But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, [Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and the other women] came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body (Luke 24:1-3).
You ask me,
— What are the secrets of success? Going to sleep late at night, rising early in the morning, studying diligently, are these three sufficient for one to become a successful person in society?
My dear friend,
Life by nature is a journey. Some journeys prove to be successful. Some…do not!
The earthly journey of Jesus commenced in Bethlehem, a little town of Judea. And Jesus carried out his earthly journey with a determined mind and a passionate heart. He cured the sick even on the Sabbath. He associated with people of different races and social status in society. He dined with tax collectors those who classified as sinners in the Jewish culture. He confronted the Jewish authorities those who were rigid in observing the Torah. He was condemned to death, and crucified on the cross as a criminal. He was buried, and yet resurrected on the third day. Beginning from Jesus’ resurrection, a new chapter of human salvation has begun; i.e., those who are baptized with Jesus will also be raised up like Him. Jesus’ journey on earth ended as a successful journey.
Likewise, during the last days of the fateful April 1975, countless fishing boats took off from the Vietnamese seashore for a dream: freedom. On the narrow wooden boats, many Vietnamese souls had stood up, anxiously awaiting the new horizon of the freedom lands. The refugee boats indeed embarked on the journey of freedom with a determined mind and a passionate heart. After drifting on the sea for days, weeks, and even months, hundreds of fishing boats landed on the beaches of the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. Consequently, new lives in new lands opened to welcome these passionately determined boat people. The journey to freedom actually ended as a successful one.
I look at you again, this time I suggest,
— If you are determined and passionate, I believe and hope the journey that you are pursuing will turn out to be a fruitful one.
You pause and reflect for a moment. I see a few wrinkles on your forehead. Then very quickly you ask,
— Why does the concept of hope enter into this discussion?
I reply,
— A determined mind and a passionate heart are not sufficient for being successful. There is still one more decisive factor left…, this factor decides the ultimate outcome of every journey.
You obviously become surprised and excitedly await my reply,
— Really? What element?
I say,
— God’s grace!
Jesus died on the cross. He was indeed buried in the tomb. Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Mary Magdalene and many Jesus’ disciples witnessed the moment Jesus breathed his last. They organized a quick funeral service for Jesus. Above all, they knew the exact location of the tomb where Jesus’ body was buried (Luke 23:55). In their eyes, Jesus’ journey was suddenly terminated with a tragic death. Actually they all left Jesus’ tomb in despair. Nevertheless, God intervened, and God raised Jesus’ body from the dead. That is why on that early morning, Mary Magdalene and many other women came to Jesus’ tomb (the right tomb), and they saw his tomb became empty. Jesus’ body was disappeared. Actually due to God’s grace, Jesus was resurrected; therefore, his tomb became empty.
The refugee boats were determined to flee Vietnam in spite of being fully aware of the awaiting difficulties; to name a few, getting caught by the police on the way, facing rough storms at sea, encountering merciless and wicked Thai fishermen who physically and sexually abused the boat people, and experiencing hostile receptions from the governments of neighbouring countries. In reality, many boats that departed Vietnam never reached shore. The Pacific Ocean became the grave site of these unfortunate fishing boats and boat people, who fled their homeland with a determined mind and a passionate heart. The rest of the boats, due to God’s grace, finally reached shore (even though they encountered nightmares on the journey).
You and I stop now and listen attentively to the joyful sounds of the rain falling on the roof and in the front yard of the presbytery.
The rain arrived in the desert of Central Australia. The rain poured down in heavy drops from early morning until late afternoon. From midnight until dawn, the rain from heaven blissfully watered the withered grass of the desert. The vast wilderness of the Red Centre with its yellow grass was gradually transformed into a bright green. Cerulean sky! Red soil! Green grass! What a picture! Due to the rain, the desert is now gracefully painted with bright colours.
From the first day of the creation week, the grass passionately falls in love with the sunlight. The grass by nature is determines to grow up vertically so it can enjoy the sun. Nevertheless, without the rain from heaven, the grass would wither and eventually die. Thanks be to God, due to the rain (God’s grace), grass grows up and maintains its beautiful green colour…
I walk slowly to the balcony and turn both hands towards the sky to catch the cold drops from heaven. Heaven rain quickly fills both my empty hands.
The heart of the desert missionary suddenly reverberates with the Vietnamese children’s song,
Oh God, pour down the rain,
To quench my thirst,
To water the (rice) field,
To fill my (empty) bowl with the steamed rice.
To have the straws for cooking!
My dear friend,
Every life is a journey! Some journeys have become successful due to a determined mind, a passionate heart, but above all due to God’s grace!
Michael Nguyen SVD