21st Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 26.08.2012

Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b/ Ephesians5:21-32/ John 6:60-69

The word “paradox” is a rather strange word to define. I tried to look for the simplest and clearest and shortest definition, but I think I got into some kind of confusion.

So I can only vaguely say that a paradox is a statement which is seemingly absurd, but nonetheless true.

Yet in a way, we also vaguely know what a paradox is, and maybe a few examples may help us understand the paradox of our modern lives.

So what is the paradox of our modern lives? Well, we have taller buildings but shorter tempers; we have wider expressways but narrower viewpoints; we spend more but have less; we buy more but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses but smaller families; we have more conveniences but less time; we have more knowledge but less judgment; we have more medicine but less health.

We have conquered outer space but not our inner space; we have done bigger things but not better things.
These are just some examples of the paradox of our modern lives.

And we may even come up with some paradoxes of our own.

Yet there are times when we come across statements of conflicting truth and we don’t think much about them.

For example, if a person says “I always lie.” Is that person telling the truth, or is that person lying?

Or we may have heard parents saying to their little children : Don’t go near the water until you have learned how to swim!

Well, statements of conflicting truths and paradoxes may leave us in confusion and even frustration.

But we know what a nonsensical statement or a nonsensical language is. It is a statement or language that has no meaning or just simply absurd.

We will know it when we hear it, and there is no need to give an example.

Yet, we heard in the gospel that some of the followers of Jesus were complaining that He used intolerable language.

Putting it simply, they were saying that Jesus was talking nonsense, and that He was absurd and ridiculous.

And that was because Jesus said that the bread that He shall give is His flesh for the life of the world.

And that anyone who eats His flesh and drinks His blood will have eternal life.

It was nonsensical and absurd and ridiculous to them, and it disturbed them to the extent that they left Jesus.

And what about us? Can we accept the teachings of Jesus? Don’t we feel disturbed by His teachings?

Well, by the fact that we are here for Mass may mean that we believe in the teachings of Jesus. 

We say “Amen” when we receive Holy Communion, and we truly believe that we are receiving the Body of Christ.

But what about the other challenging and difficult teachings of Jesus? 

Like for e.g., love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Mat 5:43-44).

Or how about this : Do not resist an evildoer; if he strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him as well (Mat 5:39)

Or, if you do not take up your cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple (Lk 14:27).

In fact, every page of the gospels is filled with some kind of hard teachings of Jesus.

These teachings of Jesus may sound absurd and ridiculous, yet His words are spirit and they are life, and they contain the message of eternal life.

In fact, Jesus and His message is like a paradox, which may initially seem absurd and ridiculous, but nonetheless true.

Yes, it is the truth, but it is only after going through the pains of the trails of life that we can discover the truth of Jesus and His message.

Because it is in the trials of life that we will have to decide whether to leave Jesus or to believe in Him; whether to stay with Jesus or to stay away from Him.

Well, talking about the trials of life, and the good things and bad things that come our way, let me share with you a story.                   

Once upon a time, there was a king and he had a servant whom he liked very much because he was very wise and always gave very useful advice. Therefore the king took him along wherever he went.

One day, the king was bitten by a dog. His finger was injured and the wound got worse and worse. 

He asked the servant if that was a bad sign. The servant said, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". In the end, the finger of the king was so bad that it had to be cut off. The king asked the servant again if that was a bad sign. Again, the servant gave the same answer, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". The king became very angry and sent the servant to prison.

One day, the king went hunting in the jungle. He got excited when he was chasing a deer. Deeper and deeper he went into the jungle. In the end he found himself lost in the jungle. To make things worse, he got captured by natives living inside the jungle.

They wanted to sacrifice him to their god. But when they noticed that the king had one finger missing, they released him immediately as he was not a perfect man anymore and not suitable for sacrifice. The king managed to get back to his palace after all. 

And he finally understood the servant's wise quote, "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". If he hadn't lost one finger, he could have been killed by the natives.

