Ex 22:20-26/ 1 Th 1:5c-10/ Mt 22:34-40
This Sunday is called World Mission Sunday, and the readings of this Sunday are also changed from the flow of the readings of the Ordinary Sundays.
It is a Sunday of the year in which we the Church reflects about who we are and what we should be doing as Church, in other words, our mission as Church.
In the gospel, Jesus states what our mission is about.
He said : Go out to the whole world, and proclaim the Good News.
Yes, proclaim the Good News. So what is this Good News?
Well, before going into that, it might be helpful to know that there is this strange connection between good news and bad news.
So what is this connection? A typical example would be this.
The news caster would always begin by greeting us “Good evening” and then proceed to tell us why the evening is not going to be good.
In other words, its “Good evening” and here is the bad news. It is a strange connection between two opposites.
Yes, it might be a strange connection between two opposites, but nonetheless a common connection.
Quite often, by the way we speak, we can already notice this connection.
For example, we may seem to agree initially, and then we proceed to disagree.
And we do that by using just two words – Yes, but …
So we would say things like : Yes, the food is good, BUT, the service is bad, it is too expensive, the waitress is not pretty, and whatever it might be.
So it’s like “Good evening” BUT here is the bad news.
It’s like something sweet on the outside, but bitter on the inside.
Yet, World Mission Sunday reminds us of the duty to spread the gospel, the Good News.
Simply because if the Good News is not proclaimed, then the bad news will start to multiply.
Yes, we have heard it so often that actions speak louder than words.
Yet actions without words is like watching a movie without the sound.
Words put meaning into actions, and words put action into motion.
So we the Church are like the news casters to the world.
And are we going to say to others : Good evening, and here is the bad news.
And out of our mouths come forth bad words, foul talk, lies and slander.
The letter of James (1:26) reminds us that if a man thinks he is religious and serves God, but has not learnt to control his tongue, then he is deceiving himself, and his religion is worthless.
The tongue that is used to bless cannot be used also to curse.
Hence the letter to the Ephesians (4:29) tells us not to use harmful and hurtful words, but only helpful words, the kind that builds up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear it.
The Pope’s message for World Mission Sunday reminds us that today is not just an isolated moment or just a day in the course of the year.
Rather it is a precious occasion to pause and reflect on how we respond to the missionary vocation.
And it is a critical response to the massive bad news that is all around us.
Bad news like wars, or killings, or murders, and also shocking pictures of the blood stained face of the dead former Libyan dictator splashed on the front page of the newspaper.
Our common response would be : Oh my God! (OMG)
Oh my God … then what?
It is like calling on God, and God is alerted, and then He hears nothing else from us.
So when we say “Oh my God”, then we must also finish the sentence, and offer it as a prayer.
So whenever we say “Oh my God”, then finish the sentence, and make sure it’s a prayer.
Don’t say things like “Oh my God, how can he be so stupid?” or worse still, “Oh my God, I’m going to teach him a lesson he won’t forget.
If that is what we are going to say, then our tongues either have a split personality, or that we have split tongues.
But we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, so that we may praise Him (1 Pet 2:9)
Yes, we are called to be God’s news casters who will say : Good evening, and here is the good news.
Yes, we must be Good News to the world, and we must also teach our children to be Good News too.
One of the activities on World Mission Sunday is to pray for the poor children of the world, and to help them financially.
Next week, the children in the catechism classes will be donating their savings from the sacrifices they are going to make this coming week, to help the poor children of the Holy Childhood Association.
But besides financial help, let us also lead our children to pray for those poor children.
One of the ways is to pray daily, one Hail Mary, and adding on the intention “pray for us and for the poor children”.
Just only one Hail Mary daily with our children and with that intention.
But the power of prayer and sacrifice will surely make people hammer their swords into ploughshares and their spear into pruning hooks.
And nation will not lift sword against nation.
That is the good news that the world wants to hear.
That is the good news that we the Church must proclaim.
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Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
27th Ordinary Sunday, Year A, 02.10.2011
Is 5:1-7/ Phil 4:6-9/ Mt 21:33-43
One of the things that we would remember from our school days would be nursery rhymes.
