by our side in the dark valley.  He blesses us with the table of the Eucharist and gives us His dwelling in eternity.

As it says in the second reading we who were once far off have become near by the blood of Christ.  The Good Shepherd lays down His life for us, so that our cup overflows with the grace that He has poured out for us.  He came to rescue us from condemnation and bring us back into His presence.

I don’t know if you have ever heard of the three munera of Jesus Christ.  But the three munera or functions that Christ acts in is: priest, prophet, and king – a priest who sanctifies, a prophet who teaches, and a king who governs.   But what about shepherd?  Where does this concept of shepherd fit into the three munera?  In the beginning, I thought that shepherd was just simply to replace “king” because well, the idea of “king” is outdated and well ever since we had our little Boston Tea Party, the idea of “king” just never quite sat well with Americans.  But as I began to understand what it meant to be a shepherd, I realized that the identity of shepherd encompassed all three of the munera.  A priest, prophet, and King are roles that specialize in their particular action – it is obvious what they do.  However, a shepherd represents the pastoral love and charity that the other three do not express.  You can picture a priest that celebrates the sacrifice of the Mass without any emotion, you can picture a prophet preaching fire and brimstone, and you can always picture a tyrannical ruler.  But when all three are put into the context of a shepherd, you have something completely different.

The shepherd that preaches the Good News and he does this to bring all the sheep into the Lord’s fold.  He gathers all his beloved sheep together and loves them, sings to them, and cares for them. [I hear that some shepherds play the harmonica.] The shepherd that sacrifices, not just any sheep, but sacrifices Himself - He becomes the lamb of God to sacrifice Himself for His sheep.  He loves His sheep so much that He would lay down His life for His sheep.  The shepherd that governs and disciplines his flock – to keep them from danger and going astray.  He does not make rules just to suit himself, but because he desires their safety and their well being.

As you can see the shepherd is the key to these munera of priest, prophet, and king.  The bishop as chief shepherd of a diocese has this role of preaching the Gospel, sanctifying the people and the world through the sacraments, and making sure that the temporal order is properly administered.  Priests and deacons also in the person of Christ [in persona Christi] represent the Good Shepherd and imitate those munera in their life and ministry.  These are such important roles in the life of a shepherd and I am finding to be very enriching for me spiritually.

I have mentioned bishops, priests, and deacons, but you all are not off the hook!  As the Christian faithful who are baptized into Christ, they also take on these three functions: to sanctify, to preach and teach, to govern and discipline.  Think about the many things that you do each day.  You bless the day, you bless your food, your children and those around you by your Christian example.  You teach and preach to others through the way you carry yourself, how you drive, how you act in department stores, and at work.   And you also govern through keeping accountability with your peers, your coworkers, and your children.  You think about the many things that you do each day and you will see that you also have the responsibility to act in these three munera no less than any other ordained clergy.

It is no easy task to be a shepherd and yet we are all called to do imitate Christ in our evangelical mission.  Today’s gospel shows how incredible these demands can be.  He told His apostles to take a break and rest.  But the demand of the people that were in need of hope and in need to be spiritually fed were so great that they had to change their plans.  Our lives are not any different.  There are people out there that need us to bring them Christ.  There are people out there that do not know the truth about the faith and we are called to be His shepherds.  I hope that you can feel that call.  You will know it is there.  When you are tired and exhausted and feel like you cannot do anymore, you are able to get up and get out there and do what you needed to do.  Because it is at those times that you will realize that you are no longer living for yourself, but you are living for someone else.  And when you start to live for someone else out of true charity, you are well on your way to becoming a good shepherd for the Lord.

XV Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle B

First Sunday Mass as Parochial Vicar
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, Plano, TX

Am 7:12-15
Ps 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14
Eph 1:3-14
Mk 6:7-13

People have often asked me how does it feel – to be a 43 day old newly ordained priest?  I tell them that it is great and awesome and they can usually see me gushing with joy.  But it still doesn’t quite express it well enough.  I think newlywed couples, especially the ones that have saved themselves for marriage, and maybe couples that have just had their first child have that feeling that I am feeling.  You wake up in the morning and you say, “Oh my God, I’m married!” or “Oh my God, I’m a Father/Mother” in my case, “Oh my God, I’m a priest!”  And this feeling takes a few minutes to sink in, while I marvel how great it feels to be a priest and what awesome favor I have been shown by our Lord.
 