He ordered to release the servant, and apologized to him. But to the king's amazement, the servant was not angry at him at all. Instead, the servant said, “It wasn't a bad thing that you locked me up.” The king was astonished and asked “Why?” 

The servant said, “Because if you had not locked me up, you would have brought me along to the jungle. Since the natives found that you were not suitable, then they would have used me for the sacrifice!  So "Good thing or bad thing, hard to say". 

But the words of Jesus is not about whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.

The words of Jesus may seems ridiculous and absurd, but is it truth and life?

Do we leave it, or believe in it? Will we stay with Jesus, or will we stay away from Jesus?

From Peter we hear these profound words : Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life and we believe.

Oh yes, life can be a paradox; there will be good times, there will be bad times.

Yet good times or bad times, it is hard to say. What we must do is to believe and stay with Jesus, because only He has the message of eternal life.

20th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 19.08.2012

Proverbs 9:1-6/ Ephesians 5:15-20/ John 6:51-58

Two dots on a piece of paper can be joined by a line.                     

In our minds, we would presume that the line would be a straight line, meaning to say that a ruler would be placed between the two dots, and a straight line would be drawn across to join the two dots.

Especially in technical drawing, a line is usually a straight line. 

But that’s on paper, and we are talking about technical drawings.

But in life, lines may not be that straight, and the lines of life weave in and out of the various aspects of life.

For example, the line that divides the rich and the poor is not a pencil-thin line, but a large grey area. The question is how rich is rich and poor is poor?

Or the line between good and bad. Again, the question is how good is good and how bad is bad?

And the line between wisdom and foolishness may also not be so clear at times.

It is said that wise men talk because they have something to say, whereas fools talk because they have to say something.

Indeed, there is a difference between having something to say, and having to say something.

Yet is also said that, never argue with a fool, because people may not know the difference.                               

In other words, only fools argue with each other.

In the gospel, we heard that the people were arguing with one another.

They were arguing about this – How can this man (Jesus) give us his flesh to eat?

Jesus said that He is the living bread, and that the bread He shall give is His flesh for the life of the world!

The main point of the people’s argument is just those two words : How can? (How can this man give us his flesh to eat?)

And if we were around at that time when Jesus said those words, what would our reaction be?

Most likely than not, we are also going to say “How can?”

As a matter of fact, the ignorant and the foolish will be quick to say “How can?” to what they do not understand.

And even if the majority says the same thing, it doesn’t mean that they are right.

So even if fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.

Well, six centuries before Christ, there was a Greek philosopher and mathematician by the name of Pythagoras. From him we got the Pythagoras theorem.

He was the first man to say that the world was round.

The people at that time ridiculed him and also said “How can?”

Now, if we were there, six centuries before Christ, and we hear him saying that the world was round, what would our reaction be?

Would we say “How can the world be round?” (because our eyes see it as flat!)

Or would we ever dare to say “Why can’t the world be round?” and then get shot with all kinds of ridicules.

Indeed, to challenge the foolishness of this world, we need a lot of courage and wisdom.

It is easier to say “How can?” and stay with the majority; it is not that easy to say “Why cannot?” and then be ridiculed for being foolish.

Yet the 1^st reading reminds us that as we partake of the Eucharist, we partake of the bread of life, and in doing so, we must live our lives with wisdom and leave the folly of foolishness.

The 2^nd reading also tells us the same thing – to be careful about the sort of lives we lead, to be wise and not be like foolish people.

So practically what does that mean? Well the 2^nd reading continues by saying that this may be a wicked age, but our lives should redeem it.

We have been told to study hard and to work hard, so that we can do well in life.

Now, what does “do well in life” means?

Obviously to do well in life means that we are going upwards in life, we are successful at work, we are well-off, we are somebody in somewhere that people look up to and admire.

Yes, the world talks about doing well in life. But those who are wise will talk about doing good in life.

And the line between doing well and doing good is parallel to the line between foolishness and wisdom.

In other words, what is the point of doing well in life, if we are not doing any good in life?