Whether the nursery rhymes were set in poem or in song, they would be easy to remember because they are short and they are simple.
Some nursery rhymes are used as a teaching tool. For example, the nursery rhyme “ABCDEFG” is used to teach the letters of the alphabet.
Some would just talk about the things we see around us. For example, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are”
Then there is this nursery rhyme “Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool”
Is there a meaning behind that nursery rhyme?
Well, a number of nursery rhymes reflect events in history.
The words of the nursery rhymes were used to make fun of the royal and political events of that time.
So for example, “Baa baa black sheep” was a nursery rhyme about the wool industry in England, and it was actually a political satire back in 1275 about the king and the export tax in which the king collected a tax on all exports of wool.
Another familiar nursery rhyme is Jack and Jill. (we might think it’s about potato chips)
But Jack and Jill referred to the French king Louis 16th and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette, who were beheaded during the Reign of Terror in 1793.
So the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill” actually has a gruesome historical background.
Another familiar nursery rhyme is “Humpty Dumpty”. Have we ever wondered what the words meant?
Well, “Humpty Dumpty” was not a big egg as we might have thought, maybe because we saw some pictures of it.
Humpty Dumpty was actually a nickname for a large cannon that was used during the English Civil War in the 17th century.
Maybe you can find out more about it yourself.
So nursery rhymes may not be as simple as it seems.
There is an origin and a historical background and a meaning.
Similarly with a parable. A parable has been cleverly described as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
The parable of the vineyard that Jesus told in today’s gospel was taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
It was a song about the vineyard. Or it may have been a poem of even a nursery rhyme.
It was something familiar to the people and that was why Jesus used it.
But Jesus added on to it. The original song of the vineyard had it that the vineyard produced sour grapes, despite all the tender care it was given.
In the parable of Jesus, it was not the grapes that were sour, but the tenants.
Yes, sour, wicked, despicable, murderous tenants, who will do anything to get something that does not belong to them.
What we hear often are good tenants and wicked landlords. What we heard in the gospel is a parable of wicked tenants and a good landlord.
The meaning is clear and sharp. God’s people has rejected His care and betrayed His love.
It even hurt God so deeply that He had to say : What more could I have done for my people that I did not do.
What did God get in return for His love and care? He looked for peace but there was war; for true worship but there was idolatry; for justice but there was corruption and exploitation; for goodness but there was evil; for humility but there was pride; for holiness but there was sinfulness.
But in the end, the parable was about love and justice.
Yes, God is loving and patient, and what He can untie, He won’t cut away.
But the day will come when the tenants will have to be held accountable for their actions.
Today we are gathered as God’s chosen people, the Church. We are also God’s vineyard.
The parable is asking us, who are God’s chosen people : What fruits are we producing?
Yes, we are the Church, but are we a House of prayer?
What are we teaching our children about prayer? Or are we teaching our children anything about prayer at all?
This coming Friday we celebrate Children’s Day. In the spiritual aspect, what are we doing for our children?
If we don’t teach them to pray when they are young, then when are we going to teach them to pray?
The month of October, being the Month of the Rosary, will be a good time to inculcate in our children the traditional prayer of the Rosary.
Yet at the same time, there are also many simple prayers that take the form of nursery rhymes.
Today, the 2nd of October, if it is not a Sunday, the Church would celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels.
I am sure we know the simple nursery rhyme prayer to our guardian angel – Angel of God my guardian dear, to whom His love entrusts me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
It’s a simple prayer, but it contains a deep truth. Each of us has a guardian angel who will protect us from evil and guide us in the way of truth.
Well, let us teach that prayer to our children. Pray with them the Guardian Angel prayer before they go off to school.
Or how about the Bedtime prayer – As I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, that if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
A simple prayer but with a deep truth. One day all this will come to a close, and we will stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives.
And before that happens, let us pray to our guardian angels to help us guide our children and teach them to pray and bear a good harvest for the Lord.
Let us remember that we will be held accountable to our children, and also held accountable to the Lord.
One of the things that we would remember from our school days would be nursery rhymes.
