Love and Mercy Priest Andre and His Teaching

We can see Priest Andre’s kindness, he picked anyone needing help. They were neither his family nor his friends, but for his love he helped them. He did not only pick them, but he also took care of them. He gave them enough food everyday and thought about their future. ‘”There are twenty of us,” the little thin girl said. “I am fifteen years old–at sixteen he provides for us.” “Provides for you?” Madame Wu repeated. The old woman had come in now. “At sixteen he finds them homes and good husbands,” she said.’ p. 277 There were so many children to be taken care, but it was not a burden for Priest Andre. Even he found them good husbands. They were all girls. At that time women lacked equality with men, sons were wanted much more than daughters Chang, 1960: 6. Even a wife’s position in her husband’s house would be secure when she could bear sons Ibid, 160. Priest Andre helped the unwanted ones. He is a Westerner and he did not care about the difference in gender as happened in China. In West, female and male are equal. They can have the same right, the same right to love, to choose a husbandwife, to study, to express their thought, and to determine the way of their life. As a priest, he also did Jesus Christ’s teaching as He said in Bible, in Mark 12: 31, to love other people as we love ourselves. In Christianity, love is the primary law, to love God most and to love other people as we love ourselves. Chinese people got married because they were matched. Chinese women, especially, did not have right to choose their own husbands. While Western women even have a right to express their love to the men they love freely. Westerners at that time were considered as Christianity, and they were 35 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI thought to want to influence Chinese people using Christianity teaching since Christianity was spread most by Westerners to all over the world. Priest Andre’s thought and attitude were formed by his culture as a Westerner and a Catholic priest, appreciating love and applying it in his live. He is a loving man. ‘He answered her, “You have not considered that man is not entirely flesh, and that even such a man as your husband must be in communion with God. You have treated him with contempt.” “You have considered only the filling of his stomach and the softness of his bed,” Priest Andre said plainly. “And even worse than this, you have bought a young woman as you would buy a pound of pork. But a woman, any woman, is more than that, and of all women you should know it.”’ p. 264 From what was said by Priest Andre when he was talking with Madame Wu we can see how he viewed love and human’s feeling. For Chinese people, women were subordinate to men, but for Priest Andre women and men were the same, as Jesus also never differentiates in treating and loving men and women. Women have feeling as men do. Priest Andre also viewed a marriage not only about satisfying a husband sexually as most Chinese women did, but also loving him with out heart. Here he reminded Madame Wu for her mistake to satisfy his husband just because of her duty, but she had to love him and think about his feeling. Since Chinese government permitted to have secondary wives or concubines, having more than one wife or concubine was common for Chinese people. Priest Andre disagreed with this condition. A concubine is also a human having feeling, no one can buy her as if they were buying a pound of pork. It is in line with Christianity teaching, as said in Bible that when a man and woman have got married, none 36 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI can separate them, except the death Alkitab, Matius 19: 6. For Christian, having secondary wives or concubines is the same as adultery. It means that we must be loyal to our husbandwife, no secondary wives or concubines.

2. Forgiveness

Priest Andre truly applied Christianity teaching in his life. His heart was full of mercy to poor and weak people. Christianity teaching does emphasize love, mercy, and forgiveness to be applied in our live. Priest Andre never got angry and always understood other people’s problems. He is both a very sensitive and intelligence man. He never repaid evil with evil, but love. He did not show that he is a Christian by teaching or preaching about Christianity teaching or Jesus Christ, but he preferred to show it by being a good Christian and doing what is taught in Christianity in his daily life, so other people could see it. As Jesus said that we not only ought to teach others His way and teachings, but also do His words, so other people can see what we do and we become the ‘light’ in the ‘darkness’ Alkitab, Matius 5: 16.

3. Sincerity

It is said in Bible, in Colossians 3: 23, to do whatever we do with our heart, like we are doing it for GOD, not for human. It means that we must do our best in whatever we do. We do it with our heart, not because of other reasons or being forced by others. Priest Andre never did something because someone forced or ordered him to do so. He did whatever he did with his heart and love, as what he had done for the unwanted little girls. He was not paid for helping and taking care of them, but because of love and mercy he helped 37 them. Even when Madame Wu asked him to teach her son, he did not want to be paid for what he did. He was glad to teach other people and share his knowledge to others. Never did he complain when teaching. He always did his best in teaching Madame Wu’s son and even teaching Madame Wu and her daughter-in-law in every meeting, although he was not paid. While other people must ask to be paid for whatever they do, and it is seldom someone do good to other people without any intention behind it. But Priest Andre was never oriented to money as many people were, for Jesus also teaches us not be oriented to money, but to doing good things, sharing our love and attention to many people, being a good model for other people.

4. Fear No One, But God

Besides being intelligent, Priest Andre feared no one in his life. On the other hand most people must have fears in their life, either to certain individuals or certain things. Even Madame Wu’s father-in-law, who had also taught Madame Wu many things and was one of intelligent and wise men she ever knews, also had fear. ‘…. He was the only being she had ever met whom she worshipped. Old Gentleman had taught her much. But Old Gentleman had feared many things. Priest Andre feared no one. He feared neither life nor death....’ p. 277 Being a man who feared nothing and no one in his life, Priest Andre did what is taught in Bible. In Bible, Jesus tells us to fear nothing, except Him, for many times. If Jesus is beside us, who our enemies are Alkitab, Roma 8:31 So, Jesus teaches us to fear nothing in our life, except Him, indeed. While many people worry and fear many things in their life because of the 38