In choosing to live by the wisdom from God, we will want to do good in life, and by our lives lived in wisdom, we will redeem the world of its foolishness.

So it’s not with a foolish cynical attitude that we ask “How can we redeem the world with our lives?”

Rather, we will seriously think about how to live wisely in this world of foolishness and wickedness.

Some of us may know who Sam Plimsoll is. He lived during the 19^th century (1824 – 1898).

He started his working life as a lowly clerk in England, and he was doing well and rising up the ranks.

Then misfortune struck him and he was reduced to destitution.

But empty pockets and empty stomachs will help you learn a million good things about life.

Sam Plimsoll learned from his poverty and he set off to do good in life, and he also did quite well in life.

He directed his efforts against what was known as the “coffin ships” at that time.

“Coffin ships” was the term given to unseaworthy and overloaded ships which were often heavily insured by greedy and unscrupulous owners.

Needless to say, many ships sank and many lives were lost. And that was evil and wicked.

When Sam Plimsoll challenged the mighty and arrogant shipping industry, his peers ridiculed him by saying “How can? How can you alone challenge the mighty shipping industry?”

Sam Plimsoll wisely replied : Why can’t we just paint a line on the hull of each ship, to indicated whether the ship was overloaded or not?

After much lobbying, the “Plimsoll line”, as it was called, became a standard feature on all ships, and remains so today.

It’s just a line, but it saved lives. It’s just a line but it divides good and evil. It’s just a line, but it made the difference between wisdom and foolishness.

So do our lives have a line that distinguishes what is wisdom and what is foolishness?

Do our hearts have a line that tells us what is good and what is evil?

The bread that Jesus gives us is the bread of life. May we not only do well in life, may we also do good, and redeem the world with our lives.

19th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 12.08.2012

1 Kings 19:4-8/ Ephesians 4:30-5, 2/ John 6:41-51


One of the most challenging places to work in is the service industry.

Essentially, the service industry caters to the needs of customers and consumers.

Actually, it is more than just the needs. The service industry must try to satisfy the demands of the customers and consumers.

Because in order to survive in the competitive service industry, one has to be able to fulfill whatever that  is “on-demand”, and that means whatever is demanded by the customers and consumers.

So for example, for a restaurant to survive, the food must be good, and the service fast and courteous.

For a telco or internet service provider, the rates must be value-for-money, and the customer hotline must be quickly attended to, and whatever problems quickly resolved.

For a hotel, the guests must feel like they are at home, and the longer they stay, the better.

By and large, the service industry thrives on the fact that people like to be served, and served quickly and courteously. 

Yet people can be hard to please. You give them a doughnut and some will ask why there is a hole in the center.

In other words, if you want to be in the service industry, you got to be prepared for all sorts of complaints.
And not just complaints, there will be hardly any compliments.

If complaining can be an Olympic sport, then we can get a gold medal for that.

Yet the word “complain” appeared twice in today’s gospel passage.

The people were complaining about Jesus (so even Jesus got complains against Him. That’s a great consolation actually).    And then He had to tell them to stop complaining.

The people were complaining that Jesus was talking nonsense – that He is the bread that came down from heaven, but they knew where He came from. Or at least they thought they knew.

Yes, Jesus had a difficult time trying to teach the people that He is the bread of life because their minds were already filled with complains.

When the mind is filled with complaints, the heart is already closed.

And when the mind is filled with complaints, then life can be a pain.

Even in the 1st reading, we hear of the prophet Elijah, who seemed to be complaining and even wishing he were dead.

His words of complaint were these : Lord, I have had enough. Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.

Yet his complaint was not about the small stuff. His complaint was about a real mortal danger.

He was being pursued by his enemies, and they were hunting him down and bent on taking his life.

So even as a prophet, he felt he can’t take it anymore, and hence those words – Lord, I have had enough. Take my life!

Well, those are indeed prophetic words coming from a prophet in distress.

Because we too have our own complaints about life. 

Especially when all the work is arrowed and pushed to us, and no one would help us, whether it is at home or at work.