People outside St. Elizabeth Ann Seton have often asked me about my new parish assignment and how I am liking it.  I think the best way to describe the situation is that is an “arranged marriage”.   The bishop called me up a few months ago and said, “Reuben, I’d like you to go to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and there you will serve as a new priest.”  He didn’t ask me, he told me – which is to be expected, he’s the bishop! Like a blind date: all you have is a name, when to show up, a picture, if you’re lucky, and the assurance of your friend that’s “a great girl with a good personality.”

I don’t know much about you and you don’t know much about me, but now we’re stuck together like an arranged marriage.  Of course one may think of all the horror stories of arranged marriages, but for me I kinda like them.   For one, I have to allow God control my life.  I have to resign the fact that I’m not in control and what little control I do have is to simply depend on Him.  I also know and believe that He is looking out for me.  Because I know that He loves me and everyone here, I know that He has our best interests at heart.  It is providence that we are here today at this moment to celebrate Mass together as a family.  And therefore we have much for which to be thankful.

Finally, I love to take the situations in our life and transform them.  An “arranged marriage” works because the people have to learn to love each other – they’re stuck.  So I think this as an opportunity to grow in love both for the Lord and for all of you.  So I don’t look at this new beginning as being stuck, but rather an opportunity to offer myself in love to all of you.  As I get to know you and you get to know me, we will grow in the love of God. I look forward to getting to know all of you, pray with you, and share life with you: the sorrows and the joys.  I have already received such a warm welcome from many of you, which only confirms the many wonderful things I have heard about this parish.

My hope is that I can serve you well through Word and Sacrament, to be your shepherd with Fr. Bradley.  I ask for your prayers and your patience as I get to know you and you get to know me.  I hope to serve the Lord and to serve all of you.  I desire to bring Christ into your life which means that I will preach the Good News and sometimes I will preach some words that may be tough to hear.  I hope that I will not end up like Amos in the First Reading, where he is run out of the sanctuary.

This new beginning for me is much like the Gospel today.  I am being sent out by Christ to go on this journey.  And one of these instructions is to stay at a house until I leave.  After many years of seminary and moving all over the place, I’m happy to call St. Elizabeth my home and desire to stay.  The fact that Jesus tells the Twelve to bring only the essentials is to reinforce the complete dependence on God and to bring out the charity of others.  In our journey together we must rely on God and trust in His providence.

As it is written in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, we are chosen by him, destined for adoption.  We are redeemed by His blood.  These words are beautiful and speak the truth of the reality of our relationship with God.  We are HIS adopted children and redeemed by Him and he desires to lavish extravagant graces upon us if we so desire to receive it.  Paul also writes, In him we were also chosen destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.  Again, the theme of trusting in God and how He has destined us for His purpose is echoed for us to remember that He is in control.

As we place our trust in Him, we know ultimately all that we do should give God all the glory and praise.  We should seek to serve Him at all times.  When we come to Mass to worship, it is the time to bring all of ourselves to God – all the good that we have done, all our sins, all our joys, and all our sorrows.  We put them to the altar of God and allow Him to transform them for His glory.  We offer them to the Lord through Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  That is why the Mass is so awesome and why it is so important for us to go.  He is our Daily Bread to give us the grace and strength to give ourselves to God, to change our wicked and sinful ways, and to receive His healing.

Our readings today give us such a powerful message that we have to take to heart.  That we are all destined to be God’s children, that we must trust in Him, and that we are part of His plan of salvation giving Him all the glory.  What a wonderful message we have today!!  And I am so blessed to be able to share this with all of you.  I pray that we may all grow together in serving the Lord in love and joy.

XIII Sunday Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Mass of Thanksgiving
Ascension Chinese Catholic Mission, Houston, TX

Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24
Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13
2 Cor 8:7, 9, 1
Lk 1:57-66, 80

I’m very happy to be able to celebrate this Mass of Thanksgiving at Ascension Chinese Church.  For those of you who do not know who I am.  I am Fr. Reuben Chen, 陳如濱神父.  I am a newly ordained priest from the Diocese of Dallas and I grew up in Dallas.  My home parish is the Sacred Heart of Jesus Chinese Parish.  Our parishes have shared a long history together and I remember that when I was about 14 years old, our parish was being dedicated.  And when the people were filing in, I saw many Chinese Catholics that I did not know.  I asked who they were.  I was told that they are from the Chinese Catholic Church in Houston, our sister parish.  I was so surprised to hear that I had brothers and sisters in Christ that I did know about!  Since then, I have to come to know and love the parishioners of Ascension, especially these last seven years.  I would have never imagined myself 14 years ago standing here before you as a priest.  But God has His mysterious and wonderful ways of working. I will be serving the Diocese of Dallas in the future and will officially start my ministry next week at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Plano, a suburb north of Dallas.
 
