Sep 26 – Memorial for Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs
Sts. Cosmas and Damian were twin brothers, physicians who accepted no payment. Their charity brought many to Christ. Although they were tortured during the persecutions of Diocletian, the two suffered no injury.
- Patron Saint Index
Ecc 1:2-11
Lk 9:7-9
And he was anxious to see Jesus.
Herod Antipas, also known as Herod the Tetrarch, heard about the work that Jesus was doing; so he wanted to ‘see’ Jesus. Herod is puzzled because he is being told that Jesus is John the Baptist, risen from the dead. At the same time, others are saying that Elijah, whose expected return would signal the arrival of the Messiah, or some of the former biblical prophets, has reappeared. Herod, having recently beheaded John the Baptist, is filled with a mixture of fear and curiosity. He keeps trying to ‘see’ Jesus.
Interestingly, Saint Luke documents Herod Antipas finally ‘seeing’ Jesus shortly before Jesus’ crucifixion in Luke 23:8-12, when Pilate sends Jesus to Herod. He is hoping that Jesus, like a performer of sorts, will do some ‘tricks’ or ‘miracles’ for him. Herod’s desire was almost entirely one of curiosity, it was the desire of the hedonist and the seeker of novelty.
To ‘see’ Jesus in the full Gospel sense is something totally different. It can only happen to those who have the eyes of faith, and who can see in the person of Jesus the presence and power of God. If I extrapolate that, it also means to ‘see’ what is behind a particular act, circumstance or comment. To not take things at face value, but try to understand and embrace the deeper meaning.
In the days following our Holy Father’s visit to Singapore, there has been a fair bit of debate about our Holy Father’s sharing that “All religions are paths to God…… they are like different languages that express the divine.” Many have gone on to condemn this statement. Some even accusing our Holy Father of heresy!
Singapore prides itself on its religious harmony, with a 2020 survey revealing that 31.1 per cent of residents aged 15 and above identified as Buddhists, 18.9 per cent as Christians, 15.6 per cent as Muslims and 5 per cent as Hindus, alongside 20 per cent who reported no religious affiliation. Notably, only about 395,000 people (or less than 10 per cent of the population) are Catholics.
I remember some years back, the father of a work colleague had passed away. The family were practicing Hindus. In an effort to console this colleague, I had shared that his father was now in Heaven, looking over him and the rest of his family. A few moments later, a Protestant colleague told me that that I was wrong, and the recently deceased man was now in Hell – because he had failed to accept Jesus as his Lord and Saviour! This deeply annoyed me and, if this other colleague were not a lady, I would have probably slapped her.
But this is where some of us, Catholics and Protestants alike, fail to ‘see’ how important our Holy Father’s message is. When we die, every one of us — whether Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist — will face Jesus Christ, our king and judge. Some of us will embrace Him; others will flee from Him.
Some may see in Him the one God they love, or they may stick to what their religion gets wrong about God — the impossibility of the incarnation, for starters — and flee. Some may follow what their religion gets right about transcendence or what it gets wrong about reincarnation, and so on. If anyone is saved, it will be through Christ, and their conformity to the conscience placed in them, through him. If anyone is lost, it will be by rejecting Christ, and the conscience He gave them.
Nevertheless, truly, ALL religions are paths to God.
Herod Antipas was likely raised as a Jew. He was one of the lucky ones to have actually had the opportunity to have Jesus standing before him. Herod wanted to see Jesus perform and, when Jesus stayed silent, Herod sent him back to Pilate. Herod got his wish to ‘see’ Jesus, but lost the opportunity to really see Jesus for what he is – the Messiah, the Son of God; sent to save the world.
Similarly, how do we choose to see our Holy Father’s position on the different religions? Do we see our Holy Father’s desire to unify us as a society and a larger world?
Do we see that in his attempt to unify us toward one God, our Holy Father seeks to bring non Catholics to explore the differences in the religions we practice and maybe one day discern the religion they choose to practice?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Gerard Francis)
Prayer: We pray for those who cannot ‘see’ beyond actions, circumstance or comment.
Thanksgiving: We give thanks for the gift of our Holy Father. We pray for his health and for God’s blessings on a wise shepherd.
OXYGEN 
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