Or when our problems keep mounting and no one understands us. All they ever say is: Don’t worry, be happy!

Or when one is old and sickly, and no one bothers or cares, and loneliness has drained the meaning out of life.

In such situations, we will be tempted to say : Lord, I have had enough. (Take my life)

But God being God, He won’t take our life just like that. Rather He will give us the bread of life and the bread for life.

For the prophet Elijah, God sent an angel to bring him bread and water to help him go on.

The bread has a deeper meaning than just food to fill the stomach and to satisfy the hunger.

It was a sign for the prophet Elijah that God will be with him in the journey ahead.

So for his complaint, God did not give a solution; rather God became his companion.

The word “companion” is interesting. It is made up of two Latin words – “cum” which means “with”, and “panis” which means “bread”.

So “companion” means sharing and eating bread with someone.

It may be the bread of joy and happiness. But more often than not, it is the bread of suffering and loneliness, bread of pain and difficulties.

In these kind of moments, we will complain, and like the prophet Elijah, we will say : Lord, I have had enough.

Yet in our all complaints, whether it is about life or about God, let us realize that we are not asking for answers.

For the questions about life, pain, suffering and even about God, the answers won’t be of much help, even if we can get those answers.

Yet for all our questions and complaints, God comes to be with us and to be our companion on the way.

And that is actually what we really need – a companion to be with us in our difficult and painful moments of life.

With that, we will understand what Jesus meant when He said: the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.

In other words, Jesus will send someone (someone in the flesh! someone for real!) to be our companion in difficult and turbulent times.

Just the other day, I was reading a blog posting from Mr Brown, the renowned Mr Brown, who is seriously humourous as a social and political satirist.

He was writing about an experience he had when he was watching the badminton finals of the Olympics between Datuk Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) and Lin Dan (China).

He was watching the exciting game when his 12 yr-old autistic daughter whose name is Faith, quietly snuggled up next to him.

Being seriously autistic, Mr Brown didn’t think she was into badminton or understood the game (but then again, who knows?)

Even though Faith does not talk, Mr Brown found himself explaining to her what was happening in that badminton match.

But he also thought to himself – while the battle for an Olympic gold medal was going on, he felt like a winner already.

Because he was so proud of being the father of an autistic child, who, without words, shows her affection in the simplest of ways, like sitting quietly next to her father to watch a game she probably doesn’t understand.

Mr Brown ended off by saying: I wouldn’t trade that for any gold medal in the world.

Indeed, the best service we can render to someone is to be a companion, to be with that person even if it’s just being there quietly, especially when that person is in difficulty.

Because no one would ever complain against a companion, especially a companion who shares in the bread of pain and suffering.

18th Ordinary Sunday, Year B, 05.08.2012

Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15/ Ephesian 4:17, 20-24/ John 6:24-35



We are in the midst of one of the greatest sporting events, or should I say the greatest sporting event, and I am sure you know I am talking about the Olympics – the 2012 London Olympics.


Across the media, there are live telecasts of the sporting events, and medal updates and the record-breakers.


To be in this spectacular sporting event is every athlete’s dream; to get through the qualifiers and to be in the finals means that you are among the best.


To win a medal, and especially a gold medal, is not just something – that would be everything.


Yes, the Olympics is no ordinary sporting event; the athletes are also no ordinary athletes.


It is the time to show the world how good you are among the best; and for some, it is now or never ever.


That’s why the Olympic motto is – Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger)


The Olympic Creed is longer and maybe more inspiring, and part of it goes like this – The most important thing is not to win, but to take part.


That is indeed a very noble Creed, and it is an expression of the true spirit of Olympic sportsmanship.


It may be noble, but is that possible? To be in the Olympics just to “take part” sounds incredible, because all the athletes would go for “Faster, Higher, Stronger”.


We can say that for ourselves too. We won’t be contended with just having a life. We want to be “Faster, Higher, Stronger” than the rest. And we would want even more; we want to win!


And we can say the same about the people who were looking for Jesus, the people that we heard about in the gospel.


