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Good Luck, Bad Luck

Xavier School Grade School, Chinese Spring Festival Mass, 03 February 2006

Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

Posted Friday, 10-Feb-2006 10:18 AM

     This morning I’d like to tell you a Chinese story about an old farmer.  This farmer owned a horse which he used to till his fields.  He really loved his horse and took good care of it.

     One day the horse escaped into the hills.  And the farmer felt really bad about that. 

     His neighbors came over to console him because they thought it was bad luck.  But the old farmer only said:  shi hao shi, shi huai shi, shei zhi dao?  Which in English means:  “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” 

     A week later, guess what happened?  The horse came back, but it did not come back alone, but with a herd of horses from the hills.  The farmer now had not one horse but twenty horses! 

     This time his neighbors thought it was good luck.  They came to congratulate him. But the old farmer only said—and let’s say it together:  shi hao shi, shi huai shi, shei zhi dao?  Which in English means what?  “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?” 

     And then one day, the farmer’s son fell off a horse.  He fell off its back and broke his leg. 

     The farmer’s neighbors visited him again to console him because they certainly believed that it was bad luck.  What do you think the old farmer said? shi hao shi, shi huai shi, shei zhi dao?

     Now it turns out that some weeks later, the army marched into the village and grabbed all the healthy young men and made them fight the war.  When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off.

     Needless to say, the old farmer was overjoyed that his son did not have to leave him to join the army. 

     We know what the old farmer will say:   shei zhi dao?  “Good luck, bad luck, who knows?”

     Sometimes the Chinese tend to be very superstitious.  We tend to say that something is good luck and bad luck.   For example, if the bed is facing this way, we say it’s good luck.  When it’s facing another way, we say it’s bad luck.  This is no longer feng shui, but superstition.  But if we believe in God, we should not keep saying something is good luck or bad luck.  Because if we believe in God, and we cooperate with Him, things will always work for the better.  So starting today, we should stop saying something is good luck or bad luck.  In fact, we should even stop saying, “Shei zhi dao?” or “Who knows?”  Instead we should say, “zhi yeo tian zhu zhi dao!”  In other words, “Good luck, bad luck?  Only God knows.”

     Let’s remember the story of the old farmer.

是好事，是坏事

Fr. Johnny C. Go, S.J., School Director

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