by Fr Stephen Lim
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm 91:2-3,13-16
2 Corinthians 5:6-10
Mark 4:26-34
Theme: Trusting in God’s Plan
NO MATTER WHAT (Boyzone)
No matter what they tell us,
no matter what they do,
no matter what they teach us,
what we believe is true.
No matter what they call us,
however they attack,
no matter where they take us,
we’ll find our own way back.
I can’t deny what I believe,
I can’t be what I’m not,
I know I’ll love forever,
I know no matter what.
The Boyzone took the top of the chart in 1994, I believe, with this hit – No Matter What. No matter what, what we believe is true.
Is it true? What we believe is true? I can tell you only what I know, what I can see and judge.
What I want to tell you this morning is that in the two Parable of the Seed of Jesus this morning, from the Gospel of Mark, is the power of belief. It is not just the power of belief. It is a God-given potency in our life to withstand all, come what may. This faith, this belief withstand all.
You know very often when I read this Gospel of Mark on the Parable of the Seed, nothing strikes me until I was working in KL, in KLCC on the 42nd floor.
I was surprised one morning as I looked out the window. There is the window sill and outside hanging by a pendulum is those cleaners. They are professionals. Don’t do it on your own. And what I discovered is that on the sill of the window outside, there is a line and there was a chilli seed sprouting.
For those who clean KLCC, this is terror. They must dig it out, seal it completely. But no matter what they do, next month comes around, they will find another chilli seed sprouting. Or if not, a papaya seed sprouting. What does that tell us?
By logic, it will tell us that look at KLCC, nothing can sprout. Nothing can grow because the entire complex is ironclad. That is not true. Every month the cleaner will tell you their horror to find chilli seeds sprouting. Sure they may not bear chilli fruits up there or papaya but they sprout.
The message is clear. Even in the most hostile environment, the moment a chilli seed or a papaya seed drops, it WILL sprout. Though by logic it tells us it should not sprout on ironclad structure. They do!
The message of the Parable of the Seed of Jesus is for you and for me. To tell us that God’s power, God’s presence never fail. Just as the potency in the seed. Never fails as long as it is sown, it is on honest space, it will sprout. And Jesus using the seed to make obvious for us the presence of God’s kingdom.
What it means is this. We always talk about our belief. And it is quite surprising that especially in our troubled times, whenever we see things that is dangerous or perilous, we will think of how to strengthen our belief.
This is where we got it wrong.
A belief that needs to be defended, that belief ought to be in the rubbish bin because the purpose of our belief is to sustain us. When circumstance is devastating, where reality can be humiliating or even diminishing us, the purpose of our belief is to ensure that we go through.
Then tell me how come we always have this believe and behaviour that we must defend, we must strengthen, we must protect our belief? Don’t you think there is something wrong with that belief?
I believe so. Because our belief is God-given. We are born with it. Yes, we can ignore it or deny it. Our ignorance or even indifference to it cannot even diminish the power of our belief. Remember the Parable?
After sowing, what the sower must do? Must dig around?
No! He must sleep.
Why? So that the seed can take on its own life. Less interruption, less attention is best so that the seed can sprout. Then comes the stalk and then the ear and the fruit, flowers and the fruit.
We must not intervene. We must not disrupt. Likewise with our belief.
It is in our belief that we make obvious God’s love for all. We make obvious God’s kingdom, through our belief. And yet, here we are, going on our knees, praying to God how to defend our belief, how to strengthen our belief.
The message is this: STOP. Drop all.
Just trust in the power of our belief. Yes, Boyzone said what we believe is true.
What I want to tell you is this: What we believe is powerful.
Just to illustrate this.
Beginning of this year, I met some students in USM from East Malaysia. And they wanted to see me urgently because they say one of their reference book by this famous Stephen Hawking of Oxford, the top astrophysicist of our time. All students will know him.
You know he is the only intellectual who occupied the chair of Sir Isaac Newton. You know in the 50s and 60s, even Albert Einstein was not offered the chair of Sir Isaac Newton. It is this Stephen Hawking who occupied that chair. He passed away two years back and before that he completed his masterpiece, The Grand Design.
The students that came and saw me were referring to this famous book, The Grand Design. And I thought they were going to ask me about astrophysics or quantum physics. Nothing.
They tell me everything Stephen Hawking writes, it is logic. It does not disturb me. But:
Father, tell us. How can I study science when my science textbook seems to suggest to me that if I believe in God and practice my faith, I am not a complete scientist.
I said: I don’t follow you. Explain.
They are Catholics and they say they are disturbed because of one single line from Professor Stephen Hawking. The line is this:
Religion is for those who fear the dark.
Is it true? Is it true that religion is for those who fear the dark?
But I can understand why the students get upset and restless because of this statement. It means that if they cling on to their belief and practice the religion, it means they are fearful of the dark.
But I said:
You study science. Let us be scientific. Just ask ourself this simple basic question. This statement ‘Religion is for those who fear the dark‘, this is an authoritative statement because it is from Professor Dr Stephen Hawking, the top astrophysicist of our time. His statement is most authoritative. We understand that. But let us ask ourselves. This statement itself, is it a statement of fact?
So I asked these students. They said ‘No’. It is not a statement of fact because there is no evidence to show.
I said: Ok. If it is not a statement of fact, what statement is it – Religion is for those who fear the dark?
They themselves tell me: In logic, this is a statement of belief.
My friend, even Stephen Hawking have his own belief. That is the power of belief. And you see Stephen Hawking, the top of the top astrophysicist of our time make this statement of belief. And you know it rattled Christians and Muslims throughout the world by just this simple statement of belief. Not fact.
It is not a scientific statement. It is not a statement of fact also. It is a statement, pure simple statement of belief. But you know this statement affected and have impact on so many that many leave their faith or religion.
That is the power of belief. We all have this power. The point is this. We have this power. Do we trust this power? Or do we look for something else?
In this Holy Mass, our Lord comes to us and He affirms us. He gives Himself as bread to nourish, nurture and also relish us. It is time for us now to look at our belief. It is powerful because there is nothing, not even the most diminishing and devastating circumstance can relinquish this power of belief.
We see what is going on in Gaza. You know when a bomb drops on a building, those who are there they don’t wait for Red Cross. They don’t wait for helpers from Switzerland. They themselves go into the ground and bring relief and healing to all.
That is the power of belief. You and I have this power.
This morning, can we thank God for this power of belief? This power of belief enhances life, enhances us. And that is how God is protecting, affirming and blessing us.
To this loving God, we praise and thank Him.
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