Even Jesus pointed it out to them by saying – I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs, but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.


In other words, the people were just concerned with having enough to eat, and not just enough, but that there will be more to eat, more food, a never ending supply of food.


And hence Jesus brought the people back to the sign – it is not just about more food.


Jesus said : Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the food that He Himself is offering.


And so what kind of food is that? And how to work for that kind of food?


Jesus gave a very intriguing answer : The work that must be done is to believe in the one God has sent. 


Well, to believe in Jesus is indeed very hard work.


It may mean that we have to give up the food of this world, and the glittering medals of fame and success.


In the Olympic arena, if you can be faster, higher and stronger than the competition, and get those gold medals, then you can be assured to be fed with fame, popularity and money.


Let me bring you back to the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, Germany. At that time, Adolf Hitler was using that great sporting event to show the world a resurgent Nazi Germany, and that the German athletes would dominate the games and win the medals, so as to propagate the so-called superior Aryan race.


It was the qualifying round for the long jump event.


The German long jumper Luz Long was the European record holder, whereas the American Jesse Owens was the world record holder.


It was an event to watch, because it was like Germany vs America.


Luz Long had qualified for the finals ,and even set an Olympic record during the qualifying round.


But Jesse Owens had surprisingly fouled on his first two jumps (he stepped over the line) and he was getting quite desperate and nervous about his last jump. It’s either he qualifies or he is out.


It was then that Luz Long went over to Jesse Owens and advised him in halting English, to jump from a spot several inches before the line, and he would easily qualify for the finals without having to try so hard.


And of course, a calmer, steadier, Jesse Owens took his third jump and qualified for the finals.


And in the exciting finals of the long jump event, Jesse Owens out-jumped Luz Long to win the gold medal.


Luz Long took the silver medal, and in true Olympian sportsmanship, he was the first to congratulate Jesse Owens on his victory.


They posed together for photos and walked arm-in-arm to the dressing room.


Jesse Owens said later: It took a lot of courage for Luz Long to befriend me in front of Hitler. You can melt down all the medals and cups I have won, and they wouldn’t be a plating on the 24-karat friendship that I felt for Luz Long at that moment.


So in the greatest sporting event, where everyone, including your own countryman is your competitor on the track-and-field, there was true sportsmanship, and even fellowship.


Indeed, the most important thing is not about winning, but to take part.


For Luz Long and Jesse Owens, they took part and they became good friends and also became a part of each other’s lives.


And that is what Jesus said in the gospel – that He came down from heaven, to be the bread of our lives, to be the living bread that will give us life and everlasting life.


So for us, life is not about being faster, higher and stronger. That would only leave us being thirsty and hungry for more and more.


The 2nd reading would call that an aimless kind of life that is corrupted by illusionary desires.


That kind of aimless life is fed with the bread of slavery, and yet we will be tempted by that kind of bread which makes us want to go faster, higher and stronger, and go for more and more, and yet we will still feel hungry and thirsty for more.


Jesus offers us the bread of life, the bread of freedom, the bread of fellowship, the bread that makes us a part of Jesus and also a part of each other.


One more thing about Luz Long and Jesse Owens. After the Olympics, they continued their friendship through correspondence.


But war broke out in 1939, and Luz Long was drafted into the German army, and was killed in action in 1943.


In his last letter to Jesse Owens, Luz Long had a request. He asked Jesse Owens to look for his son in Berlin, and to tell him about the friendship between a tall blond German gentleman, and an Afro-American son of an Alabama farm worker.


The letter ended off profoundly with this statement: Tell my son about how things can be between men on earth.


Luz Long and Jesse Owens may have jumped to win the silver and gold medals. But they won more than that.


They won each other’s respect, and won a great friendship.


We may never have a chance to take part in the Olympics.


We may not win any silver and gold medals.


But we have Jesus, our bread of life, so that we will never be hungry or thirsty again.


So silver and gold we may have none, but let us give each other what we have.


Let us give each other Jesus, and with Jesus, let us also give a part of ourselves.