Fr Swann Continues Preaching

Fr Swann Kim
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Homilies for the Catholic Communities in Lumby and Vernon Area, British Columbia, Canada

  1. 05/15/2021

    Why he had to go? (May 16, Ascension Sunday, 2021)

    Why did Jesus leave his apostles and disciples for heaven? Did he have to? Why did Christ promise to send the Holy Spirit while he departed from the earth? Could he not stay forever to govern the Church? I think that he ascended to heaven because it was the best for his people, his Church to receive salvation. Every way the Word of God chose on earth was for the best and easiest way for man. He could have saved man without the Incarnation, the Passion, and the Resurrection. But the Son of God chose these ways because man could access the work of salvation with human senses and mental capacity. He chose the ways a man can see and hear and touch and understand. By becoming a true man, he opened the way a man can participate with his human faculties. Then, what about the Ascension? We do not like to say goodbye. We have a hard time losing our beloved ones. However, to become an independent and complete human person, one needs to be alone. The apostles and disciples could not have matured if they could have always depended on the Lord. They would not have become his witnesses if Christ had been on earth forever. But more seriously, they could not have interiorized the faith if Christ had remained as an external subject while the Holy Spirit had not descended and dwelled within them. Ironically, for Christ to dwell in every Christian, he had to depart from them into heaven. Then, the Holy Spirit could come down and accompany every Christian. Do we stand only looking up toward heaven? Now is time to witness Christ. It is time to grow and bear fruit.

    3 min

  2. 05/15/2021

    Scripture and Tradition (May 15, Saturday before Ascension, 2021)

    Today’s first reading from the Acts confirms the two deposits of Christian faith – they are the Scriptures and the Tradition. A preacher named Apollos knew the Scriptures very well. And his knowledge enabled him to speak about Jesus accurately. It is because the Old Testament is in fact a preparation for the coming of the Messiah and Saviour. To know the Scriptures well means to know God’s promise to send the Messiah and Saviour. From the fall of the first parents of mankind, the Scriptures speak of the Saviour of mankind from sin. To know the Scriptures well grows and matures the faith in the Messiah and Saviour, who is Jesus Christ. In the meantime, the first reading also introduces an interesting episode. The same Apollos, though well-versed in the Scriptures, had to learn more. Priscilla and Aquila, Christian laymen, taught Apollos more about the Gospel of Christ beyond the baptism of John. The Christian couple handed him what they received from the apostles – that is the Tradition. Only with the comprehensive Tradition, Christians can mature in faith and share their faith according to the teaching of Christ. Reading and reflecting on the Bible is critical in our faith. But learning and studying the Bible with the help of the Tradition is as much vital because without the teaching authority of the Church people may fall into errors.

    2 min

  3. 05/15/2021

    Why gather to decide? (May 14, St Matthias, Apostle, 2021)

    The occasion of electing the 12th apostle demonstrates a few principles of administration or decision-making in the Church. First, it is the Holy Spirit who decides and operates. Peter or the assembly of the apostles and disciples could select the 12th apostle. But they submitted their will to the Holy Spirit. The Church does not operate by one human person or an assembly. The Church is not a monarchy or democracy. Christ is the Head, and his Spirit governs the Mystical Body, the Church. Second, the Scriptures and the Tradition are the two sources of the faith. Peter quotes the Scriptural prophecy for its fulfillment to replace the place of Judas. And he presents a qualification for the replacing apostle. It was a disciple who witnessed all the ministry of Jesus but also the resurrection and ascension. From these eyewitnesses, the Church received her Tradition. And the apostles received all from Christ Jesus. Third, then, why the apostles and disciples gathered for the election? The gathering warrants the transparency of the process to remove any doubt and suspicion. But to gather in his name is what Jesus commanded for the guarantee of his presence. The Holy Spirit is present in the Church assembly. And he reveals his divine will in the Church gathering. Jesus called us as his friends to whom he let his will known. Although Jesus had ascended to heaven, his Spirit governed the Church. It has been the same ever since. The Church is never a human institution. When we gather, Christ is with us.