Whether the nursery rhymes were set in poem or in song, they would be easy to remember because they are short and they are simple.
Some nursery rhymes are used as a teaching tool. For example, the nursery rhyme “ABCDEFG” is used to teach the letters of the alphabet.
Some would just talk about the things we see around us. For example, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are”
Then there is this nursery rhyme “Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool”
Is there a meaning behind that nursery rhyme?
Well, a number of nursery rhymes reflect events in history.
The words of the nursery rhymes were used to make fun of the royal and political events of that time.
So for example, “Baa baa black sheep” was a nursery rhyme about the wool industry in England, and it was actually a political satire back in 1275 about the king and the export tax in which the king collected a tax on all exports of wool.
Another familiar nursery rhyme is Jack and Jill. (we might think it’s about potato chips)
But Jack and Jill referred to the French king Louis 16th and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette, who were beheaded during the Reign of Terror in 1793.
So the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill” actually has a gruesome historical background.
Another familiar nursery rhyme is “Humpty Dumpty”. Have we ever wondered what the words meant?
Well, “Humpty Dumpty” was not a big egg as we might have thought, maybe because we saw some pictures of it.
Humpty Dumpty was actually a nickname for a large cannon that was used during the English Civil War in the 17th century.
Maybe you can find out more about it yourself.
So nursery rhymes may not be as simple as it seems.
There is an origin and a historical background and a meaning.
Similarly with a parable. A parable has been cleverly described as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
The parable of the vineyard that Jesus told in today’s gospel was taken from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
It was a song about the vineyard. Or it may have been a poem of even a nursery rhyme.
It was something familiar to the people and that was why Jesus used it.
But Jesus added on to it. The original song of the vineyard had it that the vineyard produced sour grapes, despite all the tender care it was given.
In the parable of Jesus, it was not the grapes that were sour, but the tenants.
Yes, sour, wicked, despicable, murderous tenants, who will do anything to get something that does not belong to them.
What we hear often are good tenants and wicked landlords. What we heard in the gospel is a parable of wicked tenants and a good landlord.
The meaning is clear and sharp. God’s people has rejected His care and betrayed His love.
It even hurt God so deeply that He had to say : What more could I have done for my people that I did not do.
What did God get in return for His love and care? He looked for peace but there was war; for true worship but there was idolatry; for justice but there was corruption and exploitation; for goodness but there was evil; for humility but there was pride; for holiness but there was sinfulness.
But in the end, the parable was about love and justice.
Yes, God is loving and patient, and what He can untie, He won’t cut away.
But the day will come when the tenants will have to be held accountable for their actions.
Today we are gathered as God’s chosen people, the Church. We are also God’s vineyard.
The parable is asking us, who are God’s chosen people : What fruits are we producing?
Yes, we are the Church, but are we a House of prayer?
What are we teaching our children about prayer? Or are we teaching our children anything about prayer at all?
This coming Friday we celebrate Children’s Day. In the spiritual aspect, what are we doing for our children?
If we don’t teach them to pray when they are young, then when are we going to teach them to pray?
The month of October, being the Month of the Rosary, will be a good time to inculcate in our children the traditional prayer of the Rosary.
Yet at the same time, there are also many simple prayers that take the form of nursery rhymes.
Today, the 2nd of October, if it is not a Sunday, the Church would celebrate the feast of the Guardian Angels.
I am sure we know the simple nursery rhyme prayer to our guardian angel – Angel of God my guardian dear, to whom His love entrusts me here, ever this day be at my side, to light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
It’s a simple prayer, but it contains a deep truth. Each of us has a guardian angel who will protect us from evil and guide us in the way of truth.
Well, let us teach that prayer to our children. Pray with them the Guardian Angel prayer before they go off to school.
Or how about the Bedtime prayer – As I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, that if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.
A simple prayer but with a deep truth. One day all this will come to a close, and we will stand before the Lord and give an account of our lives.
And before that happens, let us pray to our guardian angels to help us guide our children and teach them to pray and bear a good harvest for the Lord.
Let us remember that we will be held accountable to our children, and also held accountable to the Lord.
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