There is a common thread that links all of the passages today: it is HOPE.  The first reading that comes from the book of Wisdom shows God’s original intention and entrance of sin to destroy that hope:

God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being and the creatures of the world are wholesome….But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world.

The Responsorial Psalm gives an answer that the Lord deserves praise because He has rescued us.  All is not lost with death and sin in the world.  Jesus has come to redeem it.  In the second reading, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians assures the poor and the rich of the equality of abundance in Christ.  There is no cause for despair, but rather hope in Christ Jesus.  Finally, in the Gospel we have two stories of Jesus healing: one of a little girl who has died and a hemorrhaging woman.

The people surrounding the little girl have all given up hope; so much so that they say not to even trouble Jesus any more.  They had lost hope, except for the girl’s father.   Jesus’ response?  “Do not be afraid; just have faith”.  The woman who was afflicted with a horrible affliction also had hope in that all that she needed was to touch the hem of Christ’s garment and that she would be healed.  And it happened.

All of these readings reflect the hope that we have as a people in God to take care of us and to watch over us.  When we completely turn ourselves over to Him and His will, there is nothing to be afraid of – not even death himself.  But what does this all mean for us as Christians… specifically, the Catholics here at Ascension Chinese Church?

One of the fundamental problems with the Chinese Community is the lack of Hope and Joy.  We are a people that are “doers”.  We have to do something to make something happen.  If my kids are not making good grades, it’s because they are not doing enough.  If I am not making enough money, it is because I am not working hard enough.  If my spouse and I fight it is because they are not doing enough.

Everything depends on you or some other person and nothing depends on God.  I am not saying that this is bad, but really it is a good thing.  In fact, the only things get done in the parish is because there are “doers”.   The problem is that the “doing” part is misdirected or not properly ordered.

Growing up, there were some parents that were not happy with their kids spending too much time at Church and not enough time studying.  I have never heard of anyone failed because they prayed too much or spent too much time at Church.  Nor did I ever hear Jesus say that scoring a perfect score on your SATs will get you into heaven.  I am not saying that school is not important because it is very important.  However, your salvation is MORE important.

The same thing with work and jobs.  We are blessed to be in this country with pretty decent jobs, good education, and prosperity.  Things can always be better, but when you look at it – we are better off than most others out there.  However, is all this “doing” to further your faith and bring you closer to God or is it to have a more comfortable life?  Even if you live to be 100 years old, how is that compared to eternity?!  As “doers” that work and work and work and work and work, what is the end? What is the final goal that you have in mind?  Where is your Hope and where is your Joy?
There is a temptation to work and to do so much that you do not have to worry about needing to Hope.  You work so much so that everything is safe and secure: 不怕一万只怕万一.  But when you do this, then there is no room for hope.  No room for God to work in your life – no need to hope in God because you are relying on yourself.

Our faith is not a club or an activity that you do on Sunday.  It is not just a social gathering for us to be good friends, buddy-buddy.  For some the church is only that; and if that is all you can do, I hope you can trust in God to allow Him to stretch you.  Our faith, our dedication to God is something that must be in every part of our daily lives from when we get up in the morning to when we go to bed at night and even through the night.

Hope becomes a part of you when you start living your life with God.  You realize that 1.) You can’t do it on your own. 2.) God can really help you in this life and beyond.   When you live without hope and you fail, you will blame yourself and all those around you and turn to anger.  But when you live in hope, you have faith that God will bring all things to fulfillment – that He will provide and bring you out of your lowliness.  If you are true to yourself and live authentically in life, you will have tried your best but not be disappointed in failure.  When you are spiritually connected to God in every part of your life, there is this hope – which is very close to the virtue of faith – that God will be there and not let you down.  As you begin to grow closer to God in hope, you will experience Joy.  This Joy is not like happiness that is passing and fading away, but rather something that glows brilliantly out of you.  When people see you, they know that you have joy.

Our best form of evangelization in the Church is our Joy.  With faith and hope, I can walk around and people will ask why I am so happy and joyful.  They will desire it too.  Sure, I can go around and tell them to come to Church, but they may do it out of courtesy (客氣).  We can be busy “doers” but do not forget your priorities – through our hope comes the rewards of the faith.  We are saved in this of Hope as our scriptures so reveal to us.  Christ desires us to trust in Him so that we can have an abundant life with Him.  As we offer this Holy Eucharist today, let us renew our Hope in the Lord – especially in our difficult times politically, socially, spiritually, and bodily.