    3 min

  4. 05/13/2021

    Why all these toils? (May 13, 2021, Thursday 6th Week Eastertide)

    Like the disciples in today’s gospel, we might have wonder why Jesus had to come and go and come back and go back again. Without those tiresome travelling and terrible suffering, could he not save man? Why did he take all toils of birth, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension? Indeed, God could have saved us in different ways beyond our imagination. However, he chose a human way by which he became man. Because the Son of God chose to share the human toils of birth, suffering and death, we humans can hope that we can become like him. His resurrection gives us the sure pledge of eternal life. And his ascension and sitting at the right side of the Father brings us constant joy because he now cares for us with his Spirit regardless of time and place. Thus, God chose to take the human toils and sufferings because it was the easiest way for man to understand and partake and receive salvation. And the resurrection and ascension give us sure hope and joy while we have our earthly life.

    2 min

  5. 05/13/2021

    Kerygma on the end of the world (May 12, 2021, Wednesday 6th Week Eastertide)

    From today’s first reading, we hear St Paul’s long speech to the Athenians. But towards the end of his discourse, Paul proclaims the Christian kerygma – the brief proclamation of the key elements of the Good News. “While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” The Christian message is simple. It is time to repent. Why? Because the judgment day is set. And the judge came to the world. Who is he? He is Christ Jesus who died and rose from the dead. He will come and judge the living and the dead. Christians do not lose sight of the final judgment at any moment. The end of the world and its judgment is the foremost and most urgent reason for the Christian faith. Christianity is not a philosophy to explain the universe and man. Nor is Christianity a system of morality. Christianity is not a charity campaign. Instead, Christians urgently prepare for the end of the world and its judgment. If we lose this element, we miss the most critical calling from the Lord. Of course, the Athenians' reaction was not enthusiastic. What about us in our times? Not much different from the Athenians. The Christian kerygma calls for radical changes. Repentance should not remain as remorse in the heart. It must bring about life changes. Few people respond to this call as we see only a few believed after Paul’s proclamation in Athens. Do I carry the message of the end of the world and the final judgment in my mind and heart? Or do I think and act as if my life lasts forever on earth? St Paul is still waking me today.

    3 min

  6. 05/11/2021

    How the Holy Spirit convicts the world (May 11, Tuesday 6th Week Eastertide)

    “When the Holy Spirit comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment because the ruler of this world has been condemned.” The Fathers of the Church and many commentators consider this passage from St John we just heard from today’s gospel as one of the most obscure in the New Testament. And they avoided commenting on it. How are sin and the faith in Jesus related to each other? What about righteousness and Jesus’ ascending to heaven? And judgment and Satan? We can only speculate on it. What is clearly stated is the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its falsity over sin, righteousness and judgment. When the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we understand with God’s eye. And then we realize how the world is wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment. The world does not believe in the forgiveness of sin. The world even denies sin. Since it does not believe in Christ, it does not believe in the forgiveness of sin, which is the very mission of Christ. Only with the Holy Spirit, we can recognize our sinfulness and repent but also forgive others. The world ridicules man’s duty to worship God. Righteousness Jesus speaks here is not social justice or distributive justice but giving thanks and praises to God for his goodness, i.e., religious duty. As Jesus has risen and ascended to God the Father and sits at his right hand, we are to worship Christ as God. But the world, especially the modern world, refuses and ignores this duty, this justice, this due to Christ. The world thinks it can save itself. Look at secular humanists and materialists. They enslave themselves to power and wealth, which become their gods. But Jesus warned, “You cannot serve both God and money.” As soon as we put our faith in human power and material wealth, we fall into the self-condemnation of submitting to the reign of Satan, the ruler of this world. Only with the Holy Spirit, we will see this reality. Then we can see who the true judge is for both this world and the next. It is hard grasping the meaning of this passage. But what is clear is the need of the Holy Spirit. Let us ask Jesus to give us the gift of understanding. Perhaps only with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, we may understand the profound meaning of this passage.

    4 min

  7. 05/10/2021

    He opened their hearts (May 10, Monday 6th Week Eastertide, 2021)

    As we listen to the first reading from the Acts, we wonder how those Gentiles opened their hearts to the gospel of Christ. But the Acts does not give much explanation except saying, “The Lord opened” their hearts. Probably that is the most precise explanation. It was not the Gentiles who opened their hearts. It was not their work or to their credit to recognize and accept the divine voice and message. It was the Holy Spirit who exposed them to a favourable disposition to welcome the apostles. And it was also the Holy Spirit who made their souls and spirits desire for the truth and wisdom of the Lord. And it was also the Holy Spirit who opened their ears to the voice of Christ. I have never met a Christian all whose family or friends faithfully practice the faith. All of us have more than one family members or friend who does not go to church anymore. I am no exception here. All of us have tried to encourage them to go back to church. And all of us pray for them. But our efforts and prayers often seem futile and useless. Were the apostles discouraged and disappointed at ridicules, hostility, or ignorance from their audience? Although the apostles brought many Gentiles and Jews to the Lord, I am sure more people rejected the gospel. The apostles knew that it was their responsibility to preach the gospel. But they also knew that it was the Holy Spirit, the Lord, who prepared and opened people’s hearts. It is why they could keep preaching without despair and frustration. We do not know how the Lord opens people’s hearts. Ask ourselves. How did he open my heart? Even I have a hard time explaining. Sometimes it remains a mystery. However, when we trust the Lord and keep praying and proclaiming the gospel, we will see the wondrous fruit of the Holy Spirit among people.

    3 min

  8. 05/09/2021

    Two requirements (May 9, 2021, 6th Sunday of Eastertide)

    Most Christians in our times are the Gentiles to Jewish people. The first reading of this Sunday from the Acts shows the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit. The Jewish Christians of the earliest Church did not even imagine it would happen to uncircumcised people. But before their eyes, the Holy Spirit came down upon those foreign people. Moreover, even to our surprise, the Holy Spirit came down on the unbaptized Gentiles. The unbaptized pagans spoke in tongues and praised God! Some might misunderstand this episode as a demonstration that everyone and anyone can receive salvation outside the Church. But remember that God can make a donkey speak a human language as in an episode of Balaam, a Gentile prophet from the Book of Numbers. And that Gentile prophet Balaam delivered prophecies of God of Israel. The Holy Spirit may use animals and the Gentiles for his instruments. However, that does not prove that animals and the Gentiles receive salvation. Those non-Israelite people who received the Holy Spirit were sincerely looking for God. As St Peter says, they feared God and did what was right before God. These foreign people were not modern-day self-righteous secular humanists who believe they can save themselves here on earth. Cornelius and the other Gentiles people welcomed Peter and the gospel message when they heard it. And they willingly received baptism to become members of the Church. Fearing God and being righteous before God are required not only for the non-baptized but also for the baptized Christians to receive salvation. It is because God is impartial to everyone. Fearing God contains many meanings. As a disposition of a soul, it means humility and love for God. And as knowledge, it means knowing God as the Judge. People fearing God seek God’s will for their life. They desire God’s words and messages. They are ready to listen to God and to follow his will. Being righteous before God by doing what is right also means many things. It means to listen to their conscience and follow it. It follows the commandments of God in moral and social life. It also means to offer thanksgiving and praises to God through religious rituals and devotions. For Christians, it means to participate faithfully in the Sacraments of the Church. We are waiting for Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, which comes in two weeks. During Lent, we prepare for the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord. Likewise, we should prepare for the coming of the Holy Spirit, too. I think we can examine those two requirements. Let us ask if we carry the fear of God in our hearts. And ask if we can say we are without faults before God’s eye.

    4 min
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Homilies for the Catholic Communities in Lumby and Vernon Area, British Columbia, Canada

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